Chapter 28

What amazing reviews I recieved! You all are so wonderful! They were truly insightful and inspiring to me. Thank you so much! I guess Jate tugs at everyone's heartstrings, huh?

This is all a road to get somewhere so hang in there, I'm not killing Jate off :-P Lets just see if they can get their freakin' acts together and stop keeping so much stuff to themselves. Communication is key in a marriage. And even on the show, Jack and Kate were not really good at talking about their feelings about things, especially about each other. At least they've got that down in this story lol. Lets see if they can work on the rest.

Thank you again for the reviews! I've been dying to post this chapter because of how awesomely reviewed the last one was. And to those first time reviewers, yours were greatly appreciated :-) Thank you all for taking the time. I'm over 20,000 hits now and almost 280 reviews! *squeals with joy* I'm so happy so many people enjoy this story as much as I enjoy writing it. Thank you.

All right, enough jibber-jabber.

Oh, and please be kind on my small beginning summary of Jack's story of what happened to his mother. Clearly he's a character so he doesn't know everything we know about what has/is/did happen because he can't watch the show LOL. Annnd it's a Cliff's Notes version because if I sat here and tried to type out everything that Jack would have to tell his mother...well that would be a novel in and of itself. Okay, just wanted to clarify that. Thanks.

Oh and I haven't done a disclaimer in a long time-I do not own any of the characters I am writing about (except Adam), they all belong to ABC, the creators, producers, writers, etc. I only own Adam :-) Yay for baby Jate!


I hoped that you could understand
That this is not what I had planned
Please dont worry now
It will turn around

-Needtobreathe "Need More Time"


The clock ticked in the plush kitchen and for the last few moments had been the only thing he could hear. His mother sat across from him digesting the words he had just spoken. He had just told her the entire story of their 108 days on the Island, trying to make things make sense to his mother that barely made sense to him at all. How the plane crashed, his rise to defacto leader of the survivors, his hesitant infatuation with then stand-offish, skitish Kate, and his immediate disdain with a southern, cowboy-like character by the name of Sawyer. He told her about married couple Jin and Sun, and how she knew English but didn't let anyone know for a period of time. He talked of John Locke, and how he continuously believed the Island had 'magic powers' and kept telling Jack to believe in 'destiny', and Boone and Shannon, brother and sister only by marriage, and then Boone's death and Shannon's death. He told Margo about Sayid and Hurley and the large role they played in their escape from the Island, about Charlie, and later Desmond, describing how he had met him before he had even begun dating Sarah, and how it was actually him who brought the plane down. He told her of Michael and Walt, and a young blonde pregnant woman name Claire. He skipped over the details of her for that moment, knowing he would have to return to her later. There were so many things to tell her, so many people involved, and it was such a long story, it was complicated to tell.

Margo had sipped her coffee and listened intently to her son, trying to follow along. Some of the things he said sounded like they were out of a science fiction book, or from a movie, and she struggled at points to believe some of the things he said. She recognised only a few of the names, the rest of the Oceanic Six, and tried to keep the rest of the people he spoke of straight. She asked questions along the way to keep things straight but it was difficult. She was patient with him though, because the more he talked, and the more tears he shed, made her realize how much her son had gone through.

She finally looked up at him and tried to fomulate any kind of comment or question but struggled with what to say, how to respond to such a heartbreaking, yet heroic story.

"Jack...I can't...I don't even know what to say." The clock chimed four o'clock in the morning and both peered at it, unable to move.

"Now do you see why we couldn't tell the truth? I bet you don't even believe half of what I just said." Jack ran an exasperated palm over his short hair and sighed heavily. She reached and touched his hand.

"Jack, if you were ten years old, I would have my reservations about your story, but you're an adult. I believe everything you just said and am so, so grateful you made it back home alive. You were a hero, even though you couldn't save everyone, and you have to stop beating yourself up about things you can't change." He listened to her and saw the sincere love in her eyes, and felt comforted. Not enough though, to fix what he was about to say.

"There's only one part I left out." he started, reserved.

