Chapter 9: Bliss and Secrets
Recap: Cristian reveal is over and done with, Cris moved away and John turned himself in for illegal DNA tampering. He has finally seen Natalie for the first time since he went to prison. She made a speech and he admitted to sleeping with and impregnating her friend Amber, a fellow police officer when Natalie had left him. She and Amber cleared the air, with Amber admitting she didn't want the baby, while Kassie (John's lawyer who is playing matchmaker for the pair) told John how lucky he was. John was released from prison, he and Nat made love and she revealed she's pregnant. They made love again and John just asked her to marry him.
Slightly Smutty
Natalie's breath caught in her throat as she tried to process what had just happened. "Did you just ask me to marry you?" She saw the insecurity in his eyes and kissed him, gently tangling her fingers in his hair. "Of course I will!" He pulled her more tightly to him, burying his face in her hair as he tried to absorb the fact that this gorgeous woman had actually accepted his proposal. Pulling back he pressed a sweet kiss to her lips and whispered, "I'll be right back."
Natalie watched him walk from the room, admiring the view as she snuggled deeper into the covers. John walked back into the room, his hand behind his back. He gently pulled Natalie to her feet and knelt on one knee in front of her. "I'm going to do this right. Natalie, I've known that we were meant to be together from the moment you walked into Crossroads. Now years later we finally got our act together. I may have been overconfident, but the day after we made love on the roof I knew we would always be together, so I bought this."
He brought his hands out from behind his back, revealing a black jewelry box with a gorgeous gold princess-cut ring set with a small sapphire surrounded by tiny sparkling diamonds. Natalie gasped at the beauty of it as he continued, "Natalie, will you marry me?" Dropping to her knees beside him she threw herself into his arms, causing him to lose his balance and fall over backwards. "Is that a yes?" he asked, smiling widely. Natalie kissed him passionately as they both sat back up and held out her hand impatiently.
"There is one thing I want to show you," he said as he took the ring out carefully, turning it so she could read the engraving. "'You are my salvation.' John--" There were tears in her voice and in her eyes as he slipped the ring on her finger, kissing her gently. "Natalie, you saved me when I didn't want to be saved. You refused to give up on me no matter how far I tried to push you away, and most of all you've helped me beat the darkness back." He brushed the hair away from her face as he watched the tears begin to stream down her face. "I hope those are happy tears?"
Natalie nodded emphatically, holding up her hand and watching the ring wink in the light. "I just can't believe this is happening. I'm so happy!" John smiled. "You deserve it more than anyone I know." He stood to his feet, picking her up and laying her on the bed. Keeping his lips a mere hair's breadth from hers, he whispered, "I can't wait to make you my wife." Natalie opened her mouth to reply but it turned into a moan as he brought his mouth to her breast.
5 Months Later
John and Natalie had been planning the perfect wedding for the last four months, having decided to just spend time together before worrying about the details for a month. John had noticed that though she tried to deny it, Natalie was getting worn out from all the stress and had asked to her to go to a spa with Amber. She had agreed that a break would be nice, and that was how she and Amber with their protruding bellies had ended up in this very well known spa designed for pregnant women.
As the two women relaxed in the hot tub, Natalie closed her eyes and an expression that was somehow a cross between a smile and grimace at the strong kicks hitting her stomach. Amber grinned at her. "Kicking up a storm huh?" Natalie nodded, rubbing her stomach. "Yes, as usual. I swear he must get this from his father—they both just love it when I'm uncomfortable." She winked at Amber and they laughed.
As they silently soaked in the warm water, Natalie began to think about everything that had happened over the past few months. Amber was no longer worried about the baby, because after talking with a therapist and John, she'd decided to keep her child and give up her career as a police officer. She was going to accept some help from her family and John until she found a new job. Natalie ran a hand in small circles over her belly, caught in the beautiful laziness of the moment.
Suddenly Amber sat up straight, her face twisted in a pained grimace as she clutched her stomach. "What is it?" Natalie asked, sitting up as well. "I don't know—it's like a sharp pain just went through my stomach." She rubbed her belly comfortingly. "It's gone now. I'm sure it was nothing." She smiled weakly at Nat, who looked unconvinced and worried.
"Really, it was probably nothing." Amber leaned back and tried to relax again. Suddenly the pain shot through her again, and she wrapped her arms around her stomach protectively, her troubled eyes meeting Natalie's. "That's it. We're going to see the doctor." Natalie slowly climbed out of the hot tub, helping the younger woman out. They hurriedly dried and dressed, making their way to the obstetrician's office.
Dr. Matthew Brown was an OB-GYN of great fame; a good deal of which he owed to his controversial methods. He was an attractive man in his mid-forties, with thick black hair and a face that had certainly aged well. He had been employed at the spa for shortly over two months now, and the women all raved about him. They would have been shocked to see the man they so admired as he was at this particular moment, his face twisted in a grimace of pure hatred and grief as he leafed through a tattered photo album. "Natalie Balsom will pay for what she did," he whispered, his finger tenderly stroking the face of a young blonde teenager who couldn't have been more than 15 years old. "By god, she will pay…"
TO BE CONTINUED
