CHAPTER ONE

"Stefan, I am so tired of having this argument." Nycole says as she turns to face him. "If you're not happy, then do something about it."

"And what exactly am I supposed to do?" He questions.

"Quit!" She shakes her head. "You said your boss is a dick, and you don't like working on the cars anymore. If you want to do something else, then do it. We have enough money saved up, and I have this job now. If you want to find a new job, then now's the time to do it. Before the baby comes."

"So, I quit working at the garage and get another dead end job that I'm gonna hate in a year?" He asks, and she sighs.

"Stef, I can't have this conversation right now. I'm gonna be late for work." She walks over and pecks his cheek. "I'll talk to you when I get home, alright?"

"And when is that gonna be?"

"I don't know." She says as she grabs the lunch that she packed for herself off of the counter. "I go by my bosses schedule. I'll let you know."

Nycole leaves their apartment and heads for the bus stop. She gets to work an hour later and rushes up to the floor that she works on. She sighs when she sees that her boss' door is open.

"Nyx!" He calls as she starts to walk past.

"Yes?" She smiles as she stops in his doorway.

"You're late coming in today. Is everything okay?" He asks, and she nods.

"Yeah, I missed my bus this morning. It won't happen again." She tells him.

"It's alright. You're usually in before me." He says, and she nods.

"Yeah, I try to make sure I have everything ready before the day officially starts." She says, and he nods.

"Alright, well, don't let it happen again." He teases, and she smiles.

"You got it, sir. Uh, Dean. Sorry." She corrects, and he smirks. "I'll let you get back to work." She tells him and then walks over to her desk that's set up outside of his office.

The brunette gets her stuff set up at her desk, but as soon as she gets her computer on, she starts having problems. She can't move her mouse and nothing happens when she presses any buttons on the keyboard.

"Oh, come on." She sighs as she tries to reboot it. "Today is just not my day." She shakes her head as she picks up the phone on her desk and calls down to Tech Support.

"Tech Support. This is Sam Wesson."

"Hi. I'm having trouble with my computer, it's not working for me at all." She tells him.

"Okay. Uh, well, did you try turning it off and then on?" He asks her.

She nods. "Yeah, I did that. It didn't do anything."

"Well, what's the problem exactly?"

"I can't get anything to move on the screen."

"Is it just the screen, or is the computer itself not working either?" He asks, and she shakes her head.

"I have no idea. I think it's just the screen." She tells him.

"Alright, uh... Tell me what floor you're on, I'll come take a look." He says, and she gives him the information he needs.

A man nearly a foot taller than her walks over a few minutes later, and she stands up to get out of his way. He stops and just looks at her for a second, seemingly frozen.

"Um, are you okay?" She asks, and he nods.

"Yeah. Yeah, sorry." He says quickly. "You just look really familiar. Have we ever met before?"

"Uh... No, I don't think so." She shakes her head as she looks up at him. "You've probably just seen me around the office, or something. The elevator?"

"Yeah, I'm sure that's all it is." He nods. "So, what's going on?" He asks, and she motions to the screen. He does a few things, checking both the computer and then just the screen itself. "The monitor seems to be busted. I'll call and have a new one sent up."

"Perfect, thanks." She says, and he nods.

He hesitates for a second, looking at her a little longer than she's comfortable with, and then he clears his throat. He walks away, and someone from a different department comes to set up her new monitor a little while later. She's finally able to get to work, and she plays catch up the rest of the day for the time that she lost.

"Are you headed out?" Dean asks when he sees Nycole packing up her stuff.

"I am, yeah." She nods.

"I'll walk you." He tells her, and she smiles.

"Thanks."

"Hey, I've been wanting to ask you about your ring." He says, and she looks at the small blue stone in the silver band on her left ring finger. "I've never seen one like it before."

"Oh, yeah, I hadn't either. The stone is, uh... Lapis lazuli. I guess it holds some sort of familial significance to my fiancé." She says, and he nods. "I don't know. He likes tradition, but he's not real close with them, so... I don't know."

"And how is he?" He asks as he hits the button for the elevator.

"He's... He's good."

"Uh-huh." He doesn't sound convinced.

"He's going through a bit of a tough time, okay." She says, and he shakes his head.

"I didn't say anything." He motions for her to go ahead of him into the elevator.

"Mm." She shakes her head, but forgets about their conversation completely when she sees the guy from Tech Support who came up to help her with her computer this morning.

That encounter was plenty awkward, and he's watching her and Dean now. She steps to the opposite side of the elevator that he's on and Dean stands between them, but he hasn't noticed her aversion to the other man. He does, however, notice that he's staring at them, so he looks up at him.

"Do I know you?" Tech Support guy asks.

"I don't think so." Dean shakes his head and then turns away from him.

He scoffs. "I'm sorry, man. You just look really familiar." He says, and Nycole leans against the wall.

"Save it for the health club, pal." He says and then walks out when the doors open.

Nycole quickly follows behind him, and they leave the building. Once they've put enough distance between them and him, she says goodnight to Dean, then veers off and heads for the bus stop to go home.

The brunette gets home and the first thing she does is head for the master bedroom so that she can shower. Once she's finished, she leaves the bathroom and she has the towel wrapped around her as she goes through her dresser to find something to wear.

"Hi." Stefan walks up behind her and his hands find her hips. "How was your day?"

"Well, it had a rocky start when my computer wouldn't work, but other than that it was fine." She says, and he nods as he moves her hair over one shoulder and leans down to kiss her neck. "How was yours?"

"I had a great day." He says, and she chuckles as she leans into him.

