Nicole appeared in the living room with Riley on her hip, concerned and a little frightened.
"Jack, what's going on?" Nicole asked.
"It's okay Nicole, take Riley back in the other room." Jack assured her.
"Nicole? You got company? Hell doc, the body ain't even cold yet." Sawyer snarled.
"What?" Jack shot back still clutching the front of Sawyer's shirt.
"Why'd you do it doc?" Sawyer asked.
"Do what? What the hell are you talking about Sawyer?" Jack asked trying not to yell and frighten the two kids in the other room.
"Why'd you turn her in? She trusted you. I should've killed you when I had the chance." Sawyer hissed.
"We're back to that now? You want to kill me? I'm so lucky to have a friend like you. Maybe you should get your facts straight before you start throwing punches and threatening to kill people. I didn't turn her in Sawyer, she turned herself in." Jack said the defeat and exhaustion in his voice not lost on Sawyer.
Jack let go of Sawyer's shirt, moved off of him and stood up. He put his hand out for Sawyer to take and helped him up. Jack walked into the kitchen, Sawyer following behind him. He grabbed a towel and soaked it with cold water from the faucet. He wiped the blood from his face, grabbed another towel, put some ice in it, wrapped the towel around the ice and applied it to his mouth, trying to stop the swelling that had already started. He looked at Sawyer who was standing less than three feet away from him.
"What are you doing here Sawyer? I thought you'd be on your way to wherever it is you go by now." Jack said.
"Hell doc, we're famous, treated like royalty. Someone wants to put me up in one of the finest hotels in the city for an indefinite amount of time I'm going to take advantage of their stupidity." Sawyer explained.
"You're a real piece of work, you know that? You've done nothing but look for ways to benefit since the plane went down." Jack commented.
"That's right doc I'm scum, but the fact is, most of us are taking advantage of that hotel, guess you're the only noble one in the bunch." Sawyer taunted.
"I'm happy for all of you. Maybe you'll get a book or movie deal out of it too." Jack said sarcastically.
Sawyer looked at Jack, realizing he was as stressed out or maybe even more stressed than he had been on the island. He should've known Jack wouldn't do anything to hurt her, should've know he was being baited by some ambitious tabloid writer. He was glad that for once in his life he chose to keep his comments to himself and take care of the matter on his own. Even though he'd punched Jack without just cause at least he hadn't publicly smeared him.
"Why'd she turn herself in?" Sawyer asked as he followed Jack into the living room.
"She did it for me, saw that I was being accused of harboring a fugitive and turned herself in. She'd already done it before I had a chance to talk her out of it." Jack said sadly and dropped himself onto the sofa.
"Freckles is kind of stubborn that way and hell doc we both know once she's got her mind made up about something there's no talking her out of it." Sawyer offered.
"I guess. I've got to get her out of jail Sawyer. You didn't see her face right before they took her away, but I see it every time I close my eyes." Jack told him.
Sawyer was at a loss. He came to beat him up, teach the cocky doctor in the fancy condo a lesson about life and now he was sitting beside a guy who was clearly beaten down by all of life's lessons. He glanced toward the doorway that led to another part of the house and saw a small child with brown hair and brown eyes looking back at him. He looked back at Jack and then back at the child.
"That belong to you?" Sawyer asked causing Jack to look in the direction Sawyer was pointing.
"What do you think?" Jack replied.
"I think if you cut the sleeves off her shirt and let her facial hair grow some she'd look like a 2-1/2 foot tall version of you." Sawyer answered making Jack laugh lightly.
"She doesn't have facial hair. Hey Nicole, its okay, you can come out." Jack called out.
Riley toddled over to Jack and crawled up into his lap. She looked at the cut and bruise on his mouth.
"Daddy gots boo-boo?" She asked.
"Yeah, daddy has a boo-boo." He answered.
"I kiss it and make it better." She demanded and stood in his lap so she could kiss the boo-boo on his face.
"Thank you Riley, it feels much better now." Jack said hugging the little girl and setting her down so she could go play.
"Daddy? You told me you didn't have any kids doc so either you work really fast or you had quite a surprise waiting for you when you got back." Sawyer chuckled.
