A/N - This is part I of Chapter 2. The second part will arrive shortly!

Her eyes were half-open, and she could feel him breathing. Her head rested on his chest, his chin lightly touching her hair, his arms around her stomach. The television flickered underneath her eyelids. The drone of a woman's voice echoed through her ears, but Kate didn't try to discern what she was saying.

The day was wonderful. After Jack had asked a hundred times if she was all right, they had decided to drive around the city.

"It was probably just overexertion." Jack had reassured her, but she knew he was really reassuring himself. "You've been cooped up for so long, and you didn't even eat breakfast. Are you hungry? Are you sure you feel better?"

When Kate could stand the car no longer, she begged Jack to park in a lot so they could walk. They meandered down busy streets for hours, breathing in the scent of foods wafting from restaurants and taking in the bright lights and flashy signs. Jack realized how much he had missed; work had taken up so much of his life that he had never really explored the place where he lived.

"You haven't explored?" Kate teased. "Mister 'I'm going into the jungle on a dangerous mission' hasn't explored L.A.?"

Jack had groaned. "No more dangerous missions!"

They were home now, and it was past midnight. Kate felt the warmth of Jack's body and the comfortable feeling of having spent a day worth living. She began drifting in and out of sleep, though she tried hard to stay awake.

"You're doing that thing." Jack said softly into her ear.

"What thing?" Kate mumbled.

"When you're trying not to fall asleep and your eyes flutter open and closed." She could hear the smile in his voice.

"Sorry." She sat up. He looked sorry she did, so she quickly settled back down on his shoulder. "What are you going to do? Now that you've quit your job?"

"Well, technically, I still have a job. I haven't told them that I'm leaving yet. I feel guilty about it, after they gave me my position the second I came back to the hospital. But… i don't know, the day of your trial, I had a surgery scheduled for the same time as your trial was supposed to start. And I stood there, thinking about you, and my hands started shaking." He looked down at her upturned face. "Not a good thing when you're about to go into surgery. I knew right then that I couldn't do it, so I left. The thing is, it wasn't just my hands. Right then, I felt some sort of shift. I can't really explain it. But ever since then, I've been miserable there."

"Wow." Kate breathed, knowing how important this change was.

"It doesn't make any sense, I know. I used to love my work more than anything, and then, just like that…" he trailed off, thinking.

"I used to like riding horses." Kate said abruptly. "I had one until I was fourteen. He was a huge black horse. His name was Barley." She snorted. "It's a stupid name, but I was seven when I got him. Once, we were riding, and he got spooked by a dog. He fell on his leg, and it broke." She closed her eyes, remembering. "We had to put him to sleep. Wayne put him to sleep." She said bitterly.

Jack ran his hand up and down her shoulder.

"That horse was the first thing I killed." No tears squeezed out of her eyes, but her throat burned.

Jack didn't say anything, and she was grateful. If he had tried to reason with her, she would have been furious. But he knew her well enough that just allowing her to speak was enough. He knew that she didn't want comfort, and that she was too stubborn to change her mind now.

"Ever since then, I have hated every goddamn horse I've seen." She swallowed hard. "But… I guess that's different from your surgeon problem." She finished, and opened her dry eyes.

"I guess." Jack agreed quietly. That was all he said, and somehow, his silence calmed her. He stayed that way, rubbing her arm and holding her, until her head was clear, her eyes stopped fluttering, and she was asleep.

Okay, so I just can't stop being depressing. What do you guys think? Should I lay off the emo-ness? Or do you trust me?