Chuck vs. The Courtyard Bench

Well, in the previous chapter: The newest Rockstar Rebel for Bash At The Bench is introduced. Monique Joran. Unfortunately, when it came to honoring her with a song, he makes announcement that he's not singing. The person who is...Sarah Walker. It's that announcement that is an absolute surprise for everybody, especially to Sarah herself. Jack Burton is surprised as well but in a different way as he believes she's just embarrassing herself. In spite of his thinking concerning Sarah she ends up rocking the stage. The crowd in the courtyard and in the hospital go nuts whereas it leaves Jack so completely dumbfounded that he ends up turning off his television to try to avoid watching, as well as listening to the post celebration. In that moment, he's apparently experiencing some mental and emotional conflict due to his daughter's performance. Speak of Sarah, a hug is shared with Monique who she's been able to give a voice to knowing how she's been dealing with and fighting a form of rare throat cancer. So here are the who, what, when, why, and how for this chapter? Where does Jack go after deciding to leave his room? What he take after causing a distraction that scares a nurse? Who does Jack think about as he reflecting back on his life in a particular area of the hospital? Why is the series The West Wing involved? When will Morgan grow out of what Molly calls him after having dinner at C3? How will Sarah react when she finds out about the situation that's unfolding with her father unbeknownst to her? Read and find out! Anyways, hope you enjoy the read and leave a comment to share your own thoughts on this particular chapters. As always, reviews are awesome.

Again, if you enjoyed reading my stories and left a comment I truly appreciate it. Please continue to do so as it gives me the incentive to write more chapters.

I don't own Chuck.

Turning Point

XXX

Jack Burton's eyes slowly opened. He ended up falling asleep and he didn't know how long he was out, nor did he even care for that matter. All he really cared about was being able to ignore the sounds of joy coming from the hallway outside his open hospital room door after so many failed attempts. After blinking his eyes several times to shake out the brief haze he's experiencing from waking up, he turns his head to look out his hospital room window to see it's dark outside. Jack breathes out and faintly exhales a mixture of frustration, annoyance, anger, and so much more while lying there on his back, staring up at the ceiling in his hospital bed.

True, he can turn on the television and do some mindless channel flipping in order to entertain himself knowing every channel won't be showing the same thing. Yet, mindlessly flipping channels seems like a sane alternative to distract him from his own painfully grim reality within the surrounding confines of a dreary hospital room, but it isn't something that he would define as entertainment. Far from it. In his mind, he would rather change out of his gown into his clothes, grab his phone and then check himself out of the hospital, so that he can endure whatever entertainment out in the world while dealing with the pain, knowing if he stays it's just delaying the inevitable. His time as an immortal is ending.

A God amongst men. It's who he saw himself as and the God-like powers he wielded to mentally manipulate the lives of those who paid him tremendous amounts of money to get where they are now. For him, he's been able to stay on top of Mount Olympus and never get knocked down from it, despite countless mere mortals who had the audacity to think they had what it took to even try to dethrone him. One by one they all fell down at his feet to where they had to acknowledge the fact they were most definitely outsmarted, outclassed, outperformed, and not to mention outmatched when it comes to the facing the best spin doctor in the political world. Now, he's being taken out by something that has more control over him than he does of it, which is a thought that causes the anger to well up inside him.

It's that same anger in which he pushes then pulls himself into a seated position and despite the excruciating pain he felt while doing it, he does his best to block it out. Although it was considerably brief, the amount of physical effort and inner strength he exerted without verbally cussing out loud, to the point where he ended up alerting any of the nurses outside, drained him. While sitting there upright, he takes a moment to compose himself and catch his breath before figuring out what he'll be doing next. However, before doing that he throws off the top covers then painfully slides his legs, that are half covered by his hospital gown, off to the side.

Once his feet touch the floor, he can feel the cold and seemingly unforgiving slab of the linoleum floor. A floor that can certainly share stories of the amount of liquid, mixed or not, has been stained on it over time to where it's all mopped away. The faint stench of bleach left behind as a haunting reminder that life can truly have a foul, deathly smell and not have it be smelling sweet like a bed of roses. For his own perception of life, Jack focused on one smell and that is to achieve the smell of victory, whereas the unfortunate smell of defeat would be experienced by the opposition. A smell that he savored with a victorious smile on his lips that would end up tasting some rather expensive liquor inevitably quenching and satisfying his thirst as a reward.

