So since this is coming a few hours late, it's extra extra long and really just kind of light weekend reading. Enjoy! Please review!
Jack watched the clock over the nurse's shoulder. She was explaining some patient situation, and Jack glanced at her briefly, nodding encouragingly, and then returned his eyes to the clock. His shift would end in approximately one minute, and whatever problem this nurse was detailing would no longer be his to manage.
Five minutes later, Jack was already driving towards the country club, hoping to catch Kate on her night shift. He swung by a grocery store on the way, picking up the one necessary item he needed before finding Kate and trying one more time to ask her out.
For a week Jack had let it go. He figured that Kate had made herself clear: she wasn't interested. But something in the way the spoke to one another, the way she laughed, the way she invited him into her life for one brief Saturday afternoon—there was something telling about these little details that made him think twice. That made him believe that maybe she really did want him around, and maybe as more than a friend.
Jack rushed through the doors as soon as the valet took his car. His fingers drummed against the item in his hand as he made his way towards the dining room. As soon as he entered he saw Kate behind the bar, obviously her station as bartender for the evening.
He smiled wide, fingering the item in his hand again before crossing the dining room to the bar, pulling up a stool and drumming his fingers against the wood of the bar. Kate, who was talking distractedly to some other man at the bar looked up casually when Jack sat down and did a double take in his direction.
He faintly heard her excuse herself from the man and made her way over to Jack cautiously.
"What are you doing here?" She asked softly, glancing behind him, looking guilty.
Jack said nothing, only pushed towards her what he'd bought from the supermarket on the way over, a box of dryer sheets.
He watched her face carefully until a tiny grin quirked her lips and she couldn't help but smile.
"I thought you could use them." Jack said sweetly, grinning at his choice of gifts.
"Ah yes, a commemorative gift. Very nice. Thank you."
Jack shrugged. "It gave me an excuse to see you."
Kate ducked her head, hand coming up to brush an errant curl behind her ear.
"You're not going to ask me out again, are you?" She asked playfully, glancing up at him and swallowing hard at the intensity and warmth in his eyes.
"If I did, would you turn me down again?"
She eyed him a moment, an easy smile still playing on her lips. She sighed, leaning back against the counter behind her and crossing her arms of her chest, eyes inspecting Jack as if she was really making up her mind about him.
"I can't figure you out." She announced finally, shaking her head ruefully.
Jack laughed at this. "That makes two of us."
Kate raised an eyebrow, silently asking him to explain. He licked his lips, eyes breaking the connection with hers while he plucked at and gathered the words that had been floating listlessly around his head for the past week.
"I don't know why I can't stop thinking about you, but I know that I can't. And I figure it'd be pretty stupid to keep on ignoring the thought of you, of taking out on a real date," he smirked, "when I could just come here and find you and bug you until you say yes." He finished, grinning and making her laugh.
She eyed him. "This isn't like that movie Pretty Woman where you buy me lots of fancy gifts and I become your live-in call girl, right?" She joked, but Jack could sense the real underlying message of her teasing: she didn't want to be his charity care nor his lower-class mistress.
However, he realized, now was not the time to address the future of what they might become, but he knew either scenario that she feared were not possibilities for him when it came to her.
"I don't think a box of dyer sheets count as a fancy gift…" He joked back, and she smiled faintly, but didn't answer—waiting for him to give her some confirmation, some safety net of words that she could hang on to.
He leaned closer on the bar, hands folded in front of him. "Look, Kate, it's just a date. I'm not out to save you or use you. I just want to take you out. I like you."
Kate fidgeted a moment, "Okay." She settled on finally.
Jack sat back on his stool. "Really?" He blinked, eyebrows rising high on his forehead and she laughed.
"Really."
"When?" He asked excitedly, before realizing how eager he sounded and forcing his voice to even.
"I don't know, you pick."
Jack nodded, thinking over his schedule.
"What time do you get off tomorrow?"
"Eight."
"Well what about dinner? I know this place in—"
"I'll cook." Kate said firmly, cutting off Jack's sentence and making him look up.
"You'll cook." He said flatly, looking suspicious. She rolled her eyes.
"I can cook. Don't look so skeptical."
He smirked. "Okay. Where is this cooking happening? My place or yours?"
