Alphabet Weekends

Prologue

A/N: I haven't updated my fics in ages I know…lack of inspiration, I will finish them though. Eventually. Ok, so I got this idea from reading Elizabeth Noble's book Alphabet Weekends and just thought wow…Jate would have so much fun with this little game.

To set the scene, Jate have been friends for just about ever, but haven't gotten together. Obviously this is way AU. And there's no island, though I may bring in other characters. We'll see…

New Year's Eve, a time to spend with family and friends, and here Kate was, along. All alone. She'd had offers, but didn't feel like accepting them, they just weren't the sort of people she wanted to spend New Year's with. Family was out of the question, with no siblings she only had parents except…her mother had recently died after a long battle with cancer, her father was long gone and her step father was only god knows where. As for friends…there weren't many that she held close to her heart, and those that she did were really the old friends she didn't get much of a chance to see lately. Working in a restaurant meant that she didn't make too many close friends, and they'd mostly have wild, drunken parties, which she just wasn't in the mood for.

She found herself driving down a road that was so familiar, she knew of her destination but only after realising where she was. She'd spent a lot of time here with her best friends. She smiled slightly, turning the radio off remembering summers past, the ones she spent with Jack. Of course, she'd been good friends with his half-sister Claire, but it was she and Jack who were the best of friends. They spent many nights in the local pub, where she found herself headed, and wondered if they'd be there.

At least he wouldn't be there. No, he wouldn't dare turn up this year. Damn, James Ford. He came to town several years back, just strode in with his floppy blond hair and southern drawl; there was a spark between them that was for sure. But nothing was done about that until two years ago. She was meant to be with him this New Year's. Bastard. She'd finally caught him sleeping with her flatmate, the day before her birthday no less. Yes, bastard really was the word to describe him. Good riddance was what she bid him when she chucked them both out and drowned her sorrows with a nice bottle of vodka. She wouldn't be doing that again in a hurry. Nor would she be even conversing with any slimy rednecks in a while. Damn him, indeed.

Leaving her coat in the car, she pushed open the door to the pub and was greeted by a familiar warmth and that hubbub she'd always associated with this place.

"Kate!" She heard a shriek almost as soon as she'd taken three steps into the place. She soon found an energetic blonde falling against her.

"Hey Claire." She greeted with a smile and a slightly more than half hearted hug. Seeing the glass in Claire's hands she wondered how many vodkas or gins she'd already kicked back.

"Oh! Jack Jack! Come see Jack with me." Claire grabbed Kate's arm and pulled her across the room toward Jack and Charlie. "Look who I found." She giggled.

"Katie!" Jack grinned seeing her, he stood and pulled her into one of the tightest hugs ever. "You've been gone too long this time."

"I know." She smiled sheepishly.

"We missed you."

"I missed you all too." She told him, and then greeted Charlie.

"Drink, Kattikins?" Kate found a drink shoved right in front of her by a more than tipsy Claire.

"Uh Thanks." She said accepting the drink. "How many has she had already?"

"Too many."

"Lost count."

"Just one." Were the replies she received, she didn't quite believe the last one that came with a saccharine smile.

"Right." Kate nodded before sliding into a seat next to Jack.

"I'm sorry about your mom." He told her quietly, and she nodded in thanks. "Other than that…how's your year been Austen?"

"Where should I start?" She laughed. "I've had worse, but I'm sure I've had better too. James cheated on me, did you know that."

"Hmm…I told you he was trouble." He shook his head. "I told you that he'd hurt you."

"Yeah…but…we…we had…"

"Chemistry." They both finished.

"Yeah, chemistry." Kate nodded.

"It's not all about chemistry…" Jack shook his head. "You could do better than guys like him."

"What, you mean, guys like you?"

"Yes. Exactly."

Kate looked at him, her head tilted to one side, she took a sip of her drink then shook her head. "No…we don't have chemistry."

"We do."

"Nope."

"We do have chemistry…everyone has some kind of chemistry. You just need to open your eyes to it, Katie." He told her sighing softly.

