I have this chapter up relatively quick for you guys! It's a bit of a transitional chapter. They're going from Jack and Kate as two seperate people to Jack and Kate as one. Starting with the next chapter things are going to get excited! Some old friends (and old foes?) are going to start showing up!


Awaking in Jack's arms sent Kate into a tailspin of many emotions. Contentment was first, and most prevalent. Joy quickly shot through her second. Third was embarrassment at the fact that she was snuggled up to him and very naked. Peaking under the blanket that covered them, she checked to see if Jack was still naked too. Yup, he was. Laughing softly to herself she snuck a second peak.

The fourth and last emotion that Kate felt was panic. They had crossed the line last night, and there was no going back. A simple kiss was easy to put in the past and let go. But what they had done was an entirely different story. She had known that they'd both end up getting hurt sooner or later just because they had become such good friends. But now the thought of how hurt they could both end up because of their actions made Kate sick to her stomach.

She knew what she had to do.

Quickly Kate wriggled out of Jack's grasp, careful not to disturb him. She hastily searched around for her undergarments and threw on the clothes she had first arrived in. She was about to walk downstairs, but something made her pause.

Taking a step towards the bed, she watched Jack sleep for a few moments. Leaning down, she placed a soft kiss on his head and whispered, "Thank you." With one last, long glance, she left the room, shutting the door softly behind her.

Kate knew he kept paper and pens on the top of his refrigerator. Quickly reaching for them, she tried to figure out what to say in her letter. Anything that was racing through her mind seemed too trite.

She had only gotten as far as writing "Jack" when she heard him clear his throat. Glancing up, Kate saw Jack, standing in his boxers, looking hurt. "What the hell are you doing, Kate?" He took a step towards her, and grabbed the paper from off the counter. He glanced her over quickly, taking in what she was wearing.

"Good-bye note?" Jack's voice was slightly monotonous and completely void of emotion. "After last night, don't you think I deserve a face-to-face goodbye?"

"Jack," Kate tried, her voice breaking. She had never seen him look so on-edge. "Jack, last night was --"

"Don't," he interrupted, shaking his head slightly. "Just don't." He turned around, and disappeared upstairs. Kate didn't know whether to follow him, stand right where she was, or leave. Finally, deciding to chase after him, she hurried upstairs to find his bedroom door locked.

"Jack!" she wiggled the doorknob and knocked lightly on the door. "Open your door. Come out. We need to talk about this. We need to be mature."

"Mature?" Jack opened the door, fully dressed and stared at her incredulously. "Mature, Kate? Do you think trying to sneak out before I woke up, the morning after we'd just made love for the first time, is mature?"

Kate's face contorted at his choice of words, what he'd called their encounter. He notice and let out a short laugh, "Sorry, Kate. Guess that's not what you'd call it, right?" Without waiting for a response, he pushed passed her and walked downstairs.

She found him in the kitchen, his wallet open, counting money. "Jack," she tried again, she placed a hand on his arm. "Aren't you going to let me explain?"

"No," Jack threw the stack of bills on the counter. "There you go. I'm going out, I'm not staying here to watch you leave. I don't know how far that money will get you, but -- " his voice broke, and he glanced away. "Good-bye, Kate." Jack gave her one last long glance, and walked out of the house.

Kate collapsed onto a stool, wondering where the hell either of them were going.


It was dusk before Jack returned. He had driven around for hours, ending up at several places he hadn't planned to go. He had driven to the hospital to do paperwork, but lacked the energy it took to get out of his car and go in. So he had sat for 45 minutes, his car turned off, staring at the cement wall of the parking garage.

Then he drove to some fast food restaurant (funny thing, he thought, he couldn't even remember which one) only to discover he couldn't stomach any of the food he had ordered. The only thing Jack found himself wanting to eat was Kate's crappy vegetarian lasagna, which served to both piss him off and sink him into an even deeper depression simultaneously.

Jack then drove to a place he'd only visited once since his return home. His father's grave. He didn't count the minutes he spent, standing, staring at the tombstone. He didn't know what kept him from visiting more often. Perhaps it was the irony of the carved words that stared back at him. 'Dedicated Father.'

Jack's gravestone had been just to the left of his fathers'. It had been removed a week after his return home. Against everyone's wishes, Jack had visited it before it was gone. It was slightly surreal to stand and stare at a piece of rock that listed his date of death as nearly two months prior to that moment in time. But now the stone was gone, as if it were never there, just like those 40-some days he was stranded on that island seemed to be. Just like she would be when he walked through his front door.

The only problem was Jack knew there was no way he would ever be able to convince himself Kate had never been there.

Tossing his keys onto the kitchen counter, he noticed the money was still laying there. He wasn't surprised that Kate had been too proud to take it. Not wanting to touch it, he left it where it lay, and went to make himself a drink.

He was halted by the figure that sat rigid on his couch. Looking up to make sure it was him, Kate stood and walked over to him. She was wearing the same clothes she'd had on that morning, and she looked nervous. Jack opened his mouth to speak, but she gently placed a finger over it, stopping him.

