ABC owns them

Chapter 13

"Mommy... Can we get our sleeping bags and get Pizza... like at John's?" Ethan asked and Natalie looked at John. He was still serious looking. He was still waiting for an answer even thou the boys interrupted them. She couldn't give him one yet. She wouldn't turn him away. At least not tonight. She couldn't do that to the boys now and... And she knew she needed him.

"Well... You guys can go up and get your sleeping, set them up but..." She said and she saw John hold his breath. " But no pizza... we got to go to Mommy's place, it's Friday and I gotta drop some stuff off. We can eat there or bring something back with us." She told the boys looking down at them as she stood and then she looked up at John.

"Are you coming too JOhn?" Ethan asked as he approached John. John looked at Natalie after Ethan's question.

"That's up to your mom" John said softly continuing to look at Natalie. Natalie closed her eyes briefly. She reopened them. She gave John a small smile. " Of Course John is coming... he must be starving after all his hard work on that tent" Natalie said smiling and then John smiled. Natalie scooted the boys to go get ready to go. They ran to get there jackets and John approached her after they were out of the room.

"Does that mean yes... that... I can ma--" He was telling her and she stopped his words.

"Not sure what it means... lets take it slow and maybe I'll figure things out " She told him. He walked closer to her. He pulled her by the waist. Pulled her to him. His lips came upon hers gently.

Natalie felt his hands on her hips and she knew what was next. She felt his lips, she closed her eye's and knew slow was going to be very difficult. Extremely difficult.

"I won't let you or your boys down Natalie... I won't... If I weren't such an ass... those two terrific kids would be mine... we'd share in making them and we would've been happy this whole time... I do know what I did, and how I screwed things up. And I'm not about to let anything get in my way of making this right..." He told her and she shook her head. She smiled.

"So do I have to thank you're Step dad for this sudden change... all this talk coming from you... I mean don't get me wrong... I like the changes... but I liked some of the silence too." She said smiling and laughing too. John shook his head.

"I just can't win with you... can I?" John said Joking and she laughed more.

"Honestly Natalie. I just wanted you to know without any doubt what I'm feeling... what I'm doing... and that I'm gonna be the guy you need, that they need. I just want to show you. Let me" He told and then basically asked her again.

Natalie sighed deeply as she saw her boys run in ready to go. She saw Evan run over with his sneakers in hand and John automatically took the shoes without words from his hands and started to put them on the kid. Natalie just watched him. Her heart was melting. It was mush. She teared up and then called his name.

"John" She said and he looked up from Evan s sneakers. He looked deep into her eyes.

"Show me, show us," She told him softly almost a whisper and he smiled. He finished up Evan's sneakers and he went over by her. He leaned into her ear as he smiled. " I Love you... Thank you," He told her and she smiled as chills ran down her spine with having him so near.

Ten Minutes later John sat in the passenger side of her car as she drove them towards her Bar. He couldn't keep the smile off his face. She had looked at him a few times that he had realized and she let out a small chuckle after seeing his continual smile.

John watched the road as his mind was racing a mile a minute. She was giving him a chance to make things up to her, to make things right. He sighed deeply never breaking his smile as he glanced over to her a few more times. As if checking to see if this was real. As if making sure he was really sitting next to her in a car and that they were given another chance at a life together. A chance he knew he wouldn't blow this time.

John continued to stare ahead deep in thought as he heard the giggles coming from the back seat. He grinned wider and he looked to see Ethan and Evan fooling around and laughing. He shook his head in Awe of how close these two boys were. Not just in age but in every aspect. He remembered how close he and Michael were growing up before their dad died. He remembered how it took so many years for them to become close again and how he had regretted all that time it took. He shook his head and knew he would never let that happen to his boys.

The expression on John's face changed as he realized what he had just thought. 'His boys'... Ethan and Evan. He called them his boys. They were a far way from being his boys. Although he knew he could probably never replace their real father. He did hope with some time he could be a father to them. Not just John their friend. He knew he wanted that just as much as he wanted Natalie to be in his life always.

John thought about how he wanted Natalie in his life, that he wanted her to be his wife. He realized that he probably wanted that from the first time he realized how deep their connection was. How deep he felt for her. But back then, back in the beginning, he knew what a cripple he was. An emotional cripple. He shook his head again. Sighed deeply again telling himself and knowing in his heart that, that wouldn't be the case this time. This time he would be all things to her. All things to them. Nothing would stop him nor get in his way... nothing.