Chuck vs. The Courtyard Bench

Well, in the previous chapter: The arrival of Jill was surprisingly shocking for Bryce, Sarah, and most definitely Chuck. Even more surprisingly shocking was that Jill revealing that she and Bryce are married or at least were married. After Sarah stepped up to take control of the situation bringing forth her Wildcard Enforcer side, they would find out it happened in Vegas. Unfortunately, it would be all too much mentally and emotionally for Chuck to handle. He runs out of there with Ellie, Sarah, and Casey following right behind him, but too late in reaching him. Why? He frantically heads into the elevator where he experiences an overwhelming sense of dread that he feels like he's going to die. Thankfully, Head Nurse Forrest was able to pull him out and take him to a secure location per orders from Casey. That secure location is where Sarah and Ellie find out from Forrest that Chuck suffered an anxiety attack that she has been suffering from as well. After getting that much needed help from Forrest, Sarah and Chuck would have a talk about seeing Dr. Dreyfus, which he would take into consideration. Unfortunately, Cole would make his presence known to Sarah, but she wouldn't be alone as Carina and Zondra are by her side. Cole says he would like to have dinner with Chuck and Sarah. So, what does she decide to do in this newest chapter? Here are the who, what, where, when, why, how's? Who doesn't like the idea of having dinner with Cole? What does Carina share with Emma that has helped the C.A.T. squad? Where is surveillance dinner being held at? Where does Chuck discreetly put the listening device being used in order for the surveillance team to listen in on the conversation they're having? Why does Chuck feel like he's experiencing a sharp jab to his heart? How does Morgan compare the way Cole and Jill's are treating CHARAH?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.

30 Foot Rule

XXX

"I can't believe you agreed to this, Sarah." said Emma, shaking her head with disappointed concern on her face. She's standing at the bottom of the stairs within the confines of the 2-story condo. Chuck, Molly, Carina, and Zondra milling about in the living room. "I don't trust him at all." she added, directing her attention upstairs.

"Neither do I." responded Chuck, with his arms crossed. His sporting black dress pants, a light blue button-down dress shirt, a black dinner jacket, and black dress shoes instead of his usual converse high tops. "Also, the feeling is mutual, Emma." nodded the nerd, agreeing to her sentiment.

"He deserves to be kicked in the nuts." Molly suggested, thinking out loud. As usual, the 13-year-old, doesn't look up and is totally focused on her phone while sitting on the couch in the living room.

"Ain't that the truth." chimed in Carina, expressing a smirk. "You've grown up so much." she added, with an impressed look on her face.

Molly pauses what's she doing on her phone, lifts her head and quirks her right brow towards her red headed "aunt" then gives her response. "I've changed a lot."

In that instance, Zondra adds herself into the conversation. "You sure have. You're like your sister." she said, standing there a few feet away from Sarah's younger sister. "I'm sure you share the same attitude."

"Yes…" the matriarch of the Walker women agreed, with a firm nod. "…the both of them can be quite the handful."

In response, Molly softly repeats what her mother said in a mocking way causing Carina to bust up laughing because she heard it. Zondra immediately reaches over with the back of her hand and slaps the red head's upper left arm. Afterwards, she sternly eyes Carina nonverbally telling her to behave, and she responds by shooting back a look of absolute innocence on her part. Their attention on each other would be broken and directed to the sound of Sarah's voice coming from the stairwell.

"I don't like it any more than you do, Mom." A few seconds later, the oldest Walker sibling emerges out into the 1st floor kitchen and heads into the living room. She's beautifully dressed in some dark, ankle length dress pants, white top with a gray, plaid color block long sleeve blazer coat over it. Black heels adorning her feet and gray plaid purse to match her blazer. When it comes to jewelry, she kept it simple with a somewhat long silver necklace, silver earrings underneath her free-flowing blonde hair, and the bracelet that Chuck gave her for her birthday that belonged to his mother around her right wrist. For her, it's considered to be more business than a friendly type ensemble because of who they're to have dinner with. "How do I look?"

"Awesome." Chuck responded, with a toothy smile. He's expecting her to light up with a smile, but unfortunately he receives the opposite of that.

