Epilogue
The next morning, MA shifted tiredly under the sheets as she reached out for JC. She patted the empty, but still warm space. Her eyes
fluttered open and she lifted her head just when JC opened the door to the
bathroom. She smiled lazily at him, while the steam from his shower floated
around him. "Morning," she said and her voice cracked.
Wrapped only in a towel, he sat on the edge of the bed and leaned down and kissed her softly. "Morning," he finally said.
"You smell good," she said as she ran her fingers through his damp hair.
"Yeah, I tend to smell good after a shower," he teased.
"Smart ass," she laughed as she tugged at his hair. "You're hair is gettin long."
"Yeah," he chuckled. "Been too busy to get it cut."
"No, I like it," she said and then sat up and kissed him nice and slow.
JC leaned into the kiss and was about to lean her back on to the bed, but she moaned in protest and pushed him back. "I gotta get in the shower."
He sighed. "Then don't tease me like that."
She laughed. "Sorry. What time is it?"
"Eleven," he said. "But I've been up for awhile. Nataile and Joey have been cleaning up the house and the vacuum woke me up. So I went down to help."
She spun around. "Why didn't you wake me? I would have helped clean."
"I know, but I wanted you to sleep. How rude would that be though? Um sweetie, I know your in a deep sleep, but get off your lazy ass and come help."
She giggled. "Okay, I guess you're right. Where are the two lovebirds now?"
"I think the went to an early lunch," JC said as he pushed his wet hair out of his eyes. "They should be back soon."
She nodded. "Okay, I'll be right out."
She dissapeared into the bathroom, and JC went to his laptop and booted it up. He checked his email and chatted with his sister for a few minutes, catchign up on how she has been and how the family has been. JC laughed when she told him she got a great sweater in the exchange for the one he got her.
CrazzyGirl78: No offence, bro, but you know squat about fashion.
IllyFresh76: Ouch
CrazzyGirl78: LOL...truth hurts....so how is that girl Mom was chattin away
about the other day?
IllyFresh76: Ohhh...THAT..girl;-)
CrazzyGIrl78: Stop with the b.s, Josh...I hate it when you do that...what's
she like?
IllyFresh76: She's wonderful, Heather....I love her
CrazzyGirl78: WOW...are you kidding, the big L??
IllyFresh76: No, totally serious....didn't think it was capable falling in
love with someone in such a short period of time...and I'm not the only one,
Joey fell hard too.
CrazzyGirl78: STOP!! JOEY?? Joey that flirts with me every time I see him
Joey??
IllyFresh76: The one and only....Natalie is so sweet though, I love her
CrazzyGirl78: She must be amazing since she tied over THE Joey Fatone...LOL
IllyFresh76: Well, he hasn't admitted it yet, but it's so obvious...every
time he looks at her I can tell he loves her
CrazzyGirl78: That's so sweet, I can't wait to meet both of them.
IllyFresh76: Me too....oh someone is knocking on the door....that's
wierd...guess I better see who it is, I'll talk to you later Heather...love
you
CrazzyGirl78: Love you too, Josh...I'm glad you're happy.
IllyFresh76: Thank you I am...later girl
JC quickly signed off and pushed his laptop aside. He walked over to the bed, curious to see who it was. He gripped the towel tighter and then swung the door open. His eyes widened in shock and then turned to shock.
"Bobbie, what the hell are you doing here?"
"ME? What are YOU doing here?" she asked angrily.
"You came here to scare off, Mary Ann, didn't you?" he asked angrily.
Bobbie looked him up and down. "Damn, I miss that."
JC growled in frustration. "Don't change the subject, Bobbie. Leave NOW!"
"JC?"
JC turned to Mary Ann's voice and saw her walk slowly out of the bathroom with just a towel wrapped around her. "MA, I..."
"Well, you don't waste much time do you!" Bobbie said angrily as she pushed passed him and stalked over to MA. "Listen, bitch...step off."
MA did the opposit...she stepped forward. "Excuse me?" she asked as she towered over her. Mary Ann was a good foot taller than Bobbie.
"Bobbie," JC sighed. "You're not welcome here, please leave."
"No wonder you like her, C," Bobbie said as he glared at her. "I'm sure she laid flat on her back with a snap of your fingers."
