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Chapter 5

John drove her to the hospital, she almost looked like she was trembling, no words, she seemed more than upset by the call, her eye's were glassy and he could tell she was trying so hard to keep it together, things together.

They arrived at the hospital and he parked the car right in front, put his badge up for the security guard who came out about to yell and he opened her car door and guided her inside the door, he looked around for her family, but... but he didn't know her family, just the Commissioner, he sat her in a seat by the desk as he asked the nurse to page Michael for him. Michael would know what was going on, he would guide him towards her family.

John turned back around to see a man, a blond haired man go to her, her family he thought, as he approached the two of them, he listened to the mans words and he saw Natalie straighten up, she was back in control, out of her funk, she got a determined look on her face, the mans words they seem to work, she stood up tall and walked right passed him with the blond gentleman towards the elevator.

Natalie heard her brother Rex's word and she came out of her state of shock, her state of vulnerability, she stood as she pulled herself together and started to walk away with him, towards the elevator, she saw John briefly, she looked into his face with her now again... strong blue eye's, she nodded her head to him as if thanking him, which confused her even more. She showed him, showed him a bit of who she really was inside, a part she never let anyone see and yet... yet she wasn't pissed by it, mad by it, just confused by it. She couldn't take the time now to think about it, she needed to concentrate on Jess, and her niece, for now.

John continued to look down the hall as she and the man walked when Michael approached his brother.

"Hey, you paged me? What's going on?" he asked John as he walked closer to him.

"Nothing... I brought Natalie here, apparently her sister and her niece were in some kind of accident tonight?"

"Yeah, Jess and Julia were brought in but there fine" Michael told him and then realized what John said at first when he started speaking.

"So... You brought Natalie here? What's that all about? Didn't you listen to what I told you?" he asked and John gave him a sour look.

"No comment" he said and Michael laughed a bit

"You know John...someday... someday you'll be telling me I'm right, right cause someday she might break your heart and break it in two"

"Don't worry so much Mikey, I ain't that fragile" he told him and left the Hospital, left now that he knew her sister was alright and that she would be too.

Later that early morning, Natalie returned home, it was very late and all she wanted to do was get undressed and go to bed, she had stayed most of the night with Jess and Julia, just to make sure they were alright, she was there for a very long time and after speaking with their doctor's she decided it was save to go home.

Natalie got under the covers in bed, it was early morning and although she was exhausted she wasn't sure if it was even worth it to try and sleep, she had work in five hours, she stared up at the ceiling as she thought about today, well actually yesterday, how so much Had happened in such a short period of time. She came face to face with her lap in judgment, her one night stand, and not only face to face with him, but she needed to work with him day in and day out, she shook her head as she closed her eye's trying for that much needed sleep. How could she be so damn stupid! She asked herself as she rolled on her side resting her head.

She closed her eyes tighter as if the tightness of them would block things out, block out the things that were bothering her, Jess, Julia, and even Him.

She freaked tonight when she thought she might lose them, her sister and her niece, and although she hadn't grown up with Jess she was very close to her, about as close as Natalie could get to someone, she loved her very much, although she knew she could never let on to that, let on to how much she loved her, Julia or anyone in her family, to let on to that, to admit it, was...was... as if admitting she was vulnerable, vulnerable to be hurt again, to lose again, and after everything that happened to her when she was younger, after all that, she couldn't afford to be vulnerable again, to show that she cared, to even acknowledge it.

Her thoughts brought about the thoughts of him, of the asshole, he was such a jerk bringing up the fact that they had slept together, a lap in judgment, in her control, he was such an ass but then...then they played pool, she smiled to herself with remembering their silent pool game. He was really good at pool almost as good her, she smirked to herself, he was even nice when she freaked a bit, when she showed that she wasn't so strong, when she thought she might lose someone again, he helped her, he seemed sincere.

"Shut up Natty" she told herself hostile almost, "don't go down that road" she also told herself, Natalie knew she couldn't be thinking he was nice, he was an ass, if she thought he was nice she might become vulnerable again, have another lapse again, then where would she be, would she make yet another mistake and sleep with him, or even worse, make a huge mistake and fall for him, she shook her head. "Do all you have to Natty, don't let it happen"

Five hours later sometime around eight Natalie walked into the station ready for her day.

John was sitting at his desk when he saw her walk into the station, he was surprised, surprised she didn't just come in late, he saw her head towards the lab and he came out of his office before she got there.

"Hey, how's your sister?" he asked her softly as she seemed determined to just walk passed him, she was starting to when he put his hand out in front of her to stop her.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" he asked her, annoyed that she was ignoring him.

"I'm fine LT, my sister is fine, thank you for asking, now excuse me I have work to do" she told him and walked away, John stood for a few minutes, he stood frozen as he still felt the coldness even after she walked away, 'what the hell!' he said to himself, 'is she fucking nuts or something, didn't we just have a bit of a break thru of some sorts. He shook his head and decided to ignore it, ignore it for now, although it bothered him, was really starting to bother him that she seem to be back to her cold ways towards him, even after the small bit of progress they seem to make last night, but he ignored it, they were at work, this wasn't the time nor the place.

John walked back into his office, he looked out the window and he noticed the rain starting to fall, it was falling fast, the clouds were coming in and the sky was dark, there was a major thunderstorm coming and he knew it, and it wasn't just the storm outside that he knew was upon him, it was the one in the precinct, the one involving the Natalie and himself.

The day was going by slow, extremely slow, the rain, the storm outside seem to still be brewing, continuing to move, to pour down, John looked at his watch, it was only 2 :00, he sighed, it was a long day, a few minutes later Bo popped his head in his office.

"John this storm is causing Chaos all over Llanview I need you to go to Llantano Mountain there's a possible homicide at one of the cabins just over the bridge, take Natalie with you" Bo told John and John sighed, alone again in a car with her, 'great' this should be so much fun.

John met her at his car, she walked over to him and she didn't look happy, what else was new he told himself.

"We aren't taking your car?" she spat out and he looked at her, this was already starting off great, he told himself as he watched her start to walk towards her truck.

'Hey!" he yelled out at her, she turned briefly and looked at him.

"Yes, Lt?" she asked

"If I say we are taking my car, we are taking my car, I'm the superior officer here" he said and she bite her tongue and hard not to yell back at him.

"Sorry sir, if you would like to take you car, I will follow you with my truck." she told him and he looked at her, he wasn't going to give in on this, if nothing else, he was her superior, he called the shots.

"Fine, follow behind, and later after we are done taking care of things, we'll have a nice talk about you attitude towards me at work." he told her trying to put her in her place, she nodded, 'what a fucking ass he was, so full of himself, did he even stop to realize that a car won't be able to make it up the mountain in this shitty weather, asshole' she told herself and shook her head.

They drove towards the mountain, most of the streets were flooded and he was having a bit of a hard time moving thru the standing rainwater with his car.

Natalie drove in her truck behind him, his car was having a hard time wading and driving thru the water, finally he came to a huge body of water at the bridge leading towards the mountain, she saw him stop his car off on the side before he got to close to the flooded road, he got out, she drove closer to him and his car, not to close, she would make him walk in the rain a bit, just a bit so he would get just a little wet, soaked even. She smiled as she watched him run for her truck,

"Try not to get my truck all wet Lt." she told him as they exchanged glares.

"Just drive the Fucking Truck," he told her steaming