Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
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Author's Note:I just want to say that had the hardest time putting this chapter together. I cut and pasted, rewrote entire paragraphs, just to rewrite them later on again. I hope it was worth it and you guys like where this is going. And as always, thanks for the reviews and thanks for still reading. XOXO
P.S. I wanted to answer/comment on a few things that were posted under reviews.
First off, I don't know either what happened to 'skatefiction dot com', but since I'm not just a skate writer but also a reader, I'd love if some of those stories that were left open ended would be continued here on fanfiction. I'd definitely read it!
Secondly, I'm really glad about the positive feedback I've gotten for bringing Charlie back to life, so I will continue that part of this story as well. I'd love to reunite Claire and Aaron with him, I'm just not sure under what circumstances that will happen.
And on a last note, I'll gladly continue writing skate stories as long as I know someone is reading them and cares about what will happen next. I can see that quite a few people are reading, but since they're not all reviewing, I'm not sure if they liked what they read or not. So if you like it, please leave a review. Thank you!
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He should've known that his criminal past would eventually catch up with him and bite him in the ass, but still he hadn't seen this coming, at least not today of all days.
The con he'd pulled countless times in the past had mostly led to him getting away unscathed, with the exception of a few who he'd paid back in full and then some, in exchange for his much beloved freedom.
But the majority of the couples he'd taken for their hard earned savings hadn't done a damn thing. He'd always assumed it was because most men were proud creatures by nature, they didn't want to admit to anyone, yet alone a courtroom full of people, that they'd been stupid enough to hand over this much money to a man that had been fucking their wives behind their back. Yeah, pride took over and life carried on for those folks and he'd never heard from them again.
But now it seemed like quite a few had changed their mind and he'd been presented with a class action lawsuit for fraud by a group of couples.
Son of a bitch!
"I'm calling our lawyer." Kate announced and James just nodded in agreement.
While Kate disappeared into the kitchen to make the phone call, Hurley took the opportunity to speak up, "What are you going to do?"
James' eyes lifted from the papers in his hands and met Hurley's as he shook his head, "I don't know." He sighed and ran a hand through his still damp hair, "Freckles and I … we were thinkin' of takin' off. Do a road trip; get away from L.A. and the reporters for a while. But this …" he held the papers up, "this will put a stop to that dream and … pretty much ruin everything."
Hurley rubbed his scruffy chin, "What if you don't fight it and just pay them off … this could be done and settled in no time."
James sighed again and looked up at Hurley, "I don't have that kind of money."
"Yeah, but with Kate's money and yours –?"
James quickly interrupted him, "I ain't takin' her money. This is my problem, not hers." He said with an angry tone to his voice.
"What are you talking about?" Kate chimed in; and from the look on her face it was clear she had overheard the last bit of what he'd said.
Hurley spoke up before James could, "I was saying that you guys should just pay them off."
Kate settled on the armrest of the recliner beside James and after thinking about it for a moment, she nodded, "I think we should."
That's when James snapped, "Freckles, this ..." he held the paper up again "this is the only reason why you and I got a pre-nup in the first place. So that if one of us get's sued over shit we've done in the past, we wouldn't both loose all our money."
She nodded, but didn't look happy about getting lectured like she was a child, "I know exactly why we got the pre-nup, James. But I'd rather put both our money together and pay them off then see you get locked up for god knows how long."
He wasn't touched by her words rather than pissed off and an angry chuckle escaped him, "Right. You say that now, but when we move into our new neighborhood, with bars on the windows and graffiti on the side of the buildings, you might wish you would've just sent me off to prison."
Kate rolled her eyes at him, "Don't be so overly dramatic."
"I'm not being dramatic, Sweetheart." He glared at her, the endearment sounded more like a sneer as he held the paper in front of her again and pointed to the amount they were suing him for, "You and I together don't have that much. We'd have to sell the house too."
Kate glanced over the numbers again and both Hurley and James could see the expression on her face turn into one of determination, "So we sell the house."
James stared at her in disbelieve, "And then what?"
Kate shrugged her shoulders and threw the papers down on the coffee table in front of them, "I don't know, but we'll think of something. We … we move in with Claire, or Miles, or my dad." She reached for his hand and intertwined her fingers with his. "We lived in makeshift tents for three months; we shouldn't have a problem living in someone's spare bedroom until we get back on our feet."
"Guys?" Hurley spoke up and caught both their attention, "I've got more money than I can count, I'm more than happy to help you guys out."
James nodded at Hurley and squeezed Kate's hand. His voice a lot calmer again as he spoke this time, "I appreciate that, big guy, but I can't take your money either."
Hurley and Kate shared a look and then Hurley nodded, "Well, the offer stands … so, think about it, okay?"
"We will." Kate replied before James could and Hurley stood.
"I've got a few more errands to run."
Kate and James stood too and both of them walked with Hurley over to the front door. Hurley held out his hand to James and he shook it, "You'll be alright, dude, I'm sure of it."
Kate smiled brightly at Hurley, "See you in a couple hours at Claire's."
"I'll be there." Hurley replied before he disappeared out the front door, leaving Kate and James alone again.
They both walked back to the living room and sat down on the couch, both lost in thought for a moment until James spoke up, "What did Duncan say?"
"He's on his way over." Kate replied, resting her head on his shoulder and holding his hand again.
She had been so happy when he'd been found, even happier when he was released from the hospital and as much as this news about the lawsuit stung, she simply refused to give up on their happiness yet again. She'd rather lose all their money then to lose him.
He looked down at her, "That's a lot of names on that paper."
She frowned at what he was implying, but nodded, "Yeah, I know."
He squeezed her small hand in his, his voice didn't hold a trace of humor, "It's never too late to run, Freckles!"
