ficinabottle

Title: The Unexpected
Summary: Jack discovers Kate's true feelings about Claire.

Lost and its characters belong to JJ Abrams and crew, I’m just borrowing for some non-profit fun. Erm, summary… Jack discovers Kate’s true feelings about Claire. Gah, I hate summaries. Enjoy!
**********
Lost – The Unexpected
By Mystic
July 26th 2005
**********
Jack was used to finding Kate sitting on the sand when he came down from the caves. He always tried to be quiet, but she always heard him. He could see it in the way her shoulders rolled back and she gave a long sigh when his foot stepped onto the soft sand. It annoyed him sometimes, how she could hear him coming. Just once he wanted to surprise her. He felt like a boy in school picking on a girl and it made him grin. It was a silly thought and it took him back to the days of arm pinching and titty twisting.

He'd never really been one of those boys. His parents would never allow it. But with his friends, when they knew he liked a girl, they'd tell her to pull her ponytail or give her a good wet willy. Jack could never bring himself to do it. He would end up complimenting their dresses or helping carry their school books. Sometimes they called him a sissy. Until he grabbed Sadie McCarthy in the hall between Math and Biology and French kissed her for no other reason than he wanted to.

He wondered what Kate would do if he grabbed her and kissed her. Jack noticed she hadn't heard him yet so he stopped short of the sand, pressing his boots into the grass and he waited, watching her as she sat calmly a few yards in front of him. The sleeves on her grey shirt had been cut off and there was a small line of sweat down the center of her back. He wondered how long she'd been sitting there. He wondered how long she'd sit there if he didn't show up. Jack half wondered if she sat there because she knew it was where he'd emerge. It's where the path led him.

He wondered if he changed his path, would she worry.

Kate's eyes scanned the horizon and then she shifted her line of sight onto the beach, towards where Claire was seated in the shade of a piece of wreckage they’d salvaged before the rest washed away. She was writing in her diary. Jack watched Kate's head whip around a moment, as if not wanting to be caught, and then she squinted towards the jungle. He thought he'd been caught, but she frowned and looked back at Claire. The blonde woman was scribbling into the notebook he'd seen her writing in before. Claire balanced the book on her belly and flipped a page, a smile forming on her face as she stared up at the ocean.

Jack watched Kate lower her head, staring at the sand between her feet and she stretched her back slightly, then folded her arms over her knees and rested her chin on them. He blinked and thought he saw her shoulders give a bob, but she sat very still in the sand. He watched her take several long breaths and wondered what she was thinking. It wasn't the first time he'd wondered that. He watched her shift again in the sand and rub her nose gently before laying her chin back down on her arm with a long sigh.

He looked back at Claire, who jabbed the pen on the diary at the end of a sentence and then closed it, pushing it into the side of her bag. Claire touched her stomach, then began rubbing circles on the left side. He smiled, knowing since she'd returned, her baby had been kicking often. It gave him hope that nothing had happened to it. Jack hadn't had a lot of experience where babies were concerned. His heart pounded in his chest some nights just thinking about having to deliver Claire's.

Turning his head, he saw Kate was watching the other woman as well. Kate pressed her cheek into her forearm and frowned. He could almost see her eyebrows creasing to the point of looking painful. Jack lowered his own eyebrows and stepped onto the sand, watching her quickly compose herself, lifting her head slowly from her arms as she turned to look up at him. She tried really hard, but Jack could see the remnants of sadness playing on her features. He touched the top of her head as she started to stand and she watched curiously as he planted himself down next to her, resting his arms on his knees like she did.

They stared out at the ocean. He watched her out of the corner of his eye and noticed she'd fixed her vision on a spot somewhere a few feet in front of her. Where the water met the sand and washed back out. He wanted to ask her about it, but he didn't know where to start. He'd have to admit he'd been watching and he didn't know how she'd take it. So he remained silent. She brushed her knees lightly with her palms and smiled at him, but it was weak and she turned her vision once, quickly, back at Claire.

“She'll be delivering soon,” Jack reminded her quietly.

“I know,” Kate responded harsher than he’d expected, her voice lost from going so long without speaking.

Jack nodded slowly. “You alright?” He asked honestly.