"I'm going to explain this once," she began softly. "For over three years, I have been running from everything. From the law, from my past, from myself. . . running is what I'm good at, Jack. It's my first response to everything."

She took one of his hands, and was surprised when he didn't pull away. "Waking up next to you this morning felt so right that it scared me. I got so scared that I would end up hurting you that I thought it would be best for me to leave, and not look back. That was stupid, and I know it." She took a deep breath. "But now, if you can understand everything I just said. . . then I'm done running, for now."

Jack glanced away, letting out a tiny laugh of relief, quickly blinking away tears. He turned back to her, cupping her face gently in his hands. "Done running for now?"

"Done running until my welcome wears out," Kate whispered. She smiled up at him, hopefully. "Do you think that we could pretend this entire day didn't happen? Go back and pretend it's this morning?"

"I think that's an excellent idea," Jack agreed, before leaning down and meeting her lips in a lingering kiss. "There's just one problem. . ."

"What's that?" Kate murmured, softly brushing her lips against his neck.

"If it's still this morning, then we. . ." he trailed off and kissing her again softly. His hands traveled up the back of her shirt, tracing patters on the soft skin of her back. He continued to kiss her for several moments, until she pulled away, curious.

"Then we what?"

"Then we," Jack smiled at her seductively before scooping her up in his arms and heading for the stairs, "should still be naked."

Kate didn't complain as he carried her upstairs to his bedroom.


They were laying in bed, Kate lazily drawing circles on Jack's chest, when she heard his stomach rumble. She sat up, looking into his eyes. "Did you eat anything today?"

"Not really," Jack answered honestly, reaching up to run a hand through her hair. "Food sounds pretty good right about now."

Kate sat up, wrapping one of Jack's sheets around herself. "I can go start dinner." She turned to get out of bed, but he quickly tugged on the sheet, pulling her back down on top of him.

Jack nuzzled his face into her hair, whispering in ear, "Don't worry about it tonight, I'll go downstairs and order something."

Kate kissed Jack, and then sat back up. "I'm going to go get a shower then. I'll come downstairs when I'm done."

Jack watched Kate retreat into his bathroom, a content smile on his face, before getting dressed and going to order dinner.

After her shower, Kate walked downstairs to hear soft piano music coming out of Jack's office. Thinking he'd turned on his father's record player again, Kate slowly opened the door. She was more than surprised to find Jack sitting at the piano, playing something classical. Kate knew she'd heard it before, but she had no idea what it was.

She took a seat next to him on the bench, and he glanced over, smiling. "Do you play?"

Kate nodded, a slow smirk spreading across her face. "I can play something." She placed her fingers on the keys, and slowly played 'Chopsticks.' Jack laughed, "That's certainly something."

"You're very good," Kate told him with a nod. He grinned in response, arching his eyebrows. Leaning over, he kissed her neck, "And so are you."

Kate rolled her eyes, pulling away slightly. "I'm serious, you're really good. Where'd you learn that?"

He was silent for several seconds, staring down at the keys. He ran his fingers over them lightly. "My father taught me when I was little. He was even better than I am."

Worried by how sad he looked, Kate placed her hand on his arm, "Jack, I know you said your dad died in Sydney, but you never said how. Or why he was there."

Jack sighed, trying to decide whether or not to tell her the story. He sighed tortured, "Do you want to talk about your parents, Kate?"

They sat, staring at each other in silence, neither willing to speak first, until the doorbell rang. "Food's here," he announced quickly, getting up to answer the door.

And with that, the subject of their pasts was dropped.


Jack quickly became accustomed to the quick goodbye kiss she'd give him each day before he headed off to work, and the long hello kiss that awaited him when he returned. Each and every time she'd act as if it had been days, not merely a few hours, since she'd last seen him. Most of the time, Kate would have dinner waiting when he walked in the door. Sometimes hunger was the first need they tended too, but more often than not they got occupied by other business in the bedroom, and the food ended up needing reheating. Part of the time they didn't even make it to the bedroom. Jack loved days where he'd walk through the front door, to end up seconds later on the living room floor in a heated competition that consisted of who could remove the other's clothes quickest. Kate usually won.

Sex wasn't the only thing that occupied their time together, but Kate took note of how Jack seemed to be touching her in some way all the time. If they were sitting on the couch, he'd loop his arm around her shoulders. If she were in the kitchen working on putting a casserole together, he'd stand behind her rubbing her shoulders. Jack would hold her in his arms until she fell asleep, and he'd still be cradling her when she awoke.

They learned how to push each other's buttons. The fights they had were always short and over insignificant things, and making up was always fun. Kate got to use the whirlpool bathtub she had noticed on her first, but she wasn't alone in it. Jack scaled back his hours at the hospital, so he could spend more time with her. They had dinner with his mom again, and were proud at the good job they did of pretending that nothing was going on between them.

And they both did the very best they could to ignore the fact that they were falling in love.