(A year and a half ago)
"Okay, one more push! One more and she'll be out!" the Doctor assured a practically screaming Kate. Never having felt pain of this magnitude before but Jack's assurance of comfort helped her get through it.
At the end of an agonising further half hour of pushing and screaming it was over. Jack and Kate expecting to be welcomed with the cries of their newborn baby girl, but instead they got a share of worried looks from the Doctors.
"What's wrong?"
*Silence*
"What is it?" Jack asked this time, also trying to keep his emotions at bay for Kate's sake. Though he was slowly losing the will to do so in light of each failed attempt of resuscitation from the Doctors.
Both Jack and Kate then got their answer when one of the Doctors said, "call it."
"No! please no!" Kate exclaimed in sheer anguish before breaking down in light of what this meant. The hopes and dreams she had for the last 8 months shattered within seconds.
"What's…." was all Jack could get out, tightly holding onto Kate's violently trembling body. Her sobbing face buried in his chest, unwilling to face the reality of their loss.
"I'm…I'm sorry." one of the nurses said, as the others stepped away from the table, finally revealing a pink, still bundle.
With that he finally let go, somewhat, still wanting to be strong for the woman in his arms yet finding it hard.
"No! No!" Was all Kate kept chanting through her tears, not entirely sure that she could survive it. Nor Jack for that matter.
(End of flashback)
Lily Diane Shepard.
Little angel, gone too soon.
September 24 - 2008
Is what read on the pearly white grave stone bordered with four vases, each filled with a white lily.
It was her favourite flower and saw it as a fitting name for her unborn daughter.
"Hi baby girl." Kate expressed, bending down to trace the golden engraved writing on the stone once she'd placed the last lily in it's vase.
Whenever life seemed too much to handle, she came here to escape from it all.
Not a day had gone by when she wondered, "what if?"
"What if Lily had survived? Would me and Jack still be together?"
She didn't want to know the answers to those questions because it only hurt more. Instead all she allowed herself to experience were the good memories they shared.
Reliving them also made her forget about the reality she no longer saw any point existing within.
Just at the moment of considering it, her phone started ringing and looking at the caller display she sighed but answered it anyway.
"Hey Claire, what's up?"
"What's up is that I'm waiting for you here at the mall to pick out our dresses for tonight."
"Crap" Kate muttered, shocked that it was already 4pm, "I'll be there in twenty minutes." She confirmed and got off the phone, staring at her daughter's grave one last time before reluctantly re-engaging in life's events.
(Later that evening)
She was uncomfortable, not just because of the black body fitting Armani dress Claire literally goaded her to buy in a sole effort to turn a few heads, Jack specifically, and it proved effective when she then saw Jack immediately come over to her upon arrival.
Containing her emotions and urges, Kate nervously smoothed any imaginary creases on her dress and finally faced his approach with a smile.
"Hey"
Not seeing anything indecent within the friendly gesture, he leaned forward to peck her on the cheek, pulling away and saying, "you look amazing."
"Not too bad yourself." Kate commented, settling his tie. The move so nostalgically domestic that he couldn't help but smile. However the same couldn't be said for Kathy who observed the scene with nothing but disgust.
"I try." He shrugged eliciting a giggle out of her, and at that moment she caught sight of Kathy clearly keeping an eye on them.
"So…." Kate started, choosing to ignore Kathy's glares, but barely got through the next word before Kathy's patience reached it's limit.
"Oh, Jack there you are!" she interrupted, pretending not to notice Kate at first, but Kate, wanting to be the bigger person conveyed a "hi" followed by a congratulations. With that she gave Kathy what she wanted and left to mingle with the rest of the guests.
Jack left surprised by the action and slightly annoyed at Kathy's interruption.
The party though delayed or "fashionably late" as Kathy put it, had finally gotten off to a promising start up until the person Jack intensely despised then walked in.
For the sake of his relationship with Kathy he put up with the antics of her younger brother Jimmy. However his patience waned with each mishap, most of them legally related and he'd had enough of having to constantly bail the guy out.
"What is he doing here?" Jack asked, trying to keep the anger and hatred out of his voice.
Regarding his displease queerly, Kathy then joined in on Jack's current line of focus and smiled, "Ahh finally he's here" was all she said before making the move to greet her brother. However Jack stopped her from doing so.
"I don't want him here Kathy." He expressed, low in his tone to not cause a scene but Kathy's revelation forced him to reconsider.
"Well I do Jack….." Kathy started out and then broke focus to hone in on her plan already in motion, "ooh looks like they're getting on well." She revealed looking bright eyed towards the scene of her brother chatting to Kate.
"Whoa, no way…." Jack objected, catching onto Kathy's blatant suggestion.
"Why not?" Kathy asked, seeing his objection as nothing short of ridiculous, "what is so wrong about that?"
"So what's a pretty lady like yourself doing here alone?"
"Just being a supportive friend to the Groom to be." Kate revealed. "You?"
"Brother to the Bride to be." Jimmy sighed, clearly showing his bother with having to be here, especially when Kate caught sight of him glaring at Jack. Whom Kate could see was retaliating in a similar manner, much to her surprise.
A part of her wanted to see if Jack would act on his blatant jealousy, but on second thought she refrained, not wanting to ruin this evening for him.
Yet she didn't refrain from indulging in Jimmy's company on the dance floor. A choice she certainly didn't regret by the end of the night because beneath the whole "macho" exterior he seemed to be a really nice guy.
(Later that night)
"So can I call ya sometime?" Jimmy asked, despite picking up on Jack's agitation with him hanging out with Kate earlier on.
However Jack's bother only spurred on his motivation to instigate a relationship with Kate.
"Uh, sure" Kate replied, retrieving hold of a business card from her purse and handing it to him. "It was nice meeting you Jimmy."
"Likewise" he replied and with spotting Jack appearing out of the corner of his eye, he leaned forward to peck Kate on the cheek.
Unsure of how to react towards the unexpected gesture, Kate simply smiled before watching Jimmy descend towards the parking lot.
"I see you made a new friend tonight."
Startled by his presence at first, of which Jack apologized for, then waiting for a reply.
"Yes Grandpa." Kate teased.
"Hey, I'm only looking out for you." Jack defended himself, trying to make light of the situation but Kate saw right through it.
"He's a good guy."
"Yeah, Kat seems to think so too." Jack remarked.
"And I don't need to guess what you think of him." Kate pointed out, cutting straight to the point and Jack's speechlessness only added fact to suspicion.
"I know you're concerned Jack but you don't need to be." Kate assured. "What you do need to be worried about however is what Kathy would think if she knew you were out here talking to me."
"Yeah well she can…."
The conversation was suddenly cut off when a flustered Charlie suddenly appeared, carrying an increasingly distressed Claire in his arms.
"What happened?" Kate demanded, already flipping open her phone to dial 911 as Jack worked to fix the situation as best he could.
"I don't know she was fine one minute and the next…." Charlie attempted to explain but a sudden shrill cry from Claire got all their attention.
"Something's wrong, the baby…." Claire whined, before releasing another cry of pain. The sound only worrying Charlie even further but thankfully hope soon arrived in the form of an ambulance.
Next Chapter: A trip down memory lane and a decision. One that everyone might not necessarily agree with, Jack specifically…..
What do you guys think so far?