ABC owns them
Chapter 20
John and Natalie hung around the rest of the afternoon talking, catching up on things, just being together and being comfortable with each other, just like all those years ago, just as if time hadn't passed, it was easy for them to pick up where they left off, real easy. Sometime around 2:00 CJ took his nap, John and Nat wasted no time making the most of the quiet time together as they made Love again and lay around in bed till it was time to go to the Palace for Dinner with the family for Kelly and Kevin's Anniversary.
The three of them were just about to walk inside when Nat turned to John who had CJ in his arms.
"Is it alright with you because its sort of my brother and his Wife's night that we don't mention anything, about anything to anyone, you know what I'm saying"
"You mean about me asking you to marry me?" he told her with a smile
"You understand right, I mean if we were to tell someone then everyone would know and then I'd... we'd have to explain stuff and it just might take away from why we are really here tonight, for my brother and his wife."
"I understand, its fine, soon thou, right?" he asked and she nodded her head yes
"Good, but tonight will have to be about me meeting your family" he said as they walked inside and saw the whole bunch of them, Asa was already yelling at the staff cause they gave him the wrong whiskey and Natalie looked at John, he was white as a ghost. She laughed and walked closer to him, she whispered in his ear
"A bit intimidating isn't it?" she said and laughed
"Yeah, just a bit" he told her as they proceeded into the party
Natalie and John walked in and everyone turned to see them, Asa got an even more uptight face on when he looked over to saw a man he obviously didn't know carrying his great grandson. Asa Approached them as everyone else just looked on wondering what the heck was going on.
"There you are girl, thought maybe you and my favorite boy weren't going to make it tonight" Asa said as he abruptly tried to take CJ from John's arms, John wasn't letting go just not yet, an action Asa didn't take kindly to. Asa just smiled at John as his attempt to take CJ from his arms didn't happen.
"Who's the new stud in your stable darling? And kindly ask him to give over my Great Grandson" Asa said facing Natalie now as he looked back towards John, John who wasn't staring down or backing down.
"Grandpa" Natalie said a bit annoyed at his comments
"This is an old Friend, John Mcbain, CJ and John are quite fond of each other," she told him as Rex approached them.
"Don't forget to tell your grandfather who agent Mcbain works for Natty," Rex said and she wanted to punch him. Asa just looked back intently at John when Rex called him Agent, but before Asa could open up his mouth John spoke.
"I work for the FBI, been assigned your grand daughters case, we were friends back in AC, I won't hurt her like the others, I could never hurt her"
"We've heard it all before, all of you snakes in the grass have been here before swearing to one damn thing or another." he said towards John.
"Haven't you had enough Girl, haven't you been thru enough, you let him hold my flesh and blood, your flesh and blood, I want him out, out of here Now" Asa said demanding as Natalie looked into his eye's.
"Trust me, Trust me I know what I'm doing," she told him just as stern back as him demanding, Asa turned to John.
"Lets Talk outside" he said to John as Bo approached the two men not wavering from there stared.
"Now, Pa... Natalie is a big girl, and ... and before you start complaining about John being a Fed, I've spoken to John a few times and he has reassured me that he means no harm to Natalie, as a matter of fact he has come across as very protective of our Nat and CJ, this is Kevin's and Kelly's party, lets not ruin it" Bo told him as he winked at Natalie.
"Bo..." Asa started to say as he cut him off and started to walk him away, Asa turned back to John.
"You do anything remotely wrong son, there won't be enough people in this room to hold me down" John just nodded his head and sighed a sigh of relief.
"So that was your grandfather Huh?" he said and they both chuckled, Natalie started to walk them into the party more and over towards Kevin and Kelly
"Should I expect everyone to be as...as... intense as him?" he said right before they stood in front of Kevin.
"No, he's the worse" she said as she smiled, Natalie introduced John to Kevin and Kelly. Things were going smoothly. They walked away a few feet and over towards Nat's parents who were at a table in the middle of the room.
"Mom, Dad, this is John Mcbain, he works for the FBI, and we were very close in Ac before you guys found me, he... he was my family back then when I had no one else." Natalie said all that a bit nervous like, she just wasn't sure how her parents would take things, well she knew her mom would be alright with it, she was more concerned about her dad, and with the way Asa took the news, she was very nervous at this point.
"It's nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Buchanan" john told them as Natalie took CJ from his arms so he could shake their hands.
"Nice to meet you John but please call me Vicky " Vicky told him as she looked from John to Natalie and then back again. She looked as if she knew something was up, Vicky turned to Clint who was sizing John up and down up close. Clint finally leaned his hand out for John to shake.
"Call me Clint son, lets go for a little walk and discuss some stuff," Clint told him as Natalie gave him a look of annoyance
"Don't worry baby, its just going to be a friendly conversation, nothing more, that's not my style remember?" he said easing her mind and he smiled, Natalie looked over at John and he gave her a reassuring smile as he walked away with Clint for a talk.
