So sorry for the long wait between updates. Your reviews have been great, please continue them!
Chapter Eighteen
The Week Before
Jack had cleared his surgical schedule for several weeks after his operation. He had one week of work left to mull over the possible complications that could come of his surgery, but knew regardless of his thoughts, he would never let Sam down.
Right now, he told himself, he wasn't acting like a doctor. He wasn't using the facts that he knew – that he was healthy, that the procedure was relatively safe and he would most likely recover well – to his advantage.
Instead, he thought of biliary leakage, obstruction, bleeding, portal vein stenosis and every other malady that could possible affect a liver donor.
And then there was Kate, who he had to be cool and relaxed around. She was nervous enough for Sam, and when Jack was added to the equation, she became impossible to be around.
They weren't technically together. They hadn't even had 'the talk' yet, and Jack thought with the impending surgery, Kate didn't want to get into anything too serious. The same thing had run across his mind; what if something went terribly wrong and he didn't recover? What if Sam died?
He'd already had to deal with Kate's tears on several occasions, once when they were in a movie theater and the main character's father died from cancer, and another time as they were eating lunch in the hospital cafeteria and she simply saw someone else crying. Jack cursed himself for not researching the movie more, or taking her outside of the hospital for lunch, in the regular world where peoples' emotions were a bit more in check.
"Haven't I seen this before?" he asked Kate, fingering the hem of her light green top.
Swinging her legs over his lap and her arm over the back of the couch, Kate rolled her eyes playfully.
"You've seen everything I own, Jack. Remember the whole 'came out here on a whim' thing? I only have one suitcase with me, and therefore only one suitcase full of clothes. Pretty limited options."
"That's not true," he started. "I most certainly have not seen everything you own."
She smacked him lightly on the chest for his insinuation, wondering if she should bypass the conversation or if he would grow tired of her soon because she hadn't slept with him.
"You've seen… some."
Asking a woman why she wouldn't sleep with you was a delicate subject, Jack thought. He couldn't come right out and ask what the holdup was, although he suspected she was waiting until after the surgery. He groaned internally – it would be a long time before he had recovered enough to be able to do that.
"I just … what are we waiting for, exactly? Do you need me to bust out the candles and a Sinatra CD?"
His comment earned him another smack, and he lightly grabbed Kate's wrists to defend himself.
"Not to sound insensitive or anything. You seem to be comfortable with me, that's all. It seems like you might want to?"
Jack was right. She'd plenty enjoyed fooling around with him. She desired him, certainly, and would have no qualms or moral debates about sleeping with a man she liked so much under normal circumstances.
It was the fact that even with her job, she wasn't so sure she could remain in LA if Sam didn't make it through the surgery or if his cancer spread and he ended up dying from it. And if Jack ended up hurt in some way from it…
She looked uneasy, and Jack pressed a palm to the side of her neck, stroking the soft skin he found.
"It's okay. I think I know what this is about."
"It's not all about the surgery if that's what you're thinking. There's just a lot that could change, and fast and I don't wanna rush into something. Or if heaven forbid something happens to you…"
Maybe a healthy dose of reality would work for his case.
"It could," he told her. "But there's no use in making this week miserable and contemplative and way too serious."
"Aww," Kate mumbled, scooting forward until she was sitting on his lap, her hands perched on his chest, "you just wanna get in my pants."
He relaxed into the back of the couch, accepting her kiss and wrapping his arms lazily around her torso. "Can you blame me?" he mumbled against her lips, pulling at her legs until they were wrapped around his hips, tracing the skin on her lower back and inching her shirt upward.
Kate sighed pleasantly and decided to give in to Jack's agenda. In truth, she didn't have much of a plan when it came to sleeping with him. Maybe they'd just needed to have a conversation about it, even if it was a short one. Maybe there was a little part of her that wondered if he liked her as much as she liked him, and it needed to be hushed.
Whatever the reason, her doubts were quieted.
She sat up, pulling her shirt over her head, seeing Jack's eyes widen in surprise. It wasn't completely unfamiliar territory, but she had never displayed such overt behavior with him.
"This wasn't my plan, to sweet talk you into sleeping with me. I was just joking."
Jack had never come across as desperate or overbearing, but had managed to show her how much he wanted her. It was the way he touched her, how he took his time, the way he seemed to be getting as much out of it as she did.
