Alrighty, here's chapter 21 =)

Thanks for continued reviews, and i hope you enjoy the new chap=D

What A Nightmare
Free to roam, made a home out of everywhere I've been
Then you came crashing in, like the realest thing
Trying my best to understand all that your love can bring
'Half of Heart' by John Mayer
_

"Paige, don't tell him that!" Natalie laughed. "You'll only boost his ego."

"But I do like it. Let me feel," Paige demanded, stepping off the couch to run her hand through Vince's wavy hair. "And it's soft."

Vince just laughed and combed his own fingers through his hair in an amused but somewhat cocky kind of way as Paige sat back down.

"What? You don't agree?" he challenged Natalie.

"It's very nice…if you're into the dark and grungy thing," she teased him.

"And Billy is nice if you're into the whole skinhead thing," he responded casually.

Natalie flipped him the bird but otherwise just took a long drink from her beer. She was at her house with Paige and Vince, just lounging around. She'd been spending more time at home the last few days or so. She wasn't trying to punish Billy or anything, she just thought they might need more downtime apart to really relax from what Paige liked to simply call 'the biggest misunderstanding of the year'. They still saw each other at least a little everyday, but she'd been coming home at night.

Plus, she was spending more time with Vince, and she felt that time with Billy and time with Vince should be mutually exclusive. In different circumstances, she might feel like she was choosing Vince over Billy, but she never knew how long Vince was going to stick around when he showed up like this. He kind of drifted around, staying wherever and doing whatever odd jobs kept money in his pocket. It's not that he'd gone crazy after the war…he just wasn't quite the same and he hadn't put roots down anywhere. If he left soon she didn't know when he'd be back again so she wanted to hang out with him while she could.

"That was low," Paige shook her head, but she was laughing happily - it was amusing to hear people make fun of the guys, even if it was behind their backs.

"See? Mami's got a sense of humor," Vince laughed, pointing to Paige.

"Speaking of mommy…where's your parents?" Paige frowned.

"At my grandparents'…I'm surprised they didn't cancel the whole visit when they found out Vince was gonna be around; they love him," Natalie grinned.

That was definitely true. Maybe it was because he'd always been close to the family, or because he was like a link to Connor…or maybe it was just the air he always had about him that was reminiscent of a lost dog…a tough dog, but a lost one nonetheless. Whatever it was, he was like their surrogate son, and he had been even before Connor passed.

"Okay, I was gonna say: it's getting late, so your parents must know how to party," Paige teased.

"You think they don't?" Vince laughed. "They know how to drink. Let me tell you -"

He stopped when there was a knock…not a knock from the front door.

"Shit," Natalie hissed.

Vince jumped up quickly, sensing trouble from her tone, but Natalie rushed out of her seat before he cold make more of a move.

"No, no, sit down. Tell her the stories… …it's probably Billy"

Vince rolled his eyes but dropped back down and continued the few tipsy Christopher Shepherd stories he had in his arsenal of memory.

Natalie slowly edged into the kitchen, sighing when she saw Billy and Baggy on the back patio. Great, Paige had probably mentioned she was coming over to hang out.

"Hi," she greeted softly.

Billy ducked to kiss her despite his cold lips and Baggy made a gagging noise as he shimmied past, likely preparing to make a beeline for Paige, but Natalie reached back and grabbed him by the coat.

"Whoa, what? You want me to join in?" Baggy laughed as Billy straightened.

"No, but you both have to know that Vince is here"

Billy lost go of some of the easiness in his eyes and exchanged some kind of look with Baggy.

"Paige and I are just hanging around with him, drinking some beers and catching up. Paige has met him before, so we're just hanging out…"

Baggy just stood there, waiting for Billy to decide if they were staying or going.

"…we invited to this party or what?" Billy asked slowly.

"If everybody can play nice," she nodded in agreement.

Billy made a movement that was part nod and part shrug and took the bottle from her fingers, downing the rest of it in one go.

"I do get a beer, right?" Baggy asked.