"Don't." she replied back harshly, her hand slipped out of his as she looked up at him from her spot beside him, "Don't do that."
"Do what?" he asked with his voice raised once again.
"Don't try to push me away again, because you've got dealt a bad hand." She stood and began to pace slowly in front of the fireplace, her arms folded across her chest.
He stood too. Determined to at least give her the option of an out – he owed her that much – but deep down hoping she wouldn't take it … not now, not after everything they've been through to get here. But still, it was the right thing to do and he had vowed to himself that he'd do what was best for her and the kid, and not be selfish anymore. He just couldn't be selfish anymore when it came to Kate's happiness.
"Listen, this is all on me … you had nothing to do with any of it, so why should you get dragged into this? Why should you lose all your money? Why should you get punished for my crimes?"
Because I never really got punished for mine!
"Shut up, James." She snapped and stopped pacing and gave him a stubborn glare from across the room for a long silent filled moment until she finally said, "I'm not going anywhere and neither are you. Duncan will be here soon and we talk it all over with him. Then we'll call a realtor and put this house on the market, because the sooner we sell it, the sooner this nightmare will be over."
"And then what?" He said and took a few steps towards her, "Where are we going to live? Where and how are we going to raise this kid? How are we going to make it without any cash to fall back on?"
She shrugged her shoulders at him again, "I guess … we'll figure that out together."
X
Duncan Forrester carefully looked over the papers that James had been presented with earlier today, before he wanted to hear the story behind this lawsuit out of James' own mouth. So Duncan had listened carefully to everything James had to say and asked questions every now and then to get as much information as possible about what all of this would entail.
He seemed lost in thoughts when Kate looked at him with hopeful eyes, "So what do you think?"
He looked up from the notepad in front of him, where he'd taken various notes throughout James' stories and his eyes connected first with Kate's and then rested on James, "To be totally honest, I think this could get pretty ugly, guys."
James nodded as if he'd anticipated that answer from his lawyer and looked over at Kate, who was sitting to his right at their dining room table, before he asked, "How ugly?"
Duncan tapped the notepad with his pen a few times as his eyes scanned the pages once more, "This lawsuit could drag on for years, the press will be all over this and an outcome in our favor doesn't look good, at least not from what you've just told me." He looked across the table at the couple.
James frowned and looked at Kate again, "And what if we don't fight it? Can we … I mean is there some way we can just pay them off?"
Duncan twirled his pen around in his hand and leaned closer, "You mean an out of court settlement?"
James nodded and Duncan looked at the paper again, eyeing the lump sum that they'd put down as the amount they were suing him for and then glanced at the sum he'd added up from James' recollection, "From what you just told me, this is well three times the amount you actually stole from these people. Do you even have this much to pay them off?"
Kate chimed in now, "Together we do."
The surprise on the lawyers face was hard to hide, "You guys are serious about this?"
Kate nodded and James spoke up, "But if we scrape up the money to get this settled, I want a written agreement that all of this stays confidential. I'm paying them off to back off and shut up … I don't want to hear about any of this on Entertainment tonight or TMZ or read about it on the front page of some fucking magazine either. And if one of them breaches that agreement, I want our money back … all of it."
Duncan laughed as he took a note of that on his notepad, and glanced at his watch, "Alright, guys, we need to respond to this within 30 days. How soon can you get your hand on this much money? They are going to want a date."
"Give us a week." Kate replied.
James scoffed, "Freckles!"
"A week?" Duncan asked equally surprised.
Kate looked back at James, "We can borrow some of it from a friend until all our assets are liquidated. I just want this done and over with."
James shook his head and was about to say something when Kate spoke up again, "We're gonna pay him back … it's just a loan, not charity, James."
James still frowned and didn't look happy at all, "Maybe we ought to talk to him first before you're giving his money away, Freckles."
Kate nodded relieved, because she was sure that Hurley wouldn't turn them down, "Okay, I'll talk to him."
Duncan stood and stowed his notepad and everything else in his open briefcase that sat beside him, "Well, you two let me know what you decide on and I'll get the necessary papers written up to get this ball rolling, does that sound good to you two?"
James and Kate both stood as Duncan locked his briefcase and nodded before James stretched out his hand, "Sounds like a plan."
While Kate was distracted with walking Duncan to the front door, James dug around in the small cardboard box that Hurley had brought and retrieved the two rings, shoving them in his pocket before Kate came back.
But when Kate reappeared in the living room, he held the videotape up in the air for her to see.
She gave him an accusatory look, "You left our sex-tape with Richard?"
"Ain't like he hadn't seen it before, Freckles." He quipped back nonchalantly.
"Richard wasn't on the other Island when we were locked up there." She countered as she headed into the kitchen to get a drink and he followed her with the tape still in his hand.
"Baby" he sighed, "For all we know, he could've been manning the security station day and night … just because we didn't see him, doesn't mean he didn't see us, pumpkin."
She took a sip and put her glass on the kitchen counter before she gave him another serious look. "Still, I don't like it. This is private. This should be private." She said and took the tape out of his hand and read over the label like she'd done a million times before.
James looked at her with a scrutinizing gaze before he finally gathered the courage to confront her about this. He'd wanted to say something sooner, but then always decided against it out of fear to ruin this honeymoon phase they'd found themselves in. But now was as good a time as ever, since thanks to this lawsuit looming over their heads the honeymoon had officially come to a screeching halt, "Did ya' ever plan on tellin' me 'bout what happened in the hatch."
Her head snapped up to look at him, her eyes wide as saucers but she didn't bring out a word before James spoke up again, "Had plenty of time on my hands while I was south of the border to watch the whole tape."
