Title: Of Their Very Own
Author: Forever_Erica
Characters: Jack, Kate, David
Summary: During/Post "The End" [6x18] – In the Afterlife, Kate has news for Jack. THREE PARTS TOTAL.
Author's Note: I hope that this story doesn't stretch the canon of the show too much. With Lost, and with them all being dead and creators of their own Purgatory in the end, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE damnit! :)
Disclaimer: I own nothing, although JATE is still on my Christmas list, after six years!
She lied in bed, her belly swollen with nine months of pregnancy, and she felt like she was about to explode. Her ankles were swollen, her lower back was killing her and she'd barely left the comfort of her bed all day, much to her satisfaction.
She got off of that plane, bid farewell to her friends and faced the consequences of breaking the conditions of her plea bargain. She was pardoned on the fact that she did no harm by leaving, and most importantly, that she turned herself in.
She decided to stay in the same house she called home all that time ago, when she was a mother, not to her own child, but to Aaron. Aside from watching Aaron grow up, she remembered all the time she'd spent with him among those walls, in this very bed she laid in. Talking. Making love. Living the happiest existence she'd ever known.
Soon after settling back in, the frequent trips to the bathroom to vomit once she woke up every morning told her that she was pregnant. She didn't need to take a test, because she felt it, but to her own assurance, she took one, staring at the positive results with both joyful and sorrowful tears in her eyes.
Jack. She thought of him all too often. His smile, wide, yet soft, mellow. His laugh, manly, yet sweet, boyish. His eyes, that looked at her so often with sadness, grief, love, passion, frustration, and relief, haunted her, the last time she looked through the dark orbs, she'd told him she loved him, and he'd said the same, so heartrendingly before he limped away, married to his Destiny no matter what, while she would have given anything in the world to have persuaded him to come with her.
He was gone, and it broke her heart anew every single day she allowed herself to think about him. Being pregnant with his child was the only solace she found amid the sadness. She went over to his condo often and slept there for the night, needing so badly to be near his things, what he surrounded himself with, to smell him on the sheets, the pillowcases. She eventually packed up every stitch of clothing he owned and brought them back to where they belonged.
Dreams filled her mind constantly; the most recurring was of her lying in bed on her back, reading a book while his arm wrapped around her waist, his lips tickling the skin of her extended belly as he talked to their baby, about anything and everything. Just the sound of his voice got the baby jostling so frantically that she would become uncomfortable after awhile, tapping his shoulder as a signal for him to end the evening tradition by telling the baby something so secretive, that he would whisper extra carefully so she wouldn't hear, and punctuated the goodbye with a kiss, then placing an open-mouthed one on her lips before pulling her into his arms as he fell asleep.
She would never have that, she would never see the look of awe on his face as he felt the baby kick for the first time, or the burst of joy in his eyes while watching the life they created together wave to them on the screen of the ultrasound. She would never see him read some fanciful tall-tale to their child while she watched quietly from the door. She would never see what a terrific, wonderful father he would be, because with everything that she was, she truly believed it when she said, so long ago, "You're good at this".
Eventually, after having to give Claire another pep-talk about her abilities as a mother, Kate took her to Aaron. Claire decided to move into Kate's home, allowing Aaron to stay in the home he'd grown up in. They eased into a pattern that wouldn't confuse the child's already fragile state. Although he still called on Kate as his mother, eventually, he made the switch to understanding that this new woman, with his blond hair and blue eyes, was indeed his mother. The first time he called her Mommy, both she and Kate cried together, the gravity of Aaron's transition setting in so perfectly.
As Kate lied there, in Jack's Columbia sweatshirt and lounge pants, finally resting her mind enough to find sleep, she felt this piercing jolt in her groin. She sat up, wincing in pain. Then she felt something wet on the sheets beneath her. Her water broke, and soon, another spasm hit, causing her to cry out.
"Claire!" Kate screamed, rubbing her stomach as if that would lessen the discomfort, moving her feet off of the bed to the floor, trying to stand on her own, but finding it impossible to do so. Claire was by her side before she'd even heard her enter the room.
"What's wrong?" Claire asked.
"It's time" Kate said, breathing heavily through gritted teeth.
Two hours later, he arrived. Nine pounds and ten ounces of pure perfection. A thick head of brown, wavy hair, cheeks sprinkled with freckles, and as chubby and healthy as any baby she'd ever seen. Once she heard his garbled cries for the first time, she broke down into happy, elated tears as Claire held her hand, soothing her, chanting, "He's so perfect, Kate."
Once he was cleaned and prepped with a blue blanket wrapped around him, the doctor handed him to Kate, her tears all the more splendid as he opened his eyes, and extended his small hand to her face and touched her cheek, already displaying an intuitiveness about his mother that was so spectacular, the entire birthing suite staff watched in awe at the exchange.
"What are you going to name him?" Claire asked.
Kate could only think of one name, she wasn't sure why, but he had to have this name.
"David. His name is David Shephard."
She would protect this perfect little person with her life, just as Jack protected her with his.
Up Next: PART 2 of 3!