Famous Last Words
Chapter Eight
The door slammed as Jack entered the apartment hours later. Sawyer and Kate, who had been sitting on the couch, talking, sat up quickly as Jack brisked through. Kate got up just as Jack reached her.
"We saved you some pizza," she offered, just as Jack barely missed crushing the pizza box that lay on the floor.
Eyes rimmed red from tears, Jack ignored her, and stormed off to the balcony, slamming the door(not even bothering to ask when it had been replace) and leaned against the railing, staring down to the streets below as the sun set around him.
"You gonna go after him?" Sawyer said from behind Kate.
"No," Kate said, after staring at Jack for a moment too long, "I'll give him some time."
But late that night, nearing into the midnight hours, Jack stilled stood outside, frozen in space with his arms wrapped around the balcony's black railing, oblivious to any sound around him, including the sliding glass as Kate stepped out onto the concrete. Careful not to startle Jack, she walked up quietly behind him, and leaned forward against the rail, folding her arms on it as she looked down to the scene Jack was watching of a gang of teenagers getting into a heated argument.
"You know, if they knew you were watching, they'd probably shoot you," she pointed out.
"I know," Jack stated quietly, not making any movement as he just continued to watch the scene, as if really concentrating on it.
"Why don't you come back inside?" Kate said gently, and let out a shiver. "It's freezing out here."
"I'm fine," Jack lied in the same tone.
He was actually freezing, and starving too. Jack was now beginning to wish that he had taken up Kate's offer on the pizza now- he was so hungry, he could taste it melting in his mouth- but he wasn't going to let down his walls now.
"You've been out here since five o'clock," Kate said, feeling herself getting frustrated with Jack's constant pushing away, "what's going on?"
Jack sighed, knowing he was caught with no way out, and finally explained himself.
"My mom tried to kill herself."
Kate looked at him as if she didn't understand.
"Attempted suicide," Jack went on, getting impatient.
"What?" Kate said. "You mean, just now?"
"No," Jack said, "during- after- the crash."
"Oh," Kate said softly, "I'm..I'm sorry."
How were you supposed to reply to a statement like that? She began to wonder if maybe the universe really did have a dead eye on Jack. It was worse than Sawyer and the boar. One thing after another, and always in a short amount of time. One could really look up to someone who could deal with that, but the way they dealt with it was always a separate story on its own. No wonder Jack's friends always appeared to be so worried about him.
"I'm sure it wasn't your fault," Kate said, and bit her lip as she waited for the scream momentarily destined for her.
"Not my fault?" Jack stated, looking at her for the first time.
Her eyes widened as his bore into her sole, shadowing every speck of good feeling left. The redness around them haunted her, and she knew the truth. It was Jack being haunted- haunted by a demon that told him he was doing the right thing, and led him to live like this. A demon that had haunted him more than once.
"How could it not be my fault?" Jack exclaimed. "If only I had of disappointed her-"
"Disappointed her?" Kate said in disbelief. "How can you say that?"
"By turning my father in-"
"What?" Kate looked at him as though they had just met for the first time.
And maybe they had. But more importantly, Jack was trapped. He had cowered himself into a corner, and now there was no way out.
"My father was the chief of surgeon at the hospital I worked at," Jack began with a sough, "and a drunk. But we normally worked around it, and got along pretty well. He was a big help when Sarah left me- gave me a place to stay- he even paid my way through med. school."
"Sounds like a great guy," Kate commented, hoping that coming from her, it would have some impact.
If it did, she could never clearly tell.
"He was," Jack agreed, but then ended up with another sigh, "up until about a year ago."
"What happened?"
"My mom left him," Jack said, "it was hard on him, of course, but I'm not sure if he realized how hard it was on others too."
Studying, Kate found herself wondering if Jack was only talking about his mom, or if really, deep down, he was hinting himself too.
"They still talked though," Jack said, "still saw each other every now and then. It wasn't that bad, considering. Neither one of them ever told me exactly why she left him, but I think it had something to do with his drinking habits, and overworking himself."
