A/N: Covid brain….doing the best I can.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck

It had been a few days since the Mary fiasco. Sarah and Chuck were spending time together as they could. Her work schedule worried her, but Chuck kept insisting it was fine.

His first appointment with his counselor was in a few days, but in the meantime, his friends had been at work. Sarah pulled up to Chuck's place, confusion on her face. There were numerous vehicles there, and she had no idea what was going on.

"Sarah!" Chuck said happily as she opened the door and stepped inside. "Save me," he pleaded, smiling the whole time.

"Please tell him to hush," Molly told Sarah. "You're the only one he'll listen to."

"What are you doing?" Sarah asked, wondering why Zondra, Ellie, Molly, Bryce, Carina, and Morgan were all there, Bryce seeming to attempt to forcefully put something on Chuck's wrist.

"Okay, so there are many smart bands out on the market that detect seizures," Bryce began. "Will you stop squirming?" Bryce glared at Chuck, and Chuck blew out a breath, frustrated. "But we wanted to do more. We wanted it to be more accurate and send the data to more people."

"How many?" Chuck asked, fearing he already knew.

"Everyone in this room, except Zondra," Morgan said with a shrug.

"Isn't that overkill?" Chuck asked.

"Carina, will you slap the stupid out of him?" Molly asked.

"Hey," Sarah said, making Molly giggle. "That is now my job. I cut his head open, and don't want to be jarring things around in there."

"Huh," Carina replied, a knowing smirk growing on her face. "So that means you two haven't…" Carina trailed off, grinning.

"You know he's cleared for that, right?" Zondra asked.

"I hate all of you," Chuck said. He then turned to Sarah. "Correction: not you, but the rest of them? They suck."

"Carina, don't you say a word," Ellie said quickly, making Carina burst out laughing. "Back to the fitness band. Zondra will clear you to sleep here by yourself, if you will agree to wear this."

"What about in the shower?" Chuck asked.

"Waterproof," Morgan told him.

"I don't know about this," Sarah said, making Ellie and Zondra share a knowing smile. "He hasn't seen his therapist yet, after all."

"Blondie, if you wanna stay with him, all you have to do is tell him," Carina told Sarah. Chuck gave Carina a look. "What? You know it's true."

"Yeah, I know it's true, you know it's true, hell, everyone knows it's true. It's not necessary to go announcing it," Chuck muttered. Sarah couldn't help but laugh.

}o{

"Oh my God, I am so tired," Chuck said, jogging back up to his house. He blew out a breath. "I am so out of shape."

"Told you that jogging was no good for you," Sarah said. She had changed into shorts and a tee shirt and was currently sitting on the porch, reading her book, and grinning. She looked up at him. "You okay there? You're sweating a lot. Like… a lot, lot."

"So, you don't run at all?" Chuck asked. Sarah shook her head.

"I'm on my feet so much at the hospital, and walking all the time," Sarah said with a shrug. "I guess I got lucky with good genes." She glanced down at her bare legs. "No one has ever complained."

"They'd be fools to do so," Chuck replied. Sarah raised an eyebrow, and he shrugged. "You know I have no filter around you."

"I do," she hummed. "So, you wanna talk about your freedom?"

"I don't want to worry you," Chuck began.

"But, you don't like having others take care of you," Sarah said. Chuck nodded. She patted beside her, and he sat down. "Okay, this is gonna be a quick talk, because… Chuck…"

"Need a shower?" he offered. She nodded. "You know, I'm okay with how fast… or not fast… or… what we are doing. I understand."

"Do you? Because I'm not sure I do," Sarah replied. "Chuck, it's the twenty-first century. I'm not a nun, and you're not a monk."

"I know," Chuck said, nodding. "I just… I worry, a little."

"You worry if we make love that you'll have a seizure?" Sarah asked. Chuck nodded. "So, two things; first, it's very natural for desire for sex to drop, after a seizure."

"Desire is not the problem, when it comes to you, if I'm not to forward in saying that," Chuck said softly.

"You are not being to forward," Sarah replied. "Second… nah, forget it, you may think it's a line."

