Disclaimer: ABC owns the characters

Chapter 3

It seemed that everyone had thought that the Palace was the ideal place to spend Valentine's Day.

Bo sat across from his girlfriend, Paige Miller. He handed her a single white rose. "It's just like you--a singular, pure beauty." He had rehearsed that line a couple of times in the car before he had picked her up.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nora and Daniel ordering their meal at a table not far from them. Nora glanced at him for a quick second and then returned her focus to her date. Jen and Riley were engrossed in each other a couple of tables away. Surprisingly, RJ was indulging in a conversation with Lindsay Rappaport.

What really caught Bo's attention was when his nephew, Kevin, walked in with Kelly. His neices, Jessica and Natalie were close behind them with John McBain ushering them. He had his hand on their lower backs, propelling them to their table. The girls looked gorgeous in their black dresses, but the sadness that emitted from them reached him.

"Hi, Evangeline," Paige said.

Bo's head whipped around when he heard Evangeline's name. Evangeline smiled. "Hi, Paige. Hello, Commissioner."

"Hi," he said, "Are you here for dinner?"

"Take out," she responded, uncomfortably.

Bo glanced at John. he had thought that things were good between her and John. Evangeline followed his gaze and her dark eyes narrowed. Uh oh, Bo thought.

"I'm going to go see how my neices are doing," Bo said quickly excusing himself. He left the two women alone and made his way across the room.

"Hi, Bo", Kevin said. He shook his uncle's hand.

Bo turned to John. "Hey, I didn't know that you would be here."

"I didn't know either," John said, shrugging his shoulders.

Bo looked at the girls. They had changed so much since the truth had come out about Chris--especially Natalie. Her eyes were lifeless. She was really starting to scare him. He gave each of them a tight hug. "You know your family is there for you if you need us."

They nodded simultaneously.

"At the risk of sounding like your grandpa, Buchanans always stick together. You need anything--no matter what it is, don't hesitate to call," Bo said.

A few minutes later, Natalie stared at the plate in front of her. The grilled chicken and salad did not look the least bit appealing to her. She's only ordered it because her brother had recommended it. Why didn't people understand that she was not hungry? She sliced the chicken into quarters and then sliced each quarter into quarters. That way, it would look like she had eaten. She slid some chunks under the big leafy lettuce.

She didn't realize that John was watching her every move. He reached out and grabbed her wrist, startling everyone. Kelly and Kevin abruptly stopped their conversation. Jessica looked up from her food.

"Eat," John said, "Or do you want me to feed you?"

Natalie shot him a look of annoyance. She carefully popped a piece of meat into her mouth. She ate another piece slowly and tried to keep it down. Finally, she gave up trying and put her fork down. "I need to go home."

"When you finish eating everything on that plate," John said.

Natalie jumped up from her seat. "I can't do this."

John got up as well. "Yes you can."

"It's Valentine's Day. You should be spending it with Evangeline, not some pathetic woman who couldn't tell the difference between her husband and an imposter." Natalie looked away, deciding not to say anything else.

"Look at me, Natalie," John said. "I want you to look at me." He gently turned her face to him. "You are not pathetic. I'm here because I want to be here. Okay? I'm here because I care about you. We're friends, Natalie, and friends are there for each other. You need to stop feeling guilty over that imposter. It wasn't your fault. You have a big heart and you were blinded by love."

Neither John nor Natalie noticed that many of the people in the Palace had their attention on them even though some couldn't hear all that was being said.

Evangeline walked over to them. She managed to muster a fake smile. "Hi, guys."

Natalie was proud of herself for not grimacing. She could see right through Evangeline's mask. The lawyer's distaste for her was mutually felt. "John, thanks for everything. You and Evangeline have a nice night. Kevin, thanks for dinner. I have a little headace so I'm going home."

Bo sighed. He couldn't take his eyes off of the table across the room. "This whole situation has messed my neice up in a big way."

"I know," Paige said. "I can't imagine what your family is going through."

"You have no idea. As soon as Asa found out, he was ready to go to the jail and shoot a round into Chris or whoever that man is. I've been trying to contact Clint, but I haven't had any luck. He still has no idea about what's going on with his kids. I'm trying to stand in for him." He covered Paige's hand with his own. "I know this isn't your idea of a romantic date."

"Bo, everyone's going through a lot right now. I don't need a romantic date just as long as you're here with me."

"I thought Evangeline and John were an item?" Daniel asked his fiancee.

"You don't want to begin to try and analyze that triangle over there. It will just have your head in loops," Nora said.

"Triangle?"

"Evangeline, John, and Natalie."

"I thought that John and Natalie were friends," Daniel said, looking very confused.

"Look at them. Look at what just happened before Evangeline walked over there. Friends? Hmmm. A friend doesn't spend Valentine's Day with you instead of his girlfriend. A friend doesn't risk his job more than once to keep you out of jail and to prove your innocence."

"Do you think he loves her?" Daniel asked. "You think the feelings are mutual."

"Yeah, well I know that he still has strong feelings for her. I haven't the slightest idea what really goes on in his head though. I don't think anyone does. As for Natalie, I'm not too sure about what her feelings are toward him."

"You know what? You're right. I don't want to analze that triangle. Let's just focus on us now, and what we're feeling for each other," Daniel said, leaning across the table to kiss her.