*Author's Note*

Thanks for reading, faving, following, and reviewing.

This chapter is in both Novella and Cap's POV. This chapter is a pre-setup for an event that sparks the Cap/Nova side of the love-triangle.

Chitchat With Cap

Novella POV:

After two days the money still hadn't showed up in my account. I had another two days to go, or at least that's what the guarantee the company had given me was. I was currently in my new office at Uncle Perry's firm. Well, it wasn't much of a firm since he was the only one that worked here other than Roseanna's old decrypted Aunt Betty since she was the secretary a couple days a week. My brother, Moses, always worked as a clerk during the summers, but I reckon that's a full-time job now.

I was sitting at my dark L-shaped desk, drawing up a will for one of my uncle's clients, whenever my cell phone started to ring. I paused what I was doing and grabbed my phone that was on the other side of my coffee cup. I shook my head whenever I saw Will flashing on the ID screen. I swiped the red ignore button, placed the phone back by my cup, and then resumed my work. In less then a minute my phone started up again, causing me to glance over and roll my eyes upon seeing that Cap was calling me right after I had denied his call. I grabbed my phone, hit the ignore button like before, and then tossed it back on my desk. I had just started typing again whenever my phone went off for a third time. I looked over at my phone and shook my head in annoyance as I read Will on my ID screen. I once again ignored the call before rolling my eyes and going back to my work.

Bling. Oh great, Cap left me a voicemail. With a heavy sigh I grabbed my phone and unlocked my voicemail app. You have one new message and no saved messages. To listen to new message press one. The feminine robotic voice rattled off, resulting in me pressing number 1. New message: The inbox robo announced before Cap's deep rolling wave of a voice flowed out: Nova, it's me Will. I'm callin' cause I need to talk to you bout your friend's wedding in Florida. The one I said I'd go to and foot the Royal Floridian Resort room bill for. Well, I got the info for the reservations just now in my e-mail. I gave my word I'd go, just get back to me cause I only got a week to book under the Bryant-Cannes wedding guest discount. Bye.

Shit. I forgot that I told him about Charlotte and Greg's wedding and that he put his email on the RSVP card after he agreed to take me. Damnit. I can't call him back and talk to him about it here, too many ears. Guess I'm taking a quick trip to Cap's office to discuss this dilemma. Just what I don't want to do.

I finished up the will for Uncle Perry's client and printed it out. I grabbed my bag out from underneath my desk and tossed my phone into it before slinging it over my shoulder. I exited my office and made the short walk down the hall to my uncle's. I knocked lightly before opening the door. "I got that will for Mr. Miller drawn up." I walked inside, placing the last will and testament onto my uncle's desk.

"Very good." Uncle Perry nodded his head, glancing at the paper now lying in front of him. His mustache rose slightly as he asked, "Does the insistent phone calls you've been receiving have anything to do with your pocket-book hanging off your shoulder?"

"I won't be long." I told my uncle, dancing around his question, before exiting his office.

I walked up to the large 4-story building with blinding mirror-plate glass windows with only one goal in mind, see Cap real quick about my sorority sister's wedding and then get the hell back to my office off of Main Street. I opened the large French doors and walked over the thresh-hold only to find myself in a very spacious lobby. It was bright with white-sand marbled floors, muslin painted walls, and muslin colum pillar with cherry wood base frames. A few chocolate chairs were bunched up in a corner and in the middle of the floor was a cherry wood reception desk.

I walked up to the receptionist, a bleached blonde who couldn't be more than 24 or 25, and smiled while asking, "Where's ADA Cap Hatfield's office? I need to discuss a matter with him."

"Third floor, first door to the right." The woman simply told me with a bright smile.

"Thank you, have a nice day." I responded before quickly taking off across the room and to the left where the elevator bank was at.

It only took a minute or so for the doors to open after I pressed the up button. A couple of men, most likely attorneys or law clerks, walked out of the elevator. They looked me over too. I just ignored them and walked into the box. I pressed the button labeled 3 and hit the close door button. I white knuckled the bar on the wall since riding in elevators made me nervous. Of at least they did after I saw an episode of General Hospital a few years back where one of the characters was in a freak elevator accident.

