I just wanted to say Thanks for reading this, you know it never ceases to amaze me that you always gotta have one person who comes along spatting some BS about punctuation, this is what I do in my spare time when im not working full time and going to school, so if the punctuation is too bad for anyone then don't read my stuff, I don't know what else to say. Ive been writing for years and I do it purely for enjoyment, so take it or leave it and move the hell on. Alrighty then, for those who can read my story just find with errors and all ENJOY, I write this for you all!

Chapter Ten

The next few days went as a blur, Natalie had used every excuse under the sun not to go to the hospital to see John, she had even lied to Gigi at one point that she had been spending time with Brody, its not that she was lying cause technically she was cause she was back at work now, maybe she just purged the truth a bit and it seemed to work cause Gigi stopped questioning her and it almost seemed like everything would work ok alright, cause it had been nearly a week since she had seen John and if she could do a week then she could do anything but what she wasnt expecting was when she came home from work on a friday night to find that he was there, back in the same apartment, under the same roof as her and to say she was shocked was an understatement..

She had just gotten home from work and had entered the apartment when she stopped dead in her tracks cause there he was, sitting on the couch, out of his hospital gown and back in regular clothes with a sling on his right arm..

"Oh hey i was trying to call you, i guess you got busy at work" Gigi began as natalie swallowed the lump in her throat, she felt like she was back at ground zero again.."John got released today as you can see" she continued as John looked at her and she tried to avoid his eye contact..

"Oh thats...thats great" she swallowed hard..

"Oh good your here"Steele said as he walked in from the kitchen.."doesnt he look good, he's all moving and everything" he smirked..

"Oh yeah and we almost forgot, you dont mind giving John the room do you" Gigi began..

John cut her off.."i told you its not a problem, the couch is fine"

"Oh dont be silly, that couch is horribly uncomfortable" Gigi began.."But Natalie you wouldnt mind"

"Unbelievable, i told you its fine" John said a bit louder as natalie stood there awkwardly..

"its fine really, im looking for a place anyways, so have the room, its yours" she said quickly..

"i dont want the room" John began as he got increasingly annoyed.."i told you steele that i didnt want a big deal about this, im fine on the couch"

"your healing from surgery and you heard nat, its ok" Gigi continued..

"Damn it im not a fucking infant, i dont want the god damn room" he snapped as he got up and headed in the kitchen and everyone got quiet..

"he's been a little cranky" Gigi said nervously to Natalie..

"Just dont say anything else to him" Steele warned Gigi as he went in the kitchen..They could be heard arguing..

"he got some bad news about his arm" Gigi said quietly.."Its not healing like he would like"

"thats horrible" natalie said honestly, now she wished she never went home..The tension in the apartment was thick...

"Yeah well he will heal better on the bed not on the couch" Gigi began.."he's so damn stubborn" she sighed..

"Yeah well i dont want to piss him off anymore" natalie said uncomfortably..

"Yeah well he is gonna have to get over it" Gigi huffed..

"I told you i would come here if everything was cool and that is not cool, she is not my mother" John huffed as he rummaged through the fridge and then grabbed a beer, he was frustrated and annoyed, his arm was useless to him and without that he had nothing..

"she is just trying to help" Steele began.."do you really think you should be drinking that with the meds your on"

"Oh now your gonna start too, what the fuck bro, i dont need this shit" John huffed angrily..

"Listen im just trying to help you out here John, and your not making it easy" Steele said as John rolled his eyes and huffed again..

"fine, no beer..happy now" he snapped and then stepped out of the kitchen and back into the livingroom where natalie and Gigi stood awkwardly.."what?" he snapped at them as they jumped slightly and then he stormed past and into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him..

Everyone stood there in awkward silence, no one knew what to say but natalie knew she didnt want to be here for round two.."Im gonna get changed, i uh, i have plans" Natalie said as she finally turned from them..

"Hows it going with you and Brody" Gigi said as natalie stopped..

"You know, fine...were really just friends hanging out" she began..

