Thanks to those of you who reviewed -- to everyone else, I know it's been a bit depressing, and Skate-ish, so far, but bear with me, and I promise you that you, like Jack, will be rewarded for your patience. That's all I can say without giving too much away, that, and remember, Jack is what's called an "unreliable narrator" in this -- everything is filtered through his perception, so it's biased by his beliefs. So just trust me, please? I think by now I've earned it, especially after all the controversy my last fic caused in the beginning. And the one before that, and the one before that... And if you really hate it, please tell me! ;)

Chapter 3. Two Lost Souls

The freighter took them to L.A., to where Penny Widmore was waiting to meet them.

Watching her joyful reunion with Desmond, Jack couldn't help feeling envious. They both seemed so sure of themselves, but with Kate… he couldn't be sure of anything from one moment to the next. He couldn't even be sure that she saw him as anything more than a shoulder to cry on when everything else in her life was falling apart.

In spite of his best efforts, she remained depressed throughout the voyage, though he no longer believed that this was just about Sawyer. While most of the survivors viewed the rescue as a new beginning, she seemed to see it an ending, not just of an era, but of her freedom, and any chance at future happiness. He didn't know how to tell her that she was wrong, that he would make sure of it.

There were hugs and tears all around as people left the docks in search of loved ones, or just to find out what had happened to the lives they'd left behind. Penny had set up a phone line, generously footing what had to be a pretty hefty bill herself, so that they could make contact with friends and relatives who didn't live in the area.

With his mother less than twenty minutes away, Jack knew that he should visit her, but he didn't have the strength to explain the fact that he hadn't even been able to give his father a decent burial, so, vowing to do it sometime soon, he said goodbye to his friends, wondering if she'd kept his apartment. All he wanted to do now was take a hot shower and crawl into bed. Everything else could wait until morning.

He was standing there trying to decide whether or not he had enough money for a cab, or if he should just take advantage of the weather and walk, when Juliet approached him, beaming with happiness.

"I just called my sister and she's flying up to meet me," she said, looking regretful as she seemed to realise what this would mean. She was going back to Miami. It was unlikely that they would ever see each other again. "I finally get to meet my nephew."

"Good for you," he said, wishing that for all his determination to get them rescued, he had somewhere to rush off to. Someone to rush off to.

"You're welcome to stay," she offered, not seeming to want to cut the conversation short. "I'm sure she'd love to meet you."

"Thanks, but I should probably go," he told her, not really sure why the idea of being around when her family got there made him so uncomfortable. Maybe because it implied commitment, and he wasn't committed, to her, at least. "Good luck with everything, though. I hope it all works out for you."

"Yeah, you too," she agreed with a forced smile, noticeably disappointed.

He felt a stab of guilt, but he knew better than to encourage her. She'd be all right; it wasn't her he was worried about.

Scanning the crowd, he saw Kate talking to Sun, who seemed reluctant to leave her.

As he got closer, he could hear her saying, "It's okay, I called my mom, and she's on her way. You don't have to wait," she spotted him then, and her expression flooded with relief, "I'll just stay with Jack until she gets here."

"I thought you said your mom was dead?" he reminded her when, with a quick hug, and a smile for Jack, Sun departed.

"She is," she agreed, sinking onto a bench with a tired sigh. "But Sun doesn't know that."

"So what're your plans?" he asked, sitting down beside her, glad that he wasn't the only one feeling lost. Sawyer seemed to have disappeared, leaving Kate to deal with the situation on her own, including the possible pregnancy. Jack couldn't say he was sorry to see him go.

"I don't know," she confessed, "but I should get out of here before the media catches wind of all this, or it won't matter."

She stood, hovering awkwardly in front of him as if unsure whether or not she should hug him goodbye, but before she could walk out of his life, he said, surprising himself with his audacity, "Why don't you come home with me? Just until you figure out what you're gonna do."

She licked her lips, seeming to search his words for insincerity, or innuendo, then deciding that she was safe with him, nodded. "Okay," she agreed softly, her eyes glistening with what might have been tears as she gave him a grateful smile. "If it's not gonna put you out."

"It's fine, Kate," he assured her, returning her smile as they left the docks, relieved that he wouldn't have to part from her just yet.

He wasn't sure what to say to her now that the air between them had changed, so he decided to lighten the mood. "Until I can find out what happened to my accounts, I've only got about twenty bucks, so we have a choice," he began, and she turned to him, listening. "We get a cab to my place, or we can order take out."

"Doesn't seem like much of a choice," she told him dubiously, and he laughed.

"You're right, what's a couple of mile walk through the streets of L.A. compared to a hike to The Black Rock?"

"So long as I get pizza at the end," she told him with a grin, and he thought this might just be the best idea he'd ever had.

His apartment was still there, and all of his stuff, but the power had been cut, along with the water and phone line, so they ended up having to go out to eat.

"I'll get it all sorted out tomorrow," he assured her as he watched her inhale half a pizza like it'd been a week since her last meal, but she just smiled.

"After three months on an island, I think I can cope without appliances for a couple of days if you've got more important things to do." She flashed him a sheepish grin as she took a sip of her drink. "Although I wouldn't mind a shower. I feel like a hobo using public restrooms to wash up."

"Tomorrow," he agreed, still finding it hard to believe that he was there with her in the real world, on what almost passed for a date. He felt like everything was finally coming together for them: for him.

It was late by the time they returned to the apartment, so, digging a torch out of the kitchen cabinet, he showed Kate to his room; her room now, at least for the time being.

"You sure you don't want me to take the couch?" she asked, looking guilty as she deposited her pack onto the floor. "Because I've had worse."

He decided not to look too deeply into this, disturbed by the idea of her sleeping on park benches, or under bridges, turning it into a joke instead. "What kind of a gentleman would that make me, Kate?" he deadpanned, surprised when her eyes dampened noticeably this time.

"Goodnight, Jack," she told him softly, lingering in the doorway like she wanted to say something more, before letting it click into place, leaving Jack to wonder what else he might have heard if she hadn't chosen that moment to close it.

Next chapter: Jack and Kate continue to get settled in L.A... ;)