Much to my relief the door dinged open. I rushed out and down the hall, stopping at the first door on the right. I knocked on it only to hear an instant later Cap's rough voiced command of, "Come in."

I opened the door and walked inside. He was sitting behind his desk, heather grey sleeves rolled up his elbows as he was typing something on his computer. William's shaggy blonde head rose from the computer screen as he heard me shut the door. His mix-matched eyes trained on me as I took a seat in the leather chair in front of his cherry wood desk.

I looked him straight in the eyes and simply said, "I got your message."

"I can see that." Cap told me, taking his pack of Reds from his desk. "Smoke?" He offered, extending his arm out to me as some sort of peace offering.

I wasn't a smoker per say, but I did usually take one when Will er Cap offered. It was just something that we did, it started the first time we got together and just went from there.

"Sure." I took one of the white sticks from the pack.

Will just took one out of the pack for himself before grabbing his match book from inside his desk. He quickly lit up his smoke before passing me over the matchbook for my own use. I lit up, tossing the matches on his desk while taking my first drag off my cigarette.

He placed his matches back into his desk and closed the drawer. While letting out a long waft of smoke from his mouth he told me, "You know you could've just called me back. Didn't have to drive over to see me."

"No, I had to come over. Too many ears that can eavesdrop in my office."

He just nodded his head before leaning back in his chair and asking, "So, what're we doin' 'bout your friend's wedding? I said I'd take you and I'm a man of my word."

I leaned over, praying that the navy v-neck I was wearing wasn't showing off my cleavage to him, and tipped some ashes into the crystal tray on the desk. "I can't have you do that. We're not even together anymore, it'd be weird."

"It wouldn't be weird." He remarked, letting some smoke flow from his lips. "Plus we've only been broken up a couple weeks. Not like we're a divorced couple or something." He pointed out while tilting his wrist a bit in my direction, making the elephant tattoo there look like it was moving.

"I think I should just pay for the room myself and write her a note saying that I'm coming alone."

"You could do that," Cap took a quick pull off his Marlboro. "but you know they prolly already ordered our meals from the caterer." Smoke wafting out of his mouth as he spoke. He looked between me and the orange burning end of his cigarette while prompting, "We did have to fill out either chicken, steak, or fish on that RSVP card. Remember."

Shit…guess I have no choice, but to go with him. "Fine, book the room."

"Already did." He told me with a smug look on his face before taking a drag off his smoke.

"What?!" I shrieked, my eyes wide with disbelief.

"When I didn't hear back from you I just went 'head and booked the room. Figured you'd let me take you to the wedding." I just cut him a look, narrowing my cornflower blues at him. "Besides, it earned me some rewards on my Capital One card." He flippantly remarked, his ice blue eye and milky one boring into me.

"You little dick." I snapped at him, not believing that he would go behind my back and book the room without my consent.

"Oh, babe, don't insult me like that. You know my dick's anything, but little." Cap told me smugly, his smirk making his mustache tilt.

He was so full of himself. Of course, he'd use my remark to remind me that he was well endowed. I shook my head, my copper tangels swishes around my shoulders, while groaning, "You're un-fucking-believable."

"I know I am, Nova." He chuckled, taking a deep drag off his smoke. Man had no shame what-so-ever.

"Whatever, I got to go get some work done. I'll see you next month for Charlottes wedding." I told him while leaning forward and snubbing my cigarette into the crystal tray he had on his desk.

"Yea, go brainstorm on how to keep the murderous trailer trash alive." The shaggy blonde venomously seethed before snubbing out his own smoke. His good eye went from ice-blue to dark indigo due to the rage he held for Tolbert and his brothers.

I flew out of my chair, almost toppling it over, as I spat out, "Don't talk bout the McCoys like that, Cap Hatfield."

"It's the damn truth and you know it." Quickly I rushed over to the door, my mind set on leaving. "Just accept you're on a dead end case so we can get back to-" He began to tell me before I spun on my heel, cutting my eyes at him while interrupting angrily with, "We ain't getting back together, you lying bastard." Before he could protest I added in, "What went on in Baltimore stays there." Quickly I turned around and opened the door, walking out of it.

