C

This isn't a review of this chapter, although I liked it, especially the first half.

I am more confused of the timeline with the scene with Beckman, this is a flashback but it can't be just after the tragic event 5 years ago because she was still with Chuck but it surely can't be after the most recent event because the way it's written it's as though she hasn't seen him in a long, long time, no contact from her, she thinks he hates her, which she knows isn't true since going back to L.A. to protect him.

So is there a time when she's in Hospital between the tragic news five years ago and the recent events at the conference center.

If someone could let me know, would be great.

Damn. I managed to read this is more or less a single stretch. I have you to blame for it now being 6 in the morning and I haven't had a wink of sleep. I started this yesterday afternoon.. and was more or less infuriated through it. I just wanted them to stop being such idiots.
I kept reading because I couldn't really put it down. I wanted to know the end.
It was depressing to read the 25-35 chapters. It was more or less a battle not to give up reading.
I am pleased it got a conclusion. It was ideal under the circumstances. You can't really negotiate in good faith with the director of the CIA after all.
If he'd held out.. Maybe he'd have been released..
While reading this.. not gonna lie I kind of hated Sarah.
hated her for what she put him through. hated her for how astoundingly stupid she was..
But even with all of that.. She still couldn't bring herself to quit the CIA. Beckman comes and asks her..
She was still holding on to it as a life support.. not committing completely to Chuck. Even after everything..
But even still they stayed true to their characters more or less..
Some chapters were brilliant.. some decidedly not so.
But I would recommend this to anyone that can hang on to this till the end.. it's a worthwhile read.
you need to hold out to cross the 40 barrier.
I realize some of you don't really think what climax we got was Chuck and Sarah winning.. but you can't just imagine going against an intelligence agency and surviving much less getting what you want.
The ending was nice. And it was well written. I loved the story after finishing it.
Thanks for writing.
I enjoyed it.

Why the hell can't she fucking quit the CIA?
Why don't they fire her? Or sanction her?
She is past the end of her rope.
She is burnt out.
She can't see a life past being an agent.
She is ready to kill anyone and do anything the current director asks her to do.
I mean just fucking why is she so stupid?

As I'm reading this, I can't help but think just how big of a fu*king idiot can sarah be?
And you know what she keeps breaking her record again and again and again?
How in the world of fu*k is she so monumentally stupid?
I want her to be dead by this point. Just so chuck can move on.
I mean I read charah all the time.
I read a couple charina, i have nothing against them, some were good, but ultimately i like charah the most.
But in this I just want her to die.
I mean that would have been better than what chuck has put up with.
She should have died when she wanted to leave five years ago.
Atleast there would have been a finality to it.
And chuck would have sort of moved on.
Not necessarily to another woman, even if he would have been alone, atleast he would have not held hope of her coming back.
He would have been crushed, sure. But anything's better than this sh*t show at this point.
I didn't leave a review until i came to about the 29th chapter. I mean, i thought it would get better, she can't be any more idiotic than this.
She's topped herself, but this has to be rock bottom.
This is it.
But no. She keeps on outstripping herself and i just don't have it in me to read this any further.
Why the hell am i looking for closure still?
Because i am a moron. I can't just leave things in the middle.
So, I'm going to do something i never do.
Skip to the last chapter and wave goodbye to this depression.

I don't forgive her. But I don't hold a grudge against her either.
I understand her. Some of her.
I do hold a grudge and want to kill:
a) her dad. The assh*le. 'Do you love me?' 'Nice try darlin' The fu*ker. I could kill him for just that.
But there's a long list of things that make me want to kill him slowly. more painfully.
b) graham. For recruiting her and turning her into his personal enforcer. He should burn in hell for the lives he has destroyed. The bastard.
c) Sarah to a lesser extent. Why? Because she's fu*king stupid to not even be able to see the error of her ways. The "Take care of breakfast and i'll take care of whoever it is at the door" the not being able to understand that she is his wife and not his handler.
I just want to fu*king give up reading this s*it now.
I made the mistake when i fucking started reading this without reading reviews.
Then I made the mistake of reading reviews. There's no light at the end of this tunnel apparently.
And that's enough to now make me want to fling my ipad to the wall and discharge rounds from a benelli m4 into it. Then discharge an extended magazine from an AK then move on to every fucking semi-automatic and full auto weapons ever made.
Then target it with a tank and blow whatever's left.
Fu*k this shit.
Going to read next chapter now.

