I don't own these characters (ABCD does) - I just completely enjoy them. Hope you have fun with this next installment :) As always your kind thoughts and feedback are so appreciated and helping me to stay the course.

Chapter 9

John had followed Natalie's SUV at a safe distance out of downtown Llanview and onto the highway so he was confident she had no clue he was tailing her. Which was just as well, John simply wanted to know Nattie was going to make it home without any mishap and once she took the turn off toward Wentworth Heights, he would be on his way. He had an appointment he needed to keep, or John would have pursued what had happened between them in the garage further, forced her to take a look at the progression of their relationship with some degree of reality. The kiss had been a spontaneous reaction on his part, and probably another one of his many tactical errors when it came to Natalie. But there it was, and he could recognize it. John would never have restraint when it came to her and she had looked so lost and exquisitely lovely he'd abandoned the last of the pretense that what he really wanted from her was to essentially be friends. It was out in the open, and though he still had no idea what was going through Nattie's head, he sure as hell knew what had been the cause of her rapidly beating heart. But the timing had been lousy, because he wasn't going to be able to press home the advantage before Natalie had a chance to process what they had done and were definitely going to do. And since he was so intimately acquainted with her crazy red headed logic, John knew she was already spinning off into denial and concocting a futile plan to resume pushing him away.

"I'll be damned." John couldn't believe it, but Natalie had blown by the off ramp toward the suburbs. Now just where the hell was she going? He shadowed her for several more miles and found it interesting her focus seemed to be solely on the road in front of her with no concern for the traffic behind. As they moved farther away from Llanview, the number of vehicles on the highway had thinned, so if Natalie were simply to look in her rearview mirror she probably would have spotted the rumbling black beast trailing her by about a mile. But it appeared she was evidently lost in thought and completely fixed on reaching her destination. As they traveled a little farther into the Pennsylvania countryside, the highway narrowed from four to two lanes with three cars between Nattie's SUV and the GTO. So, that was her intention. Nattie was going in for additional back up. Sure enough, she slowed and carefully turned down the Llantano bluffs road. That was fine. He could handle it and it wasn't wholly unexpected. John was pretty certain he could predict the outcome of her little impromptu visit, and later there would be sufficient time to start figuring things out.

John pressed down on the GTO's accelerator, engaging each and every one of the 4 barrels in the carburetor and turning loose all 335 horses. He signaled and pulled out into the opposite lane roaring by the three cars blocking his passage to the open road. John shifted into 4th gear and picked up the pace to his cruising speed of 80 mph in seconds. He'd be in Pine Valley with time to spare.

Damn, but now what had she done? Natalie carefully pulled onto the back country road and accelerated smoothly. Ordinarily, she loved this road. It was a study in focused swerves around successive bends and short straight lines which tested Natalie's driving skills and even though she knew she shouldn't, she often took the track with the goal in mind of reaching her destination without once applying the brakes. But not today. She was uncharacteristically circumspect, both hands on the wheel at 10 and 2, hunched slightly forward in the seat, and her rate of speed well below the legal limit. It's how she should have conducted herself a scant half an hour ago, with prudence and decency. Natalie groaned, her cheeks flaming with the embarrassment. Shit, shit, shit! How in the hell was she ever going to make this one go away? And for heavens' sake, was she subconsciously trying to sabotage her soon to be formerly perfectly well-ordered and uneventful normal life? No, Natalie quickly reproached herself for even allowing herself such an unsettling train of thought. She may not be able to restore the balance in her microcosm of the world overnight, but she'd be damned if she would just roll over and give it all up.

What was it with her and John? Truly, it was beyond comprehension and Natalie was at a loss to understand why everything between her and John had to be so complicated. It was obvious they were certainly skilled at excelling as parents. They worked well together on this score and every decision they made was in the best interest of their child. The trouble was Natalie wasn't sure why it couldn't be enough for them to just appreciate, let alone take pleasure in their relationship on this level and leave it at that. Nattie stole a look in the rear view mirror to see her sweetly sleeping son with his thumb in his mouth as usual. Justin was indeed the best of her and John. But this was all turning into one big fat hairy mess which was spiraling so far out of control Natalie feared her existence was never going to be the same if she didn't do something drastic and now. No matter how she tried to spin it, John was formidable and though she'd tried to go slow and maintain the upper hand, he blindsided her at every opportunity with his warmth, sensitivity, and atrociously excessive male appeal. So, he'd left her no other alternative but to institute strict damage control while she put her new plan of action into motion.