Sarah gives off a frustrated sigh then rolls her eyes. "I wasn't going for awesome. I was going for imposing or I don't give a damn about anything you have to say." A whining grown is expressed leading to her briefly hang her hand down, but then lifts it back up while throwing both hands up in the air. "You know what, I'm going back upstairs to change." She turns around and is about to head upstairs when her mother stops her by grabbing her right hand.

"Listen…" Emma softly said. "…I may not agree with it, but that doesn't mean I don't understand what you're wanting out of this." she added, giving a gentle squeeze of her oldest daughter's right hand. "Closure."

Sarah expresses a tight lipped and appreciative smile as she squeezes her mom's hand back. "Something like that."

For Sarah, it's so much more than closure that she wants when it comes to dinner with Cole she begrudgingly agreed to. In her mind, she wants to prove to herself that he's incapable of getting under her skin by trying to say or do that will certainly elicit a reaction, especially knowing he is bringing along a date. True, he completely caught her off guard by his arrival and she nearly lost her cool to the point where a scene was made right in front of Bryce Larkin's private 5th floor room. However, she's truly thankful for Chuck making his presence known the way he did because he wasn't seen as a threat to him, she thought to herself.

Chuck not being seen as a threat. It's a mistake that people like Cole seem to make when it comes to first impressions and end up being absolutely surprised. Granted, it was a mistake that she made herself when she first met Chuck in the courtyard in front of the blue bench. Once she was able to find out who he is from the people who know him best and got to know him during their non-date, she instantly fell for him. In a sense, Chuck can be absolutely disarming just like Cole, but in a completely different way as he has the uncanny ability of heartwarming his way into your thoughts, feelings, and emotions.

Her thoughts are abruptly interrupted when Carina speaks up. "Don't worry, Momma E." she said stepping forward. "We got her back and the 30 foot rule." she revealed, with reassurance.

Instantly, Chuck quirks his right brow. "What's the 30 foot rule?"

"It's a rule the C.A.T. squad made back in college whenever either one of was on a date. Normally, if we wanted to get out of it because we just didn't feel the guy or the date was going bad, a call would be made and act like it's an emergency." explained Zondra. "However, when it's a guy that's just real sketchy one or all of us would be at least 30 feet away as a safety net to keep a closer eye on things." she further explained.

"30 feet? Should there be a much wider distance?" questioned Chuck, with curiosity. "I know I'm not a trained spy, but I've seen movies like James Bond and Jason Bourne doing surveillance or recon. You don't want the target knowing you're there, but at the same time are able to keep tabs on what they say or do. It's a complete surprise to the target when they find out they're being closely observed." the nerd pointed out.

Sarah chimes in to answer Chuck's query. "It depends on how crowded the area the location of the date is. Even though it's called the "30 Foot Rule"…she stated, with air quotes. "…the distance could be changed depending on the type of guy each one of us were dating. Keep your dates close…"

"…but your best friends even closer." Zondra and Carina simultaneously chimed in.

"Wow." Chuck breathed out. Afterwards, he expressed an amused chuckle then continues on. "You ladies must secretly be spies working for a three-letter government agency?" he jokingly asked.

"If we did, we'd never tell." Carina responded, with a mischievous smile. "Unless, you tied me to a chair and..."

Sarah quickly interjects before Carina finishes and causes her mother to have a stroke or a heart attack. "Anyways! The 30 foot rule has kept each of us safe."

"I'm glad you always look out for each other." softly smiled Emma. As much as she wants to include Amy since she was part of the group, the matriarch of the Walker women decides against it.

"Awesome. I should remember that when I'm on a date." Molly said, breaking her concentration away from her phone.

After hearing that, a pained expression washes all over Emma's face causing Sarah to faintly smile and breathe out an amused chuckle. Why? Sarah certainly gave her mother more than her fair share of headaches when she was Molly's age, but those headaches grew considerably larger during high school. Those teenage hormones can get the better of you when high school boys are involved, especially during a time of her rebellious stage. Yet, her father's influence in mentally manipulating and grooming her would send her down a path that she thought she'd never break away from.

"Not until you're 16 brat."

"She's right." nodded Emma, in agreement. "You're too young."

