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Chapter 2

"Got anything Honey " Bo asked as he approached her standing by the white outline of where Michael's body was, she was deep in thought and didn't hear him till he cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry Uncle Bo, no nothing, just trying to figure out how the man got Michael in the alley, it looks like he walked of his own free will" she said as she started walking the steps from the hospital exit over to the alley where he was actually attacked.

She stood up straight after a few minutes, brought her finger under her chin.

"Was Michael wearing his Dr's smock?" she asked Bo as she looked down at the ground, she saw something shiny, she grabbed a bag from her near by bag, and pick it up with her gloves on, she held it in front of her face, just staring at it. She continued to stare at it as Bo's phone went off, he moved away from her for a few minutes to take the call.

Bo came back a few minutes later and saw she had bagged the thing she was studying in her hands.

"So I take it he was wearing his Doctors over coat, and since he was already gone from the scene when I got here and of course I haven't checked the prelim reports yet. He was stabbed several times by a knife, who's tip I just recovered, so... lets figure out why he would go freely into the alley. Some one said they needed help, a doctor; Michael would have gone without thinking to help anyone. That's the type of person he is," Natalie said as she called one of her guys over, she gave him the bag with the evidence.

"Tell them at the lab, I said I want priority one on this one, this is personal for me, Got It? Good, call me when you have something, I'll be here checking on the Victim" she told her guy, one of her Forensics team, Natalie had three to four people that worked with her, for her, she had quickly moved up the forensics team within the last year and was good enough to be in charge of major crime scenes.

"Uncle Bo, I'll be in with Marcie, making sure Michael will be alright, call me if there's anything" she told him and he started to walk away, he turned back briefly

"That phone call...the one I just got... it was John, he got the message, he's on his way," he told her knowing things might be a bit tense for her with him here.

"That's good, he should at least be here for his brother, for Marcie, they might need him more now than ever" she told him and he walked away as she walked into the hospital.

"Hey, how is he, how's your sister?" she asked Ron as she approached him outside of Michaels room

"They just brought him back from surgery, he had massive internal bleeding and it took them some time to stop it but they did, now we just need for him to wake up, to make sure he's alright" Ron told her as he moved closer to her.

"Are you still working?" he asked and she nodded no, "I'm here for them now" she told him and he pulled her into his arms and held her.

"Where's the kid?" Natalie asked as she pulled out of his hold for a few seconds and looked at him.

"She's with your mom," he told her and she looked confused. "You mean my mom as Roxy?" she asked him shocked and he shook his head yes.

"I know, I know, but she was just staying with her till Jess got over there"

"Okay, now I feel a bit better" she told him as she smiled a bit. He noticed she seemed out of it, which he knew under the circumstances was normal, he knew she and Michael were close, they acted almost like siblings at times but there was something else.

"Whats up? You're a bit off" he told her and she shook her head no.

"Are you sure? Maybe it has to do with John, you know this should get him back in town" he told her and she started to walk away from him.

"Ask what you really want to ask Ron, don't candy coat it, you know I hate that" she told him, and prepared herself for what she knew was coming next.

"How do you feel about maybe seeing John again, after this past year?" he told her and she walked over by him again, she looked into his eyes.

"John McBain, doesn't have t he power to hurt me any longer. It'll be good if he comes and is here for his brother. God knows his brother has missed him and he needs him now but as for me and John, me seeing John... it's been a long year and you know I've gotten over him. Well, over him with a little help from a guy with a hot bod" she told him and then smiled up at him, she reached in and kissed him.

Almost six hours later Marcie, Ron, and Natalie were still waiting on Michael to wake. They were all exhausted. Ron and Natalie sat in the back of the room groggy when Ron decided to go get them some coffee to wake up. He briefly looked at his sister who was still sitting in the same spot holding her husbands hand then he walked out of the door and almost right into John McBain as he came around the corner of the hallway.

"John" Ron called to him as he saw him go over to the nurses station for info on Michael, john walked over to him.

"We're just waiting for him to wake up, he's in that room right there, Marcie's in with him, I'm going for coffee want any?" he asked him and John nodded his head no and then quickly proceeded to walk into Michael's room.

John walked into his brothers room, he was pale and hooked up to all sorts of machines, he saw Marcie with her head down on her and Michael's hands, he went over to her gently and put his hand on her back, he was unaware that Natalie was even in the room. Marcie looked up and she and John smiled weakly at each other as they started to speak quietly.

Natalie felt his presence the minute he walked in, a feeling came about her, a feeling she only got when he was near and she opened her closed eyes and saw him put his hand on Marcie's back. He looked good she thought, as good as someone could look who was just told his brother was almost killed, she heard them start to talk and she quietly rose from her chair and walked out of the room giving them there privacy.

