Summary: Started from Trinity's challenge of J/N engaging in an affair behind the Evangeline's back. John and Natalie have bought a condo together, Natalie has graduated college, she and Rex are going to start an as-yet-unnamed PI business together and James Moretti from Atlantic City has shown up in town, unnerving Natalie and infuriating John.
>>>>>
Natalie's pleasant buzz turned into a headache by the time she reached the refrigerator and pulled out two bottles of water. She was in the midst of pressing a cold bottle to her forehead when John slammed the front door causing her to jump. She kept her back to the entryway even after she heard him approach.
"How do you know Moretti?" He asked.
"Don't snap at me." Natalie turned and cradled the bottles to her chest.
She was glaring at him even though the light shining around his form hurt her eyes.
"Sorry." John took a calming breath and sat down in one of the kitchen chairs and took the water she held out to him. He opened it up and took a long drag.
"If you know who he is then you already know that his father owned the Winking Pussycat. We hung out together, shot pool together. Whatever. He said you used to be friends?"
John didn't answer.
"Is this another of those secrets?"
"He's bad news and you should stay away from him." John's words were clipped. "What in the hell does he want to talk to you about."
Natalie stood up and took a bottle of aspirin out of one of the cabinets and poured a couple out and handed John the bottle. He took it and slammed it on the table without looking at it.
"There's something we should agree to here and now, John." Natalie turned back and faced him. "I respect that you have things you can't or won't tell me. It won't make a difference in how I feel about you, but I need and deserve the same respect."
John sat still in his chair, his need to know and protect warring with her request for a single standard. Abruptly John nodded and stood up and walked out of the kitchen.
Natalie leaned back against the counter and dropped her head.
>>>>>
Natalie lay in bed after John had gotten up at the crack of dawn to go into the office. She had pretended to be asleep even when he had whispered her name before he left. In truth, she had been up for hours and had barely slept the entire night.
When she had followed John into the bedroom he was in the shower. When he came out he acted as if nothing had been amiss earlier and had tried to make it a celebratory evening and Natalie had gone along. Inside, though, she felt like doing anything but celebrating. They shot some pool – one of the few things they had fully set up in their new place – and then went to bed. They made love and she fell asleep in his arms, but there were few words said between them.
"Jamie's here." She couldn't get the words out of her head, but worse
was everything that seeing him dredged up from the corners of her mind.
Natalie sat up and wrapped her arms around her knees and dropped her
head. So many things she had thought she had gotten past, things she
had pretended were forgiven or forgotten were spilling through her mind
in vivid color.
Ever since seeing him last night she felt like the little girl in the closet hiding from her drunken mother and wishing someone would come save her. But no one ever came and the veneer of anger and defensiveness she had built around herself for protection was in shambles at her feet.
The memories, though, were the easiest to deal with. It was Jamie.
James. He ceased being Jamie a long time ago. She couldn't forget that
because she could see in his eyes he was here to pick up where they
left off all those years ago and she couldn't let that happen. She
needed to gather the strength and every weapon she could get her hands
on to send him scurrying back to Atlantic City without spilling their
secrets. If he did, John wouldn't be able to save her and he might not
even want to.
>>>>>
"Come on, Natty. Can you be a little more excited about this?"
"Sorry, Rex. I just have some stuff on my mind." Natalie toyed with the straw in her diet soda. They were sitting in Rodi's where Rex had badgered her to meet him to discuss their PI business.
"We need to get some office space. And clothes. I need cool PI clothes."
"We need PI licenses."
"Licenses? PI's need licenses?"
"Yeah. There's even a test."
"Dang. I didn't know about that. Think Uncle Bo could fix it for us? Or one of your rich Buchanan relatives?"
"No."
"What about your money. Cramer's dead now, you can get the money out of that stupid trust."
"I don't need it. It's staying in trust for my children."
"What do they need it for? Come on, it could be seed money for our business. We can get some nice digs. Cool furniture. Lots of advertising."
"For your children. What a heartwarming image."
Natalie felt a chill down her spine, which she steeled before looking up at James Moretti looking out of place in Rodi's in his expensive suit and shiny shoes. She almost smiled when she saw Rex giving him the once over and clearly disapproving of the attire.
"Hello, James."
"You said you would call me today, K…Natalie." He corrected at her glare.
"We don't have anything to discuss."
"I disagree. Hello, I'm James Moretti, an old friend of Natalie's from AC. You must be her brother Rex." James held out his hand.
Rex made a face at the hand, but didn't bother to take it.
James took it back, shrugged and sat down at the table.
"We're in the middle of something here," Rex said.
"We have quite a lot to discuss. We can do it here, if you want?" James ignored Rex and looked intently at Natalie.
"Rex. Can you give us a few minutes?"
"You sure?" Rex asked, his eyes narrowed.
"I'm sure. Get me another soda, please, Rex?"
>>>>
"McBain. How did you get this number?" John sighed into his cell phone when he heard it was Rex.
"I won it in a lottery. Just shut up and listen. I'm here at Rodi's with Natalie and this guy, James something comes over and claiming to be an old friend of Natalie's, except she doesn't seem happy to see him. He's hitting the red zone on my creep-o-meter and she sends me off so she can talk to him alone."
"I'll be right there." John hung up his phone and grabbed his jacket.
"I thought you would." Rex closed his phone and leaned back against the bar and watched his sister have an intense conversation with the shiny guy.