Title: Frailty

Author: Megan or PITAchic, whichever you prefer.

Rating: K, I guess.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that has to do with the brilliance that is Lost.

Spoilers: None, except maybe "Outlaws" because there's a mention of "I Never"

Pairings: Jack/Kate/Sawyer

Author's Note: Just re-uploaded this 'cause I changed one little, tiny part that you won't even notice. And I took out the bold/italics, 'cause most of you didn't like them :) For anyone that doesn't know me, I am a Jack/Kate shipper until the end of time, but I was in a total angst mood when I wrote this. This is follows no spoilers that I know of; it's just a fic set in the future with a concept I totally made up. Anyway, enjoy the fic, and please review to let me know if you like it!

Frailty- A fault, especially weakness of resolution, arising from the imperfections of human nature.

Once upon a time, she had loved it when they fell asleep in each other's arms. But that was back when they had first gotten together, back when his biting sarcasm and games of 'I Never' had made her want to know more about him and his dark secrets, and back when she had made a resolution to herself to stop pretending.

That was almost a year ago. Now, his even breathing only kept her awake at night, along with random kicks coming from inside her protruding belly. They both knew the life growing inside of her was not his. He had never said it, but he knew; she saw it in his eyes when he looked at her, and he showed it in his avoidance of talking about her condition.

Yet he stayed. She didn't know whether it was because he really loved her, or if it was because he knew that the moment he confronted it, the moment he acknowledged the truth, this whole façade would be shattered and everyone on the island would know that she had been unfaithful to him with the one person on the island he hated the most.

She honestly hadn't cheated on purpose. She really did care about him, but they had both known going into their relationship that she also had feelings for another man; a man that was a hero in the eyes of the all the survivors, herself included.

The night this all started still ran through her mind constantly; she remembered the smoldering looks, the fervent kisses, the passionate whispers, the burning touches. But the one thing she remembered most of all was her leaving; the way his eyes had darkened when she said she should get back to the beach, because he knew that she was really saying she should get back to him.

Avoidance of each other had only lasted so long, especially after she told him that she suspected she was pregnant. He was the only doctor on the island, after all, and it didn't look like they were getting rescued anytime soon. She had planned on denying that he was the father, but when he actually came out and asked, she faltered, and that was all he needed to know.

He didn't push, and she didn't hide. Visits to the caves were not just for water, and visits with him were not just for check-ups. He made sure never to imply that the child was his, though she could tell it was tearing him up inside.

In a perfect world, she could leave what she had now behind and make this the start of a happy family. But it was far from a perfect world; she knew it and he knew it.

There were nights she stayed at the caves, both because it was too late to go back to the beach and the man that was waiting for her there, and because she wanted to be just a little bit closer to the man that was waiting for her here.

It was those nights he came to her, long after he thought she had fallen asleep. She never was sleeping, though; she only acted like she was so she could relish those few moments.

He liked to talk to the baby at those times. He told it funny stories about the things that were happening on the island. He told it about all the technologies and things in civilization, back in the 'real world.' But always, before he left, he would whisper about how beautiful its mother was, and how much he loved them both, no matter what the future held; then he would leave a soft kiss on her abdomen before walking away. And always, after he left, she would cry silently in the night, wishing things were different.

But they weren't, and here she was in one man's arms as he slept, thinking only about another man; a man whose child she was carrying

So why did she stay? It was a question she had asked herself many times. She suspected it had something to do with guilt. The guilt of cheating on one man, and the guilt of knowing that if she was with the other, she would ruin his life. The man that was back at the caves was too good for her; it didn't matter if they were in Australia, or the United States, or Canada, or even if they were stuck on this Godforsaken island. It was just a fact she knew in her heart.

So one pretended that he didn't know, one pretended that he didn't care, and she pretended that she didn't need.

Everyone always breaks their resolutions anyway; why should she be the exception?

FIN

Megan