Chapter 11

Okay first off thank God my memory stick didn't end up being corrupted like the last time I used it with an Apple g-book lol. Gosh the scenery here is so amazing and I'm also learning how to surf. I know it's a little late age wise hehe but I've always wanted to try it. Anyhoo back to the fic and I'm so glad you guys are still liking it. Here's the next slightly more jate centric instalment :)

P.S. Thanks so much for the reviews. I know I probably sound like a broken record saying it all the time but I really am thankful. It makes me even more enthusiastic about writing so please keep them coming. Whether it be signed or anonymous I'd love to know what you guys think ;)

Enjoy

"Tell me why you're really here or I will use this." Sayid warned in a tone and manner that was certainly not to be questioned or trifled with, especially after all the things he had done in his shady past.

"Sayid pleas….." the man tried one last time but it failed to win any kind of sympathy from the man who was surely about to end his life. Or was he?

"Check his pockets." Sayid then instructed to the two other men although he was more focused on the faded label on the right side of Khalid's worn out shirt.

"Aye Aye Cap'em." Sawyer mumbled under his breath but followed through with the instruction and came up with nothing but a few pictures of a woman. A woman who immediately gained Sayid's attention the moment he was given the pictures.

"So Rashid was right all along about you. Is that the reason you befriended me, so that you could get the one thing you really wanted." Sayid hissed, partly hurt but mostly angered at the fact that God knows what had been going on behind his back all that time.

"What did you tell her?"

"Sayid I ….."

"TELL ME!!" He shouted while holding the man by the throat with one hand and lodging the gun even deeper into the man's chest with the other.

What annoyed Sayid even more was that Khalid kept on chanting Nadia's name almost as a way to take him away from all of this. However Sayid was far from done with him at this point, not when he finally learned of how he had been played all those years. He just hoped that Nadia played no part in it cause if she did then he wasn't particularly sure of what he might feel or do from that point onwards.

Khalid on the other hand hoped and prayed that the others would be here soon. The others belonging to a man he had worked heart and soul for these past couple of months, and as he was finally met with the scenery of the very island he was assigned to find, he felt nothing but relief that all his hard work had indeed paid off.

Now all he had to do was wait it out till his people came.

Ever since Claire's unexpected and immensely tragic demise he had decided to move into her quarters seeing it as the most sensible way to take care of the other reason he had moved in, Aaron.

He had never truly seen himself as a Father or even considered himself stable enough to ever be one considering the problems he had had with his own Father, but he didn't exactly have a choice in the matter, and to a certain extent he didn't really want there to be one because he knew Aaron well enough to treat him as if he were his own son regardless of what Danny wanted. Thankfully Ben saw things his way this time and denied Danny's right to stay in their fairly civilized neighbourhood, let alone grant him the right to become Aaron's official guardian.

The one thing that was plaguing his mind now was the way he was going to break the news to the little guy. The "little trip" excuse seemed to be wearing off and besides that he couldn't think of anything else to tell him other than the real truth of course.

How do you tell a 3 and a half year old that his Mom is gone, and that she's never ever coming back?

At that moment he became overwhelmed with sudden fit of rage at Claire for knowing the fatal risk she would present as a consequence of her actions yet still going ahead and putting her life on the line for a bunch of people whom he wasn't completely convinced would do the same for her in return.

Weirdly enough this new and almost spontaneous rebellious streak in her started when she met Danny. He always had his doubts about the guy but constantly kept his mouth shut out of respect for her privacy.

If only I had just said something at the time , he told himself wondering if it would have even made a lick of difference in the first place.

So now here he was dressed in the unusual yet compulsory white garment he would have to wear to the funeral or as Ben called it "The passing".

Knock, knock

Speaking of the creepy devil

"Hello Jack." Ben calmly announced himself once Jack reluctantly opened the door to him. He too was dressed in the same white garment but he was holding an extra set merely suggesting that he was here concerning the one other person he assumed would also be expected to attend despite her not knowing Claire all that well.

"I need you to take these to Kate." He instructed evoking a huff of frustration from Jack.

"Why can't you do it yourself?" he shot back feeling tired to say the least of continuously doing his dirty work, but he could also sense that all of this may be for another reason altogether. A reason he assumed had something to do with his slight but noticeable attachment towards the brunette.

"I can't anyway cause Aaron's gonna be up any minute and no one else is here to tend to him." He made the excuse hoping to God that he would be left alone to wallow in the gloomy mood he was in.

