A/N: The length was going to be really long so I split it. One more ya'll and it's done. Until next time—PCGirl.

She'd never been nervous walking in here—this was just as easily her home as the cottage was before, but now—now she felt like she was going across enemy lines and wasn't sure she'd come back without some damage to herself or her soul. "Carlotta," she said quietly as her mother-in-law finished filling a customer's coffee cup.

"Oh Natalie," she spoke as she came over and hugged her—Natalie staying slightly stiff through the hug. "What's wrong?"

"I—I just wasn't expecting that reaction from you. I mean—after what I did—leaving Cristian here and pushing him to the point of shooting a man for no reason. How can you be happy to still see me?"

"Because hija—the man that did that awful thing—he's not the man who left us last year. This man is mean and spiteful. I don't know what happened to him on that ship but that man is not the son I love—maybe one day he can get through all they did to him and he will be—but that's going to take time."

"I know," she said as she tried to make herself say the rest. "There's something else I need to tell you—I'm going to file the paperwork for a divorce from him. I don't want to—I want to stay and make it work, but we're too much different now."

"I know—I knew when you went to London what the choice you made was going to be."

"And you aren't mad at me for that?"

"No. You deserve happiness, Natalie."

"I think I found it. John—he was in London when I got there—it was never planned for us to get back together—but—I love him. Cristian—the old one, the one from before—he'll always be in my heart but John's in my heart too now."

"I've known that for awhile too. At first I didn't want him to break your heart, but I see you two are good for each other. If it's not my son then I'm glad it's someone I know will put you first."

"Thank you, Carlotta. You don't know how much that means."

"Your welcome. You've put a lot of your dreams on hold Natalie—and all of them deserve to come true. Maybe it's time that you begin to make some of those come true," she smiled.

"Yeah, maybe it is."

"Go take a fifteen minute break, Higgins," said John to the officer at the gate then waited for the officer to make it upstairs before entering the holding area. Natalie was going to yell at him for talking to Cristian, but it'd been bugging him most of the morning. He hit the bars as hard as he could and then walked back to lean against the wall, "You wanted me to face you, Vega so here I am."

"Why'd you come down here? To rub it in that you won—that you finally stole the woman I love away from me. Sure did take you long enough—you'd been trying to break us up since the first minute I saw you."

John shook his head. "Believe what you want. Sure I thought Natalie was hot then—but can you blame me? I came to this town because I had a job to do."

"Then why didn't you leave when it was over? Or did you decide to comfort the new widow?"

"I'm not going to argue with you about this again, Cristian," he yelled as he moved towards the cell.

"You didn't answer my question—why not just walk away while there was a pretty clean slate left?"

"Because I was responsible for your being supposedly killed and I needed—I needed to try and make it right. Somewhere along the way—that's when I fell in love with your wife. Happy now?"

"No, because you should have walked away—she had her family and my family, nobody needed you," he said shortly and turned away from John.

"Maybe it wasn't about somebody needing me—maybe it was about me needing Natalie."

"I'm insulted," said Rex with a furrowed brow as he sat down next to his sister at the coffee shop.

"And why is that?" she questioned him.

"Because—you came home last night and not once did you think of calling me. A simple 'hi—how ya doin'?' would have done just fine. Are you too good for me now that you're shacking up with McBoink?"

"We're not shacking up."

"That's not what I heard—by the way—where'd you sleep last night?" he asked with a grin as he watched her blush. "Busted."

"How'd you know anyways?" she asked as she slipped the book she was reading beside her

"Roxy—she said she saw you sneak upstairs last night right after she gave John a room key," he smiled. "So what is that book you were reading?"

"Nothing," she said as she moved it further away, and out of his grasp.

"When are you gonna stop with all this lying, Natty?" he asked as he fought her for the book, pushing her to the floor so he could get it. "This—this is the stuff you were studying before?"

"Yes," she yelled as she grabbed it from him and sat back down. "I borrowed—it from the library. It was just a thought I had of perhaps going back and finishing my degree."

"Well, what's stopping you?"

"I—I just don't know. Everything has changed Rex—the person I was before is different from who I am now."

"Yeah? Well, I remember the one before that. The one that didn't take no for an answer—she saw what she wanted and she kept going until she got it," he said as he gave her a kiss on the forehead. "I gotta pick up some coffee and meet up with Shannon. Us four are having dinner tonight at my place—be there or be lame," grinned Rex with a wink as he got up and went to place an order.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to be there. Yeah—he's fine—you know what they say though, doctor's make the worst patients," laughed John as he hung up the phone with Sonia and closed the hotel room door behind him. He smiled at seeing her sitting there, curled up with the book and a blanket covering her legs. "Hey."

"Hey," smiled Natalie as she gave him a kiss. "Was that Sonia?"

"Yeah, they got him today—so the case is closed for me since I wasn't there for the arrest. I'm sure I'll be called to testify but until then—I'm all yours," he said with an evil grin while decided to get into something more comfortable. "What are you reading?"

"Did you know what I was studying at LU before?"

"No—What?"

"Criminology," she said as she watched his eyes actually get expressive and try to determine where this was going. "I want to go back to school John—I want to get this degree and I want to work in the field. I've been fascinated with it from afar for too long."

He grinned at her, "I've never seen this side of you Natalie."

"I've hidden it way too long—there's a lot of me I've hidden for too long and it's time I show all of it. I used to know what I wanted and go for it—not just sit by and let it slip through my fingers and out of my life. So this is first—getting back to school and graduating—and then—."

"And then what?"

"Then just wherever the Bureau takes us I'll get a job at the local police station—maybe one day I'll join the FBI also."

He laughed, "First—I'm fine with whatever it is you want to do with your life—I'll support you Natalie—always. Second—what makes you think I want to go back to the Bureau?"

"You seemed so at ease back in London—I just figured you'd just jump right back in."

"Nah," he said with a shrug. "Maybe one day I'll enjoy the speed and thrill of it all over again, but for now—now I want to spend as much time with you as I can," he said, sitting down on the arm of the chair and leaning in towards her.

"That reminds me—what time is it?" she said as she looked at her watch and sighed. "We're supposed to be at Rex's soon for dinner."

"Is it necessary to go?"

"Well, we go spend time with him and Shannon tonight and then tomorrow—I don't have anything planned," she said with a grin that told him exactly what she had in mind.

"Fine, but if it were anyone else I'd be suddenly catching a strain of Ebola."