Chuck vs. The Courtyard Bench

Well, in the previous chapter: Chuck meets with Dr. Dreyfus and the nerd discussed how his anxiety was triggered because of Bryce's arrival. It would lead into a discussion of Arthurian Mythology where Chuck finds out that Dr. Dreyfus is a fellow nerd. It then the discussion of Arthurian Mythology where Chuck compared it to the Bryce, Jill, and everyone else in his life. Dr. Dreyfus would continue to share his insights with Chuck as he shared with about thinking 4 dimensionally, which the nerd instantly associated it with the movie Back to the Future. The therapy session ended when Chuck blurted out when he pointed at Dr. Dreyfus and told him he was Merlin. The experienced therapist laughed and ended the session on an amusing note. Afterwards, Chuck and Sarah have a phone conversation that led to the Chief Operating Officer entering her office. She would find an uninvited guest sitting behind her desk...Cole. So, what happens in this chapter? Here are the who, what, where, when, why, how's? Who does movie quote does Sarah responded back with to Cole's arrogant attitude? What does Cole say that causes Sarah to actually listen to what he has to say? Where does Cole mentally take Sarah to when he tried to reason with her. When does Casey arrive and does he back up his blonde partner? Why does Chief Beckman want to see Chief Walker? How does Chuck respond when Dr. Dreyfus asked about having a particular item in his postion that he has yet to deal with? Read and find out! I 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.

Repair and Recover

XXX

"I had some time to kill before surgery," answered Cole, adorned in light blue surgeon scrubs. "Thought I'd drop by and see if you are free for lunch?" he offered, with a smug smile up towards her.

Sarah furrowed her eyebrows directly at Cole. She didn't say a word as she straightened up then side-stepped to her left. Afterwards, she made her way around over to the right corner of her desk where her ex-fiancé's feet are comfortably propped up. She stood there with her arms crossed for a moment and locked her icy death glare down towards him. A few seconds later, she uncrossed her arms then firmly pushed his feet off the right corner of her desk with her left hand. What she did nearly caused Cole not only to fall out of the chair, but at same time knocked her letter open down to the floor that sat by his feet. Although it's considered a humorous sight, she steeled herself and watched as he popped up into a standing position. The same man who cheated on her with her former best friend, Amy.

"Does that answer your question?" she said. Her continued icy death glare still locked directly at him.

In response, Cole expressed a soft chuckle that led to him holding both hands up in front of him. The British orthopedic surgeon with impeccable surgery stats cracked a cocky, arrogant smile along with a brief shake of his head. After he pressed himself back against the window/wall, Cole slid right and inevitably passed Sarah, making his way towards the sitting area of the Chief Operating Officer's office. Speaking of Sarah, she slowly turned around and never broke the icy death glare expressed on her face.

"'I'll pass' would have sufficed." remarked Cole. His back is to her as he stood by the coffee table. "Just saying." He turned around to face her and briefly shrugged his shoulders with both his hands placed at his side.

There's a momentary silence before Sarah replied back. "You don't handle rejection too well, as I recall," Sarah retorted back. "Just saying," she repeated back. She gave a slight tilt of her head and briefly arched her right eyebrow.

Cole couldn't help but chuckle after he heard that. He gave a nod back to her. "Touché."

"You didn't answer my question. Why are you really here?"

Sarah expected an answer from him but also knew he had always been the type of guy who thoroughly enjoyed making people wait, which he'd done during the remainder of their past relationship. In other words, she was trained and not like a dog, because that would be considered absolutely demeaning. In her mind, it's more like dancers who were trained and conditioned to know the choreography by repeatedly practicing. The training and conditioning she was repeatedly put through instantly kicked in with either a simple look or hand gesture by her ex whenever they were out at high profile public events. In a twisted way, it felt to her like a well-choreographed routine that automatically flowed easily between the two of them. Essentially, what Cole had done was considerably similar to what her father did to her as well, she thought to herself.

Of course, she has personal firsthand knowledge of what dancers go through because she danced ballet as a young girl, which her mother signed her up for. She recalled her love of dance reignited during her sorority days back in Georgetown when the C.A.T. squad formed a group and competed against other sororities. The training, hard work, and heated discussions were all worth it, as it brought the 4 of them closer together. For her, one of the movies that most definitely influenced her dance was Dirty Dancing starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey. She recalled as a young girl how she fell in love not only with the dance numbers and the songs in the movie, but the love story between the dancing instructor bad boy, Johnny Castle, and the very privileged Frances "Baby" Houseman. Two people with vastly different backgrounds.