"Prove it." She challenged him, downing her second drink.

"Nope, not right now. I want your to remember…"

"I'm not drunk, Jack!" She hit his arm.

"Not yet, but you will be by the end of the night…"

"Why do you think so little of me?" She pouted.

"I don't think little of you. I know you."

"Get drunk with me?" She sighed.

"Fine." He replied. Oh, now…this could be fun.

Three hours later, they were well on their way to a not so friendly hangover, so had decided to party like it was 1999 and dance the night away. And the whole chemistry thing…Kate was wrong. The looked pretty damn close, hell they looked close to an explosion…there was some tension too. And if that's not chemistry, I don't know what is.

"I remember this song!" She shouted across to him, he responded by wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close.

He felt like slow dancing, but it was an up tempo song, so he loosened his hold slightly, watching her loose it and just followed her moves. She rolled her hips towards him, and he pushed himself closer to her, as her arms moved up his back and rested on his shoulders. They hadn't realised that they were barely dancing anymore, until she slammed into his chest.

"Oops." She giggled and then looked up at him, and noticing how close they were she blushed. He smiled at her, and two seconds later, she'd pushed herself up on her tip toes, wrapped her arms securely around his neck, and pressed her lips to his. Without think he responded and they kissed, properly, lips on lips, tongues against tongues. It was pretty good, he thought.

"You'll marry me, won't you Jack?" she slurred.

"Hmm…" his eyes fluttered open. "What?"

"Marry me?" She batted her eyelashes.

"You know I will, Katie. Told you ages ago." She nodded at him before snuggling up against him, her head buried in his neck.

"I'm tired…"

"Oh shit…" Kate groaned as she woke up to harsh streaks of sunlight creeping through the curtains, and a cruel, cruel headache.

"Morning Katie." Jack chuckled at her, as he finished on pulling a tight white t-shirt. She looked almost adorable, one arm flung over her eyes to block out the sun light, the other was slung over the empty space on the bed.

"No." she grumbled rolling away from the window.

"But you have to get up…we need to set a date." Jack began teasing her, knowing she wouldn't remember.

"What for?" She rolled back and looked up at him.

"The wedding, silly." He sat on the bed, by her feet.

"Who?" She asked, not bothering with coherent sentences.

"Ours of course! Don't you remember proposing to me last night?" Jack said trying hard to contain his laughter.

"WHAT?!?" Kate shrieked, sitting up immediately, bringing a hand to her head. "Please tell me I didn't…"

"Oh but then I'd be lying." He shook his head.

"I didn't mean it."

"I think you did." He grinned at her. God, he looked good today, that grin and those muscles underneath that t-shirt. Damnit.

"Nope. I couldn't marry you…that'd be weird." She told him.

"Would it really?"

"And besides we have no…"

"Chemistry. I know." He nodded. "I still think you're wrong."

"Are you going to prove it to me then?" She asked him, remembering last night's conversation before they got too drunk.

"Yup. I'll pick you up next Saturday at your new place."

"Huh?" She'd forgotten she was moving, that was part of the reason why she was here.

"You'll be free, won't you?" He checked.

"I s'pose…why?" She asked, thoroughly confused.

"We're going to play a game Katie." He tucked a strand of flyaway hair behind her hair. "I'm going to show you that we do have chemistry and that we could be together."

"Where does the game come into it?" She frowned.

"We're going to spend 26 weekends together. One for each letter of the alphabet. We'll take it in turns to think of something for each letter. I'll start with A, then you do B, I do C, you do D, I do E…."

"Yes Jack, I am familiar with the alphabet." She groaned. "Every single weekend?"

"Every single weekend, Katie." He nodded. "You'll see, all these years you'be been denying it. We have chemistry." He nodded. "And…I'll make you fall for me." He grinned then left the room quickly, to go prepare some breakfast.

She cast a glare at him, looked him up and down as he exited and then exhaled heavily. "It's not like I've got anything else to do…" She sighed.

You know what I'm like with reviews...feel free to suggest what they can do for certain weekends.