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Chapter 14

"Michael?" John asked looking at his younger brother. It had been years, too many to count and he was all grown up. John smiled weakly as he was a bit in shock. He looked at Natalie who looked straight at him for a moment and then she turned her gaze to Michael.

Natalie was confused for a minute then looking between the two of them she remembered John had a brother Michael. She had seen pictures of him in the house when she lived there. She had just met Michael tonight when she came out with her sister Jess and a few friends. When he introduced himself he never used his last name. Natalie stood with the men for a few minutes and then looked at John.

"Excuse me, I see my uncle over there I need to speak to him" Natalie said and John watched her walk a way before he turned back to his brother.

"What are you doing in Llanview Johnny? Last time I talked to mom you were undercover in Quebec or something," Michael asked. John motioned for them to walk off the dance floor and over to a table so they could catch up.

"I'm on a case," John said as they walked to a table a few away from Natalie and Bo. John glanced at Natalie who caught his gaze and Michael noticed it.

"What's going on? Do you and Natalie Buchanan know each other, Oh wait...I know I why you are here, you're questioning her, bothering her for the FBI right? I really wish you people would leave her alone already," Michael told him a bit agitated

"Michael can't talk about the case besides there's more to it then that. I wanna know how you've been and how long have you been in Llanview"

"Almost a year, long enough to see first hand what you Assholes keep trying to do, I've gotta tell you Johnny this is a small town and the Buchanan's contribute generously to everything in this community, the hospital, the community center, and... and well if you haven't noticed already the folk around here don't take kindly to what the Feds have put Nat thru." Michael told him and John let out a sigh.

"Michael I'm only going to say this once and then I want to talk about something else, I'm not here to do any harm to Natalie, none. We actually knew each other a long time ago so now lets talk about you and then you can tell me all the awful things the feds have been up to. Cause for some reason they are keeping it from me," John told Michael and then they spoke about how he was a Doctor here at the hospital, an intern for the past year, also told John how he's really only officially been introduced to Natalie tonight, he's known of her, everyone knew of her, she was known for all the hours she puts in volunteering at the community center and she's in charge of organizing the Christmas party for the sick kids at the hospital.

Michael then got to the subject of the Feds; he shook his head and looked across at her and Bo.

"She's amazing, I mean, I was there when she was delivering her baby. The fucking jerks barged in the room as she was about to push her son out. It was suppose to be a joyous occasion that was already dampened cause her husband was dead and they barged right in, like assholes. The doctors had a huge fight with them just as she was trying to push CJ out, I mean what jerks, and then they barely let her have five minutes with her son before they started in on her, as if they thought she would tell them something to either get them to go away. Or that maybe all the pain she went thru would make her say something. She was amazing, she just ignored them as she pushed Christopher John out, she didn't let them ruin it for her. Or at least she didn't want anyone to see that they ruined it for her; she's tough, and damn stubborn. But with the look that was on your face when you came over to us, I can tell you already know that."

Michael said a few things that really bothered John; first he said the rat bastards barged in when she was having her baby, which was horrible. He could just imagine her alone having a baby of a dead man who betrayed her, and then to be treated like that. Questioned and harassed at such an important moment in her life, he shook his head as he heard Michael excuse himself for a minute when his pager went off. John nodded to him and thought about what else Michael had said that bothered him well not really bothered puzzled him. Her son's name, she called him CJ, but Michael said his name to be Christopher John. He had just assumed all this time that her son's name was Christian Jr, that was where she got CJ, but.. but.. why the name Christopher John. Could it be possible she named CJ's middle name after him, and why? He shook his head, 'that was ridiculous' he thought but then he remembered Bo's weird comment this afternoon, no! He told himself it isn't possible as he saw Michael walk back to the table.

Natalie sat with Bo, they were silent and her Uncle knew if she was silent for this long that something was definitely bothering her, more than bothering.

"You want to talk about it?" he asked her softly after a few more minutes of silence occurred

"Nothing to talk about" she said looking towards John and Michael's table to John sitting there.

"Honey" Bo told her softly and she understood he knew something was up.

"I knew him, okay? Along time ago, we were friends. He helped me out a lot, I did something stupid to make him leave and get on with his life, that's all" she told him quickly a bit nervously. She knew out of everyone her Uncle Bo and her sister Jessica were the only ones that could tell she was lying or covering up something. Bo just gave her a look telling her he didn't believe her and knew there was more.

Natalie sighed at his look, she took a deep breath and then decided to tell him, cause she knew if she didn't he'd nag her till she did.

"Okay here goes and don't stop me cause you know how hard this is for me and once I stop I will not open up again, deal?" she said smiling at him, he smiled back telling her it was a deal and she started to touch on the key parts of things.

"I was eighteen, he was older, we became friends.."

"It looks to me like more than friends" he butted in

"Hey, we had a deal, no interrupting remember?" she told him smirking as he motioned for her to continue

"We got along great, my living arrangements with Roxy wasn't the best and I couldn't afford school, and a place of my own so...so he offered for me to stay at his house, I did, and it was... it was.." she tried to find the right words, a huge smile forming on her face as she remembered how wonderful it had been.

"It was nice, I guess" Bo said seeing her beautiful wide smile as she tried to describe it.

"Yeah, nice, that's what it was, so things were going smoothly, he was great to me, you know. I've told you about all I went thru back then, he was good to me, better than anyone had ever been to me. So... so he was always talking about these dreams of his, I mean I didn't believe in dreams till I came here. You know, what good would it have done for me to dream, like anything I dreamed about would have happened, but never mind. So his dreams were of being an agent for the FBI. He wanted to make his dad proud, his dad had been murdered years ago when he was younger, so that was his biggest dream. Then there was another, a few, but they were similar, he wanted someone to grow old with, to have a family, someone to love." Natalie said and she paused as she got a bit emotional for a minute, she looked over at him again and she gained some sort of strength.

"So.. Things were going smoothly, we were getting even closer, he had feelings for me and I knew it, he didn't try to hide them, and I... I well I"

"You had them too," Bo said and she gave him a look for the interruption

"Sorry go ahead," Bo told her

"Yes, I had them to although we never acted on them, it was hard living in the same house spending so much time together but we never did, I mean I was eighteen uncle Bo, he was twenty-seven, he was ready to settle down and all I wanted was to get the hell out of AC and have a better life. One night we almost gave into it but I stopped cause it wouldn't have been fair to him, after that things were a bit different and tense when one day his partner came to my job to tell me, tell me he got accepted to the program at Quantico, and that he declined it, just turned it down, and that the reason was most likely cause of me and how he felt about me, so..." Natalie said taking a breath of fresh air

"So I did something to hurt him and that I knew would have him packing, I slept with someone in his house when I knew he'd be coming home, actually I set it up to look like I slept with someone, the guy he was an old friend that we use to work together hustling people out of money, but I know you don't want to here that " she said and she laughed to break the tension that she felt building up inside of her. He smiled at her.

'And that is it, that was it, he was hurt, I conned him and hurt him, he left the next day in search of being a Fed and I went back to being alone."

"That was till we found you," he said as he reached over and touched her cheek, he gave her a fatherly smile and she smiled back although her eyes were teary.

"Yeah, that's when my family found me"