Piece by Piece

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Summary: Ever since Dr. Charles was shot, Sarah's been falling apart and when she finally shatters, Ethan is there to put back the pieces together, along with friends old and new. (post 3x06, Ties That Bind) definitely Sarah/Ethan

Chapter 1

Ethan was standing in front of Sarah's apartment waiting for the young woman to answer her door.

"Hey," he said as Sarah opened the door.

"Hey," she reciprocating but did not make any move to let him in. That was all right, he just wanted to let her know about the development concerning her case… to gave her a couple of friendly words… to check how she was doing.

"How are you doing?

She shrugged.

"Anyway," he continued, a little reassuring smile creeping into his voice. "I just came by to let you know that because of his… accident… we were able to determine the source of Mr. Janichek's symptoms."

"I'm sure he is thrilled."

"He was lucky." She scoffed. "I thought you'd like to know." When, for a long time, no answer came from the woman, Ethan offered her a small smile again. "Good night, Sarah." And with that, he turned to leave.

"Ethan!" Sarah called after him when he was just about to turn to the stairs. He turned to look at her and wait for whatever she was about to say. "Would you like to come in for a drink?" She sounded uncertain and a small smile appeared on his face.

"I'd love to," he accepted the offer and started back to her.

"So," Sarah turned to him as soon as she'd closed the door. "Tea? Coffee? Water? Sorry but I don't have anything stronger."

"Tea would be fine," Ethan gave her a smile as he followed her to the small kitchen island. "Thank you!"

As Sarah prepared the tea, Ethan took his time to look around the small apartment. It was comfortable and well lived in. It was the apartment of a person who liked privacy and who enjoyed spending time indoors, among things that were familiar. It was Sarah. And he didn't need to be a shrink to know that it was a place where she felt the most comfortable.

It was disconcerting to see, then, her discomfort as she placed a mug in front of him.

They sat side by side by the island and in the silence that ensued, Ethan wondered why he had accepted the invitation which had been most probably offered as only a grateful gesture. It wasn't as if they'd been best of friends. But he cared for her, that was true.

He still remembered that young girl who first came to the ED. She looked so lost in the bustling department and so unsure of herself that he thought she would not last a week. But she proved him wrong. Granted that she could quickly get on his nerves with her stumbles in procedures and her notorious lack of people skills but he slowly came to know the young student. Contrary to what everybody would have thought of her at first sight, she was strong and determined; it just needed the right time to show.

That was why it shook him to see her fall apart in the ED.

Something was very wrong and he wanted to know what… he wanted to help her.

That was why he had come.

That was why he was still there, he realized.

"What happened in there, Sarah?" he asked finally.

"I panicked," came the sincere reply after a long pause. "He cornered me… and… I didn't know what to do to stop him. All I could see was Dr. Charles after he'd been shot. I just wanted him to leave me alone."

"I'm sorry for putting you in that situation," he offered, watching her hands grabbing her mug for dear life.

"You don't have to apologize. I'm a doctor. I should be able to deal with these situations."

"No, you shouldn't. What you did was wrong. But no one can fault you for trying to protect yourself when you feel threatened."

"No one asked why I did it…" Her voice sounded so small, "…how I felt."

"I'm asking it," Ethan said, reaching for her hand, gently prying it off of the mug. He squeezed it reassuringly and gave her a friendly smile when Sarah looked at him surprised. She did not pull her hand away, though.

"I was terrified," she finally admitted in a broken voice. "I'm terrified around strangers with no reason as it is, but when he started to yell at me and wouldn't back off… I… I panicked." Tears started to stream down her face. "I was so scared," she admitted, giving into the sobs that silently shook her body and Ethan couldn't help reaching out for her and pulling her into his arms.

"What do I do now?" Sarah finally asked, pulling away and wiping her eyes. She looked so lost.

"You take a little break and try to sort things out," Ethan offered encouragingly. The urge to calm her, to help her was suddenly so strong. "The world didn't come to an end and I'm sure that Mr. Janichek won't press charges. You'll be all right."

"I don't feel all right."

"That's why you are taking a break. Maybe what you need is a change of scenery. Have you thought about that?"

