Jack walked into the condo, rubbing the bridge of his nose and sighing deeply. What had been a very long day was finally coming to an end. He had been stuck in surgery for hours, so he was late coming home.
He entered the bedroom to see Kate lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. He flopped down beside her, placing his hand over hers.
"How did it go?" he asked.
"We didn't really talk much", she answered, "I'm going back tomorrow."
Jack nodded. "What are you going to tell him?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. The truth?" She didn't sound at all sure of herself.
"You know, you can take your time, Kate. Tell him when you're ready."
"If I take my time, I'll back out. He could get his memory back any second, and he'll hate me if I don't tell him. He deserves to know." She hadn't moved her gaze from the ceiling yet.
Jack rolled over on his side and faced her. "Are you okay?"
She finally looked at him, and he could see the confusion in her eyes. "How would you feel if it was you? He's going to be hurt no matter what. I guess I just never thought about what would happen when he woke up. I didn't this this day would ever come."
Jack gripped her hand tighter. "You didn't do anything wrong. This just.. didn't happen under the best circumstances."
"Yeah", Kate replied, but she didn't sound sure. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight."
She rolled over to turn off the lights, and layed back down, facing the wall. Jack pulled her closer to him, his arm wrapping around her pregnant belly. She leaned into him, whispering a soft, "I love you".
"Kate?" she awoke to Jack saying her name quietly.
"Jack, what time is it?" she grumbled. She rolled over to see the clock and sighed. "Why are you waking me up so early?"
"I wanted to see if you were coming to the hospital with me", he replied, and yesterday's events came rushing back to her.
"Oh. Yeah, I'll be right up".
The car ride to the hospital was quiet and tense. Jack kept sneaking glances at Kate, which didn't go unnoticed be her. She just chose not to say anything.
They parted ways as they exited the elevator, and Kate paused outside Sawyer's room. She could hear chatter from inside the room, but entered when she saw it was a nurse.
"Okay, Mr. Ford, I'm done here. Try not to get into any trouble." A different nurse, this one older than Vannessa, was leaving his room. Before she left she turned to Kate. "This one's a handful. I'm the third nurse who's been assigned to him." She turned back to Sawyer. "You aren't getting rid of me that easy."
Sawyer smirked. "Whatever you say, Juanita."
The nurse left, and Sawyer turned to Kate. "Hey, Freckles."
"Sawyer, how have you managed to go through three nurses?" asked an amused Kate.
"They haven't.. met my requirements" he told her. "This one's gonna be harder to crack though."
Kate rolled her eyes. "So, uh do you remember anything?" she asked cautiously.
"Nope, still pulling blanks," he told her. "Eight months, Freckles. Do you know how mush I could'a done in those months?"
"Yeah, I do," Kate told him. 'More than you know', she refrained from saying.
"So, what have you been up to, besides making babies?" Sawyer asked.
"Not much. I went back to school," she told him. Something Sawyer had always told her wasn't worth her time or money.
"Well, well, well. Freckles, college student. Has a wierd ring to it." She laughed. "Any of our island buddies stick around, besides Jack-O?"
"Claire's living nearby", she replied. A thought struck her. "I'll be right back."
She walked out to the hall, and pulled out her cell phone. Claire would want to know that Sawyer was awake.
"Hey Kate, can I call you right back?" Claire's hurried tone came through the phone. She could hear Aaron screaming in the backround. "I don't know what's gotten into him. He just won't stop, and I have the worst headache-"
"Claire," Kate interuppted, "Sawyer's awake."
She heard Claire go silent, only Aaron's raised voice coming through the line. Finally, Claire spoke up. "When?"
"Yesterday afternoon," Kate informed her.
She could swear she heard Claire choke back a sob. "That's great. I'll come down as soon as I can."
"Claire, there's something you should know."
Her happy tone faltered. "What's wrong with him?"
"He lost his memory", Kate replied. "Well, some of it. He doesn't remember anything after Michael brought us to the Others."
"Oh. Oh my god. He doesn't remember being with you?" Claire exclaimed.
Kate shook her head, before realizing that Claire couldn't see her. "No, he doesn't remember anything."
"What are you going to tell him?" Claire asked.
After a pause, Kate replied, "I don't know."
"Okay, I'll be right there. I'll help you." With that, Claire hung up and Kate awaited her arrival. Less than ten minutes later, she was coming through the door, carrying a hysterical Aaron.
"I tried to find a babysitter, but then I realized you are my babysitter", she explained.
"It's fine", Kate said over the noise. "Let's just go back to the room."
She turned around and headed down the hallway, not looking back. When she finally did, she realized Claire wasn't moving.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing," Claire said quickly. "I'm coming."
They reached Sawyer's room, and while Kate stepped confidently in, Claire tagged behind.
"Freckles, you're back", said Sawyer. It didn't take him long to hear Aaron's shrieks. Claire stepped in, a shy smile on her face.
"Well howdy, Mamacita. You still haven't figured out how to shut that kid up?" Claire blushed, shaking her head with a soft chuckle. Kate watched her, confused by her behavior, and not for the first time.
Aaron continued to cry, before Sawyer let out a sigh of exhasperation. "Let me see him."
Claire handed the baby, now almost two years old, to Sawyer. "Nice to have my personal alarm system back again", Sawyer said, talking to Aaron. "Let me tell ya, you shriekin' like that almost makes me wish I was back in that coma."
Claire laughed, and she wasn't alone. Aaron's cries had turned into laughter, which made even Sawyer crack a smile.
"Well look at that. Some things never change", he smirked.
"Thanks", Claire said softly, the first word she had spoken.
"Sawyer, is Kate in here?" Jack's voice came through the door. "Oh," he said stepping in.
"Hey, Doc. Welcome to the party", said Sawyer, holding out his arms.
Ignoring Sawyer, Jack turned to Kate. "I've been trying to call you. You have.. an appointment", he told her, his gaze sliding to Sawyer. Kate looked back at Jack confusedly, before realizing he was referring to the babies.
"Hey, don't mind me. If you two wanna go make out in an on call room, don't let me stop you," Sawyer joked.
"What do you-" Kate started.
"I'm not an idiot, Freckles. Somethin's up with you two. Why else would you still be in L.A.? 'Course, according to you, the baby ain't the docs, so I guess that's a problem. Knowing him, though, he's probably heroically offered to take the kid in too."
Kate saw Jack's eyes flash dangerously. "We'll be right back," she said, leading him out of the room.
"What's the matter?" Kate asked when they were safely out in the hallway.
"Nothing," he replied, avoiding her eyes. Seeing her look he replied, "You told him they aren't mine?"
"I told him he didn't know the father, remember?" she asked.
Jack didn't look reasurred, but his face softened a bit. "Yeah. I just.. you weren't the only one not ready for him to wake up."
Kate lifted a hand to stroke his cheek. "Don't worry about it, okay?" She knew he still had insecurites when it came to Sawyer. "I'll tell him soon."
"Okay", Jack replied. "I have to get back to work. Don't forget your appointment. It's in a half an hour."
He left, and Kate turned to tell Sawyer and Claire she would be back later. Sitting in the waiting room, Kate went over all the possible ways of explaining to Sawyer, each sounding worse than the one before.
I know I promised a jealous Jack, and there will be more of that. I think I gave you a taste at the end :). I wanted to put more in this chapter, but it got longer than I had planned.
Next: Sawyer has more questions, and Kate tries to dodge them. Maybe I'll even throw in the Margo visit I promised a while back.