Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters because ABC does. Blah blah blah

Chapter 7

John kept glancing over at Natalie in the passenger seat. They had been driving for a few hours now, and she was already looking sleepy.

"We'll stop in Pine Valley and rest for a couple of hours," John said.

Natalie's brow furrowed and she looked more than a little reluctant. "I don't know, John. That town doesn't particularly like my family. They probably burn my family's emblem every night."

"It's the nearest town. All we're going to do is have dinner and catch a couple of hours of sleep. I don't think much can happen in such a short period of time."

"Okay. If you say so, but if anyone asks, do you mind if I say that I'm Natalie McBain? I don't feel comfortable using my real name," Natalie said. She looked nervous. Why had she blurted that out? What was wrong with Natalie Balsom or Natalie Vega? Why had she said McBain? As if you really have to ask yourself that Natalie thought.

"I don't mind if you don't mind," John said, trying to be nonchalant about it. The truth was that he did mind. Natalie McBain. It sounded so right when she had said it. The more he thought about it, the more he wished that it were true.

They rode the rest of the way to Pine Valley in silence and parked in front of a small diner.

Why am I so nervous? Natalie thought to herself as a waitress ushered them over to the only empty table in the place.

John looked around. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. He recognized Babe Carrey and Jamie Martin sitting side by side with Tad Martin, David, and Krystal Carrey. They were giving the table across the room the evil eye. John turned and saw JR and Adam Chandler. Okay, that was it. It is definitely time to go he thought.

A bright light flashed in Natalie's face temporarily blinding her.

A thin dark-haired woman held a tape recorder near Natalie's mouth. "I thought that was you, Natalie Buchanan. How does it feel knowing that the man who looks exactly like your husband is going to be spending the rest of his life in prison? Isn't it true that you were recently facing murder charges in the Paul Cramer case? Does having a brother as Lt. Governor..."

Natalie was frozen in shock. Her mouth dropped open. John grabbed another reporter's camera and in one fluid motion, opened the back of the camera and exposed the film.

"Well, well. So you're Natalie Buchanan," JR said, coming over to their table. All other conversation in the diner had stopped and all eyes were on them. "You're one of Kevin Buchanan's little sisters--one of the twins."

"I don't even know who you are," Natalie said. "So I don't have any problems with you. If you have a problem with my brother, take it up with him."

"You're a Buchanan. That's all that matters," Adam said. "You people think that because you have political connections and money, you can have whatever you want. You think you can take my grandson."

"Ace?" Natalie asked.

"His name is Adam Chandler III. Your brother is not going to win custody of him," JR declared. "He's my son."

"Hey, leave her alone," John said, getting fed up with the Chandler duet. "Natalie's not a part of what her brother is doing. So lay off."

"The man has a point." Tad Martin said.

"Do you think that you could talk to your brother for me?" Babe asked desperately. "I just want my son. Please try to get him to understand..."

"Don't ask her for anything," Jamie blurted, "Anyone with the name Buchanan can't be trusted."

"Jamie," Tad said, warning his son.

"I don't care how many connections you people have," JR said harshly, "Your family isn't welcome around here."

John grabbed a hold of Natalie's shoulders and steered her toward the exit. Natalie stopped at the door and turned to face the others for a final statement. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry. I can't imagine what it's like to lose a child. My brother loves your Ace--Adam. He wants what's best for him. I think that he'll do the right thing."

John ushered her out of the diner and back to his car. His cell phone rang once they had reached the car.

"John, this is Bo. I'm calling to find out if you know where Natalie is."

"Yeah, I do. She's with me," John said. He heard Bo let out a sigh of relief.

"Where are you two?"

"We stopped in Pine Valley for dinner and rest, but...that didn't turn out so well," John admitted. He should have listened to Natalie.

"What happened?"

"We ran into Kevin's enemies. Everyone seems to hate your family around here. The Chandlers were pretty nasty toward Natalie because she's Kevin's sister. The press recognized her and started bombarding her with questions."

"Geez," Bo said. "Kevin's going to be upset when he finds out. He never wanted his family to be involved in this whole Chandler/Buchanan custody battle. Maybe you should bring Natalie back home."

"No, she really wants to get away from Llanview and relax. We just had a minor setback. Don't worry. I'll take care of her."

John was exhausted. He had driven for ten hours without stopping. He wanted to get Natalie as far away from Pine Valley as possible.

"Where are we going?" Natalie asked groggily. She was just waking up from a five-hour nap.

"I was thinking that we'd go somewhere nice and warm. What are your thoughts on Florida?"

"Sounds good to me. I've never been there before," Natalie said. "Now that that's settled, how about you pull over and let me drive?"

"I'm fine," John said, suppressing a yawn.

Natalie gave him a look of disbelief. "I've slept for hours while you drove. It's my turn to drive."

John realized that it was pointless to argue with her so he pulled over and let her get in the driver's seat. He was asleep before he sat down good.

Natalie smiled to herself. He looked so adorable when he was asleep--not that he didn't when he was woke. John was always trying to look out for everyone else, but who was looking out for him? That would be me Natalie thought. Before she knew it, she had been driving for six hours. She felt John stir beside her.

"We just entered the Orange State," Natalie joked.

"Really? How long have I been asleep?"

"Don't worry about it. You needed to rest. You and I both know that you were in no condition to drive. Face it, you're not invincible, McBain. You're human like the rest of us."

John couldn't help but laugh. "Darn, I really thought I was invincible."

Natalie rolled her eyes. "So what will it be? Panama City, Tampa...?"

"I hear Tampa is nice." Frankly, it didn't really matter to John. He was just glad to be with her.

