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Chapter 8

Llanview 5yrs later

John Mcbain walked up to the small cottage type house, it was cute he thought, real cute, very homie looking, there was even a swing on the front porch, he was sent on assignment here, here to investigate a murder that happened a year and a half ago, a case that should have been assigned to someone with a lot less experience than he but.. but, well he just couldn't keep his mouth shut right, with the way his last case was going, he ruffled some feathers so to speak and this is where he ended up, on a stupid fishing experiment to find out information on a old FBI sting that went wrong.

He had left the FBI headquarters in Vegas so fast, they wanted him gone like yesterday when they hadn't even given him the file, he knew nothing more than a name and an address, he would have to fake it, fudge it, so to speak, get the info he needed, maybe tail the person they wanted him to and then he would be done, do it with a smile so to speak and then be back in good graces with the bureau, show them he could be a team player and take orders. He walked up to the front door and knocked on the door.

There was a Knock on the door, Natalie was just walking from the Kitchen with CJ when she turned and placed him in the pack and play as she headed for the front door to answer it.

"Hello can I help you?" she said as she looked up to see his face.

John saw her the minute she opened the door, he had to blink several times to make sure she was real, then she spoke and he shivered at knowing she was real, it was Natalie, his Natalie, the girl he knew all those years ago, the girl that he loved many moons ago, the girl no one ever compared to, the now… now older, no longer girl but grown woman.

"John?" she questioned lightly as she looked into his eye's for an answer, it was him, it was really him, her friend from all those years ago, and he was standing in front of her. The man she remembered loving all those years ago. They searched each others eye's for a few minutes and then he smiled.

"Natalie, you...you look great" he told her as she blushed a bit, she stepped aside and let him come into the house. They continued to just stare at each other for a few more minutes, smiling and observing all the changes that occurred in five years.

"Your hair... it's so long," she said as she touched the back of it briefly

"But other than that, I don't see any changes" she told him as her hand dropped to her waist

"What are you doing in Llanview?" she asked as curiosity was beginning to set in, what was he doing here, had he been looking for her, did he know she lived here? She wasn't sure cause he looked just as shocked as she when she answered the door.

" I'm... I'm actually looking for Mrs. Vega? I need to speak to her about her husbands death in Vegas" he said not even thinking, thinking she could be this Mrs. Vega, he saw her walk away briefly and turn, then after a few seconds he realized it, it was her.

"You are Mrs. Vega aren't you?" he asked and she nodded her head not turning around to face him. He didn't know what to do, he was there for work but all those feeling from when they were close all those years ago came back, all that he felt for her but never acted on, all that he remembered, all that he loved. He without words went towards her; he looked into her blue eyes that he had missed for so long as she gathered enough energy and strength to answer him.

"That would be me," she said with a tear in her eye, he moved even closer this time as he turned her and pulled her into his arms and held her. He closed his eye's briefly as he placed a soft kiss on the top of her head, as he looked up behind her to see a baby boy standing in a play pen type thing watching them, he smiled at the little boy for a second and then the baby screamed to obviously get there attention. To get his mothers attention, to get Natalie's attention.

Natalie heard her son scream and she pulled herself out of John's arms, she moved closer to CJ in the pack an play, he quieted insistently as soon as she was out of John's arms. John saw her over touching her son, or whom he had assumed was her son, she touched the top of his head and smiled at him. John moved closer to the two of them.

"He's adorable Nat, how old is he, what's his name?" John asked as he saw her regain herself. She turned to him, to John, to an old friend, and old friend who she knew must still be in the FBI.

"CJ, he's ten months old, I see you made it thru training in Quantico alive Huh?" she asked him as she faced him, he gave her a weak smile and then he walked away from her a few feet. She picked up her son and walked closer to him.

"Can I get you something agent Mcbain, water, coffee, tea?" she asked him but her smile was gone. He gave her the cold shoulder; he was still bitter, still bitter about what happened all those years ago. Natalie saw from behind that John shook his head No, she turned away from him and put her son down in the exer-saucer a few feet away. She stood by her son still as she saw him finally able to turn and talk to her. She saw his teary eyes and she spoke again.

"All these years and you are still bitter about what happened aren't you?" Natalie asked him as she looked straight into his eye's, they studied each others for a few minutes as they were both seeing it again, flashbacking to it again the only thing was, was that Natalie's flashback held the truth, the truth of what made her do what he saw, do what he was so bitter about.

Flashback

"What do you mean he was excepted to Quantico? Kenny, he didn't tell me, tell me anything about it"

"That's cause he turned it down"

"What? No, there's no way he turned it down, he's been dreaming of being in the FBI since he was a kid, that's what he told me, why, what could possibly have made him turn something like that down?"

