A/N I do not own these characters. ABC does. Though
they do not treat them well I will.
New Beginnings
Chapter 1
Natalie sat in her new apartment looking in the mirror at her recently acquired bruises. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine her life would have turned out this way. How could he do this to her. She had thought he loved her. But people that love you don’t hit. He had found her this last time. But if there was one thing she was it was resourceful and she had gotten away.
Natalie got up and started to get ready for work. She wasn’t a stranger to working in bars. Back in Llanview she worked in them all the time. She liked meeting new people and she was comfortable behind the bar. She had seen people with bruises like her come in to bury their pain in the bottle. She refused to do that. She had already run away, something she had refused to do before.
He husband had been so sweet before he had come back. Now he was angry and abusive. The first time he had hit her she had excused it. After all he had been tortured for a year on that ship and she had surprised him after all. The second time, she had woken him up and he just lashed out at her. He had said it was her fault for startling him but he was sorry. He was always sorry. She had started to believe him. Maybe it had been her fault. After all she had changed so much since he had been gone.
With a sigh Natalie finished getting ready and went to work. She could always loose herself in her work. Especially on a busy Saturday night like tonight. If only that worked as well when she wasn’t at work. She wanted to look into getting a different job but then he would find her. If it was just him she wouldn’t be worried but he had the Santi’s out there looking for her too. Changing her name had thrown them off her scent for a little while at least but she knew she would have to leave again soon. This was the third bar in the third town since leaving Llanview 6 months ago.
“Hi, Natasha.” Pam, he co worker said, startling out of her thoughts.
“Hi,” Natalie said pulling her sleeves down to cover the bruises. She didn’t want Pam to see them. She didn’t want anyone to know that she had failed so bad in pleasing the only man she had ever loved.
“What’s wrong with you arm?” Pam asked, noticing that Natalie had been rubbing unconsciously. She always wondered why Natasha was so aloft with everyone. Natasha was friendly but never let anyone too close. She never went out or had any fun at all.
“Nothing. I just bumped it on my dresser moving furniture around.” Natalie said with a shrug, wincing when the movement hurt her shoulder, getting right to work.
After that Pam let it go. If she didn’t want to talk that was fine with her. She had enough problems to deal with.
Natalie was rinsing out some beer glasses when someone asked, “can I get a beer?”
Without looking up she said, “sure. What kind?” As she set his beer in front of him she looked up and caught her breath. He had to be one of the best looking guys that she had ever seen.
John McBain was having a bad day. First his perp had gotten away then he had gotten yelled at by his boss. All he wanted right now was a beer and a game of pool. As he sat waiting for the pretty red head behind the bar to notice him he admired her figure. Wow she was a hot one that was for sure.
When he realized that she wasn’t going to notice him anytime soon he spoke up asking for a beer. When she spoke he was mesmerized. Her voice was very pleasant but it was the way she said her words that captivated him. She has some Jersey inflections with a little Pennsylvania accent mixed in. It was very interesting.
He had heard the Pennsylvania accent in Llanview when he had been there investigating the Santi’s for the FBI. Now he was back in AC on a different case. He almost wished he had taken Bo up on that offer for a job. The FBI was starting to loose its appeal. He had immersed him self in it after Caitlyn had died but that had been 6 years ago. He needed to move on with his life, as his brother was always telling him.
He looked up at the woman’s face and almost whistled. She was gorgeous. Their eyes caught and held. Something electric passed between them, she looked as shocked as he felt, before she shuttered her gaze and put her mask back in place.
“Anything else?” Natalie asked, feeling very uncomfortable with the way this man looking at her.
“How about your name?” John said in a flirty manor.
“How about you order something else or leave me alone.” Natalie said abruptly.
John frowned at her tone. Obviously she wasn’t a real friendly one. But there was something about her. Something he couldn’t explain. He needed to get to know her better.
“Fine, If I order a burger will you tell me your name?” John asked slightly less flirty. He wanted to get to know her not spook her.
