Later, John arrived and had a poignant moment with his brother before leaving for his father's grave. Meanwhile, at home, Natalie arranged for a surprise for John, to celebrate moving forward with his life. Unfortunately, as John was driving, he took his eyes off the road and was headed right for an accident.

9/22 At home, Natalie looks through her photo album and reminisces about meeting John. Natalie waits to spring her romantic surprise on the man she loves. After the accident, a dreaming/unconscious John walks through the cemetary as he talks to his dead father. As his life flashes before his eyes, John realizes that Spencer was actually at the hospital on the night Tom died.

9/25 A worried Natalie calls inquiring about John. Natalie tells Bo that John went to the cemetery alone to visit his father. Bo thinks that it is about time that John put what happened to his father behind him and hopes that he and Natalie will have a real shot at a relationship now that the killer has been found. Natalie is hopeful that she and John have a shot but she can't shake the bad feeling that she has that John is in trouble. Bo asks Natalie if she tried to contact John by his cell. Natalie informs Bo that John isn't answering his phone which strikes them both as odd.

Meanwhile at the crash site as the body count goes up, it is revealed that one of Llanview's finest is presumed dead as his badge was found by a body. Bo gets a call from a local police officer informing him that one of his own has been lost.

9/26 Bo enters the badge number in his computer and is grief stricken to learn it belongs to John McBain! Bo escorts Michael to the crash site so that they can ID John's body. The officer in charge shows them the badge he found and the car the badge was found outside of. Michael questions their ID of John's car but the officer tells him that they ran the plates and know that the car belonged to John McBain of Llanview, PA. He reluctantly takes them to the body so that Michael can make an ID.

After looking at the badly burned body, Michael is unable to make a positive ID until he finds the good luck charm that Natalie gave John. He breaks down after realizing that his brother is indeed dead. Bo maintains his composure for Michael's sake but is visibly shaken at losing his friend and best detective. Michael decides to help out with the injured while Bo makes the dreaded call to Natalie.

9/27 The news of John's death begins to make its way through Llanview. Jess and Antonio are interrupted by a phone call about John. Bo arrives at Natalie’s and breaks the news to her. A devastated Michael stumbles home and falls into Marcie's arms. She doesn't notice at first, wrapped up in her own news. The judge has decided to award Tommy to them; they will become his parents. Michael breaks down and shares his own news.

Dvd #15B 9/27 Jess frantically decides that she needs to locate and be with Natalie right away. Nat refuses to believe her uncle at first and demands to see the body. Not accepting that the body had tattoos, or was of the same weight or that his ID was found, she finally cracks when Bo mentions the medallion found, the one that she gave him. She breaks down as Bo tries to comfort her. She wants to stay behind in John's place, wants to be alone. He agrees to honor her request but wants to hear from her; he wants her to call her family.

As he leaves, Jess arrives to be with her sister but Bo convinces her to allow Nat her privacy for the time being. Jess returns to Antonio. She can feel Nat's pain but agrees it best that she be alone. He makes Marcie promise that they'll never leave each other. He in turn promises Tommy that they'll always protect him. He realizes that he has to tell his mother (who was coming to give John her ring for Natalie) of her son's death.

9/28 Michael broke the news to Eve McBain about John's death. She sobbed and asked if Natalie knew John was going to marry her, and when Michael said no, Eve said maybe she should. Michael said telling Natalie might make it harder for her to cope. Marcie said that if it were her she'd want to know everything about him before he died and that Natalie deserves to know how John felt. "We have to tell her or she'll always go on wondering," Eve said.

Jessica visited Natalie. A barrage of media calls came through, but Jessica blew them off and unplugged the phone. Natalie thanked Jessica for coming, but said she wanted to be alone. Jessica Told Natalie she'd run out and get a soothing fruit shake that would make her feel better. When she came back, Natalie wasn't in the apartment. Natalie demanded that Bo let her see John's body, no matter how bad it was. Bo said okay. Natalie heard Spencer talking about how it was too bad John didn't live long enough to find out that he's really innocent. She ran up to Spencer and told him, "You caused this! You killed John!"

A man completely covered in bandages was shown lying in a hospital bed. A cop told the nurse watching over the patient that the person's name was Hugh Hughes. Nora took a call from the cop at the hospital. He said he needed to speak to Hugh Hughes's next of kin, so Nora passed the phone to Paige. The cop said that Hugh's been in an accident and is at the hospital. Nora offered to drive her. Paige visited the mummy that the doctors said was Hugh and said she hoped he knew she was there.

9/29 Spencer denied having anything to do with John's accident, pointing out that he had been locked up in the Llanview police station for the past couple of days. Natalie tried to attack Spencer. Antonio grabbed her and told her there's no way Spencer could possibly have arranged for John to be in that accident. Michael showed up with Marcie and tried to calm Natalie. They took her off to the side and told her that John was going to ask her to marry him. Natalie ran off sobbing.

