The next morning, Jack and Kate sat during breakfast in an awkward silence. What little they did eat they ate in their room, and then went about their morning as best they could until the police contacted them again. Kate was sitting cross legged on the couch, Curtis in her lap as together they watched a morning television show for children. Kate wasn't watching it though, Jack could see the far off look in her eye that she had, and it killed him to know that he couldn't take it away. The silence was empty without Kaia's chatter, even Curtis was silent as he watched the programme completely mesmerised by the concept still.
So far, he hadn't questioned his sister's whereabouts, and so Kate and Jack hadn't said anything to him. After all, what could they say?
Jack went and sat beside them, having cleared away after breakfast, and put his arm around Kate's shoulders. She leaned her head against him straight away, and leaning on each other, they sat in silence for a while. Curtis had one hand buried in Kate's hair, twirling it between his fingers absent mindedly, then Jack realised something.
"I'd better go get those pictures from Shannon." He said quietly.
Kate nodded, knowing that they were the photographs for the police, the photographs. "Jack?" She asked, as he stood to leave, he turned back to her. "Can I see them, before you give them to the cops?" She said, not lifting her eyes from the television.
Jack nodded. "Of course."
She was doing it again. Shutting herself off. Jack mused on this idea as he went down the hall to Shannon and Sayid's room. It was about nine-thirty now, and he knew that they would be awake considering they were just as used to early risings as he was. He knocked on the door, and Shannon answered.
"Hey, Jack." She smiled. "Any news?"
He shook his head. "I need your help." He said softly. Shannon noticed that his voice was void of all hope that used to be there. It was as if a light inside him had gone out. In fact, it was almost as if Kate had never come back.
"Sure, come in." She said, stepping back and closing the door once she had entered. "How can we help?" She asked, and Sayid nodded to Jack as he sat beside him on the couch.
"The police need photographs of Kaia, and I remembered that you had a camera on the boat." Jack began.
"Oh, I went and got them developed yesterday." Shannon remembered. "I'll go get them. I did you and Claire copies anyway because they were mainly pictures of the kids. There's copies I bribed out of the photographers last night as well."
Shannon went over to her handbag, and pulled out a set of photographs from the three sets and handed it to Jack. "Here." She said, and Jack nodded.
"Thanks, Shannon." He said.
"No problem. How's Kate?" She asked, sitting in another chair.
Jack sighed. "Not good, what with morning sickness as well." He told them. "Besides, you know how protective she is of the kids."
"Oh yeah, definately." Shannon mused. "What about Curt?" She asked.
Jack shook his head. "He hasn't asked anything yet." He stood up, "Thanks for the pictures, Shannon."
"It's nothing." She waved off. "Go take care of them." She said, giving Jack a hug. Jack hugged her back, patted Sayid on the shoulder, and then left.
When he got back to his and Kate's room, he handed the pack of photographs to Kate. "Here." He said softly, settling back down beside her. "Shannon had done us a copy anyway because they were nearly all of the kids."
Kate nodded, "It'll be nice to have some pictures finally." She said with a hint of a smile.
Together, they looked through them. There was one of Sawyer being tormented by Kaia and Aaron over a fried breakfast, with Jack and Curtis only half out of shot. One of Sayid and Shannon, one of Charlie and Claire with Aaron in between them. One of Kaia and Aaron from when they were shopping, looking extremely bored, but also looking curiously around them. One of Kaia and Curtis sitting together on a chair with their arms around each other. One of all three children against a netted wall from the play area. Individual ones of all three children modelling their outfits for the evening party. One of Jack and Kaia dancing. One of Kate and Jack hugging each other with the kids after he had proposed to her.
Kate went back to the individual one of Kaia in her outfit and sighed. "I guess that we'll have to give them this one." She said sadly. "She looks so happy."
"Like she always is." Jack added.
Kate nodded, and then took the individual of Curtis, showing it to him. "Look at this honey, who was a handsome boy last night?" She asked in that sing-song voice to show him that everything was ok.
Curtis looked at the photograph. "That's me!" He said, pointing at it.
"Sure is." Kate said brightly, kissing the side of his head.
He caught sight of the other one in Kate's hand. "And that's Kai!" He said just as amazed. "Kai! Look! It's you!" He looked around as he called to her, but he didn't get any answer. "Kai?" He asked again, but Kate closed her eyes when he looked at her in confusing. "Mommy? Where's Kai? Daddy, where's Kai?"
Jack and Kate looked at each other sadly. Jack took Curtis into his lap. "Curtis, Kaia's not here right now." He explained.
"Why not? Doesn't she want to be?" He asked. "She does, cause she told me she likes it here." He continued.
"I know, little man, I know. But you see, Kaia's lost right now." He said.
"Lost?"
"Yes, she's somewhere else, and she can't find her way home." Jack said.
"Why not?" Curtis asked.
"Because she doesn't know where she is." He said. Curtis looked heartbroken that his sister wasn't with them, and that she was lost.
"But Daddy, Kaia will get scared on her own!" He protested.
"I know, Curtis. But don't you worry, we're going to bring her home again."
"Soon?" Curtis asked.
Jack nodded firmly. "Soon."
Kate went to speak, when the door sounded. Jack stood up to answer it and saw Evans and Colson standing before him.
"Did you find anything?" Jack asked immediately before they had a chance to speak.
"We need you both to come and look at some video footage." They said simply.
Kate, having been listening to them, left Curtis sitting on the couch and went over beside Jack. "Do you know where she is?"
"Not yet, but we hope that either of you may recognise someone who was seen with her."