Unfortunately, he's now been regulated to only drinking water. A thought that leaves a literal bad taste in his mouth. Doctor's orders and it's killing him to not have any alcoholic beverage to the point where he was literally shaking during the past few days. According to Dr. Woodcomb, he went through a significant amount of painful, and not to mention sweaty withdrawal, since his stay. It wasn't a picnic that's for sure as he experienced tremors and shakiness all over his body, headaches, anxiety, and a lot of vomiting. In other words, she wanted him to completely detox and get the alcohol out of his system, which is causing him to become even more irritated just thinking about that particular factoid. His prognosis didn't get any better from there. Why?

It's because of the damage that's been done to his own kidneys due to his constant drinking, he needs a transplant and it's absolute unknown how long of a wait he'll go through in finding a suitable match for another kidney. Unfortunately, he hasn't given the go ahead to have his name put on the donor list. Of course, he can just say he matches with his daughter, Sarah, but that would mean he would have to admit that he needs help. Plus the fact that Dr. Woodcomb seriously recommended for his own good to be put on dialysis, but he adamantly refuses to take part in it knowing the hell he's been through with the medication he's been taking. Had been taking to be exact.

In that instance, he shakes his head as he pushes up himself up into a standing position, but ends up falling right back sitting on the bed. It causes considerable pain evident by him wincing and letting out a soft growl. After taking a few deep breaths to lessen some of the pain, he makes another attempt it and successfully stands up. That part is done. Now, he directs his attention to his hospital room door that is still open. He once again prepares himself and after taking some quick deep breaths, he painfully shuffles his way over to the open doorway leading out to the hallway from his room. He stands there for a moment listening for anything or anyone but what ends up hearing for the most part is silence. So, he ventures out further by poking his head out of his room into the hallway noticing nobody to the left or right leading him to carefully step out.

Jack stands there for a moment before he turns right making his way down the hall inevitably towards the nearest nurses' station. While doing so, he tiptoes over to the other side in his free-flowing hospital gown that he made certain to tie closed in the back before he ventured out of his room. It's not long before he finds himself near the nurses' station, when he suddenly hears a couple of voices, causing him to duck into a vending machine alcove. It's a bit of tight squeeze, but there's just enough room to conceal himself there. He's in considerable pain, but at the same time taking a tremendous amount of restraint from spewing a few expletives, to where he ends up biting his bottom lip to not give up his exact location. Whilst held up in that spot, he hears the following conversation going on.

"The buzz in the hospital has finally died down about Chief Walker's performance earlier today at Bash At The Bench."

"That…she was unbelievable. It took everybody by surprise, including me. I've watched it back at least a dozen times today."

"Me too. Did you see Chuck's face?"

"Yeah. He's so proud of her. Plus, I'm positive he wanted to go up there and hug her.

"I think he wanted to kiss her, too."

"I wouldn't doubt it knowing those two. How in love they are. Those two are meant for each other."

"Definitely. I'm waiting for the day he pops the question. The hospital will lose its collective minds."

"You know Jeff and Lester have a pool going on when that will happen."

"I don't doubt that one bit knowing those two. Well, I'm off to do rounds. Are the iPads fully charged?"

"They should be. With all the hysteria earlier today…let me check. Yeah they are."

"Could you place one on top the counter for me? I have to use the ladies' room before I head off."

"Will do."

Jack waits there a moment before sliding out of his hiding spot. Once he's out, he creeps over to the edge and slowly peaks around the corner at the nurses' station. The nurse that's still there is seemingly busy taking care of something on the other side of the nurses' station. As for the iPad that the other nurse asked for, it's sitting on the counter…on the same side she's on. So, he has to do some quick thinking as he assesses the situation eyeing with determination on the counter that sitting on his side of the nurse's station. It's not long before he spots of a few charts sitting on the counter causing him to suddenly look around in order to find something that he would be able to use to help cause the momentary distraction.

