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Chapter 2

Natalie walked into the Philly police department she smiled and waved hello to a few officers that she passed in the hall, she saw him in his office and she knocked on his door.

"Hey, can I come in?" she asked softly as he looked up from his desk and into her bright blue eye's. He nodded that it was all right and she entered the room, closing the door behind her.

"I guess you've made you decision" he told her as he saw her close the door

"What? Oh, last night, no, I haven't... I haven't made any decisions well, yeah, I've made a decision but not.. I mean." Natalie said getting disgusted with herself for acting like a schoolgirl, tongue-tied.

"I'm going home for awhile, I'm taking a leave of absence"

"You are?" he asked and she nodded as he got up from his desk and walked near her

"But why? Because of last night? I mean, just cause things are tense between us doesn't mean.. Doesn't mean I want you to go, I.. I need you here, the.. the department needs you here"

"It's not because of last night, and it's not because of you...us... it's me, I've gotta go back, I've tried to ignore it but I.. I.. miss them, my family. Although they haven't really taken the time to be here for me, I still miss them."

"You miss them with the way they treat you? Are you sure this is about your family and not some detective?"

"Jake, this is about me! Only me! No one else, not you, not John, no one else!" Natalie said raising her voice, she didn't want to have this conversation, not now; she wanted and needed for him to understand.

"It's always about you isn't it Nat, never about me" he said bitterly and then started pacing in front of her looking at her coldly.

"I'll put you on leave but I can't guarantee your job will be here when you get back" he told her as he left his office.

Natalie let out a sigh, that didn't go well and she knew it, she also knew he was all talk, after her visit with her family she'd be back and when she came back her job would be here. She was the best, he did say that himself didn't he, she did learn from one of the best, didn't she, she learned from him.

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John walked into the station and pretty much ignored everyone who he walked pasted, he was in a shit mood again and everyone knew it by the look on his face, the look they were getting use to, the look that could kill if it was possible. John walked over to Bo's office and knocked on the door. Bo was on the phone and waved John to come in. John walked in and within a few minutes he was off the phone.

"Hey, just checking in to see how the Jones arraignment went yesterday?" John asked but that wasn't the truth, he knew Bo didn't go to the arraignment he went to Philly to see Nat.

"John, you know I didn't go to the arraignment"

"Oh, yeah, that's right I forgot" John said and he knew Bo didn't by it.

"She looks good, really good, in shape, she finished top of her class, been working with the Philly PD, I met a few of her superiors and a few of her friends, she's really good John, really good" BO told John what he was fishing for, info, info on Natalie.

John's heart sank further into his chest as he heard Bo say she was so good, good at her job and looking good, did that mean she was Happy? He asked himself.

"She's happy then, I'm glad" John told him and he saw Bo make a face.

"What was that for?" John questioned Bo's negative face

"Nothing"

"You don't think she's happy, do you?" John asked Bo, knowing from passed experience what that face he made was.

"I didn't say that John"

"No but that's what you think, isn't it?"

"Yeah, she's miserable and I can tell, but then again, so are you"

"I'm always miserable that's who I am, why isn't she happy? Is she having problems at work? Are there other things not making her happy?"

"Not really sure but... well if I had to guess it's because she misses everyone, the family but she'll never come right out and say it, it doesn't help that they don't have anytime to bother with her. I was the only one that showed yesterday, I'm sure that hurt, and I'm sure there are other things that are bothering her"

"You were the only one that showed?" John asked and BO nodded his head

"Unbelievable" John said walking around the room mad, how could they not be there for her on that day, such an important day, something she worked so hard for. Something that she wanted so badly and that she put her mind to and accomplished. He shook free of the resentment he felt for them.

"What's the other thing?"

"Do you really have to ask John?" Bo asked him and then his intercom rang, he pushed the button to talk to Ann, his assistant

"Commissioner, you have someone waiting for an interview for the forensics position," Ann told him and Bo got a weird look on his face.

'Ann are you all right? You know we finished up those interviews last week"

"Sir, I think you might want to come out and see this one" Ann told him with a slight chuckle to her voice.

John and Bo exchanged looks and then they both walked out to see a crowd of officers huddled around Ann's desk. John grew impatient that his officers were slacking off.

"Hey, this isn't a coffee break" he shouted as the officers cleared a path as they left one by one. When they all moved John had to blink twice to make sure the beautiful site in front of him was real.

"Hey Darling" Bo said as he went over to hug Natalie with a big smile on his face.

"I just saw you yesterday, here for a visit already?"

'Yep, we finished up a big case and thought now was the best time for a visit" she said smiling as he continued to hug her, Natalie looked behind him as he hugged her and saw John standing there in a state of shock. They locked eyes for a few moments till BO pulled Natalie out of the hug.

"See, I knew all that hinting around to how much you've been missed in Llanview would work, and it's true, you've been missed, isn't it John?" Bo told her and then directed his attention to John as he asked the last question.

John stood dumbfounded, he didn't know what to say, she was here, she was home in Llanview, she was standing in front of him, damn! She looked so good, he told himself as he heard Bo put him on the spot and look at him, they both looked at him. He could barely get the words out, but he somehow, softly managed to.

"Yeah, it's... true" John finally said as he watched her become just as uncomfortable as he. Bo's cell phone went off in his pocket and he excused himself for a moment as he went back into his office to take the call.

Natalie walked closer to him, not saying a word, she was waiting for him to open up the conversation, a conversation that wasn't needed, words weren't needed with them, not all the time, although once in awhile it would've been nice to hear a few but that wasn't them. Words never were really there thing, eye contact, that was them, their connection, the way they could just look at each other, stare blue eye's to blue eye's and know what the other was thinking, feeling, well.. Most of the time anyways.

Several Moments passed and John felt as if he could finally form a few more words.

"How long are you back for?" He asked the first thing on his mind, actually the second the first thing on his mind was to grab her, kiss her hard, hold her and never let go again. That he knew wouldn't go over so well at this point and time so he asked the second thing on his mind, the time frame he had, the time he had to not be afraid. To not be afraid she was out somewhere away from him getting hurt or... or well falling in love.. or.. maybe just living, living the way he was living.

"I've got a week, a day here or there, if something important comes up back in Philly I'll have to cut it short" Natalie lied about that last part, it was a precautionary measure, if things weren't going good here with her family, with him, she thought that to herself and she couldn't believe that she did. She had been telling herself she was back cause she missed her family, she even told Jake that before she left but now, now she was thinking he might be the real reason she came back, he might even be the real reason she might stay, his damn Blue eye's and shoulder length hair, Damn Him! She yelled at herself inside, Damn him for looking just as good if not better than he did the day she decided to leave.

They stood silent for a few minutes when Natalie began to smile, John looked behind him and Saw Dr Crosby approaching.

"Natalie!" he exclaimed as he approached her and gave her a hug.

"How the heck are ya? You look great" Crosby smiled from ear to ear as he looked over at John, John got a pissy look and knew he'd be sniffing around him later wanting to discuss what this meant to John, what Natalie coming back to town, even if for a visit meant to John, for John.

"I'm Good, and yourself" Natalie asked him

"Good also, Your Uncle has kept me up to date on you, you've really done it Huh? Put your mind to it and just do it like that, just a little to easy makes it seem like there isn't anything you couldn't do in Life or get in Life"

"Thanks, but I wouldn't go as far as anything I couldn't get in life" she said sort of quiet like as she looked at John briefly