As soon as I closed door behind me I heard something bounce up against it, indicating that Cap had a little hissy fit and threw something.

I had only been back in my office, sitting at my desk, for a couple of minutes before my brother barged in with a paper bag and a foam cup in his hand. He slammed the door shut with his foot while asking, "So, did you go to Cap's office for lunch or a quickie?"

My jaw dropped as I sharply asked, "What?"

As he walked over to the chair in front of my desk he told me, "While I was out gettin' a burger for lunch I saw you walk out of the justice building, where his office is."

"So." I let out, watching my brother sit down across from me while placing his cup on my desk.

"So, I'm not stupid." He took out his burger from it's bag. "I know you were screwin' him back east just by how he knew you and how you reacted to him." Moses told me while pealing the wrapper from his burger before taking a big bite out of it.

"I told you the other day, I only knew him as Will." I told my brother, opening up a file on my computer screen to review.

"Will, I thought it was William?" Moses asked, more so himself then me, before pointing his burger at me and smirking, "Hey, you know that whatever you had with him can actually help us." I gave him a side-ways look. My brother's gone and lost his marbles. No way my old relationship with the ADA can help us. "Pussy clouds a man's judgement so if he gets some from you he might get sloppy with the case." He explained in between chewing his food.

Mo wants me to sleep with the enemy. Dear lord… "My god, Moses, you're horrible." My brother just shrugged, taking a bite out of his greasy triple burger. "I'm not gonna sleep with him to make him slide on the case so we can win." I firmly said, turning away from my computer screen to give a hard look to my baby brother.

"Why not?" He asked in a chuckle. I just rolled my eyes and shook my head at him. "Its not like it'd be the first time ya'll hooked up. It'd just be for a good cause this time's all."

"Uncle Perry'd be ashamed to hear you talking like that."

"Maybe, but I think he'd agree with my line of thinkin'. Messin' with Cap means you could find out things about his trial plan that could help us."

"No. Now get out of my office." I barked, pointing a finger towards the door behind him.

"Fine, but just keep it in the back of your mind." He placed his half-eaten burger into the fast-food bag before standing up and grabbing his cup off the desk. "Oh, I won't tell anyone that you went to his office." Moses promised before walking out of my office.

Cap POV:

My early afternoon meeting with Nova was something else, that's for sure. She was as stubborn as a mule. We were gettin' along well enough, bantering like we did back in Baltimore, but then it all went to hell whenever she refused to quit the McCoy case. Her telling me we ain't getting back together wounded my pride. Guess I figured since we hadn't been separated that long that she'd pick wanting to make up over working a dead-end case for dead men walking, but reckon I figured wrong.

The rest of my day was boring. Just going over paperwork and checking up on bail bondsmen to see the status of the murders I was determined to bring down. Much to my enjoyment the murderin' brothers were still locked up in the jail on Division Street.

Right now, I was on my side of the tug in Mate Creek, West Virginia, sitting at a table in the Millwood Tavern. I was waiting for my best friend Tom 'Skunk Hair' Wallace to meet me. I had a bottle of whiskey on the table, pouring myself a shot, whenever Skunk Hair walked into the tiny tavern.

"Cap, sorry I'm late, had to cover Selkirk's shift since he had to leave early. Louisa's havin' their baby boy." My best friend, dressed in his work clothes from the saw mill, told me as he sat down at the table.

"Oh, that's good." I smiled, genuinely happy for Selkirk and Louisa. Selkirk, tho a McCoy cousin, was a good man. He worked for my daddy at the Tug Fork Saw Mill, he even married one of my distant cousins. He was the only McCoy with a brain if ya ask me. "I'll have to go visit, bring a case of diapers or somethin' to them."

"Better save the diapers for Johnse's baby when it comes. Lord knows his welfare, food stamps, and wic only go so far."

"Yea cause all his money from 'shinin' goes to child support and alimony. What a dumbass." I shook my head incredulously, pouring us some more shots.

Skunk Hair quickly downed his shot. As he slammed his glass down on the table top he inquired with a quirked brow, "So, how's it workin' in Kentucky 'round all those bamboozlers?"

"Eh, it's a'ight I guess." I shrugged before downing my shot. Placing my glass down I decided to change the subject away from my work by asking, "How's things with Vera?"

