Caf, Grease, and Books (Kaitlyn)

[Luke Troyer]

Luke was still trying to figure out why he was still in school. Every night over the past several weeks was spent up late either studying or earning spending credits, just like how we was up late again tonight. While his account was never empty, the dark haired student liked to earn his own keep rather than live off his parents business earnings. The only thing Luke allowed them to pay for was the apartment that he lived which was not too far from the diner he was sitting in.

Dex's Diner, the place was a grease trap, but they had best caf and breakfast food in all of the surrounding university districts which occupied Coruscant. The native born Coruscanti loved the food there, and the atmosphere was usually conducive to studying. The force knew most of the credits Luke earned were spent on the Caf and Bacon the place offered. It was a testament to how much work Luke usually did get done.

A Ph.D. in chemistry was hard to come by in the sense it required perseverance. The formulas in each homework assignment had to be perfect, and Luke was tested on them all daily. There was no room for error, becasue an error could mean someone's life, especially in the field of work Luke was wanting to enter. Yes, the man was currently part of the Coruscanti Security Force as part of their ordinances unit, but that was just becasue they were paying his tuition. Another reason his grades had to remain above a certian level.

Luke's problem was that he needed a break. So despite the three open text books on the table of the corner booth he usually occupied, his attention was on the tremendous twelve platter he had ordered. The scruffy looking graduate student was enjoying the three eggs, hashbrowns, four bacon strips, and four hotcakces which made up the meal. Twelve items, hence the name, and Luke sure enjoyed every bite of what he ate.

This contributed to Luke's other problem. His current lifestyle led to no social life. He knew more about the people in the diner than anyone else, because they were the only real consistent people in his life. Pathetic, yes. This was Luke's reality though, a small sacrifice for his future. What a life, diner junkies, greasy food, Coruscant's best caf, text books, and smells which came from the kitchen. Ironically, Luke liked it.

[Kaitlyn Carter]

Kaitlyn stepped off the sky tram as it came to a stop at the CoCo Town platform, then scaled the steps downward to the street level. The young doctor had just finished a grueling thirty-six hour shift in the emergency room at the Fobosi Medcenter; one district over. The Chandrilan transplant lived just a few blocks away from Dex's Diner and that is where the surgical resident was going to stop for some good old fashion grub before going to her apartment to sleep away her precious time off from the hospital. Eat, sleep, and do laundry were her usual activities when not taking care of patients. A social life would have to wait until she achieved her dream of being a first rate trauma surgeon… Most men were too selfish to put up with her demanding schedule so why even bother. It was a distraction anyway from her studies.

Dressed in the same civie clothes the golden blonde had worn to work a day and a half ago, she walked into the greasy food restaurant and took a seat at the empty counter. It was very late and only one other patron was there, who was sitting in a corner booth chin deep in books; the guy most likely a student as the scene looked very familiar to her own undergraduate and medical school days.

After ordering her usual post-shift omelet, hash browns, toast, and freshly squeezed orange juice, the blonde doctor pulled out her iComm and began going through her messages; most being from her mother checking up on her only daughter. That is when Kait got the feeling she was being watched. Dark chocolate eyes gazed over her shoulder to find a pair of nice gray-blue orbs looking her way from the corner booth. She flashed a small smile at the ruggedly handsome man, then quickly went back to checking the messages on her personal communication device.

[Luke Troyer]

Luke had just barely gotten his order in when the chime on the diner door indicated someone had entered. The doctoral candidate was too busy writing out a formula to look up at first, but he was curious that another patron would be in the diner this late at night. Usually Luke was the only one there, thus why he knew the staff so well. In fact the cook and one server were the only staff this late at night. Once the formula was recorded, Luke took his eyes out of his book and ran his hands over his face, took a drink of caf, and looked over to the new patron.

Wow she was gorgeous! The blonde was dressed nice, nicer than he was. Luke couldn't help but notice how her outfit fit her shape well, at least what he could tell from how she sat on the stool. Her chocolate eyes caught his blue orbs. The smile she gave made the student respond in kind before his nose went back to his books. He quickly finished his caf as Luke tried to come up with an excuse to say hi. The blonde seemed engrossed with her iComm, but he couldn't blame her. He was in his books and not usually inclined to talk to strangers when studying. Troyer was very much wanting to make an exception.

The waitress saw Luke was out of caf and she came to top him off. Of course the server was a droid, but Luke didn't really care. The machine was his social outlet. He was so pathetic.

"Here, ya go sugar," the droid said before rolling over to Kaitlyn. "...and here's that orange juice doc!"