Speaking of the nurse, she's checking the monitors of a couple patients when she hears a crashing sound behind her that startles her. After calming herself down, she goes to investigate what fell down on the other side of the nurses' station. What she finds are a couple charts and a crutch right beside them. This would lead the nurse in question to bend down to gather them up. While doing so, another sound causes her to lift her head and quirk her right brow. She inevitably stands up with charts and crutch in both hands leading her to look around. Her heightened state of curiosity is high so much so she starts circling the nurses' station. She's halfway around when she makes the decision to turn around and nearly runs into the same nurse who went to the bathroom moments ago scaring herself in the process.

"It's just me, Anya." she responded, expressing faint laughter on her part. While do so, she reaches out with concern to her friend and fellow co-worker. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Sorry Steph. I'm fine. Charts…" she retorted back, briefly lifting them. "…they fell. This is the culprit. I though it may have been you." Anya added, holding up the crutch with her other hand.

"Nope. Not me." Steph replied, shrugging her shoulders. "Is the iPad ready?"

"Yeah. On the counter." she responded back, motioning behind her with her head.

Steph heads off leaving Anya standing there a moment contemplating whether or not to continue investigating what happened moments ago. She's about to head back to the area where she found the charts and crutch when her focus is broken by the sound of her friend, as well as fellow co-worker, Steph.

"I don't see it."

Once again, Anya quirks her right brow causing her to turn around and head back to where Steph is standing. "It's right…." She suddenly pauses when she sees the iPad not there. "…there. I thought I put it there." Anya added, pointing at the spot where she put it.

"Are you sure?" questioned Steph crossing her arms.

"Sure I'm sure, Steph."

"Well, you can be a bit absent minded sometimes."

"Really!?"

As the conversation between the nurses continues on, the door to a nearby stairwell is closing. However, before it does, a smirk is expressed on Jack's face that would soon be replaced with an expression of pain. The man in question quietly closes the stairwell door and then stands there victorious gripping the iPad in his hands, but it would-be short-lived victory. While standing there in the landing of 4th floor he has a choice to make. A choice that is considered to be a point of no return for him and he knows that if he goes through with it, the ramifications of his actions will have a tremendously detrimental effect because of it.

XXX

The rooftop of the Westside Medical Center seems tranquil, peaceful and calm, especially at night. The steam wafting out from the hospital vents drifts up and end up disappearing into the stars illuminating the night sky. The seemingly tranquilly peaceful and calm atmosphere would suddenly be interrupted by the sound a door opening that leads out from inside the stairwell and out onto the rooftop. The person emerging out from it is none other than Jack Burton. He's looking around to see if anyone else is there and, after a few moments of scanning the rooftop, he finds nobody there, giving him the opportunity to do what needs to be done in private.

After doing a brief 180, he heads towards the edge of the rooftop completely barefoot, but doesn't care one bit that he is. When reaches it, he looks over to the see the inner courtyard. A courtyard that was previously filled with countless people who he believed were simply wasting their time watching a live performance that thoroughly annoyed him because of how incredibly loud it was to the point he somehow could feel it on the 4th floor. As he stares down into the now lighted but empty courtyard, a slew of thoughts begin swirling in his head. In a way, he's looking down into the abyss of his own darkened soul and even though there is light down in the courtyard, the light within him went dark long ago.

Every person has a turning point in life. I had mine when it came to my career, he thinks to himself. While standing there continuing to peer down into the somewhat dark abyss of the inner courtyard with iPad in hand, he recalls the conversation he had as a green, wet behind the ears, upstart in the spin doctor game. The conversation itself involved a woman who would, in a way, become a driving force to who he would eventually be considered a powerful figure head in the realm of the cutthroat political word. A woman who he highly regarded to where he would end up patterning his demeanor, attitude, and not to mention his mentality after to the point of completely changing who he was when he first started. That woman's name…Daphne Peralta.

Essentially, that would be starting point of his letter. Fortunately for him, the Hospital just started using the iPads, so the use of passwords to gain access weren't implemented yet, which was very noteworthy to him after overhearing a few of the nurses talking outside in the hallway about it. In any case, after scrolling through the apps of the iPad, he finds a word document, double taps, and begins writing by basically sharing how his career started. As he does, he turns around in order to painfully lower himself into a seated position on the side of the ledge in order to make himself a little bit more comfortable. As best as he possibly could of course. It took some doing, but he was able to do it. Afterwards, the memory of that exact moment slowly resurfaces in his mind causing him to reflect back on the first meeting between the both of them.

