Author's Note: I said I would work on some more Recalled and here it is. I don't know if I'll meet my goal but I'm sure as hell going to try. The good news either way is that next chapter is the end of the second arc. That means that, with this chapter done, the bulk of the drama is out of the way. This is not going to become a fluff-fest of a story all of a sudden but I think it's time Chuck and Sarah finally got to be happy together and cemented their relationship. Enjoy the drama while it lasts:

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Schooled

Walker/Bartowski Residence

August 31, 2016

1:45 pm

Chuck walked into the house happy to be, well, home he supposed. Not that he felt any familiarity there yet but it was better than being stuck in a room, talking to some shrink. "Tell me what's bothering you"... like he was about to trust some stranger with any personal details. Did that guy seriously think that would work? How had he gotten Sarah to open up? There was no way she would've fallen for that.

That entire hour had been a waste of time. There was no way he was going back, lucky for him, he had only promised to go to that one session. He would just work through his issues by himself. He looked up after removing the key from the lock to spot Carina sitting on the couch staring warily at him; she'd muted the television it seemed.

"Hey there, Chucky," she greeted dryly.

Just what he needed: another person with a bone to pick. "Carina, hi," he returned the greeting in a friendly manner. "How are you doing?"

"Oh, you know, pain in the throat from almost dying, other than that... I'm good," she answered snidely.

Chuck sighed in defeat. "Carina, I can't tell you how—"

"Save it," she cut in. "I told Sarah I'd be civil and I intend to do just that." She narrowed her eyes the slightest bit. "But let me make one thing clear: I don't like you," she stated unyieldingly.

Chuck's brow rose in surprise at the declaration. What the hell had he ever done to Carina? Well, besides trying to kill her in his sleep? He was about to speak when she started up again.

"You destroyed Sarah," she said. "She almost died and that is your fault."

"Hey, hold—"

"Shut up, sit down, and just listen," she commanded.

Great, more talking. He shook his head, but did as he was told and took a seat.

"I'm only going to tell you this once because I am her friend and I care about her," Carina started. "And for some reason I can't see, she cares about you."

"I care about her too," he managed to interject before Carina cut him off again.

"Really? Well you sure have a funny way of showing it," she retorted. "And I thought I told you to shut up and listen," she rebuked. "Sarah told me what happened."

Chuck looked on and kept quiet.

"She was going to throw away her career for you and you abandoned her." Her steely gaze didn't waver as she looked straight at him judgingly.

"Hey, that's not exactly what happened," he refuted.

"It is if Sarah says it is," Carina challenged and waited, daring him to protest.

Chuck knew he wasn't going to win that one, he kept his mouth shut.

"And even then, she still threw away her career, and damn near her life, for you."

"Oh, come on," Chuck exclaimed, disbelievingly.

"Everything she did after you ran she did only to try to get to you before the government did," she told him. "She didn't care about the job anymore and because of that she stepped on a lot of toes trying to find you," she spoke reproachfully. "Whatever happened that caused her accident, it only happened because she was so focused on you she wasn't looking out for herself. If it wasn't for Casey stepping in, the government would have left her to die in a ditch somewhere." The disdain Carina was feeling for Chuck was hard to miss.

"Casey? He didn't tell me anything about—"

"This is Casey we're talking about here; do you honestly think he'd say anything?" She looked at Chuck incredulously. "He didn't even tell Sarah."

"Then how do you know?"

"Someone had to be there for her," she remarked critically. "Casey's many things but a caregiver, he's not. He called me and told me what was going on." Her tone started to change with her next words. "Did she tell you how bad it got for her?"

Chuck shook his head with a blank expression on his face. "She said she was almost paralyzed but she didn't want to tell me any more than that."

"Well, let me," the redhead offered sullenly. "She could barely hold her head up in those early days, never mind trying to move the rest of her body," she started. "I had to feed her, change her, clean her," she looked upon him unwaveringly. "If I hadn't been there to help her, she would have died."

"Don't be ridiculous," Chuck retorted. "I'm sure she would've been fine at a hospital."

"Hospital?" She shook her head in rejection of the idea. "Do you know what it's like for someone as strong and independent as Sarah was to lose everything that made her her? To become what she did?" She asked heatedly. "There was no way she would have ever let anyone see her like that. Trust me when I say she would rather have died. She tried to fight me on it but there wasn't really much she could do."

Carina sniffled and Chuck noticed that her eyes were becoming red. He'd known Sarah well enough to know that what Carina was saying wasn't much of an exaggeration. Maybe it was the fog of time but the more he thought about it, the more he could see the old Sarah doing that. The new Sarah, however, she was stronger and more open. She would have no trouble accepting help. The thought that he was now the closed off one was depressing and it was only made worse by Carina's next words.

"But you know what?" She smiled at the memory. "She came around. She started to fight to get better. That was the Sarah I knew," she exclaimed. "She went to rehab and she worked like hell to get to where she is now."

Chuck couldn't help but smile at Sarah's determination. On seeing him smile, Carina's own disappeared.

"Of course, then, she had to go overboard," she continued flatly. "She started going to that damn shrink of hers, saying she needed to work out her issues and talking about being normal." She looked at Chuck accusingly. "She never admitted it but I know she only did that for you."

Damn... of course she did. Chuck tried to keep an impassive expression but he was kicking himself internally. How could he seriously refuse to talk to Rosen after having heard what Carina had to say? He didn't have a leg to stand on. Sarah went through hell for him, she put herself way outside her comfort zone, she became more than she was for him, and now that it was his turn there was no way he could give any less. Stupid Doctor Rosen had to go and fix Sarah...

"You know what?" Carina interrupted his thoughts. "There was nothing wrong with Sarah before, she was fun!" She narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm kind of getting pissed off right now." She stood up and went to grab her purse. "I'm going out before I decide to kick your ass," she exclaimed when she came back into the room. "If Sarah asks, tell her I went to look for someone fun to do." She slammed the door shut as she left.

Chuck fell back onto the couch sighing. Looking up at the ceiling he knew had a lot to think about. He had to talk to the doctor, that was a given, he just needed to figure out how he was going to start.

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Walker/Bartowski Residence

August 31, 2016

7:00 pm

Sarah came home to find Chuck sitting on the couch, watching TV.

"Hey, how was your day?" Chuck spoke up.

"A little surprising, actually," she replied.

"Why? What happened?"

"Your sister called me," Sarah responded as she put her briefcase down on the coffee table. She leaned in to kiss a surprised Chuck.

"What? What did she want?" Chuck quickly asked.

Sarah laid her head on his lap and settled the rest of her body on the couch. She started to watch whatever was on TV as she answered. "Well, your birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks." She sighed as she found a more comfortable position. "She wanted to know if it would be okay to have a party here."

"I don't want a party," Chuck replied as he caressed her arm.

"Yeah, I figured as much but you know Ellie."

He nodded. "I guess some things haven't changed much."

"She knows your parents will probably be there and since she doesn't want them at her house..."

"Ah... now it makes sense."

"I told her it was fine," Sarah conveyed. "I don't want her disliking me any more than she already does."

"At least she's talking to you," Chuck comforted. "I hope she gets over this thing with my parents soon because it's getting ridiculous."

"Give her time," Sarah counseled. "It's a lot to work through."

"I know," Chuck conceded. He then decided that a change of topic was in order. "So... about dinner..."

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Author's Note: I don't want to jinx myself... so I won't say anything other than see you next chapter.