Thanks so much for your nice reviews :) Just a little note on this chapter- the beginning may not be the most exciting thing, but it's the meeting of Kate and Margo... just stick with it!

Chapter Eleven: In Repair

Kate could feel her face flush. She was, after all, under intense scrutiny by Margo at the moment, and had been for the past several. Jack had invited both of his parents over for dinner that night in hopes that Margo and Kate could finally meet.

He'd overheard his parents talking the other night when he was over at their new rental place- his father assuring his wife that Kate was a good girl and was great for Jack. He hadn't been surprised to hear her huff and say she'd have to figure that out herself.

The four of them had been sitting in silence for awhile now. Jack looked over at Kate, who was spreading her food around her plate- anything to save her from looking up. Jack himself felt extremely awkward- he couldn't imagine how she was feeling.

As he looked over to his mother, he couldn't believe that she wasn't even pretending not to be staring at Kate. Her eyes wandered up and down, as if forming all of her opinions before she'd even heard Kate speak for more than a few seconds.

Suddenly Margo spoke.

"Jack have you thought about when you're going back home?" she asked him.

Jack cursed her in his mind, but didn't bother to hide the grimace appearing on his features.

"No, I'm not really sure of my schedule yet," he tried, hoping they could just drop the subject before something more came of it.

"Well you'll need to get back within the week. I could only bring so much with me, and like I said, I don't want movers there without your supervision. I just know something would go missing," she sighed.

He could feel Kate's eyes on him but decided to ignore the fact for now.

"I'll have to call the hospital and cancel my volunteering for a few days then," he argued.

"Well," Margo said with a wave of her hand. "Do whatever you have to do."

The fact that she dismissed all of the trouble he was going to have to go through just to get back to California frustrated him.

"Have you thought about the offer?" Christian asked Kate.

A puzzled look crossed her face, her brow furrowing and scrunching up.

"Dad don't-" he started, but it was too late by then.

"Oh," a look of realization washed over his tired features. "Sorry."

Jack buried his forehead in his hands, laughing at how out of control the situation had already managed to become.

"Okay, let's start over with this," he began, lying his hands down on the table.

"Mom, stop staring at Kate and making her feel so uncomfortable and don't bring something up that you know I haven't talked to her about yet," he stressed. His tone was strong and getting the point across, he assumed.

"I just figured with something this important you'd have discussed it with her already," Margo dismissed his opinion. "Why haven't you talked to her about it?"

"Yeah, Jack, why haven't you talked to me about it?" Kate asked, her tone high and slightly sarcastic as she smiled at him.

"Kate I didn't think you'd want me to drag all the way to the west coast just so you could help me pack up some boxes," he pointed out. "It won't be any fun."

Christian broke in. "That's why I asked you to invite her along with you son. So it wouldn't be such a burden."

"Or do you just not want me to go?" Kate asked him, this time more serious.

Margo was sitting back in her chair, enjoying the debacle unfolding in front of her. Before Jack could respond Margo interrupted.

"Well, personally I'm with Jack on this one. This is an extremely private matter for all of us. No sense in dragging others into it," she said with a bit of an attitude.

Jack shifted in his chair. "I never said I didn't want her to come with me," he offered. "I just haven't really had the chance to think it over," he tried.

"What's there to think about? Either you want me to come with you or you don't," Kate replied to him.

She softened a bit when she saw the worried look on his face. She could see that he hadn't meant to offend her by not asking her yet.

"It's not a big deal Jack. Let's just forget about it," she said, squeezing his hand under the table. "We can talk about it later," she added before taking another bite.

"I really think this should be discussed now that we're all together," Margo pushed, glaring at Jack.

One thing he'd always hated about his relationship with his mother was his inability to reason with her, his inability to figure her out. Margo was consistently unpredictable, to say the least.

"Don't push it dear," Christian suggested in a sing song tone.

"Well someone needs to push," she snapped back. "You already know my opinion on this," she told Jack, folding her hands in her lap.

"Yeah, you've made it very clear," he replied sarcastically.

Not that he wanted to get into his personal matters with Kate in front of his parents, but the opportunity was presenting itself.

"How about it then?" he asked her softly. "Do you want to come with me?"

"Don't feel like you're being forced to ask me," Kate told him, glaring a bit at Margo, a look not missed by the older woman.

He chuckled despite the general awkwardness of the whole deal. "You should know better than anyone that I don't take to suggestions well."

She smiled at him, agreeing internally. "I'd love to go with you," she said simply, stroking his hand. "I hope I can get away from work for a few days too," she worried.

"Have you ever been to California?" Christian asked her, hoping to ease the tension a bit.

She nodded. "Once when I was a kid. My mom took me to Disneyland," she remembered, a slightly sad smile forming on her mouth.

"Well I hope you enjoy going back," he told her politely.

"Thanks for the offer," Kate smiled shyly.

Christian winked at her and Jack felt the surge of approval in his stomach- at least if his mother wouldn't warm up to Kate then his dad liked her enough for the two of them.

