AUTHOR'S DRIVEL (VOCAB WORD!): As I've said before, I like lots of different types of music. This chapter is named after a Led Zeppelin song. All I can say is, genius.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Lost. Or any of the songs that I ascribe (ANOTHER VOCAB WORD, MRS. FREY!) in my chapter titles.
DEDICATION: This chapter is dedicated to Giuli and :VOLDEMORT, since both of you really are idiots and I wish :VOLDEMORT: would hurry up and ask you out already so that you'd stop being all, "You're not lying to me, are you, Maria?". Heart you anyway, Spaniel. ---Maria, your Fairy Godmother
QUOTE: "Act your age, not your shoe size." -Some dork from Bio.
-POPROCKS AND COKE-
-BY WHENICOMEAROUND-
-CHAPTER TEN-
Kate was rocking back and forth on the beach, not sure what to think or how to feel. She only felt the same old poprocks and coke feeling in her stomach. It wasn't getting old. She wasn't bored of it. In fact, she loved it. There was nothing she loved more than feeling like she was going to explode.
Kate smiled, closed her eyes, and rocked back and forth some more. She hummed softly under her breath.
He loves me, she thought. He really loves me.
And it wasn't that platonic, noncommittal type of love people used all too often- "I love that color, I love this, I love that."- No. It was that real, true, poprocks-and-coke type of love.
She was happy, thinking this, and she would rather die next to Jack on this island than live forever anywhere else. Kate was feeling very at peace with the island and possibly the entire world when suddenly she felt a hand on the back of her neck and a voice said, "Someone looks very happy right about now."
Kate smiled and turned around to face Jack. He was grinning. He sat down next to Kate, who smiled at him.
"What's going on?" she asked him.
"Absolutely nothing, which is just the greatest. No people to save. No fighting, no crazy French women stealing babies, no dynamite, no nothing. Just me and you, and the beach." he fell back on the sand and sighed. "Just me and you, Kate."
"And everyone behind you, right?"
Jack didn't turn around. "They aren't watching."
"You never know."
Jack grinned; so did Kate.
"Jack."
"Yeah?"
"How long have you loved me?"
He smiled. "As long as we've been on this island. Maybe longer, because, let me tell you, when you walked on that plane..." he trailed off. Kate smiled.
"Since as long as I've known you." Jack finished.
Kate smiled, because that was exactly what she had predicted he'd say.
"Kate?"
"What?"
"How long have you loved me?"
Kate said, "Since I sewed your back."
Jack smiled.
"So, about the same then."
"Yeah, I guess so." said Kate. They both sounded sort of stupid, but neither one of them cared. They always sounded stupid around each other, just now it was a more comfortable type of stupid instead of a Gee-I-Wonder-If-He/She-Knows-Yet type of stupid.
Without any warning, Jack leaned forward and kissed Kate. When he finished, she smiled and said, "What was that for?"
"What else?" said Jack, and Kate laughed.
He loved to hear her laugh.
They sat in silence for a few moments after that. Then Kate broke it by saying, "You're really dumb, you know."
"What?" said Jack, not really expecting that at all.
"How could you possibly think that I ever liked Sawyer?"
Jack smiled and Kate laughed again.
"I don't know." he said honestly.
"You really are an idiot," said Kate, but she was smiling.
Jack broke into a smile too. "But I'm YOUR idiot," he said, and he kissed her again.
Kate smiled, "I know," she said, and she wouldn't have it any other way.
----------------------EPILOGUE----------------------
Later that week, Sawyer, Michael, and Jin returned, though none of them would answer questions about where Walt was or why they were back. A few days after their reunion, Michael set off into the woods to look for his son. He never came back.
James Ford (Sawyer) learned to live with disappointment, though he admitted to Hurley that he had loved Kate. He acted all mopey and pissy for about a week and a half, then he realized that he'd missed his chance, and even if he'd gotten that chance Kate didn't want to be with him.
Claire Littleton and Charlie Pace raised Aaron as if they were married; when Aaron learned to talk, he began to call Charlie "Daddy". In the end Claire decided that had they been in the real world, they'd have gotten married anyway, so Charlie became Aaron's unofficial father.
Sun and Jin ((I don't know their last name)) forgot all about their stupid fight when Jin came back to the island. About a year later, the survivors realized that they weren't going to be rescued, and Sun had a baby- a little girl that she named Juniper. Jin learned to speak English before the baby was born, though his daughter grew up bilingual.
Sayid ((I don't know his last name either)) ended up finding a radio in the hatch and sent out a distress call, though no one ever came to help. Sayid became frustrated and eventually gave up.
Shannon Rutherford died not long after Sawyer, Michael, and Jin returned. Rose claimed she died of a broken heart, but Jack found several pill bottles missing from his medical bag. He didn't mention this to anyone but Kate.
John Locke spent his last days in the hatch, pondering over the mysteries of the computer and the whole electromagnetic theory. Jack flat-out refused to press the button, and so did several others, so within several weeks Locke was the only one who ever did it. He grew depressed and confused, eventually passing away down there. When Jack came down to check on him, he heard the alarm and ran to the circular room with all the technology. Locke was lying facedown at the table with the computer, unconscious. Jack did what he could to try and save him, but Locke died. Jack let the timer run out. Nothing happened.
Hugo Reyes (Hurley) remained his cheerful self. Eventually he told Charlie the entire story about winning the lottery, and Charlie believed him. Over time, Aaron began to call him "Uncle Hurley".
Jack Shepard came to terms with reality and realized that they would never get off this island, and he was okay with that, because he had Kate. He knew he wasn't perfect, and neither was she, which was probably why they loved each other so much.
Kate Austen never ate poprocks and coke again in her life, but she never forgot how it felt. Every time she looked at Jack, every time she heard his approaching footsteps behind her, every time she thought about his smiling face, she felt like she'd exploded.
And she'd never have it any other way.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, how about that? I liked it. But I'm the author, my opinion doesn't matter much, and I'll go for anything Jate, so I really don't count at all. Thanks for reading! -WHENICOMEAROUND