Shattered Hearts
Disclaimer: I don't own LOST.
A/N: I just had to write my take on the jate reunion so there are spoilers for 3.13. But if you've seen the promos then you'll be all right. This starts right at the end of 3.12.
Sayid tugged on Kate's shirt, and she turned, blinking back tears. He motioned that they should move away.
Kate reluctantly followed Sayid, not letting herself glance back.
Locke shook his head. "I don't understand."
"What is there to understand? Jack's here, and we're going to get him." Kate said.
"Kate.." Sayid looked at her with compassion and Kate hated it.
"What?"
"He may not want to be rescued."
"That is not him." Kate said, fighting back the tears more than ever.
Danielle watched Kate, and smiled sadly. "Jack has been turned."
"Ja-" Kate swallowed, not even able to say his name. "He has not been turned. There has to be a logical explanation for this."
"Kate's right." Locke said. "I'm going to go explore some, and you three can figure out what you want to do."
"What are you doing John?" Sayid stepped forward.
"I can do what I want Sayid." Locke gave him a final look and then headed into the jungle.
Sayid shook his head and turned back to Kate. "We should wait until nightfall. We should wait until we know that Jack is alone. Then we can try to talk to him."
"He might not ever be alone." Danielle pointed out.
"The Others obviously trust him enough to let him play football. I'm sure they let him be alone." Kate said. "I'm going to go watch him and when I see that he is alone, I'll go."
Sayid shook his head. "You can't go alone Kate."
"I dragged you into this Sayid, and I don't want you to get hurt." Kate turned and went back to watch Jack. Sayid looked at Danielle.
"She's hurting Sayid. The man she loves has betrayed her, and her people." Danielle told him and she also went in the direction of Locke.
"Danielle, where are you going?"
"To find my daughter."
"You could get killed."
"Then at least I will finally be able to rest." Danielle said, and then she left, not looking back.
Sayid sighed, feeling lost. He decided that he would help Kate, and if she didn't want his help, then he would do it silently. Sayid walked to the bushes, and watched Kate. He would watch her, and help her only when he felt she would need it.
Kate returned to the spot where she had first spotted Jack, and panicked when she didn't see him. She scanned the area, and finally saw him. He was standing over by one of the houses, and he was talking to the blonde woman, and Ben. Ben was in a wheelchair, and Juliet was smiling at Jack.
Kate swallowed back the tears, trying to convince herself that Jack hadn't been turned.
She watched him go into a house, and she waited to see what would happen.
It became dark, and no one went in or out of the house that Jack had been in and she softly walked around until she got to that house. She came out of the bushes, and stopped when she heard music coming out of the house. She went to the front door, not believing that she was about to go in it. She turned the doorknob and walked inside, softly shutting the door behind her. Someone was playing the piano. She walked down the hallway and followed the noise. When she reached the end, she leaned against the wall. She got her gun ready, half hoping it was Jack playing, and half hoping it was an Other.
She went around the corner and gasped.
Jack turned at the noise and his eyes widened as he saw Kate. "What are you doing here?"
"I…" the look Jack was giving her was scaring her and she didn't know what to think.
"Get out of here, now."
"No."
Jack stood up, and quickly looked around the room. He went to the only window in the room and peered out of it. He sighed when he saw that no one was around. He shut the blinds and turned around. Kate was still staring at him with her mouth open.
She wanted to say so much, all at once, but she couldn't form words.
Jack quickly closed the space between them. If she wouldn't leave, he'd have to force her to.
"How did you get here?" He whispered, grabbing her arm.
"Don't touch me!" Kate withdrew her arm.
"Kate!! Shhh!"
"You're playing a piano? Playing football? What's going on Jack?" Kate finally found her voice.
"Kate you gotta be quiet. They'll hear you!"
Kate quieted, and tried to control herself. She knew she was shaking and she hoped that he couldn't tell.
"Jack?" Jack and Kate heard someone come through the front door, and Kate quickly looked at Jack.
Jack looked around, trying to find somewhere for her to hide.
"What's going on in here?" A man appeared, and as soon as he spotted Kate he withdrew his gun. Within seconds he had forced Kate to the ground, and Kate cried out in pain.
Jack swallowed. He had to make him think that he was still on their side.
"Who else is with you?" The man demanded.
Kate looked up at Jack from the ground, silently pleading with him.
"Just answer the question." Jack said, not meeting Kate's gaze.
"Who else is with you?" the man said slower, pushing the gun into Kate's back harder.
"No one!"
Jack knew she was lying, but he wasn't about to tell Jason that.
Jason forced her to her feet. He pulled out handcuffs from his back pocket, and Kate looked at them in terror.
He reached for Kate's hands, and she pulled them away.
"You do it." Jason shoved them into Jack's hands, and Jack looked at Kate. She stared at him. He saw the tears in her eyes, and it broke his heart. He knew that he had to keep the act up so he grabbed her hands as harshly as he could, and she cried out. Jack looked at her in surprise and he bit his lip as he put the handcuffs on.
"Come with me." Jason grabbed Kate's arm, and he started to walk out of the room. Kate glanced back at Jack questioningly.
"Shephard. Come on." Jason called back to him.
Jack followed him, trying to figure out how he could get Kate out of this.
"Where are you taking her?" Jack asked, trying to keep his voice controlled.
Jason didn't answer, and Jack's heart sank.