"Have you told him yet?" Ben enquired since there were on the subject of the boy at the moment. On a numerous amount of occasions he had offered to be the one to tell Aaron, knowing what it was like to loose his own Mother at such an early age. However Jack insisted that he would do it himself seeing as how close he and Aaron had gotten, especially when Danny came into the picture.

He slowly nodded his head in negation with the man's question while bowing his head in shame almost for not being capable enough to do it. Although in his defence he was still getting used to the fact that he was caring for another life other than his own.

"Why don't you let me take care of it Jack" Ben coaxed while placing a hand on Jack's shoulder to show him that maybe for once in his life he was being sincere here, but was it enough to win Jack's trust over?

"Judith." Jack suddenly called out to his next door neighbour and office friend since he had come to this blessed place.

"Yeah Jack." She replied while coming over to see what he was calling her for while Ben just watched on in shock of what was happening. Since when were the tables turned.

"I was just wondering if you could stay with Aaron while I run a few errands." He asked treating Ben as if he wasn't there, but he tried not to let it get to him too much because the plans he had would just go to show how serious he took any kind of disrespect shown towards him.

"Sure" Judith replied with a smile and with that Jack briefly thanked her before plucking the garments out of Ben's hands and then lightly sprinting towards the underwater enclosure where Kate was still being kept.

Boredom was probably the best word to describe what she was feeling at the moment. The only thing that gave her a sense of consolation and guilt at the same time was the set of keys she stole from Jack's pocket a few days ago.

In her short time of being here she never thought things would turn out this way, more precisely the immense amount of guilt she would feel each time she stared at the best means for her escape. Though the more she thought about it and the more she felt that this may not have been a good plan after all, cause how likely would her chances be of Jack helping her once he learns that he was just another pawn in her plan. Deep in her heart she sensed and felt that perhaps he was more than that.

"You can trust me, Kate. I'm not going to hurt you."

However her conflicting thoughts were suddenly pulled to a screeching halt when she heard the lock of her cell door being undone only to then be graced with the presence of a rather unusually dressed Jack, but the sheer amount of distress showing through his demeanour was enough to make her stay off any kind of witty comment.

"Hey." He offered as cheerfully as his mood could muster and she found herself growing somewhat touched at the fact that he was trying for her.

"You okay?" she took the plunge and asked him while slowly tucking the key back into her back pocket.

"Uhh….Ben wants you to put these on." He chose to reveal instead of touching of allowing his emotions to get the better of him. He was dangerously close to allowing the wall to crumble and he felt that any more reminders of Claire's death would make him completely useless, especially for Aaron.

"Why?" Kate asked the obvious question feeling a tad hurt with the way he rewarded her genuine concern for him.

"Please Kate just put them on." He pleaded with her and she relented with a sigh while grabbing the garment from his hands.

"Could you…" she then asked while holding up the garment to suggest what she was asking for and he simply apologised while turning himself around.

"I know what's it's like you know." Kate started out as she changed into the garment she was given, and when Jack failed to cut her off she continued on in an attempt to convince him that they were the same in some ways, especially in dealing with the loss of a loved one. By the end of it he faintly nodded in agreement with her argument and then told her that someone would be here shortly to escort her. He would have volunteered to do it himself but he still had Aaron to consider in all of this starting with telling him about his Mother.

He was still at a loss as to how he was going to approach it, but he knew that if he didn't then it would be considerably worse. So with that he gazed at the brunette one last time, momentarily captivated with the way the white garment almost accentuated her petite frame even more.

Radiant was the first word to spring to mind followed by an array of images of an X rated variety.

"Umm, I… I'll see you." He stuttered and quickly let himself out before any guesses were made as to what he was thinking just now. The very consideration of such lewd thoughts shocking him to no extent, but in the end he just put it down to the situation he was going through at the moment.

Little did he know he wasn't the only one thinking that way at that exact moment.

So looks like jate is starting to bubble and in some ways this event might just bring them closer , but of course the time will come when Kate will have to decide whether she wants to go ahead with her plans in using Jack and saving her and her friends or finding some other way altogether?

Okay now I'm gonna leave the content of the next chapter up to you guys so that this fic doesn't drag too much. We can either have the funeral which will have some emotional Jack and Kate interaction, including Kate and Aaron's first meeting, or we can skip ahead and go straight to some jate angst when a certain event with Kevin arouses feelings Kate never knew she had. Either way it still doesn't disrupt what I have planned for this fic.

Let me know guys!!

BTW if you guys are wondering, Khalid is of course a character of moi's creation but he will prove to play a fairly critical role within this fic. He may just be a Charles Widmore in the making hehe.