A/N: Thanks for all the reviews guys, they keep me writing. The more of them I get quicker I write new chapters, and it only takes a second. Well without any further ado, here is the next chapter: Kate's birthday. I'm really excited for todays episode, and to make up for WHH there's a little Jate fluff at the end of this chapter. Don't get to comfortable though, the tough times aren't over...yet.
Chapter 7: Her Special Day
April 10th. Everyone has one day a year where they can relax, have fun and share the memories with friends. Everybody except Kate.
The only 'special' thing that happened on April 10th was Wayne would try that little bit harder to make her permanently uncomfortable.
If anything, for Kate, April 10th was the worst day of the year. Every year.
It was safe to say, Kate's birthday didn't hold many happy memories.
"Morning, Jack." Kate greeted, as he walked downstairs around noon.
Jack always used his days off from the hospital to catch up on the sleep he should have gotten the nights before.
"Hey, Kate. Good morning." Jack replied happily. The extra sleep had done his mood a world of good.
"Actually, Jack. It's good afternoon. It's 12:15." Kate said, and laughed at the confused expression on his face.
"Sh*t. I told…uhh…Sarah…I'd meet her at that little café on Wilshire. It's actually pretty close to DeAngelo's. You know it?" Jack asked hurriedly.
"Are you talking about Eloise's?" Kate asked, hoping to avoid the topic of work today. Even if she didn't enjoy her birthday, she didn't want to talk about work today.
"Yea, that's the place. Speaking of DeAngelo's, how'd your interview go?" Jack asked politely.
"Oh… great. I got the job, actually, as a hostess. My first day is tomorrow actually. I convinced them that they didn't want me there on my birthday, I might get cranky." Kate joked.
Jack laughed, "That's great Kate. I'm glad things are starting to look up again for you."
"Thank Jack, I couldn't have done it without you." Kate said and smiled.
Jack returned her smile, his eyes lighting up. "Listen I gotta go shower real fast and meet up with Sarah. You're ok here right?" Jack asked Kate.
"Yea, I'll be fine. Just got a few things to sort out from Sawyer's. I'll see you later though right?" She didn't mind spending the majority of the day alone; even it was supposed to be her day. It was definitely a lot better than spending it with Wayne.
She just wanted to see Jack for a little bit of it anyway. It wasn't greedy to want him to spend more time with me than his girlfriend, was it?
Jack nodded and headed upstairs, to get ready. He felt guilty about leaving Kate alone on her birthday. She thought that he was spending it with Sarah, when in fact he was going to be out searching for a gift for her. That fact gave Jack a little consolation.
Minutes later, Jack was out the door with a wave.
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"Hello?"
"Hey Claire, I need some serious help here." Jack greeted.
"Haha, I knew you'd call today. Men…did you not understand the reason I told you three days ago? It was so you could buy the gift then and spend today with Kate." Claire scolded him.
"Sorry, work and all that. I really some help picking out this gift. I've been up and down Wilshire and I can't choose anything. Any ideas?" Jack asked desperately.
"Jack, are you telling me you haven't seen one jeweler all day?" Claire asked sarcastically.
"I don't wanna do that yet. It's kinda early, plus it might send the wrong message." Jack explained.
"OK, fair enough. Well, what does she like to do around the house?" Claire asked helpfully.
"All I've seen is that she cleans, organizes, cooks and…", Jack said as he walked past the stores glancing in every direction to find something useful. Bed, Bath & Beyond, Kay Jewelers, Macy's, Best Buy, "listens to music." He finished under his breath.
"OK Claire, I got an idea. Thanks for your help." Jack finished, and ended the call, walking in to the store.
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Kate had decided to spend her day sorting out the rest of her things that she'd taken from Sawyer's while listening to Jack's iPod. She found that Arcade Fire's album Funeral kept her mind off all the problems she had at the moment. She was still unemployed after failing to get the job at DeAngelo's, would be homeless if it weren't for Jack's good graces and to top it all off had to stand and watch the love of her life fall for another woman.
At one point this morning, Kate was worried Jack might somehow find out she hadn't gotten the job at DeAngelo's and had contemplated telling him to avoid the trouble it would inevitably cause.
But she hadn't; she didn't want anything to ruin today.
Just as "Crown of Love" began blaring through the headphones she noticed Jack had walked through the front door.
He was just staring at her, grinning at her for some unknown reason.
"Have a good day?" He asked sweetly, still smiling.
"It was OK, I guess. Just sorting out the last few things I brought from Sawyer's." Kate replied, returning his smile while she took the headphones out of her ears.
"Sounds fun, nothing special though." Jack said, trying to make a point.
Kate didn't get it.
"Yea, well no one ever said stacking clothes and books was special, Jack. I wouldn't even call it fun." Kate answered.
