…They both laughed together in unison as they drifted off to sleep…

When Evangeline awoke the next morning, John was still sound asleep. She slipped out of bed and got ready for work. She really didn’t want to wake him because she knew he really needed the rest. She wrote out a note and left it on the pillow next to him before she went downstairs and left for work.

About an hour and a half later, around 8:30 am, John awoke to find Evangeline gone. He was a little disappointed, but then he saw the note. He smiled as he read the note Evangeline had written, “Good Morning John. You looked so peaceful and at rest, that I didn’t have the heart to wake you. I left you a towel and washcloth on the sink in the bathroom. Feel free to use the shower or bath tub or whatever you like. When you get downstairs, you’ll find that I’ve left you breakfast. Just pull the door shut between the kitchen and the garage and it will lock automatically. Then, you can just push the garage door button and run out to the driveway. Have a great day and I’ll talk to you later. Evangeline. Ps. Thanks for another memorable night. J “

John took a shower and made his way downstairs. On the counter was his breakfast, a travel mug full of coffee with sugar, cream, and a note left by it. Evangeline had written, “Wasn’t sure how much breakfast you’d want, so I left it all for you. See Ya, Evangeline”. He thought to himself, “She really knows me pretty well.” He added sugar to the coffee and headed out to his room to change his clothes.

By the time John got to the station, it was about 10:30 am and he came in carrying the travel coffee mug and smiling at the thoughts of last night. He didn’t even notice Michael as he bumped into him while walking to his office. Mike was at Marcie’s desk. He was dropping her off at work.

Mike said, “Hey big Brother, what has you in a fog? On the other hand, what has you so happy? Really, tell me who she is. You’ve been acting this way for the last couple of weeks and I want to know what’s gotten into you.”

John said, “Nothing’s gotten into me, I’m just the same. I don’t know what you mean”.

“Oh come on Johnny, spill it. Shannon and I were talking and I know there is someone in your life and it’s not Natalie. Let Marcie and I in on the secret.”

Marcie said, “Yeah John, who is she, really?”

“First”, John said, “Don’t call me Johnny. You know I hate that. And second, the point of it being my personal life is that it’s MY personal life.”

Marcie says, “You’re just forcing me to go into detective mode and figure out what’s going on, you know.”

Michael added in, “Also, you’re just forcing me to hang around at the station more and you know how much you like that.”

John could tell by their determined looks that he wouldn’t be able to put them off much longer. Plus, he can only imagine what Shannon had told them, so he better set the record straight. And, they were family and it’s not like others didn’t know already. He said, “I have to get to work now, but I’ll meet you at the diner for lunch around 1 pm. Does that work for you two?” Just then, Bo came out and told John he needed to see him in his office.

When John got into Bo’s office, they talked about Bo’s run in with Antonio the day before. John told Bo that he really thinks that Sonia is pulling Antonio into something and he thinks she’s working for the Feds, maybe the INS. Bo said as long as they don’t have proof and Antonio isn’t on the force, there wasn’t much they could do. Bo went on to tell John that he had talked to Evangeline and John just shrugged and said, “Yeah, she told me”.

Bo just kind of stared at John, waiting for him to offer forth some information, but John stayed silent. Finally, Bo just said, “Well, let’s get back to work”. John left Bo’s office and went to his.

Once in his office, John phoned Evangeline. When Evangeline’s assistant said it was John on the line, she was smiling ear to ear. When she clicked on his line, he said, “Hey, thanks for the breakfast. It’s the best I’ve had in a long time.”

She giggled and said, “You’re welcome. It’s the least I could do for the amazing night you gave me.”

“Well”, he said, “I hope there are more of those to come. Plus, we still need to go on that real date, you know?”

Evangeline inquired, “Now why wasn’t last night not a date?”

To which John replied, “We still didn’t go out. Remember?”

Evangeline just laughed.

John asked, “What are you doing this Friday night? Can you get away for the whole evening? I really want to take you on a real date, just you and me and no interruptions from anyone. What do you think?”

Evangeline replied, “I think it sounds great and I’ll clear my schedule, no matter what. What are we going to do? Something from the list?”

John chuckled, “You can’t control my date you know. Just leave it up to me. Remember, you trust me.”

She said, “Indeed I do. Indeed I do. I have to go, I’ll talk to you later, bye”.

The rest of the morning, John worked on gathering background information on why Tico Santi’s servant would try to say that Antonio intentionally killed Angelina/Isabella Santi. Even though Antonio acted as though he didn’t want John’s help, John had a bad vibe about Sonia and Tico and wanted to watch Antonio’s back, regardless of the circumstances.

