Chapter 14
Apologies once again guys and without further adieu here's a new update.
As always thanks for the reviews.
In case you guys forgot here's a little catch up on what's happened in this fic so far -:
Kate, Kevin and Charlie were captured by the "Others" shortly after their plane crashedon what they thought was a deserted Island. Anywayamidst their capture Kate ends up meeting a mysterious "Other" named Jack. Expectedly wary of him at first but as time progresses somewhat of a friendship forms and it escalates considerably when a sudden tragedy strikes Jack. The death of his sister Claire whom he came to know and meet on the Island.
Kate, still reeling from the aftermath of her own personal loss (Ethan and her unborn child) feels a deep sense of relation to Jack at this point, along with an apology for not being able to fix Claire for him. Another surprise adds itself to the emotional mix when Kate learns of Jack's nephew, Aaron.
However Kate's ultimate emotional battle is put to the test when Kevin, the man Kate had started to develop feelings for pleads for her to do Ben's surgery or else they'll kill Juliet, Kevin's wife whom he thought he lost in the crash.
Meanwhile back on the other side of the Island the 815'ers, including Christian Shepherd are not only trying to seek rescue, but also trying to get their kidnapped people back. In the midst of their search they catch sight of a yacht on the edge of the horizon.
Thinking it's rescue a select few swim towards it only to find a deranged man Sayid only seems to know. A man called Khalid who works for another secret organization altogether….
Hope that helps a bit :)
Another week had passed with no sign of rescue or any advancement in information concerning the Others.
The one thing he hated was just sitting around doing nothing, especially when there was a current crisis at stake. A crisis he knew wouldn't be solved through continuing to accuse and torture their newest visitor, Khalid.
A man who did spark suspicion at first but as the days went on he proved to be less of a threat and just as clueless as they were about the "Others".
Still, that knowledge failed to register with Sayid who just continued to try and see the bad in this man for a reason Christian sensed was perhaps personal.
"I have to do something" he suddenly decided, opting to go with his initial plan of trekking through the jungle to find these "Others" and hopefully get Kate, Kevin and Charlie back in the process.
So with that in mind he packed a few things and vacated his tent to acquire one last thing to assure a form of security on his journey.
"Goin' somewhere Pops?" came Sawyer's guess as he reluctantly handed Christian one of the spare guns he had in his possession.
"Boar hunt" Christian revealed, hoping that his excuse would be bought, especially considering the truthful scarcity of food of late.
"With a gun?"
"Works better than a measly twig or Swiss army knife." Christian explained with a little annoyance in his tone at being interrogated for borrowing one gun.
"Need a hand?" Sawyer then offered much to Christian's surprise in light of witnessing the Southerner do nothing but smoke, drink and of course have the occasional brawl over something or another.
"Thanks for the offer Sawyer, but I work better alone." He explained and then moved to leave. Ending any further argument and leaving Sawyer confused and suspicious.
The latter winning considerably when he suddenly caught sight of something slipping out of Christian's bag. Nothing but question clouding his mind as he tried to read the map currently in his hands. The very map Sayid had retrieved from Rousseau during his capture.
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The operation was a success yet it still failed to change the gloom of her mood. Much to the surprise of her captors she didn't even put up that much of a fight when they handcuffed her and then took her back to her cell.
Once in there she sat down on the slab like bench in the middle of the cell, her head bowed down, presumably in thought he surmised as he walked into her cell a few minutes later with a covered plate of food.
She barely responded to his presence let alone the meal he had painstakingly catered specifically to her liking as he read in her file. Still he vowed to try.
So with that he crouched down to her level, the covered plate of food in his left hand whilst his right gripped the handle of the cover to make the big reveal.
"Made you're favourite." Jack revealed with a smile before pulling the cover off to reveal something that achieved the hint of a smile from her.
"5 cook books later and "voila", it's even better than it looked in the book…" he joked proudly admiring his own work like an artist and she couldn't help but chuckle at it all.
"Which one?" she then attempted to play along, much to his surprise, exuding a combined expression of wariness and gathering amusement at the same time when she eyed what looked like veggie lasagne.
"Oh, all of them." He cockily responded and then dissolved into a moment of laughter, thankfully with her.
The moment from there on progressed. The previous gloom of her mood almost vanished from sight now and instead replaced with a more cheerful and light hearted one, thanks to the man now sitting next to her.
"C'mon it's not that bad." He spoke, keenly observing the way she contorted her face after taking the first bite.
"Oh yeah……" Kate exclaimed before acquiring a considerable amount on her fork, "you try it" and then jamming it into his mouth. Laughing at the way his mouth just went stationery while his eyes failed to blink in shock at the taste, but never the less he swallowed it down, reluctantly.
"Okay, so it's a little chewy…." He issued his verdict and simply laughed when she looked upon him in a humorously absurd fashion and then teasing him by saying, "a little?"
After spending a few more minutes simply basking in the light hearted spirit of the moment, a slightly uncomfortable silence ensued. Both suddenly brought back to the reality of their predicament and Jack refrained from offering her assurance in regards to the Kevin situation, cause he himself knew what it was like to suffer from a broken heart.
No amount of assurance could make it better at this stage.
"How's your son doing?"
He was a little taken off his feet by her question for the obvious reason, but then he put two and two together, judging by what she must have seen and naturally surmised at Claire's funeral.
"His name is Aaron and he's my nephew." He corrected the referral, watching her face transform into one of surprise.
"Oh, so you and Claire were….."
"Related and very close….." he confirmed and then went on to reveal the sad truth of it all, "in the short time we'd gotten to know each other here."
"I'm sorry." Kate apologised out of respect, earning a nod of acknowledgement from him.
"When I first came to this Island I thought, what the hell have I gotten myself into, but that all changed when I found out that I had a sister." He confessed, resting his head back, gaining her full attention in the process.
"She wanted to know everything about my…..OUR Father, yet the one thing she wanted I couldn't give her because I still don't have the answer." He continued, saddened and equally frustrated at his Father's selfishness towards his own daughter.
Jack then went onto to tell Kate about Claire's family situation before they met. With an absentee Mother in play she had next to no one other than her new found Step Brother to ask about her Father.
"Now she'll never get the chance to meet him." He admitted with sadness in his tone and demeanour and without thinking Kate reached out to place her hand on his left shoulder in a gesture of comfort. The action arousing Jack's focus on her instead and he was emotionally thrown by the level of care showing within her gaze.
Care, not just for Claire but him as well.
Next Chapter: Jack finally acts on his plan, given the key opportunity and Christian bumps into a seemingly familiar face…...