A/N These characters belong to ABC. I do not own
them. If I did I would not treat them so badly.
After seeing the show on the 22nd I was struck with an idea. Hope you like it. Just remember it is supposed to be funny.(hopefully) Don’t be offended. Please!!! Its all in good fun. really.
Right plot, Wrong target!
Part 1
Natalie didn’t know which way to turn. She had come to the tree lighting to get away from thoughts of John and Cris. But, true to her luck, there they were. Both of them! Seeing John there lighting the tree and making that little speech, Natalie missed him more then ever. She was angry at him she wanted not to miss him but she couldn’t help it. The only thing she could do was not let him see how much he still effected her.
Then Cris had shown up. It had been like a punch in the gut. He had looked almost like his old self again. Then he had to open his mouth. When he spoke she realized that he wasn’t the same man she married. He was different.. changed. Natalie knew it was to be expected, what she didn’t know was how to deal with the fact that he was there.
Then he had told her he wouldn’t give her the divorce and she had gotten angry. How dare he just expect her to fall into his arms again after all he had done! At least John was trying to give her space. He was respecting her decisions. Natalie sighed.
Natalie heard a noise behind her. She spun around and bit back a sharp comment. It was Evangeline. Natalie sighed and said, “Leave me alone I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Sorry I can’t do that Natalie. You can push John away, you can divorce Cris but you can’t get rid of me that easily.” Evangeline said kindly and Natalie was thrown for a second.
Was this the same Evangeline that was always throwing snarky comments at her? The one who flaunted her sex life with John in front of Natalie’s face? To say that Natalie was confused by Evangeline’s behavior was an understatement.
“I said I don’t want to talk about it.” Natalie said again in a tired voice.
Evangeline stepped closer, getting into Natalie’s space, and said gently, “That’s ok just listen then. I know this is very difficult for you Natalie. I just wanted to tell you that I admire your strength. I admire the fact that you just aren’t going to forgive both of them. I think you are totally right. You need time and space. I’m just sorry I couldn’t convince Cris to give you that.”
Natalie just about fell over. She didn’t know what to make of this. This was not typical Evangeline. “Well...” Natalie started uncomfortably. “I need to go now,” and with that Natalie rushed off her head spinning with the events of the day.
About 2 hours later Natalie was back at Angel Square. Looking up at the Angel in the middle of the square she reached out a hand to trace the plaque on the base. Sadness overwhelmed her and she sat down.
Looking out around the square Natalie could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. She felt someone brush her hair back in a way that only John did. Turning around to yell at him Natalie was startled to see Evangeline.
“It’s gonna be ok, Natalie.” Evangeline said drawing Natalie to her trying to comfort her.
Natalie was tired, she was so tired of trying to be strong. Leaning into Evangeline Natalie buried her face into Evangeline’s shoulder and began to cry. And that was how John found them.
Evangeline was smiling inside. All her careful planing, all of her free time in the last year had been spent trying to get her to this point. She had everyone in this silly town so fooled. They all thought that she was in love with John.
Those fools. John was a nice guy and a great lover but she was no more in love with him then he was her. She had to pretend that he had been the love of her life. Otherwise none of this would be happening. She had known Cris was Cris from the very beginning. John might think she was stupid but that didn’t make it so.
Evangeline also knew that she had had to bide her time. What she wanted couldn’t be accomplished quickly. For her plan to work she had to destroy Natalie’s faith in everyone around her. She had to destroy her love for John and her love for Cris. The best part of her plan was that she hadn’t had to do anything. John and Cris had done that for her.
Evangeline had kept the lie so that John could dig himself in a hole so deep he could never get out. She knew when Natalie found out that John had known Cris was alive she would never forgive him. Evangeline also knew that Natalie would never forgive Cris either. That fit her plans perfectly. Natalie would be hers!
She had been in love with Natalie since she had hired her to defend John. Natalie had been in love with John then and Evangeline had wanted her to be jealous. So she had gotten John drunk and had sex with him. She had known that John was in love with Natalie even then. He had said Natalie’s name in the middle of having sex with her.
