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Chapter 9

Natalie was in the Lab, bags of evidence spread out all over the counter as she continued to get discouraged looking over everything. Nothing was standing out to her, nothing. The bagged evidence was everyday things that could have been left by anyone in an alley, a cigarette butt, a beer bottle, some candy wrappers, a newspaper, junk...Garbage she thought.

"Damn it! " she said loudly "nothing to go on" she said, scrunched over the only clear part of the counter and laid her head down for a second when she heard him.

"Maybe a fresh pair of eyes could help," he told her and she looked up from the counter. She didn't have the energy right now to be mad. She needed to help find this guy before someone else, before another Dr got hurt like Mikey. She was about to say something to him when he spoke first.

"I promise, no funny business, I just want to help, if I can," he told her and she nodded. She knew he had a lot invested in this case. Especially with one of the victims being his brother. She also knew how good he was. He was the best cop she had ever seen, and what ever happened between them personally, he was good at his job.

John started to look over the bagged articles on the counter. They didn't talk as she gave him free reign to everything she had. He saw her watching him intently for a few minutes but ignored it. He ignored the feeling of wanting t o just meet her gaze, he said no funny business, and he meant it. He was here to help her catch a killer.

"Seems like you got a bunch of junk here, don't you, nothing to really go on, some disgusting candy wrappers and an old newspaper" he told her and she was about to say something when she paused and got a puzzled look on her face.

"An old newspaper" she said then went over to the paper in the bag. John stood behind her as she took it out gently with her gloves on and started to flip thru it.

"October sixth, almost seven months ago" she said, studying the paper.

"Look, there's a page ripped out. Its the obituaries page" Natalie said after a moment, figuring out what page was missing by looking at the table of contents

" It was planted there b--" Natalie started to say when John finished her thought.

"By the killer" John said and they looked into each other's eyes. Natalie even smiled weakly at him and after a few minutes broke eye contact. She grabbed her phone and called one of the Detectives in the other part of the station.

"Bruce, can you get me a copy of the obit's for October 6Th" she told him and then hung up the phone.

John went back over by the bagged evidence on the counter. He started studying each and every piece of garbage looking for something odd, looking for anything that might not belong.

Natalie started walking towards John, they were on to something...she knew it. She could feel it. A second later they both heard his cell phone go off. She approached him just as he answered it.

Natalie saw him and heard him answer Hello but then she saw all the color go out of his face. As his face blanched Natalie got nervous. She became even more anxious when Jon simply hung up with out saying anything, seemingly unable to form words.

"Is it Michael?" she asked and he nodded. He looked frozen, petrified. She took his hand and lead him towards the door, guided him in her car and they drove the few blocks to the hospital to see for themselves how bad Michael was.

No words were spoken and when Nat's car stopped at the Hospital John got out and started walking into the hospital, it Michael. As soon as they approached the area outside his room they saw everyone sitting and standing around.

Natalie feared the worst right now, everyone looked horrified. Marcie had Gabby in her arms and the almost one-year old was trying to wiggle out. She saw John's pale face as he went to his mom and they embraced. She also saw Ron standing near Marcie and Gabby. Ron saw her and went over to her to explain what happened.

"Don't Natalie… he just had a minor set back. He had a seizure. They don't know anything else" Ron told her and he took her hand, he couldn't help it. He pulled her to his chest and held her close. She went willingly, needing to be held, needing to be comforted.

John finished speaking with his mom just in time to see Natalie and Ron embracing. Then he saw Natalie along with Ron walk over and take Gabby from Marcie to give her a break.

"Marcie... I'll take her from you for awhile," Natalie told her, touching Marcie's shoulder and smiling weakly. Gabby had already had her arms out for her Aunt Natalie to take her. Natalie took her and walked a few feet away. Ron followed behind her when he saw Marcie get up and head for the chapel.

"Let her go alone for a bit Ron, she needs to" Natalie told him and he nodded.

