Here is Chapter Ten everyone! This chapter is very, very short. But that's only because it was originally part of a very long chapter. However, as I was writing it, I thought that this little piece deserved to be seperated on its own. Either tomorrow night, or Tuesday night a long Chapter Eleven will be posted.
I hope everyone enjoys what happens here -- as always, let me know with any comments and suggestions you have.
Gabbi! Thank you sooo much for everything! Y'all just wait to see this killer dress she found for Kate to wear next chapter!
ELCBian - Paula! I should have known you were an L-Fer just by your username! Gotta love that ELCB, right? Kate sure does. . .
LostForSawyer - Pregnant Kate! Hmmm . . .
And I'm so glad so many of you liked the intensity of the last chapter, and that the parallels with Wayne were noticed. Unhappy memeories for Kate there. . . Trust me, Jack will be changing his ways soon.
Chapter Ten
Jack awoke the next morning with a pounding headache. Opening his eyes, he moaned as the sunlight hit them, intensifying the pain. The throbbing doubled when the events of the night before came back to him.
He really was a jackass.
Rolling over, he had a panicked second by the absence of her in bed. Glancing at the clock, he saw it wasn't even ten o'clock yet. Would she be up if he wasn't? She wouldn't just leave in the middle of the night, would she? Not even after all the things he had said to her. They meant too much to each other for that -- didn't they?
Not bothering to grab a shirt, Jack quickly ran downstairs, taking the steps two at a time. He found Kate, wrapped up in a blanket, reading the Sunday morning paper on the couch. Hearing him enter the room, she glanced up.
Her eyes were red and puffy underneath. Her hair stuck out in all directions. It was obvious to Jack that Kate hadn't slept a minute the whole night. She glanced him over, offering him a tiny sad smile.
A tense silence hung between them as Jack took a seat, gazing forlornly at her. He didn't know where to start. It wasn't as if last night's words could be taken back. And it wasn't as if most of them weren't true.
Finally, after a few more unbearable moments, he spoke. "Kate --"
"I'll go put on some coffee," Kate interrupted, standing up, and walking towards the kitchen, shaking her head.
Quickly, Jack followed Kate into the kitchen. He wanted to touch her so bad that a physical hurt overwhelmed him. As she put the coffee on to make, he finally gave into his urge, allowing himself to gently touch the back of her hair. She turned around to face him, and he moved his hand to the side of her face.
Closing her eyes, Kate laid her hand on top of his, stepping in closer to him. He wrapped his arms around her, more thankful than ever that she was with him. "I am so, so sorry, Kate."
"I know," she nodded, pulling away slightly. She turned back around, watching the coffeepot closely. "But you were right about some things, Jack. I mean, do we even know that much about each other?"
A lump formed in Jack's throat. Kate was standing right in front of him, but he couldn't shake the panicked notion that he was losing her. It felt as though she was slipping away.
Gently, he leaned up against her, tracing his fingers lightly up her arms, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake. Pushing her hair out of the way, Jack brushed his lips against her ear. "I know everything about you that I need to, Kate."
Forgetting caution, forgetting every reservation he had about their relationship, Jack continued on. "I know that you sing 'You're So Vain' in the shower, when you don't think I'm listening. I know that you're right knee is more ticklish than you're left. I know that when you tell me you're not in the mood, all I have to do is kiss you right here," he trailed his fingers up to a spot just below her ear. "And you will be."
Kate let out a laugh, that was mixed with tears as he continued on. "When I'm at work and something bad happens, I know that you'll be here when I get home -- and that gets me through the day. I know that I have never met anyone in my who means to me what you do, and I never will again. I know that even if this is all gone tomorrow, I won't ever regret a single second we spend together." He tried to continue on, but Kate brought a finger to his mouth, silencing him.
"All those things are great, Jack," Kate told him, shrugging her shoulders. "There's never been anyone to know those things about me, and maybe even no one who's ever come close to feeling about me how you do. But that doesn't solve all our problems. There's a lot more to me than that, Jack. There's things you'd never understand no matter how badly you want to. And then --"
Jack shook his, not letting her continue. "Tell me what you know about me."