Up until this moment she had never been entirely sure if the whole incident hadn't just been a figment of her imagination, it wasn't like she'd ended up with bruises around her neck to prove her otherwise. There had been no physical evidence that any of it had actually happened the way that she remembered. But the look in James' eyes reflecting back at her told her that what she thought had happened, what she thought might be on this tape, was true after all.
Her face fell in sorrow. She'd never wanted him to see that. To see what he'd done and blame himself, because deep down in her heart she felt … no, she knew that it had been Wayne who'd attacked her and not James, but how could she make him see that. It sounded so crazy inside her head, and it would sound even crazier coming out of her mouth.
Her eyes welled up with tears and the first one trickled down her cheek before she could stop it. She didn't say anything because she knew she wouldn't be able to utter a single word without her voice breaking. She needed a minute to get her act together again and turned away, laying the tape on the counter beside her.
The sight of her crying again broke his heart and he stepped closer to her, his hands first holding onto her shoulders to turn her and get her to look up at him. When she still wouldn't, he tipped her chin up with his hand until she finally quit averting his eyes and looked back at him, "You shoulda told me, Freckles."
She looked up into those ocean blue eyes of his and saw all the guilt in them. The guilt she'd hoped he'd never feel. He already carried such a big load of guilt around every day; she didn't want to add any more to it. It was just too much to deal with and that look he gave her … she couldn't stand it and she just had to look away.
Kate wiped her tear streaked face with the sleeves of her oversized hoodie and cleared her throat before she found her voice and looked back up at him again, "How, James? How was I supposed to tell you? What was I supposed to say?"
The unexpected accusing tone in her voice let the anger in him flare-up once more. He took a small step back and threw his hands up in the air to emphasize his annoyance, "Hell, how 'bout, 'when you were out you tried to choke me' … I mean, that woulda pretty much summed it right up, don't ya' think?"
"And then what?" she threw back at him, the tears still rolling but were now joined with an angry scowl of her own. "What would that have solved? What would you've done?"
What would I've done?
Hell, he hadn't really thought it all through … he didn't know what he would've done. No, that was a lie. He knew what he would've done.
I would've stayed the hell away from you!
But he didn't have the balls to admit it and say it out loud, because he just couldn't fathom what it would've been like if he had to have stayed away from her. And as he stared at her from just a few feet away he realized that they wouldn't be here today if he'd stayed away from her.
She wouldn't be standing here in front of him like this. The small patch of skin on her neck that was visible looking almost rubbed raw from his stubble, her hair in a messy bun because he'd disheveled it to the point that she couldn't even get a brush through it, barefoot with purple toenails – Clementine's work of art – in a pair of black yoga pants and one of his oversized grey sweatshirts, his ring on her finger and his kid growing inside of her. She wouldn't be here like this, if he'd stayed away from her.
The guilty look on his face and the lack of a reply on his part caused Kate to take a step towards him, the look in her eyes softening once again as she got closer. She recited the words over inside her head a few times before she finally decided to let them spill out of her mouth. She knew he'd think she lost it, but she didn't care. She just wanted him to understand why she'd never told him, and why she never blamed him. "I …" she paused, because she feared her voice would break and tears would roll again, but then she just breezed through the words to get them off of her chest, "I never told you about it because it wasn't really you that … that did that to me."
His forehead wrinkled and his eyebrows arched as a confused expression crossed his face, but Kate rattled on, "I think it was Wayne's ghost that was trying to hurt me and not you."
"Freckles?" He raised his hands to her face and framed her cheeks, before he quickly put one palm flat across her forehead, "Are you feeling alright?" Concern etched his face now, not a trace of humor in his voice – and that scared her tremendously – she preferred humor and sarcasm at this point, because if he made fun of her, that she could understand. But this reaction just made her mad.
Kate pushed his hand off of her and glared at him angrily, "I'm serious, James. I think his ghost somehow … you know … it somehow possessed you or something like that." She tried to explain.
He studied her face for a long moment, a cynical look on his face now, but once again Kate spoke up before he could even think of a reply to what she had just sprung on him. He remembered how she'd 'talked to Wayne' before he woke up, but to hear her actually say out loud that she thought Wayne had somehow possessed him, … that was one more thing he'd have to chew on for a while.
"What?" she hated to see him speechless. She hated this look in his eyes, "Don't look at me like I'm crazy or something. After everything we've seen on that island … after everything that has happened … to us and to our friends. Are you really going to stand here and tell me that Wayne's ghost possessing your body is the craziest thing you've ever heard?"
He thought about her words for a moment and shook his head, "It ain't the craziest by a long shot, Freckles, but still … you don't really know if that's what happened." He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated and still unsure how or what to say about this. "I mean … what if that ain't what happened? What if it was me?"
She was quiet and looked up at him with pleading eyes, "It wasn't you, it was Wayne! I believe it. I truly believe that's what happened." She framed his face now when he looked away from her. "Isn't that enough?"
Their eyes locked on one another, when he decided to give in, "Sure, Freckles." He leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips first and then placed another kiss on her forehead before he pulled her closer and they embraced.
He didn't really know if he could believe what she'd just said, but he could see in her eyes that she believed it and for now that was good enough. It simply had to be enough!
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They had quite the entourage of reporters as they took the short drive from their house over to Claire's. Which was not too surprising since this was their first outing after he'd been released from the hospital.
James parked the car but had instructed Kate to stay seated until he'd come around to open her door. She felt the gesture was a bit over the top but saw the sweetness behind it and obliged. So he got out and fought his way through the crowd, opened her door and shielded her on their way to Claire's front door, where they stepped inside without ringing the bell or knocking … this was like a second home for them.
James was greeted and welcomed home by everyone. And he'd be lying if he said that it didn't feel good to be among his friends again.
