Author's note: Sorry about the delay and thanks for your understanding. I know, I know, another shortish chapter. Also, after the last couple this will probably seem boring—I promise there's more excitement in store. As always thanks for the feedback on previous chapters, you can't even begin to imagine how much it means.

John made his way back to the Angel Square hotel feeling so drained that he thought he might actually be able to sleep that night. He'd gone back to the police station where he found out that Cristian and Paul were both in holding cells pending arraignment in the morning. He'd called Peterson and informed him of the latest development—that he'd agreed to pretend to be the father of Natalie's child. His boss was actually more amenable to the idea than he had been at first, but that shouldn't have surprised him. Peterson was a pragmatist who thought only of the benefit this provided to John's cover story without a thought of what this could actually do to the people involved.

Michael had left the station before he got back; he'd have to talk with him tomorrow and he didn't think he could tell him the truth about this one. He hated the idea of lying to his brother about again, but he didn't think Michael would understand why he was doing this. Hell, he didn't understand why he was doing this. He needed to talk with Natalie too. He hadn't had a chance after his spontaneous decision to go along with her story; her mother sat in her room until she fell asleep and they couldn't very well discuss it in front of her. He'd go by in the morning; they needed to work out the details before someone caught them in the lie.

As he unlocked the door to his room someone approached him from behind and pushed him roughly inside before he could respond. He heard the door close behind them and then someone flipped on the lights. He spun around to see Antonio Vega and Sonia Toledo. Sonia wore the placid slight smile she always seemed to but Antonio's face was smoldering with anger.

Sonia was the first to speak. "We heard there was an incident at Rodi's tonight."

"And?" John asked, matching her nonchalance.

"And did you think that maybe at some point while we were comparing strategy you should have told us that yours included sleeping with my brother's wife?" Antonio spat at him.

"I thought he wasn't your brother anymore," John pointed out, "and besides, whatever happened between me and Natalie had nothing to do with the case."

"You expect me to believe that?" Antonio said taking a threatening step towards him, "You think I don't know how you people handle investigations? Doesn't matter who gets stepped on, how many marriages you break up-"

"From what I understand," John said unflinching, "their marriage was already pretty broken before I ever got to town."

"And you were only too happy to help it along, weren't you?" Antonio said.

Rolling her eyes and stepping between the two men Sonia said, "Antonio, you're just upset about Jessica and Cristian, don't take it out on McBain."

Antonio turned his glare to her and backed off John slightly. John ran his fingers through his hair, not eager for Antonio's reaction to what he was about to tell him but needing to say it anyway. "You would probably be interested to know I talked to Jessica last night," he said.

"I didn't come here to talk about Jessica," Antonio said turning his back.

"This might actually be relevant to the case," he said. Antonio turned back around wordlessly and Sonia looked at him expectantly. John continued, "She said she had already ended things with Cristian before… what happened last night. Apparently she's now engaged to Tico Santi."

The anger that had been on Antonio's face before slowly started to build to a dark furor. John was glad to be out of arm's reach. "What?" he growled.

John sighed, "She said that he asked her and she felt like it was a better situation that what had been going on with Cristian and-"

"Calm down, Antonio," Sonia said in a tone more appropriate for scolding a dog. "You knew she was going to move on eventually, you told her to. And Tico's a good man, he'll take care of her."

"He's a criminal!" Antonio protested.

"You haven't been able to prove that," she reminded him. "To tell you the truthhe's the one I feel sorry for. It's obvious Jessica's not in love with him."

Antonio continued glaring at her but the tension in his body eased slightly—apparently he was getting past his urge to hit something or someone. "Anyway," John said with a sigh, "please tell me you came here to talk about something other than the sex lives of the people of Llanview."

"We're here about Paul Cramer," Sonia explained, "we know he was arrested after the brawl and we were wondering if he's said anything at all about the Santis."

"Not to my knowledge," John said.

"Have you interrogated him?" she asked.

