Yeah, I know. I start too many fics. But I was anxious to do something like this. Hope you enjoy it.

The red dress came to just above her knees, hugging her body in all the right places. It sparkled in the dim lights of the bar as she strolled across the floor, her feet occasionally not cooperating with the heels under them. Be graceful. He'd told her that a million times, but no amount of practice seemed to be able to make her any more graceful in the shoes she was wearing. She stopped at the bar, taking a seat on one of the stools. She smiled politely at the man serving the drinks and then glanced around, shifting a bit on her seat.

The bartender walked over and leaned against the bar, a smile tugging at his thin, pink lips. "Haven't see you in awhile, Mrs. Brennan," he commented. "Life been keeping you busy?"

"You could say that." She turned on the barstool slightly. Leaning forward, she clasped her hands together in front of her on the bar. "So, he been in yet, Joe?" She did a glance around the nearly empty bar then looked back up at the man in front of her again.

"Not yet." Joe reached under the counter and grabbed a glass. "Something strong, I suppose?" he asked, reaching for a drink to pour for her.

"Not yet." She paused a moment, mentally scolding herself for talking so quickly. "Not yet." She smiled slightly at him then glanced toward the door. "I'll get us drunk after I talk to him."

A chuckle escaped him. He tried to muffle it by a cough. When he noticed her glare, he could only smile at her. "I'm sorry. But every night you come in here and you tell me that you're going to talk to this guy, but you never even try to go near him." He grabbed a bottle of something a bit lighter and poured her a glass. He glanced around for someone who might need him then pulled over a seat and sat down in front of her. "If you're thinking he's going to come to you, he's not. He may be giving you all those glances, but he's obviously trying to decide whether or not you'd get in the way of his job. Don't give him a chance to think tonight. Just go up to him and start talking."

With a slight laugh, she picked up her drink and took a sip. Closing her eyes for a moment, she put the glass back on the counter, tapping her fingers on the outside of it for a moment. She looked at him with a lopsided smile and shook her head. "It's not that easy."

"What do you mean it's not that easy? He's going to walk in here and sit three seats down from you. He'll order his drink then glance over at you every five seconds. All you have to do it scoot down a few seats and say hi to him." He pushed his seat back, but leaned forward so he was still close to her. "And here he is right now." He stood and pushed the chair back.

Turning in her seat, she glanced at the man as he walked in through the door. He was dressed in a nice suit and she assumed it was because he had had a meeting at the hospital. The tired look on his face told her it had been a stressful one too. She ran a hand through the mess of brown curls on her head and looked at Joe, forcing a smile at him. Seconds seemed to turn into minutes before she finally got up. She grabbed onto the stool she'd been sitting on to steady herself before grabbing her glass and sliding it along the bar as she walked two seats down. "You look like you could use a drink."

The man looked up and blinked a few times. With a slight smile, he ran his hand over his hair. "That's why I'm here." He nodded to the seat beside him then turned to Joe as a drink was set down in front of him. "Thanks."

"No problem." Joe smiled at him then turned to the young woman beside him and smiled even bigger. He winked at her then walked away a few feet and sat down. He began organizing the bottles under the counter, occasionally looking over at them.

Smiling slightly, she gave a small shake of her head. "Guess that's why we're all here." She ran her finger over the rim of the glass then put her elbow on the table and leaned so it would support her. "Hard day?"

"You could say that." He lifted his small glass, downing it in one swallow. "You come here often?"

"You would know." A smile made it's way onto her lips. Her hand left the glass and she rubbed at the counter with one finger, making a slight squeaking noise. "You act like you don't talk to women very often. I sit down beside you and you don't even know what to say to me."

"I don't talk to women very often." He pushed the glass back and nodded for Joe to fill it up again. "Besides the nurses at the hospital, you're probably the first one I've talked to in months." He watched Joe fill his glass then picked it up, drinking it a bit slower this time and setting the glass down before it was even half gone. "So how about I buy you a drink…" He paused, struggling for a name.

"Kate."

"Kate," he repeated.

She nodded her head slowly. "I came over here to buy you one, but I wouldn't mind the switch." She turned, pushing her glass back slightly and turned to Joe. "Something a bit stronger this time." Despite the fact he didn't seem to be paying attention, she knew he was listening. "Joe."

He lifted his head. "Oh." His surprised voice sounded forced to her. "You were talking to me. Something stronger. Sure." He walked over and filled her glass. "Enjoy." He smirked at her and winked as he walked away again.

Kate tried to ignore him. She lifted the glass and swallowed its contents quickly before putting it down again. "So…" She glanced at the man beside her, reading the nametag on his shirt. "Dr. Shephard. Do you happen to have a first name, Dr. Shephard?"

He raised an eyebrow then glanced down at his shirt. Shaking his head, he pulled off the name tag and shoved it into the pockets of his pants. "Jack."

"Jack." She repeated his name like he had repeated hers. The name seemed to fit him. She smiled at him then pushed her glass back again, motioning Joe back over.

