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Chapter 23
John placed the Ring all the way on Natalie's finger and then they smiled at each other, they walked over towards the back of the roof by the now cold pizza, they were comfortable for a few minutes as they both stood in silence, both thinking.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" she asked him and he smiled
"Well if you're thinking we should just go get our son and go home for a new quiet night, then we'd be thinking the same thing" he told her as her smile got bright, they gathered up there stuff and left the roof to go get CJ from Llanfair.
"Hey, is he still up?" Natalie asked as she and John walked into the foyer.
"Yep, but not for long he's in the library trying to get comfortable to fall asleep" Vicky told her, she saw her beaming face, she looked to John.
"Nice to see you again John, Natalie is there something you want to tell me?" she asked Natalie as it looked like Natalie was going to bust a seam if she didn't. Nat looked at John who motioned for her that it was alright.
"I'm gonna go get CJ ready to go" John told her as he walked out of the foyer leaving her alone with her mom.
"So Baby, what's got you beaming?" she asked and Natalie held up her hand with her ring on it. Vicky took her hand and looked at it. She smiled.
"I figured this might be coming" Vicky told her and Nat looked confused
"What?"
"Well your dad mentioned something to the fact but I didn't need him to tell me, I can tell the way the man looks at you honey, you are everything to him, you and your son, who seems to adore him as well, I don't think I've ever seen CJ take to a man so quickly, he still doesn't like his uncle Nash or Kevin for that matter." Vicky told Nat as they looked into the library doors and saw John holding CJ up and putting on his jacket. John looked up to see them staring at him and he got a bit embarrassed for a moment when he heard Clint come from one of the other room.
"So you're taking my Grandson and my daughter home are you?"
"Yes, sir, I am sir" John answered him and he wasn't quite sure why he answered like Clint was his drill Sergeant or something but he was a bit nervous again.
"At ease John, we're going to be family and I'm not the one to be nervous about, its my Pa, he's a bundle of hot air and Natalie is very dear to him" Clint told him and then he looked to see Natalie and Vicky walk in with smiles on their faces.
"Its good to see you darling and may I ask why the bright smiles or should I take a guess " he told her as he kissed her cheek. He looked to John briefly and then back at his daughter. No one said anything and Clint spoke again.
"So have the two of you decided when you will get married" he asked and although he didn't think it was at all possible he saw his daughters smile widen even more. John smiled too as he looked at Natalie's face.
"We haven't decided yet, actually haven't even spoke about it yet, but I... I don't want to wait to long" Natalie told her dad and now it was John's turn to smile wide, she watched his smile and she turned to her parents.
"CJ is exhausted, I'll talk to both of you tomorrow" she said as they started to exit the library thru the french doors. Everyone followed them out and at the door they all stopped and kissed good night.
"Good night Baby, we're happy for you, and If and when you decide what you are going to do let us know, we'd love for you to have it here at Llanfair if you'd like" Vicky told them and they left.
Twenty minutes later Natalie and John walked into Natalie's house, her cottage, the cottage she always loved but not of late, not since things had gone so wrong in this house for her since Christians death. John had taken CJ up stairs and put the sleeping child in his crib as Natalie just stared at the house in front of her, John came down the stairs and watched as it seemed several emotions went passing thru her face.
"What's wrong?" he asked as she turned teary and faced him.
"Nothing really, nothing actually just...just this place, not sure its the place for me anymore, for me and CJ"
"For us you mean" John told her and she smiled
"Yeah, a lot of bad memories and maybe with us getting married and everything, I mean, this place will always remind me of a few not so pleasant things, the Feds, Chris and his involvement with them and with Flynn Lawrence." he walked closer to her as she walked near the fireplace, she was looking at her picture that hung above it.
"What ever you want Natalie, I wouldn't mind having a place that's all ours, somewhere fresh for new memories" he told her and she turned and smiled at him.
'We need to discuss a few things also, maybe now is a good time" he told her and she got a confused look on her face
"Like what John"
"Like as of right now I am unemployed, I quit the bureau today"
"You did huh?" she asked softly as she came a bit closer to him
"Are you okay? I know it must have been hard," she told him as she caressed his face with her hand
"I'm fine, better than fine and it was actually easy, but you know what...I'll get a job in town doing anything, we are all that matters the three of us, and maybe after we get settled a bit, maybe then they'll be more of us" he saw he look away for a minute
"What is it, did I say something wrong, do you not want more children?" he asked her as she sat on the couch, she grabbed a pillow
'No, I want more children its just weird that's all, It's just amazing how I had ever ended up with someone like Christian Vega, that's all, he and you, total opposites"
"Maybe that's why you were with him? Because he was the furthest thing from me," he told her and she smiled
'That could be it" she said staring into his baby blue eye's.
"Nat...you never did tell about why you never told Chris about being pregnant, about being afraid to tell him, why? What was that all about?" he asked her lightly, he didn't want this wonderful night to be about her and that Asshole but they needed to get things out.
"Its nothing much, its just, its just...when I found out I was pregnant with CJ and I was so excited, I mean... Chris had been acting Differently all of a sudden but he always seem to want kids, I planned this whole big dinner, it was a few days before the wedding, he was in a fowl mood that night really strange. I danced around the subject of kids and he got mad almost nasty to me insisting he didn't want them anymore, still not sure what that was all about but I was upset by it, so I kept being pregnant to myself, I just married him anyways being naive, thinking he'd change back into the guy I once cared about once we were married, but I should have known, I shouldn't have let myself be conned like that, I should have been smarter about the whole thing, I was stupid." she told him and she walked away towards the window and looked outside.
"Natalie, you weren't stupid," he told her as he brought his arms around her from behind and held on to her.
After a few minutes of silence she turned in his arms.
