Ugh I hate writing Sawyer in Word. So many red and green squiggly lines! Anyways, the next chapter is going to be the last one. But I love drugged Jack too much for my own good, so if you have any specific ideas for scenes with truth serum!Jack and Kate, tell me and I could add them on later as missing moments or something. Anyways, I got Season 6 the day it came out and I was feeling Lost-deprived so I watched LA X and What Kate Does. Man, I'd forgotten how sad Juliet's death was! And that scene with Sawyer throwing the ring into the ocean? I was crying like a baby. So, there's some Suliet in this chapter.
One more thing. Well, two. 1. It's an AU story, so I've made them be on the island for longer, maybe 6 months and 2. Surprise! Darlton owns (own?) Lost.
They had been in this position about 10 minutes, giving Kate time to adjust them both so she was more comfortable, when Sayid came back in. "How is he?"
"He's better," she answered, watching the man sleeping in her arms for a moment.
"Was it a bad one?" Sayid asked.
Kate shook her head. Jack had had far worse than his last one. "He dropped right back to sleep after they left."
"You're very good with him, Kate," Sayid praised. "He was asking for you the entire time we walked back."
"He was?" Kate asked, raising her head hopefully.
Sayid nodded. "I could hardly get him to tell me the extent of his injuries." Kate struggled to hide a smile before Sayid continued. "Claire just came down. I would have told her that it wasn't a good time, but I know you two are close…"
"Yes, thank you Sayid. You can send her in," Kate told him. Sayid nodded and left silently. A few moments later, Claire entered, her face softening when she saw the two curled up together on the bed. Kate was still sitting with Jack's head nestled in her neck and she wondered for a second if she should have put him back down on the bed, but quickly shook the thought. She was enjoying this position as much as he was.
"How's my big brother doing?" She cooed, leaning over and stroking the back of his head. They'd found out about their relationship by accident, about a month before Jack had been taken. It was strange for them both at first, but they've adjusted well and Kate knew they both liked the idea of having a sibling more than they showed.
"He's much better," Kate assured her as she went to sit in Kate's usual spot: the chair beside the bed. Claire started to ask what happened but Kate cut her off, holding Jack closer without even noticing she was doing it. "I don't wanna talk about it."
Claire sighed. "Kate, what's been going on down here? There have been more rumors than about Sawyer and Juliet!"
This caught Kate's attention. "Sawyer and Juliet? What about them?"
"I don't know, I don't think anyone knows."
"Well what have you heard?" Kate questioned.
Claire shrugged. "Just that they've been hanging out a lot lately. Same thing as you and Jack."
"What have they said about Jack and me?"
Claire could see that Kate was getting annoyed, not at her but at the constant gossip going around about her and Jack. "That he's really sick, he's been drugged up for days, that you and Sayid and Juliet and Locke are covering something up…" Claire stopped when she saw the look on Kate's face and repeated her earlier question. "What's going on down here?"
"You promise you won't tell?" Kate asked.
"I promise." Claire knew that this would earn her a spot on the list of people "covering something up" if anyone found out, but Kate was her best friend.
Kate looked down at Jack and held his head closer. She'd been stroking his hair and scratching his back since Claire walked in, but she seemed to be concentrating more on them now. "We gave him truth serum," Kate admitted.
"You what?" Claire was sure she'd heard wrong.
"We didn't have a choice," Kate explained quickly. "He needed the Rocephin or he'd die, but the truth serum leaked last week and there was a little bit in there-"
"Did you-"
"Yeah, we knew." Kate paused, looking up at Claire. "I didn't want to do it, I didn't. But he was going to die, Claire. And I…I couldn't let that happen."
Claire rubbed Kate's shoulder soothingly. "I know Hon. You guys didn't have a choice."
Kate's head snapped back up to look Claire in the eyes. "You can't tell anyone at the beach."
"Don't worry, I won't." Claire now leaned back in her chair and grinned. "So. When are you going to tell him?"
Kate had an idea of who they were talking about, but decided to play innocent. "Tell who what?"
Claire rolled her eyes. "Tell Jack," she said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, but Kate wasn't catching on. "That you love him!" She exclaimed, exasperated.