She seemed about as good at keeping up a conversation as he was. It made him relax since he wasn't the only one causing awkwardness. "So you do come here a lot," he stated. "And you look just about as tired as I am." He stared at her face, able to see a bit of the dark circles under her eyes that were covered up with makeup. Even tired, she still looked amazing. He couldn't confine himself to just looking at her face.

"Yeah, well divorces can be pretty tiring." She swirled the liquid in her glass for a moment and just stared at it.

He nodded in response. "I guess they can." He let Joe fill his drink again. He glanced at it then watched her as she swirled her own drink around. "I take it he must have been an ass to divorce someone like you."

"Actually, he was amazing." She glanced up from her drink. "He just wasn't happy." She forced a smile then looked down and went back to swirling her drink around. "But he is now. He has a fiancée that's perfect for him."

"Did he break it off with you to be with her?" Jack questioned. He took a sip of his drink as he stared at her, waiting patiently for her to continue.

"No." Kate shook her head. "No. He would never do that. I knew he wasn't happy. I knew he deserved to be happy and I wanted him to be happy. So I was the one to break it off." She nearly laughed at the surprised look on his face. "Yeah, I know. Stupid, huh? Give up the perfect man and let him run off with some other woman."

"I wouldn't say stupid." He looked away from her, focusing his eyes on the floor for several moments. "Do you two still keep in touch?"

"What? Yeah. We're still the best friends we always were since high school." She nodded her head.

"I bet his fiancée isn't very fond of that."

"Oh, she's not. She's warned him several times about even looking at me." Kate rubbed her forehead. "She thinks I'm going to butt in and ruin her perfect little family." The word family tasted bitter and she took a drink from the glass that she'd been moving around. "So yeah." She put the glass down and got to her feet. "I should probably get going. It was nice meeting you, Jack."

"You have to go so soon?" He got to his feet, frowning slightly. "We really haven't even been here that long."

"Yeah, well…" She looked away from him, shaking her head slightly. "I probably shouldn't sit around spilling out all my sob stories to you."

"Misery loves company."

She laughed. "How about we both come back tomorrow," she suggested. "Then we can both spill sob stories to each other and drink until we can't feel any of the pain."

"Sounds like a date." Jack grew immediately tense at his words. "Well not a date, I mean unless you meant it to be one…but if you didn't then definitely not a date." He shook his head.

"Sounds like a date," she repeated, tilting her head to the side. She smiled at him then opened her purse and pulled out some money, tossing it onto the counter. She glanced over at Joe. "Thanks Joe."

"No problem." Joe smiled and got up, taking the money.

Kate turned back to Jack. "I'll see you tomorrow then, huh?" A goofy smile spread across her lips and part of her actually looked forward to seeing him again.

"Wouldn't miss coming for the world." Jack dug his hands into his pocket and pulled out some money. He tossed it onto the counter then turned back to Kate. "How about I walk you to your car?"

"Thanks." She took a few steps toward the door then stepped wrong and twisted her ankle. She swore under her breath, grabbing onto a nearby chair as she lifted her foot up off the ground. She swore once more, closing her eyes.

He was by her side almost immediately. Helping support her, he pulled out the chair she was holding onto and motioned for her to take a seat. "You alright?"

Slowly, she lowered herself down onto the chair. Slipping her shoe off, the pain in her ankle eased slightly but not much. It was red and already beginning to swell. Despite the fact that she could handle the pain, tears stung her eyes and she clenched her jaw. Maybe there was one good thing about wearing heels. She shook her head in answer to his question.

It didn't take long after she shook her head for him to kneel down. He looked at her ankle, gently touching it. He glanced up at her when he heard her suck in a breath. "I take it that hurts."

"No, it tickles." Sarcasm mixed in with the pain in her voice. "Yes, it hurts. So stop touching it."

He ignored her sarcasm and anger. "Well I don't think it's even sprained," he told her. "But I can take you back to my house and check it out, if you want. I can wrap it and get you a good icepack for it. Sound alright?"

"Yeah. I can't drive like this anyway." She waited until he got to his feet then let him help her up. She lid her other shoe off then bent down and picked them both up off the ground. Using him for support, she let him lead her to the door and out to his car, half limping, half hopping. The niceness of his car didn't surprise her. It was expensive and looked pretty new. Not wanting to touch it and get her fingerprints all over it, she let him open the door for her then climbed inside. "Thanks." He shut the door and she reached down, rubbing her ankle a bit.

After going around to the other side, Jack got in then shut his door. He pulled his keys from his pocket and pushed them into the ignition then started the car. He glanced over at Kate before pulling out of the parking lot and onto the road. "I don't live very far away. Maybe ten minutes."

"Alright."

The sun had set and dark shadows were cast onto the large house and the empty driveway. To her the place looked lonely, not something that just one person should be living in. The porch light hadn't been left on and it made it hard to see just where the sidewalk started and led to. She opened her door after he parked the car and slowly got out of the car. She put a slight bit of weight onto her hurt ankle, not bothering to flinch at the pain. He wasn't watching. She shut the door behind her and leaned against the car, waiting for him to come and lead her to the front door. And he did.

