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Title: Out of the Blue Continued
Author: Nique
Category: JVR ( JoVan Romance)
Rated: PG-13 (mild language & mild adult content)

That night had been fiercely passionate, raw and emotion filled. Evangeline languished in the love making that night. John had been so gentle, he paid attention to the small details; he'd whispered in her ear, asking what she wanted, how she felt. It was magical and no other man had ever taken her to these heights before. They'd made love over and over and when both of them were spent, they drifted off, sleeping wrapped in each others arms.

Evangeline slowly opened her eyes and looked down at John. Her hair tumbled precariously over her face obstructing her view; she smoothed the hair and secured it behind her ear. John lay in her arms tonight like he had so many times before. Only the cotton bed sheet lay between them. His cheek rested on her breast and she could feel the heat of his breath warm her through the sheet that covered her naked body from the chilled night air. John’s face angled so that she could see all of his handsome features. Evangeline reveled in studying him; his mouth, his forehead; his eyes. He looked like a little boy content and having sweet dreams. He was definitely not having a problem with sleep tonight.

It had been such an emotional week for them. Cris had attempted to kill Antonio; hell, he had succeeded in killing Tico. And to top it all off, Cris was not really Cris. She had been stunned by this revelation even though she and John had gotten DNA samples in hopes of proving his true identity. Actually hearing the man himself say that he was not Cristian Vega was devastating. And immediately after this confession Evangeline's heart felt as if it had been torn in two. She had looked at Natalie's face and seen the pain, the loss. She was feeling it too because now that Cris was again no longer among the land of the living, she knew that John would fall back in line and allow the guilt regarding the death to cloud his world. She also knew that this concern that John had expressed for Natalie would return in full force, she knew that this connection would once again interfere in the relationship she and John were trying to build. Evangeline hated feeling helpless and she hated that John would not admit that this connection was present. It just simply hurt her to know that his heart was not totally hers. So, she had left the squad room attempting to focus her mind on other matter...on things she could control. That's when John found her and told her she was important to him. They went to his office and she spilled her heart to him.

"..if that means that I'm going to lose you, I'm walking away right now." She had said fighting back the tears that were so near the surface.

"You're not gonna lose me!" John had retorted.

Then she'd jumped off the emotional cliff that she had been perched on for weeks now and let her heart rule her mouth," Can't you see I'm falling in love with you?" She surprised herself with that one. John was stunned by her words.

"Weren't you the one to say we should banish words like love from our vocabulary?" He'd asked.

"Yeah, I probably said that...." She replied feeling defeated but who was she really fooling. Evangeline wasn’t just "falling in love" with John, she was in love with the man already...no if's, and's or but's. She'd known she really and truly loved him since he'd placed his mother's pearls around her neck on her birthday and told her that she was beautiful.

Evangeline had done all she could not to lose it in front of John that day. Tears stung her eyes as she scurried through the halls toward the ladies restroom. Once inside the stall the tears slid down her cheek and the pain from the lump that had formed in her throat decreased a bit. Evangeline was in that stall for what seemed like an hour trying to get her self under control. When she did emerge her face was dry and the wall she routinely hid behind was back up. She was ready to face the world....a world she felt would no longer include John.

That day reminded her of her disappointment the day she arrived back in Llandview after her trip to San Francisco. She had been so excited about seeing John, and when she'd looked and seen Natalie sitting on his bed, her heart broke. Even though she and John were involved, it was a no strings thing. Never the less, Evangeline had been devastated.

“Don’t…don’t go.” He pleaded.

"No...no you have company. Why don't you give me a call when you have time?" She'd turned on her heel and fled, never expecting John to follow her.

"Why are you upset?" John asked once he had caught up to her in Angel Square.

"I'm not upset... I'm disappointed. I was looking forward to seeing you. I missed you while I was gone!” She had almost lost it then, but was able to hold it together.

"I missed you too!" he replied. Evangeline needed to get away from John before she became an emotional mess and broke down in front of him. She was tired and just wanted to sleep this sad episode away.

"Don't give up on me. We're worth fighting for!" John's eyes teared and she knew at that moment that he truly meant what he had said to her.

Evangeline stroked John's cheek as he slept in her arms. He was such a beautiful man. She smiled to herself as her hand traveled through his dark locks. John was just really simply put a sweet man. He was like a, little boy in most ways, but under all that darkness, guilt and hurt, John McBain was a sweet and caring man. His spirit called to her spirit; their souls were connected there was no denying that fact. She had long since given up on the idea that they would exist in a"no strings attached" relationship. She wanted the strings and was finally not afraid to admit what that meant in regards to their relationship. She knew where this was headed and it did not frighten her anymore.

"Aren't you the one who said you didn't want to get married?" John had said to her in the courthouse.