"Uh huh i heard that before" Gigi smirked.."he's a good guy nat, i say go for it, plus he has the cutest daughter" she smiled..

"alright well im gonna go get changed" Natalie said uncomfortably as she walked into her room, she could hear John still huffing and puffing under his breath, she seriously needed to start looking for her own place and soon..

John looked at himself in the mirror, it had been a week since the incident and his right arm was still useless, he used his left arm to splash water on his face as he drenched his shirt.."Fuck!" he yelled as he backed up, at this point he wanted to rip his arm off, what use was it to him anyway, he couldnt even make a fist or shoot a gun, his life was looking worse and worse and Vincent was still out there, he pulled out his bottle of pain meds from his pocket and he popped two of them in his mouth as he wiped his face..

He moved out of the bathroom only to see Natalie come out of her room and they both stopped.. She forced a smile at him, it was more of a nervous smile, he looked down without saying anything and walked back in the livingroom as Natalie took a deep breath and headed to the door..

"Have fun tonight, tell Brody i said Hi" Gigi called out and Natalie quickly left, she wasnt even going to see Brody, she just needed to get out of that place, being around John when she knew she had to stay away, that he wanted her to stay away, well it was horribly heart breaking and she was trying to do the right thing..

"who's Brody" John asked as he sat on the couch..

"Just a cop that Natalie has been seeing" Gigi said nonchalantly..

"do you really think its safe for her to just be roaming around" he said a bit bitterly..

"vincent isnt around John" Steele said as he came into the room and John rolled his eyes.."he isnt, they tracked him in Canada, you know that"

"so its all good then, no worries" John said sarcastically as he got up and Gigi and steele both looked at him with concern.."Im going for a walk" he said as he got to the door and then quickly left..

Gigi looked at Steele.."he's not handling this well"

"He's handling it the best he can, he cant even use his arm, so lets give him a break" Steele said with annoyance, apparently he was feeling the tension too..

"Im just saying" Gigi began.."he's not helping himself by behaving like that"

"You have no idea what he is going through ok, he feels like he lost a sense of worth" Steele stood now.."You know maybe you just need to give him a break and stop acting like his damn mother" he said as he walked out of the room and she sat there completely speechless, what the hell was going on there, were they all completely falling apart cause it sure as hell felt like it..

Natalie sat behind the wheel of her car in the parking lot, she honestly didnt even know where to go and so she just sat there and then she saw him, John coming out of the building as he began to walk down the street, unaware of her in the car, she watched him for a few moments until he disappeared around a corner..

The next day didnt prove to be any better, natalie had stayed out the night before just driving around until nearly midnight and then she headed back, all was quiet thank god but the atmosphere was definitely like walking on egg shells and by the morning she was up early and getting ready for work, she couldnt believe that she actually looked forward to leaving cause now it seemed that Steele and Gigi were fighting and things definitely werent looking well all around..

To make matters worse John was up when she went out for her morning coffee and she honestly didnt know how to act with him, should she just ignore him, talk to him? She didnt know and since he wasnt doing any interacting she just let things be as she headed into the kitchen..

It was when she had her cup in hand that she heard him before he spoke.."you know just an fyi, maybe it isnt such a good idea to be prancing around all night" he said a bit coldly as she stood there a bit shocked that number one he was talking to her and number two he was being sort of a dick, she turned and faced him.."its not a very safe thing to do" he said as she swallowed hard..

She honestly didnt know how to take what he was saying..."Im fine but thanks for your concern" she said a bit sarcastically as she went to walk past him and he stepped in her way..

"this is the kind of shit that got you in trouble in the first place" he continued and thats when she smelt the alcohol on his breath, he had been drinking..

"I dont really think you should be drinking while on those pain meds" she began as he laughed and rolled his eyes at her..

"really? Your gonna give me advice? What am i not good enough for you now" he said with a bitter laugh..

"I dont know what your talking about, but your drunk, you should sleep it off" she said as she tried to walk past him but he stood there..

