Title: Stuck
Author: Jay-Jay, but Sydney helped, even though I'm taking all of the credit for it.
Rating: PG
Pairing: Think about it… Nathen of course.
Summary: Elevators, dark, and children. That says it all.
Disclaimer: I swear they aren't mine and it sucks, but I'll get over it.
A/N: Sydney and I have too much free time so it's kind of corny.
Stephen had stopped by Natalie's office in hope of finding her before she left for the night, but had no luck. She wasn't there, maybe the lab, he headed that way and was surprised to see her standing there waiting for the elevator.
"Hey. I've been looking everywhere for you." He walked up beside her and smiled.
"I'm right here." She smiled back and then turned back to the elevator doors.
"I see that."
"So what is so important that you've been looking for me for so long?"
"I just wanted to catch you before you left."
"Oh, well, you caught me." The doors opened and she stepped inside. "You want to come?"
"Where are you going?"
"To get some coffee."
"Have I ever turned down the offer of coffee?"
"Not since I've known you." She smiled brightly when he joined her.
They stood there waiting for the elevator to get to the bottom floor when all of sudden it stopped. Then it jerked, sending Natalie flying forward and into Stephen's open arms.
"You okay?" He asked as he looked down at her flushed face.
"No! Dammit!" She hated elevators, next time, we're taking the stairs. After hitting the panel a couple dozen times she gave up and slid to the floor, then the lights went out. "AHHHHHHH!" She hated the dark, like really really hated it. "Stephen!" Yeah, way to go Nat, you're trapped in an 8 by 8 dark elevator with your boss, it's not like he could have gone that far.
"I'm right here Nat." She felt his hand on her arm as he gently pulled her towards him. "Are you scared of the dark?"
"You tell anyone and I will kill you." She settled down next him, crossing her arms over her chest and resting her head on the wall.
"I won't, I promise." He tried to contain his laughter, but it wasn't working.
"This isn't funny."
"Yes it is." He put his hand over his mouth to try and stop, but couldn't.
"That's it Connor, you're going down." She hit his arm hard and he stopped.
"Sorry." He choked down the rest of his laughter and leaned his head back next to hers.
"So now what do we do?"
"I don't know. Turn the damn lights on." She was mad, very mad.
"If I knew how I would."
They were silent for a few minutes, neither knowing what to say.
"What's your favorite color?"
"Huh?"
"What's your favorite color?"
"Why do you care?"
"I just want to know."
"Why?"
"Because, we're friends, and friends should know these things right?"
"I guess, and it's blue. What's yours?"
"Green."
The silence was back, and she hated it. "What's your favorite food?"
"Huh?"
"Favorite food? What is it?"
"I don't know. What's your favorite food?"
"I don't know." And silence, this was getting annoying. She wanted the power back and she wanted it back now. "Talk about something."
"Like what?"
"I don't know, but the silence is killing me."
"Umm, what's your favorite animal?"
"What kind of question is that?"
"A good one."
"No it isn't."
"Okay, what's your most hated animal?"
"New topic." She was getting antsy, and that wasn't good. This was supposed to be a simple trip to Starbuck's for coffee, then they were going to come back and finish working, that's it, coffee and then work. No more. Getting stuck in this godforsaken elevator with Stephen was not on her most wanted to do before she died list. She hit her head against the wall of the elevator, hoping it was all just a dream.
"Ow!" Guess not. "What was that for?"
"Sorry, I didn't mean to hit you."
"I think you did."
"Shut-up!" She scooted over to the corner and put her head on her knees, closing her eyes. This was going to be a long night.
It seemed like she had been sitting there for an eternity, more like five minutes, but to her it was all the same.
"Are you okay Nat?"
"I'm fine."
"Your not going to pass out are you, because I can imagine that mouth to mouth is hard to do in the pitch black."
"I'm fine."
"Well then will you least come back over here and calm down." She scooted back over next to him, but kept her head down. "Everything okay?"
"Yes." He put his hand on her back and she jumped. "Ahh!"
"It's just me." He rubbed her back soothingly, hoping she would calm down some, before she ended up killing them both.
"I want to go home."
"It'll be okay." He pulled her up so that she could lay her head on his shoulder. "Just try not to freak out on me okay?"
"I'll try." And the silence struck again, but this time it wasn't that bad.
"What do you want to talk about now?"
"I don't know, you pick."
"So, have you ever thought about having kids?" Way to go Nat, now he wants to get personal.
"I did once." She kept her head down when he continued.
"What happened?"
"He cheated on me."
"Who?"
"John. After that I couldn't even think twice about it."
"Why?"
"Because I thought I was in love with him, and that we would be together forever."
"Oh."
"I guess I was wrong."
"So you've never thought about it since then?"
"Nope."
"What if you met the right guy?"
"Maybe, but I've resigned to this lifestyle."
"What lifestyle?"
"This, work is my life Stephen, you know that. I don't have time to go out and find a guy, much less to raise a kid or two."
"You could make it work. I know you could."
"Yeah, well, I'm not willing to get hurt like that again."
"What if it was guaranteed that you wouldn't get hurt?"
"That would never happen. You, Miles, Eva, and Frank, you guys are it; I don't trust anyone outside of this building. And I'm pretty sure that Frank is still taken, and I think Eva would kill me if I made a move on Miles."
"And me?"
"You're Stephen."
"I know that Natalie, thanks for stating the obvious."
"What about you?"
"You think I would hurt you?"
"I'm not to sure that you wouldn't." She was thankful that there weren't any lights on so that he couldn't see her tears.
"I wouldn't." He gently took her hand in his, squeezing it to try and stop the shaking.
"And how do I know that?"
"Because I promise you that I would never hurt you."
"He promised me too." She whispered.
"Well you can believe me Nat, besides; I think Miles, Frank, and Eva would kill me if I did." She was silent and that scared him, he had known Natalie Durant to be many things, but silent was not one of them. He squeezed her hand again and heard her sniffle, making it very clear that she had been crying. "I'm sorry you feel that way Nat, but believe me, I won't hurt you. Just trust me okay?"
Silence, he hated silence. He just wanted her to say something, anything, just to let him know that she was okay.
"Promise?"
"I promise."
"Okay." She laid her head down on his shoulder and closed her eyes, hoping that the tears would stop. "I trust you."
"Good." He moved his arm around her shoulders before placing a kiss on the top of her head. "So how many kids did you plan on having anyway? Because I'm one ahead of you."
She hit his arm lightly and smiled. Maybe this would work out better than she thought.