Ch. 4
"John," Evangeline started.
"Shhh, don't say anything." All of a sudden making love to her was no
longer a priority. He looked tenderly into her eyes while bringing her
into his warm embrace. There were no words for this moment. John
lightly brushed back a few strands of hair that obstructed his view into
her eyes. John smiled at the thought of having a new son or daughter.
He knew Tristen would be ecstatic when they told him. "I love you," he
whispered into her ear while bringing one hand down to gently caress her
abdomen.
(In the McBain kitchen the next morning)
"Daddy, why are you making breakfast and not mommy?"
"I make you breakfast sometimes," John said with a puzzled look on his
face.
"I know, but mostly it's when mommy is sick, or if she has to prepare
for a case."
John scratched his head in amazement.
"How does he remember these kinds of things," John said under his
breath.
"Is mommy sick or something? Does she need to go to the hospital?"
"Whoa, whoa! Slow down, you have to give me time to answer each
question," John had to remember that children were inquisitive so you
had to be patient with them. "Mommy is not sick and she doesn't need to
go to the hospital; she's just getting a little extra sleep before she
goes to work."
"Hey, my two favorite guys," said Evangeline as she walked into the
kitchen. She gave a brief smile to John before she walked over to Tris
and kissed him on his forehead. "Are you okay? Daddy told me you had a
bad dream last night."
"Yeah, I'm ok, but I can't remember what my dream was about."
"That's okay, if you do remember and you want to talk about it just let
me or you dad know, ok."
"Ok," he responded with a smile. "I finished my breakfast. Can I go
watch TV now, mommy?"
"Sure, but first get your things ready for school and brush your teeth?"
"Ok," he said as he trotted out of the kitchen.
"So how are you feeling this morning, better," John said as he moved
behind her and wrapped his arms around her stomach.
"I'm feeling much better. I'm not going to the office today so Nora
said she would come over and have lunch with me," she said as she tilted
her head back to meet John for a kiss.
"Mmmm," John moaned as their kiss ended. "Look, I made you breakfast.
Here sit down," John said as he led Evangeline to her seat at their
kitchen table. "I made you a fruit salad with a bowl of oatmeal and a
glass of milk."
"Wow, thanks," Evangeline said in an odd voice.
"What's wrong? Oh no, do you have morning sickness already? Is it the
oatmeal? I'm sorry I'll make you some eggs and toast; unless the eggs
will make you sick too."
"No, no, it's too early for that. John you don't have to do this. I'm
fine, okay." Evangeline glanced over at the clock on the microwave and
said, "John you're late for work."
"It's okay. I talked to Bo and told him I might be coming in a little
late. If you're trying to get rid of me it's not going to happen.
Since you don't have morning sickness I expect you to eat ALL of you
food. I'll be back I'm going to take Tristen to school and then check
in with Bo before I get back."
"John you don't have to," Evangeline's sentence was cut off with a brief
kiss by John.
"I'll be back before you know it," John pulled Evangeline into another
kiss until Tris walked into the kitchen.
"Dad, I'm ready to leave now," Tris said with his book bag in hand.
"Mom, did you sign my field trip slip?"
"Yes she did; it's in the front pocket of your bag. Okay, hon, I'll see
you in a little bit." Tris waved goodbye as Evangeline smiled watching
John and Tris leave the kitchen; she love when John called her pet
names.
(John at the police station after dropping of Tris)
"Hey Bo, what's up?"
"Nothing John, is everything alright at home? You rushed out of here so
quick I didn't get a chance to ask if you were ok."
"Oh, yeah, Evangeline, she was just a little upset about the Kelly and
Kevin case. She's fine now."
"So do you have anything new on the connection between Tico and the
governor?"
"No, no we don't have anything. I've been trying to get in touch with
Antonio to see if he found anything out but as usual he's MIA."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. I was hoping that since Cris is back he would
remember who he really is, but it seems like there is some sort of
secret between them. I'm can't be sure but I think Natalie may know
what it is."
