Disclaimer: Don't own anything, as usual :(
Summary: Jack, Kate, and a headache. Pure Jate fluff, however it is a sequel/spin off of my deathfic No Shame, No Fear.
A/N I finally got around to writing this! I'd intended to for ages, the 'sequel' as it were to No Shame, No Fear. Only really I'm just going back in time and extending a memory. If you haven't read that one, don't worry it doesn't affect this story, but I would really love you to drop over and review! You know how much I love them…
He was sorting out medicines – as usual – in his temporary infirmary in the caves. How they needed sorting so much she didn't know, but every other day he was arranging them back into alphabetical order, purpose order, size order…
Control freak. But it was cute, on him.
"Uh, Jack?" He looked up at her and smiled, and she went and sat down beside him on the cool, smooth rock.
"You okay?"
"I sorta have a headache."
Instantly his brow furrowed in concern and he pulled her closer. She breathed in sharply in surprise as he held his hand softly to her head, feeling her temperature. The smell of him, so wonderfully intoxicatingly Jack...campfire smoke, bark, sweat, the ocean, and something else she couldn't quite place. She found herself leaning towards him, without realising, until he pulled back just as suddenly as he leaned forward. He didn't seem to notice, in any case, having already switched to doctor mode.
"Well, you don't have a temperature. Where does it hurt?"
She hesitated, and lightly ran her fingers over her brow and temples. He held his hands up, to examine her, but stopped and looked at her for permission. Like he needed to ask. She nodded and he placed his hands on her head. Inwardly, she sighed again, basking in the feeling of his skilful fingers touching her head. Her eyes fluttered shut, and she just sat waiting, feeling, until he was finished.
"There's no swelling either, and as far as I'm aware you're healthy, so maybe it's just too much sun or something."
She nodded and looked around, trying to find another reason to stay. The medical cart caught her eye, arrayed with brightly coloured bottles and jars. She wandered over to it and trailed her fingers over the items sitting on top. Aspirin, prescription boxes, some of Sun's magic asthma paste. She wondered how he could stand it all, the neatness and preciseness with which this was all arranged. She couldn't.
"Amoxicillin." His voice was just by her ear, his breath tickling her cheek. He gestured to the bottle under her fingers and moved away, leaving a rush of cold air where his body should have been. "Ear infections, throat infections, tonsillitis…so on."
So this was the little game they'd play. She smiled, moving on.
"And this?"
"Lorazepam, anti-anxiety medication. Handy if you're having a panic attack."
She nodded, sliding her fingers over to a large round bottle. Jack just smiled.
"Cough medicine. You could've read that on the label."
True, she could have. But she preferred to hear him say it, to hear his deep, velvety voice caressing her ears. She picked up an orange bottle, looking at the prescription label 'John L…' she couldn't make our much more. The ink had run on the rest of the name, leaving a smudged trail of black down the side of the bottle. He took the bottle from her hand gently.
"Fluoxetine. You'd probably know it as Prozac." Her head snapped up, intrigued, for a second forgetting that her lips nearly brushed his.
"An anti-depressant?"
"Yeah. Mostly used for elderly patients with severe depression." He stared harder at the name on the label, and after a second his face registered some surprise. Whatever it was he'd discovered, she didn't care to know. The mood had turned darker.
She reached across him, hand purposefully skimming his side, her fingers sliding over and latching onto a random box. He looked down at the box in her hand and laughed, then turned back to her so that their faces were inches apart.
"Contraceptive pills." He murmured. She could feel herself blushing, the familiar heat creeping up her cheeks. But she was going to have some fun. She stepped back a little and opened the box nonchalantly, sliding the little silver pack into her hand.
"Half full." She smiled at him, her eyes twinkling mischievously. "No one came to collect it?"
He shook his head, both amused and embarrassed by her forwardness.
"Too bad. Bet they're missing out now." They both laughed then, Jack now blushing furiously too and he sat down on the rocks again. Jack blushed? She slipped it back into its box and tossed it onto the medicine cabinet.
"And those?" she pointed at the small blue bottle, bending down over him, delighting in the way he looked at her when she leant over like that.
"Painkillers, mild ones." He said, staring up at her, his eyes dancing. She was basically sitting in his lap, feigning interest in the collection of medicines in front of her.
"Uh-huh. And those?"
"Oh, those. I doubt I'll be using them. I don't know who had them on the plane, but I'm surprised they cleared customs. They're like a painkiller too, but so much stronger. They're for chronic pain. Three would knock you out, six would probably kill you. Maybe seven if you're lucky."
"Mmmm." She hadn't really been listening. She was too preoccupied studying his face, watching the way his eyes flickered with recognition every time she pointed to one of the little bottles. The way the excitement shined in them when he looked her, barely concealing the desire that lurked beneath.
Their eyes connected for a second and she saw something there, something deeper and more meaningful than the playful banter and shameless flirting they were enjoying. It made her shiver. Jack looked away and stood up, taking care to put some distance between them now.
"So Kate, did you want an aspirin for your headache?"
"Um, yeah, thanks." He gave her two pills and she took them gratefully, clasping them tightly in her hand. He smiled and nodded his head at her, a clear sign it was okay for her to go.
She felt guilty, later, when she tossed the little pills into a bush. But it was easier just to take them than to tell Jack that she'd never had a headache, in the first place.
Hope you liked it! Thank you for reading, please review!