Inevitable pt. 10

"What's with the third degree, Bo? I'm sorry I barged in on your little club meeting alright, but you called me." Rex sat across from the Police Commissioner, and marveled at how things worked out sometimes? How life worked out? Never in a million years would he have thought he'd befriend a cop, let alone work with one, but Bo was different. He didn't judge him. Well, he didn't only judge him. He also listened to his side of things, and that was why he was here now? To help a friend.

"Tell me why you think the crime scene was a homicide?"

Rex sighed. He wanted to be at Ultra Violet with Adrianna, not in some stuffy office answering tedious questions. "The lady who was whacked?"

Bo frowned. "Whacked? You watch too much television."

He rolled his eyes and continued. "She was the religious kook, right? The one on Hillard Avenue?"

Bo stood from his chair and leaned onto his desk. "How the hell do you know that? We only got the call this morning?"

Rex grinned a cocky grin. "I've been telling you for awhile now, I'm good. Besides, there are so many leaks in this place."

He held up his hand and shook his head, not wanting to hear anymore. "Just...tell me what you know, Balsom."

"You think it's a suicide." He watched the older man take his seat, frowning. "Okay, maybe not? But it looks like a suicide." Bo didn't speak. "I don't think so."

"Why, damn it?"

"Well for one thing there was alcohol at the scene."

Bo scoffed. "What, were you there?" He lost his humor though, when the kid didn't say anything. "What else?" he snapped, feeling the beginnings of a Rex-size headache.

"Weren't you listening? She's a fire and brimstone nut. She's not going to kill herself or she won't go to heaven. If there really is heaven? I don't know?"

Bo sat there staring, dumbfounded. The kid was something else sometimes? He often wanted to toss him in a cell and throw away the key, but then there were times like these - when he was actually proud.

"What?" Rex asked, looking nervous. "What'd I say?"

John glanced at his watch. 7:30pm. He should go home. He closed the folder on his desk and leaned into his chair, rubbing his face and yawning. The sound of his door opening and firmly closing got his attention. So did the angry blonde with her hand on the knob. "Can I help you with something?"

She smiled and walked in uninvited, taking the open seat across from him. "Working hard?" she inquired, pinning him with a look that can only be described as intense.

He was getting that feeling again. The one telling him to duck and cover. If she ever got tired of reporting, she would make one hell of a cop! "It's late. What can I do for you?"

Her smile slipped a little. "I was just wondering what I could do to get you to stay the hell away from my sister?"

And there it was. He knew it was coming, even if he didn't want to acknowledge it. The threat. He wanted to laugh, but settled for a grin instead. "Is this the part where you tell me to get out of Dodge?"

Jessica studied the man across from her. He was direct, she'd give him that, and a little too good at deflecting. "Natalie told me what happened between you."

He lost his grin and felt a deep frown furrow his brow. "She shouldn't have done that."

"She's my sister."

He swallowed and sat back, not really sure how to proceed here? Afterall, he had been in the wrong, so far in the wrong, but he didn't like being on the defensive either. "If she told you what happened, then she also told you it was a mistake."

"She told me."

"But you don't believe her?"

Jessica hated confrontation, but that didn't mean she wasn't good at it. "Can I call you John?"

"Yes."

"You need to stay away from my sister, John."

He met her eyes unwavering. "Can I call you Jessica?"

"Yes."

"I work with her, Jessica. I can't stay away from her."

She licked her lips. "You know what I'm saying? I want you to leave her alone." He just sat there, all silent and stoney. She decided to try another tack. "How are you liking Llanview?"

Where the hell is she going with this? he wondered. "I like it."

"You probably miss home though? Maybe this isn't the right place for you?"

This time he did laugh. "Get out of town." As far as he was concerned, this conversation was finished. He stood and grabbed his jacket from the coat rack. "I'll be staying in Llanview, Jess, but thank you for your concern."

"Look," she said quickly, stepping into his path, "she said it was a mistake, and now so did you."

His eyes narrowed. "It was a mistake and it's none of your business."

"But was it John? I don't think you want to stay away from Natalie." She stepped closer, keeping her eyes on him. "I saw you two together, and you can tell me that it was a mistake and it won't happen again. You can even tell me that it didn't mean anything, but you'd be lying."

He was mad now. "You're wrong. Stay out of it!" He walked to his door, opening it. Bo was about to walk in. "Hey?" he said, not liking the expression on his friend's face.