"Yeah something like that. Nicole, this is a friend of mine from the island." Jack told the girl who was clearly still a little shook up.
"Do all of your friends greet you like that Jack?" Nicole asked making him laugh.
"It was a misunderstanding. Sawyer, this is Nicole. She's my neighbor. Nicole, Sawyer." Jack said as he stood to return the towel and the ice to the kitchen.
"Nice to meet you Sawyer, if you don't need anything else Jack, I'm going to go home." Nicole said.
"I need you to take this $20. Go treat your boyfriend to pizza or something." Jack said as he shoved the money at her.
"It's not necessary Jack and I don't have a boyfriend." Nicole told him and looked at Sawyer which didn't go unnoticed by Jack.
They watched the teenager exit and Jack looked at Sawyer.
"She likes me." Sawyer grinned.
"Don't even think about it Sawyer. She's just a kid." Jack warned.
"Nah, really? I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed doc, but I recognize jail bait when I see it." Sawyer said.
"But otherwise you find that attractive?" Jack asked feeling disgusted with him again.
"Jesus Jack you really need to lighten up. She's a little girl, hell no I don't find that attractive, give me a little credit would you." Sawyer complained.
"Credit is earned Sawyer." Jack replied.
"Yeah? Well, I'm not sure, but I think I kind of have my hands full with Claire right now." Sawyer confided in him.
"Claire? She's at the hotel with you? How'd that happen?" Jack asked shooting him a look that suggested he was uncomfortable with it and certainly didn't want the intimate details.
"Well THAT didn't happen, so stop looking at me like I just deflowered your sister or something. I just rescued her from that crazed, over possessive musician who can't seem to take no for answer." Sawyer grumbled.
"Charlie definitely has some issues there. I tried to talk to him about it, but I guess he's not interested in being just her friend. Is she okay?" Jack asked.
"She's a single mom in a foreign country with no money, no job and nothing to go home to and she's got this fatal attraction stalking her every move, but hell I guess other than that she's great." Sawyer answered in his typical sarcastic, surly tone.
"You handling it Sawyer or do I need to?" Jack asked.
"We ain't on the island anymore doc, you don't need to handle anything." Sawyer responded sarcastically.
"If a friend of mine needs help Sawyer, I need to handle it regardless of where I'm living." Jack stated.
"Cool your jets there hero, it's being handled." Sawyer told him.
"Don't call me that. I'm not anyone's hero. I'm as fucked up as anyone else, I just don't use my baggage as an excuse to be a prick and walk around acting like I don't care about anyone." Jack grumbled.
"No, you do act like a prick sometimes." Sawyer objected making Jack smile.
"Fine, but enough already Sawyer, its over and we've all got a second chance to come back and be better than we were before we left. Why can't we just be nice to each other? Why do we have to keep up this cock measuring contest? I'm so tired of it. Do you like Claire?" Jack finally asked hoping to get something real out of the guy just this once.
"You mean like, like or just like." Sawyer asked with a grin.
"I mean as in grown ups, man and woman stuff. Do you have those kinds of feelings for Claire?" Jack asked.
"You mean like the feelings I had for Kate?" Sawyer asked.
"Had?" Jack said and looked at him with a slight grin.
"Okay have. I don't know what I feel for Claire. I see her and I just want to take care of her. Crazy huh?" Sawyer answered the honesty in the answer catching Jack off guard, but just for a moment.
"Not crazy, but you better be careful Sawyer, you're showing an actual human side." Jack teased.
"Funny, you should be careful, people might suspect you have a sense of humor." Sawyer returned the tease.
"I just spent five months on an island with you and we're both alive to talk about it. I think that qualifies as having one hell of sense of humor." Jack argued making Sawyer laugh.
"Look Jack, I'm sorry I punched you. I should've known what they were sayin was lies. I can't believe she did what they say she did. Hell, she kicked the shit out of my knee one day cuz she thought I was being mean to a baby boar, she wouldn't hurt anybody." Sawyer said.
Jack chuckled at the mental image of Kate beating up Sawyer to save a piglet. God he missed her.
"It's complicated Sawyer, but you're right, Kate wouldn't hurt anyone unless it was to protect something smaller and weaker. So, if you're planning on helping Claire out, does that mean you're planning on sticking around?" Jack asked, changing the subject, the other too difficult for him to talk about.