Once they arrived in Tampa, Natalie parked the car. "Okay, I'm beat. So where are we going to stay?" Natalie asked, "Please don't say hotel." She had had enough of hotel rooms.

"I wasn't even thinking it," John said. "I was thinking about staying in a nice cabin or something." Perhaps with a nice fireplace that we can curl in front of he thought to himself. He could imagine how the reflection of the flames would look dancing against Natalie's bare flesh. John tried to push his fantasies to the back of his mind.

After asking around, they found a small cabin to rent. It was actually the most beautiful place Natalie had ever been to. When she looked out the window, she could see sand and ocean for miles. She stood on the porch for a few minutes while John checked out the cabin.

"I think you'd better call your mother and put her mind at ease," John suggested.

Natalie nodded in agreement. "John this place is beautiful."

"It is, isn't it? I've always loved the ocean."

"Me too," Natalie said quietly. It was yet another thing that they had in common. She brushed past him and went inside to call her mother.

Viki's answered almost immediately. "Natalie? Oh, Honey. Thank you for calling. I was going out of my mind with worry."

"I'm okay, Mom. I should have talked to you first. I'm sorry. It's just with everything that's happened, I just needed to go."

"No one's blaming you, Sweetheart. Just be careful. Do you think that it's a good idea for you to be with John? After all, you still have feelings for him," Viki said.

"I'll be fine. We're friends. I need him so he's here."

"Just don't jump into anything that you're not ready for," Viki said. She knew that John and Natalie were hardly "friends". From what Bo had told her about John's argument with Evangeline, it was obvious that John had deep feelings for Natalie. How long would they be able to restrain themselves? "I have to go, Natalie. I love you."

"I love you, too, Mom." Natalie hung up the phone. Her mother was right. Two weeks alone with John was not safe.

"We're going to have to go grocery shopping today. Between the both of us, we only have five boxes of mac and cheese, some crackers, water, and donuts," John said coming out of the kitchen with some crackers in his hand. He offered her some, but she shook her head.

"Too tired to eat. I'm..."

"Going to the store with me," John said.

Natalie groaned. Shopping for clothes was one thing, but shopping for groceries... "Okay then, John, but..."

"I knew there was a "but" in there."

"We have to go clothes shopping, too. I'm hardly prepared for this type of weather," Natalie complained. She pulled a black scrunchie out of her purse and used it to tie her shirt up exposing her flat stomach.

John gulped. Suddenly it felt like the temperature had gone up and he knew it had nothing to do with the Florida heat. His mouth felt dry. "You drive a hard bargain, Natalie."

The Next Morning

John woke up later than he had in years. His first instinct was to check on Natalie. He walked the short distance to her room in only a few steps. "Hey, Natalie. You up?" When there was no response, he pushed the door open enough to see that she wasn't there. Even though everything inside him wanted to panic, he decided to check around the cabin first. He saw a flash of red outside and stopped out onto the porch. Natalie's back was to him, and she didn't give any sign of having heard him.

John called out her name and she spun around in surprise. She calmed down when she realized it was John.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he apologized.

"That's okay. I was wondering what was taking you so long to wake up," Natalie said. She took in his attire--wife beater, sweatpants, and bare feet. She could make out the outline of all of his chest and stomach muscles. Every part of his body turned her on. Her face turned many shades of red as she realized that he was checking her out as well. She felt so exposed under his gaze. She was only wearing a turquoise two-piece bikini with a matching sheer material tied around her small waist. John couldn't take his eyes off of her body. He forced himself to look at her eyes.

"I...I was heading to the beach. Do you want to come?" Natalie asked shyly.

"Yeah. Just let me get changed." Twenty minutes later, he was in a new pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Natalie had prepared a basket full of food.

As soon as they set foot on the sand, Natalie dropped her blanket and the basket and discarded her flip-flops. She ran barefoot across the sand, enjoying the warm air blowing through her hair. She laughed effortlessly.

John watched her in amazement. This was the woman he was in love with. Radiant. So full of life. She seemed like a completely different person from the one who had locked herself in her room in Llanview. The beach wasn't too crowded, but John caught several men watching her with lust-crazed eyes. He didn't want them looking at her like that. Aren't you jealous he thought to himself. Natalie didn't belong to him. She was gorgeous. Why wouldn't other men be interested in her? He saw a guy walk up to her. Okay--that was all he could take.

John pulled off his shirt and ran up behind her. He swept her off her feet and away from the guy. Natalie was surprised, but she laughed anyway. He ran with her to the water.

"Don't you dare! Don't even think about it!" Natalie yelled in protest. John grinned and ignored her pleas. He dunked her in the water. "AAAhhh, John!"

John smiled and started laughing. Natalie's attention was on him and not those punks standing around. It was their turn to be jealous. Suddenly Natalie was nowhere to be seen. John looked around. "Natalie, where are you. This isn't funny." He felt someone grip his hand and pull him downward underwater. Natalie was smiling at him. Tiny bubbles came from her mouth and nose.

When they came up for air, John asked, "So what are you--part mermaid?"

"Nope, I've just been swimming since I could walk. One of Roxy's boyfriends taught me," Natalie said trying to brush her wet hair out of her eyes.

John pushed her hair behind her ear, and for a moment, time stood still. Her skin tingled where his hand had brushed against it. John moved a little closer to Natalie as if he was debating on whether or not to kiss her. Her breathing quickened and her heart raced.

Oh, what the heck Natalie thought shrugging her shoulders. She took a chance and made the decision for him. She draped her arms around his neck, pulled him closer, and kissed him.