Jessica didn't like it either. "What is it?" she asked, walking over to him. "What's going on?"

Bo took a breath. "Clint just called. It's Vicki."

"What about her?"

He put a hand on his niece's shoulder. "There's been an...incident."

Natalie stood in the frame for a second longer than was necessary, but she was nervous. She clicked the door into place and walked closer, taking a tentative seat beside her husband. "Hi," she said softly, wishing there was no awkwardness between them.

"Hi," he answered, equally nervous. There were so many things to say, and he didn't know where to start?

She glanced at her hands, which were gripping the couch cushion, and then looked back at him. "Things have been a mess, Chris."

He nodded. "Yeah. I'm not sure how they got there though?" He stared into her blue eyes, and realized how much he missed her these past couple of days. The distance between them had been farther than he first thought. "I've missed you," he said aloud, wanting her to know.

Natalie wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. "I'm sorry," she breathed, pulling away so that she could see his face and he could see hers. "I mean it."

He ran a hand over her hair and then kissed her, and she felt a wave of relief. This was how it was supposed to be. Her and Christian, happy in their lives and in their home.

Christian leaned back and pulled her with him, not wanting to let go yet. She pressed against him, swinging her legs over his and resting her head on his shoulder. He smiled and kissed the top of her head, while playing with her fingers. "So?" he began, "how have you been?" She laughed and looked at him. He chuckled too. "I'm sorry, that was stupid."

She shook her head. "Not really, it's been a weird couple of days."

"You know, a few days ago we were okay, right? I mean, we were happy." He paused. "Any ideas on where we went wrong?"

Natalie stiffened slightly, unable to meet his eyes. She had one idea. She saw a flash of John walking toward her for the first time. She saw him brushing a hair from her face at Rodi's, and she saw his eyes right before he kissed her. Natalie didn't want to talk anymore. She grabbed the back of his neck and kissed her husband, blocking out the spectre that seemed to plague her everywhere she went. She felt him return the touch, and she felt the familiar heat that they generated. His tongue swept her mouth taking its time, and she sighed. She squeezed her eyes tighter, pulling him closer until she was flush against the cushion and he was blanketing her with his delicious weight.

"Nat," he breathed against her lips, "wait..wait."

She opened her eyes and saw his doubt. "What?"

He licked his lips and sat up, and she leaned on her elbows, waiting for an answer. "I want to know? Is this because of what we talked about? About a family?"

She frowned and sat up too. "No." He didn't speak. "No, Christian. I told you I'd think about it, and that's what I've been doing?"

He grabbed her hand. "So, you still want to have a baby?"

Natalie pulled her hand from his, she couldn't help it. "I... Yeah, I do, but..."

"But what?"

She got off the couch and wiped her mouth. "I don't know, Chris? I'm not sure now is the right time for that?" He did not look happy about what she just said at all. "I want to have a family, but we literally just stopped fighting with each other. Do we have to plan our future right this minute? I mean, can't we just enjoy the here and now?"

He frowned and stood from the couch, and was about to speak when Natalie's purse began to ring. They both stared at it for a second, and then she pulled out her cell.

"Yeah?" she snapped, feeling annoyed and relieved all at the same time.

Christian watched her as she listened to whoever was speaking on the other end of the call. Her face was expressionless, and that made him very nervous. He watched her swallow.

"I'm sorry," she said evenly, "can you say that again?"

John watched Bo, Jessica, and Rex file out of the elevator one by one, and he slowly followed. He wasn't quite sure why he had come? It wasn't his business. He stayed at the back of the bustling room, hanging out of the way and watching a Buchanan Family drama unfold. Two classy ladies sat uncomfortably in the plastic seats of the waiting room, looking very perturbed as their relatives began to gather around them. They appeared none the worse for wear from what he could tell, maybe a little rag-tag at the moment? Jessica was arguing with the blonde, and then unleashing her frustration onto the brunette. He couldn't make out what was being said from where he was opting to stand, but he knew it wasn't good.

The doors to the elevator dinged, announcing their latest arrivals. An older, regal-looking gentleman came rushing over, and was followed by a younger, dark-haired man, who John recognized immediately. It was Kevin Buchanan, the Governor of Llanview. This was getting more interesting with every new surprise guest. A pretty young woman with dark, straight hair walked to the brunette, appearing to be as unhappy as everyone else in the group. He saw Rex go to her and hold her from behind. Clearly, they were close. Then at last, his eyes fell on the one person who really mattered to him in all of this. He watched intently as Natalie and her husband joined everyone else. He inched closer, wanting to hear what was happening?

