John rolled over in his sleep, his arm reaching for Natalie, then woke up with a start when he encountered nothing but air.
"Natalie?" John called. John sat up, listening for any movement in the apartment, frowning when he heard none. He was disappointed, he had wanted to tell her he loved her and ask her to move in with him. Now that he had admitted it to him self he couldn't wait to tell her how he felt. He sighed then got up to take a shower.
As John passed the refrigerator he noticed a note stuck to the door with his name on it. He smiled, so Natalie had left him a note after all, then opened the note.
John,
I'm sorry for leaving before you woke up but there was something I had to take care of. I am not sure how long I will be but hopefully I will be back by the time you get back from work. I called Uncle Bo and told him I would be gone for the day. Please don't worry about me, I will be fine. I meant what I said last night. I love you. I would never leave you unless you asked me to go. Hope you have a better day at work then yesterday. I will see you when I get back.
Love,
Natalie
Ps. I left something for you to eat on the counter.
John looked over at the counter and laughed. On it there was a doughnut and a cup of cold coffee. He took his shower and went to work, feeling better then he had in a long time.
Carbondale Minimum Security Prison
Cris sat on a bench outside painting a picture of a snow-covered mountain. Natalie walked up behind him, a guard at her side, and called out his name. "Cris?" Cris jumped a little at the sound of her voice then turned around. He nodded to the guard and said "Hello, Natalie." The guard left the to their conversation with a parting "Ms. Buchanan you have 20 minutes."
"So you went back to Buchanan." Cris said.
"Yes." Natalie replied somewhat sadly. "How are you Cris?"
"I am getting better, I have been in therapy and I have been de-programmed." He said thinking back to the months of therapy sessions he had had. "It hasn't been easy but I am getting better every day."
"Has your lawyer made any progress on getting you into the witness protection program?"
"Yes, in another month I am getting out of here and into the program," Cris said with a smile. Then said "but you didn't come all this way just to talk about that. Why are you here?"
"Your right, that's not why I am here. I am here to ask your blessing to tell John you are alive." Natalie said softly.
"What!" Cris said loudly. "You can't tell him, You promised me you wouldn't tell anyone!"
"I know I did Cris but things have changed since then." She said.
"John and I are together now." She paused then said quietly "I love him."
Cris sat there for a full minute not saying anything, clearly stunned, then said, "I should have know. The way you looked at him when I came back, I could tell there was something between you."
"I'm sorry, I never meant to hurt you." Natalie said.
"I know you didn't" Cris said "but why do you need to tell John I am alive? How is that going to help anything?"
"Cris, He blames himself for your death. He doesn't think he is good enough for me. I want him to be with me for me not because he feels guilty or obligated to take care of me. And… and I can't stand lying to him. It's killing me inside!" Natalie explained.
Cris thought about that for a long while then said, "Does this really mean that much to you?"
"Yes it does." She said.
He sighed, "Ok, you can tell him. But you have to make him promise not to tell anyone. If anyone else finds out everyone I love could be in danger."
"Oh thank you Cris! This means so much to me" she cried hugging him tightly.
The guard that escorted Natalie in was on her way back over and Natalie turned to go. Cris caught her wrist with his hand stopping her and said, "You tell John he had better make you happy. If he ever hurts you he will have to deal with me." Natalie smiled and said, "John would never hurt me. But thank you." Cris went back to his painting as Natalie left with the guard. Natalie was happy that she had Cris's permission to tell John but terrified of John's reaction to what she had to tell him.