Natalie and Vicky spoke for a few minutes about John, Natalie smiled the whole time she spoke of him and what she felt for him was written all over her face. After a few minutes Natalie excused herself to go change CJ in the bathroom.
Clint was just finishing up the friendly fatherly, do not even think of hurting my daughter speech when they returned to the main dinning room and John didn't see Nat anywhere, he quickly canvassed the room with his eye's when he turned without a word to Clint who was still speaking and he started walking towards the bathrooms.
Clint saw John become funny and rudely walk away when he followed behind him.
John came upon the bathrooms as he heard her voice.
"Get out of my way, this is a private party" Natalie told an FBI agent she had, had quite a few run in with over the past eighteen months.
"Sorry Mrs. Vega, but I can't do that, seems I've got some more questions for you, you can answer them now or... or we can take you in to headquarters again, I must say you are looking really quite nice tonight, more beautiful than usual" agent Johnson told her as he put his hand out to touch the shoulder strap of her dress. Natalie went to push his hand with her free hand that wasn't holding her son when she didn't have to.
John heard his arrogant words and saw his hand near her and he flew at the other agent. He pushed him up against the wall and held him there. He heard CJ start to scream with the quick movement in front of him.
"Natalie, take him back inside the party" John told Natalie as he turned for a brief second towards her as he heard the assholes words
"Mcbain, you're getting lucky with her aren't you, I can't believe it, you're screwing Mrs. Vega" Johnson said and John punched him in stomach, he brought his arm back a second time and punched even harder this time.
Clint walked over just in time to see John punching Agent Johnson, someone that he had himself had a few minor altercations with; Clint also heard CJ crying. He went to Natalie.
"Take him inside" he told her
"Don't...Don't let John do anything, please" she told him and he nodded.
John waited for Natalie to walk inside with CJ, then he turned to Agent Johnson
"If you ever come near her again, say a single word to her, breath in her direction, or our son's, I will not think twice about killing you with my bare hands, you got it? Are we understood?" John told him irate, he stared into his Agent Johnson's face and the agent could see the rage and angry in his eye's for him.
"John, John the son of a bitch isn't worth it, let him go" Clint told John but John ignored him. Agent Johnson gave a look of conceding and John slowly let go of the mans collar for which he was holding him up by.
Agent Johnson looked between both John and Clint before heading out the door. John never took his eyes off of Johnson till he was out of sight.
"John, is there something you need to tell me?" Clint turned to John
"What?" he asked a bit off guard
"You said our son when referring to my grandson, I want to know what that is all about?" Clint asked him bluntly and to the point.
"I consider him my son, already, he should have been my son, many years ago and when you daughter marries me I will make him my son legally not just in my heart." John told him back bluntly and to the point. Clint couldn't help but smiled.
"Then if that's true isn't there something you need to ask me, since she is my daughter" he told John not letting up on him nor giving in, in letting him know he liked him.
John got tongue tied for a moment, he knew what he was getting at but he got real nervous all of a sudden, what if he asked him and the man said no, why should he have his approval, was it really that important of a thing, a tradition.
"No offense sir but...I've already asked your daughter and she has agreed to marry me, we love each other, I love her son, I will ask you if that's what you would like but... but if your answer is no... it.. it will not change anything, as long as Natalie still wants to marry me, we will get married." He told Clint and held his breath for a moment, he didn't know him, was he a hot head like his father. Clint just let out a laugh, and patted him on the back, they started to walk back into the party while Clint continued to chuckle.
"You should get along in this family fine, you've got some set of balls"
The rest of the night went smoothly, no one mentioned the altercation between the Fed and John. CJ was almost asleep in Nat's arms when he mother came over to her and John sitting at the table.
"Why don't I take him for a few minutes, the band is playing a real pretty song why don't the two of you dance" she said and Natalie looked at John, she remembered he didn't dance much; he would slow dance once in awhile but not much.
"Yeah, that's a great idea" John said as he helped place CJ in Vicky's arms, then he turned to Natalie who had a surprised look on her face. They walked out onto the dance floor, between a few other couples and they started to dance slowly.
He held her hand and moved her slowly but gracefully to the music, she felt as if she was floating, as he glided her body back and forth, he pulled her body a little closer and she smiled at him, as they never broke eye contact.
Vicky and Clint watched as they moved on the dance floor, the picture of them, the way they fit, they both turned to each other and smiled.
"He wants to marry her you know" Clint said as they continued to watch them
"I can tell, she said they use to be each others family"
"Yeah, before us, before she had us"
"When she had had nothing, when she was a lost soul"
"When they both were," Clint said as he took CJ from Vicky's arms
"Lets take him home with us, let them have a little alone time" Clint said as he put CJ on his shoulder, they started to walk away as they spoke to Jess for a few minutes and told her to tell them that they took CJ home with them for the night. That they would call Nat tomorrow.