Molly groans. "So not fair." she proclaimed, rolling her eyes.

"I6!?" Carina sounds off rather surprised turning her attention to Sarah. "I remember you telling me…"

Sarah immediately shoots a glaring death stare towards Carina causing her to immediately shut up before she feels the wrath of the Wildcard Enforcer. Afterwards, she knows her mother is looking directly at her, but is intentionally avoiding eye contact. This last for a few seconds before she thankfully brings up a potentially important subject matter.

"Won't Cole spot the two of you if you're going to be there?"

"Oh, we got that covered." Zondra answered, crossing her arms. She then glances over and nods at a smiling Carina.

XXX

Chuck and Sarah are sitting side by side at table in C3 waiting for the arrival of Cole and his date who will be seated across from them. They're among fellow patrons who are enjoying their culinary feast and totally focused on their own dining pleasure with either their significant other, family, and/or friends. Unfortunately, Chuck's focus is more on the well-being of the women sitting to his left while simultaneously trying to not agitate or annoy his lady love by badly hiding the fact that she can clearly tell when he's stealing glances, as well as looking overly concerned. Essentially, it's something he's never been able to hide no matter how hard he tries, which could also be said for Sarah as well.

Speaking of his blonde beauty, she is considerably pensive and seemingly unable to get comfortable in her seat, which her nerdy boyfriend clearly notices. On the drive over to the restaurant, she knows her body language and demeanor quite possibly matches the way it did as she sat quietly in the passenger seat of Chuck's car deep within her own thoughts. In the nerd's mind, it was as if she was mentally and emotionally preparing herself for the calm before the shitstorm that is Cole Barker, he thinks to himself.

After a few more seconds of silence sitting there beside her, he makes the decision to speak up but before he does Chuck hears a voice in his Bluetooth that he placed in his right ear. "How's it going, dude?"

"It's going, Morg." answered Chuck, cracking a half-hearted grin. "What's it look like on your end?" he inquired, with considerable curiosity on his part.

"Well…" Morgan responded back. "…it looks like you and Sarah are having a miserable time right now." he observed, from where he's sitting. His iPhone sitting on the table on speaker so that Alex will be able to listen in as well.

Morgan isn't alone as he is sitting across from his dinner date, Alex. The couple has been tasked to be the surveillance team after Zondra and Carina spoke with Alex. The pediatric nurse of Westside Medical Center would then rope her bearded boyfriend into it by framing it as spy mission and he was immediately on board. Morgan most definitely considers himself the Q to Chuck's nerdy James Bond and although he is quite techy himself, it was not quite as techy as MI6's resident go-to guy of the R&D division of the British Secret Service.

"Don't listen to him, Chuck." Alex chimed in, leaning forward. "Sarah…the both of you actually have every right to be miserable." she added, sending a group message to Zondra and Carina. Both are in a specific location in the restaurant as well.

"We're not miserable!" There's a momentary pause on the other end before Morgan hears Chuck's voice again. "We're just a bit off balance that's all."

"I get it. There's definitely a disturbance in the force with Bryce, Cole, and now Jill being here. I can't believe Jill showed up and said she's married to Bryce. That's a major twist right there. It's like how Vader shockingly revealed to Luke in Empire Strikes Back that he's his father."

"It was annulled…" interjected Alex. "…so they were never really married. That's what Ellie found out." she pointed out.

"Still…" retorted Morgan, shaking his head in disbelief. He continues on briefly turning his head to visually check on Chuck and Sarah every so often. "…it's like our favorite nerd couple is going through their own version of Order 66 but without any actual Jedi death. The dark side of the force is definitely making its presence known that's for sure."

"I hate to see them both going through this. I know for sure Ellie doesn't like the fact Jill is here too." Alex shared, shaking her head. A text notification sounds off on her iPhone. After reading it and texting back she continues speaking to Morgan. "She's very concerned about Chuck and how he's going to deal with Jill just showing up out of the blue." she added, briefly glancing over Chuck and Sarah's location.

Morgan nods. "Yeah, Chuck was head over heels for Jill back in college. Unfortunately, he was so under her spell that he wasn't able to see who she really was. I'm saying this as his best friend and hetero life partner. Simply put…" Morgan pauses for a moment then continues on. "…he was a foolish Steve Urkel who ending up being with the wrong version of Laura Winslow."

