Entwined Together

Summery: Jack and Kate meet one night in a bar, one going through a divorce, the other just killed her father. Somehow their lives become entwined, and they discover they aren't as different as they thought. Takes place as if there wasn't a crash.

Chapter Four: No One Else

XXX

Jack opened his eyes with a start. Was that pounding in his ears something only within a dream? Or was it? He cautiously got out of his bed, his heart beating rapidly in his rib cage, beads of sweat coming down his face in nervous rivulets. Or at least that was what it felt like.

He stole a glance at his digital clock by the bed. It was going on seven. He had slept the day away. He also grabbed his cell phone and put it in his pocket, just in case he needed it later.

Slowly he walked down the stairs, the pounding getting louder and louder as he went. When he got to the bottom five steps, he realized that it wasn't just a pounding coming from a random spot in the house.

Someone was at the door. With his heart pumping about ten times faster than it should, he guardedly walked over to the door. When he looked out the peephole to see who exactly was causing the incessant hammering and slow destruction of his only front door, his heart nearly stopped.

It was Kate.

With his courage slowly seeping back into him, he quickly opened the door, just in time because the minute he opened it, she ran inside, nearly causing him to fall in the process. Taken aback but determined, Jack closed the door then turned to face Kate, who was sitting on the sofa, a look of fear taking over her features.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked, crossing over to the couch, sitting beside her.

But Kate didn't answer. She was staring at the wall as if it were the most fascinating thing she had ever laid eyes on.

"Kate?" He could feel the fear start to kick in. What in the world had happened to her? And so quickly?

"Please Kate, talk to me. I can't help you if you don't talk to me," Jack pleaded, wishing they didn't need to talk at all; that he could just hold her, and that would make all her troubles and worries go away.

"I'm sorry to just barge in like this, but I had no one else to go to," Kate finally said, her voice small and weak as though it was going to break at any time and she was holding it in.

"I'm here for you. Whatever you need, I'll be here," he replied.

Kate nodded, a grateful smile forming on her face. "Can I just stay here for a while? Until I figure things out? It'll only be temporary, I promise," she asked, hoping he wouldn't ask any questions. She hid her relief when he agreed, no questions asked.

"Thanks. And I'll pay you back for the hotel, I promise," Kate brought up, not quite she if it was the right time or not, but at the same time she didn't want Jack to forget and let her go without it.

But Jack shrugged it off. "Don't worry about it. When I want your money, I'll let you know," he said playfully, giving her a smile in an attempt to make her feel better.

Kate returned it weakly, the memory of what had happened after she had left the hotel still too fresh in her mind.

XXX

Kate went upstairs to the room she had before. She had never felt so good to see a bed before, and she took advantage of it. Jack had told her to make herself at home once before, so why let him down?

She just didn't have the courage to tell him why she had come back. Yeah, it was lucky for her that he hadn't asked, but he would eventually, and then what? What could she possibly tell him? 'Sorry for not telling you sooner, but I'm a wanted fugitive who has been on the run for close to a year now. I dragged you into it because I didn't know at the time that you had a life that could be shattered into a million pieces all because I stepped into your living room.'

If she told him then he'd either turn her in, or he'd kick her out because there was no way in hell that he would ever do anything to get in the way of justice. Maybe she was being too harsh in her judgment, but all her past experiences hadn't taught her any differently, and so that would be the way it remained.

All she wanted to do was sleep and forget anything had ever happened.

When she woke up the next morning, she felt as though someone had drilled a hole in her stomach. Everything that had happened over the past 24 hours were dancing in circles around her head, smothering her to death. She wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep and wish them all away.

She got up and went downstairs, the smell of bacon greeting her nose and she followed the scent into the kitchen, where Jack stood behind the stove, his back to Kate, not taking notice in her arrival.

She smiled as she watched him, amazed at the normalcy of this act. It felt like such a long time since she didn't have any worries except whether or not her mother was cooking her least favorite food for dinner. She was almost reduced to tears by the simple act of cooking bacon.

As if he could read her thoughts, Jack turned around, eyes full of concern. He hurried over to Kate, who had seated herself down at the table, trying to conceal her thoughts from him.