As she got closer to her destination, she began to feel just the slightest glimmer of hope. The road bed skirted the spring swollen Llantano River for a time until Natalie started to climb above the flood plain. A series of three limestone terraces verdant with gnarled grapevines as far as she could see gave way to the table top and a panoramic view of the river below. Nat spotted the familiar old mailbox standing sentinel at the entrance to a crushed gravel driveway. Turning right, she started down the drive and she was glad to see Nash's battered Chevy truck parked in its usual place. When Natalie pulled up to the cottage, she noticed Nash out in the distance just west of the house and overseeing a crew in the vineyard tying up the vines. Justin was still asleep in the back seat, so when Nattie got out of the car, she took her keys from of the ignition and left the driver's side door cracked. Shading her eyes, she waited until Nash caught a glimpse of her and then Nat waved her arm above her head in an exaggerated greeting. Nash waved back and set off on the short hike from out of the vineyard. Nat loved this place. It was so peaceful, and with the new green buds on the vines ready to burst into full leaf and the wildflowers blooming in the middles between the orderly rows of trellises, it was incredibly beautiful. Nattie breathed deep and turned her face into the fresh afternoon breeze coming in off the Llantano River below the bluff and felt it cool her overheated blood.

Nash called to her as he was nearly at the top of the trail leading up from the fields to the cottage, "Nattie! This is a great surprise. What brings you out to my neck of the woods?" He was smiling broad and just seeing him, Natalie felt instantly better. As usual he was dressed in a Henley shirt layered underneath a nubby tweed jacket, his trousers tucked into his rubber boots which were caked with the rich silt soils that nurtured his flourishing vineyards.

"Hey Nash. Geez, I hope I'm not pulling you away from something important. I just needed to talk that's all. Probably should have called first, so if it's not a good time, it won't hurt my feelings if you send me on my way."

Nash pulled his sister-in-law into a warm embrace, swaying gently until he released her. "It's always a good time to see you Nat. And you've come to the right place if you need a heart to heart. Where's the little guy?"

"In his car seat, sleeping. He's had quite a day today. We met Michael, Marcie, and the baby for lunch and after, he did the petting zoo."

"Well, I'll get him, and then we can go inside and have a glass of wine and you can give me your opinion on my vintner's select cabernet sauvignon. Bree's still at school so Justin should be able to finish his nap before Jessica brings her home and she riles him up again. Come on Nattie, I can see something's really bothering you. So let's get to it."

Nash carefully lifted the sleeping Justin from his car seat and the two went into the cottage. By the time Nash came back from laying Justin down in Bree's room, Nattie had her heels off and was sitting cross-legged on the ottoman in front of the fire. Nash went to the living room sideboard and poured two glasses of a deep full bodied ruby red cabernet from the nearly full bottle. He handed Natalie her glass and sat on the sofa opposite her.

Natalie sipped her wine. "This is great Nash. Bound to be another critic's choice and to earn Brennan Vineyards more accolades. Congratulations."

"That's what I thought too, but it's always nice to get another wine lover's opinion. And if I do say so myself, your palate has grown discriminating under my tutelage." Nash held his glass up to the last golden rays of afternoon light streaming in the window as he evaluated the color and clarity of the wine. "Well, Nat how's things?"

She sighed, "I really did it this time Nash."

"Hmmmm something tells me this directly pertains to one John McBain. Not so easy keeping your life partitioned when you are parenting a kid with someone you share that much baggage with, now is it Nattie?" Nash eyed his favorite sister-in-law over the rim of his glass. "By the way, you look like hell so I'm thinking this has been going on for awhile now."