It wasn't the first time he got home after dark and it definitely wouldn't be the last. By now he could walk from his car to his door by memory. No rock nor stone nor hole went unknown by him. Walking around the side, he met her by the door and put his hand on her arm. He supported her as much as she needed him to as he led her to the door. It wasn't locked and he just turned the handle and opened it, motioning for her to go inside.

The fact that he didn't use a key to open the door surprised her. When she thought of big houses, she thought of locks all over the place. She carefully made her way in, reaching along the wall and flipping the light switch. Light flooded across the floor of a hallway with a wooden floor and white walls. She stepped inside a bit more, glancing around at a few pictures that hung on the walls. "I guess that was your wife, huh?" she mumbled, looking at the woman who seemed to be in every picture with Jack. The look on the woman's face, the smile that she wore, was a familiar one. The same on that Tom used to force.

The door was pushed shut behind him and he nodded slightly, glancing at the pictures. "Haven't really gotten around to taking them down yet. I'll show you to the living room then get you some ice." There was a large living room off to the right and that was where he led her, making sure that she was following him. "You can sit down. Make yourself comfortable."

The house was big, but it wasn't hard to be comfortable in. "I really appreciate this." She made her way over to the couch and took a seat. Setting her shoes on the ground, she propped her foot up on the couch.

"It's not problem." Truthfully, he was glad to finally have some company. Coming home to an empty house was beginning to make him wish he didn't even have to come home anymore. He left the living room and walked into the kitchen and over to the refrigerator. He opened the freezer and pulled out an icepack then carried it back into the living room. "Here." He put it gently on her ankle. He smiled at her. "Are you hungry or anything?"

"Not really." She shook her head. She shifted slightly, relaxing back against the couch. "You have movies over there," she stated, motioning to a basket of movies under his TV stand. "We should watch one until I can move my ankle again.

An hour and a half later, the movie was over. She yawned then slowly sat up on the couch, lifting the icepack up and putting it on the coffee table. She rubbed her eyes then glanced over at Jack. "Could you take me back to the bar now?" she asked. "I think I'm gonna get my car then head home."

"Are you sure?" Jack asked, sitting up straighter on the chair. "I mean, you could stay here if you want to. I have a guest bedroom."

"Nah." Shaking her head, she turned on the couch and bent over, picking up her shoes. Not about to put them back on, she got to her feet and smoothed down her dress. "I just want to get home to my own bed. I can walk if you don't want to drive me."

"No. No, I'll drive you." He shook his head at the thought of her ready to just walk home. He slid his shoes on as he stood up, bending over and tying them real quick before heading to the door. "I guess it doesn't matter if you go, considering I'm going to see you tomorrow anyway."

With a smile, she followed him to the door and out to his car. He opened the door for her and she got in, putting her shoes on her lap. "I'm capable of opening doors, you know. I hurt my ankle, not my hands."

"I know." He shut her door for her then went around to the other side and also got in. He shoved the key back into the ignition and started the car back up then headed toward the bar. Both of them being rather tired, the trip seemed short and completely silent. He slowed down as they got close to the bar, hating that he was going to have to return home alone again. They finally got there and there was nothing else he could do to slow them down. "You have a good night," he told her, stopping by the door, unsure of where her car was. "And be careful driving home."

"I will." After a moments pause, she leaned over and kissed his cheek. Before he could respond, she climbed out of the car and walked toward her own, glancing back once to watch his car leave. Her car seemed nowhere as nice as his. It was dirty and the paint was peeling. She yanked open the door, cringing at the squeaking noise it made in protest to being opened. Mumbling under her breath, she sat down inside and tossed her shoes onto the passenger's seat. She shut the door then fumbled through her purse for her keys. After finding them, she started the car and made her way out of the parking lot and toward where she planned on staying.

It didn't take long. God forbid he live more than five minutes away from his favorite place. She pulled into the driveway, cursing as she nearly hit his car. God forbid he also park straight. She turned the car off then got out, leaving the keys inside and only taking her purse. Shutting the door, she glanced at the dark street. "Someone please come steal this thing." Shaking her head, she turned and walked up the stairs on the porch of the trailer. Trying to door handle, she cursed when it didn't budge. "Damn it, Sawyer." She pried opened her purse again and searched for the house keys, taking what seemed like forever to her to find them.

After trying to make them fit in the lock, the door finally opened and she stepped inside. Shutting the door behind her, she tossed her stuff on the floor then headed back to the bedroom, pulling her dress up over her head as she went. The room was cold, but she was too tired to care. "Thanks for locking the door," she muttered as she moved to the empty side of the bed. "Real nice of you." Rolling her eyes when her voice didn't even wake him, she curled up under the blankets on the bed and closed her eyes.

Please review. Reviews make me update!