In her mind, she and Cole are fairly similar in their upbringing with divorced parents. However, he lived with his father instead of his mother. Thinking back, she initially thought she met and fell in love with her bad boy surgeon, but their love story didn't end up with her running towards Cole, leaping forward and then lifted up into the air. It ended with her not having the time of her life at all. Speaking of Cole, his form of muscle memory was considered mental more than physical without having realized it until it was pointed out by someone who cared and looked out for your own best interest in mind.

A few more seconds have ticked away before Cole finally decided to answer her. "Is this some kind of power play? Luv, I've had you backed in a corner since the moment you stepped into your office?" He flashed a smile towards her that was more arrogantly annoying than charming.

Sarah doesn't give it a second thought with how she responded back to him. "Nobody puts Baby in a corner."

The look on Cole's face expressed a mixture of bewildered confusion. He shook his head at the obvious pop culture movie reference that completely flew over his head.

"Have you gone mental?" questioned Cole, who clearly saw Sarah's death glare after he said that. He immediately realized he needed a course change in the conversation knowing that it's not a good idea to call a woman crazy. Afterwards, he waved both hands in front of him and then focused on distancing himself from what he previously said. "You and I both know what you said at dinner Saturday night was purely for Chuck's benefit. That wasn't you," he pontificated, shaking his head. "At least not the Sarah Walker," He added. Cole took a step forward and then stopped. "I know."

Sarah breathed out an amused chuckle after hearing that. "You know." She shook her head afterwards in disbelief. "You thought you knew me?"

"Bollocks. I think I actually know you quite well."

"What is my favorite dance movie?" she quickly retorted back.

Cole quickly pointed at Sarah. "That's not fair," he shot back. "You know movies aren't my forte."

"Fine." She shrugged her shoulders afterwards. "What other stuff am I into," Cole opened his mouth to answer but was quickly cut off by Sarah. "Other than Harry Potter and singing," she emphasized, as she crossed her arms. While standing there waiting for his answer she actually saw his brain go into overdrive as he tried to think of something…anything. As much as she enjoyed the mental brain fart she witnessed going on before her very eyes, she threw him a softball sized question. "You've given me flowers. Which ones have made me smile when I smelled them?"

The question left Cole somewhat perplexed because he gave her so many flowers over the course of his relationship with Sarah. Speaking of the blonde Chief Operating Officer, she stood there and watched her ex go into some sort of mental seizure to the point where if she watched him long enough smoke would have suddenly billowed out of his ears. Her focus on Cole was suddenly broken when she saw and heard him snap his right finger.

After she heard that, Sarah shook her head with a mixture of angered disappointment. She then provided Cole with the actual answer." It's Gardenias. Gardenias make me smile when I smell them." He responded the way Sarah thought he would. Cole shrugged it off. "See…throughout the remainder of our relationship you were dismissive of me as a person," she softly proclaimed.

"Dismissive?" questioned Cole. "Are you bitter that I never gave you the spotlight?" In that instance, the British surgeon took a step back. "Look at you, darling," He motioned with both hands up and down. "You are the spotlight. My spotlight. When you shined, I shined."

"That," Sarah pointed out. "Right there!" she angrily stated, in a calm manner.

"What?"

For Sarah, that particular word triggered her and even though she wanted to explode on Cole right now she composed herself the best she could. She knew she needed to calm the Wildcard Enforcer side of her because if she physically harmed him in any way, a lawsuit could be filed and she would be fired. She took a moment and briefly closed her eyes. Afterwards, she took a deep breath before opening her eyes and calmly responded back.

"Referring to me as your 'spotlight,'" Sarah reiterated. The word "spotlight" emphasized in quote marks with her fingers in the air, which Cole clearly saw. "I made you shine because I was standing there with you?"

"Bright like a diamond," he retorted, giving her a nod.

"That's it? Is that all I was to you?" questioned Sarah, once again. She continued to remain calm, but with great difficulty on her part. "Just a spotlight? Your arm candy?"

Cole shook his head. "You were more than just my spotlight. As for arm candy, I would actually take it as a compliment."

If looks could kill, Cole would certainly be dead by now. "Excuse me?" Sarah growled.

The heart surgeon quickly held up both hands. "I didn't mean it that way." He paused before he continued on. "You actually assisted me in building my growing clientele."

