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Chapter 8

Some time around Five am John's phone went off, he was still holding Natalie as she slept, she was exhausted, she slept in his arms as if she hadn't slept in days, months, years maybe even. He gently removed his arm that was around her, picked up his cell phone and saw it was the precinct.

"Hello, Bo, yes we're okay, we tried to call you last night but there was no signal probably caused by the storm. We never made it to the cabin to investigate, the bridge was washed out, Oh, I see Okay send Davis and Turner then, Natalie brought us to your family's lodge for the night, What! Another day, it takes that long to repair a bridge, oh, they have to rebuild it, Okay, I'll tell her to call you, she's sleeping right now, fine, yes, I'll try and get some rest, after today all hell will be breaking loose.' he said and he hung up his phone, he looked over to her, she was still asleep, she was so peaceful when she slept, a few pieces of red hair were in front of her face and he gently pushed them away with his fingers, gently not to wake her.

John got out of the bed, took a seat at the table and watched her for a few more minutes, he thought about her screaming out in her sleep last night, if she did that a lot, if ever, and he also thought about the thunder, her being afraid of the thunder, why? All those questions he asked her last night, the ones he wished she would just have answer, they were all haunting him again. He saw her start to stir and he decided to go and see what there was to eat in this place, Bo had just informed him they most likely would be here alone, together, one more day, probably the night too, the bridge was beyond repair, it needed to be rebuilt.

Natalie woke to see him walk into the kitchen, she wondered when he had woken and she sighed hoping they would be able to get to the other cabin today, do there job, get back to Llanview, she couldn't spend anymore time with him, anymore alone time with him, another night alone with him like last night, that would make it hard for her, more than hard for her, almost impossible to not bring her wall down some, to not show her vulnerable side, she knew she was getting tired of it, of holding it up for so long but she just needed some time , time away from everyone, mostly away from him to build it up again, and up completely.

Natalie got out of bed, went into the bathroom, washed face, put on a flannel shirt she found in the dresser, brushed her hair and left the bathroom.

John walked into the great room balancing two bowls, cereal, milk, glasses, and juice; he placed them down on the table and pulled up a chair. He noticed her the moment she walked out of the bathroom, her face was washed, she was wearing a flannel shirt, which he smiled at cause she seem to look good in anything and everything, and nothing at all...he stopped his thoughts with that one and started to eat his breakfast.

Natalie sat at the table, on a wooden chair across from him, he was eating cereal, their was a bowl for her and she took it without words and poured her cereal and then her milk, he wasn't talking she thought, he wasn't saying a word, why? Why didn't he say a word, why didn't he say anything about last night? She asked herself as she grabbed for a glass to pour her juice into.

John sat and didn't look, not at her, he found an old newspaper in the kitchen and he started to read it, actually he started to fake reading it, he was more occupied, concentrated more on what she could be thinking and if she remembered him holding her last night and if she would be pissed about it this morning, did she even remember it? He asked himself as he waited, waited for her to speak, he would let her open things up, open up the words, the conversation.

Finally after about fifteen minutes of pure silence she did, she started to talk.

"Can you get a signal on your cell, did you try the station?" she asked him and he nodded as he took a spoonful of cereal, she waited for him to say something.

"Yes, there's a signal" he finally told her

"So...did you speak to my uncle Bo? Are the roads clear yet, the bridges fixed yet? Can we get out of this place yet?" she asked him as he decided to just ignore her questions for a few more minutes and finish his cereal.

"Why won't you answer my questions?" she said getting mad at the moment, he was just ignoring her, she wasn't being pissy, and he still just ignored her.

"I'll speak to you, answer your questions when I'm done eating and reading the paper" he told her and she was getting mad again, he thought, does she do anything else, does she even laugh, have any fun.

"You aren't even really reading it," she told him and he gave her a smirk as he folded it down and looked at her, then he went back to reading it, ignoring her.

"You aren't you know, if you are then tell me what you're reading about" she told him as if challenging him, he looked up from the paper again.

'I'm reading about a Llanview Forensics Tech who wouldn't keep her big mouth shut and her superior officer had to shut it for her" he said and she didn't expect him to say that, she let out a small, and quick laugh.

"Oh. My. Gosh. Did you just laugh?" he asked a bit amused, she shook her head no.

"Yeah, you did, don't think I've seen you laugh at all these last few days, I do remember you laughing thou...that..." he was about to say and the tension was back, it was lost for a few minutes when she seem to lighten up for a minute but it was back and it was his stupid fault. He went back to the paper as he saw her start to clean things up. She walked around him and she was actually trying to have a conversation with him, he was a bit shocked, what had changed last night, they both went to bed mad at each other, she ignored all questions, what had happened that would make her like this today, tolerable, light, laugh even. He shook his head, was it because he held her when she screamed out? Did she even remember it? He decided not to bring it up, whatever the reason for the mood change, the slight attitude change he would see where it took them.

"I can't believe how long that milk had lasted without spoiling, it was a few weeks ago when I was here last, that was when I bought it," she said as she straightened up the bed not far from the table.

"Why were you here a few weeks ago?" he asked and he regretted it

"Its okay, never mind I shouldn't have asked" he said and he saw her, she was confused, for the first time she seem to be confused on whether to talk, tell him something, open up even.