"What could that possibly be?" Margo laughed, trying to lighten the mood. He rung his hands together before looking back up at her.

"The blonde, pregnant girl, Claire," he paused taking a deep breath, "She's Aaron's real mother." He allowed her to digest the small nugget of information before continuing. "Kate delivered Aaron on the Island because I was busy trying to save Boone's life. When Claire dissapeared, Kate took it upon herself to look after Aaron. And then when we made it to Penny's boat, she told me she wanted to tell everyone he was her's because she couldn't bear to lose him like we had lost everyone else." A lone tear slid down his scruffy cheek. "And then, at Dad's funeral, a woman approached me, and told me that she believed she knew the reason he went to Australia, right before he died," he paused to steady himself, and to gauge his mother's reaction so far,"She told me that Dad had a daughter there, and that she was on the same plane back from Australia. She was Claire, Aaron's mother. Aaron's my nephew." He covered his face, allowing a moment of shame and sadness to escape him, before looking back at his mother. She was sullen, silent, her face blank.

"Your father did a lot of things I never approved of when he was alive, but I never thought he would sink low enough to produce another child with someone else, in a different country, none the less. That explains all of his traveling when you were a child..." she stood, walking to an opposite cabinet from where the coffee pot was, pulling out a bottle of whiskey and pouring herself a small glass. She leaned against the counter, unable, it seemed, to register the information he had given her. "What was her name?"

"Claire. Claire Littleton."

"And she died?"

"Well, we aren't sure. She just dissapeared. Sawyer found Aaron in the jungle." Jack felt bad for telling his mother this way but felt such a weight off his shoulders by telling someone the whole truth. "She was going to give Aaron up for adoption anyway, Kate told me later."

"Your father had another family...I can't believe it." She sat down next to him and Jack wrapped an arm around her.

"I don't think he had another family, Mom. I think it was an accident. Her mother, at the funeral, when I asked her why he would go to Australia to see her, she said that he didn't go there to see her, but Claire."

"Only your father, Jack." She leaned against her son, searching for comfort. "Thank you for telling me, Jack." He kissed her hair, and held her a moment before she stood, whisking away any tears from her face. Turning to face him, she seemed to have pushed away her own emotions and focused on him. "So, what are you going to do?" She asked, somewhat critically. He blinked, waiting to answer.

"Umm..well I don't know. I want to go back to Kate but I know she doesn't want to see me right now." He sighed heavily, placing his chin in his hand. "What should I do?"

"I think you need to really think about this for a second. You survived a plane crash on an Island where strange things happen. You meet a beautiful woman, you fall in love with her, you go through everything you did trying to rescue everyone, you rescue her, you marry her, and now you're going to let the thing that brought you two together tear you apart?"

"Well, I-"

"I think you need to re-evaluate the most important things to you. This Island, this...place you were for 108 days, it meant something to you, it was a test, maybe a trial, if you will, and you survived it. Now, I don't know if you should go back because to me, your mother, I don't like that idea one bit. But if you think its what you need to do, to save your marriage, to find you half-sister, whatever, then that's what you need to do." She seemed sure of her words, and Jack wondered for a split second if he had made her mad enough to wish he would go back there, away from her.

"Mom, are you okay?"

"Jack, I'm fine. Your father has been dead for over three years, and though I loved him, he was a difficult man to love let alone be married to. Am I surprised he had affairs? No, and I'm sure Claire's mother wasn't the first. I am shocked that he made the mistake of having another child, that makes me angry, but I'm fine, Jack. Our marriage wasn't perfect by any means." She cupped his face with her hands. "Just promise me you will never do that to Kate. Have some dignity for her and for yourself, okay?" Jack nodded silently, knowing he never could. He loved Kate too much. "Now what are you going to do?" She finished her whiskey and turned to him, waiting expectantly for an answer.

"I'm going to go to bed and fix this in the morning, I think."

"Are you going to go back?" she asked the question strongly, but quietly. He was quiet a long moment before he answered her.

"I don't know." And the truth was, he didn't know. He stood, feeling exhausted all of a sudden. He turned toward the kitchen doorway and began out of the kitchen before she called after him.

