AN: Short chapter. However, you know by now what that typically means for the next chapter. Kim is in this one. Sort of. You'll see. I so appreciate the reviews and continue to look forward to what y'all have to say.

It's different for girls when their hearts get broke
They can't tape it back together with a whiskey and Coke
They don't take someone home and act like it's nothing
They can't just switch it off every time they feel something
A guy gets drunk with his friends and he might hook up
Fast forward through the pain, pushing back when the tears come on
But it's different for girls

"Different for Girls" – Dierks Bentley

The Past

"So you said something about thinking that I was never going to ask you to dinner. Just a thought, but why didn't you ask me?"

I had to get her back. I mean come on. She had taken every opportunity to put me on the spot for stuff I say. I couldn't let her off the hook with that one. I went to take a sip of my wine as I watched her mull over her response. Rachel's hair was actually down for a change and I was enjoying this one moment of being able to admire it without her noticing. She was more focused on contemplating what to say to me than on what I was doing.

"You want the truth, or are you just enjoying trying to put me on the spot?"

Or maybe she was paying attention more than I thought.

"How about a little of both?"

Her raised eyebrow told me that she was amused with my response but only to a point. I should have just laughed it off and moved the conversation on to something else, but I just continued to stare her down. I learned quickly to not challenge Dr. Rachel Allen.

"Ok, Adam. You want to know why I didn't ask you out. I'll tell you. I knew you weren't ready."

"What do you mean I wasn't ready?"

"Sorry, but you were obviously still gun shy and just no. Not going there."

This honestly shocked me. I thought I had played things pretty cool. Her ironic laugh brought me out of my thought.

"Come on. You can't tell me you hadn't been getting over a break up. I know that look."

"You do? Really?"

"Yeah. Cause I was to. Takes one to know one."

Well, damn. I knew I was fidgeting at that point. No one likes to be read that well. Or at least about something that personal. I looked away and tried to figure some way out of this conversation. Some way to crack a joke and move on, but my mind just was not that fast.

"Hey. Don't worry about it. I'm not asking to trade sob stories. Not yet anyway. That would make for a horrible first date and as I recall I believe that is a first date don't. So how about you tell me about the academy. I'm sure there are plenty of stories to be told from that."

I huffed out a laugh at that and took the out she gave me. However, I should have realized that I had basically begun something with a girl that wasn't going to let me get away with anything. And if I was going to stick things out. I was going to have to get use to that.

The present

Man, Atwater can be a bug when he wants to be. I swear once I answered that phone for the first time it was like the man did not know how to leave me alone. He saw the crack and he made the most of it. He even got his Momma involved. If I didn't send them a new pic of Isabelle every day, I got in trouble with Momma. No one wants to be in trouble with Momma. However, it was all that bugging that finally got me to fully face reality. I actually missed the unit and work. I missed Chicago and all the hustle and bustle that the city provides. The lake was peaceful and quiet and I had just about had my fill. However, there was one big problem. Where in the world were we going to live? Atwater offered to move my stuff and Isabelle's nursery anywhere I wanted to go, but I couldn't ask that. I finally came to a realization. Running from that apartment was pointless. I was going to have to face it…but I wasn't going to be stupid about it. I knew I couldn't look at her things. I'm not talking about furniture or anything like that. It was all the little stuff. The prescription pads, her stethoscope, and all that stuff that people clutter their places with that makes it theirs. I did ask Atwater to clean that out and box it up and stash it somewhere that I couldn't find. I wasn't ready to part with it, but I also didn't want to wallow in it.

I won't kid you. That first night was rough and not just for me. Isabelle was not at all happy about being in a new place that first night. I'm not sure I got a lick of sleep or that she did, but we got through it. That second night I could almost see the moment that my beautiful daughter decided that she was just going to give up the fight. She looked at me with those light eyes all rounded and wet with tears and when I gently rubbed her cheek she finally yawned. She was done for now. I got her settled in her crib and left the door propped open even as I carried my phone with me out to the living room. I checked my phone's screen and made sure that the monitor was working and headed over to the window. I have lost track of the number of times that I just stood in this very spot and watched the city go by. It used to be soothing to me to see all that activity and be able to just take it all in. It was nice to know that it still had that power over me.

I gave myself about five minutes before I headed to the fridge to get something to eat. Atwater had basically stocked my fridge for a month with numerous boxes of meals that he said people had thrown together for me. I picked a random box and heated it in the microwave. I wasn't paying attention. I grabbed a fork and the box once the microwave dinged. I stuck the fork in and brought the food to my mouth and once it was in there was when I actually paid attention. It was good. Really good. Lasagna. I walked back to the kitchen island and glanced at the lid. I knew that handwriting. Kim. I swallowed the food and looked down at it. She didn't have to do this. I knew what it was. It was a way to show that she cared enough as a friend to find a way to support me without showing up or trying to call. She knew I wasn't ready for that and we didn't really have that close of a relationship anymore. That meant a lot. I picked the container back up and headed back to the window. I watched the city and ate my dinner. I let myself for one moment just be.