Dinner

Author's note: I really appreciate all the wonder reviews. You guys rock! I promise that we will see some of our old friends soon, but it won't be in this chapter. I know that there is some confusion about what is going on, so just think of it as a reset (only Jack remembers everything that happened to him in the finale). I promise it will be explained, but in the mean time I would love to hear your theories. I am dedicating this chapter to all of you because you keep me motivated to write!

The car ride to James and Juliet's house was quiet. Jack didn't want to say something to upset Kate, and she didn't want to upset Jack. He held on to her hand the whole way there trying to comfort her. He wondered what she had been talking about earlier. Had he really been on drugs? It just didn't seem to make sense to him. The only time he had ever had a problem like that was after they left everyone on the Island. In this strange reality everyone seemed to be alive and not on the Island, so why would he have used drugs? He had to figure all this out, but there would be no way he could ask Kate. She would once again worry about him and maybe even take him to this so called doctor she had been talking about.

"Jack, do you know where you're going?" Kate asked him, the worried looked was back on her face. He knew that he was driving around in circles, but if he had asked her for help it would have worried her.

"Not really…I guess I just forgot how to get there." He told her, he tried to make it seem as innocent as possible, but he knew that he had upset her once again.

"Pull over and I will drive," She told him, as a few tears escaped her eyes. "Jack, I can't go through this again, I won't. Whatever is wrong with you, you need to figure it out." She was losing her patience with him. How could he do this to her again?

"I'm sorry, Kate," He tried to apologize, but he was cut off by her hand motioning him to stop talking.

"Don't apologize, just fix it!" She shouted as the tears now were pouring down her face. She knew she had to get herself under control before she could start driving. Once she had calmed herself down she got out of the car and switched places with Jack.

The rest of the car ride they both remained silent, they wouldn't even look at each other. Kate tried to keep her focus on the road, knowing that if she looked at him she would lose it again. She couldn't watch him destroy himself again, not when she had a baby to think about. They had lost the first one because of his problems. She was not going to lose this one. She loved him, but she wasn't going to save him again. He was going to have to save himself. He had to love himself before he could love her or their baby.

"I thought you guys weren't coming," Juliet said as she welcomed them into her home. "James, there here!"

"It's about time," He laughed as he made his way into the living room to greet them. He noticed that Kate had been crying, so they must have gotten into a fight.

"What's the matter, Freckles?" Sawyer asked her, as he watching fresh tears fall from her eyes.

"Nothing…it's nothing," She said as she tried to wipe the tears from her face. She didn't want to ruin the dinner, but it was going to be very hard for her to put on a happy face.

"Juliet, take Kate into the kitchen and calm her down," Sawyer instructed her, "I need to talk to Jack." Juliet nodded and led Kate towards the kitchen.

Sawyer and Jack had always had their difference, but they had somehow managed to become close friends over the past three years. Sawyer had watched his friend go through his hard times; he had watched him nearly destroy his family.

"What happened, Jack?" Sawyer asked him once Kate was out of the room. He knew that it must have been a pretty big fight because it took a lot to make Kate cry like that.

"I'm just having an off day," Jack replied, hoping that Sawyer would just accept that answer without making a big deal about it.

"Juliet said that you were acting weird today," Sawyer told him, "She told me that you couldn't find your office."

"So I had an off day!" Jack shouted, he was starting to lose it. "Why can everyone else have an off day and no one question them, but when I do it automatically means that I'm using drugs?"

"Are you?" Sawyer questioned him, knowing that it was a possibility. Sawyer remembered the night at the hospital when they almost lost Jack. The doctor had come out and told them that he had made it through, but that they were going to have a long road ahead of them. He informed them that Jack would want the pills again, it may be years, but he would definitely want them again.

"No," Jack answered trying to keep his voice down. He couldn't believe that all this was happening. He knew that he would never be able to tell Sawyer about his weird dream or other reality he had experienced. If they didn't think he was already on drugs, they would be after he told him about the other reality.

"Jack, if you're stressed out you need to talk to someone," Sawyer said feeling a little relieved that Jack had said he wasn't back on his pills. "I know that you're stressed out about the baby, but you have to stay strong. Kate needs you."

"Why would I be stressed out about the baby? Is something wrong with it? What's going on, Sawyer?" Jack asked as his mind began to race in many directions.

"The baby is fine," Sawyer said, trying to calm Jack down. "After what happened last time, you have every right to worry, but don't repeat the situation."

