The Gamble – Part 10

Summary: John and Natalie split after the secret came out. Three months later, John is being sent to prison and Natalie shows up and they spend one last night together. No one in Llanview, other than Bo, know that he's really going undercover to get Carlo and Warden Stevens. Natalie works night and day to free him, finish college and at the LPD. She then discovers she's pregnant. John is severely beaten trying to protect Hayes in prison (what an honorable guy!) and is sent to Llanview hospital. Natalie spends night and day with him studying for finals. John figures out she's pregnant, but she has not told him because she thinks he's going back to prison and doesn't want to burden him until she gets him out. John has gotten enough, along with the INL to bust Carlo and the Warden, but before the prison bust Carlo escapes and gets to Llanview. Natalie is lured to the Cottage by Cristian, who is estranged from everyone but her where he pulls a gun and Carlo enters the house. John insists in leaving the hospital to save her.

A/N: Thanks for all the fabulous feedback! There's only an epilogue after this part. Hope you've enjoyed the ride!

A/N: All right, who owes me a chapter now!

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"There's probably still stuff up in the crawl space, can you get it down?" Natalie's words trailed off as she turned around and saw Cristian pointing a gun at her. She looked from the gun and up to Cristian's eyes and felt a shiver up and down her spine. Those were not the eyes of the man she once loved, those were the eyes of the "imposter".

"I'm afraid my protégé has his hands full." Carlo Hesser stepped into the room behind Cristian. "Well, Mrs. Vega you are looking quite, hmmm, lush and luscious."

"You're behind his brainwashing!" Natalie took a few angry steps forward, but stopped abruptly at the sound of the gun cocking.

"How astute of you my, dear." Carlo smiled.

"Why? What do you want with me?"

"Hand me your phone." Carlo held out his hand. Cristian put the phone in his palm. He opened it and scrolled through the directory. "Good boy, all the numbers I need are right here." He pressed a button and put the phone to his ear.

"Asa Buchanan, I have something that you want very dearly and you're not going to get it back. Now, now, calm down old man or you'll give yourself a heart attack before I can kill your granddaughter and your great-grandchild."

Carlo snapped and Cristian shot off the gun.

>>>>

"Gunshot, there's a report of a gunshot!" A voice yelled over Bo's radio, filling the car that Antonio was driving with Bo riding shotgun and John in the backseat.

"Speed it up! Hurry!" John yelled, his face red and sweaty with terror and pain.

>>>>>

"Ah, now, Asa, that was just a demonstration. You're family is fine, for now. Ta. I have to go now. Sorry for the fright, my dear."

"You don't frighten me." Natalie was eerily calm.

"Ah, yes, you expect your baby daddy to show up and save you. Sorry, if he can get out of his hospital bed he'll just be here in time to watch you and his baby die. In the meantime, why don't you have a seat?" He patted the edge of the bed invitingly.

She ignored him and took a few steps closer to Cristian, testing, looking for something in his eyes to show her that her Cristian was still in there. "Cristian, you don't want to do this. You don't want to take his orders anymore."

"I have no choice, Natalie." Cristian's voice was flat.

"He stole your life away from you. Don't do his bidding anymore," Natalie cajoled.

"No! John McBain stole my life. And you! You used him to get rid of me so you could be with him!" Cristian raged.

"No. You know that's not what happened. I know you can fight this." Natalie took another step closer. Her heart was pounding. She could swear she saw some flicker in those brown eyes that used to look at her with such love.

>>>

Antonio hastily parked the car and exited quickly to the command central. "What's going on?" John asked.

"We're watching from there and there." He pointed to a couple of neighboring rooftops. "And we have a Doppler mike there. Vega has a gun on the girl. Hesser had him make a warning shot, but she's fine."

"She's pregnant," Bo informed the man.

"We know. He called your father, Sir, to taunt him," an officer informed Bo.

"I'm going in there." John stormed off. Bo grabbed him by the arm. "Bo, I'm going to get her." John'se eyes were wild.

"Hang on. Let's call him and see what he wants. Do we have a number?" Bo asked. A phone was pushed into his hand.

>>>>

"Commissioner Buchanan. So lovely of you to call," Hesser said pleasantly into the phone. He had seated himself in a rather comfy lounge chair and was watching Natalie Vega hopelessly try to reason with his creation.

"Ah, Commissioner, your lovely niece is trying to talk Cristian out of shooting her. It's so heartwarming. You should be here. Better yet, I think I'd rather my old roomie witness her demise. See, he was a naughty boy getting into my stuff."

>>>>

"What does he want?"

"He wants you in there to watch her die," Bo said.

"I'm going in and I'm getting her out."

"He knows he has no way out. He's going to kill everyone in that room."

"We have a better chance with the two of us. He's my brother," Antonio said.

