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 9

Natalie rushed into the hospital and ran to the front desk. "Rex Balsom! Where is he, is he ok?" She asked frantically. All the way here she kept imagining that he died before she could get there. She was so frantic with worry she didn't even notice that there was someone watching her with unconcealed interest. Pacing back and forth in agitation she waited impatiently for information.

"I'm sorry Miss. I can't tell you anything. Its against our policy to release information to non-family members." The receptionist told her.

Natalie wanted to tear the other woman's head off, "I am family, you moron. Rex Balsom is my brother. My name it Natalie Balsom!" Showing the woman her drivers license she again demanded, "Where is he? I need to see him!"

John stood close by but didn't interfere. He knew that when Natalie wanted something it took an act of god to dissuade her of it. And besides which he wanted to know how Rex was doing himself. He had shown great love for his sister that day John had stopped by his and Natalie's apartment. He was about to identify himself to speed up the process when he heard a voice he hadn't heard in years.

"Hey! Is that you Johnny? What are you doing here?" Michael questioned in a booming voice. He hadn't seen his brother in several years so it was quite a shock to see him here. "Are you looking for me?" He asked knowing that their mother would have told John that he was working here. Before John could answer Michael noticed a gorgeous redhead standing at the desk demanding to see a patient. "What's going on here?" he asked.

John answered for everyone. "Natalie and I are here to see Rex Balsom. What room is he in?" He knew Michael was brimming with questions but before he even wanted to attempt to answer them he needed to make sure Natalie got to see her brother. They were taking a big risk by coming here and he wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible. He also wanted to make sure Rex got protection in case whoever had beat him up came back to finish the job.

"You and Natalie?" Michael asked astonished. This was the first time since Caitlin that John had spoken of a woman in that tone of voice. He didn't know if John was even aware of it yet but it was obvious that he had very strong feelings for this Natalie. 'Not that John would admit it to himself anyway' Michael thought to himself.

Sick of everyone treating her like she wasn't there Natalie stepped up and said, "Yes Natalie. That's me. Natalie Balsom. As in Rex Balsom's sister. I'm here to see my brother and I don't care what you say I WILL see him." Looking Michael straight in the eye she dared him to refuse her demand.

Michael looked at Natalie for a minute, admiring her fire. She really was a beautiful woman, more so when she was all fired up. 'She would definitely give John a run for his money' he thought amused. After a long pause Michael said, "Room 314. He's been beat up pretty badly but he has been upgraded from critical to serious condition. He's gonna live but he'll be in the hospital for a long while yet."

Natalie gave him a grateful smile and then looked at John. Knowing he wanted to keep an eye on her so she didn't bolt she gave him a look and said, "You coming?" then turned around and headed for the elevator.

John grinned to himself at her words. She seemed to know him so well. His smile faded and he began to think, maybe her knowing him that well was a bad thing. People that he cared about ended up dead, because of him. Caitlin had died because of him. Maybe his feelings for Natalie would put her into danger. He didn't know how she felt about him but he knew that he had some pretty strong feelings about her, for her. Was it really worth the risk? He wondered. If the price of his feelings for her was her death was it worth the risk? Suddenly despondent, he began to follow slowly when Michael's voice stopped him.

"It's not gonna happen again you know," Michael said. He might not have seen John in a while but he recognized that look on his face. He was thinking about Caitlin, about how she died. Michael knew that John blamed himself for her murder. Even though the killer had been caught and subsequently killed in prison he knew that John still felt that he had caused her death by taunting the killer. Even though the killer had been targeting John before the press conference he still thought if he had done things differently Caitlin would be alive.

What are you talking about Mikey?" John asked slipping into the nickname he had used for Michael since they were kids.

"You and how you think that by loving someone you put them in danger," Michael stated bluntly, getting right to the heart of the matter. "I can tell you care for this Natalie. I don't know what her story is but I can see that she is a good person. You can let yourself feel for her."

John looked around, noticing that Natalie had gotten into the elevator. He felt she would be ok, for a few minutes at least. Turning back to Michael he didn't notice the man that also got on the elevator with her. "But Caitlin..." John started only to be interrupted.

Michael sighed and decided to say something that was long overdue. Taking John's arm in a firm grasp he practically dragged him into an empty room. "Look John, I know we aren't close. But you're still my brother so I can still tell you that you're being an ass!"

John looked at Michael incredulously and said, "You know I have a gun, don't you? How am I being an ass? I just want to keep Natalie safe I didn't do that for Caitlin but I will do that for Natalie. Being around me gets people killed. It's a fact Michael."

"For Christ sake, John! You're not God. You can't control everything. Get it through your think head, what happened with Caitlin wasn't you're fault!" Michael said firmly. "Maybe you could have prevented it, maybe not. The fact is it happened and not feeling, not letting anyone close to you isn't going to bring her back."

"You're point?" John asked harshly.

"My point is the past is the past. Leave it there. Live your life, fall in love. It's what Caitlin would have wanted." Michael said before turning and heading for the door. As he opened the door he paused and said, "If you feel what I think you feel for Natalie don't let your fear stop you from living." With that last parting bit of advice Michael left to finish his rounds.

John stood there for a long minute, pondering his brother's words. He knew that Michael was right. Caitlin would have wanted him to be happy. 'When the hell did Michael get so wise?' he wondered to himself before opening the door and heading for the elevator.

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Natalie got off the elevator and headed for Rex's room. Pushing the door open she was unprepared for the sight of her little brother lying in that bed. He was hooked up to heart monitors and IV's and who knew what else. His body was covered in dark purple bruises. Natalie wanted to cry. Rushing to his side she grabbed the first chair she saw and hauled it to the side of the bed. Sitting down she took his hand in hers and began to talk.

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Bo Buchanan hung up the phone and grabbed his coat. Natalie Balsom was here, in Llanview. He wondered if he should call Vicki Davidson but decided against it until he talked with Natalie first. She was at the hospital to see Rex Balsom. Bo knew she would be there for a little while at least so that's where he was headed. Rex Balsom... He had come to Bo three days ago with a letter and a theory. It was time to see if either was true.

Calling to his assistant Marcie Walsh that he would be gone for the afternoon he headed for his car. He hadn't mentioned Rex's visit to anyone; then the kid had been beat up so badly that he ended up in the hospital. The cop in him wondered if it was to keep the younger man quiet, so he wouldn't be telling any more secrets; or to get him to talk, to tell more of those secrets. He also knew that if what Rex had told him was true nothing would ever be the same again and the entire Buchanan family would be rocked to its very core.

To be continued...