Back with more and all's I gotta say is that this Chapter is the pay off for the teasing and cliffhangers…
Oh your reviews make me smile and I thank you for them ;-)
On a random note I wanted to give my two cents on the whole Matthew Fox assaulting a female bus Driver fiasco.
*Firstly it's astonishing how virtually every headline documenting the incident STILL uses the word "allegedly".
Secondly I in no way condone assault of any kind and IF it's the way this woman described it then he deserved what he got, but the inconsistencies of her sustained injuries and initial account in general cannot be ignored as well. Plus if you were a victim of assault would you really want the whole world to know?
Third and last but not least, I've met Matt on two occasions myself, one of them involving a bunch of louts hurling abusive insults at him while he signed autographs and not once did Matt react in a violent or aggressive manner.*
Anyway back to the ff world here's the next instalment, enjoy :-)
Confusion was the first thing to pass through his mind, but then it all made sense when Kate elaborated on her question.
"The person you were on the phone with earlier. Who is she?" Kate asked, her tone fluctuating in pitch thanks to her emotions. Of which soon transformed into anger when Jack simply started laughing in response.
"What's so funny?" she snapped, not in the least bit amused, especially when he failed to offer her an explanation.
Feeling aggravated to say the least, she then tried to release his physical hold on her but all he did instead was bring her even closer into him.
"I'm sorry" he apologised, calming her struggle somewhat. "It's just you're so cute when you're acting all jealous over me and rest assured Kate you have nothing to worry about."
"Why shouldn't I be?" Kate challenged, no longer struggling just simply looking to him for a straight answer.
"Because I don't love my Sister in that way." Jack revealed with a smile that only grew when Kate went briefly wide eyed and then bit the edge of her lip in a blatant show of embarrassment. Her temporary loss for words confirming it considerably.
"Better?" Jack asked and Kate simply nodded in agreement, still keeping her head hung which made Jack chuckle and then bring his lips to lovingly kiss the side of her head. Using the gesture as a way to properly hug her as well and thankfully she didn't resist, craving at the chance to finally hide her face and also feel the body she'd so greatly missed.
"It's always been you Kate and that's never gonna change." Jack whispered into her ear, hearing Kate's breath hitch with emotion in response and he was quick to soothe it with another kiss against the side of her head whilst gently rocking her.
After spending practically an hour of simply parading up and down the living room, going through a range of emotions, thoughts and feelings, he said to himself, "enough is enough" and decided to look for her. However in order to do that he needed to find out where she was first.
Going with his only option, he called her mobile hoping it wouldn't go to voicemail but unfortunately that was the only response he did get a minute later.
"Damn it" he cursed. Disappointed, he then disconnected the phone and was just about to vent his frustration out on it when suddenly he caught sight of someone wordlessly willing him not to.
"Kath" was all Marc said, feeling a mix of surprise and relief at seeing her, but confusion gained full precedence with what Kathy said next.
"I'm leaving."
They still remained locked in a tight embrace. Both revelling in the kind of comfort only they could bring out of each other, however a new sensation presented itself a few minutes later.
At first Jack thought it was a sign of hunger but Kate's giggling was enough to confirm an alternative assumption; their baby was kicking.
"We got a feisty little one in there haven't we?" Jack joked, making Kate chuckle warmly and nod in agreement. That smile widening when Jack placed his right hand against her baby bump.
"I think it's a boy." Kate stated, basing her assumption more on instinct rather than medical facts.
"Yeah?"
"Uhuh. He's a lot more "feisty" than Lily was and I can't explain how but I just feel it, you know?"
"Well this one's quite a kicker and if you want we can find out for sure." Jack offered, pulling her close again.
"We can?" Kate asked, pulling her face away yet keeping the rest of her wrapped up in his arms.
"It's a statistical fact that you can tell whether it's a boy a lot earlier than a girl." He explained in a very doctor like manner making Kate smile suggestively and Jack naturally question it in turn.
"What?"
Kate's explanation came in the form of a breath stealing kiss Jack wasn't prepared for at first, but his willingness to participate allowed him to catch up with a matching fervour.
"You turn me on so bad when you talk like that." Kate moaned, pulling away yet hungrily nipping at his lips. "Doctor Shepherd…." She added for sexual benefit, igniting a fire within Jack's darkening gaze as a result.
"Mmmm, wanna hear more?" Jack teased, punctuating the offer with a mouth plastering kiss, pulling away minutes later to fulfil his offer.
