Alright here's chapter 12. Didn't get it posted as soon as I'd planned because I was busy with work this week. Lame, i know. haha.

But hopefully i'll be able to update again over the weekend. So hope you enjoy this and let me know what you think. Thanks for all the support so far -- i'm glad to see people are liking the story! =)

A Way to Celebrate
I'm supposed to set an example
I need to be the leader, my crew looks for me to guide 'em
If some shit ever just pops off, I'm supposed to be beside 'em
'Like Toy Soldiers' by Eminem
____________________________

A few days later, Natalie was in a good mood and had been for most of the time. She and Billy had been free of misunderstanding in arguments, though it could have been because they hadn't been able to spend a ton of time together. Billy was really busy a majority of the last several days but with what she didn't know; she'd asked him a few times what was wrong but he'd just calmly -- okay, sometimes annoyed -- told her she shouldn't ask. Even though he was busy, he'd managed to come over every night. They'd fooled around a little but he mostly stopped by just to crash and catch at least a few hours of sleep; he couldn't usually stay a full night so he'd wake her and whisper a quick goodbye, slipping out before she even fully woke.

He was over now; Natalie had let him in through the kitchen. Her parents were only out for a while and Julia had dropped Logan off for a little bit while she ran to get some last minute Halloween things, but Billy didn't even care -- he'd said on the phone he just wanted a place to relax for a while.

"Logan, where did you get that?" Natalie asked, stopping by the end of the couch when she saw Logan sitting cross-legged on the couch munching on Reeses.

"Billy gave me it; I said thanks," he smiled.

Natalie smiled with him and looked over at Billy, who was sitting in the armchair with her dad's newspaper open in his hands. He didn't look up at his name or make any gesture to show that what'd he'd done was any kind of big deal, just kept skimming all of the pages quickly.

"Thank you… …are you looking for a certain story?" she asked, leaning of the back of the chair to glance at the pages.

He just grunted.

Natalie was worried about him, worried he might run himself straight into the ground; she hadn't even seen the other guys lately to know how they were fairing. Of course, for all she knew they'd pushed this hard before, but still…she didn't like to see him so stressed.

She let her hands brush his shoulders and slowly started to massage them, pushing her fingers into the muscles there. He really was too tense, and she slowly kneaded his shoulders and upper back. He leaned forward to give her hands more room to roam and dropped his head with a haggard sigh.

"Are you sure you have to go soon?" Natalie asked patiently, leaning forward to kiss the back of his head, which was growing harsh stubble since it had been neglected a few days.

"Yeah, I got a delivery"

Natalie didn't push after that statement.

"You got plans tonight?"

"I'm trick-or-treating!" Logan announced.

"Good for you," Billy tried to sound like maybe he cared a little.

"Aw, don't ya wanna know what I'm gonna be?"

Billy sighed and Natalie squeezed his shoulders encouragingly, trying not to laugh.

"What?"

"Woody the cowboy…from Toy Story. Cool, huh?"

"..that's great, kid," Billy nodded for his benefit. "What about you? Ya doin' anything?"

"Just going to a party with Paige and some friends."

"Great," he rolled his eyes.

"You can come," she swatted his arm.

"Somethin' tells me costumes are involved, so hell no…"

"So you're not doing anything?"

"Just hanging around. I guess a holiday gives us an extra excuse to party…ditch your thing and come over to my place? All the guys'll be there…I'll be there," he tried to entice.

"…I already promised I'd go. But Paige and I can leave early and come join you guys."

"That the best I'm gonna get?"

"You'll survive; we won't be too late," Natalie promised, moving to sit on the chair's arm; Billy tugged her down so she dropped in his lap.

"Billy, why don't you want a costume?" Logan questioned.

"Cuz that'd be stupid"

"…then why do I have one?"

Billy frowned at the question, unsure what to make of it.

"He's joking, Logan. Billy can't wear a costume because he has to work," Natalie mediated.

"On Halloween?"

"Yes"

"That's sad," Logan decided before getting up to scurry off to the hall closet where the two bottom shelves were full of toys for his visits.

"Try not to call things he does stupid -- you're an older boy so he thinks you're cool. He'll take it to heart," Natallie informed him.

Billy scowled at her.

"How the fuck am I supposed t' know that? I'm still trying t' figure out how to talk to the kid…shit…" he shook his head, shutting up when Logan tottered back in obliviously.

