Wow! I don't think I've ever received such an enthusiastic response to a "canon" fic before, so thanks! I just hope that it continues to live up to your expectations.
I'm a little confused about the living arrangements on the show, so for the sake of this fic, Jack and Hurley are roommates and Kate is sharing a house with a couple of the other female recruits. Or pretending too... ;)
Chapter 2.
The nausea that had plagued Kate for the past few days returned in full force the next morning.
Jack stirred when she shifted his hand from her hip to the mattress beside him. "What time is it?" he murmured without opening his eyes.
"It's early," she told him, reaching out to comb his rumpled hair with her fingers. She was glad that he'd decided to grow it out; it made him look younger. "Go back to sleep."
He rolled away from her, onto his back, mumbling something that she didn't catch, but could have been "Okay".
She wrapped the comforter around herself as she made a dash for the bathroom, praying that she would be spared the awkwardness of running into Hurley in the hall.
Jack was awake when she crept back into the room. "Where did you go?" he asked, blinking at her as she crawled into bed.
"Where d'you think?" she teased him, deciding that for now, at least, it was better for him to believe that it was her bladder and not her stomach that needed relieving. If the test came back positive, then she would tell him.
He smiled, slipping his arms around her waist, pulling her against his chest. "I'm glad you came back," he confessed. "I hate sleeping without you."
He pressed his lips to her skin, trailing soft kisses along her bare shoulder, but he stopped when he noticed the bruising on the inside of her elbow. "What's this?" he asked, turning it towards him.
"It's nothing," she insisted. She'd thought removing the bandaid would be enough.
He leant closer to examine it. "It looks like a needle mark," he told her, running his thumb over the tiny wound.
She withdrew her arm, using it to push herself up. "I just had to go in for a standard blood test, that's all," she lied, getting up to retrieve her clothes.
He propped himself on one elbow, watching her dress with a bemused expression. "That's strange – they didn't ask me to take one."
"I just do what I'm told," she quipped, closing her jeans.
"You and me both," he agreed with a self-deprecating laugh, and she almost sighed with relief.
He didn't suspect anything. In fact, he seemed quite relaxed, less concerned with the details. It made her feel worse about deceiving him.
"I should get back before the other girls wake up," she told him, yanking her t-shirt over her head.
He sat back against the headboard, flashing her a smile, that on an ordinary day, would melt her resistance as he suggested, "You know, you could just move in here… with me."
If only it were that simple. If only they could just go back to the way things were before.
"Yeah? And how would that look?" she asked him as she knelt on the edge of the mattress to kiss him. "We've only known each other a month, remember?"
He sighed, running a hand through his hair, leaving it sticking up in places. "How could I forget?"
She knew that he hated being there even more than she did. He hadn't signed up to come back to the island just to end up a workman.
"Will I see you tonight?" he asked, pulling her down for one last drawn out kiss.
By tonight, she would know how bad it was. She forced a smile for him. "Sure."
She stayed in bed until she was sure that her roommates had left, staring at the ceiling as the minutes ticked on.
She wished that she'd made more of an effort to get to know them, but since she'd never expected to stay there that long, all of her time was spent with Jack and Hurley, Sawyer and Juliet.
She thought about going to see Juliet now, but she didn't want her to come in until she could give her an answer…
She pushed her t-shirt up under her ribs, exploring her abdomen with tentative fingers. It was hard to believe that the beginnings of a person might be forming there, inside her body, comprised in equal parts of her and Jack.
She wondered if, as a Shephard, it would resemble the son that she'd lost: if it would have his smile, or some of his features, or its brow would furrow the same way when it slept.
The thought was almost too much for her to bear, and yet it was her secret hope that she would be able to see a little of him in there too…
She jerked her hand back at the sound of a distant rap at the door.
It was the intern who'd taken her blood, a folder tucked under his arm. "I went by the motor pool but Juliet said you're not working today," he told her.
"She gave me the day off," she agreed, stepping back to let him inside. "Guess she didn't want me to sue."
He stared at her with a blank look. "Why would you do that?"
"It was as a joke," she assured him, feeling stupid now that she was forced to explain. Of course he wouldn't know what she was talking about.
His awkward laugh made her even more uncomfortable.
