Thanks again for the great reviews. Hope you enjoyed the song if you downloaded it. By the way, this is NOT a Bobby fic. I just want to clear the air up on that. It is and will always be a Jack fic. Cause as you will see from this chapter and later, Bobby and Natalie are not compatible as people. Sorry to disappoint some of you, but when I started this it was because I hated the end concerning Jack of Four Brothers and I wanted him and not Bobby to be the spotlight character. He deserves it. Besides, my next fic coming up, is ALL about Bobby, one boy at a time you guys! Hehe. Enjoy this chapter.

Chapter Four

He was dressed in the same boots and dark jeans, but the sight of a gray sweater sticking up from his jacket informed her he must have left the hospital with enough time to return home to shower and hopefully rest a while.

"Mr… Bobby." Natalie greeted as she took the final step up to her door. "This is a pleasant surprise."

"I'm glad to hear it." He chuckled. "I wasn't sure how you'd react to me just showing up but I thought I'd take my chances."

"How'd you-"

"Melissa, the secretary? She gave me your address." Bobby bent down and came back up with two plastic bags. "I brought you some lunch."

"That's…" Natalie fished her key out of her sock, ignoring his amused look and smiled. "That's really nice of you." She glanced towards Mrs. Thompson's door, relaxing as she saw it was still closed and there was no sight of any shifting blinds. "Come in, please."

She shut the door after him, clearing her throat as she placed her house key on the rack by the door. "To what do I owe the honor of you buying me lunch?"

Bobby shrugged as he looked around her apartment. He flashed her a smile as she took one of the bags. "I figure you might be one of those people that likes to eat lunch around noon…" He chuckled as she blushed, "And partly because I just thought it'd be a nice extra little thank you."

"Bobby, seriously, you don't have to keep thanking me. Dr. Baker is the one who saved your brother's life, not me." She kept her gaze down, concentrating on getting plates and utensils, aware that he had followed her into the kitchen close behind her. "I'm merely a nurse who cleans up after him and makes sure that your brother rests comfortably. There's really no need to feel obligated to…"

"I said partly." He interrupted. "I'm gonna be selfish too and admit I just wanted to have lunch with you and couldn't think of a better excuse."

Natalie turned away to grab two cups, blushing so hard she swore she felt it all the way down to her toes. Bobby was an incredibly handsome man, devoted to his family, and he obviously knew how to choose his words when it came to women and what they wanted to hear. The thought made her pause.

Her Sophomore year in college, Eric Williams had known from day one what words to say and she had fallen for it without a second thought. All he had done was throw her that winning smile and she had accepted anything he had said without a moment's hesitation. She had spent almost two years of her life trying to make it work and keep him happy and it still had blown up in her face. They were just too different people, their goals too distant and there was no connecting them.

She had been heartbroken when he had taken a job in San Francisco, breaking up with her on the same day. From that time on, Natalie had vowed to never get involved seriously again with another man, and to instead concentrate on what she did best, helping others, and she had stuck with that plan.

But here she was, inviting a patient's brother into her home so they could have lunch.

"Is everything okay?"

Natalie cleared her throat, nodding as she watched the ice machine fill their glasses. "I'm fine, thank you." She turned towards him. "What can I get you to drink?"

"You wouldn't happen to have beer would ya?"

"It's only 11:45 in the morning Bobby."

He chuckled. "Tea or water will be fine."

"Good." She turned back to the fridge shaking her head. "I don't have any beer so you'd be out of luck anyway."

"Ah, not a fan of beer I take it?"

Natalie filled both glasses with water from the dispenser on the door then turned back around, handing him a glass, and she motioned him to sit down at the table behind him. "Not a fan of drinking actually. I had an aunt who died of liver failure due to a battle with alcoholism. Besides, I see too many cases at the hospital that end in tragedy to even get near the stuff." She giggled at the expression on Bobby's face. "Oh no, I've insulted a whiskey man or something haven't I?"

Bobby grinned taking the plate she extended towards him as he grabbed a knife and fork. "No offense taken, trust me, but I do enjoy a beer and something harder every now and then."

Natalie slid the to-go boxes from the bags, placing them on the table between them. "And you're not worried about a beer gut?"

"Nah." He shook his head. "My body's in good condition. You're a nurse, I bet you'd approve, got a hospital gown lying around here?"

She went still until she realized he was teasing her and she blushed reaching to open the boxes. "Sorry, my imaginary boyfriend took my last one and won't return my calls so I can get it back."

Bobby laughed watching as she caught sight of the Chinese food and inhaled, a small smile appearing on her face.