"What's your name, kid?" she asked, briefly eyeing him up and down.

"Jackson Burton, ma'am," he answered. His hands in his pockets to not reveal how nervous he truly was in that very moment. Of course, her fiery red hair and striking beauty added to how much of an intimidating figure she portrayed herself to be. True, she was much older than him, meaning she's a veteran in the business that he worked hard to be in. In any case, her whole demeanor and attitude added with that a sense of arrogance revealed a confident swagger, even in the way she walked up to him.

"Ma'am? How old do you think I am? Don't answer that." she immediately chimed in, raising her right finger. "You look like a schnook. Are you?"

"I don't think so? What is it?"

"You'll figure it out. Don't worry, you'll grow out of it. I'll call you Schnook for now until you prove your worth. It suits you. You married?" she asked, walking up to then standing in front of him.

"I am. A kid on the way who…"

"Don't care. Here's lesson 1, kid. You're now married to this job. It's your main priority. You're going to experience a love-hate relationship, especially with me. You'll be tested to see if you're up for the challenge in what we do…" Daphne momentarily looks around at her surroundings that she built up from scratch. "…here." she stated, raising both of her hands up to their surroundings. "…I expect a lot out of you. Are you up for the challenge?"

"Yes ma'…" Jack stops himself before completing what he was about to say. So, he quickly changes it. "I am."

"Walk with me." ordered Daphne, expressing a satisfied smirk on her lips. She then motions with her right finger for him to follow her.

While continuing to sit briefly looking behind him over the edge down into the semi-lit courtyard, he recalls walking down the seemingly crowded and bustling hallways of Phoenix Consulting, started by Daphne. It was the only consulting firm he chose among the long list to get his foot in the door. In his mind, he wanted to make a name for himself and the only way to do that was to get hired by THE consulting firm in D.C. at the time. Somehow, by some stroke of luck or whatever, he got hired. Once inside, Jack couldn't help feel like a small fish being thrown into a very dangerous pond.

That's how he was feeling on the inside, but on the outside he did his best to mask his nervousness with a look of absolute seriousness with a faint touch of arrogance evident by the slight smirk on his face. A smirk that Daphne was keenly aware and took note of while briefly stopping to talk to a number of her subordinates who are working for or with her. Of course, he did his due diligence beforehand and researched the aforementioned CEO. A woman with beauty and brains to match. Graduated with a 3.9 GPA with a degree in Political Science and minoring in Sociology from Howard University. That's was impressive, but what impressed him even more was how she conducted herself business wise.

From what he was able to dig up, Daphne Peralta was considered a prime example of being called a student of the game. She embodied being a perfectly precise practitioner when it comes to studying not only your client, but the opponent of the client as well. Strengthen your client's weakness and pick apart your opponent's in order to use it to their advantage. That's one of the ways that Phoenix Consulting was able to rise up to become THE prominent consulting firm for any up and coming spin doctor who wants to take their craft to the next level.

Unfortunately, Jack didn't have time to soak it all in, as he remembers Daphne continuing to speak to him without ever really looking behind her, causing him to pick up the pace even more. While doing so, she continued to talk while he listened and not to mention avoid bumping into people in the hallway at the same time.

"Lesson 2." Daphne bellowed, holding up two fingers. "Playing nice doesn't get you anywhere. Not in life or in the business we're in. It can be nasty. That's the reality of it. You have to get your hands dirty in order to succeed. That how you get paid the big bucks. If that means doing things that are unethical, then so be it. If you can't handle it, then you know where the door is."

"I can handle it."

"We're not in the business of making friends. We're making dreams come true. We always rise to the occasion to not allow our client's dreams to end up turning into ash. In that moment, Daphne stops in midst of the chaos happening in the hallway then turns around in order to lock eyes with Jack. "Are you still on board?"

"Till the wheels fall off."

