Author's Note: I've written a few more these, most of them coinsiding with "Bring it On" the latest story in the series. This one does not. It's just really sad, but I felt like it was a story that I never really covered in the full lengths, or in any of the songs, so here it is.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the songs or Duck characters, I do own my OCs

Timeline: The day of Julie and Adam's divorce, and the year leading up to their split.

Situation: Julie and Adam both think back on the deterioration of their marriage, and talk to each other about what went wrong.

Format: Song Lyrics, Flashback, Present

Song: My City of Ruins by Bruce Springsteen

There's a blood red circle
On the cold dark ground
And the rain is falling down
The church door's thrown open
I can hear the organ's song
But the congregation's gone

"Hey," Heather walked in to the apartment she and Julie had been sharing in New York, "I got Chinese," she looked over and saw Julie crying on the couch. "What's wrong." Julie pointed to the coffee table. "Papers." She nodded.

"I signed them," She sighed, "I'm single, well, almost, as long as Adam signs his." She sniffed.

"Oh sweetie," Heather sat down with her, "You want to go out, or rent a movie and eat way too much?"

"No," Julie shook her head. "I'm going to church."

My city of ruins
My city of ruins

Julie walked down the street towards the church. She went a lot now, it helped, made her feel better. She walked in the doors and knelt in a pew. She blessed herself. She was still so broken, but it was over, she signed it away. She was starting over.

"You're late," Julie was sitting on the couch.

"Work," Adam sighed. "I got slammed."

"Right," She stood up and walked to the kitchen. She turned off the stove.

"You didn't have to wait," he said.

"I didn't," she said turning around. "Enjoy your dinner." She walked up the stairs.

My city of ruins
My city of ruins

Adam opened the mailbox on his way in from work. Three months and it never got any easier. He saw the thick manila envelope. He knew what it was, he couldn't deal with that right now, he picked it up and walked into the house.

"Hey," Charlie was on his couch.

"You know you don't live here right?" Adam sighed.

"Giving me a key was the worst idea you've ever had," He laughed. "You really want to sell this place?"

"Yep," Adam sighed, dropping the envelope on the coffee table and sitting down, "And after tonight, I'll be able to."

"Is that them?" Charlie asked, Adam nodded "Jeez that sucks."

"My marriage is over," Adam said, "Officially."

"Julie," he walked into the bedroom where she was laying in bed, "I'm sorry I was late."

"It's fine," she said, halfheartedly. "I mean, your job is important." He lay down next to her and kissed her softly. "Not tonight, Adam." She turned away from him.

"Julie," he sighed, "It's been a month."

"Has it?" She said, "Oh." She knew how long it had been, she was missing it too. "I'm just not in the mood."

"Fine," he said quietly, "I'm going to meet Charlie. I'll see you later."

"Fine," she said indignantly, pulling the blanket higher onto her shoulder.

Come on rise up! Come on rise up!
Come on rise up! Come on rise up!

"Julie," the young priest who presided over the parish came up behind her, she jumped. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. We weren't expecting you today."

"My divorce papers came today," she explained. "I needed to be away. I can't believe I'm not married anymore."

"From what you've said, it seems like you haven't been married for a long time." He said. "Have you spoken to your husband?"

"Not since the papers were filed," She said. "I miss him, I miss him so much sometimes."

"Maybe you should call him," he smiled, "I'm sure he misses you too." Julie closed her eyes, it had been so long since she even thought about speaking to Adam.

Adam lay in bed, their bed, by himself. He would be grateful to sell this house. He hated being in it, hated the largeness, the emptiness of it. Without Julie, without the kids they had always talked about, it was pointless to stay here, not to mention too painful. Every inch of every room was filled with memories. Some wonderful, some painful, but all of them haunted him, made him yearn for something. He still woke up in the night reaching for her, it killed him, the empty space next to him. The silence broke with a phone call.

"Hello?" He said picking it up.

"Did you sign your copy?" It had been months since he heard her voice.

"Julie," He said, "I, I did."

"I miss you," She whimpered.

"I miss you too," He said quietly.

My city's in ruins
My city's in ruins

They sat in silence eating, the only noise their silver wear scratching against the plate. Julie looked up angrily occasionally, another week had gone by, more nights of fighting, and for her, something that had never happened before, he rejected her.