Natalie saw how agitated he was and knew he was getting anxious about delivering to Bones.

"It's okay," she promised, cupping his cheek to brush her thumb under his eye. "I'm sorry I brought it up…"

He just shook his head and pulled her hand away from his face.

One of his arms was around her back but she pulled the other into her lap to rub his forearm gently and trail the back of her nails over the skin. Her mom used to do that for her when she was younger and couldn't sleep so she hoped to relax him. When he left a little while later it was hard to tell if she had.

"You ready to get out of here?" Natalie asked Paige, finding her watching a keg stand.

"Oh yeah; we telling Joel or just sneaking out? The girls already know"

"Tell me what?" Joel asked, popping up.

"Oops; we're heading out," Paige told him.

"Out where?"

"Out to not here. It's Halloween; lots of parties"

"Well I'll go with you; you shouldn't be wandering around dressed quite like that."

"We're getting a cab," Natalie assured him. "But thanks."

"Okay…see ya tomorrow"

"If we make it to class," Paige laughed, grabbing Natalie to call a cab and get to Billy's.

"You twos sure ya wanna be here?" the cabbie asked, pulling up to a stop.

"Yup; it's not as bad as it looks. Thanks," Natalie promised, handing over their money.

They got inside and opted for the stairs rather than the janky elevator, and got to Billy's door; music and loud voices were behind it.

Paige bore a beaming grin.

"What?" Natalie asked before Paige pounded on the door obnoxiously.

"Noise complaint! It's the cops; open up fellas!"

Natalie doubled-up in surprise but clamped a hand over her mouth so she wouldn't laugh.

"Fuck, bro, turn it down," Heco threw an empty can at Tommy, who dialed it back a notch and guests hushed.

Billy frowned; just which of his neighbors got stupid and made a call? They weren't even that loud…

"C'mon Darley" -- more pounding -- "Get out here."

Right. Probably an excuse to bust his balls -- good thing Natalie wasn't here yet. He headed o the door, Bodie at his shoulder, and yanked open the door to see two not-cops; if cops did dress that way then interrogations wouldn't be half bad.

Natalie was standing there with her hand over her mouth to hide her laughter and Paige looked pretty pleased with herself …she looked buzzed. Bodie laughed and Billy's anger evaporated quickly as well, morphing into surprise and appreciation. Natalie's feet were clad in black heels and then it was all leg as she wore only painfully short shorts on her lower half. Her shirt was open to see some cleavage and her hair was a little wavy and messy. Nice.

"Gonna let us in?"

"We have to see some ID first, officers," Bodie laughed.

"Nope, we have a warrant to search for and consume the booze," Paige joked right back, wedging between the two men to get in.

Bodie soon followed her away.

"Think you're funny?" Billy muttered, stepping aside to let her in.

"Hilarious"

He smirked and pulled her to him after he shut the door. He kissed her deeply and drug a hand over the back of her thigh to cup her ass. Her heels brought her closer to his height and even though he liked to think of her as delicate and small like usual, he liked it.

"Still think costumes are stupid?" she teased.

"Not this one…a lot of other people see ya like this?"

"Yeah, but don't worry, it's just for you"

"Got that right…how much you been drinkin'?" he chuckled when she began to nibble at his neck despite al the people.

"Not that much…I'm just in a good mod. Are you?" she asked, leaning back to stand straight and ask.

"Better…it went alright"

Nothing was particularly good with Bones, but all things considered it had gone well.

"Good…can a girl get a drink around here?"

He nodded and went with her to the kitchen, watching her help herself before hopping to sit on the counter with Angela, Bodie's girl. They'd met a few times already.

"So how come I wasn't invited along?" Angela asked, gesturing to Natalie's get-up.

"Yeah, I want my girl dressin' up like a dirty librarian and comin home to scold me," Bodie laughed.

"That's a good idea…I should've gone as a school girl -- already have the uniform."

"Wait you had uniforms at that private school gig?" Billy asked; mention of the school had already come up and he'd rolled his eyes, but this part was new.

"Yup"

"…where is this uniform?"

"I dunno…somewhere in my closet. Why? Do I need to bring it out of retirement?"

"Hell yeah"

"Was that even a question?" Bodie and Angela laughed.

…. … ….

"What do you think they're talking about?" Natalie wondered aloud, eyeing Billy and Bodie in a huddled, serious conversation in the corner with Jamie and Spink.