Jack didn't respond at first, just walked over to the table and picked up the iPod. "Arcade Fire, huh? I never would've thought it. My favorite artist." Jack mused, almost to himself.
"Yea, it was strangely…soothing." Kate replied honestly.
"So are you doing anything tonight? Seeing as it's…" Jack began, changing the subject.
"Seeing as it's my what, Jack?" Kate picked up where Jack left off.
"You're birthday. April 10th." Jack answered.
"Oh my god! Claire told you! I told her not to." Kate yelled with a mix of anger and frustration.
"Well somebody had to. Seeing as you weren't going to." Jack said sternly, but smiling. He could never really be angry with Kate.
"Jack. The only reason I didn't tell you is because you've done so much for me already I didn't want you to do anything else. My birthday has never been a really special day for me anyway." Kate explained, recalling those horrible memories.
Jack held up a hand to indicate for her to wait a minute, and then headed over to his briefcase near the door. He took out a small box and returned quickly.
"I'm new to picking out gifts for roommates, and I know I suck at it- I can probably blame having two real friends for that- and this is probably really corny, but it's the thought that counts right?" Jack said smiling, offering the box to her.
Kate was surprised, but extremely grateful to Jack for attempting to make her day a little better.
She quickly unwrapped the gift, her face breaking into a smile when she realized what it is.
It was a bright green, brand new iPod nano.
Jack immediately tried to explain his thoughts behind buying it.
"I uh…saw you with mine a few times and I figured you may want your own, ya know, without my crappy music on it. If you don't like it…" Jack stammered.
"Shut up Jack. I love it." Kate replied joyfully, and kissed Jack on the cheek.
She had wanted to do that for since she arrived. She had just needed a reason.
Jack blushed, but he managed to compose himself again to speak.
"OK, it's your choice. What do you want to do for dinner? It's your birthday." Jack asked.
"No, Jack. You've done more than enough for me already. I'll cook something as soon as I'm done here." Kate answered quickly.
"No way Kate, the only way we're staying in and eating is if I'm cooking." Jack answered back, grinning.
What am I doing, I can cook pancakes, pancakes, and more pancakes. This is not going to go well, Jack thought.
Kate pouted, but eventually gave in. "OK, Jack. Let's see how good you are with those surgeon's hands of yours." She said mischievously.
"OK, let's give you the menu. I can cook pancakes, pancakes, oh and pancakes!" Jack joked.
Kate spent a few seconds with her fist under her chin faking thought.
"I think I'll take the pancakes." She replied laughing.
"I'm on it." Jack replied, heading into the kitchen to wreak havoc on the griddle. He hadn't cooked in a while.
After Jack made a few dud pancakes, he eventually got back into his rhythm and cranked out a few perfect ones.
The pair of them enjoyed a nice, informal meal consisting of pancakes and orange juice. They talked about their day, and Kate just felt like opening up to him. But still, she couldn't bring herself to tell him about her failed interview at DeAngelo's. The last thing she wanted to do was ruin a day that had gone so well.
It had turned out to be one of the best birthday's she'd ever had.
The night wore on quickly though, and soon it was almost midnight.
They were watching TV, although neither was paying any attention to it. They were both more concerned with the person sitting on the opposite end of the couch.
As much as she'd enjoyed the day though, she knew she had to return to the job hunt tomorrow and Jack had an early surgery.
"I think I'm going to sleep. I have my first day at DeAngelo's tomorrow." Kate said, and cringed at the thought of lying to Jack.
"That's great, I better get some sleep then to, surgery tomorrow." Jack agreed.
They walked the stairs together, and they were about to part for the final time that night to their separate rooms, when Jack spoke.
"Hey, Kate." He said, walked over to her.
She was about to respond when she felt his lips press against hers. It was a slow, sweet, gentle kiss. Tender, but somehow passionate at the same time. She was surprised he had kissed her at first, and didn't know how to react, but the second their lips touched she felt a spark of electricity through her body and her heart fluttered.
She felt like she was lifted off the ground. Right now, Jack and Kate were the only two people in the morning. Time had stopped. Her lack of a job didn't matter. It was just Jack and Kate. Kate and Jack. Nothing else mattered.
Kate's tongue flirted around Jack's lips, asking for more, and he instantly obliged, deepening the kiss. This really is the best birthday ever.
All to soon though, Jack's lips had parted from hers and the moment was over. Kate had to try extremely hard to regain enough composure to speak.
"What was that for?" She asked with a smile, her heart still beating at a hundred miles an hour. If she wasn't careful, she might faint.
"It's your birthday." Jack answered.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed it! Please click the button and leave a review, the more reviews the faster you get to see what happens next. It only takes a sec!
Next chapter: Kate has an...interesting....night, and Jack finds out Kate's been keeping a secret.
I'm in need of a few suggestions for an upcoming chapter. Jack and Kate will be babysitting aaron for the day, what would you like to see them do?