I am not sure why this chapter is so long, or it took so long to write. It's not the most important chapter -- it's almost nothing more than a filler. It's just a glance at where Jack and Kate are in their relationship, and there's a few clues sprinkled throughout of things to come.

For taking so long to update here's a few clues of what's upcoming still -- Christmas is coming. At least three more characters from the island are going to show up. Somebody's getting murdered. There will be slow dancing, snow angels, running away, throwing up, plane rides, gross motels, and maybe one good sex scene. And none of that is in any particular order.

Thanks as always to Gabbi.

LostForSawyer - I'm glad I finally figured out you were the same LFS:)

TheDanceWithoutTheSteps -- I am very sorry that I am to blame for your grades going down. If you'd like I can write your teacher a note explaining how Jack and Kate are more important than school. ;)

NYR88 - Ah, I just love raw emotion. There's plenty more coming.

A few side notes: Maybe what everyone thinks what is wrong with Kate isn't what's wrong with her. Hmmm? And if you'd like to see her dress, look here. Except Kate's is emerald. http/ size=1 width=100% noshade>

Chapter Eleven

Neither Jack nor Kate repeated the three words often. She didn't tell him before he left for work every day, and he didn't whisper them to her before bed each night. They were words that slipped out in the heat of passion when there wasn't time to think about them before they tumbled from the lips of one into the heart of the other. They were words Jack spoke twice as often as Kate. Sometimes they would be laying on the couch, doing nothing, and Jack would tell her. She didn't always respond, but Jack was okay with that. He knew that the words hadn't come easy for Kate the first time, and that it most likely got more difficult for her to say them as time passed, instead of easier. He could tell she felt them -- and more often than not, that was enough for him.

"You know," Kate announced as she swirled the whisk around in egg yolks. "It was pretty sh-tty of you to not tell me tomorrow is your birthday. I had to look on your license. Were you just planning on heading off to your party without actually telling me it was your special day?"

Jack shot her a mock-angry look. "What were you doing in my wallet, Kate? Seeing how much money you could make off with if you decided to up and leave me?"

Kate rolled her eyes, and set the bowl down. "I'm serious, Jack. I thought this was the kind of think we were supposed to tell each other. You're birthday is a big deal. Especially your fortieth birthday!" She put special emphasis on his age, and winked.

Before he could stop it, an amused smile inched up his face. "It's really not a big deal, Kate. It's just a birthday. I've had 39 before."

"Maybe so," Kate told him, still keeping the playful tone to her voice. "But you've never been middle-aged before! Come on, Jack. Everybody makes a big deal out of being over the hill!"

Jack gave her a sour look, "Fifty is middle-aged. Fifty is over the hill. I am still working my way up the hill. I have ten more years before I get to the peak."

Shaking her head, Kate leaned into him, "How many one-hundred year olds do you know?"

Pulling her towards him, Jack quickly found all her most ticklish spots. "You're not nearly as funny as you think you are!"

Giggling uncontrollably, Kate fought her way out of his grasp. "Yes, I am! If your birthday is on a Wednesday, why is your aunt throwing your party on Thursday? Won't you feel a little weird it being a day late?"

"I'm not going so it won't feel weird no matter what day it is," Jack told her, standing up and going to the refrigerator to pour himself a glass of orange juice. "Don't let those eggs get too crispy. I doubt my aunt actually know what day my birthday is."

"Let me take care of the cooking, k?" Kate cocked her head, studying him closely. "You're going. And if she doesn't know your birthday, then why is she throwing you party in the first place?"

"Not going. She just wants to be a part of whatever big is going on," Jack told Kate. "She likes to think she's in charge of everything. This year it turned out that I wasn't quite as dead as everyone had assumed. Two years ago my cousin had triplets. When I was ten my father got promoted to chief of surgery, and Marti threw a party and invited the mayor!"

"Going," Kate looked at him, a bemused smile on her face. She seemed rather impressed. "Did he show up?"

"No," Jack shook his head. "But he did write my father a letter saying in the event he ever needed any kind of surgery he would be sure to look up Dr. Christian Shephard at St. Martin's. Good thing that didn't happen, hmm?"

Rolling her eyes, Kate took the eggs off the stove. "So why don't you enjoy it while it lasts? Next year everyone is going to have forgotten all about your plane crash! Just be glad someone in your family wants to do something for you -- no matter how good or bad their intentions."

