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This little fic is dedicated to one of my best friends, Theresa (didgeridoo). Happy birthday hon and I hope you'll like this and I hope you guys will like this as well ;)

Enjoy

"No, the usual place….." he more or less breathed tiredly into the phone. The combination of alcohol and stress possessing his spirit completely and all he was left to deal with now was the consequences of his failed actions. Although he felt the slightest trace of relief and elation spark his sunken heart when she finally came to some sort of agreement on seeing him again.

Maybe she'll do it for him , he wondered with nothing but curiosity winding it's way through him.

Knock, knock

He completely froze the moment he heard it, and at first he honestly had no idea as to why that was, but the reason soon became apparent when his eyes surveyed the messy clutter of his apartment. The residue of his life for the past six months scattered throughout the expanse of his small and rather dingy apartment. His first instinct was to try and clean up what he could, but the moment he tried to do so the knocking came again. The sound growing more louder and frantic, and in the end he relented, sighing in defeat for not being able to even fix this.

"Coming" he announced as tried to clear the little things away from the path towards the door, and the moment he reached the closed doorway, he took a deep breath and unlocked the lock on his door, his hand then opening the door to be graced with a presence that always managed to catch hold of his breath.

"Hey." he huskily muttered and she just nodded in return while waiting for him to invite her inside, and before she could verbally convey it, he stepped aside while scratching the back of his head. A gesture deliberately done in an attempt to restrict those hands from doing what his mind and heart were screaming at him to touch.

"Nice place." Kate commented with a raise of the eyebrows as her eyes surveyed the messed up surroundings. Had so much changed since then? She asked herself.

"Well it's nothing you haven't seen before right." Jack replied with a chuckle while trying to not let himself think of the moments they had shared here before. The very thought of it forcing him to let out a lustrous moan, but it soon disappeared when he took note of her eyes gazing at him warily as a result of his statement.

"I mean….." he tried while clearing his throat in an attempt to find some way out of this, but she beat him to it the very next minute.

"Why did you call me here Jack?" she proceeded to ask instead, deciding to cut right to the chase because she already felt her resolve to resist him crumbling by the minute.

"I……I…so how is he?" he stuttered to verbalize a clear statement within his conflicting thoughts and in the end he resorted to asking about her life. The use of that referral causing a physical pain to sting his withering heart.

"He's good. " she replied while adorning the hint of a smile that soon gave way to a seemingly endless moment of silence, and she could see that he was trying here so she decided to award him with something. Something she had never told him since they had arrived in the real world again.

"He asks about you, you know." she stressed with a growing smile but she grew rather confused when she witnessed his face contorting to form a pained expression. At first she felt that it rooted from the obvious reason he had avoided her and Aaron all this time, but upon closer inspection she could see that it was the exact opposite or was it just her hopes showing her this again. Regardless of it she urged herself towards his slightly hunched form. The extent of his fatigue so evident within his features, judging by the concise detail of every frown line she saw running through every inch of skin on his face.

"Jack." she whispered as she took the leap and placed her right hand to softly graze the side of his face and she smiled through her tears when he closed his eyes and leaned into the all familiar warmth that lingered within the recess of her cupped palm, and when he had acquired enough of it he placed his mouth to subtly graze across the frame of her hand. His own hand soon replacing the comfort his lips vowed to offer as a response to the comfort she was offering him. However as he made the move to gain a secure hold on her hand she stilled him with what she said next.

"What happened Jack?" she asked in a trembling tone as she remained a painful observer to this broken shell of a man she once knew and loved dearly.

All he did in response to that was to pull away from her completely. His mood transforming into the previous gloom he had oddly found comfort in for the past three months. Ever since things between him and the brunette before him gradually took a leap for the worse, he had resorted to other means of temporary relief and comfort to pass the time away.

"I shouldn't have called." he muttered as he turned his form away from her, walking towards the opposite wall and then placing both his hands flat over the fairly rough surface. His need for support clearly showing in the way he leaned against the wall and Kate grew concerned and rather wary of involving what she was to make of her next move.

She could either leave him to wallow in the self pity of his life, or she could open her heart once again to the one man she loved without a doubt in her mind. So with that in mind she took a deep breath while finalising her decision. One she hoped would benefit them, and in some ways solidify their relationship once and for all cause she was honestly sick and tired of constantly worrying herself about him.

