More thanks to October Sky, CharlieClaireforlife, showmethehobbit, The Pirate Illusionist, a.k.a.-ashley, rain1657, smilez4eva, jackkate, litgal, kate and jack, and Lilywriter for their reviews!
Again, sorry for the delay in posting. My workload has been really tough of late, but I finally got the chance to write today!
Note: In the next two chapters, Kate's trial is going to go by really quickly. I know that this is factually incorrect for how long a complicated trial such as hers would take, but I don't know that anyone really wants to read about an entire case word for word and also it would mess up my timeline of events for the trial to go to long. For these reasons, please suspend you disbelief where this is concerned.
Also, sorry for messing up some of the last names in the last chapter, I had trouble finding reliable sources for this information.
Disclaimer: I still do not own any of these characters.
Regroup
Claire sat up in bed, clutched Lyle, and began to scream at the top of her lungs. "Charlie! Charlie!"
He immediately ran in from the kitchen and gathered her in his arms."Oh my God, Claire, what is it?"
"Ethan! He was looking at me. I saw him through the window! Oh, Charlie, he wants Lyle, I know it."
"Calm down, dear. It was probably just a dream, a nightmare…"
"I know what I saw, Charlie. It was really him."
Charlie looked at her contemplatively. He was pretty sure that Ethan could not have found them and had no reason to continue chasing them, but he didn't want to belittle what Claire claimed to have seen. "Okay, Claire, I'll tell Hurley and Sawyer when they wake up and we'll all be on the lookout for them."
"We should tell everyone, just in case."
"Okay, good idea. Where's Jack?"
"Remember? Today is Kate's trial. He promised her that he'd be there to support her."
"Hurley and Sawyer are going as well. We should, too."
"Are you sure that would be safe, Charlie? I mean, you know that Kate is like a sister to me, but with Ethan chasing us…"
Charlie fought down the smile of skepticism that was coming to his face and asserted, "We'll be fine if we take the right precautions. Just trust me, okay?"
Claire looked up at him confidently. "I trust you with my life, Charlie."
He smiled and kissed her. "We're going to be fine, I'm sure of it."
Across town, Jack knocked at the door of Lorraine's apartment. As he waited for her to answer the door, he glanced again at his watch and began to tap his foot impatiently. He had been getting ready to go to Kate's trial when he
"I don't think that you even love me any more."
"Don't be ridiculous Lorraine."
"I'm not being ridiculous! This is serious. We need to talk about it."
"I completely agree. When I come back…"
"No! We need to talk about it now. Jack, I'm your girlfriend. We're supposed to get engaged and get married and be happy together! I should be the first priority in your life."
"Lorraine, I made a promise to my friend and I intend to keep it."
Lorraine laughed bitterly. "Your friend? You don't even know her. She's a killer and she deserves to die."
Jack glared at her, trying to remain somewhat calm despite his anger. "That is none of your business! Now, if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere that I need to be." He turned and began to walk towards the door.
"Jack Shepard!" He froze, hearing the intensity in her voice. "Jack, if you walk out that door, you don't ever bother coming back here."
Jack spun back to look at her. She was livid and upset, but he could see that she meant what she said. He paused for a moment to consider. What are my real priorities? He considered the possibility of letting down Kate, of causing her to stand alone with the media and the cameras that she hated so much. His heart ached just thinking about it. Then, he considered the idea of never seeing Lorraine again. It came to mind that he couldn't care less. He was shocked as this realization hit him. Nevertheless, he knew that it was true beyond a doubt. He loved Kate with all his heart, and he realized that he had no business maintaining any type of romantic relationship with anyone else.
He cleared his throat and looked up directly into Lorraine's eyes. "I'm sorry, Lorraine. I have to do this."
She was obviously shocked by this response. "You told me that you loved me!"
"Everything has changed since then. I've changed.
He opened the door to leave. Before closing the door behind him, he turned one last time and said simply, "I'm sorry."
He then walked out too quickly to hear Lorraine mutter, "Sorry? No you're not. Not now, anyway. But, trust me, Jack Shepard. You will be."
"Danielle, it's time for a walk."
Danielle fought down the fear that accompanied his appearance that she still had not been able to get over. "I don't believe that patients of the psychiatric ward are allowed to leave the grounds, Dr. Rom."
"If they are with a head doctor, they may receive special permission to go out."
"I'd much rather not."
"Well, that's really too bad. It's not your choice. Let's go."
Danielle stubbornly refuses to leave her chair. "Danielle, don't try me. Come now, I'm trying to do you a favor?"
She looked up at him skeptically. "What favor?"
"Well, as soon as you help me get that Lyle brat, I will allow you to visit Alex."
"Lyle?"
"That's what Claire named her son."
"How do you know that?"
"I have my ways. Now, are you coming? Think of Alex, Danielle."
Danielle could not control the shaking of her fingers. "O… Okay. I'm coming."
"Good. And this time, we're not going to screw it up."
Jack walked into the courtroom and took a seat in the back row. He looked around him and the rest of the audience and was quite surprised.
He saw Charlie and Claire seated in front of him. He was slightly confused but the fact that Charlie had his hood pulled over his head and that Claire was clutching Lyle to her chest and had wrapped a shawl around her head. It looked as if they were hiding from someone, when in reality this odd manner of dressing made them stand out even more. Regardless, though, Jack knew that Kate would appreciate their coming to support her.
Near them, he saw Hurley, Sawyer, and Locke, who weren't great surprises to him. He was surprised, however, to see Jin, Sun, Michael, Walt, Boone, Shannon, and Sayid all seated across from him. It gave him a strange kind of comfort to know that, despite anything they might have said at the hearing, everyone had come to support Kate.
Finally, the door opened and Kate walked in with her lawyers. She looked serious and a little scared until she looked over and saw all her unexpected friends from the island. This calmed her down greatly, though she wasn't completely sure as to why. When she saw Jack there, she even half-smiled.
Just two weeks ago, she had been confident that it was over with him. Then, at that government investigation, he had declared that he was in love with her. Unfortunately, that very day she had been forced to leave Hurely's apartment and go back to the prison, where it had been deemed "safe" for her. She hadn't been able to see Jack since, and she had honestly been worried that he may have begun to regret his words. Seeing him here seemed to confirm his feelings, and that made her inexplicably more optimistic about the next couple of days, which would doubtless be difficult.
Suddenly, she froze. There was a man in the very last row who looked strangely familiar. She narrowed her eyes and gasped. What is Ethan doing here!
The optimism quickly faded, giving way to a cold, dark feeling that she couldn't shake.
Just two more chapters left now! Next chapter: Kate's trial is finally here and Ethan is back on the trail.
Please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter.
