Chapter 2

John walked into Brody's apartment, locking the door behind him and tossing the keys he had taken from the drunken man on the end table.

Looking at the bed, he was glad to know that the sheets were new and clean. That had been Brody's prom 'gift' to teen Jess. A new beginning, only it wouldn't be for the former St. Ann's patients but for him and Natalie, even if it was for them to sleep on.
He wouldn't push her.
He just wanted to let her know that he still loved her.
Had never stopped.
Wanted to hold her in his arms and know that unless a case kept them apart at night, he would be doing so for years to come.

Dropping a LPD shirt that he knew Natalie had a tendency to steal from his drawer to sleep in on the edge of the bed, he kicked out of his shoes and socks and undid his belt, then continued to strip as he walked towards the bedroom, half listening to the shower as it ran as he balanced the bottle of shampoo/body wash she had left behind when she had moved out along with matching body lotion. As he stepped into the bathroom, he heard her tears mix with the running water.
Putting the containers on the edge of the tub he frowned at the amount of steam in the room and pulled back the curtain. His heart fell when he saw her sitting on the floor, head on her raised knees, her skin starting to turn raw, and already red from the heat of the spray.

"Damnit, Natalie," he muttered as he stepped in behind her and adjusted the water to a less blistering temperature, before pulling her to her feet and gently turning her around so that her head slipped into the crock of his shoulders and her tears fell easily there.

Gently, he started to wash her with the shampoo and body wash combination he'd brought in and, enjoying how she melted into his touch as he washed away the tension in her shoulders and elsewhere while allowing him to hold her against his body slowly as he soothed her with quiet words as he turned her to face him, he laid gentle kisses on her forehead and along her neck.
It wasn't long before she put her hand on his chest, sliding her leg between his, the position familiar and comforting as the warm water beat down on her, easing her pain and tension, the same as his hands did. "Is this real?" she asked him in a dazed whisper.

"I hope so," he replied simply as he smiled down at her, and smoothed her wet hair back from her face with one hand while he lifted her chin with the other for a kiss filled with a purpose he couldn't restrain.

"We have to talk," she sighed as they pulled apart for air, even as she leaned into him and then reluctantly pulled away from him: "but I don't want to lose this moment," she admitted even as she allowed her hands to wonder over familiar places, lingering unconsciously on ones she knew excited him.

"Then let me say what I think is the most important thing to say…"

"John…" she started to protest uneasily.

"I was late because Marty manipulated me," he told her as he place a finger on her lips to silence her.

"You were right about her.
But we were wrong about so many other things these past three years.
I should never have let you go," he admitted as he dropped his finger, so he could use both hands to pull her close to him. "I have no idea what we've been doing all this time," he continued as he leaned his head against hers, "but above all others I choose you."

"Promise?" Natalie asked.

"If you do."

Reaching up, she slicked back his hair, enjoying the feel of it against her hands and his body against hers as she leaned further into him. "What do you think I was saying in that letter, McBain?"

"What can I say, sometimes I'm a little slow on the uptake?" he said as he slid his hands down to her waist. "But who saids I'm the only one?" he added pulling her flush against him.

"I want… I want to, but… his touch…" she whimpered, shying slightly away from him in embarrassment.

"You washed that away long before I got back.
You were almost raw."

"Still… smell…" she swallowed uneasily.

"Is yours," he said, then clarified at her look of confusion: "You left soap and shampoo at the apartment, I grabbed it and the lotion that went with it on my way back here, didn't you recognize the scent?" he teased as he kissed her forehead.

Natalie shrugged, slightly embarrassed: "I changed brands after we broke up. The scent reminded me of you- us—this…"

"This?" he asked.

She swallowed: "not here…"

John nodded and reached behind her to turn off the water then stepped out and wrapped her in a bath towel, gently drying her skin before picking her up and out of the tub. "They're new. So are the sheets."

"I don't need the image of Brody seducing my mentally challenged sister in the other room because it's prom night," she chided as she leaned into his touch, turned on by his hands over the towels, like a game they'd once played.

"Then let's pretend it's our prom night. Neither of us went… let me give you that fantasy, even if it's not in our place."

"Prom night fantasy? Ummmm. No," she retorted, a smile crossing her face at his reaction.

"No?"

"Some other night. Maybe at the Palace?" she suggested. "I mean you wouldn't take your date to a dive."

John smirked: "fine, but not the Palace. Some place in AC, after dinner and dancing. You in a dress- preferably a blue halter to show off your eyes and other attributes.
But for now, a fresh start, even if it is in someone else's room.
There's a locked door so we won't be interrupted.
You in my arms where you belong.
Us loving each other with no interruptions.
No baggage.
Just us.
Only us making new memories."

Natalie smiled at that, getting into the mood he was setting: "you are all wet, can I dry you off now?"

"Not here.
We stay in here, we're not making it to that bed…"

"Hmmm… who needs a bed? Nice wall behind you," she shot back causing him to step towards the closed, locked door as things started to heat up between them.

"I'm not the one who's going to end up against the wall, Natalie," he challenged, as she continued to use the towel he had on her to touch him without really touching him.

"Wanna bet?" she asked as he groaned when she managed to touch exactly where he needed to be touched and where only she knew about.

Laughing at the glint in her eyes, he leaned in to kiss her passionately, his hands quickly going to her hips and lower, causing her to drop the towel and moan into his mouth.

Quickly, he lifted her and turned her so his body pinned her to the wall as he clasped her hands with his, raising them above her head as he started kissing her neck and entered her, her moan all the confirmation he needed that this was right and not too fast. "You're mine," he gasped into her ear. "Always and forever mine. Say it.
Admit it."

"I'm yours and you're mine," she gasped into his kiss. "Admit that too."

"Above all others I choose you.
Forever.
Always.
Mine," he grunted as he pushed her harder against the wall, his thrusts faster and more urgent, even as she moved seductively against him, urging him on as he moved his lips down her neck and bit her lightly, taking pleasure in her moan of passion as he felt her go over the edge, pulling him with her…