Disclaimer: From this point forward all characters are property of ABC/Disney. Any similarities in the future to this story are just similarities and I mean no copyright infringement.
A/N: (sung to Brady Bunch)Here's a story—about a girl named Natalie—who was stuck down in a pit.
Ok, I'm going to stop being silly and let's get this baby started. Hehehe—I'm sorry if I'm a bit wired tonight—not sure why. Ya'll enjoy—you are the best reviewers and fans out there—we've been through so much and still we continue on. Until next time—PCGirl.
------------------
Natalie stared up at the hole above her that was covered with boards—some sunlight shining through during the day, but now that it was night again she was getting cold—the dampness of the confined space made her shiver. Was this how it was going to end? Sometime in the future they'd stumble across her curled up in a ball in this pit. When she'd been digging on the walls earlier it'd felt like an old well, but she was too tired to dig now and the tips of her fingers were getting bloody.
She wish she could write a letter—tell John and Rex it wasn't their fault. She knew it was those two that would take the brunt of the fault—not by anyone else but them. She remembered the conversations she'd had with John before—how suddenly someone could just be gone from your life so easily.
That's all she could think about—how she'd never get to see Jessica get married. Or hear another wrongly phrased statement from Roxy that would make her roll her eyes and laugh at the same time.
She wiped the tears away with her dirty hands and curled herself on the barren floor to sleep, it was going to be ok—because when she woke again she'd be back in Cristian's arms and then she'd feel safe once again.
--------------------
John sighed as he down the next drink—he knew the truth. Knew what they'd been taught at the academy. If you don't get to the hostage within a certain period of time then your chances of finding them alive are close enough to zero that you might as well give up hope.
He didn't want to give up hope—he'd give it up on anyone else. But not her—not his Natalie. When he found her he would let it all out—let her know how he truly felt. Let her know that it was her that had opened him up and changed him to the person he was today. Alone. Alone and unable to hide any emotions he had.
He got up and threw a twenty on the bar—how'd the song go? If you can't be with the one you love—love the one you're with.
-------------
Natalie woke up and felt stronger than she had in the past few days. She pushed herself up off the ground, limping slightly and looked above. It was dark, but she was almost certain this was a well, if she could just find a way to grip the stones and climb out she'd be better off out there than in here. She saw a small stick on the ground and began to dig between the stones to create a ladder and way to freedom.
----------------
John walked to the door—he'd turned around three times in the hallway—he didn't want to do this. He wanted to go and drown out her memory—her hair, her smile, her laugh—but alcohol wasn't strong enough to do that tonight. Nothing was.
This was his last resort—if this didn't work then he knew he was going to do to get her out of his mind, his thoughts, his dreams.
He knocked on the door and waited a minute before she slowly opened the door. "John? Are you ok?" asked a worried Evangeline.
"I need you," he said softly as she let him inside and closed the door.
------------------
Natalie tripped on a root and fell to the ground. She was tired—her energy from before was gone and she couldn't move now with the way her ankle was hurt. Maybe she'd just go to sleep again then had more energy when she awoke—like last time.
As she fell asleep she heard footsteps through the woods and then opened her eyes to see his face looking down at her in shock, "Rex?" she said softly.
"Oh my God—Natty," he said as he leaned down and picked her up and she lost consciousness.