"Girl, I don't know," Angela shrugged, handing her another beer.

"Maybe trying to figure out the basic division of splitting their money," Paige suggested jokingly before going off to find Baggy again since he'd finished his round on his corner and finally showed up.

"Something's been going on," Angela sighed.

"I've noticed"

"Has it been harder finding time together then since you don't live with him?" Angela asked sympathetically.

"Umm…probably, but it's been okay. He's been coming to me just because he doesn't know how much time he has or if something will come up but it's worked. I just haven't been over here in a while…"

"Bodie said you live with the parents still? How are you managing that…I can only assume they don't know," Angela smirked.

"They have no idea," Natalie shook her head adamantly. "And it really needs to stay that way…but yeah, we're managing it carefully I guess. They're gone a lot doing this and that; I'm an adult so it's not like I need them taking care of me all the time."

"Right, sweet deal"

After little more chatting Angela wandered off to join Bodie, but since Billy was still in the corner pointing his finger agitatedly between Spink and Jamie, Natalie settled for joining Tommy on the couch. He was a pretty cool guy; he was always pretty nice and he was funny, too…usually crude, but funny all the same.

A while later Billy stomped past, making a beeline for the kitchen and more beer. She watched him go and turned back to Tommy with a questioning look; he just grimaced and shrugged his shoulders. He didn't know how to advise her what to do because Billy didn't treat her like she treated him; she'd probably be able to get away with bugging Billy when Tommy wouldn't.

Natalie sighed and shoved herself up off the couch, wishing this could be just a nice, peaceful evening. He was standing with his back facing the room, hands spread out and flat on the table.

"Hi," she alerted him to her presence quietly, leaning her back against the edge of the table and using her elbows to prop her up.

"Hi," he responded tightly, tapping his bottle on the table.

"...you alright?" she ventured, moving her hand to squeeze his forearm.

"…do I look alright?" he raised an eyebrow.

She cocked her head at him, point taken.

"…well whatever it is, don't get mad at me."

She wasn't actually upset with him but if he was going to be testy the entire night, it was sort of a waste of a trip out.

"I ain't," he defended himself.

"…do you need another massage?" she suggested with a grin.

"…you offerin'?" he asked, pushing business out of his mind to side step so that his hands were once again on the table but this time trapping her. "Cuz I can think of a few things that could improve the way this night's been treatin' me…"

She grinned and hooked a finger around the chain of his gold necklace, tugging him down to her. Their lips met and she bit at his bottom lip in a feisty way, smiling when he finally pulled away to rest his forehead on hers.

"Ya know I ain't mad at ya, yeah?"

She nodded.

"Good"

He opened his eyes back up and smirked when he realize he was looking straight down the valley of her shirt.

"Well looky here," he murmured, raising a hand to undo another button.

She grabbed his wrist to stop him, throwing her head back in a laugh.

"Behave"

He scoffed at that and stooped to grab her and tip her over his shoulder and turn towards his room. She squealed and grabbed his waist even though she was confident he wouldn't drop her on her head.

"Where do you think you're goin' with her?" Paige laughed turning to peer over the back of the chair she and Baggy were occupying.

"Officer Shepherd's gonna teach me a lesson," Billy continued to smirk, beer in one hand and his other keeping her in place.

Some of the guys cheered as he kicked the his door shut behind him, and once they were in his room he bent to set her back on her feet.

"Now what am I gonna do with you…" he wondered aloud, tilting his beer up for a drink.

"I thought I was the one teaching you a lesson?" she grinned wickedly.

Intrigued, Billy allowed her to take his hand and lead him over to the bed to sit on the end of it. She then proceeded to strip suspiciously well. She wasn't just pulling clothes off, it was a full on strip tease complete with a little dancing. Once she was down to the her black undergarments -- both were black and lacey -- her hands were on his knees and she was grinding her ass against his crotch, rolling it in circles. He groaned, jaw slackened as he sat back and enjoyed in surprise and pleasure. A slow hiss escape him as she moved her hips then in a slow circle before standing again.

She turned and winked at him and he carefully adjusted his constraining jeans as she shimmied out of her panties. She tossed them at him and he caught them against his chest, nodding his head approvingly as he twirled the black scrap of cloth around his finger. He dropped it away, however, when she slowly sank to her knees in front of him and started to undo his pants.

