AN: I don't own John, Natalie, Rex, Bo, Carlo, Antonio, Jessica, or any other OLTL character. I am only borrowing them because I had a good idea story. Since the idiots in charge refuse to show some imagination I had to do it so I could look at any of these characters again and still respect them. (Though Jessica is very hard even with all this.)

Chapter 12

John stirred from his sleep when Natalie slid to the edge of the bed and got up. He figured she was going to the bathroom so he relaxed and burrowed back into the bed.

When he heard the bedroom door open he sat up quickly and looked at her. She stood at the open doorway unmoving as if undecided where to go. "Natalie?" John called to her softly not wanting to startle her. She didn't answer him; in fact it was like she didn't hear him at all so he called her name a little louder. Still no response.

He was starting to get concerned so he got up and went to her. Taking her arm he said her name again. "Natalie?" This time she mumbled something but still didn't turn to face him. Thinking maybe she was sleepwalking John was at a loss. His first instinct was to wake her up but he remembered reading somewhere that doing that was a bad idea so he didn't really know what to do other than keep an eye on her and make sure she didn't trip or something.

John pulled on Natalie's arm slightly hoping to guide her back to bed. She turned slightly and he was shocked to see that her eyes were open. He looked into them intently and noticed that although her eyes were open she wasn't conscious. He had seen a couple of his buddy's do that when they had fallen asleep on a stake out so he wasn't shocked as much as he would have been otherwise.

Pulling her arm a bit harder he was relieved when Natalie walked with him to the bed. Sluggishly she climbed back into the bed and lay down. Her eyes closed and she lay still, as if nothing had happened. John stood watching her for a few minutes in case she got up again but when she stayed still he climbed back into the bed and lay down pulling her back into his arms.

The next morning Natalie woke slowly. Feeling the hard, warm body next to her she started, then remembered John. He had stayed with her. She rolled over gently and saw that he was still asleep. His face was peaceful, free of the lines that stress put there, and it took years off his handsome face.

Arousal flowed thru her and she blushed, even though she knew he couldn't see or hear her. Feeling embarrassed she got up off the bed and went to the bathroom to take a shower.

John heard Natalie get up and looked at her. He saw that she was fully awake and heading to the bathroom. When he heard the shower come on he got out of bed and grabbed his cell phone to call Bo. He knew that Natalie would want to know how Antonio was doing and he knew Bo would want to know how Natalie was doing.

As he waited for Bo to pick up he thought back to last night when Natalie had sleep walked. He thought about asking Bo if she had any history of sleepwalking but decided to just ask Natalie instead, figuring that she wouldn't like it if he went behind her back asking her family questions about her.

"Hello?" Bo answered his phone tiredly. He had been up all night with Jess and the Vega's. Carlotta was hysterical with fear and anger. She wanted whoever had done this to her boy caught and put in a cage.

"Hey Bo, it's John. How's Antonio?"

"He's gonna be fine in a couple weeks. Someone worked him over real good though. I don't understand why. I'm hoping maybe Antonio can give us something when he wakes up."

"He's not awake yet? That's not good is it? I mean that could indicate brain damage or something, right?" John was confused. Didn't Bo just say Antonio would be ok?

"Ohh No nothing like that. They just have him on meds for the pain. They make him sleep. How is my niece? How's she handling things?" Bo was concerned about Natalie. She had been thru so much recently. He hoped that this wouldn't cause a set beck on her mental recovery. On the other hand he was extremely proud of her for handling that thug all on her own.

"She is ok I guess. She broke down last night, finally. I think that helped, letting it all out. I think she just needs to get back to her normal life now. So she isn't thinking about everything all the time. You know? She doesn't need to dwell on it all. That will just make her worse I think." John confided, his voice tender and caring.

Bo heard John's tone and smiled to himself. The man really cared about Natalie a lot, it was obvious. He hoped that the two could find some happiness together. "I'll think about it. I don't want her back here too early. As much as I love Natalie I have to think about the job too. I don't want her to make any mistakes because of stress or any delayed feelings from her experience."

John understood Bo's caution but thought that it was unfounded. From everything he had learned about Natalie he didn't think she would screw up. In fact, if anything, he thought she would be more focused on her work but Bo was the boss and Natalie's uncle, it wasn't his place to question his decision. "Ok, that's all I can ask boss," was all he said.

Hearing the bathroom door open he looked up and saw Natalie coming out, dressed much to his disappointment. He had secretly wanted to see her in just a towel.

Natalie came over to John, seeing that he was on the phone she gave him a questioning look.

"It's Bo," John told her.

Natalie nodded and then she heard Bo ask John if he could speak to her. When John handed the phone to her she said, "Hi Uncle Bo."

"Hey Natty. How are you?" Bo asked.

Natalie nodded absently and said, "Fine. Couldn't be better." Her voice wavered a little but was otherwise strong.

Bo wasn't convinced, "Come on Natty. This is me you are talking to."

Natalie glanced over at John who was headed to the bathroom in order to give her some privacy then said, "Ok, maybe I have been better but I'm dealing. I'll be fine Uncle Bo. I promise," meaning it this time. She was dealing, thanks to John and her family. She would be ok. Carlo wasn't going to take another moment from her life and neither was some two bit thug that thought it would be a good idea to grab her during a robbery. "How's Antonio?" she asked changing the subject.

"He'll be fine but I'm sure he would love it you stopped by. I know you two are good friends. When you come down just make sure either John or your bodyguard is with you," Bo said firmly. He wasn't taking any chances. Carlo wasn't finished with her yet no matter what Natalie might think.

"Ok, Ok I promise," Natalie said not liking it but knowing he wouldn't relent.

After a few minutes of talking they hung up and Natalie looked around for John. He was still in the bathroom, from the sound of the running water she realized he was taking a shower also. She grinned as she thought of him using her floral body wash and her raspberry scented shampoo.

She went to the bathroom door and knocked loudly. When the shower went off and he shouted yeah to her she said, "I'm going down to the kitchen." He said ok and the shower went back on so she headed for the kitchen to make them some breakfast.

As soon as she got down there the doorbell rang. Sighing in annoyance she went to the door and opened it, Rex engulfed her in a hug the second the door was open. She smiled into his neck at his actions and hugged him back fiercely.

After a long moment Rex finally pulled back and put his hands on her upper arms. Holding her tightly he said, "Christ Natty, are you trying to give me a heart attack? First you get kidnapped then you are in a robbery! God!" He pulled her tight and hugged her once more.

They hugged once more and when they pulled away Natalie noticed that John was standing in the doorway watching them with a small smile on his face. It was obvious that the two loved each other and it didn't matter that they weren't biologically related. "Balsom," he acknowledged with a slight nod.

Rex glanced at John and noticed the look he was giving Natalie. Or rather Natalie's butt... Which was something he really didn't want to think about. "McBain," he replied.

Natalie looked between the two and then laughed. They were eyeing each other like to roosters in a hen house. She know for a fact that Rex liked John and that John liked (or at least tolerated) Rex. Men! She thought. Always posturing. "How about I fix us some breakfast?" she said.

At that Rex grinned widely and went back to the door, he reached for a bag that Natalie hadn't noticed before. When he brought it over he said, "No need I brought you some breakfast."

Taking the bag into the kitchen, the two men following her, she put it on the counter and opened it up. Pulling out a big container she then opened that... Then burst out laughing. She turned around to Rex and gave him a big hug. "You're the best, little brother."

John reached over and looked at the container and was confused, inside was Macaroni and Cheese.

To be continued...