Chapter
forty-two: Four Entwined Fates
Jack
left the ignition on as he jumped out of the car and sprinted into
the house, the front door was open, dread filled him 'KATE?!' he
yelled desperately, he prayed she was okay, he prayed their baby was
okay.
Panic and fear gripped him as he checked each room down
stairs, he heard a slight moan from upstairs, he looked up at the
ceiling. She was upstairs.
On instinct, he sprinted up the stairs
and down the hallway, as he approached the open door, he felt afraid
of what he might find...
'Kate...?!' He approached the ominous
door as it was poised half way between being open or closed, between
locations, double-minded, just like him. He counted to five in his
mind as he reached out, his fingers traced the wooden door, before he
reached the number five, a soft voice called his name, 'Jack...'
It was Kate, she sounded weak, on confirming that she was in danger,
his fear evaporated, replaced by his fury at the thought of someone
even thinking about harming Kate, he pushed the door wide open. Ben's
limp body, the dark room, the crimson fluid flowing from Kate's
stomach, all of it seemed to catch him off guard, all he could focus
on was Kate, the tears in her eyes as she clutched her stomach, she
was turning pale alarmingly fast.
'Kate?!' she tried to smile
at him through her tears, 'I lost our baby Jack.'
'Shshsh,'
he tried to comfort her as he took in the situation, he was almost
numb to his panic and terror. Kate was bleeding out, Ben had shot her
in the stomach, that combined with her rapid pulse was NOT good. It
meant she would bleed out faster and lose consciousness, and if she
lost consciousness, 'Its gonna be okay,' he lied, he pulled her
into his arms, as he dialled the emergency number, 'its Doctor
Shepherd-send me an ambulance NOW-' he hung up and cupped her face,
'stay with me Kate...stay with me, please...' this kind of
heartache had never wrapped him up before.
'I...' her eyes
began to flutter shut, 'I can't Jack-'
His desperation
surfaced as he pleaded with a tortured expression, 'I NEED you
to...you're gonna be fine...'
Kate tried to smile, but she
could barely lift her head as she whispered, 'That's what I like
about you, the glass half full thing...'
He fought back tears as
he was reminded of their time on the island, 'There's a
glass?'
Kate searched his eyes, making sure they would be the
last thing she'd see if she were to die, he stared down at her, she
couldn't hear him anymore, she could see his lips moving as she
squinted, trying to keep his face in her eyes, but everything began
to fade into the surrounding darkness that enveloped the room.
Ben's
corpse lay seemingly forgotten on the floor, the island however had
not forgotten this death, now, they were even.
A powerful man lay
dead on the floor, a woman in love lay dying, a hero watched
helplessly.
Was this the reward for all of their sacrifices? Was
this the destiny they had all earned? Was this the end?
It seemed
as though happiness had left this dark room behind, taking all hope
with it...but hope is a tricky thing...
Kate's eyes
opened, causing her to flinch suddenly as white light poured in, she
squinted in pain, she took in sharp breaths as she jolted awake to
the sound of a hospital monitor beeping steadily.
She placed a
hand just below her abdomen, her heart racing in her chest, the
increased pace in beeping awoke Jack.
Jack sat upright, 'Kate?'
he grinned at her, letting tears stream down his cheeks, he covered
her hand with his, she could feel his warmth against her forehead as
he kissed it. Words could not describe how blissful it felt at that
moment.
Kate looked at him adoringly, she thought she would never
see those tender eyes again, 'Jack...' she softly whispered his
name, he smiled at her as he made no effort to hide his tears, he
kissed her softly, she cupped his face, wanting the moment to never
end, as he pulled away, she stroked his stubbled cheeks, reluctantly
letting go, she looked down at her blanket covered body, she looked
upto Jack, 'is our baby –' she cut off, she couldn't bring
herself to say it, Jack smiled, gently pressing just below her
abdomen, 'no, its fine...' she broke into a relieved sob, Jack
smiled at the mother of his unborn child lovingly, 'Our baby, is
okay.'
Kate laughed as warm tears slid down her soft cheeks.
Jack glanced at her chart again, for the hundredth time, he knew
nothing had changed on it, since he had written it. She was safe, she
just needed to rest.
'Is it really over?' she asked in
disbelief, Jack smiled at her, god he loved her...
Jack furrowed
his brow and sat besides her on the bed, 'actually...there's
something else...'
Kate felt her heart skip a beat, she held her
breath, nervous.
'what?' As she asked, Jack looked down, the
way he did before he told her he wasn't sorry she kissed him, the
way he did before he told her loved her, her heart began to thump in
her chest as he reached inside his pocket.
'Kate...' tears
filled her eyes again, but this time, with joy. 'I have never loved
anyone, as much as I love you, and I never will...' he slowly
turned to face her, his heart raced in his chest, he was scared but
urged himself to
go
on, to take the risk and make the move.
'I've almost lost you
so many times, and I can't take it, you can't not be mine anymore
Kate...' she gazed at him, she had stopped breathing as she stared
at him in astonishment, 'I want our baby to be born, into a happy
family, and you're the closest thing I have, and you're the only
thing I want...' he took in a deep breath, wishing he had planned
it better, 'Kate, what I'm trying to say is...' he opened the
box, revealing a glinting diamond ring, 'will you Marry me?'
Kate
nodded as she cried with joy, covering her mouth with both hands, she
took in a soothing breath, 'yes, yes, Ofcourse I will, yes-' she
pulled him into her arms, hugging him tightly, he closed his eyes,
flooded with relief, he held her wholeheartedly, this was how it was
meant to be, this was where they belonged, with eachother.
Kate
planted a firm kiss on his cheek, and buried her face in his
shoulder, there was no other place she ever wanted to be, nowhere but
here.
They both smiled as they held eachother, so this was what
happiness felt like. This was what their hearts had been searching
for all along.
Fate had smiled upon them in its own bittersweet style by crashing flight815, ironically, the greatest tragedy to befall them, turned out to be the greatest thing that had ever happened to them.
The End
I'd really like to hear what you all thought and whether you think I should do another fic?
Thankyou for reading, keep smiling