Natalie didn't know why but she felt like talking today, not about anything major but she felt like just being, being light, maybe even have a little fun, maybe with him? She asked herself confused, what had changed last night? Why did she feel like she could possibly, maybe for the first time since she was a kid be open, maybe a little open, maybe with him, why him? She felt as if maybe she might be trusting him, 'no' she told herself, ' I don't trust anyone, not really, at least not with anything emotional, at least not with the truth or things' she shook her head, it wouldn't hurt to at least tell him why she was here the other week, it wasn't anything major.

"I like this place, its quiet, I had a few days off and no one was using it so I came here to think, to relax, to hang out, it really is beautiful, there's this big lake in back, well its probably a lot bigger right now after all that rain last night, but its nice. A place you could find some peace" she said, they were both shocked at all that she had said and to him. This was so different then how she had been the last few days around him.

"I guess that is what you are looking for then, peace?"

"What makes you say that?" she asked him confused a bit

"Well, you mentioned peace last night also, you just want to do your job in peace" he asked her, she thought about it.

"I guess...Oh, I've gotta call about my sister, she was getting out of the hospital today" she said and she went over toward her stuff on the mantle, took her cell phone and called.

"Hello, mom, yeah, I'm fine, at the lodge, the roads were bad last night, flooded, the bridge was a mess, no I'm not sure when I'll be back, the bridge was bad, rebuilt? Really? I guess I'll be here all day then huh? No...no... You don't need to send someone, I'm fine, I don't mind being here, yes... you know me, I like it here, how's Jess? Julia? Thank God, so she'll definitely be coming home then, Good, tell her I'll see her when I get home, okay me too" she told her mom and hung up the phone.

He heard her conversation on the phone with her mom, her sister seems to be fine, she seemed sweet with her mom, it was nice to see, she seem to be in some sort of a good mood, almost as if she was a bit content, john shook his head, they would be stuck in this lodge, this cabin all day alone, she was in a good mood, he would have to try, try gradually today to break down more of her wall, and with the mood she was in so far this morning, he might even get lucky, he might accomplish it, her wall, breaking down parts of her wall if not all of it, he grinned to himself as he saw her bend over and pick something up, he ginned, he might even accomplish that again too.

"So, what is there to do in this cabin since, we might be here for awhile maybe another night?" he asked, she almost flinched a bit at his words, almost and she stopped herself.

"I don't know, maybe cards, there's a deck in the cabinet" she told him and he smiled.

"You do know how to play cards don't you?" she asked and he smiled wider

"Know how to play, hell I was raised playing cards in AC" he said and she looked,' why didn't she know that, Michael was always saying he was raised there, so it made sense that John was too', she spoke to herself inside. She was about to tell him, she was also raised in Ac, and playing cards but she didn't, she opted not to at this moment.

"Well then lets play" she told him and he was still a bit confused, it was if she was a different person today, he didn't question it for long, he just wanted to enjoy it.

"What do you want to play?" she asked as she got the cards out of cabinet and they both took a seat at the table.

"How about Poker" he said and she smiled devilishly, that was her game, she was almost as good at poker as she was as pool.

"Sounds good to me, are we playing for coin?" she asked and he nodded his head no.

'Its more fun when you play for something" she said and he smiled, was she hinting at clothes, strip poker, he laughed.

"Are you trying to get me naked?" he said joking and light, she laughed, she really laughed, she didn't blow up, blow it out of proportion, who was this person? She even made her own joke.

'Listen, if I wanted to get you naked I wouldn't have to beat you at cards to do it" she said and he smirked.

'Really what do you want to play, and for anything?" she asked again, she saw him try to deicide, he was thinking things over in his head, he got an idea but... but he wasn't so sure she would be up for it.

"What ever you want to play, its fine with me, I'm sure I can kick your ass at it, what ever it is" she added and he decided what the hell.

"Ever hear of Emotional Strip Poker?" he asked and her mouth fell open. Did he just say Emotional strip poker?

"You mean the game when you lose you have to tell something personal?"

"Actually the loser has to answer the winners question, so are you to chicken to play?" he said baiting her and she have him a smirk.

"I'll beat your ass, lets play" she told him as she started shuffling the deck.

Ten minutes later Natalie was still sitting, waiting for an answer to her question, her personal question. The rules were if you lost the hand, the winner got to ask you anything, any type of question.

"I guess I was twelve, maybe eleven, I can't remembered back that far, but all I know is I woke up and the sheets were a mess, I felt... I don't know Hard, is that enough of a answer for you?" he answered her personal question, a question, a subject even that excited him a bit, he was drinking a glass of water when she asked it and he spit it clear across the room, he couldn't believe she would ask something like that.

Natalie won the game and asked him a question she knew would embarrass him some, a personal question about a boy growing up, she smiled at his answer, he was a bit shy about it, it was cute, she shook her head quickly,' when the hell did I start thinking anything he did was cute non the less him cute!' she asked herself and scolded herself.

They played another hand and this time, he won.

"So...Now its my turn... hmmmm...lets see, since yours was such a personal question... I guess its only fitting that mine be just as personal, so... I know... when was your first time?" he asked and she went white as a sheet, her playfulness, her mood, it was gone, just like that, she stood and started to walk outside, with out any words.