Disclaimer: I own nothing, don't sue.

Summary: Natalie believes herself to be pregnant with an imposter's baby, but John knows the truth. Will he tell her or her so-called dead husband the truth, or will his own selfish desires keep the truth hidden until it's too late?

Title: Unexpected Complications 3?

John smiled down at the small bundle in his arms as he sat in the chair beside Natalie's bed. "Mommy's a sleepy lady, huh?" He spoke in a soft, calm voice but he was anything but calm. Natalie's daughter was four days old, but her mother had yet to hold her. The birth had been difficult to say the least.

John shook his head to clear his thoughts the baby began to cry. He shifted her and began to bounce her in the way that the nurse had shown him. She immediately quieted, her large blue eyes staring into his as he smiled down at her.

His smile faded slightly as he looked from the baby to her sleeping mother. Questions flooded his mind as he reached out and took her hand into his, squeezing it gently. They were questions that he didn't have—and to be honest, that he didn't want--the answers to.

"Natalie, you have to wake up," he whispered. "Your little girl needs you… She doesn't even have a name yet. And I need you. What's going to happen to us if you never wake up?"

He watched her closely for any reaction to his words, but she remained still, her breathing slow and even as she slept. John sighed as he felt the disappointment fill him. He squeezed her hand gently once more before releasing it and standing up, leaving the room.

The next day John watched with narrow eyes as the Buchanans huddled, trying to decide what to do with the baby in his arms; the little girl he had already come to think of as his own. Natalie still hadn't woken up, and the doctors had advised them to take the baby home and get her settled.

John felt his heart speed up and he pulled the baby just the slightest bit tighter against his chest as the group broke apart and Viki walked over. She smiled to relieve a bit of his tension.

"John, why don't you let Kevin hold the baby while we go for a short walk?"

He hesitated for a moment before gently kissing the baby's forehead and handing her to her uncle. He turned and walked away quickly as though he might change his mind if he stayed in the room any longer.

Viki followed, somehow meeting his brisk pace. After a moment he slowed to a stop and turned to face her.

"Just tell me that I can visit her. I already love her as if she were my own, Mrs. Davidson. I couldn't take it if you took that away from me—"

Viki's heart twisted at the pain that was evident in John's face and the tears in his eyes. "John, I appreciate your love and devotion to Natalie's child. It will help this transition to go that much more smoothly."

He merely looked at her, the slightest bit of hope in his eyes.

Viki smiled as she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "With all of the craziness that is going on at Llanfair, with Tess and Nash and Nikki Smith, it's not exactly the proper place for a baby right now. And Kelly and Kevin are certainly not up for the responsibility.

We have all seen how dedicated you are to both Natalie and her child, and we all agreed that the best place for Natalie's daughter right now would be with you."

John couldn't speak as he tried to absorb what Viki had just told him. She—because he doubted that all, or even most, of the Buchanans had been very supportive of this idea—trusted him enough to allow him to take her granddaughter home with him?

After a moment he was finally able to choke out a "Thank you." She smiled as she patted his arm. "Really John, it's us who should be thanking you. You've shown an incredible amount of dedication in caring for her these past few days while we couldn't be here. It's obvious just how much that little girl—and her mother," she added with a twinkle in her eye, "Mean to you."

John smiled. "I can't thank you enough for trusting me this much, Mrs. Davidson." "For the last time, John, call me Viki." He smiled.

She saw the way his eyes kept wandering in the direction they had come from and she smiled understandingly. "John, go. The nurses are waiting to explain everything that you'll need to know."

He smiled gratefully at her. "Thank you again, Mrs.—Viki. I can't even begin to tell you how much this means to me."

She shook her head and waved him away, smiling as he left. If she hadn't been convinced that this was the right decision for everyone involved before, she certainly was now.

A few hours later John had gotten all of the instruction that he could from the nurses as Kevin and Kelly had installed the car seat in his car. He was on his way to Natalie's room with the baby when Viki stopped him.

"John, I hate to ask you to do anything more than what you're already doing for us—"

John held up a hand to stop her. "Mrs. Davidson—Viki," he quickly amended at the look in her eye, "I'm not doing anything that I should be thanked for."

Viki smiled and shook her head. "John, you are taking on an enormous responsibility that no one else is quite ready to handle and you have my eternal gratitude."

He opened his mouth to reply but she cut him off. "What I came here to talk to you about has to do with the baby. I think that she deserves to have a name when she goes home, and I was wondering if you would be willing to take on the role of naming her."

John smiled. "I would be honored, and that's simple. We—Natalie and me—discussed a lot of baby names, and she told me the night before she went into labor that she had decided that if she had a girl she wanted her name to be Cristina. I guess in all the confusion I didn't think to say anything—and I didn't want to overstep my bounds."

Viki smiled softly as she reached down and gently stroked the baby's cheek. "Cristina. It fits her quite well… in honor of Cristian?" John nodded and Viki smiled.

"I'll let you get on with your visit… I presume you'll be heading home after this?" John nodded, trying not to show how nervous he was at the thought of being alone in his hotel room with a baby.

Viki patted his arm. "You'll be fine, John. And you have my phone number, don't hesitate to call if you have any problems."

With that, she turned and walked away. John watched her go for a moment before he turned and walked into Natalie's room.

Though he knew he'd be back at least once a day until she woke up, John knew that he had to make one last attempt to bring her back to him… No, he mentally corrected himself, glancing down at the sleeping Cristina. To us.

TO BE CONTINUED