"Of course," Natalie chuckled.

He loped over to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle before going out to the living room to Paige and this Vince dude.

"You look tired," Natalie observed when Billy lingered in the kitchen rather than go right in with Baggy.

He just grunted in response, scratching the back of his head in thought.

"Billy," she sighed heavily. "I really don't want a problem in there tonight."

"You don't think I can behave," he rolled his eyes.

"You can when you want to," she shrugged, unconvinced he wanted to.

She was pretty sure he got what her relationship with Vince was, but that didn't change the fact that Vince had fought back rather than succumb to him; hell, Vince had even restarted the fight that Billy had considered over. Never mind that Billy had started the fight initially - he was holding a grudge.

He nodded in reluctant agreement before going to the fridge to grab two beers, holding one out to her before leading the way back into the living room. Natalie took a deep breath and followed. She truly hoped this would be a regular old night but, then again, maybe Paige was right and "normal" was before she met Billy Darley.

"- yeah, so he's off jumpin' in the pool like any other idiota. Clothes on and all that," Vince was recounting, hardly batting an eye when they entered and Billy sat in the other armchair across from Vince's with Natalie plunking down on the arm.

"Shut up," Paige shook her head.

"Si, I'm telling the truth," he chuckled. "We were like 14 and sneaking their beers…they always wondered where Connor got his crazy, but it was all him. Only thing they ever had in common, besides the face…well, you've seen pictures," he shrugged, speaking of Connor's visage.

"Who we talkin' about?" Baggy frowned, wanting to join in Paige's laughter.

"Connor's her brother," Paige supplied.

"Talkin' about their dad," Vince added, catching what Baggy was really looking for.

"What? I thought he was some judge," Baggy cracked a smile.

"Well he was a lawyer still back then, but yeah," Vince shook his head, chortling. "He likes to think he's sophisticated and stuck up."

"Hope I don't end up in his court; won't be able to take him serious knowing he's some kindda lush," Baggy snorted.

"You better not end up in court at all ," Paige slapped his chest.

"Yeah, yeah…her mom do that shit too? Cuz she's definitely a MILF"

Natalie and Paige both gasped their disgust and Paige slapped his arm again. Billy just laughed and Vince, too, snickered like he didn't disagree.

"Nah, she'd sit back and watch; she was always classy - never as uptight as Chris, though."

"Amen to that," Natalie piped up, raising her drink in agreement as Billy snaked an arm around where she was sitting.

"…but you don't disagree - she looks good, right?" Baggy goaded.

Vince just sat and tried to hold in a smirk, but failed miserably, much to Baggy's amusement.

"Ew, Vince!" Natalie groaned.

He just shrugged.

"Calm down, Nat; some guys crush on teachers and some guys crush on their friend's ma," Baggy offered in his defense, still smirking.

Baggy was thinking maybe this Vince wasn't so bad. He seemed pretty chill, and Baggy did usually get on with people really easy. He chanced a glance at his stoic leader, who wasn't joining in the banter and was mostly observing instead. Baggy went ahead and lost a little of his smile; if Billy wasn't okay with this punk, he wouldn't be either.

"I can't believe you guys just called her mom a MILF to her face," Paige cracked up.

"Shut up," Natalie complained.

"She'd take it as a compliment, Nat," Vince brushed it off.

"Billy…tell me you don't agree with them"

"…she spawned you; she can't be ugly," Billy informed her, pinching her side.

"Spawned, great," Natalie laughed, swatting his hand away.

"Aw, Baggy, tell me I'm pretty as romantically as Billy says it to Nat," Paige mock-pouted.

"You're fucking hot," Baggy stated simply.

"Don't mock his compliments," Natalie tossed a coaster towards the occupants of the couch.

"Bitch," Paige laughed, barely protecting her drink from spilling as she dodged the coaster.

"Yeah that's precious alcohol you couldda wasted," Baggy admonished.