Jack seemed to take her words to heart. Finally, a smug smile lit up his face, "Fine, I'll go. But only if you go with me."

"That's just about the most horrible idea I've ever heard!" Kate told him, spooning some eggs from the skillet to a plate, then setting down a plate in front of him. She took his empty glass from the table and refilled it.

"I'm being serious," Jack told her as he began to eat. "Who knows you might even have fun."

"Clearly you you've lost your mind!" Kate laughed, until the look on his face told her he clearly was not joking.

"Perhaps you've forgotten about the predicament we're in, Jack," Kate shook her head, still hoping there was a chance he was at least half-joking. "Let me remind you. I broke some laws, we were in a plane crash, we got rescued, you told them I was dead, now we're living here together for the time being in secret so nobody takes me to jail. Or takes you to jail for that matter! Lying to federal agents is looked down upon these days. You're mother hates me enough already, I don't think we need to add getting Jack sent to prison to my list of vices."

Jack sighed, setting his fork on his plate and pulling Kate onto his lap. "I think it would be good for us."

"Good for us?" Kate questioned, trying to stand up.

Jack kept a firm grip on her, not letting her out of his lap. "Yes, good for us. We spend all of our time together in this house, Kate. You spend all your time period in this house. Wouldn't you like to get all dressed up and take a night off from worrying about everything the way we do?"

Kate glanced away from him, "Who knows who will be there, Jack. Your aunt could call the newspapers. Somebody might recognize me. You never know what could happen. It's just not a situation we should get ourselves into."

"It will be fine," Jack told her softly. "My mom already talked to her -- there won't be any press of any kind. It's going to be some family, some friends, and a few people I've never seen before and never will again. We'll even make you up a fake name if you want."

Jack could see Kate beginning to relent. She was slowly coming around to the idea. He pulled her closer, softly trailing kisses down her jaw line. He ran his hand up the side of her shirt, slowly tracing circles before it came to rest on her stomach. "It's going to be fine, Kate. I promise."

"As long as you promise," Kate whispered. She turned her face towards him, and met his lips in a kiss. She kissed him slowly for several seconds, before wordlessly pulling away and standing up.

She went back to her work in the kitchen, cleaning up the small mess she had made while making Jack's breakfast.

"I can clean up," Jack told her, but she didn't seem to notice his words.

She worked quickly. Her movements were sharper than normal, and her brow was more furrowed. After doing the dishes she moved on to cleaning the surface of the stove. Jack watched silently as she scrubbed a circle in the exact same spot for two minutes.

"Listen, Kate," Jack sighed, pushing his plate away from him. "If it's going to upset you this much then just forget it, okay? It's not that important to me."

Kate glanced up at him, an odd expression on her face. It was as though she hadn't realized he was still in the room -- or almost like she had forgotten where she was. Throwing down the sponge she shook her head. "No, Jack, it's okay. I'll go. And I don't need a fake first name, just a fake last one. We'll have to come up with a story about how we met. Someone will probably want to know what I do for a living, or where I grew up. I'll think of it all before we go. This isn't as easy as you think it is."

Jack stood up, crossing the kitchen to where she stood, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Don't worry so much. This is going to be a bunch of half-drunk people who care a lot more about themselves than they do you or me. They are just going to be there for the open bar."

"Open bar, eh?" Kate repeated, giving Jack a curious look.

"I'm not going to get drunk, Kate," Jack released her shoulders. "We had this conversation. I won't have anymore than a drink or two. The last thing I want is a repeat of what happened the night Sawyer left. I don't want things to be that way for us."

"I know," Kate told him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "And don't worry -- I'll be your sober buddy."

"You don't have to not drink," Jack told her, shaking his head. "Isn't that one of the rules of going out with people who drink too much? You shouldn't not drink in front of them because that's a false reality, or something."

"I think you just made that up," Kate laughed, "and it's okay, really. I don't mind. I'd rather be alert anyway. I don't want to mess up with a question someone might ask me." She pulled away and picked up Jack's plate. "Were you done with this?"

Jack nodded slowly. "You've been acting a little strange lately, Kate."

"No, I haven't," Kate turned around quickly. "I'm fine, Jack. Don't look at me like that, okay? You worry too much."

