1Author's Note: OLTL spoilers state that Natalie will have a new guy named Evan. I'm going with that in this chapter.
Chapter Twenty Three: Marty and Natalie: Enemies No More
Marty left her first therapy session with Dr. Saunders feeling extremely frustrated. She spent two hours with him and was unable to recover a single memory, not a single one. Sighing she spotted John's brother Michael at the nurses' station and knew she was supposed to talk to him so he would call John to pick her up, but she decided not to and opted for getting some tea in the cafeteria instead.
After Marty had gotten her cup of tea, she was looking for a place to sit when she noticed the red head from her memory sitting at a table and talking animatedly with a handsome black-haired man she didn't recognize. Or maybe she just didn't remember him. Deciding to take a chance and talk to her she walked over to their table hoping she wouldn't make an idiot out of herself.
"Um hi Natalie I don't mean to interrupt but I was hoping we could talk?" Marty requested as easily as she could.
Natalie was sort of taken aback that the beautiful conservative brunette wanted to talk to her. Sure, they were civil now that Marty was with John and she was with Evan but they had rarely talked alone since they were fighting about John. They usually would always talk whenever one of them was with Vicki, or Nora or Jessica.
"Okay," Natalie relented sensing that Marty needed to talk to her about something. Turning to Evan she flashed him her patented beaming smile that reached her bright blue eyes saying, "Evan, could you please give Marty and I a second?"
"Sure, I can luv. I've got to make that phone call about the deal BE plans on closing with Chandler Enterprises anyway."
Marty watched curiously as Evan and Natalie shared a warm gentle kiss before he walked away. Sitting across from whom, she guessed to be her former nemesis she tried to appear as normal as possible.
"So what do you want to talk about, Marty?" Natalie asked deciding to break the ice first.
"Um I don't know if you heard but about three days before Christmas I was in a car accident," Marty says, "I lost control of my car on an icy road heading back home from the hospital."
"Oh my God! No, I hadn't heard about that. I was out of town visiting Evan's family in London for Christmas. Is the baby all right?"
"Yeah, the baby she's um she's fine. John and I we found out after the accident that we're having a little girl. Something else happened that night though. I guess I must have hit my head against the steering wheel or something and now I'm having trouble remembering a lot. When I woke up from surgery, I couldn't remember John at all."
Natalie sat there stunned and speechless regarding Marty's revelation. For some reason she felt as sympathetic for Marty as much as she felt sympathetic for John. Sympathy wasn't an emotion she thought she would ever feel for the beautiful widow she still in some small way felt resentful toward. Sure, she wasn't sure that she and Marty would ever be friends but she wasn't that cruel to wish something like this on the woman or John by extension. Even if she did hate the brunette across from her at some point.
"I'm really sorry, Marty. I really am. You have my deepest sympathies. You and John both. I just don't know what I could do if I could do something to help you."
"Maybe you could just clear something up for me okay?" When Natalie nodded her, head Marty continued and told Natalie about the memory she had recovered, "I remembered you coming to my apartment one day. We argued about John you thought he owed me something when he wanted to come rescue me from someone named Spencer, but he wouldn't tell you why. Then you told me to stay away from him and I told you to get out."
Natalie winced at the memory in question knowing it wasn't one of her finer moments. She shook it off replying, "Yeah, I know what you're talking about. Things back then were complicated for you and for me and for John. Hell, John and I were pretty complicated on our own, but it's not something you have to worry about now. It's been over for a while, back then it had been over for a while. I just couldn't see it or didn't want to."
"So it's over? I don't have to worry about it?" Marty asked skeptically while arching a perfectly shaped brow.
Natalie couldn't help but laugh at Marty's skepticism remembering how skeptical she had been of Marty's professional patient/shrink relationship with John. Offering the other woman a warm smile she also gently patted her hand that was on the table in a reassuring manner.
"Once upon a time I wouldn't have believed those words that just came out of my mouth either, but a lot of things have changed since that memory you remembered. I mean you and John are starting a family with this little girl that's going to be here soon. Actually you guys are expanding on an existing family since you him and Cole have been one for a while now. And as you can see I've moved on with Evan," Natalie musing her face lighting up at the mention of his name, "You and I aren't friends but I see a time somewhere when we could be. It won't be easy but we could tough it out. We have a lot of the same people we love in common after all. I mean there's John of course, but there's also my Uncle Bo, my Mom, Nora, my cousin Matthew and my sister Jessica and her baby daughter Bree."
"Wow. Um I had no idea how connected the two of us were. I'm glad that considering the circumstances that I won't have to worry about walking on egg shells around you if we were to run into each other. I just really needed that confirmation. Thank you, Natalie."
"It's not a big deal at all. I'm really glad that you and your little girl are all right. I mean John's experienced so much tragedy in his life I just couldn't imagine what losing you or the baby would do to him and to your son. John really loves Cole, he loves him as if he were his own you know? So you take care, Marty and take care of that little baby girl inside you too."
"I will." Marty assured nodding her head, "Thank you again Natalie. This was really important for me."
"Like I said, it's not a big deal. Just don't tell anybody we were nice to each other okay? If you do, everyone will really think you hit your head." Natalie joked with a wink.
Marty smiled as she watched the young bouncy red head walk away realizing that just because she didn't remember anything today wasn't a total loss. At least she knew she didn't have any enemies to be on the look out for. And maybe just maybe she made a new friend.