And there it was. The truth finally came out from Cole and Sarah clearly heard it. It's the impact of that revelation which caused mixed emotions that stirred from stunned shock to anger. She was used as bait and lured in potential clients for him. She flashed back at all the times she accompanied him to an event. Whenever he stepped away there would always be someone who walked up to her and a conversation happened. The next thing she knew Cole appeared and he took over the conversation between the two of them. For her, it became quite clear she was used for his own personal benefit and that angered her. Sarah's momentary focus on the past was subsequently snapped when she heard Cole's voice.

"Honestly, you're missing one important fact here."

"And that is?"

"You're not really angry with me," Cole shared. He shook his head afterwards. "Plus, you're totally ignoring the elephant in the room."

"What elephant in the room?" Sarah asked. The intensity expressed from her furrowed eyebrows would send shivers down anyone's spine.

It's at that point, Cole stepped towards and then stood mere inches in front of Sarah. A few seconds later, his expression softened as he deeply gazed into her eyes and then flashed his trademark charming smile. "You're still in love with me."

XXX

Sarah opened her mouth to respond, but Cole stopped her as he placed his right index finger against her lips. Afterwards, he raised his eyebrows and expressed once again his charming smile. He then leaned over towards Sarah's right ear.

"Don't deny it," he softly whispered. "The reason you're angry with me is because you're still not over what we shared together. There is some small part of you that knows this to be true, Sarah," Cole added, as he leaned back and faced her once again. His left index finger lowered as he continued to speak, "Hear me out."

Cole knows he's taking a big risk but he's always considered himself a risk taker. Surgeons have always had a notorious reputation for being viewed as cocky assholes, bad boys, hot shots, mavericks, jerks, etc. A notoriously infamous reputation where surgeons have been described as a bunch of immature frat boys that somehow are able to get away with their bad and rude behavior. Granted, a valid explanation that he or any of his fellow cutters always gave back was they've got a demanding job that doesn't always go right. That or they literally have someone's life hanging in the balance in their hands, which probably gave all of them a God complex.

A God-like view that purposefully placed surgeons like himself on a pedestal above the rest of the surgical/medical staff. A staff that is able to be more easily led through the chaotic and bloody goings-on in the operating room, he thought to himself. However, he's viewed it as, once the patient has entered the operating room, you're the quintessential captain of the ship and you're the one in charge. It's a job that's also considered very demanding. There's no room for error or time to slack off. If someone did, then that person was called out on it and reprimanded in front of their peers. Personally speaking, he'd called out those who were part of his surgical staff who slacked off while in surgery and instructed that individual in question to either get their head out of their own ass or get out.

Once again, it correlated back to the bad boy mentality, he thought to himself. A mentality where achieving higher ranked surgeon stats have provided more opportunities for highly sought after surgeons who were rated the best, rather than the ones who were viewed as poorly rated. It's one of the reasons Cole chose orthopedic surgery in the area of sports medicine because of the high turnover rate among athletes, which absolutely brought in the cash. He was pretty much set for life financially and all he'd ever wanted was to have a woman who'll enjoy the financial fruits of his labor.

"A part of you truly misses the jet setting from one place to another and the lavish lifestyle that I gave you," he shared, as he worked his British charm on her. "That I could still give you."

It was at that point, Cole took a step back and turned around. He then took a couple steps forward and stood there for a moment with his hands placed at his side once again. In his mind, Cole had always had a surgical mindset in which the largest component of what had made a successful surgeon was mental skills. Essentially, a surgeon who had always maintained the ability to utilize the skillful technique of mental imagery in the medical field that was considered a high- risk occupation should most definitely be recognized. A surgeon's mental acuity should be at an elite level performance where the mental and physical reaction time matter, especially during critical, high stress situations. It's considered a mindset that he had adhered to not only in his professional life, but in his personal life as well.

For him, he had looked at life the same way when it came to surgery and it's not something he does mindlessly. True, he's performed countless surgeries over the years and knew every procedure so well that it's like being the captain on flight of your own body and you switched over to auto pilot. Of course, as a surgeon you were fully conscious and aware of everything that had happened around you even though it may not seem as if you're entirely engaged. Ultimately, surgeons, or cutters as they had been otherwise nicknamed, agreed they'd always strived to be better after every surgery. Every surgeon should continue to reach for a higher form of consciousness as it pertained to being able to open up, cut and take care of the problem that needed to be repaired.

