I've finished the new Kate chapter, so I'm putting that up along with Sam's. I think it will be your favourite so far (Jack and Kate are done fighting, and they're ready to kiss and make up. Well, not yet, but maybe next chapter, or the chapter after). It's definitely one of my favourites (although I think that about all of them when I finish), the Jate equivalent to chapter 13. Enjoy, and if you're feeling generous, let me know what you think.

Chapter 14. Promises

After dinner, Sam went to visit some friends, so that Jack and Kate could have the house to themselves. Settled on the couch with him some time later, Kate was aware of how strange it was, after six months on an island, with nothing to do but walk and talk and play golf, to be doing something as mundane as watching TV with Jack.

They weren't really watching, of course, they were both too distracted, each wondering what to say, as if it had been their first date. In some ways it was. Kate had seen him every day for months, had lived with him in a makeshift shelter on the beach, but now that they were back in civilisation, she wasn't sure how she should relate to him, especially after so much time.

She'd seen him at some of his best and worst moments, saving a life, or seeking revenge, but she had no idea what his favourite movie was, or which side of the bed he slept on. She didn't know if he was the kind of guy who talked during the previews, or squeezed the toothpaste from the wrong end, or let his answering machine pick up the phone so he didn't have to talk to people he didn't like. She didn't know what kind of car he drove, or what his house looked like, or if he got along with his mother. She didn't know if he was the kind of guy who helped with the housework, or drank milk straight from the carton and put it back when it was empty.

She could guess the answers to a lot of these things, but she didn't really know. There was a lot she still didn't know about Jack, and yet she was having his baby. It was a scary thought, almost too scary.

"What's your favourite movie?" she asked, following on with her train of thought, though the question must have appeared out of the blue to him.

He looked surprised, but considered this. "I don't really know," he said seriously. "I haven't seen a movie in a long time."

"Me neither," Kate said, "Except to hide out. I can't remember the name of the last one I watched all the way through."

"Maybe we should go to one some time," he suggested. "We could probably both do with the fun."

Kate turned to stare at him in surprise. "Did you just ask me out on a date, Jack?" she teased.

He grinned at her, a little sheepishly, "Yeah, I guess I did," he said, and they both laughed at the absurdity of the situation.

They sat quietly again for a while after that. Kate was the first to break the comfortable silence that had fallen between them.

"What do you think's going to happen to me, Jack?" she asked. "Honestly?"

Jack stared at the TV, reluctant to answer the question. "I don't know," he said. "But I was thinking, maybe after the baby's born, you could come with me to L.A. One of my dad's old friends is a lawyer there, a good one – he's never lost a case. He'd be discreet – we could go see him, get some advice. There might be some loophole…"

There was a beat. He looked so hopeful in spite of his obvious doubt that Kate was almost afraid to ask the next question.

"If I go to jail, you'll take care of the baby, won't you?"

"Of course," he said, taken aback. They hadn't discussed it yet, but Kate knew that to him, this was a given. He was in this for the long haul, with or without her, but even so, she needed to hear him say it.

"You won't work too much? You said your father was never around. Mine wasn't either, or my mother. I want you to be there for her if I…" her voice cracked, and she couldn't continue, but she knew that he knew what she meant. What she was asking.

He didn't answer; she could see the anguish in his eyes at the prospect of raising their baby without her. She knew he could do it, they both did, but that thought brought little comfort to either of them, least of all Kate. It was selfish, but she wanted to be there. She didn't want to be the one to miss out.

Changing the subject, Jack backtracked the conversation as he realised what she'd said. "Her? You think the baby's a girl?"

Kate was sure he must have seen the sadness in her eyes as she said, "Yeah, I do. I don't know how I know exactly, I've never even had an ultrasound, but I do."

Jack looked thoughtful as he considered this. "A little girl, huh? My father would be so disappointed." A smile lit up his face as he added, "At least I won't have to worry about pressuring her into the family business."

Though her heart still ached at the idea of being separated from them, his growing excitement was so palpable, so sweet, that she couldn't help but be cheered up a little. "You'll just spoil her instead," she teased.

He didn't try to deny it, he just continued to grin, and she could tell he was already thinking about piano lessons, and ballet recitals, and pink: pink clothes, pink curtains, and matching pink bedding. On his salary, she knew he could afford it all. Their daughter would never be without anything. Except…

"It wouldn't be such a bad thing, would it? If she turned out like you?" Kate said, hoping for about the millionth time that his blue blood would overpower the faulty genes she and her baby had inherited from Wayne. She didn't want her daughter to be trash like her and her parents; she wanted so much better: college, a career, a clear criminal record… a future, the kind she'd never had.

Jack was oblivious to these fears; Kate wasn't sure she'd ever discuss them with him, but he must have sensed the general implication of her words, because he smiled at her gently as he said, "No, I guess not. I hope she has your freckles though. You must have been a cute kid."

Kate laughed, her mood lightening again as she brought herself back to the moment. "Trust me, once she gets to about fifteen, she'll wish she didn't. I can't tell you how many hours I spent in front of the mirror, trying to cover mine up."

Jack grinned at her, trying to picture this. The mood changed again as he said seriously, "I hope she has your eyes too. Then I'll have to give her whatever she wants."

Kate's heart leapt as he looked at her again, his dark eyes searching her own. He leaned towards her slightly, but he didn't kiss her. It was too soon for that. They weren't ready. Not yet.

He turned away from her, breaking the spell, his eyes glued to the screen again. When he turned to her again, he was wearing a coy smile, and Kate knew what he was going to ask before he did. "When do you think…?"

He was being playful, but she treated his question seriously, admitting that she'd been wondering the same thing herself. "I don't know. It could have happened any time. We were on an island – we weren't exactly being careful."

Guilt flashed through his eyes; spontaneity had never been his strong suit. Even if he wanted the baby now, even if he couldn't imagine any other future, Kate knew part of him would never forgive himself for letting it happen. He just wasn't the kind of guy who got girls pregnant, at least not without marrying them first.

"I kind of think it was that night, the night before the rescue ships came," she said finally.

He smiled at the memory. "That was a good night. They all were."

Kate returned his smile, almost shyly. The atmosphere between them had changed again; it was almost intimate, like it was during their last days on the island. "Do you want to feel it?" she asked, deciding to take the risk of letting him touch her again.

He looked at her questioningly, searching her eyes for contradictions. She nodded to show that she'd meant it.

Slowly, Jack reached out and placed his hand on her stomach, letting it linger there while they waited. Even through her shirt, Kate could feel the electric warmth the contact generated, but she didn't push him away this time.

They were both so still that when the baby kicked again, it startled even her. A grin spread over Jack's face, brighter than ever as he said, "That's amazing."

It was, but still she teased him. "You're a doctor, you've felt babies before."

"Yeah, but this is… different…" He struggled to find the words. He didn't have to say it though, because she knew exactly what he meant. It was different.

"You should have told me, Kate," he said, his eyes sad at the thought of all the milestones he'd already missed. All of the moments they could never have back. "In the beginning. I wish I could have been there."

"You were," Kate told him softly. "I never really left you. You were with me the whole time." She knew it would never be enough, but she wanted him to know that she still loved him, that she'd always loved him. Their baby had only strengthened the bond between them; though they'd spent the last nine months separated by state lines, she'd never stopped thinking about him.

He nodded, accepting what was in some ways a confession, some an apology. "Just do me a favour," he said, his eyes uncompromising on this point, "and promise me you'll never leave again, not without fighting."

Jail was probably inevitable for her, but Kate knew that if she could find a way to stay with him, she would. She placed her hand on top of his, over the baby, making an oath to both of them. "I promise."