Natalie turned slightly so he could see her name tag.
“Natasha, hmmm, beautiful name.” Sticking out his hand he said, “I’m John McBain.”
When he stuck out his hand Natalie flinched and backed up a bit before reaching out and shaking his hand. “Natasha, now.. do you want that burger.”
John frowned when she flinched and took a step back like she expected him to hit her. Someone had obviously been hitting this beautiful woman. This made him want to find the SOB and teach him a thing or two about how to treat a woman. He jolted when their hands touched. The force of his reaction to her skin against his palm was surprising. He hadn’t felt this way since Caitlyn.
Shocked at his thoughts and his reaction he pulled his hand away and finished his beer. He ordered his burger and settled down at a table where he had a clear view of Natasha. He finished his burger quickly and then sipped at his beer watching her move around. After about 10 minutes of just watching her he excused himself and left the bar planing to come back tomorrow.
Chapter 2
As he left Natalie watched him go. She was confused about her feelings for him. When she had touched his hand she had felt the sensations all the way up her arm. She didn’t want to be attracted to this man. Men were something she had swore off months ago.
She couldn’t afford to be attracted to anyone. After what had happened with Cris she wasn’t sure she would ever trust a man again. He was the one man who was supposed to protect her and love her and she had failed him. She loved him for so long and then he came back to he and it just wasn’t the same. He acted like a completely different person. Refusing to see a therapist or any kind of help at all for all he had been through. He just said that she was all he needed. Apparently he had lied about that too since he had been cheating on her with Ginger.
“Wow,” Pam said, breaking into Natalie’s thoughts for the second time that night, “He was hot.”
Natalie just shrugged. John was good looking but then so was Cris and look how that turned out.
“He was into you Natasha. Did you get his name?” Pam wanted to know. The other 2 girls working that night listened in too. They had both seen John and wanted to know who he was.
“His name is John McBain.” Natalie said turning around to face Pam, “and he wasn’t interested in me, he was just being nice.”
Pam nodded but said, “oh he was into you honey. If he could have eaten you up with his eyes he would have. And you just ignored him. What’s up with that?”
Now all eyes were on Natalie. She shrugged again and said, “ok he might have been interested but I’m not. I have had enough men in my life to last a life time.”
Pam wondered at Natasha’s cynicism. Pam figured Natasha had a bad experience at some point that soured her on men. But someone who looked that good was never alone for long. Besides Natasha was a nice person with the looks to match and couldn’t help but attract male attention. She would get over her aversion to men. He long red hair and clear blue eyes attracted men like flies. Though they were put off by her icy demeanor that didn’t stop them from hitting on her.
“Well, If you don’t want that gorgeous man I’ll definitely take him.” One of the other girls, Sandra, said.
Natalie looked at her and said, “take him he’s all yours.” But inside Natalie was bothered by her statement. There was just something about John that drew her. He seemed so nice and sincere. But Natalie knew it could be an act. Hadn’t Cris seemed better at first? Then came the controlling behavior and then finally the hitting. Men couldn’t be trusted no matter how nice they seemed at first. She could survive on her own. After all she had been doing it her whole life anyway.
The girls talked a while longer and then it was time for Natalie to leave. Never had she been so happy to get out of there. After only 2 weeks it felt like she had been working there forever. The girls she worked with were nice and all but Natalie preferred her privacy. They tended to be very nosey here. With a shouted Bye to her co workers Natalie left to go back to her dinky apartment.
John went home to his empty apartment thinking of Natasha. She seemed familiar to him. He knew they had never met but there was something about her that seemed very familiar. He thought about her shiny red hair and her full pink lips and smiled. She was a looker all right. Her eyes were what haunted him though. She had looked at him like she could see in to his very soul and that both bothered and intrigued him.
