Thanks for the reviews. It's a good thing there's only three chapters left, because I'm really coming to hate this story -- for some reason, this chapter was extremely difficult to write... ;)

Chapter 37. Trust

"This plan to cut those sons of bitches down to size yours, Doc?" Sawyer asked Jack after they moved their conversation to the corner booth of a nearby diner. He seemed more relaxed now that they were in a neutral setting, one that didn't make him feel like more of a loser than Kate was sure he already must after learning that they were together.

As disappointed as he was, she noticed that he couldn't seem to take his eyes off J.J.; as she spooned strained carrots into his mouth, she was conscious of Sawyer staring at them, watching their interaction. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, and it made her uneasy: was he finally regretting all those negative things he'd said to her about having a baby, or did he still feel like she'd betrayed him by wanting something different? Something more than what he was offering?

"I wish I could say it was, but it's the work of a few people, actually," Jack confessed with an embarrassed laugh, either oblivious to Sawyer's frequent glances at her and J.J, or deliberately shutting them out. "Sayid was the one who suggested we go after the book."

"Sayid? You talked to him?" Sawyer repeated, tearing his eyes away from them, doing his best not to look too interested as a hint of nostalgia crept into his tone, reminding them of how cut off he'd been.

"Yeah," Jack agreed, taking a sip of his coffee. "We've seen a bunch of the others. We just got back from visiting Juliet in Miami."

Just as Kate had come to expect, Sawyer couldn't let this go without comment. "That musta been fun," he said, catching her eye, the corners of his lips twisting into a smirk, bringing out his dimples.

"It was – we even stayed the night," she shot back with a superior smile, and he just raised a dubious eyebrow that seemed to say, "I'll bet," in response.

Jack glanced from one to the other, picking up on this silent exchange, his expression wary, but didn't say anything.

"So how many of those things you got left to deliver?" Sawyer asked to break the awkward silence that followed, returning his attention to Jack.

Jack made a quick mental calculation. "Three – Sayid, Desmond and Sun and Jin," he told him, checking his watch, directing his next words at Kate. "In fact, we should probably be heading out. If we leave now, we can be in Korea by the time Jin gets home from work."

She had hoped to get a decent night's sleep before embarking on another round the world trip, but Jack seemed determined to get it over with; with a sigh, she slid the last spoonful of carrots into J.J.'s mouth and stood, dropping the empty jar and spoon back into the diaper bag.

"Or you could let someone else finish up," Sawyer pointed out when he noted how reluctant she was, shifting uncomfortably when they both turned to stare at him in surprise.

"Thanks, Sawyer, but we've got it," Jack assured him, lifting J.J. into his arms, touching Kate's shoulder to let her know that it was time to go, and her heart sank until Sawyer insisted, "You never were much for delegating, were you, Doc? You sure you really wanna do all that again?"

He jerked his head at J.J., who didn't seem happy about having his lunch cut short. He was frowning and making the whining noise that Kate had discovered came whenever he was trying to decide whether or not to cry. "Besides, you got your kid to think about…"

As if to illustrate his point, J.J. gave a particularly violent squirm, kicking his legs out, and for a moment, Kate was afraid that Jack wouldn't be able to hold onto him. "You really wanna help out?" he asked Sawyer, bouncing J.J. to get him to settle, putting his other hand on his back to steady him.

"Not like I got anythin' better to do," Sawyer told him, downplaying his enthusiasm as usual. "Hell, if it'll get me outta the trailer for a coupla days…"

Still not convinced, Jack looked to Kate to see what she thought, and she nodded.

"I think it's a good idea," she agreed, flashing Sawyer a grateful smile, eager to get back into something resembling a normal routine.

Jack considered this for a moment, and then his face broke into a grin as he reached into his pocket for the remaining flash drives. "Sure, why not?"

"I thought you were gonna stay in the car," Kate reminded Jack once they'd dropped Sawyer off at the airport and were on their way home. After following his carrots with a second jar of mixed vegetables, J.J. was napping in his car seat on the bank of seats behind theirs, so it was the first time they'd really been alone, without anything to distract them from this conversation.

"That was before he started flirting with you," Jack insisted, folding his arms with a stubborn look, a note of accusation creeping into his tone. "And you just stood there, Kate. I watched you." So much for his assurances the night before: it was different when he was the one who felt threatened.

In hindsight, the whole thing seemed so ridiculous that it was all she could do to keep from bursting out laughing. "You were right there!" she pointed out as it occurred to her how insane her own behaviour had been. "What did you think was gonna happen?"

"I don't know," he confessed, running his fingers through his hair with a sheepish grin. "I guess I wasn't thinking much of anything."

"You know, it was actually kind of sexy – seeing you get all possessive and jealous like that," she told him, and he let out a soft chuckle, reaching over to pull her onto his lap.

"But bringing J.J.?" she couldn't resist teasing him, trying and failing to suppress her own grin as she regained her balance, looping her arms around his neck for support. "Come on, Jack – wasn't that a bit low?"

"He got he message, didn't he?" he murmured, slipping his own arms around her. "He had you, and he lost you – I'm not gonna make the same mistake."

"You're never gonna lose us, Jack," she assured him, kissing him softly and wriggling in so that she was lying against him, her head nestled under his chin. "We're not going anywhere this time."

"I guess I need to start trusting that," he told her as he adjusted his grip so that they were both more comfortable, tracing lazy patterns on her back with the tips of his fingers once they were both settled again.

"We both do," she agreed.

Next chapter: Sam gets discharged from hospital and Jack and Kate head to Copenhagen (sans J.J.) on one last mission... ;)