"He was arrested by the LPD, not me," he said.

Taking a step towards him she asked, "But you were there. I'm sure Commissioner Buchanan would have let you-"

"I'm still not openly working this case," he explained.

Sonia looked confused, "My sources told me that during the incident you announced you were an FBI agent."

Instinctually, John's mind started running through his mental catalog of faces he'd seen at the bar that night, wondering which of them were Sonia's sources. He shook his head to stop the process, it really didn't matter who was feeding her the information. "I did," he said, "but thanks to my brother, people in town already knew I worked for the FBI. The official story is that I was suspended indefinitely for beating up a suspect and came out to visit my brother."

"That's one of the most transparent covers I've ever heard," she said with a smug smile.

"Well I'm sorry it doesn't meet INL standards," he said, "but deal with it. I'm under orders not to compromise my cover any further. If I walk in and start asking Cramer about the Santis-"

"Fine," she said, "get someone else from the FBI down here to do it. We can't let this opportunity pass."

"Why don't you have your people do it?" he asked.

"Because it's out of our-" she stopped herself and smiled knowingly at what he'd set her up to say. He'd almost gotten her to admit that interrogating Cramer was out of INL's jurisdiction which would be dangerously close to admitting she was acting out of jurisdiction. Taking a moment to formulate her words carefully, she said, "I think it would step on fewer toes if it's your people. The local cops have a better understanding of and a marginally better relationship with the FBI than with INL."

"Here's an idea," he said, "We could always talk to the local PD and get them to do the interrogating." John knew that the Llanview Police Department had less experience dealing with multinational criminal organizations than the FBI, but as a former cop he resented the implication that they were incapable of handling Cramer on their own.

"You tried that last time, remember?" she said, "They let him go."

"Circumstances were different then," he pointed out putting his hands on his hips, "the person shot last night was the police commissioner's niece. He might have a little more incentive to keep him locked up this time."

"Forget about it!" Antonio hissed resuming his pacing, "The LPD isn't interested in bringing down the Santis. I tried for months when I was working there."

"Fine," he said rubbing his eyes wearily, "I'll call the field office. Get them to send someone down."

"I'd like to observe the interrogation," Sonia said, "from behind glass obviously."

"Me too," Antonio said.

She shook her head. "Sorry Antonio. You're not a cop anymore and there's no way I can explain you well enough to get you in the room." Antonio didn't look happy about this but didn't argue any further. Turning back to John she said, "I assume you want to be there too."

He nodded. "I'll give you a call when it's all worked out."

"You're not going to set it up now?" she asked incredulous.

"No," he said.

"You're wasting time," she said, "Why not-?"

"Because nobody's in the office right now except the emergency contact," he said, "I doubt I can get anything arranged before early tomorrow anyway. And call me prissy, but I've been wearing a shirt covered in blood for hours and I'd like to change. I'd like to shower. I might even like to sleep. It's kind of been a long night for me."

"Fine," she said spinning on her heel. She didn't sound happy, but apparently he'd made his mood clear enough that she didn't want to push him any further. "I'll be waiting for your call."

Antonio started to follow her from the room but at the last minute turned to John and standing less than a foot away from him hissed, "I'm willing to work with you McBain, because I'd work with the devil himself if it would help me take down my father's organization. But don't think for a minute I've forgotten what you did to my brother."

"Fair enough," John said refusing to flinch, "and just so we're clear, I haven't forgotten what your brother did to Natalie."

Still glaring Antonio turned and marched down the hall after Sonia. John peeled off his shirt and tossed it into the garbage. He doubted the blood could be cleaned from it anyway and even if it could he doubted he could ever wear it without seeing Natalie, covered in blood, looking so much like that other woman who'd gotten shot for getting too close to him. As he stepped in the shower he couldn't help wondering how much worse things would get for Natalie as a result of this story he'd agreed to go along with.

Bo Buchanan walked into his niece's room late the next morning trying to force a smile. She appeared to be asleep but her eyes fluttered open when he approached her bed.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Okay considering," she said drowsily.

