Thanks for the reviews. More spoilers in this chapter (slight!). Hope no one minds! ;)
Chapter 12. Elsa
Rolling over to glance at the clock, a languid smile spread over Kate's features. It was after ten a.m. on Sunday morning, and she was still in bed with the man she loved, recovering from what had to be one of the best nights of her life; for perhaps the first time in the course of their relationship, circumstances hadn't forced one or both of them to dress and slip off while it wasn't even light outside.
The only thing that could make it more perfect; more normal; was their son, tucked up in his crib in the next room; wondering if he was awake, and missing her as much as he missed him, she leant over the edge of the bed, retrieving her cell from the pocket of her jeans.
The action was met with a soft chuckle from behind her. "You do realise it's 3 a.m. over there?" Jack reminded her as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back towards him, and kissing the side of her neck.
"You're right," she agreed, abandoning her cell on the dresser, and settling into his embrace, closing her eyes as his lips travelled lower, to the back of her shoulder, but as hard as she tried to focus on him and what he was doing, her mind kept wandering back to California.
"Go on, you know you want to," he said, laughing, pressing one final kiss to her shoulder blade as he reached across her to hand her her cell.
"That doesn't make me crazy?" she asked him as she took it from him, her cheeks flushing pink, feeling embarrassed and guilty for being so distracted, and for killing the moment.
"That just makes you a mom," he agreed with an affectionate smile, kissing her again, on the lips this time, before pulling on his jeans and heading into the bathroom to give her some privacy.
Her father answered on the first ring, J.J. wailing somewhere in the background. "He was fine until you woke him," he pointed out when she seized on this, softening his tone as he added, "I told you not to worry, Katie. I'll make sure you get him back exactly the way you left him."
"I know," she agreed as she said her goodbyes and hung up.
"Everything okay?" Jack asked her as he came back, showered and dressed.
"Except that I've turned into one of those mothers… You know, the ones who spit into a Kleenex and wipe their son's face at graduation," she told him, tossing her cell aside, and flopping back against the pillow with a sigh.
"It's possible," he agreed as he perched on the edge of the bed to replace his shoes, and she aimed a feeble blow in his direction, connecting with his side, "but a weirdo in a parking garage told you he was going to make your son into a science project – what's their excuse?"
"That's supposed to make me feel better?" she asked, sitting up to give him an incredulous look, but something about what he said put it into perspective, and she found herself laughing as she pulled the comforter off the bed and started gathering her own clothes.
An hour later, Jack had parked in front of a whitewashed building on a tree-lined street in the upper middle class district of Charlottenburg.
"Nice," he said, leaning back, and taking it in with an appreciative whistle. "Who knew D.H.A.R.M.A. paid so well?"
Kate forced herself to return his smile, but she couldn't keep from voicing her fears. "What if he's changed, Jack?" she asked as they climbed out, nervous all of a sudden. "What if they got to him?" The thought of getting caught was frightening enough without Sayid being the one to report them.
He took her hand as they started up the walk to the entrance, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "If you have to ask that, then you don't remember Sayid," he said.
They stopped talking outside the door to his apartment, exchanging perplexed looks when a blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman, similar in age to Kate, answered instead.
"We're looking for Sayid Jarrah," Jack told her in English, checking the paper again. "Do you know where we can find him?"
The blonde woman looked them both up and down, flashing them a polite smile that Kate was convinced was fake. There was something about her that reminded her of Shannon, only shrewder, and more detached, like Juliet. "Yes," she agreed in her thick German accent, turning back into the apartment. "Sayid, there are some people here for you."
A moment later, Sayid appeared behind her, his hair shorter and more conservative than Kate remembered, but otherwise the same. He raised an eyebrow on seeing them together, covering his surprise with a welcoming smile.
"I see you've met Elsa," he said, putting a hand on her waist in a way that required no further explanation as he gestured for them to step inside. "Elsa, this is Jack and Kate – old friends from the U.S."
"The U.S.? Wow. You must tell me some time if it is like in the movies," she said, sounding impressed, but there was something in her tone that Kate didn't like. It was like she was playing a part of someone shallower than she was. Then again, didn't that describe a large percentage of the female population? Maybe Sayid had told her about Shannon, and she thought that was the kind of woman he preferred.
"Only if you tell us if Germany is just like in the movies," she agreed, and Jack glanced over at her with a questioning look, but didn't comment.
If Sayid noticed the tension between them, he didn't acknowledge it. "Elsa, would you excuse us?" he asked her, and she nodded.
"Of course," she agreed, pecking his cheek as she left the room, but as she disappeared around the corner, Kate caught a glimpse of something else. She was annoyed.
"I assume Jack filled you in on our last conversation?" Sayid asked her in a low voice, drawing her attention back to him.
"Yeah," she agreed, wondering if this was the moment where he took them out into the hall, and warned them that Elsa was a spy. "He told me you were working for D.H.A.R.M.A. now."
Sayid let out an ironic laugh, and she relaxed at the knowledge that he didn't approve of her phrasing. He hadn't been turned. "Elsa doesn't know anything about the crash, or what I do, and I would like to keep it that way," he explained, providing Kate with the answer to at least one of her questions. His new girlfriend wasn't D.H.A.R.M.A., at least, not as far as he knew. "Can we do this somewhere else? Somewhere where we can talk in private? Perhaps we could meet for dinner?"
"Sure," Jack agreed as he and Kate exchanged a look, both of them thinking the same thing: J.J. They had to get back to him before anyone figured out where they were. "Tonight okay? We weren't planning on staying that long."
"Tonight's perfect – Elsa has plans, so she won't be underfoot," Sayid told them, his smile returning. "Now would you like to stay for drinks?"
Next chapter: Dinner with Sayid... ;)