He lifted himself off the bed so she could get his jeans off and then did the same so she could shed his boxers and begin to touch him.

"Yo Nat," there was a knock on the door followed by Paige's voice. "Baggy's takin' me home; I trust Darley to give ya a ride. Have fun!"

Billy finished his beer in one long drink in order to swallow whatever angry words he'd been prepared to shout at Paige for interrupting and stilling Natalie's hands.

Natalie didn't see reason to respond to that and shifted forward.

"Shiiit," his voice ground out hoarsely, since he'd had to swallow quickly in order not to spit his beer back out when her mouth closed around him.

Natalie hummed in amusement and he groaned, able to feel the vibration. He let her continue for a while before tossing his empty bottle aside to grab her shoulders to pull her up and into his lap. He kissed her roughly and she moaned, able to feel him against her.

"Where the fuck did ya learn all that?" he asked, waving his hand towards her discarded clothes when the pulled apart.

"I've met some interesting people in college," she laughed softly, arms still draped around his neck.

"Apparently," he nodded, eyeing her up and down.

"I'm gonna need a little help with this," she requested in a whisper, running a finger over the edge of her bra.

He eyed it and grinned, pulling her tight against him to circle his arms behind her and work the clasp open, eyes never leaving hers. The bra was soon thrown to the floor somewhere and Natalie pushed on his shoulders so he fell flat on his back.

"Somebody's confident when they drink," he murmured when she bent over him to kiss him, her hair falling around him.

"Sometimes," she whispered before kissing him soundly.

He grabbed her waist and flipped them over, thrusting into her with little warning. She cried out and lifted her legs to wrap around him. He felt her heels against his thigh as she moved her legs and remembered she still had them on. He found that kind of hot and increased his pace, slipping an arm under her to tilt her hips further.

Perhaps partially because it was loud out in the other room, neither went to any real lengths to be quiet even though there were people out there. Billy mostly because he didn't care, and Natalie because this felt amazing and it had been a little while…okay, and possibly because she'd been drinking a little. Billy reveled in it, letting her sounds of pleasure wash over him, letting his own groans escape him when she'd tighten around him or dig her nails into his shoulders.

"Better than a massage," he sighed, laying on his back later, his breath regained.

"Much," Natalie chuckled.

She turned on the bed to look at him, pleased some tension had fled from him…at least for a while. She frowned when he levied himself up and crawled towards the end of the bed. She thought maybe he was going back out to the party and that annoyed her a little, but he just bent over the end of the bed to fish around for something. He could've been looking for anything but she was just laughing quietly to herself; his ass was up in the air as he bent over and he didn't care.

"You like it," he muttered, unconcerned, as he pushed himself back up and flopped onto his back in the same place he'd been.

She saw now that he was holding the cheap set of cuffs that she'd gotten to hang from her belt loop to complete her costume. She laughed and tried to grab them, but he held them out of her reach.

"Uh-uh…these are stayin' here…we're havin' fun with those someday," he declared, tossing them onto his table.

"Like with my old school uniform?" she grinned.

He growled at the thought.

"I can't believe ya didn't tell me you had a fuckin' uniform," he told her, rolling on top of her to look at her sternly.

"Maybe it was going to be a surprise"

"Good fuckin' surprise," he nodded, dropping his head to run his tongue over the small bit mark he'd left on the side of her breast.

"Yo, we can't hear nothin' no more, dawg! Whattcha doin' in there -- playin' checkers?"

Tommy's voice was followed by a bang on the door and Billy growled.

"Fuck off, Tommy!" He fumed, glaring over his shoulder and contemplating going out there. Natalie cupped his cheek and turned his head back down to her.

"Forget it…he's just being Tommy…"

He threw a finger over her mouth, narrowing his eyes.

"Don't fuckin' say his name when we're in bed"

She smiled around his finger and pushed on his shoulder and rolled them over. This time she was able to stay on top, though Billy's hands held her waist firmly; he typically had to be the one in control.

.... .... ... ...

"Hey…hey…"

Natalie slowly shifted and peeked her eyes open when she felt teeth softly graze her shoulder. It was still dark in the room save for some light that seeped in from streetlamps below on the street and a sliver of light under the door, but she could make out Billy's outline fairly well. He was laying on his side and now that she'd woken he rubbed the curve of her back lightly.

