Chapter 10: Looking Back

Summary: Happily married for 14 years, Cornelius and Franny were bound to be together forever. But the expansion of Robinson Industries puts their marriage to the test. Can they make it? Or do all good things come to an end?

Author's Note: Thank you for your reviews. It's nice to know that there are still avid readers of this fic! It keeps me motivated!

Disclaimer: I don't own 'Meet the Robinsons'.

Cornelius shifted uncomfortably in his seat a few weeks later. Franny was at the reception desk confirming their appointment with Dr. Lucy Gardiner, her friend from college who was a very experienced marriage counsellor. Bud and Lucille offered to take care of Wilbur that day. They didn't want anything to disrupt Franny and Cornelius working on their relationship.

'Yes, we have booked for weekly appointments with her,' Franny confirmed, leaning over the counter with a small smile on her face. The receptionist nodded and scanned the screen in front of her after typing a few things on the keypad.

'And will you be joining us for the standard six month program, or would you like to try the minimum three month option?' she asked. Franny swallowed before craning her neck to see Cornelius picking up a magazine and flicking through it. They'd probably need way more than six months considering the nature of their problems. Franny turned back to the receptionist and smiled.

'Six months should be fine, thank you.'

'Excellent! Just take a seat and Dr. Gardiner will call you in shortly.' Franny nodded and took a seat next to Cornelius who was immersed in an article he was reading. He pushed his slipping glasses closer to his face.

'Everything okay?' he asked, not looking away from the magazine. Franny curled her lips and clasped her hands together on her lap. She nodded.

'Franny? And you must be Cornelius!' said a soft voice. Both of them lifted their heads to see a tall, young woman with thick framed glasses smiling at them. Franny jumped to her feet.

'Lucy!' She gave her a quick hug. 'It's great to see you. This is my husband...'

'It's a pleasure to meet you.' Lucy extended her hand to meet Cornelius'. 'Come on in.'

'Well...' began Lucy, sorting papers at her desk. 'I must say that I wasn't surprised to get your call Franny. The media has been all over this, haven't they?'

'Yes... they have,' she replied timidly. She sat on the far left side of the leather sofa with her legs crossed. Cornelius sat on the far right, his fingers slowly drumming his lap.

'Well, let's get started,' Lucy continued, placing her clipboard on her desk and sitting before them. 'I like to start with a bit of a history. I usually alternate my questions. And I do this in a fast pace, because I find that this way, a more honest answer results.'

Franny raised an eyebrow.

'Cornelius, could you please tell me when you and Franny first met?' Lucy inquired, pointing at them with her pen. Cornelius coughed reluctantly.

'Uh-- at a science fair. I was twelve.' Lucy nodded fervently.

'And when did you realise you were in love with her?' Cornelius rolled his eyes. Was she serious?

'What kind of question is that?' he asked abruptly. Lucy looked indifferent.

'A pretty simple one. Answer it, please.' Cornelius shook his head.

'This is ridiculous,' he muttered. 'When are we going to talk about our problems? Isn't that what we're paying you for?' Franny stared at him with widened eyes. She mouthed his name apprehensively.

'Those are some very negative thoughts there, Cornelius,' Lucy stated. 'I only asked you a simple question.' Cornelius shook his head again. Franny's eyes darted from Lucy to Cornelius. He made no attempt to play nice. He wasn't about to spill the beans on his personal life with some stranger who had no damn idea what his life was like. Someone who had no idea what it was like to be cheated on by the love of their life.

'Well maybe that's because our marriage is on the negative side of the tracks right now!' he barked back. Franny couldn't believe what a jerk he was being.

'Just answer the question, Cornelius!' she hissed. Cornelius sighed and folded his arms. He paused before answering in a resentful tone,

'Always...'

'Sorry? Always what?' Lucy asked.

'I've- uh... always loved her...' Lucy smiled and he looked in another direction in frustration.

'Thank you Cornelius,' Lucy replied, chuckling a little. Men are always the uptight ones, she thought to herself before continuing. 'Franny, how would you describe your sex life?'

Cornelius released a groan from the base of his neck and covered his face with his hands. I cannot believe this woman! Franny swallowed before looking at Lucy with a quizzical expression on her face.

'I- uh- I don't know what you mean...' Lucy frowned. She wasn't going to be easy on them. A classic sign of a spouse that gives up at an instant, she observed. No wonder there is an invisible line between them. The probably haven't gotten to the bottom of their arguments. And I wouldn't be surprised if there was no sex happening either.

