Hey guys. I know I said that Jack wouldn't be in the chapters for awhile but I lied. I decided to rework my story several times in fact, but I finally have a version of it I like so that's good. Oh and to remind everyone, I picked 7 people who got off the island a long time ago (after the season 3 finale), in this chapter you get to meet one of them. I have plans to work in the other three later on.
Also, please excuse any grammatical or spelling errors, I worked on this chapter for a very very long time and now my eyes are glazy. I promise the next chapter will be perfect.

New Life

Chapter 6

Half Bath

Keys jingled, the noise echoing down the hallways along with the plastic crinkle of the grocery bags. It was a Tuesday, and naturally that meant grocery shopping. Shopping was best done on Tuesdays when the volume of the stores were at an all time low, and getting it done early in the week freed up her weekends to spend with Sawyer. Though that was even becoming predictable.

Pushing up her knee, she juggled the bags in her arms careful of the left one still wrapped in a cast as the proper key slid into the lock and with a comforting click, the door opened. Moving inside while still adjusting the seven bags of food, Kate slammed the door shut and let out a long sigh.

"Hey Freckles," Sawyer greeted and rose from the kitchen table where he had been entertaining someone. He collected all the grocery bags from her with a smile and nodded towards the table, "We've got company."

Hunching over to pull off her sneakers, she'd barely sent a glance to the man sitting at the table, with a second look she gave the stranger another once over and realized she knew him after all, "Hurley," her mouth pursed into a genuine smile.

"Hey Kate," he was already out of his seat and greeted her with a hug, "It's been awhile since I've seen you guys."

It was Hurley, he sounded the same and acted the same, it had to be him, "I know," she nodded into his shoulder that was less padded.

He let go of her, a grin on his thinned face, "But I just had to stop by to congratulate you guys on joining the millionaires' club," his face scrunched as he mused on the thought further, "I mean the lottery winners' club."

"It's not me," she shook her head and tucked a wisp of hair behind her ear, "Sawyer's the one who bought the ticket."

From the kitchen, over the rustle of plastic bags Sawyer's voice rang, "I even picked out the winning numbers too."

Hurley's eyebrows jumped and with a little reservation he questioned, "Really, which ones were they?"

"Which ones were what?" Sawyer reached up and placed packages of food into the cupboard.

Kate watched their conversation, from a distance. Her fingers twitched behind her back, and her eyes darted to the keys in the bowl and then to the clock on the wall, "I'm sorry, but I can't stay."

"What'd you mean, you can't stay?" Sawyer sent a glower her way from the space between the counter and the cupboard.

She shrugged her shoulders innocently and grabbed her car keys once again, "I have other stuff to do today you know."

"So?" his voice was edgy, but still not fully angry, "Do it tomorrow, you got three more days 'til the weekend."

"I have other things to do those days," she felt her skin growing hot as she shoved on her shoes, "Just because you're home I can't rework everything. God forbid I should mess with the routine."

He moved out of the kitchen, his hands held up in defense as Hurley moved to the side of the room, obviously uncomfortable with the fight. "Easy Freckles, just take a second to relax. You need to be filled in on a few key points, like why Hurley is so skinny and why I'm home."

"Hurley got surgery and someone from your work died today," she rambled as she opened the door and stood in the threshold, "It was in the paper." The door slammed behind her, and she only stayed in place long enough to hear Hurley ask, "Dude, was my surgery in the paper?"

With a sigh, she began to pull down the road. It had taken her almost fifteen minutes just to convince the guard at the gate that she was only there to visit someone. After three phone calls and some extended contemplation on the guard's part, she was finally allowed access to the building with a visitor's pass. Part of her wished they wouldn't let her in.

The light gray paved road winded as it travelled uphill. It lead a path to the monumental building that shaded most of the front lawn in its shadow, then curved around to exit at a different but equally guarded gate.

During the two minutes it took for her car to get from the gate to the mansion, she contemplated what she was doing a million times. She weighed the consequences versus the perks, and considered the different outcomes. Just like the first night Jack called her and pleaded with her to meet him at the airport. That was almost two years ago.

As her car traced the circular curve of the road, she noticed a man descending the stairs at the front of the mansion signaling to get her attention. She slowed the car until it stopped, then rolled her window down.

"Can I please see your pass?" it was a request that sounded more like a demand. Without a word she pulled the slip of paper granted to her at the front gates out and handed it to the man who studied it for a few seconds.

When she realized that she had started to fidget in her seat she questioned, "Is there a problem," with those words she was spun back to remember the rescue from the island, the officer who found her one day later, the year and a half spent in jail.

Forcing a smile for show, he handed her back the paper which she placed in her glove compartment, "nothing out of the ordinary miss, we just have strict policies on visitors."