It was 12:30 pm and Evangeline finally had a moment to think. When she’d said goodbye to John on the phone, she’d had to gather some information about the judge in Kelly’s custody case. She was still trying to appeal the ruling, but at the same time, she wanted to know what had happened. Also, all the time she’d spent on Kelly’s case had caused her to neglect her other cases and she hurriedly got all her business items straight.

Her assistant had gone out to lunch and Evangeline sat at her desk thinking about last night and her conversation with John this morning. All of it just brought a big smile to her face. She was sitting there smiling when Nora walked in with lunch.

Nora said, “Okay Van, what gives? Have your workaholic ways finally driven you batty? Why are you sitting there with that big fat grin on your face? Or should I just ask, what did John do now that’s made you so happy?”

Evangeline started at Nora’s voice and said, “What makes you think it has anything to do with John? I could have just won a big case you know.”

“Did You?” Nora asked.

Evangeline couldn’t lie and said, “No, it’s John. He’s so, he’s just the ….. He makes me feel…. Argghhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!! I can’t even verbalize it. When did this happen? When did I become such a girl? Why can’t I control myself?”

Nora just laughed and said, “Why do you want to control it? Let go. Have some fun for once. You’ve really got it bad, girl. Details, details, details”.

Evangeline told Nora how John had just dropped by (without too many personal details) and how they had talked and just got along so well. She told her how he had called this morning and that he really wants to take her on a real date, just the two of them.

Nora asked, “Should I be offended? A real date? Did John not like spending time with me when you and Daniel had to go to work that night? I showed him a good time.”

Evangeline just laughed and said, “There’s your competitive nature coming out again. It’s not that he didn’t like spending time with you, he just wanted to be with me more.”

“Oh Evangeline, if I didn’t know you better, I’d say you were falling in love for the first time. Can that be?” Nora inquired. “You were never this way with RJ”.

The mention of RJ’s name made Evangeline a little somber. She thought about how she’d hurt him. She said, “I really feel bad the way I hurt RJ. When we were together, I thought it would last. We had dreams together that we wanted to accomplish. This thing with John just hit me out of the blue. It can’t be love though, can it? No, no, no, it’s just an infatuation. Right?”

“I don’t know”, Nora said. “I was around you the whole time you were with RJ and at the time, I thought you two were perfect together. However, after seeing and spending some time with you and John together, I can honestly say that you two have something real special. You seem happier and more at ease and John definitely has lightened up a lot. Sounds like love to me.”

“Stop it Nora”, Evangeline said. “Don’t say that. It can’t be that. Really, when did this happen?”

Nora just laughed and said she had to get back to work and left Evangeline to think over what she had said.

At a punctual 1:00 pm, John walked into the Angel Square Diner to meet Michael for lunch. Marcie wasn’t there yet. John walked over to the booth and sat across from Michael.

“Hey Mikey”, he said. “Where’s Marcie? I only have about 45 minutes and I don’t want to have to repeat myself later.”

Michael said that Marcie had class and that he would just tell her what was going on.

John told Michael that the person he had mentioned earlier that he was seeing on and off was Evangeline Williamson. He went on to say that they were taking it slow. Then, he kinda stared off into space with a smile on his face, just thinking of her.

When John came back from wherever he had floated off to, Michael was laughing. John said, “What’s so funny little brother?”

Mike said, “Shannon told me that it was Evangeline and that she had seen you two together at your place and that you were all flustered about her finding out. I didn’t believer her because you and Evangeline are two of the most serious workaholics I know. How could you find time to spend together?”

John said, “Remember, I told you my personal life was complicated. We were working on a case and got stuck in some close situations together. The more we worked together, the more we got to know each other. She’s just…., um, I mean when we’re together, um,….. I just, um……Geesh! I just can’t explain it.”

“Boy Johnny, uh, I mean John, you really have it bad. I haven’t seen you even close to being like this since before Caitlin. I think it’s great. I’d really like to get to know Evangeline better if she brings this out in you. Who would have thought you’d open up enough to fall in love again. That alone tells me that Evangeline is a great person.”

The mention of Caitlin’s name made John a little somber, but he knew that Caitlin would want him to move on with his life. He even felt that Caitlin would like Evangeline too.

John said to Michael, “Who said anything about love? We’re just hanging out, taking it day by day. It really caught me off guard. When did this happen is what I’m trying to figure out.”

“John, don’t try to figure it out, just go with it. You of all people know that life is short and you have to grab your happiness wherever you can get it”, Mike said.

John was contemplative and just said, “Yeah”.

John got a call and had to leave. Mike told him goodbye and said that he, Marcie, John and Evangeline should get together for dinner soon. John agreed.

After John left, Michael thought to himself, “My brother has already fallen and doesn’t even realize it”.