A humble thank you for the encouraging feedback and here's the next update.

Chapter 2: Introductions

Things were relatively hazy when he woke, even more so with his current surroundings.

"What the…." He barely got the chance to comprehend what was going on before in walked the last person he expected to see, especially after the discomfort he put her through.

"Hey." Kate greeted with a friendly smile, relieved that he was awake though still worried about his welfare. The poor guy didn't even have proper health insurance to begin with and weirdly enough there was no listed family to call as well.

"How are you feeling today?" she added and wearyingly looking upon her, he then tried getting up but dizzied due to the throbbing pain his head was suddenly overwhelmed with.

"Here let me help you." Kate offered, carefully re-adjusting his bed and then helping him sit up a bit.

What she originally thought were a few cuts and bruises turned out to be a near life threatening stab wound just above his appendix and a worrying amount of internal bleeding as well.

Fortunately he had been admitted in time, thanks to Kate, who stayed at the Hospital the entire night making regular checks on him.

She knew it wasn't her place or business to concern herself with a man she barely knew, other than his profession; she just wanted him okay again, much like she would with any other patient.

"Thanks." He muttered, awkward in his demeanour yet grateful enough to offer a brief acknowledgement for her hospitality. With that he then moved to get off the bed. His mind on other things, two people to be precise who were probably worried sick about him at the moment.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Kate questioned, naturally moving to stop him.

He proceeded to simply ignore her in response, removing any medical restraints along the way and then wobbling towards the door. He barely reached the doorway before he suddenly collapsed, making Kate's job considerably harder.

"I need to……have to…." He still kept on mumbling as Kate struggled to usher him back to the bed, having to shout for help as his condition deteriorated to the extent where he lost complete consciousness once again.

Thankfully, for the second time he managed to dodge the bullet of fatality and was now sedated and stabilised.

With no choice but to let time and nature take it's course, Kate decided to finally give her own life some precedence. Part of her feeling that it was wrong and indecent to just leave this man alone, but at the same time how different was he to any patient she had dealt with in her career.

She was shocked at the amount of missed calls on her phone, mostly from Shannon, but thankfully none from her Fiancé. The last thing she wanted was him finding out that she spent the night before their wedding with another man, even if it was based on a strict Doctor, patient relationship.

"Oh my God I'm getting married." She mused in sudden thought of the revelation, growing paler when she realised that it was in a few hours time. With that knowledge in mind she quickly checked her watch, cursing under her breath for having missed her dress fitting and meeting with the Caterers as well.

Hoping that Shannon and Chloe had taken care of the Caterers, she made a quick call to the dress shop to see if her dress was ready to pick up. Much to her amusement and relief she learned that a Miss Shannon Rutherford had already picked it up on her behalf earlier this morning.

With that affirmed she got off the phone and moved to leave, though found herself wanting to check on him one last time.

Opting to grant him some much needed rest, she stood at the window to his room instead, simply gazing at his dormant form.

It was in her nature to worry, especially with a patient, but for some reason this man was different from the others. Maybe it was the fact that she had witnessed him come so close to death or perhaps it was the sadness she saw in his eyes.

"Ooh he's a cutie." came the sing song voice of one of the passing nurses, who then placed herself beside Kate to bask in the appreciative view.

"Who is he?" the nurse asked and unfortunately there still wasn't a lot she could say or reveal about him, aside from his name.

"His name is Jack. Jack Shepherd." Kate revealed, her eyes firmly trained on the steady fall and rise of his chest. The sight evoking some hope yet she still had her doubts.

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(A few miles away)

"Where is he?" the blonde wondered, growing increasingly worried by the minute with no word from him whatsoever.

She wanted to assume that it was nothing. That he was probably held up at work for some related reason, but there was just this nagging feeling in her gut that perhaps it wasn't.

"They couldn't have…." She let the dreaded thought sweep her mind, praying that her worst nightmare hadn't become a reality.

With her current predicament there was no way she could personally find out about him without exposing herself and undoubtedly jeopardising the life Jack had worked so hard to rebuild for her and her son.

At the same time she knew that if the roles were reversed, Jack would fight tooth and nail to find out what was going on. However unlike him she no longer had the privilege of freedom, not since Tom.

So a few more reveals in this chapter and some cliffies to hopefully leave you wanting more. Plus who knows a romance might just bloom and intensify out of this.

The one thing I can confirm is that the Tom I'm referring to is not Kate's.

Next Chapter: All's well that might not end well and a risky decision.

Drop a review if you can and in return I'll assure a quicker update.