Penny and Desmond congratulated them both on their baby news, everyone seemed really happy for them.
Kate took a moment to thank Penny once again for everything she'd done to help her get back to the island to find James and she also thanked Frank, who had accompanied her there and had supported her along her journey. Tears sprang to her eyes – she blamed her pregnancy as the cause – but she truly believed that had it not been for Penny and Frank, she wouldn't be standing here with her husband tonight.
Claire's mom had actually spent the entire day preparing an elaborate dinner that mostly consisted of Claire's favorite Australian dishes. So soon they all helped out setting up the table and settled around it to enjoy a wonderful evening with friends.
The food was great, the company was great and Claire seemed to really enjoy herself on her birthday, James and Kate couldn't have been happier for her. She'd come a long way since her bad experiences on the island and it showed in the huge smile that seemed a constant on her face tonight.
Claire got up to help her mom clear the table, Penny and Kate joined in and all four women disappeared into the kitchen. That's when Kate couldn't bite her tongue any more, her voice low enough so the men couldn't overhear them, "Are Miles and you fighting again? You guys seem a bit distant tonight."
Claire's eyes connected with her mom's for a brief moment before she looked up at Kate, "We broke up."
"What?" Kate and Penny both asked with equal amounts of surprise in their voices.
"We're still friend." Claire tried to reassure them, "We're just not … in love."
Kate gave her a sad smile; "Still" she rested a comforting hand on her friends shoulder, "I'm sorry."
Claire shook her head, "I broke up with him, and like I said, we're still friends, so there's nothing to be sorry for, Kate. I care about him, I really do, but he's … he's not Charlie."
Penny lowered her gaze and a look of guilt crossed her facial features. Kate looked sad once more but nobody said anything else on the matter.
X
Kate toed off her shoes while James turned the deadlock on their front door, before they headed upstairs.
Once they stepped into their bedroom, both began to slip out of their clothes, neither talking a whole lot since both of them were pretty tired.
Kate stood over the sink in just her bra and panty, washing the make-up from her face when James stepped up behind her, his hands resting on her hips, "Think you can check on my back, babe? Maybe put some more of that ointment on it, it's been itching like a son of a bitch all evening?"
Kate reached for the towel next to her and dried her face off before her eyes connected with his and she nodded, "Of course." She loved taking care of him, always had.
James took a seat on the edge of the Jacuzzi-style bathtub and Kate stepped up next to him, and began to peel off the tape to reveal his wound.
"Oh my god." She said in a tone of voice that made James turn his head towards her.
"What?" He asked with worry in his voice.
"It's gone, James!" she proclaimed and pulled him up to a stand to drag him in front of the big mirror by the door.
James had his head turned – with his back towards the mirror – he took in his reflection and drawled, "I'll be damned."
"How's that even possible." Kate stepped around him and gently ran a hand over his healed skin between his shoulder blades and down his spine. "It didn't even leave a scar … it's completely gone, like it never even happened!"
Curiously he looked first to his right biceps where the faint outline of the scar from Sayid's knife attack was still visible. Then he looked to the other side, his left shoulder still displayed the puckered up scar from when he'd been shot.
After thinking about it all for a moment it suddenly dawned on him and he remembered how it had started to itch shortly after Hurley had shaken his hand and told he'd be okay. "Hurley." He blurted out and looked at Kate.
She held his gaze and nodded, "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I mean, there's no other explanation." The awed expression on her face was replaced by a smile.
Kate stepped over to the cabinet and retrieved a bottle of rubbing alcohol along with a couple of cotton balls. "Sit back down." She ordered him and nodded in the direction of their bathtub, "I'll get all that sticky tape stuff off."
He did as he was told and waited rather patiently until she was done, neither of them talking much, seemingly lost in their own thoughts.
Once she was done, she put everything away, washed her hands before she proceeded to rub some of her body lotion onto his back.
Her hands moved in broad circles over the expanse of his back, working the lotion into his skin before she leaned down and kissed his shoulder, "All done. Let's go to bed."
He got up and while she put the bottle back on the shelf by the sink, he wrapped his arms around her from behind. One hand traveled downward between her legs, his fingers skimming the silky fabric, while the other cupped one of her breasts. He leaned down and kissed the side of her neck, "You know what this means, don't ya'?"
Her eyes connected with his in the mirror, pure lust and mischief looking back at her and he added, "Your turn to be on top, Freckles."
She leaned her body into his, feeling the length of his erection pressing against her and gave him a mischievous smile of her own, "On the drive home you said you were tired."
"What can I say, Freckles? Guess that rubdown with the lotion woke me back up."
She smiled and turned around in his arms. He picked her up; she complied and wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. One hand under her ass and the other around her waist, they kissed as he stumbled blindly out of the bathroom and towards their bed.
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A few days later, November 1st, 2009
Kate was taping up a large cardboard box and had just labeled it donations, when James stepped into their walk-in closet, gloriously naked.
He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, yawned audibly, and scratched himself, "This 's the third time this week that I wake up alone in bed. Com'on, Freckles." He whined, "It's too damn early for this, let's go back to bed and warm each other up again." She looked downright delicious, wearing nothing but one of his oversized t-shirt.
She looked over at him from her spot in the back of their walk-in closet, "It's Aaron's birthday today, remember? I won't have any time later to do this."
Before James could argue his point, there was a quiet knock on their bedroom door.
"Guess you girls are early risers." He said before he tucked a pair of sweatpants from a shelf and quickly stepped into them and went to unlock and open the bedroom door.
"Mornin', Daddy." Clementine looked up at him innocently and breezed right passed him in search for Kate.
"Mornin', Pumpkin. How come you're up so early?" He asked as he closed the door again and followed his daughter back into the closet where she ran into Kate's outstretched arms.