"That explains the good mood you're in." She smiles as his lips travel up her neck to her ear. "What happened at the garage?"

"I started working, my boss was a dick, so I quit." He says against her skin.

"And have you decided what you want to do next?" She asks.

"Only thing I care about right now is you."

"Stefan, I'm serious. We need to think about—" She turns around and then stops short when she smells the alcohol on his breath. "You're drunk."

"I needed to unwind after I got into a fight with my boss. So, I went to the bar down the street." He tells her as she pushes on his chest, trying to get him to back up.

"Stefan, stop." She says, and he sighs as he takes a step back. "What do you mean you got into a fight with your boss?"

"I mean exactly what I said." He tells her. "I quit, but I may not have used those words."

"Tell me you didn't hit him."

"Okay, I won't tell you." He says as he walks away from her.

"You do realize that he can press charges, right? What the hell were you thinking?" She questions.

"I don't wanna talk about this right now."

"Well, too bad." She shakes her head. "This isn't just about us or about you hating your job and your boss. We have a baby to think about here. What happens if—"

"If what?" He questions. "If the baby comes, and I don't have a job? You knew that was a possibility when you told me to quit."

"I meant for you to put in your two weeks notice and look for other options during that time." She tells him. "I sure as hell did not mean to punch your boss and walk out."

"I'm not doing this right now." He shakes his head and starts for the door.

"Where are you going? Stefan!"

"To find a motel for the night." He slams the door behind him, and she jumps at the sound of the loud bang.

—

"Hey, can I talk to you a second?" Dean asks as he walks over to Nycole's desk.

"Yeah, what's up?" She asks as she looks up at him.

"You remember that guy from the elevator the other day?" He asks, and she nods. "I ran into him again yesterday, and he started talking to me."

"You run away?"

"A little bit, actually." He says, and she chuckles. "He asked me if I believe in ghosts."

"Gho—" She pauses. "Huh. That's...normal?"

"Oh, you think so?" He chuckles.

"Eh." She shrugs. "What'd you tell him?"

"Well, after he told me that he's been having some weird dreams about vampires, I told him that he over shares." He says. "And then was the part where I kinda ran." He adds, and she laughs.

"Yeah, I don't blame you. That same day we ran into him in the elevator on our way out, he was up here. I called Tech Support 'cause my monitor was busted." She tells him, and he nods. "He kept looking at me weird, asked if we'd ever met before."

"Huh." He nods as he looks at her. "You have any more problems with him, you let me know."

"I think I'll be alright. I can take care of myself." She says, and he smiles.

"Oh, I don't doubt that." He says, and she laughs lightly. "I gotta get back to work."

"Okay." She nods, and he goes back to his office.

A while later, after finishing what she's working on, Nycole gets up and walks over to her boss' office. She knocks, and he looks up from his work. He smiles when he sees that it's her.

"Would you mind if I ask your opinion on something? For some...advice on a problem that's not work related?" She asks, and he motions for her to come in.

"Is everything alright?" He asks as she closes the door behind her and goes to sit in one of the two seats in front of his desk.

"I have this friend—" She starts, and he smirks as he looks down. "Humor me."

He chuckles as he looks at her. "I'm listening."

"So, this friend... Her fiancé had this job, and his boss was... Well, let's just say he wasn't nearly as nice as you are." She says, and he smiles.

"So, he was a dick." He says, and she nods.

"Basically, yeah. So, she told her fiancé to quit, to find a job that he actually liked." She continues. "Then she went to work, had a fairly decent day, and then went home. Her fiancé came home...drunk...and told her that he did, in fact, quit his job."

"Okay."

"See, the problem is... He didn't go into his boss' office and say, I quit, or anything along those lines. He started working, his boss was a dick, and he..." She clears her throat. "He punched his boss and then left."

His eyes widen. "I see."

"So, this f—" She sighs. "You know, I thought that would make this less embarrassing, but it's not." She scoffs. "If his old boss presses charges, is there any way that I could end up in any sort of trouble here?"

"No." He shakes his head. "You're not his wife, so any legal action shouldn't affect you if you're no longer with him."

"I'm​ not." She tells him. "This was kinda the last straw." She looks down at her hand, where her engagement ring used to be.

"You're worried about how this will affect your baby." He says, and she nods.

"Yeah. I'm kinda working with only one income now." She says as she looks up at him. "You know, the worst part is... The only thing that surprises me is that it didn't happen sooner. He's been so angry lately, and I don't know why. He used to be so different. Kind, reliable, supportive... And you don't care. I'll let you get back to work, but thank you. I don't really have the money for a lawyer, or a consultation, so..."

"Nyx?" He stops her before she can get up to leave. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." She forces a smile. "Just...a little stressed, is all. The thought of living alone, just me and her..." She looks down at her stomach. "I'll be alright. Thank you."

"You will be alright. I know it's scary, but it's not impossible." He picks up a framed photo from his desk and hands it to her.

She smiles as she looks at the picture of the two toddlers. "They're adorable." She says, and he smiles. "Your son has such pretty eyes. Actually, they— They look like yours."

"I'll take that as a compliment." He's still smiling as he looks at her. "I've been raising them on my own since their mom passed. It's been an adjustment, but my sister helps while I'm here. But let me tell you, it's worth all the hard work when I get to be with them on my own for a while."

"Thanks. That's actually really reassuring." She says with a smile, but then her expression softens. "And I'm sorry about their mom."

"Thank you." He nods. "We should probably get back to work." He says, and she nods.

"Yeah." She chuckles as she hands the picture back to him. "Thanks, again. I really appreciate this." She says, and he just smiles.