"Claire!" Kate whisper-yelled, leaning forward carefully to make sure Jack was still asleep. He'd been known to wake up but stay frozen in the same position. She then looked frantically at the door, thanking a God that she wasn't so sure she believed in that it was closed.
"Relax. He's asleep. No one can hear us," Claire assured her.
"You don't know that, he likes to…" Kate trailed off when she saw the smirk on her friend's face. "What?"
"You're so in love him. I know it. Don't worry, he's totally in love with you too," Claire said confidently. Kate just stared at her so she continued. "Kate, I'm not an idiot. This is Jack we're talking about. Hero, doctor, leader Jack who hardly ever sleeps because he's so busy helping people. And you know he doesn't like to show emotion around other people. And yet here he is with you, letting you console him after he's had a nightmare, whisper little things to him and hold his hand when he's in pain and rock him like a baby." Kate hadn't even noticed she'd been rocking him slightly, but she stopped immediately. "It's okay, you don't have to stop. It's what you do when you're in love. And you, you've been down here, in the hatch. The hatch, Kate. You hate it down here. But you've been cooped up in here for days because of him. You've been worried sick about him; you monitor everything that goes on down here because it might affect him in the slightest way-"
Kate shook her head. "No, that part doesn't count. You don't know how bad it gets."
"How bad what gets?" Kate waved off her question. "Ok. I don't know how bad "it" gets. But I do know one thing, Kate, and that's that you're 100% in love with Jack. Admit it."
Kate's eyes were filled with tears now, just thinking of that morning, when she had been exiled from the hatch because she couldn't handle Jack's screams. "I don't know what I'm going to do," Kate said quietly. "I've been in love before, Claire, but this is different. This is…I don't even know. It's more…" She searched for the right words "intense. It's like I can't get him out of my head, even for a second. And the idea, just the thought, of him being in pain is…I just can't handle it. Earlier-"
She cut herself off, but Claire encouraged her. "Its okay, Kate, you can tell me."
So Kate continued. She didn't want to admit it but she liked having a girlfriend to talk to. "Well, he has these episodes where, well I don't really know what they are exactly but the infection takes over and he's in a lot of pain when they happen. He says his leg is on fire and he's just…you can't even talk to him. Some aren't so bad, and we can soothe him. But some are really bad, Claire, you can't even imagine."
Kate stopped talking for a moment, placing little kisses on Jack's head, so soft Claire wasn't even sure if she realized she was doing it. "What happened earlier?" She asked gently.
"Earlier, he had a really bad one. It was the worst it's ever been. But we couldn't give him more pain meds for half an hour; because it could hurt his liver or he could even OD they're so strong. Nothing we did was working at all, and they said there was nothing we could do for him, that we just had to…let him scream." Tears started to leak from Kate's eyes and fall into Jack's hair. "And he was screaming, Claire, like he was being tortured. He probably was." She wiped her eyes and Claire watched curiously as, the more upset Kate got, the more she would try and console a peacefully sleeping Jack. It was as if she was trying to make him feel better, so that she would too.
"Its okay, Kate, he's going to be just fine. Obviously you guys did something right, look at him now. He's perfectly fine," Claire reminded her. Once Kate's cheeks were dry, Claire returned to her previous topic of conversation. "You've gotta tell him."
"No, not now. Juliet said he might not even remember this when he gets better."
Claire decided to make a compromise. "Then when he's better. The minute he's off those drugs, you tell him. Promise?"
Kate was silent for a moment before replying. "Ok, I promise."
"I have to get back to Aaron; I told Charlie I wouldn't be long. Tell him I came to visit when he wakes up," Claire instructed as she stood up to leave.
"Okay. I'll see you later Claire."
"Don't forget your promise!" Claire called back to Kate as she walked away.
...
Jack slept peacefully in Kate's arms this time, his previous nightmares non-existent. Kate wasn't even sure how much time had passed when he lifted his head from where he had buried it in her neck. Kate had been so deep in thought, mindlessly running her fingers through his hair as she thought about what Claire had said. Or, more specifically, the promise she'd made to Claire. So, when he asked her how long he'd been out, she wasn't quite sure how to respond. Looking at the clock that they kept next to the bed, it struck her that they'd been sitting there nearly 3 hours, much longer than Jack's usual hour and a half naps. And once that registered, it dawned on her that his next episode had been due over an hour ago. Yet, he pushed himself away from her and sat up, rubbing his eyes without any sign of being in pain. She let her hand fall from his head as she spoke gently to him. "Did you have a nice nap?" He nodded, smiling at her as if he had his own little joke. She couldn't help but smile back. "What?"
