Chapter 4; enjoy!

Cristian came down the stairs of Llanfair clearly in a rush. As he got to the bottom he saw Jessica approaching the foyer. She looked in his direction clearly agitated.

"Hey Jess." He said sounding nonchalant

"Where have you been all morning?" She asked tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Natalie was really worried about you, why didn't you tell her where you were going?" She asked with annoyance in her voice.

"I…I hade some things to take care of. Is Natalie still here?"

"No. She went to look for you." Jessica turned to walk away, but suddenly turned back around. "Cristian what's going on with you lately?"

"What…what do you mean?"

"What do I mean?" She mimicked in a harsh tone. "You never used to be like this. You used to open up to Natalie, to talk to her, but now you just push her away. Your becoming less and less like the man my sister fell in love with and more and more like a stranger to her."

"Just stop it damn it!" Cristian shouted angrily. "You know nothing about who I am; nothing! Just stay the hell out of my business!"

"I can't do that when you're married to my sister. I'm sorry Cristian, but I can't let this go"

Antonio had walked into the foyer and felt the tension between the two.

"Is everything okay here?" He asked looking back and forth between Jessica and Cristian.

"Fine." Replied Jessica; still looking at Cris. Finally she directed her gaze towards Antonio. "We should really get going down to the Banner. I still have to finish my article so I can put it in print for tomorrows edition." With that she grabbed her coat and headed to the front door, Antonio following close behind her.

"See ya Cris." He said as Jessica and him walked out the front door closing it behind them.

"Yeah see ya 'Tonio he said to himself as he walked into the living room.

Natalie walked into the Angel Square Hotel closing the door behind her. She had gone to the diner to find Cris, but to her dismay he hadn't been by to see Carlotta all day. As a last resort Natalie decided to check with Roxanne. Maybe she had seen him around. As she approached the check in desk, she saw Roxanne sitting there reading this months issue of Craze. She lowered the magazine and finally caught sight of Natalie.

"Hey Natty." She said putting the magazine on the counter and standing to greet her. "What brings you here? You and my favorite back from the dead son in law finally getting out of Vick's mansion? 'Cause you know I can give ya a real break on a room."

"Although the offer is tempting, I'm still not here for a room. Actually I was wondering if you've seen Cristian today."

Roxy thought for a moment and then spoke. "No, I haven't seen Cris since the other day. What's going on with you two?

"Nothing, it's just…were having some problems right now, it I'll be okay."

"You sure? Cuz you know I was reading an article in here that could help ya out." Roxy picked up the magazine and handed it to Natalie open to the page she was referring to. Natalie read the head line of the article.

"How to keep your man happy where it matters" She gave Roxy a stare. "No thanks Roxy I'm pretty sure that's not the type of problems me and Cris are having." She said handing the magazine back to Roxy.

"Okay, but I'll tell ya what; I'll put the magazine on the side for ya."

"You do that." She said with a smirk. I'm uh…I'm gonna go. Maybe Cristian went back to Llanfair. I'll see you around Roxy." She said as she moved towards the exit.

"See ya Natty. Have fun with your hot rod hubby."

John sat behind his desk trying to keep himself occupied. He was having a slow day, and it was killing him. He needed to keep himself busy, anything to not thing about his own life. He looked over his files; he had gone over each of them at least twice. He sat back and began to think of what had happened the night before with Evangeline. Her walking out on him because of how he felt for Natalie. How did he feel for Natalie? He wasn't even sure. He knew he cared about her, he knew he wanted to protect her now, just like he did before with Haver. That was easy by comparison though. John knew how to deal with that situation, he was a cop, at the time he was FBI. He knew just what he was dealing with, but now he had no clue. Cris was Natalie's husband, and unlike Haver, Natalie couldn't nor did she want to stay away from Cris. How could he protect her if she was in danger every second of the day by living with the guy?

John sighed and ran his hand through his hair. All he knew was Natalie was his concern right now. Evangeline had been right when she said she was his number one concern. He needed to protect her. He knew she was strong and more then capable of protecting herself, but he felt the need to do so as well. That confused him. He would swear up and down that he had no romantic feelings for the woman, but yet he felt this overwhelming urge to go above and beyond to protect her. Why was that? Why was it she had this hold over him. He had never let anyone get to him like she did. He never let anyone in, not since…He sighed out loud once more 'Not since Caitlyn." He said aloud. Natalie was the first person he let in since Caitlyn. She was able to break that wall down and get to him. She was tough, that was one of the things he loved about her. Loved? "What the hell is wrong with you McBain?" He asked himself out loud sitting up. "Letting yourself think is always a dangerous idea…and now I'm talking to myself, even better." He said almost laughing at his behavior. He tried to get back to the papers in front of him but it was useless. His thoughts went straight back to a certain red head who had over took his thoughts for the better part of the afternoon. He was still worried, but knew she was tough. There was a sudden knock at his door, and Bo entered the room.

"Hey John, you busy?" He asked opening a file he held.

John snapped out of his daze and looked up to meet Bo's eyes. "No not at all, what's on your mind?" He asked as he was forced to put the thoughts of Natalie in the back of his mind…for now at least.

Chapter 4; hope it was enjoyable. I know it has been quite a while since I added a chapter, but I wasn't sure how to lead into where I wanted to go. Tell me what you think.

Robin