"Thanks, Nash. I love you too honey. But yes, it's been going on almost since the day he showed back up in Llanview. I swear to God Nash. Every morning I tell myself I'm not going to allow him to get to me and by the time I go to bed, at night I've managed at least once during the course of the day to let him or myself cross all the boundaries." Nat swirled the wine in her glass and pensively brought it to her nose, inhaling the luscious bouquet while she chose her next words carefully. "But the thing is, he really is a good father and you would be amazed at how close the attachment is between him and Justin. And I have ownership in this mess because I really do need him to help me with Justin, and he does it so willingly, capably. But the down side is we've been spending way too much time together...as a family...fabricated a situation where we've basically been playing house." Nat stopped for a moment and heaved another long sigh before she took a sip of her wine.

"So anyway," Natalie continued, "it's no surprise from time to time things have, well, escalated a bit from co-parents and friends to borderline...inappropriate. And this afternoon was one of those times."

"What'd ya let him do Nat?"

Nattie flushed before she confessed. "He kissed me, I mean really kissed me. In the BE parking garage, within range of the security cameras I'm afraid. So probably by now both my dad and my brother have seen me pinned up against the garage wall, wrapped around John and practically having sex. Luckily, Justin was asleep in his car seat and didn't see anything, but he could have. And it gets worse. I took the afternoon off ostensibly because I was wracked with grief over Jared's death. Which I was, am! I mean, I know better Nash; God knows I do, I just don't know how to translate reasonable common sense into adult behavior where John is concerned. And it's starting to really affect me," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.

"What do you want me to say Nat? That you're a bad mother and an equally bad person because you let your ex remind you how you ended up with the kid in the first place? Not me Nattie. Guilty as charged." Nash drank from his glass and watched the emotions play across Natalie's face. "Have you told him?"

Natalie shook her head. "But I think he suspects. He's aware Jared was out of the country a lot on BE business during the past six months, though I never came right out and told him we were having problems."

"Well I think he knows Nattie. I seriously doubt that's the reason why he showed up, but someone's clued him in since his arrival. Seems like he's not unhappy about the state of affairs which existed between you and your now deceased husband, and knowing John McBain - he's going to persist until you manage to convince him you really do mean 'no' Natalie. Now you have to ask yourself how you really feel about the man and are you ready to move on? That's the prevailing question here Nat, because realistically, so long as he's around and so completely tangled up in your lives, you won't be with anyone but John." Nash got up from the couch and retrieved the wine bottle from the sideboard, replenishing both their glasses.

Natalie started to cry, "I'm so scared Nash. Honestly it was over with Jared and for quite a long time before he was killed. Though you and I talked about it, how I would have to get past the marriage once I finally filed for a divorce, I never bargained for this. Jared certainly doesn't deserve to have his widow take up with her ex weeks after his death in effect publicly trashing everything he gave me and debasing our marriage. And it's John, Nash. You know how Jared felt about John...and it's because of me, what Jared knew I went through to get over him."

Nat began to cry in earnest and Nash got up and gave her the clean handkerchief from his back pocket. There really wasn't anything else he could do but rub her shoulders and get her to blow her nose until she regained some semblance of her composure. When he was certain she could handle more wine without choking, he held her glass to her lips and encouraged her to drink.

"Go on, and don't worry about driving home. I'll make sure you and Justin get there safely." Nash sat back down on the sofa. "Now it's my turn. And I'm going to speak frankly Nat because I travel this slippery slope every day with your sister. You are not over John McBain and you never have been. What you did do was learn to live without him. No small feat, I gotta tell you and it only reinforces why I've always admired you. You got guts my girl. But if you don't stop beating yourself up over the failure of your marriage to Jared, you will do something very foolish where McBain is concerned. Guilt is a useless emotion and it can become dangerous if you give it substantial weight in any decision making, and you are on the verge of doing exactly that. You can't Natalie, you need to set it aside and decide if you want John as more than Justin's father - or you don't. And if you want the man, the hell with the timing Nattie, because I'm afraid you simply are not going to get to choose that."

Nash reached across the space to take his handkerchief back after Nattie had dried the rest of her tears. They both sipped their wine and were quiet for a time.

