A/N I do not own these characters. If I did I would be fabulously wealthy and wouldn't need to post my fan fiction here. I would be writing for the show and dining regularly with Michael Easton (snicker perks of the job. LOL) and I wouldn't let that hack Higley near them.

Chapter 5

The short drive to the motel was tense and laced with hostility. Every time Natalie moved her arm it brushed against his causing heat to singe her flesh. She didn't want to feel anything for him, she wanted to be unmoved by his presence, unaffected by him in any way. But clearly that wasn't going to happen so her only choice was to ignore it.

John shot a look over to Natalie and smiled to himself a bit. She was trying so hard to ignore him and he could tell by the tense set of her shoulders that she was having a hard time doing that. His arm tingled where she brushed it and he cursed the impulse that made him cuff them together.

Pulling into the parking lot after the short drive John got out and Natalie followed. John got a chill down his spine, something was wrong he could feel it. Approaching the door he used his free hand to take out his gun and pushed Natalie behind him. Give me the key," he told her and Natalie handed him the key.

Opening the door carefully John carefully moved forward keeping Natalie behind him. Suddenly someone kicked his gun from his hand and he heard Natalie scream. Quickly deflecting a blow from his assailant he tripped the other man and kicked him in the head, knocking him out. Feeling his arm being pulled his spun around to see Natalie struggling with another attacker. He was trying to drag her from the room and if she hadn't been cuffed to John she would have been.

Natalie screamed again as the man tried to drag her from the room. Suddenly she saw the glint from a knife and she struggled violently, trying to get away. John jumped in front of her and began to fight with the attacker. Every time he blocked her arm was jerked up and then suddenly John let out a grunt and then knocked the attacker down with a quick uppercut to his jaw.

Natalie flew into his arms sobbing and he wrapped his arms around her and offered comfort. Frightened now more then she had ever been before, she was in deep trouble and it finally was starting to hit her. After a minute she remembered where they were and who was holding her. Drawing away quickly she heard him suck in a sharp breath.

"What's the matter?" Natalie asked concerned in spite of herself. John had just saved her life so he deserved a little compassion. She still couldn't believe he had done it. Just jumped in front of her and fought off that guy. He could have let the bastard kill her. Probably would have been easier for him but he hadn't.

"Nothing," John said, touching his side gingerly. Wincing as his fingers came into contact with his wound. Pulling his hand back he wasn't surprised to see there was blood on them. He knew the creep had got him with the knife. It was then that he remembered the two men on the floor. Holding Natalie in his arms had momentarily blocked out all other thought.

Looking around on the floor he noticed that while he had been comforting Natalie they had quietly sneaked out. Cursing under his breath he stomped to the door, dragging Natalie with him, and looked around. Wondering why they would sneak out instead of attacking them again he searched the parking lot for anything amiss. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary he turned around and ran a hand through his hair.

"Where did they go?" Natalie asked. She was scared, she knew those men would be reporting back to their boss and then she would be in even more danger. Right now it looked like maybe she needed John McBain. He had saved her today; he had been the only thing between her and death TWICE today. But he wanted to arrest her! If she were put in jail they would kill her for sure.

"I don't know," John said absently then finally looked at her. He noticed she was shaking and pasty white. On an impulse he took his free hand and cupped her cheek with it. "Its gonna be ok." He told her.

Natalie leaned her face into his hand for a minute, closing her eyes. Despite the anger and miss-trust she felt towards him his touch was comforting. It was as if he knew exactly what she needed and knew exactly the way to give it to her. She moves her arm restlessly and was jolted back to reality by the iron cuff that chained her to him. Deciding to take a chance she softly said, "I'm not gonna run, will you take these cuffs off? Please?"

John removed his hand from her cheek as he considered her request. Looking her in the eyes he could see her fear, her sincerity. Sighing and resolving to watch her carefully he relented. "Ok. But if you try to escape they go back on," John told her. Taking the key from his pocket he unlocked the cuffs. Seeing her rub her wrist he felt a little bad for putting them on her in the first place but he knew that she would have before those guys attacked them she would have taken off the minute she thought she could get away. He still wasn't sure if she would try but he would keep an eagle eye on her until her knew one way or the other.

After calling in to the office John learned that there was a contract out on Natalie's life. The department wanted him to keep her hidden and keep her safe until she told them what actually happened. John knew if she were put in jail today that she would be dead by dinner. The thought cause a strange ache in the pit of his stomach. He couldn't imagine Natalie not being in the world. She was so vital, so alive, and the thought of her dead actually caused him to feel sick.

"So now what?" Natalie muttered to him after he finished his call. She had eavesdropped enough to know that she wasn't going to jail right now and to know that she was in danger and John was supposed to keep her safe. "What do we do now?" she said a bit more loudly when John didn't answer.

John was thinking about how difficult this assignment was going to be. It wasn't even the danger part he was worried about, it was himself, his reaction to Natalie wasn't something he had much control over. Just being near her made his pulse race and his body tingle. The thought of being in such close quarters and with her day after day made him a little short of breath.

"John?" Natalie questioned when he didn't answer. "You ok?"

"Wha...? Oh yeah, I'm fine." John said finally, coming out of his thoughts. He looked over at her and she seemed a lot more with it then before. She seemed stronger, like she had pulled herself together and was prepared to take on the world. He admired her strength, her wits and her resourcefulness. Shifting he felt a shaft of pain through his side and remembered he had been cut during the fight. He walked into the bathroom and pulled up his shirt to look at it. It wasn't bleeding anymore but he needed to clean it up.

Natalie followed him into the bathroom and watched as he lifted his shirt. She gasped when she saw the wound. He had been hurt protecting her! An unnamed emotion filled her and she pushed it back. Squaring her shoulders she advanced into the bathroom and said softly, "Here let me help you." Taking a washcloth she ran some water and began to wash his wound before he even got a word out.

As Natalie tended his wound John felt a wave of tenderness sweep through him and he literally caught his breath as her fingers brushed his side. Forgetting about the pain he began to wonder what it would feel like to have her run her nimble fingers over the rest of him. As he imagined her hands running over his chest and across his stomach he breathing hitched then sped up. Imagining her hands going even further had him squirming and suddenly short of breath.

Natalie, thinking she was causing him pain, said, "I'm sorry. Am I hurting you? I'll try to be more gentle. I'm almost finished."

John flushed a bit at the direction his thoughts had turned and turned his head away so she wouldn't see his face. Trying to get his body to calm down he began to think about the case. There was so much that didn't add up, why would Natalie kill an accountant and then be hunted by the drug cartel. She was after all good friends with the leader of organized crime in Atlantic City. Who would want Natalie dead so badly that they would risk his wrath by trying to take her out?

"There. All done." Natalie said after bandaging him up and rinsing out the washcloth. "So what now?" she asked.

John put his shirt back on and said, "Now we leave. We got to get out of here before they come back." Helping her get her stuff together they loaded it into his car and left the motel.

To be continued...