The survivors were shown to their rooms. Most of them just had individual rooms with the one double bed, but Jack and Charlie were first to get into the larger rooms which had twin beds as well. Jack knew that there was no way that the kids would sleep in the beds at first, but these rooms were larger than the rest, and so he could do with the extra room for them. Charlie, Claire and Aaron's suite was just beside Jack's, and they parted ways last, with Claire giving Jack a hug before running off. Although they pretended not to see it, they also saw that Aaron gave Kaia and Curtis a cuddle as well when they thought that the parents weren't looking.
The room was large enough, with the two twin beds mirroring the double bed on the other side of the room. It was blandly coloured, and little decoration, but it was still more than they were used to. There was a small chest of drawers in the corner with a clock and on it, and another door off the side which lead to a small bathroom. Either side of the beds were tables with matching lamps on, and the first thing Kaia did was go over to the window. Even jumping she couldn't see out of it, so she climbed up on the bed beside it and leaned against the glass.
"Daddy. Look!" She said excitedly, already having cheered up a little.
Jack crossed the room, setting Curtis down on the bed beside his sister, and looked out of the window with Jack. On the horizon, you could see the island still.
Curtis saw it and waved at it. Kaia put her hand flat on the glass. Jack just stared at it.
"Can we go back to see it one day?" She asked.
"One day." Jack answered, knowing that within a few years there would probably be a holiday resort on the island. "One day."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
Kaia always held strong to promises. She remembered every one that people made her, and every reassurance that she needed could be solved with a promise.
Together, they watched the island disappear off the horizon, for how long they didn't know, it seemed to take a while, and then there was a knock on the door. Jack crossed the room and opened it, to see Shannon and Claire standing there. Behind them, a grumpy looking Sayid, and a disgruntled Charlie holding a stroppy Aaron on his shoudlers were standing leaned against the back wall.
"Hey guys." Jack said, eyeing them curiously.
"Jack, come on." Shannon said.
"Huh?"
"We've been investigating, and there's near enough a mall on this cruise liner." Claire said. "And we've been told to buy as much as we want or need to be billed to Oceanic."
"So seeing as they're paying, we're taking full advantage of it." Shannon pointed out.
Jack stood still for a moment, knowing how much they would need to buy. "Wait a second..." He said suspiciously. "This is going to involve clothes isn't it?"
All of them nodded, even the grumpy Aaron. Shopping with Claire and Shannon did not seem like a fun idea. Kaia and Curtis came to the door at Jack's feet. "Come on kids, time to go shopping." Shannon announced brightly.
Kaia, who had heard a lot about the things you could buy from Shannon, broke into a happy grin. "Daddy! Daddy! Come on, let's go! I want to go shopping! She jumped up and down pulling on his hand so cutely that Jack smiled and shook his head.
Shannon joined in. "Come on, Jack, Oceanic owe us. Let's spend their money."
"Alright, let's go."
If only he knew what he was letting himself in for.
The first shop they came to was a toy shop. Curious, the older two children approached it cautiously, looking inside before taken in by Charlie, who was definately excited about being in a toy shop. It was only small, but Jack imagined the money they must make from parents being forced into buying their children holiday souvineers from the cruise. There were board games, which Sayid was looking at, particularly Trivial Pursuit, all along one wall. The middle aisles were filled with different toys for different ages.
It was fairly difficult at first, because Kaia had grown up in the wild with two boys as her only child companions. Shannon and Claire were desperately trying to show her the girl's toys like dolls and child's make up sets and costume jewellery, even dressing up sets, but Kaia kept wandering off to join Aaron and Charlie, who were playing with toy guns and running around the shop wildly. Eventually, Kaia decided that she wanted some dolls, and she had chosen some teddies as well. Some quickly translating into seven, because she couldn't decide which ones she wanted most, and Jack knew that she had never had a real teddy to call her own, so he let her have them all.
Aaron was the easiest to choose from, wanting noisy guns and he and Charlie picked out some of those build-your-own hovercraft and spaceship sets, which a sneaky Sayid was also looking at.