They left Curtis with Charlie and Aaron down the hall whilst they went into the security booth and watched through the tapes with the inspectors. The first scene showed the image of Jack and the two children coming through reception into the hall. They nodded, as Jack remebered it, and then they fastforwarded on the same camera until Jack quickly saw Kate enter. They watched it normally since then, and noticed various people walking by. Then they saw Kaia emerge from the room, seemingly being pushed out tentatively, followed by a woman.
"Shit." Jack murmered.
They skipped to a different camera setting which showed the room from a wider angle, which showed how well hidden Kaia was from a group of people which explained why reception never saw her leave. There was a struggle between the woman and Kaia when Kaia tried to run off and the woman grabbed her, and Jack realised that this must have been when Kaia's necklace was snapped and had fallen in the plant. Then through the side door that they had checked, Kaia was pulled out of it by the woman.
"Oh god."
Kate was staring at the screen in shock. They had just watched the video footage that showed her daughter being kidnapped. She swallowed. "Is there anymore?" She asked slowly.
"There's outside footage of the two of them getting into a car, but thats it." Evans told them. "We have the liscence number and are tracking it down as we speak."
She nodded nonchalently. The police tracked back and zoomed in on a frame that showed the woman's face. "Do either of you recognise this woman from anywhere?" Colson asked.
Kate leaned in closely, and then shook her head. "No." She said simply.
"Mr Shephard?" They asked.
Jack stared at it, trying to find another image in his mind that would fit, but there was no other. It was the same hair, the same dress, the same figure, the same woman. He wondered how someone he had once thought he loved could do such a thing to him and Kate.
"Sir?"
He looked up at them. "Yes." All heads whipped around to him, and he sighed, rubbing his temples with his fingers. "Her name is Sarah Harrington." He said, and Kate frowned, remembering the name.
"How do you know her?" Evans asked.
"She's my ex-wife." Jack groaned. "We split thirteen years ago, long before we crashed on the island." He couldn't believe it. Kaia was right. Sarah had done something to hurt them.
Jack came back into the hotel room that night to see Kate and Curtis asleep together on the couch. He had been questioned by the police about Sarah, and he had sent Kate back upstairs while he did. After all, she couldn't contribute any knowledge about Sarah, and Curtis was probably worried about where they were. The television was still on when Jack came in, so he guessed that the pair of them probably had fallen asleep waiting for him. He sighed to himself. Turning the television off by the remote, he carried both Kate and Curtis in turn into the bedroom, then went into the kitchen.
He poured himself a glass of water, catching glimpses of the dinners on the side. Jack hadn't had any, but he saw that the child's meal had been eaten for the most part, and the other had simply been moved around the plate. That meant that Kate had barely eaten all day. He shook his head, making a mental note to make sure that she ate breakfast tomorrow. He knew that she was scared, and worried for Kaia, but she had the twins to think about. She needed her strength.
He groaned, placing his head in his hands and leaning his elbows on the kitchen counter, the glass of water forgotten. How had things come to this? Was Sarah really that desperate to get him back. The police were starting to question the other survivors tomorrow about Kaia, and the last they had seen her. They'd had to do the press conference that morning as well, where they made their appeal to the public for any information on Sarah or Kaia, although it clear that they didn't care about Sarah, they just wanted Kaia back. In the last few days, he had come to depend on her so much whilst Kate was away, and drew strength from the girl who's strength seemed never to waver. Now, she was gone, Kate was falling apart, and his strength was only coming from his determination to return Kaia to where she belonged.
He downed the glass of water in one, and then went over into the bedroom. He stopped when he got to the coffee table in the lounge however, noticing the ways in which Kate and Curtis had busied themselves whilst he was being questions. The photographs of Kaia for the police had been copied already, and the mother and son had framed the rest of them, setting them out on the table randomly. From the empty pots of glitter and glue around, he guessed that they had added the extra decoration to the frames which glistened in the moonlight that came in through the window.
Jack sat down on the couch, looking at them all. He picked up the one of all four of them, hugging each other just after he had proposed to Kate. It was strange to look at it and know that this was their first family photo. If he and Kate had met under normal circumstances, they would have had a house full of photos of them and the kids. He knew that, because he loved having photographs around him. It was one of the things that he vowed to have once they were settled down in Sydney together. For once, he would be able to have pictures of his newborn children.
Sighing, he replaced the picture and went into the bedroom. Kate and Curtis were lying beside each other, just as he had left them. He only removed his shoes, getting up on the bed to lie beside them, adopting the same pose as the previous night, and let himself collapse into a state of unconciousness.
"JACK!"
It was Kate's scream that awoke him. He was up on his feet in seconds. Curtis was still asleep behind him and hadn't been awoken by Kate's desperate call. He looked around, Kate wasn't in the room, and he heard her sobbing from the living room. Immediately, he ran into the room, having woken up fully, and found her leaning against the kitchen side, one hand holding her up, and the other held against her stomach. Within two seconds he was at her side, getting her to look at him.
"Kate, Kate, it's alright," He stared, but she shook her head.
"No, it's not right." She said through tears. "Something's wrong. It really hurts." Her face crumpled and he put his hand on her back reassuringly.
"Where does it hurt?" Jack asked calmly, and she guided his hand to right above where the babies were positioned.
Kate shook her head again. "Jack, something's wrong." She repeated. "I can't feel my babies."
A/N: Hides behind a large steel wall Please don't hurt me! This is me, remember, I thrive of jate bliss and happy endings. I wouldn't do anything to cause them pain! Not in the long run anyway!