"Why? Got a poker game to get to? Sawyer asked sarcastically.
"No, but if you need any help, I know the area well." Jack offered.
"Actually Fa…….uh, Hurley kind of offered me a job, and help getting settled, but I don't know. I've never been one to stay in one place for very long." Sawyer said.
"Maybe you never had a reason before." Jack suggested.
"Hey doc, where'd your kid go?" Sawyer asked, getting uncomfortable with the conversation.
Jack looked around at the empty, quiet living room. He could hear noises in the kitchen. Both men got up to investigate. Jack walked around the corner and stopped.
"Son of a ……………" He stopped himself.
Riley was sitting in the floor with the refrigerator door open and what was left of a dozen eggs all around her.
"Guess she's making herself an omelet." Sawyer laughed.
Jack bent down in front of her and sighed heavily.
"Having a good time?" Jack asked the child.
"Uh-Oh." Riley replied, but Jack didn't find it cute or funny this time, catching on to what must be a game to her.
"Don't give me that innocent uh oh. You know this isn't nice." Jack lightly scolded the child.
"I'm going to let myself out doc. You've got your hands full. I'll be in touch, see how things are going with Freckles." Sawyer told him, still laughing at the egg mess.
"Yeah okay, g'night." Jack mumbled, gently placing his hands under the child's arms and standing her up.
"Potty." She said.
"Yeah, having cold eggs cracked in my lap would probably make me have to go potty too. Come on." Jack sighed as he picked her up and carried her into the bathroom.
He managed to get the eggs and the child cleaned up. He was sitting on his bed with her in his lap trying to brush her hair and figure out how to do something with it so it would stay out of her face. Completely frustrated he threw the brush and the hair accessories across the room.
"Uh-Oh." Riley chimed making him relax and laugh at himself. He turned her around so he could look at her.
"Daddy wasn't being nice that time, he's very tired. Can I have a hug?" He asked not really expecting the child to understand him, but she did and she hugged him and he could feel her lightly patting him on the back like she had the day before. He hugged her back and kissed her on the cheek.
"Daddy loves you very much." He said softly in her ear and hugged her close to him.
He pulled her back and sat her in his lap, looking at her, enjoying her and then finally pushing the wild strands of hair out of her face.
"Kate's going to love you too and she'll be able to fix your hair." He told her before tossing her onto bed, making her giggle and beg for him to do it again.
Kate lay on the mattress in the cold, gray 6 x 8 cell that was now home. She was sure she would die if she had to spend the rest of her life locked up in a small, colorless room like this. She wondered if she had done the right thing. She could've left the hotel that morning, left Jack to wake up and wonder where she had gone, but she couldn't get the image of him out of her head, the look in his eyes when he'd made her promise him she wouldn't run. She could see it and she knew that when he'd told her he might not be able to pick himself up again if she betrayed his heart and his trust he meant it.
She'd never been loved like that by anyone in her entire life and she'd never been treated the way that Jack treated her. He treated her like an equal, like someone with a mind and an opinion that he was truly interested in hearing. Their physical attraction to one another was never something that could be denied, but they never acted on that alone. The emotional connection that developed as their attraction became something so much deeper than what was on the outside was the most special connection she had ever had with anyone.
Her feelings for Jack made her decision that morning an easy one. She couldn't betray him, couldn't hurt him, couldn't bear to know that he was out there somewhere hurting and angry with her. She'd rather be dead than lose the love and respect of the first man who had ever loved and respected her for who she was, who actually believed in her and who found her to be both emotionally and physically satisfying to him.
So here she was, alone in a jail cell, over a 1,000 miles away from him, wishing they could've had just one more kiss, one more chance to make love, one more chance to hold one another, speaking to each other without ever opening their mouths. The emptiness she was feeling was unlike anything she had ever experienced and she no longer had any control over her tears, they flowed freely and she couldn't stop them if she wanted to. She missed him so much she felt like she couldn't breathe and she couldn't help but wonder why someone so wonderful had come into her life only to have to lose him. Was allowing her to have a taste of something good, only to be replaced by the bitter taste of reality her penance for all her wrong doings?