He had closed his eyes and imagined that he was driving into Natalie, he had called out Natalie’s name as he reached his climax and that had been ok with her. As a matter of fact she herself had imagined that she was with Natalie. That Natalie was the one touching her and kissing her. So Evangeline didn’t begrudge that same privilege to John. After a while it had made her angry though. She was a woman after all. She wanted to be wanted even if he wasn’t the one she wanted.
So she had flaunted their relationship in Natalie’s face. She had done it for several reasons. One, she wanted Natalie to be jealous, and 2 she had wanted to kill any chance of Natalie wanting John again. That had failed. Natalie had still wanted John. That was one of the reasons Evangeline was attracted to Natalie. Her loyalty to those she loved was nothing short of amazing.
So Evangeline had kept quiet and now all her careful planning was paying off. After all that had happened, Natalie was in her arms and it was she that was stroking her hair in a way that she knew Natalie liked. It would just be a matter of time before she managed to convince Natalie to give them a shot.
John saw Natalie in Evangeline’s arms and he was shocked at the bolt of jealously that flared through him. He was actually jealous of Evangeline because he wanted to be the one comforting Natalie. He wanted to be the one she turned to. But he knew that wasn’t going to happen.
When he saw Evangeline’s hand start to stroke Natalie’s hair in the same way he did John again had a feeling that something wasn’t right. He had never seen Evangeline do that to Nora when she had been helping her through what happened with Daniel. Something just didn’t add up here. John was confused by his feelings. He knew Natalie didn’t even like Evangeline so why was she letting Evangeline comfort her.
“Its nice to see so many couples happy this time of year.” Someone said noticing John staring at the embracing couple.
“What?” John choked out. Looking back at Natalie and Evangeline he realized that indeed they did look like they were embracing. “Oh no, They are just.. well what I mean is that they aren’t even friends and they are definitely not umm...” John stammered, flustered by the thought of Natalie and Evangeline moving on ‘together’.
The man laughed and said, “just look at them.” Pointing to Evangeline he said, “look at her face. “Clearly she is in love with the redhead.”
John just about threw up at the thought. Evangeline in love with Natalie? No way! But then... Evangeline did talk about her a lot. And when they had been together she had been almost obsessed with Natalie. Always bringing her up and acting like she was jealous of the time John had spent with her. “You really think so?” John asked the stranger absently.
“Oh yeah,” the man replied before going on his way.
John stood there watching Evangeline hold Natalie in her arms and began to worry. Natalie wasn’t pushing her away. What if what he and Cris did had turned her not only off them but off men all together. John couldn’t live with that. HE wanted Natalie back he didn’t want her to move on with anyone, least of all Evangeline!!!!
The more John watched them the more jealous he became. He began to get very angry at Evangeline. What if this was her plan. What if she had wanted to make Natalie hate him and Cris so she could have Natalie for herself? The more he thought about it the more sense it made. John had really worked himself into a lather when he decided to confront them. If Natalie had moved on without him he wanted to know!
Part 2
Trying to remain calm John stalked over to them. When Evangeline looked up at him and gave him a smug smirk John lost the battle to be calm.
“What the hell is going on here?” He yelled. When Natalie jerked her head up to look at him he immediately felt bad. Her face was streaked with tears and he knew she had been crying because of him. But she was taking comfort in Evangeline’s arms and he wanted to know why.
“What are you talking about?” Natalie asked confused. John looked really angry.
“Yes, John. Please enlighten us.” Evangeline said with a false innocence that John detected but Natalie seemed oblivious to.
“You know what I am talking about Evangeline. Natalie isn’t like that!” John said although he was secretly scared that Natalie might just want to be ‘like that’.
“Like that?? What the hell are you talking about?” Natalie asked even more confused. Did John actually think...? No!? he couldn’t think that. “John?” Natalie asked hesitantly.