Now that was an opening. Luke grabbed his caf and walked over to the counter. He didn't want to lose his place so he left them open on the table. There wouldn't be enough room for the food so the counter would work. He purposefully left a seat between him and where the blonde was sitting.

"I'll take my food here Louise," Luke said to the droid and looked over to the pretty blonde, a smile flashing across his face involuntarily. "Hi," he said as Louise set his order on the counter in front of him. "I'm Luke, nice to finally meet another regular. I'm usually in here alone."

[Kaitlyn Carter]

The blonde wiped some pulp off her lip with a napkin after taking a sip of the freshly squeezed orange juice, then tilted her head and flashed another smile at the guy, who had moved to the counter.

"Hi, I'm Kaitlyn. The feeling is mutual," she nodded, then made room for her own meal as Louise placed the plate down in front of her.

"Late night study session I take it… What has your attention over there?" the young medical resident motioned with her golden head towards the books on the table in the corner before taking her first bite.

[Luke Troyer]

"The first book, biochemistry. The second and third are for reference. If the formulas are wrong, someone dies."

Luke took a bite of his bacon.

"I'm a Ph.D. candidate at University of Coruscsnt."

It was to the point, but Luke was hungry and small talk kept his stomach empty. Besides the blonde seemed like the type who liked getting answered directly.

"Nice to meet you, Kaitlyn. So doc? Is it safe to assume that I'm not the only doctoral hopeful here?"

This was interesting. Kaitlyn was easy to talk to, at least so far. Hmmm, maybe this was the beginning of a real social life.

[Kaitlyn Carter]

Kaitlyn listened thoughtfully as she chewed on a piece of toast; an impressed look upon her face. This guy was seemingly no slouch.

"Biochem, huh… Good for you. That is a tough major. I graduated from college with a biology degree and minored in that. I'm currently a third year medical resident at Fobosi in their surgical program, which is through the Medical Academy of Coruscant… Hence why Louise refers to me as Doc," she replied, then took another sip of juice.

"Erm... How far along are you with your doctorate? And what are you wanting to do with it once your done, if I may be so bold to ask?" the blonde asked curiously, then forked up some ketchup-bathed hash brows to scarf down. One thing Kait had learned over the years in med school is when the chance to eat a good meal comes, take it because one never knows when the the next chance will come.

[Luke Troyer]

"So, you are a doc then," Luke stated with a satisfied nod before crushing his over medium eggs and mixing them in with his hashbrown, topped off with hot sauce, salt, and pepper.

He promply forked a large helping into his mouth not wanting to wait to make sure he had it just right. There was something about the yoke and egg whites mixed in with the hashbrowns that he absolutely loved. Though, there was still a question in the air, and Luke did not want to be rude, at all! Kaitlyn was nice, smart, had to be for what she did, and very pretty. That combination was very rate it seemed these days. Luke wanted to get to know her. As cheesy at it sounded, he wanted to see if there might be any chemistry between the two. Right, cheesy because he was a chemist.

"I'm on my fifth year, and all that..." his head bobbed to his books, "...is all the research for my discertation. I figured with the war going on I would do research into ways that sceince, chemistry, can minimize the effects of chemical warefare, and develop some methods to treat civilians and combatants alike."

Luke similed and took another bite of his food. Initially he was worried Kaitlyn might be bored with his topic, but he had to remind himself he was talking to someone who was a medical professional. The concept might actually be intriging to her. A thought which struck Luke as odd, because the man wasn't used to people being interested in his research, especially cute women.

"Future, that's still up in the air. My parents want to me to work for thier company. I have an outstanding job offer to head up the chemical engineering departement of Troyer Engineering. Dad is always looking to expand the company. I actually wouldn't mind getting into that line of work, and my degree could get me work anywhere. Right now, I am focused on my discertation, and if the research proves viable, I may apply for a grant to further the research. Who knows it could change how we can treat certain cases that would be written off as hopeless now."

Luke was getting excited talking about his research, so much so that he felt the need to apologize.

"Sorry," he said with a smile, "Most people don't ask about what I'm researching, and never women, especially pretty ones like you."

[Kaitlyn Carter]

"No need to apologize. I find it refreshing to talk to a man, as seemingly poised for his future and good-looking as yourself, to appreciate me for my brains as well as my others attributes. I'd say it's a win-win situation for us both. Wouldn't you agree?"