"I had a nice nap because I had a nice dream," he told her matter-of-factly.
"What was it about?"
"You," he looked up and flashed her that sweet, innocent smile that made her heart melt.
Kate grinned as she beckoned him forward. "C'mere" When he leaned in closer, she gave him a little kiss on the lips, keeping it simple until he was fully healthy again. "I'm glad you're feeling so good," she whispered, kissing the tip of his nose before backing away and grabbing his crutches. "Come on, let's go get some dinner."
He looked disappointed that she was no longer so close to him, but he did what she said and the two went out to see what was going on in the other parts of the hatch. Kate wasn't feeling particularly hungry, so she had a quick snack and left Jack to finish his dinner with Juliet and Sawyer, who Juliet brought into the hatch with her tonight, while she took a shower. Kate hadn't been out of the hatch for a few days now, excluding the time she spent with John sitting right outside the hatch door, but she was beginning to believe the rumors Claire had told her regarding Sawyer and Juliet. She hadn't talked to either of them about it; in fact she hadn't talked to either of them about anything but Jack in a while. But they were clearly closer than she remembered them being before, and Juliet was now using her spot in the small group that was allowed free access to the hatch to bring Sawyer with her. But more surprising to Kate than their potential relationship, was the fact that she wasn't at all jealous. Yes, she'd once had feelings for Sawyer, but the fact that he might be involved with another woman didn't bother her at all. On the other hand, Jack saying the word "Julie" made her want to take Juliet to Hydra island and leave alone, with all the boats.
Kate slammed her hand down on the shower controls and flow of hot water abruptly stopped. Grabbing a towel, she quickly dried off and got dressed. She'd been in the shower longer than she'd planned, enjoying the relaxing feel of the hot water washing over her. But now she was itching to get back to Jack, Claire's words still echoing in her head. "You're so in love with him." Kate forced the feelings down as she walked out of the steamy bathroom. As Juliet, Sawyer and Jack came into view, she decided to hang back and observe for a minute. She wasn't sure what exactly was going on, but the three were sitting at the table with their food in front of them. However, they didn't seem to be eating much as Juliet and Sawyer were holding back laughs while Jack told them something.
"And you're sure those drugs haven't gone to your head, Doc?" Sawyer asked, and it seemed to Kate like it wasn't the first time he'd questioned Jack about his claims, whatever they might be.
"Yes! You can even ask her!" Jack exclaimed. Her? Now Kate was really interested.
"So, after that, what happened?" Sawyer asked.
Juliet was giggling now. She slapped Sawyer's arm playfully. "James, stop it!"
The boys ignored her. "Then she kissed me," Jack said nonchalantly. Juliet and Sawyer burst into laughter, Sawyer accusing Jack of making up stories again while Juliet stifled her laughter and tried without success to get Sawyer to do the same. "I'm not lying! She did, right on the mouth!"
This comment only caused more snickers from Sawyer and Juliet, who were both enjoying this far too much. "And I can ask her about it?" Sawyer asked.
"Sure," Jack confirmed. "I don't care."
"I think I'm gonna havta take ya up on that, Doc"
"James, cut it out. She'll kill us both, you know that, right?"
Sawyer ignored her comment and turned back to Jack, who was silent. "So then what, Doc? Aren't cha gonna tell us the rest?"
"Then she told me that she was glad that I was feeling okay and-"
"What is going on out here?" Kate demanded to know, cutting him off as she approached the table. Sawyer and Juliet instantly quieted, leaving only smirks on their faces.
Jack took the last bite of his dinner and looked up at her innocently. "Nothing, I was just having dinner with Sawyer and Juliet."
Kate nodded. "Sure you were," she said sarcastically.
"How long you been spyin on us, Freckles?"
"Long enough to know that I'm not answering any of your questions." She pulled Jack up with her. "C'mon. That's the last time I leave you with Sawyer." She told him, half joking. Deep down, Kate found the whole situation just a little bit amusing.
Embarrassing enough? Tell me what you thought.
