Prepare for drastic action

If Sully and Indigo’s relationship is terminal, that means nothing you do can actually ruin it, right? It would’ve died anyway without your help. Which means, if you’re the relationship doctor, you basically have a dying patient on the slab that you can try anything you want with, with no consequences.

A thrill of power tickles up your spine. You lean back in your chair, a feverish smile taking over your face. Heat rushing southwards till your jeans feel way too tight. This is going to be fun.

“I think it’s pretty clear that my relationship here isn’t going to last with how it’s going right now,” you say, acting detached and clinical.

Indigo becomes serious and touches Sullivan’s hand. “I’m sorry, Sully. I never meant for you to find out this way. The truth is, though, we were always going to have this conversation in the end.”

Sully holds Indy’s arm, a mixture of pain and disbelief on his face. “You’re doing that thing you do where you blow things out of proportion,” he denies. “We’re good for each other! I’m good for you! I can treat you better, whatever it is you need, you know I’ll do it. You know me.”

She smiles sadly. “I do. That’s how I'm sure there’s a girl out there a lot better for you than me. A girl who likes the same movies as you, a girl who’s not always dragging you down with her emotions and drama," Indy says. "A girl who’s not always challenging you to change.”

“I thought us challenging each other was the best part about us,” Sully says, his expression glum. “You make me want to be a better man.”

Indy gently removes your friend's hand from her arm. “I’m sorry, Sully. Hurting you today was the last thing I wanted to do.”

In desperation, Sully looks to you. “Isn’t there anything you can do?”

You were waiting for something like this. “Actually,” you say, leaning forward, “there is something I can try. Since I own the relationship between you two, I’m pretty sure I can change other things about it if I want. I changed Pearl’s personality just a minute ago by claiming her sassy attitude as a proof of concept.”

“Woah,” he says.

Indy reacts more critically, intrigued. “You can change our personalities to be more compatible?”

You let your gaze drift over Indy's long, supple legs left bare by her short black dress - an even better view with her sitting on the bed before you, making the dress ride very high on her dark, smoky thighs. “Maybe I don’t have to. If I told you two to break up, what would you do?”

Sully's horrified. “You wouldn’t."

“We’d break up,” Indy replies simultaneously, untroubled by the suggestion. "It's your relationship. You can end it now or whenever you want."

You glance back up Indy's body to her face, playing off you checking her out as a moment of contemplation. “No. I’m not going to end my relationship like that. It might not be in the best condition, but it's still mine, and I think I can still put it to use. The point I'm making is that it stops and goes on my say-so,” you explain. “But if I have the ability to do that, why can’t I use it to go in and fix internal issues of the relationship itself?”

Indigo leans forward, concerned. “But we both agree your relationship isn’t going to last. Why not let it play out the way it’s meant to?”

This talk over ending their relationship has Sully clenching his hands into fists. “If what we have is even a quarter as important to him as it is to me,” he grates out, “he’ll do whatever it takes to keep us together.”

Desperation. Good. That's what you want to see.

“What I’m proposing won’t be easy,” you say with a thin smile, tapping your fingers together expectantly. “We can all tell the relationship is really struggling. To have a shot at saving it, we'll have to do something drastic - the solution I have in mind is ****. You might even call it relationship surgery. And if I go ahead with this, while the relationship may have a chance, but it might come out so different on the other side that you'd have trouble recognizing it at first."

Sully lets out a tense breath. “You heard her yourself, man." Indy's two inches away from dumping me. I don't see how it can get any worse," he says, shaking his head. "Even if it's only a one-in-a-million shot, I'll take it."

Indigo is more guarded. She doesn't like the sound of relationship surgery one bit. “I don't know what you're planning, but surgery leaves scars," she says. "But... I acknowledge it's your relationship, so it's your decision, Chase. If you feel what we have - what you have - is really worth saving, then that's your decision to make. No one can choose it for you.”

“Thank you for understanding," you say.

Indigo's kindness and empathy really is something. You see why Sullivan's trying his best to hold on to her - you don't meet people like her every day. And Sully's never been as happy and passionate as he's been since he met Indigo last year. So you get it. In your best buddy's shoes, you'd be just as **** to keep Indy as he is.

You crack your neck, then lace your hands together to stretch your fingers. "I'll let you both know that I think this relationship is something special. Something worth preserving," you say. "So, let's quit beating around the bush and begin. Are you both ready?”

Indigo is visibly **** but knows she's been overruled.

Sully, meanwhile, is grimly determined. “What do you need us to do?