He took the plate out of her hands and sat it down in the sink. "You'd tell me if something was wrong, right?"

"Of course I would, Jack," Kate told him, running water in the sink. "This is me we're talking about."

The problem was that was exactly what Jack was worried about.


At 4:46 AM the next morning the alarm clock went off, buzzing in Kate's ear. She quickly darted up and turned it off, checking to see if it had awoken Jack. It hadn't. Sitting up, she tried to be still until the clock clicked over to 4:47.

Softly, she leaned over Jack singing, her voice growing louder with each note, "Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Ja-ack! Happy Birthday too, you!"

Jack shuffled around, turning away from her and putting his arm over his eyes. He groaned softly, and she thought he hadn't fully awakened until his eyes fluttered open. "Happy birthday, Jack!"

He glared at her for a second, "Has anyone ever told you that you have a good singing voice?"

Kate smirked, and shook her head, "No!"

Jack smiled softly, then put his arms around her, pulling her down towards him. "There's a reason for that, you know."

"If you weren't so sexy in the morning, I just might be offended by that!" Kate teased, kissing his neck softly. "You're lucky it's your birthday!"

"Mmhmm," Jack laughed, glancing at the clock quickly. "Christ, Kate. It's not even five AM!"

"You told me you were born at 4:47!" Kate said, her voice still cheerful. "When was the last time someone woke you up at the exact time you were born?"

Jack pretended to think it over. "Never. And that's the way I like it!" He pulled her close to him and felt her sigh against his chest. "Go back to sleep."

It seemed as though Kate had already had the same idea. All he got in response was a muffled noise. Just as he was about to drift completely to sleep, Kate murmured, "Hey, Jack. . . how does it feel to be over the --"

"Don't even," he interrupted, before falling back to sleep, a smile on his face.


After they had breakfast, and Jack was in the shower, Kate went to work on his birthday surprise. She didn't have a way to buy him anything -- she was forced to put her right brain to work. A little snooping around while Jack wasn't paying attention had worked to her benefit and she had set up what she considered to be very clever.

Hearing the water turn off, she put the finishing touches on her surprise and then walked into the living room. Jack stood near the couch, gazing at her curiously. "What were you doing in the study? That grin on your face is pretty suspicious looking."

Kate laughed, and took him by the hand. "You're birthday present is inside!"

Jack smirked, "You got me a birthday present?"

"Something like that," Kate said mysteriously, leaning against the study doors. She acted like she was going to open the doors, but then stopped. "You sure you're ready for this?"

"I don't see how anything could be more surprising than you coming back into my life," Jack teased, leaning down and kissing her quickly. "Wait a minute. Sawyer's not in there, is he?"

Giving him a disgusted look, Kate crossed her arms, "You trying to ruin this or something?"

"I apologize," Jack smiled, and glanced away. "Come on. Let's see this."

With a flourish, Kate opened the door, revealing what she had sat up in Jack's office. He took it all in, laughing softly. His laughter grew slightly louder as she pushed play on Jack's CD player and sounds of seagulls and crashing waves filled the room.

A blue tarp was strung over three chairs, two bowls filled with guava sat under the tarp. Kate had moved all the plants in the room into the middle, so that they were gathered around the tarp. In the corner of the room, a water feature complete with rocks and cascading water was set up, plugged into an outlet.

Jack smiled as his eyes fell on that. "You realize this goes outside, right?"

Kate shrugged, "Yeah, well. It looks good, doesn't it?"

"It does," Jack nodded. "This all looks good. An island picnic themed birthday. I like it." He took a seat under the tarp and patted the floor next to him. "Are you going to come and join me?"

Taking a seat next to him, Kate kept her tone teasing, "I was going to go outback and hunt for some sand to bring in, but I thought that might upset you just a little bit."

Jack began to respond, but was cut off by the ringing of the telephone. He began to stand, but Kate grabbed his hand. "Don't go answer it!"

"I have to," Jack told her, pulling his hand from her grasp. "It could be work." He went into the living room, returning several minutes later.

"I have to get work now," Jack told her quickly, taking her hand and pulling her up. "There was a crash; they're sending three of the victims to S.M. I don't know when I'll be home. I'm sorry, Kate."

"I'm sorry," Kate told him, a little flustered by how quickly the situation had changed. "It's your birthday, I'm sure you don't want to spend it at --"

Jack kissed her quickly before rushing out the room. "Don't wait up!"