For Jack, those 5 words he answered back to Daphne were spoken out of nervousness, as well as false arrogance and confidence. Yet, following at the feet of someone who he owed his entire career too was absolutely worth it, knowing full well it would end up costing his health. Thinking back on it, Jack couldn't help but feel like he was on his favorite series The West Wing, following behind a larger than life character like President Josiah Bartlet, played by Martin Sheen. Him, the Press Secretary C.J. Cregg, or whoever he imagined himself, walking down and talking in the hallways with, inevitably making their way to whatever section of the White House.

A crooked smile is expressed by Jack afterwards and a few moments later he would inevitably be finished typing his letter that would be left for Sarah. He then takes a deep breath and then sets the iPad down beside him on the ledge to his right. It's not long before he pushes himself into a standing position with great difficulty and pain. Granted, it was easier for him to simply sit down, but the opposite was considered more a challenge in itself. All the pain he's now experiencing, metaphorical bridges he burned both personal and professional, along his degrading health may very well be karma coming at him full force, he thinks to himself.

Jack breathes out a bit of faint laughter after thinking that, causing him to shake his head. It's at that point, he turns around in order to stare back down at the semi-lit abyss that is the courtyard. As much pain he's in right now, he knows full well that it won't compare to the pain he'll truly be in once his kidneys don't work at all to the point of a complete shutdown. His refusal to go through dialysis made sure of that, leading him to make the only logical decision in which he doesn't want to look weak in front of anybody. It's at the point while standing there, he softly breathes out the following 5 words: "Till the wheels fall off."

XXX

After the events of Bash At The Bench, Chuck along with Sarah, Emma, Molly, Ellie, Devon, Clara, Morgan, Alex, Hartley and Vivian would continue the celebration by having dinner at C3. The previously mentioned individuals are exiting out of the front entrance door after spending quality together there. Unfortunately, Chief Beckman declined due to a prior engagement with Roan Montgomery and as for her head of security, Casey, he informed his partner that he had some evaluations to finish up when it came to his security team. Sarah understood and, despite their absence, the gang had an exceptional time talking, eating, and not to mention laughing as well. What made the evening even more awesome was the entire meal was on Hartley, because of Sarah's performance, which was considered to be icing on the cake.

The aforementioned gang, along with Mr. Colt, find themselves standing outside the front entrance of C3 to where the hulking owner of the fine restaurant gently hugs Sarah, whereas Chuck is given a massive bear hug. A bear hug that has Chuck literally off his feet that end up dangling a few inches off the ground, much to the humor delight of his friends, family, as well as other individuals exiting or entering the fine dining establishment. What made the sight even more humorous was the fact that Colt, or Kingpin as the nerdy business owner knows him, was squeezing so tightly he could hardly breathe.

"You know…" Morgan said, briefly glancing at Molly standing beside him. "…it sort of resembles the scene from the new movie that came out, Despicable Me. The one where Agnes hugs the stuffed unicorn and yells out how fluffy it is. It was all thanks to Gru using his big laser gun in order win it for her." In response, Molly just stares up at him, causing the Chuck's hetero life partner to continue on. "What?"

Molly's gives off an expressive eye roll after hearing that. "You're a man-child."

"Molly!" blurted out Emma, shaking her head once again.

"What!? He is, Mom."

"I'm sorry, Morgan." she sincerely said, knowing her teenage daughter can be a handful.

As for Morgan, he's gotten used to the verbal insults that are thrown, and not to mention inflicted, his way from the teenager by now. He knows if he gets into any sort of verbal jousting with Sarah's younger sister, he won't win the battle, or the war for the matter. She's far better at it than he is. Yet, he's a glutton for punishment and puts himself into no-win situation involving Molly that he'll end up embarrassingly defeated.

"Chuck saw it too." he firmly stated, pointing at Chuck still being tightly bear hugged by Colt.

"Like I said. Man-child. Both of you are." Molly replied back pointing at Morgan first, then to Chuck who is trying to escape from Colt's embrace.

"You were there watching it with us." he retorted, raising both eyebrows.

"So." she quickly replied back, shrugging her shoulders. "At least I have an excuse. I'm a teenager. Most of all…" she briefly pauses then continues on. "…I'm a girl." Molly emphasized, briefly staring at him in a mocking manner.

