Thanks for the reviews. For some reason, this chapter took me forever to write, but it actually made me feel better about a couple of things (For now!)... ;)

Chapter 35. The Other Woman

"I take it this isn't a social call," Juliet said, a hint of accusation in her tone that Kate was sure must be directed at Jack, as she ushered them through to an immaculate modern living room overlooking the water.

It was exactly what Kate had come to expect from her; everything about her was so perfect, from her starched blue blouse, to her spotless apartment, which, for some reason, didn't even seem to suffer from the usual clutter that came from having a small child in the house. It made her wonder if Jack wouldn't have preferred that life: clean, neat, simple; everything that theirs wasn't.

An older woman who bore a striking resemblance to Juliet, though not as pretty, was curled up on the couch, reading with Julian.

"Rae, I'd like you to meet Jack and Kate – from the island," Juliet announced, and she glanced up from the book, taking in first Jack, then Kate and J.J. It might just have been her imagination, but Kate thought the look she gave Jack was curious, appraising, while the one she gave her was slightly disdainful.

"Hey, I'm Rachel – Juliet's big sister," she told them, reaching over to shake each of their hands. "And this is Julian – my little miracle baby," she added, ruffling his hair affectionately.

Her attention shifted to J.J., squirming on Kate's hip, eager to be put down somewhere, and she shot Juliet a questioning look, turning back to Jack when she shrugged. "Who's yours?" she asked, doing her best to sound innocent.

"We call him J.J.," Jack replied, looking almost apologetic as he glanced over at Juliet to see her reaction.

His apparent guilt at choosing her only made Kate more territorial. "Short for Jack Junior," she told Juliet, but if this information surprised her, she didn't let on, her expression remaining neutral, polite.

Picking up on the tension in the room, Rachel tossed the book aside and jumped to her feet, pulling her son up with her. "We're gonna go pick up some dinner," she announced. "Thai food okay with everyone?"

"We're not staying," Kate insisted, shuddering at the thought of sharing a meal with them while they continued to make her feel like the other woman where Jack was concerned.

"That's up to you," Juliet said, raising a thin eyebrow in surprise at her outburst. "You're welcome to stay."

When she looked to Jack for his answer, Kate realised that her invitation had more to do with wanting to catch up with him than anything else.

"Sure," he agreed with a warm smile that made Kate want to hit him. Couldn't he see how uncomfortable they were making her? "There's nowhere else we need to be."

And so it was that Kate found herself sitting with J.J. in Julian's old high chair beside her, poking at her plate with a fork while Jack detailed their mission to Juliet and Rachel. He seemed to be enjoying himself; she couldn't remember the last time she'd seen him so lively. It was a long time since he'd been anybody's hero.

"You went all the way to Australia to talk some editor into giving you a book?" Rachel repeated, wrinkling her nose, incredulous, though no one could deny the fact that she was also impressed. "What's in it? The meaning of life? Proof God exists?"

"You know, with everything else that's been going on, I haven't had time to finish reading it," Jack confessed with a sheepish look, and they all laughed.

Seeing how well he got along with Juliet's sister, and how much she seemed to like him, Kate scowled, hating his easy manner, and the fact that he always had to be so damn charming. It wasn't making Rachel like her any more.

"Call me crazy, but I'm never setting foot on another plane, ship or submarine again – no matter how much you pay me," Juliet said during the next break in the conversation, grinning at Rachel as she added, "I'm going to stay right here on the beach until I die."

She smiled at Jack, and he smiled in return.

"Sounds great," he told her, and with horror, Kate realised that she was flirting with him, and he was flirting right back.

"We should get going," she told him, dropping her napkin and standing up, determined to get him out of there before Juliet actually thought she had a chance with him. Not that he'd done much to discourage her. "It's past J.J.'s bedtime, and we still have to find a hotel."

Obediently, Jack got up too, moving to unbuckle their son, until Rachel said, "You should just stay here," looking to Juliet for back up.

"She's right – it's late," Juliet agreed swallowing and wiping her mouth with her own napkin, gesturing to where her copy of the flash drive lay beside her plate. "Besides, it's the least we can do."