"You know what? That's not important, we're what's important, You, I and CJ, I don't want to think about Christian anymore and I definitely don't want to think about all the troubles I've been having caused by him and him getting involved with Flynn and the Feds" she told him as she smiled at him
"Nat, before we get off the subject can I just asked you something, something about if Chris could have stashed the info the Feds are looking for somewhere in the house, anywhere, maybe you can think of anything, anywhere"
"John, you know I don't know where he put anything, do you think? Do you think I would be putting myself thru all this shit with them trashing my house and ruining every happy occasion for me if I knew where the damn information was?" she told him a bit testy, she pulled away from him for a minute and was about to walk away when he grabbed her back by her arm
"No, No Natalie, I won't let you revert and retreat, I only asked cause there could be something that we missed"
"John, they've been searching my house for the past year and a half, don't you think if it was here they would have found it," she told him and he nodded yes. She softened a bit and she went back into his arms
He held her for a few minutes and then she pulled out of his arms for a minute to look into his blue eyes.
"I'm sorry... Its a beautiful night out wanna sit on the porch and look at the stars?" she asked him and he smiled.
"Yeah, I'd love to... as long as we can discuss our wedding" he told her and she smiled.
John and Natalie sat on the swing most of the night; they planned out a small intimate wedding at Llanfair, for in two weeks. John had smiled when she was the one who suggested getting married so fast, he was happy that she was as excited and anxious as he was. They also planned on putting her cottage up for sale; they need a new place, their own place.
The next few weeks had gone by fast, they were uneventful and for that Natalie was Thankful, tomorrow they would be married, Natalie was standing downstairs as CJ napped boxing up her stuff, the cottage was in contract to be sold but they hadn't found anything they both loved yet, so the three of them would be moving into the carriage house at Llanfair in the meantime.
Natalie had just packed up the pictures on her mantle when she came to her picture hanging above the mantel, the picture Chris had painted of her, the one she use to love so much, she took her head wiping away all those unpleasant memories as she threw the picture in a box.
Natalie looked up towards the door when she heard him come in, he had gone to the airport to pick up his mother, this would be the first time she and Natalie would ever meet, Natalie was a bit nervous about it but this was the woman who helped him to be who he was today, the man that she loved. Natalie smiled as she looked his way, he smiled back and they all moved closer t o the middle of the room.
"Mom this is Natalie, Natalie this is my Mom" John said introducing them as Natalie went in with her hand but the woman grabbed her instead and hugged her.
"Its so very nice to meet you Natalie" Eve said softly as she hugged Natalie for a few more minutes.
"Nice to finally meet you to, John talks about you all the time" She told Eve and Eve grinned at her after she pulled away from her.
"Nice place, are you packing or unpacking?" Eve asked as she walked around the cottage for a few minutes.
"Thanks, I'm packing" Natalie told her and John stepped in.
"We're looking for a place that's all ours, this place didn't fit anymore," he told her and she smiled at him. Eve smiled back at John and Natalie for a few minutes and they heard CJ cry out thru the intercom in the living room.
"Excuse me for a minute I need to get him" Natalie said about to head upstairs for CJ. John stopped her
"No, I'll go, why don't you and my mom talk a bit" he told her and she smiled, he leaned in to her and kissed her quickly on the lips and ran up the stairs to get CJ.
"CJ, that's your son right? John told me about him, actually John has told me a lot about you, about before, all those years ago when you use to stay at my house with him" Eve said as they sat on the couch
"I see" Natalie said as they sat, she knew what Eve wanted to know and there was no beating around the bush, that wasn't Natalie's style.
"I'm gonna put it out there for you Okay, and then you can make your own decision on whether you think I'm good enough for your son but either way, I will be marrying him tomorrow, even if you don't like me much or my son for that matter, I love him too much to be away from him. I lost him once, once when I was younger and it wasn't our time, I did a stupid thing to push him away so he could have what he wanted most in life, or what I thought he wanted most in life and I'm sorry for that but... but if you asked me if I would do it again, do something like that, to give him what he wants most in this life then I couldn't lie to you, I would have to tell you that I would, I would do anything for your son, anything to give him his dreams." Natalie told Eve and she waited for the woman to change expressions.
John came down the stairs to complete silence, he had CJ in his arms and he walked closer to them as he wasn't sure how this was going, he was a bit nervous for a minute when he heard his mother speak.
"Let me see that Angel Johnny" Eve said as she got up off the couch and took CJ from johns arms.
"So this is my soon to be Grandson Huh?" she said and she smiled at Natalie.
"What does CJ stand for?" she asked and John was about to answer when John did.
"Christopher John" she said and Eve smiled
"Nice name, handsome name, do you mind me asking why? What you named him after or who? " She asked, Natalie smirked she was as direct a person as she was.
"Christopher because I love the name and although his biological father wasn't a great guy I still cared for him once upon a time, so I figured I'd leave my options open of ever wanting to refer to him by that name" she said and John looked, she had never explained that to him, he had never asked.
"And the middle name" eve asked being persistent.
"After you son, because he never left my heart and I had envisioned having a child with him so many times when we were younger" she told them and John teared a bit, his mom noticed it, she smiled at the raw honesty of the girl who would be her sons wife, mother to his children, that would give him everything she had. Eve looked between the two and noticed that this must have been new news to John.
"I think he may need to be changed, do you mind if I do it?" Eve asked wanting to give them a few minutes alone. Natalie nodded and she told him what door upstairs was his room.
As soon as Eve was upstairs with CJ John closed the gap between them, he brought his hands to her waist and pulled her close as he looked into her eyes.
"I can't believe you never told me that, I can't believe how lucky I am," he told her and he went in for a kiss
"No, I'm the lucky one" she told him as his lips came up son hers
