She knocked on the door before she could talk herself out of it. He knew she was on her way anyway; and she'd already told everyone she'd landed. There was nothing left to do but face it.
"Hi Natalie, come on in" Michael said, opening the door. He was still unsure of what to expect.
"Thanks for having us" she said.
"Anytime" Marcie said, coming around the corner, "Besides, I miss this little one"
"Can you say hi Liam?"
"Hi Uncle Michael, hi Aunt Marcie" he said.
"Hi Liam" Michael said, "Its nice to see you again"
"You too" Liam said, "Even though I don't remember the last time I saw you"
Marcie and Michael both laughed.
"You know you sound kinda like your dad" Michael said.
"You wouldn't believe it" Natalie said.
"I miss my dad"
"Now you sound kinda like your mom"
"Momma's the best" Liam said.
"Well, Liam are you ready to meet your cousins?" Marcie asked.
Liam nodded and follwed Marcie to another room, with Michael and Natalie following. Moments later, Liam was on the floor playing with Lucy and Gabe.
"I should have come sooner" she said, "I'm sorry guys"
"I can't say I would do any different in your situation" Marcie said, "We don't resent you, Natalie. Lord knows Eve doesn't"
"Michael, can we go somewhere to talk?" Natalie asked, "If you don't mind watching the three of them, Marcie"
"Of course not" Marcie said, "But Eve does know you're here, I won't be able to hold her off too long"
"We'll be back soon" Michael said, kissing Marcie on the cheek, and motioned to Natalie to head out.
They'd been walking in silence for awhile, Michael told her they could stop in on a coffee shop that was a few blocks away. They'd chatted idly about living in Seattle and how Eve was getting along and the kids, but Natalie knew the questions were coming.
"I love him Michael, you know that, right? I would never try to take Liam away from him" she said.
"I know" Michael responded, "Natalie, he didn't tell me how bad things really were; he didn't tell me about the restraining order or why he went back to the FBI-"
"He won't take my calls. I get that I ignored him for awhile, but-"
"Natalie, why didn't you take his calls?"
"He kissed someone else. It got out of hand so fast"
"He what?"
"Yeah, he did"
"and did you kick his ass?"
"No" she said, "That's the worst part. I ran. I didn't fight"
"That's not like you"
"I know, but he knocked the wind right out of me, you know we always used to know how the other was feeling no matter what, but this time- I had nothing"
"I can understand" Michael said, opening the door to the coffee shop.
After ordering and sitting down for a minute, Michael noticed her looking at her coffee more than drinking it.
"You ordered French Vanilla"
"What?"
"For as long as I knew you you always ordered regular" he said, "So why the change?"
She looked down, "I guess it reminds of him too much"
"He really loved you, Nat. I don't know what happened-"
"Me neither" she said, "If I slept through the alarm, he'd take care of Liam and bring me coffee in bed. And then he'd tell me I could go in late. He was the Commissioner before he left"
"I know. I thought, we all thought this was it for him, that he was finally happy"
"He was. He didn't want to leave that first time, and then, I don't know, he just kept leaving"
"I can't believe he cheated on you"
"I don't think he did. Everyone tells me he did, but I really think the kiss was it" she said, "How naïve am I?"
"You know him better than anyone, if that's what you think you're probably right"
"Then why won't he answer my calls?"
"I don't know, Natalie, he's John, he hasn't ever been easy to figure out"
"He was to me" she said, "I guess you want to know why I'm here now"
"You don't have to -"
"Michael, I have cancer"
"What?"
"Yeah, breast cancer"
"I'm sorry" he said, "so you came for our oncology department"
"yeah, I have a lumpectomy scheduled for this week and then radiation until I'm in the clear"
"You came alone"
"Yeah"
"Does anyone know?"
"Just Bo"
"Why am I not surprised?"
"They'd worry and the doctor said it wasn't that serious"
"Natalie, its cancer, its serious"
"But its early in the second stage, after the surgery and radiation-"
"You shouldn't be going through this alone"
"You think I want to? I can't count how many voicemails I've left John in the last week. He still won't call me back"
"He'll come, Natalie. I'll get on his case, I'll get Mom on his case"
"What if he doesn't?"
