"OH GOD NATALIE!" He yelled running over to the bed and a ripping the leotard from around her neck. He cradled her in his arms shaking her gently.
"Natalie you can't leave me. Wake up honey!" John cried, while dialing 911. "Oh, God please be ok Natalie!
"Come on please wake up baby, I love you." Tears running down his face his terror evident in his voice. "Don't leave me, I need you!"
Natalie suddenly opened her eyes and gasped "John!"
John grabbed her up and wrapped his arms around her tightly, whispering "thank God!" over and over. John was shaking in reaction as he held her as if he never would let her go.
Natalie refused to go to the hospital so John insisted Michael look her over. Michael said that Natalie would be fine but said she would have a sore throat for a couple of days. Natalie herself was more angry then anything else. How dare this psycho mess with her and make John worry like that. John hadn't let go of her since she had woken up in his arms as if afraid she would be snatched from his grasp the minute he let her go.
It was after everyone had left that John noticed the note. It had gotten shoved under the bed somehow. John picked it up and examined it. It was a picture of a music box but the music bow was closed. John understood what it meant. It meant that Natalie was supposed to live and that the killer was sending John a message. John still didn't understand why the killer had singled out him to be sending messages to. He hope he could figure it out before someone else died. With that thought in mind John called Bo
"Hello?" Bo answered
"Hey, Bo. Its John."
"Is Natalie ok, has the killer come back?" Bo asked immediately. He had been over to see Natalie but she had sent him away claiming that she was fine and that John would take care of her.
"Natalie is fine, but I found a note left by the killer. I would bring it in but I don't want to leave Natalie alone."
"I'll be right over." Bo replied, already heading for the door. When he got there he took the note and placed it in an evidence bag, talked to John a few minutes then left, saying he would rush it to the lab.
John walked over to the bed where Natalie was sitting, sat down next to her, put his arms around her and simply held her. He held her for a long while then pulled back and gave her a soft kiss.
"I love you so much, Natalie. Thank god you are ok." John murmured before pulling her into another embrace, tucking her head under his chin and breathing in her scent.
Natalie snuggled into his arms and shivered as she recalled her attack.
She had been unlocking the door so she could go in and change her clothes for her night out with Willow and Jess when someone slipped something around her neck, choking her. She had struggled but he had been too strong. She had blacked out and when she came too John was leaning over her, shaking her, and pleading with her to wake up. He had tears running down his face and she had launched herself in his arms and held on for dear life.
Natalie leaned out of John's arms and kissed him softly. She needed to feel him against her. She needed to know that she was alive. She just needed to feel. "John," she said kissing him again, "I need you."
"Natalie you were almost killed you need to rest." John said against her lips as she kissed him again with more urgency. John needed to reassure himself that she was ok and alive but struggle to be noble. He wanted her as much as she wanted him but he didn't want to hurt her. "I don't want to hurt you." He said pulling back.
"John, I'm fine. I just have a sore throat." Natalie said kissing him passionately.
John could feel his control slipping and pulled away breathing raggedly, "are you sure?" he asked. She nodded and he brought his lips crashing down on hers hungrily. They clung together as the kiss went on and on, both needing to re-affirm their love.
Natalie moaned into John's mouth while her hands were busy unbuttoning his shirt. As she slid the shirt off his shoulders John shrugged it off, never breaking the kiss. As she ran her hands up his arms and on to his chest Natalie shuddered with sensation. She loved the feel of him. She wanted to touch all of him at once.
John shuddered under her hands and groaned softly when Natalie ran her hands over his bare chest. He grabbed the hem of her shirt and dragged it over her head before lowering his head to her breasts and suckling her through the thin fabric of her bra. He ran his hands up and down her sides and hips as Natalie trembled wildly under him. "Natalie" he whispered over and over into her skin. God he loved how she tasted John thought as he kissed her stomach.
Natalie arched up as he kissed his way down to her waist. John removed her bra bringing his hands to her breasts to stroke and tease them. Natalie was on fire for him and she reached for his pants unbuttoning them, pushing them down and off his body. She reached for his throbbing shaft and stroked him till he was moaning and trembling above her.
