A/N: I've literally written this chapter 10 times. I'm suffering from some severe writers confusion/block. I can't guarantee I've made the right choice in how this chapter is done but it is what it is. Thank you all for your patience.
The sound of a flushing toilet woke Natalie from her slumber. It was disorienting and it took her a few minutes to realize that she was in her own house. She looked over at Sig, who's head was buried under the pillow. Smirking to herself she carefully eased herself out of bed and headed to the bathroom. A moment later and a flush of her own she was headed downstairs. She entered the kitchen and found Jake Anderson staring blankly at her coffee machine.
"Good morning" she said, her voice still husky from sleep.
"Hey, did I wake you?" Jake asked.
"No" lied Natalie. "I was getting up to make some coffee."
"I would have done it but I think you need a college degree to get this thing started" said Jake.
"It uses these special coffee inserts" said Natalie opening the drawer under the coffee maker. "Pick a flavor."
Jake selected one and Natalie loaded it into the machine. A moment later she and Jake were both holding steaming mugs of coffee.
"Your house is beautiful" said Jake.
"Thank you" said Natalie.
"I can't believe you are going to come back up for another season" said Jake suddenly.
"Me neither" said Natalie.
"I hope you don't have second thoughts" said Jake. "We trust you."
Natalie gave Jake a crooked smile and returned her attention to her coffee. The patter of small feet drew the attention of the kitchen duo towards the hallway. Erik appeared in the doorway looking slightly dazed. He walked over to Natalie and thrust his arms into the air. She dutifully picked him up and started walking towards the fridge to get him something to eat. Jake signaled for her to sit down.
"Hey buddy, want some milk?" asked Jake.
Erik just nodded grabbing Natalie tighter. Jake poured a glass of milk and placed it in front of the little boy. Erik took a few sips and began to wake up.
"I think there is some special cereal in the pantry" said Natalie.
"What kind?" asked Erik.
"Maybe Jake will get it for us" said Natalie with a smile.
Jake took the hint and pulled two boxes of cereal from the pantry.
"I love Lucky Charms" confessed Natalie.
"They are magically delicious" said Jake.
Natalie and Jake both started laughing. Erik just watched them in confusion and eventually wriggled off of Natalie's lap and headed back towards the playroom.
"I guess he wasn't hungry" said Natalie rubbing her eyes.
"Well he might not be, but I am" said Jake.
Natalie poured out two bowls of cereal and they both ate, giggling at each other.
Sig roused himself from sleep as the call of nature was becoming painful. He slipped into a robe and went to the bathroom. As he walked towards the stairs he was joined by Nick and Matt, both guys looking slightly worse for wear. As they reached the kitchen the smell of bacon and the sound of laughter greeted them. Jake and Edgar were cooking while Natalie and Antha sat at the table drinking their coffee.
"Morning all" said Sig.
"Hi" said Natalie with a smile.
"Who's missing?" asked Matt.
"Just Norman" said Antha.
"What a punk, he should be down here making breakfast" said Sig.
"Oh yeah, I can see that's why you came down" snorted Natalie.
"Don't start" Said Sig with a smile.
"I'll go get him" said Natalie. "But I want pancakes when I get back."
"Take your time then" said Nick.
Natalie waved her hand over her head in response and went up to see how Norman was doing. The moment she was out of earshot the comments began.
"What did you do to her to make her agree to go out again?" asked Matt.
"No joke, you must have some serious sway over her" said Nick.
The questions were all directed to Edgar and Antha. They looked at each other in confusion for a moment before Edgar answered.
"We didn't ask her to do it" he explained. "She volunteered all on her own."
"She almost died" said Jake.
"Well lets make sure that doesn't happen again" said Sig quickly.
Natalie padded quietly into Norman's room. The curtains were slightly open and a small shaft of light fell across the slowly rising chest of the bed's only inhabitant. Natalie hesitated for a moment but then decided to approach the bed. She sat lightly on the side closest to Norman's head. His face was turned towards her and in that moment he was completely peaceful, the frown lines had disappeared and he had a hint of a smile graced his mouth. She imagined he was having a nice dream and decided to draw the curtains closed. She moved to get up and felt a hand on her arm.
"Some people would think it was creepy to have someone watch them sleep" said Norman, his eyes still closed.
"I didn't mean to wake you" said Natalie. "How did you even know I was here?"
"Your smell" said Norman.
Natalie thought about doing a quick pit check but Norman continued his explanation.
"I think it's the shampoo or something, it smells like lemons" said Norman.
"Oh" said Natalie.
"Did you need something?" asked Norman sitting up in the bed.
"No, Sig wanted to know where you were" said Natalie. "Everyone is downstairs making breakfast."
"Do they need help of something?" asked Norman.
"I kind of doubt it, if 5 guys and a girl can't make breakfast then we should probably just order out" said Natalie with a smile.
"Good, I'm going back to sleep" said Norman.