The moment she found out about his heroic rescue of the woman he had saved from that car crash a few nights ago, she felt her heart still it's beat. Her mind automatically assuming the worst, but she sighed in relief when she found out that he was still living and breathing, the way she liked it, but of late she felt the need to try and acquire more. The warmth of a bed paling in comparison to the soothing warmth his arms always offered her.

She now felt like this was some kind of weird march to war or something, but she felt that the current circumstances of their situation deserved around the same amount of credit due to what they had been put through, not only on the island but here as well. Her having to deal with the sudden role of becoming a Mother and him having to deal with the loss of the one remaining link to his family.

"I'm sorry" she finally gathered the courage to express the moment she approached him from behind. Her hand hesitating to physically comfort him at first, but in the end she just went for it, deciding that taking the risk wouldn't hurt.

"Jack?" she suddenly questioned when she sensed a tremble within his form and upon further observation she could hear a slight whimpering forcing the tremble to excel to an almost violent shaking, and with that she took matters into her own hands and moved to pull him into her embrace, and she was shocked to say the least at the lack of reluctance he showed as he succumbed into the recess of her arms. His hands gripping onto her form like a lifeline, and the outcome of this led her legs to buckle, but what amazed her is the fact that she miraculously made a soft landing, and she smiled when she then found herself sitting comfortably in his lap.

"I'm sorry Kate. I'm so sor……" he kept on chanting over and over through his thickening tears which seemed to spur on the flow of her own, and all she found the will to do in response was wrap her arms around him with all the strength she could muster while her voice vowed to assure him that he wouldn't be alone in this. That he was never alone to begin with. They spent the next half hour like that, just exchanging words that needed to be said while their hands roamed over the expanse of each other's body, finding particular points that elicited the occasional moan of appreciation from them.

However what started out as an exchange of necessary comfort gradually turned into a discrete but impressionable moment portraying nothing but pent up longing and satisfaction to be gained as a result of it. His hands slowly moved from the low of her back, inching all the way up to the strap of her bra, his fingers toying with clasp that unfortunately held the garment securely in place.

"Jack?" Kate immediately questioned while pulling away from him, but in doing so she made a critical mistake because the look within his eyes was enough to pull her into his thoughts and needs, and his ministrations over her were doing their own job of crumbling the resolve even further. Never the less she used what was left of her resolve to confront him one last time before she knew it would be too late, for her.

"We can't…….not now." was all she said after taking one hard look at this almost unrecognisable man before her. His eyes so drained of the life it once had and her tears surfaced once again when she allowed her eyes to survey more of him, leaving her to unfortunately remind herself that this is what he had become, and no one else was to blame for it but her.

"I'm sorry." she mouthed for what seemed to be the millionth time while brushing her lips against his one last time. His hands briefly falling in defeat when he too figured that this was probably the best option to take considering the circumstances of their situation, his to be precise. So with that he just sat against the wall of his living room and reluctantly freed his hold of her. His attitude so vague to her but she could sense that it was a result of this constant rejection he received throughout his life. His Father, Sarah and now her.

"Bye Jack."

His response to that was to offer her a slight nod of agreement, and once she was out of sight he reached out for the half empty liquor bottle once again, already downing it's contents and feeling a temporary wash of comfort warm him.

That night she found it hard to sleep even with trying every possible way to overcome it, and the piercing shrill she then heard only minutes later was enough to assure her that she clearly wasn't the only one.

"DON'T TAKE HIM AWAY!!" the little boy kept on screaming as his little body moved violently over the bed. His little hands wildly waving themselves in the air in a clear show of defence, but defence against what?

"Aaron sweetie, Honey, honey it's okay. It's just a bad dream." a surprised and concerned Kate tried reassuring her son as her hands tried to calm in any way they could, and thankfully he then clamed down to a slight whimper.

"See it's just a bad dream honey, that's all."

"But it was so weeeeal Mommy and….." little Aaron tried to explain but he broke off mid sentence when he remembered the one part of his dream that had him so emotionally distraught.

"And what baby?"

"And Daddy Jack died." he continued on and then fully gave way to his sobs. Kate's tears soon joining his when she thought of how real this dream could be. The very thought of it causing a physical ache deep within her heart.