Kaitlyn winked, then turned back to her omelet that needed some attention before it got cold. A few minutes of quiet passed between them as each finished their late-night breakfast meals to satisfaction; a sideways glance or two sneaked in between bites of food. It had been a long time since the Chandrilan had enjoyed just sitting, talking, and well yeah, flirting a bit, though Kait had to wonder why she even bothered with flirting back. It would go nowhere as she didn't have time for a casual affair even though force knew she could use a good distraction. How long had it been? Not that her mind was going there to begin with… Just that he wasn't a total throwaway by a long shot. Gah… Why did she do this to herself?!

A yawn thankfully came to the tired resident's lips as the diner's wall chrono chimed at the top of the late hour. The long-legged blonde dropped a few credits onto the counter to cover her bill with a little extra for the waitress even though the droid had no use for a monetary reward, then stood from the stool she'd been sitting on.

"Well it's been nice chatting with you, Luke. Time for me to go ni ni. Good luck on your dissertation," Kait smiled, then turned to leave, shouldering her large handbag as she walked towards the door.

[Luke Troyer]

"Well the odds of that are like winning the lottery," Luke said with a smirk.

Actually there was truth to that. Smart, pretty, nice, and interested in biochemistry, Kaitlyn knew what she wanted to do with herself and was going after it, yup the odds of winning the lottery might actually be better than that. Luke might have left the opportunity pass by, considering he had no space in his hectic schedule for a relationship of any kind, but the quiet flirting between the two as they both finished off their separate meals had pretty much pushed Luke over the edge of actually wanting to make he time in his schedule.

The Chemist was about to say something, but before he could, Kaitlyn was paying and saying good night. Luke quickly pulled out a few credits and put the them on the table. He scooped his books and notes back into his messenger style book bag. The wall chrono had pretty much told him it was too late to keep working if he wanted any sleep, and Kaitlyn's yawn was contagious. It was time to go home, but he also couldn't let her leave. She was out the door before Luke could catch up, but he managed to catch up with a little bit of a speed walk.

"You're not walking home by yourself are you," Luke asked as he came along side of her. "CoCo town isn't the best place this late at night you know. Mind if I at least see you to your door safe?"

Right, Kaitlyn would see it for what it was. Yes, Luke was genuinely concerned about her walking home alone this late at night, but he also was trying to buy a few more minutes getting to know her. Luke might also be after a comm frequency number too.

"Or your number, or both," he said trying real hard to not come off as desperate.

[Kaitlyn Carter]

Kaitlyn's long and purposeful stride had carried her to the end of the extended city block by the time the chemist caught up with her. The doctor saw his reflection in a passing store window so Luke didn't scare her when he came up beside her, plus his nice smelling spicy male-scented aftershave pre-dated him. She gave the rather handsome bearded guy a sideways glance and flashed him a lopsided grin. He was so trying to pick her up.

"Don't let my looks deceive you… I'm very capable of taking care of myself out and about, but you're more than welcome to keep me company the next couple of blocks," Kait replied, then asked.

"So do you live around here as well? Are you a native or a transplant like me?" she asked before motioning to cross over to the other side of the street at the green light.

[Luke Troyer]

"Right, and I don't doubt you at all, but I would have felt bad if I didn't at least offer," Luke said after she accepted. "Thanks for not bruising the ego," he chuckled.

Luke followed along side, across the street as the course was very familiar. They were heading toward his building. In fact they were only five blocks away. That's partly why Luke found himself at Dex's Diner so often. Out of all the places in CoCo town, it was the best place to study. His mind was not on the books though. As Kaitlyn kept walking, Luke kept catching her scent. The perfume she was wearing was absolutely intoxicating. His mind was definitely finding itself wandering to the realm of "what if," and his resolve to get her number and secure a date increased.

"I live five blocks this way," he said as the took a left. "I'm I the Westin Estates, fifth floor overlooking the street here."

Luke liked his place. It was outfitted well thanks to his parents, but that's all he let them help him with.

"I was born here, but have lived on Rendili, Corellia, and Denon. My father personally oversaw each expansion and we lived on those planets long enough to see the factories and firms built and manned. We moved back here when I got into high school and I've been here since."

Luke kept paying attention to the buildings looking for which one she would stop at.

"So, do you like it here, or do you miss home? Oh, where is home by the way?"

[Kaitlyn Carter]

CoCo Town was a mix of old and new architecture. Where Luke lived it was a newer building and rather swanky in contrast to the medical resident's that was old and not plush by any means, though it fit her needs for now.