"What situation? What is everyone talking about?" Jack said as he began to rise to his feet. He had to find Kate and ask her what was going on.

"Please don't get her upset, Jack," Sawyer looked at him with pleading eyes. This was the first time Jack had ever seen Sawyer act like this. He actually seemed to be concerned about Jack and Kate's marriage.

"I just need someone to explain to me what in the world is going on." Jack told him, as Sawyer tried to force Jack to sit back down.

"Do you really not remember?" Sawyer asked him, his eyes looked like he was in a mixture of shock, confusion, and overall concern.

"No," Jack simply stated. He had no idea what was going on, the last thing he remembered was dying.

"It was a year and a half ago," Sawyer started as he recalled the events in his head. "Kate was three months pregnant when you went off the deep end. You started drinking a lot and talking pills to easy your pain. You claimed that you could see your dead father and that we all needed to go back to the Island. The doctors said you were suffering for posttraumatic stress. You hadn't dealt with the stress of the crash on the island, but eventually it caught up with you after the rescue. Kate tried to get help for you, but you refused. She worried so much about you that her body couldn't deal with all of the stress and she had a miscarriage. This of course only made things worse for you. You ended up blaming yourself for the death of the baby and you overdosed on your pills. You just barely made it."

Jack could see Sawyer start to tear up at that point. He knew that they were friends, but he had no idea that Sawyer cared for him that much. It broke his heart to see Sawyer like this. He couldn't believe that he had been so stupid. Kate should have hated him, and yet she still cared about him and his health. He suddenly realized why she had been so concerned. He had told her about the dream. He had saved the Island and then he had died. She must have thought that the dream had set him off again.

"You stayed in the hospital for a few days and then they placed you in a rehab. Kate struggled without you. She had lost a baby and almost a husband and then she had to go through all of it without you. She told me that she was worried about you a few months ago. She said that she had told you about the baby and she was worried it was going to set you over the edge." Sawyer finished and just stared at Jack waiting for a response.

"I…I can't believe…Why?" It was all that Jack could manage to say, he was in complete shock.

"It is okay, Jack," Sawyer said trying to comfort him. "We are all here for you, no matter what happens, but you need to be honest with us."

"I am, I promise," Jack told him as he tried to make sense of what he had just heard. He never thought that his past was this bad and he had a feeling that Sawyer had left something out of the story.

"Well, let's get back to dinner," Sawyer told him as he stood up for his chair.

"Please don't tell Kate about this," Jack pleaded with him, knowing that it would really upset her if she knew how out of it he really was. The last thing he needed was to upset her and then she would lose this baby, too. It was bad enough that he had caused her to lose one baby; he was determined not to have the same thing happen this time.

"I won't, as long as you promise that it won't happen again," Sawyer assured him as he gave Jack a stern look.

"I promise," Jack told him, "I may have to ask you stuff about the past, but I will try not to let her know that I am confused."

"I will tell you whatever you need to know," Sawyer agreed as the two men made their way into the kitchen.

Everyone seemed relaxed at dinner. No one mentioned the argument before, not wanting to upset Kate. Jack tried to make her feel better by holding her hand under the table and giving it a reassuring squeeze that he was okay. It seemed to work because Kate seemed relaxed and happy for the rest of the night. After dinner and card games they finally said their goodbyes to Sawyer and Juliet. The night had gone better than Jack thought it would. He was going to do everything he could to keep Kate's stress level down.

"I am taking the day off tomorrow," Jack informed he helped her into the car. Even thought her bump was still small it slowed her down when it came to sitting down.

"Jack, you don't have to do that," Kate told him, situating her pillow behind her back and bucking her seatbelt.

"I want to," Jack said as he started t shut the door. He made his way towards the driver's seat before he finished his sentence. "I want to spend time with you and the baby. I have put you through so much and I want to make up for it. How about a nice picnic at the beach?"

"I would love that!" Kate exclaimed the truth was she was hoping that they would be able to spend some time together.

"It's a date," Jack replied as he gave her smile. "I love you, Kate. I'm so sorry for everything I have put you through."

"I love you, too. Don't be sorry…just make sure it doesn't happen again." She said in a loving, but serious tone.

Author's note: Thanks for reading! You got a little more information about Jack's dark past, but there is more to come. There will also be more appearances by characters we love, so stay tuned! Please review and let me know what you think. I would also love to her suggestions because I am starting to run out of ideas. I know how the story is going to end, but I need stuff for the in-between. Thanks so much for all the love and support!