Paige went into Hugh's room and begged him to live. Layla broke the news about John to Evangeline. She was incredulous, but Cristian helped her accept it. Evangeline wanted to rush off to support Natalie, but Cristian told her to stay put and relax while he went to support Natalie. When alone with Layla, Evangeline talked to her sister about her special moments with John. Layla said it sounds like she's still in love with him. Evangeline said that she now loves Cristian as much as she ever loved John and that she is happier with him because he can talk about his feelings. She asked Layla if she could be alone for a while.

10/2 Cris finds Natalie in Angel Square and when he reveals that he knows about John's death, Natalie breaks down in his arms. She tells Cris that she can't believe that John is dead after all they've been through and how happy he was before he left to visit his father's grave. Natalie shares with Cris how John had a special evening planned for her that was going to end with him asking her to marry him, which she just found out from Michael and Marcie. Cris believes that Natalie should be happy to know that she was loved by the man who she loved so much and knowing how much she touched him should bring some comfort to her. Cris doesn't want Natalie to be alone and asks her if she would like him to take her home but Natalie insists on going to John's place.

They run into Eve, who takes over where Cris left off by telling Natalie how excited John was about spending the rest of his life with Natalie. Evangeline goes to the station and encounters Antonio working. She presents him with a book of John's that she thinks he might like. When Antonio wonders if she would like to keep it, Evangeline tells him that she has other things of John's. Antonio gives her a shoulder to cry on as she remembers the good times and the bad times with John.

When she begins to wonder if she was too hard on him, Antonio tells her that John knew how much she loved him so Evangeline decides to remember only the good times that they shared. Nash interrupts their talk and Evangeline leaves. Antonio who is irritated that Nash is there becomes even more irritated when Nash reveals that Jessica punched Claudia in the face because she discovered that they slept together and wasn't happy about it.

10/3 Roxy arrives to see Nat and is devastated to learn that John has died. Roxy and Rex try to cheer up Natalie as they share stories about John. They toast John with beers and cheese puffs until Roxy wonders if John would mind. Natalie assures them both that John had a sense of humor and that he wouldn't mind. At the mention of John's name, the wind blows leaving Natalie to believe that John is with them in the room. The thought of John being around concerns Roxy who is eager to rent out the "deceased" cop's room.

Rex scolds Roxy on her lack of tact and compassion but Natalie decides that it is time to gather John's things together since she can't see staying there without him. Roxy helps her pack up John's things and Natalie decides to give them to his mother and brother. When Roxy asks her if she wants to keep anything, Natalie holds up the engagement ring declaring that she has all she needs. Natalie takes one final look at John's apartment before handing over the key and departing.

Paige backs off and Spencer goes in the room to visit with Hugh. He tells him that he hopes that he will be able to tell him one day why he did all the things he did. When Spencer refers to himself as Hugh's father, Hugh becomes very agitated and Spencer is escorted out. Paige yells at Spencer that the last thing Hugh needs is aggravation and that since the mere mention of his name gets Hugh agitated, Spencer needs to leave him alone. Spencer is escorted back to jail while Paige stays behind until Hugh's adoptive parents show up.

Evangeline tries to calm Cris down while they await word on the boxing commission's decision regarding Cris' latest bout. Evangeline talks about pressing criminal charges against whoever is responsible for getting Cris into this mess. Cris starts to become anxious and decides to wait for the decision at the coffee shop instead. Shaun approaches Vincent with his suspicions regarding Ted. He informs Vincent how Ted seems to have come into a lot of money right around the time of Cris' loss due to a death in the family. Vincent swears his right hand man to secrecy but asks him to let him know if he hears anything else. Vincent finds Cris and Evangeline and delivers the bad news that the boxing commission has ruled that Cris took a dive.

10/4 Natalie finally shows up at Llanview much to everyone's relief. She listens to everyone extend their sympathy and understanding and knows that her family has been through lots of pain too. But she can't accept that her pain will ever go away and is sure it will be with her forever. She explains that she spent time with Rex and Roxy and it's also been difficult trying to juggle two families; each has a different way of showing support. She affirms that she will never feel alive again.

Kevin and Kelly show up together, seemingly at peace with each other. They show everyone the baby's ultrasound picture and promise to tell the baby all about Duke. The young children in the family will also hear about John, Natalie promises. She tells everyone of the wedding proposal that almost happened.

10/5 Michael, Eve and Marcie were meeting with the funeral home director when Natalie showed up. "Do I count as family?" she asked. Michael assured Natalie that she was family, but they didn't want to upset her. Eve asked her to please stay. Natalie asked what they were planning for the funeral. Michael said there would be an honor guard from the LPD and bagpipes.

