A/N: I gave my psuedo beta reader two scenarios and she chose this one. I like it better too cause it's going to be more fun and gives me more choices of a storyline. Sorry for the twist—blame her. ;) Ya'll enjoy! Until next time—PCGirl.

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Rex rushed into the hospital holding Natalie, "Help! Someone help me!" he said as Michael came around the corner and then went rushing to grab a gurney. "You gotta be alright, Natty. Please be alright," he sighed as he laid her down and looked up at Michael. "Will you make sure she's alright?"

"Yeah—she's a fighter. That's why she's made it this long," he said, trying to grin and then pushing Natalie into a closed room. Rex stood there watching her through the glass, his thoughts going between being the hero and possibly being too late. He had to calm himself down—had to get his thoughts straight before he began to make phone calls.

He sat down in a chair for a few minutes, his head down and then took a deep breath before pulling out his cell phone and dialing, "Bo—."

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John walked into the police station after visiting Evangeline's. Nothing had happened—nothing to cause him to forget about the pain and agony of this case. As he walked into the hub of the task force he was surprised to see it looked like they'd began to break it down.

He walked back out and saw one of the officers walking towards the door, "Hey. Officer Riley—what's going on here?"

"It's over," he said with a yawn.

"Over?"

"Yeah, Bo got a call to the hospital a bit ago and then called us to start breaking it down. We'll finish in the morning—I'm exhausted," he said as he turned and kept on walked.

Over? What did that mean? Did they find her and nobody tell him? He reached for his phone and realized it wasn't on him—he must have left it somewhere between Capricorn and Evangeline's.

He walked slowly to his office and unlocked it, walking in and locking it back. He should talk to Bo—find out what's going on, but he couldn't do it. He couldn't think of having to face Vicki and Roxy at the moment—he'd failed them. He'd failed Natalie and all he could think of was how it was his fault.

He sat down on the couch, not realizing he was shaking or that he was tearing up. He remembered the times they'd spent together—at Rodi's, on the roof of the Hotel, here—her coming into his office with a takeout of burger's and fries for John cause she knew he needed to eat.

One line he'd said to her kept running through his head—

What am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to pretend I don't even know you? I'm -- I'm not sure I can do that, Natalie

And that was all it took—what was he supposed to do now that it seemed like she was gone? He'd lost someone he loved again. He couldn't pretend he'd never known her—that he'd never met her in the first place. That was hard and that's not what his heart said—his heart was breaking and he couldn't stop it. He couldn't stop the hurt—he laid down and covered his face for a moment before putting them to the side and was able to whisper out, "I'm—sorry—Natalie."

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Rex sat in the waiting room holding Roxy's hand—he'd gotten his composure back and made calls to everyone and they'd all been here within minutes—except for one person. John. Bo had tried to reach him and they'd checked Rodi's and Capricorn. Antonio had seen him leave earlier, but now he seemed to have vanished.

Michael walked into the room and saw the stark expressions on all the faces. It was late but nobody could think of sleep.

"Is she ok Michael? Is my baby ok?" asked Roxy as she held Rex's hand tighter.

"She has extreme lacerations on her arms and is dehydrated from being out there so long, but I see nothing that time and fluids won't help. I've given her a sedative so she should sleep peacefully through the night. I know you all want to see her, but let's let her get some of her strength back before we barrage her with hugs, ok?"

Vicki stood up and walked over to Michael, "Thank you for looking after her. We know she's in good hands tonight with you as her doctor."

"You're welcome, Mrs. Davidson," he smiled and then bashfully walked away—trying to get a hold of John.

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Michael was writing down vitals from the machine when he heard movement in the bed and then a groan. He smiled as he turned around to see Natalie slowly waking up, "Take it easy, kiddo—you're going to feel like you got ran over by a semi for a few days."

"Michael?" she said groggy. "How'd I get here? Who found me?"

"Rex did. He saved your life. What do you remember? How did you get out to the quarry?" he asked as he sat down on a chair next to her.

"I was in that warehouse—there are two killers. Do they know that Nick is the second killer?" she asked as Michael nodded.

"Nick got off the phone with Hayes and said something about the last chapter was beginning now. He put a rag up to my mouth—it must have had chloroform," she said as she got quiet and her eyes filled up.

"You don't have to tell the rest—besides you're going to have to tell Bo or John later anyways," he spoke softly.

"No—I need to say this. I need to continue. I woke up and I was in this hole—it was dark and though during the day it was hot and the sun beat down on me for hours at night I started getting the chills. I thought I was going to die in there—but then I somehow found the energy to climb my way out. My foot—."

"Hayes must have thrown you down that hole—Evangeline said it was sprained, but it seems worse now."

"I had to crawl—I couldn't walk once I got out. I was so close to the quarry—I figured someone would be there to help me. But I passed out before I got there."

"You're ok now though," he smiled. "And you've got an army of people out there ready to give you the biggest welcome home party you can imagine. Anyone you want to see first?"

"Mom. Both of them."

"I'll send them in. My shift is over in a bit so I'm going to go home and rest some—I'll come back as a friend later, ok?"

"Ok," she smiled softly and closed her eyes again to rest for a few minutes.

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Michael took the stairs two at a time—John still wasn't answering his phone. If he'd drunk himself to sleep that badly Michael was going to be pissed.

As he reached the hallway he saw the door was half cracked and eased it open with his foot. It was a mess—there were pizza boxes and beer bottles pushed over in a corner. "John? Hey man—you around?" he asked as he walked in and shut the door. The water wasn't running and there really weren't many places he could be. He checked both sides of the bed and knocked on the bathroom door—but it was empty also. That's when he took a look at the closet door—it seemed to be empty.

Turning on the light he noticed a large amount of John's clothes were gone—plus the duffle he always used was gone too. He looked around the room and that was the first time he'd seen it—propped against the slot machine was his pool stick, a key ring hung over the top and a single piece of paper attached to it.

Michael took the steps slowly—already knowing what the paper would read.

Tell them I'm sorry I couldn't save her.