"Sounds familiar," Kate teased with a smile that immediately faded away.
"Anyway," Jack sighed, "one day he came into the O.R.-"
"O.R.?" Kate repeated, confused.
"Operating room," Jack explained, and Kate let out an exaggerated 'oh', "he came into the operating room drunk. One of the nurses warned me, and I interrupted the procedure, and took over."
"Well you did the right thing, didn't you?" Kate asked, not getting the point of the story.
"The woman died," Jack said quietly, almost inaudible, "she died and my father wouldn't turn himself in- so I did."
"Oh," Kate said, now in an equal tone to Jack, "oh- oh my God..I had no idea.."
"Don't be sorry," Jack said, looking at her again.
But this time, his eyes were calm and serene, almost easing her feeling of guilt that Kate didn't understand.
"Jack, we all loose the people that we love," Kate said softly as Jack turned away.
"I know," he mumbled.
She was getting the feeling that Jack wasn't really listen to her(though little did she know, he was), and took his arm, turning him towards her. Jack didn't protest.
"But we have to move on," she continued quietly so that he couldn't hear her voice breaking, "and we have to learn to be grateful for what we still have."
"What do I have that I could possibly be grateful for?" Jack muttered dully.
This time, Kate smiled.
"Me."
Leaning forward, she grabbed Jack in a kiss that lasted a few moments before they broke away as the sounds of footsteps pattered away underneath them.
"What?" Kate asked mischievously. "I'm no Locke, but I can think of wise things to say too."
"It's not that?" Jack said.
"What?" Kate asked in her usual teasing tone as she tried to kiss him again.
Jack put a hand up to stop her, leaving her to stare in wonder into her eyes.
"Not out here," he said slyly, and Kate smiled, taking his hand in hers, and pulling her through the apartment, where she opened the nearest door, and threw them inside.
It didn't take seconds before her lips were brushing against his. Once. Twice. A third. Then Jack stopped.
"What now?" Kate asked, pretending to pout.
"You know this is a closet, right?" Jack asked, giving a simper at her mistakes.
"Yeah," Kate lied, "I knew that."
"So no holding back then?" Jack said, keeping his grin.
"No holding back," Kate said, barely giving Jack time to breathe before embracing him in another kiss, penning him against the door.
Yet once again, Jack seemed to be holding himself back.
"What happened to no holding back?" Kate joked.
"Nothing," Jack said, "it's just I've never done something so-"
"Exciting?" Kate answered him.
"Well-"
She didn't give him time to reply before leaning up(Kate hated that Jack was just that inch taller than she was).
"Spontaneous?" She muttered next, and once again surprising Jack with another kiss before he could get more than a word out.
But after that, Kate pulled back, her eyes glistening as she smiled, making Jack a little nervous, and making him realize that he had the bottom hand in this.
"Romantic?" She tested, and this time, Jack smiled his own wicked grin back.
"Now I don't know if I'd call it that-"
The next thing Jack knew, Kate was coming on to him faster than he expected; then she 'accidentally' missed lips and instead giving him a small peck on the small of his neck.
"Hey!" Jack called in surprise, his hand flying up to his neck.
"That's what you get," Kate said playfully, pushing herself against him, "I go through a lot of trouble to get you."
"Really?" Jack said in mock surprised, "tell me."
He made it a situation where it was obvious Kate wasn't going to get a thing until she started talking.
"Well I don't know Jack," Kate said, "if I woman has to wait this long for someone to make a move-"
"Excuse me?" Jack said, raising an eyebrow. "If I recall correctly- I was the one who made a first move. I was just waiting for you to make a second."
"Well are you happy now?" Kate, arms crossed, daring him in a teasing way to say otherwise.
"Very," Jack said truthfully, fulfilling her wish.
They embraced each other once more, their lips grazing the surface of the other, and Kate found herself examining every detail about Jack. The way he smelled, the minty taste that came from his mouth(though obviously due from gun, not toothpaste- she'd have to remind herself to ask about that later), and every lines of worry that slowly erased themselves.