John was beyond hearing the disbelief in her voice. Looking at Natalie he dropped down on his knees and took her hands in his. “Natalie! Don’t let what Cris and I did turn you into something your not! Please don’t put men out of your life all together! Come on you aren’t really attracted to women are you?”
Natalie’s mouth had dropped open and she stared at him in disbelief. He actually thought she had turned into a lesbian. She almost laughed aloud. That was just so bizarre! Why on earth would he think that? “John. John!” Natalie said loudly interrupting him mid sentence, “Why on earth would you think that??” She asked him.
“Because Evangeline is in love with you and you were hugging her. You don’t even like Evangeline but you were hugging her, letting her comfort you.” John explained. As he waited for Natalie to respond he looked at Evangeline again. She looked down right happy that Natalie hadn’t immediately denied the possibility of them together.
“John, Evangeline isn’t in love with me! Why would you think that? She was just offering me a shoulder to cry on. That’s all.” Natalie said shaking her head in shock. Good lord had he flipped his lid? “Are you drunk or something?” Natalie asked worriedly.
“She is in love with you Natalie!” John said. “Just ask her.”
Natalie rolled her eyed and turned to Evangeline. “This is ridiculous, John. Tell him. Tell him you aren’t in love with me.” Natalie said to Evangeline.
Evangeline looked between them and knew she had been caught. Gathering up her courage she said softly, “I’m sorry Natalie I can’t. I am in love with you.”
Natalie’s mouth dropped open in shock. “Excuse me?!” She stammered out.
Evangeline looked Natalie straight in the eye and said, “I love you Natalie. I am in love with YOU, not John. I have been since you hired me to defend John for Mitch’s murder.”
Natalie looked like she would pass out. “Oh MY GOD! Is that what this was? A way for you to get me to... to... to want to be with you?” Natalie asked both shocked and angry. Another person had tried to manipulate her.
John was reeling from all these revelations. Evangeline had been in love with Natalie and not him? He had slept with her and he hadn’t know? Feeling sick to his stomach again he looked at Evangeline and asked, “If you loved Natalie why were you with me?”
Evangeline laughed and said, “To make her jealous of course. And it worked. But it wasn’t the way I wanted it. I wanted her to be jealous because I was with you, not because YOU were with me.”
John looked at Natalie to judge her reaction. She looked shocked. Shocked and disgusted. “So you aren’t interested in her like that, Natalie?” John asked hopefully.
“John, if Evangeline were the last person on this earth I wouldn’t be interested.” Natalie stated in a matter of fact voice.
Evangeline got mad at this. “After all I have done for you, you would dismiss me like that? Well let me tell you something. I knew about Cris before John did! I knew and I didn’t tell you. What do you think of that?”
Both John and Natalie’s mouths fell open. John was the one to say, “You knew? You knew and you me suffer the guilt of keeping this secret? What kind of woman are you?”
“When I found out about Cris I knew that was my chance. I knew that she would hate both of you. So I just waited for it to happen. So yes I knew.” Evangeline spat at him stinging from Natalie’s rejection of her. She had waited so long and tried so hard to get Natalie and to have her just dismiss the idea like that was humiliating.
“I laughed to my self when I saw that you were having such a hard time with it. But I knew you wouldn’t say anything. I knew you wanted Natalie all to yourself.”
“How did you know I wouldn’t say anything?” John asked skeptically.
“Oh come on John! Everyone can see you are in love with Natalie. Do you really think that I didn’t. I knew you would screw it up all on your own! And you did!”
Natalie was extremely angry. “You knew about Cris and you didn’t tell me for over a year? You @#%$!” With that Natalie slapped her hard across the face. “I would rather be with a rattle snake then you!”
John saw Natalie slap Evangeline and he laughed. He couldn’t help it, he just burst out laughing, mostly in relief.