"Mmmm…what?" she asked sleepily.

"Wake up"

"…why?" she complained, burrowing her cheek in against the pillow.

"Because I want ya to," he told her simply.

She stretched a little where she lay there on her stomach and lifted her head to look over his shoulder at the clock.

4:26

"Thought ya weren't goin' to class tomorrow"

"I'm not"

"Then don't worry 'bout the time"

Natalie curled onto her side and studied him, running a finger over his bare chest.

"Did you sleep at all?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah," he nodded. "Just woke up and can't get back to sleep."

"So I have to suffer with you now," she teased, shifting onto her back to stretch again. "Why can't you sleep?"

He just shrugged and pulled the sheet away from her upper body, even though he knew she was probably blushing. He didn't think she was ashamed of her body -- if she was, she shouldn't be -- she just wasn't used to people seeing her naked; it pleased him that it was only for him.

He let the sheet rest around her waist and roamed his hand over her, caressing her stomach, grinning to himself when she twitched because it tickled. He traveled the valley of her breasts and back down, tracing circles over her stomach and side.

"…are you okay?" she asked, catching his hand in hers to lace their fingers together.

"Yeah, sure…"

That was about the time the door burst open and the light clicked on immediately.

Billy jumped into a seated position at once.

"What the fuck Bodie?" he bellowed, hand blindly searching behind him to throw the sheet back over Natalie.

She grabbed it for herself and tucked it up under her arms.

"Something's goin' down at Heco's corner, man; might be one of those fucks we've been askin' around about, but it's goin down now, dawg," Bodie rattled off quickly.

"Fuck!" Billy spat, flying out of bed to collect his clothes.

"Billy…" Natalie sat up, making sure the sheet was still held securely to her since Bodie was still in the doorway.

"Just stay here," he ordered harshly, yanking his shirt back down over his head, digging into the small table drawer for an extra gun to shove in the back of his pants and then grabbed his other one from the dresser where he'd set it when they entered earlier.

"Just…be careful," she sighed helplessly as he shoved his feet in his shoes.

He met her eye for a moment, showing he'd heard, but didn't say anything.

"You too," she added to Bodie quietly.

He nodded.

"I shouldda been out there with them t'night -- fuck!" Billy seethed as they practically ran out of the apartment.

There was silence after the door slammed shut.

"…you okay in there?"

"Angela?" Natalie called out quietly, fumbling out of bed to pull on her undergarments and her tank top before peeking out into the living room.

"Yeah…me and Bodie crashed on the couch for a couple hours and we were gonna clean up for you guys when he got the call.

"Okay, one sec…"

She went back into the bedroom and poked around until she found a pair of sweats. The girls turned the radio on softly and picked up empty beer contains and other shit from the living room and kitchen, and even the bathroom.

"Slobs," Angela shook her head. "I always make Bode help me clean whenever the guys come over to our place; I may be the hostess but they're his friends damn it," she laughed.

After cleaning up some half-eaten food left to lay around, Natalie agreed with the slob comment. She sank into the couch and rested against the soft, worn cushions with a sigh….she didn't know if she'd be getting back to sleep soon after Bodie barging in line that had gotten her heard racing.

"These are the worst kind of nights…when he leaves in a rage and not just a curse or two," Angela sat with her sympathetically.

"Does it get better?"

"Not really," Angela smiled, though she didn't find it funny. "But I guess maybe ya just get a little more confident he's able to take care of himself…in case you're not already."

Natalie nodded slowly.

"Besides, if Bodie gets himself hurt I'll kill him myself," Angela laughed.

Natalie joined her laughter, though nervously.

"Do any of the other guys have girlfriends?"

"Nah…Jamie had a really serious girl for a while but that was before Bodie and I were even really seein' each other…some of 'em got their regular girl they fool around with, but it ain't what anyone would actually call a relationship."

"Right…that's kind of sad"

"Can't say it's easy with any of the boys, not with the lives they lead," Angela shrugged in a "what can ya do" kind of way.

"Yeah, I'm understanding that more and more…"

"Look, you love the guy first and learn to like the gang…or at least tolerate it as part of his life and who he is," Angela shrugged. "Easier said than done, but one don't come without the other, not with these boys."

Natalie nodded, mulling over these words, and the two women stayed up chatting for a while as neither were inclined to go back to sleep quiet yet.

There you ahve it =) Throw me a review