Thanks for the reviews. (108! How awesome is that?!) So much for the poll! As usual, all of the options were pretty evenly matched so I thought it was about time I updated this fic, before people forgot it existed. I never intended for it to be very long, so it will probably end by about chapter 20, depending on how long it takes to wrap up the story. I'll try to post a new chapter of Destiny this week as well and maybe a summary for the new AU I'm planning. ;)
Chapter 9.
Kate was alone in the office when Juliet pushed through the glass door, still wearing her oil-stained jumpsuit. She felt the familiar clench in the pit of her stomach as the breeze carried the scent to her nostrils, but for the first time since she'd quit her assignment at the motor pool, she didn't have the urge to be sick. It was over a week since she'd failed to keep anything down, which meant that she'd put on at least another half pound since her first – and hopefully last – doctor's appointment; at this rate, she wasn't going to have any trouble catching up to what he believed was a reasonable weight for a woman in her second trimester.
"Where's Amy?" Juliet asked when she noticed Kate sitting at what was usually her desk. "Did she go out back?"
Kate shook her head. "Ethan had a fever so she took him home." He'd been fussy for the better part of the morning, refusing to eat or go back to sleep; Amy was worried about him passing a bug on to Kate.
"That's probably best under the circumstances," Juliet agreed, "but if she does come back, tell her I'll stop by later to see how he's doing."
"Was that all?" Kate checked, wondering if there was a purpose to her visit beyond calling in on Amy and Ethan.
"No, I wanted to order some parts, for the motor pool," she explained.
Kate dug through the clutter on Amy's desk until she located the order pad, buried beneath a stack of papers. Even with her there as her assistant, Horace's wife had fallen behind in the months since their son was born. Kate was glad that that wasn't going to be an issue for her or Jack; that they would just be able to spend time together with their baby without having to think about anything else.
"Tie rod ends," Juliet elaborated when Kate opened the phone book-sized catalogue, glancing up at her expectantly.
Kate flipped through the pages until she found what she wanted. "They have to get them in from Japan, so it's gonna take at least a month – maybe two," she read, lifting her gaze back up to Juliet's with a frown. "Is that okay?" She would have to remember to start making a list of things they still needed to get for the baby or else he or she would probably beat it.
"It's not urgent," Juliet assured her, and Kate began to copy the information into the blank spaces on the form.
"What about you?" Juliet asked her while she waited for her to finish. "How've you been feeling?"
"Good." Kate smiled to herself as she continued writing. "My morning sickness is finally gone. Of course I still have to pee all the time," she confessed and Juliet laughed. She signed her new name and tore the pages out of the pad with a flourish. "I was sure that didn't happen until later. I mean right now it's the size of a goldfish."
"That's hormonal, so no, not always," Juliet told her, and not for the first time, Kate was impressed by her wealth of knowledge on the subject.
"You know a lot about this, don't you?" It made her wish that she'd read more, back when she'd had the chance. She'd already given up on the books Amy had loaned her.
"Well I wasn't always a mechanic," Juliet reminded her.
"Really?" Kate teased her, handing her one of the copies.
"So I hear you and Jack have a new place," Juliet said, steering the conversation away from herself as she folded it into a neat square and tucked it into her back pocket. "Congratulations."
Kate thought about asking her how, but she figured it was all over the "coconut Internet"— as Sawyer had dubbed it – by now. "Thanks." It was true that life was pretty good for them at the moment, except for one small detail.
As she watched Juliet turn to leave, an idea occurred to her. "Listen, I know it's short notice, but would you and Saw—Jim," she corrected herself, glad that no one else was around, "like to come over for a sort of housewarming dinner tonight?"
Juliet hesitated for a moment, weighing up the pros and cons of accepting the invitation, Kate guessed, then just when she was sure she was going to decline, she smiled. "Sure," she agreed. "Why not?"
"What's the occasion?" Jack asked, dropping a kiss to the side of Kate's neck, her shoulder and finally, her lips, as she stood at the sink later that afternoon, peeling carrots to go with the chicken she'd just seasoned and put in the oven.