Evangeline grabbed her cheek and ran off in tears. She had told Natalie how she felt and Natalie had rejected her! She knew she couldn’t show her face in this town again. She had to get away from Llanview. Tonight! Packing her stuff Evangeline left Llanview that night.
Natalie looked at John in shock. What else was going to happen today? He couldn’t seem to stop laughing and soon Natalie found her self laughing as well. They laughed for a while before John sobered up, looking at Natalie he said softly, “I’m sorry Natalie.”
Natalie stopped laughing and looked at John. “John, I know you are sorry. But I also know you lied to me. I just can’t forgive you yet. I don’t know if I will ever be ready to forgive you.”
John sighed but felt slightly better. Just last week she was swearing she hated him and today she had said she couldn’t forgive him YET. That word gave him hope. Hope that one day she would forgive him, that one day they would be together again.
“Natalie,” John started. He needed to tell her this, needed her to know how he really felt about her. He couldn’t spend Christmas alone and not have her know. “I love you.” Looking her straight in the eye he repeated, in much the same manor that she used when she had told him, “I really love you.” He leaned over and kissed her softly on the cheek and whispered in her ear, “I just wanted you to know.”
Natalie was in shock! He had said it! Shaking her head she stared at him in disbelief. Just a week ago she would have given anything to hear him say that! She was so confused and didn’t know what to say.
John turned and started walking away when Natalie shook her head. He hadn’t expected anything but he had hoped she would way something.. anything. “JOHN!” he heard and stopped short. As he turned around he was surprised when Natalie threw herself in his arms and kissed him passionately.
When John started walking away Natalie knew she just couldn’t let him go. She couldn’t let him walk away thinking that she didn’t love him. Because the fact was she did love him. She had loved him more then she had ever loved Cris. That was why what he did had hurt so much. With out thinking she called out his name. And again without thinking, when John turned around, she ran to him and kissed him.
When they pulled back they looked at each other and smiled shyly. John felt like his heart would burst out of his chest when Natalie whispered “I love you too, John.” He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, feeling hope again in his heart. He didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, but he knew with Natalie’s love he could face anything!!!!
The End
After seeing the show on the 22nd I was struck with an idea. Hope you like it. Just remember it is supposed to be funny.(hopefully) Don’t be offended. Please!!! Its all in good fun. really.
Right plot, Wrong target!
Part 1
Natalie didn’t know which way to turn. She had come to the tree lighting to get away from thoughts of John and Cris. But, true to her luck, there they were. Both of them! Seeing John there lighting the tree and making that little speech, Natalie missed him more then ever. She was angry at him she wanted not to miss him but she couldn’t help it. The only thing she could do was not let him see how much he still effected her.
Then Cris had shown up. It had been like a punch in the gut. He had looked almost like his old self again. Then he had to open his mouth. When he spoke she realized that he wasn’t the same man she married. He was different.. changed. Natalie knew it was to be expected, what she didn’t know was how to deal with the fact that he was there.
Then he had told her he wouldn’t give her the divorce and she had gotten angry. How dare he just expect her to fall into his arms again after all he had done! At least John was trying to give her space. He was respecting her decisions. Natalie sighed.
Natalie heard a noise behind her. She spun around and bit back a sharp comment. It was Evangeline. Natalie sighed and said, “Leave me alone I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Sorry I can’t do that Natalie. You can push John away, you can divorce Cris but you can’t get rid of me that easily.” Evangeline said kindly and Natalie was thrown for a second.
Was this the same Evangeline that was always throwing snarky comments at her? The one who flaunted her sex life with John in front of Natalie’s face? To say that Natalie was confused by Evangeline’s behavior was an understatement.
“I said I don’t want to talk about it.” Natalie said again in a tired voice.
Evangeline stepped closer, getting into Natalie’s space, and said gently, “That’s ok just listen then. I know this is very difficult for you Natalie. I just wanted to tell you that I admire your strength. I admire the fact that you just aren’t going to forgive both of them. I think you are totally right. You need time and space. I’m just sorry I couldn’t convince Cris to give you that.”