Biting her lip, Kate shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, Jack. I don't know who Sarah was, or what happened to her, or --"
"I didn't say tell me what you don't know," Jack interrupted fiercely. "I said tell me what you know."
Kate rolled her eyes. "I know that you pretend to like my vegetarian lasagna. I know that you lay there, watching me while I sleep because sometimes I'm not really asleep. I just pretend to be because it feels so good when you do that," her voice broke, and she felt a little silly. She'd been more emotional in her short time at Jack's than she had in the past two years. "I know that you think I'm good enough for you -- and that's almost enough for me to believe I am. I know that --"
He cut her off with a kiss, his lips rough against hers, each of their salty tears mixing with the others. Kate pulled away first, still shaking her head.
"But none of that really means anything," she glanced away from him, almost feeling as though something inside her was physically breaking. "It's just not good enough."
She turned to walk out the kitchen, but was stopped when Jack grabbed her by the arms, turning her around and pulled her towards him roughly. Her hair fell into her face, and she let out a startled gasp. Jack didn't loosen his grip, but he spoke calmly, "It's good enough for me."
Using most her strength, Kate jerked out of his grasp. "Why?"
Jack took a shaky breath. Stepping very close to her, he gently placed his hands on her jaw, pushing her hair out of the way so he could look into her eyes. "Because -- because I love you, Kate."
She glanced up at him sharply. She had imagined him saying it more than once -- but now that he actually had. . . Kate's throat went dry and she coughed in attempt to clear it. Those words weren't something that came easily to her. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. No matter how hard she tried, the words kept sinking back down before she could get them out.
His expression faltered for a moment, but Jack hid it quickly. Smiling nervously, he began to softly caress her cheek. "You don't have to say anything back, Kate. I was just --"
"I love you, too," Kate whispered quickly. As soon as she said them, she glanced away, not willing to meet his eyes.
Jack took her chin in his hand, softly turning his face to hers. They stared at each other silently, a small smile both inching up each of their faces. After a few long moments, Jack enveloped her in his arms. They stood holding each other, both oblivious to anything else going on around them.
Finally, Jack pulled away. Kissing her forehead softly, he whispered, "Why don't you go take a shower, Kate? You didn't look like you felt too well earlier."
Kate nodded, backing up out of the kitchen. She was almost surprised he dropped the entire subject so easily and quickly, without even a glance back at it. "Okay, I'll be down when I'm done. I'm not really hungry, so unless you are, you don't have to put anything on to eat."
Taking her time in the shower, Kate did her best not to focus on the bad things that had been said, or how much harder them admitting their feelings to each could make their entire situation when the time came that Kate would have to leave. Eventually, after she had ran out of hot water, Kate had to turn the shower off. She towel-dried her hair slowly, and wrapped herself in Jack's comfortable blue robe before walking out from the bathroom to what had become their bedroom.
Upon entering the bedroom, she let out a startled gasp. A quick count showed that nearly twenty candles of all shapes and sizes were set up around the room, illuminating it in a soft, romantic glow. On each bedside table set a vase that was overflowing with white and purple lilies.
In the middle of bed sat Jack, an impish smile on his face. "I know that it's a little corny and lame, but after earlier I think a little corny and lame is alright. Maybe even called for."
"It's not lame," Kate said softly, still taking in what he had done. She smirked at him, "Corny, maybe. But not lame."
She took a couple steps closer to the bed, and allowed Jack to take hold of both her hands. He squeezed them quickly, then moved his hands to her waist as her lips met his. Deepening the kiss, she lowered herself on the bed.
Laying her down gently, and brushing her hair back from her face, Jack whispered, "If you're tired, we can just sleep."
Smiling, Kate shook her head, meeting his lips with hers once again. "We'll have plenty of time for sleep later."
As Jack enveloped her in his arms, they finally began to love each other in the way that only two people who were truly, honestly, openly in love with each other could.