Midway through update: You will feel the need to fling your device across the room, beat it repeatedly with a baseball bat, empty an entire extended magazine from an AR-15 into it, burn it, fling it's ashes into the depths of Mediterranean sea, and you still won't feel satisfied.
You will want to beat the crap out of sarah too. You will want to knock some sense into her, into chuck, to no avail.
You will find this a little sad and depressing, but you won't stop reading this.
You have made it this far. You want the light at the end of the tunnel.
You can't get the voice out of your head that says 'What happens next?'
Do they finally come to their senses?
Why the fu*k are they sooooo dumb?
Why the hell can't one or both of them just take a gun and shoot the other just so they can wash their hands of this depressing s*it show?
If I was in the place of chuck I would have shot her then myself. Just to end it and be in peace.

The trouble with writing reviews is I think of something I want to say before typing it out but I tend to forget adding something till after but hopefully I won't forget tonight.

I am fairly new to FF, 3-4 months, I've read about 80 Chuck stories, all different themes, AU, fluff etc (some extremely good I would read again in the near future) and I was looking for something new. This was in my favs list but what put me off was the 49 chapters but after reading the synopsis (why do I gravitate to the Sarah leaving and returning ones) I decided to read a few reviews to make sure it would be worth starting / investing in it.

Thank you Malamoo for taking the time to put this together because this Is without a shadow of a doubt an exceptional piece of writing and story telling.

I realise the story could be tough, tragic even but after reading some of the reviews who I rely on I felt it was worth a shot, the good thing is it's complete so I don't have to wait a week or so for the next chapter, so the previous chapter is always fresh in my mind, I started reading it on Saturday just gone, finished at 3 in the morning, again on Sunday, every spare moment till 3am and again on Monday (day off-Bank Holiday in UK) till 3am, leaving three hours of sleep before alarm wakes at 6am Tuesday (work) with only five chapters to go.

Well this story has really got to me in more ways than one because of the way it was written, reading it all in only a few days helped me get into the daily scenes as the week moved on leading up to the last few days together with time running out, I loved the flashbacks, some of which were so emotional and tragic as well as some of the later chapters in the present day.

What stands out for me and I have re-read them a few times is the last part of CH40, last part of CH42 and the first part of CH44, truly wonderful but a lot of sections in others chapters were pretty close, the writer really knows how to tug on your heart strings, so to speak.

There was a point where I asked myself when did she originally leave and I miss it, then it clicked today driving to work, end of CH38.

There are so many storylines relating to the overall arc, some sad, some very sad involving C/S and you really feel for them throughout but there is hope and you also have to remember and feel for Chucks family and friends towards the latter part as well.

The ending was fitting with the mood and I accepted that, does it need an epilogue? not sure.

The word 'Fine' used in the last chapter was apt, Sarah uses it a lot.

So all in all, simply brilliant and thought provoking, it may only be a matter of days before I start to read it again, no offence other FF writers but this has set the bar for me.

Would be interesting to know if other readers know of a story this good.

so literally nothing works out except for the fact that they are together. neither of them got what they wanted out of life, but that doesnt matter, because YOU got what you wanted from this story. they are back where they started for a second chance, except you expect your least likable, most damaged, and psychologically broken character to pull chuck from that hole. this ENTIRE story was really depressing, and there was ZERO resolution at the end.

sarah is still worthless, chuck folds HARD, and incompetent douchebag director guy wins. your story just became FUCKING TERRIBLE. im going to finish it just in case you have all of these unlikable assholes shot in the face.

this story is only becoming more depressing by the chapter. your sarah is a shitty spy, a shitty wife, and a shitty person. shes absolutely right that shes wrong at every turn.

sarahs being a bitch, lying to herself and everyone else, and now she was kidnapped WITHOUT A FIGHT. you are making one of my favorite characters from one of my favorite shows both INCOMPETENT AND UNLIKABLE. STEP YOUR GAME UP.

I'm going to leave a review at the end of the final chapter to cover the whole story but before i forget, the end of this chapter really moved me, truly wonderful and emotional writing, there's probably one other section in a previous chapter that was just as moving, you probably know what it is.

I know this story was completed years ago, but I just finished reading it and loved it! I don't know if you're still writing fanfic, but if you are, PLEASE write an epilogue. After such an amazing journey in your story, I would love to see how CHARAH find Chucks feelings!

you clearly aren't around anymore, and I am late to the Chuck fan fiction land... but man this was really a powerful story, hard to read at times, but really great. You do well putting emotions on the page