Curtis would have been happy for years in the toy shop, in Jack's arms as they walked around looking at everything there was. He wanted some of the action figures that were brightly coloured and took his attention, and Jack got them for him even if he knew that Superman would have lost his head by the end of the month. The teddies caught his eye too, and he only chose one, not giving the others a second look once the pale blue rabbit wearing pyjamas had caught his eye. His fascination with it was adorable. Also were the packs of toy animals that he refused to leave the store without.
The next stop was a clothes shop, much to the male's horror. Aaron complained, and ended up being dragged into the children's section by Claire, because he didn't want to change out of his mud covered torn t-shirt. Kaia had much the same attitude, but when Jack said to her that she could have whatever she wanted, he immediately had to add from the girls section because she started to follow after Claire and Aaron into the boys. Shannon joined him in helping to shop for girls clothes, noting aloud how the fashions had changed.
Sayid was carrying Curtis so that he didn't wander off while Jack focused on pleasing Kaia. They looked through endless racks and outfits. Dresses and skirts were a no from the start, or at least, the ones that Shannon picked out were, because Jack thought that they were way to short for a five-year-old. When Jack had said this, Shannon had mocked him for being an overprotective father, and assured him that it would be many years before she got into the back of her boyfriends car. This hadn't made Jack feel any better. As far as he was concerned, his daughter would never be getting into her boyfriends car, romantic intentions or not.
They were still shopping for Kaia long after Charlie and Claire were done with Aaron. Curtis had fallen asleep on Sayid's shoulder, long past due for his nap. Then they found it.
"Kaia!" Jack called to her over where she was standing grumpily beside Shannon, who was looking at a mass of sale items that in all words were hideous, even Kaia could see that. "Kai," He used the shortening of her name that always made her eyes perk up, "Kai, come here, you'll like this one."
"That's what you said last time!" She protested tiredly, but going over anyway. This shopping wasn't turning out to be as fun as Shannon said it would be.
"It's different this time."
"You said that last time as well." She pointed out.
Jack lifted her up and showed her the outfit that was on display by one of the manequins, and Kaia gasped. "Yeah, Daddy, I want that one!"
"Thought you would."
And so they found Kaia the perfect outfit. They didn't let her see the other t-shirts and pairs of jeans that they got her, because they knew that she would protect, but she carried the new clothes to the checkout proudly, even telling the sales assisstant that her daddy said she would look beautiful in them. It was a knee length blue demin skirt that had patterns of butterflies and flowers by the right knee. To go underneath it, seeing as the air conditioning was something that the children weren't used to, and shivered to as they walked around the shops, was a pair of winter tights in a creme colour. There was a long-sleeved top in navy blue which had similar patterns to the skirt around the wrists and neckline, and a sleeveless jacket with fur edges and a suaed body. And too rightly, no outfit was complete without a pair of shoes, which turned out to be a new pair of sneakers which fit properly, and a pair of black boots without a heel to go with the new outfit.
For Curtis, Jack had to pick the clothes for him, and got a stack of t-shirts and sweaters, with different pairs of trousers. They measured his feet as well, choosing him a pair of sneakers that they knew he would like because they had blue stripes on, and then finally went to pay for the children's clothes.
Then came the more greulling task - the adult section. Immediately, Charlie, Sayid and Jack picked out the basics that they needed, plus a few more at the ladies insistance, paid for them, and then went to the seats outside the changing rooms, where they bumped into Sawyer.
"Sawyer, what are you doing here?" Jack asked with a laugh while Kaia ran to show him her new outfit.
"Same as you by the looks of it." He replied notioning to the bags hanging from the men's arms, and then nodding in the direction of the bags beside his chair. "Ana L wants a second opinion."
'Ana L' as he appropriatly nicknamed her, had definately become favourable of Sawyer's attention. Over the past few years, they had clearly tried to hide the sexual tension between them to the eyes of the other survivors, but they weren't blind, and unfortunately...they weren't deaf either on the nights where they decided to give into such temptations. The fact that Sawyer was here with Ana Lucia was no surprise to them at all.
Kaia took the chair beside Sawyer, and Jack sat down next to her, placing their bags on the floor. Sayid handed him back Curtis, still asleep, and took the far seat while Charlie sat on the floor after begging for Kaia's seat and failing. Aaron shared Kaia's chair for a while, both of them fitting easily into the armchair-like seat, before taking pity on Charlie and joining him on the floor.