"Stethoscope….." he started out following with another kiss and then pulling away to fuel Kate's turn on subject, "prescription, diagnosis, chiroplasty."
"Chiroplasty?" Kate questioned, amusement in her tone as well as her features.
"Just goin' with the theme." Jack defended himself with a wink, making her giggle.
"Yeah, well I'm in need of some prescribed lovin' instead Doctor." Kate requested finishing with a sultry moan and Jack wordlessly complied, pulling her in for another kiss and some.
"You're leaving? Why?" Marc asked but Kathy proceeded to walk on upstairs in response. Her heart broken yet her mind focused on the notion that there would always be three people in this relationship.
"Kath, come on." Marc pleaded, following her upstairs and into their bedroom.
Once in there Kathy barely made it to her wardrobe before Marc pulled her back into him.
"Talk to me" he gently requested, placing his finger under her slightly trembling chin to gauge her face for at the least a reaction, yet all he received was a question that confused him more than anything.
"Do you love me?"
"What?" Marc exclaimed. "Of course I do, why would you even ask me that?"
"Cause you love her too." Kathy answered. "Kate." She added in a whisper, walking out of his embrace when he failed to reassure her otherwise.
He'd be lying in saying she was wrong, but at the same time he didn't love Kate in the way he did Kathy.
"Kath listen to me. What happened in the past between me and Kate is strictly that and nothing more." Marc assured but Kathy still looked far from convinced. However Marc only grew more determined with seeing that.
Walking up to her, he tested the waters one step further and placed his hands on the top of her shoulders, Kathy tensing at the touch but Marc refused to be phased by it and simply turned her around to face him. Wordlessly pulling her sobbing frame into his arms and trying to keep his own emotions in check at seeing how much pain she was in.
"I just don't wanna….." Kathy tried to speak though struggling with her emotions considerably at having to reveal her primary fear.
Pulling away yet still keeping her tightly wrapped in his arms, he looked down at her and was about to ask when she finally came out with it.
"I don't wanna be the other woman again."
Now it all made sense. Kathy's initial reluctance to start a relationship with him, her constant disapproval of his involvement in Kate's life and most importantly a proposal she immediately turned down.
"Oh Kath" Marc attempted to console but Kathy cut in with a renewed, emotion free determination.
"No" she firmly stated "I don't want your sympathy, I just want the truth. Do you still love her?"
Sighing, he momentarily hung his head to figure out a way to answer her question and in the end simply admitted the truth.
"Yes."
They were verging on public indecency and on the third grumbled "get a room" by a passing bystander both parties finally obeyed laughing as they pulled away.
"So, what now?" Kate casually inquired.
"Well we can continue to give our reluctant audience a sizzling show or we can take it somewhere more private." He teased, earning a light smack against the chest.
"Jack." Kate jokingly scolded him with another smack issued, turning into putty when Jack suddenly leaned in, gaze dripping with lust and his focus keen on her lips to suggest his intentions.
"You keep that up and we're gonna have a show right here." Jack warned in a low send-chills-of-want-down-your-spine tone but Kate was more surprised by this unexpected characteristic revelation.
"Since when did you get so kinky Doctor Shepherd?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Jack egged it on with an eyebrow raise whilst allowing his hands to roam in an intimate fashion.
"I would, especially since I've never seen this side of you before." She commented, trying not to get too distracted by his roaming hands, but she was forced to the next minute when he lightly swatted her rear. Rousing a gasp out of her as a result and Jack took the opportunity to propose more kissing and a little less talking.
However much to his dismay Kate pulled away and he full out growled at the action making Kate giggle and then soothe him with an explanation.
"Sorry, but if my stomach rumbles any louder I might be mistaken for some kind of engine." She joked, concerning Jack more rather than humouring him.
"I'm sorry baby." He apologised, kissing her forehead and instinctively rubbing his hand against her swollen abdomen at the same time in a soothing motion.
"Baby eh?" Kate remarked with a teasing glimmer in her eye.
Smiling, Jack briefly brought his lips to hers in a sweet kiss and pulled away saying, "you know you love it."
"Only with you." Kate confirmed.
"C'mon, let's feed you." He then suggested finishing with another quick kiss and another affectionate rub against her belly.
Now that things were finally starting to look up, Jack had one more thing planned to make it complete. Thankfully Kate never heard his entire conversation with Claire on the phone earlier.
I wonder….
What do you wonder?