Landing in London III

By: Athena13

Thanks everyone who has reviewed for all of the encouragement. I can't tell from this side of the keyboard if this is any good!

Happy Birthday, Sweetie! I hope you like this!

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And when the night falls in around me
I don't think I'll make it through
I'll use your light to guide the way
'Cause all I think about is you
And all these days I spend away
I'll make up for this I swear
I need your love to hold me up
When it's all too much to bear
"Landing in London", 3 Doors Down
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Now
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A gloved hand carefully placed photographs onto the marred wood surface of the motel room's desk. As each black and white image was placed down, a notation was made on the yellow pad by another hand. The faces in the photos were well familiar to the people studying them, but study them again and again they would. Mistakes were not tolerated in their line of work, not by any employer and certainly not by their current one.

The images began to repeat, the same subject, but different locations, different angles. They were being watched. Habits were being studied.

"This one is new," a voice said as a photograph of a beautiful, pregnant woman was placed down.

"She just came back to town. This is the wife. She's pregnant with the ex-FBI's agents baby."

"There should be a premium for that one then."

"Yes. But this is the one that is most important."

A photograph of Antonio Vega was placed down on top of the picture of Natalie Vega.

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Before
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Natalie Vega stood on the balcony outside her suite at her father's London townhouse. She had been in London for a week already, but it was all a blur. The last thing she remembered was leaving John standing stunned in his apartment and suddenly she found herself here in her predominantly green, feminine suite. Talking to her mother, taking a leave of absence, packing and the flight to England was all a haze. Her week in London was made even hazier by the effects of jet lag, shock, grief and early pregnancy. She remembered greeting her brothers - Joey and Cord, and her cousin Sara. She remembered talking with her father about what she planned to do. She remembered his invitation to stay as long as she wanted, even if it was forever. But beyond that she was just going through the motions.

Now, she felt the cool air of the English fall evening flowing over her suddenly enlivened nerves and she was grateful. Grateful to be far from Llanview and in this place where she wasn't known and there was nothing for her to know. Nothing was required of her here. There was no need to pretend everything was all right and no need to pretend every thing was all wrong.

"I knocked." Her brother Joey's voice startled her.

"I was just taking in the night air." Natalie held out a hand and welcomed her brother's peaceful presence.

"Enjoy it while you can. English winters are dreary and long. And cold."

"We have winter in America."

"Not like this. Most people don't come here for a winter to cheer up." Joey put an arm around his sister.

"I was just thinking how relieved I am to be here." Natalie laughed at the irony.

"I'm glad you're here too. I was just wondering why."

"Mother didn't fill you in?" Natalie looked up at her brother knowingly.

"She told us the circumstances, but only you can tell me what's going on inside that stubborn head and heart of yours." Joey pinched her arm and pressed a kiss to her head.

"Confusion. That's what's going on in here." Natalie pointed to her head and then rested it against his shoulder.

"Come inside and sit down. We can leave the door open and let the breeze in." Joey guided her back inside before she could think. He'd been dying to get her to open up to him for a week, he wasn't going to waste the opportunity. He sat them in the collection of cushioned chairs in the sitting alcove in her bedroom area.

"I hate him. Both of them. Cristian and John. And whoever it was that set all this in motion. Taking Cristian and brainwashing him. I..." Natalie trailed off, her eyes dry but clearly tormented.

"You can say anything to me without judgment."

"Man of the cloth that you are." Natalie said for a moment's deflection.

"I almost wish he had died in Vegas instead of having to endure...having to die as he did. He must have been so lonely and pained. Scared. I feel like I failed him."

"You didn't fail him, Natalie. You had no control over what happened to him and what he chose to do."

"But I might have if John had been honest with me. If Cristian had been honest with me. I know he was sick, but it doesn't stop me from being angry. And unbearably sad."

"All of that is understandable."

Natalie nodded and leaned forward towards her brother. "But then there's all this other stuff. That's what is confusing me."

"Stuff?" Joey asked.

"Peace. Love. Hope. It's crazy, in the middle of all this. It must be hormones." Natalie leaned back and smiled wryly.

"It probably is hormones, or at least that's part of it. You are carrying love and hope and the future inside you."

"Go on, say it. I know you're dying to." Natalie looked at him with one eyebrow raised.

"Is this love for John?"

"God help me, it is. Despite all he's done. Not just about Cristian, but the head games. The fact that he's in a relationship with another woman. There's just always been...something. Since that first moment. I've tried to shake it, but..." Natalie hit the arm of her chair to punctuate her point.