Anger swept over JC and was about to drag her sorry ass out of the room, but Mary Ann had other plans. He stood in shock as MA pulled back her fist and popped her right in the face. She hit her so hard that she fell
backwards on the bed and her feet flew up over her head and she fell on the
floor. "Holy...shit," JC said in shock but snapped out of it when MA
charged towards her.
JC stepped in and held her back. "Okay, Mary Ann....calm down."
"I can't believe you did that!" Bobbie yelled. "You little snake!"
JC sighed with relief when he heard Joey and Natalie. "JOEY!!!"
"JC, let me go!!"
"Bobbie, you better leave..NOW...MA has quite a temper."
"Whatever," she sighed. "I'm not leaving."
"Hey," Joey said as he and Nat entered the room. "What's going.....what are you doing here?"
"She came here to piss MA off, and she succeeded."
Natalie laughed when she saw the bruise on her face. "Nice one, girl."
"Oh shut up," Bobbie yelled.
"All right, that's it," JOey said as he yanked at her. "You're not welcome here."
"Fine," she said as she shrugged him off. "I'll leave. You guys suck anyway, at least I won't have to listen to your damn music all the time."
"Oh, let me go JC!" Mary Ann yelled as he struggled against him.
"Damn, Bobbie you better go, before I do what I really want to do..which is to let her go and watch her beat the living shit out of you."
Once she was gone, JC let out a sigh of relief and then turned to MA. "Mary Ann," he said when he felt her start to relax. "You shouldn't have
let her get to you that way."
"I....I couldn't help it."
JC kissed her forehead. "We'll leave you alone so you can change. Meet us downstairs and we'll talk."
She nodded. "Okay."
"Oh, and sweetie?" he asked as she walked to the bathroom.
She turned to him. "Yeah."
He grinned. "You gotta great right hook."
"So, what the hell did Bobbi say, to make Mary Ann hit her??" Joey asked while they sat down in the den. JC had pulled on some clothes and met Joey and Nat downstairs, and MA was still upstairs getting dressed.
JC sighed. "It was bad," he said as he sat down on the corner of the empty couch. "I didn't think she was capable of saying something like that."
Joey let out a laugh. "I'll be the judge of that...what did she say?"
"Something to the effect of, I bet she flew on her back with the crook of my finger."
"She did NOT!" Natalie exclaimed. "Oh, she better thank her lucky stars that I wasn't in the room. I'd have done more than punch her."
"Oh, Mary Ann would have done more damage if I didn't hold her back," JC chuckled. "Never seen her so angry."
"Well, at least Bobbie is out of the picture now," Joey said as he patted his shoulder. "She was never good for you anyway."
"I know," he sighed. "I was stupid to stay with her for so long, but I don't have the time to start over in the dating world and I
guess.....well...Bobbi was my.....hmmm, how can I put it..."
"You were using her," Natalie pointed out.
JC opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He shook his head with a laugh. "Yeah, I was using her. Not the whole time, there was a time where I truly loved her, but not anymore. And I've never loved her like I love Mary Ann."
"Someone say my name?"
JC turned toward her voice and smiled at her. "That would be me."
She arched a brow and walked into the den. "And what are you talking about exactly?"
He gave her a lopsided grin. "Talking about how much I love you."
Her heart fluttered and she smiled as she crawled to him on the couch and snuggled into his welcoming warmth. "Good answer."
Natalie smiled at the couple and watched JC plant a kiss on top of her head. They loved each other and they weren't afraid to show it. She was
happy for him, but she was jealous at the same time. She wished she could
tell Joey she loved him, but she couldn't. She snuck a glance at Joey, who
was smiling at JC and MA, but then his eyes shifted to hers.
She smiled at him, and he returned it as he held out his hand. She took it and he kissed their joint hands before pulling her to his side. His arms enveloped her and she rested her cheek against chest as he carresed her back with his large hand. She felt safe in his arms and it hurt her to think that in a few hours, her arms would be empty and the warmth would be gone.
She wanted to to tell him how she felt. She had to come up with the courage to tell him she loved him before she stepped on that plane. She just hoped she would figure out away, before she chickened out and walked on
the plane without him knowing what she felt in her heart. If she told him
how she felt, she prayed that he would tell her in return. Because she was
dying to know what was going on in his heart.
