Kate had a small, selfish dream that after their engagement, their relationship would continue on as normal. She was not surprised when it did not.
Overnight she was swept into a new world. A world where she proudly wore a ring on her left hand, referred casually to her fiance, Jack. Where Jack was no longer afraid to cherish her, to tell her he loved her.
Where she received elaborate bouquets of flowers from her now hospitable future mother – in – law, where she heard Claire (who had somehow obtained her phone number) screaming through the phone in excitement that she'd always wanted a sister. A world where she met strangers who knew Jack and therefore assumed they knew her. A world where these strangers asked casual questions that married people were required to have answers to, such as where they were getting married and had they thought about kids yet?
Kate spent most of the week following her engagement taking deep breaths, forcing herself to be calm.
At the end of this week she found herself once more at Jack's home, a place she'd become rapidly more comfortable at. She intentionally kept him away from her home, not wanting to explain the mail addressed to the mysterious Maggie Ryan, or Shannon's dates every nights in a new evening gown each time.
Jack's home was full of guests. Though she was tempted to hole herself up with her friends, Claire was mingling with Charlie, Jack was distracted by his mother. She had invited Shannon, who had brought Sayid and was completely distracted by him. Sawyer she had invited, but he had yet to show.
She listened patiently as several older woman spoke over her head, after offering the usual congratulations and had asked a few curious questions.
Jack magically materialized at her elbow when a taller blonde walked toward her, closer to Jack's age than her own. He placed a comforting arm around her, and she felt herself preparing for something, though she did not know what.
"Hey Juliet," said Jack, greeting the woman who had come over to see them. The woman smiled, and turned her gaze to Kate.
"Congratulations," she offered.
"Uh, sorry. Kate, this is Juliet. We work together. Juliet, this is my fiancee, Kate," said Jack proudly. Kate nodded.
"You're a Doctor?" she asked, studying the woman's face. For a moment she'd been terrified that the stranger was Jack's first wife, Sarah. The two women looked similar.
"Fertility specialist," she said, somewhat smugly.
"Thank you for coming," said Kate.
"Of course. Jack talks about you all the time," said Juliet, meeting Jack's eye and smirking. He looked away uncomfortably.
"You, too," lied Kate. She had been tempted to tell the stranger that Jack had never spoken of her, but it hardly seemed tactful. The blonde nodded, barely seeming to register her.
Kate leaned into Jack, tilted her head onto his shoulder. He seemed surprised for a second by her possessive gesture, but quickly adjusted his body so that theirs were pressed up against each other.
Juliet's gaze flicked to the diamond on Kate's finger, made an almost invisible frown, and took her leave. Kate slowly detached herself from Jack, letting her hand wander in to his.
"Your ex?" muttered Kate, her mouth close to his ear.
"I'll explain later," he replied, before smiling at yet another unrecognizable guest, who immediately rushed over to admire the ring, appraise Kate, and offer their congratulations to them both.
Even after the party, the Kate that Jack dealt with was one more akin to the Kate he'd first known than the Kate he knew now.
She sat stiffly on the counter as he washed dishes, flinching slightly whenever he spoke to her, as if caught in her own world. He watched out of the corner of his eye as she fiddled with her engagement ring, taking it off her finger as if it burdened her.
She didn't noticed his presence until he was standing in front of her, staring patiently into her eyes.
"What's wrong?" he asked. She looked up in surprise.
"Who's Juliet?" she asked, asking the first deflecting question she could think of.
"My ex. We were together for a while after Sarah and I divorced," he explained, shrugging.
"And?"
"I was casual about her," he said, shrugging.
"She seems less casual about you," said Kate.
"Kate..." He seemed amused by her jealousy.
"I didn't know any of them," she continued.
"You could have invited your friends besides Shannon and Sayid," said Jack. Kate shrugged, not wanting to admit that she did not have any friends besides them and Sawyer. "Your family, even."
Kate shook her head subconsciously, knowing immediately that she had to get him off this subject. Instead of another lie, she spoke the first words that came to her. A truth.
"I'm scared."
Jack's dark eyes widened, and in that instant she looked more vulnerable than he'd ever seen her.
"You have nothing to be scared of."
"It's easy for you to say! You've done this all before. I've..."
"I haven't done this before."
"What?" she asked.
"I loved Sarah. I truly did. But with you..." Jack trailed off, lost for words.
"What?" she asked again, desperate to draw the words out of him, to reassure herself.
"I love you, Kate," he said simply. She nodded.
"They all think we're crazy. They all think I'm out for you for your money, and they think you're just marrying some little... arm candy," she said in disgust, having a flashback of how many times she'd felt like this, with other men.
"It's not true. So it doesn't matter," said Jack simply. Kate nodded, wishing that his belief in her could make it all true. She'd never had anyone who believed in her so strongly. She knew she'd never had anyone who loved her so much.
Impulsively she leaned forward to kiss him. He moved into the place between her legs and she wrapped them around his waist as his arms wound around hers. When he lifted her into the air, she put his arms around his neck, pressing them intimately together.
Jack took a stumbling step backward, still holding her in his arms, before stopping. Breaking their kiss, he smiled somewhat sadly at her.
"Wait. Do you have to go home?" he asked.
Kate, realizing that she still could not indulge in him, slid out of his embrace and backed to the counter.
"Sayid and Shannon will be there. They're not known to be discreet. But..." she gave him a stern look before his excited expression could fully develop. "Only if I can borrow some pajamas."
Ten minutes later Kate, dressed in a pair of Jack's boxers and a t-shirt that engulfed her, got into bed with her fiance and proceeded to have the best sleep she'd had since her abrupt lifestyle change a year previously.