"Marriage is one thing.....but love is EVERYTHING!" she replied. She observed the look of awe in John’s eyes as he stared at her then. "I know what I want now......a woman needs to hear it every now and then." She was done, this relationship had hit a wall and she saw no way for them to tear it down. Truth be known, she did know how it could be resolved, but she also knew that John was not ready or able to say what she so desperately needed him to say.

John stirred a bit and tightened his arm around Evangeline snuggling closer to her. Still contently staring at his face, Evangeline noticed the slightest of grins form on his lips. She too grinned and with her free hand she ran her finger across his shoulder and down over his tattooed bicep. The radio on John's dresser played an old Billie Holiday tune. Her voice carried through the air like silk. Her melodious voice was soothing to the ear and the story she told fell artfully into place with each note.

"…What's it gonna take to break down the barrier in your heart...cause right now there are three people in this relationship and that's one too many. Excuse me." Her last words barely a whisper.

Evangeline pushed back her chair and excused herself from the table she had been sharing with John. It was Valentine's Day and though it was meant to be a day for couples to celebrate, she was as low as she'd ever felt...except of course for the day her father had died. Not only did she have to endure John's inability to open his heart to her, but minutes ago she had been thoroughly embarrassed by Roxy's crude serenade. It had been directed at John; Pat Benetar's "Heartbreaker" was still ringing in her ears. It would not have been so bad, but when Roxy flounced over to John and ruffled up his hair as she sang ..it showed a total lack of respect. Then to top it off when she'd ranted the line about the 'heart-taker'...someone stealing what wasn't theirs, Roxy had stared directly at Evangeline two times during her musical tirade. It was clear to Evangeline that Roxy was yelling at her, "do you get my drift...this man isn't yours to have...he belongs to Natalie!" Evangeline knew that Roxy was off the wall, and tactless at best for the most part, and although she hated to admit it the entire episode had wounded her.

Evangeline needed to express her feelings, she'd told John repeatedly what she felt, needed, and wanted. Her words had yet to puncture through and move him. She couldn't hold it in anymore, she had to share her feeling with all who could hear her. She walked to the karaoke machine and scanned the song selections. Nothing peaked her interest that is until she'd seen the third song from the bottom. She knew this song well and as she thought about the words she knew what she would do.

"All is fair in love......love's a crazy game". Evangeline sang letting the words of Stevie Wonder speak for her. Her eyes met John's, he appeared to be stunned and affected by what he heard come from her. When the song was over she did not go to him, she'd done that too much already, and it was John's turn to search her out.

"He sauntered over to where she had just been speaking to a Rodi's patron.

"What you just did...it broke through." John said looking serious almost pensive.

"So, how much of you do I get McBain? Give me a number… 50 percent, 75?" Evangeline had been attempting to make a joke but John was not buying that.

"You can't do the math on something like that....you know how I feel." He stated matter of factly.

At the end of that exchange in Rodi's, John had kissed her passionately as if he were tasting her for the first time. Evangeline thought that he was looking at her through new eyes and what she saw as she peered back at him made her heart skip a beat.

John had taken her back to his place and they had made love over and over again. Nothing was to come between them that night, not even the repetitive ringing of his cell phone.

"...there's nothing I can do for her; but you... I can help!" he'd playfully said to Evangeline before capturing her mouth again, rolling up on top of her and loving her with his body.

John shifted positions in his sleep moving up and turning more on his side so that his head was nestled almost on her shoulder causing his warm breath to tickle her neck. John's movement allowed Evangeline to get a bit more comfortable herself. She slid down on the bed a bit, moving more on her side and closer to him. She then cradled John in her arms slowly bending down to smell his hair. Mmmm, she smiled as the clean, crisp spring scent filled her nostrils. She kissed his head and caressed his muscled arm. She sensed change in him. She pulled back and looked at his face again and saw a huge smile.

"Hi there." She whispered.

"Hey. What time is it?" he lazily asked.

"Hmmm, a little after two." Evangeline picked up her watch from the bed side table. Replacing the watch she brushed at an errand strand of hair that lay on John's forehead.

"How long have you been watching me sleep?" He asked not moving out of his comfortable position.

"Don't know...I love watching you, I could do it all night." She bent down kissing his hair again.

"Go back to sleep... you should get some rest. Cause you know me.... in a few more hours I'm gonna need to have you help me work out some leftover energy."

"Whateva…." Evangeline teased, giggling all the while.

John moved toward her then and captured her mouth, his tongue being allowed entry. The hunger they had for one another was enormous and ever growing. Evangeline turned & rolled until she was lying on top of John. All the while their kiss never broke.

" Mmmmmm, oh God." She was finally able to say between breaths.

" Yeah, ditto..." John responded palming her rear end and pressing her into his body so that she could feel the actual result of what it was that she did to him. Their eyes locked on one another and in that moment all was right in the world.

Something that had started out of the blue had become essential. John and Evangeline were forging forth with their love story. Although they both knew that this relationship had issues yet to be clearly resolved, they were happy in the fact that what lay ahead would bond them forever... for a lifetime.

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