A/N I do not own these characters. Oh wait I do own Shelly, Jerry, Mr. and Mrs. Falk, and any other character I might make up on a whim, and all the mob guys except Walter Balsom. I am getting no profit off the use of ABC characters so please refrain from suing me. I have no money anyway.
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Chapter 21John heard his phone ring and cursed. He wished he had thought to turn it off. Digging it out he handed it to Natalie, "Can you answer that?" he asked, not wanting to talk on the phone while he was driving.
"Sure." Natalie said then opened the phone. "Hello?" she asked.
"Natalie? It's Bo. I need to talk to John." Bo said a little startled to hear his niece answer the phone. He hadn't known she was still with John. He got the feeling that there was more going on with them than they were letting on and he was happy about it. The LVPD needed a new Chief of detectives and if John McBain were to form a relationship with Natalie he might be more inclined to take the job when Bo offered it to him.
"Hold on a sec, Uncle Bo," Natalie told him and took the phone away from her mouth and covered the mouthpiece, "Bo wants to talk to you. It sounds important."
John grimaced then took the phone from her. Carefully watching the road he said, "McBain." He paused, listening, his frown getting more and more pronounced. "It said what!" John exclaimed, making Natalie jump, startled. "You have got to be kidding me. Death and decay? That's crazy!" he told Bo. "Ok, Ok. There is a safe motel near Frackville. It's about an hour from Llanview. Take her there. What? She won't go with out Rex?" John sighed. "Fine, take him too." He started to hang up then said, "Bo?" he waited a second then, "Thanks."
Natalie stared at him after he hung up the phone. After a minute she asked, "What the hell was that all about?"
John grimaced and threw a glance her way before returning his attention to the road. After another minute he said, "Bo got some twisted message about Shelly. He thinks it's a threat against her life so to be safe she is gonna go into hiding again till we figure out where it came from and what it means."
"Oh my god! Is Shelly ok? She wasn't hurt or anything was she?" Natalie asked, scared for her friend.
"She's fine. Bo had someone go get her and bring her to the station. She won't go with out Rex so he is going with her." He told her, his tone clearly indicated that he didn't like the idea one bit.
"And you're not going to raise a big fuss?" Natalie said with an amused grin. It was clear to her that he was having a hard time dealing with the fact that Shelly was going to be basically alone with Rex for an extended period of time.
John sighed in irritation and glanced at her again, seeing her amused grin he couldn't help but grin himself. "You know I don't like it. Shelly might have just turned 17 but she is still my little sister. I may not like Rex but even I can see that he loves her and will protect her. I just hate the idea that someone is going after her again."
Natalie laid a hand on his arm and noticed it was rigid with tension. "She'll be ok John. I know she will. She has both you and Rex looking after her." Giving his arm a gentle squeeze and then taking her hand back, "There's no one better to be looking after her. Plus she really can look after her self you know."
"I know. I'm still worried though. I just wish we knew whether the threat was serious of just some stupid prank."
"Uncle Bo will find out. You know that." She then grinned. "Lets just concentrate on finding Walter and let Bo take care of things in Llanview right now."
Seeing Natalie's excitement about finding Walter he felt an answering excitement himself. When they found Walter there was a good chance they would find Natalie's child. He knew enough to keep his expectations low though. After all it wasn't positive that Walter would even be at the address they had been given or if he had baby Alexandra at all. "You're right. We have to concentrate on finding Walter right now. Shelly is in good hands, I know that. Are you ready? We will be there soon."
"I am so beyond ready!" Natalie told him. She was so excited and hopeful yet scared as well. After all the disappointments and setbacks they had faced over the past month she was afraid this would be another dead end. She stayed silent for a long while trying to calm herself.
John pulled on to the street the house was on and they began looking for the right house. "There!" Natalie said pointing to a large two-story house. It was a ranch style house with an immaculately kept yard and Natalie wondered if this indeed was the right house. From what she remembered about Walter Balsom he had seemed scummy, unclean. To picture him living here was a stretch for her. When John drove by the house Natalie looked at him in confusion. "Why...?"
John looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Nothing says surprise more than pulling right into the driveway, huh?"
Natalie blushed and then shrugged sheepishly. "Point taken." She fidgeted while John parked the car up the street several houses. When he reached over her to the glove compartment to get a couple clips for his gun she grabbed his arm for a second. "John...?"
He understood her unspoken question and answered it. "It's just a precaution. You remember what happened the last time..." he told her and slipped the clips in his pocket. He got out of the car and, after she joined him, he said, "Remember Stay behind me till we know its safe. I don't want you getting hurt."
Natalie smiled at his concern and leaned up and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "No matter what happens, whether we find him or not, Thanks you! You have no idea how much you have helped me in the last month, John. I...I..." She stopped, too choked up with love for him to continue.
John pulled her to him and gave her a quick but deep kiss. When he pulled back he said, "You have done more for me then you will ever know Natalie. You don't ever have to thank me for helping you find your daughter!"
They shared a long look then John took her hand in his and they proceeded to make their way to Walter Balsom's residence.
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"You want me to what!" Shelly asked loudly. She had to be hearing things! No way was she going to run because of a stupid picture and a cryptic message.
"This was John's decision, Shelly." Bo told her. He had known that she would be resistant but he hadn't realized just how much. Even the promise of Rex going with her had softened her determination not to leave town.
"John's decision? Who the hell is he to be making decisions for me!" Shelly demanded.
"Since he is your legal guardian he has that right." Bo told her, un aware that she didn't know that John had petitioned the courts to become her legal guardian.
"What? John's not my legal guardian! My mom and dad are! What the hell are you talking about?" Shelly demanded, shocked and confused.
'Shit!' Bo thought. He had just stepped in it. "I thought you knew. John petitioned the courts and was declared your legal guardian last month. Eve and the Falks figured that he was the best person because you and he were so close."
Shelly sat down heavily on the chair behind her. "He didn't tell me..." she mumbled. On one hand she was touched that he cared enough to do that for her but on the other hand she was furious. He had made a life changing decision for her and didn't even tell her! Snapping her head up she looked at Bo, "Does he really think this is the only way?"
Bo was impressed with Shelly's ability to keep a clear head. He had expected her to rage at the fact that John had done something so big and not tell her but, although he could clearly see she was mad about it, she still was focusing on the matter at hand. "Yes, he does."
Shelly nodded, "Fine." The minute she saw John she was going to have a word with him! But until then she had to do what he thought was best, he was after all an FBI agent and knew what he was talking about. She trusted his judgment about these matters. "When do Rex and I leave?"
"Right now," Bo told her and just then a plan clothes officer came in and asked her to follow him. Before she was out of the office she turned back to Bo and said, " You tell John that we nee to talk when he gets back." Then she followed the officer out the door.
To be continued...