"Mornin', Aunt Kate."
"Good morning, Sweetheart." Kate pulled her close and affectionately kissed the top of her head, "How did you sleep?"
"Good." Came Clementine's simple reply. "When are we going to Aaron's house?"
"Not for a couple hours, the party doesn't start until noon." Kate sat on a small stool that she had used to get to the higher shelves and pulled Clementine onto her lap.
"Are there going to be other girls there too?" Clementine asked.
Kate smiled and nodded her head, "Yeah, there will be a few girls that he invited."
"Can I bring my Barbies, 'cause Aaron only got boy toys at his house?"
"Sure, honey." Kate replied and ran her fingers through Clementine's hair; it looked so much like James'.
Clementine looked around the small room, noting the different boxes stacked along one side, "Are you gonna be sad when you go to your new house, or are you gonna be happy?"
Kate looked up and shared a look with James who was leaning against the doorframe of the closet, watching their little exchange, "Well, we don't really have a new house yet, but when we find one I'm sure I'll be happy there."
Clementine nodded as though she understood, "When you have a new house, can I come and visit you there?"
"Of course." Kate answered without having to think about it.
And James stepped a bit closer and added quickly, "No matter where we live, you can always come and visit, and you'll have your own room just like you do here, alright?"
Clementine nodded and seemed content with that answer.
James pulled a t-shirt over his head, "Com'on, Clem, let's go get somethin' to eat. I'm starvin', ain't you?"
"I'm staaarvin' too." She drawled, mimicking her daddy's voice and then giggled as she jumped up and ran past him out of the room.
"She's got too much energy for me this early in the morning." James said as he leaned down to kiss his wife, his hand caressing her little bump.
Kate smiled up at him, and teased him, "If you think this is early, I don't think you know what you're in for with this baby, Cowboy."
"I was bunkin' just a few feet from Claire's tent … I think I got a pretty good idea of what both of us are in for, Freckles."
She stood and they kissed one more time before he headed towards the door and Kate turned around towards her clothes.
But James suddenly stopped short, turned back around and before she knew that he was this close, he reached for the hem of her shirt – right above the knee – and lifted it to peek underneath and smirked as if he'd known what he'd see.
She swatted his hand away and chuckled, "What are you doing?" She glanced passed him for a brief second to make sure that Clementine hadn't come back.
He smirked at her, "Just checkin'." He slapped her on her bare ass.
She rolled her eyes at him and a laugh escaped his throat.
He then stepped backwards towards the door and winked at her, "Put some clothes on, woman, we got a kid in the house."
"Smartass." She mumbled under her breath.
"What was that?" he called as he'd reached the door.
"Wash your hands, before you touch or cook anything." She gave him a knowing smile and he nodded smiling back, before he disappeared out of the room.
X
Kate quietly stepped down the hallway and rounded the corner to the kitchen, but stopped in her tracks and paused, taking in the sight before her.
The kitchen was a mess, but that honestly didn't matter at all. The sight of Clementine in her pink Barbie PJs standing on a step-stool and James behind her, a spatula in her hand, his large hand around hers guiding her and helping her flip the pancakes. His voice was calm and gentle when he instructed her, and her happy giggle of triumph when he let go of her hand and she did it all by herself brought a smile to Kate's face.
This is what she wanted. This is what they would have. And it didn't matter if they had this in a million dollar home in L.A. or in a small apartment somewhere else. The people in her life and the moments she shared with them were irreplaceable. There simply was no monetary value that could be placed on the people she loved. They were priceless!
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One week later, November 8th, 2009
The house was packed up. Almost every room had boxes stacked up against the now bare walls, making the house look empty.
Pretty much all of the dishes in the kitchen were already packed away as well.
The kitchen table was littered with Chinese take-out cartons, paper plates, cups and in the midst of it all stood a single long stemmed candle that was lit and halfway burned down by now.
Kate stood barefoot on her tippy toes, opening the flaps of a box and peeked inside, "I'm sure this is the one."
"That's what you said about the last two." He chuckled, walked over to her and grunted as he lifted the heavy box down and placed it on the floor between them.
They both started to unpack things onto the kitchen counter until Kate held up something wrapped up in white packing paper and gave him a triumphant smile, swaying her hips from side to side with the music that was quietly playing in the background.
"Better make sure that's really it before you do your little happy dance, Ginger Rogers."
She quickly unwrapped it and gave him a smug look, "I knew I was right." And held up the corkscrew they'd been looking for, for the last ten minutes.
"Guess, third time's the charm, huh?" He took it from her hand and reached for the chilled bottle on the counter behind him.
Kate brought their two plastic cups over from the table and waited patiently while James worked to get the bottle opened, "I've never had the alcohol free kind."
The cork came loose and he looked over at her, "That makes two of us."
She held both cups in place while he filled them. She handed him one, he took it and smiled at her.
"Well." He held out his cup and she did the same. "Happy anniversary, Freckles!" He toasted.
"Happy anniversary, James!" She replied, and they knocked their cups together, but since it was plastic it didn't really make the desired sound.
Both took a sip from their cup and then looked at each other for a reaction.
Kate was the first to give in, "Wow, that is just … awful."
James sighed in relief and said, "Worst damn thing I've ever tasted."
She chuckled at the face he made and took his cup from him, pouring both of them down the drain.
Kate put the cups on the counter, opened the fridge, got out a beer, twisted the top off and held it out to him.
He took it with a grateful smile and watched as she poured herself a glass of orange juice.
She took the cake out of the fridge, closing it with a bump from her hip since her hands where already full. "Can you make some room, please?" She nodded towards the table.
James sprung into action, pushed the burning candle further back and moved their plates and leftovers out of the way, so that Kate could put the cake down on the table.