John took the pleasure of her hands on him as long as he could then, moaning in pleasure he pushed her hands away. He tore at her pants, practically ripping them off her.
Natalie moaned at his impatience and wrapped her legs around his waist as John drove into her. They both shuddered and moaned as the sensations threatened to overload their brains. As John began to move inside her Natalie ran her hands up and down his back leaving faint scratches on him. John quickened his movements and soon they were hurdling into ecstasy.
After they had both calmed down and returned to earth John rolled off of her and gathered her in his arms. They snuggled together wrapped in each other's arms and drifted off to sleep, content to leave all their worried till tomorrow.
John lay on the bed looking down at Natalie who was still sleeping. He and Natalie had the day off so they could sleep as late as they wanted. As he played with her hair he thought about the events of the day before. He had almost lost her and the thought nearly killed him. Now he realized that he couldn't live with out Natalie in his life. Loosing her would literally kill him. John realized that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Natalie. He wanted to marry her!
The thought scared John to death but the thought of spending the rest of his life with out her was unthinkable. He wanted to wake Natalie up and ask her to marry him but then thought better of it. John wanted to do this right. He would need a ring and a romantic setting for this. The problem was he didn't do romantic very well. He would need help.
John got out of bed gently so he wouldn't wake up Natalie and reached for his sweat pants. Pulling them on he went to get his phone. John called Michael.
"Hello." Michael said into the phone.
"Hey Mike its John."
"Hey John what's up? How is Natalie?" Michael asked sounding a bit worried. He may not have liked Natalie at first but she made is brother very happy.
"She fine, she is still asleep. She is still shook up after last night. Listen I need you to do me a favor. Can you come over here? I need to go out for a couple of hours but I don't want her to be alone."
"Ok. But I have to be at work at 1 this afternoon. Will you be back by then? Maybe you should ask Willow to come by and stay with her. She could defend herself better then I can." Michael said thinking back to their first meeting.
"Well, I need her help too," John said. "I will explain when you get here."
Michael agreed to come over and hung up. He hoped John was ok. He had been out of his mind with worry about Natalie yesterday, when Michael had come over after Natalie had been attacked. He had half-expected John to run away or do something equally as stupid to protect Natalie from himself. John always thought, that when something bad happened to those he loved, it was his fault that he couldn't protect them.
John loved Natalie, a fool could see that, and his usual MO would be to get away from her the moment something happened. It seemed that Natalie was helping break John of those self-destructive habits. Michael smiled at that as he went about getting dressed for the day.
His life was looking better and better. He had Marcie back, John was finally starting to live again, his mother was happy, and he had gotten a new sister whom he adored. Thinking about Willow made him wonder what John needed her help with. Whatever it was must be pretty serious. He hoped it was a good thing whatever it was. Michael looked up to John like a father figure. John had practically raised him after all. And John deserved some real happiness in his life. He hoped Natalie realized just how much she had changed John since they had been together.
Michael stopped his rambling thoughts long enough to find his keys and head to John and Natalie's.
John had called over to Willow's apartment but she hadn't been home so he called her office and had gotten Rex.
"Hello? Summers Investigations." Rex said into the phone hoping this was a juicy case calling.
"Rex? This is John is Willow there?" John said and Rex mentally groaned. John was the last person he wanted to talk to. He figured he would get a serious talk about not dating Willow and he didn't want to hear it. Rex thought that Willow was the most amazing woman he had ever met and he wasn't going to stop seeing her no matter what John said.
"No, she want out for a little while but she should be back soon." He said hoping that he could get off the phone quickly, "How is Natalie doing? Is she Ok?" Rex asked hoping Natalie was ok. When he talked to her last night she had said she was fine but with his big sis he knew she probably wasn't. She hated people worrying about her. He loved Natalie more then anyone else in the world and the thought of someone hurting her made his blood run hot with rage. He had been all set to tear the town apart looking for the killer but Willow had calmed him down.
"Natalie is fine. She is still sleeping right now." John said. He wanted to have a talk with Rex but he didn't want it to be over the phone. John decided to go over as soon as Michael got there and wait for Willow to get back. That way he could have a talk with Rex man to man.