Chapter Sixteen

John got onto his plane and exhaled deep as he got himself another drink, if he thought he was fucked before well then now he was absolutely and utterly fucked. He downed a quick shot to try and get the images of her out of his mind but it was fruitless, hell he could still smell her scent on him and his skin tingled where her nails had raked his skin. He poured himself one more drink and sat back on the couch, he had work to do in Milan with Mitch and the second he could get that ring he would and then he would make sure to drop off the radar but even that thought didnt sit with him well now. He couldnt stop thinking about her even though she was dangerously close to finding out the truth about him and he couldnt have that, that would make him seem weak and he was nothing but weak..

The stewardess came over and announced that they would be taking off and he nodded at her as she walked off, he leaned his head back. He had to do this and he would have to leave, that would be for the best for everyone involved..

About an hour into the flight he had gotten up and headed down the corridor to his bedroom that was there, maybe a nap would settle him some cause surely thinking of her constantly couldnt be good for him. He opened the door and walked to the bed, sitting on the edge of it but something caught his eye as he glanced at the closet door which had been cracked open, he was just about to ignore the nagging feeling he had but a small sound was heard, was it a tiny sneeze? He quickly grabbed a gun from under his pillow as he cautiously walked to the closet and then he yanked the doors open as he aimed the gun at a pair of blue eyes..

"what the fuck" he said in shock as natalie stood there nervously.."how the hell did you" he put the gun down now as she smirked..

"You have your ways I have mine" she said as she stepped out of the closet.."By the way its dusty in there" she said as he spun and looked at her..

"what the hell do you think your doing" he was pissed as he looked at her..

"i told you I wanted answers and by the looks of it we have about nine hours to talk" she said sarcastically..

"No...absolutely not, I will have this plane turned around so fast" he snapped at her and she rolled her eyes..

"You do know there is a wicked storm up north now, you couldnt go back if you wanted so suck it up" she said as she headed out of the room, she was absolutely parched not to mention her heart was racing dangerously fast, she hadnt thought she would be able to pull this off but thankfully she had known a short cut to the airport and she had been sure that is where he was going..So as soon as she saw his plane being filled with luggage she had snuck her way in, literally seconds before he had gotten on. At the last minute she had jumped in the closet..

"You are not coming with me" he said with annoyance as she downed her drink and then wiped her mouth..

"actually it would seem like I am" she said dryly as she walked over to the couch and he got in front of her fast, his hands on her upper arms..

"Im not playing around here, your not coming" he said seriously as he looked at her..

"Yes I am" she shrugged his hands off of her as she sat on the couch and he ran a frustrated hand through his hair..

"Your really starting to piss me off" he said through gritted teeth..

"Join the club" she said sarcastically and he let out a loud grunt of sorts and then he was storming off to the cockpit, she swallowed hard as she sat there, oh yes was going and he wasnt going to be able to stop her..

He was only gone a few minutes when he came storming back in, slamming doors and cabinets as he did so and then he downed a drink.."something wrong?" she smiled sweetly, she knew he couldnt get this plane turned around..

"as soon as we get to Milan your heading back, end of story" he snapped at her..

"No im not" she said matter of factly even though inside she was a bit concerned about his anger..

"why are you doing this" he was pissed as he looked at her, he could barely think straight, he had a plan, a fucking plan!

"well for starters Im getting that book and secondly you never answered my questions" she said as she stared at him..

"you really are a piece of work, you know that right" he said angrily.."I could just lock you away in the closet until the plane lands" he said in a serious tone..

She swallowed hard but challenged him.."no you wont"

"Oh so now you know me huh" he said as he paced.."You have no idea who your messing with" he stared at her now..

"You know we could keep on going back and forth about this or.." she began quickly..

"Or what, we play the question game" he said sarcastically.."You really dont know me at all"

"I know that something else happened to make you take her life" she spit the words out as he looked at her a bit shocked.."and I know you wouldnt just go work with Mitch, its about the ring"

"wow so there you go, you got me all figured out, dont you" he gritted his teeth..

"Pretty much" she swallowed the lump in her throat..

"yeah well then you would know that I have killed before and I will do it again" he said as he tried to intimidate her as he neared her, part of her was absolutely frightened by his words but she refused to let it show.."shall we put that to the test" he got in front of her now..

"go ahead, do it then, I dare you" she forced the words out as he leaned down fast and got his face incredibly close to hers, he was in a rage..

"You are a stupid girl and you will get yourself killed" he snapped as he backed up from her and walked back over to the bar, she let out the breath she had been holding in..