"I think you know, maybe cause it wasn't as important a dream as another, I know you know what I'm talking about"

"Can he still go, I mean if he changes his mind, can this be fixed for him"?

"I might be able to do something but... but he will have to change his mind in the next day or two, I'll make a few calls"

Present

"I'm not still bitter Nat, It was a long time ago, I mean... okay, I was surprised to see you here and yeah, I still feel a little bad about what happened, I mean, we both meant something to the other, and I understand we were sort of suppose to be good friends but... but it hurt, and you knew it hurt, it was almost like you did it on purpose, like you wanted me to find you in bed with that guy. Why? Why would you do that to me in my own house?" he asked her and she took a step back, away from him.

"I have no explanation, we were suppose to just be friends, nothing more ever, and... And well I did what had to be done, but look" she said after getting herself out of a messy state she was putting herself into.

"Look at how good things turned out for you, you did it right? I mean, show me your official FBI badge, you made your dream come true, your dad he would be so proud of you" she told him and he smiled weakly

"Yeah it all worked out, for you too, it seems you got out of Atlantic city like you dreamed, I mean how you planned" john told her with a bit of sarcasm to his voice

"You can say dreamed, I dream now, not just set goals but dream," she told him softly as she watched his eyes closely

"Well see that's good than too" John told her and she smiled, Chris started to whine a little and Natalie looked at he clock

'Will you excuse me for a minute I have to get him a bottle" she told him and walked into the kitchen for a moment

John watched her walk away; he followed her all the way into the kitchen with his eyes. Then he heard the baby start to whine louder, he leaned down and the boy put his arms out for john to pick him up, John smiled, he reached in and picked him up gently, he heard the front door open and looked up to see a man standing there.

"Hey, who the hell are you? Put the baby down" Rex told John as he saw an unfamiliar man holding his nephew

"He.. he was crying so I picked him up" John told this punk who seemed to be confused by John.

"Give him to me and what have you done to Natty?" he told John as John handed Chris over to Rex carefully

"I wasn't going to hurt him, I'm an FBI agent, I'm also an old friend of the baby's mother"

"Yeah, right, like Natty has ever had a friend in the FBI, and with all the shit you guys have put her thru this last 18 mths, I doubt you were invited in." Rex told him as he took Chris and walked a few feet away as Nat came out of the kitchen with the baby's bottle, Natalie didn't say a word but saw the looks going on between Rex and John and knew something was up.

"What's going on?" she asked as she continued to look between them

"That guy, this FBI guy was holding your son when I walked in, he... he says you guys are old Friends" Rex told her as she took a breath and sighed

"It's True Rex, this is John Mcbain, he use to be a AC cop when we were friends"

"He's John Mcbain, the one you told me about" Rex asked sizing John up, Natalie shook her head.

"What's he doing here? I Mean hasn't it been like years?"

"He's here about Chris' murder, and its been a long time, and... and well I've gotta go, its late, I'm going to be late for my appointment" she told Rex as she handed him the bottle, John just stood observing things as she grabbed her stuff and then finally turned to him.

"Agent Mcbain, I have already answered all the Bureau's questions at least a dozen times, if there are any new questions I would be more than happy to answer them in the presence of my lawyer, here's my card, my numbers are on it" she told him cold as she reached into her purse and pulled out a Buchanan Enterprise Business card, that she handed to him.

Natalie walked towards Rex and her son, she kissed CJ goodbye, she smiled at Rex and then proceeded towards the door, as she knew John would follow.

"Why?" was all John said to her as they both walked out the front door together?

"Why What?"

"Why are you being so cold all of a sudden, are you bitter for a reason?" he asked her

" I... I have my reasons and lets leave it at that "she told him and she got teary for a minute, it confused him, she without words started to walk away from him

"Hey" he told her as he grabbed her wrist before she got to far, she looked down at her wrist and his hand on it first and then up to meet his eyes

"Its me, don't forget that okay, me, your friend, the one who you felt you could tell everything, it may have been years but...but I am pretty much the same person I was then just older, just wiser" he told her and she looked into his eyes deeper

"I really... I really want to talk to you and not just as an agent, I mean, I want to see how life has been for you these five years, I want us to catch up, we were important to each other once, weren't we?" he asked her and she teared up more

"I have to go, can I have my wrist back please," she asked him softly

John slowly let go of her wrist and watched her eyes till he watched her turn and walk towards her car and drive off. He looked into the front window of the house to see the man from earlier watching him, they glared into each other's eyes and john slowly left her house