"I need to hear it," Chuck told her. "You cannot do that to me. Start off like that, and then… nah."

"Fine," Sarah said with a shrug. She looked him straight in the eye. "Sex is also known to reduce stress, and therefore helps ward off seizures."

Chuck couldn't help but gulp, causing her to burst out laughing. "Okay," he managed to get out.

"Especially if done right," Sarah added. Chuck's eyes bulged out of his head. "Fine, that last part was a line." Chuck started to say something but stopped. "And I believe in getting things right."

"I need a shower," Chuck croaked. He got up and headed toward the door. "A cold one."

"Let me know if you need help washing your back!" Sarah called out after him.

Chuck nearly crashed into the door.

}o{

A few days later, in Dr Freeman's office.

"So, I've read the notes sent over by your doctor," Dr Freeman began. "First, how are things?"

"Well," Chuck began. "I feel okay, and haven't had a seizure since I woke up." Dr Freeman nodded. "Of course, I had plenty in the coma." Dr Freeman nodded again, and sat there quietly, listening. "So, during my coma I dreamed that I had a computer uploaded into my brain, and had NSA and CIA handlers. And every time the computer in my brain would recognize something, I would flash," Chuck said, making finger quotes. "Turns out, it was probably me just having a seizure." Dr. Freeman sat there calmly. "Aren't you going to say anything?"

"You know, Dr Rizzo bet me a blizzard that if I said nothing for a minute, you'd blurt out everything," Dr Freeman said with a grin on his face.

"Well, she lost, because I didn't tell you that in that dream, I married the CIA agent. And it was Sarah Walker, the doctor who saved my life in real life." Dr Freeman blinked. Chuck gave a satisfied nod, and crossed his arms. "You're gonna send me to the psychiatric ward, aren't you?"

"No, but I think we have a lot to unpack here," Dr Freeman told him.

}o{

His first day back in the office felt weird… good, but weird. He began to work on plotting out the story of the new game from the notes he had been making while at home. He had another therapy appointment scheduled that afternoon. He hadn't been able to see Sarah since the day he received the fitness band. She had been busy with work. They had texted quite a bit, and facetimed a few times, but she looked exhausted. Chuck looked up to find it was nearly five o'clock, having gotten completely lost in what he was doing.

He nodded, satisfied with what he had done. Thinking for a moment, he picked up his phone and texted Sarah. Hey, if I remember right, you're off tomorrow, so, no pressure, but how would you feel about a night of pampering?

A few seconds later his phone went off. Is that code for sex? She put a few laughing emojis behind it. Not that I don't want to, but I am exhausted.

Chuck grinned and replied. I was thinking me grabbing take out of your favorite comfort food, drawing you a nice relaxing bubble bath, and then a massage. You appropriately clothed, of course.

It took a few seconds, but he finally saw dots, replying to him. I mean it, Chuck. There will be no sex, cause I will be asleep from all of that.

That's the plan he replied. His phone rang and he picked it up, grinning. "Sarah Walker's boyfriend."

"Okay, is everything alright? Have you done something stupid, only have a few days to live, what is up?" He could hear the laughter in her voice, making him feel like everything was right in the world.

"Nothing like that," Chuck told her. "It's just… I've heard Ellie say more than once after a bunch of rough shifts how she'd like to be pampered for an evening. And that's all I'm trying to do. There is no hidden agenda. I'm still putting you in the guest bed."

"No," Sarah told him. "No, tonight I'm sleeping with you… just sleeping, but with you. Understood?"

"Sarah?" he began.

"I haven't seen you, Chuck. I want to be around you. And if you want to talk – and I mean really talk –about your first session, I want to," Sarah told him.

"There's nothing much to talk about, most of it was a hear-my-story-from-my-perspective kind of thing," Chuck told her. "Tomorrow is when we begin the work. He said something about ABC may be something we try, whatever that is."

"Okay, then I will be here when you get home," Sarah told him.

"You don't-"

"I am well aware I don't have to, Chuck Bartowski." He wasn't sure how Sarah could convey she was teasing, deadly serious, and saying things in a way that was severely turning him on, all at the same time, but she was. "But when you go into therapy, sometimes things can get rough, emotionally."