'Okay... let me break it down,' Lucy continued. 'When was the last time both of you had sex?' Franny stayed silent. She honestly couldn't remember. It had felt like a while.

'This is ridiculous...' Cornelius muttered. Lucy ignored him. Franny had a defeated expression on her face.

'Well?'

'Um...'

'Do you climax regularly?' Lucy probed. It was at this point where Cornelius felt that Lucy's questions had gone too far.

'Hey that's enough!' he exclaimed. 'Where did you graduate from, again? I'm starting to question your credibility, Lucy!'

'Let her answer the question, Cornelius,' Lucy interjected sharply, staring at him fiercely. Franny was crossed between confusion and embarrassment. I can't remember the last time Cornelius and I were intimate, so I can't even answer the second question.

'Our sex life is just fine, Dr. Gardiner!' Cornelius interrupted. Lucy pursed her lips and glared at him

'Are you still sexually attracted to your wife, Cornelius?' she asked invasively. Franny nervously awaited his response. Cornelius rolled his eyes again.

'Where the hell do you get off, Lucy?' he boomed. 'Do you enjoy worsening the problem? Let me tell you something'—

'Cornelius...' she began.

'Our sex life is none of your damn business!' he interrupted. 'We're having some problems and we are here to deal with those problems!'

'Yes, but'—

'You want a history?' he yelled, getting to his feet.

'Cornelius, please...' Franny persisted.

'Franny and I got into a fight, she got angry at me because I didn't tell her about the company going global'—

'Mr. Robinson sit down!' Lucy ordered, getting to her feet as well. Cornelius was ready to leave the room.

'...so she left and almost fucked another guy!'

Franny's eyes began to swell in tears. 'Cornelius, don't do this...' she begged. If he gave up already, then they were finished. Cornelius' voice began to waver.

'...and then our son almost died, so don't go ahead and judge us on how our damn sex life is!'

'Cornelius, sit down we haven't finished,' Lucy said calmly. Franny got to her feel and tugged on his elbow. She looked into his eyes with desperation written all over her face.

'Please...don't walk out of here!' she pleaded. He paused before rolling his eyes and sitting back down. Lucy observed their actions and scribbled on her pad again.

'Look, I think we should maybe leave it there...' Lucy concluded. 'I think the surface is still a little prickly, but I really want you guys to try being intimate at home. It'll be proof of whether Cornelius isn't bluffing when he claims that your sex like is fine. I won't be there so it won't be like some stranger is watching or judging you.' Her eyes focused on Cornelius when she uttered the last few words.

'We willdo it Dr. Gardiner,' Cornelius replied indignantly.

'And I will expect a full report next week...' she added.

'It's not like you'd know anyway,' Cornelius muttered.

'I will know if you didn't do it. I can read people pretty well,' Lucy replied.

'Oh, really?' Lucy nodded before providing a character analysis on both of them.

'You're a pretty proper guy who doesn't take chances,' she began. 'You can't imagine moving past Franny's indiscretion and you don't even know if you want to. You keep it in your mind on principle. You're the type of guy who wants to do the right thing, so you're here to fix your marriage so that you can set an example for your son. It has nothing to do with wanting to improve your marriage.'

Cornelius' mouth dropped. Lucy continued.

'And Franny wants you to open up to her and stop giving up in your marriage. She's tired of your stubbornness, but she is pretty stubborn herself. Most women would have left an unyielding man like yourself by now. But she's demonstrated that she's not going to just get up and leave you. I'd say that at least 80 percent of her being here is for you. And the latter reason is for your son.'

Franny's eyes lowered. She could feel Cornelius' eyes on her. They stayed silent for a while before Lucy piped up again.

'So if your sex life is as normal as you claim, Mr. Robinson, this week's task should be easy...'

Cornelius swallowed before putting a confident smile on his face. But the truth was that the thought of being intimate with Franny scared him. He knew that all he would think about was that faceless guy. He silently wondered how the hell he would get through it. Why didn't he just answer the damn question?

A/N: I hope you liked that! This one took a bit of time because I had a bit of writer's block. Next chapter will deal with if they can be intimate after all of the crap that's happened. I'm still wondering whether to give you guys a happy ending or not...*evil laugh*.

Don't forget to R & R!