Kate was left to spend the rest of Jack's birthday all by herself.

She waited up for him until past one in the morning. She kept nodding off, but was awakened when she heard the front door open. Shutting the magazine that lay in her lap, she stood to meet him. She winced slightly when he walked into the room, and before she could stop it, "Bad day," slipped out.

"Horrible," Jack responded, tossing his jacket onto the couch. He stepped towards her, wrapping her a hard hug. "But better now."

Pulling away slightly, Kate saw him staring longingly at the liquor cabinet. That was the last thing he needed. "I'm sorry things worked out like they did. I wanted it to be just like the island. It's still set up, I didn't know if the night would be salvageable at all."

"I think it might still be salvageable," Jack whispered, tracing a line under the hem of her sweatpants. "You said, just like the island?"

"Well," Kate pretended to think it over. "Maybe not just like the island. There could be, you know, a thing or two that we didn't do on the island."

"Anything specific in mind?" Jack asked, starting to undo her top from the bottom.

"Oh, something comes to mind," Kate whispered as his lips met hers and everything but the two of them was forgotten.


The next morning, Kate had just stepped out of the shower, and wrapped herself in Jack's robe when she thought she heard the persistent chime of the doorbell. Aggravated, she opened the bathroom door and hurried downstairs to see who it was. She doubted Jack would even want her opening the front door, but she was curious.

Peeking through the peephole she saw Margo standing on the porch, a large cardboard box in under one arm and a long plastic bag in the other hand. Quickly undoing the locks, Kate opened the door. "Hi, Margo. Jack had to run into work for just a little while. There was some kind of emergency meeting and --"

"I know Jack's at work, Katherine," Margo interrupted with a slight roll of her eyes. "I came to see you. Might I come in for a few moments?"

"Of course," Kate nodded, stepping aside and gesturing for Margo to enter. It felt kind of odd for someone to ask her if it were okay to come inside Jack's place, as though she herself was a proprietor. "What can I help you with, Margo?"

Margo took a seat on the couch, setting the box on the floor and laying the long bag flat next to her. "Katherine, I know I haven't been exactly fair to you. And I'm not here to apologize for it, because I'm not sorry. I don't trust you, and I don't necessarily like you. However, in all fairness, I didn't like Sarah either and she hadn't killed someone, so maybe it's just any woman Jack would choose."

A thin smile on her face, Margo motioned for Kate to take a seat. Kate obeyed wordlessly with a nod. "You see, Katherine, Jack's father was already very, very hard on him, and I never tried to intervene with that. It put a rift between Jack and I though. One that was never fully mended. It just got worse after he told the truth about his father," Margo stopped abruptly. "Has he told you about that situation?"

Kate nodded slowly, pulling her hair over her shoulder so it wouldn't drip so bad on the chair she was sitting in. "Yes, he told me what happened."

"Good," Margo said with a quick nod. "Well, after that happened -- I just didn't know how to deal with Jack anymore. It was as though we were strangers. His father stopped talking to Jack, so I did -- until I made him go to Australia."

Margo readjusted her position, clearing her throat quickly. Kate wondered for a split second if the older woman was trying to hold back tears. "When I got the call about Christian's death, I felt as though my whole world was collapsing. I blamed Jack. Then word about the plane crash came, and I decided it would be better to blame myself."

"I promised myself, Katherine, that if by some miracle Jack turned out to be alright that I would try to be a much more understanding mother than I had ever been," Margo shrugged, smiling slightly. "But old habits die hard, right?"

Kate titled her head to the side, looking at Margo curiously. "I'm sorry, Margo, but I don't really understand what you're trying to say."

"Jack has never looked at anyone the way he looks at you, Katherine. While I in no way condone your relationship, I know it's not my business, and I'm not going to try to put a stop to it. He's happy for the first time in a very long time, and if you make him happy, Katherine, then --" Margo's voice trailed off, and the two shared a meaningful glance. Kate's heart softened just a bit towards the woman.

"So, uh. . . what's in that box?"

Looking pleased Kate had took notice, Margo brought the box up to her lap. "I brought you a curling iron, a flat iron, some make-up, toiletries. Lotions and such. I wasn't sure how good Jack was about things like this. From the look on your face I'm guessing not good at all."