"Something drawing you two together." Joey said knowingly.

"Besides the fact that I'm carrying his child."

"Does he know?"

"Yes. I told him before I left. I also asked him to stay away and promised I would be back." Natalie stood up, whipping her still lithe figure back and forth behind her former seat.

"It agitates you."

"Hell, yes. Do you know how mature that was?" She sneered.

"Actually, yes. I'm quite proud of you. It's a novel thing in Llanview sometimes."

"I should never have told him. I should have kept it secret, like he did to me, until I could spring it on him at some dramatic moment. Like his wedding to Evangeline. It must be hormones."

"Hormones seem to be doing you good stead. Will they get you to forgive him?"

"There's the thing. I can't imagine forgiving him for condemning Cristian to his death. I can't imagine not forgiving him for the sake of our child. I want to shoot him at the same time I want to put his hand on my growing belly and see his look of wonder feeling it move. How sappy."

"Very sappy. You're going to make a wonderful mother, little sister."

"Do you think so?" Natalie asked, her voice low and young sounding.

"Definitely."

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Now
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"John should be here any minute, unless something came up at work. He's a cop."

"When he comes I'll send him right in. Change into one of our lovely gowns and a technician will be in shortly."

"Yeah, shortly," Natalie muttered to herself after the nurse left. Shortly, she had learned the hard way, in the medical world meant longer than in the real world. What was the point of appointments she had complained more than once if only she had to be on time?

"Lovely gown. Piece of freakin' paper towel with my ass hanging out," she continued to grumble because it was better than wondering where John was and if he was going to show up.

"I'd like to see that."

Natalie spun around to see John leaning casually against the closed door.

"How is it that you are now able to enter rooms without me hearing you?" she asked, referring to her first night back when he surprised her in the kitchen.

"Must be a side effect of pregnancy." John shrugged and took the paper gown out of her hands. "May I help the lady change?" He leered.

"You think you're all that, don't you?" Natalie raised her chin in dismissal.

John shrugged, his grin only widening.

"I can change my clothes quite easily, once you turn around." Natalie pointed towards the door.

"If you insist," John handed her the gown back and turned around.

A few minutes later she let him know she was done and he turned around to see her attempting to get on the table.

"Thanks," she said breathlessly a moment later after he had helped her up.

"Ever since I started my third trimester my agility is going out the window. Soon I'll be waddling."

"Sexy." John grinned and pulled on one of her pig tails.

Natalie snorted and primly put her hands in her lap.

"No, really. Do you have any idea how sexy you are?"

"Like this?" She didn't believe him for a moment.

Before John could say anything the door opened and the technician walked in.

"Hello, Ms. Vega, Mr. McBain. I'm Barbara. I'll be performing the sonagram on your son."

Greetings were passed around and as Barbara prepared the machinery, and Natalie, she explained the procedure. There was a moment of awkwardness when Natalie had to lift the gown over her stomach in front of John, but he had the grace to pretend he didn't notice the flush on her face. Just as she ignored his.

"Everything looks fine. I'll print out a couple of pictures for you to take home. The doctor will be in shortly to perform the rest of your exam. Here's a wipe for the goo." She handed it to John and left the room.

"Uh," John looked from Natalie's stomach and up to her face.

"I can do it."

"Oh, no, I will." He recovered more quickly than she did and gently began to wipe off the gel that was spread across her stomach to help focus the picture-taking sound waves.

Natalie started up at the ceiling and tried to focus on counting tiles instead of the sensation of John's hand on her naked stomach. It was excruciatingly embarrassing and arousing at the same time.

"Mr. McBain, if you'll come in." The nurse led John into the Doctor's office where she and Natalie were waiting. He had a fleeting feeling that waiting rooms were becoming too familiar, but it passed as he took a seat in front of the doctor's desk next to Natalie who was now fully clothed.

"Natalie thought you might want to sit in on this part of our consultation, though after I say what I have to say she might regret it," Doctor Meade said.

"Is something wrong?" John leaned forward.

"Nothing that rest and a close eye on Natalie won't take care of. I concur with your British doctor, your blood pressure is on the high end of the spectrum. It's in normal range, but notably higher than your pre-pregnancy pressure."

"What does that mean?" John asked worriedly.

"That means that there is nothing wrong, but we want to keep a close eye so that no problems do develop."

"What kind of problems," John persisted.

"John," Natalie reached out a hand to calm him.

"I've been in the dark long enough, I need to know." John said this directly to Natalie.