"You know him better than anyone, don't you think he knows something is wrong?"
"I don't know, Michael. I hope he does. I just feel like he doesn't know what's going on right now, and I'm not sure that its going to make a difference"
"Don't worry about that right now, how are you doing?"
"I'm scared" she said, "What if they're wrong and its further along?"
"Llanview has an excellent oncology department Natalie, I'm sure they're right" he said, "Do you have any questions I can answer?"
"You're going to think I'm so stupid" she said, and she could feel the tears pricking at her eyes, "Should I shave my head? Am I going to lose my hair?"
Michael looked down, "Is that really your biggest fear"
"what if he comes? And my hairs is gone and he doesn't-"
"Hey, you can say a lot of things about my brother, but you above all people should know he did not fall in love with your hair"
"I know that, but what if he doesn't think I'm pretty anymore"
Michael took her hand, "You don't need to shave your head. If you're just getting radiation locally, you won't loose your hair. It might get brittle or thinner, but you're going to be able to keep your hair"
"I feel so stupid for thinking like this"
"You're entitled" he said, "This can't be easy on you, I can't believe you didn't tell anyone at home"
"I didn't want them to worry" she said, "And- when I got the news, I only wanted to tell one person and-"
"John didn't answer"
"Yeah"
"For whatever its worth, you'll always be a McBain to me. Mom- well, you pretty much won her over the day you met her"
"I was thinking I'd leave Liam with her while I'm in the hospital- not that you guys couldn't take care of him but-"
"Natalie, she'd be thrilled; besides, she's practially living with us anyway, she can't get enough of her grandkids"
"I bet" she said, "I feel so bad about keeping Liam away from her"
"She's mad at John, too" Michael said, "And we are going to get you through this, with or without that brother of mine"
"I knew I could count on you"
"Alright, let's go talk to Mom" he said, "And I can help you explain to Liam too"
Simply, she nodded and followed him out.
"Natalie" Eve said the second they walked through the door, instantly enveloping her in a hug.
Natalie closed her eyes against the tears and hugged her back, "Hi Eve"
"I can't wait to talk to you, I have been waiting to hear from you"
"I know, I'm sorry"
"Oh, don't be, it's not your fault, and don't think I haven't given John a piece of my mind"
Natalie looked down, and before she could respond, Michael did.
"Natalie actually has something she wants to say"
"Marcie, you should hear this too" Natalie added as they all sat at the kitchen table.
"What's wrong, Natalie?" Eve asked.
"I have cancer" she said, "My doctor in Llanview recommended coming here if I had the means"
"Natalie" Eve exclaimed and was immediately enveloping Natalie in another hug.
Natalie hadn't allowed herself to cry about this yet, and Eve's embrace just seemed so right. She let it go, finally getting the tears out.
"Oh, sweetie, you kept this to yourself, didn't you?"
"No, I told Bo. He's going to keep it a secret. And Mom knows I'm here, but she doesn't know why. I tried to call John-"
"We'll get him Natalie. If you want him here, I'll get him here"
She nodded.
"When do you go in for treatment"
"The surgery is on Wednesday" she said, "I have consult tomorrow, and then radiation after the surgery"
"I'm going to take my break tomorrow while you're in your consult"
"Michael, you don't have to-"
"Natalie, you shouldn't be alone, you're in shock, the information won't stick"
"Michael-"
"That's final, Natalie"
"You're going to get through this, Natalie"
"We'll be here every step of the way" Marcie added.
"Liam doesn't know yet. I don't know how to tell him" she confessed.
"that's something we can worry about tomorrow. for now, let's get some dinner in you" Eve said.
"John McBain" Eve started on the voicemail, "I certainly hope you did not ignore me. Now you listen to me. Natalie is in Seattle, and you need to get here too. She is sick, and she needs you. If you've never done anything right before, John, this time you need to. I know you want to do the right thing here. I know you love her, I know you always will" she said, "So why don't you get on a plane from wherever you are and get your butt to Seattle. I swear to God John, if you don't get here you'll have hell to pay"