Kate nodded in place of answering with some mundane words, and he showed her where she could park her car a few yards away. She did as he told, but when she checked her rearview mirror as the car inched towards its allotted spot, she saw him take down her license plate numbers. Suddenly this wasn't feeling like a good idea at all.

But she owed it to him. She forced herself to remember that while she was in jail, he had visited her once a week, taking time from rehabilitating himself with his stressing job and the new world that had changed since the island. She insisted that he didn't have too, but he saw through her lies as he always did, and continued to visit her until Sawyer found out.

At the bottom of the stairs she met the same man as before, who now escorted her up the stairs and through the solid doors. Everything was polished and clean. Anything painted was painted white and all the floors were expensive marble or hardwood. It was like they were trying to hide what the building really was. Trying to make it as unlike jail as possible.

That was the reason Kate had been so unsure about coming. She knew that the rehabilitation center would be like the hospital, and in return would be like prison. All of them reminded her of being held captive, which ultimately reminded her of the island.

The man stopped before a desk in the foyer, "Just tell Sandy here, who you're here to see," once again a common statement sounded like it was coming from a drill sergeant.

She turned to the young woman sitting at the desk that barely looked up from typing at her computer, "I'm here to see Jack Sheppard."

The girl smiled, "Oh, he's in the greeting room," she jabbed a thumb over her shoulder at the long corridor that seemed endless, "it's the third room on the left, the one with the open door."

"Isn't everyone supposed to be in the courtyard," the man's voice was sudden as she tried to escape.

Sandy wrinkled her nose, "He doesn't seem to like it outside, which is pretty funny considering, right?" her question was directed at Kate, who offered no response. "Hey," Sandy pointed a French manicured fingernail at her, "Aren't you from the island too?"

Kate's smile was reserved, "third room on the left, right?"

"Yeah," the girl nodded slowly, still studying Kate as she walked passed towards the greeting room.

The entire place reminded her of the abandoned Dharma stations they'd found scattered around the island. The medical one where she'd taken Claire, the Hydra, the Looking Glass where Charlie died. The Georgian styled mansion may have been made over to look welcoming, but the curving driveway and broad hallway were equal to the passages of the stations.

The third room on the left came, instead of a thick wooden door painted white and accented with a solid gold handle; a brown archway marked the entrance to the room. The room itself was surprisingly large, two bay windows adorned the back wall, and the left wall was bisected by a fireplace. The right wall was taken up by a pool table, and the other side of the room held a couch and two love seats situated around the fireplace and the plasma TV that was against the wall above it.

The desk clerk was also right, as the only person in the room was Jack, who sat on one of the leather couches with his back facing her and staring at the blank television screen.

"Jack," her voice was small as she took two steps into the room, wanting him to send her away, but knowing he wouldn't.

His head wrenched around, "Kate?" Grinning she tried to keep the tears from her eyes, as he stood from the couch and approached her, "what are you doing here?"

"I came to see you," stating the obvious was the only thing she could think of as a reply. She was in awe by his appearance, how much four weeks of rehab had done for him. He looked well rested, and was clean shaven and suddenly she knew why she came, "You look really good."

Jack chuckled and rubbed the back of his head, "As well as anyone can in rehab."

"How are you doing?" she blurted the question out, knowing that if he told her that she shouldn't have come, her heart would break. She didn't notice that her right hand had drifted over and now held him by the wrist.

Gesturing to the couch with a nod, he pulled her along with him until they were sitting on the same piece of furniture facing each other. They were close enough that his knee grazed hers every once and a while, but not tellingly close. "It's not that bad, I just don't like going outside. It—" he stopped talking and his hazel eyes darted away from her.

"It feels like the Others doesn't it?" her voice was low as she leaned in a little to make sure that he heard her correctly.

That drew his attention back to her, "That's exactly how it feels, how did you—"

"That's exactly how jail felt, how the hospital felt," she glanced down to the bright white cast that stuck out no matter what clothing she wore.

His hands moved to her bandaged arm, examining it with the most delicate touch, "How does it feel? Is it healing well?" His eyes met hers full of concern and care, just like they had on the island, and it made her nostalgic once again.

"It's all right," she told him, bringing her legs up to curl underneath her, "I think it hurt a lot at the beginning but I was pretty much out of it."

He shot a brief smile at her as his fingers moved over the hardened plaster that covered the cast, "Did you break anything else?"

She shook her head once, "No, I had a minor concussion and a lot of scrapes and bruises. Actually the one on my cheek was pretty bad, Sawyer was afraid to go out in public with me because he thought people would think he did it." She giggled at the remembrance of how worked up Sawyer got, she'd never seen him that nervous about something so trivial.

"How is Sawyer anyway?" Jack's hand left hers as he asked his question.