"Do you think I might have a seizure?" Chuck asked.

"I don't know," Sarah admitted. "But I want to be close, just in case."

"Gurl," he said, smiling. "You just want to be close to me."

"There is that," she admitted. "Now, as for tonight-"

"Pamp. Ered." Chuck told her.

"Fine, but you do realize you are setting a standard," Sarah said.

"Oh, Sarah Walker, this is the floor," Chuck told her. "You have yet to see me pamper you." He paused for a second. "I hope that didn't come off as me being desperate."

"Oh, no," Sarah said. "I mean, I know you are for me-"

"Ha-ha," he said, trying not to giggle at their bantering.

"But to be fair, I might be a little desperate for you."

"I'm heading out to get food now, meet you at my place?"

"It's a date, Curls," she told him, and hung up.

}o{

The next afternoon, Chuck sat in the chair, the therapist off to his right. The night before, Chuck had done exactly as he said he was going to do; he pampered Sarah. She told him the next morning that she had slept better than she ever had. Chuck couldn't help but wonder how much of that had to do with her curled up against him. How did the Sarah of his coma sleep exactly like the real Sarah?

"So, how is the intimacy with you two?" Stephen asked, pulling Chuck from his thoughts.

Chuck paused for a moment to collect himself. "I've never felt closer to anyone in my life. And-and, I don't mean that because of dreams I had of her, because that's not her."

"Good," Stephen said softly. Chuck looked up at him. "I have to assume that your brain wants to compare the two."

"Yeah," Chuck said, nodding. "And sometimes they are sooooo similar. And others…" Chuck snorted. "They are nothing alike."

"Is physical intimacy an issue?" Stephen asked. Chuck pushed his lips together and tried to think of how to answer this question. "So, you haven't… made love?" Chuck shook his head. "Is this by choice?"

Chuck slowly tilted his head side-to-side, trying to think how to honestly answer that question. "I think it's more my choice than hers."

"It is quite common for sexual desire to lessen after these episodes," Stephen told him.

"Oh, it's not the desire," Chuck told him. "I'm gonna be honest, doc."

"It usually works best in these cases when you are," Stephen told him.

"I am concerned that in that moment, if I were to get lost in her…" he trailed off.

"That you'll have a seizure?" Stephen asked. Chuck shook his head.

"No," he said softly. "My dreams of that Sarah were very vivid… very."

"Ohhhh," Stephen said, nodding in understanding. "Nothing like thinking about someone else when you with someone."

"Exactly," Chuck choked out. "At least they have the same name, right?"

Stephen shook his head at that.

"Yeah, I knew that was bad even as it left my mouth. So, what do I do?"

"Have you considered… talking to her?" Stephen asked. Chuck looked at him, and couldn't help beginning to chuckle. "Communication is important." Chuck began to laugh harder. "What am I missing?"

"In my coma," Chuck said, trying to sober, "our biggest problem was not communicating – which I now realize was my brain's way of protecting me from the truth, that this wasn't real."

"Okay, that's deep," Stephen admitted. "And I get why funny. But, you understand you do have to talk to her."

"I mean, it's not the easiest conversation," Chuck pointed out. "If I say, hey Sarah, I worry if we make love that I'll get lost in us and think about me and her. And then if I say her name while we are for real, will she wonder am I saying her name or, coma Sarah's name?"

Stephen sat there a second, blinked and shook his head. "Good lord. I think it's time we try ABC Therapy."

"If you think it will help," Chuck said. "I love her doc." Stephen had been reaching for a file but stopped when Chuck said that. "I do. I love her, and I'm scared she'll think I'm in love with a dream woman that doesn't exist."

"Okay, then let's get to work."

A/N: Yeah, I'm going slow, long covid, I know, I know. The problem is ABC therapy takes a bit of explaining, and you'll see why it's so important when we explain it, but I only have so many brain cells not hurting right now to write it up. Ya'll take care of yourselves, and give Nevr some well wishes. Be back as soon as I can.