"You know, I can still hear you, Morg."

In response, Morgan's face painfully scrunches up afterwards, but inevitably softens up to the point where he breathes out a relaxed sigh. "Sorry…" he stated, with remorse on his part. "…but I'm not sorry. You know it's the truth and no matter how many times you've been warned by Ellie, Devon, myself about her…you just ignored us. You didn't want to listen because you only wanted to see what you wanted to see in Jill." he added, with a hint of anger in his voice.

Chuck could clearly hear the distinct sound of anger in Morgan's voice in the Bluetooth in his right ear. They've been best friends since childhood and it's considered a rare occurrence for his shorter, bearded counterpart to show, as well as express anger. In some ways, he's always been a cheerful Muppet sidekick like Fozzy bear who does his best to put a smile on Kermit's face whenever he was discouraged after something went terribly wrong. One of those discouraging things going terribly wrong was his relationship with Miss Piggy and Kermit that looking back now as an adult was clearly toxic instead of a love story.

In any case, as much as he wants to respond back in anger discounting his family's accounts of their insights of who they truly believe Jill Roberts was and still thinks is, there's a small part of him that wants to know the truth. A truth that his former best friend and Stanford roommate has provided him with a file that he has, which he hasn't look at as of yet. Granted, he had the opportunity to find out for himself until he received a call from Sarah about their dinner date that she agreed to have with Cole and his date. In his mind, he believes she made a bad decision to have dinner with her ex, but he'll support and be there for her no matter what knowing full well Cole was potentially up to something.

His thoughts are interrupted when he suddenly feels a hand on his left forearm causing his head to turn the blonde woman seated next to him. He's about to question her about it, when the hostess approaches then stands by their table. "Here you are, Mr. Barker." she politely smiled, handing him 2 menus.

"Much appreciated, love." Cole responded, smiling back. After taking the menus from the hostess, he retrieves and gives a rather large tip to her, which is accepted by the young woman. His attention on the hostess is then directed to his ex who is still seated. "Sarah."

Sarah doesn't respond right away. She briefly sits there just staring at him with disgust, but then slowly stands up with Chuck doing the same. Afterwards, she notices something or in this particular case someone is missing. "Where's your date? Got lost in the parking lot?"

"She had to use the loo." he responded, turning around to briefly look behind him. As he does, Cole suddenly spots his aforementioned date heading towards him. "Oh, there she is now.

It's at that point, Chuck hears Morgan's voice in his right ear. "Dude, Cole's date…"

"Jill." Chuck breathed out, in disbelief.

XXX

It was awkward to say the least with Jill being Cole's date, but Chuck managed to get through the initial shock. While Cole assisted Jill to her seat, Chuck could hear Morgan's voice in his right ear blabbering away and does his best to retrieve the Bluetooth from his right ear in a discreet way for his own sanity. It was considerably awkward, but he succeeded and stuck it in his pocket for the time being. While the waitress assigned to their table was busy taking meal orders, the nerd took the opportunity of momentary distraction to retrieve the Bluetooth from his pocket and place it within the centerpiece of the table. It's fairly well hidden and the surveillance team will still be able to hear the conversation going on between the four of them, he thinks to himself. After the waitress leaves, all 4 individuals would find themselves sitting in awkward silence. The silence would abruptly be broken by Chuck focusing his question to the woman that accompanied Sarah's ex as his dinner date.

So…" Chuck began, attempting to break the ice. "…you're Cole's date?" questioned Chuck, still in disbelief.

"He offered to pay, so I couldn't pass up on the offer." replied Jill, expressing a smile towards her date. "Wow…" she said, absolutely awestruck by the ambiance of the restaurant. "…this isn't like any restaurant that Chuck ever took me to on our first date." she recalled, making herself comfortable in her seat.

