Chapter 14

Your wait is finally over….well we're well on the way there lol.

Thanks for the reviews guys.

She moved past the phase of self blame and stupidity and instead focused on the hope that her car would still be there.

Much to her relief it was in the very place she had parked it. However it was only then that she realised where she was and whether she really should or not.

Did she really have to question it?

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"Hey." Caleb casually welcomed his brother as he popped his head through the door still a tad weary of what Jack would say about him being back. It was the one fear he had and of course Sarah had to be there to remind him of it, but despite it all he hoped that his brother would see past it all and understand where he was coming from in the process.

However Jack's look of confusion and cluelessness was something he could have never estimated in the slightest.

What exactly happened to him after the accident?

"Jack, it's me Cal." Caleb stated not being able to hide the confusion or fear he felt with Jack's silence.

"Your brother." He added and Jack literally felt like someone had just knocked the wind out of him.

"I have a brother?" he asked himself and tried to search his mind for some relevant clue or memory of the man standing in front of him.

He was still in the bits and pieces stage when it came to things that didn't include the name "Kate".

Caleb, sensing the his brother's distress, decided to be the patient person he was and gradually got him up to speed, leaving Jack to seriously wonder why Sarah failed to tell him about all of this.

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She didn't really know why she was so nervous about seeing him again, and at one point debated upon giving into her fear and running away, but the pinging sound and stalling of the elevator she was in clearly suggested that it was too late.

It was time to face the music. Starting with the first person she spotted the moment the elevator doors opened.

(Meanwhile – on the other side of Jack's Hospital room door)

She had been listening in on the entire conversation for the obvious reason of course, and the minute she sensed that Caleb was about to spill the beans and ruin her plan, she moved to open the door and make her presence known, shutting Caleb up in the bargain, but she was stopped short from doing so for the second time today when she slightly turned herself around and came fact to face with none other than…

"Kate?"

"Hello Mrs. Shepherd." Kate chose to respectfully regard the blonde woman as, yet still sensing her presence may have come across as inappropriate judging by the way Sarah was looking at her.

If only looks could kill.

"Can I help you with something?" Sarah asked opting to give this woman the cold shoulder for a reason she now surmised was a fact. Regardless of it all she was still willing to overlook it and forgive him for his infidelity just like she hoped he would for hers if he were to suspect it.

As much as Kate found herself disliking the person before her, she knew that what she did with Jack gave her no valid excuse to feel that way in the first place. If anything she felt that Sarah had more than earned the honour of feeling that way and worse about her instead.

"Um, I…..your Husband and I are……" Kate stuttered to get across clearly at a loss for words let alone a good cover up story. However the more she took note of the way Sarah was currently eyeing her and the more she surmised that maybe Sarah did know.

"Friends?" Sarah guessed trying to show the brunette that she was completely dumb to what she knew was really going on.

"Yeah, and I just wanted to see him and find out if….." Kate spontaneously chose to go with the referral but was barely given the chance to finish by Sarah who thought it was about time to dole out the "turn down excuse".

"Actually he's resting at the moment but I'll be sure to tell him that you came by." Sarah explained while exuding her best attempt at a fake smile, but it disappeared within seconds when the addition of a third voice not only made itself known, but also sang a very different story.

One that Sarah did nothing but scowl at, especially when Caleb seemed to warm and grow encouraging towards the brunette opposite her.

"What is it with her and the Shepherd men?"

Caleb on the other hand took an almost immediate and genuine liking towards the brunette. There was just something about her that came across as everything a man wanted in a woman. So much so that he suddenly found himself wanting to explore the possibility of maybe achieving something more than friendship.

"It's too soon." He reminded himself even though in reality it had been two years since his last serious relationship.

"Hi, I'm Caleb. Caleb Stevenson."

"I'm Kate." The brunette responded in a matching friendly tone and expression, but Caleb's changed to one of surprise and realisation upon hearing her name.

"Ah, so you're Kate." He felt the need to state with a raise of the eyebrow while Kate furrowed hers into one of confusion. She was fairly sure that she had never seen or met this man before. Though there was something in his gaze that reminded her of Jack for some reason.

"Seems you've been on my Brother's mind a lot lately." Caleb boldly added completely forgetting the fact that a now fuming Sarah was playing a reluctant witness to the whole conversation.

No matter what else she tried to think of at that moment, it couldn't stop the blush from spreading across the surface of her lightly freckled cheeks. The sight alone enough to infuriate Sarah even more and it continued to rapidly grow when Caleb took it upon himself to then give Kate "the okay" with what she had come here to do.

Of course Kate was a tad reluctant in going through with it due to the way Sarah was reacting to it all. As much as a part of her wanted to admittedly rub this in Sarah's face and tell where to step off, she knew that the task was easier said than done. Besides the last thing she wanted to do was disrupt the much needed rest Jack needed after the tragedy he had unfortunately endured.

However after being affirmed that Jack was more than wide awake, Kate felt no reason to not pay him a little visit, and Sarah couldn't say anything except accept the liar she was just made out to be.

With one last filthy look cast towards the blonde, Caleb placed his hand on the doorknob and opened the door to Jack's room for Kate to enter.

Sarah was still far from done.

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To label what he was currently feeling as confusion was a serious understatement, but what he still couldn't begin to fathom was why this was kept from his knowing. Though the unlocking of his room door at that moment stilled his thoughts and they were close to forgotten when he then saw who entered through the door.

"Hey" she greeted him with a smile he couldn't help but return.

"She's here. She's actually here." It was the only thing his mind kept on repeating in his mind with each minute while he tried to convince himself that this was in fact real.

"I think you're meant to say "Hey" back." Caleb joked in sheer and utter amusement of the scene before him, and Kate couldn't help but chuckle to herself when Jack still failed to say anything except to keep his eyes firmly planted on her and nothing else.

Silence

Silence……

"Okay, so I'm gonna go and leave you guys to do the whole catching up thing or….."

"Cal" Jack warned the man before he could go any further with where he assumed that suggestion was heading. Besides it being inappropriate

"Alright, alright." Caleb relented with a laugh and then turned himself towards Kate, resorting to his gentlemanly ways by taking hold of her hand and kissing the top of it.

"It was really nice meeting you Kate." He finished with a smile and a wink of which Kate just blushed in the face of, but the same couldn't be said for Jack who looked upon the scene, more so the gesture with a look that couldn't be mistaken for anything other than jealousy.

However she dismissed her assumption as absurd in the end and tried to focus on what would happen once she and Jack were finally alone.

They had a lot of things to talk about, but who would go first?

(Meanwhile- Outside)

Her options were fairly minimal at this point apart from the one she would have saved as a last resort, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

So she flipped open her cell phone and dialed a number she knew would help her without any hesitance.

So what's Sarah up to now and more importantly will Kate tell Jack about the baby?

I was originally going to include the Jate talk in this chapter, but I wanted to give it a significant amount of importance. So it will explored in detail in the next chapter. That is a promise I can assure along with a quick update if you guys want it :)

Next Chapter: The talk and Sarah's plan may just be someone we already know……

More will also be revealed concerning Caleb's difference in a last name.