He had tried so hard to stay uninvolved. An occasional one night stand was all he allowed himself any more. But he knew Natasha was different somehow. He knew if he got close to her she wouldn’t be just another fling. But there was something about her... he wanted to know more about her. By the way she reacted when he went to shake her hand someone had smacked her around. Being in the FBI he had seen more then his fair share of abuse victims and though she flinched when he reached for her hand she didn’t act like a victim.
He could tell by looking at her she was strong. She didn’t let much tear her down. He was definitely interested in her. She might be the one person that could chase away the darkness in his soul. The nightmares that haunted his sleep.
John shook his head as if to clear it. What the hell was he thinking. He had just met the woman and clearly she wasn’t interested. Grimacing to himself he headed for the shower to wash off the stink of another day rounding up scum.
~ How could he be thinking of her this way. He didn’t open up, he wasn’t one to believe in soul mates. ~ Shaking his head again smiled to himself. She was special though. As much as he told himself not to, he knew he would go back to that bar tomorrow. Maybe he could even get her to play a little pool with him. ~ If she didn’t know how to play he could certainly teach her. ~ He thought with a even wider grin.
With that thought in mind John slipped into bed feeling better about his day and life in general then he had in a long time.
Natalie walked into her apartment still wondering about John McBain. Why was he still on her mind she wondered. She knew even if she could trust again it wouldn’t be some random guy she met at work. She sighed and went to call Jessica. She could help her out with this. Jess had been there through all of what happened with Cris.
Her twin saved her life and Natalie would always be forever grateful. If it weren’t for Jessica Natalie would still be with Cris letting him beat her down. But Jess had made her see that what Cris was doing was abuse. Natalie still believed that if she had been a better wife Cris wouldn’t have had to punish her but Natalie also know she couldn’t stay. It wasn’t fair to either of them. With out her there to push his buttons Cris could go back to being the sweet man he had been before.
Dialing the phone Natalie waited for Jessica to pick up. She was using an untraceable prepaid phone in case Cris was tracking Jessica’s phone calls. She knew If Cris found her he would kill her this time.
“Hello?”
New Beginnings
Chapter 1
Natalie sat in her new apartment looking in the mirror at her recently acquired bruises. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine her life would have turned out this way. How could he do this to her. She had thought he loved her. But people that love you don’t hit. He had found her this last time. But if there was one thing she was it was resourceful and she had gotten away.
Natalie got up and started to get ready for work. She wasn’t a stranger to working in bars. Back in Llanview she worked in them all the time. She liked meeting new people and she was comfortable behind the bar. She had seen people with bruises like her come in to bury their pain in the bottle. She refused to do that. She had already run away, something she had refused to do before.
He husband had been so sweet before he had come back. Now he was angry and abusive. The first time he had hit her she had excused it. After all he had been tortured for a year on that ship and she had surprised him after all. The second time, she had woken him up and he just lashed out at her. He had said it was her fault for startling him but he was sorry. He was always sorry. She had started to believe him. Maybe it had been her fault. After all she had changed so much since he had been gone.
With a sigh Natalie finished getting ready and went to work. She could always loose herself in her work. Especially on a busy Saturday night like tonight. If only that worked as well when she wasn’t at work. She wanted to look into getting a different job but then he would find her. If it was just him she wouldn’t be worried but he had the Santi’s out there looking for her too. Changing her name had thrown them off her scent for a little while at least but she knew she would have to leave again soon. This was the third bar in the third town since leaving Llanview 6 months ago.
“Hi, Natasha.” Pam, he co worker said, startling out of her thoughts.
“Hi,” Natalie said pulling her sleeves down to cover the bruises. She didn’t want Pam to see them. She didn’t want anyone to know that she had failed so bad in pleasing the only man she had ever loved.
“What’s wrong with you arm?” Pam asked, noticing that Natalie had been rubbing unconsciously. She always wondered why Natasha was so aloft with everyone. Natasha was friendly but never let anyone too close. She never went out or had any fun at all.