After hearing that coming from Jill, it feels like a sharp jab to the heart knowing full well that at the time he couldn't afford to take her to expensive restaurants like C3. He was on scholarship at the time and at the same time worked a job at the local Buy More over there to save enough money to send back to help Ellie in any way he could financially. Jill knew that and after hearing her voice her thoughts now it leads him to believe that his older sister and everybody were probably right about her all along, he thinks to himself. However, he needs to know for sure to confirm what he's being completely blind in seeing for himself.

"Technically, our first unofficial date was actually at the Carnival." corrected Chuck. "El Compadre was our official first date."

"The Ferris Wheel." breathed out Jill. A faint smile steadily grows on her lips. "I haven't thought about that in years.

As much as he wants to smile, he focuses more on Jill sharing her thoughts regarding the restaurant he took her to. "I thought you enjoyed El Compadre. It was a couple blocks down from Stanford."

Jill shrugs her shoulders in response. "It was ok. The mariachi band was annoying, especially when they played at our table." There's a seemingly long silence shared between the former couple after she shared that with Chuck. "I did enjoy the food though." she recalled.

The demeanor and attitude that Jill gives off reflecting back on that particular moment they shared together is another sharp jab to the heart. His first date with her at El Compadre was momentously important and meticulously planned right down to talking with mariachi band beforehand about the songs they'd be playing. In a matter of seconds, Jill shit all over that memory causing a mixture of feelings swirling within him from disappointment gradually turning into anger.

His thoughts and feelings concerning the veil that's been uncovered revealing the ugly truth of Jill's true nature. It's an ugly truth that has been staring him in the face but was never able to wake up and have his eyes opened to how much of a blind fool he was, he thinks to himself. In that instance, he starts to feel that familiar tingling sensation in his hands causing him rub then flex them. After talking with Forrest, he knows its issues related to anxiety so he takes a deep breath and does his best to do the suggested exercises provided for him. Unfortunately, he's snapped out of his momentary concentration when he hears Cole's voice.

"Sarah, you don't seem to be enjoying yourself?" questioned Cole.

Sarah can't help but notices her ex flashing his trademark devilish, charming smile towards her. It was a smile so irritatingly annoying it made her want to react by punching him in the face, but it takes all of her will power to restrain herself from doing just that. Instead, she pushes that violent urge down and forces herself to smile. While doing so, she leans forward and locks eyes with Cole.

"Far from it." the blonde responded back. Sarah reaches down intertwining her right hand with her nerdy boyfriend's left. She then lifted them up inevitably placing it on the table in full view of not only Cole, but Jill as well. "I enjoy any place as long as Chuck is right there with me." Her attention is averted to the man sitting to her left and in doing so, she releases her hand from his then places it behind her boyfriend's neck. "Isn't that right, sweetie?" A soft smile flashing his way as she's gently gliding/stroking it with the tip of her fingernails causing a considerably pleasurable experience that has Chuck's eyes nearly rolling to the back of his head.

For Chuck, it's an incredibly euphoric experience leading to the anxiety issues he's dealing with to subside. He quickly comes to his senses by clearing his throat and refocuses. Afterwards, he sits there knowing the smile Sarah is exuding towards him is fake…forced and not at all genuine. She's simply doing it for Cole's benefit. However, he wouldn't dare call her on it because he doesn't want to end up having her Wildcard Enforcer side showing to shoot an icy death glare at him. So, in order to avoid a white chalk outline of his own body by the table, he just goes with it and expresses his toothy smile back at her.

"That's right…" nodded Chuck. "…sweetie." he softly breathed out, flashing his toothy smile.

The nerdy couple both hear a female voice giving a response to their public display of affection towards one another. "Awww." They turn their attention to the female in question sitting across the table. "I never would have imagined Chuck ending up with someone like..."

"Like who?"

"Like you."

"Neither can I." chimed in Cole, breathing out a faint chuckle.

Sarah instinctively wanted to go feral to claw Cole and Jill's eyes out, but her focus on her ex is suddenly broken when she feels a hand intertwining with her right hand. It takes her by surprise and after genuinely smiling at Chuck, the urge to inflict bodily harm on Cole and Jill for that matter gradually subsides leading Sarah to soften her demeanor and attitude. In Chuck's mind, he was able to quell the Wildcard Enforcer from going into Wolverine berserker mode knowing full well she most definitely was itching to be set free and be unleashed on the man she was once engaged to. Their attention on each other would subsequently be broken when Jill continues to speak.

