A/N: Sorry it's short--there's a lot of loose ends that will be wrapped up in the next chapter. Hopefully those ends will be tied up faster than the show and the stupid "who kill your daddy?" story that's going on right now. Bonus points if you can tell me what the giant chicken comment is about. Until next time--ya'll are the best--PCGirl.

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"I went ahead and bought coffee—do you still take yours black, John?" asked Natalie as she walked into Damon's office with her arms full with three cups.

"Thanks," said John as he helped her and passed one to Damon. "Did you find that wrap thingy at the gallery?" he asked as she took her seat.

"No—maybe I left it at the neighbors when I dropped off—," she stopped, realizing she was talking out loud.

"Natalie—," said John slowly.

"Jonathan," she repeated in the same tone, a smile appearing on her lips and her eyes dancing with laughter.

The look she gave him made John smile and he decided to drop the discussion and turned to Damon, "What did you learn about our photographer while we were gone?"

"Eric Lansing is a free lance photographer—seems legit enough. I actually looked into the photographer from the first shoot—his bank account shows a large deposit of cash two months ago—I'm trying to make up a timeline here of when each woman was chosen for the article."

"Make sure to note when the first photographer left," said Natalie as her phone began to ring and she walked out to take the call, "Hey—yeah, I got back in late last night—I'll come by at lunch and pick her up—thank you so much for watching her on short notice. Were there any problems? Oh no—I'll pay for it—no don't be silly. Tell her I love her and I'll see her soon," she smiled as she hung up the phone and realized John was standing right outside the door.

"Sorry—Damon has a phone call. I want to go to the magazine's office—start asking around. Maybe I can get an idea as to what happened to the first photographer. You got plans?"

"Yeah—I need to get down to the lab for a bit—make sure the new techs know what they are doing," she winked and then laughed as she turned and walked off.

John just watched her—the parts he heard of the phone conversation didn't make sense. Had she had a child since he last saw her? Had she actually been able to find herself in bed with another man and not see him?

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John walked into the ornate office—and towards the oversized reception desk. Behind the desk was a large mural of the Atlanta skyline in the center, with different landmarks scattered throughout. Is that a giant chicken?, thought John as he reached the desk and saw the young receptionist sitting behind it, filing her nails and smacking on gum. When she saw him arrive the nail file suddenly disappeared and she put on a warm smile to greet him with.

"Hi—welcome to the offices of Buzz Magazine—can I help you?

"Hi—I'm FBI Agent McBain—I was wondering if there was someone I could speak with about your business."

"Well, what is it you wanted to know?" she smiled bashfully, though he could tell she was starting to get nervous. Not that she probably had anything to hide—she just didn't know how to react to a Federal Agent.

"The magazine—it just got bought recently, correct?"

"Oh yes—it was bought by a private individual by the name of Charles Rose. Anything else?"

"I need to speak with the writer of your series of articles on career driven women. Is he in?"

"No—I believe he went to meet with Mr. Rose this morning to determine the next lady for those articles. Mr. Rose has been picky about this one—I think he wants to stop the articles at where they are."

"Mr. Rose picks them himself?" asked John, slightly shocked at the news.

"Oh yes—he's very hands on in that aspect of the business especially."

"I'm sure he is," smiled John.

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"You're back," smiled Natalie as she watched John walk down the hallway to her office.

"Yeah—didn't get much. The man that did the article—James—he was out with the new owner trying to decide on the next woman to interview. I gave him my number—want to set up a meeting with him. Hopefully he can help set up the timeline that Damon's trying to get straight."

"You want to go out for lunch while we wait for the call? I know a place that has amazing burgers—they have a pool table too," she smiled as he nodded.

"JOHN!" came a shout from down the hall and they both turned to see a young blonde come running towards him and throw her arms around his neck.

Natalie stood there watching the scene unfold—John's arms going around her waist to hug her back. She felt like an intruder and instead of putting it off as just a friend she realized he must have been in a relationship.

"Hey--Ashton—what are you doing here?" asked John as he removed his hands from her waist and looked back at her.

"My assignment was up—I have the weekend off. Why? Are you busy?" she asked, playing with the buttons on his shirt—being way too close for them being just friends.

"I—," he stopped and looked over to Natalie who was standing there.

"It's ok, John. I have something I need to do for lunch anyways. Nice to meet you," she said as she quickly turned and walked off.

"Oh, did I interrupt something?" smiled Ashton as John just stood there and watched Natalie leave.