Kate thought a moment. "Mine. I don't want to mess up your kitchen."
"That inspires a lot of confidence."
She gave him a pointed but playful look and leaned forward, fingering the edge of the wooden bar with her nail.
"You know, for someone who has shunned my advances multiple times, this will be the second time you've brought me back to your place." Jack teased, eyebrows wagging and making her roll her eyes, giggling lightly and rocking back on her feet.
"Don't get too excited. Unless my roommate is around for you to meet, then you can get excited."
"So I'll meet you when tomorrow? Nine?"
Kate nodded, sounding surprised by her own words but smiling wide. "Nine it is."
When Jack arrived at Kate's the following evening, flowers and a bottle of wine in hand, the first person to come to the door was the blonde woman Jack had been told was Claire, Kate's roommate.
"You must be Jack." She said pleasantly, and Jack blinked at her Australian accent a moment before graciously responding.
"Yeah, that's me. You must be Claire."
She nodded, standing aside and motioning for him to come in.
"Kate's…a little late. She had to stop somewhere on her way back from work. She'll be here soon."
Jack looked surprised a moment before recovering, smiling and holding up the two items in his hands—the bottle of wine and the bouquet of daisies.
"Anywhere I can put these?" He asked, and Claire laughed and took them from him, moving towards the kitchenette.
"You know, I can't remember the last time Kate had a date over to the apartment." Claire mused aloud, bustling around through the cabinets while she chatted.
"Is that a good thing?" Jack asked conversationally, turning in a slow circle to observe all the pictures on the wall.
Claire laughed. "I'd think so, yeah. She told me about you. Persistent, aren't we?"
Jack blushed, turning towards Claire in the kitchen. "I guess."
After about another fifteen minutes of pleasant small talk, and a funny story about Kate and Claire getting the couch up the five-floor walk-up, Kate came rushing through the door, coming to a halt when she saw Jack sitting easily on the couch.
"Hi." He said pleasantly, standing and setting his glass of wine of the coffee table.
"Hi." She replied, looking uncomfortable a moment, before putting a finger up. "Can you hang on for a sec while I change?"
Jack nodded enthusiastically. "Sure, sure. Do what you need to do."
"Thanks." Kate shot a quick look to Claire, a signal, Jack supposed, that was meant for Claire to follow Kate back into her bedroom.
"I'll…be right back." Claire said, getting up from where she'd been sitting on the floor and following Kate back towards one of the bedrooms.
Another five minutes later and Kate emerged in a pair of jeans, a fitted red t-shirt with faded lettering on it that sad Iowa State on it, and barefoot, her hair in a messy topknot that showed of the curve of her neck. She was dressed casually, but, as Jack thought, beautifully and simply.
Claire followed closed behind, a purse slung over her shoulder and a jacket on.
"I'm going to head out, I totally I forgot I had this…thing. But you two have a fun time, yeah?"
Jack smiled knowingly, choosing to overlook the more obvious reason for her departure.
"It was good meeting you, Claire." He said warmly, and she smiled a genuine smile back at him.
"You too, Jack. See you later, Kate."
Kate smiled, nodding, and then turned back to Jack when the door closed behind Claire.
"So…" She said in a long breath, hands tucked in her jean pockets as she looked around nervously.
"You look nice." Jack said easily, taking a step towards her, bracing a hand on her arm while he leaned in and pecked her on the cheek as a greeting, making her laugh nervously.
"Thanks." She mumbled, and Jack caught the flush in her cheeks as he stepped back and bit back a smile.
They stood awkwardly for a long moment, quiet, before Kate snapped back into action.
"Dinner! Right. I'm making dinner. You must be starving."
"I could eat." He answered offhandedly, following her towards the kitchenette. "I brought a bottle of wine…" He gestured to the bottle on the counter and she stopped her shuffling through the fridge to look at him.
"You were serious then. About the wine, candles…"
Jack laughed, "Well, you might have to supply the candles…"
She grinned. "Maybe later."
After another long moment of rifling through the contents of the fridge and the freezer, Kate took a step back and looked at Jack.
"How do you feel about balcony grilling?" She asked slowly.
A half an hour later, they both were leaning forward, side-by-side on the railing of Kate's tiny, almost too-small balcony. A small, collapsible grill situated and two small steaks cooked, the smell wafting up to where Jack leaned, a glass of wine perched in his grip.
