Chapter 4

Next morning, a beautiful shinny Sunday illuminated every single corner of Jack's apartment. When she got up, she noticed he wasn't there and she didn't like it. She rushed to the living room and soon spotted a note on the sideboard. Went out to my golf match. See you at lunch… it read. She smiled. It was so sweet of him to leave her a note…

She had some cereal for breakfast and thought of cooking something for lunch. She was getting more and more comfortable in Jack's life within the minute. She was positive it was a matter of time before they started talking about them and she could finally tell him. Tell him why she was there, why she had run away and, specially, that she loved him madly, like she'd never loved anyone before.

She did some cleaning and realized Jack was really tidy. Yet she picked up some clothes in his room and made his bed. She couldn't help but lie between his sheets for a while. Soon, she assured to herself, she had to be sharing his bed anytime soon.

Then she took a shower. She wanted to be pretty and fresh when he arrived. Once out of the bathroom, she sought in her clothes. She wished she had something really nice to wear and impress him. She went curious and looked into the clothes Claire had left. She was puzzled. She didn't remember Claire being so styled. Well, to be fair, she couldn't make a judgment from their island days, when they had to wear whatever was available.

She didn't know why she found surprising the fact Claire had fine clothes in the closet. After all she was Jack's precious sister, and obviously he was taking care of her expensive tastes. A black dress called her attention. She tried it on, just to see how it felt to wear Armani.

She frowned. In spite it was her size, it didn't fit her well. It was for someone curvier than her. She didn't remember Claire being that curvy. In fact, Claire was kind of petite, at least comparing to her. She took the dress off and placed it back in the closet. Sure Claire had gained weight or something, obviously. After all, she hadn't seen her since they got rescued. She sighed. It seemed she had to stay put with her own clothes, but she definitely needed to get a new wardrobe, she thought.

She got dressed and went to his bathroom to use the hairdryer. She styled her hair and put on some make-up. She smiled at her reflection. She didn't dress with Armani, but she sure was hot. Besides, he had met her between mud and blood, and they had lived all dirty and sweaty for months, and still he fell in love with her, so that sure wasn't an issue.

Then she went to the kitchen and started cooking. Nothing too fancy, she didn't want him to think she was trying hard. She was finishing with the soup when she heard the door. Jack was back. He opened his eyes wider, he couldn't help but find weird Kate being in his home. Not only she was there, but now she was cooking and, apparently, cleaning. — Hey…

— Hi! How was your match?

— I won for the third week in a row —he stated, kind of proud.

— That's great!

But golf wasn't what he wanted to discuss with her. — Listen, Kate, you really don't have to do this… —he affirmed, rubbing his hair.

— To do what?

— Cooking, cleaning…

She bit her lip. There he was again. — It's the least I can do for letting me stay here…

— I have a housekeeper, you know? She comes three days a week. You can ask her anything you need, really…

She tried another exit for the awkward moment. — Besides, what makes you think I'm cooking for you? I get hungry too, you know?

He felt embarrassed. — Of course… —he said, frowning a little and nodding.

She burst out laughing. — I'm kidding, you freak. It won't hurt if I cook something once in a while, right? —she told him, blinking an eye.

He finally smiled. — Okay…

— So you're hungry of not?

— Yeah…

They had a nice lunch, accompanied by a nice chat. Dazed with the excitement of having Jack around, Kate started feeling he was getting more open as the hours went by. But the truth was they were getting into the very dangerous "friendly zone".

Soon the evening arrived. They watched a movie together in a very comfortable silence. She glanced at him once in a while. When the movie was over, they shared their impressions about it. When the conversation finally went short, he announced he had some journals to read and went to the studio.

She stayed in the TV room a little longer, thinking. She wanted badly to tell him her feelings, but at the same time she thought it was too soon. She thought of an excuse for going to the studio. She found the door wide open.

— Jack?

— Yeah?

— Is the paper in here? I'd like to check it out…

He looked around on the desk and picked up some sheets. — Yeah, I think it's here somewhere…

When he found it, he was about to hand it to her, but she was already standing beside his armchair, her eyes fixated on the locked drawer, which now was slightly open, but not enough to see what was in it. Then she looked at the screen of his laptop. — What you're working on?

He looked up to meet her eyes. — There's a meeting tomorrow at the hospital, about this patient with a peculiar condition. I'm just doing some research… —he explained, giving her the paper.

— Can I join you? —she asked, sitting in front of him and grabbing a pencil, ready to scout some classifieds.

— Sure… —he replied naturally, his eyes back on the screen again.

She started leafing through the paper and she ran into the comic strips. She started laughing.

— What? —he asked, puzzled.

— You've got to see this one… —she said giggling, as she handed him the page.

He read the strip quickly and looked back at her, raising an eyebrow. — You really find it that funny?

Her jaw dropped. — Don't you?

— It's kind of lame…

— Oh come on! Where's your sense of humor?

He laughed, and when he was about to answer, the phone rang. Once again, he picked up in the blink of an eye. — Hello? Hey! No, not at all… Just give me one sec, okay?

After he said that, he looked at Kate. — Could you excuse me for a moment? I have to take this… —he asked casual, covering the speaker with his palm.

Her smile faded away. He was actually asking her to leave. A phone call, again. — Sure… —she replied with a forced smile. Now she was pissed.

She walked out of the studio slowly, trying to listen something, but he didn't speak until she left. She stayed right out of the door and could hear his voice clearly. — How are you? Fine, great… Uh-huh… So everything's on time? Excellent…

As if he sensed her presence, he walked to the door and closed it. Her heart sped up when she thought he'd catch her listening, but he didn't even look out. She was mad. It was obvious he didn't want her to know who or what he was talking about. Why would he hide things from her? She hated it.

