Karen stretched her arms above her head and yawned, looking at the clock. 10:24. She still had plenty of time before heading to Central Park to see if Will would join her there, and thus join her in the rest of her life. As she sat up from where she had been laying on the couch, Jack stirred next to her. She felt him squeeze his arms around her waist and gently push her back down next to him in their spooning position.

"Where are you going?" he sleepily asked, as she squirmed in his arms to face him.

"Nowhere, Poodle. I was just going to get up to use the bathroom."

"Are you OK?" Jack questioned, concern in his eyes.

"Yes, Jackie, I'm fine," she reassured him, rolling her eyes. "You know this was just a simple out-patient surgery…you're acting like a just had a heart transplant."

"Well I'm just worried about you," Jack told her, running a hand through her hair. "You've been weird the past couple of days."

"It's probably just the hormones, honey," she told him, smiling. "Thank GOD I don't have to deal with that anymore." Jack smiled as she kissed his cheek and stood up. "But thanks for caring, honey."

"Karen you know you don't have to keep secrets from me."

Jack's words stopped Karen in her tracks. She turned towards him to see that he was now standing in front of the couch, looking at her earnestly.

"I know that," she replied nervously. "I'm not keeping any secrets from you." She tugged at a stray piece of hair.

"You're lying," he contested, frowning.

"Jack!" she replied, the tone of her voice signaling that she didn't want the conversation to go any further. She started back towards the hall, but he caught her wrist before she could reach the door. "What?" she nearly shrieked at him, turning to face him angrily.

"Why won't you tell me what's been going on with you? I know you're not fine, Kare - Stan just moved out, but yet you just had some eggs removed so you can have a baby someday? Who are you planning on having a baby with? I'm so confused," Jack confessed, letting her go and sitting back on the couch, his head in his hands. Karen softened, touched by her friend's immense concern for her. She sighed as she sat next to him and began gently rubbing his back.

"I don't know, Jackie," she told him quietly. "I just want a child of my own someday. And a lot of crazy stuff has been going on in my love life. Maybe one of these days the man I'm supposed to have a baby with will show up."

"Well who do you think its going to be, Karen?" Jack asked again, this time looking up at her. He was exasperated. "Me? You know I love you, but I already have a son," he told her. She shook her head.

"No, not you, honey."

"Well then who? Will?" he was joking of course, as indicated by the sarcastic giggles that escaped him as he said the words. The motion of Karen's hand on his back suddenly stopped, and her face turned serious. "Wait…are you serious?"

Karen nodded slowly. Suddenly she was thrown into a conversation she didn't know if she would ever need to have with Jack, depending on the outcome of tonight. She wasn't ready to talk to him about this yet.

"What makes you think Will would want to have a baby with you?" Jack was caught between confusion and shock. Karen lowered her eyes to her lap.

"We um, we had a scare. In Paris."

Jack's face went white.

"What do you mean you 'had a scare'? And in Paris? I didn't even know you saw Will while you were there!" Jack stood up and began to pace in front of Karen. Before she could even respond, he was already speaking again. "Have you been sleeping with Will?!"

"Jack, let me explain-" Karen began, reaching for his hands to settle him down. He avoided her touch and glared at her.

"Yeah, you'd better explain!" he exploded, his voice almost reaching a pitch only dogs can hear.

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An hour later, Jack was in tears as he lay in Karen's arms, listening to her and Will's love story.

"…and that's when he told me he loved me," she finished, twisting her fingers through Jack's hair as he sobbed onto her chest. She looked up at the ceiling, swallowing back tears herself as she remembered that pivotal moment.

"That is so..beautiful," Jack sputtered, wiping his eyes. He listened to Karen's heartbeat as they laid in silence for a moment - her heart that he now knew was beating for Will and Will only. Karen had explained everything to Jack as best she could - how she felt when she first met him in Grace's office four years ago, how her feelings towards him evolved while on the Islands, how they had ended up in bed together, the problems she was having with Stan, her miscarriage, and she and Will had secretly been battling with their feelings for the past year. She had just given him a detailed account of the events in Paris, up until the night in his hotel room after they had been to Claire's apartment.

"So…what happened?" Jack asked, cocking his head upwards to meet Karen's eyes. She gave him a sad smile before looking back towards the ceiling.

"Then I took a pregnancy test and it was positive." She stated. Jack's breath hitched in his throat.

"But you're not…?" he began, reaching a hand towards her stomach.

"No, I'm not." She smiled to herself as she rested her hand on top of Jack's, thinking of what could have been - what almost was.

"So that's why Will stopped talking to you? Because you weren't pregnant?" Jack asked, confused. Karen shook her head.

"No, he was upset with me because after I took the pregnancy test I told him I would leave Stan for him. And when Stan showed up unexpectedly, then at that exact moment I found out I actually wasn't pregnant, it was too much."

"And you couldn't do it?"

"I couldn't do it. And I hate that I couldn't. As soon as I had appeased Stan, I went over to Will's hotel looking for him to apologize and talk about it, but he had already left."

"So have you talked to him since everything happened between you and Stan? I mean, does he know that you left him?"

"Yeah, I told him the other day in Grace's office. And I told him that I was sorry."

"What'd he say?"

"Nothing, really. I told him that I'd be waiting for him tonight in Central Park, and if he shows up it means I'm forgiven and he wants to pursue this relationship."

"And if he doesn't then what? You pretend like it never happened?"

"Essentially."

"Wow."

"But I don't know, honey. I know Will is a big grudge-holder, and what I did to him was pretty awful. I don't know if it's even worth leaving the manse tonight…he probably won't be there."

"Karen," Jack exclaimed, sitting up and pulling her up with him. "You have to go! What if you don't go and he shows up?"

Karen slumped, looking defeated.

"I don't know, Jack…do you think he'll show?" Jack smiled and took her chin his hand, pulling her face up to meet his eyes.

"Yeah, I do," he told her quietly. Karen frowned. "Kare, I've known Will a long time. And he doesn't throw the L word around recklessly. The only other person he's ever said that to besides Grace was Michael."

"I don't know…"

"And Will may be a grudge-holder, but he's also extremely loyal. If he loves you as much as it sounds like he does, then he won't abandon you. He'll be there."

Karen bit her lip, looking at the clock. 11:33.

"I'm supposed to meet him at midnight."

"Than you better get going!" Jack practically shouted, pulling her up from the couch. She laughed and threw her arms around him, giving him a big hug.

"I'm so glad I have your support, Jackie," she spoke into his ear.

"Karen, I will always throw my support behind anything that makes you happy," he replied, kissing her cheek. "Even if it is disgusting and unnatural."

She laughed and grabbed her coat, throwing one last smile at him before hurrying out the door to find driver and get to Central Park.