She let him turn her around, cupping the back of his head with her wrists while she greeted him with a long, leisurely kiss. "I invited Sawyer and Juliet over for dinner," she told him, wiping her wet hands on her apron when they pulled back. She had already changed from her work clothes into a loose green top and dark bellbottom jeans.
"Sawyer? And Juliet?" he repeated, his expression turning from one of surprise to scepticism. "Like a double date?"
He looked so wary all of a sudden that she wanted to laugh. "Not exactly," she admitted. "You still want her to be our doctor, right?"
His eyes drifted down to her belly and he smiled. "Of course," he agreed. "I want you and our baby to have the best."
She fixed him with a devilish grin, which he slowly returned as comprehension dawned on him. "So then this is our chance to ask."
The doorbell rang just before seven and Jack went to answer it while Kate finished setting the table.
"I didn't have time to cook anything so I brought dinner rolls," Juliet told her, flashing her an apologetic smile when she joined the three of them in the hall. She offered Kate the basket she was holding. "Here."
At the same time, Sawyer thrust a thin, tissue-wrapped package into Jack's hands. "This is for both of you. Sort of a housewarmin' gift," he explained with shrug. "Jules picked it out."
"You didn't have to do that," Jack said, addressing the comment to her, but he accepted it anyway, unwrapping it carefully to reveal a small, wooden picture frame.
"We thought it might come in handy," Juliet told them. "You can use it for the baby's first picture."
"That's sweet," Kate agreed, touched. She waved them through with her free hand. "Come in. Make yourselves at home."
Taking his cue from her, Jack led the way to the living room, laying the frame on the coffee table and settling himself in his favourite armchair.
"I love what you've done with the place," Sawyer drawled, looking around him at the standard Dharma-issue furnishings, almost identical to those in his and Juliet's house.
"I know. Very retro," Kate agreed with a laugh.
"Would you like something to drink?" she asked as he took a seat next to Juliet on the couch. She moved over to the kitchen, setting the basket on the counter and yanking open the refrigerator. "Horace brought over some champagne but neither of us can drink it."
"That's right," Sawyer chimed in, turning to Jack with a smirk. "I forgot old Jacko used to get soused."
At the mention of his former habits, Jack dropped his head into his hands. "Can we please talk about something else?" he complained, massaging his brow.
"Maybe we should just tell them our news?" Kate suggested, coming to his aid. She popped the cork on the bottle and filled a glass each for Sawyer and Juliet.
"Lemme guess. You're pregnant too?" Sawyer teased Jack when Kate placed a glass of sparkling cider in front of him instead.
Juliet slapped him lightly on the bicep. "James," she hissed, "Be nice," but Kate could see that she was trying hard not to laugh.
Sawyer shot her a mock disgruntled look. "Fine." He turned back to Kate. "Continue."
"Jack and I got married," she blurted out, wondering afterwards if she should have let him do the honours.
Juliet's eyes widened visibly. "When? How?"
Kate could still hardly believe it herself. If she'd known it would be that easy, she would have suggested they elope back in L.A. when they'd first gotten engaged. "About a week ago. Horace performed the ceremony," she explained, answering both of her questions to avoid looking at Sawyer, who was sizing her up with one of his piercing stares. She'd never been as good at reading him as he was at reading her.
"That's great," Juliet told them, getting up to embrace Jack. "I'm so happy for you both."
Sawyer stepped forward to shake his hand while Juliet moved on to Kate, but Kate could still feel his eyes on her as he said, "Looks like you two've had a busy coupla days."
Kate wasn't sure how to broach the request so she was relieved when Jack decided to take charge. "There's no easy way to do this, so I'm just gonna come right out and say it. We didn't invite you here tonight for a housewarming dinner," he announced at the end of what had otherwise been an uneventful meal.
Juliet patted her mouth with her napkin, looking apprehensive as she waited for him to go on.
Sawyer put down his fork. "What did you invite us for?" he pressed, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.
