I'm so sorry guys!
My life's been going all over the place lately and I couldn't get a chance an go on fan fiction for the past weeks…
Last friday I flew to another city to visit my great-grandma for New Years. But right on December 31st we had to take her to the hospital and she's been in the ICU since then. I'm back home now but I can't stop thinking about her. She's one of the most special women in my life and I'm not ready to let her go… But the doctors say that there's nothing more they can do…
On top of that school's been giving me a very hard time. Turkish education and examination system is brutal! I go to school 6 days a week, from 8am to 5 pm! I've been drowning under a huge pile of homework and I have tests every single day until the end of January!
And again, I'm sorry for spilling my entire life in front of you like this but I felt the need to share this with someone…
Yeah, so those were my excuses for not updating before the New Year like I promised. And also they're the reason of this shorter chapter.
I want to apologise in advance and sadly tell you that I might not be able to update again before January 24th… Until my mid-year break...
And also I want to thank each and every one of you who has reviewed, followed and favorited! You guys seriously make my day and I really needed them especially after this past few weeks.
One more thing I should add, it's 2am right now and I'm not sure if I was able to correct my mistakes properly. :/
I will now stop with my rambling and let you read the new chapter :)
ENJOY!
-FLASHBACK-
"Where are we going mommy?" Aaron asked once again when they were in the car.
They were almost out of Iowa and Kate had stopped the car to look at the map.
They had started their "adventure", yes, but she actually didn't have a destination in mind yet. She was just staring at the map trying to find a perfect place for them to start their new life. A perfect place as far away from Iowa as possible. She searched from one end of the country to the other.
And finally, she picked Seattle.
"It's far enough and if anything goes wrong I could easily escape to Canada." She murmured to herself.
Aaron grew restless when he couldn't get a response from his mother and started kicking to front seat.
"Stop it baby." Kate warned gently.
"I don't like this adventure! I'm bored mommy!" He said, kicking it harder.
"Aaron... Please-"
"I want to go home!" He yelled.
"But we're on an adventure sweetie." she said trying to sound as enthusiastic as possible. There was a lot going in her mind and the last thing she needed was Aaron to throw a fit.
"I don't like it. I want to go home! I want to go back to grandma and grandpa!"
Kate finally lost her temper with all the yelling and the kicking. "Aaron, stop it! We are not going back home so just shut up and sit still!" She shouted back.
But the second the car went silent, she regretted it all.
She clutched her fists and cursed to herself silently. Looking back from the rearview mirror she saw that Aaron was crying silently. Her heart broke into a million pieces at the sight and she wanted to punch herself for doing this to her son. He was 4, of course he would be bored from a 2-hour car drive. Of course he would ask questions...
She put her head on the stirring wheel and waited for them both to calm down. After a short while she got out of the car and went back to sit with her little boy. She tried to touch him and stroke his hair but he pulled back, still avoiding to look at her in the eye.
"Aaron, I'm so sorry. I really didn't mean to yell."
"You said a mean word!" He cried out.
"I know, baby. I'm so so sorry." She waited for a while for him to look at her and when he did she reached out her arms and invited him for a hug.
Hesitant, Aaron slowly crawled into her arms and buried his face in her chest.
"I promise you that I won't be mean again. Ever... And I'll do my best make our trip more fun."
"Adventure." He corrected.
"Yes, Aaron, adventure." She kissed him. "Actually, you know what?" She asked. "We can start having fun right now!"
She went though her cd case and found the Disney songs cd, which Aaron adored.
"Come one baby, get up!" she said excitedly and opened the back door. The boy didn't understand what was going on but followed his mother to the empty space next to the desolate road.
The first song on the CD was from Aaron's favourite movie, Lion King. Kate had lost count of the times they had cuddled on their enormous sofa and watched it.
After a while it had become an obsession for both of them. Their favorite thing to do when they are together…
Once Aaron even said that they could be Timon and Pumba if they wanted and could get inside the movie which made Kate chuckle. Imitating Timon and Pumba had become an inside joke to them.
A mommy and son thing that always made everyone around them watch in awe…
Aaron's face lit up when he understood what was about to happen. He started jumping around as the music and his sweet laughter filled the empty roads. There were only two people there, dancing around with their very own, goofy dance and singing at the top of their lungs
Kate realised that this was the first time they actually shared a fun moment like this since what happened with Tom.
She felt guilty for not spending enough time with him like she used to. They'd been together since the day he was born and he was always the centre of all the attention. He must be feeling very neglected.
Kate knew her son very well, maybe a lot more than a mother should. But they weren't just mother and son after all.
They were best friends and they needed each other to survive everything that's been going around them.
She felt Aaron tug on her sleeve and snapped back to reality. There was an important role she needed to play. Kate was going to play Pumba and Aaron Timon. He knew oh so well what he was supposed to do so he started singing the song.
