I Thought It Was You

by Athena13

Takes place after the waitress was killed in her place at the AS Diner. John calls Natalie in for late night questioning and discovers that it's not just the KC killer that has her targeted for death. Complete.

4. What Is Wrong With Her?

I Thought It Was You - Athena13

Hey, thanks LSun, McNat, Jibaker & Cindy for the reviews. And yeah, McBain always ends up disappointing to me too! But it's just how he is being written by Higley's Hacks!

This is a short one, but there's more to follow soon.

>>>>>>>>
Chapter 4 - Ah, Hell. Not Again.
>>>>>>>>

John eased Natalie down to the floor and rubbed her cheek.

"Natalie. Wake up. Wake up. God, please wake up!"

"John, what happened?" Bo stood above him.

"Move." Paige pushed past them and kneeled down on the floor. "What happened?"

"She started to say she wasn't feeling well and she just passed out." John didn't have the presence of mind to keep the fear from his voice.

"I called you over earlier because she felt seemed faint, I thought it was shock or exhaustion," Bo put in.

"She's not feverish, her pulse is...she's skipping heartbeats. It's almost like she's under anesthesia. Bo, please call for an ambulance." Paige kept her voice calm as she narrated her examination.

Bo took out his telephone and placed the call.

"What's wrong with her?" John asked.

"I don't know yet. Please move back." Paige didn't even glance up at him as she placed the stethoscope underneath Natalie's shirt.

Bo and John watched Paige do all sorts of things to Natalie's still form as the minutes ticked by. Still, Paige said nothing and Natalie didn't wake up. The medics came and lifted her onto a gurney.

"What's wrong with her?" Bo put a hand on Paige's arm to stop her from following immediately after them.

"I don't know right now. We'll have to run tests to know why. I need to go."

"Could it be poison?" John voiced the question.

Paige looked at him in surprise.

"There was an attempt on her life tonight. They missed."

"We...I'll have them pump her stomach. Just in case." Paige looked shaken.

"Thank you." Bo pressed a kiss to her cheek before she rushed away.

John looked back at his desk and then back out the door.

"We should put a cop at the hospital, Bo," John said.

"I'll take care of that," Bo said.

"There's nothing like this in the book," John said.

"But having missed earlier he may have felt pressured to cure his failure and deviated from the methodology of the novel," Bo finished for him. Both of them knew that the sanity of sociopaths only went so far, they didn't handle things well when crossed.

"I'm going to talk to the medical examiner about any possible poisons or substances that could cause her symptoms. I'll have Jackson work on the diner."

Bo nodded and walked out.

John ran a hand over the tense muscles of his neck before walking out the other door of his office and headed for the ME's office.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The killer moved about in his windowless den. Moving in circles. Still wearing the hooded sweatshirt he had used to obscure his features.

"I missed. I missed. I missed." he repeated to himself over and over again.

He held Natalie's picture in his hands, it shook with every step he took in his heavy, well worn work boots.

End...for now