"i can handle myself pretty well" she said as he refused to look at her and took back another shot.."You cant ignore me for the whole flight" she said as he continued to ignore her, maybe she had underestimated him.."fine but im still not going anywhere so deal with it"

He slammed down his shot glass and then within seconds he was storming out of the room, she jumped when she heard his bedroom door slam, ok so he was a little mad, he would get over it, he had no choice..

Hours had passed as he kept himself in that room, she was starting to feel like maybe she wouldnt get those answers after all but then again she knew what she had seen. He wasnt a murderer, he just couldnt be..

Natalie fell asleep while thinking of why he could of possibly killed Caitlyn, it just didnt make any sense..She awoke out of her sleep with the sound of an alarm going off, and a loud one. For a moment she was completely disoriented as she looked around, the lights were all off and the flood lights were on as she looked around and than the plane jolted as she nearly fell on the floor. Her eyes darted out the window and she saw lightning and rain, the plane dropped now so much so that she felt her stomach go into her chest. My god were they going to crash..

Fear raced through her as she went to stand but the turbulance jolted her back onto the couch as she let out a yelp and then John was rushing in, he too looked disoriented as he held onto the wall and the stewardess came rushing in, yelling something to him but Natalie couldnt make it out, the alarm that was blaring was so loud but she did see the frightened look on the womans face and that scared the shit out of her, Natalie quickly got up once more as John got over to her.

"we need to get to the front and get our seatbelts on" he yelled over the loud alarm..

''what? Why, whats going on" Natalie said as she panicked but he didnt answer as he grabbed her arm and lead her up to the front where about twenty seats were.."what is going on" she said again but he just pushed her into a seat and then sat down next to her..

"get your seat belt on" he yelled at her and she fumbled with it, its amazing how in a situation like this one can forget out to do the simpliest of things..

"I cant" she yelled out as he reached over and grabbed her seat belt and got it on her, he looked just about as freaked out as the stewardess.."are we crashing" she said with fear lacing her voice..He didnt answer.."Oh my god were gonna crash arent we" she began to yell out with panic..

"were fine, its just turbulance" he said as the plane dropped once more, this time it felt like atleast a twenty foot drop and Natalie screamed out as the feeling hit her stomach and the plane rocked almost violently..The feeling of Johns hand on hers made her look as he grabbed onto her hand.."were gonna be fine" he yelled as he held onto her hand..

"I dont want to die" the fear took her over as her eyes began to water..

"no ones dying, do you hear me, no one" he said seriously as the plane continued to rock back and forth roughly and then the flood lights went out, making it nearly impossible to see except for the lightning outside..

"Oh my god!" she cried out..

"Look at me Natalie, LOOK AT ME!" he yelled at her and forced her face in his direction with his hand..She was absolutely panicked and crying now.."its fine, ok just a little storm, thats all" the plane jumped once more as he spoke.."Just keep looking at me ok" he said seriously..

"I cant, if I , if we" she cried as she looked at him..

"just think of this like an amusement ride, like a rollercoaster" he began as her eyes got wide..

"I hate rollercoasters" she said with tears..

"fine, not a rollercoaster, maybe a ferris wheel" he said..

"I hate amusement parks" she cried..

"do you always have to be so damn stubborn" he said as she looked at him and smiled through tears..

"I cant help it" she laughed through tears.."this is bad, this is really really bad, I shouldnt of came, I shouldnt of followed you and now look"

"You wouldnt be Natalie if you didnt come and hide out" he said now with a soft smile.."hell I would have been surprised if you werent here"

"really?" she said with tears..

"you live by your own rules natalie, you always have" he smiled some as he shook his head.. Lightning struck again as the plane rocked and now she moved herself to the side and grabbed onto him tight..

"Please dont let me die" she said as she held onto him..

He pushed her face up some to look at him.."your not dying today, I promise" he said softly and then his lips were nearing hers and as the plane rocked he kissed her but it wasnt the usual bruising kiss of John McBain, this one was softer, sweeter almost..

The kiss lasted several minutes until the lights flashed back on and they both opened their eyes and pulled back..His eyes were softer, not so harsh and she quickly sat back in her seat and looked out the window, it was clear out there once more.."I think its cleared" she said without looking at him..

"Im gonna go talk to the pilot" he said and then he was walking away as she sat there, her hand went to her lips as she touched them, wow, that was some kiss..

Natalie got up on shaky legs and headed over to the bar, she definitely needed a drink after that, and a stiff one, she quickly downed the vodka as she exhaled deep and then she poured another one..

"make that two" she heard him as he came back in the room and she quickly poured him a drink and then turned to him, he grabbed it and downed it fast..