At every moment there is in us an infinity of perceptions, unaccompanied by awareness or reflection; that is of alterations in the soul itself, of which we are unaware. It was a quote by philosopher Gottfried Leibniz. After a surgeon achieved the goal of repairing and taking care of the problem, then autopilot was disengaged to where you're recovered gradually back mentally to a state of full awareness. Fortunately for him, there haven't been any mistakes suffered by his hands whenever he found himself in autopilot mode. In any case, the same can be said when he switched on autopilot mode in his personal life, especially when it involved the relationship he shared with Sarah. He utilized that autopilot mindset with her as he fully expected that she had to adapt with his lifestyle. An expectation where no matter who it was or the location they were at he switched instantly in order to engage in a potential network business venture that was most definitely beneficial for his personal relationship.

Does that make me a bad partner? I don't think so. Does it make me look an asshole? Definitely. What he perceived as a better life for he and Sarah didn't quite turn out the way he wanted. An unfortunate mistake was made on his part and he was vilified for it. So, he believed he was given a second chance to set things right with the only woman who had called him out on his bullshit during their time together. A woman who he actually knew far better than she knew herself. It's that thought in which he focused on as he turned on his heels to face forward once again. He briefly lifted his right hand and pointed to her and with a seemingly serious expression on his face he spoke up.

"You asked me what other stuff you are into. Does it even really matter?" Cole paused briefly and looked out the window. A few seconds later, he returned his attention back to Sarah. "What does matter is that I know you're a girl," Cole stopped and corrected himself. "A woman who loved and probably still loves adventure. A woman who skydived solo in Dubai and then we made over to do some sand surfing in the Sahara. It didn't stop there as we cage dived with sharks in the waters of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. You showed no fear when they came close to the cage from what I remember."

From where Cole stood, he couldn't quite make out if the memories penetrated that tremendously tough exterior, he thought to himself. So, he shared more memories of the adventures they shared together.

"I still can't believe we went volcano boarding on the Cerro Negro in Nicaragua," he recalled, breathing out a bit of laughter.

"How about the time we paraglided over the Blue Lagoon in Oludeniz, Turkey?" Sarah shared, with a smile after she recalled that particular memory.

"Yeah that was fun," Cole nodded, with a smile. A second later, a sudden thought popped in his head. "Oh! What about the time we ziplined over Niagara Falls? We had the time of our lives. It's also the place where I proposed to you and we nearly made the spontaneous decision to get married on the boat."

"Like Jim and Pam?"

"Who?"

"They're television characters from the series The Office."

Once again, another pop culture reference that Cole didn't know or care to know about. He disregarded it and continued on. "I forgot what the boat was called?"

"The Hornblower," softly answered Sarah. "We got wet despite wearing those red raincoats. The captain asked us for our marriage license but we didn't have it."

"We didn't get married and despite that our adventures continued from there. They can continue again, Sarah."

"What?" questioned Sarah, expressing a sense of disbelief.

"Look, I know I mucked it up when I cheated on you with Amy. I own up to that," he said, as he stepped forward. He stopped and stood two feet away from her this time. "What I'm trying to show you here is that you don't belong here," he said. He shook his head and took a moment to look at his surroundings as whole. "There's no adventure." Cole paused as he locked eyes with Sarah. "If I can repair and recover what we lost then, we can start a new adventure together," he added. What he conveyed sounded genuinely heartfelt.

"Cole..."

The British born surgeon quickly reached up and placed his index finger once again against her lips. He shook his head and started leaning in as if he's about to kiss her. Fortunately for her, she had sense enough to realize this and put a stop to it, which caused Cole to suddenly stop moving his head. When he did, he felt something and then looked down to see that a letter opener held in Sarah's right hand that had been strategically placed against his manhood. He peered back up and saw her smirking at him. While she did, she took a step back, but still kept the letter opener positioned where it was.

It's at that point, the sound of a knock on her office door is heard and before Sarah could say anything it opened up with Casey stepping inside. The hulking head of security immediately noticed the precarious position that Cole was in and responded.

"Am I on time for the public castration?" grunted Casey, expressing a smirk.

Sarah shook her head. "Cole was just leaving." she stated, eyeing her ex with her Wildcard Enforcer glare towards him.

Cole didn't say a word as he looked back and forth between Casey and Sarah. Afterwards, he took a step back then made his way to the door to leave Sarah's office. However, before he exited, he stopped and locked eyes with the hospital head of security. There's a brief stare down between the two men before a faint grin is expressed towards the hulking individual who stood in front of him. Afterwards, he broke his focus on Casey then looked over his right shoulder towards the woman who stood behind her desk. The letter opener still clutched in her right hand.

"Think about what I said." After he said that, Cole exited Sarah's office.