"Wait," Jack said, drawing away from a final kiss, "isn't Sawyer out there?"
Kate frowned for a minute before breaking out into another smile.
"He's gone."
"Gone?"
"He went out for a smoke," Kate said, "about an hour a go."
"He's going out of his way for a smoke?" Jack asked, curious.
"I guess since someone complained to your landlord about the smell-"
"What?" Jack exclaimed.
"Oh, don't worry," Kate said in a tone that told Jack he should do anything but, "we handled it."
"How?" Jack asked, bracing himself for some practical scheme that he would surely have to take the blame for.
"We're criminals," Kate shrugged, "we handled it our own way."
"Kate," Jack said slowly, drawing it out, "what did you do to my landlord?"
"He's tied up out behind the dumpster," Kate said and smiled at Jack's look of horror, "I'm only joking! God, you don't think we're that bad, do you?"
"You? No," Jack said, "Sawyer- let me think about that."
"Let's say you did and then really don't," Kate said smoothly, pulling Jack towards her again.
And there they remained, pitting against the door in the dark, the conversation they had had just moment ago lost in the LA moonlight.
(Space)
Some hours later Kate stirred awake and found herself laying against a solid hard wall, and for a split second, she thought she was back on the island, maybe in the caves. Then her thoughts switch to the possibility of being back in jail. Then she remembered the night's events. And Jack. Jack..words couldn't describe the emotion she felt when he kissed her- satisfaction, excitement, relief, joy and..love. She thought on that one.
Did she love Jack? Her answered came when she took the time to look the closet she was enclosed in, and found Jack sleeping in the same position that she had been in. She smiled. Then, as much as she loved Jack, and as much as she loved seeing him sleeping(and knowing that he was actually getting some sleep) she knew that the morning wouldn't agree with either of them if they remained as they were, and personally, she preferred a more comfortable bed- Jack's, for example.
"Jack," she whispered, part of her praying that Sawyer wasn't back yet.
Jack didn't make a single move. The only sound that responded was a car horn outside and the short breaths coming from the sleeping form of Jack.
"Jack," she said again.
Still no response. Impatient, she kicked on the leg of Jack's pants(she had kept it to herself, but she hadn't been too pushy on Jack, in fear that Sawyer would walk in on them any moment. Neither of them would ever hear the end of it, and poor Sawyer would be scarred for life. Jack immediately jerked awake.
"What?" Jack asked in a hurry. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Kate said, "we fell asleep."
"Oh," Jack said, sighing in relief and running his hand over his head, and then stopped, looking around, "why are we in a closet?"
"In all truth," Kate said, "we probably wouldn't be on the floor, on separate sides of the closet, if you were actually human and slept every now and then."
Jack just shrugged.
"I didn't see you complaining earlier."
Just then, a door slammed, and both Jack and Kate jumped.
"Sawyer's back," Kate said, confirming their worst fear.
"Great," Jack muttered, "what now?"
"As if I have all the answers?" Kate said with a grunt.
"And you haven't been in this situation before?"
"I could take that as an insult you know."
"Do you?"
"You've got to get out there," Kate said finally.
"What?" Jack said. "No- no way. We don't even know what time it is. For all we know, it's-"
"One in the morning," Kate said, and Jack eyed her, "your watch."
"Oh, right."
Kate rolled her eyes.
"Just get dressed," she said, throwing Jack's shirt that had come off at some point in time of the love process.
Jack did, and Kate practically threw herself out of the closet saying, "Distract him, I'll get myself out," while straightening her shirt.
Jack tumbled out of the closet, pretending as though he was closing the door behind him. He rubbed the back of his neck innocently.
"What were you doing in the closet?" Sawyer asked with a raised eyebrow, though he said it in a dry and hoarse voice.
"I was uh-"
Busted.
"Looking for a shirt," Jack lied quickly.
"At one in the morning?" Sawyer said before letting out a few rasp coughs.
"They called me in," Jack shrugged.
