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Chapter 17

Six hours later John woke to an empty room. He was still groggy and had to think for a minute to remember where he was and what had happened. He thought real hard and finally remembered it. Travis Johnson, the hospital killer, had a scalpel to Natalie's throat. Then he had handed over his gun and had been shot.

"Natalie" he said, jumping up straight in his bed in a state of panic and worry as he heard the door of his room open. He held his back a bit but barely felt the pain as he started to try and get out of the bed.

"Whoa... Take it easy bro, you just had major surgery six hours ago" Mikey told him as he helped to push him back into the bed. Michael ditched the wheel chair into the corner of the room and took the seat next to John's bed.

'Weird Huh? Both of us hurt in the same week?" he said joking, trying to lighten the mood.

"Where's Natalie? Is she okay?" he asked still frantic until he knew she was alright.

"Calm down john, she's fine, she wasn't even hurt. Actually she talked the guy into giving himself up," he told his brother and Michael saw the look on John's face. He was confused and upset all in one.

"Can you send her in, I need to see her for myself" he asked Michael wondering why he wasn't here when he woke up.

"I can't do that, John. She's not around"

"What? Wasn't she here? Where is she?" he asked and Michael saw the unwarranted hurt on John's face.

"She left as soon as she knew you'd be alright'

'Well can you call her for me, tell her I'm awake, that I need to see her" he asked Michael somewhat desperately.

"No can do John, she went away for a few weeks" Michael told him and John couldn't believe it. She just left, while he was still in recovery she went on a vacation.

'Is she alone?" was all he asked next and Michael shook his head yes.

"Get out" John told Michael, tensely at first but then apologized.

'I'm sorry, I want t o be alone" John said softer and Michael understood.

John closed his eyes; he felt the pain in his back. His meds had obviously worn off but he didn't ask for more. He wanted to feel it, all the pain, every bit of it, including the pain in his heart.

He had woken up and she wasn't here. He knew it wasn't right for him to have expected her to be here waiting for him to wake up but he had expected it. Not just from his surgery realized. He was expecting her to sit around and wait but till he was ready. He realized he had always expected her to sit around and wait for him, expected her to wait forever. They were apart for almost a year and yet he still expected her to help him, are there for him, He had expected her to heal him almost. 'How unfair and demented was that?' he asked himself. He closed his eye's trying so desperately to think about a time when he was there for her, just waiting for her, showing her how he felt about her.

John opened his eye's quickly, stunned by his realizations. He couldn't think of a time when he had been there for her, at least not like he should have been. He remembered the times he saved her from serial killers but. But that technically was his job… Although he worked more intensely on her cases with her involved he had never been completely, emotionally there for her. When the tornado hit and she could've died on the floor of that church he held her leg till the medics came, he made promises of changing yet he never did.

After that she told him time and time again about what she wanted in life, about having a family. He just ignored it and took her and her dreams for granted. He was so emotionally closed off for such things in life that he didn't even try. So he took her and her dreams for granted, until she just couldn't take it any more. John knew he couldn't blame her when she left him causing him in turn to leave town. He wanted to make things easier on her. He knew leaving town would make her have to move on... it was probably the one unselfish thing he had done for her. Yet... yet he still wanted her. He came back briefly and knew she was the same as him. they couldn't stay away from each other, couldn't ignore the force that pulled them together.

John's thoughts came around full circle as he heard the door open and he saw Bo walk in.

"Hey, how are you? You look good John" Bo told him and John smiled weakly.

"I've been better," he told him

"I guess you probably have, haven't you'

"Yeah, when I had your niece by my side" he told the older gentleman. Bo smiled

"Yeah, I bet" he told him

Natalie had been gone for four days when she had the Buchanan jet fly her into the Vegas airport. She had started her trip. Her vacation of spending a few days on a secluded beach in Florida when she decided she wanted a bit more action to her trip, and she picked Vegas. She had thought about why she picked Vegas, why come to Vegas for a trip that was suppose to clear her head, to find herself. She sighed, 'it kinda all started here didn't it?' she asked herself. She kinda lost herself here. Made some bad mistakes here that started the dominoes of her live to fall. What better place than here to put those dominos back in place. And… and well she loved casino's. She needed to have some fun and this would be the place. Fun capital of the world she thought and she forced herself to smile.

An hour later Natalie found herself being let into her suite by one of the hotel mangers.

"I'm sorry… I requested a room not a suite," she told the nice manger

"Ms. Buchanan, your grandfather stays with us every time he's in Vegas. I would be a fool to put Asa Buchanan's granddaughter in anything but the best" the gentlemen told her and he smiled. She briefly smiled back at him and continued walking thru the suite, it was beautiful, she looked to the table in the bedroom, there were at least four-dozen roses in vases on the oversized table. A range of colors from red to bright pink.

"And the flowers, is that normal procedure for sucking up to a billionaires granddaughter?" she asked laughing and the man laughed too.

"No actually, those were sent here for you' he told her and she looked at him curiously

"Really" she said and she walked closer to them looking for a card.

"No card" she said as she smiled, she was pretty sure they were from her family. Who else would possibly be sending her flowers? It couldn't have been Ron; she ended things for good with him before she got on the plane.

Natalie tipped the man and he left, telling her if she needed anything to just call him direct, day or night.

Natalie started taking her stuff from her suite cases and placing them into the draws of the dresser in the bedroom when she heard a knock on the door of her suite. She shook her head, what was this now? She walked over to the door and asked who it was.

"But I didn't order any room service?" she told the hotel employee as he wheeled in a cart full of food. Natalie pulled the tin cover off the plate of food to see a burger and fries sitting upon it and smiled. Then she noticed the hotel employee take a large box of something and go towards the refrigerator in the kitchen area of the suite, she followed him over.

"Whats going on?" she said confused again.

"I was told to stock your refrigerator with your favorite beer MS. Buchanan"

"Was told by who? I didn't request it" she asked him and he just shrugged his shoulders and went on about his business, the employee excused himself and Natalie was still a bit confused. She shook off her confusion as she sat in the huge suite eating her perfectly cooked burger and fries. She enjoyed every last bit of it. She decided the night was still young and changed her clothes quickly, deciding to take a walk to the casino.

Natalie looked around the casino floor as she walked with a huge grin was on her face. She loved it, she loved casinos. Although she was not a big fan of the actual gambling part because of what it cost her growing up she still nonetheless loved casinos. She loved the action, the smell even. There was a distinct smell to casinos whether smoking areas or non-smoking areas. They had a certain smell to them, she never could figure out what it was.

Natalie continued to walk for a few hours. She never did gamble. When she was so exhausted that she made her way back to her room. She unlocked her door with the key and found a package waiting for her on the table in the living room area of the suite. This is getting really odd, she told herself as she opened it up.

She let out a small laugh as she took the PJ's from the box. They had puppies on them and she couldn't help but smile from ear to ear. She was a bit confused for another moment when she chalked it up to Jessica, it had to be Jess, or…it... could be John… nah… she told herself. It wasn't even possible for it to be John; he was still in the hospital.

Natalie put her puppy jammies on and got under the covers of the king size bed. She rolled herself to the middle and tucked the covers up under her arms as she stared at the ceiling. She sighed not being able to sleep. She tossed and turned for a few minutes she started to get lost in thoughts, in a place she told herself she didn't want to go this trip, this vacation, thoughts of John.