Natalie headed for her mother, wanting to see for herself that she had heard right on the phone. Apparently, there was nothing wrong with her hearing. Vicki sat alongside Dorian Lord, and they both wore angry expressions while several voices offered their unsolicited opinions on what transpired. She stood directly in front of the woman who gave birth to her, and felt closer to her than ever before. A huge grin stretched across her face from ear to ear.

"It's not funny, Natalie," Vicki said, getting more annoyed by the minute. Her family was taxing at the best of times, but right now, they were particularly exhausting. "Don't you dare laugh." She watched her daughter struggle to stifle her amusement, and then get pushed back while Clint and Kevin and Jessica all jumped forward to have a say.

Christian's phone rang, and he moved away from the loud shouts to hear who was on the other end. Natalie, sighed, watching her family behave in a way that was truly Buchanan. Loud and dramatic, that was them. She turned and spotted McBain standing near the registration desk, and without even thinking about it, walked over to him. "Hey? Come here often?"

"Well, my brother is a doctor." He glanced over her shoulder, still intrigued by the theatrics going on behind her. "Is your mother alright?" he asked, resting his eyes on her again. She nodded.

"How did you know about my mother?"

"Oh, I was there when Bo told Jessica that she was at the hospital."

She nodded again, and licked her lips. It was getting harder to focus on anything but him. "Well, don't worry about Vicki Lord Buchanan Davidson. There's no one tougher than her."

"I can think of one person," he said softly. His eyes fell to her bottom lip. He wanted to kiss her, and he wasn't entirely sure what to do about that? Then he glanced back at the ruckus, and grinned. "So? A bar fight, huh? She doesn't look the type."

Natalie laughed lightly. "I told you before McBain, don't judge a book by its cover."

"I'm gonna have to stop doing that around you."

She sucked in a breath, trying to muster up some courage. "John..." she began, taking a wide-eyed step closer to him.

"Hey?" a voice interupted. "What are you doing here?"

Caitlyn rounded the corner, surprised to find her husband in the waiting room of the hospital. She walked over, smiling. "Hi," she greeted, wrapping her arms around him tightly. She looked at the redhead, who he had been talking with. "Hello."

"Hello," Natalie replied, licking her very, dry lips. She stepped forward and shook her hand firmly. "Caitlyn, right?" She knew who she was, how could she forget?

Caitlyn nodded, frowning toward the loud group of people in the corner. She refocussed on the redhead. "You're Natalie? I almost didn't recognize you without your red dress. I wanted to steal that, by the way. It was gorgeous."

Nat smiled politely. "Thank you." She inched away, anxious to leave. "It's nice to see you again, but as you can see, I have some family things to attend to." She looked at John quickly. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Then she walked back to her mother who was just about ready to lose it completely. She knew the signs well. She watched Dorian pull a flask out of her purse and take a drink. Then she watched her hand it to her mother, who accepted willingly. As long as she lived, she would never understand the complexities of their weird relationship. An hour ago they got into a physical fight at Capricorn and now they were drinking buddies. She shook her head, and decided to rescue Vicki from further onslaught. Besides, she wanted the hell out of this hospital and away from John McBain.

John stood with his back to the Buchanans. He watched his wife walk away to gather her things so that they could leave. He leaned on the abandoned registration desk and placed a hand over his face. How the hell did things get so damn complicated?He winced, feeling the first stirrings of a headache. A cup of coffee was placed in front of him, along with two aspirin, and he glanced at his brother.

"This will help, though frankly I think you deserve a headache."

John took the pills and ignored the barb. "So how is she?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Who? Mrs. Davidson?" He frowned, turning to the family of the hour. They were slowly starting to vacate the building. "She's fine. Just a few cuts and bruises." He looked back at his big brother. "Why, John? Do you know her?"

"No, but she's the mother of a friend of mine."

They stared at one another, and the intensity level was rising rapidly. "A friend? That was fast. Yesterday, you just met the woman."

John stood straight, and drank some coffee. Then he watched his wife approach, and grabbed her coat from her. "Thanks for the coffee Mike," he said, deliberately dismissing him. He took Caitlyn's hand and guided her toward the elevator.

Michael felt the beginnings of his own headache. He glanced quickly at Natalie and sighed. His brother was a stubborn ass, but he wasn't going to let him ruin his life. He had to find a way to stop it.