Before Your Love
A/N: Heysa! So, this is my second Lost story, and my first Jate story (I wrote a Skate two shot too). I'm split between which I like better, Jate or Skate, but I promise everyone that this story is 100 Jate, all the way through. I hope you like it and don't forget to review!
Basically, Jack and Kate get together in The Moth and I'm going to go through each episode, rewriting it as though the two of them are together.
Disclaimer: I own only the premise; the characters, settings, and all that other good stuff belong to… ABC? The producers? Who really knows, but it's not mine.
The title was borrowed from the Kelly Clarkson song of the same name.
All transcripts come from Anthology.
Summary: Goes AU after the events of The Moth. What if Jack and Kate became a couple early in the first season? I'm basically rewriting the show with each episode being the same, except now the two are a couple. Jate, with some Shayid, CC, and the rest of the usual couples.
Chapter 1: The Moth
She couldn't believe it. He had been trapped in a cave with a little oxygen, no food and no water. And Sawyer just wasn't going to say anything to her. Kate couldn't stop digging. She didn't care how much her fingers hurt or how dirty she was. He needed to be ok. He just needed to be. Michael looked up and walked over to Kate tentatively. He could sense her fear and anxiety, and he knew that the way she was worrying about Jack was the way that a woman worries about a man who is more than just a friend.
"Hey, Kate, you need to take a break" he said softly, trying to be understanding while still worried about her.
Kate just rubbed her nose and pushed her hair back off of her face, the sweat dripping down on her. But she didn't care. She just needed to get Jack out of there. Her heart had dropped down to her feet and she was feeling sick to her stomach. She brushed Michael off and told him she was fine, but he persisted.
"We got enough people to dig. You keep going at this pace, you're gonna kill yourself" he told her, climbing closer to her.
She ignored him, instead conintuing to dig out the tunnel, blocking out the world around her. All she could focus on was getting Jack out of the cave and to safety. She needed to get a chance to tell him how she really felt. About him and about everything.
Kate was still digging on autopilot when she heard Walt yell out. It took a second for her to distinguish what the boy said, but then she realized that he had referred to the doctor. Her head shot up and tears sprung to her eyes. There was Jack, walking back to the caves, looking beaten, broken and dirty, but alive. That was all that mattered. She flung herself off the rocks and into his arms, not even taking the time to notice Charlie who was walking beside him. She hugged him tightly and he hugged her back for a second before wincing in pain. She pulled back with a look of confusion on her face.
"My shoulder" he clarified with a taut face and Kate's heart shattered.
She hated that he was hurt. She couldn't stomach the fact that Jack, her savior, the only good man left in the world, was in pain. She gave him a sympathetic look and gently touched his arm, peering closely at his shoulder.
"I'll be ok" he whispered with a smile before announcing to everyone how Charlie had saved him.
While Jack and Charlie went to clean up and everyone else went about their business, Kate hurried back to the beach and dug through the piles of clothing. Finding a large t-shirt, she grabbed her pocket knife and started to work. Satisfied with the creation that she had made, she headed back to the caves, arriving at nightfall. She saw Jack sitting by the fire with Charlie. She couldn't help but smile at how chiseled his features looked by the light of the flames. After Charlie left, he seemed deep in thought and she sighed as she thought about how much stress her poor doctor was under. Gathering her courage without ever realizing she had lost it, she walked over to him and draped her t-shirt creation over his neck with a smile. He chuckled and smiled back at her as he adjusted it, and her face lit up. She had just received a rare smile from Dr. Jack Shepard, a priceless gift if you asked her.
"Made you something" she said flirtatiously, her smile still on her face.
Carefully reaching down as to not hurt him, she tucked his arm into the hole of the t-shirt, being gentle and caring as she did so. From the look on his face she was able to tell that he was not used to being the one taken care of. He felt the need to always be the one taking care of others.
"Ah, my very first sling" he said, flirting right back at her.
"How's that?" she asked, still with the bright smile on her face.
"Good. Thank you" he said with a nod, and Kate took it as invitation to sit down.
She couldn't drag herself away from him. Suddenly the fear she felt when she found out he was trapped in the caves returned. She swallowed hard and tried to keep the lightness of the conversation up.
"So these are the safe caves you've been going on about" she said with a teasing smirk.
"This was a fluke. Michael checked out the integrity of the rest of the caves, gave them an okay" he said somewhat bitterly, and she felt bad that she had even teased him about it. "So you're headed back to the beach, huh?" he asked, letting the bitterness go and instead focusing on the beautiful girl in front of him.
"Sayid should be back there by now, and if his plan worked – "she started.
"Then we're one step closer to getting off this island" Jack finished, and Kate couldn't help the feeling of glee that invaded her when she realized that they were able to finish each others sentences.
She felt like a teenage girl again, and she slowly looked up at the handsome doctor. Their eyes met and then they both looked down again. Kate was torn. The island had Jack while the real world had prison. But she knew she couldn't stay on this island forever.
"Thanks for the sling, Kate" he said, breaking her thoughts.
"You're welcome" she told him, looking back down. "I guess I should get going" she said as she started to stand up.
"Wait a minute" he said quietly, taking her hand with his good arm and gently pulling her back down. "You ok?"
"I'm fine, don't worry about me. I should be asking you that" she responded.
"You just seem quiet"
"Are you implying that I'm usually a loudmouth?" she teased.
"No…not at all…I just meant… I didn't mean to offend you" he stammered.
"Jack, I'm just kidding" she said with a grin.
"Oh" he said, his cheeks reddening as he looked down.
"I was really worried about you today though" she said, suddenly serious again. "I don't know what I would do if I lost you" she admitted.
"You would learn to use peroxide and how to take care of skinned knees" he said with a hint of a smile.
She tried to smile back, but it was to no avail.
"I'm serious Jack. I know we haven't known each other for that long, but I feel connected to you. I feel like we get each other".
She paused and they were both silent. "I'm sorry, that was probably out of line" she said and she started to get up again.
"No, wait" he called out, taking her hand and once again gently pulling her back down.
They stared at each other for a moment before they slowly started leaning in to one another. After a moment, their lips met and Jack captured her mouth in a passionate but gentle kiss. He reached up with his good arm to run his fingers through her hair and pull her closer, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, lost in the feeling of his body and his mouth. They both reluctantly pulled away, needing air, but neither could stop the smiles on their faces.
"What was that for?" she asked, unable to hide her happiness.
"I just feel like we get each other too" he said before leaning in for another kiss.
A/N: Remember, I like reviews and they make me write faster!
Next Chapter: Confidence Man- How will Kate react when Sawyer wants a kiss in exchange for the inhalers? More importantly, what's Jack going to think? Or do?