Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck
Chuck sat, downing another glass of water. He had only been there five minutes, but for some reason, he was both parched and his hands were sweating like mad. He looked up to see her at the front of the restaurant, standing on tiptoe, peering around. He raised his hand, and a smile covered her features. Standing, he pulled out the chair across from his as she made her way over.
"Thank you," she said. "Nice to see some gentlemen still exist."
"Guess you should have found that out before you married me," Chuck kidded her. She shook her head and gave him a raised-eyebrow look. "Kidding," he said, holding up his hands. "I'm gonna be real with you, because that's what our marriage counselor said to do."
"Chuck," she warned, but humor was apparent on her face.
"I'm really nervous about our second first date," Chuck admitted, as he sat and then wiped his sweaty hands on his pants.
"This is our first first date," Sarah reminded him. "Plus, in total honesty, I'm a little nervous myself."
"Really? What in the world do you have to be scared of, Sarah Walker?" Chuck asked. The corners of her lips curled, as if she were fighting a smile.
"I have to find out if I like my husband," she told him. She looked around and leaned in. "Spoiler alert: I think I do."
"That's good, because if not, this night could get awkward," he said, his voice raising an octave on the last word. Sarah laughed, and then she sobered. Seeing her sudden change of mood, his did as well, as he leaned forward. "What's wrong?"
"We have to tell her, Chuck. We can't keep doing this to her, and to us," Sarah told him. "You deserve to have your own solo therapy session." Chuck said nothing; he wasn't sure he wanted his own solo therapy session any longer.
}o{
A few days ago
"Chuck!" he heard someone call, as he started up the stairs. He turned to find Sarah walking toward him. "We really should have done this before now, but we have to talk."
"But we have therapy in," he said, pulling back his shirt sleeve, "an hour."
Sarah raised an eyebrow at him, then grinned. "Chuck, I pushed it back an hour."
"Oh, thank God," he murmured.
}o{
They were sitting at a cafe just a block away. "I feel like I'm roping you into something," Sarah began, as he sat drinking his hot chocolate. "I feel like I'm taking advantage of you, and it's not fair."
"Would you continue counseling on your own?" Chuck asked. Sarah shook her head. "See-"
"I punched a guy, Chuck. If I don't go, I'm going to get into legal trouble," Sarah blurted out. Chuck sat back, and stared at her for a moment. "He tried to grab my ass… actually, he did grab my ass-"
"Good," Chuck said, surprising Sarah. "On the punching the guy, not that he grabbed your ass." Sarah snorted, and he cleared his throat. "But one question; you have to have that stuff signed off on, right?" She huffed, irritation on her face making Chuck chuckle. "Then you have to continue this."
"Fine," she groused, not happy.
"Sarah... tell me the truth. Will you continue if I'm not there?" She shook her head gently. "Then as your lawfully wedded husband, as decreed by the fine receptionist at Dr Beckman's," and Sarah began to laugh, "what kind of husband would I be if I left you in this spot?"
"You're not my husband," Sarah reminded him.
"Oh, I know," he replied. "But as long as Beckman thinks you and I are married, and you continue these sessions, then you don't get in trouble."
"You don't know me, Chuck," Sarah said, giving him a look. "You don't owe me anything."
"And you don't owe me anything, either, but if this is what it takes, then this is what I'll do," Chuck told her.
}o{
Now
"Listen, I know what you're going to say, but how is it fair to you?" Sarah asked him.
"Fair to me?" Chuck asked. "How is it unfair to me?" Sarah tilted her head and gave him a look.
}o{
A few days ago
"So, Chuck, today we're going to start with asking you some questions, and then Sarah will hear and give her answers," Beckman said, smiling at them.
"Why do I get to go first?" Chuck asked. Beckman gave him a look, put on her glasses, and began to write. "Why is she doing that?" Chuck asked Sarah in a hushed whisper to Sarah. Sarah was trying to keep a straight face. "Why?"
"Do you not like going first, Chuck?" Beckman asked. Chuck whipped his head around, staring at her. Beckman took off her glasses. "Does that question bother you?"
"I feel like you're trying to make it mean more than just the question," Chuck replied.
"Do you?" Beckman murmured, putting her glasses back on and writing. "Intimacy, Chuck. Tell me about you and Sarah's love life." Chuck choked, making Beckman look up. "Is there a problem?"
"Well, it's just I'm not comfortable with PDA," Chuck told her.
"This isn't PDA. This is you telling me about your love life," she reminded him. Chuck cleared his throat and glanced at Sarah. She shrugged. "Hmm," Beckman murmured. Chuck turned quickly back to Beckman and saw what she was writing.
"Sexually repressed?" Chuck said. Beckman looked him right in the eyes. "I am not sexually repressed. I have a very healthy and active sex life." He felt Sarah's eyebrows go up. "I mean, we do!" He turned to her. "Don't we? Honey?"
"Diane," Sarah said, trying to save Chuck.
"Sarah, don't," Beckman said, cutting her off. "It is very clear here what the problem is."
"It is?" they both asked at the same time.
"It is obvious that Chuck is not being as attentive to you as he should be, and satisfying you the way you need… hence, your anger," Beckman told them.
