A Tale of Two Cities was awesome! I love it when Jack's all crazy! I just wish we could have seen him and Kate together, instead of Kate and Sawyer. (I'm appauled by the number of Skate stories lately, is anyone else? I just can't see them ever getting married, or having kids... What happened to all the Jate stories?) I'm jealous of you guys -- Flashes Before Your Eyes sounds so interesting! I can't believe they're considering killing you know who! Especially taking certain off screen considerations into account...

I knew you guys were going to figure out Jack's plan. I actually thought more of you would, especially given what they were doing in a few chapters ago, which by the way, is when Jack first got the idea. I thought it would be a fun diversion, especially given all the angst lately...

Chapter 25. A Night Off

In spite of Kate's protests, Jack maintained that losing the tank top and sandals was a necessary evil, so finally, she caved, and agreed that they could afford to replace them if it would end up improving their finances.

The whole thing certainly was intriguing, she decided as they left the mall a while later, heading back across the road to the marina. Jack was so adverse to the idea of conning, that she had to wonder if he'd found some loophole; some way of swindling people out their money without it plaguing his conscience. That, or he really was beginning to see the moral grey areas that made up her life.

Not wanting to shell out the exorbitant cross-city cab fare, they collected their stuff, and caught a bus two suburbs over, to where Jack insisted they needed to be. It was almost evening then, so they wandered around until they found a motel that wasn't too expensive, although, at AU $68 a night, it wasn't anywhere near as good a deal as the hostel in Bali.

"So are you going to tell me where we're going?" Kate asked as they let themselves into their room.

Jack grinned, and shook his head. "No – you'll just have to trust me." He was still looking pretty pleased with himself, so she decided that for now, she would.

One advantage their motel room had over the hostel in Bali was a private bathroom, which, although small, was entirely their own. Once they'd unpacked the basics, Kate showered, and washed her hair, enjoying the fact that for the first time in a long time, she didn't have to worry about anyone barging in on her. Then she put on a fresh pair of jeans, and changed into the halter-top they'd bought, green, because Jack said it brought out the colour in her eyes.

He was sitting on the bed, lost in thought, but he looked up at her when she came out of the bathroom, flashing her a boyish grin. "Looks good on you," he said, looking her up and down in a way that could only be interpreted as checking her out.

She grinned back, enjoying his reaction to seeing her dressed like a real girl for once. It wasn't like the fact that she was a woman was something he could easily forget, but still, it didn't hurt to remind him sometimes.

Jack broke eye contact first, looking at his watch. "It's almost six – we should probably get going soon."

Digging through his backpack, he pulled out a clean pair of jeans and a shirt with buttons, heading for the bathroom. He had to pass close by her on the way; with such a small space between them, he didn't seem able to resist stopping in front of her, inhaling the scent of her shampoo as he said, "I don't think I tell you enough how beautiful you are, Kate."

She opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, he placed a gentle kiss on her lips and disappeared into the bathroom.

This was the second time in two days that he'd surprised her with a spontaneous declaration of his feelings. She wasn't sure if it was the fact that she might be carrying his baby, or his fear of losing her, that was making him so openly affectionate all of a sudden, but whatever the reason, she couldn't help feeling guilty about some of the thoughts she'd been having lately. He was so perfect, and so in love with her; she didn't really want to leave him, did she? Not after everything that had happened with Kevin?

She pushed these thoughts aside when Jack came out of the bathroom, dressed and towelling off his short hair. "Ready to go?" he asked, collecting his wallet, and returning the towel to the bathroom.

"Yeah," she agreed, giving him a forced smile. She reached for her shoes, but he stopped her, closing a hand over hers.

"Is something wrong?"

She shook her head. "No, everything's fine," she told him with what she knew sounded like false cheeriness. "I was just trying to figure out what you've got planned."

He didn't seem to buy this, knowing instinctually that she had something more serious on her mind. "If this is about the baby, Kate, I've backed off," he said. "I'm not going to force you to take that test until you're ready, so don't worry about it, okay? We deserve a night off, so let's just try to have fun. We'll deal with everything else as it happens."

Kate didn't want to tell him what she was really thinking, so she nodded, pulling on her shoes, and following him to the door. He was right; they did deserve a night off from all their problems. They could worry about everything else in the morning.