"Oh come on, just weeks ago you couldnt get enough, you were practically begging for it" he laughed..

To say she was horrified by his behaviour would of been an understatement.."Im gonna let that one slide cause i know your not feeling well" she began as he stepped closer to her..

"Not even a little quickie for old times sake" he grinned..

"i think you need to just back up, right now John, i dont think this is funny" she began as her heart raced..

"your always such a damn tease, you like the chase" he stepped closer..

"John, your drunk" she said again..

"what i am is hard and i want to fuck" he got right in front of her..

"No thanks" she backed up..

He looked shocked and stunned for a moment and then he laughed.."Oh so now your just a hot commodity, is that it"

"John i dont want to do this right now, i have to get to work" she began to get a bit loud..

"ah so you can fuck the rookie" he laughed.."Hows that going for you"

"Your really being an ass" she said as she pushed past him and he hit his right arm into the counter..

"Fuck...what the fuck are you doing" he yelled at her drunkingly just as Steele came into the kitchen, looking like he just woke up..

"whats going on" he said with concern as he looked at a pale white natalie and then John..

"she fucking pushed me" John slurred his words..

"i have to go, deal with your brother" Natalie snapped at Steele as she stormed out of the kitchen..

"have you been drinking" Steele said to John in shock..

"what the fuck do you care what i do, get out of my face" John slurred at him...

"god damn it John what the hell are you doing" Steele said with anger..

"well i was about to get laid but you ruined that" he laughed..

"Your going to far man, sleep it off" Steele moved closer to him..

"fuck you, i dont take orders from you" John yelled as he went to swing at Steele but lost his balance and fell to the ground..

"jesus John, look at you, your a fucking mess" Steele said as he tried to help him up..

"leave me the fuck alone, i can do this myself" John yelled at him as he struggled to get up but Steele didnt back up, he grabbed his left arm and yanked him up.."i said i fucking got it" John yelled again..

"listen man you need to sleep it off" Steele said as he looked at his brother, it killed him to see him this way..

"Oh i bet you are loving this, having to take care of your invalid brother, you get all the fucking control" John said bitterly..

"John im gonna tell you one more time, sleep it the fuck off" Steele said as he began to lose his patience..

"or what, what are you gonna do, huh" John poked him in the chest..

"I will take your ass down and trust me you aint gonna like it" he snapped..

"Oh dont take it out on me cause your girlfriend is a damn bitch" John said as Steele clocked him good in the face and john stumbled back..

"Oh my god, what is going on in here!" Gigi yelled as she ran in the kitchen and Steele looked at her..

"Just get out Gigi" he said warningly..

"You fucking busted my lip" John yelled..

"Your lucky it was just your lip" Steele said as he spun from him and he grabbed Gigi's arm and they left the room..

Natalie heard all of this going down as she rushed to get ready for work, she was literally trembling as she got dressed and on the verge of tears, by the time she got out of her room John was laying on his side on the couch and she was half certain she heard him crying but she didnt stay to find out, she left in a hurry, today she would look for an apartment, she seriously needed to get out of there, either that or move back to her parents..

John awoke to the sun hitting him on the face as he groaned, his head was throbbing something nasty and as he blinked his eyes he saw an angry pair of blue ones staring right at him, they belonged to his brother..

"what are you doing?" John groaned as he began to sit up.."what time is it"

"I hate to say it John but if you pull that shit again then your out on your ass, i will personally put you there myself" Steele snapped at him and John squinted at the harshness of his voice..Steele then got up and left, slamming the door shut as John sat up, trying to figure out what the hell had taken place, all he knew was that his head was killing him and oddly enough his lip was throbbing something nasty and he had the taste of blood in his mouth..

"shit" he groaned as he held his head as images of earlier had passed through his mind, they were foggy at best but he remembered Natalie and then he leaned his head back, oh yeah he remembered Natalie and the things he said and then Steele, he touched his lip as he sat there, what the hell had he done..

