Chapter Eight
Flashback
"Congratulations!" Michael said, pulling a dazed Natalie into a hug. Natalie broke away from his grasp and nervously started pacing the small examining room.
"This is wonderful." Michael continued, oblivious to Natalie's reaction. "I'm going to be an uncle. Your about three months along, so you'll be due around March."
Natalie whirled around to face him, looking like a dear caught in headlights. "ho…how did this happen?"
Michael laughed. "Natalie, if I need to explain that to you…" Michael trailed off seeing Natalie's angry glare. "Whoa….aren't you happy about this?
This is all John needs." Natalie collapsed in to one of the vinyl chairs, tears welling up in her eyes.
Confused, Michael grabbed another chair, moved it across the room and sat down so he was facing Natalie. "What do you mean?"
"John and I have only been together for three months, Mikey." Natalie said as if that explained it all.
"So?" Michael pressed, still unsure of the problem.
"So, I don't want to scare him off." Natalie yelled, frustrated at how clueless Michael could be sometimes.
Michael looked at her incredulously. "Natalie, that's crazy. John loves you, hell he's always loved you."
You and I both know that when John feels trapped, or scared he pushes people away. Do you honestly think he's going to be overjoyed at the news of a baby?" Natalie looked up at Michael, saddened.
"Yes I do." Michael's voice was serious. "Natalie trust me, John is going to be thrilled."
"You really think so?" Natalie's voice was hopeful.
"I am positive." Michael pulled her towards him.
End Flashback
Natalie awoke with a start, the memory still fresh in her mind.
"Pull off at the next exit," Natalie shouted as they passed the sign warning of an exit. Confused, John did as she said and got in to the exit lane.
"Are you okay?" He asked quietly, concerned.
Natalie just shook her head, unable to speak memories still flooding her mind.
A few minutes later, John pulled in to the parking lot of a coffee shop. Immediately, Natalie was out of the car and running inside. Sighing, John turned off the car and followed her inside.
Natalie closed the bathroom door behind her, grateful that it was a single washroom. After locking the door, Natalie made her way toward the sink and splashed some cold water on her face. Taking a few deep breaths, she tried to relax.
The memory of that night had been haunting her for months, and no matter what Natalie did, she couldn't escape it.
Flashback
After leaving the hospital, an excited Natalie made her way to Llanfair wanting to change in to something nicer before meeting John at his place. Talking to Michael had really helped reassure her and now Natalie couldn't wait to tell John about the pregnancy.
As Natalie entered the house, she noticed a large box on the foyer table. Natalie dropped her keys in to her purse and curious, made her way over to it. It was addressed to her and had various postage stamps over it. Looking the box over Natalie's breath caught in her throat as she noticed the original sender – Statesville prison.
Slowly, she stepped away from the box trying to calm down. Why had this been sent to her?
Knowing that Vicki or Jessica could be home any second, Natalie lifted the box and carried it upstairs toward her room, not wanting to have to deal with their questions. Placing the box on her bed, Natalie just stared at it for a few minutes, unsure how to proceed.
Finally, curiosity got the better of her. "It's just a box." She told herself as she grabbed a pair of scissors from her desk. "I've moved on… I am happy with John." She thought to herself. Slowly Natalie started to open the box, dreading what she may find. The last thing she wanted was another gift from that imposter. Once she had managed to cut through the layers of tape, Natalie lifted the flaps and found a small white envelope on top. Tearing it open, she unfolded the note and began to read,
July 15th 2005
Dear Mrs. Vega
Here are your husband's belongings. Once again we express our condolences for your loss.
Statesville Prison
Natalie let out the breath she had been holding, suddenly relieved.
The monster was dead.
Smiling Natalie ripped up the generic note and tossed it into her wastebasket. Obviously there had been a mix-up at the prison and they had sent her the imposter's things without realizing their mistake. That didn't bother Natalie, as she was just happy the nightmare was finally over.
