Disclaimer: I own nothing, don't sue.

Author's Note: So... this is one of two series that I started and then promptly forgot about. But thanks to Missy's urgings I have picked it up again and chapter 3 is almost complete. :) I hope you enjoy it!

Summary: Natalie believes herself to be pregnant with an imposter's baby, but John knows the truth. Will he tell her or her so-called dead husband the truth, or will his own selfish desires keep the truth hidden until it's too late?

Part 2

Natalieopened the carriage house door and walked in, suddenly feeling self-conscious as she tossed her purse on the couch. "Do you want a beer? I think there might be some left from when Kevin lived here."

"No, I'm good. Should we sit down?" She nodded; her heart suddenly pounding as she moved her purse to the ground and slowly sat down. John took the seat on the other side of the couch, leaving a cushion between them. It might as well have been an island, Natalie thought idly as she waited for him to say something.

John couldn't take his eyes off of Natalie's face as he searched for the words he knew would bring her world crashing to the ground.

"Natalie—"

He was interrupted by Natalie's cell phone ringing. "I'm sorry." He leaned down, taking the phone out of her purse and handing it to her. "It's fine."

She answered it, mouthing another 'Sorry' to John. He waved it off as she talked to Kelly and made plans for them to have lunch. After a moment she was finally able to get off the phone.

"I'm so sorry. What were you saying?"

He hesitated, drinking in the sight of her. She was smiling more happily than she had in months and her eyes had finally gotten their old sparkle back. He opened his mouth and then shut it again.

He knew he was a coward and selfish, but he couldn't be the one to take that away from her… or himself. He knew that when she found out the truth she would never speak to him again, and he didn't think he could live with that.

"John?" Her voice was gentle but it was enough to bring him back to the moment.

"Are you okay? You seemed to get lost for a minute there."

"I'm fine. I just—I can't believe I'm getting a chance to say this."

"Say what?" Her voice was tinged with a hint of worry, but there was another emotion evident that he couldn't quite discern—hope?

He leaned over and gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "I should have told you this a long time ago. I love you, Natalie. I can understand if after all my stupid mistakes you don't think you can chance anything, but—"

He was cut off by Natalie's soft lips pressing against his. He wrapped his arms around her and moved as close to her as physical law—and her pregnant belly—would allow.

Natalie sighed as she melted into the kiss, and it was finished all too quickly as John pulled back. He pressed his forehead to hers, breathing heavily as he opened his eyes to see the confusion and desire swimming in the blue depths of her eyes.

"I don't think—" He took another deep breath as he pulled away slightly, still keeping her in his arms. "I don't think we should go any further until we talk."

She smiled. Another woman might have been offended by the fact that he had stopped things, but she knew that whatever John had to say had to be huge.

"Okay, but I have to warn you—unless you move out of reaching distance I'm not sure I can think coherently." She flashed him her warmest smile and he chuckled.

"You have a point." He couldn't resist kissing her again before he released her and moved to sit in the chair across from the couch.

"I don't think that we should just jump into anything—we've both been hurt before, both by others and each other. I want to take things slow… just see where they lead. I love you Natalie and I don't want to screw this up."

Natalie's eyes filled with tears at the tenderness she heard in his tone. "I agree," she began slowly. "We have hurt each other—some of the time intentionally, and even more often unintentionally. I think that slow would be good—just not as slow as we've been going, okay?"

He chuckled. "I'm not sure that I could go back to that, not after tonight."

She smiled and jumped as the clock chimed eleven o'clock. "Wow. I can't believe it's so late—not that it's actually late, but I have an early morning."

"Is that your polite, indirect way of saying 'get the hell out'?" His eyes twinkled with amusement as she flushed scarlet. "Of course it's not, I just—" Her voice trailed off when he began to laugh and she picked up a pillow, throwing it at him.

She couldn't hold back a shriek of laughter as he stood up and walked over to the couch. "John, don't you dare!" She struggled to her feet as he suddenly changed direction and headed into the kitchen. Suddenly there was a loud crash, and then a deathly silence.

"John?" she called out, a slight tinge of worry coloring her voice. "Damn it!" She let out the breath she'd been holding at John's words. She began to walk into the kitchen. "Natalie, don't take another step!" She stopped quickly, bringing her foot back from where she had almost stepped and looked down to see a large piece of glass where her foot had almost gone.

"What on earth—" John shook his head, unable to help the laugh that escaped him as he pointed at the large puddle of water that was still growing. Natalie shook her head, laughing helplessly as she leaned back against the wall and placed a hand on her belly.

"Were you going to dump that over my head?" she asked once their laughter had subsided. He gave her his most endearing smile and she cursed herself for melting so easily. "Yeah. That look in your eyes kind of makes me glad that I dropped the glass though."

He saw the shadow cross her eyes and then disappear so quickly he almost questioned if it had really been there to begin with. He slowly picked a careful path through the glass and gently touched her cheek.

"What's wrong?"

She shook her head and turned her face from him, fighting back tears. "Hey," he said softly, moving his hand underneath her chin and gently turning her back to face him. "You can tell me anything."

"It's just—when I heard that crash…" Her voice trailed off but she had said enough. He slid his arms around her and held her as she buried her face into his shoulder.

After a moment she pulled back, rubbing her stomach as he gently wiped away her tears with his thumb. "I'm sorry," she whispered, gently gripping his wrist and holding his hand to her cheek. "I know I'm just being—"

"Hey. You're scared, that's nothing to be ashamed of. I can't promise much about the future but I can promise you this—Nobody is going to take me away from you without one hell of a fight." He leaned in and kissed her temple tenderly.

Natalie reached a hand up to gently caress his cheek, overwhelmed by his words.

"Thank you," she whispered, unable to say anything else. He smiled, leaning in to kiss her lovingly.

"Where are your cleaning supplies?" he asked, smiling to see the sparkle back in her eyes once the kiss was finished.

TO BE CONTINUED