"Then mind your manners"

Natalie turned back to Billy and found he was having some kind of stare-down with Vince. Billy's face was mildly disgusted and his eyes narrowed in a way that would have most people backing off, but Vince just stared back darkly, though he almost looked bored. She looked to Baggy and Paige, both of whom watched on in interest as well, neither doing anything of consequence.

She let them continue for some time, but decided they were ultimately being stupid and this was just some sort of pissing contest.

Men.

"How about more beer for everyone," she announced to no one in particular, pleased that Paige followed after her into the kitchen.

"Intense," Paige whispered.

They grabbed some more beer from the garage to put in the refrigerator and got out enough beers for everyone.

"Right," Natalie rolled her eyes. "If he picks a fight I'll kill him," she added.

"Nah, it's just some kind of wordless, manly throw-down. They're drawing lines without speaking…or some macho thing like that. Hell if I know; they're idiots," Paige laughed, grabbing another beer. "I'm crashing here, right?"

"Yes…probably in the guest room, though; I'm sure Billy will stay."

"Get to cuddle with Baggy - not complaining," Paige smiled brightly.

"…have you gotten a real name out of him?" Natalie asked curiously; she hadn't thought about it much before but knew it wasn't his birth name.

"Everybody calls him Baggy; how much more real do I need?" Paige shrugged carelessly. "But let me ask you something," she continued quietly, leaning on the counter.

"Okay…"

"About Vince…have you ever, ya know, gone there? I'll forgive you if you never mentioned it…it's just that he's pretty sexy…" Paige grinned wickedly.

"No," Natalie shook her head. "He's like my brother, Paige. I mean I can recognize he's got a nice body but I I've never had a crush or anything.."

"Never?"

"No," Natalie laughed.

"Good fuckin' answer"

Both girls turned and Paige cringed to see Billy walking in.

"Don't mind me. Silly questions; I've been drinking, ya know," Paige dismissed, exiting nonchalantly.

"Don't frown like that - I was telling the truth," Natalie promised.

"Uh-huh. You sure he ain't got some exotic thing goin' on that gets the two of ya all girly," he scoffed, referencing Paige as he helped himself to another beer.

"Don't. I've known him forever and when we were younger I was just like an annoying little sister," she explained. "We weren't really that close until after him and Connor graduated and we'd all grown up a little. He's always been like part of the family…he had a crappy home life so he didn't like being there and he was always here. He joined the Army right away while Connor tried out college, but then he dropped out and enlisted, too. By the time Vince got back from his first tour, Connor was through basic training; he signed on for another tour and they shipped out together."

She knew he wasn't asking to be filled in on Vince's min-biography, but she wanted to make Vince more real to him so that he wasn't just some random guy he'd fought with. She doubted he was genuinely interested but he nodded all the same, so at least he'd heard her.

"He was there when Connor got shot, obviously…"

Billy rubbed the back of his head for something to do; he was pretty sure he didn't want to hear this, for some reason…and it made him feel worse for overreacting. Damn, no one could guilt him the way she could.

"He felt really guilty about it for a while, I think. It took him a while before he could come back around much…it wasn't until last year that he really visited. He moves around a lot, wherever he has friends….he goes to New York sometimes, and I know he has friends in D.C…"

"…so don't scare him off," Billy summarized the moral of the story for her.

"So don't push him away," she nodded affirmatively.

Billy hesitantly conceded, wordlessly agreeing to resist starting a problem.

"Paige is picking out a DVD! Come stop her from picking some fucking gay movie!" Baggy hollered. "Vince and me can't contain her!"

"No chick flicks!" Vince insisted loudly as well.

"Come on; I have to go save everyone from Paige," she smiled, taking his hand to try to tug him to the living room. "Look…I won't be mad if you want to leave," she sighed when he was resistant.

"You kickin' me out?"

"No," she told him firmly, feeling slightly exasperated.

"Then I ain't leavin'," he told her with a sense of finality, throwing his arm around her shoulders so he was the one steering her to go sit.