"Why, when he was a young warthog"
It was Kate's turn and she managed to try to fake the voice of Pumba which made it magical in Aaron's eyes.
"When I was a young warthog."
"Very nice!"
"Thanks."
"He found his aroma lacked a certain appeal
He could clear the Savannah after every meal"
"I'm a sensitive soul, though I seem thick-skinned
And it hurt that my friends never stood downwind"
Then the fun part started. And what they were actually saying was suppressed by their giggles.
"And oh, the shame,"
" he was ashamed"
"Thoughta changin' my name"
"oh, what's in a name?"
"And I got downhearted,"
"how did you feel?"
"Every time that I-"
"Pumbaa, not in front of the kid"
"oh sorry"
Hakuna Matata, what a wonderful phrase...
And it went on and on like that until the song played a couple more times and Aaron was too exhausted to jump around anymore. They climbed back into the car after Aaron gave a swift peck on Kate's cheek.
She was finally happy and she wasn't feeling the guilt for yelling at Aaron anymore… Then the road trip continued as Kate's smile never left her face until she saw Aaron looking straight to her from the rearview window with big, red eyes.
Confused, she stopped the car once again and made her way next to Aaron. He quickly climbed onto her and cried a little more. After a while she finally got learn what was causing his tears.
"Mommy, we didn't get to say goodbye to daddy." He whispered.
She pulled him closer to her chest and rocked him gently as her own tears rolled down.
"I know baby... I know…And I'm so sorry Aaron. I'm so sorry…"
-END OF FLASHBACK-
"What happened?" Jack said as he went though the doors or the ICU.
"She's waking up." The nurse simply said while checking up on the patient next to Kate.
"When did you take her off the meds? Why was I not informed? Where the hell is Dr. Reeves?" he was drawing circles around Kate's bed checking ever monitor and every chart there was.
"Dr. Shepherd, calm down. They were trying to wake her up for a while now. Dr. Reeves specifically asked us to page you when she actually woke up. He thought you needed some rest and as you know, it takes time for a patient to wake up from a coma. It might be days..."
"Alright. Where is Malcolm now?"
"He's in surgery right now. Should be out in a couple of hours." She answered and continued to tend another the patient who were also in a coma.
Jack sat down on the uncomfortable armchair next to Kate's bed and watched her slightly move and try to wake up. As a doctor, he knew that this process would probably go on like this for a good hour or more but he decided to wait. And the longer he waited, the herder it got to keep his tired eyes open. And finally he fell asleep with his neck falling down onto the back of the chair.
After a few hours he woke up to find Kate with her eyes fully open. She was looking around the room with red, searching eyes.
And then her eyes met his.
He gazed into them for a while until he eventually realised she was trying to say something. He'd forgotten that she'd been sleeping for days and had a painfully dry mouth. He reached over to the end table, which always had a glass of water with a straw hanging out of it, and he helped her lift her head a little. She took a few sips and layer her head back down onto the pillows.
"Where is he?" she asked with a raspy voice. "Where's Aaron?"
Jack looked around and noticed that the nurse was still around, checking on patients, fully aware that the most popular patient in the hospital was now awake. She moved over to a patient that was closer to Kate's bed, obviously to listen to what they were talking about. The entire hospital was already filled with rumours about this mysterious unidentified woman and the beloved doctor.
"Social services came and took him. He's at a foster home right now." Jack looked at Kate directly in the eye and tried to tell her that he was lying, that he couldn't tell her where her son actually was because the nurse was listening. But Kate was too distracted by the news, that she didn't understand what his eyes were clearly telling her
Kate's eyes grew wide and her heartbeat rate increased, making the monitor beep faster. She tried to get up but Jack quickly stopped her.
"Let me go! I need to find my son!" She tried to scream but if sounded just like a whisper. She sank back onto the bed and look up to him with watery eyes. "What have you done Jack? I told you not to-"
Jack cut her off before she could say anything more. He quickly turned back to the nurse and asked her to find a doctor that was familiar with her file. When she tried to tell him that all the doctors are busy, he yelled at her to go and find someone.
The nurse, surprised at the always-kind doctors actions, nodded and went out the ICU.
He quickly turned back to the worried mother. "Kate. Kate! Look at me. Look... Aaron is safe. I did what you asked me to do and didn't call the services."
"What?"
"I had to tell you that because the nurse was here. What you asked me to do is... It is illegal, Kate. I had to lie to everyone and if they found out about it, I could get convicted."
"Where is he then? Is he here? Can I see him?"
"He's staying with my mom right now and I'm sorry but you can see him until you get out of the hospital. It's too risky for me to bring him here. They would start asking questions."
"Okay." She whispered but started crying right after. All the emotions she felt after the crash were coming back to her. The terror, the desperation, the physical pain… for an instant she went back to being stuck inside that car. She was shaking and clasping the white hospital sheets.