She was deep in her thoughts when she heard the door that was on the outside of her cell open and close. She heard footsteps and then heard the lock to her door being opened. The door opened and then closed again. A man in a business suit stood before her. He was very professional looking, his mere presence intimidating. She wiped the tears from her face and sat up.
"Who are you?" She asked.
"Ms. Austen, my name is Joseph Stypes. Jack Shephard hired me to represent you." He told her and held his hand out for her to shake.
She began crying again, shaking, wrapping her arms around herself as if it was the only thing holding her together.
"He didn't write me off, he really is fighting for me." She cried softly to no one in particular.
The intimidating man sat beside her and placed a comforting hand on her back. He wasn't sure what he had expected to find in Kate Austen, but a crumpled, broken, emotionally spent woman that could easily capture the heart of any person with a conscience wasn't one of the scenarios that had played out in his mind. After all, this was supposed to be a cold-blooded murderer that robs banks on the side, a hardened criminal.
"Write you off? Judging by my experience with him I'd say just the opposite. He's definitely a man on a mission." He told her.
"I'm sorry. I'm just,…..I miss him. I'm scared and for the past five months whenever I felt this afraid he was always there, whether it was just sitting across the camp watching me or whether he was right by my side telling me everything would be okay." Kate confided in the total stranger.
"I could tell he cares very much for you and I can understand how much you must miss that right now, which is why I decided to stop by tonight and give you this note from him. He wanted to come with me, but they won't let him in to see you right now so there was no sense in him making the trip. You're going to see him again, but you're going to have to put your trust in me Kate and be completely honest with me. From this moment on you don't speak to anyone but me. Can you do that?" He asked and handed her the envelope from Jack.
"Yes." She answered her voice shaky, clutching the envelope close to her chest.
"We aren't going to discuss your case tonight. I just wanted you to know that help is here and I wanted you to have that letter from him. Try to settle down Kate and try to sleep. You aren't alone. Here is my card, my cell phone number is on the back. I'm going to my hotel for the night and will be back first thing in the morning. If you need me before then, just call." He told her, placing his arm around her shoulder and hugging her lightly.
"Thank you. Is he…..Jack, is he okay?" Kate asked him, still clutching the envelope tightly.
"He's very worried about you, but other than that he seems okay." The man told her.
The attorney left Kate alone with her thoughts and her letter from Jack. She opened the envelope and pulled the folded paper out. She held the paper to her face, smelling it, taking in the light scent of the cologne that was on it. She slowly opened it, savoring the moment as if she were actually seeing him again. She read the words he'd written and smiled as more tears flowed down her cheeks.
Kate,
The three days we've been apart have been an eternity. I think about you every second so don't even consider that I've forgotten about you or my promise to take care of you. I have so much to tell you when I see you again and that will be soon I promise. I can see you giving me that look and telling me that you don't need to be taken care of and that I shouldn't make promises about things I have no control over. I miss that look.
Try to keep your chin up and remember how much I love you because it's real and I'm sending a large helping of it in this note. Can you feel it? Remember the night before we went to the cove, the things we talked about, not just the naughty things, we will get to those too, but the hopes and the dreams and the life we want. Keep those things in mind, keep them close to your heart and believe them and you'll make it through this Kate, we both will.
I Love You,
Jack
Kate lay down on her bed, curled up in a ball and held the note from Jack to her chest. It felt like a little piece of him and she needed that. She closed her eyes and thought back to that night, the night he wrote about in his note, the memory calming her.
She'd convinced him to leave the hatch after he'd spent endless hours caring for Claire and Aaron. They'd gone for a walk and then disappeared to his shelter. It sat high on the beach away from everyone else and Kate used to wonder why he'd chosen to isolate himself that way, but as she sat just outside the opening with him and took in the view she understood. He could watch over the entire camp from this spot, could see every shelter and every fire and any place that any person was walking toward at any time. She sat snuggled up next him in the sand and laughed lightly at the realization causing him to pull away slightly and look down at her.
"What?" He asked.
"Nothing, I was just looking at the view you have and considered that you are like a shepherd watching over your flock from up here." She giggled.
"Cute. I guess you're probably not too far off the mark though. I can't help it. I feel responsible for them Kate, all of them." He admitted.