"Well, what's your conclusion?"

Nat took a tremulous breath before she spoke. "John's been absent for the better part of two years and I have built a life outside of what we used to have. You know something Nash? I like parts of it; the peace and coherence and how I've been able to raise Justin without everything having to be so damn hard. I look at you and Jessica and I know when you have a relationship which is fraught with that kind of turbulence, you can loose yourselves to the struggle. I'm just not sure that's what's best for Justin or me. No offense, I mean I know how much you and Jessica love each other, but I haven't made up my mind all the pain you guys go through sometimes is worth it for the temporary interlude of the good stuff." Natalie shrugged her shoulders. "Besides, John's never been the best communicator and we're doomed to failure almost from that standpoint alone. If we don't make it, I can't guarantee Justin wouldn't lose John for good because John walks Nash; both figuratively by either putting up walls I can't seem to get past or he literally leaves, time after time when he's hurt, or feels defenseless, or his emotions threaten to get away from him and come to the surface. I'd rather figure out a strategy where we can co-exist on a less intimate level than risk Justin growing up without a physically accessible father."

"Fair enough," Nash allowed, "but just one last thing to consider Nattie, you say turbulence and struggle, I say excitement and fulfillment. You've already been in one loveless relationship so I know you're aware of how empty and lonely it can be. My suggestion is be careful you don't forget it while you're trying to figure how to keep McBain at arm's length. You still haven't answered my question about how you really feel about McBain, although I have a pretty good idea considering how much energy you're expending by running petrified from the truth. That's going to bite you in the keister, Nattie – and you might want to consider the reverse choice and just go with it…As for Justin, what kid isn't entitled to grow up with both his parents? While, I do believe if anyone could manage to work it to her advantage by sheer doggedness alone, that would be you. So, what do you have in mind?"

"I'm thinking maybe I need to go and spend a couple of days with my mom and Charlie. It's seems to me the only way to break this family time habit John and me have gotten so used to is to absolutely do it - cold turkey. But it's not going to be easy, so I need help. If I'm at Llanfair, John won't dare cause a scene, and we can begin to establish a few new ground rules for him exercising visitation with Justin. Namely, he is going to have to start picking him up and dropping him off at the house just like other non-custodial parents, with a neutral go between like Sabrina overseeing the exchange. No more acting like my house is his house and spending all his time with Justin there. Just for a little while, till we get ourselves straightened out and the standard of our relationship clarified…"

Nash barked with laughter, "You're serious? Natalie, you and McBain will never reach a state of accord. And don't you think running home to mommy in the midst of this melodrama won't be like dangling a red cape in front of the bull? But okay, you try it and just let me know if you need any help…something tells me you're going to need it."

"That's the point, Nash. I'm trying to keep my life from disintegrating into just another trashy romance novel with the world's worst plot. The least you could do is be a little more supportive by lying to my face about how brilliant my newest scheme is. Sheesh and you call yourself a friend."

"I do what I can Nat with what I've got to work with." And Nash laughed again saluting her with his glass before he drained it dry.

By the time John rang the bell at the Chandler mansion, the last of the afternoon light was turning the skyline to the west into a palette of indigo, violet, and crimson. He would have preferred an early morning appointment, but it had been out of the question and considering the scuttlebutt he had been hearing it was probably just as well. The black wreath of mourning was still in evidence on the front door and John hardened himself for an arduous and contentious interview. But it had to be done because JR Chandler had taken some key information on Jared Banks and the Thai Vang Electronics deal with him into hell, and John was betting the devil himself had a pretty good idea what his demon spawn had been up to.

A dark blonde middle aged woman opened the door and John recognized her immediately as Krystal Chandler.

"Hello Mrs. Chandler, I'm here to see Adam. I'm John McBain."

"Krystal, please." She opened the door wider so John could come into the entryway. "Adam is expecting you. He's having a rough day today, so you may need to cut your interview short. I'm sorry Mr. McBain, I know you drove all the way from Llanview, but Adam isn't handling the loss of his son well at all."