XXX

Casey stood there and briefly looked as Sarah's office door closed before he turned back to face the Chief Operating Officer of Westside Medical Center. When he did, he saw her looking at him and noticed her right brow was arched.

"What?" the Colonel grunted. "I knew you could handle yourself. I just came in to inform you Beckman wants to see you in her office."

"She could have called me." She grinned. "Does she actually need to talk to me or was that an excuse to just come barging into my office in hopes that you'd have a reason to put your hands on Cole?" Sarah added. She placed her letter opener back down on her desk.

Casey didn't say a word as he simply expressed a grunt, which led Sarah to respond, "Awe. You're looking out for me." The proud military vet rolled his eyes and expressed a growl. He then motioned with his head to follow, telling her that their boss really does want to talk to her. "You're just a great big sugar bear aren't you," she coyly said, as Casey opened her office door.

Almost immediately, Casey shut the door and looked at Sarah. "Who told you that? I never divulged that to you. It's highly confidential. Only a select few know," he questioned back.

Sarah felt like she was being interrogated by her hulking partner. However, she responded by playfully hitting Casey's upper right arm. "Relax. I won't tell anyone. I promise," assured the blonde.

As for Casey, he expressed a suspicious grunt as he was about to follow her out the open office door and be escorted to meet with Chief Beckman. However, before she walked out Casey spoke up, "Are you going to tell Bartowski?"

Sarah stopped and turned her head to peer up at Casey. "I will. We promised each other no secrets or lies between the two of us." Afterwards, she walked out into the hallway with Casey right behind her. He expressed a grunt beforehand to respond to what Sarah shared with him. Sarah's office door eventually closed with the two co-workers headed off to Chief Beckman's office.

A few moments later Sarah sat in front of her boss and Chief Administrator of Westside Medical Center, Diane Beckman. Scooter, her executive personal assistant, stood to her left as he listened and observed the discussion that went on between the two women.

"I assure you, Chief," Sarah said. "I will not let my personal feelings towards Cole Barker become a distraction, unlike what happened with my father. My focus is first and foremost on the patients, the staff, as well as the hospital itself," she firmly declared.

"I don't doubt that. Let's call it a lesson learned shall we," Beckman retorted, with a slight nod towards her blonde counterpart. "By the way, any word on your father?"

The daughter of Jack Burton shook her head. "All I know is that he was given a new lease on life. Hopefully he doesn't screw it up, wherever he is. Lord knows second chances are hard to come by."

Beckman breathed a bit of amusement after hearing that. "I'm sure your father has taken that to heart. I know the relationship between the two of you has been, for the most part, repaired. Is it fair to say that?"

"There's truth in that, Chief," acknowledged Sarah.

"With that said," Chief Beckman paused and then briefly glanced at Scooter. "You've recovered and proven you're able to compartmentalize work and personal life to the best of your ability."

Sarah gave an appreciative smile towards her auburn haired boss. "Thank you, Chief."

After Beckman expressed a grateful nod of approval, she focused on another matter at hand. "I want to touch base with you concerning the situation this past Saturday that involved Chuck."

There was a brief moment of silence before Sarah responded. "The situation was dealt with in house and there was no cause for alarm as it didn't disrupt the flow of hospital operations. Luckily, it was the weekend so…"

In that instance, Beckman's executive personal assistant took a step forward. "It matched Casey's assessment in his report," Scooter noted, holding up the file in his right hand.

He then handed the file over to Chief Beckman who took it, then placed it down on top of her desk in front of her. Afterwards, she placed both hands on top of the aforementioned file. Her face softened as she leaned forward and spoke up.

"According to Casey's report he suffered a spastic colon that had acted up?"

Thank you, Casey. He actually put that in his report instead of the anxiety attack. I just didn't know if he would, after having a talk with him. For as much flack that Casey had given to Chuck, knowing how much he enjoyed busting chops any chance he got, her hulking partner did actually have a heart. Granted, it would be categorically denied by him because of the no nonsense reputation he had built up over time. Although he hadn't shown or expressed it, there were moments caught, if attention was not paid it could in all likelihood be missed. It was considered one of the reasons John Casey had been so well respected by his peers who deeply appreciated all that he's accomplished during his time at Westside Medical Center.

"That's correct, Chief." Sarah nodded, as she avoided smiling.