In spite of the closed door, she remained outside the studio, trying hard to get something of the conversation. But Jack's apartment had thick walls. It was a short call though. All she could listen was "can't wait" and "I'll see you tomorrow". Before he hung up, she walked away. She felt uneasy and didn't know how to handle what she was feeling.

She went to the terrace. The lights of the city and the skyline made it better. She took a deep breath. She stayed there for quite some time, until she felt cold and went back inside.

It was all quiet. She walked the hallway and before going to her room, she glanced at his and saw him standing there, his hands on his waist, a confused look on his face. She stopped and went to his door frame. — Is everything okay?

He came back to Earth, all startled. — Yeah, I'm just…

She ventured inside. — What?

He was standing in front of his open closet. She cast a wry smile. — Don't tell me you're one of those people that think they have nothing to wear in spite of having so many clothes… —she said, disbelief in her voice.

He smirked and shook his head. — That's exactly the problem. All these, I don't need it… I never know what to pick… —he affirmed, motioning to all the suits inside the closet.

She gave him an understanding look. With their island experience, they learnt to give up all material things. Now they knew they didn't need more than half the things average people believe they need to survive. Yet there he was, trying to figure out what to wear. She found it simply adorable. — Why it's such a big deal?

— Tomorrow is a special day… —he stated. Before he could reflect on it, she was giving him a questioning look. He swallowed. — The meeting…

She felt relieved. — Right… Well, if you don't mind… —she announced, and then approached the closet. She picked a suit, a shirt and a tie for him. — Here… —she said.

He hesitated. — Navy?

— Absolutely. It highlights your eyes… —she assured, looking at him intently.

He smiled and looked back at her. Then, for a second he remembered how he used to feel every time he looked in her eyes, back in the old days. — Thanks, Kate… —he finally pronounced, looking down.

— You're welcome. Night, Jack… —she said softly, blinking an eye and walking away.

— Night…

She left his room with a smile. That definitely had been a special moment. They were almost there.

The next morning, the beep of the microwave awoke her. It was early in the morning. Sure Jack was getting ready for work. She was dying to see him in that outfit she had picked for him. She went to the bathroom and quickly washed her face, brushed her teeth and pulled her hair up in a pony tail. She left the bedroom.

She walked to the kitchen, but he wasn't there. Then she turned around and abruptly ran into someone who was standing right behind her. It scared the shit out of her. — Claire! —she said high pitched and startled— You scared me! What are you doing here?

Standing before her was Claire, a shocked and indignant look in her eyes. She was indeed a brunette, and that made her blue eyes even brighter. Her long wavy hair lied on her shoulders. She was wearing jeans and a nice white shirt under an olive corduroy jacket. She was holding in one hand a big cup of tea, and a bunch of mail in the other.

— My brother lives here. What the hell are you doing here? —she snapped.

Kate's face went pale. The last she expected was running into Claire like that, let alone her being so rude. — I… Jack, he… he's letting me stay here for a while…

Claire's eyes went furious and she shook her head in disapproval, then she slammed the cup and the mail on the kitchen counter. Kate felt like she was doing something awful and kept talking. — I'm back in the city, didn't he tell you? I'm actually looking for a place and…

— You're sleeping with him? —Claire asked roughly, cutting her off.

— What?! —Kate replied stunned, not believing her ears.

— I said are you sleeping with him?

Kate couldn't believe it. — Of course I'm not Claire, Jesus! —she answered, jaw-dropped.

Claire sighed, shaking her head again. Without saying a word, she grabbed her purse from the coffee table and stuck in the mail. She walked to the main door and grabbed her keys from the sideboard. Then she left the apartment, slamming the door behind her. Kate was speechless.

She rushed to the door to reach Claire. She needed to know what the hell was wrong with her. When she stepped outside the apartment, she saw her in front of the elevator, her cell phone on her ear.

— Jack, hey… No, I'm actually leaving your place. What the hell…? Well, you better start… —she said to the phone, her tone reproachful and scathing.

She glanced at Jack's door, feeling Kate's burning look on her. She threw a mean look at her. Then the elevator arrived and Kate finally lost sight of her. What the hell was going on? Sure she didn't expect a hug, since obviously her presence was going to be a shocker, but now it seemed as if Claire hated her guts. Why was that?

She couldn't think of anything else during the day. Besides, she hadn't heard of Jack. He hadn't left a note, nor called. She knew he was working and was having a meeting and stuff, but she felt worked up.

When the evening arrived and he didn't show she felt anxious. Was he having troubles with Claire because of her? That sounded absurd. She was just his recently discovered little sister. She didn't even eat and kept dwelling on the situation.

It got worse when the night arrived and Jack wasn't there yet. Maybe he was on shift at the hospital. She decided to call. — Hello? I'd like to talk to Dr. Jack Shephard please?

— He left at 6:00 pm, would you like to leave a message?

— No, thanks…

She hung up and felt frustrated. What if something had happened to him? Suddenly her universe made no sense at all. She thought of dialing his cell phone. He hadn't given her the number, but of course she got it the minute she'd come back in L.A. She didn't mind, all she wanted was to find him. This is Jack Shephard. Leave your message and I'll call you back. If it's an emergency, call 310…

— Fuck! —she snapped, and hung up before she could listen to his voice mail reciting the numbers of the apartment and his pager. Now she was scared.

She called the police, but as expected, they told her it had to be at least 48 hours to report a missing person. There were no reports of accidents involving his car either. She could do nothing but wait. She felt sick. At 4:00 am exhaustion finally beat her and she fell asleep on the couch, feeling worried to death on her stomach.