Drawn In

"Like a moth I'm drawn into your flame.
Say my name, but it's not the same.
You look in my eyes; I'm stripped of my pride.
And my soul surrenders and you bring my heart to its knees."

Apocalyptica, "Not Strong Enough", 7th Symphony, 2010.

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He walked into the church hoping to find his prey. He came to halt as he walked through the entry to the chapel, realizing he was too late. The church was empty. He was turning on his heels to leave when he heard something. Unsure, he paused to listen. The sobs were quiet, but he had definitely heard them. Quickly his eyes scanned the pews in the church, finally coming to rest on the dark hair of a woman sitting in a pew crying quietly, facing away from him.

That character trait of his which drove his need to play hero to a damsel in distress reared its ugly head. He chastised himself for the character flaw even has he walked towards the woman. Damn his need to protect women in trouble, he thought. What he wouldn't admit is that even without seeing her face or knowing who she was, he was drawn to her. He reached out to put a comforting hand on her shoulder, expecting her to jump at the unexpected intrusion.

He felt it the moment he touched her. He couldn't name it, but he definitely felt it. It was warm, familiar, and comfortable. It was also alive, electric, and passionate. The woman didn't jump in surprise as he had expected. Instead she turned slowly and looked up into his face. As her eyes met his, her faced betrayed a confused surprise.

"You. I know you." She told him softly.

Taking a deep breath to regain his balance, his brain kicked into overdrive. He quickly tried to remember if he had ever seen her before. After a moment's consideration, he came up blank. What he couldn't deny was that somehow he knew her as well. Curious about what their connection was, he sat down in the pew behind her, leaning forward to rest his wrists on the back of the pew she was seated in.

"I know you, don't I?" she asked, somewhat uncertain. She was still looking into his eyes.

"I don't…think we've ever met." He told her hesitantly. He felt that familiarity just as she did, but he couldn't understand it. He couldn't look away from her, even as she continued to look into his eyes.

"I recognize you. There's something about your eyes." She insisted.

"Maybe I remind you of someone." He told her. He shook his head slightly, more so to clear his thoughts than to negate her statement.

"That's not it. Are you sure we don't know each other?" she asked.

He paused for a moment, leery of giving away too much beacause of the reason he was there. Deciding it wouldn't cause a problem, he relented.

"My name is John McBain." He told her quietly.

Wanting to comfort this woman in what limited way he could, John listened to her as she talked about a rift between herself and her husband. The situation in some ways sounded so much like what he had been through with Natalie, it reminded him of how painful it had all been. When she got up to walk away a bit from him, he realized she was pregnant. Wanting to limit her upset, he diverted her into a conversation about babies, even showing her a picture of Liam. He tried to reassure her that her marriage wasn't over.

"You know, one lie doesn't have to ruin everything." He said.

"Oh, really? You don't know Jason Morgan." She quickly shot back.

Jason Morgan. John paused. This beautiful pregnant woman left crying alone in a church was married to the Mob Enforcer that he would have to go through to get to Sonny Corinthos. This was a complication he hadn't predicted. He held back from saying more to her and let her talk out of both curiosity and a sense of self-preservation. Finally, she finished venting her concerns, and turned to ask him why he was there.

Not able to lie to her, John told her he had unfinished business with Sonny. They exchanged the usual barbs about cops and mobsters, played the 'you're out of your jurisdiction' game, and finally decided it was time to part ways. Not wanting to leave her upset and alone, John offered her a ride, which she refused.

Just as he was ready to leave, she turned and asked him one more question.

"Are you sure we haven't met before?"

After a pause, he gave her the only honest answer he could.

"Maybe in another lifetime."

At that, John turned to walk away from her. Feeling that connection, that sense of familiarity, he found himself unable to walk out of the church without glancing back at the woman. She stood where he'd left her, a puzzled look on her face.

She was watching him just as he was watching her.

Author's Note: So far, from what I can tell, there's only one scene that's already been written up in a Point-Of-View piece by someone – when John helped Sam give birth. I won't write that one up out of respect for the awesome job done by that author. I'll see how many other scenes from the show I can find to write up that inspire me. Hope you enjoy. If you have a scene you want me to try and write up, send me a PM and I'll see what I can do.