Chapter 15: Answers

Recap: Amber and Nat bonded over the predicament and then she had to leave as Amber was prepped. As Natalie was walking away from the room a syringe was plunged into her neck. She awoke to find out she'd had twins, and one of them was stillborn. She and Amber named their babies together, Emily and Elizabeth after twins Natalie used to care for. Matthew Brown went home and we learn that he has a grandson whose mother (Matthew's daughter) is no longer around because of something Natalie did. Three weeks later Natalie was looking in Liz's baby book when a piece of paper fell out. Natalie told John that she might be responsible for their son's death after reading it; then suddenly realized that her baby might not have died. She told John the story behind what she had done to Michael (the doctor, who had changed his name), and her theory that Emily might be their daughter. He told her he would have a DNA test done on her and thought about what he would do if Natalie were right about the doctor.

The three days since Natalie had come to the realization that her baby might not be dead had been the slowest of her and John's lives. He had managed to get some hair of Emily's crib that she stayed in while with them, and the DNA results were due to come in at any minute as they sat silently at the breakfast table. Liz was still asleep in her upstairs nursery.

Natalie was drumming her fingers impatiently on the tabletop as John flipped a pencil through his fingers. Suddenly the pencil hit the floor and the noise, seemingly impossibly loud, broke the tension as they stared at each other, both beginning to laugh. In the midst of their laughter the phone rang, and they immediately silenced as they listened to it ring. Finally John reached over and picked it up.

"McBain." He listened for a moment and then looked at Natalie, his face betraying no emotion. "Thanks, Jenkins. Nah, that won't be necessary." He hung up the phone and looked at Natalie silently. "What?" she whispered, terrified. "You were right," he whispered. "Emily is your daughter." Her face went pale and he rushed over to catch her as she fainted.

A few minutes later she awoke on the couch to find John leaning over her worriedly and a cool wet cloth pressed to her forehead. "What happened?" He smiled. "You fainted." She scoffed. "Me faint? Never." "From all the tension and nervous anticipation we've been going through this past month, and then with that reveal—it could happen to anybody." She slowly sat up, embracing him. "She's really our daughter?"

"Yeah, you were right." Natalie's eyes filled with tears. "Oh my god," she whispered numbly. "Poor Amber." Her anguished eyes met John's to see the pain there. "No matter how much pain I was in I never wished—" A strangled sob escaped her throat and John pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Of course you didn't. You couldn't, Natalie. You're just not that kind of person."

She smiled gratefully at him even as the tears spilled down her cheeks. "I can't believe this," she whispered as her hand wandered down to caress her stomach. "How do we tell Amber?" John sighed and ran a hand over his hair. "I don't have a clue," he admitted. "How do you tell a woman that she's had your child for the past three weeks and that it was actually her son who died?" John reached out and gently touched her cheek.

"This isn't your fault, you know." "I know, but I still feel guilty. I'm going to be taking away her daughter," she said softly, dropping her gaze to stare at the floor. John gently cupped her chin and brought her eyes up to meet his. "No, you're not. Don't start blaming yourself for this. You're no more responsible for this than I was for Caitlin's death. It took you showing me where to put the blame for me to be able to do that, and you need to take your own advice. Put the blame where it belongs—on Brown."

She smiled weakly through her tears. "You're too good to me," she whispered as she leaned forward and planted a gentle kiss on his lips. He gently tangled his hands in her hair, pulling her head closer and deepening the kiss. She shifted so that she was lying back against the sofa, with him leaning over her. "I can be better," he whispered into her ear, nipping at her earlobe and tugging it gently between his teeth as she moaned.

His fingers moved down to caress her breasts over the long white tee shirt she wore, and she pressed up into his touch as his mouth claimed hers in a hot kiss. Their tongues danced as his fingers gathered the material of the shirt and lifted it up. He pulled away and moved to take her nipple into his mouth through the thin fabric of the shirt. His fingers began to gently stroke her wet core as he pulled the shirt farther up.

Natalie lifted up so that he could take the shirt off, leaving her completely naked underneath him. He smiled in approval at the sight. No matter how many times he saw her exquisite perfection, it always seemed like the first time. He bent his head to her breast and as he slipped one, then two fingers inside of her he took her nipple into his mouth. He kept his fingers perfectly still as he circled the hardened peak with his tongue, then laved the tip.

He lifted his head and marveled at her beauty. Her head was thrown back and her eyes were glazed over with desire as she slowly began to move on his fingers. He chuckled lowly and moved to take her mouth with his own. The moan that was ripped from his throat when Natalie's hand moved to cover his own busy one on her center was swallowed by her as she deepened the kiss. She used her hand to put herself in control of the situation, and lifted her hips off of the couch to give John's fingers more access.

John broke the kiss and moved down her body, removing his fingers and licking them hungrily. Natalie watched with a licentious smile on her face and her breath quickened in anticipation as he parted her legs. She closed her eyes and threw her head back at the sensation of his hot mouth descending on her, his moist tongue darting out to taste her and then retreating. She groaned and thrust her hips upward into his mouth.

His eyes moved up to stare at her face as his tongue continued to tease her. She had a glow about her that gave her a heavenly appearance when she was aroused. He would harden within seconds with just the slightly diminished memory of how she looked at this moment. Eager to prove himself worthy of the gift she gave him, he began to push her to her first peak of many.

Natalie's skin shone with perspiration as John pushed her over another peak. She tugged insistently at his shirt until he obediently moved back up her body. He kissed her passionately, sliding his tongue into her mouth and she licked the taste of herself off of his tongue and then his fingers when he slid those inside of her mouth as well. John groaned at the feel of her hot, tight mouth suckling his fingers and stood up, quickly shedding his clothes.

Then he was positioning himself above her and driving into her. The friction renewed the earlier pleasures and Natalie clung to his shoulders, her nails pressing firmly into his back without worry or care. The pain mingled with the pleasure as he thrust in and out of her. She lay back and grabbed his hips as she thrust her own upward, forcing their bodies as close as physical law would allow.

John knew that he couldn't take much more as he lowered to take her nipple into his mouth, suckling it fiercely as his talented fingers found her clit and massaged it roughly. Natalie gasped and bit down on John's shoulder to keep herself from screaming as she saw stars. Her walls tightened around him and he gasped her name as he spilled his seed inside of her.

Their breath and heart rates both slowly calmed down, and he leaned down to give her a gentle kiss and then stood up, pulling her to her feet. He handed her the discarded shirt as he began to dress. "I guess it's time to get back to the real world," she whispered as she walked upstairs to get Liz. John watched her go and picked up his cell phone.

"Hey, Bo. I need an arrest warrant for one Matthew Salazar, currently going by the alias of Matthew Brown. Yeah, it's urgent and it's personal," he said a hard edge to his voice as he watched Natalie walk down the stairs with their tiny daughter cradled in her arms.

TO BE CONTINUED