“Nothing. I just bumped it on my dresser moving furniture around.” Natalie said with a shrug, wincing when the movement hurt her shoulder, getting right to work.
After that Pam let it go. If she didn’t want to talk that was fine with her. She had enough problems to deal with.
Natalie was rinsing out some beer glasses when someone asked, “can I get a beer?”
Without looking up she said, “sure. What kind?” As she set his beer in front of him she looked up and caught her breath. He had to be one of the best looking guys that she had ever seen.
John McBain was having a bad day. First his perp had gotten away then he had gotten yelled at by his boss. All he wanted right now was a beer and a game of pool. As he sat waiting for the pretty red head behind the bar to notice him he admired her figure. Wow she was a hot one that was for sure.
When he realized that she wasn’t going to notice him anytime soon he spoke up asking for a beer. When she spoke he was mesmerized. Her voice was very pleasant but it was the way she said her words that captivated him. She has some Jersey inflections with a little Pennsylvania accent mixed in. It was very interesting.
He had heard the Pennsylvania accent in Llanview when he had been there investigating the Santi’s for the FBI. Now he was back in AC on a different case. He almost wished he had taken Bo up on that offer for a job. The FBI was starting to loose its appeal. He had immersed him self in it after Caitlyn had died but that had been 6 years ago. He needed to move on with his life, as his brother was always telling him.
He looked up at the woman’s face and almost whistled. She was gorgeous. Their eyes caught and held. Something electric passed between them, she looked as shocked as he felt, before she shuttered her gaze and put her mask back in place.
“Anything else?” Natalie asked, feeling very uncomfortable with the way this man looking at her.
“How about your name?” John said in a flirty manor.
“How about you order something else or leave me alone.” Natalie said abruptly.
John frowned at her tone. Obviously she wasn’t a real friendly one. But there was something about her. Something he couldn’t explain. He needed to get to know her better.
“Fine, If I order a burger will you tell me your name?” John asked slightly less flirty. He wanted to get to know her not spook her.
Natalie turned slightly so he could see her name tag.
“Natasha, hmmm, beautiful name.” Sticking out his hand he said, “I’m John McBain.”
When he stuck out his hand Natalie flinched and backed up a bit before reaching out and shaking his hand. “Natasha, now.. do you want that burger.”
John frowned when she flinched and took a step back like she expected him to hit her. Someone had obviously been hitting this beautiful woman. This made him want to find the SOB and teach him a thing or two about how to treat a woman. He jolted when their hands touched. The force of his reaction to her skin against his palm was surprising. He hadn’t felt this way since Caitlyn.
Shocked at his thoughts and his reaction he pulled his hand away and finished his beer. He ordered his burger and settled down at a table where he had a clear view of Natasha. He finished his burger quickly and then sipped at his beer watching her move around. After about 10 minutes of just watching her he excused himself and left the bar planing to come back tomorrow.
Chapter 2
As he left Natalie watched him go. She was confused about her feelings for him. When she had touched his hand she had felt the sensations all the way up her arm. She didn’t want to be attracted to this man. Men were something she had swore off months ago.
She couldn’t afford to be attracted to anyone. After what had happened with Cris she wasn’t sure she would ever trust a man again. He was the one man who was supposed to protect her and love her and she had failed him. She loved him for so long and then he came back to he and it just wasn’t the same. He acted like a completely different person. Refusing to see a therapist or any kind of help at all for all he had been through. He just said that she was all he needed. Apparently he had lied about that too since he had been cheating on her with Ginger.
“Wow,” Pam said, breaking into Natalie’s thoughts for the second time that night, “He was hot.”
Natalie just shrugged. John was good looking but then so was Cris and look how that turned out.
“He was into you Natasha. Did you get his name?” Pam wanted to know. The other 2 girls working that night listened in too. They had both seen John and wanted to know who he was.
“His name is John McBain.” Natalie said turning around to face Pam, “and he wasn’t interested in me, he was just being nice.”