"So it's my fault?" Chuck asked. Beckman nodded. "So I need to change?" Beckman nodded again. "But... let's say I can't. That I've tried, and that I love her, but I've tried and I've tried and I just can't. Is there something she could do, short of leaving me? You know some tricks, some tips, some tools, something... I mean, I try, Diane-"
"Wait, what?" Sarah said.
"Sarah, let's be honest here. We need to get you well first, because if I take a while to fix this problem – and I will work on it – we can't have you beating up men in the meantime," Chuck said to her.
"Interesting, Chuck," Beckman said, making him turn to her. "What is your goal?"
"Sarah… Sarah needs to work some things out. Maybe as she works them out, I can work out what's wrong with me. I'm committed, Diane. I want her to be happy, and I get that I need to work on things to make her happy. But first things first... if she's in jail for punching people, we can't do that," Chuck told her. "Although I do have a solution to the problem."
"What's that?" Beckman asked.
"Men should quit grabbing her ass," Chuck told Beckman.
"And women," Sarah added. Chuck turned to her and she shrugged.
"And women," Chuck concurred.
}o{
Now
"Chuck, the only reason we're here is because of her," Sarah reminded him. Chuck nodded, a bit of shame showing on his face. "I can't keep letting her do this to you; she's trying to insinuate my problems are because of you, and us as a couple."
"I don't think that's true," he began.
"Chuck," she said, giving him a look. "We are on a date because of her."
"I mean it's not the worst thing," he groused. She shook her head at him. "What? Am I supposed to be upset about it, or something? I agreed to it, Sarah."
"Agreed? You were basically forced into it," she reminded him. Chuck couldn't help but laugh.
}o{
A few days ago
"Chuck, Sarah is a vibrant, healthy, attractive woman, and she is paying for your past sins," Beckman told him.
"She is?" Chuck replied. He shook his head and cleared his throat. "I mean… she is. You're right, and I am sorry for that," he told her, turning to Sarah. "I will make this up to you."
"Yes, you will," Beckman told them, making both Sarah and Chuck's eyebrows raise. "You are going on a date."
"A... a-a date?" Chuck asked Beckman. "We're married, how will that help?"
"Just like a man," Beckman groused. Chuck and Sarah shared a look and looked back at Beckman. She pulled on her jacket, as if to regain her composure. "You need to be intimate with Sarah."
"Uh," Chuck began.
"No, I get it," Sarah cut in, ignoring the look Chuck was giving her. "Recreate the first date, to help him get over his issues?"
"Sarah, let's be honest. I'm not sure he can ever get over his issues," Beckman told her.
"She's right," Chuck admitted, shrugging.
"Okay, enough," Sarah said, slapping her hand on the table, making both Beckman and Chuck jump a little in their seat. "You are here for me, and I am here for you."
"You are?" Chuck asked her. "I mean you-"
"Chuck," she said in a clipped tone. "I. Am. Here. For. You."
"Thank you," he said softly.
}o{
Now
Chuck paid for dinner, under protest from Sarah. As they started for the door, Sarah grabbed him, pulling him into an alcove, and kissing him.
"Sarah," Chuck said, pulling away, looking at her in shock.
"Listen," she hissed softly. Chuck did, and his eyes widened at a voice they both knew. They carefully peeked around the corner to find Diane Beckman, waiting to be seated. Standing beside her was a very distinguished-looking gentleman.
"I swear to you, Diane," the man said. "I did nothing."
"But did you try to do something with my secretary?" Beckman asked in a hushed tone that Chuck and Sarah could barely hear. The two exchanged a look, then went back to watching. "Thank you for at least taking me out."
"Diane, you mean the world to me," the man told her.
"That's Roan Montgomery," Sarah told Chuck. "He's in HR, and suggested I get counseling."
"What?" Chuck said, shocked at the coincidence. "Wait, the receptionist… wasn't she mad at Diane?"
"Oh God, let's get out of here," Sarah told him. Diane and Roan went to be seated, and the younger couple slipped out the door into the night.
}o{
Minutes later, Chuck found himself in Sarah's car. They had arrived separately, but when Sarah found out he had taken an Uber, she'd insisted on taking him home. Chuck tried to protest, but Sarah reminded him he had paid for her dinner.
She pulled up to his complex. Silence had reigned the whole ride.
"Hey, you wanna talk?" Chuck asked her. "There's a fountain in the middle of the courtyard. I sit there a lot and think. If you're interested. I mean, I'm sure you have other things to-"
"I'd love to," she told him.
The two walked over to the fountain and sat. They began to talk about Roan and Diane, and shortly thereafter, it switched to how Sarah had known Roan. They sat there, telling stories of their childhood, of their past, as the hours slipped away. Eventually, the two sat in comfortable silence. The outside of both of their pinkies, lying right beside each other, touched.
"Sarah," Chuck began, turning to her, but that was as far as he got, because her mouth covered his. She gripped his shirt, pulling him in, and then suddenly she pushed him away. "Sarah?"
"I can't do this," she said, standing. "I'm sorry, Chuck. I can't do this." With that, she turned and walked away. Before he could gather his senses and chase after her, he heard a car pull away.