Natalie nodded her approval. "Well done Bobby, I love Chinese food."

"I know, I asked Melissa."

She rolled her eyes playfully, making a note in the back of her mind to talk to Melissa the second she returned to work. "Good thing then. I would have kicked you out if you'd brought me something I didn't like," She teased.

"You? Kick me out? I'm too charming for that."

Too strong, I think that's what you mean, she wanted to say but Natalie simply chuckled as they began to eat.

She had seen the look in Bobby's eyes when he had been angrily talking with Dr. Baker. Inside Bobby Mercer, there was a deeply troubled man. The thought alone made her nervous.

Natalie swallowed a piece of sesame chicken and chased it down with a sip of water. "How is your brother doing?"

"Great. Dr. Stewart said he had improved a lot on the new medication. They're hoping that maybe by the end of next week he'll be awake."

"That's excellent news. Your brother is a strong man."

"The fairy has some fight in him alright." Bobby grinned. "Mercer, through and through. I won't be surprised if he's awake and talking by Tuesday morning."

She took another sip of her water. "I'm pleasantly surprised to see Dr. Stewart has taken such an interest in your brother. He's usually too busy to even come down to our floor, you know how bigwigs are."

"I think he's curious maybe. Jack's doing a lot better than anyone expected, I mean, shit, I didn't expect him to make it this far. I really thought I'd lost him…" He tightened his grip on his fork staring off into space.

"What happened?"

Bobby directed his gaze down at his plate, stabbing a piece of chicken with his fork. "He just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Was it gang related or something? I mean, you could go to the police and…"

"I'd really prefer to not talk about it." Bobby fixed her with a hard gaze. "It's hard enough as it is with having to remember it in my own head."

Natalie nodded, reaching out to place her hand on his arm. "It's okay Bobby, you don't have to tell me anything you don't want." She was silent for a few moments before she chose to speak again. "You're not weak if you decide you want to talk about it with a professional."

He removed his arm from under her hand, scooting the chair back. "I don't need a fucking head doctor."

"I didn't mean to imply that you…"

"You know, maybe this was a bad idea." Bobby wiped at his mouth. "I shouldn't be doing this, I should be at the hospital next to Jack where I belong."

Natalie stood at the same time as he did and she reached out, grabbing his arm as he turned away towards the door. "Bobby, wait, please."

His body was rigid but he allowed her to tug him so that she was able to see the side of his face.

"I'm sorry Bobby, I didn't mean to overstep my boundaries. I shouldn't have said that." She bit at her bottom lip. All the training in the world never fully prepared you how to deal with someone who had almost suffered the loss he had. Each situation was different but each time she still felt her heart break. "Jack wouldn't want you to torment yourself this way. He's doing just fine and he won't hold it against you if you enjoy eating lunch, though he might get annoyed you're doing it with his nurse."

"Eating lunch you mean?"

Natalie laughed shaking her head and she pulled away motioning back at the table. "What'd you say? Just lunch, promise. Soon as you're done, you can go to the hospital and see Jack."

Bobby paused but then nodded moving back to the table. "Okay, you're right. I'm sorry I blew up at you, you were only trying to help."

"It's perfectly fine." Natalie smiled as she sat back down. She picked up her fork again. "So, what's your brother Jack like when he's conscious?"

Bobby laughed and sat down as well, scooting forward as he began to tell her about his family.

It wasn't until an hour and a half later that they finally finished their meal and had washed and dried the dishes. She was surprised when he had insisted on helping her but it had given her more time to ask him questions about himself and his family while he dried the wet items she handed him.

Just as she expected, his adopted life had been one filled with happiness and love. Evelyn Mercer was an extraordinary woman by the sounds of it, taking in four dangerous kids and making them honorable, respectable men that knew the true meaning of love and family. It was at that moment she no longer felt completely just sympathetic towards Bobby. Instead she was filled with envy.

"What happened to your mother?" She put the last dish away and turned to gaze at him. "I mean, shit, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that. You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"Nah, it's okay, really." Bobby cleared his throat. "She passed away about a week ago. She went to the local grocery store downtown to get a turkey for Thanksgiving. There was a robbery and she got caught in the crossfire."

"I'm so sorry Bobby."

"It's okay. I fought my demons when it happened and I'm at peace with it now."

"Well, at least you fought them and won, that's always a step forward."

His eyes were dark as he nodded. "I couldn't agree with you more." He eyed her. "I'm surprised you didn't hear about it in the paper."

"I heard rumors and stories but I didn't know who or what had happened." Natalie shrugged nervously. "I don't get cable. I don't really have time to keep up with current events with how much I'm at the hospital."