"Mommy?"

"Yeah baby."

"Where is Daddy Jack now?" he inquired and caused the brunette across from him to sigh in defeat of trying to conceal the one thing she hoped he wouldn't ask. Not since that night when everything changed, creating this kind of outcome.

"He's……he's not well right now sweetie." she felt was the best she could offer and she grew thankful when the boy seemed to accept it but she became a tad worried when she sensed that his mind was formulating a plan. The creasing of his little forehead forcing her to smile cause it reminded her so much of Jack.

"Is he in the hospickle?"

"Uh no honey, he's just…….." she explained but found it hard to continue when she couldn't find the exact words to explain Jack's current situation, and when she failed to respond Aaron took initiative and proceeded to repeat his initial question of asking where Jack was and this time she just sighed to herself while making a decision she felt could be for the better or for worse.

(Meanwhile)

He still sat in the same position he had been since she had left him. His eyes were extremely dilated as a result of the various liquids he had consumed over the duration of the day, but still he was coherent enough to hear a slight knocking on his front door. The time of day willing him to defend himself just in case.

He wobbly approached the door while trying to maintain some sense of focus in what he was to do if it was them again. The people he was sworn to secrecy by, but he was astounded to say the least when he opened his door to none other than……

"Kate? What are you……" he strived to ask but was cut off with a squeal coming from the one person he least expected to see here.

"Daddy Jaaaaack." little Aaron squealed as he embraced Jack's legs in a big hug and Jack couldn't help but chuckle at him while bending over to pull the boy into his arms regardless of what had happened in the past few weeks.

Kate on the other hand just gazed on at the scene. Her smile surfacing along with her tears of happiness and relief.

"What are you guys doing here?" Jack strained to ask through his tears of sadness and elation.

"I brought this for you." Aaron then announced while ushering the soft toy he had brought.

"Mr. Snuggles?" Jack thankfully remembered while frowning his eyebrows in mock confusion, but it soon gave way to a smile when he looked upon the very toy he had himself had brought significance to.

"Yeah. Mommy said you weren't feewing well so we decided to come over and help you get better." the little boy explained while Kate blushed under Jack's watchful stare.

"Did she now." Jack added and lightly nuzzled the little boy in his arms who just squealed in laughter.

"Stop Daddy that tickles." Aaron mused while taking note to observe the one feature of Jack he had not become familiar with, his beard.

"Uh……yeah." Jack awkwardly replied while wearing a helpless expression, and he was thankful that Kate seemed to pick up on it.

"Hey, sweetie why don't we come back tomorrow morning. I'm sure Daddy Jack would like to get some sleep so he can get better." Kate suggested but all Aaron did in response was snuggle even further into Jack's arms.

"No go. Wanna stay with Daddy and help make him better."

In response she just sighed in defeat of knowing that when his mind was made up, there was simply no changing it, but still she vowed to try anyway.

"Aaron plea……."

"No it's okay. Besides I always need my top Doctor on call." Jack suggested while playfully nudging the boy, eliciting a tiny chuckle out of him, and Kate couldn't help but smile at the subtle implication of his suggestion.

When they first got back to the real world, they were immediately forced to take on the roles of being Aaron's legal guardians, and at first they found it hard getting used to, but as time went on they slowly eased into accepting the fact that they were parents now.

(Flashback - 2 months ago)

"He's gonna be a boxer." Kate commented as she went about changing the little Aaron's diaper. The little guy putting up a bit of fight at first but he relented in the end and then distracted himself with a random item he had found.

"Nah, he's gonna be a surgeon just like his Uncl…..Daddy." Jack added and was forced to stop himself halfway through. The very memory of that previous referral stinging his heart , but he managed to shake it off in an attempt to focus on the present.

"She would have been proud of you Jack."

It was the only statement that kept his composure in check the whole time, cause he knew that if he didn't have that or the brunette before him then he would have given up a long time ago.

(End of flashback)

Now here he was, obviously a little lost at first but the feel of this little boy in his arms embracing him with everything he had was enough to show Jack that maybe this was the way to find himself again.

"She would have been proud."

So what do you think?

BTW : Claire is dead in this fic guys, "cries". Sorry!!