"I just know a good thing when I see it," he pointed out, this time causing the young couple to become bashful.

Margo now took a sudden interest in interrogating Kate, a drastic change to the silent judgment she had done earlier.

"So where did you grow up?"

"Iowa."

"Is that where you were born?"

"Yes."

"So why did you chose Columbia?"

"I liked it."

Jack and Christian shared a glance, both smirking at Kate's simple answers. She'd somehow managed to find a way to shoot Margo's game right back at her.

"What's your major?"

"Pre vet. Animal sciences."

"Ooh. Four words this time, dear. You're really starting to open up," Margo said sarcastically.

Kate smiled back at her, the two women coming to an understanding that their little game was over.

"So Kate, what's it like having to go all the way to Iowa visit your family?" Christian asked her, and while Jack was thrilled that he was taking an interest in her, he knew this subject probably wouldn't go over well. "The tickets must be horrendous," he added.

Kate glanced at Jack, looking almost a little upset, as if she was wondering why he hadn't told his dad not to bring these kinds of subjects up. Her glance finally shifted back to his father.

"Uhh, I don't go back," she replied softly. "Iowa wasn't much of a home when I left it. I don't really have anything to go back for," she explained.

"Oh, I'm sorry for bringing it up."

Kate shook him off with her hands. "No, it's fine. I don't want sympathy from it. It's just the truth," she shrugged.

"What do your parents think about that?" Margo asked her.

"They wouldn't know," Kate replied icily, not embellishing.

"Let's just all stop this, okay? It's becoming pretty clear that we aren't going to get anywhere with this, not tonight anyway," Jack interrupted, tired of sitting back and watching the conversation explode.

For the first time that night Kate realized how immature she was being stooping to Margo's level. The difference between the two women was drastic, as one knew she was instigating, while the other didn't, and hadn't for all of her life.

"I'm really sorry Jack," she started, then looked at Christian and Margo as well. "This isn't how I wanted this to turn out at all. I'm not like this," she promised, putting her hand over her chest.

Jack looked at her, thankful that she was at least trying to subdue the ordeal.

"Don't blame this all on yourself," he offered. "Someone was pushing a little hard," he tried, encouraging his mother to speak up through his comment.

"Mom." He said expectantly.

"Oh. Right. I'm sorry Kate. I didn't mean to push," Margo told her half heartedly. "I'm sure you're a lovely girl."

While the words came out of both of their mouths, no one could be sure how sincere either of them were. It was obvious from that point that the two women had clashing personalities- both strong, opinionated women.

"We should get going. Christian?"

He nodded at her, and they thanked Jack for dinner.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning then?" Jack asked him, as he had a radiation treatment scheduled.

"Nah, it's fine Jack. I've got your mother here now to take care of me. I'm sure she'll call if she needs your help," he smiled.

"God Jack I'm so sorry," Kate immediate began apologizing when his parents had left. "I didn't mean to blow up like that. And I was such a bitch to your mom-"

He walked up to her, placing his hands on her soft hips. "Don't worry about it too much. Believe it or not you probably set a better impression on her because you actually have a backbone. She just won't ever want you to know that," he chuckled.

"Your mom is confusing," she admitted, finally allowing herself to crack a smile and sink her body into his.

"You're telling me. I'm the one who lived with her for 18 years!" he joked.

They stood together silently for a moment, pressed against each other and simply enjoying the quiet moment.

"Are you sure you really want me to come with you to California?" Kate asked him hesitantly. "I feel like there was a reason you didn't ask me before," she mused.

"I didn't want to freak either one of us out by asking you to travel across the country with me. And it's not for anything cool like a vacation- it's to pack up a bunch of my parent's priceless shit because my mom's afraid if she hires anyone it will all vanish."

She flattened her palms against her chest as she allowed him to wrap his arms around her backside.

"Hun you have to understand that I want to be there for you. I'm sure what your family is going through isn't easy," she reasoned.

He started getting a bit defensive with her at this suggestion.

"Okay, we're kind of in the same situation here because we both don't want each other to know some things about our past. I'm not suggesting that taking you home with me will open up a big can of worms, but there's a reason I don't go back very often. You know? It's not my life anymore."

"I know I'm that way with you too. And I wish I could open up easier. But I can't," she told him, looking into his brown orbs. "I thought you understood."

"I do," he pleaded. "I'm just pointing out that we both have a little bit of that, okay? I just don't want you to be surprised if I'm a different person there. Because I probably will be."

She shifted in his arms as they tightened around her, his grip somehow telling her how much emphasis he was placing.

"I'd be a totally different person back in Iowa too," she admitted. "But we'll never be going there, so don't worry about it," she brushed it off. "I can handle if you're different there. I'm not afraid to see it as long as you're not afraid to show me."

He smiled at her and drew her lips to his, enveloping them in a strong, passionate kiss.

"We'll figure it out," he said when they pulled apart.

"Want to stay here tonight?" he asked her in a husky voice.