"I thought you got fired," Sawyer pointed out.
"Right.." Jack said, trying to think of another excuse, "I guess it was just on instinct. You uh- want something to drink?"
"Sure," Sawyer said, sounding as if though something for his throat was exactly what he needed.
He looked around for a moment, before realizing something was missing.
"Wait," he said, "where's Kate?"
Great.
"Kate?" Jack said, buying himself some time. "Oh, she's uh-"
"Right here," Kate said, coming out of nowhere, "I was just outside."
Sawyer nodded, obviously having not seen her enter.
"Why are you back so early anyway?" Kate said. "I thought you said that you'd be out all night.
He hadn't, but Kate was hoping that he was so out of his head right now, that he wouldn't remember. And apparently, he didn't.
"I was actually thinking about getting something to eat," Sawyer said, "when this idiot comes speeding by, and I swear to god if I hadn't of tripped over that damn crack earlier, my guts would be spilt over the road right now."
"Wait," Jack said suddenly, "the idiot, was he driving a big black ford truck, maybe 2003, four maybe?"
"Yeah, why?"
Jack's eyes widened, and he tried to make for the door before Kate grabbed his arm.
"What?" She demanded
"Nothing," Jack said simply.
"Nothing except you look like you wanna kill somebody right now," Sawyer said.
He felt like killing Sawyer as soon as he had said it.
"Fine," Jack sighed, "he was following me earlier, when I was coming back from my mom's. I figured it was nothing, so-"
"What?" Kate said. "Jack, you realized how serious this is, right?"
"I'm sorry, Kate, it was a mistake-"
"Do you have one doubt that someone isn't waiting for their perfect chance to murder either or both of you at any time?" She said, a little too loudly for one in the morning. "The fire, break in, and now this? Jack- you've got to do something."
Jack looked down at her, and in her pleading eyes, he knew she was right.
"Fine," Jack sighed, and looked at Sawyer, "you coming?"
"Yeah."
Kate gave Jack's arm a squeeze, not sure how he would react if she kissed, or even just hugged him in front of Sawyer.
"Be careful," she whispered.
"We will," Jack promised.
And in seconds, they wee both gone, leaving Kate alone in the cold, empty, apartment.
Author's Note: I'm so sorry I missed the update last night! I was exhausted and had another test this morning. Thanks for all the reviews!
Crazyhorsegirl88: Did you get you Jate love fix? I'm horrible at romance, and I like writing flirty Jate. Sorry if it seemed dull!
The bad news: this story should only have two or three more chapters.
The good news: all the castaways are coming back in the last chapter
The second good news: I have almost five future fics planned, though hardly any of them have titles, here's where I'm getting at though..
In the next future fics of Fated Part2, more of Alex's background is revealed, including a spooky realization of a 'special' gift of hers. Hint? Make sure you know what a medium is. Boone's hallucination comes back, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he's the one to see it. Speaking of which, a crazed Locke spills one of Boone's many dark secrets, around the same time Michael mysteriously becomes ill.
But most importantly, all in the second and third fics, Jack and Alex go looking for a new piece of wreckage, while the beach-goers(yes, that's what I call them) panic when Claire goes into sudden labor. Then, Kate secretly cares for Jack, who comes down with an island flu. Boone and Alex form a friendship, though Boone has his own reasons for it(not romancy!) And LOTS of new OCs will come- on the island.
Sorry if I sound a little obsessed. I love my originally plots for Alex, and my background thing with Boone. (hugs Alex and Boone) I also still plan to do the Jate fic at some point as well. I'm hoping I'll have plenty to last the summer..
Finally!
Next up, on "Famous Last Words":
Leaving Kate alone in the dark, cold apartment not a good idea? How much righter(new word!) could you be! The next chapter should be action packed- car chases, fights, and the constant bickering between Jack and Sawyer that will drive Kate(who does show up!) to the breaking point- let's just say she just gets an 'ittle bit angsty. But the next chapter's not pretty, unless you like the color red, of course..
Thanks again for reviewing!
October Sky