"I hope it's defrosted all the way by now, I took it out of the freezer first thing this morning." She said as she walked back to the counter where she'd left the big knife for this occasion.
James went and took two clean plates for them from the bag of disposables and fished out two new forks as well, before he placed them both on the table by the cake.
"Refresh my memory, Freckles, but are we s'posed to do this together, like we did at the wedding or what's the deal?" he inquired.
Kate shrugged her shoulders, "I'm not sure. What do you think?"
He stepped up behind her and engulfed her smaller hand that held the knife with his own, "I say, let's do it just in case. Wouldn't wanna jinx it since we made it this far, Sweetheart."
And just like that they cut the pieces out of the top layer from their wedding cake together.
After plopping a piece on each plate, they sat down and began to eat.
"Not bad." James commented, over halfway done with the generous slice they'd cut for him.
"Yeah." Kate nodded, "Tastes pretty much the same as it did a year ago."
Then Kate looked over at him and smirked.
"What?" He asked, wondering why she was looking at him like that.
She waved her fork in the air, pointing at his chin, "You've got a little something on your chin."
He wiped at his face with his hand and looking at his hands then back at her for confirmation that he'd gotten it, but she shook her head at him. "No, it's right …" she leaned forward and before he knew what she was up to, she reached down on his plate grabbed a junk of cake and smeared it all over his chin and added laughing, "… there."
He couldn't help but smile at the laughter coming from her and the sparkle in her eye but he threatened her anyway, "This means war, shortcake!" He drawled and she jumped up from her chair in anticipation of what he might do to her, eyeing him from a few steps away.
He wiped at his face with a paper napkin, a mixture of cake and white frosting on the table, the floor and on his clothes. That's when he stood too, very calm and collected, even took the time to push in his chair. But when he leaned in to blow out the candle on the table, she knew she was in trouble.
He made a move in her direction, tried to grab her by the waist and Kate let out a scream of excitement and took off towards the dining room, which had another doorway that led into the living room. But unbeknownst to her, he'd simply bluffed and had gone the other way around, through the hallway and right into the living room, where he grabbed her now since she practically ran into his arms.
She shrieked in delight and they both couldn't hold back the laughter, when he picked her up over his shoulder and carried her cavemen style back into the kitchen.
X
James stepped into the dimly lit bedroom, his hair still damp and a towel wrapped around his waist.
Kate had a towel wrapped around her hair, just sporting one of his t-shirts while she was digging through another box again.
"Freckles." He drawled as he stepped further into the room. "You're the definition of counterproductive."
She looked back at him with a confused look and he explained, "You've spend days to get all of this packed up and now you're opening box after box digging shit back out, ergo counterproductive!"
"Ergo counterproductive?" She mockingly repeated and smiled broadly back at him. "Are you trying to woo me with big words now, Mister?"
He dropped the towel in a careless way, "I don't need big words to woo you with, Sweetheart, I got other big things that can do just that."
She rolled her eyes at him but despite her best efforts, she couldn't stop that grin from appearing on her face along with that pink hue that crept onto her cheeks. "The last time you wooed me I ended up with cake in places no woman should ever have cake, so why don't you put that towel back on, Casanova."
He smirked back at her, "What ya' lookin' for this time anyways?" he asked, while he pulled on a pair of boxer shorts.
"Found it." She said and turned towards him, smiling and with their wedding album in hand.
They both settled onto their makeshift bed, which was just a mattress on the floor in the middle of the room.
She sat in front of him, in between his legs. He pulled the towel from her hair and pushed her damp curls to one side as he rested his chin on her shoulder, while she began turning the pages of their photo album.
She slowly flipped through the pages, smiling, pointing, laughing and commenting at the memories, "I can't believe it's been a year already."
"Me neither, babe." He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer against his chest, before he reached up, stretching the already loose neckline of her shirt so he could kiss her bare shoulder.
She relaxed against him, as they both flipped through the pages some more. "The only thing I regret about selling this house is that we got married here, you know? If we had gotten married in a church or on a beach or some other place, we could go back there again and revisit but once this house is sold, we can never go back here."
He heard the melancholy in her voice and tried to think of something to cheer her up, "Guess we better pick a place that can stand the test of time when we renew our vows then."
"Renew our vows?" she turned to get a good look of his face to see if he was joking or being serious.
He shrugged, "I ain't saying any time soon, but maybe on our tenth anniversary or so. That wouldn't be too bad."
"Yeah." She nodded. "That wouldn't be bad at all."
He reached for the photo album and closed it shut, took it from her and put it on the floor beside the mattress, "Time to get some sleep, Freckles."
She turned enough to look at him, "and by sleep you mean –."
"Sex!" he finished her sentence for her.
She laughed, the sound muffled as he began to pull her shirt up and over her head.
He tossed the shirt to the side and she smiled back at him through a mop of unruly curls, "You really know how to make a girl feel special, James."
XXXXXXXX
One week later in Palm Springs
James held onto Clementine's hand as if she was his lifeline, which currently she was. If looks alone could kill than he would've dropped dead at least a dozen times by now from all the murderous glares Cassidy's relatives had been giving him throughout the day. If it hadn't been for Clementine's steady presents by his side, he was sure most of them wouldn't have hesitated to give him a piece of their mind either.
He scanned the large room for Kate and frowned when he spotted Clark's best man once again with his arm wrapped around Kate's waist. "Son of a." But he stopped himself, remembering the seven year old beside him.
Just then Claire stepped up beside them, "How are you holding up?"
James frowned at her, "So far so good, no one's tried to off me yet. Tell me again why I agreed to come here today?" Just then he saw Kate pull away from the guy, but he was insistent and tried to pull her closer to him again. "Do you mind keepin' an eye on Clem for a minute?"
