Kate hated flying. Especially after the crash. She could never seem to bring herself to board a plane and had taken to driving everywhere she went. But now, with her squirming two-year old daughter in the seat next to her, she was even more on edge.
"Relax, Kate. It'll be fine," Charlie said trying to calm her down as best he could. Although Kate was glad Claire had insisted on Charlie coming with her, Kate was still as nervous as ever about what she was about to do.
Flashback
"Ava, please sleep, sweetie. You're going to miss your nap," Kate groaned leaning back against the couch. Ava continued to cry from the crib in her room and ask for Kate to hold her. As much as she wanted to take her little girl in her arms, Kate knew that if she went into Ava's room, she wouldn't be coming back out for a while and frankly, she was reaching her breaking point. After 10 minutes more of listening to Ava cry incessantly, Kate had gone into her room just as the doorbell rang. She looked at Ava and said laughing tiredly, "Come on, sweetie. Let's see who it is."
She opened the door and was surprised to see Claire standing on the other side.
"Claire!" she said over Ava's cries.
"Hi, Kate, hi Ava darling," she said kissing Ava's cheek, then looking at the clock in Kate's kitchen said, "Isn't this her nap time?"
"I wish," Kate said laughing. "Apparently this little girl doesn't need sleep. We got a collective 4 hours last night."
"Must be genetic- I think I remember you telling me you did the same thing when you were her age," Claire commented following Kate into the kitchen.
"Well, I am sorry my parents had to go through that," Kate apologized. "I just don't know what's wrong with her. How do you get Aaron to go to sleep?" she asked her friend.
"If he's not going down for me, I get Charlie to do it," Claire said pointedly, looking Kate in the eyes.
"Claire, don't start this again," Kate pleaded. "I'm not telling him. I can't tell him- he said he didn't want children and I had to go and get pregnant! And besides, it would be so awkward-"
"Stop making excuses for yourself!" Claire said more harshly than she meant to. "If I were Jack, I would want to know I had a child. It isn't fair to him, Kate. You're only thinking of yourself."
"So what do I do?" Kate asked, growing tired of this seemingly endless conversation that seemed to pick up right where it left off every time Claire or Charlie visited. "Fly down to LA, walk into his hospital and say, 'Hi, remember me? I got pregnant and had your child. Is that okay with you?'" Kate retorted equally harsher than she had meant to.
"I don't care how you do it, just-" Claire stopped mid-sentence and looked down at Ava who had fallen asleep on Kate's shoulder.
"What?" Kate asked oblivious to her daughter. "Oh," she said following Claire's gaze to her shoulder. "Thank God. I thought she was never gonna do it."
"Look, Kate," Claire said gently resting her hand on Kate's free shoulder. "I just think you owe it to Jack and Ava to tell him. He still loves you, you know," she added in her warm Australian voice, smiling inwardly as Kate's head shot up.
"I just don't know- I mean, what if he's engaged, or has a girlfriend?"
"He's single, Kate," Claire confirmed. "He's still in love with you. You kinda broke his heart when you left without even saying goodbye." Kate was silent, so Claire continued. "Charlie and I were going to fly out to see him this weekend, but Aaron's sick so I can't go. Take my ticket, and go see Jack and tell him the truth."
"I-"
"No excuses, Kate. Go with Charlie. He'll take care of you and Ava. Go and see Jack.
End Flashback
Kate shifter uncomfortably in her seat and for perhaps the fiftieth time Charlie put his hand over hers to calm her nerves. She loved him, and he was one of her best friends, but it wasn't working.
"Goin to see Pooh-bear, Mamma?" Ava asked sweetly looking at her mother.
"No sweetie, we're going to Los Angeles."
"Los Angeles?"
"Yeah, we're going to see da-" Kate stopped herself. How the hell was she going to introduce her daughter to Jack. "We're going to see Mamma's friend," she finally decided on.
"Mamma's fend?"
"Yeah, baby. Just a friend…" Kate trailed off hugging Ava close to her body as the captain announced their descent into Los Angeles.
"We here now, Mamma?" Ava asked as they followed Charlie through the airport to the baggage terminal.
"Ava girl, why don't you let uncle Charlie carry you until we get a taxi to go to Mummy's friend's house, okay?" Charlie suggested, saving Kate from answering the almost two-year-old's seemingly endless string of questions. They got their luggage and Ava's car seat and quickly climbed into one of the many waiting taxis outside the terminal.
"So," Charlie said excitedly once they were on the freeway. "Were to, then? Jack's house or his hospital?
"Well," Kate began shifting nervously. "I guess I thought maybe after a few days-"
"No," Charlie said firmly. "Claire warned me about this, and I'm not letting you worm your way out of this. It's now or now, Kate. You've got to do it. I know that if I were him, I'd want to know I had a kid."
"You sound like Claire," Kate muttered.
"Where do you think she gets it from?" Charlie asked, grinning cheekily. "Come on, Kate. You can do it. Let's go to the hotel, get checked in and all, and then drop by the hospital so you can do this."
Kate nodded because she had no other choice but to go along with Charlie's plan, but inside she felt like she was dying. How on earth was she going to do this?