"so smooth sailing from here on out?" she said quickly..

"lets hope" he said honestly and then he was walking away from her..

"John wait" she couldnt help herself as he stopped, she really didnt want to be fighting with him..He didnt turn around.."Listen I um, I get it that maybe I shouldnt of gotten on this plane" she began as he turned and looked at her.."this is important to me, to a lot of people" she swallowed hard as he ran a hand through his hair..

"Yeah I get that" he said with a deep breath..

"so can we just, I dunno maybe just let bygones be bygones" she said nervously..

"well considering your on this plane and were having this conversation" he began.."you havent really given me a choice in the matter"

"this is stopping the apocolypse" she said quickly.."and I wont get in the way, i'll even follow by your rules" she began as his eyes widdened..

"you, following rules" he rolled his eyes..

"I mean it" she said honestly.."I just need to get that book"

"You do know that you will probably get yourself killed in the process" he said sarcastically..

"maybe" she forced a weak smile..

He ran his hand over his face.."fine" he said as her eyes got wide..."but we do this my way no ifs, ands or buts" he said quickly..

"Ok" she nodded quickly..

"why are you being so undefiant all of a sudden" he asked as she shrugged her shoulders..

"well I did sneak onto your plane and well I cant do this on my own" she said honestly..

"fine but I mean it, my way" he began..

"or the highway, I get it" she said with a smile and for a second she was sure that he smiled a little too..

"Im gonna get some food cooking" he said quickly and then he was leaving the room, she smiled to herself, maybe this wouldnt be so bad afterall..

By the time the food came he hadnt said another word to her, he read a paper as he ate and she began to feel quite uncomfortable. Her mind drifted back to his place and how they had yet again slept together, why did she keep allowing that to happen and why did he have to act so, well nonchalant afterwards. Realization began to hit her as she ate, this is how she was with the men she had slept with, my god it was like karma was coming back to bite her in the ass. For the first time in her life she had wanted him to talk to her afterwards, to say something, she quickly put down her fork, she really had begun to fall for him..

He looked at her past his paper and she quickly got up, suddenly she was more uncomfortable then ever and she quickly went to the bathroom, she was falling for John Mcbain but not just falling, she was already there, my god could she of picked a worse person to fall for...

John on the other hand was having his own issues, not only was natalie now on the plane with him but during that turbulance scare he had found himself really concerned for her safety and it was a feeling he hadnt felt in so many years but it was also a feeling he knew would ultimately put her in harms way..

After losing caitlyn all those years ago he became a very bitter, very vengeful person, hence why he began dealing with those that in the past he would of killed in a heart beat.. Word had traveled fast about the fallen son and the darkside was all too eager to jump on the band wagon. John offered them protection.. Though it was nearly impossible to kill an angel, John didnt fear death, he welcomed it even knowing that his days would be spent in enternal torment in hell. He hadnt cared. His faith in humanity and his father was gone but now there was Natalie and he had genuinely cared about her well being and even after they had had sex. His mind went back to the last time, his body hardened at the images and then he quickly shook them out, that would be the last time that he allowed himself to get close to her like that, from here on out it was strickly business and business only..

Natalie forced herself out of the bathroom, she had to keep telling herself that this was like any other mission she had been on and that her focus should be on that book and not on him and his gorgeous body, she had to shake her head to remove the images as she stepped from the bathroom, this was business and she would be professional..

John sat on one of the bar stools as he sipped a drink and she sucked in a deep breath.."can I get a drink" she asked as he glanced at her and then poured her a glass of scotch.."so what exactly is your plan" she asked as she sipped her drink.

He exhaled deep, he honestly wished he didnt have to have a conversation with her, cause that entailed looking at her and looking at her meant remembering how her mouth felt on his body, he quickly got up off the chair as she stood there..

"you dont need to worry about my plan, what you need to do is think about how your going to get past all of his guards" he said as he walked across the room.."we'll be landing soon"

"well thats kind of where you come into play" she began as she sipped her drink..

"I dont have the necklace" he said quickly and then he looked at her.."Unless you happened to of stole it from me again"

Natalie nodded her head.."not this time"

"yeah well this is one of those times when stealing would of came in handy" he said dryly as he looked out the window..

"Ok so we dont have the necklace" she began.."dont you know any other spells or something"

He didnt look at her.."No" he said quickly..

"But I mean, you still have some of your powers" she began as he looked at her now..

His face hardened.." I said no natalie, I dont have it, thats what the ring is for and if you havent noticed I dont have that either"

"ok im sorry I was just thinking" she began uncomfortably..

"Maybe you should stop that" he said as he looked back out the window..