"You're saying that I should go away? What? Traveling?"

"Actually," he chuckled. "I have a better idea." Sarah looked at him as if he had grown another head. "What are you doing tomorrow afternoon?"

"Suspended, remember?"

"Then," he reached for a piece of paper that was lying on the table and grabbed a pen, "meet me here at 5." He pushed the paper in front of her. "And bring a change of clothes."

"What is there at 5?"

"Boxing training."

"Boxing training? You want me to pick up boxing?" Ethan found the frown on her face really endearing.

"No," Ethan shook his head. "I want you to get out of your apartment. To learn something new. To meet new people without the pressure of the job. And, maybe, in the meantime, to gain some confidence in dealing with other people."

"I don't know…"

"Come on, you have nothing to lose. And there are some really nice people there. I promise. Just give it a chance and if you don't like it, you don't have to come back."

"All right," Sarah agreed at last. "I'll be there," she nodded looking down at the paper in her hand again.

"Good," Ethan smiled at her and felt oddly satisfied. "I'll see you there then." And with that he stood to leave. "Try to have a rest, Sarah." He put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You'll get through this."

"Thank you."

Sarah felt nervous as she walked up to the address Ethan had given her the previous day. She knew that it was partly due to the fact that she did not exactly feel comfortable in a group of unfamiliar people. But maybe Ethan was right: it was time to meet new people. Her isolated lifestyle could easily be a factor in her anxiety. And she wouldn't be there alone, she reminded herself. Ethan would be there. It would be all right, she tried to shook off her uneasiness as she spotted Ethan in front of the building.

"I'm glad you came," he walked up to Sarah with a warm smile and gave her a quick friendly hug. It instantly made Sarah relax somewhat.

The idea of her boxing still felt ridiculous but she couldn't help but get just a little bit excited.

"Hey, if hitting something makes me feel better, I'm all for it." She shrugged with a grin.

"That wasn't what I had in mind but that's a good start. Let's go." He put a hand on her shoulder and guided her inside. "Hey, Cindy," he greeted the woman by the reception desk. "This is Sarah. A friend of mine. She'll train with us today."

"Hey there," the woman stood and offered a hand to Sarah in introduction. "I'm Cindy. If you need anything, you just come to me."

"Thank you!"

"You kids have fun!"

"We will," Ethan assured the woman and promptly guided Sarah down a corridor and pushed a door open for her. "Here we are. Changing room is two doors down the hall. Training starts at 1700 sharp."

"You didn't say that you teach boxing for kindergarteners," Sarah observed stunned, completely ignoring what he had just told her, as she watched a group of kids running around in the room.

"I'm eight," came an indignant reply from her left and she gave an incredulous look to the little boy by her side with arms cross on his chest.

"Sorry?" she offered hesitantly then turned to Ethan. "Why are we here again?"

"To learn… to train… to have fun," Ethan told her.

"You're gonna train with us?" the boy inquired with a critical look.

"You've got a problem with that?" Sarah challenged.

The boy was just about to answer but Ethan jumped in. "All right," he put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Brian, this is Sarah. Sarah, this is Brian. She'll train with us today." The boy, once again opened his mouth to say something but didn't get the chance. "And I expect you to be okay with it. And now, let's go get changed. We start in five."

Ethan showed the direction to the ladies' changing room again and Sarah turned to leave… but not before throwing a grimace in Brian's way.

"She's pretty," Brian observed with arms still crossed on his chest as Sarah turned and left.

"She is," Ethan agreed as he raised a bemused eyebrow. The boy was smitten.

"All right," Ethan spoke up when, finally, everybody gathered around him, "everybody, let's start the rounds." And with that, the kids started running in a circle. Sarah looked at Ethan with a raised eyebrow.

"Really?"

"Really," the man nodded.

"What happened to hitting something?" Sarah muttered as she reluctantly joined the running kids. Ethan smiled.

After the usual rounds of warming-up exercises, they lined up in three rows and started exercising some movements which, to Sarah at least, started to vaguely look like boxing. At this rate, they wouldn't hit anything today, she was sure. She thought about hitting Ethan. That would surely wipe that self-satisfied grin off of his face, she pondered as she passed him jumping on one leg and wildly waving with her arms to be able to stay standing.