As well intentioned as the offer sounded, Kate couldn't help feeling suspicious. Had she and Rachel planned it this way? Was she using it as an opportunity to steal some time alone with Jack once she was asleep? "Thanks, but you look like you've got a full house already," she insisted, but Juliet shook her head.

"No, it's fine – I'll sleep in with Rachel, you and J.J. can have my room, and Jack can take the couch…"

She trailed off, watching the two of them exchange wary glances, and Kate got the sense that this was the reaction she was expecting. They hadn't filled her in on the particulars of their relationship; as far as Kate was concerned, it was none of her business; but no one was that naïve, at least not Juliet.

She was testing them.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she corrected herself, a sharp edge creeping into her tone, "I just assumed that since the rules were pretty clear, maybe you weren't actually together… But you know what? It doesn't matter."

Clearly it did, Kate thought, as she disappeared down the hall to finish sorting out the sleeping arrangements with her sister, or else she wouldn't sound so offended. Why should she care if they betrayed their agreement, or if anyone came after them as a result? It had nothing to do with her.

She was still fuming when Juliet left them to their own devices, wishing that she hadn't chosen her own room for them to sleep in. Seeing the neatly hung clothes in the closet, the bookcase full of well worn books, smelling the scent of her perfume in the air, made it hard to stop thinking about her; harder still for her to stop thinking about Jack thinking about her.

"What's going on with you, Kate?" he asked, sitting on the edge of the mattress, watching her slam things around as she got ready for bed. "I hate to say it, but you were pretty rude tonight."

"I was rude? What was all that stuff about you sleeping on the couch?" she hissed, feeling like she was ready to explode.

"It was an honest mistake," Jack insisted, keeping his voice low, which only made her madder. Of course he wouldn't want Juliet to know they were fighting about her. "She probably just didn't wanna be presumptuous and make us uncomfortable."

"No, it wasn't! She did it on purpose," she told him, fighting back bitter tears at his unwillingness to admit the truth. He didn't seem to care that she'd been ostracised and humiliated by Juliet and her sister. He hadn't even noticed. "Can't you see that she's still in love with you?"

"That's what this is about?" he said, getting up to check on J.J. when he started to whimper inside the travel crib Rachel had leant them. "You think there's something going on between us?"

"Well is there?" she pressed in a more reasonable tone, doing her best not to frighten him again once Jack had him settled. "Because it seems like you never really got over it."

"I never got over it, because there was nothing to get over," he confessed. "I never loved her. I wanted to – I tried – but it wasn't the same."

The same as what, she wanted to ask him, thinking she knew what he was getting at, but she still wasn't convinced. "I should just believe you? I saw you kiss her," she reminded him. "It didn't look like nothing."

"You also know that you were the one I said I love you too, Kate – after she kissed me – even though I didn't think you loved me back," he told her, moving over to her.

"You wanna turn this back on me? At least you know what happened between me and Sawyer," she retorted, tired of it always coming down to that. Why couldn't he ever just let it go?

"And I wish I didn't," he agreed, his voice so soft that she almost wasn't sure that was what she was hearing, and she stared at him, stunned. She knew he was hurt, but he'd never been this open about it before. "You have to know that whatever happened – or didn't happen – with Juliet, it's over," he continued, and she realised that for the same reason, he wasn't going to tell her what that was.

"I'm doing this for you – so I can be with you," he told her softly, taking hold of her wrists to make sure that she was listening. "You're the one I wanna spend the rest of my life with, Kate."

As hard as she tried, she just couldn't hold onto her anger; not when he was being so charming. "Was that – was that a proposal, Jack?" she gasped, too surprised even to try. It was the last thing she'd expected to hear when she decided to confront him about Juliet.

"Yeah, I guess, in a way, it was," he agreed with a bashful smile, shifting his hands to her hips, tracing her sides with his fingers. "I know things are kind of a mess now, but I wanna marry you someday, when all this is over."

"So ask me again then," she told him as she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him down to kiss her.

Next chapter: A little bit more Juliet, and some Sawyer! ;)