"So, where were you earlier?" Jack asked casually, eyes forward on the city lights, twinkling and only partially obstructed by the nightly haze that settled and sunk down over Los Angeles.
"What do you mean?"
"Whatever you were running late from."
"Oh," Kate said quickly, "that was nothing. Just something I had to take care of."
Jack shrugged, dismissing the topic. "Sometimes I wish I had a balcony. It might be nice." He mused dreamily and Kate laughed.
"You mean your fancy Brentwood apartment doesn't have a balcony?"
Jack rolled his eyes. "No, it didn't come with a balcony. You've got me beat there."
He eyed her a moment before nudging her with his shoulder. "So what's your story, Kate Austen? Tell me about you." He smiled warmly and Kate bit her lip.
"Nothing to tell really. Just a country girl come to work in the big city." She deadpanned, eyes skirting away from his. "What about you?"
Jack sighed heavily. "Well, I'll tell you mine. A summary. But don't think I'm letting you off the hook so easy. We're coming back to you."
Kate ducked her head. "Go on."
Jack sighed again, eyes looking for something or nothing far off, gathering the loose threads of his life together since his failed marriage.
"I got a divorce seven months ago." He said evenly, not looking at Kate, whose head had turned sharply towards his. His shoulders slumped as he continued.
"Her name was Sarah and we hadn't been married long. But things just sort of fell apart. I was working a lot, and she started seeing other men, and…" Jack trailed, huffing a resigned laugh. "…And that's that."
He ventured a look at Kate, expecting to see sympathy, pity, caution, disgust. But she only looked at him neutrally, expression even.
"And what about your dad? What's up with him?" She offered, taking a sip of her own glass of wine, eyes still trained on his. He fumbled for words a moment, not expecting the transition to another sore spot in his life so quickly.
Jack finally smiled lopsidedly. "My dad is…among other things…the Chief of Surgery at St. Sebastian's…my superior, my boss, and a drunk sometimes." Jack thought a moment. "He's got a lot of problems." Jack said finally, shaking his head and forcing a smile, eyes drifting off towards the skyline once more.
Kate nodded, he could tell out of the corner of his eye, and her face looked serious, but not pitying, just understanding.
"Your life sounds fun." She said teasingly after a moment, and Jack, who'd been so wound up, tense, from his heart spilling, that he laughed loud.
"Yeah. Loads."
Kate smiled, subconsciously leaning closer to him, the lengths of their arms touching—warm and inviting for more contact, but Jack only looked at her steadily.
"And now your turn. See if you can top mine." He dared.
Kate bit her lip, body tensing a little at the thought. "I…" She trailed, unsure of how to continue, but Jack waited patiently until she took a long look at him, as if deciding something important, before she went on.
"My mom and stepfather died about a year ago. That's why I came out to L.A. There wasn't anything left for me in Iowa except a lot of debt and an old trailer home."
She finished softly, then looked down into the scarlet contents of her wine glass, eyebrows in a hard line. Jack watched her moment before turning sideways towards her and touching her arm gently.
"I'm sorry." He said softly, but she shook her head, expecting him to say that.
"It's okay. It feels like a long time ago."
Jack was quiet a moment longer, watching her eyes focus in on her hands, the balcony, anywhere but him.
"Well," he announced finally, sighing gustily, "not only are the steaks ready, but I think your story has got mine beat."
Kate turned to him, something glinting in her eyes with gratitude, and she smiled.
After they ate, finished the rest of the wine, and had spent an extra hour on the balcony, laughing at old stories, about mistaken first impressions, and Christian Shepherd's hand on her ass, Kate let out a long yawn.
Jack checked his watch. It was 12:55.
"God, it's late." He said surprised. "I'm sorry, you must be tired." He said apologetically, rising from the plastic chair on the balcony and offering her a hand to help her stand. She took it gratefully, smiling up at him and winding up in a standing position awfully close to him—almost chest to chest.
He looked down at her thoughtfully, her cheeks flushed from the wine, and he thought about how her lips would taste—tangy and sweet from the wine, and full of life and zest from dinner, and surely some other element he wouldn't be able to place, something wholly unknown and exotic to him.