Her response causes Morgan to stand there for a moment before giving his retort. He is about to, but is stopped by Alex, who simply places her right hand on his left shoulder. This would lead the bearded best friend of Chuck Bartowski to turn to his beautiful dinner date.

"It's not worth it." she calmly said, shaking her head.

"But she called me a man-child."

"You are a man-child." Alex could see that what she said stung a bit, especially coming from her. So, she tries to rectify it by leaning forward and softly placing the left palm of her hand on the right side of his cheek. "You're my man-child." she softly added, causing a wide smile to be expressed by him.

His attention on Alex would subsequently be broken the sound of Devon's voice causing him to turn to the handsome heart surgeon.

"Thanks Hartley. It's awesome of you for fitting the bill for dinner tonight."

"It's my pleasure, lad. I called and spoke with Mr. Colt personally to make some arrangements. After watching Sarah's surprising performance on today's show, I wanted to do something special." Hartley shared, proudly smiling at Sarah who is considerably preoccupied with her boyfriend in a bear hug right now.

"Special? I call it a meal fit for a king." chimed in Ellie, shaking her head in absolute disbelief. Clara in her arms and completely knocked out with her head nestled snuggly within the crook of her neck.

"Or Queen." noted Vivian, expressing a smile inevitably pointing at the blonde headed woman. "Quite marvelous, father. Thank you." Hartley simply gives a nod in response to his daughter. The only daughter of Hartley Winterbottom directs her attention to her childhood friend's loving girlfriend. "You were exceptional, Sarah. It actually brought me to tears, especially when Monique hugged you."

"I didn't expect that all. Any of it for that matter." Sarah responded back, shaking her head. For her, she's still experiencing the high of her performance and the cheers of the crowd that were chanting not only her name, but Monique's as well. "I was so nervous up there, but Monique's hug made it all worth it in the end."

"It was an absolutely splendid performance. It could go viral as the kids' say." proclaimed Vivian, giving a firm nod towards her.

"Yeah right." Sarah responded, waving off the possibility of that even happening. "Pftt. No way…you think?"

It's at that point, Chuck speaks up after finally being released from the tight bear hug by Colt. "30…." he coughed out, leading him to bend down in order to catch his breath. While doing so, he lifts his right finger leading the gang to stand there and stare at him for a few seconds.

"You okay, Chuck?" Colt inquired, in that deep tone of voice of his.

"Little brother?" questioned the eldest Bartowski sibling with a cornered look on her face. She continues cradling a slumbering Clara in her arms. "30? 30 what?"

"Don't worry, Chuckles. I know an awesome chiropractor." Devon shared, bending down to check on his brother-in-law. "I could even work out the kinks for you, especially the lower lumbar region."

Chuck gives a hearty thumbs up with his left hand without even looking up. "Doing awesome, Kingpin…El." He then waves off his brother-in-law." No need Devon. I'm fine." His head lifts up inevitably straighten himself up to where he turns his attention to the woman of the hour. "30,000 views. Last time I checked." he shared, stretching out his back while doing so. "Plus, the comments were mostly about Sarah."

"There ya go, baby girl!" Colt proudly bellowed. The deep tone of his voice causes everyone to turn their attention to the rather large restaurant owner. However, its Ellie who eyes him intently because of who she has in her arms leading the celebration amongst the inner circle to be more subdued. "My bad." Afterwards, he lowers his voice and continues on. "Listen, what I saw was a woman on stage sung her heart out and who is at a point in her life that's turning a corner. A corner full of surprises." he added, expressing a huge toothy smile down towards her.

"That's the thing though, I hate surprises." she replied, briefly shrugging her shoulders.

Her attention is briefly directed to her boyfriend who is being medically checked out by Devon even though he said he's fine. Ellie, along with everybody else, watching the both of them. From her point of view, it's considerably humorous knowing the relationship between the two of them. Her attention is suddenly redirected back to Colt when he takes a step forward and places his right hand on Sarah's left shoulder. His massive frame nearly engulfing her to the point where she's almost enveloped in his shadow.

"Life is full of surprises. One after another. Totally unexpected. You've turned a major corner earlier today and I suspect there are more to come. Trust me. I'm talking from experience here."