"Good, plan on proposin' soon." My best friend smiled widely.

I smiled right back at him. "Good for you, buddy." I poured us both some shots, celebratory ones since he was about to take a big plunge with his girl.

"Yea." He remarked as we downed our likker in unison. His face quickly turned somber before he asked in a slight japing tone, "So, you still stewin' over McCoy's Orphan?"

Suddenly something that Nova told me came rushing to the front of my mind, much like water does in a broken dam.

FLASHBACK/MEMORY START

I was layin' on my back in Nova's bed, a lazy arm wrapped around her while her copper hair fanned across my chest. We were both wide awake on this humid Sunday mid-morning in June. Suddenly she stirred in my arms, sitting up slightly. "Somethin' wrong, babe?" I asked, sitting up next to her, the pink paisley sheets pooling around my waist.

She looked at me with her lips set in a line line before sighing, "My left wrist's just stiff. It happens when the humidity gets high."

"Why? What's wrong with it?" I asked, instantly grabbing her wrist and looking at it.

She pulled her arm away from me before letting out a deep sigh. "When I was a teen shopping at Wal-Mart with my ex, picking up something his mom needed for dinner, we ran into somebody that didn't like him by the door. He taunted me and called me my ex's orphan." I raised an eyebrow at this. "I was raised by a relative after my parents died when I was little so…" Nova explained, her voice drifting off before she quickly continued on explaining her problem with her wrist by saying, "He tripped me when we were walking out and I landed down on my wrist funny. I broke it and even though the Doc set it, it still bothers me all these years later when the humidity rises." I nodded my head, showing her that I understood her problem. I didn't like that it happened to her, but I understood. She was a sweet girl, anyone who would purposely hurt her's a jackass.

"We make quite a pair don't we. Bum eye and bum wrist." I smirked, pointing between my capped over eye and her sore wrist, trying to lighten the heavy mood. She just smiled at me, nodding her head. I gave her a quick peck on the lips. "Well, since we're up now you want me to make us some breakfast?" I asked since I was starting to get hungry. Worked up an appetite last night burnin' energy before falling asleep. Not that I was complaining, the sex was real good. Left me sated and able to sleep in late, her too.

"Pancakes, eggs, and bacon." Nova stated, not questioned, while reaching over and grabbing a shirt off the floor.

"Yep." I popped out, getting out of bed and grabbing my boxers from the floor. "You know it's the only breakfast I know how to cook." I quipped back, pulling on my boxers while she yanked on her oversized t-shirt.

"I know, but I don't mind." Nova pulled on her panties and sleep shorts before following me out of the bedroom. As we walked down the hallway she told me, "It's better than listening to you bitch bout how I burnt your precious bacon."

"Hell, that only happened one time." I defended myself as we made our way into the kitchen.

FLASHBACK/MEMORY START

I just shook my head at Skunk Hair, realizing that he was the reason for her wrist aching during summer humidity. "Don't call her that." I seethed, making my best friend look at me with wide-eyes.

"A'ight, a'ight," He placed his hands up in mock surrender, "I won't bring her up t'ya anymore."

"She's a sweet girl, Skunk Hair. That's all I'm gonna say on the matter." I told him sternly before picking the bottle up and pouring myself another shot. "So, how ya think the Mountaineers are gonna do this season?" I asked, placing the bottle close to him on the table

"They better be good." He told me, pouring himself a whiskey shot while I quickly slammed mine back.

"If not we're still watchin'. Diehard West Virginia fans til the end." I chuckled, placing my down while watching my best friend sling back his.

For another half an hour we bullshitted 'bout sports and knocked back shots before we went our separate ways. It was good to be able to hang out and have a guys night with him, to catch up. After leaving the tavern I went home to my house far up in the hills rather then pay Mary Lou a visit. I had no desire to mess around with that whore tonight, not when one of my memories of Nova was still fresh and reeling in my mind.

AN:

Tolbert will be in the next chapter. Yay! Anyways if you read my other Hatfields & McCoys story Thrown Into McCoys Feud you know that the incident of Novella being tripped by Skunk Hair & breaking her wrist was in their too, lol.