A/N:  Sorry it's a short one--I just like the ending of this chapter the way it is and don't want to add another scene.  Enjoy!  Until next time--PCGirl.

Natalie stopped going over the reports at her desk when she heard the front door click open—she continued to stay silent as she listened to his end of the day rituals, throwing his suit jacket on the back of the couch and then walking into the bedroom—the beside drawer opening and placing his gun in the drawer.

She listened as she heard him go into the bathroom and heard nothing until the toilet flushed and the sink turn on and off in a quick 1-2 motion. If it had been any day she would have smiled, but instead she turned the chair towards the back wall so her back was facing him when he grabbed a beer out of the fridge and walked over to the partition.

"Natalie."

Goosebumps went up her spine, but she managed to keep the demeanor she was looking for, "I don't want to talk to you."

"Why?" asked John as he took a sip—watching her wriggle under the pressure they had given each other.

Natalie stopped what she was doing and sighed as she spun around to look at him, "Because—because I just don't."

John couldn't help but laughing, "Oh that's a great excuse—for a first grader."

"Stop laughing—I'm mad at you," she said as she got up and pushed past him.

"For?" he asked with a grin on his face, knowing the answer.

"You spending the night in Caitlyn's room. Why is she so needy to you John? I mean you haven't said anything to make her think you two aren't getting back together—or have you?"

"I made her believe that, but it was so I could figure out if she was working for Haver or not."

"Well, it was kind of obvious that she was."

"Yeah, well at least I didn't hitch a ride back to Philly with a baby snatcher."

Natalie bit her lip and grinned at him, "So—did you realize you still have feelings for your ex-lover?" She watched his eyes narrowed and she realized it was the wrong thing to say, "I'm sorry."

"No, don't be. I had a long drive home, babe. And I had time to think of a lot of stuff in my life, and there's really only one conclusion I could come to," he stopped and saw the look in her eyes. He had figured out an entire speech halfway to Philly—where he again reminded her where she had brought him in the past year and that if it weren't for her he'd still be dead inside.

But in an instant he threw the speech out of his mind and took a few quick steps towards Natalie before covering her mouth with his. One hand went to the back of her neck and began tangling itself into her hair—the other on her waist, just underneath her shirt and touched her soft skin--a soft moan coming from between her lips that made him want to smile.

He began walking her backwards towards the bedroom door but changed course for a moment and pinned her against the wall—breaking contact and looking at her. "I--."

"Shut up, McBain," she said as she over powered him long enough so he was on the floor beneath them and straddled herself over him also in one quick move. They each had something to prove to the other one—and nothing else at the moment mattered except what they needed to prove.

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"How did we get here again?" asked Natalie as she laid face down into a pillow, her bare leg draped over John's body.

"Where—the bed?" he laughed as he rubbed her leg.

"That—and back to our apartment—away from everything in Llanview."

"I guess it was just second nature. We needed to get out of there—there's too much going on right now," he said as he put his hand over his eyes for a moment and removed it to see she had moved her head to look at him.

"Don't you think Caitlyn might be asking for you soon?"

"No," he said as he shook his head and looked upwards. "I told her it was over—I told her it was a ploy and I love you. I called her parents and told them where she was and she was alive," he said with a chuckle.

"What? Did they not believe you?"

"Claudia answered the phone—she's, uhm, uppity."

"Kinda like Dorian?"

John laughed again, "I knew there was a reason I didn't like that woman. I've heard or seen Claudia cry two times since I've known her—when she came to my hospital room after Caitlyn's death and at Kathryn's funeral. Today was the third time."

"Wow—it must be a shocker to hear your child is alive after all these years."

"Yeah, when Clinton, their father, got on the phone I had to say it again. He said they'd be up there by this afternoon, but I told him I'd already be leaving."

"Wait—their names are Clinton, Claudia, Kathryn, and Caitlyn?" laughed Natalie. "Bless your heart—if you two would have had kids you would have to name them something like Caleb and China, or some other weird C or K name."

John couldn't help but grinning at her, "What's wrong with Caleb? I kind of like that name if we have a boy."

"Oh, I was hoping the name Ralph—or not," she said as he gave her a questionable look.

"There's only two things I care about—that the baby is healthy and that you don't go anywhere near Paul Cramer the last month of your pregnancy," he said with a quick wink and a grin on his face.