She shivered as his breath ran down her back, one of the advantages of him being much taller than her. He could feel her smile against his chest.

"How about we go to my place? Heather's gone for the night," she added suggestively.

"You know I'd never argue with that," he smiled. "Otherwise we'd have a 3 person audience."

Kate scrunched up her nose at the thought of his roommates listening in on them.

"Yeah. Let's go," she laughed.

They gathered up their things and Jack packed an overnight bag, slinging it across his shoulders. Her apartment was dark and empty as expected as they entered it, locking the door behind them as they made their way into the living room.

Jack stood with his back to her, looking out the window and onto the busy street, filled with weekend students making their way from party to party. He was suddenly brought out of his trance by the feeling of Kate's lips on his own, aggressive and wet, her tongue quickly delving into his mouth and meshing with his own. He complied eagerly as his hands found their way to the hem of her tight fitting shirt.

Gaining momentum in the situation, he pressed her up against a wall, their bodies mashing into each others and Kate moaned at the sudden full contact. Her shirt was now being pulled over her heard, the surrounding air hitting her exposed skin with force. His warm hands pressed into her sides as they continued to kiss, warm and deep, urgent yet loving.

Kate teasingly rubbed her hands across the front of his pants, enjoying the groans of response it was receiving, feeling him harden gradually at her touch. Soon his shirt was off, his belt buckle undone and his jeans unzipped due to the uncomfortable feeling of his erection being restricted.

He picked her up with his arms, her legs instantly looping themselves around his waist. He dropped her onto the floor in front of the couch, working her pants off of her legs while she was still standing. Soon she was standing before him completely bare, and he pushed her back into a relaxed seated position on the cushions. By now she knew what he planned on doing, feeling his fingers trace down the length of her body and dip into her crease, wet with arousal.

"Mmm," she hummed, a smile crossing her face. He teased her clit with his fingers, causing her to squirm underneath him, and hitch her breath in when he inserted his finger all the way into her. He moved it in and out slowly, rubbing her clit with his thumb on the same hand.

She came quickly from the contact, clenching her legs around his hand. Kate recovered soon enough and slid her body off the couch, kneeling so she was even with him. She stared him in the eyes and he looked right back, neither breaking contact, but Jack visibly flinching when she grasped his erection in her hand through his boxers.

He was fully erect by now, standing tall, but she pumped her hand over him a few times anyway. Pushing his jeans and boxers down his legs he encouraged her to sit on the couch, pulling her hips to the edge. He surprised her by dipping his head down to her center, sucking her clit into his mouth quickly and making her buck against him. Jack smiled in satisfaction, kissing his way back up her body and placing his tip against her entrance.

"Now," she mumbled, pulling his hips against her.

Jack pushed into her slowly, feeling her heat wrap around him tightly, welcoming him. They moved together until Jack felt her starting to tremble around his shaft, her walls tightening. His fingers moved to her clit and stimulated her and she soon shouted and shook almost violently. As she pulsed around him, he felt his cock twitch and emptied himself, coming hard, pumping into her until he finished. Sweat glistened their bodies as they lay together, taking advantage of a night completely alone, with no chance of interruption.

The next morning she rubbed her face against his stubble, kissing the corners of his mouth until he awoke with a smile.

"Morning," he grumbled.

"I love you," she whispered. "Let's get some breakfast," she spoke into his ear.

"Mmm… I love you too," he said sincerely.

She dragged him out of bed by his hand and they quickly dressed. Neither of them felt like cooking so they began walking to a little breakfast shop on the block. After a greasy breakfast they strolled back to Kate's hand in hand, and although it was the end of October by now, the morning air was crisp and the sun was out.

They approached a man on the sidewalk in front of Kate's apartment building and she suddenly froze.

"Babe what's wrong?" he asked her, grasping her waist.

"Well well, lookie who I found," a man with stringy dishwater blond hair and a drawl said.

Her eyes widened as she faced him. "What the hell are you doing here Sawyer?"

He chuckled, seemingly unfazed by her hostile greeting. "Thought you'd be happy to see me," he winked.

Jack didn't know what was going on, but felt the need to step in since Kate seemed so upset.

"Listen man, she doesn't want you here so why don't you just leave?" he asked him in a harsh tone.

"Says who?"

"You need to leave. You promised I'd never see you again," she tried, squinting her eyes, trying to prevent the threatening tears from falling.

"Things change," Sawyer said simply, kicking his boots against the rough pavement of the sidewalk.

"Go!" she yelled at him, her body trembling.

"Wait a second and you'll know why I'm here!" he shouted back, a scowl on his face.

"This better be good."

He paused a moment before looking into her eyes. "You look good," he observed. "You never were made for Iowa."

She rolled her eyes in his direction.

"She's back," he said simply, and her head snapped up immediately.

Kate stared at him in disbelief, Sawyer nodding that it was indeed who she thought.

"Come on in," she said softly, leading him into the apartment, Jack trailing behind.

I'd love to hear what you think... predictions and that sort of thing, and of course your thoughts on the chapter overall!