Disclaimer: I still don't own them. But I do own Peyton and Nate.

He sat on his bed with his phone in his hand. He had all the numbers punched in except the last one. He knew Linda would be civil, she had been for the past three weeks since he left. But he also knew that her opinion hadn't changed. That's what stopped him from dialing. He couldn't understand where things had gone wrong. Had he not been there enough for her? Did he not tell her that he loved her enough? He tried to remember times that he had done either of those things. And the fact was that he had been a wonderful husband. He had done all of the things he should have. So what would make someone fall out of love with someone they claimed to have loved for years before? He didn't know the answer, and that scared him. He punched in the last number and hit send before he could lose his nerve. He needed to hear her voice. The phone rang five times before she answered.

"Hello?" She said sounding tired.

"Hey." He said just above a whisper.

"Charlie, what are you doing calling here so late?" She asked sounding more alert.

"I needed to hear your voice. I miss you."

"You can't keep doing this." She said with a sigh.

"I can't help it if I still want to be with you."

"I filed the divorce papers this morning."

"What?" He asked hoping that he had heard her wrong.

"You should be getting them in the next few days."

"I won't sign them."

"Charlie please. I don't like hurting you. I feel guilty enough as it is. Just please sign them."

"No."

"I'm not asking for anything from you. I don't even want spousal support. I don't want your money."

"If we could just talk face to face-"

"I can't. I have to go."

"Linda wait-"

She hung up before he could finish what he had to say. He hung up the phone wishing that there was some way that he could get her to listen. As many times as she had said nothing was his fault he still felt like there was something he could have done something to save their marriage.

XXXX

Julie glanced at the clock as she saw the head lights flash across the wall. Adam's car could be heard pulling up in the driveway. She ran her hands through her hair and tried to control her breathing. She knew what was about to happen wasn't going to be easy to deal with. She wished that she had called Adam's mom to take Peyton and Nate for the night so that they wouldn't have to hear what was going on. But if she had she knew Adam would suspect something.

Adam walked into the room undoing his holster. His gun and badge were placed on the dresser as he undid his belt. His shirt was next before he sat on the bed to take off his shoes. Julie watched him as she sat on her side of the bed.

"Why are you up so late?" He asked over his shoulder.

"We need to talk." She said in a calm voice.

He turned to face her giving her a curious look.

"Things need to change between us."

"Like what?"

"The fact that you're never here for one thing."

"I'm here now." He said shrugging his shoulders.

"How can you act like nothing is wrong?" She asked as tears formed in her eyes.

"If you have a problem with the way things are going then you need to tell me." He said in an agitated voice.

"I'm not the one who's running from our problems."

"Maybe I deal with things differently than you do." He said as he got off of the bed.

"I want to be with you. And I want to help you. I can't do that if you won't let me in."

"I don't want or need help. I can handle things on my own."

"What has happened to you?"

"A lot of things. And I don't want to take them out on you."

"So you would rather run than work through them?"

"I can handle this on my own."

"Yeah I can tell." Julie said as she got off the bed.

She made her way across the room to the door.

"Julie." He said in a small voice.

"What?" She answered as she opened the door.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to sleep downstairs." She said before walking out of the room.

Adam nodded before she closed the door. He didn't like pushing her away anymore than he liked lying to her. He knew she would eventually get tired of dealing with him and leave. He didn't understand why she hadn't left a year and a half ago when everything started.

XXXX

Julie turned over on the couch hoping to fall asleep. She had hoped that confronting Adam would be a wake up call. Now she had to take drastic measures. She didn't like the idea of going to see Connie without Adam. But maybe a week or two away from him would do them both some good. She needed to clear her head and figure out where to go from here. She loved Adam with everything she had, it hurt her to know that he felt that he couldn't come to her with his problems.

She would call Connie first thing to see if it was okay for her and the kids to come up. If she couldn't stay with Connie she could always go see her parents. She didn't see them as much as she would like. She hoped that Adam understood when she told him. She would be upfront and honest with him. She would make sure that he understood that she wasn't leaving for good and that she wanted to work things out when she got back.

XXXX

Adam stared at the ceiling wishing that things could be different. He knew he shouldn't be putting Julie through what he was putting her through. She deserved better. He was ready for whatever happened next. If Julie wanted a divorce it was his own fault.

He remembered happier times as he tried to fall asleep. Times when neither of them could do no wrong. Back when Julie thought he roped the moon and he would have done anything to make her happy. He could pinpoint when he realized that something wasn't exactly right.

Peyton was almost three and Julie had been talking about having another baby. They had been trying for a year to get pregnant. Julie was patient saying that it would eventually happen while Adam blamed himself. His father's voice echoed in his head telling him that he was a failure yet again.

He had tried to brush it off like nothing was wrong for a while. But around the time Julie got pregnant with Nate Adam realized that his fears were right. He was a terrible husband and father and nothing was going to change that.

Once Nate was born he was happy for a while. But eventually his fathers voice came back and the dark cloud that followed him came back as well. Why couldn't he just tell Julie it wasn't her fault? She probably wouldn't believe him, thinking that she had done something to push him away.

Maybe he should start going to see his therapist again. Julie didn't even know that he had been going. He had started going while she was pregnant with Nate. It had been six months since he had last gone. He would make an appointment in the morning.

I hate to end it on a climatic note like this but I had to end it sometime. Click the little purple/blue button to find out what happens next. After you leave a review that is.