"Trusting Again"
"What is it?" Cutter asked as Natalie flashed him a look of shock after looking down at the message on her phone.
"My uncle. He's had a heart attack," Natalie said frantically, "I need to go to the hospital."
"Okay, I'll drive you," Cutter said as he looked around for his pants. They had finally taken the next step in their relationship that night and, in the heat of passion, clothing was strewn throughout the floor of Natalie's apartment.
"No, Liam, I can't wake him up." Natalie spoke in a whisper as she looked toward the bedroom where Liam had slept soundly for at least the past few hours.
Cutter nodded his head. To be completely honest, he had forgotten about Natalie's son. He had never met Liam and each time he had come over to the apartment, Liam had either been with his grandparents, a sitter, or sleeping. He chuckled to himself quietly at the thought of Liam sleeping through the fervent love-making that had ensued just before Natalie heard her phone beep from the living room. "I'll stay here. You go be with your family." Cutter said unquestionably.
Natalie's glum face instantly turned into a thankful grin. "Are you sure? I mean, he should stay asleep until morning."
"Absolutely. The little guy won't even know you're gone." Cutter reassured Natalie as she quickly dressed, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and rushed out of the door.
After flipping through the channels on the television and pausing on a few infomercials, Cutter sat up and began wandering around Natalie's apartment. He and Natalie had never gotten deep into a conversation about either of their pasts; Natalie completely brushed off any questions Cutter posed about her past, and she never asked him anything. Cutter knew, however, that Natalie was no stranger to the trouble that Cutter brought with him to Llanview, and that he had hurt many people that she cared about when he first arrived. Cutter smiled to himself; Natalie was a very special girl for putting aside the past and letting him prove that he had changed for the better. He looked at a few pictures on the shelf, one of Natalie with Liam at the beach, one of Natalie, her sister Jessica, and their kids, and one of Natalie holding Liam as an infant, with the man who had broken her heart, John McBain.
Natalie never talked about what had happened with her and John, but it must have been big. He knew that John McBain would never approve of Natalie in a relationship with Cutter, so he was sure that Natalie hadn't been talking to him about it. Hell, he knew that Natalie's own parents would not be thrilled, to say the least, of the thought of Natalie with Cutter.
At that moment, Cutter heard the floor creak and turned to see a small boy, dressed in plaid pajama bottoms and a gray t-shirt, rubbing his eyes as he walked further into the living room.
"Mom, mom," Liam's small voice filled the living room. He stopped when he saw a shirtless Cutter standing before him. "Who are you? Where's my mom?" There was panic in Liam's voice. He always knew if his mom was going out for the night, and if she was, he would expect to see his babysitter Jodi, or one of his relatives.
Cutter had never had any interactions with kids before, let alone ones that looked completely scared out of their minds. "Hey, Buddy, um, your mom's not here right now. She had to go to..um, out for a little bit." Cutter hesitated before crouching down to meet Liam's eyes. "My name is Cutter. I'm your mom's..friend." He put his right hand out in front of him to shake Liam's, but Liam just turned the other way.
"I…want…my…mommy! You aren't supposed to be here!" Liam shouted as he ran towards the phone in the kitchen.
Cutter ran after him. Of course Natalie's son would be as quick-witted as his mother. "Hey, hey," Cutter said softly as he took the phone from Liam's hand. "I promise you that your mom will be back in the morning. But right now, you need to go back to sleep."
The deep scowl on Liam's face softened as he met the eyes of the man in front of him. "I can't sleep."
Cutter breathed a sigh of relief as Liam looked into his eyes. "Okay, you can't sleep, why not, did you have a bad dream?" Liam nodded his head and looked down on the floor. "Why don't you tell me what it was about?" Cutter motioned for Liam to join him on the couch. Liam paused before walking over and hopping onto the couch.
"The bad man, the man on the boat, he took all the gold…" Liam started as Cutter listened intently.
Natalie ran into the emergency room desperately looking for a familiar face. She scanned the room until she saw her mother sitting in a chair, comforting Nora, whose head was in her hands. "Mom..." Natalie uttered as Viki looked up.
"Oh, darling, thank you for coming" Viki said gratefully as she hugged her daughter.
"How is he?" Natalie asked.