"I'm sure you're right, but I don't think you should be the one to ask
her about it."
"Bo, I can handle this. Besides, Cris is back. Natalie and I resolved
our differences years ago. I'm sure she will understand."
"Well, I guess it won't hurt for you to give it a shot."
"Good, look, I didn't really know Cris before, but from what I've seen
he's a changed man. I don't know what it is, but I think it may not be
safe for him to be with Natalie."
"John, you don't have to worry about that. I'm sure that none of us
have a clue of what happened to him on that ship or even who had him
sent there, but I'm positive that he wouldn't hurt anyone. It's just
not like him."
"Don't you think it's odd though? He's been back for a few months now;
shouldn't he have remembered what happened to him."
"I really can't tell you. I know Natalie's been trying to get him some
counseling, but that hasn't worked out."
"I just hope things will be fine between them; they deserve to be happy
together."
"I know."
"Okay," John said glancing at his watch. "I'll see you later I have
some things to take care of."
(Inside Carlotta's diner)
John walked into the diner and saw Cris, Natalie, Antonio, and Jessica
huddled at one booth. He made his way to the counter where he ordered a
large black coffee. He occasionally glanced back to their table
avoiding eye contact. His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar
voice.
"Isn't it wonderful that Cristian is back," asked Mrs. Vega.
"Yeah, I know you're happy to have your son back."
"I'm thrilled. I'm so glad that he and Natalie are back together. Now
maybe Antonio will forget all this Santi business and start a life with
Jessica and Jamie."
"I hope you're right." John's eyes went to the door as he watched
Jessica and Natalie exit the diner. He looked back to their table and
saw Antonio and Cris in a heated discussion. He walked over to their
table, and could feel Cris' hatred toward him.
"What the hell are you doing here McBain?" Cris asked angrily as he
stood from his seat. "Don't you have other people's lives to ruin?"
"Calm down, Cris, John is, John is a good guy. He's had my back for a
long time."
"I'm glad you feel that way. I was hoping that you could fill me in
with what you found out about the governor and Tico."
"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not a cop anymore. I
don't do that kind of work."
John frowned as he looked at the man that he used to call a friend.
Ever since he found out he was a Santi he was a changed man. He no
longer knew how he would react in certain situations. After Antonio
quit the force, he started to let his temper rule him. Most shocking of
all was when he allowed Jessica to marry Tico and gave custody of Jamie
to RJ. John was even more worried about his recent affiliation with
Sonia Toledo. It seems as though Antonio had a new purpose in life and
John wanted to make sure that it wasn't going to be head of the Santi
organization.
"Are you sure about that? According to your buddy Sonia, I'm not so
sure about that."
"Well then maybe you should be talking to her about it and not me."
"You used to be a cop so you know how this goes. If you're doing
something illegal I will not hesitate to bring you in."
"I've had enough of you McBain. First, you totally screw over me and
Natalie causing us to lose seven years together. Then, you play mind
game with her and string her along until you get with Evangeline. Now,
you try to intimidate my brother, because you can't do your job."
"Cris," Antonio interrupts.
"No, let me finish. You have some nerve. After all you've done to my
family, now you're trying to ruin Antonio's life too."
"I'm sorry if you feel that way. I'm sorry about what happened in Las
Vegas. If I had known that things would have turned out so badly I
never would have gotten you two into that mess."
"Yeah, it's easy for you to say you're sorry. You moved on with your
life while Natalie and I spent years apart. I bet you didn't lose any
sleep over this."
"Like I said, I'm sorry. I won't keep apologizing to you. The past is
the past and I can not change it, but if I can help stop any more bad
things from happening then I'm going to do anything I can."
John walks off and leaves Antonio and Cristian with something to think
about. It always surprised John that Cris still felt such anger toward
him, but in a way he could understand if someone ever kept him away from
Evangeline he'd be just as angry. Oh well, he didn't have time to think
about this he'd promised Evangeline that he'd be right back and it was
already an hour and a half later. In the middle of Angel's Square he runs into Natalie.