Her own eyes stared back, deep into his, unsure. She blinked, almost severing the connection between them, but Jack let his hand find the curve of her hip, tugging her gently closer to him.
To brace herself, her hand came up to the flat of his chest, finding her hand warm to the feel of it, the heat radiating off his skin, through his shirt and into her palm. She swallowed hard, wondering why now, of all times, the confidence she always feigned had vanished and she felt totally inexperienced and awkward.
Jack's other hand came up and tucked a loose tendril of her hair behind her ear, his knuckles coming back and softly grazing her cheek, over the dusking of freckles scattered there.
"I really like you, Kate." He said softly, eyes boring into hers and she bit her lip, unsure of what to say.
"Thank you for tonight, Jack. I needed this." She settled on finally, and it sounded to formal, lame coming out of her mouth but he smiled gently, sensing something in that moment, and moved his lips to her forehead, placing a soft kiss there and stepping back.
She seemed surprised, but somehow grateful that he'd put the ball in her court when so many men in the past had called all the shots. He grabbed his coat and she showed him out, watching him walk to the steps, turn back towards her and telling her he'd call her tomorrow, and then take the steps down to his car.
She stood in the doorway a moment longer, thoughtful, hearing his footsteps dissipate into the night outside, gone. Then, in a sudden moment of clarity, she bounded down the steps after him, taking them two at a time, hoping to catch him.
She rounded out of the building and called his name. "Jack!" She shouted, seeing his car, almost ready to pull away from the curb and get back on the highway, go back to where he came from. She rounded around to the driver's side of the car, catching him just before he was about to shift in the drive.
She rapped on the window and saw him jump, but she was too riled up to laugh, he rolled down the window all the way, smiling goofily.
"Jesus, you scared—"
But Jack couldn't finish, because Kate had pressed her lips to his insistently, body leaning in through open car window and her hands holding his face, mouth opening under his.
She could feel his eyebrows rise, his mouth struggle to keep up with hers, probing and steady, and flustered. Again and again her lips crashed against his, her thumb rubbing a circle into the fleshy skin of cheek. And she could also feel him smiling into her mouth, her tongue darting to touch his daringly, making him grunt softly and then she smiled, kissing him shortly, once, twice, three times more. Finally, she took a step back, panting, and smiling, eyes alight.
Jack looked flushed and shell-shocked, but thoroughly well kissed, lips swollen and glistening and cheeks red.
"What the hell was that?" He asked breathlessly, smiling as wide as she'd ever seen him smile.
She smiled back too, shrugging. "I don't know. You made me feel good tonight. And at the grocery store before, and the Laundromat, and the country club. You made me feel good. It felt like the right thing to do."
Jack caught his breath, letting out a quick laugh, unsure of what to say. She only grinned wider, knowing that she'd said what she needed too, that he didn't need to match the headiness and giddiness of her words.
"Go. It's late. We both need to get some sleep." She said softly, smile still stretching her mouth.
He beamed, leaning out of the window and pecking her lips again, hand coming out to cradle her jaw, nipping at her lips, making her smile into his mouth and almost get lost in the kiss some more before she pulled away reluctantly.
"Go! Get out of here. I think I left my door open."
He laughed, turning and shifting the car into drive.
"Wait." She said impulsively, leaning in and kissing him quickly, two more times, and then backing up.
"Okay, okay. Really. You should go." She laughed.
He sighed, smiling broadly and shaking his head as if he couldn't believe the chain of events that'd just occurred, the quick succession of bliss.
"I'll call you tomorrow?"
She nodded, arms crossing over her chest against the prick of the night chill. "You better."
He smiled once more, cheeks almost aching at the stretch, before rolling away, waving out the window while she watched him go.
Hope you enjoyed that! It was fun to write! But, alas, things cannot stay so joyful for so long. Of course, the angst will come, but I'll be sure to let them revel in this phase for a little while longer, and then intersperse fluff with the angst. Upcoming chapter(s) hints and teasers: Kate isn't telling the truth about the fate of one of her "parents" but it's not what you think--she didn't kill Wayne. Also, how Jack and Kate explore there new 'relationship'--including the introduction of possible jex? Who knows! Let me know what you think, and what you want to see, your favorite parts! Your reviews really inspire me and make my day, you're the best readers ever!