"Jack, about what I said, all that time ago..." She took a deep breath and seemed to bite back a sob, "You do understand what its like to be under pressure. And you knew, all that time, all those years your father was hard on you. I'm sorry I was so hard on you too. You turned out to be a good boy," He gave her a weak smile and she returned it, before turning away, placing her hand over her mouth. He left her there, and made his way to his old bedroom.


Kate woke the next morning to a throbbing headache and the chilling feeling of lonliness. The baby was crying quietly in his crib and she sighed, quickly rising. Picking Adam up, she softly shushed him, rocking him gently. She glanced at the clock, noticing it was already 7am. Settling on the bed, she nursed the baby, planning out her day in her head. She wondered what she would tell Aaron about Jack, and decided that a business trip was the best thing. That way Aaron wouldn't expect Jack for a few days and by then Kate would have a plan, and would know what she was going to do.

She burped Adam when he was finished, before moving to change him, and wake Aaron. Upon the three of them reaching the quiet kitchen, Aaron asked for Jack, as she had suspected he would.

"Where's Daddy?" the young child asked, rubbing his sleepy eyes, dragging his Killer Whale behind him. Kate's heart fell for the child.

"He had to leave for a last minute work trip, sweet pea. He didn't want to wake you because he knows how hard it is for you to go back to sleep." She kissed the top of his head after he had climbed into his chair, awaiting his breakfast. She placed Adam in his bouncy seat, strapping him in and then busied herself turning on the television, and then making breakfast for her son. She washed them, dressed them, showered and dressed herself and after putting Adam down for a nap, and placing Aaron in front of a movie, hoping he also would fall asleep, she kept herself busy, cleaning and doing laundry. She pushed herself through, trying not to get upset, having not yet heard from Jack.

She didn't know why she had reacted the way she did. In retrospect she wished she had just made him feel really bad about it and she wished she could take it all back. But she also knew, now raising a biological son with him, it was a different situation. She couldn't risk anything now. And though she trusted Jack very much, she still knew he had his issues. And though she didn't think he was a true alcoholic or drug addict, he struggled with moments of weakness that weren't ever good for him.

Working room to room, she made beds, picked up dirty laundry and put away clean clothes. When she got to her closet, though, her heart broke. His clothes all still hung in their same spots, after all, he'd only been gone a little over twelve hours. Touching the suits tenderly, she momentarily lifted a sleeve to her small nose, inhaling his scent. The small gesture sent her emotions over the edge, and tears spilled from her tired eyes before she even knew what was happening. Bringing the chest of the suit to her face, she silenced her sobs with it, and let the scent comfort her, and yet destroy her.

Kate sobbed for what she'd said, and for what she hadn't. For the promises she had broken and the secrets she had kept. She had made so many mistakes. She didn't want to lose him, and stuggled because she felt she was going to, if she hadn't pushed him out already. The fact he hadn't called, made her feel as though he didn't care. How could he not though, how could he not care after everything? They were married, for goodness sake. She cried into the suit coat like it was her lifeline. Pulling it off the hanger she crumbled to the ground for the second time in two days, holding it to her.

She cried for what seemed like an eternity to her, before she heard small steps. She barely had time to stand before Aaron made his way around the doorway into the closet.

"Mommy? Why are you crying?" His tiny, innocent voice asked. She wiped violently at her tears. Before she could answer, he wrapped his little arms around her legs, and spoke words that made her die a little inside, "I miss Daddy too." She felt her heart ripped out of her chest. Kneeling, she embraced the child tightly, rubbing his back, trying not to sob against him. There were no words to be said, Kate just felt grateful she wasn't alone.


