A/n: Sorry for the long wait everyone! I had school, then finals at school, then I had get ready for the summer session…ugh. Well, I'm back for few days. Enjoy! :D
Btw, to whoever Kat Diamond is, and anyone else this may apply to…please Skaters, don't flame. This has some Skate, but is primarily a Jate/Conmama fic, so feel free to read and enjoy the Skate involved, but you don't have to call my writing crap. Makes me want to stop and start all over with fanfiction. :(
Chapter 9
Kate looked at the smooth, white tiles of the bathroom floor as she dried her hair. She couldn't get the morning's prior happenings out of her mind. What had Sawyer been thinking, walking in on her like that? He had looked just as surprised as she was when he saw her, but he hadn't left until she had practically pushed him out of the shower. Had he thought she was Claire, or was there more to it than she knew?
She didn't want to think about it. In fact, she just wanted to forget that it had happened, and if she was lucky, maybe Sawyer would feel the same way. Things were already far too complicated for her and Sawyer's past relationship to be brought up all over again. They had both moved on, and they were both happy with it that way.
Still rubbing her dark hair with the damp towel, she walked out into Sawyer and Claire's bedroom, only to find Sawyer sitting on the bed, now fully dressed and looking embarrassed and ashamed. Disappointed that he had clearly been waiting for her, she took a few tentative steps forward then stopped, looking down as she removed the towel from her hair and held it in her hand.
"Hey…" She spoke finally, after a long moment of silence. She still refused to make eye contact, too embarrassed to look at him completely.
Sawyer looked up. "Hey…"
Kate took a deep breath. "Sawyer, I don't know what happened back there, but if you had any ideas about us-"
"No." He interrupted quickly, his sharp voice causing her to meet his eyes. "I-uh…I thought you were Claire. Didn't even know you were awake." He mumbled, his tone softening, revealing his full discomfort.
"Oh." Kate bit her lip and nodded, sighing inwardly. "So…what do we do now?"
"What do ya mean 'what do we do'? We don't do nothin." He shrugged, standing up.
Kate felt herself tense as she watched him stand, though she wasn't sure why. He'd already made it clear that he had no intention of pursuing her, but the whole situation had shaken her nerves. "Sawyer, we can't just pretend it didn't happened, Jack and Claire-"
"What about em?" He argued. "We didn't do nothin wrong. It was just-just an honest mistake." His face twisted with annoyance. "A guy tries to apologize and this is what he gets." He growled to himself.
Kate placed her hands on her hips. "So what? We just forget it happened? Don't talk about it?" She asked, the incredulity apparent in her voice.
"Why should we? Things are crazy enough, Freckles, you really wanna go tell the Good Doc that we saw each other naked just to make things interesting? Cuz trust me, they'll get interestin."
Kate rolled her eyes and looked away from his hard gaze. After a moment of consideration, she nodded. "Fine." She replied, looking into his eyes. "We don't say anything."
Sawyer let out a visible sigh of relief. "Okay." He nodded. "Well, good then." Sawyer moved towards the door of the bedroom door. "Glad we had this talk." He continued, glancing back at Kate with a slight smirk. He looked her up and down quickly, before smirking again. "Ya look good, Freckles…"
Sawyer reached for the knob and opened the door just in time to see Jack walking, somewhat shakily down the hall towards them. He stopped in his tracks and muttered a curse under his breath when Kate bumped into his back.
"What are you-"
"Kate?"
She froze for a split second at the sound of his voice, before walking out from behind Sawyer, suddenly feeling somewhat ashamed of herself. "Hey Jack. How are you feel-"
"What are you doing?" He asked, curious and looking slightly suspicious.
"Jack…it was noth-"
"Jeez, Doc. A man can't even use his own bedroom without bein accused of somethin?" Sawyer grumbled good-naturedly as he walked past them.
