Thanks for the reviews. Some of you seem to be under the impression that I've abandoned this fic (with only three chapters to go!), but the truth is, I was exceptionally busy over the weekend and the lack feedback hasn't exactly inspired me. It was a difficult chapter to write, and I didn't want to rush it, but I got there in the end! ;)
Chapter 38. The Belly Of The Beast
In the days that followed their return to L.A., as they waited for Sawyer to call with the news that they were both anticipating and dreading, Kate got her first real taste of what a normal life with Jack could be like. Despite his fear of provoking another attack, he could never seem to tear himself away from her and J.J., so without either of them making a conscious decision, his presence pervaded the house as they continued to eat, sleep and take care of their son together.
She loved waking up in the morning with his scent on her sheets, still warm from his body heat, and going into the bathroom to find his clothes in the hamper, his razor on the sink; all the little traces of him that assured her that he wasn't going anywhere if he could help it. It made her long for the moment that it all became official and they could stop "playing" house and start living together.
As grateful as she was, she was also disappointed when, on the third day, her father was discharged, and Jack stopped spending all of his time at the house.
"You and J.J. aren't going with him?" her father asked, cocking an eyebrow at her when, after dinner, Jack kissed her and J.J. goodbye and headed back to his apartment for the night. "I thought you'd be halfway out the door by now." His tone wasn't angry or accusing, but full of gentle concern.
"You just got out of hospital," she reminded him, but deep down she knew that this wasn't it. Every time she moved to pack up their belongings, something stopped her; she was afraid that if she let herself to get too excited now that the dream was within reach, she'd jinx it, and it wouldn't come true.
They still had one final stage of their plan to complete before the safety of their family and those of the other survivors were assured; with each moment that brought it closer, Kate found herself growing more apprehensive, so that she was actually relieved when Sawyer called to announce that the last of the flash drives was in Sayid's hands.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Jack asked her as they lay awake together hours before they were due to fly to Copenhagen, both of them knowing that the next day could be the one that changed everything.
They were alone in the house; Kate had dropped her father and J.J. off with Daniel and his wife after dinner, where she'd ordered them to stay until she gave the all clear.
"We agreed to do this together," she reminded him, lacing her fingers through his, "So that's how we're going to finish it – together." At least that was what she hoped.
"I'm sure I've said this before, but I don't know what I'd do without you," he told her, his dark eyes shining with gratitude as he lifted their joined hands from his chest, pressing the heel of her palm to his lips.
"I don't know what I'd do either without you either, so let's hope we never have to find out," she murmured, settling it against his smooth cheek when he titled his head to kiss her, shifting as close to him as she could so that he could wrap his free arm around her. If she never got to spend another night with him, she wanted to remember how it felt.
Part of her wanted to call the confrontation off, terrified that the next threat would be one that they couldn't ignore, but she was tired of lying, of pretending that she didn't love Jack, when anyone could see that she did.
It was still dark outside when the cab arrived to take them to the airport, but Kate couldn't have stayed in bed any longer if she tried. She just needed the whole ordeal to be over, and she could tell that Jack did too.
"So how're we gonna do this?" she asked him as they left California behind, too wired, despite the earliness of the hour, to do anything but watch the miles of endless ocean drift by beneath the wings.
"No more running, no more hiding – we walk right in through the front doors," he told her, his eyes fierce and determined, looking more alive than she'd seen him in years.
"We have nothing to be ashamed of, Kate," he insisted when she gave him wary look, not sure that announcing their presence was their best course of action when they would be outnumbered hundreds to one. "They're the ones who'd do anything to keep the truth from getting out."
"At least tell me you've got a gun," she teased him with a tense smile, feeling her brows lift, her eyes widening when he pulled a pistol out of his luggage. "Jack…"
"You didn't think I'd let you go in there without one," he assured her with a grin, holding it out to her, and feeling the familiar weight in her hands, like an old friend, she relaxed.
"You really think it'll come to that?" she asked as she tucked it into her own bag, a stab of guilt piercing her heart when the image of their son the last time they'd seen him resurfaced from somewhere deep inside her mind. While she knew that her father would take care of him, should to worst happen, that didn't make the thought of leaving him alone any less painful.
"No," he agreed seriously, touching her arm as if sensing her fear, "but they're desperate, or they will be – we don't know what crap they're going to pull when they find out what we've been up to, so it can't hurt to be prepared."