Claire had seen it to, "Sawyer, they're just taking pictures of the wedding party."
"I can see that, but that don't mean he needs to pull her that close." He looked down at Clem, "Stay with Claire for a little bit, Sweetheart, I gotta go talk to your Aunt Kate."
He took a step in Kate's direction but Claire grabbed a hold of his arm and stopped him, "Please don't make a scene, Sawyer. The only reason you're here is because you're Kate's plus one. Don't ruin this wedding for Cassidy, and punching the best man would definitely do that, you know?!"
He shrugged and had to smile, "I know I would've never gotten an invite on my own, Mamacita, and to be honest, I rather wouldn't be here. But to soothe your worries, I don't plan on doin' anythin' stupid. Just wanna refresh this guy's memory that at this wedding, the maid of honor ain't going to be hookin' up with the best man, that's all."
Claire nodded but didn't seem too convinced as she watched him disappear through the crowd towards Kate. It was time to get Clementine a bit further away from here, just in case James did make a scene after all, so she looked down at her, "Come on, Sweetie, let's go and get us something to drink. I'm pretty thirsty, how about you?"
Clementine nodded and walked along Claire in the other direction, when she pulled on Claire's hand to get her attention, "What means hooking up? What was my dad talking about?"
Claire groaned in annoyance, silently cursing James before she looked down at Clementine beside her, smiled and flat out lied, "I don't know. But you should definitely ask your dad when he gets back."
X
Kate was smiling for the camera but her smile turned into a grin when she felt the guy's arm around her drop the moment James came into view.
He stood just a few feet behind the photographer, his arms crossed in front of his chest and glared at Clark's best man as if he'd like to kill the guy.
Kate suppressed the giggle that formed in the back of her throat and tried her best to turn that grin back into a smile for the sake of Cassidy and Clark's special day.
A few more clicks of the camera and the photographer seemed content with what he'd gotten.
Kate excused herself from Cassidy and came over to him. She smiled up at him and he wrapped his arms around her and they kissed.
Kate pulled back, "What's up?"
"I think that son of a bitch is lucky he's still breathing."
Kate playfully slapped his chest, "Be nice."
He scoffed, "I am being nice. Trust me, Barbie, if I wasn't being nice he'd have a shiner in every one of those pictures."
Kate rolled her eyes at his remark. "Barbie?" She questioned his choice of a nickname for her.
He eyed her up and down as if it wasn't obvious, and grinned, "Pretty sure I've seen a dress like yours on one of Clem's Barbie dolls the other day."
Kate giggled, "Cass picked it out."
He nodded and groaned, "Like mother, like daughter."
"Any whoo, how much longer do we gotta stick around?" He looked at her with seriousness.
"James, this wedding just got started. Now that the pictures are done, they're gonna start serving food real soon, and then … speeches, toasts, first dance as husband and wife … you know."
He didn't look thrilled; "It's just … Cassie's family has been givin' me the stink eye since we got here this morning." He shrugged uncomfortably in his suit, "And I can't wait to get out of this monkey suit, Freckles."
Kate leaned in closer, "And I can't wait to get you out of it either."
The smirk that spread across his face was priceless, "Well, well, well." He drawled and pulled her closer to him again.
Kate flushed and suddenly seemed flustered about her own words, "You know that's just my hormones talking."
"I bet." He winked at her, "Blame it all on the baby!"
She shushed him and looked around to see if anyone had overheard, then she slapped him playfully on his chest as they both chuckled at themselves, before Kate added with a smirk of her own, "Don't worry about Cassidy's relatives, I'll keep you safe!"
X
He flicked away the ash and took another long drag from his cigarette before he heard the squeak of the balcony door behind him and turned just in time to see Cassidy slip out.
Clearly caught off guard when she saw him out here, she stopped short but couldn't stop herself before the words slipped out of her mouth, "Oh, shit!"
He smirked at her uncomfortable reaction, "Hi to you too, Cass."
The door closed behind her on its own and she folded her arms under her chest, contemplating whether she should go back inside or stay, "I didn't expect anyone to be out here."
He took another drag before holding up the stump as form of explanation why he was out here alone on the balcony of this high end hotel she had booked for her wedding. "You want one?"
"You know I don't smoke, Sawyer." She quipped back and stepped up closer to the railing, looking down for a moment before she looked back up at him.
"A lot can change in seven years, hon'." He replied but then gave her a curious once over, "If it ain't the need for nicotine that brought you out here then what did?" With dimples digging deep into his cheeks as he was smirking broadly at her, then glanced at his wristwatch and quickly added;, "A mere six hours into the marriage and you're already thinkin' 'bout jumpin'? Don't think we're high enough though."
She snorted and rolled her eyes in a way he couldn't recall her ever doing before. Must be something she picked up by hanging around Kate too much, he thought.
But instead of buying into his insult against Clark, she changed the topic altogether when she simply stated, "Eight, not seven."
He didn't get it and looked at her quizzical and she didn't hesitate to elaborate, "Clementine turned seven in May, it's November now, and you left me when I was pregnant. So it's been over eight years, not seven."
Shit!
The little wheels were turning in his head and he suddenly nodded, "You're right. It's been eight years." That's all he said, because that is all he could think of saying at the moment.
Uncomfortable silence filled the next minute or two before Cassidy spoke up, "You need to make sure she takes it easy on your road trip. She needs to stretch her legs often, can't drive all day long."
Surprised but somewhat grateful for the change of topic he nodded, "I know." He lit up another smoke and took a long drag.
But Cassidy wasn't done just yet, "She's been stressing out so much the last couple of months. First she's sick, then she thinks you died, going back to that god awful island, finding out that you're alive and that she's pregnant. And just when she thinks life is about to go back to normal again, there comes that Las Vegas Skank with her cheating scandal that almost did Kate in and then you got hit with that lawsuit, leaving her with nothing to fall back on."