Rain pounded against Jack's windshield as he drove around town, thinking about Kate. Trying to decide what to do. When he woke without her, in his childhood bedroom, the feeling of failure and regret had filled him. He had no belongings and was now dressed in a pair of his father's khakis and a button down, his mother having not been able to get rid of all of his father's things. She had seemed all right as they had shared coffee and the paper, and he determined that maybe she wasn't that surprised by what he had said. Either way, he had to acknowledge how much better he felt now, having gotten everything off his chest. Picking up his cell phone for the umpteenth time, he contemplated calling Kate, but decided he would let her come to him, since she was the one who had told him to leave. Granted he had said some things he shouldn't have, he felt he was the one who was in trouble, the one who had made the mistep, and he had. Taking those pills was something he would regret for the rest of his life, especially if they couldn't fix this.

His thoughts kept drifting back to the Island. They had met there, as if by destiny or fate or whatever it was Locke had kept telling him about. Would they be able to reconnect if they went back? Were they meant to give Aaron back to Claire? Was she even still alive? So many thoughts filled his head. Why did he have these problems?

Reaching for his phone, he dialed the number of an old friend.

"Hello? "

"Sayid. Hey, it's Jack."

"Jack! How are you?" the Iraqi greeted his friend, "How's Kate and the new baby?" Jack let out a nervous laugh.

"Ehh, could be better. Have time to grab a drink?" There was a silence on the end of the line before Sayid spoke.

"Jack, I don't think-"

"No, no, Sayid. A non-alcoholic drink."

"Ohh, sure. Where?" The men exchange a location and Jack made his way through downtown Los Angeles, headed for the pub they had decided on. Upon entering, he took a seat at the bar and ordered a soda water with lime, as Sayid arrived, who ordered a coffee.

"So, what's going on, Jack? Is everything all right?" The dark haired man started, glancing at the tired man next to him. Jack sighed, twisting his glass on the mahogany bar.

"Kate and I had a fight. She threw me out." Sayid's brow furrowed and he seemed surprised.

"Really? What happened?" Sayid asked compassionatly. Jack shook his head, shrugging.

"We had a fight. About everything and nothing at the same time." He rubbed a hand over his un-shaved face. Sayid remained silent. "I said some things, she said some things, and then she told me to leave."

"Have you fought like this before?"

"Just once, before we got married, when I was drinking and taking those pills. This is the first time since."

"What started it?"

"I took two anti-anxiety pills and she found the box. My mother confronted me about Aaron and it sent me off the deep end a little."

"She asked you about Aaron?"

"She wanted to know if he was Kate's real son."

"You lied, right?"

"Yes." Jack thought it best not to tell anyone he had talked to his mother, at least no one but Kate.

"Have you talked to Kate since you two fought?"

"No," Jack shook his head, defeated. "She kicked me out, I didn't want to call her if she's not ready to talk."

"Jack, you can always call to apologize. Married people fight all the time. Nadia and I have our moments, everyone does. It's normal, and okay. What you did was wrong but I'm sure she's made her mistakes too." Jack chose to stay silent and not tell his friend what Kate had promised Sawyer. "What did you plan to do?" Sayid asked sympathetically.

"I don't know, that's why I called you. You know the whole story, and you know Kate almost as well as I do. What do you think I should do?" Jack felt helpess, and knew that with Sayid having spent as much time on the Island with Kate as he had, maybe he would have some outside insight to the situation.

"Kate is a stubborn woman, but she cares very much. And I bet she's waiting for you to call her. Or simply go by and see her. That's what I always do. I always go back." He sipped his coffee and Jack thought about what his friend suggested.

"Just go home and tell her I'm sorry?"

"Yes. I almost guarentee she will break." The dark man gave Jack a grin and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You look terrible, my friend. Go home." Jack laughed, agreeing.

"Thank you, Sayid."

"Anytime, my friend, anytime."


Night had fallen and still no word from Jack. Kate had put her babies to bed, and was lying on the couch, flipping channels. She felt so tired she could barely keep her eyes open, but had no desire to go upstairs to her lonely bed. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying again after Aaron had asked her why Jack hadn't called to say goodnight, and she hadn't had an answer. Why hadn't he called, she wondered. She felt bad, wishing he would just come back, or call at least. She had made a mistake, had been not nearly as understanding as she should have been, being his wife. Marriage was about understanding and communication, and truthfully, neither of them were very good at that sometimes.