Pam nodded but said, “oh he was into you honey. If he could have eaten you up with his eyes he would have. And you just ignored him. What’s up with that?”
Now all eyes were on Natalie. She shrugged again and said, “ok he might have been interested but I’m not. I have had enough men in my life to last a life time.”
Pam wondered at Natasha’s cynicism. Pam figured Natasha had a bad experience at some point that soured her on men. But someone who looked that good was never alone for long. Besides Natasha was a nice person with the looks to match and couldn’t help but attract male attention. She would get over her aversion to men. He long red hair and clear blue eyes attracted men like flies. Though they were put off by her icy demeanor that didn’t stop them from hitting on her.
“Well, If you don’t want that gorgeous man I’ll definitely take him.” One of the other girls, Sandra, said.
Natalie looked at her and said, “take him he’s all yours.” But inside Natalie was bothered by her statement. There was just something about John that drew her. He seemed so nice and sincere. But Natalie knew it could be an act. Hadn’t Cris seemed better at first? Then came the controlling behavior and then finally the hitting. Men couldn’t be trusted no matter how nice they seemed at first. She could survive on her own. After all she had been doing it her whole life anyway.
The girls talked a while longer and then it was time for Natalie to leave. Never had she been so happy to get out of there. After only 2 weeks it felt like she had been working there forever. The girls she worked with were nice and all but Natalie preferred her privacy. They tended to be very nosey here. With a shouted Bye to her co workers Natalie left to go back to her dinky apartment.
John went home to his empty apartment thinking of Natasha. She seemed familiar to him. He knew they had never met but there was something about her that seemed very familiar. He thought about her shiny red hair and her full pink lips and smiled. She was a looker all right. Her eyes were what haunted him though. She had looked at him like she could see in to his very soul and that both bothered and intrigued him.
He had tried so hard to stay uninvolved. An occasional one night stand was all he allowed himself any more. But he knew Natasha was different somehow. He knew if he got close to her she wouldn’t be just another fling. But there was something about her... he wanted to know more about her. By the way she reacted when he went to shake her hand someone had smacked her around. Being in the FBI he had seen more then his fair share of abuse victims and though she flinched when he reached for her hand she didn’t act like a victim.
He could tell by looking at her she was strong. She didn’t let much tear her down. He was definitely interested in her. She might be the one person that could chase away the darkness in his soul. The nightmares that haunted his sleep.
John shook his head as if to clear it. What the hell was he thinking. He had just met the woman and clearly she wasn’t interested. Grimacing to himself he headed for the shower to wash off the stink of another day rounding up scum.
~ How could he be thinking of her this way. He didn’t open up, he wasn’t one to believe in soul mates. ~ Shaking his head again smiled to himself. She was special though. As much as he told himself not to, he knew he would go back to that bar tomorrow. Maybe he could even get her to play a little pool with him. ~ If she didn’t know how to play he could certainly teach her. ~ He thought with a even wider grin.
With that thought in mind John slipped into bed feeling better about his day and life in general then he had in a long time.
Natalie walked into her apartment still wondering about John McBain. Why was he still on her mind she wondered. She knew even if she could trust again it wouldn’t be some random guy she met at work. She sighed and went to call Jessica. She could help her out with this. Jess had been there through all of what happened with Cris.
Her twin saved her life and Natalie would always be forever grateful. If it weren’t for Jessica Natalie would still be with Cris letting him beat her down. But Jess had made her see that what Cris was doing was abuse. Natalie still believed that if she had been a better wife Cris wouldn’t have had to punish her but Natalie also know she couldn’t stay. It wasn’t fair to either of them. With out her there to push his buttons Cris could go back to being the sweet man he had been before.
Dialing the phone Natalie waited for Jessica to pick up. She was using an untraceable prepaid phone in case Cris was tracking Jessica’s phone calls. She knew If Cris found her he would kill her this time.
“Hello?”