Natalie just about fell over. She didn’t know what to make of this. This was not typical Evangeline. “Well...” Natalie started uncomfortably. “I need to go now,” and with that Natalie rushed off her head spinning with the events of the day.
About 2 hours later Natalie was back at Angel Square. Looking up at the Angel in the middle of the square she reached out a hand to trace the plaque on the base. Sadness overwhelmed her and she sat down.
Looking out around the square Natalie could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. She felt someone brush her hair back in a way that only John did. Turning around to yell at him Natalie was startled to see Evangeline.
“It’s gonna be ok, Natalie.” Evangeline said drawing Natalie to her trying to comfort her.
Natalie was tired, she was so tired of trying to be strong. Leaning into Evangeline Natalie buried her face into Evangeline’s shoulder and began to cry. And that was how John found them.
Evangeline was smiling inside. All her careful planing, all of her free time in the last year had been spent trying to get her to this point. She had everyone in this silly town so fooled. They all thought that she was in love with John.
Those fools. John was a nice guy and a great lover but she was no more in love with him then he was her. She had to pretend that he had been the love of her life. Otherwise none of this would be happening. She had known Cris was Cris from the very beginning. John might think she was stupid but that didn’t make it so.
Evangeline also knew that she had had to bide her time. What she wanted couldn’t be accomplished quickly. For her plan to work she had to destroy Natalie’s faith in everyone around her. She had to destroy her love for John and her love for Cris. The best part of her plan was that she hadn’t had to do anything. John and Cris had done that for her.
Evangeline had kept the lie so that John could dig himself in a hole so deep he could never get out. She knew when Natalie found out that John had known Cris was alive she would never forgive him. Evangeline also knew that Natalie would never forgive Cris either. That fit her plans perfectly. Natalie would be hers!
She had been in love with Natalie since she had hired her to defend John. Natalie had been in love with John then and Evangeline had wanted her to be jealous. So she had gotten John drunk and had sex with him. She had known that John was in love with Natalie even then. He had said Natalie’s name in the middle of having sex with her.
He had closed his eyes and imagined that he was driving into Natalie, he had called out Natalie’s name as he reached his climax and that had been ok with her. As a matter of fact she herself had imagined that she was with Natalie. That Natalie was the one touching her and kissing her. So Evangeline didn’t begrudge that same privilege to John. After a while it had made her angry though. She was a woman after all. She wanted to be wanted even if he wasn’t the one she wanted.
So she had flaunted their relationship in Natalie’s face. She had done it for several reasons. One, she wanted Natalie to be jealous, and 2 she had wanted to kill any chance of Natalie wanting John again. That had failed. Natalie had still wanted John. That was one of the reasons Evangeline was attracted to Natalie. Her loyalty to those she loved was nothing short of amazing.
So Evangeline had kept quiet and now all her careful planning was paying off. After all that had happened, Natalie was in her arms and it was she that was stroking her hair in a way that she knew Natalie liked. It would just be a matter of time before she managed to convince Natalie to give them a shot.
John saw Natalie in Evangeline’s arms and he was shocked at the bolt of jealously that flared through him. He was actually jealous of Evangeline because he wanted to be the one comforting Natalie. He wanted to be the one she turned to. But he knew that wasn’t going to happen.
When he saw Evangeline’s hand start to stroke Natalie’s hair in the same way he did John again had a feeling that something wasn’t right. He had never seen Evangeline do that to Nora when she had been helping her through what happened with Daniel. Something just didn’t add up here. John was confused by his feelings. He knew Natalie didn’t even like Evangeline so why was she letting Evangeline comfort her.
“Its nice to see so many couples happy this time of year.” Someone said noticing John staring at the embracing couple.
“What?” John choked out. Looking back at Natalie and Evangeline he realized that indeed they did look like they were embracing. “Oh no, They are just.. well what I mean is that they aren’t even friends and they are definitely not umm...” John stammered, flustered by the thought of Natalie and Evangeline moving on ‘together’.
