Disclaimer: Nope, nothing's changed from the last time. I still don't own them.

Connie waited at the gate for Julie and the kids to step off the plane. She was going to rip Adam a new one when she saw him again. She didn't care what Julie said. Nothing would stop her unless Portman or Fulton held her back. And she wasn't counting on that happening. She chuckled imagining the situation. The two of them would more than likely join in.

Julie walked through the doors with Nate on her hip and Peyton holding onto her hand. She had a bag slung over one shoulder while Peyton pulled a suitcase behind her. She looked exhausted as Peyton took off at lightning speed towards Connie. Connie picked the little girl up holding her close to her.

Julie walked up to them as Peyton talked excitedly. They made their way to the baggage claim. Connie looked over at Julie giving her a concerned once over.

"You didn't bring his stroller?"

"It's in the bag." Julie said adjusting the bulky bag on her shoulder.

"You mean you're carrying him and that? Get it out of the bag and put him in it dummy."

Julie sighed as she handed him to Connie and shrugged the bag off of her shoulder. Their bags came down the conveyer belt and Julie pointed them out as she got the stroller set up. Connie watched in wonder as she got Nate adjusted.

"That big thing fits in that bag?"

"I have to fight with it, but yes."

"Unbelievable. I'm never having kids. I couldn't possibly create any as cute as these two."

Peyton scrunched up her nose as she looked up at Connie. Connie mimicked her expression as Julie watched the two of them interact.

They were outside hailing a cab a few minutes later. Julie didn't see how Connie could want to live here. Her family and most of her friends were almost a thousand miles away even if she did most of her work here, she could still work out of Minneapolis.

The cab slowly moved toward Mid-Town. People rushed down the street in their own worlds. Julie wished she had that option sometimes. She looked down at the little boy in her lap and the little girl on the other side of Connie and she was glad that she wasn't like the people outside.

They stopped outside Connie's building a few minutes later. Connie paid the cabbie as Julie got the bags from the trunk. Connie led them up the stairs as Julie carried most of the bags.

"I told you I could carry more." Connie said once they were in the loft.

"Yes you did. But what you didn't tell me was that you live five floors up or that the elevator was broken." Julie said through clenched teeth.

"Oh please, you're not mad at me. You love me." Connie said batting her eyelashes.

Julie shook her head with a smile as she took the bags into the spare bedroom.

"You have a crib in one of those bags?" Connie asked watching from the door.

"No. He's gonna sleep in the bed with me and Peyton."

Connie left her to finish unpacking. Peyton was playing quietly on the living room floor with Nate as she sat down on the couch. Nate was starting to try to crawl but all he would do was bounce up and down in the same place.

"Come Nathan, you can do it. Crawl to Sissy." Peyton said encouraging him.

He continued bouncing not listening to his sister.

"He'll do it eventually." Connie said once Peyton gave up.

She flopped down on the couch with a sigh which made Connie think of Adam. Julie walked into the room picking up Nate before sitting down with the girls.

He lifted his head to look at Connie then Peyton before laying his head on Julie's shoulder. She kissed his cheek as she ran a hand through what little hair he had.

"Peyton why don't you head back to my room? I'll put a movie on for you." Connie said breaking the silence.

Peyton nodded as Connie walked her out of the room. Julie took the baby back to their room and tried to get him to lay down for a nap. They had been going since seven that morning and she knew he would fall asleep soon.

Julie came out of the room a few minutes later and found Connie in her office. Connie didn't even look up from her drawing as Julie started to look around. Something in the corner caught her attention making her walk over to it. It's a backless emerald green dress. It's hemline was slanted so the left side stopped just below the manaquin's thigh and the right fell past her knee. It's sequins glinted in the sun filtering into the room.

"I can't imagine wearing something this nice."

"I made that with you in mind. Do you still have those silver hoop earings your dad got you while we were in school?"

"Yeah. I don't wear them that often though."

"You're going home with that dress. I would be offended if you didn't."

"Well, I guess I can't say no then. Can I?"

"No." Connie said shaking her head.

"You don't mind if I hang in here while you work?"

"Uh uh, I can always use constructive feedback."

Connie handed her a sketch pad and Julie started going through it making notes in the corners. They spent the afternoon talking and laughing. They talked like they did when they were in school. They acted like teenagers, it was what Julie needed.

XXXX

Adam looked around the room one last time before picking up his last box. He didn't like that it had come to this. He hoped that Julie would eventually forgive him. He had left the letter he had written on the island. He'd call before he sent the papers he was having drawn up. He had lied to himself long enough. His problems weren't going to go away on their own. He had a long road ahead of him before he could say that he was finally happy with things.

With all of his things in the car he got behind the wheel. He stared up at the house as he thought of all the things that had happened in the house. They had moved in not long after they had gotten married. He remembered bringing both of their children home for the first time. He wasn't just walking out on Julie, he was walking out on Peyton and Nate as well. Could he really live with that?

He wished his mother had had the nerve to walk out on his dad sooner. His brother and sister were still at home at the end of their marriage. They shouldn't have had to deal with that. He knew he was taking the easy way out. But it was better than putting his kids through the emotional damage he'd had to deal with when he was younger.

With his resolve in place he started the car and pulled out of the driveway. He looked up at the house one last time before pulling away. He would get help as soon as possible and face his demons. He wouldn't come near Peyton or Nate until he had dealt with them.

XXXX

Julie didn't know why she was calling him, she already knew what he would say. But as she waited for him to pick up she just wanted to hear his voice. His opinion mattered, even if he was biased.

"Hello?"

"I'm glad I caught you."

"Hey Jules."

"I need you're advice."

"You seem to be needing that a lot lately."

"Don't make me regret calling you Portman."

"Whatcha need?"

"Things are worse than I thought with Adam."

"What happened?"

"I'm in New York."

"You left him?" He asked sounding shocked.

"No. I needed a break. I couldn't handle being around him, so the kids and I are staying with Connie for a couple weeks."

"What would make you leave?"

"He's changed. He's not the person I married."

"You don't think he's cheating on you do you?"

"No, he wouldn't be able to keep something like that from me. He's got a guilty conscience."

"What do you think it is?"

"I honestly don't know. I talked to Charlie and Guy a little while ago. Guy doesn't know anything. But the way Charlie was acting makes me think he knows something."

"You want me to talk to him?"

"No. He probably thinks it's not his place to tell me. Which means it's serious."

"I don't know what to tell you. But you did the right thing when you left. You'll be level headed when you have to face Adam again. And maybe he'll be ready to tell you what's going on by then."

Julie listened on the other end wishing that things hadn't come to this. Things had always been intense between her and Adam. But they had never fought as much as they had in the past few months. She wished she knew what to do to fix things between them.

You'll find out where Adam went in the next chapter. I can tell you now, he's not with Charlie. That's all I'll tell you.