"I know you do. We'd probably all be dead by now without you Jack, so don't apologize for caring and being willing to take on such a big responsibility." She told him, the topic starting to make him a little uncomfortable.
"Actually Kate, if you'll notice, I have a direct view into your shelter. I'm secretly a peeping Tom." He teased.
"So did I give you a good show?" She asked.
"No, you always closed your flap before you changed your clothes." He laughed.
"Jack! You were actually watching?" She replied and slapped his arm.
"Of course, you're extremely hot Kate and after you teased me with that whole walking out of the shower in a towel thing I had to see if it got any better than that." He teased.
"You didn't really watch did you?" She asked in a tone so serious he began laughing at her.
"No Kate, I'm a lot of things, but a pervert isn't one of them. I only watch women undress if they ask me to." He told her with a chuckle.
"Oh really, so if I asked you to come inside and watch me undress you'd want to do that?" She asked.
"I'd rather do the undressing, but watching is good too." He answered and pulled her closer to him, the conversation getting his juices flowing.
They disappeared into his shelter and as promised she undressed for him, slowly, teasing him and not allowing him to help. When she slid out of her panties and tossed them at him he decided it was his turn to participate. He stood, took hold of her hands and pulled her into him, her naked body pressing against his fully clothed body, his mouth covering hers and swallowing her in a deep passionate kiss, his tongue dancing over hers, his hand slowly gliding over her bare flesh, his blue jean clad thigh and knee nudging her thighs apart, her whimpering as she straddled his thigh and pressed hard against it.
He glided her down to the makeshift bed, turning her over onto her stomach, lifting her hair and landing soft kisses on the back of her neck and then slowly down her back, stopping at the shoulder blades to gently nip and swirl his tongue over the flesh, repeating the process on her sides, making her squirm against his biting and licking at the most ticklish areas of her body before rolling her over onto her back.
He moved his mouth over her breasts, taking her nipples in and sucking them hard while his hands gently massaged them. She let out a moan and lifted her hips, wrapping her legs around his waist. He unwrapped her legs and pushed her hips back down his mouth moving slowly down her stomach, his tongue moving over her again as he gently nipped at the area just inside the hip bone.
"You need a tattoo of a lollipop right here Kate, so I can do this." He told her and kissed the area, his tongue swirling over the area, driving her crazy.
He continued to move his mouth over her bikini line and up and down the creases of the triangle, not making contact where she most wanted it and refusing to penetrate her, making her whimper every time she could feel his breath where she wanted him. She finally grabbed his head with both hands and physically put his mouth where she wanted it, making him chuckle and then work his tongue slowly up and down, teasing her with the promise of penetration only to pull back and keep the hot moistness of his tongue just to the outside of where she wanted it. She closed her thighs around his head like a vice and pushed him down further, needing contact desperately. He broke free from the wrestling hold she had on him and looked up at her. Her eyes were burning with desire, begging him to bring her relief. He maintained eye contact with her and inserted a finger, making her gasp and open wider for him. He kept the one finger moving in and out slowly and brought his mouth back down, making contact, sucking her clit gently, sending electricity through her, a warm flood building as his tongue continued work it's magic on her. She grabbed his head, screamed and wrapped her legs around his head again, panting and moaning as her hips jerked against the powerful orgasm.
When she finally let go of him, he kissed his way up her stomach and chest and kissed her, moaning into her mouth, his need to be inside her becoming intense. He could feel her hands fumbling with his pants, not having any luck. He stopped kissing her and sat up on his knees, straddling her torso. He pulled his shirt up and off while she unfastened his pants and pushed them down his hips, he was so hard she had to have her hands on him. She gripped him gently, but firmly enough to throw him off balance, sending him forward, his hands landing on either side of her head. He could feel her soft hands holding him, caressing him pulling his tip to her lips so she could kiss him and swirl her tongue over him, wanting to take him into her mouth, but him refusing to let her by regaining his balance and moving back a little.
She brought the length of him down to her breast bone, gliding her hand over him before clutching either side of her breasts, pushing them together and trapping him in-between them. He was looking at her, his swollen, throbbing erection was trapped in-between her breasts, the warmth and moisture from the sweat accumulating in the tunnel created by the act taking him to another level of excitement. His release was close and he wasn't sure if she was just being playful or if she really wanted what she seemed to be asking for. He made eye contact with her, his need reaching the point of agony.