Kate willed herself not to cry in front of this man, and Jack. She wouldn't give Jack the satisfaction that what he was doing to her was shattering her heart. And now she might die. She didn't care anymore. She just wanted it to be over.
They went inside a building, and into a room. Jason shoved Kate inside and shut the door, not bothering to turn the lights on for Kate.
"Did you have anything to do with this?" Jason asked Jack, pushing him up against the wall.
"No. I made a deal with Ben, Jason. I want to go home! Why would I do anything like this? I don't even care about her. She's doesn't mean anything to me."
Jason stared at him hard. "Alright. Here's what's going to happen. You're going to go in there and talk to her, and make her go back to where ever she came from. If you do that, then I won't tell Ben that she ever came here, got it?"
"Why would you do that?" Jack asked in surprise.
"Because I know what it feels like to have the person you love get hurt."
Jack stared at him in shock.
"Now get in there Shephard." Jason pushed him in. "You have three minutes, then you need to get back out here."
Jack stood in front of the door, his heart racing.
"What are you waiting for? Get in there!"
Jack opened the door, and went inside, closing the door behind him. It was dark, and he almost didn't want to turn the lights on, afraid of what he would see.
He turned the lights on, and sighed when he saw that Kate was sitting on the ground. He grabbed the chair that was leaning against the wall and he opened it up, putting it behind Kate and sitting so that his arms were leaning on the backrest. He couldn't handle sitting in front of her.
"I asked you not to come back here for me and I wish that you hadn't." Jack said.
Kate scoffed, and Jack just watched her.
"Who else is with you Kate?"
"I'm alone." Kate mumbled.
"Why won't you tell me?"
"I don't have to tell you everything."
"They're going to let you go. If anyone is with you, then I need to know so that I can make sure they can leave too."
Kate winced at the way his voice sounded. He was talking so coldly. It was so unlike him.
She turned and stared at him, placing both of her hands on his. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it.
"What did they do to you Jack?"
"Nothing." Jack avoided her gaze.
Kate continued to stare at him, not sure of what to do.
"Aaron is so big. He's grown so much in the last couple of weeks. Sun and Jin are more excited than ever about Sun's pregnancy. Charlie moved back in with Claire." Kate said, watching his reaction.
Jack blinked multiple times, before finally meeting her gaze. Kate saw tears in his eyes, and Kate struggled to keep her composure. "What about Sawyer?" Jack whispered.
"What?" Kate asked in confusion.
"I made a deal with the Others." Jack had to get this out before he completely lost it.
"What are you talking about?"
"If I stay here and take care of Ben.. They're gonna let me go."
"Go where?" Kate's heart started to beat faster.
"Home."
"Back to the beach?"
Jack shook his head. "Off the island."
Kate could no longer fight the tears, and she turned and sat down again, unable to face Jack anymore. He was leaving her. He was leaving everyone. He really didn't care.
"You're leaving us. Me." Kate choked on her tears.
"Kate, no." Jack leaned forward. "You don't understand. I am leaving." Jack leaned in closer to Kate. "But I will come back here for you." He whispered.
Kate turned to tell him that if he left he couldn't come back, but she didn't realize how closer Jack was to her, and as soon as their eyes met, Kate kissed him.
Jack pulled away after a few seconds and he stared at Kate.
"Jack…"
Jack shook his head. "Kate… we can't."
"Jack.. you can't leave. You just can't."
"Don't you get it? I'm going to get us all rescued! We're going to get off this island!"
"What if I don't want to be rescued?" Kate met Jack's eyes again. "You can't leave. If you do, you can't come back."
"What?"
"We met a man. He was at one of the stations. The Flame Station. And he told us that ever since the sky turned purple… people can leave, but they can't come back."
"And you believed him?"
"You believe Ben don't you?" Kate met his hostility in his voice. "You have to believe me Jack. Why can't you just come back with us?"
"You know I can't do that Kate. They would kill us both in a second."
"I would rather that than not have you around."
"You can't do this to me Kate. I was fine before.."
"Before I came to rescue you? Before I risked my life for you? You were fine just leaving everyone behind. Everyone that you have come to know, and I thought that you had come to love, but I guess not."
"That's not true Kate."
Kate stood up. "Show me the way out, and I'll leave. Don't worry about us. We'll be fine."
Jack stood and as she turned to leave, Jack grabbed her arm. "Kate. Don't do this. I need you."
"No you don't!"
Jack shook his head, frustrated. "I do need you Kate, and you know why? I've been here for four days, and you know what I've been thinking about? You. Every time I eat, I think of you. Every time I change my shirt, I think of you. Every time I play that piano, I think of you. I can't live without you."
"Then why are you leaving?" Kate whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Because I thought that you could live without me."
Kate shook her head. "I could never live without you Jack. You're everything to me."
Jack caught her as she fell into his embrace. Everything had finally caught up to her. She'd been concentrating so much on getting Jack back she hadn't taken care of herself. She hadn't eaten much and she hadn't dealt with her feelings.
Jack closed his eyes as he listened to Kate sob into his chest as she let out all of the emotions, all of the pain that she had been withholding for the past couple of days.
"Shhhh. It's okay Kate. Everything is gonna be all right. I'm here. I'm going to take care of you."
As Kate listened to Jack comfort her, she knew that everything was going to be all right. They would get through this together. Shattered hearts could be mended. All that was needed was time.