Thanks for your reviews. I know it's not an original twist, Kate having a baby, but in keeping with the mystery theme, I've got a few ideas that might be. I'm glad you found Marc funny AlwaysDizzy -- I laughed when I wrote that chapter.

Chapter 10. The Pacifier

Jack felt his stomach clench nervously as he watched Marc approach Kate. He had no idea what his friend was going to say to her, but whatever it was, he knew her well enough to know that she wouldn't like it, especially not now that she wasn't just running to protect herself. Marc may have been charming, but Jack had a feeling that she wouldn't welcome his attention, no matter how innocuous it seemed; she'd probably rush off as soon as she could get away, taking any chance Jack had of learning the truth with her.

Kate still hadn't seen him, so Jack ducked back into the store behind him, watching as Marc greeted her, flashing her his most winning smile.

She started, looking up from the baby, her expression wary as she returned his greeting. She shifted the bundle in her arms, dropping something in the process – Jack saw Marc pick it up and shove it was into his pocket – checking her watch, her eyes darting down the corridor, looking for someone to save her, it seemed.

When whoever she was waiting for didn't appear, she returned her attention to Marc, drawing her daughter protectively to her chest as she waited for him to present a motive for approaching them.

Marc said something else, presumably about the baby, and Kate softened, giving him a tight smile. She still didn't look comfortable, but she must have decided that his friend wasn't a threat, because she engaged half-heartedly in the conversation, responding to his questions with short, clipped answers.

All in all, they must have spoken for about five minutes, until glancing surreptitiously over his head, her eyes lit up, spotting whoever it was that she'd been waiting for. Excusing herself, she returned the baby to the pram, hurrying off to meet them; Jack tried to follow her gaze, but the mall was too crowded, and he had no idea who he was looking for.

"So what happened?" he asked when Marc returned to his side, his eyes still on Kate. "What did she say?" He felt a stab jealousy go through him as he surveyed the men around her, wondering if it was one of them that she'd been so happy to see. He was beginning to understand what Kevin must have felt when he saw them together in Bali, knowing he'd been replaced, but not really knowing why. He didn't want to believe what he'd said, but it was beginning to look like he was right, like it really was what Kate did.

"Well," Marc began as they headed off, following at a safe distance behind her, "I said hi, told her her baby was pretty, asked her how old it was, she said seven weeks, so I guess you were right about that."

Jack knew she could have been lying; he'd seen her lie to strangers before, but somehow, this sounded like the truth. "What else? Did you ask her about the father?" he pressed.

"Of course," Marc agreed, grinning, apparently pleased with himself. "When I said her husband must be proud, she corrected me, said she wasn't married. She didn't have a ring, so I said boyfriend then, but she told me that she wasn't seeing anyone, that there was no father." He looked at Jack seriously. "So unless she went out and got herself knocked up right after you guys broke up, I'm thinking the kid is definitely yours, man," he told him sympathetically.

Jack nodded, giving his friend a grateful smile. "Thanks – I don't know what I would have said to her."

"How about asking her if that's the guy she left you for," Marc said, his eyes widening incredulously. Jack followed his gaze back over to Kate to see her talking to an older man with close-cropped grey hair. "I mean, you're what, ten years older than her, but that guy – he's old enough to be her father."

Jack couldn't help but be amused as he took in the man's military uniform. "I think that is her father," he said, relaxing a little now that he knew that while it was true, Kate was out with another guy, he wasn't one Jack needed to fell threatened by. That explained what she was doing in D.C.; she must have been staying with Sam while she got back on her feet. It made Jack feel a little better to know that even if there had been another guy since they'd broken up, they weren't together now.

"So what do we do now?" Marc asked, recovering from his embarrassment at mistaking Kate's father for the father of her baby. Sam wasn't her biological father, so Jack could see how the lack of family resemblance would have thrown him. "Are we going to keep following them?" he gave Jack an enthusiastic grin, apparently enjoying the adventure.

"Yeah," Jack agreed, deciding that for now, that was his best course of action. Once he knew where Sam lived, he would be able to find Kate again when he was ready to talk to her.

Hanging back at a safe distance, they followed Kate and her father out to the car park, making a note of Sam's licence plate, before collecting their own car. It took Sam and Kate longer to get organised, because they had to load the baby into her capsule, and collapse the pram, so by the time Jack pulled the car into the same lot, he and Marc hadn't fallen too far behind.

Keeping a few cars behind Sam's, so that Kate wouldn't recognise them, they tailed it to a residential estate ten minutes drive from the mall. Parking the car behind a few others, halfway down the street, Jack copied the address into his PDA, watching Kate free the baby from her car seat and carry her inside.

When they were gone, he started moodily at the house, wondering what she would do if he went over there and started pounding on the door, demanding to know what was going. He was tempted to throw caution to the wind and try it, but he had a feeling that it wouldn't be Kate, but Sam, who opened the door, and that in that state of mind, he wouldn't get very far. Sam was her father; he would be naturally protective of Kate. As frustrating as it was, Jack could understand that, because he was pretty sure that the feelings Sam held towards Kate, were the same ones he was beginning to feel for her baby.

His baby.

He wanted to take care of her, to keep her safe, and make sure that she never left his sight again, but he had to get to the hospital, and more than that, he needed a plan. He couldn't just barge in there yelling, or else Sam would throw him out, and he would never see either of them again.

Marc had been quiet up until then – Jack had almost forgotten he was still there – but sensing Jack's thoughts, he touched his arm lightly. "You okay, man?"

"Yeah," Jack agreed, biting back his anger, and forcing himself to take a deep, calming breath.

"I almost forgot – I have something for you," Marc told him, reaching into his pocket, and withdrawing a small, pink object.

A pacifier.

"Your girlfriend dropped it."

Jack took it from him, staring at it for a moment. "You kept this? Why?" he asked, confused. As far as mementoes went, it was pretty insubstantial.

Marc gave him a slightly incredulous look, as if he couldn't believe that Jack hadn't figured that out. "It was in the baby's mouth, which means it has her spit on it," he explained. "I watch all those crime shows – all you need to do is compare it with yours, right? To find out if she's your kid or not? You're going to the hospital now – you can probably sweet-talk them into giving you lab access. It's the best I can do, man," he added, apologetically.

Jack nodded slowly, considering this as he stared at the pacifier. "No, that's good," he said absently, wondering if he could invade Kate's privacy like that.

It was unethical to do a DNA test without the mother's consent; if he were caught running one for someone other than himself, he could lose his licence. And even if he wasn't, even if it was for his own peace of mind, he wasn't sure that the consequences wouldn't be the same.

But as unethical as it was, it was even more unethical for her to lie to him, to keep him from seeing his daughter, if she was in fact his. He had a right to know the truth, and if she wasn't going to give it to him… he had no choice but to take matters into his own hands…

Hmm... is Jack betray Kate and do the test? Or will he stick to his ethics?

I like that fact that Jack's obsession has shifted from Kate to her baby, because to me, that's more believable under the circumstances... He's pretty angry about her behaviour, but if the baby's his, of course he's going to want to know it regardless of what happens between them. There will be a confrontation though, soon, and an explanation, but Jack needs to know which issue he's confronting her about first: her lying to him or moving on...