The Wild Side
Characters: Jack and Kate (there will be a few familiar faces along the way though)
AU Story
Full Synopsis: Jack Shephard has a perfect job, perfect girlfriend, perfect family. Basically, everything in his life is perfect. He's sick of being perfect all the time. His life comes crashing down when he meets a beautiful girl named Kate Austen. She doesn't compare to any girl Jack's ever met before. She's running away from something, and Jack knows it's wrong, but he wants to run with her…even if it does mean going all the way to Australia. A JATE FANFIC!
I've been known to never finish stories, but now I have my own computer, so I should finish this one. I'll make sure of it! Enjoy Chapter 1…
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Chapter 1: A typical day
Bringggg!
Jack hit the alarm clock next to his bed. 7 AM. Every single morning, he woke up this way. Nothing ever changed, not one little bit. He got off of his king-sized sleep number bed and walked into his bathroom adjacent to the bed. 7:05 AM meant time to take a shower. For fifteen minutes he'd clean himself up before starting another typical day in the life of Dr. Jack Shephard.
7:20 AM- Now he was done cleaning and shaving. Time to get dressed in his appropriate attire for work at St. Sebastian's Hospital. He was a spinal surgeon, had been for a couple of years now. For a while, he enjoyed his job. But, Jack was tired of doing the same things every day. Sarah was his only patient that was really different from the ordinary. He needed something different. He got dressed and walked down the stairs to the smell of coffee.
7:25 AM- Sarah, now his girlfriend, was making coffee. "Hey, thought I'd stop by and give you a wake-up call." She walked over and handed him a mug, then gave him a quick kiss. "Anything exciting happening today?"
Jack took a sip and thought. He looked at Sarah. "Not that I know of, just the same old." Sarah smiled. There was a time that Jack's heart would beat rapidly when she smiled at him. That time though had come and gone. Sarah wasn't fun and exciting like she was when he got to know her.
Sarah walked away. "Well, I have to be at school soon, so I guess I'll see you after your shift is done." Jack nodded. She ran up and kissed him before running out the door. Jack sighed as he watched her car pull out of the driveway. Life was too ordinary for Jack Shephard. He needed something new in his life.
7:30 AM- Jack poured a bowl of Raisin Bran Cereal with some skim milk into a bowl. Sarah brought in the paper, so he decided to, like always, take a quick glance at it. The headline read, "Charles Widmore buys out company." Jack didn't know who Charles Widmore was, nor should he care. But, it must be nice having all that money to buy out things like companies. Jack would dream when he was little of being a Chief of Surgery, and he would say that if he had that kind of money, he would buy an island, not a company. An island that was away from civilization that would only include himself and what he wanted. It was like that question people would randomly ask you, "If you were stuck on a deserted island, what 3 things (or people) would you bring with you?" Jack sighed and looked at his coffee mug. He would definitely bring coffee; he didn't know how else he could start his morning without that caffeine rush.
7:39 AM- Time to go to work. Jack drove his BMW to St. Sebastian's. On the way, he saw a sign for Disneyland Park "The Happiest Place on Earth." Jack went there a few times when he was younger with his mom. He wanted his dad to go with him to take him on the Matterhorn, but he had to work. Jack's relationship with his father, Chief of Surgery father, was more than just strained. They had their ups and downs. Jack wished his father loved him more than alcohol. Jack tried to take Sarah there a year ago but Sarah said she hated rides. Jack couldn't understand how a person could live with themselves without riding a rollercoaster. Where was the fun in that? Jack and Sarah had been going out for a year and a half now, and Jack knew Sarah wanted him to propose. Jack knew it was only fitting, but he didn't want to marry Sarah. She was a great girl, but for them to be together for the rest of their lives? Jack loved Sarah in the beginning, but, now there was no "spark" in their relationship. It was so ordinary, normal, boring. He would have broken off the union a long time ago but he didn't know how. How could he?
7:57 AM- Jack pulled into the parking lot at St. Sebastian's. He walked out of the car, locked it, and walked into the hospital. It was time for another day at work. Some things never, and will never change.
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The day at work was going by slowly. Some kid came in who was riding a skateboard and naturally, fell down hard. His spine had enough damage that surgery was needed. Jack sighed, "Here we go again." The surgery was four brutal hours long. His dad came in late, and drunk. Fitting for the early afternoon. Jack hated the fact that his dad would be drunk when he was trying to conduct a surgery. Luckily, he wasn't doing the actual surgery today, just watching Jack. Jack's father, Christian, was his worst critic, and tended to be extra hard on Jack.
"Jack, slowly, slowly, come on, you know this!" His dad yelled at him. Jack just gave his father a glare. "It's fine dad." Jack wanted to slap his father. He was so out of it again! Jack wished that he didn't have to work for his dad. He wished he didn't have to work at all. He hated it all, and wanted it to end.
When the surgery was complete, Jack was asked to go to his dad's office. He walked in and saw his father sitting at his desk. He took a seat and looked at his dad. His dad didn't take his eyes off of whatever he was writing. "Good job today, Jack."
Jack had just fixed up a kid's spine, he'll be able to skateboard in a few months thanks to Jack, and all his father could say was "good job?" Jack didn't have a big ego, but he knew he deserved more than that. "Thanks dad."
"Listen Jack, I know that you are supposed to be off next week, but I need you to be here."
Jack was confused. Why did he have to be here? It wasn't like he had anything better to do, but he was planning on using his free time to go somewhere, somewhere far away from here.
"Dad, why do I…" Jack started.
His dad interrupted, "Because…you do. I'm sorry."
Jack shook his head. "No you're not."
His dad looked confused. Jack barely, if not never, spoke back to him like that. "I beg your pardon?"
Jack didn't want to fight, but he was sick of his dad's nonsense. "I won't be here dad, so I'm sorry. I don't have to be here." Jack walked out of the office.
He walked down the hall to exit the hospital. He could hear his dad yelling in the background. "Get back here, Jack! Now!" Jack turned back and smiled. He wasn't going to live anyone else's dream. He decided he was going to drive out of the hospital and leave. Leave his life behind. Because he was sick of everyone and everything. And today, he decided, would be the first day of the rest of Jack Shephard's life.
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So, what do you think? Next chapter will be Jack finally breaking it off with Sarah and his first run in with a beautiful girl named Kate. Reviews!! I would love suggestions, commentary, anything!! Next chapter should be up shortly! I know this one had tons of detail, maybe too much, but I needed to get the point across. Let me know what you think!
