Against his better judgement

Begrudgingly, John lays back on the couch. He turns to Sheila and says, "if I do this, if I acknowledge what I want, it will be harder to hold back."

Sheila smiles, "then let's start with the good things. You should feel comfortable talking about those, right? Nothing will change, but if anything did, it would all be good, right?"

He grunts, noncommittally. "Fine. I told you about Sarah, right? My ex? I always felt guilty for dumping her because of my problems. I want her to be happy with another guy."

"That's very generous of you."

"I guess. It feels good to make people happy," he smiles. He is becoming increasingly relaxed, feeling his guilt start to loosen.

"See? And happiness is a good thing. It feels good to talk about what you want. And besides, even if you did change the world, you made her happy, _and _it made you happy. It's a win-win, isn't it?" This was progress. He was so rigid, she wasn't going to make any progress until he relaxed.

"Yeah, I guess so. Happiness is good. What would make you happy, Doctor MacIntyre? How can I help you? I want you to be honest with me."