"Nice… I live in the co-ops just up ahead. I don't require much as I spend most of my time at the hospital. Someday though I hope to have a nice home like my parents do on Chandrila. That is where I'm from. I have to admit I really miss the natural open spaces and the sea as I was born and raised in Hanna City," Kait answered.

A few more meters and they were at Kaitlyn's entrance to her apartment building; a staired-stoop that had a locked outside door with a comm unit on the wall to get buzzed in by an occupant if someone was visiting.

"Well, here we are. Thank you for seeing me home. I enjoyed getting to know you as brief as it was," she smiled, then took out a mini-sharpie from her handbag, and reached for the chemist's hand and wrote her comm number across his large palm.

"If you ever want to talk biochem over dinner, give me a call," the golden blonde winked, then walked up the steps with her keycard out ready to go in.

[Luke Troyer]

"The co-ops are nice. I used to live on the fourth floor, but my parents wouldn't have there boy living here, so the decided they would spring for the rent at a new place. Kinda frustrating what they won't just let me work hard and make it on my own, but they just really want to help with my goals, so I finally stopped arguing with them and let them help. The extra savings has gone right into my research, so I guess in a way you could say I found an underwriter."

Luke really hoped what he just said hadn't come off like he was a mooch or living off his parents. The truth was everything did go into his research, and he did appreciate it. His clothing and messenger bag were evidence that what he said was true. In fact, Luke would still be in the co-ops if his parents hadn't been so insistent they help.

"I've never been to Chandrilla or Hana City, but if the sights are as pretty as their native women, I need to put the place on my bucket list."

That sounded cheesy once it came out. Way better sounding in his head, but eh it was out there, and it was the truth. He must have done something right in the short time they had met because she was giving him her comm number. A little wink and invite to talk biochem over dinner made Luke chuckle as his response was dinner talking anything but biochem. Though it would be good to have her perspective on his research if she was willing to look it over.

"Thanks for the number, and letting me walk with you. You'll definitely be getting a call for dinner sometime, in fact, maybe something as soon as this weekend," Luke asked taking one step up, but stopping there so she would know he had no intention of going any further. He was really just planting a thought for her to think about so she could accept or shoot him down when he called later. "Goodnight, Kaitlyn," he said handing her a flimsi card with his comm number on it. "That way you'll know it's me when I call."

***********

Luke wasn't wanting to look desperate so he fought the urge to call the moment he woke up. The doctoral candidate had a couple of interviews he needed to make for his research. Some of the leading researchers in the area of chemical warfare were going to be speaking at a convention, one he couldn't get into, but they had made some time to answer any questions he had over a lunch meeting. Of course Luke had to pay, it was part of the incentive.

It was mid afternoon by the time he made it back to his apartment, and he sat on the leather couch and pulled out his iComm. Kaitlyn's number was programmed in already, and once he had it pulled up he called it. The typical tone indicated the call had connected. Now he just had to be patient and see if she picked up.

[Kaitlyn Carter]

Kaitlyn reversed her steps, coming down the stairs slowly to the one above his, then reached for the offered flimsi card, taking it from the bearded Coruscanti.

"I'll look forward to hearing from you then... Goodnight, Luke," she smiled, placing the card into the outside pocket on her handbag, then turned purposefully and let herself into the apartment building without looking back.

~~~

The hospital caf was really bad, but the need for caffeine overruled the wants of Kait's tastebuds especially after being in surgery most of the day helping to repair the multiple injuries of a young speeder accident victim. The surgical resident took a sip of the hot liquid sludge, then went back to work writing post-op orders on her patient. That's when her personal comm device vibrated in her lab coat pocket. Taking her white iComm out, the Chandrilan saw who the caller ID said it was, which immediately brought a pleasantly surprised smile to her tired face.

"Hello… This is Dr. Carter," the golden blonde answered professionally yet with a sweet tone.

[Luke Troyer]

The dial tone rang three times before Luke heard the familiar click that the call was being answered. The sweet, near alto, voice of Kaitlyn greeted him in a professional manner which tipped him off that she might be at the hospital working.

"Hey, Doc," he said in reference to Louise's name for her, "I caught you at work didn't I?"

Of course he had, that would have been his luck. Hopefully she wasn't on call for surgery or something, but in case she were, Luke had a windo and he needed to take advantage of it.

"I'll make this quick so I'm not a distraction, but how about I meet you at the bottom of your building at the stairs tomorrow night at seven? I know a great Teriyaki place if you're up for it?"

Yes Luke was to the point, but he needed to be. They would have time for chit chat later, unless Kaitlyn indicated she had time to talk a bit more.