John nodded, "It's understandable. And call me John. "

"He's in his study. Can I get you anything before I take you back there? Water, a soda, or something stronger?"

"No thanks."

"Okay, well if you change your mind, just let me know. Right this way."

John walked through the front of the house behind Krystal. He'd never been in the Chandler mansion before, and frankly though it evidently was the height of opulence and supposed good taste, John thought it was a little overdone. It certainly did not have the same warmth as Llanfair or understated elegance of Dorian Lord's La Boulaie.

Krystal stopped in front of a set of six paneled walnut doors. She knocked and called "Adam, it's Krystal. John McBain is here to see you." She turned to him. "It's fine, just go on in. If you need anything, either Winnie or I can be called for by using the bell pull next to the fireplace." Krystal left him standing outside the study.

John turned the knob and entered the room. It was in semi-darkness with no lights on to chase away the gloom. He smelled the odor of strong alcohol, which was consistent with what was alleged as the senior Chandler's solitary coping mechanism. For a moment John wasn't sure he was going to get anything of substance from the questioning of a man still in the throes of debilitating grief.

Adam slowly swiveled around his desk chair as John came fully into the room. "Considering you're probably working for the Buchanan's I'm not even sure how you have the balls to come here, so let's dispense with the pleasantries shall we? What do you want McBain?"

Yeah, the old man was intoxicated all right. Had probably been drinking since this morning and was a mean ass drunk to boot. John crossed the room and sat opposite of Adam in a chair on the other side of his desk. It was important he saw the nuances of Adam's facial expressions. "I'm not working for the Buchanan's. But you're right; I have a vested interest in what happened to Jared Banks and your son by association. Considering you have your own legion of PIs working on the case, I expect you are aware the explosion was meant to kill Banks and JR appears to have been ancillary damage. For that, I am sorry Adam." John steepled his hands and closely gauged the old man's reaction.

"Bastard! Banks probably deserved what he got, but whatever he was involved in, JR was an innocent of that I'm sure. So, you've come to me expecting information to help you save your son and the red headed consort of Banks' – is that it McBain? You want to profit from the loss of my son and the investigation I'm heading to keep your son and his duplicitous mother alive and out of the fray? Give me one good reason why I shouldn't throw you out on your ass, since that makes you a Buchanan by extension."

"Because I have access to Buchanan information, and you don't." John wasn't going to play with Adam. Chandler had resources, and John did need him. But by the same token, he wasn't a fool and Adam could certainly see the advantage in working with him if it meant he could access evidence generated from the Buchanan side. And John unquestionably wasn't going to lose his cool over a few well placed insults. Chandler was used to controlling situations using this very tactic, but he would soon learn John intended to gain the edge and keep it.

Adam's eyes narrowed and he removed the stopper from the cut glass decanter to slop whiskey into the tumbler in front of him on his desk. "What do you know about business McBain? And how are you going to understand any evidence which points to corporate espionage – I think you need me more than I need you." Adam took a long drink of his whiskey.

"Because this doesn't smell like a corporate raid gone bad. And I don't think you believe it either. First of all, the key subsidiary is Thai Vang Electronics. From what I can ascertain, TVE is one of those holdings which should fly under the radar. It was neither under performing or exceeding expectations. In other words, why conspire to take apart the functioning structure of a company that is operating exactly as it should? It shouldn't have even come under Jared's scrutiny. Just a nice company which contributed to BE's bread and butter in the profit sheet. So what was it about TVE, Adam? It seems to me you might be concentrating your efforts on finding out."

"Yes, well you would think so wouldn't you? And maybe I am. But with Banks, there was always more than met the eye. He appeared polished, dressed well and had an MBA, but in his chest beat the heart of a con man. Did you know I spent several evenings being entertained by his beautiful wife? She was quite the hostess and the two were very married McBain. Jared could hardly keep his hands off of her. And your son, cute kid by the way, called him 'Daddy'. The last time I was in that lovely home of theirs on River Court, oh about three months ago, I seem to recall Mrs. Banks was very knowledgeable regarding BE and industry in general. Must be in her DNA. So, why don't you solicit her help in all of this? From what I understand the two of you are fast becoming reacquainted."