She glanced up at him for a reaction, which she got in form of a guilty look that crossed James' face. "Now she sold her house, packed up her whole life and put it in storage, running off with you, not knowing where and how she's going to raise her baby."
Despite the guilt he felt for putting Kate through hell over the last couple of months, he also felt the need to defend himself in this obvious attack on him, "Look, I wanted to take them to court, I would've fought them and if convicted I would've done the time too. I didn't wanna take her money, but she insisted on making a deal with them instead."
Cassidy's face showed no emotions, "I know it was her idea, she told me that too, but that doesn't make it right, Sawyer. At least when you knocked me up and ran off, I pressed charges and I eventually got my money back. If you decided to run out on her, there's absolutely nothing she can do … she'll never see a cent of that money again."
He glared at her, feeling even more defensive now than he had just a moment ago, "Freckles ain't got nothin' to be worried about, 'cause I ain't goin' nowhere unless she's goin' with me!"
She smiled and chuckled humorlessly, "I hate to be the one to break it to you, Romeo, but your mere presence by her side isn't going to pay the rent. And let's not forget all the other things this baby's gonna need. Diapers and formula get pretty expensive over time, thrust me, I would know."
He had enough of this. He'd promised Kate to play nice and stay out of Cassidy's way on her special day, but he wasn't going to listen to any of this too much longer, "I get that you're worried 'bout her, 'cause she's your bestie now since the two of you've bonded over my previous failures, but none of this is any of your concern. She is my wife and I will take care of her."
She looked up at him with honest worry in her blue eyes reflecting back at him and sighed, "I hope you really mean that, 'cause I don't know how much more drama she can take! She hasn't had a break since her mother married Wayne all those years ago. She's always been good at putting up that tough girl front, keeping busy by taking care of everyone around her. But behind that tough girl persona, she's just a girl, Sawyer. She's just a girl that wants someone to love her for who she really is, someone to take care of her for a change!"
James nodded, the anger he'd felt just moments ago subsiding, "I'm that guy, Cass! I'm the guy that'll take care of her!"
She looked at him for a long moment, studying him as if she was seeing him for the first time and then she nodded, "Good, because she really needs you to be that guy!"
Cassidy turned and was just about to head back inside, when James reached out and caught her by the arm. Clearly surprised she looked back up at him and he reached into the inside pocket of his suit, "I've got something for you."
He pulled out an envelope and handed it to her. She took it and turned it over, her name Cassidy was scribbled on the front. She peeked in and pulled out the papers inside. Scanning the pages, she read over it but didn't understand and looked back up at him in confusion, "What is this?"
He cleared his throat, and tucked nervously on the collar of his shirt, "It's an account statement for a bank account back in Albuquerque in Clementine's name. He stepped up beside her and pointed to the name of the bank that was the part of the letter heading. "Money's going to be tight 'till I get a job somewhere, so … you know I probably won't be able to send any child support of a while."
Her eyes skimmed over the first page and then over the second one, "That's over a hundred grand. Are you serious? Is this real?" she looked up at him and waited for the other shoe to drop.
He simply nodded, not surprised that she was giving him this suspicious look after everything he'd done to her, "It's real. But since Clem's only seven, you're listed as the authorized person on the account, meaning you can make withdrawals if you need the money. Or maybe you can invest it somewhere else, it's barely makin' any interest right now, that way she won't have to worry 'bout payin' for College later on, you know?"
Cassidy nodded. She was speechless for once. But that moment didn't last very long and she looked up at him with something in her eyes that he couldn't figure out, "You really have changed, haven't you?"
Fuck!
"We all gotta grow up at some point, Cassie" He replied casually, although somehow this whole conversation was getting to him more then he'd like to admit.
"Good for you!" she simply said.
He smiled and shrugged her words off, "Anyway, we're taking off Monday morning. First stop will be Vegas, don't really know where we're going from there. I'll try to call before it's her bedtime, and maybe we can talk on Skype from time to time so I can see her and she can see us."
Cassidy nodded, "Yeah, sure, she'd really like that. Clark and I are leaving first thing tomorrow for our honeymoon, so my aunt who's visiting is going to be house sitting and staying with Clem for the next two weeks. But I'll let her know that you'll call."
"Okay." He answered.
See, we can be civil with each other!
Cassidy took a step back towards the door again, "Well, I better get back before Clark thinks I ran off or something."
James chuckled, "Yeah!" then he added in a more somber tone of voice, "Congratulations, by the way."
"Thanks." She said, gave him a shy wave and disappeared back inside.
James let out a sigh of relief and looked down at the burned out cigarette stump between his fingers.
He had just lit up another one, when Kate stepped through the door.
"Hey, I was looking for you. Cassidy said you were out here."
"I was smokin'" he replied, quickly extinguished the butt and waved the smoke surrounding him away as Kate got closer.
Second hand smoke's bad for the baby!
He slid one arm around her waist when she stepped beside him.
"I saw you gave her the envelope." Kate looked up at him curiously. "What did she say?"
He nodded, "Not much … I think she was too shocked that I've done somethin' nice to think of anything to say."
Kate hummed her agreement and leaned her head against his shoulder as they both looked out into the distance. "It was a nice wedding, don't you think?"
"Yeah, it wasn't too shabby. Not as nice as ours though." He answered truthfully.
When Kate shivered in the nippy evening air, he asked, "You wanna go back in?"
"Not yet." She answered, so he shrugged out of his jacket and draped it around her bare shoulders before he pulled her back into his arms.
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End Note:Please leave a review. Thank you! xoxo