This is the Jate fic that I promised a while back. It's the first of two parts, and any feedback/criticism is welcome.

Confidence was not something that he was usually lacking in, but the effort of getting up was eating at him. She was the type of woman who had so much confidence that to be near her was to be in her shadow, and that was something that he wanted at the moment, to be lost to someone, to forget who he was. Plus, she was sensitive, funny, and drop dead gorgeous, which were all good things. He hadn't stopped thinking about her since he had met her, and distraction was one of those things he was particularly appreciative of at the moment.

So he made a decision. He would go and see her, he knew she liked him, she was the one who had hit on him. He'd have a laugh with her for a while, maybe even get her number. If he never saw her again, he'd lost nothing, and at least he wouldn't have to sit by himself for the next however many hours of this flight there were left.

Getting up, not really paying attention, the thought of her distracting him, he found himself immediately blocked by an air stewardess. He turned around, walking towards the toilets as if that was his original destination, unsure of why he was so embarrassed, it wasn't as if he was doing anything wrong by going to see her.

He entered the toilet and locked the door, taking a deep breath, steadying himself. He glanced at himself in the mirror, running a hand through his hair. He wanted to do this, he wanted to forget about all his troubles, just for a few hours, to have fun until he landed and had to accept that this was real, so why was he so worked up about it? He'd picked girls up before, even had the occasional one night stand, usually after an argument with his father and a day spent at the bar. He knew women liked him, everyone liked a doctor, so why was he suddenly nervous?

Leaving the bathroom, walking in the direction of his target, determined not to let whatever had come over him keep him from a good time, he suddenly found what it was that was bothering him in. His eyes met with a girl sitting a couple of rows back, her eyes filled with pure terror. The man next to her was talking to her, and his words seemed to destroy her. She looked at Jack, almost pleadingly, and he drowned in her innocence and in her guilt, everything displayed in her beautiful face. The connection was lost in an instant, dark brown locks scattering across her face as she looked down, seeming to draw herself even tighter, as if she was willing herself to disappear.

Standing in the aisle, staring openly at her, he was again interrupted by an air stewardess asking him if he was alright. Torn from his fascination with the girl back into reality, he nodded and said he was fine. He continued down the aisle, stealing a glance at her, but the enchantment was gone. She was staring at the floor, her hair hiding her face, slightly hunched into the seat. He had lost her.

Sitting back down, he sighed. He wanted to help her, wanted to save her. After all, she had just saved him. If he'd gone down the plane, gone to see Ana-Lucia he'd have been doing what he always did after things had gone wrong with his Dad, running, pretending. His Dad was dead, and whilst the blame for that was on Jack, that didn't mean he had to become him. Going to flirt with Ana-Lucia was something his Dad would have done. But Jack was free from him now, the girl with the mesmerising eyes had freed him. He wondered if he would ever see again, if he'd ever find out what the haunted look in her eyes was for. Closing his eyes, he allowed himself to drown in her look once more, finding true peace rather than the temporary fix Ana-Lucia had offered.