John ignored his bait, "Adam, do you know where JR's passport is? It seems the FBI may have neglected to examine it in their preliminary investigation."

Adam raised his eyebrow in surprise, "What would his passport have to do with anything?"

"I'm betting that on many of the numerous scheduled trips Jared took to the Pacific Rim over the last six to eight months, JR joined him on more than one occasion for a stop in Thailand or near enough to the Thai border the two were escorted in to take care of business. If you have the ability to produce the document, I think you might be surprised at what you will find." John stared into Adam's eyes with icy assurance.

Long moments passed before Adam got up none too steadily from behind the desk and went over to the wall adjacent to the double doors. He swung the Renoir painting on its hinge to reveal a safe. Quickly he spun through the combination and popped open the door. Within moments he had the passport in his hands. He threw it to John and dropped back into his desk chair leaving the safe wide open and exposing the contents to John's view, including several bundles of stacked cash which looked to be approximately 5,000 each. John thumbed through the record and folded back a key page and slid it across the desk for Adam to look at.

"So Adam, it appears JR had a fondness for the rainforests of Darwin Australia? I'm asking you to let me take the passport with me. I'd like to compare the dates JR was in Indonesia and Australia to the trips Jared supposedly took to Japan and China. At this point I'm assuming all the excursions are somehow related and anything at this point is possible. Adam, it seems JR and Jared may have been working on this deal for far longer than anyone previously thought."

"Son of a bitch." Adam slammed his fist down on the desk. "Take it McBain. And when you come up with some definitive link between my son and the slimy bastard Banks, then we'll talk about whether we need to form any sort of an informational alliance. Now get out of here. Let me drink myself to sleep in peace."

John rose from his chair and pulled his business card out of his jacket pocket. "We'll be in touch. In the mean time, it might be to your advantage to keep my number handy. You're in the thick of it Chandler, whether you like it or not. And at this point, I think it's prudent to say no one's family or corporation is safe." And John left with exactly what he had come for.

Coming across the Llantano River on the last stretch of his drive back from Pine Valley toward Llanview, John decided it might not hurt to give Natalie a call just to be sure she was all right. He'd been a little surprised she hadn't left him a message while he'd been meeting with Adam Chandler. That could only mean one of two things; either she was too tired and not feeling well enough to deal with him, or she was flat out avoiding him. Frankly, it didn't matter which. If it was the former, he wanted to be sure she was really okay, and didn't need him to help her with Justin. If it was the latter, then John was going to none too subtly stress that in spite of what Natalie believed, this thing between them was real, enduring, and would not be dismissed.

He hit the address book in his cell and quickly selected Nattie's home number. It rang several times before her voice mail picked up, "Hi there, you've reached …" John hung up. Well this was intriguing. Natalie always answered her land line when she was at home. Again, John went into his address book and this time, punched up her cell. It rang three times before Nattie picked up.

"Hi John."

He could hear laughing and the noise of several people in the background, including the high-pitched childish voice of his own son. "Hey Natalie. I just wanted to touch bases with you to be sure you made it home okay with Justin."

"We're fine, but we actually never quite made it home. We sort of descended on my mom and Charlie, all of us kids with our own broods as well. Since it's getting kind of late, I think Justin and I are going to be spending the night at Llanfair. So it's probably good you called and I could tell you we won't be home for breakfast tomorrow morning."

"Okay, so what time do you think you might make it home? Or is it easier for us to meet somewhere else?"

There was a long pause, and then John no longer heard the racket of the family gathering. Christ, this wasn't going to be good if Nattie was thinking she needed privacy for this part of the conversation.

"John, you and I are not going to meet tomorrow. If you want to see Justin, we'll have to make arrangements for you to pick him up from Lois or Sabrina."

Unfuckingbelievable. He had been away from her for the better part of the afternoon and evening and this is what she'd come up with? "What are you doing Nat? This is senseless and we need to talk about it."