Joey rested his lips on the top of her head and breathed in her scent. The four were quiet, and they had the TV going, but no one was paying attention to it. Watching the love that exchanged between JC and Mary Ann, made him feel uncomfortable almost. He wanted to share that kind of love with
Natalie, but at the same time he was scared. He never felt this way before,
and he didn't know what to do.
He was afraid that if he took that giant leap and told her he loved her, he would hurt her. Not right away of course, but in the near future. What if he messed up, what if he broke her heart? He would die if he did anything to cause her pain. None of the girl's he had been with was worth worrying like this, but Natalie was.
He loved her. He loved her so much, that a life without her would be meaningless. But was he willing to risk losing her by saying those three words to her? Can he work this out and treat her right and do good by her? He didn't know and he was afraid to find out.
He hugged her close and closed her eyes, loving the way she felt in his arms. He didn't want to let her go. He didn't want to watch her step on that plane and fly away from him. He wanted her here, in his arms....where she belonged.
They walked through the security after checking their bags and all four of them headed towards Natalie's gate. Natalie was on a plane headed for Little Rock, but Mary Ann's plane to Dallas didn't leave for another hour.
Joey held Natalie's hand as they made their way down the terminal. He held
it like he was holding on for his dear life.
They spent the remaining couple of hours hanging out around the house, and catching up with Joey's parents when they got home. Her parents had been thrilled when they discovered the sparks between their son and Natalie.
"You couldn't do any better," his mom had said when he hugged her.
"I know," he had told her softly.
When they got to her gate, they discovered that there were only a few more minutes until she boarded. "We are gonna go ahead and walk towards MA's gate," JC said as he hugged Natalie. "Gonna miss you girl."
Natalie laughed. "Me too, but I'll be around."
"You better," he said and then gave her a friendly kiss on the cheek. "Love ya."
"Same here," she said and then hugged MA. "I'll call you tonight."
"Okay," she said. "And I'll see you at the beginning of the semester."
"Sure," she said and then watched them leave hand in hand.
"Flight 356 nonstop to Little Rock is now boarding," the woman said into the small microphone.
Joey sighed. "So much for spending time alone."
She closed her eyes and let him pull her in his eyes. "I'll call you when I get home."
"I'll be waiting," he said.
'Say it!' she screamed in her head. 'Just say you love him!'
Joey's heart screamed, 'I love you,' but when he opened his mouth to say it nothing came out. Whenever he came close to telling her, he froze. "Natalie?" he said all of the sudden.
"Yes?" she asked hopefully. Please tell me, she thought. Please.
He sighed as he cupped her face and stared into her eyes. "Last call for flight 356," the woman said again. Joey took a deep breath. "I...."
Natalie waited, but he just stared at her. "Joey, I have to go."
His shoulders slumped in defeat and he nodded. "Yeah, okay."
She leaned up on her tooes and planted him a soft kiss. "Thank you for everything."
He kissed her again. "Thank YOU, Natalie. For coming into my life."
She smiled softly. It was enough for now, she thought and then turned her back to go. She walked to the woman at the gate and handed her the ticket. She then turned back to see him standing in the terminal, with his hands
shoved in his pockets. He pulled out one and waved at her and watched her
disappear from his eyes until she was gone.
Joey cursed softly as he walked to the large window and stared at Natalie's plane until it moved from the gate and was out of his sight. "I love you."
"Damn, you're boarding already?" JC asked as she stood up when her flight had announced boarding time.
"Yeah," she said softly and then turned towards the crowd. "Oh, and here comes Joey. Just in time."
Joey trotted up to her. "You leavin?" he said and gave her a quick hug.
"Yep," she said and smiled. "Did Nat get off safely?"
"Yeah," he said sadly.
"I know it's hard," she said and then kissed his cheek. "You'll see her soon."
"And you too, right?" he asked.
"Couldn't keep me away."
He smiled and hugged her one more time and then walked away to leave her alone with JC. JC cupped her face and kissed her softly, over and over again. "I love you," he murmured against her lips.
Her heart melted. He has said those three words to her a number of times since the first time he said it, and she still hasn't gotten sick of hearing them. And she hasn't gotten tired of saying them back. "I love you too."
"Got everything?" he asked her as he helped her with her carry on bag.
"Yeah, that's everything," she said and then smiled up at him.
"You better call me as soon as your cute butt gets home," he warned.
"I will," she said with a smile and then leaned up and kissed him again, lingering and didn't pull away until they announced last call. She pulled away and he kissed her forehead, before watching her turn away and board the plane.