The man laughed and said, “just look at them.” Pointing to Evangeline he said, “look at her face. “Clearly she is in love with the redhead.”
John just about threw up at the thought. Evangeline in love with Natalie? No way! But then... Evangeline did talk about her a lot. And when they had been together she had been almost obsessed with Natalie. Always bringing her up and acting like she was jealous of the time John had spent with her. “You really think so?” John asked the stranger absently.
“Oh yeah,” the man replied before going on his way.
John stood there watching Evangeline hold Natalie in her arms and began to worry. Natalie wasn’t pushing her away. What if what he and Cris did had turned her not only off them but off men all together. John couldn’t live with that. HE wanted Natalie back he didn’t want her to move on with anyone, least of all Evangeline!!!!
The more John watched them the more jealous he became. He began to get very angry at Evangeline. What if this was her plan. What if she had wanted to make Natalie hate him and Cris so she could have Natalie for herself? The more he thought about it the more sense it made. John had really worked himself into a lather when he decided to confront them. If Natalie had moved on without him he wanted to know!
Part 2
Trying to remain calm John stalked over to them. When Evangeline looked up at him and gave him a smug smirk John lost the battle to be calm.
“What the hell is going on here?” He yelled. When Natalie jerked her head up to look at him he immediately felt bad. Her face was streaked with tears and he knew she had been crying because of him. But she was taking comfort in Evangeline’s arms and he wanted to know why.
“What are you talking about?” Natalie asked confused. John looked really angry.
“Yes, John. Please enlighten us.” Evangeline said with a false innocence that John detected but Natalie seemed oblivious to.
“You know what I am talking about Evangeline. Natalie isn’t like that!” John said although he was secretly scared that Natalie might just want to be ‘like that’.
“Like that?? What the hell are you talking about?” Natalie asked even more confused. Did John actually think...? No!? he couldn’t think that. “John?” Natalie asked hesitantly.
John was beyond hearing the disbelief in her voice. Looking at Natalie he dropped down on his knees and took her hands in his. “Natalie! Don’t let what Cris and I did turn you into something your not! Please don’t put men out of your life all together! Come on you aren’t really attracted to women are you?”
Natalie’s mouth had dropped open and she stared at him in disbelief. He actually thought she had turned into a lesbian. She almost laughed aloud. That was just so bizarre! Why on earth would he think that? “John. John!” Natalie said loudly interrupting him mid sentence, “Why on earth would you think that??” She asked him.
“Because Evangeline is in love with you and you were hugging her. You don’t even like Evangeline but you were hugging her, letting her comfort you.” John explained. As he waited for Natalie to respond he looked at Evangeline again. She looked down right happy that Natalie hadn’t immediately denied the possibility of them together.
“John, Evangeline isn’t in love with me! Why would you think that? She was just offering me a shoulder to cry on. That’s all.” Natalie said shaking her head in shock. Good lord had he flipped his lid? “Are you drunk or something?” Natalie asked worriedly.
“She is in love with you Natalie!” John said. “Just ask her.”
Natalie rolled her eyed and turned to Evangeline. “This is ridiculous, John. Tell him. Tell him you aren’t in love with me.” Natalie said to Evangeline.
Evangeline looked between them and knew she had been caught. Gathering up her courage she said softly, “I’m sorry Natalie I can’t. I am in love with you.”
Natalie’s mouth dropped open in shock. “Excuse me?!” She stammered out.
Evangeline looked Natalie straight in the eye and said, “I love you Natalie. I am in love with YOU, not John. I have been since you hired me to defend John for Mitch’s murder.”
Natalie looked like she would pass out. “Oh MY GOD! Is that what this was? A way for you to get me to... to... to want to be with you?” Natalie asked both shocked and angry. Another person had tried to manipulate her.
John was reeling from all these revelations. Evangeline had been in love with Natalie and not him? He had slept with her and he hadn’t know? Feeling sick to his stomach again he looked at Evangeline and asked, “If you loved Natalie why were you with me?”
