Fragile – Jack's POV
A social worker was the last person he expected to turn up on his doorstep. And yet, here she was, with a solemn face and an armful of paperwork.
"Mr. Shepard?" He was bewildered. What the hell would a social worker want with him?
"Yes."
"May I come in?"
He stepped back immediately.
"Uh, sure."
He led her into the living room where she settled herself on the edge of the couch, paperwork still in a perfect pile on her arm.
"Did you know a Kate Austen?"
"Yes"
She nodded, expecting his answer.
"Were you aware that she had a child?"
He swallowed.
"Yes"
"Were you aware that it was yours?"
His?
"Mine? No, he's not mine, he's Sawyer's…" he felt his heart rate increase rapidly and his breath hitched in his throat. It wasn't his, it was Sawyer's… Kate had said so. What was this woman talking about?
The social worker was confused. Obviously, she had expected him to know everything, and was quite caught off guard that he didn't.
"Sawyer?"
"Uh, James Ford."
"Oh, yes. The one who took the paternity test?" He nodded and she rummaged through her papers, eventually pulling out a perfectly smooth sheet of paper. She passed it to him.
It was the paternity test results. And down the bottom, where it should have been positive next to Sawyer's name, there was a big red cross. Negative.
The social worker considered him for a second before pulling out another sheet of paper.
"Kate identified you as the father before her trial. But we had the state records checked anyw- "
"Trial?"
The woman looked up in surprise.
"You didn't know? She was caught a fortnight ago, and trialled yesterday."
"Oh."
Was that all he could say? Was that all he had to ask from this woman, who could give him all the answers he so desperately wanted.
"Her trial…what was she sentenced?"
"Six months. On account of manslaughter through extreme provocation. And we legally weren't allowed to pass judgement on where the child was to go until that was over. And seeing as her sentence is so short, we thought it better that he came to you, rather than a foster home until she returns. Miss Austen has been staying with you, yes?"
He was about to answer no when he suddenly thought: what if they took Tom away? If he and Kate weren't living together, then they would most likely take him away. Social services had planned everything around them being together, and his reputation as a doctor was probably their saving grace. A child was better off living with a rich successful doctor, even with a criminal for a mother, than in a foster home. And so he said yes. For Kate; and for him. This was his baby. And now he thought about it, he did want this child. More than anything, he wanted this baby.
The paperwork hadn't taken long to sort out, and when they were done Jack had driven back to social services to pick up the baby. He was sleeping in a cot in a large room, with about six other cots surrounding his. And yet, Jack had no trouble picking out his son. Instantly, there was a bond. Fragile; delicate. But strong.
He'd have to work at this; parenting; but when he held his little baby he knew he wanted nothing more than to work at this every day for the rest of his life. And, as he was happily reminded by a rather tired looking nurse, he could. This sleeping bundle in his arms was his.
She'd named him in the end then. Tom - he wasn't surprised. He knew about Tom, what had happened…he remembered holding her close to him while she cried into his chest; remembered telling her that it wasn't her fault, as she so strongly believed it was; remembered fixing her – in the end, she knew she wasn't at fault. He'd fixed that.
He called work the moment he got home, telling them nothing more than that he would be off all week. He needed time to sort things out. In fact, he would probably have to quite work, for the next six months.
The job that had been his life was so unimportant now, in comparison to his baby. Being a father – that was his life now. He wasn't sure how he'd manage, but he would. Sure, he'd need help at first. Claire and Charlie might be willing to come up and help him for a bit, now that the tour was ended and they were about to head back to England.
And Kate. He'd go visit her in prison, every day if he could. He'd take Tom with him, so she could see him. He'd make her love him again, so that when she was released she could come back and live with him. Them.
He knew that she'd be just as proud as he was; proud of this perfect little thing that they'd made together.
Okay, rather than do the whole six months, I'm gonna skip ahead to Kate's release. I realised the other day that in this entire story, all 26 chapters of it so far, they've barely seen more than ten minutes of each other. Funny don't you think? It's WELL past the time when they should be together, so I'm bringing them back together again! And, after a few chapters of happy Jate parenting, I'm going to treat you with some Jex. But no more Jabies; not yet anyway. So I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope you love the upcoming Jate stuff! Please review, you know I love them! By the way, is anyone else's alerts not working?