"That's good," he said sitting down beside her, "I'd really appreciate it if you could avoid scaring us all like that again."

"I'll do my best," she said returning his smile. They sat in silence for a moment before he spoke again.

"Natalie," he said gently, "you know you can talk to me about anything, right?"

"Yeah," she said turning her head away from him.

"Why didn't you come to me honey?" he asked.

"I don't know," she said, "I couldn't go to anyone. I was so embarassed."

"After half the stuff your grandpa's pulled, why would you think you had anything to be embarrassed about around me?"

"I don't know," she said.

"You know… I talked to Jess earlier," he said hesitantly, "she's worried about you."

A look of anger washed over Natalie's face. "Uncle Bo, I know you mean well, but I'm not the one to talk to about Jessica right now."

"I know," he said, "and I know you're hurting right now in more ways than one. But promise me you'll keep in mind that at the end of the day she's your sister. She's your twin Nat--she's the only one you've got."

"From where I'm standing that makes what she did even worse," Natalie said.

"Probably," he nodded, "but honey in this family it's really par for the course. Your brothers have been through the same thing, Asa and I have dealt with similar stuff. I'm not saying that makes it okay in any way, but I know from experience that it's something you can work through."

"You're assuming I want to," she mumbled. Looking up at her Uncle and seeing the sincere affection there she softened a little bit—not towards Jessica, but she understood that this had put the whole family in an awkward position. "What do you want me to do?" she asked helplessly.

Taking her hand in both of his and squeezing it he said, "I guess what I'm trying to say is, it's okay to shut the door—just promise me you won't lock it."

"I promise," she said in a whisper to hide the crack in her voice brought on by impending tears. "I'll try anyway."

"That's all I can ask," he said. Releasing her hand he shifted uncomfortably in the chair; as unpleasant as that conversation had been the one he needed to start now was likely to be worse. "Nat honey, I think you should know… I just came from the courthouse."

She bit her lip. "This is about Cristian and Paul?"

"Yeah," he said, "They were both arraigned first thing this morning. The tapes from Rodi's confirmed Paul's story that Cristian was holding the gun at the time the shot was fired. That's almost incidental since the shooting was accidental—there are limitations on what we can charge them with. The good news is they both will have to stand trial. They'll both be charged with a couple things—reckless endangerment, public drunkenness, some minor weapons violations. The bad news is they're both going to be out on bail until that happens."

"They're out?" Natalie's eyes widened.

"Cristian will be out as soon as they get the paperwork done. The FBI wanted to talk with Paul first, but he'll be out before the day is over."

Natalie's heart had started racing the moment Bo gave her the news but she still caught the last part of what he'd said. "FBI? You mean John?"

"Another team of agents showed up today," he explained, "whether they're connected with your friend or not I couldn't say."

Her mind running at the rhythm of her heart continued picking through what he'd said. "Where would either Cristian or Paul get the money for bail?"

"I'd imagine Paul's bail will be paid by whoever has been paying for his lawyer. Cristian's cousin offered to pay his."

"Antonio?"

"Tico?" he said.

That wasn't what she had expected to hear but she didn't dwell on it. "I guess I can be glad he didn't ask me for the cash," she sighed. Her entire body tensed suddenly, "Uncle Bo, they can't come here, can they?"

"Do you really think they would?"

"I don't know," she said her voice cracking slightly, "Paul's capable of just about anything. I would have said Cristian would have the sense not to, but it never occurred to me he'd shoot me either."

Taking her hand firmly in his he said, "Natalie, I need you to be honest with me, do you think that either one of them might hurt you?"

"They already have," she said as a tear slipped out of her eyes.

"I know," he said, "but in order to get a restraining order you're going to have to demonstrate that you're at risk of serious physical injury from them."

"Restraining order?" she asked blankly, shaking her head.

"It's the only legal recourse I have for keeping them away from you," he said grimly, "and even if you decide to pursue one it's going to take time to go through."