Natalie could barely get through her day, she was so shook up but she tried to not think of the hellish morning she had cause it was nearly five which meant she would have to be going home soon and that was something she didnt want to do.

Thankfully her anger had kept her from crying but she couldnt help but feel bad for John, he had lost so much already and now he felt like he was losing himself, she had to laugh at her rationlization, was she going crazy, i mean he had been a straight up asshole and yet here she was trying to make excuses for him. She hated that it had come to this, that she had allowed it to come to this, how niave of her to think that once he got out of the hospital that everything would just be normal again, how wrong she was..

Walking aimlessly out of her office, her mind heavy in thought she wasnt looking where she was going as she turned the corner and immediately bumped into someone as a chart skidded across the floor..

"Oh my god i am so sorry" she began as she looked up to see Brody standing there..

"Hey, no worries" he said as he began to pick up the file and the papers that had strewned themselves across the floor..

"I should of been watching where i was going" she said with embarrassment..

"i told you its ok" he said softly as she grabbed the last piece of paper.."Im actually glad that i ran into you, well not figuratively" he smiled some as they both stood.."how have you been?"

"good, you know its um good to be back at work" she forced a smile as she fidgeted with her hands..

"No one is giving you a hard time, right?" he asked with concern..

"No" she began to shake her head as something caught her eye, it was in her uncles office but he wasnt alone, he was talking to someone and she wouldnt miss that body frame ever, it was John and she got stuck staring, apparently Brody caught on as he followed her eyes..

"hey isnt that uh" he began..

"Yeah the um, fbi guy" Natalie swallowed hard..

"wow, i wonder what he is doing here" he began as the door opened and Johns eyes locked on hers, she felt her heart race as she stood there..

"I dont know but i gotta go" she said as she quickly spun to get out of there, what the hell was he doing in her uncles office, she could faintly hear brody calling out to her but she kept walking quickly towards the exit, she seriously didnt want to have to deal with John anymore today..As she got outside she felt safe, she had made it..

"Hey...natalie, wait" she heard Johns voice and against her better judgement she stopped walking even though everything inside of her was telling her to run..

"Listen i um have somewhere i need to be" she turned and faced him..

He walked closer to her, he looked better then he had this morning, he looked sober and showered and even a bit nervous.."Listen i um" he began..

"so what were you doing with my uncle" she said quickly, she honestly didnt want to hear what he had to say..

"Looking for a job" he said with a shake of his head as her eyes got wide.."Me sitting around isnt turning out to be a good thing"

She couldnt believe he was looking for a job there, i mean seriously was this just a way for the world to play a cruel joke on her, to force her in his atmosphere as often as possible..She didnt know what to say..

"Listen im sorry about this morning, what i said was really out of line" he began as she swallowed hard.."i shouldnt of been drinking" he shook his head with embarassment.."I shouldnt of talked to you that way, you didnt deserve it"

"well im glad your feeling better" she said quietly..

"I really am sorry ok, it wont happen again" he fidgeted nervously..

"Ok" she finally said..

"Ok?" he looked at her..

"Ok, its fine" she said again..

"alright, um...good.." he said as tension filled between them.."so um your heading home?" he began..

"actually i have an apartment im going to look at" she began nervously..

"Oh... so your um moving out" he asked..

"yeah it was never a permanent thing anyways" she fidgeted with her hands..

"well i guess that will be nice for you, to get your own place" he ran his free hand through his hair.."so then i will see ya" he said as he began to walk past her and she hated that she felt like she wanted to say more to him but she just couldnt bring herself to do it..But then he stopped.."You know if you need help, with anything" he began.."I got one good arm right?"

"thanks i will keep that in mind" she said as he nodded his head and then they were both walking to their own cars, before she got into hers she looked over at him and he was looking at her but then he quickly got into his car and she did the same, then they both took off..

Natalie found herself just driving around town, she hadnt had an apartment to look at, she had lied to him but she stopped when she saw a big sign off a main road, it read "apartments for rent" and with that she quickly drove towards it, the sooner she got this over with the better..