Evangeline laughed and said, “To make her jealous of course. And it worked. But it wasn’t the way I wanted it. I wanted her to be jealous because I was with you, not because YOU were with me.”
John looked at Natalie to judge her reaction. She looked shocked. Shocked and disgusted. “So you aren’t interested in her like that, Natalie?” John asked hopefully.
“John, if Evangeline were the last person on this earth I wouldn’t be interested.” Natalie stated in a matter of fact voice.
Evangeline got mad at this. “After all I have done for you, you would dismiss me like that? Well let me tell you something. I knew about Cris before John did! I knew and I didn’t tell you. What do you think of that?”
Both John and Natalie’s mouths fell open. John was the one to say, “You knew? You knew and you me suffer the guilt of keeping this secret? What kind of woman are you?”
“When I found out about Cris I knew that was my chance. I knew that she would hate both of you. So I just waited for it to happen. So yes I knew.” Evangeline spat at him stinging from Natalie’s rejection of her. She had waited so long and tried so hard to get Natalie and to have her just dismiss the idea like that was humiliating.
“I laughed to my self when I saw that you were having such a hard time with it. But I knew you wouldn’t say anything. I knew you wanted Natalie all to yourself.”
“How did you know I wouldn’t say anything?” John asked skeptically.
“Oh come on John! Everyone can see you are in love with Natalie. Do you really think that I didn’t. I knew you would screw it up all on your own! And you did!”
Natalie was extremely angry. “You knew about Cris and you didn’t tell me for over a year? You @#%$!” With that Natalie slapped her hard across the face. “I would rather be with a rattle snake then you!”
John saw Natalie slap Evangeline and he laughed. He couldn’t help it, he just burst out laughing, mostly in relief.
Evangeline grabbed her cheek and ran off in tears. She had told Natalie how she felt and Natalie had rejected her! She knew she couldn’t show her face in this town again. She had to get away from Llanview. Tonight! Packing her stuff Evangeline left Llanview that night.
Natalie looked at John in shock. What else was going to happen today? He couldn’t seem to stop laughing and soon Natalie found her self laughing as well. They laughed for a while before John sobered up, looking at Natalie he said softly, “I’m sorry Natalie.”
Natalie stopped laughing and looked at John. “John, I know you are sorry. But I also know you lied to me. I just can’t forgive you yet. I don’t know if I will ever be ready to forgive you.”
John sighed but felt slightly better. Just last week she was swearing she hated him and today she had said she couldn’t forgive him YET. That word gave him hope. Hope that one day she would forgive him, that one day they would be together again.
“Natalie,” John started. He needed to tell her this, needed her to know how he really felt about her. He couldn’t spend Christmas alone and not have her know. “I love you.” Looking her straight in the eye he repeated, in much the same manor that she used when she had told him, “I really love you.” He leaned over and kissed her softly on the cheek and whispered in her ear, “I just wanted you to know.”
Natalie was in shock! He had said it! Shaking her head she stared at him in disbelief. Just a week ago she would have given anything to hear him say that! She was so confused and didn’t know what to say.
John turned and started walking away when Natalie shook her head. He hadn’t expected anything but he had hoped she would way something.. anything. “JOHN!” he heard and stopped short. As he turned around he was surprised when Natalie threw herself in his arms and kissed him passionately.
When John started walking away Natalie knew she just couldn’t let him go. She couldn’t let him walk away thinking that she didn’t love him. Because the fact was she did love him. She had loved him more then she had ever loved Cris. That was why what he did had hurt so much. With out thinking she called out his name. And again without thinking, when John turned around, she ran to him and kissed him.
When they pulled back they looked at each other and smiled shyly. John felt like his heart would burst out of his chest when Natalie whispered “I love you too, John.” He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, feeling hope again in his heart. He didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, but he knew with Natalie’s love he could face anything!!!!
The End
