A.N: Hey everyone! Glad someone is reviewing! I hope you enjoy this chapter, I've put a lot of thought into it. Please R&R!!!!

-Karenjacklove

Disclaimer: I do not own it, but I do love it. Also I am completely oblivious to the medical world. Thank you.

Chapter Five: Realization

Karen got out of her limo and wiped the tears from her eyes. Why did she feel like this all of a sudden? She knew in her heart Jack would never love her like that. But she wanted him to, although she didn't know why.

She pulled open the door and began to climb the stairs to Grace Adler Designs. As she rounded the final corner to Grace's office, she realized she couldn't take it and she sat in a corner and began to cry again.

"Why am I doing this?" She asked herself. "What have I gotten myself into." Karen lay down on the cold hard concrete and quietly cried herself to sleep.

At around noon the same day Grace packed her bag and looked around her office. When she was sure she hadn't forgotten anything she walked out of her office and locked the door behind her. When she turned around she stopped dead in her tracks, Karen was lying on the ground not moving. Grace ran to her side and when she saw that she was breathing she began to shake her as hard as she could.

"Huh...oh...what's...Grace?" Karen said sleepily as Grace helped her sit up.

"Karen? Karen are you okay? You didn't fall did you?" Grace's voice was worried as she felt Karen's forehead.

"No, no I didn't fall, I lay down here on my own." Once Karen remembered what had happened she began to again cry. Her emotions were so up and down lately, she didn't know what was wrong.

"Come on Kare, let's get you inside." Grace helped her stand up and they went back into the office. Grace sat Karen in her chair and knelt next to her. "What's wrong Kare?" she asked softly.

"It's Jack, he told me he doesn't love me, well that's what he meant anyway." Karen looked down at Grace.

"Yeah but what did he mean by it, does he mean "love" like I love Will, or "love" like you loved Stan?"

"He meant love like I loved Stan." Karen grabbed a tissue and wiped her eyes.

"Well, Kare, he is gay."

"Yeah, but I thought we could have more then that."

"Karen, you have more then a lot of people have. You have unconditional love, and not just from anyone, but from someone who loves you for you, someone who knows how to make you feel better, and how to make you laugh when no one else can make you stop crying. You have Jack." Grace pushed the hair out of Karen's face and smiled at her. She was relieved when Karen smiled back.

"Thank you Grace." Karen hugged her and picked up her purse. "Now if you'll excuse me I have someone to apologize to." She smiled and walked out the door.

"Oh, Kare." Grace said out loud to herself. "You really do love him, don't you?"

Karen ran up the steps and down the hall to her room. Rosie had told her he was there. She found him flipping through the channels on the T.V.

"Poodle?" She asked, she hadn't called him that in a long time and suddenly she realized why.

"What." He asked bluntly. His tone almost scared her, but she knew he wouldn't hurt her.

"I'm sorry, for the way I acted this morning." Karen crawled onto the bed and sat next to Jack. When he said nothing she continued. "I know you could never love me like that, and I want you to know that no matter what happens I'll be there for you, and I hope that you'll be there for me too." When she said this he looked into her eyes. He studied them for a minute and when he found no trace of a lie he embraced her.

"Oh god Kare, I love you more then you could ever imagine, just not in a romantic way." He smiled at her and she smiled back.

"I guess I knew that all along. It's just these darn kids!" She said laughing, and he began to laugh too. "I think they love you more then they do pancakes!"

"That makes me feel really good Kare. Hey!" He said resting a hand on her stomach, "You're really getting big! Wanna go shopping for a whole new wardrobe?"

"Sure honey." Karen said as they stood up and walked hand in hand out the door.

Around twenty minutes later Karen and Jack arrived at the Maternity section of Barneys.

"Okay," Jack said, "We'll split up, by stuff for you and meet back here in one hour. Sound good?"

"Sounds great!" With that, Karen and Jack took off in different directions to find the perfect outfits.

Back at the penthouse Karen came out of her bathroom wearing a long black gown and a blue silk scarf.

"Jack, I don't know about this one, it's a little..."

"Sexy," he cut her off, "Mysterious, revealing, stunning? No? Then how about gorgeous?"

Karen began to giggle as she turned to go back to the bathroom to take it off, but Jack blocked the door.

"I know I'm supposed to be gay but maybe for oh...say thirty seconds, I could make an exception." Jack pulled Karen to him and kissed her deeply. After a few seconds she pulled away.

"Jack don't." She said turning away.

"Well, why not?" He asked as he moved closer to her.

"Jack. You're taunting me with things I'll never be able to have."

"Who said?"

"You did! Don't do this, don't kiss me and then tell me to get over it! It's not fair! Either your gay or your not, make up your mind."

"I have Karen, I spent most of this day making up my mind about a lot of things." Jack moved closer to her and put his hand on her shoulder. "I made up my mind, and, I want you."

Karen spun around to face him. "What?"

"I love you." Karen just stared at him with complete disbelief.

"Jack what the hell are you doing!!!" She screamed at him and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Karen, don't be upset, please." Jack knelt down next to her and took her hands in his.

"I'm so confused, please Jack...I just need some time alone." She said calmly. After a minute Jack nodded and left the room.

She wanted to talk to someone, but she didn't know who. She couldn't talk to Will, it would kill him to hear that Jack was in love with a woman...if in fact he was. After a minute she came to a conclusion that Lorraine would be able to help. Karen picked up the phone and dialed the number. She jumped when Lyle answered, even though she knew he lived there.

"Hello?" Lyle asked, she could tell he was tired, she remembered what that voice meant.

"Hi, Lyle it's Karen."

"I thought I told you never to call me again."

"I didn't call for you, I called for Lorraine." Karen rolled her eyes and sat down on the bed.

"Oh, well then here she is."

"Hello?" Lorraine sounded nervous like she expected something to be wrong.

"Lorraine it's me, I need to talk to you about something important."

"Yeah? Well you can always talk to me, go ahead." After she said this Karen breathed a sigh of relief, she really could trust Lorraine, she knew that now.

"It's Jack...he told me he's in love with me."

"That's fantastic! But....then why did you need to talk to me?"

"Well, because this morning he told me he would never love me like that...I'm really confused, what do you think I should do?"

"Ultimately that's up to you, but I would say...give it a shot, how bad could it end up. At the worst you'll end up the same way you were before he told you that he loved you, right?"

"Yeah, I guess. Thank you Lorraine." Karen smiled, she knew what she was going to do.

"Your welcome Kare, hey I can't wait to see you Thursday, Grace said my room would be done by then!"

"Oh! Good, I've been kind of lonely with only Jack and Rosario, and no women around my age."

"Well then, see you soon. Bye."

"Bye."

Karen opened the door to her room and found Jack, asleep on the floor outside of her door. She giggled to herself and grabbed the blanket off the bed and curled up next to him, when she had covered him up with the blanket she smiled to herself and fell asleep.