Bobby glanced down at his watch. "I better get going. Jackie's probably missing me by now."

She smiled as she followed him to the front door. "Thank you for lunch Bobby. It was a pleasure to have talked to you; I appreciate you sharing your family stories with me. It's not often I actually get to know the patient personally that I'm caring for."

"I enjoyed myself too. Thanks for everything."

Natalie nodded resting her hand on the doorknob and she swung open the door. "Hope everything's well with Jack at the hospital. I'll be back in tomorrow at 10 to check on him."

"Thanks again Natalie." Bobby hesitated only a second before he leaned forward, his hand finding her shoulder. He brushed his lips lightly against her cheek then pulled away. "See you later."

"Bye." She whispered watching him bound down the steps towards his car. Natalie stood there until he disappeared in his old Buick down the street.

A cough caused her to jump and she tilted her head to see Mrs. Thompson on her porch, the old woman sipping lemonade as she stared down at the paper in her lap. She glanced up catching Natalie's gaze and winked before focusing back on her article of interest.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Natalie, thank God you're here."

Eyebrows up, she gazed at Reba with a confused look. "Why? What's up?"

"The floor." Reba shook her head. "It's just gone crazy. Four new patients came in just this last past hour. I took care of one already and Dr. Baker is in surgery with another one at the moment." She handed Natalie four metal folders pointing to the one top. "I left an Appy patient and a tough stick that you might want to look at."

Natalie frowned as she flipped open the first file. "An Appy? Why didn't you send him to the third floor? They handle appendicitis patients down there like common colds."

"I can do that right away."

"Thanks. Also, give Diane the tough stick, like a vamp drawing blood."

Reba nodded again taking both files.

"Where's Dr. Masser? Wasn't he supposed to be on this floor starting tonight?"

"He called out today." Reba shrugged. "Guess he's still in Aspen with his family. Dr. Baker said he's leaving after his last call in 20 minutes too so I guess that leaves you with the floor again."

Natalie bit the inside of her mouth but nodded. "Alright. What patient is he with now?"

"A Virgin Abdominal actually. He's just about done." Reba answered. "It's the last folder."

"Thank you Reba, good job, I appreciate it."

Reba smiled. "Sure thing Natalie. Anything else I can do for you?"

"Now, I'm good, thanks. Go take a break."

"Not gonna argue with that."

Natalie turned towards the nurses' station, smiling at Melissa as the woman sat down the phone. "How's the Mercer kid?"

"He's older than you, you know."

She rolled her eyes playfully but nodded. "I'm aware. Come on, what's the 411?"

"He's fine, still hasn't woken up. Members of his family have been here off and on, they're doing this…."

"Shift schedule," Natalie nodded. "Yeah, Bobby told me."

"Bobby?" Melissa's eyes lit up. "Oooh, right, your boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend."

Melissa began to whistle under her breath with a smile. "Whatever you say honey."

"He's not!"

"Fine looking specimen like that could be my man any day of the week." Nurse Cook spoke up from behind Melissa. She turned from putting sheets into a mailbox to wink at Natalie. "Or night for that matter."

"You want him so bad, you can have him. He's not my boyfriend." Natalie scooped up the folders, thrusting them under her arm. "And I'd appreciate if you'd not speak that way about a patient's brother again."

Nurse Cook and Melissa watched her march off, both women smirking and they turned to nod at each other.

"He's her boyfriend."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Only the lamp on the overhead above Jack's head gave light to the room. It illuminated his face, showing off his young features, and the steady beeping of machines was the only sound that met her ears apart from his soft breathing.

She was surprised to find him alone.

Natalie approached the bed, pulling a chair close to it, and she took a seat, eyes on Jack's face. She cleared her throat, slowly reaching to take his hand in her own. "Hi Jack," Natalie swallowed again as she rested his hand on top of hers. "You probably don't remember me. It was a bit crazy the other day when we first met, always is." She giggled. "But I'm Natalie and I'll be taking care of you."

She placed her other hand on top of his. "Now… I don't know you enough to order you around but … your family is here and they need you to get better as soon as possible, especially your brother Bobby." Natalie smiled. "He sure does love to tease you a lot but he loves you very, very much."

Natalie kept her eyes on his face, watching, as his eyes would occasionally shift behind his eyelids. "I bet you're dreaming right now. That's okay." She stroked the top of his hand. "But sooner than later, we're gonna need you to come back and talk to us."

"Bobby says he seems to respond the most when you insult him."