She tried not to let her appearance falter, "He's fine, he got promoted and then won the lottery and then promoted again," her words were rambled together as she looked for something in the room to distract her.

"You guys won the lottery?" Jack questioned with a dry laugh.

Kate shook her head and turned away, "Not me, him. He bought a ticket with a few guys at work. It's not a lot of money, but it's enough to buy a house with. Plus he's gotten so many pay increases with his promotions; I think he went from temp to senior manager in a couple of months."

"Wow," Jack bit his lip to hide his laughter, "Sawyer climbing the corporate ladder. Who would have thought?"

"Yeah," her voice was quiet as she stared at the coffee table before them. Her lower lip trembled and she hoped he didn't see.

His hand rested on her back and she knew he saw, "Hey," his voice was calm and caring once again as he shuffled closer to her on the couch, "Is everything okay?"

"I can't move into a house with him Jack," she told him, her eyes still refusing to meet his. She felt the tears; cool on her skin as she grew hot with the revelation not only to Jack, but herself as well.

"Kate," her name from his mouth was as refreshing as the waves crashing on the beach, "if you don't want to be with him, just leave."

"I can't," she swallowed down a sob and ignored his advice, "I can't do this for the rest of my life. I can't follow the same stupid routine and act like everything is normal."

Jack's arms moved around her back and pulled her to his chest, "I know it's hard for you," his voice calm against her hair, "I know you went from running, to standing still, but everything will be okay, I promise you."

Kate nodded against his shoulder, her good arm wrapped around his neck and her tears staining his shirt, "Why were things so much better on the island?"

He physically stiffened and pulled away from her, "don't say that. Don't ever say that."

She looked down at his hands on her biceps, then slowly back up to his eyes, "Jack a few weeks ago, you were the one raving about how we had to go back."

His face softened, but something still flared behind his eyes, "Kate, I was high on Oxycodone. I was constantly drunk. I didn't know what I was talking about; there is nothing worse than going back there."

There were things worse than being marooned on an island. All the survivors, all seven of the people who got off the island knew there were worse things out there, even when the baby stealing natives were factored in. She forced her arms out of his grip and turned away from him.

"Kate," she felt his hand firmly plant on her chin and direct her head towards him. A general look of concern now plagued his face, "If you want to leave, then leave."

"I don't have anywhere to go," without taking her eyes away from his, her good hand found his empty hand and she grasped it tight.

He squeezed it back, "Stay at my place."

"What?" Kate attempted to push her body back, but his hold on her hand was still strong, "Jack I can't."

"Why not?" he questioned. His hand dropped from her face and sandwiched her hand between his. Their knees were pressed against each other and she suddenly noticed the closeness between them.

"I can't just bounce from Sawyer to you whenever I need something Jack," Kate tried to move away but he held her hand tight.

"I'm not going to be out of here for another six weeks," Jack finally broke his gaze and turned his saddened eyes to his hands holding hers. Before she could ask the question, he answered, "They think it's better for me to stay an extra month, just to make sure that I've got it out of my system."

Kate stared at him a moment. How could he stay in this place when it reminded him so much of things he hated? Then she remembered that he was doing it all for her.

Without another thought Kate pushed forward, her hands came to rest on the tattered blue jeans that covered Jack's thighs. She expected him to protest when she kissed him, expected him to grab her by the shoulders and hold her at an arm length away, but he didn't.

Jack's hands slid up her arms until they rested on her biceps again. After a few moments more of kissing, he gently pulled her towards him, until she almost sat in his lap. One hand was tangled in her hair and the other supported her as it pressed into the small of her back. She felt his fingertips scale over the skin that peeked from between her shirt and her jeans.

When he broke the kiss to trail his lips down the side of her neck to her collarbone, she arched away from him and hooked her good arm around his neck. For her it had never been this real. Sex with Jack or Sawyer always felt so staged, but now, in the common room of a rehab center, she finally felt like she was supposed to.

"Kate," he pulled away from her even though they were still intertwined in each other's arms, "this isn't a good place."

Her hand moved down to cover his at her side and she gave him a sly smile, "Like the dirt road by the airport was?"

He chuckled and allowed her to kiss him again as his fingers began to knead at her side. But it was only a few moments more before he broke the kiss again, "Kate."

An angry huff escaped her mouth as he grinned at her, "What's so wrong with right here?"

"Someone could see us," he arched an eyebrow and added an incredulous tone to his voice.

Without moving, Kate craned her head around as she tried to find a place where they could have a little more privacy. Nothing really came to mind until she saw a door nestled away in the corner, "What's in there?"

"It's a bathroom," he answered as he glanced over her shoulder at the door.

A devious grin grew on her face as she quickly led him into the room.

Next Chapter - Did Kate accept Jack's offer? I don't think so because Sawyer's in the next chapter and Jack isn't.