"Listen if we are going to work together" she began and he turned and faced her now..

"there is no 'we' here, ok.. lets not forget the fact that you came without an invitation" he said a bit angrily.."so now youve made this even more difficult"

Natalie swallowed hard, ok so he was back to being mad, mad she could deal with.."listen I said I was sorry ok" she began..

"sorry? Well that just makes everything so much better, right" he said sarcastically as he walked back over to the bar and poured himself another drink..

"what do you want me to say huh, I apologized for coming on the plane but now im here and you said you would help me" she began to raise her voice..

"I said I would see what I could do and I said that it was by my rules" he snapped..

"but" she began and he slammed his shot glass down as she jumped..

"No Natalie no buts, or ands or ifs" he snapped.."dont you get it, I didnt want you here, I had things under control and now..." he huffed in frustration.."why dont you sit down or something, do a crossword puzzle, I dont care" he began to pour another drink and she reached over and grabbed the bottle from him.."are you crazy" he snapped at her..

"Listen, sitting here getting shit faced isnt going to help anyone" she said as she held the bottle.."and yelling at me about something that is already done"

"Oh so now you uh now whats best, right?" he said sarcastically.."You couldnt even keep a damn vampire dead" he rolled his eyes..

"You know damn well thats cause Mitch brought him back" now she was getting mad..

"or maybe your just not good at your job" he shook his head..

"You really are just a bitter asshole" she snapped as she slammed the bottle on the table.."You know what, go ahead drink away all of your sorrows, maybe you will find the answer to life in the bottom of that god damn bottle" she snapped and then spun from him but he was already in front of her..

"dont you tell me what I am suppose to do" he snapped at her.."your track record isnt perfect either"

"yeah well atleast I help people instead of thinking only about myself" she snapped right back at him..

"atleast I am happy with what I am, can you say the same thing" he narrowed his eyes..

"happy? Oh I seriously doubt you are happy, when was the last time you did something without being drunk, see you cant handle this world John, you cant handle anything,thats why your always holding onto that bottle,and if you think that drinking up all the alcohol in the world is going to bring her back then your crazy!" she yelled angrily as she went to walk past him and he grabbed her arm..

"dont you ever bring her up again" he said dangerously low..

"why the hell not huh" she yanked her arm back.."why is she off limits, hell your the one who killed her!" she snapped at him..

"i said stop it" he yelled at her as he grabbed her arm now and yanked her close.."you should be hoping right about now that you dont find that same fate"

"im not scared of you" she tried to yank her arm back but he held onto it hard..

"You should be" he yanked her closer.."see what you dont understand is that I dont care about anything, not you, not the fucking apocolypse, nothing and honestly at the rate your going you'll be dead and buried before the world ends anyway" he seethed at her and she did the only thing she could think of, she slapped him hard and he laughed as he held onto one of her arms, so she slapped him again.."does that make you feel better Natalie, huh! Go ahead try to hurt me" he yelled at her and she hit him once more and then yanked her other arm back and used her fist to pound him in the chest as he stood there..

"damn you, DAMN YOU!" she yelled angrily as she hit him and then it happened, something that she honestly wasnt expecting, she began to cry as she hit him, out of all the times to cry it had to be now.."You are an ungrateful, inconsiderate ass" she yelled as she spun around and covered her face..

John was actually taken back by her emotion, he had wanted to break her down but he wasnt expecting this, I mean when she thought she would die it was one thing but this, he honestly didnt know what to do, he didnt like how it made him feel inside..

"Natalie" he said low as she kept her back turned..

"You know what, fuck you John" she snapped at him.."leave me the hell alone" she said as she ran out of there and to the one place she knew she could run to, his bedroom and she slammed the door as she broke down and cried..

John paced the livingroom as he kept looking down the hall, damn it why did he have to feel bad right now... He walked to the bar and grabbed the bottle there and then quickly put it back down, great now he couldnt even drink and he headed down the hall..

"Natalie open the door" he said as he stood there..

"You know what, why dont you just go finish off that bottle and then when your done screw yourself with it" she yelled from the other side of the door as he stood there and inhaled deep..He went to say something and the door flung open as she stood there, completely pissed..

"Listen" he began..

"did you not hear what I said go to hell" she snapped at him and pushed past him..

"You know im trying to have a fucking conversation with you" he snapped..

"Oh right, cause you are just this upstanding citizen" she said sarcastically as she turned and looked at him.."actually you know what, your lucky that you atleast have your looks to fall back on cause besides that you got nothing" she said bitterly as she continued back down the hall. He just stood there a bit stunned, honestly for the first time in his life he may just be speechless..