"You could have any guy in this place. Hell, I'm sure there'd be a Mortal Kombat style tournament of death to be on a date with you."

"What's your point?" asked Sarah, quirking her right brow.

Jill is about to answer when someone approaches the table and makes their presence known. "Chuck…Sarah. Sorry to disturb you." He said, clasping his hands together apologetically.

"Brad." nodded Chuck. Sarah nodding as well acknowledging his presence.

"It seems they know you here."

"You could say that." Sarah responded back, expressing a flat tight-lipped smile towards Cole. Her attention is directed back at Brad. "Anything the matter?"

"Mr. Colt, would like to have a word with the two of you. Nothing serious. If you'll come with me and don't worry. I'll personally make sure your meals will be sent to you hot and ready to eat once you get back." he added, with assurance on his part.

"Awesome." responded Chuck, standing up and assisting Sarah to her feet. Beforehand, he makes sure to retrieve his Bluetooth that he placed within the table centerpiece while Cole and Jill were briefly distracted by Brad's presence. "Lead the way." he added, making their way around the table then following Brad.

A few moments later, Chuck and Sarah find themselves being escorted by Brad to Colt's private table. When they arrive, they find not only Mr. Colt, but Carina and Zondra sitting at his table and enjoying a rather large, as well as a seemingly expensive feast.

XXX

"Thanks Brad." nodded Chuck.

"No problem. Anything for family." he nodded back. Brad exits leaving the 5 individuals to talk with each other.

"Thelma…Louise." Chuck sarcastically greeted.

"Enjoying yourselves?" questioned Sarah, quirking her right brow over to her two C.A.T. Squad sisters. She's directing her focus more at Carina than Zondra as the red headed vixen is having her fill of a plethora of culinary delights.

"What?" Carina responded, with a mouth full of food. A glass of red wine in her right hand with the seemingly expensive looking bottle sitting in a bucket full of ice by the table.

Zondra chimes. "It wasn't my idea to order this much food." she stated, side eyeing Carina. Her attention briefly turning to the large spread of mouthwatering cuisine laid before her.

Chuck crosses his arms and then places his right hand over his face. He shakes his head in disbelief afterwards. "Sorry big guy." The youngest Bartowski sibling eventually lowers his right hand from his face to look at Colt.

In response, Colt expresses a hearty Chuck and wide smile. He then lifts up his meaty right handy and waves off Chuck's apology. "No worries. It'll be comped."

After hearing that a sense of relief is expressed on Chuck's face. "You're awesome." he breathed out, flashing his trademark toothy smile towards Colt. A few seconds later, Morgan suddenly pops into Colt's private table area, immediately getting the attention of Chuck and Sarah who turn around facing the bearded man.

"Awesome. You're both here."

"Morg? Shouldn't you be with Alex?" questioned Chuck.

"Don't worry. She's keeping an eye on the two Sith." he answered back. "If anything goes down, she'll let me…us know."

"Thanks for doing this by the way, Morgan. You didn't have do this." Sarah said.

"I wanted to." Morgan retorted. "Just think of me as Alfred helping out Bruce Wayne aka Batman…" His attention is avert to the woman standing beside his nerdy best friend. "…and Salina Kyle aka Catwoman. Unless you want to be Wonder Woman since Bruce and Diana…"

"Morgan!" interjected Sarah. She knows Morgan can get off track when he starts babbling on when it comes to pop culture references, especially regarding the Charah relationship. "We're in a bit of crunch. Colt sent Brad to get us and we're here."

"No I didn't?"

The couple turn sideways in order to look back at Cole. "You didn't?" Colt shakes his head.

"Then who did?" wondered Chuck.

"I did."

Chuck and Sarah turn their attention from Colt back to Morgan leading the both of them to wonder his reasoning behind it. This would lead Sarah to speak up first. "Why? What's wrong?" asked Sarah, with concern.

"You two." he replied, pointing at the two people standing in front of him.

The couple briefly look at each other then return their attention to Morgan. "Us?" they responded in unison.

