A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. I hope you will continue to follow the story and submit a few words in review.
Natalie opened the door of her room and immediately began stripping out of her clothes. Before she'd gotten the zipper down Regina appeared. She stilled Natalie's hands and carefully stripped her before slipping a soft robe over her shoulders. Next she pressed a warm mug of tea into her hand and led her to a chair by the window. Regina walked into the bathroom and started to run a bath. She pulled out a soft horsehair brush and added some sweet smelling herbs to the water. She then returned to the room, took Natalie by the hand and led her into the bathtub.
"Oh Nanny, it was awful" said Natalie.
"Oh darling, tell me about it tomorrow" said Regina. "For tonight, just relax and think of nothing."
Tears coursed down Natalie's cheeks and she sunk under the water. Regina rolled up a towel and when Natalie finally surfaced she placed it behind her neck, lowered the lights and turned on the small stereo to some quiet music. Then Regina moved the hairbrush rhythmically through Natalie's hair. The motion was as familiar to Natalie as breathing and she was instantly calmed. Slowly she began to relax, willing her body to unfurl the tension into the water. She was in a state of mediation when the knock at the door came so she didn't hear it. However, Regina was up in a shot with the hopes to get to the door before another sound was made.
Sig paced outside Natalie's door hoping she was still up. He'd grabbed the bottle of wine from his room as a peace offering and then come straight over. He presumed the family was still eating dinner and hoped they would be for a while. Sig raised his hand to knock again when the door swung open, revealing a very angry woman.
"Sorry" said Sig. "I thought this was Natalie's room."
"It is" said Regina. "What do you want?"
Sig felt completely wrong footed. He struggled to find a response that wasn't defensive or rude.
"Well" prompted Regina.
"I'm hoping to see Natalie" began Sig. "To see if she's ok. There was an incident at dinner."
"Oh I'm sure there was" said Regina. "There always is."
"What's the deal with them" said Sig more to himself than the woman in front of him.
"They are a rich English family and everything is for sale, even their children" said Regina.
"She didn't deserve to be treated like that" said Sig. "I should have stepped in."
"It's no use to reason with the unreasonable" said Regina sagely. "It's best if you just step back from them. The more distance the better."
Sig sighed deeply and Regina sensing his discomfort placed a hand on his arm.
"Come in Sig Hansen, I'm sure Natalie would like a glass of that wine when she gets out of the bathtub" she said.
"Thanks" said Sig gratefully.
Regina hustled him into the room, took the bottle of wine and placed it on a tray before handing Sig a glass of water and a cool towel. She prompted him to drink the water and then placed the towel on his brow.
"This will help with your headache" she said simply.
"How did you know?" asked Sig.
"Any amount of time with the Moore's is enough to give anyone a headache, also you're eyes are squinted which is a sign of pain" explained Regina.
"Thank you" said Sig taking a gulp of the water. "Are you Natalie's, um..."
"I'm her nanny" said Regina simply.
"Seems she's a bit old for a nanny" said Sig with a smile.
"Be that as it may I will always hold a special place in her life regardless of her age" said Regina.
"Of course" said Sig. "Can you help me?"
"Help you what?" asked Regina.
"I want to make her happy" said Sig. "I want her forgiveness."
Regina looked critically at Sig for a few moments before she moved away.
"I thought if anyone could have helped me it would be you" said Sig.
"I can help you, Sig Hansen" snapped Regina. "I was the set of arms that held Natalie. I changed her nappies, wiped her tears and keep all her secrets. I know what you can do to win her over but I'm just trying to decide if you're worthy of the information."
"I don't think I am" said Sig suddenly. "I'm not sure anyone is worthy of Natalie, she is the most amazing woman I've ever met."
"She's very loyal, sometimes to a fault" said Regina. "But you've already witnessed that first hand."
"The more I think about it, the more realize how she went to bat for all of us at a time when we didn't even know we needed someone to" said Sig.
Regina walked over to a small writing desk and quickly scribbled out a name and number.
"Call this man, tell him it's something for Natalie Moore, he'll sort you out" said Regina.
"Thanks" said Sig.
Natalie appeared in the doorway her robe wrapped around her body. In that moment Sig thought she looked incredibly beautiful, her silky hair and pinkish skin. Regina rushed to her and guided her gently to the couch. Once Natalie was seated Regina excused herself and giving Sig a gentle smile tapped the wine bottle with her finger and walked out.
"How about a glass of wine?" suggested Sig.
"Sure" said Natalie. "Honestly, I wouldn't mind if you just stuck a straw in it."
"I'm fresh out of straws. How about I just give you a big glass" said Sig.
He poured the wine into two glasses, making sure to fill Natalie's up to the top.
"I'm sorry I brought up anything" said Sig.
"No, it would have come up anyway" said Natalie dejectedly. "The show would have aired and then all hell would have broke loose. At least this way they'll be ready for the media on slot."
"Still, it was probably the most uncomfortable dinner I've ever been to" said Sig.
"I wish I could say the same" said Natalie.
"You couldn't have possibly had a worse one" said Sig.
"Probably the most uncomfortable was the one after Nicole was caught shtupping our tennis coach in my room and my parents thought it was me."
"Couldn't you just tell them it wasn't you?" asked Sig.
"I did, they didn't believe me, Nicole remained completely silent as always. It was a mess. Finally James stood up for me, asking my parents if they thought that was something I'd do" said Natalie. "He's always been my champion."
"He thinks very highly of you" said Sig.
"We've always been close" said Natalie.
Taking a sip of her wine she studied Sig for a moment before he turned to face her.
"More wine?" asked Sig.
"You look very nice" said Natalie. "I meant to compliment you at dinner."