After saying that, Sarah takes the initiative to go in for a hug this time instead of the other way around. Plus, she avoids being bear hugged like Chuck was, even though she doesn't think he would actually do that. It's a hug that is whole heartedly accepted by Colt.

"Thanks." Sarah softly whispered.

"No problem." Colt whispered back, in that deep tone of voice of his.

The heartfelt moment between the two of them would unfortunately be interrupted by the sound of Sarah's cell phone alerting her of a call. It wouldn't be long before the star performer at Bash At The Bench fishes her phone out of her purse and sees the name on the screen. It causes her to quirk her right brow as she accepts the call then places it against her right ear.

"What's up Casey?"

As Sarah listens to what Casey has to say, the people who dined with her are suddenly transfixed at the array of facial expressions that being shown as she's continuing to listen to what's being said to her on the other end of the line. The short phone conversation between partners would be over evident by Sarah hanging up leading a concerned Chuck to step towards her then speak up.

"Sarah?"

"It's Jack." It's those two words that suddenly cause the lively group to suddenly go completely silent. "Something happened."

XXX

"What's going on, Casey? You didn't give much detail over the phone. Only that something happened to Jack." she said, with sense of concern in her voice. Molly and Emma standing right behind her. The rest of the gang thought it best to have them go instead having a group of individuals causing a stir in an already chaotically controlled environment. They would be contacted once everything settled down. "Is that why police are here as well?"

The hulking head of security is standing at the opening of the hallway that leads to the courtyard causing Sarah's state of awareness to heighten. He isn't alone as Chief Beckman is stand there as well. He doesn't say anything at first except for his usual a soft growling grunt, but then speaks up after being given the usual glare that's oftentimes exchanged between the two partners.

"It's protocol Walker. Where's Bartowski?"

"He's parking the car. Come on, spill it. What does it have to do with my dad?" questioned Sarah, as the tone in her voice sounds more serious.

In that instance, Chief Beckman chimes in. "One of the staff here who was working late saw from their window a patient standing on top of the roof of the hospital. According to him, he looked like he was going to jump."

"It's my dad…" Molly stated. "...isn't it."

"Oh dear Lord." responded Emma covering her mouth, in a shocked manner. "Don't tell me he..."

"Did he go splat?" asked the teenager, ever so bluntly with curiosity.

Casey is once again momentarily quiet then responds back. "Negative."

Although there has been a contentious relationship with Jack Burton, a sense of relief is somewhat shared amongst his family knowing how he's been gradually spiraling. They didn't know how big of a spiral until this situation happened.

"I notified the police, but informed them my security team has the situation well under control." Beckman shared, with the Walker women. "I advised them to silence their arrival in order to not spook him. We want to avoid escalating the situation even more. Plus, I had Casey order his team to keep track of his movements since he was spotted on the roof."

"Is he still there?" asked Emma, seemingly concerned about her ex. Casey simply shakes his head. "Where is he now?"

"Sitting on the bench in the courtyard." he answered, motioning with his head behind him.

Meanwhile, Chuck has just entered the front entrance of the hospital after parking the car when he suddenly alerted that he's getting a phone call. As he walking towards the nurse's station he stops noticing the name that's contacting him…Ted Roark. He wonders why he's calling now leading him to answer it.

"Mr. Roark…." Chuck answered, in a quizzical manner. "…what's up?"

"I have some news, son."

"Okay, but you caught me at a really bad time."

"My apologies, but I'll be quick. So…"

As Chuck is standing there listening to Roark share his news with him, the small group is now located at the doors leading out into the courtyard. Sarah finds herself conflicted on whether or not to talk to Jack. She's pacing back and forth in front of the doors leading out in the courtyard where Jack is sitting on a courtyard bench from what she's told. It's that particular thought in which she stops in mid stride in order to look at Casey and Chief Beckman.

"What's Jack been doing? Has he just been sitting there this whole time?" wondered Sarah.

"Your father somehow got his hands on one of our newly acquired iPads for the hospital. It's unclear what he's using it for and we were in the process of merging it with the hospital's database so the nurses can easily be able to access patient records. Plus look at X-rays and CT scans." Chief Beckman shared, thoroughly explaining the situation to her 2nd in command. "Changing of the times."