Out of the large box, she revealed another smaller box. Opening it she produced a pair of silver strappy sandals, "Size seven, right dear? I asked Jack to check your shoes for me."

"They're beautiful," Kate said, not being able to take her eyes off of them. She had never worn anything quite like them. "But I don't understand. What are they for?"

Margo rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Katherine. What did you expect you would wear tonight, that bathrobe? You need sandals to match your dress!"

Kate was about to inform Margo she didn't exactly have a dress when Margo held up a hand, halting her. "I took care of that, too." Standing up, she took a dress from the long, plastic bag.

It was long, dark emerald satin. Kate was sure the neckline plunged lower than anything she had ever worn before. Margo seemed to read her mind, "I know, I know. It's a little revealing, isn't it? I told the woman you'd look good in green and that you were a lovely, lovely young girl and she sent me this. I do think you'll pull it off quite nicely though, Katherine. Do you think it's too much?"

Kate stood up and touched the fabric lightly. It had to be ridiculously expensive. She glanced at the back and immediately fell in love with the criss-crossed style of it. She was positive Jack would love it.

"Do I - do I get to keep it?"

Margo let out a hoot of laughter so loud, Kate couldn't help but look at the woman as if she'd gone off her rocker. "Of course you get to keep it, Katherine! Do you think I'd look good in it? Of course not. It's to you from me. There's even a matching clutch in the bag."

Kate didn't do well with such generous gifts, she never had. Charity was something she wasn't fond of, but this dress was too gorgeous to refuse. "Thank you so much, Margo."

"No need for that, dear," Margo told her briskly. "Now you'd better start getting ready. I have to leave so I can, too. Can you handle your own hair and make-up? If not, I can send over some people to take good care of you!"

That was where Kate knew to draw the line, "Thank you, but I'll be alright, Margo. Contrary to how it looks, I have done my own hair and make-up before."

"Alright then, Katherine," Margo said, with a wave of her hand. "You have fun getting ready and I will see you tonight!" And just as quickly as she had arrived, Margo was gone.

Kate stared at her new dress, the shoes, and the box of make-up for a full ten minutes before she was able to stand up and start getting ready.

She primped for longer than she had in her entire life. She dried her hair, straightened it, and then curled the ends. She did her make up three times before she decided it looked alright. She fell down in the shoes twice before she attempted them on the stairs. And finally, Kate put her dress on. If she had been a conceited woman, or even one with a lot of self-confidence she would have admitted to herself how gorgeous she looked. Instead, she quickly glanced in the mirror, and muttered, "Alright."

As she walked downstairs, the phone began to ring. Carefully making her way over to it, Kate saw it was Jack. She picked up on the fourth ring, "You're late picking me up!"

"I know, I know," Jack said, sounding aggravated. "It's a good thing you talked me into bring my tux to the office in case I ran late. My mom said she dropped off a dress for you. How's it look?"

Kate paused, "I look -- I look okay, I guess. Are you almost here?"

"Pulling in the driveway now," without a good-bye, Jack hung up the phone.

Several seconds later, he rushed into the living room, where Kate stood, clutch in hand. "Aren't you ready? For bitching at me, you sure do take your sweet time. You've had all day to--" He stopped speaking as soon as he had fully drunk in her appearance.

"You look amazing."

Kate glanced away, blushing slightly. "Yeah, well. It's a little small. I couldn't even wear underwear under it?"

Jack took this news better than she had expected, he twirled her around, examining her from all angles. "Wow. We are going to be very late for this party. . ."

"No!" Kate warned, stepping back, and holding out her hand as though she wanted to shake his. "It took me too long to get like this to let you ravish me now! Be good and I promise I'll keep the panties off when we get home."

Jack studied her closely, seemingly considering. Finally, he took her hand. "Deal. The anticipation will be worth the wait."

Kate smiled, leaning up and kissing him. "Are we ready?"

Jack took her hand and led her outside to his car. As they drove towards his aunt's he noticed her staring at him. "What?"

She smiled sweetly, the look on her face almost unrecognizable. After a few silent seconds, she spoke his favorite words, "I love you, Jack."

As he whispered the words back, Jack found that he was almost glad she didn't say them too often. That way, when she did, it was all the more a moment to cherish. And no matter how he tried, the nagging thought of not knowing how many more -- or how few more -- they were to have with each other, just wouldn't leave.