Paige ended up doing an agreeable job picking out a movie, though the guys couldn't resist picking apart the technicalities; even Billy joined in pointing out and mocking some of the unrealistic points of the horror movie they'd settled on. Typical guys, not getting scared….of course, Natalie was pretty sure she'd die of shock if anything as simple as cinematic tricks could scare any of the these three.

As for her, she was in Billy's lap now, cuddled into his chest because she wasn't as brave in the face of mutilation and psychopaths

"Okay, help yourself to a guestroom," she told Vince after the movie was over. "No driving…you too, Paige. Baggy, you're welcome to stay…you get the couch or one of them to cuddle with."

"I choose Paige; no offense, bro," he laughed, clapping Vince on the shoulder.

"None taken; you stay far, far from my bed," Vince laughed, trudging off to a downstairs bedroom; he knew his way around.

Paige did too and showed Baggy where they were going to crash while Natalie held Billy's hand lightly to lead him upstairs.

"Hmmm, this was a nice night," Natalie smiled contentedly, twisting her arms up over Billy's shoulders to kiss him once they were off the stairs.

"…it was relaxing I guess," he somewhat agreed.

"Well I'm glad you came," she told him, resting her forehead on his chin.

She truly did treasure nights like this that were just so normal. Save for his tension with Vince, it had been a perfectly laid back and casual evening.

He made a noise that she took as agreement and he picked her up to carry her to her bedroom while he kissed her.

"Am I outta the damn doghouse yet?" he asked, laying her down and settling between her legs.

"I don't know," she announced, tracing his mouth with her finger.

He cocked his head at her, annoyed.

"You scared me for a little bit…"

"I have a fuckin' temper; we all know that," he defended himself, biting the finger by his mouth.

"That doesn't mean I like it"

"…pretty sure you told me I'm sexy when I'm angry…" he pointed out to try to divert the subject.

"Not that angry"

He glowered and looked for a distraction.

"Don't look away," she stopped him with a gentle hand on his cheek. "It doesn't mean I don't love you," she assured him since he had shaky ideas about how he was supposed to deserve love (as of late she was regularly damning faulty parenting and shitty environments). "I don't like you jumping to such big assumptions so fast."

"Yeah, I learned that fuckin' lesson," he muttered darkly.

She smiled a little at his near-pout and pulled him down to kiss her. She wasn't fully excusing his epic overreaction but they'd talked about it enough that she didn't feel like she had to dangle it over his head forever and ever.

They fooled around quietly and got down to business. Billy wasn't sure if he should be thanking the alcohol for her friskiness even though friends were in the house, but he welcomed the chance to make things up to her in a physical way, a way he was far more attuned to.

And he was fully ready to sleep-in…damn, it had been a while since he'd stayed over here and he'd forgotten how comfortable her bed was. Natalie, too, settled in for a restful night.

"AAHHH! AHHH!"

Natalie jerked awake almost as quick as Billy did and she was actually the first out of bed. She yanked a sweatshirt over her head and almost fell down the stairs as she tried to descend them and pull on her shorts at the same time.

"Nat, hold the fuck up!" Billy spat, yanking boxers on as he grabbed his gun and followed after her, thundering down the stairs to catch up with her.

Natalie knew the voice was Vince's and they heard yelling again from his room, but Billy roughly pushed her behind him as they turned into the hall. Baggy was standing in the carpeted hall looking confused. He too wore only boxers and had his gun held loosely at his side; Billy seemed more prepared, with his gun up slightly, ready to go. Paige was in the doorway to the guestroom she and Baggy had stayed in; she looked freaked out. The guys exchanged a nod and Billy abruptly shoved the door open so hard it bounced off the wall slightly.

"Connor, wha-!"

Vince jerked awake at the noise and shot up in bed, immediately patting himself down as if to check for injury. Billy instantly relaxed and tucked his gun into the elastic of his underwear, unsure what the fuck he was supposed to do now. Vince's eyes finally landed on him in the lit doorway and he scrambled out of bed, stepping into jeans and pulling them up quickly.