"Coffee?" she offered, pausing at the entrance to the kitchen.
"No. Thanks." He gestured to the file in his hands. "I just came to give you the results of your blood test."
"She was right, wasn't she?" she whispered, sinking into an armchair. "I'm pregnant." Why else would he go out of his way to tell her in person?
She'd expected to feel alive again, as though her sense of purpose had been renewed, but she was just as overwhelmed as she was that night…
He closed the file and sat down across from her. "No one has to know," he agreed in a gentler tone, seeming to misread her silence. "Not if you don't want them too. We can make arrangements for you to go back over to the mainland—"
She cut him off with a firm shake of her head. "My life is here. I'm staying on this island," she insisted.
She wanted this child, her child. She still didn't know how it was going to work, but she refused to give it up too.
"And I'm keeping my baby," she told him before he could make any more helpful suggestions.
She could see that he was surprised by her decision. "Well then," he told her, getting to his feet, "come by the clinic when you're ready and we'll schedule your first appointment."
"Hey, Kate."
"Hey, Hurley," she greeted him with the warmest smile that she could manage when he opened the door for her. "Is Jack home?"
She'd put off seeing him for as long as she could, but now, she was running out of excuses.
"Yeah. Jack?" he bellowed into the house. "Kate!"
A moment later, Jack appeared in the doorway behind him, his hair damp, a towel slung around his neck.
"Hi," he said, his face lighting up when he saw her. He moved forward to kiss her.
"Can we go to your room?" she said when he released her, shooting a glance in Hurley's direction. "There's something we need to talk about."
His eyes were questioning as they seemed to search hers, but he nodded. "We're going to my room," he told their friend, picking up her hand.
"Is everything okay?" he asked her once the door was closed behind them.
He perched on the bed, waiting for her to explain, but she continued to pace.
"That depends on how you react to what I'm about to tell you," she confessed.
"You can tell me anything," he insisted, touching her arm to get her to stand still.
She still wasn't sure how she wanted to do this, so she decided to come right out and say it… At least the part that she knew he'd be receptive too.
"Okay." Nothing could be worse than the anticipation. "Here goes…" She took a deep breath, flashing him a nervous smile as she announced, "I'm pregnant."
He blinked up at her in disbelief. "You're…?"
"Pregnant," she repeated, taken aback when he laughed. "Jack?" What was he doing? Had she finally pushed him to the edge of his sanity?
She stopped in front of him. "Did you hear me?" This wasn't how she'd imagined the conversation playing out. It was easier for her to understand what was going on inside his head when he yelled.
"I heard you," he agreed, his expression changing, becoming grave. "I just… I can't believe we're having a baby."
The hint of a smile graced his features as he slid his hand up her shirt, caressing her skin.
"You're happy about this?" she pressed, fighting the urge to push it away. His happiness was like a knife, piercing her heart.
"The timing couldn't be worse," he admitted. "But honestly?"
She nodded. She needed to know exactly how he was feeling.
Guilt gnawed at her insides as his face split into a broad grin. "I think this could be the best thing that's ever happened to us."
He thought it meant something. She stared down at his palm where it rested over her stomach. Would he still be saying that if he knew the truth?
"Hey," he murmured when she didn't answer, removing it so that he could lift her chin. "I know this must be hard for you, after… after Aaron… but maybe this is just what you need – a second chance, for both of us."
She almost laughed at the irony of hearing him say those words, now when it was too late. Instead, she felt like crying. How did things get this complicated? All she'd wanted was for her life to make sense again.
She sat down on the bed, curling against him with her head on his shoulder. "What're we gonna do, Jack?" she whispered. "No one even knows we're together. They all think we just met."
His hand seemed to move of its own accord, stroking her hair as he considered their predicament. The only sound in the room was their breaths.
"That's why we should tell them, give them a chance to get used to the idea," he said after a moment; while she couldn't see his expression, she could hear the excitement in his voice as he warmed to his idea. "Then in about a month or so, when things settle down, I think we should get married…"
(If anyone wants to know my theory, I think Kate gave Aaron to Carol, which is the idea that I'm working off here. His disappearance won't be a huge part of this story though, except for the effect that it has on Kate... ;))