And when she thought that it wouldn't get any worse, tennis balls were passed out. She took hers from a little girl with silent disdain. Her humiliation was about to continue.

"Why are we doing this?"

"It improves your reflexes," Brian supplied next to her. "See?" And with that, he started bouncing the ball on the floor and ran after it when he couldn't catch it.

"And it helps concentration and coordination," Ethan added.

"Then we can stop right here. I have no coordination whatsoever."

"All the more reason for you to practice. Go on," he indicated for her to join the others who were bouncing the ball with one hand then the other while trying to walk forward as fast as possible.

Sarah sighed resigned. "Just tell me something: Are we going to actually hit something today?" Ethan just laughed at that and turned to watch the group.

It became rather chaotic after that and not long after that, Sarah found herself laughing wholeheartedly while chasing after her wayward ball, trying to avoid the kids who were doing the same. She didn't feel such a failure after all.

To avoid further chaos, Ethan asked for the balls then asked the group to form three rows.

They took up the basic boxing stance and, finally, they actually started practicing… foot work. Sarah wanted to groan. And it wasn't only because she was ready to punch something… but she really did not have any coordination. Fortunately, some of the kids had the same problem and seeing their total lack of self-consciousness and steadfast will to learn, helped her to actually start enjoying herself. Nobody was judging her!

She managed to forget her discomfort so completely that, when they added a basic punch, she did not even think about her deficiencies and went with the flow with sincere enthusiasm.

"Jab, jab, right cross, body," Ethan repeated over and over as the kids moved with the rhythm.

After they'd mastered blocking as well, they were paired up to practice punching and blocking and Sarah quickly found herself face to face with a not so amused eight-year-old.

"Come on," Sarah turned to her partner. "You heard the coach." As an answer, the little boy only crossed his arms on his chest. "You've got a problem with me?"

A sharp nod then a curt reply, "You are a girl."

"And?"

"We don't hit girls. That's the first thing we learn," he explained as if Sarah were dense.

"That's very… commendable," Sarah agreed. Brian scrunched up his nose in confusion. "But your task is to try to hit me and mine is to avoid it. So, give it your best shot," she told him, taking position.

"But what if I hit you?"

"You won't. I have to avoid it, remember?"

"But what if you can't?"

"Then you'll hit me. I won't break, I promise."

"But I don't want to hit a girl."

"It won't be intentional."

"You're using a lot of big words."

"And you start repeating yourself," Sarah pointed out, lowering her hands. "Am I really arguing with a five-year-old?"

"Eight."

"Just hit me already." He did. "Ouch," Sarah looked at him stunned. "Did you just hit me?"

"You told me to," Brian shrugged.

"Yeah… When I was ready."

"Sorry. But you can hit me now."

"I won't hit a kid!"

"Are you two finished?" Ethan stopped by the pair with a bemused expression.

"He didn't want to hit me!"

"She didn't want to hit me!"

"Nobody's hitting anybody."

"He did."

"Snitch."

"All right," Ethan had a hard time containing his laughter. "What about more exercise and less talk? Let me see how you do it."

The rest of the training flew by and at the end of the session, Sarah found herself saddened by the fact that it was over. It was fun, she had to admit.

"Ouch! Why did I get that?" Ethan looked at her stunned when, after having changed, Sarah walked up to him and punch him in the shoulder.

"Because you didn't let me hit anything!"

"You didn't hear a word I said?" Sarah cocked an eyebrow at the amusement in his voice. "We come here to learn discipline and humility not to encourage violence."

"Who said anything about violence? I just wanted to hit something." It was Ethan's turn to raise an eyebrow. "All right," Sarah finally relented under his gaze. "I might have fallen off the wagon… just a little."

"Oh, you went full tilt," Ethan laughed out.

Sarah let out a puff of air but then let her lips curve into a smile. "I had fun anyway," she admitted. "Thank you."

"I'm just glad that you had a good time. Maybe I'm seeing you on Thursday?" The sincere eagerness in his voice made it real hard for Sarah to say no.

"Maybe…"

TBC

Thanks for reading!