The Gamble – Part 9

A/N: thanks for all the awesome feedback on this story. Only 2 more parts to go. Hope it's a fun ride.

>>>>>

"You really need to get some fresh air, Natalie," John said for the tenth time in an hour.

"If I wasn't in here with you I'd just be at the library anyway. If you're sick of me, then you're just going to have to admit it."

"Come here." John held out his hand from his hospital bed. It had been four days since he was first brought in and he was making a swift recovery. Since that time, Natalie had barely left his side. In fact, she had camped out in his room studying for finals, generally fussing over him and sleeping on the couch in his room.

"I love your company. You should know that by now. I'm just worried about you. There's something wrong and it's not just the thought of me going back." He covered her mouth with his hand when she started to give her canned response. "What's going on with you? What's wrong?"

Natalie sighed and sat down on the bed next to him and studied their joined hands intently for a moment. She opened her mouth to finally tell him when there was a knock at the door.

"Am I interrupting something?" Antonio stuck his head in.

Natalie felt him squeeze her hand in surprise and stood up and said welcome Antonio into the room. She knew John hadn't spoken to Antonio in months, not since he had found out that John had known John Doe was Cristian and kept it from everyone.

"I'll go…do something," Natalie said, picking up her purse. "See you boys later." She gave Antonio a quick hug and slipped out the door.

"You're not going to punch a helpless invalid are you?" John asked, only half-joking.

"No man. Sorry about that, I was furious."

"If it were my brother I would have done the same. Worse. But you understand why I did it now, maybe?"

"Yeah. That's what I came here to talk to you about. About Cris."

"I'm probably not the best person to talk to about Cris."

"Actually, I think you may be the best person. I'm worried about him."

"Worried how?"

"Ever since you went to prison he's been different." Antonio proceeded to tell John the entire story up to Cristian moving out and avoiding his entire family. "I don't think he's getting the therapy the court ordered."

"You know they'll send him back."

"I know it, Cris knows it to. He won't even talk to me or Mami."

"Do you think he's still a danger to you? To others?"

Antonio looked at John for a moment. "You mean Natalie? She's why you agreed to keep it secret. You thought he might hurt her." Antonio said quietly.

"Yeah. I really thought he might, especially back then. So did he, that's part of why he asked me to never tell her."

"As long as Natalie is here at the hospital with you she'll be safe."

John looked at the room door and frowned.

>>>>>

"Hey, Cristian," Natalie said into her cell phone as she waited for the elevator in the hospital. She and the little one were having pangs of hunger so she was headed for the cafeteria to find some green Jello – it was her latest craving. "Now?" Natalie looked back at John's room. "Yeah, sure I could. John has other company right now anway."

>>>>>

"Well, well, looks like a reunion," Bo said as he walked into John's room. "Did you get her to get some fresh air?"

"I think she went to get some Jello. She's been eating a lot of it lately." John grinned.

"Jello?" Antonio asked, confused.

Bo looked at John with raised eyebrows.

"She hasn't told me yet, I probably shouldn't be spreading it around." But it was clear from John's smile that he was bursting to share the news.

"What's going on with Natalie?" Antonio asked.

"She's pregnant. She hasn't told me yet, so keep it quiet," He said with pride.

"How do you know, man?"

"She sleeps beside me every night and eats a lot of green Jello. And he confirmed it." He pointed at Bo.

"She'll kill me if she knows you tricked me into spilling the beans." Bo held up his hands.

"Why hasn't she said anything, do you think?" Antonio asked.

"Because she thinks John is going back to prison and doesn't want to burden him," Bo said.

"Thinks?" Antonio said the word slowly, testing it out.

"I was under cover, Antonio. Cristian figured out it was Carlo Hesser who messed with his head and the Warden and some of his men were on Carlo's payroll."

"So you went inside." Antonio nodded.

"INL was doing the investigation of the connection to Cristian's original kidnapping and to the Santi organization, but Carlo is on our turf and so's the Warden so we convinced the State to let us handle it. That John had the best chance of gathering evidence."

"And now you have enough?"

"We do, but there's been a complication."

>>>>>

"Hi Cristian," Natalie gave her former husband a kiss on the cheek and walked past him into the Cottage. "What time is the broker coming? I'm starving and want to get back to John."

"Any minute. Is there anything here you're going to want to take? The broker said that she could sell it with everything in it, but if there was anything you want to take to do it now."

"I'm sure there is. Is there anything you want?" Natalie put her purse on the foyer table and walked into the living room.

Cristian shrugged, never taking his eyes off Natalie.

"Why don't we start in the kitchen? They probably don't want used kitchen stuff."

"Fine." Cristian looked at his watch and then followed.

>>>>>

"What kind of complication?" John asked, his voice edgy.

"Hesser escaped." Bo's voice was grim.

"What!" John shot up, wincing as his damaged ribs protested.

"One of the guards we just arrested must have tipped him off and got him out before we raided the place."

"Dammit! He must be on his way to Llanview." John tossed off the sheet covering his legs and painfully put his legs over the side of the bed.

"You're not going anywhere, John. We got someone out looking for Cristian Vega and Carlotta. You too, Antonio. You're still a target."

"What about Natalie?" John edged his feet towards the floor, testing the least painful way to move.

"She'll be back any minute. We can hardly pry her from your side as it is. She'll be safe in here with you, but she won't stay if you're gone."

"I want to tell her I was undercover now and that I'm not going back. Then maybe she'll tell me I'm going to be a father, dammit!" John exclaimed as he got back in bed.

Bo and Antonio shared a father's smile at John's frustration.

Suddenly, Bo's police radio crackled. "This is probably good news." He took it out of his pocket and acknowledged the hail.

"Natalie's been gone too long," John said.

>>>>>

"There's a few things down here, but I haven't been upstairs in a while. Probably not much either of us would want," Natalie said as she led Cristian towards the stairs. He dropped the garbage bag she had filled with utensils and old pans by the stairs with a noisy clunk then followed her up the stairs.

The walked into the master bedroom right off the stairs first.

Natalie sighed as she looked around, struck with a wave of nostalgia. "Remember when we first saw this house and decided to rent it?" she asked.

"Of course I remember!"

"I didn't mean that I thought you didn't remember," she apologized. "Let's see if there is anything here." She walked to the closet and opened it.

She didn't see Cristian pull a gun out of his pocket.

>>>>>

"What do you mean he's already here? Where's Vega? What's that you said?" Bo said into the radio.

"He's at a house on Elm with Natalie Vega." This time the words were clear.

John pushed the sheet away and ignoring the pain stood up and found the bag that Natalie had brought him filled with some of his civilian clothing.

"Hesser has entered the house through the kitchen. We believe the Vegas are upstairs." The disjointed voice over the radio announced.