Okay, so this chapter is more interim fluff, but I swear, things will actually start happening next chapter! Thanks for the lovely reviews guys, made my week!

Chapter 11

She rested her chin on his chest as his fingers drew lazy circles on her shoulder blade. She could barely recall how they had made it down the stairs. Just a tangle of limbs crashing into walls and railing. It was a miracle neither of them had gotten seriously hurt.

She looked at him, his breathing was shallow and his eyes were half closed, but he held her gaze. Neither of them spoke in a vain effort to keep reality at bay. The bar under the futon mattress dug into her thigh, but she didn't move.

Eventually, and sooner rather than later, they were going to have to deal with all of this. He brought his hand up and fiddled with the ends of her short hair, flipping it back and forth over his fingers.

Late summer light filled the room and a breeze with just the tiniest hint of fall pushed the curtains away from the open windows.

Jack looked at her hip poking out from beneath the sheet. He ran his thumb along it lightly and she turned to see a bruise forming there.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled his voice was sleepy but sincere. As she brought her hand up under her chin she nodded at him. She didn't speak, trying to hold onto the quiet. But he had already broken the silence.

"Kate." He said, his eyes were so dark she couldn't read them. It didn't matter, she was familiar enough with that particular cadence of his voice. She hadn't heard it much since leaving the island, but she knew whatever he was about to say, she wasn't going to like it.

She turned her face away from him, pressing her cheek into her hand. "Yeah?" she murmured noncommittally.

"What do we do now?" he asked.

She sighed and pushed herself off of him. She lay back, pulling the sheet up over her. "Now, you get up and take a shower while I find us something to eat."

"Were going to have to talk about this eventually." He said, echoing her thoughts from just moments before.

"I know, Jack." She said turning to face him, "Just not today, okay?"

He said nothing for a minute, just creased his forehead and finally nodded, resigned to figuring things out on her time.

"Seriously Jack, take a shower." She said it lightly, alleviating the tension that had rested between them. She pushed his shoulder in an effort to get him to move. "Really, you're starting to smell."

He grabbed her wrist and waist and pulled her to him, rolling on top of her. "You didn't have a problem with it a few minutes ago."

"Actually, I'm just incredibly polite." She answered, a grin playing on her lips.

"No ones that polite." He said, tilting his mouth to hers.

She turned her face away from him and his lips landed on her jaw.

"Yeah, brush your goddamn teeth too." She said giggling.

He stared at her for a minute, then breathed a small laugh. After a light kiss on her cheek, he pushed himself off her and pulled on his boxer briefs. She watched as he headed up the stairs, then she rummaged through his luggage looking for something to wear. She saw the clothes he had bought her folded neatly next to his in the duffle bag. She borrowed one of his t-shirts and slipped on a fresh pair of jeans. Then she set about straightening up the room. She folded the sheet and blankets and closed up the futon.

When she retrieved his jeans from the midway up the staircase, she felt herself blush as the morning came rushing back to her. He had been so intense, so focused, and he had kept his eyes locked on her almost the entire time. It had been unnerving, but strangely intoxicating. And while she had tried to maintain his level of intensity, she had found it impossible. It was too much, and she had to look away. Had to retreat to a place where the only thing that existed was their bodies and her own fierce need. But he had forced her back to him time and time again. And eventually, she had given in to his focused energy and concentration and let him lead her to a place she couldn't ever remember going to.

As she headed back down the stairs, she felt something unfamiliar inside his pockets. Reaching in, she retrieved his pack of camels. She stared at them for a minute, completely puzzled. She couldn't wrap her mind around Jack smoking. Finally, not knowing what else to do, she put them on the table next to the futon and threw his jeans in a pile with her clothes from the previous day.

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When he came down the stairs, she was standing at the kitchen counter eating dry cereal from the box, reading the newspaper. Her hair was slightly askew, as though she had slept on it wrong. He was taken aback by how very normal it was.

He headed towards her, but his eye caught his camels first. He glanced at her and knew that she had seen him look. Neither of them said anything.

He stood next to her at the counter and grabbed a handful of crunch berries. "So, why does Beth get to call you Katie?"

"What?" She asked, clearly she had no idea what he was talking about.

"Beth," He answered. "In her note she called you Katie. You told me only Tom could call you Katie."

"When did I say that?" She asked as she turned to the fridge to refill a glass with orange juice.

"That day, the day after you had the 'seizure,' you know, when you were…chemically altered."

"Oh," she said, "Um, well Beth knows me through Lizzie, and Lizzie and Tom both called me Katie, so Beth calls me Katie." She handed him the glass of juice. "Why do you want to know?"

"I'm just curious Kate, why don't you want people to know about you?" He asked, his eyes locked on her.

"Alright Jack, since were sharing, when did you take up smoking?" She asked, staring right back at him.

"Okay," He said, "That ones easy, it was a latent rebellion thing. I started in med school, mostly just to piss off my dad."

"Its so counter intuitive, a smoking Doctor." She said.

"Hence the rebellion part." He smiled. "I quit though, I only bought the pack after you slipped me the note."

"I knew I freaked you out." She said.

He moved close, putting his hands on her hips. "You don't freak me out."

"I made you start smoking, Jack." She leaned back away from him, averting her eyes.

He leaned closer. "I thought smoking turned you on. Sawyer smoked."

"Shut up." She said, pushing his shoulder away lightly.

He leaned in again, nuzzling her neck. "Don't I smell good enough for you?" He asked as he slowly kneeled in front of her and began unbuttoning her jeans. She ran her hands over his close shorn hair as he slid down her pants. He looked up at her briefly, "Love that shirt on you by the way."