Snuggling up to a soft pillow, she allowed her mind to wander back to simpler times, on the Island, when they had still been learning about one another. Sometimes she wished they were back there, things didn't seem as complicated there as they did in the real world. She felt if she closed her eyes hard enough, she could feel the beach breeze, and the sun on her face. How long it had been since she had felt the warmth of the sun. She made a mental note to take Aaron outside more, to the beach more, to teach her boys how wonderful being outside was. As soon as she was fully healed from childbirth, she would take Aaron out and teach him about nature as her father had taught her. She subconsiously envisioned Jack with them.

Her thoughts were interupted by a soft knock on her door. Standing, she walked toward the front door, unable to see anything outside as her porch light was off. She could hear the rain tapping against her roof and wondered who would visit this time of night in this weather. Flipping on the light and unlocking the door, she swung it open, reveiling a wet, hopeful looking Jack, holding a bouquet of daisies. Her face mirrored her surprise, and she felt as though a weight had been lifted.

"Jack..." she greeted, her voice breathless with subtle excitement. His hopeful look grew more hopeful, and yet sheepish at the same time.

"Hi Kate." He stood up staighter and handed her the flowers. "I'm sorry we fought, and I'm sorry I took the pills. I should have taken my anxiety to you, I was just overwhelmed. I'm so sorry." She took the bouquet from him, bringing them to her nose with a small grin. As he spoke she listened intently. When he grew silent, she spoke sincerely.

"I'm sorry too, Jack. I overreacted. I was just so afraid of what might have been going on and I couldn't bare the thought of losing you to your vices again." She took a breath before continuing. "And then when you told me about what your mother said, and then brought up Sawyer..." she drifted off, exhausted tears filling her eyes. He moved to her, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Shh. What we said has been said. We can't take it back. I know you're sorry, and I'm sorry. We can only move foreward from this, whereever that might be." He searched her face for her response. "I love you, Kate. And the babies. I can't be without you." He dipped his head and engulfed her lips in a tender, gentle kiss. She waited before kissing back, and he felt it was as if she were savoring the moment, because he knew he was. There was no question to either of them who they belonged with.

When the rain began to pour harder, they broke apart. Thunder clapped, causing Kate to jump and Jack laugh innocently at her. She grinned and moved back into the foyer, inviting him to join her. She shut the door behind him as he pulled off his rain coat and hung it up to dry. Kate carried her flowers into the kitchen, and began trimming them, getting them ready for the vase they would be in. Jack sat on the counter top and watched her.

"Thank you for the daisies Jack. They're so beautiful." She smiled sweetly at him as she groomed the flowers.

"You're welcome. I hear thats what men are supposed to do when their sorry." He chuckled and she laughed along with him. A moment of comfortable silence followed before Kate tentatively spoke.

"Umm, I'm really tired. And I know we need to talk but I'm just so glad you're home.." she stopped what she was doing and moved to stand between his legs. "But do you mind if we just go to bed and talk tomorrow? If you'll be here..."

"Yes. I would love a good night's sleep." He kissed her forehead and she then moved to finish the flowers. When she was done, they turned off the television and the lights. Jack grasped her hand tightly as they made their way up the stairs in the darkness.

"Where did you go last night?" She asked quitely, her voice sounding nervous. He grinned against the darkness, knowing she couldn't see.

"To my mother's. Where else? I sold the apartment."

"Oh, right. Well that's good." She responded, feeling relieved. He would tell her tomorrow about his conversation with his mother, the whole thing, even about Claire. But right now all he wanted to do was undress and climb into their king size bed and hold Kate until she fell asleep, until they fell asleep, together. One night apart from her had felt like an eternity.

When she was settled beside him, after checking on Adam and Aaron, he wrapped his tatooed arms around her, holding her tight and close. She sighed happily against his chest, relaxed. They both knew they had so much more to talk about, everything they had said opening new doors of conversation, but for that moment, all they wanted and needed was the closeness of each other. Everything else could wait until the morning, because, lucky for them, they would be together when they awoke.


"Still at the end of every hard day people find some reason to believe"