"So," she finally broke the silence, "Are you feeling better tonight?"

"Yes," he said shortly. He didn't want to discuss this, it was bad enough that she sent him away night after night, but the first time in months that she wanted to he hadn't been able, it was embarrassing. "How's Luis?"

"Excuse me?" She said, wondering what he meant. She hadn't said anything about their recent string of conversations.

"I saw the phone bill," He said, "You two have been talking?"

"I needed to talk to someone," she said.

"You have other friends," Adam pointed out. "Why don't you talk to them?"

"Who are these other friends?" Julie asked, "Heather's too busy to talk to me, so she's out. I'm not even sure where Connie is anymore. And if you say those women from the club I'll kill you."

"Is this about the baby?" He finally sighed and said. She dropped her silver wear and picked up her plate.

"It's not always about that Adam," she said, "Maybe it's about me."

"How are you?" Julie asked. "I mean, besides the obvious."

"I'm all right," he said, "I'm putting the house up."

"Oh," she said quietly, "But you love that house."

"Julie, I loved what the house represented," he said, "the house meant you, and our family. That's not there anymore. How are you?"

"Good," she said, "Heather's been taking care of me."

"Are you working?" He asked, it was one of the main things that had driven her away, she felt unfulfilled.

With these hands
With these hands
I pray for the strength, Lord
With these hands
With these hands
I pray for the faith, Lord

"I've been writing," she said, "Freelance magazine mostly, but I have a couple of applications out, at publishing companies and newspapers."

"That's good," He said, he didn't want to ask the next question, but something in him told him he had to. "Are you dating?"

"No," she sighed, "You?"

"No," he said, "I miss you."

"You said that already," Julie whispered.

"It's still true," he said.

With these hands
With these hands
I pray for your love, Lord

"Portman's in love with me," she said. "Heather said he always has been."

"Wow, that's something I want to hear," Adam sighed. She laughed awkwardly, "When did you find out?"

"He called me, I don't know," she sighed, "It's weird, I never thought, I mean, we kissed once, but that was a long time ago."

"We were thirteen," Adam nodded. "You're a hard person to get out of a heart Julie Gaffney."

"Oh! And Scooter got married!" She said, "Remember Sandy? They got married." She stopped, "Do you think if we had waited longer, maybe things would have turned out differently?"

With these hands
With these hands
I pray for the strength, Lord

"I'm home," Adam whispered, kissing Julie as she lay in bed, waking her from her rare and sporadic sleep.

"What time is it?" She mumbled. He kept kissing her. "Baby, no," she pulled away. "I'm a mess, and it's late, tomorrow, I promise."

"You're not a mess," he said, "You're beautiful."

"Well, that's very sweet," she smiled, "But that doesn't take away from the tired and late. Tomorrow, ok?"

"How many more tomorrows are there going to be?" He asked.

"Last week, before you left you said something," she said quietly, "About not wanting a baby?"

"Julie," he groaned, "It's late, I've been away, you're tired,"

"Did you mean it?" She said, "Do you really not want a family anymore?"

"I'm not sure we're ready for it," he said, "I don't know that I ever will be." She started to cry, "Hey," he said, "Lots of people have great lives, without kids, and maybe we should consider that option."

"Adam, I have nothing," she whimpered, "I have no career, I have no friends, all I have is the dream of a family," she put her hand to his cheek, "with you."

"You have me," he kissed her hand, "Isn't that enough?"

With these hands
With these hands
I pray for your love, Lord
With these hands
With these hands
I pray for the faith, Lord

"I don't know Julie," he sighed, "It doesn't matter now does it?"

"I guess not," she said, "Adam?"

"Yes?" He said.

"You'd be a great father," she said, "If you decide you want it."

"I'm not sure about that," he laughed, "But you will be a wonderful mother." They sat in silence, for a minute. "I'm glad you called."

"I'm glad I did too," she said. "Am I allowed to say that I love you?"

"I hope so, because you beat me to it," he laughed, "Keep in touch, OK? And I'm not just saying that. Call whenever."

"Same to you," she said. "Bye."

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