"Um, I think I'm still suppose to bring you downstairs" said Natalie.
"Then you better start dragging because I'm not getting out of this bed voluntarily" said Norman scooting lower on the bed.
"You want me to drag you out of bed?" asked Natalie.
"No. I want you to let me go back to sleep. But if you insist on getting me up, you'll have to do it without my cooperation" said Norman.
"Hmm" said Natalie.
She thought for a moment and then reached out and grabbed the corner of the duvet. She gave it an experimental tug causing Norman to clutch it tighter. She dropped that idea and walked around to the other side of the bed and instead of pulling the blanket off she just lifted it up and climbed into the bed.
"What are you doing?" asked Norman, his voice raising in alarm.
"Just getting comfortable" said Natalie closing her eyes.
"You can't be in here" said Norman.
"Why not?" asked Natalie innocently. "It's technically my bed."
"Sig will cut off my balls if he finds you in bed with me" said Norman.
He gave Natalie a little shove, trying to scoot her off the bed.
"Norman, don't touch me there" said Natalie, raising her voice.
"Are you trying to get me killed?" asked Norman in a whisper.
"I think I hear someone coming up the stairs" said Natalie.
Norman jumped out of the bed and headed out of the door. Natalie's peals of laughter followed him downstairs.
Hours later Natalie was alone in her house. Sig had been the last to leave, promising to call her later. The quietness of the house was suddenly oppressive. Natalie walked through the sliding door onto the patio. Sitting down in one of the chairs she tucked her feet under her and looked out into the woods. She'd always loved the wildness, but today it felt dark and scary. Glancing at the sky she could see that snow was probably in the forecast. Her finger traced a random pattern on the arm of the chair as her mind churned through the events of the last twenty four hours. The sound of the phone shook her from her thoughts, sighing she got up and headed back inside. The message machine picked up before she reached the phone and Natalie stood listening to Sig's voice.
"Hey, Natalie. I hope you are taking a nap or something. Anyway we're leaving for Norway in a couple days, for Christmas. We go every year, I'm sure Antha told you. We'll be back in time for New Year's. Call me."
Natalie shrugged her shoulders at the message and picked up the phone. Before she had a chance to dial she heard the doorbell. Setting down the receiver she went to answer it.
Sitting on her doorstep was a large package. Natalie wasted no time hauling it into her house and opening it. The moment she saw the card on top she knew it was a Christmas gift from her mother, the handwriting was unmistakable. With a groan she carried the box into the study and set it down on the table. Taking her place on the couch she stared at the package for almost an hour, her mind seesawing back and forth between opening it and just chucking it out with the garbage. She sighed angrily at herself and pulled the box toward her. Pulling apart the stuffing she pulled a variety of parcels out and set them on the table. A card accompanied the little packages and Natalie held it in her hand for a long time before she opened it. The card was beautifully hand painted and on the inside her mother's impeccable script wrote a generic Christmas message. Natalie sighed quietly and set the card aside. She'd assumed that her mother would have a bit more to say then just "Happy Christmas" but whatever. Opening the first package, revealed a beautiful woolen scarf and a note.
"Dear Sis, Hopes this keeps you warm. See you in the spring. Love, James."
Natalie held the scarf to her cheek reveling in the softness. Smiling she picked up the next gift, which was a lovely set of cashmere sweaters from Harvey Nicks. Not surprisingly there was also another note, this time from her mother.
"Dearest Natalie, Please keep yourself safe. Always in my thoughts, Mother."
Setting the box and card aside she picked up the next box, it was surprisingly heavy. The card was written in a messy scrawl that could only be from her dad. Pulling the paper out from around the edges it slowly revealed a panini press. Natalie smiled broadly and pulled the piece of machinery out before scampering into the kitchen to try it out.
Sig threw a couple of pairs of long underwear into his open suitcase. He thought of calling Natalie again. Picking up his phone he started to turn it on, only to find it was out of battery. Sighing he plugged it into the wall and went back to packing. Hours later he heard the bell ring and sprinted to the door. Throwing it open his face fell as he saw Norman.
"Well, that's a nice way of greeting your brother" said Norman as he pushed past Sig into the warmth of the house.
"I thought you might be Natalie" said Sig closing the door.
"Is she coming with us?" asked Norman.
"I didn't have a chance to invite her" said Sig.
"Too bad" said Norman. "Antha would have loved to have her there."
"It's too late now" said Sig.
"It's never too late" said Norman.
"I need to finish packing" said Sig.
He disappeared upstairs and Norman made his way to the kitchen to find something to drink. He found a soda and got settled on the couch to catch up on some TV. The bell rang again a few hours later signaling the arrival of the shuttle to the airport. Sig did a quick check to see if he had his passport, tickets and wallet. He'd almost walked out the door without his cell. Grabbing it off the bureau he dashed out the door, barely taking time to lock it.