Author's Note: Wow, I have nothing to say really. I know the Jason thing seemed a little too easy, but I didn't want to get bogged down in it. I really want to get to the Java Junky goodness. Thanks for the reviews. Keep them coming. I know its cliche but they really do make me want to write faster.

On with the story . . .



Chapter 7: Evolution



Nicole sat at her desk, trying to concentrate on her latest case. She had been distracted all morning. How long would Luke take to "think about it?" She picked up the phone. What was she doing? It had only been a day. She reminded herself not to smother him. She put the phone back down. He was her husband. What did he have to think about? She knew exactly what he had to think about, but she refused to admit it. She wasn't going to give him the chance to think about that. She picked the phone up again and dialed.

She listened to it ring. Once. Twice. She was just about to hang up when he answered.

"Luke's" He sounded like he was in the middle of something. Maybe it was just the lunch rush.

"Hey Luke. It's me." She forced her voice to sound casual. "I was just calling to-"

"Just a minute" Luke interrupted. She heard muffled noises and guessed his hand was over the phone. For a second she thought he was just helping a customer. Then she heard voices. There was Luke's and then there was another. A female voice. It sounded like a conversation. She couldn't make out the words, but the tone came across loud and clear. It was sweet and affectionate. Light and teasing, but serious nonetheless. There was only one woman Nicole could think of that Luke would talk to that way. She knew getting angry would do no good. Luke didn't respond well to her jealousy, but she couldn't help it. She could never seem to get away from her. Before she had a chance to get really upset, Luke was back.

"Sorry about that. Customers" he explained.

"Yeah" she agreed.

"What were you saying?"

"Oh, I was just calling to see how you were," she said remembering why she had called in the first place.

Luke rolled his eyes, glad she couldn't see him. He knew exactly why she was calling. He refused to be badgered into an answer.

"I'm fine," he said feigning ignorance. "Just working as usual."

"Oh. And how's that going?" Nicole cringed at her own transparency. At least he seemed to believe her.

"Also fine," he said evenly. "Kirk was in here for awhile trying to sell his Star's Hollow Brand Water."

"Star's Hollow water?" she laughed.

"Yeah, he gets it from a creek around here, but then he has to purify it and bottle it himself so it ends up costing 3 times as much as normal water. He's an idiot."

Nicole smiled at the thought. She didn't think much of the small town character's, but she liked that things seemed normal. This also gave her an easy segue into her real agenda.

"You could always hire help. You wouldn't have to work as much and you could see much less of Kirk." She did her best to sound more helpful and less controlling.

"I like work. Besides, where would I go if I wasn't here?" He knew where she was going with this conversation, but he still held out hope that she would give it up for the day.

"We could spend more time together," she suggested.

"We spend plenty of time together." He was getting frustrated. "We go out all the time. I take off work every time you ask." He held his breath, trying not to sound angry.

"That's just it Luke. I ask. I am always the one asking. You are my husband, it should be assumed that we will be together." She fought the whine in her voice.

"You know damn well Nicole, we are not married in the normal sense. We have discussed this before. We got married too soon. It's just a technicality." He didn't try to hide his frustration anymore, but he still spoke slowly, trying to keep his voice low. The last thing he needed now was an audience. Nicole, however, gave in to her fury.

"Luke, I don't want it to be technicality! Things have been good for a long time, but they aren't going anywhere. We didn't get divorced for a reason. We can't stay stationary forever. If dating works, why wouldn't living together? What could possibly be holding you back?" Every word got louder and she was breathless by the time she finished. Her heart was pounding and she was glad she had closed the blinds on her office windows. She could only imagine the looks being exchanged outside.

Luke was ready to explode. He had told her he would think about it. Why was she pushing this? He knew exactly what she had insinuated with her last question, but he was sick of this fight. He was sick of defending himself. He wasn't going to get into it again. He took a deep breath before answering her calmly.

"Nicole, I said I would think about it, and I am. I promise I am. Look maybe we should take a few days to cool off. I will do some thinking and I will call you at the end of the week. We're both frustrated and that's not good for either of us." Luke felt deflated.

"But Luke . . ." Nicole began.

"Goodbye Nicole." Luke cut her off.

He hung up the phone. He felt like an ass. She was technically his wife and for all intents and purposes his girlfriend. He knew that wasn't how you were supposed to treat your girlfriend. She just frustrated him lately. He didn't understand why everything was such a rush. If things were so great right now, why couldn't they stay that way for awhile. He wondered why he was so reluctant to move forward. He really did like being with Nicole. He had been the one pursuing her in the beginning. What was so different now? He wondered if maybe his feelings had already evolved into all they ever would for her. Was she really just not the one, or was he just so used to being alone that he was scared of change? If it was the latter, he wondered how he could get over it. If she really wasn't the one, he would feel like an even bigger ass for leading her on. He just wanted answers. He had created this situation for himself by proposing in the first place, but he had no idea to get out of it, or at least make it better. He didn't need to think. He needed to talk. He knew who he would usually talk to about this type of thing. He contemplated calling her for a split-second before concluding that it would be the worst possible thing he could do. After her reaction to his marriage, he had avoided the whole subject of his wife/ girlfriend. He didn't think she could offer un-biased advice this time. Also, if he was going to try to make something with Nicole, he didn't think going to the one person she had a problem with would be a good start. He sighed and rubbed his eyes wishing something would make sense. All of a sudden, an idea popped into his head. It was his first clear thought in a while so he didn't stop to think. He just grabbed the phone and dialed.