In 2012, Jack Abbott, one of Genoa City's leading citizens, was shot by his former wife Patty Williams. With the bullet lodged next to his lower spine, he was taken into surgery, nearly died, and left paralyzed. Jack began his physical therapy, refusing to believe that he would never walk again. When he spotted a therapist everyone called Sarge who was ruthless with his patients, Jack publicly admonished him for being heartless. But when he saw the man get results, he hired him for himself. Jack wanted to go home from the hospital, but Sarge would not allow it until Jack could lift himself from his wheelchair onto a chair. Channeling his anger into his therapy Jack managed to do so, and was allowed to leave. Jack still struggled with his physical therapy with "Sarge," who continued to work with Jack at Abbott Manor.

Sarge and Jack became friends, and Sarge confided that when he was a kid he was street racing and crashed the car. He only received cuts, but his passenger had been his brother who ended up in a wheelchair. Sarge had become a physical therapist as a result, but his brother refused his help. He admitted that his real name was Augustus, his brother being the only person he had allowed to call him by his childhood name of "Augie". On the anniversary of the 911 attack on the New York City World Trade Center, Sarge also confided that he had lost a loved one in the disaster.

Sarge was occasionally seen at Crimson Lights Coffee Shop where he met "Harmony" Hamilton. Harmony remembered him from her AA meetings, and she confided that she was craving a hit on a crack pipe. Sarge listened to her and gave her advice, but after he admitted that he was not an addict, but went to AA to support a patient, Harmony got upset, told him that her life was none of his business, and left. On another occasion, Sarge witnessed Harmony being approached by her old drug dealer, but down as she was on herself, she managed to just say no. Sarge congratulated her, offered his support, and they became friends.

Jack became frustrated with his therapy and decided to have a dangerous operation to remove the bullet from his spine, then to regenerate the nerves with stem cells, but his family tried to talk him out of it. Jack decided not have the risky surgery and returned to therapy with Sarge. Jack was elated when he thought he felt his toe move, but when his neurologist seemed to feel it was psychosomatic, he was crushed and ready to give up. But Sarge was encouraged by it. Jack's brother Billy convinced Jack to fight and prove them all wrong. Later they were further encouraged when Jack's housekeeper accidentally stepped on his foot, and Jack felt it.

As Jack and Nikki made their wedding plans, Jack experienced a breakthrough, and was able to begin to walk again. Jack asked Sarge to help him keep it secret, hoping to be able to stand at the marriage ceremony. As Nikki walked down the aisle on her son Nick's arm, she was shocked as Jack rose from his wheelchair to receive his bride, and Sarge beamed at Jack's triumph.

Once able to walk again, Jack gave his wheelchairs and transfer boards to Sarge to find a worthy donor, and he asked about donating his car with hand controls to Sarge's paralyzed brother. To which Sarge finally admitted that his brother had died years ago in a car accident.

During a conversation with Harmony, she told Sarge that her real name was Yolanda, that she was from Seattle, and how she used to be a band groupie and got into drugs. Sarge told her that he was from Pittsburgh, and that he had seen her there long ago, at a party on Elm Street. Harmony said she didn't remember him, and he replied that he didn't think she would. At home later, Sarge pulled out an old hand-written note which he had kept that said, "Wish things could have been different. I'm sorry. Yolanda." But not long afterward, Harmony suddenly tracked down Neil, explained that her daughter Ana was having trouble in school and needed her mother "out east", kissed him goodbye, and left.

After Jack survived the risky surgery to remove the bullet from his spine, although told to take it easy for a few days and in severe pain, Jack called Sarge to start physical therapy again. But Sarge told him to get into bed, call him in a few days, and left. Of course Jack would not slow down, doing business from his living room, and popping pills to kill the pain.

Before Sarge left to upstate New York for awhile, Jack gave Sarge's nephew, Mason Wilder, a job as assistant to the CEO at Newman. When Sarge returned, he found Mason plotting with Victor Newman to spy on Jack and Adam in exchange for an executive job when Victor would take over Newman again. Sarge warned Mason that he was going to get in trouble, and that his job was secured as a favor to him.

Since then Adam discovered Mason plotting with Victor and fired him. Nick witnessed Mason asking for his job back and felt sorry for Mason who had become collateral damage in another of Victor's plots, and offered him a job at his bar The Underground. But instead Mason showed up at Jabot asking Jack for another chance to work for him. Sarge returned a couple months later, proud that Mason had not done what Victor had asked, but disappointed to hear Mason admit that in hindsight he wished he had. Mason said he had learned that he needed to play dirty to end up a big dog like Victor. Sarge went to Jack and told him about Mason, and asked for advice to help Mason. Jack said that he would talk to Mason.