A/N: Glad ya'll are enjoying this. FYI-the last scene in this chapter is what started this story. Until next time-ya'll are the best-PCGirl

Bo heard the knock on his door and looked up to see Rex walk into his office.

"Balsom," he said with a polite nod.

"I was wondering if you heard from-," he stopped as he pulled out his phone and saw a restricted number pop up. "Hello?"

"Hey Rex."

"Nattie-hey," he said as he looked over to Bo and got his attention. John had come back to town a week ago and so far no one had heard or seen Natalie. This was the first contact she'd made with family, and though Bo was relieved she was talking to someone, he'd be even more relieved when he could see her in person himself.

"Listen-I just wanted you to know that I'm ok."

"That's great. When are you coming home?" he asked as he kept his eyes locked on Bo who was now standing in front of his desk, ready to take the phone from him and talk to her himself.

"I'm not sure I am, Rex."

"What? Tell me where you are, and I'll join you. I could use a little r&r after the gunshot wound."

"I'm so glad you are ok. Tess tried to tell me you died, but I didn't want to believe it. I can't imagine my world without you in it, Rex," she said as tears pricked her eyes.

"And I can't imagine mine without you," he said softly as he picked up a knick-knack off Bo's desk and studied it quietly for a moment. "So, come home."

"I'm not sure where that is, Rex."

"It's Llanview. You can stay with me until Llanfair is fixed."

"It's not just my physical home, Rex. I need to go-I'll call you again later."

"Nat-wait," he yelled and then heard silence.

"What'd she say?" asked Bo as he leaned against his desk, his arms crossed.

"She's not coming home. Isn't sure this is home anymore, and she'll call me later," he said as he rubbed his face.

John looked through a magazine for the hundredth time before throwing it on the coffee table. After getting everything squared with Aaron and the case against Mitch Lawrence he'd returned and had his meeting with Bo and Antonio. Suspension for two weeks for working outside of the department for both of them. He'd taken the time and visited his mom, and then tried to fill the last few days by not going out of his mind.

Hearing a knock on the door he wasn't expecting anyone, so he was surprised at seeing Victoria Davidson standing there. "Mrs. Davidson, uhm, hi."

"Hello, John. Mind if I come in?"

"Of course," he said and opened the door all the way for her to come in. Looking around the room he felt shame at it not being spotless, "Sorry-I wasn't expecting company. Can I get you anything?"

"No, I'm fine. I wanted to talk to you about Natalie."

"Has she reached out to Rex again?" he asked, having heard from Bo a few days ago about the call she'd had with him and saying she wouldn't be coming back here.

"I don't believe so. How was she when you left? Did she say anything about where she was going?"

John gave a slight smirk, "She said she was ready to be outside again. That it had been so long since she'd felt the sun or a breeze. Mentioned going to sit on the boardwalk in AC."

Viki nodded, "I'm just so worried about her, John. Before Tess took her everything was so strained-I have so much I need to tell her, and I have a feeling she won't come home. Not for a very long time."

"I'm sorry. I'm not sure what I can do to help."

"I hate to ask this of you-I know you got in trouble for helping find her the first time when Mitch had her. But could you use your resources and find my daughter again? It's been you that's always found her. I know you two haven't been together for a while."

"She still matters to me as a friend. I'll see what I can do," he said, trying to give reassurance to Viki.

"Oh, thank you, John. Natalie is so much different than my other children, but then there is so much of myself I see in her. Her heart, her love of those that love her. Her wanting to help others that are hurting. She is hurt now by everything that happened with Jessica and then with Mitch. I just want to do what I couldn't when she was a child and take that hurt away. Please help me do that," she asked with tears in her eyes as she walked back towards the door.

"I'll try my best," he said with a slight nod and then closed the door, trying to figure out the fastest way to find her.

John continued the path through the tropic foliage, his eyes keeping trained on the flash of red he'd see every few seconds. He was far enough back from her that he was sure she hadn't seen him. Even sitting in the lobby of the hotel as she walked past him, she seemed oblivious to it being him behind the newspaper. It also might have had something to do with him having traded in his trademark black for something a little cooler to combat the Hawaiian weather.

The walk had him wondering once again why he'd tracked her down—it would have been easy enough to run her credit cards and see where the purchases were made. But then that's not what Viki had asked—she had asked him to see that her daughter was ok.

Her daughter that he had rescued just weeks before, but never came back home. Her daughter who was now going by Balsom again and had changed her cell number so those back home couldn't tell her to come back so they could apologize in person for all she'd been put through.

As he reached the clearing, he took note of her—a blue sarong was covering her bathing suit and a gentle breeze was blowing through it. She untied it and dropped it onto of the cloth bag she'd been carrying with her. As she walked to the edge of the cliff he wondered if she was going to jump but instead she sat down, and he took a breath before coming to join her.

"I was wondering when you'd show up," she said as she put her head on her forearms that were propped on her knees.

"How'd you know I would come?" he asked, taking a seat beside her and noticing how her hair seemed to be fire with the sunlight shining down on it. Though he knew the answer he wondered if it would burn his fingers if he touched it.

"Because that's what you do, John. You find people that don't want to be found, right?"

He gave a half nod, remembering he said that to her at least once in the past, "Your mom is worried about you."

She shook her head, "I'm not a Buchanan anymore-she doesn't have to worry about me."

"She'll always worry about you-and you will always be a Buchanan."

"I'm going by Balsom again, but you knew that already, didn't you?" she asked and then looked out at the ocean, just taking in the beauty. "Tell her that I'm fine. That I'm enjoying the beauty of the world around me. And I'll be in touch."

"I would if I believed more than one of those was true."

"Why do you care where I am, John? I'm not being held captive by anyone and I'm an adult that can make her own damn choices in life."

He nodded, "You're right, but you've been through a lot and need to work through it"

"I can do that on my own."

"You can also do it with the people that love you at your side. Maybe it isn't all about you, Natalie. Maybe they need to get through everything too-starting with their actions towards you after Nash's death."

She was staring out into the ocean, but John could tell her eyes were turning a steely blue as she came to terms with what she was about to say. "I let a man who was working with my ex-husband come into my life. Into my bed, John. What type of person does that make me?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't he go after Jessica first? Wasn't it a con that Tess pulled that threw him into jail for two years?"

"Good for Tess," she shrugged. "I'm not changing my mind, John. You can go back and tell them whatever you want-but I'm not going with you."

John nodded, he wasn't going to force anything on her-she'd had enough of that lately. Standing back up he stared at the ocean, not focusing on anything specifically, "Alright-you win. Just remember, there is a town full of people back home that love you. That want to make it all up to you."

"I will," she said quietly as she kept her eyes on the ocean until John had walked off without another word.