"Seriously?" He asked his voice strained, but interested.
"If you aren't comfortable with it Jack" She started, but never got to finish her sentence as he began moving, replacing her hands on her breasts with his own, pushing them together tighter, pushing himself forward slowly, allowing her to tease him with her tongue before pulling back. He continued this slow, methodical pace until he couldn't stand it anymore, suddenly increasing the pace and finally letting go, spilling himself over her upper chest.
He moved back some, and reached into the corner of his shelter grabbing a bottle of water and a rag, wetting it and then gently cleaning her up, taking his time, enjoying the intimacy of the moment. He tossed the rag into the corner and kissed her before relaxing beside her and pulling her into his arms, nestling her in snugly, her head resting on his chest the way she liked to curl up with him.
"That couldn't have been much fun for you, but I enjoyed it, very much." He said softly.
"I was curious to find out how far off the beaten path you like to roam." She told him.
"Are you trying to tell me I'm boring in bed?" He asked.
"Have you heard me complaining? Trust me, you're anything but boring. I was just opening the door so to speak. I'm curious to know just how kinky a hard core spinal surgeon is." She teased.
"Kate, I'm game for just about anything this side of freaky." He said.
"Yeah, so what's the other side of freaky?" She laughed.
"Well, I have to draw the line at Erotic Asphyxiation. Somehow the idea of making love to you while I'm strangling you just doesn't do it for me." He answered his tone suggesting the conversation was somehow offending him.
"Jack I'm really not complaining. I love you and I love the way you make me feel. You bring out my adventurous side and I didn't want to freak you out if I went a little crazy once in awhile. In case you haven't noticed you're incredibly hot yourself and there are times when I just want to eat you up." She explained making him laugh.
"So what's stopping you? Eat." He teased.
"Come on Jack, I'm serious." She protested.
"Kate I know I can be an intense, no-nonsense individual in normal every day situations, but I don't carry that attitude into the bedroom with me. I like sex, no I love sex and I have nothing but the utmost respect and appreciation for a woman who knows what she wants in and out of the bedroom. So do you have a particular fantasy you want fulfilled?" He asked in a low husky voice.
"I used to." She said.
"You don't anymore?" He asked.
"No, you're here with me. It's been fulfilled." She answered.
He sat up and laid her back, kissing her passionately until he was forced to come up for air.
"I'm not even close to being done fulfilling all of your hopes and dreams, whatever they may be, we're going to have them all Kate. Do you believe that?" He asked.
"I believe you mean it and that's enough Jack." She answered.
They spent the next few hours discussing what they wanted, what they dreamed of having and what their hopes for the future were. They spent some time joking, but in a serious kind of way, about future sexual adventures, deciding that pulling some of them off in the environment they were in would be impossible. They shared a naughty giggle over the look that would appear on Locke's face if they were to ask him if he could figure out a way to make them some latex. However, most of the conversation centered around the things both of them wanted, which were the simple things that most people want, good health, happiness, love and a family.
She remembered how sweet he'd been that night and all the things he'd wanted to give to her and how when they made love again he'd performed with so much tenderness and sincerity she was certain her heart had exploded. What she remembered the most about that night was how he'd managed to open up a part of her that had been shut down for longer than she could remember. He'd made her feel as though it was safe to dream again, that she could want things, good things and actually have a shot at obtaining them. He believed in her, but more importantly he'd made her believe in herself, believe that she was good and that she deserved all that he wanted to give her.
As she lay on her cold jail cell bed she could feel him, the way it felt when he was inside her, the way she felt when he held her in his arms, the peace and tranquility that snuggling up next to him and watching the stars could bring. She held the letter close, holding onto his love and drawing strength from it the way she always had even before he admitted his feelings for her. She finally drifted off to sleep, her dreams filled with memories of Jack, instead of the fears and the traumas that had haunted her dreams since they'd been separated. His refusing to give up on her and his thoughtful couple of paragraphs giving her the courage to hope and maybe even believe that they would be together again, free, never having to look over her shoulder again.