"It wasn't anything you said," she insisted, grinning wickedly, running her fingertips over his flat stomach and down to his belt buckle. "You've been incredibly patient, Dr. Shephard."
He groaned, partially in response to the nickname, the rest because of her roaming hands.
"What caused the change of heart?"
"Jack," she whispered wittily, "can we talk about this later?"
He shrugged his shoulders in mock deliberation. "If you insist."
She looped her arms around his neck and kissed him hard, grinding her pelvis into his for added effect. "Oh, I do."
He picked her up easily and ran to the bedroom with her limbs wrapped around him. She laughed at the absurdity of it all when he dropped her on the bed dramatically, crawling over her and attaching his lips to her neck.
"Well, look what the cat dragged in."
Sam sat in his easy chair, surveying his scribbled-on crossword puzzle.
Kate flushed, embarrassed to return to Sam's in the morning when it was clear she hadn't come home the night before.
"Hey," she managed, fleeing to her bedroom to compose herself.
"Wait a minute," Sam barked, standing slowly from the chair.
For a moment, Kate felt like she was in high school again, being reprimanded by a strict parent for staying out past curfew. It humored her to think about what Sam's parenting style might have been like when she was younger.
"Where were you?"
"Dad," she blushed. "I…"
"That's what I thought," he grinned. "'Bout damn time."
If possible, she blushed harder, tucking her hair behind her ear, self conscious. She and her mother had been close, but had never reached the point where sex became a comfortable topic of discussion. She didn't see how it would be any different with Sam.
"Not that it's any of your business–"
"Sure it is!" he said cheerfully. "If you hadn't come out here looking for me, and if I wouldn't have had cancer and needed a spinal surgeon, then you never would've found Jack… you see how this works?"
Kate laughed. She wasn't going to discuss her sex life with Sam, but it was nice to know that if he was going to give her a hard time, at least he was happy about it.
"Where's Jack?"
"Work," she muttered, noticing that the mention of his name had sent a flash of the night before through her.
She didn't regret her sudden decision to sleep with him. If there was anything to regret, it was that they hadn't done it sooner.
"Hands off," she laughed, peeling Jack's arm from around her lower hip.
"You act like we're being indecent," he argued, opting to hold her hand instead. "Is this okay?"
After their discussion the day before, Jack had insisted on taking her shopping to expand her puny LA wardrobe. So far he'd had her blushing while they strolled the outdoor mall, more concentrated on where his hands were than the clothes in the window displays.
Kate raised her eyebrows at him. "Yes, Jack, this is fine. I wouldn't have imagined you as being so touchy-feely in public, that's all."
"Think everyone knows that you're mine?"
"Yours, huh?"
He hadn't thought how territorial the comment had sounded before it slipped from his mouth, but he wanted there to be some truth in it.
"Well, you know what I mean. Just that you're with me."
There was no doubt what he was getting at and managing to avoid, but Kate feigned innocence.
"With you? As in…"
Jack stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, releasing her hand. "Hey, look at that," he pointed to a mannequin in a blue dress, "that would look great on you. Let's go in."
Kate tugged on his arm and shot him a look.
"Are you really gonna make me say it?" he whined.
She leaned forward to give him a peck on the lips. The day-old scruff on his chin scratched her face and their kiss lingered.
"Fine, I need to know 'what we are,' and 'where we're going' and if I should consider us 'together,'" she laughed.
The joke provided a good cover for her slight insecurity. The thing about starting relationships, she'd always thought, was knowing if the other person's feelings matched hers. She'd had a hard time in the past even expressing those feelings in the first place.
She was fairly certain that Jack had more intent than just to sleep with her. He'd pursued her for a long time, but there would always be those doubts tucked away in her mind, wondering if he wanted the same kind of relationship as she had recently discovered she did.
"What we are? I would say we're… together, exclusive. Boyfriend and girlfriend," he laughed. "However you wanna put it."
Kate hugged him to her side.
"Okay, now that we've gotten that uncomfortable conversation out of the way, I believe you've brought me here so I could buy some clothes…"
"Lead the way. I've got my card ready."
Kate frowned. "I didn't expect you to buy me anything, Jack."
He laughed. "Oh, I'll be spending some money. A lot, I hope."
He nodded toward a store with a display full of lacy bras and panties and sheer nighties.
She raised her eyebrows and pulled him toward the store. "I'll accept that offer."
Up Next: The transplant.