"There's nothing to discuss. I'm not limiting your access to Justin, as a matter of fact, he's bonded so well to you he'll be fine with you away from the house and you can still see him whenever you want. I'm thinking he may even be able to spend the night with you on occasion. You know it's for the best John, we're exes and it's not a good idea to lose our focus here. Justin comes first. Period. And you agreed, in the very beginning, you would let me live my life separate from you and not blur our responsibilities by our lives getting all mixed up."

Oh no, he most certainly had not been of the same mind on that one. More like he'd been pushed out as Nattie had tried to use Jared to shield herself from who they truly were together and what it definitely meant. It was no coincidence they had made Justin…and by God, John was not about to let what they were on the verge of finally having fall apart. This time, they were going to be happy, all of them.

His voice was deadly calm. "Bull shit Nattie, and I'm calling you on it."

"I'm done, John. So, I'll get in touch with you first thing in the morning to let you know where you can pick up Justin."

And then he heard the line go dead. John roared with laughter, she'd actually hung up on him and thought that would be the end of it. Oh, yeah, his favorite red head was scared stiff her vacuous well controlled life was going to bust wide open and everyone would know her favorite dirty little secret…he wanted her and she wanted him in the nastiest most permanent messiest kind of way, all tied up and twisted around each other both in and out of bed with one hell of a great kid sandwiched in between.

John parked at the bottom of the long tree lined drive leading up to Llanfair. The automatic gate wasn't closed yet, and John deliberately gestured with his right hand as he went through it on foot knowing he was being monitored by the security cameras. He could do with the walk, he'd come clean about that. He was royally pissed at Nattie, and he needed to have his emotions more under control when he reached the house. The last thing he wanted to do was give Natalie any more reason to prolong this half baked effort at the two of them steering clear of each other. John had known this wasn't going to be easy, and his best offensive was patience and consistency. He knew what passed between them every time his skin came into contact with hers, and a firestorm of passion branded the inevitability of what was going to happen sooner or later onto his very soul. He really didn't give a shit if Nat felt the need to contradict it, at some point she was so going to love seeing the error of her misguided convictions, and he was just the man who would make sure she did.

John knocked on the front door and stood back, placing his hands on his hips. When the door opened he wasn't surprised Natalie wasn't the one to greet him. "Hi Mrs. Davidson. I'm sorry to bother you, but I know Nattie is here. Would you mind letting her know I'd like to talk to her for a moment?"

Vicki stepped out onto the front terrace and closed the door behind her, "I'm sorry John, but Natalie doesn't wish to see you tonight. She's very tired and from what I can gather, the last several days have been difficult to say the least. I'll certainly tell her you stopped by though, and I'll relay your concern."

"Fine, then I'll just say good night to my son and I'll be on my way."

Vicki tried not to smile. John was nothing if not predictable and she never doubted for a moment he wouldn't be an indomitable force to reckon with when it came to either Natalie or Justin. "Justin is fine. He's actually having a last snack of milk and cookies with Lois in the kitchen. Seeing you will only get his energy up, and Charlie and I were so hoping to be able to get him down to sleep in another 20 minutes or so. That won't happen if I let you in to say good night to him, and you know it as well as I do John."

"Then let me take him with me and Natalie can come get him in the morning," John persisted.

"No, Justin is going to stay here tonight with his mother because that's the way she wants it. John, I have to tell you I truly am grateful for everything you've done for both my daughter and my grandson. You are a remarkable father and it's very clear to me how much you love that little boy and he adores you as well. But Natalie has suffered a very great shock in losing Jared, which she is clearly not over. As a result, she is in no position to be making any life altering choices at this point or even anytime in the very near future. I know you can understand that and I am also certain you really only have Natalie's best interest at heart. So please John, just respect her need for privacy. Good night, John." Vicki patted his arm and went back into the house.

As John stood there in simmering frustration, he heard the dead bolt being thrown on the front door. That was pure Nattie. Goddamn, but she actually had the nerve to try and treat him like an interloper and not like a member of the family – which he was by virtue of the fact he was Justin's father. Well, he would disabuse Natalie of that notion. Hell yes and he was going to enjoy every minute of it.

To be continued……