John continued to watch Natalie, along with Ron, continue to entertain his niece. He heard Ron tell Gabby something about her Aunt Natty and John got mad. He wasn't sure why, but it made him mad, them playing with his niece, his brothers daughter. He wasn't sure what bothered him most, the fact that she was also Ron Walsh's niece or the fact that she didn't even know John. This was the first time he had ever seen her.

After a few minutes of everyone standing around waiting for the Doctors to come from Mikey's room one did. Ron knew he had to go get Marcie from the chapel. He bent down to Gabby who was now holding Nat's hands and standing and kissed her forehead.

"Stay with aunt Natalie" he told her and came up, looked into Nat's eyes, he kissed her forehead gently as well and walked away. Natalie closed her eyes when she felt him kiss her forehead...she needed that. He always knew when she needed to be comforted, when she needed to be calmed. He always thought about her first. 'He didn't have any baggage, or any damn demons' she told herself. That last part she said to herself as she looked at John who was approaching her and Gabby.

John saw the sign of affection, and in public to boot. It was something he hated, PDA, public displays of affection, although he knew Natalie liked those things. When they were together she would have loved to show that kind of affection towards him in public. If only he hadn't been such an ass when it came to that stuff. If only he wasn't such an ass and an emotional cripple. He heard her speak to him and he came out of his thoughts quickly.

"John have you met your niece Gabby yet?" she asked him and he shook his head 'no'.

"Well then let me introduce you. Gabriel Marie McBain, this is John McBain, your uncle. You can call him Uncle Johnny" Natalie said and she laughed as the girl who was now in her arms took one look at john and made a face. She grabbed onto Natalie's sleeve of her shirt tightly as if afraid.

"There's nothing to be afraid of. I know he looks a bit strange but he's alright, he wont hurt you" Natalie told her, keeping the child as close as she would allow to John so they could get to know each other. The child still wasn't letting go of Natalie and when John decided to try and touch the baby's face with his hand, she started squirming even more.

"Its okay, I promise I'm not going to hurt you," he told her and he saw Gabby look at him more, as if not sure she could trust him or not. John saw the girls' skepticism and he smiled a bit, he reached his hand over towards Natalie's face this time. He touched her face, letting his hand linger on her cheek.

"See you're Aunt Natalie isn't afraid when I touch her cheek" John said when he saw Natalie didn't push his hand away. he saw the look of confusion on her face.

Natalie felt his hand on her cheek, she had seen it coming towards her face, and then she heard his words to Gabby. He was trying to get the baby to trust him by touching her face first. But... but why didn't he remove his hand after a few minutes? He just lingered it there as they stared into each other's eyes for a few minutes till John felt a small hand touch his cheek.

Touching Nat's cheek had shown Gabby that her uncle was all right. She reached over and touched his cheek. John automatically dropped his hand from Nat's face and smiled at Gabby as he heard a small laugh come from Natalie.

"I guess she trusts you now" Natalie told him and he looked at her

"I wish you could trust me again," he said out loud, not really wanting to but not being able to stop it from coming out.

"Wanna hold her?" Natalie said changing the subject quickly. She didn't want him to elaborate on what he had just blurred out. She held Gabby up for him to take but he shook his head no.

"Come on, you've never held a baby before have you?" she asked and he quickly said "Yes I have" he said. She gave him a look that said she knew he was lying.

"Okay I haven't but not now. Here's Marcie I'm gonna go listen to what the Doctors are saying about Michael," he told her. She nodded at first and then spoke as he walked away

"I'll stay here with the kid. Can you just let me know what they say?" she asked as he walked away and he nodded as he smiled briefly

Twenty minutes later Natalie watched the door to Michael's room open and everyone piled out. The two Doctors that were taking care of him, Marcie escorted by Ron, John, and Eve. She watched their faces, it wasn't good. Marcie seem to be a bigger mess than she was earlier and she saw John, he briefly walked near her, looked into her eye's for a moment, and then walked right past her moving towards the door of the hospital with out a word.