10/6 David went to the funeral and spoke directly to Mrs. McBain. David told her that John had given him a second chance and he thanked her. The McBains were not too responsive, but Bo told David that it took guts for him to show up today.

Rex arrived at John's funeral and wondered where Natalie was. At Viki's, Roxy slapped Natalie when Natalie, still dressed in her robe, said she didn't see the point in going to John's funeral. Viki encouraged Natalie to go, adding that she'd regret it for the rest of her life if she didn't. Natalie went with her family. She was eager "to get this thing over with." She watched as the flag-draped coffin was carried in by the police guard to the music from a bagpipe.

With deep emotion Bo gave the eulogy and spoke movingly about John being a true hero. The priest prayed and Michael thanked everyone for coming. Natalie sat and touched her engagement ring. The graveside service was beautifully directly and scripted. Each mourner had a few words as they left a flower in the grave. Evangeline sang "Oh Danny Boy." A tearful Natalie had been given the flag, and was the last one left sitting.

10/9 While John's friends and family gather at Rodi's, Natalie stays behind at the gravesite to spend a few quiet moments alone with John. Vincent shows up and a furious Natalie accuses him of following her and creeping up on her while she is vulnerable. Vincent tells Natalie that he understands what she is going through more than her friends and family ever could.

Natalie tells Vincent that she doesn't want or need him following her around and making sure that she is ok since they aren't even friends. She asks him to leave her alone and Vincent complies but not before telling her that if she ever needs to talk, he is a good listener. Natalie cries out to John that she no longer has her best friend around to hold and comfort her since he has left her all alone.

Michael decides to change the somber mood at John's memorial to a happy one as he decides that everyone should share the happy memories they had with John. Everyone from Evangeline to Antonio share a fond memory of John. Bo instead decides to go back to the station to deal with the loss of John alone. Bo invites Rex's help when he puts up John's picture on the police memorial wall.

Vincent pays Hugh a visit at the hospital. He introduces himself to Paige and explains to her that he and Hugh played football together, were roommates, and were fraternity brothers. Paige leaves the two of them alone and Vincent tells Hugh that he needs to fight to live. Believing that Hugh is heavily sedated, Vincent confesses to Hugh that he set Cristian up and risked his life just to make a little extra money.

When a nurse comes in to check on Hugh after one of his machines starts beeping, she informs Vincent that although Hugh is sedated, he is a little more conscious and probably knows that Vincent is there. After the nurse leaves, Vincent tells Hugh that he was just kidding and that he can't use anything that he just confessed against him. Viki becomes concerned about Natalie when she fails to show up at Rodi's for John's memorial. Clint tries to calm Viki's nerves but she remembers how distraught and destructive Natalie became when she lost Cristian and how it was John who helped her grow up. Viki relaxes when Natalie finally makes an appearance at Rodi's.

Natalie wonders why everyone is having such a good time and Viki tells her that they are sharing their happy memories the way John would have wanted them to. When Michael thanks everyone for coming and sharing their memories, Natalie reminds them that they haven't heard from her yet. Instead of being able to share a memory Natalie breaks down and tells Vincent that he was right no one understands what she is going through as she runs out in tears.

10/12 Michael, Eve and Marcie asked Natalie if she would be Tommy's godmother. She was taken aback, but honored and agreed to do it. They told Natalie that the same pastor who performed John's funeral would also do the christening, but she said that was okay. Natalie told Eve that she's surprised Marcie would ask Rex to be the godfather given how they push each other's buttons. Eve pointed out that it sounds like they behave like a brother and sister. Natalie noted that it was true and that it isn't much different from her relationship with Rex.

Everyone met at the church and Tommy was christened. Michael said that John was looking out for little Tommy. Everyone left except for Rex and Natalie. Rex observed that John should've been there. Natalie said at first that John was there, in her heart, but then said that no, he isn't there at all.

10/17 Vincent runs into Natalie on the docks and wonders what she is doing there. Natalie tells him that she came there to gather her thoughts. Vincent decides to share with Natalie how he and Layla have parted ways. Natalie wonders what he did which amuses Vincent but at the same time makes him think about his actions. Natalie tells him that she is in no position to judge him because she remembers all the terrible things she did when she blew into town. Cris' love changed Natalie and for that there will always be a special bond between them. When Natalie tells Vince that if anyone messes with Cris they will have to deal with her, Vincent rethinks his decision to confess his misdeeds to Natalie.

Bo visits Paige and Hugh at the hospital. Paige encourages Bo to visit with Hugh and when he does, Hugh asks him where he is. Bo shares with Hugh how he was in an accident and is in the hospital which slight agitates Hugh causing the doctor to sedate him a little more. Paige thinks that it is an encouraging sign that Hugh recognized Bo and hopes that it means that Hugh is getting stronger. When Bo suggests that they grab a bite to eat, Paige insists that she needs to stay with her son. Bo convinces her that she also needs to take care of herself and they leave to go and enjoy a steak together. David sneaks into Hugh's room and has him "sign" papers which will ensure that Spencer will continue paying for his actions.

