Famous Last Words

Chapter Eight

Crazyhorsegirl: OMG! I bet you reviewed before I added in the new ending! Right after I updated, I added more onto the ending. If what you read didn't end with Jack getting a phone call, turn back and reread that ending now! Lol! I'm sooo sorry about that!

"What?" Sawyer and Kate both said at the same time.

"How-" Kate began, but couldn't say anything as she failed to recover from her shock, so Sawyer took over.

"Aren't you supposed to be the best or something?" He pointed out slurred, as if drunk.

"I was," Jack corrected, sighing again as he stood up, "but my father's gone now."

"I don't get it," Kate said, "what does that have to do with-"

"He's not there as an influence to them anymore," Jack explained. "he's not there to scare them. Now they're short one chief of surgeon and apparently, I'm just not ready for that."

"Oh Jack," Kate said, as if talking to a child who was apologizing for being bad, "I'm sorry."

She stood up, probably to offer a hug, some sort of moral support, a shoulder to cry on, but Jack only pushed her away.

"No, I'm fine," he insisted, "I'm just going to-uh-"

Jack's lies were saved by yet another knock on the door.

"Want me to get that?" Sawyer offered.

"No," Jack said.

Kate watched after him as Jack went to the door, and opened it to the last person he expected to see.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Jack asked, closing his jaw when he left it hanging open too long.

"What? Can't a guy come see his best friend after he spends three months on some deserted island?"

In front of him, Mark, Jack's best friend, and only friend, since high school stood.

"Hell yeah," Jack said, "come in."

They embraced in a brotherly hug and then quickly let go.

"Oh, yeah," Jack said, remembering the other two in the room, who sat, confused, "this is Kate, Allison, whatever you want to call her-"

He knew it was odd to have such a huge mood swing at a time where one shouldn't of been, but then again, how many friends did he have? And anyway, he still owed the guy a huge dept.

"Just call me Kate," Kate said, smiling as she took Mark's hand.

"Nice to meet you," Mark said pleasantly.

"And this is..um.." Jack had to stop, realizing he wasn't exactly sure how to introduce Sawyer to anyone- anyone human, at least.

"James," Sawyer said, eyeing Jack.

"We..uh..met on the island," Jack explained.

"Oh..that's cool," suddenly Mark's excitement drew out, as if he was remembering the reason he was here, and Jack knew that things weren't as good as it seems.

"So what's up?" Jack said, trying to stay as far away from upcoming bad news as he could.

"Actually, I need to talk to you," Mark said, and glanced at Kate and Sawyer.

Jack got the picture.

"Yeah, sure," he said, "come on."

He led Mark into the kitchen, an area Kate had only picked up a little bit on.

"What happened here?" Mark asked, eyeing a few cabinets that had been smashed in.

"Somebody broke in," Jack said, leaning against the cabinet under the microwave.

"Anybody hurt?" Mark said, concerned.

"Just that guy you met in there," Jack said, "but he's used to it."

"Huh?"

Jack shook his head.

"Never mind," he said, "what did you want?"

"Just to catch up," Mark said casually, though Jack knew there was more to the story, "so pretty wild, huh? Never really thought that deserted island mumbo jumbo would come in handy, huh?"

"It was some island," Jack admitted, "you wouldn't believe the stuff that went on there."

"Try me."

"Do you believe in mind control?" Jack challenge.

"Never mind," Mark said, "something tells me that I don't want to know."

Jack laughed a little, and then grew serious.

"So why are you really here?"

Mark just stared at him, as if thinking that Jack should've known.

"You never heard?" Mark asked, confused.

"Heard what?"

"Jack," Mark said, somewhat sympathetically, "your mom took the news of the crash hard. She thought you were dead- we all did."

"So I've heard," Jack said bitterly, under his breath.

"But some of us tried to get over it, and for others-" Mark trailed off.

"What are you getting at?"

"Jack," Mark said slowly, "your mom tried to commit suicide."

Jack just stared at him.

"What?" He said, sure that by now, he was imagining things.

He didn't hear it. His mom did not try and kill herself over him.

"I'm sorry, Jack," Mark said in a hurry, "it just became to much. And who could blame her?"

"Who could blame her?" Jack repeated, his anger building up again.

"I didn't mean that," Mark said, drawing in a deep breath.

Jack ignored him, storming out of the room, jerking away the hand that grabbed at his arm to stop him.

"Jack!" Mark called after him as he ran through the apartment.

Jack didn't say anything as he threw open the door, exiting the apartment in a fury. Mark turned to Jack's friends- or who he assumed was Jack's friends- feeling as though he should say something, but couldn't think of a way to explain it. Would Jack even want them to know?

"It was nice to meet you," he said finally, and Kate nodded, puzzled, as he went after Jack.

(Space)

Banging on the door of his mother's house reminded Jack of the last time he was there, and the reason. Funny. He couldn't remember the one time he had visited that hadn't ended with a tragedy. He pounded some more, sniffing as he felt his noise itch, though he knew he couldn't blame his moist eyes on the pollen. Two more knocks and the door finally open.

His mother was barely recognizable. Streaks lined her face, short of makeup, and what little she had ran with the tears. Her eyes were blood red, and swollen, and all she did was stare back at Jack, until finally the sound of a car going by interrupted the silence, and Mrs. Shepard let her son in. But neither could say anything for the lack of words, and neither did a thing until Jack's mother finally let go in full tears, pulling her son into a hug, as Jack felt his moisten eyes watered worse than before- and definitely not from allergies.

Author's Note: Sorry, I had to make that short, because I have this huge test in the morning, and if I don't pass it, I don't get the credit for the class. So I need sleep. Next chapter should be out tomorrow too! Thanks for all the reviews! You guys are the best!

Next up, on "Famous Last Words":

Jack and Kate have a heart to heart, and you know how their last heart to heart went(wink, wink), only Kate takes it up a notch this time. Trust Sawyer to ruin everything though.

Thanks again for the reviews!

October Sky