Jack quickly went over to her and held her hands tightly. "Kate, it's over. You're safe now. Everything's going to be alright. You're going to get better and they'll probably discharge you in 4 or 5 days. Maybe a week... But after that, you will be with your son again. You'll be with Aaron."
With the mention of his name Kate snapped back to reality. She calmed down but didn't let go of his hand
The doctors came to check on her soon after. They told both Jack and Kate that everything was headed in the right direction and if it continued like this, she would be home in a week or less.
Kate was assigned to a private room and the two were finally left alone. Jack realised that she was smiling and couldn't help but smile himself. Her contagious smile, like everything else about her, was captivating.
He was seeing a very different side of Kate, a side he hadn't met yet. And he was excited to find out more about it.
"I don't know if I can ever thank you enough. All the things you've done for me... I just..."
"You don't need to say anything, Kate." He held her hand and squeezed it tightly.
"I don't think any other doctor would go against the law and take in a stranger's child. You're a very special man."
He chuckled. "Yeah, special..."
"Why? Don't you think you're special?" She sounded surprised. While she was being moved to the private room she'd had a little chat with the nurses and in just a few minutes they had told her a lot of heroic things Dr. Jack Shepherd had done for his patients.
"I've been told a lot of things Kate. But special was never one of them." he replied instantly thinking of his father's words.
"I don't think that's true"
He was about to say something else but their little conversation cut short by two doctors entering the room.
"Kate, there are some cops waiting outside to ask you a few questions about the crash. Do you think you can talk with them?"
"Because if you're tired, you don't have to speak to them right now." Jack interjected.
"No, I'll talk with them. I just...I just want this to be over." She told Jack.
One of the doctors went outside and invited them in. They stared by telling her how sorry they are about the crash and wished her good health. After a few minutes of small talk they got right into the subject.
"Ma'am can we get your full name please?"
"Kaitlin Emma Davis." She lied.
"And your son?"
"Aaron Thomas Davis."
"Ms. Davis, you told Dr. Shepherd that you didn't have any other family members to inform about the crash?"
She sighed. "No. It's just Aaron and me."
"Kaitlin Davis?" Jack asked when they were alone again. The cops had asked many questions, all of them which Kate answered so simply, as if she had rehearsed it before.
"Just admit it, Jack. You know, as well as I do, that I was lying to those cops."
"Yes Kate I assumed you weren't telling the truth but why? Why weren't you telling the truth?"
"That's a story for another time." She tried to change the subject but Jack was faster than her.
"No. No, you told me that you would explain everything. I kept my promises, now it's time to keep yours."
She smiled. "Okay, but just know that I'm telling all this to you only because you managed to earn my trust with everything you've done with Aaron."
"Okay, I'm listening." He sat down on the bed.
"Where should I start?" she asked.
"What's your real name?"
She chuckled. "Katherine… Katherine Anne Brennan."
"Okay Katherine, now tell me why are you lying to everybody?"
"Jack..."
"Please, Kate. I need to know why I'm doing this."
"I guess I need to start from the beginning then. My husband and I used to run a diner. The diner actually was my mom's and when she passed away, it was the only thing I had left from her. Tom managed the business while I tried to keep the customers happy. We were a simple, happy family from Ames,Iowa. Our life was amazing.
Tom was an incredible man. The most caring human being I've ever met. And when he passed away…" her voice cracked and she wiped a tear away.
"After he passed away I found out that we were actually in a huge amount of debt. He was hiding it from me to keep me away from all the trouble. He never wanted me to worry about anything so he always kept these things away from me. And when he was gone, everything was dropped onto me.
I did everything, Jack. I got a second job, asked some close friends for loans. I even sold our house and lived with my best friends for a few months.
Nothing worked. So…" she stopped and took a deep breath.
She paused for awhile and hoped that something would interrupt them and she wouldn't have to tell him what she had done. She was not proud of it and was scared that Jack would look at her differently after he found out. She didn't want that because she was feeling this very strong attraction towards this hot and caring doctor who had savde her life and her son's.
"I had to run Jack. I had to take Aaron and leave everything behind. I wasn't going to wait a few more months until they came from the bank expecting to get the money I didn't have. So, I somehow managed to find new ID's for both of us so that we can start a brand new life. We were going to escape to Canada from here but then… Well, then I crashed the car and almost died."
Jack didn't know what to say.
He had already assumed that she was in legal trouble and he was relieved to find out it was financial and nothing worse.
But when he didn't say anything for a long while Kate got worried and asked him "Jack? you won't tell this to anyone, right? You-you wouldn't call the police?"
"Of course not." He replied quickly. "You trusted me with your secret and you shouldn't worry about anything. I won't report you in fact, I will help you and Aaron escape the country."
There! Kate's secret is revealed! Or is it? :D
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