Despite his assurances that she had nothing to worry about, Kate felt sick as she stepped out onto the sidewalk in front of the tall, glass and steel building that served as world headquarters for the Hanso Foundation. She'd seen the pictures online, but none of them had managed to capture how imposing it was in real life.
"Maybe we should've just written him a letter or something," she joked as she slid the gun into the waistband of her pants, pulling her coat on to cover it, waiting for Jack to finish doing the same.
"And miss the look on his face when he realises we beat him at his own game?" he argued with a vengeful grin. He wrapped his hand around hers, squeezing it as they approached the sliding glass doors that opened onto the lobby. "You ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be," she agreed, squeezing back, grateful that if she was going into the belly of the beast, it was with him by her side.
"Then let's do this," he said with a tight smile, still holding onto her as he made his way to the front desk. "I'm Jack Shephard, and this is Kate Austen – we're here to see Thomas Mittelwerk."
The receptionist tapped something into her computer and looked up. "Do you have an appointment?" she asked in a pleasant tone. "I don't have anything under those names."
"He's going to want to talk to us," Jack insisted, letting out an irritated laugh as he ran his free hand over his hair, and the receptionist frowned when she realised that he was answering her question.
"I'm sorry, sir, but Mr. Mittelwerk is an extremely busy man," she told them with the forced politeness of someone just trying to do their job without making waves. "I can't let you in to see him without his approval."
"So tell him we're here. We'll wait," Jack told her, guiding Kate to the visitor's chairs a few feet away to show her how serious he was.
She picked up the phone, and after a tense conversation, announced that they could go through.
"Either he knew we were coming, and we're gonna need these," Jack whispered, close to Kate's ear, patting the bulge in his shirt as they followed her to the lift, "or he didn't and he's taking the bait."
Either way she determined to stick close to him, every muscle in her body tense as she readied herself for the moment that she would need to draw her own gun.
After all the pain he'd caused them, she wasn't sure what she was expecting; a movie villain surrounded by armed goons; but whatever it was, it caught her off guard when they entered Mittelwerk's office to find him sitting with his hands folded on his desk, looking like any other high powered businessman.
"Dr. Shephard," he said, holding his hand out for Jack to shake, withdrawing it and turning his attention to Kate when he refused it. "And you must be Miss Austen – I was warned the two of you might become a problem."
Kate wanted to ask by who, until she realised that she didn't care; all that mattered now was getting their message out.
"You have no idea," Jack insisted, getting straight down to business as he continued to stand, taking the flash drive Christine DeVries gave them out of his pocket and dropping it onto the desk.
Mittelwerk looked surprised that they'd come there to do more than just plead their case; Kate even thought she saw a flicker of fear in his eyes as he picked it up, but he covered it quickly. "What's this?"
Taking over from Jack, Kate gestured to his computer. "Why don't you see for yourself?"
Shooting her a wary glance, his eyes travelling from Jack's hard expression back to hers, he inserted it into the base, his frown deepening with each click of the mouse. "Where did you get this?" he asked finally.
"What does it matter where we got it?" Jack said, seemingly disgusted by the fact that he wasn't even going to try to pretend that he didn't know what it was. "All you need to know is that we have it, and that it's not the only copy."
"How many?" Mittelwerk pressed, as if he were still trying to come up with a way to salvage this. It was clear that he wasn't used to someone else having all the control.
"One for each of the people whose lives you ruined with that ridiculous rule," Kate retorted, folding her arms, "so you do the math."
He must have realised that the situation was worse than he'd anticipated, because with a sigh, he took his reading glasses off and sat back, massaging his forehead with the tips of his fingers. "What do you want?" he asked. "If you went to all that trouble to blackmail me, you must have a list of demands."
"What we want is to be left alone," Jack told him, his voice low and dangerous, leaning forward and bracing his palms against the desk for emphasis, "all of us. You don't come after us, or our families, ever again, or we leak that to the media, along with some of our own more colourful experiences."
"That's it?" Mittelwerk repeated, looking to Kate for confirmation. "You don't want compensation?"
"We got enough of that from the airline," she agreed coolly, but Jack wasn't done.
"For now, but we'll be watching you, so you might wanna think about that before you unleash that virus," he said, reaching for her hand again as he started for the door.
"How do I know that you won't leak it anyway?" Mittelwerk 's voice called after them before they could leave his office, and for a moment, Kate was afraid that he was going to try to double cross them, until Jack answered, "You don't, so I guess you'll just have to trust us like we trusted you."
Next chapter: Jack and Kate celebrate their newfound freedom, Kate and J.J. move in, and some welcome news... ;)