"I hit the pause button and had to extract you guys before World War 3 started. It sounded like Cole and Jill were definitely dropping bombs on you. I'm not talking about the ones in Call of Duty." he explained, concerning the reasoning behind what he did.

The gamer side of Chuck liked his bearded best friend's metaphorical reference pertaining to one of the most popular Xbox video war games. However, the situation they're in now isn't considered to be a video game at all as there are real human emotions involved, he thinks to himself. It's those human emotions that nearly caused the couple to end up unfortunate casualties from the mental and emotional bombardment their dinner guests were dropping. Fortunately for them, the 30-foot rule worked in their favor when it came to them being taken out of a hostile environment before it erupts into an all-out explosion, so to speak.

"Good looking out dude." Chuck said, with great appreciation.

He reaches out to exchange a fist tap with his best friend since childhood. The fist tap is reciprocated by Morgan leading Sarah to speak up.

"Cole knows how to push my buttons and as for Jill…"

"Yeah" the nerd chimed in. "She stomped all over mine and it's given me a wake up call." Chuck added, shaking his head.

"Finally!" happily blurted out Morgan. His sudden but not that loud outburst causes the individuals in Colt's private table area to stare at him. He disregards the stares directed at him and focuses on his best friend. "All I'm saying is, closure is within reach." His attention goes from Chuck to Sarah. "For the both of you."

"Easier said than done, Morgan." retorted Sarah, sounding and looking frustrated.

Morgan sighs in a seemingly understanding way. "Look, they're channeling a John Kreese mindset and their mission is to sweep the leg. Cole definitely, more than Jill."

"What then? Counter with the crane kick?" Chuck jokingly remarked.

"I so want to crane kick Cole in the face." Sarah faintly mumbled. Carina's voice instantly chiming in behind the blonde.

"Do it!"

The voice of Zondra chiming in afterwards. "Hey, do you want Blondie to get arrested for assault even if the asshole deserves it?"

"I'd like to keep my restaurant a violence and arrest-free zone." Colt voiced out.

"As much as we all would love to see Cole get his ass kicked by Sarah-san…" Morgan said. "…that's not what I had in mind. Listen, it's okay to lose to your opponent, you must not to lose to fear." he added, quoting from the 3rd Karate Kid movie.

"I'm not afraid of Cole." Sarah insisted, shaking her head.

"That's not what he's saying, Sarah." Chuck instantly responded, facing her. He sees her expressing a plethora of mix emotions on his girlfriend's face. For him, the scene where Mike Barnes was verbally abusing Daniel to the point where he insults Mr. Miyagi was most definitely impactful. That's when Silver's hired stooge crossed the line. "I think what he means is that our emotions certainly got the better of us. Afraid or not. A part of us doesn't want to lose control emotionally and/or mentally, but that failed. However, we bring out the best in each other and are considered awesome when we're focused on working together to let that awesomeness out."

"He's right." proudly smiled Morgan. "You've learned well, Chuck-san." he added, straightening up then bows respectfully to him.

In response, Chuck proudly faces Morgan then straightens up inevitably reciprocating the respectful bow back to his version of Mr. Miyagi. A guy who can sometimes be very surprising when giving sage advice and wisdom.

"Thanks buddy." he said smiling. Morgan simply responds with a nod. Afterwards, he faces Sarah and as the orchestra in his head mentally ramps up to a climax he extends his right hand to her. "Let's kick ass together."

Sarah doesn't say anything at first. She momentarily stands in front of Chuck and peers up at him. A few seconds later a soft smile appears on her face as she lifts up her left hand to where it intertwines with her nerdy boyfriend's right hand. Charah leaves the private dining area to make their way back to their table with newfound insight, as well as a determined resolve to face off against Cole and Jill once again.

XXX

NOTE: Cole bringing Jill as his date to dinner. A double whammy for Chuck and Sarah that's for sure. It sure rattled Charah but in comes Morgan for the save with his Mr. Miyagi type wisdom. The dinner isn't over yet. As a matter of fact, it's just getting started so hold on to forks! Anyways, what do you think about this chapter. Also, what did you think of my version of the 30-foot rule compared to the one in the series I believe in season 3. Share your thoughts and comment. Looking forward to reading them.