John sat back down on the bed just as Natalie's eyes fluttered open. He kissed her.
"Mm Good morning" she said.
"I knew you'd be waking up soon" he said, handing her a cup of coffee, "Don't tell anyone"
"You really are my knight in shining armor" she said, and took a sip of coffee, "I still take my coffee the same way"
"And you still close your eyes when you take the first sip" he noted.
"Any news yet?" she asked.
"No, but a pal of mine and his girlfriend brought you some clothes if they decide to discharge you"
"Oh that was nice"
"So did you sleep well?"
"I did. It did me good to know you were here all night" she said, "But when was the last time you slept?"
"I don't think I've slept well since we've been apart"
"Nice dodge, McBain" she said, "You haven't slept in days have you?"
"I look that bad?"
"No" she said, running her hand through his hair, "But I know you"
"Better than anyone"
"So I know you haven't slept since you found me"
"As if I could" he backfired.
"Same old John" she said, "Have you been eating?"
He looked down.
"Guess I have my answer" she said, "You know, if you want to go and grab a bite, take shower, take a nap-"
"I'm not leaving you, okay? I promised Bo I'd take care of you, and he promised your parents you were being looked after" he said.
"I can take care of myself"
"I know" he said, "but I got a lot riding on this"
She rolled her eyes, taking another sip of coffee. "You really haven't changed, have you?"
"No I have, you just bring out the best in me"
Their intimate moment was interrupted when the doctor came in.
"Is there news?" Natalie asked.
"Yes. We've put in for a shipment of the anti-dote from Seattle. It should be here within the week"
"My brother's a doctor in Seattle" John said, "I'll see if I can pull some strings"
"Perfect" the doctor said.
"Could I get out of here while we wait?" Natalie asked, "There's no reason to keep me here. I'm not sick or hurt"
"I'll see what I can do" the doctor said, "and you, Agent McBain, get on the phone right now"
"Yeah" he said, and kissed Natalie's forehead and headed out of the room.
"Hello?"
"Hey Mike"
"John? Why are you calling so early?"
"It's important. Are you at the hospital?"
"Yeah, I'm finishing a long shift. Why?"
"I need a favor"
"John-"
"It's for Natalie"
"Natalie?" he asked, "Why would you want to do anything for her after she took Liam away from you?"
"She didn't do that. Her father did"
"She didn't stop it"
"Mike, she needs help" he said.
"And as usual, you can't stop yourself from helping her"
"If Marcie needed help, there isn't anything you wouldn't do"
"That's hardly a viable comparison"
"You know what Natalie means to me" he said, "You know how much I hated my life every time she left me. You know I only went back to the FBI because it would be a distraction. So don't pretend I'm doing this on a whim. I'll always help her, no matter the cost"
"What's wrong?"
"She lost some of her memory because of some drugs that were forced on her" he said, "but we're in Guam and Seattle has the antidote. The doctor says it's supposed to take a week. Can you get it here sooner?"
"Always the hero" he commented, "How much memory has she lost?"
"Seven years"
"So she thinks you're together"
"Yeah"
"And you still want to help her get her memory back" he said, flatly.
"Liam needs his mother"
"I got it. I can get it to you in three days" he said.
"Thanks Mike" he said.
"Yeah, well, I guess I owe you a few"
"Is the drug safe?" he asked, and again prayed for the answer he shouldn't want.
"Yeah. No side effects, invented for the purpose of eliminating the effects of another drug"
"You're sure"
"I am. I'm sorry"
"I shouldn't want this"
"I don't think anyone in your shoes would want something different"
"Thanks for the favor, Mike"
As John hung up the phone, he looked through the window at Natalie. She was so engrossed in her cup of coffee she didn't notice his stare at her. He was a little surprised when the doctor came up behind him.
"Did your brother come through?"
"The drug'll be here in three days" he said, not taking his eyes off of Natalie.
"You asked him if it was safe, too"
"What?"
"Why are you so concerned with the safety of the drug? I told you it was fine, you didn't have to ask your brother too"
"When she remembers the last seven years, she's gonna remember all the awful things I did"
"You got the drugs to come faster. It won't be that bad if you want her to remember"
"I don't want that for me. I want that for her" he said, "Today, she loves me. In three days, she's going to go back to hating me" he said, "but she needs to remember her son" he said, "what would you do?"
"I don't know" the doctor answered, "but I guess you're doing the right thing"
He was always doing the right thing, usually at the cost of his happiness. His whole life he'd always done what was right, what he had to do. It was his curse. He could live vicariously in the moment for the next few days, pretend it would all be okay. As long as he didn't let it get too far. And then, she looked at him, and he couldn't bring himself to regret anything. If he always had to do the right thing, he could at least enjoy being with the woman he had always loved while they waited.