In her mind, Beckman knows there weren't any cameras installed in any of the elevators throughout the hospital. It had been considered an ongoing concern for the safety and well-being of not only the patients, but the medical staff as well of Westside Medical Center as well. However, she believed her boss viewed the 1st and 4th floor hallways cameras and saw what transpired. What she saw certainly would be quite different from what was noted down in Casey's report, she thought to herself. Plus, the fact she had practically watched Chuck grow up and already had an inclination of what happened to him in that elevator.

"Well," responded Beckman. She leaned back in her chair and continued on. "Be sure to let Mr. Bartowski know that any sort of tea helps alleviate the pain of spastic colon discomfort."

"Fiber and milk," chimed in Scooter. "Preferably almond or coconut. Either will do the trick," Beckman's executive personal assistant pointed out.

"I'll make sure to let him know," nodded Sarah, once again. She expressed an appreciative smile to Beckman and Scooter for their suggested choices in drinks to sooth a spastic colon. Afterwards, she pushed herself up into a standing position, but before she took her leave she spoke up. "Anything else to go over?"

"Nothing else. I'm just glad to hear Chuck is doing well." Beckman watched as Sarah turned around and headed towards her office door. Before her second in command left, the short statured Chief Administrator conveyed one last thing. "When you see Mr. Bartowski," The blonde Chief Operating Officer turned around and faced her boss. "Let him know Merlin originated in Welsh folklore." A hint of a knowing smile expressed on her face towards Sarah and she gave a slight nod afterwards.

It took a second before Sarah realized that Chief Beckman knew that Chuck was Dr. Dreyfus' patient. The older Walker sibling surmised that even though her seasoned therapist may not have told her old friend Chuck's name, he conveyed it in a way that told her boss all the she needed to know. The beautiful blonde smiled back and acknowledged that Beckman knew what she had known since Saturday. Afterwards, she opened the door and exited out of her boss's office. A boss that's absolutely respected, appreciated and admired for showing she genuinely cared about people, especially in a high profile position that she most definitely earned. That is rarely experienced these days.

XXX

The following morning, Chuck met with Dr. Dreyfus for another therapy session. For the experienced psychologist, the previous day turned out to be quite interesting as he shared with his patient something about himself that opened the eyes of his newest patient. What the doctor shared was he considered himself a nerd who enjoyed researching Arthurian mythology. In any case, after they briefly exchanged pleasantries the two men got comfortable prepared for whatever discussion that's going to be initiated. Dr. Dreyfus started off.

"Chuck, let's talk about Bryce."

"Ok. About what, specifically?" wondered the nerd.

"Yesterday, it seemed as if you were about to share something but held back. Is there a reason why?"

Chuck sat there for a moment on the couch and gathered his thoughts. It took a few seconds before he realized what was held back that he wanted to share with Dr. Dreyfus but decided not. Speaking of Dr. Dreyfus, he clearly saw the same zoned out thinking out loud expression that he observed in the previous session. The seasoned therapist continued to watch as his patient took a deep breath, lifted his head and looked directly at him before he spoke up.

"Bryce said he had a file that I downloaded from his phone that proved he had been telling the truth about Jill," he shared, even though he hesitated at first.

After he finished jotting it down on his notepad, Dr. Dreyfus responded, "The phone you hacked, correct?" The nerd gave a nod to acknowledge Dr. Dreyfus' query. "Have you opened the file yet?" he inquired, with keen interest on his part.

"No," Chuck replied, shaking his head. "Not yet."

"Why?" Dr. Dreyfus quickly shifted mentally to another line of questioning. "What's holding you back?"

The latter part of what Dr. Dreyfus asked, echoed within Chuck's mind. What has been holding him back from opening that file?" After Chuck shook his head, he responded to the question. "I don't know," he softly breathed out.

"I believe I have an idea," the well-respected therapist stated. "The thing is though, will what we find out together significantly repair and possibly recover a severely fractured friendship?" He paused momentarily then continued on. "Or leave it broken with the belief that it's beyond repair and there's absolutely nothing worth recovering," Dr. Dreyfus added. Every word the therapist conveyed; Chuck hung on each one of them as it gave him something to truly think about.

XXX


NOTE: I actually debated on whether to inflict physical harm on Cole with how I wrote his interaction with Sarah. Then I reconsidered because Sarah had already been suspended once for the situation involving her father at the Hospital Gala even though she didn't physical do anything. I took into account that Cole is playing a dangerous game and probably wanted a physical altercation to where she'd be suspended again or worse...fired. Instead, I wrote part of the interaction from Cole's point of view, which readers probably won't enjoy reading. Hey, you all know this fic is Charah all the way. Anyways, share your thoughts and leave a review! Thanks to NEVR for the beta!