After half an hour, Ana Lucia started to come out every ten minutes and get Sawyer's opinion. Every comment drew a stifled laugh from one of the others. Particularly when she had left the changing room in a summery dress, and Sawyer had asked how long it would take to get it onto the floor. To no surprise, she had brought that one, even though she never seemed like the dress type.
Then Claire and Shannon started to do the same. When Sayid and Charlie began complimenting them on the clothes to get out of there as soon as they could, Jack felt slightly jealous. How he would have loved to sit and watch Kate walk out from behind the curtains in a different outfit every time, every one complimenting her wonderful figure with ease. Even though she wouldn't admit it, he knew that she would have loved to spoil herself in the clothes shop on the luxurious dresses, and to get a pair of jeans that weren't torn or had the stitching ripped at the bottoms. He sat there silently, watching Sawyear teach Aaron and Kaia how to play Blackjack, telling the fathers that it was to improve their maths skills, (which was a poor excuse because they had been able to count to twenty one for ages), and watching Aaron sleep in his arms.
The reality of Kate not being there anymore was finally beginning to sink in. When the marshals had taken her around the corner, Jack had been convinced that she would fight them off, and come running back to them. But she hadn't, and tonight she wouldn't be in his arms, and he wouldn't wake up to see her face. He'd rather see her face creased with worry through one of her nightmares, and have her eyes snap open in the familiar terror associated with her past, which soon melted into ease when she saw Jack hovering over her, than to not see her at all.
Eventually, all three women announced they were done, and paid for. At the counter, Jack looked back into the women's section...maybe he should have got something for-
"Jack." Claire interrupted him, handing him a bag from the counter.
He took it, and noticed that it had womens clothes in. Claire had just completed the thought that he had been pondering. "Claire..."
"They're for Kate." She said simply. "As if being seperated from you isn't bad enough, at least she can have some clean clothes for a change."
"Thanks." Jack said softly.
"Don't worry, Jack. Everything will turn out Ok in the end." Shannon offered kindly.
"And if it doesn't, then it isn't the end yet." Claire added brightly.
Jack had to smile at their optimism.
"Besides," Claire continued. "Now they'll have to let you in to see her."
That was something that Jack hadn't had time to think about yet. For the last few hours he had been so rushed off his feet with the kids that even when Claire presented him with clothes for Kate, it hadn't crossed his mind that he might be able to see her. He had been with her that morning, and they had only been apart for four hours already, but it felt like a life time. She had been out in the jungle for longer than that, and it had felt like forever because he was worried that she might get hurt, but now he had to know that she was alright, otherwise he might never sleep at night again.
"Claire, Can you-"
He was going to ask if she would watch the kids that afternoon so he could go down to where Kate was being held, if he could find it, and if he could find a way to get in. But Claire cut him off before he could ask.
"Now, we'll finish up shopping with the kids and then take them for a walk to burn off all this energy they have. You go see Kate."
"Are you sure?" Jack asked.
"Jack, go. She needs you. And we need shampoo, toothpaste, toiletrees, before the test later." Claire told him.
"Wait a second...what test?" Jack asked.
"A medical test. They told us about it when they were showing us to our rooms, but you were pretty much out of it." Shannon told him.
A medical test...perfect.
Jack broke into a smile.
"I know how I can get to see, Kate." He told them, choosing not to elaborate on that comment. "Kai?" Kaia came over obeidiently, and Jack kissed her forehead. "Give me a message to tell your Mom."
"Are you going to see Mommy?" Kaia asked.
"Yeah, but I need a message from you to make her happy." Jack told her.
"Tell her that she'll look pretty in her new clothes, and that she's the best Mommy in the whole world. Oh, and tell her that I'm doing what she told me to do."
"What did she tell you to do?" Jack asked.
"It's a secret!" Kaia explained.
"Ok, you be good for Claire and Charlie. I'll see you later, Ok."
"Ok, Daddy."
Jack said goodbye to the rest of them, and then ran off out of the shopping centre of the cruise liner.