John was talking to Marcie about what the Dr had told her about Michael when he felt a strange wave of nostalgia come over him, he looked briefly behind him to only catch a brief glimpse of her red hair as she left the room, he took a deep breath and quickly refocused on what Marcie was telling him.

"Hey, whats going on?" Ron asked as he saw her stand up against the wall outside of Michael's room, she had her eye' closed briefly and she opened them quickly when she heard Ron approach with Coffee.

"Nothing, John's here, thought I'd give them some privacy" she told him and he saw her face, a bit of hurt seem to pass thru it as she said John's name.

Natalie wasn't sure what she was feeling, he had been such an important part of her life for years before he left, before she told him she just couldn't wait around any longer. Why did it still feel like pain? Hurt? Why was she still feeling this way, she shook it off as Ron put the coffee down on the near by counter, he came closer and pulled her into his arms as her head came to his chest.

He was holding her right now, Ron, he was making her forget again, she contently laid her head on his chest, she took a deep breath and as she let it out, she released the hurt from last year when she saw John last.

"You okay now?" he asked her as he pushed her back a few feet off his chest. She smiled at him, and leaned in.

John had just finished up talking to Marcie and decided he wanted to look for her, Natalie, to see how she was. He walked outside Michael's room and didn't have to look far to find her. He saw her in Ron Walsh's arms, they were staring at each other and they seem to be coming out of a kiss maybe? He wasn't sure, as he stood frozen for a minute watching them till he saw Ron look up and see him. Ron backed Natalie up out of his grip gently and slowly as he realized the awkwardness of things.

Natalie felt Ron bring her slowly out of his embrace, she looked, and there was John, standing by Michaels door watching them intently. She realized the awkwardness of the situation, she looked at Ron one last time, and he leaned into her ear.

"I Love you, I'll be inside with my sister," he told her and she gave him a small smile.

"Me too" she said and he grabbed the coffee from the counter, handed her, hers and walked into Michael's room to be with Marcie, he passed right by John, the two men quickly glanced at each other as he passed and he was gone.

Natalie was beginning to walk away from him. She didn't need to go down memory lane with him, with her feelings for him. If there were any still left, she'd pretty much had fallen out of love with him the minute he walked out of Llanview and out of her life. She only hoped she wasn't telling herself a lie this past year and seeing him didn't rehash all that she use to hold inside for him.

"Hey" he said as he saw her back as she walked away from the room.

"Hey, its good you came for your brother," she told him as she slowly turned and saw him walk even closer to her. She stood and she looked into his eyes. She was almost mesmerized by them when he spoke again.

"Are you still at the LPD? Are there any leads on who did this?" he asked, he needed to know if they got this guy that hurt his brother or if they had any leads. His next questions however would be about her. About how she had been, and about Ron Walsh, but he talked himself out of asking them. This is how it had to be, nothing more. Just info on Michael and the bastard who hurt him.

"Yeah, I'm still there and no as of a few hours ago, no leads. I...I actually have to get into the station this morning and start follow up. Please tell Marcie I'll check in on Gabby for her and that I'll come back later, Thank you" she told him, wanting to get out of there quick. She didn't want anything else to come up. She had turned to walk away when she heard him speak again.

"I'll tell her, please keep me informed, " he told her and she never turned back around to face him.

"Thanks" she again thanked him and was on her way out of the hospital.

John stood outside his brothers room and watched her walk away, he felt it, it hurt, her acting as if he was a complete stranger almost, the awkwardness even hurt, he glanced into his brothers room and saw Ron with Marcie as she sat next to his brother.

He shook his head, he was always so afraid to lose her to something awful over the years, to even lose his brother. They, along with his mom, were the only people in his life that he loved but by being so afraid of that loss, and not being able to get over the loss of his dad, he just pushed them out of his life, and right into the life of Ron Walsh.

He started to walk around the halls a bit, not wanting to go in and see Michael. Not really feeling comfortable in the room with his sister in law and her brother. The brother in law to his, the man who seem to be close to not only his brother but to the woman he had loved for what seemed like forever. The woman he still to this day loved. He stopped by a wall, he leaned his back up against it and he remembered the last time he saw her, the last time they had spoken before today, he remembered why he did, why he left her, his brother, his home of over four years.

"I...I... just can't"

"Is that it John, I can't, all you can say to me after this past year is I can't, I've been patient, I've seen you thru everything and patiently, and all I get is a I Can't "

She had every right not to be patient; he had her waiting for the words that would never come from him, words he vowed not to ever say to anyone again after his father and Caitlin's death. He shook his head as he noticed Ron come out of his brother's room.

"I gave you a chance Natalie, I set you free, I couldn't give you what you needed and I couldn't hurt you any longer" he said softly to himself out loud as he watched Ron walk a bit closer.

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