10/18 Nat pays Spencer a visit to blame him for what happened to John. The tables are quickly turned when a vehement Spencer accuses her of being angry with him because John devoted more of his attention to Spencer than to her. If Nat is tortured it's her own fault that John is dead, he continues. John was very aloof, not loving and he only became happy when he thought he had the man responsible for his father's death. Natalie only had leftover crumbs of attention from him because she wasn't woman enough to keep him happy.

John probably would have taken his ring back eventually and gone back to Evangeline who is way more of a woman than Natalie, he snarls. She knows John never loved her, even if she does have a ring. John was incapable of loving anyone but himself and was really an emotional cripple. Natalie is speechless and insulted and voices her sympathy that poor Spencer is so miserable. Did his father make him that way? she wonders. When he mentions that his father will pay, Natalie is confused. Isn't your father dead? Spencer is certain that he will not be found guilty.

10/19 At Spencer’s arraingment, the judge ruled that there was enough evidence for Spencer to stand trial for the murder of Thomas McBain.

10/25 Natalie returns to work and stops short at John's old office, thinking she still sees his name engraved there. Antonio is occupying it now and he doesn't think she should be there; it's too soon to return and John wouldn't want it. Nat is enraged that Antonio would presume to know what John could be thinking. She doesn't need Antonio's help or anyone else's and can see Dr. Jamison if she thought she needed help, she continues. Antonio thinks that's a good idea but Nat is quick to remind him how much he himself enjoyed speaking to the doctor. Her feelings are her own.

Antonio responds that John would want her to be good to herself and take the time for that. Rex walks in just then and agrees with Antonio. He tells her to go home. She begins to cry as she explains that she needs to work, get her certification and be something rather than nothing, in case something were to happen to her tomorrow. She'll feel horrible no matter where she is. Rex is empathetic after going through Jen's death. Nat feels that she shouldn't have let John go to the cemetery alone, but Rex can't listen to that. She'd be dead then too and he's not ready for that. He convinces her to go home. She realizes that the guys are right.

Paige tells "Hugh" the latest on Spencer and overhears Michael tell Marcie that she is the one responsible for his father's death. Marcie believes that it's not the right place and Paige feels that she's already apologized, there's not much else she can do. Marcie talks to "Hugh" and is sure the patient mutters her name. Shrieking for her husband's help, Michael is unable to get any response from the man. When Michael begins to speak of past events and how John won't get to see Spencer put away, the patient again moans. He says, "Michael, it's me," but then is silent once more.

Nat gets home and is gently chided by Viki for attempting to go back to work. She needs to keep John in her heart and find a way to cherish him without living in the past, an experienced Viki explains. She thinks that Nat should remove her engagement ring as a symbol of an ending and beginning. Ben and John would want them both to move on. Nat wonders why Viki still has her own rings on and her answer is that she doesn't know. She offers to remove them first and does. Nat follows suit.

10/26 Jessica, Adriana and Kelly went back to Llanfair after dress shopping. They walked in on Natalie trying on Jessica's veil. She took it off and pretended like everything was okay, but later had a fantasy about marrying John and blurted out "NO!" when he disappeared. The other girls were concerned by this bout of dementia and asked Nat if she was really okay. Natalie completely broke down and took off.

Natalie was walking the streets aimlessly. She ran up to a stranger, who looked like John from behind, grabbed him and said, "John!" He turned around and Natalie snapped back to reality. Vincent saw the whole thing happen. He followed Natalie up to the roof, where the sobbing redhead seemed to start hyperventilating. She turned and without even taking a moment to see who was standing next to her planted a big kiss on Vincent.

10/27 Vincent follows Natalie to the rooftop after witnessing Natalie having a mini breakdown in the park. Natalie shares with Vincent the fact that she has come to the realization that John is truly gone and that she will never see him again. Vincent tries to assure her that she will be all right but Natalie shrugs him off wondering how he could be so sure since he doesn't really know her. Vincent tells her that he misjudged her when he first met her and likened her to a spoiled heiress. He now realizes that she is made of tougher stuff and he knows that she will be okay.

Vincent also tells her that he has been where she is and he made it. While letting his guard down with Natalie, Vincent reveals his part in Cris' untimely and disgraceful exit from the boxing world. When Natalie wonders why he would do such a thing to someone who trusted him like Cris did, Vincent reveals that it all came down to money. A disgusted Natalie goes off on Vincent but he justifies himself by saying that nothing ever came easy for him and he has had to fight for everything he has.