Once he was gone, Kate smiled reassuringly. "He was just getting dressed while I was in the bathroom, Jack." She looked at him hard. "Hey, you okay? You look a little pale. Maybe you should get back to bed."
"Yeah…yeah, maybe."
"Good." She smiled softly. She stared into his eyes for a few seconds, worry clouding hers, before she spoke again. "I need to go back home. Get some clothes, make sure Jenny or Carol can take care of Jamie. You want me to pick you up something?"
"What?"
"I still have the key to your apartment." She explained.
"No. No, I mean, why are you going?"
"Jack, I-we think that you should stay here a few days. Both of us." She began slowly, not sure how he would react to this. Jack stiffened, having a feeling he knew what was coming, but let her continue. "You need to sober up, Jack." She told him gently, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I wanna stay with you. Someone has to make sure you and Sawyer don't kill each other." She teased lightly, then paused. "Come on. You need to get to bed. I'm gonna go talk to Sawyer."
Just as Jack had been feeling himself begin to relax, his heart plummeted again at the mention of his name.
"Yeah. Okay." He said quietly, rubbing his forehead. "Wh-when are you comin back?"
"I'll be back in a few hours." She smiled. "Now come on. I mean it. Get back to bed." She told him firmly, still nervous being in his presence. She needed to get out of the house and clear her head.
--
"I wanna stay with you."
The sentence kept repeating over and over in Jack's head, her gentle words now haunting him. The day before, she said that they shouldn't see each other anymore, and now she wanted to stay with him? She wanted to make sure he was all right? She wanted to help him? "Why? Why now?" He'd used up every chance he had and a few that he didn't. Kate had tried to be there for him, even when his addictions were killing them both. She had finally made her decision to stop this, and now she wanted to stay with him?
Jack rolled over on his side, the dim, empty bedroom fitting his mood exactly. Alone. Dark. Empty. He didn't know what to think or how to explain Kate's actions, except with one explanation – the positive pregnancy test he had found. What other answer could there be to her sudden change of attitude? The thought of being a father, especially in his condition, scared Jack to death, but at the same time, he felt hope. This could be a second chance. A new opportunity to prove himself, to keep Kate, to have a family. He wasn't getting any younger, and he was running out of time to change. Maybe this was his chance.
As soon as his spirits lifted, ever so slightly as it may have been, they plunged downwards when a new thought struck him. Why had Kate come out of that bedroom with Sawyer so early in the morning? She had been walking close behind him. Had she been smiling? How had she looked? Jack couldn't remember the exact details. His memory was still a bit fuzzy, his headache hindering it even further. They couldn't be, Sawyer was with Claire. As much as Jack hated it, Kate being with Sawyer hurt him even more.
But Sawyer had been acting strangely. He hadn't seen the man in years, but he definitely seemed more irritable than he had expected. He seemed almost angry with him. For what? For having feelings for Kate? For being with her? How long had this been going on?
"Stop!"
Jack forced himself to stop the thoughts that were quickly escalating into a full-blown panic. What was he thinking? He ran off after she 'broke up' with him, got drunk and high, then drove while under the influence. She had reason to worry about him, it was nothing else. Besides, this wasn't their house. Why would Kate take the test here where anyone could find it? It couldn't be Kate's. It must be –
Jack shot up in bed. "Sawyer!"
A/n: Ooh, next chapter is gonna be fun. Jack/Sawyer throwdown! Lol well, kinda. And some more Jateness and some cute Conmama. I start school again on Monday, so I'll try to get to it within a few days. Maybe you'll get 2 updates in 1 week! How cool would that be? So if I get some awesome amount of reviews (lol), I may just write it up tomorrow while I'm inspired and know exactly how it's gonna go down. Hehe I'd really appreciate knowing what you thought/your fave parts, and know that you guys still like this fic, even though I've been a little busy and uninspired. ;) Btw, thanks to Athena Alexandria for helping me brainstorm. ;) Love ya! (IANGW)