JC walked to the window and Joey joined him as they watched her plane leave the gate. "Did you tell her?" JC asked, never taking his eyes away from her plane.
"No," he said softly.
"Idiot," JC mumbled.
"I know," Joey nodded.
"What are you going to do?"
"I don't know," he said. "I don't want to tell her over the phone."
He looked at him. "Than do what you have to do."
Natalie sighed as she collapsed on her couch at home. She walked in the door with her mother at about 9:00 and greeted her sister with open arms. The girls were already asleep, so she couldn't see them until tomorrow. She spent a hour talking to her mom and sister, telling her about the trip and how she fell in love. They both couldn't believe it, but at the same time was happy for her.
Now she was finally alone and she anxiously dialed Joey's number, until a woman's voice answered. "Mrs. Fatone?"
"Natalie, sweetheart!" she said from the other end. "You made it in okay?"
"Yes, mam I did."
"Enough with the mam," she said with a chuckle. "How was your flight."
"Awful, but I'm here now. Is Joey there?"
"No sweetie, he's not....you can try him on his cell though."
"Okay, thank you, Mrs. Fatone."
"Sure thing...talk to you soon."
Natalie hung up the phone and then dialed his cell phone. She waited patiently for him to answer, but he never answered. With a sigh, she hung up the phone and threw the phone on the cushion.
She flipped through the stations--bored because nothing was on. She finally turned it on MTV and grinned when she saw Brian McFayden on the TV. Just then the phone rang and she picked it up. "Hello?" she asked with a chuckle.
"What are you lauging about?" Joey asked curiously.
She giggled. "Just watching my yummy man on MTV."
"I better be on that screen, young lady," he warned.
"Ahem...yes of course you are."
"Uh huh," he said and then just laughed. "So you got in okay?"
"Yup," she said as she snuggled down in the couch, wishing he was there with her.
"Good," he said and then cleared his throat. "So...um...I wanted to tell you someting before you left and I....well I got scared and...."
Her heart lept in her throat. "Yes?"
He cleared his throat. "Natalie...."
"Damn, Joey...hang on someone's at the door," she said and then cursed softly.
"Sure," he said softly.
She walked to the door with the phone in hand, silently wishing the person on the other side to hell for interupting him. She flew open the door and the phone slipped from her fingers and hit the floor. "How.....How did
you...."
He smiled and then cupped her face and kissed her long and slowly before looking down at her. "One word for you...Concord."
She laughed and then threw her arms around him. "But why are you here...I mean don't you have to leave for Rio and..."
"I have to leave in an hour," he said softly and kissed her again.
She looked up at him. "I don't get it...why did you..."
"I was telling you that I needed to say something," he said huskily.
Natalie closed her mouth and her heart began to race. "What is it?"
He cupped her face gently--casually pulling a curly strand behind her ear. "Natalie...you know what it is."
She nodded. "I know...I want to hear you say it."
He chuckled lightly and then kissed her forehead, lingered his lips on her temple and then finally teased her lips with his own. He leaned back and made sure she was staring in his eyes when he said it. "I love you."
She shut her eyes as the words flew through her and then she flung her arms around her. Joey smiled and lifted her off the floor as he held her tight. He felt her lips on his neck and then traveled them up his neck, and over his jawline until she kissed him over and over again. "Joey," she cried.
"I've been waiting so long to hear those words from someone."
"Well let me say it again," he said softly. "I love you, Natalie Dawson. I love you with all my heart."
She felt the tears start to come. "I love you too, Joey. I loved you the moment I laid eyes on you."
"In the hospital room?" he asked.
She smiled and placed her hand on his rough cheek. "No," she said softly. "On TV...when I saw you in the hospital my love grew stronger."
Joey swallowed the lump in his throat and kissed her with such gentleness that it made Natalies inside turn. "I don't have much time," he said softly as he ran his lips down her neck.
Natalie pulled away and walked him to the couch and then turned to his arms. "Than let's savor every minute," she said.
He stared in her eyes as he lowered her on the couch. "I love you, Natalie."
"I'm beginning to like the sound of that," she teased.
He gave her a lopsided grin. "Well get use to it."
"You going to love me for the rest of my life?" she asked with a grin.
"No," he said softly as he kissed her. "I'm gonna love you for the rest of mine."