"Are you okay? Did you sleep well?" he asked, his hands gently gripping her shoulders as a gesture that he was truly concerned about her.

Kate nodded. "Yeah, too good."

"Then what's wrong?"

She looked up at him in confusion. "Nothing's wrong. I'm still just a little drowsy, that's all," she explained, looking into his eyes, hoping he would buy it.

Jack eyed her suspiciously, but nodded, not quite convinced but he let it go. She would tell him whatever she was hiding from him when she was ready.

He put an egg and two strips of bacon on a plate and put it in front of Kate, who eagerly went to work on eating it, not realizing just how hungry she had been. Jack sat down across from her, not eating anything since his hunger had dissipated when he had been awoken by Kate's desperate banging on his door.

Kate, taking notice of this, tried to laugh it off. "Are you just going to watch me eat?" she asked after swallowing some bacon.

Jack didn't respond, though he knew he was giving his answer to her just by making eye contact with her. He finally shrugged and turned away. "I'm just trying to figure it out," he said, as though he had answered every question with this one statement.

"Figure what out?" Kate asked quietly, the fear settling back in. Did he know?

"How it feels as though we've known each other forever. I mean, it hasn't even been two days since we met at that bar, and already I feel as if I can talk to you about things I could never tell my wife," he admitted, looking at his hands, feeling slightly guilty about this admission.

Kate laughed, grateful that he hadn't said what she had been almost certain that he would've.

"I only mean that…I don't know…I feel like I can talk to you, you know? Like I can relate to you on some level," he said, then blushed and let out a light laugh. "I know that sounds silly and weird, but…"

"No, it's not weird. I kind of feel the same way," she confessed.

Jack smiled. "I know it doesn't make any sense."

Kate shrugged. "Since when has anything made any sense?"

"You have a point there," he said and they both shared a laugh.

"Well, do you want to watch a movie or something? Or do you want to go out somewhere? You mentioned something about wanting to explore the city, or something like that," Jack offered.

"I'd rather stay here, if you don't mind. Watching a movie sounds real good right now," she said.

Jack nodded. "Movie it is. Any preference?" he asked.

Kate shook her head. "Not really," she answered, taking her plate to the sink then following him into the living room. Jack went to a rack sitting in the corner that she noticed was full of movies. He bent down, searching for the right one that they both would watch. She told him preferably a comedy, but anything would be good.

"Except westerns. I hate westerns," she told him.

But when Jack brought up the movie Charades, Kate nodded eagerly. "It's been so long since I've seen that," she had said, excited at the prospect of watching a childhood favorite.

Jack concealed a grin, loving the look she got when she got excited about something. It was just something about her that he genuinely liked. He put it in the DVD player, and sat beside her on the white sofa.

Throughout the movie Kate would laugh at the appropriate places, and jump or gasp at all the sudden twists of the plot, or when someone else died. Jack smiled every time this happened. When he had watched this movie with Sarah, all she had done was sit through it as though she were bored, and she had always had a distracted expression on her face as though she were thinking about something else.

With Kate, it was just the opposite. Jack didn't think she could be any more into it than she already was. She appreciated everything about it, and smiled whenever Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant got together and exchanged smart remarks to each other, or when he gave her yet another false name.

When it was over, Kate looked slightly disappointed. "Thank you."

"Thanks for what?" Jack asked as he put the movie back.

"I never said thank you for everything you did for me, and I wanted to do it before I forgot," she explained.

Jack shrugged. "It would be rude of me not to," he replied.

And with that, a new-found understanding had been created between them, their friendship strengthened, and their relationship thickened, ready for the tough times that were coming.

XXX

A/N: I don't know whether I liked it or not. It was my first attempt at writing Jate fluff, and I'm not exactly sure I like the outcome. All I can say is that I hoped you liked it, because there will be a lot more angst to come.

Thanks to BrizilianJaterGirl, jimmy-barnes-13, toolostforyou, simp, lostfox, EllaJulian, xoxJateIsFatexox, x-kate-x, Orlando-crazy, Peppy87, DarknessBlossoms, and IrishJateFan for reviewing. No matter how many times I say it, I can never truly express how much your kind comments mean to me! Please review this because like I said, it's my first attempt at fluff.