"We don't know anything yet, he's in with the doctors." Viki glanced at the corner of the waiting room, where a distraught Clint stood facing the window looking out into the dark night. "Your father, Clint, was with him when it happened, he hasn't said anything."
Natalie looked over at her father. Something had definitely been off with him. Although she had been able to forgive him for keeping John away from her and Liam, she knew he was distressed with all that happened with Viki in the past few weeks.
As Natalie looked back over at her mother she saw Matthew walk into the waiting room with coffee for his mother and Viki. She gave him a sympathetic nod. Matthew was one of those people she had trouble relating to. Matthew had received a normal upbringing in the Buchanan household. Although he hadn't been raised by Bo for some years, there was nothing so unusual about his childhood that would explain his behavior the past few months. Natalie had gotten close to Destiny, bonding over their sons and being single parents. She was angry at Matthew for not accepting Drew as his son. Natalie wants nothing more for her son to be raised by two parents, and seeing that Drew has that opportunity and it is not being pursued makes her very upset. She immediately thought back to Liam and hoped he was still asleep, for his sake and Cutter's.
"Well, you know what Liam, you don't need to be afraid of the thieves. All you need is a little help from Captain Liam Blackbeard and his partner, Peg-leg Wentworth," Cutter stated as he stood from the couch with his fist in the air. He saw Liam giggle. Liam ran off the couch and towards his bedroom with a determined look on his face. He came out moments later with two pirate hats, eye patches, swords, telescopes, and other toys. Cutter smiled. "Natalie's kid is awesome," he said to himself, as he walked over to where Liam put down all his toys.
Natalie came back over to her waiting family, which now included David, after trying to comfort her father. With no luck, Natalie somberly looked up at her mother. From her face, Natalie could tell that they were still waiting for information on Uncle Bo's condition. Just then, Nora looked up as she saw a doctor walk over to her, "Mrs. Buchanan, your husband is resting peacefully." Everyone let out a sigh and smiled. Nora instantly hugged Viki, and Natalie walked over to give her support. The doctor continued, "Your husband had a mild heart attack. Although he seemed to be in good health, other factors can contribute to this condition including family history and stress." Natalie looked over to Clint. "Something definitely happened between the two of them," she thought to herself.
Viki tapped Natalie on the shoulder, "Sweetheart, I think I'm going to go home now, and come visit Bo in the morning when he is awake."
Natalie nodded, "Yeah, I'm just glad he is going to be okay. I need to get home to."
Viki looked around, "Darling, where is Liam?" Viki knew that Natalie would not leave Liam home alone in the middle of the night, but also knew that she called Natalie way too late for her to get a sitter.
"Oh, he's with…um…a friend," Natalie smiled.
Viki knew that smile. This wasn't just a friend. "A friend, hub? Who just happened to be available at 2:00 in the morning to watch Liam?"
"Goodnight, Mom," Natalie laughed as she turned towards the exit. She said her final goodbyes to Nora, David, and Matthew, and headed back to her car. She wanted to tell her mother all about Cutter, but she knew that conversation would have to wait. Viki and Clint wouldn't just accept Cutter as Natalie's boyfriend, if he could even be called that. She and Cutter were just having fun for now, and she needed to find out if he really had changed.
Natalie turned to doorknob as she quietly entered her apartment. The scene before her took her breath away. On her couch lay Cutter, with his arms around a sleeping Liam, both their heads adorned with pirate hats. Liam wore a small black eye-patch, as well. As she shut the door, she saw Cutter stir. He opened his eyes and looked up at the gorgeous woman before him. "Hi," he said as Natalie walked over and took Liam off the couch. She smiled at him and walked towards Liam's bedroom.
Cutter got off the couch and immediately started picking up the toys that had been scattered on the carpet. Natalie walked out of Liam's room a few minutes later. She smiled as she wrapped her arms around his waist, "Thank you. I'm sorry that he woke up."
"Don't be sorry. We had a great time. Did you know that Captain Liam Blackbeard and his partner Peg-leg Wentworth saved Princess Natalie from the thieves aboard "The Dragon's Barnacle" tonight?" Cutter declared proudly as Natalie chuckled.
"You know, you are a very sexy pirate." She said as she planted a light kiss on his lips.
"Yeah? Do you want to see my sword?" He asked playfully as she giggled and led him into her bedroom.
To be continued...