This chapter flicks back and forth between Sam and Dylan having private sessions both with the same counsellor, I think it's clear whose talking when but if not please let me know. This is how I imagine it being filmed so I tried to write it the same way.

There are a few psycohological terms used because I like long words they make me sound clever but I have put a glossary at the end to help you, anyone who knows psychology I got all of this off the web so please let me know if it's wrong.

As always I don't own Dylan or Sam, or the character the nameless phsychologist is based on. All belong to the BBC, I have also used two lines which Dylan said in recent episodes, and one line was inspired by ficmouse's reviewing chapter 1.

"Samantha Keogh" Sam closed the book she had been reading and returned it to her bag as she followed the counsellor to her room, it felt weird to be called Keogh. Professionally she'd stayed Nicholls to avoid confusion, there wasn't really anyone who called her Keogh. Except maybe the bank, and now apparently the phsychologist. It was probably one of her tricks, like calling her Sam but Dylan Dr Keogh to make her feel small. Not that she needed it, there were ants bigger than she felt. "Please take a seat." the phsychologist gestured at the room and Sam pondered for a moment. She dearly longed to take the seat of power that usually belonged to the counsellor, just to annoy her. But if she did it would go down in her file that she had megalomania or something which wouldn't help her case. Instead she sat down in the smaller arm chair beside the sofa, aware that her choice probably meant something anyway. "So Sam, how are you doing?" she tilted her head to one side in what was clearly supposed to be a caring manner but just looked forced and patronising.

"Fine," she wasn't fine at all, she was barely sleeping or eating. Only dressing for her trips to counselling and meetings with her lawyer, the rest of the time she wore slouchy trousers and an army t-shirt. She'd go to the shops or out to walk Dervla which she now did most days while Dylan was working without showering or changing, just throwing on an old Uni hoody to hide her unwashed hair and his coat to keep out the cold. She was dreading the next time she saw him when he would inevitably ask for it back.

"And how are you coping with your suspension?" stupid question really, how does anyone cope with such things?

"Fine," she decided she may as well play ball. She needed this woman to pronounce her 'sane' if she were to have any hope of getting the charges dropped. "I miss it, miss being able to help people." The psychologist nodded and wrote something in the file that was once again balanced on her lap.

"You feel like you've lost your purpose?"

"Yes," Sam answered slowly, she couldn't have worded it any better herself.

"Was that why you went into medicine? To help people?" Sam shook her head playing with the arm of the chair distractedly,

"My Mother made me," she had intended to leave it there but the woman across from her waved her hand to encourage Sam to elaborate. "Her parents couldn't afford higher education and she wanted me to have the opportunities she didn't, whether I wanted them or not."

"And you didn't?"

"I did, I just wanted to come to that decision on my own." Sam watched the pen scratch across the page and wondered what was being written.

"And you joined the army to get away?" Sam nodded, annoying as she was this woman seemed to understand her. "And was that when you decided you needed to help people?" Sam nodded again her eyes clouding slightly as she remembered.

"It was on my first tour, I was saving lives out there. Really helping people... They needed me." although she hadn't spoken of the horrors She'd seen they were clear to see in her eyes and she watched upside down as something which looked like post traumatic stress was written in the file. Sam narrowed her eyes, she had been affected by her experiences it was impossible to spend time out there and not get nightmares but she had seen real PTSD and she didn't have it.

"Dylan Keogh" he closed the journal he had been reading and followed the psychologist to her room, she'd clearly dispensed with the 'doctor' then. Or perhaps it was because Samantha wasn't there to be intimidated by it. "Please..." he walked straight in and sat in the middle of the sofa stretching his legs out in front of him, he watched while she took up his file and settled on the edge of her seat. "Doctor Keogh..."

"Why is it that when you become a doctor you lose your first name?" The counsellor frowned, she was surprised at his interruption and wasn't quite sure if it was an insult or not.

"I don't know, I suppose it would..."

"But you wouldn't want to be treated by 'Dr Dylan' and 'Dr Dylan Keogh' takes too long to say." She wasn't certain that he'd finished talking so paused for a moment.

"Right" He watched her write Narcissistic characteristics in his file, he could have told her that if she'd asked. "So Dylan, tell me about Sam."

"What do you want to know?" He thought for a moment before adding in "She doesn't like to be called blonde." "And she hates eyebrows."

"Okay"

"Not in a trichotillomania way.""

"How about you and Sam, how did you meet."

"Err," Dylan looked a little uncomfortable "she trained in the hospital where I was working."

"And how did you get together, on a night out maybe?"

Dylan looked scornful, "No, I don't do 'nights out' and neither does Samantha." He thought for a moment, "I don't know, we just sort of did."

"Did you have a lot of relationships with colleagues?"

"No." He wasn't about to help her, ask a closed ended question get a closed answer.

"When did you realise you loved her?"

"I don't think Dylan ever really knew what love was, even friendship is pretty foreign to him."

"But he loved you?"

"He cared for me, I'm not sure about love." She paused for a moment, "He isn't very good at expressing emotions." The counsellor nodded and made a note even though she had already become aware of that.

"He married you, he must have felt something for you?"

Sam nodded. "He was trying to protect me, he thought he could stop me from going back to Afghanistan."

"Did it work?"

"For a while, until things got difficult anyway. Then I went back..."

"To get away?" She nodded again.

"The thing about our relationship was if I would say or do something wrong, rather than argue or sulk Sam would act recklessly, she puts herself in danger simply so that she can see me sweat." Dylan saw her scribble 'possible histrionic tendencies' under Sam's name, he wrote it off as a ridiculous diagnosis.

"How would you describe your relationship before she left?"

He exhaled, "Discussion wasn't a strong point."

"Was that why you separated?"

"No."

"I had an affair." The psychologist raised her eyebrows, not at all what she had been expecting. But then it couldn't be easy being married to someone with Schizoid personality disorder "It was just a stupid one time thing." Sam tiredly rubbed both hands over her eyes then rested her fingers on her temples and stared at her knees. "I regretted it as soon as it was over."

"It was on her second tour, she told me straight away."

"How did that make you feel?"

"Angry," The psychologist was surprised to hear him answer, he'd been dodging emotional questions ever since their first session. "I know she's sorry but I can't get past the fact that she betrayed me."

"So you left her?"

"Yes"

"Why haven't you divorced?"

Dylan appeared to struggle to form words before he eventually responded, "Because I still love her."

"Do you still love him?"

Sam lifted her eyes to meet the counsellor's gaze without moving her head. "Yes"

Psychological words:

I have put these in the simplest way as I understand them please let me know if any of it is wrong.

Megalomania = obsession with the exercise of power, probably the most famous example being Hitler.

PTSD = Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Severe anxiety disorder developed after a traumatic event.

Trichotillomania = Compulsive hair pulling, any hair; scalp, eyebrows, eyelashes, body hair etc.

Narcissism = No-one is as awesome as me! An inordinate obsession with oneself.

Schizoid personality disorder = Quite Simply Dylan. Difficulty forming relationships, prefers to be alone, avoids social situations. Google it, it's just him.

Histrionic personality disorder = constantly needing to be the centre of attention and will go to extreme lengths to get there. Overly theatrical or melodramatic.

Thank you for reading, I would love a review if you have a moment to write one.