A/N: You guys wanted a second chapter, so why not give the crowd what they want?

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize I don't own. Title goes to Franz Ferdinand.

Previous Chapter:

"Hello?" Her voice was filled with tired laughter as he heard it.

Taking a deep breath, Jack, shifted the phone to his other ear, and said quietly, "Hello, Kate."

Auf Achse
Part 2

"…Jack?" Kate dropped the glass she was holding, and it fell to the ground unceremoniously with a booming crash.

"What was that?" The voice on the other line asked, a small bit of concern lining it. Definitely Jack's.

"Nothing important." Kate shouldered the phone as she went to go get a broom. "So, what do you need?" He hadn't called before, before being around six months. Why was he doing this to her?

"Just wanted to check up on you…"

'"Just wanted to check up on you…?" what kind of reply was that?' Kate thought.She could tell Jack was lying, and Kate noticed he sounded tired all the same. Looking at the clock, and doing a fair amount of math, she deducted that it had to be somewhat around 4am in New York. "Yeah? Want to tell me the real reason, or are you up for a game of twenty questions?" Joking definitely wasn't her forte.

"I'll take the latter." Obviously it wasn't Jack's either. "I've seen posters of you around town."

"Mmmhmm. They do tend to turn up places, don't they?" She shot back sarcastically. Great, now she knew she was wanted in New York, too. There were few places in the world where she wasn't, she supposed, but the City had always been one of her favorite places to visit.

"I shouldn't have called." Now his voice dripped with embarrassment and defeat that Kate could tell he was trying to hide from her. "It was nice talking to you again…"

"Wait, Jack, I'm sorry." As much as Kate wanted to end the call, the feeling of comfort swelled in her, knowing she was talking to Jack. Her Jack. She wanted him to be happy, even if it was never with her. "So… How've you been?"

"…Great." He was building up confidence.

From what Kate heard, hermit Jack hadn't talked to anyone since he returned back to New York, except the occasional reply to an e-mail, or a forced hello on the phone. So this had to be something big, since he wasn't the 'out of the blue' type of guy.

"Work's going well then, I presume?" Kate pushed him a bit harder; she knew his shell had a weaker spot at one point or another. Sweeping up the broken glass, she became aware as he gushed out about all the great surgeries and such. Then the inevitable question came out, and Kate knew she had to answer it honestly, since Jack was Jack.

"Yourself?" There it was. As much as Kate didn't want to talk about it, she knew she had to.

"Well, not much. I'm in England at the moment, rooming with Charlie and Claire. They've been nice enough to help me out a bit." A small child's gurgle came from the adjoining room, and Kate went to go pick the baby up.

"Hey there, girly," she whisper cooed at it, brushing the soft auburn hair out of its sparkling green eyes. Kate knew she'd have to tell him at one point or another, but over the phone certainly wasn't the place, and this certainly wasn't the time.

"What'd you say?" Jack asked, and she could tell he was straining to hear what she had said.

Kate bit her lip. "Nothing. I… just… nothing. Look, it's already late for you, so I'd better let you go." She knew she didn't want to talk much longer, or else she'd accidentally let it slip out.

"Tell me." His voice sounded forceful.

"I-I ca- No." Kate knew she couldn't, and her voice sounded panicked over the line. She mentally slapped herself, because now he knew something was wrong. 'Not now, not now.' The mantra kept repeating inside her head.

"Kate, tell me." Now he just sounded irritated.

And she didn't want to tell him. Kate knew he'd be mad when he found out, and now she was just adding branches to the fire. "Give me a reason why."

"Dammit, Kate, I love you! How's that for a reason?"

The fugitive's phone slipped out from underneath her ear and fell onto the floor with a clatter. "Hold on, Jack!" She had to yell to make sure he heard her.

Her daughter started crying, and Kate gently rocked her before depositing her on the couch, picking up the phone, and walked back into the kitchen where the room was devoid of crying.

"Jesus, whose kid are you watching? Aaron?" Jack's voice once again filled her ear, thoroughly frustrated and angered.

"No, Jack, I'm watching my own kid, thanks for asking."

This time, it was his phone that was dropped.

A/N: Should I continue? This chapter was a bit weird to write, and I kind of don't like the outcome that it has, but oh well.