Taken aback, Natalie pulled her hand away and absently nodded at the doctor to continue.

"It could cause early delivery, low birth weight, kidney damage and it could be a precursor to a more dangerous condition called Preeclampsia. There are no other signs of that at this point. But I will want to see Natalie every two weeks for the next six weeks and then weekly for the remainder of her pregnancy."

"What can I do?" John asked.

"Make sure she eats healthy, not a lot of sodium and make sure she rests."

John turned and glared at her accusingly.

Natalie bit her lip and looked away. She knew he was thinking of the burger and fries they'd had the day before. But he had been shut out until now, he had a right to his concern. It would be refreshing for them to worry over something like this rather than a killer targeting them, actually.

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Then
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"The FBI won't give me any information," Bo said with obvious frustration.

Antonio Vega and John McBain were sitting in front of his desk, John just returned from suspension. They too suffered from frustration.

"I can't get anything either." John said. He had spent his entire suspension tracking down anyone and everyone he had ever known at the Bureau to get information. He had been effectively blocked out, which meant that either they had nothing or they had something big.

"Sonia is not returning my calls," Antonio snapped. He hadn't wanted to call his former lover, but he had to know who had done what they had to his brother - his real brother, Cristian. He needed closure, but more than that, he needed revenge.

He glanced over at John, pleased to see the bruising he had planted on his friend's face was still slightly visible. It cooled his simmering blood. Slightly.

"This is a federal matter, I'm told. This happens in my city, to my cops and my family and it's a federal matter my ass."

"They haven't even asked for our evidence," Antonio pointed out. Cristian's notebook was sitting on his desk. He'd been through every damn word twenty times and found nothing that helped.

"Doesn't make any sense." Bo shook his head.

John was just as concerned as anyone else about this. He had been pushing the feds for months now for something, but his mind was wandering.

"Earth to John."

"Dammit!" John stood up and pushed his chair aside. Juvenile, perhaps, but it felt good.

"With all the testosterone flying around in here maybe we should all go undercover at The Hook Up," Antonio joked. John's frustration made him feel quite a bit better. He hadn't quite forgiven his friend for keeping Cristian's secret, but having Natalie pregnant with his child and out of his reach exacted some revenge. He knew how it felt.

Bo and Antonio shared a look, but remained silent.

"At least tell me she's all right!" John demanded.

"Chief McBain, this isn't the time or place." Bo stood up and glared at John.

John took a few deep breaths and apologized.

"One way or another we're going to find out what the hell is going on. And, John, you're to stay away from my niece until she says otherwise."

John nodded and walked out.

Bo shook his head and looked at Antonio.

"I don't know if Natalie will ever forgive him," Bo said.

"I know the feeling," Antonio said.

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Now
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"John, it's the middle of the day. I'm not going to bed. Don't you need to get back to work?" Natalie stood at the foot of the stairs at the cottage resisting John's efforts to put her to bed.

"The doctor said you should rest."

"Get more rest, not rest all day. John, I feel fine." She put her hand over the one he had clasping her shoulder. "Really."

John blew out a breath and dropped his head for a moment. "I feel really helpless, ya know."

"There's nothing to feel helpless about. I'm fine." Natalie put her hand on his chin and lift his head until their eyes met. "I'll let you hover, up to a point."

John licked his lips and swallowed. He nodded, his eye straying to her lips.

"What I said before," John said, his voice serious. "About how sexy you are. Very, very, sexy." He slid his free hand around Natalie's waist and pulled her against him. The hand he had on her shoulder he slipped behind her neck.

"Is this a strategy to get me up to bed?" Natalie asked, her voice sounding just a touch breathless.

John laughed quietly at her accusation. "Maybe."

Natalie sighed and pushed John away. John stiffened and opened his mouth to defend himself when he really looked at her expression. She wasn't upset, she was wistful and aroused. He closed his mouth and smiled.

"Go back to work, John. Before my Uncle Bo fires you."

"Can I bring you dinner?" John asked.

"We've already had our once a day time," Natalie said.

"So." John shrugged and grinned at her.

"How about tomorrow night? I have plans with Roxy tonight."

"Oh, Lord! You'd better make sure you rest up." John warned.

"Go, get out of here." Natalie pushed John to the door, opened it and pushed him outside.

John turned around and stole a quick kiss on the lips before turning and walking away.

Natalie stood in the doorway and watched him walk away, a bemused expression on her face.

Neither of them saw the man standing across the street take their pictures.

End - for now