There's a brief moment of silence until Casey speaks up once again. "He could be accessing the internet."

"For what? What could he possibly be looking up?" questioned Sarah, with a mixture of confused disbelief.

"Don't know." Casey then radios in on the status of Jack. "What's the situation on Burton?"

After a few seconds of silence, someone responds back. "Still sitting on the bench and looking at the iPad, Colonel."

It's at that point, Chuck appears making his presence known to the individuals standing in front of the doors. He heads straight to Sarah and is about to talk to her when Casey speaks up.

"What? Did you get lost?"

"Awesome to see you too, Casey. Miss me?"

"Not really." he growled back, crossing his arms.

As much as Chuck would continue their usual verbal banter with one another he has more pressing matters to attend to. "So, what's up with Jack?" he asked, focused on Sarah.

In that moment, Molly decides to speak up and gives the 411 to her older sister's boyfriend. "My dad was on the roof. He was going to jump but didn't. Now he's in the courtyard sitting on the bench looking at an iPad he stole." All 5 individuals turn their attention to the 13 year old who stares right back at them. "You're welcome." she stated, with her arms crossed.

The subsequent silence would inevitably be broken by Sarah who blinks several times in order to refocus leading her attention to return to Chuck.

"I don't know what to do? What should I do?" questioned Sarah, looking lost mentally.

"Talk to him?"

"I've tried that. You know how that turned out." she answered, hearkening back to her outburst in front of the hospital.

"He's hit rock bottom, Sarah. He has no placed to go and quite frankly he has nobody except his family. You're the only best shot he has to get through to him." Chuck shared, knowing that Jack has lost everything because of his own selfishness.

Her attention on Chuck would then turn to her mother. "Mom?"

"He won't listen to me. One of the reasons that broke up our marriage. He'll possibly listen to you, sweetie." Emma responded back.

"Are you sure?"

"Who knows? Maybe." Emma responded back, shrugging her shoulders. "Try to, at least."

"Okay."

After hearing that, Casey immediately contacts his people. "Chief Walker is heading to the bench. All eyes on that bench.

After a number of confirmations are radioed back, Beckman briefly speaks to her 2nd in command. "Be careful. It's unclear what his intentions are."

"Yes, Chief."

Chuck chimes in afterwards. "I'll…" Chuck quickly corrects himself briefly looking at the people standing there alongside him. "…we'll be here for you every step of the way. We got your back." he added, giving a firm nod.

"I know."

The youngest Bartowski expresses his trademark toothy smile. It's at the point, he realizes something and speaks up before Sarah heads to talk to her father. "One more thing before you go, I got a call from Roark."

"Tell me later, I've got to talk to Jack." she replied back, placing her right hand on the door handle.

"It concerns Jack." Chuck insisted, causing Sarah to stop. Her head turning back to look at him.

Speaking of Jack, he's sitting on the aforementioned bench in the semi-lit courtyard and is watching something on the Hospital's iPad. While sitting there wearing his hospital gown and barefoot, a noticeable smile and every so often laughter is expressed as his complete focus is on the screen and nowhere else. It's that focus that ends up getting broken when he hears a familiar voice.

"Hey Jack. What are doing out here and not in your room?"

Jack doesn't say a word at first as he lowers the iPad down onto his lap face up, then lifts his head. In doing so, father and daughter lock eyes with each other in that very moment. A moment in which Sarah sees something in her father's eyes. It's not anger, bitterness, or any of that. It's something far different. She could be wrong though, knowing how deceptively manipulative he can be. Yet, she then reflects back on the conversation she had with Colt back at C3 on how her life has turned a corner in such a positive way. In her mind, this point right here could possibly be another turning of the corner, but will it also lead to a surprise that she never truly expected. That's the big question right there, she thinks to herself.

XXX


NOTE: Sorry for the delay but hope you enjoyed this chapter. What do you think? Did you expect a far different situation happening with Jack on the roof of the hospital? What do you think he's doing sitting on the bench and what is he watching on the iPad he procured? Plus, I pretty sure you all have an idea what Roark called Chuck about that lead to him stopping Sarah before going to talk to her father. Leave a review and share your thoughts! As always, a tip of the hat to NEVR for doing the beta. You rock dude!