"We need to ask you a favour," Kate jumped in.
"You got a roof over your heads and you clearly didn't have any trouble putting together this here spread, so this can't be about money," Sawyer observed.
"It's not," Jack assured him. Sawyer was right: the Dharma Initiative provided them all with everything that they needed. "It's about Juliet, actually."
All eyes turned to her as she began coughing. She gulped down a mouthful of champagne. "Me?" she repeated once the attack had passed, looking at Jack as if to say, 'What did I do?'.
"We want you to deliver our baby," he explained.
Kate could tell from her expression that this was exactly what she was afraid of. She shook her head slowly. "That's not who I am anymore," she reminded them. "Amy – that was an emergency."
"I know," Jack agreed, treading carefully now, "and believe me, we wouldn't even be suggesting it if we weren't desperate. The doctor here—"
"You heard the lady. She said no," Sawyer growled, pushing back his chair. "C'mon, Juliet – let's go."
"Thank you, James, but I can speak for myself," she told him curtly, without making a move to follow.
Jack ignored him, his attention still focused on Juliet. "Please, Juliet," he insisted in a soft voice, appealing to her not as a doctor, but a friend. "You're the only one I trust."
Juliet's hard look softened into one of resignation. "I will give you an exam to make sure everything is okay," she told Kate, "but if anything about this pregnancy isn't textbook, I'm handing you over to someone who still has a medical licence. Do we have a deal?"
It wasn't the response they were hoping for, but it was a start. "We have a deal," Kate agreed before Jack could argue. They would just have to cross that bridge if and when they came to it.
Juliet nodded, apparently satisfied that they weren't going to try to re-negotiate her terms. "Now you have to tell me what you did with this chicken," she said, returning to normal dinnertime conversation. "It's amazing."
Afterwards, Kate excused herself while Jack gathered up the plates.
She wasn't aware that Sawyer had followed her until she felt a hand close over her wrist. "What're you doin'?" he asked, pulling her around to face him.
He'd been acting weird ever since he learned that she and Jack were married. If she didn't know any better, she'd guess that he was jealous, but from what she'd seen and what he'd told her, he was in love with Juliet and comfortable with his choice. "What d'you mean, 'What'm I doin'?'?" she complained, a little too loudly. She glanced past his shoulder, to the kitchen. Jack was there with Juliet, talking about her, no doubt. Or her uterus. "I'm going to the bathroom. In case you've forgotten, there's a human being pressing into my bladder," she added to remind him that no matter what had happened between them in the past, she was carrying Jack's child. Her husband's child. She wasn't going to leave him if he'd suddenly changed his mind after all this time and decided that he wanted her back.
"That ain't what I'm talkin' about, Kate, and you know it," he hissed, letting go of her. "What're you doin' with Jack? A coupla weeks ago you were cryin' in the middle of the night because you were scared he'd find out what you did and now you're married to him?!"
So that was it. This wasn't about them: it was about Jack. She couldn't help being taken aback by his about turn. He was supposed to be on her side. "You were the one who told me not to tell him," she accused. In fact, he'd warned her against it. "You said it would only ruin things."
"I didn't say you should go out and marry the guy first chance you got either," he argued. "What happened to not wantin' to base your relationship on a lie?"
"I married him because he asked me," she told him. He thought the only reason she'd accepted Jack's proposal was because she felt guilty, because she was scared of losing him, and maybe he was right: at least in part. It wasn't like it had been her idea. She would have been content just living with him and their baby, like they had with Aaron. "Because it's what he wanted. You don't think he should get what he wants?" She touched her belly gently as she felt that old sense of dread settle over her again. "I did."
He stared at her for a long moment. "You say you believe that, but we both know that's the real lie," he insisted. "You won't be happy 'till he knows the truth…"
Next chapter(s): Juliet's exam and some domestic fluff...
Btw, just another quick poll: I would like to know if people think Jack and Kate should stay on the island in the seventies with their baby, or in their own time, or take him/her home with them to LA.