"No heroics, John. Just get them lined up for the sharp shooters." Bo didn't bother to argue or temper his orders. He knew John would go in there with or without his okay and he wasn't willing to have the man restrained while Natalie was inside there alone with two mad men.

John ignored everyone around him and concentrated his attention on the window where he knew Natalie was being held. He didn't bother to make sure Antonio was with him as he began walking through the line of police cars, lights flashing around him, and over the grass to the house. The front door was unlocked and they walked in.

Bo frowned and waited.

>>>>

"Let our guests in," Carlo ordered.

Cristian opened the door, keeping the gun trained on Natalie.

She gasped when she saw John and Antonio walk in. Her hand went automatically to her slightly rounded stomach as she looked into his blue eyes and for the first time she was afraid. She moved herself slightly so that she was between John and the aim of Cristian's gun.

"You wanted me here, I'm here. Let the girl go." John asked, walking over to Natalie, putting himself between Natalie and the gun.

"You're looking rather well for someone who was pulp on the playground a few days ago, but you have nothing to bargain with, Sam. It's Natalie Buchanan Vega and her unborn great grandchild of Asa Buchanan I mean to kill. Ah Antonio Vega Santi, what an unexpected treat. Saves us all the effort of finding you."

"You all right?" John asked Natalie softly while Hesser was focused on Antonio.

"Get out of here. I can talk Cristian down, I know I can," Natalie whispered urgently.

John looked over at Cristian and saw nothing to indicate that was possible. "I'm going to get you out of here, just watch close and run when I say."

"Dammit, John. Don't do this."

"I couldn't do anything else."

Natalie looked into his eyes and saw the truth in his words. "Neither can I." She stepped back and turned back to Cristian.

"The baby!" John grabbed her sleeve.

Tears came to Natalie's eyes as she realized she had to do everything she could to save the baby, even if it meant John sacrificed himself. She could do no less for the baby or for John.

"Tie them up, Mrs. Vega." Carlo tossed rope at her. Her hands shook as she took the rope and followed Carlo's directions and tied John and Antonio's hands behind their backs as they sat on the bed. As she kneeled behind him she let John surreptitiously caress her stomach before tightening the ropes.

"Please don't do this," She pleaded with Hesser, tears unabashedly streaming from her eyes. Then she looked at Cristian. "You can't kill me and my baby. You can't kill anyone. You are not a killer." She ignored John cursing behind her and walked up to him until the gun was pressed to her chest.

"I killed Tico Santi. I almost killed my brother." His hand shook.

"Natalie, no! Stand back! Get back." John yelled and rose from the bed.

"Sit back down, Sam or she dies now!" Carlo ordered.

"But you didn't kill Antonio and Tico was a very bad man who threatened your family. You did it because you had no choice. You have a choice now. Don't do this."

"Shoot her!" Carlo ordered.

"Stop it, Natalie!" John walked towards them. Antonio slid down the bed closer to Carlo and positioned himself to get up.

"Cristian, please."

"I said back off everyone! Shoot her or I will!" Carlo stood up and pulled a gun out of his pants, before he could point it, Antonio was charging at him, bent over and pushed him towards the window. Suddenly a shot rang out. Antonio fell over and sprawled on the floor. Underneath him, a pool of blood began to spread.

"Natalie, back off!" John ordered and pushed his arm against Natalie.

"Cristian, put the gun down, please! Don't do this. Please." Natalie continued to plead.

"I can't stop. I can't stop."

"You can." Natalie put her hand out for the gun but Cristian pulled back and held the gun on her. "Give me the gun."

"I have to shoot. I have to shoot. I have to shoot." Quickly, before Natalie could react Cristian bent his arm and pointed the gun at his own head.

"No, Cristian!" Natalie cried out as she saw his finger twitch on the trigger.

There was a blur in front of her and she was pushed to the ground. A shot rang out.

"No!"

>>>>>

"Get in there!" Bo ordered from the street.

>>>>

"John! John!" Natalie scrambled up and went to where he was lying.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," he said between his clenched teeth. "You tie some really bad knots."

"Never was a girl scout. Stop talking. Are you shot? Are you hurt?" She ran her hands over every part of his body she could reach. He flinched at various points.

"I'm fine. Just jammed my ribs. Check Antonio." He grimaced and tried to sit up. Natalie reluctantly helped him.

"I'm fine." Antonio had taken Natalie's badly tied ropes off as well and was checking Hesser's pulse. "He's not so fine, alive, but not so fine." Antonio stood up and walked over to Cristian.

"Cristian." Natalie crawled over and touched his still body. He moved and looked at her.

"You're all right." Natalie whispered brokenly and helped him to a sitting position.

"Why'd he stop me?" Cristian's voice was hollow, but it was Cristian once again.

Natalie covered her face with her hands and sobbed.

"Hey," John put his hand on her shoulder tentatively. Was she still in love with Cristian after all? He wondered, his heart hurting more than his body.