Natalie once again lifted the box, ready to take it out to the garbage bins. However halfway across the room, she lost her grip on the box and it fell to the ground. Annoyed, Natalie once again began to lift the box but stopped when something caught her eye.
Trembling, Natalie once again set the box down and re-opened it. With shaking hands she pulled off the protective cover and pulled out the painting. Her face stared back at her.
"No, this can't be possible." Natalie said to herself still staring at the painting.
Carefully setting the painting down, Natalie madly began rummaging through the box, needing something to prove it wasn't possible. She stopped as she noticed a small, brown leather journal peaking out from under a shirt.
With shaking hands, Natalie picked up the journal and sat down at the desk. Taking a deep breath, she began to read.
February 27/05
Its been two weeks. Two long, shitty weeks. Damn that asshole McBain, if he had just left everything alone it wouldn't be this way. Not knowing who I am would have been a hell of a lot better then knowing I have a wife and family who loved me.
Ever since McBain came in waving those damn DNA test results in my face, my memory has been coming back. Today I remembered our wedding, and even picked up a paintbrush for the first time in weeks.
I painted Natalie.
McBain better keep his word and never tell Natalie who I really am. The only thing keeping me going is knowing that she's safe and will be able to someday be happy.
As much as it kills me to admit it, she really is better off thinking I'm dead.
Sobbing, Natalie closed the journal unable to read anymore.
End Flashback
Eventually her grief turned to anger, and Natalie had stormed across town to John's apartment to confront him. All the earlier happy thoughts about the pregnancy and their future were gone. She completely lost it, yelling, hitting, and even throwing things at him. It wasn't until she was halfway down the stairs that she noticed the sharp, stabbing pain in her abdomen.
Flashback
"What the hell is going on here?" Rex's angry voice filled Natalie will relief. Her brother was here. Natalie watched as Rex ran over to them, pushing John away. "Natty," he said, his voice and eyes scared, as he saw the state his usually strong sister was in. Once again John moved toward her, but Natalie clutched Rex. "Keep him away from me."
Seeing the anger and fear in his sister's eyes, Rex gathered her in his arms and made his way toward the exit, without another look at John. After he had helped her in to the car, Natalie noticed the small trail of blood that was running down her legs.
By the time Rex managed to get away from John and was back in the car, Natalie was hysterically sobbing, "Not my baby." Noticing the blood, Rex started the engine and sped toward the hospital, trying to remain calm for Natalie's benefit.
End Flashback
Although Rex had managed to get her to the hospital in record time, she had miscarried. Even though she had just found out about the pregnancy hours earlier, the miscarriage combined with John's betrayal had hit her hard. Despite the objections of Rex and Michael, Natalie had checked herself out of the hospital early the next morning and rented a room at the Palace, not wanting to see or speak to anyone. She had Rex make up some story for Vicki and Bo.
That was how she had spent her last night in Llanview. Early the next morning, she had begun making preparations for her speedy departure from Llanview. She had told everyone the same story; things with John hadn't worked out because she couldn't compete with a dead fiancée and that staying in Llanview would just be too hard. They all bought it as it was no secret how scared John was when it came to commitment. As much as she had wanted to tell everyone the truth and have them see John for what he really was, Natalie knew there was no way she could put Antonio and Carlotta through that pain.
Natalie had desperately wanted to tell her mother the truth and get some insight and advice, but knew that Vicki had enough to deal with since Jessica's battle with DID had come to light. At the time, Jessica had been in St. Anne's, undergoing many rounds of therapy to help cure the disorder. So, Natalie had stepped back knowing Jessica needed their mother more then she did.
Packing only a suitcase, Natalie had taken off to the train station where she had caught the first train back to A.C.
Taking a few more deep breaths, Natalie once again tried to push the memories aside. Seeing John after all these months had caused all those feelings resurface, and Natalie wasn't sure she could deal with it.
She emerged almost twenty minutes later, barely acknowledging John. Not wanting to push her, John wordlessly followed her back to the car.