Natalie twisted in the seat, lowering Jack's hand back to his side and she stood slowly as Angel entered the room. He slid his hands into his jacket pockets, glancing at Jack on the bed.

"But I've never listened to Bobby's ideas before and I'm not gonna start now."

She cleared her throat, nervously placing her hands behind her back. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to… He was alone so I thought I'd…"

"It's perfectly fine." Angel smiled. "Jack's not going to complain about a pretty girl holding his hand."

Natalie smiled back. "I'm glad to see that he's doing better."

"Thanks. Dr. Stewart said if he kept this recovery speed up, he'd be walking around in no time."

"We can all hope so." She nodded. "Are you … starting your shift now?"

"It looks like it's just me for the night actually. Maybe Bobby whenever he gets off work. Jeremiah said something about his kids he couldn't get away from and Sofi's mother is in town visiting from Mexico."

"Well if all stays quiet, I'm sure I can help you if you'd like."

Angel nodded. "That'd be great, thanks."

Natalie glanced once more towards Jack and then offered Angel her seat. "There you go. I'm gonna go check on some other patients and I'll be back shortly."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Shortly turned into four hours. Natalie smiled, waving as a patient headed to check out and she shifted spotting Reba coming towards her. "Please. Do not say, 'one more patient' to me."

Reba shook her head with a smile. "You're good as gold Nat. We seem to have slowed down and it's only 2 am. Second floor sent us some extra help, seems they had more come in tonight then they thought they had scheduled."

Natalie nodded. "Good. I'm gonna go take my lunch then. Page me if you need me though and if not, I'll find you again in about an hour."

"Sure thing Nat."

She walked away, heading automatically for Jack's room and Natalie leaned in, tapping on the doorframe.

Angel looked up and stood, stretching his arms. "Hey Doc."

She chuckled as she entered. "I'm not a doctor yet Angel."

"The way I see it you're Jack's doctor. You've taken more care of him than any soul in this hospital." He popped his neck, checking his watch. "Do you mind if I run to the house real quick and check on Sofi? She's not answering the phone so she either forgot to hang it up or…"

"No, no, go ahead. I'm on lunch so take your time."

"Are you sure? I could wait till you get some food?"

"I'm okay, really." Natalie ushered him towards the door. "Be careful, the roads are slick."

He stopped halfway out the door. "Thanks Doc."

"Welcome."

She took his seat beside Jack, sighing as she shifted it around so she could rest her feet harmlessly on the edge of his bed. Natalie reached over, taking his hand, and she thread her fingers through his. He remained asleep; his fingers limp. "Do you know how hard it is to hold hands with a guy that won't squeeze his fingers?"

Natalie chuckled, watching his face. "I bet if you woke up right now, you'd freak out to find me like this. You don't look like the kind of guy that holds hands with a girl when he doesn't know her name." She tilted her head. "I could be wrong though."

She leaned her head back staring a few moments at the ceiling. "I wish I knew what happened to you Jack, but your brother Bobby, he seems pretty adamant about not talking. None of your brothers have." Natalie glanced over at him again. "But I bet you'd tell me, wouldn't you?" She leaned forward, kicking her feet off the bed and reached over to slowly brush away a piece of his hair from his forehead. "That's twice I've done that now." Natalie murmured. "A girl could get used to that kind of thing you know?"

She tilted her head as she continued to study his features. "I bet you have a girlfriend no one knows about… or maybe you have a hobby like painting… Nah," She smiled slowly, "I bet you're in a band. Are you in a band Jack?" Natalie studied his fingers, stroking the tips with her thumb. "Definitely in a band with these fingers, you play the guitar don't you Jack?"

Natalie began to lean back when she felt a spasm against her thumb. She frowned, ceasing her movements to inch even closer to Jack and her eyes were drawn to his hand still clasp in hers. Natalie watched eyes wide as Jack's fingers jerked and curled around her own.

"Jack?" She stood up from the seat, shoving it back using her foot without looking. Blindly she reached for his call button, squeezing the red trigger and she tossed it aside. "Jack, can you hear me? Squeeze my hand sweetheart."

A wide grin appeared as he squeezed her hand.

"That's right Jack, come back. Come back to us." Natalie sat down on the edge, careful to not hinder his tubes or touch his side. She squeezed his hand back, her other hand lifting to brush at his forehead. "Come back to me Jack, you can do it."

"Nurse Hamilton, we saw the light!" Reba burst into the room, Diane following close behind her. "Is everything okay?"

Natalie leaned closer. "Jack?"

His eyes opened at that exact moment, mouth moving soundlessly.

She grinned down at him, squeezing his fingers again. "Welcome back Mr. Mercer."