"It's James's suit" said Sig. "He had it tailored for me."
"He's very generous" said Natalie. "But I thought you'd have gone to Nicole for help."
"If I wanted a cheap imitation, but I like the original" said Sig.
"She's not cheap" said Natalie angrily. "And she's the original, she was born first."
"No" said Sig. "Not to me. To me you will always be first."
Natalie smiled tiredly and polished off her glass of wine. Sig immediately filled it up again and topped off his glass. He saw Natalie shiver slightly.
"Lets get you a blanket or would you like to get dressed?" asked Sig.
"I'm sure Regina has laid something out for me" said Natalie.
"It must be wonderful to have an" Sig searched for the right word, finally landing on "assistant".
"She's much more than that" said Natalie. "She's been my friend ever since I could remember. She taught me to walk, to talk, to sing, to dance and to always work for what I want. That I should never depend on money or family name to do well in life."
"Your brother thinks you're the smartest one in the family" said Sig.
Natalie smiled sadly and then got up, swaying slightly on her feet.
"Whoa" said Sig catching Natalie around the waist. "Lets get you to bed."
Natalie just nodded, her glass dropping noiselessly on the plush carpeting. Sig led her through to the bedroom. Once inside he turned down the bed and went to slide her in. Natalie struggled for a moment, fighting to gain her footing. Sig let her go, carefully making sure she was steady. Natalie slipped out of her robe and got into bed. The whole move took less than a minute but in that time Sig lost his breath. Her beautiful body was on display for a few seconds before she slipped beneath the covers. Suddenly Sig was worried she would notice the bulge in his pants but she was blissfully unaware as she settled into sleep.
Sig had just closed Natalie's door when he saw Nicole walking down the hall. His initial reaction was to dive back into the room but the door had already self locked. Taking a deep breath he turned to meet the girl head on. Nicole brushed past him and raised her hand to knock on Natalie's door.
"She's asleep" said Sig, grabbing Nicole's wrist.
"Oh, are you sure?" asked Nicole.
"Yes, just tucked her in" said Sig.
"My aren't you chivalrous" said Nicole with a smile.
Sig just nodded and began to walk down the hall. Nicole's hand on his arm stopped him.
"Would you like to come to my room for a nightcap?" she asked her voice dropping to a sexy purr. "Maybe you could tuck me in?"
Sig was saved from answering by James barking at Nicole from down the hall.
"Nicky, Sig and I have a little business to discuss" he said.
"Fine" said Nicole dismissively. "Maybe some other time."
Sig smiled and gave her a a half shrug before turning his attention to James.
"Sorry about that" said James. "You looked like you needed a bit of a lifeline."
"Thanks man" said Sig.
"She doesn't often take no for an answer" said James knowingly.
"Yeah, I get that" said Sig.
"Is Natty ok?" asked James seriously.
"Yeah I guess" said Sig.
"I mean physically" said James. "There is no knowing how mentally fucked up all of us are."
"She's fine" said Sig. "Sleeping soundly."
"You want a drink or something?" asked James. "I'm heading out for a smoke and a glass of something numbing."
"Sure" said Sig. "Just a quick one though."
"Early morning?" asked James.
"Possibly" said Sig.
"Good luck trying to beat Natalie up" said James. "She must get up at 5 or something, ridiculously early in any case."
Sig chuckled, this guy would never survive on a crab boat. That realization made Natalie all the more special.
Slipping out onto the patio James produced a bottle of scotch and two glasses. He filled both and handed one to Sig. Clinking the glasses together they both took a deep swallow before settling into a pair of deck chairs. The fires from a beach barbecue could be seen in the distance, the smell of spicy flavors just reaching their nostrils.
"Can I ask you a question?" said Sig hesitantly.
"Of course mate, ask anything you like" said James.
"What other things has Natalie done to make your family react the way they did?" asked Sig.
"To preface what I'm about to say" began James. "Natalie is loyal to a fault. Sometimes her sense of right and wrong overpowers her ability to think past the moment. That being said, she's attacked two other people before this incident on your boat. The first was embarrassingly enough in my defense. We were coming home from primary school one day and these ruff necked boys were hassling me. It happened a lot and I suppose I just got use to it. I'd hand over my pocket money and move on. Well one day they started to rough me up a bit and out of nowhere comes Natalie. She clocks them across the heads with her metal lunch box. She hammered them so hard that a few of them were bleeding. It was quite a sight, my little avenging angel. Those kids never bothered me again, but a few of the blighters went home and told their mummies that Natalie had jumped them in the street or some other rubbish. She got in trouble and was forced to go in for a mental evaluation. Then as part of her punishment she had to go to each of gits houses and apologize for her ruthless actions. I felt terrible. I tried to speak up but she stopped me. She said that only one of us should get in trouble and she didn't mind it was her."
James paused in his story and tipped his glass back and finished the scotch in one swallow. Sig saw him take a handkerchief from his pocket and dab his eyes.
"Anyway the next time was in secondary school" said James. "Nicole was going with someone from university or something and a girl on Natty's lacrosse team had some strong feeling about Nicole's shall we say virtue. Anyway the girl started spouting off and Natalie told her to stop, when she wouldn't she bashed her over the head with her stick. The girl required a trip to hospital and a fair few stitches. My parents basically paid off the family to prevent them from pressing charges. The whole thing was a mess. The thing about Natalie is that when she sees the people she loves getting hurt, either physically or otherwise, something just snaps and she is compelled to defend them by any means."
"That's what happened on the boat" said Sig. "She was defending us. I have to go, I'll catch up with you later."
Sig hurried off upstairs, he had a surprise to arrange for the Northwestern's avenging angel.