"I don't know if that's really necessary," she said, "it seems so extreme but then… nothing really makes sense right now. I just wish someone would tell me what to do."

Bo's heart broke at the desperate look on her face as his niece looked up at him, silently begging him to make everything all right. "I'll tell you what," he said, "You can take your time to decide about that one. I'll talk to some guys I know from work who do private security on the side and see if they would be willing to keep an eye on your room, keep out any unwanted visitors."

"I can't ask you to do that," she said though he could see the gratitude on her face.

"You didn't," he assured her, "and it's no big deal. And I bet I can get Asa to pay for it. It'll make him feel like he's doing something without going after anyone with a gun. Which will make my job easier. So you see, you're actually doing me a favor."

His last comment managed to elicit half a smile from her. "Thank you," she said.

Bo looked around the room; there was a vase with some salmon colored roses he was certain his former sister-in-law had provided and a stack of Harlequin novels which were probably Roxy's doing. He felt like something was missing but it took him a moment to realize that it was any sign of the baby's father. "So…" he began, not sure why he was starting another awkward conversation, but knowing Natalie probably needed someone to talk to, "has Agent McBain been by?"

Natalie looked uncomfortable with this topic. "Um… he came by last night," she said twisting a lock of her own hair.

"Hmm…" Bo said, "I would have thought considering… he'd be here as much as they'd let him."

"He's busy," she said softly. In truth she'd hoped John would come visit her this morning, but she knew she had no right to expect it. From talking to her mother she knew he was going along with the story about the baby being his, but had to remind herself that that didn't mean he had any feelings for her.

"How are you feeling about all this? I know you didn't plan this and I'm sure this isn't how you would have wanted things to go, but how are you feeling about this baby?"

"I honestly don't know," she admitted, "I was really upset when I found out. I didn't think I wanted it until last night when I though I was going to lose it and I was surprised how much that thought hurt. I guess there's a part of me that's happy about it but I'm so…"

"Nervous?"

"Scared shitless," she said.

Bo smiled. "Well I'll tell you this—I've seen you with Matthew and I've heard how good you were with Rex when he was little and I think you'll be a damn good mother."

"Even though I do stupid things and made a nuclear wasteland out of my life?"

"You'll be surprised by how much a baby can help with that," he said.

"Hopefully," she said.

"And you know, I've only talked to him a couple times, but Agent McBain seems like a pretty decent guy to me."

"He is," she nodded a little too eagerly; "he's really been there for me."

"Even though you haven't known him very long," he pointed out.

"Yeah."

"Natalie," he said slowly, "you've heard about what happened with Matthew when he was born? About the lie that broke up Nora and me and the second lie that kept my son away from me the first couple years of his life?"

She nodded solemnly.

"I don't want to make any accusations," he said, "but you know the truth about this baby will come out eventually, right?"

She looked down at the sheets and mumbled, "Yeah, I know."

"And you know you can always talk to me about anything, right?"

"Yeah," she said daring to look back up at him, "and thank you for that."

"Is there… anything you want to talk about?"

"No," she said forcing a smile.

"Okay," he patted her hand one last time, "I'm gonna go see about getting you those guards. I also need to head back to the station. I'll make sure that both of those clowns know they aren't welcome here."

"Thank you," she said as he stood up and kissed her forehead. "Have I told you you're my favorite uncle?"

"Yeah," he shrugged, "but compared with Todd Manning I'm not sure how much that means. I'll see you later."

"Later," Natalie echoed as he left the room. When he was gone she squeezed her eyes shut, the wound in her chest suddenly hurting again. Getting John involved with her pregnancy and paternity issues was probably only going to make it worse in the end, but she had been so terrified of Cristian or Paul finding out she was carrying their child she had to do something. And yet the baby would be here in less than eight months and it deserved the truth, but how did she do that without risking the baby's father, whoever it was, hurting it the same way they'd hurt her?

To be continued…