"Vince"

Natalie edged around Billy in the doorway to get in and approach the frazzled man.

"Don't," Vince knocked her arm away when she looked to be trying to pull him into a hug. "It's fine. It's nothing," he promised breathlessly.

Billy stepped back out into the hall; if a grown man was going to cry he wasn't going to stick around to be a fucking witness. Baggy looked equally uneasy until Paige tugged him back into the bedroom to give Vince his privacy and some dignity.

"It's not nothing, Vince"

"It is! It's just…I have nightmares sometimes, it's nothing. All the guys do."

"Do you talk to someone? Anyone?" Natalie asked, not sure if she was being helpful; she also didn't know how well he'd take the insinuation that he should seek a help.

"I talk to some of the other guys; we keep in touch sometimes. It's nothing," Vince repeated again, pulling his shirt on.

"Well then where are you going?"

"Out…back where I've been staying. I need some air; I'll go for a drive," he shrugged, leaving the room to find his coat.

"Vince, don't leave…you know you're welcome here," Natalie tried to dissuade him, following after him.

"Course I know that. I'll be back, no worries. Now I just need to go breathe"

"B-"

"Let him go," Billy interrupted her, taking her arm lightly to keep her from continuing after him. "It's easier that way," he told her lightly.

He looked up and met Vince's eye where he'd stopped, keys in hand. Their eyes locked in a gaze much different from earlier that night.

Vince gave him a courtesy nod in thank you.

Billy gave him the appropriate nod of "no problem" in return and watched him go.

If there was one thing Billy knew it was how to live with dark shit. Nightmares were par for the course sometimes, and it wasn't exactly the manliest thing in the world. It wasn't a boost to the ego to be scared by something that wasn't even real, just a figment of a nonexistent reality in your head. He wasn't going to be Vince's friends or be a pussy and bond over this, but he'd spare Vince his pride.

Natalie looked up at him, confused, as Vince shut the door quietly behind himself.

"He'd just feel worse the more ya nagged on it," he shook his head.

Natalie looked surprised but nodded slowly and let him lead her back upstairs. She stopped at the front door to peer out the window and watched Vince reach his car. He stopped next to it for a few moments, head hung as he collected himself, and then got in and drove away through the lightly falling snow.

She didn't want to see him hurt, it freaked her out to see him shaken like that, but she trusted Billy on this one and let him continue to lead her back to her room.

Natalie was a little shaken when she got back to her room and crawled into bed. She watched Billy set his gun safely back on her dresser and then just stared up at the ceiling.

"Stop thinking about it," Billy ordered her lightly, nudging her before laying down with her.

"It was just weird to see him scared like that…about the war and Connor"

Billy grunted.

"Guess he's seen some shit…"

Vince had been to war, just as Billy had seen his fair share of a different sort or war. Maybe Billy could respect him…well, not really….maybe just a little….maybe.

"…do you think he'll be okay?"

Billy sighed and contemplated his answers for a moment. He personally didn't care if he ever saw Vince again; it honestly made no difference to him, but that wasn't the answer Natalie wanted.

"I'm sure," he decided to answer.

After all, he'd been dealing with whatever daemons for at least, what, about two years?

"Yeah?"

"Sure…if he was going to lose it, he already wouldda. I've seen guys that can't hack it before and they unwind pretty fuckin' fast," he shrugged.

Natalie wasn't sure all what Billy was implying there but decided to trust his assessment of Vince's current state. She believed he'd be okay, too; maybe she just needed someone to say it for her. Vince had always been resilient; he'd muddle through.

Billy considered Vince for a moment as well. Okay, so maybe he did have a little respect for the guy; he's obviously see shit, been places…ya know, actually lived life. Alright, he had some credit; Billy was able to admit that only after deciding he didn't have to like the guy. He'd put up with his presence but if Natalie thought they were going to chum it up anytime soon, she could forget it.

End of Chapter. Let me know what ya think =)