“Yeah,” she lied.

He shook his head, laughing. He knew she'd be giving him that curious look, with that grin, the one that wants to ask the question, but doesn't. Jack turned to look at her again, watching the way she stared at him, her eyebrows low over her squinted eyes. “How long has it been since someone read you like a book?” He asked her straight.

Kate's body jerked back in response, her smile fading. Was she offended? Was she surprised? Was she confused? Curious? Angry? Jack picked at the sand and waited, knowing he had her full attention. He wondered what she'd say. He wondered what she was thinking. He wondered if he pulled her ponytail, would she kick his ass or kiss him. Jack was starting to bubble inside with a stupid boyish giddiness he hadn't felt since he'd been in elementary school.

“Don't you want to know?” He finally asked, cocking his head to the side to take her in. Her eyes scanned his face quickly and she shrugged her shoulders, but he could tell she was seconds away from breaking down. It was fun, he thought, to mess with her head. It was quite the reversal, he knew. “I just meant to say that I know something is bothering you, Kate.” He smiled when she relaxed, when she hung her head back to look at him and gave him a goofy grin.

Did she really think he knew exactly what she was thinking? What exactly had she been thinking? Jack was the curious one now. He leaned back on his palms, watching her tuck one leg underneath herself, coating her jeans in sand. “What?” She asked after a moment.

“What's bothering you?” He nodded his head at her, as if giving her the ok to tell him the truth. He wished she would just understand it was ok to tell him anything she wanted to. She could tell Jack her deepest, darkest secret and Jack would keep it for her. He wondered why she didn't know that. She had to, didn't she. Why did she choose to ignore it?

Kate turned to look at Claire. “That scares me.”

He wanted to laugh at her, but he chose not to. He nodded, pulling his bottom lip between his teeth gently and letting it slide back out painfully. “Scares a lot of us.” He watched her expression change, as if to say 'it's different with me'. The widening of the eyes, the hint of a smile, the rise of just one eyebrow for just one moment. He loved when he caught the slips in her emotions. “Have you ever witnessed a live birth?”

She hesitated, but recovered quickly, “A cow, once.”

Jack nodded slowly. He'd noticed her pause, and he pursed his lips together in annoyance. “Why do you still lie to me?”

“I did see a cow give birth, Jack.” She pressed, furrowing her brow and frowning.

He sighed and laid down on the sand, feeling its warmth dig into his back. It was somewhat soothing despite the new sheet of sweat about to spring up on his forehead. “I believe you.” He said it as sure as he would say the sky was blue or the sun was hot as hell.

Squinting his eyes mostly shut, he could still see her struggling with something and she glanced at him. Kate thought his eyes were closed and she bit her lip, her eyebrows coming together and she started to say something three times, but she stopped herself. Then she threw herself back into the sand beside him. “I saw a girl give birth once.”

Jack opened his eyes and looked at her. Her eyes were pressed shut against the sunlight and she had her hands laid flat on the sand at her sides. He shifted, putting his weight onto his elbow and he waited. It wasn't a story many people could tell.

“She got hurt, she was early and she was in pain.” Kate stopped, considered a moment, and ran her teeth over her bottom lip. “She was at the hospital and she was alone.” There was a sigh and a grimace. “And she pushed and she pushed and she pushed.” She stopped again and Jack wanted to touch her forehead, wipe away the sheen of sweat there. “The baby came out and she didn't even want to look at him.” Her eyes opened and she swallowed hard, seeing Jack staring down at her. “He was dead.”

He watched her shrug her shoulders and look away from him. Jack didn't stop looking at her though; he watched her cheeks flush red as she refused to look him in the eye. He touched her then, gently, smoothing away the stray strands of hair that had gotten stuck to the sweat on the sides of her face and she turned to look up at him. “Is that what you're scared of, Kate? That Claire's baby would die?” He asked quietly.

Jack watched her shake her head slowly. “I'm afraid it won't.”

“What?” Jack felt his body tense at the words. Won’t? Won’t die?

Kate sat up, pulling away from his touch and she frowned. “I'm sorry,” she mumbled, starting to stand. He pulled her back down, sitting up next to her. He waited. Kate looked up at him. “I'm afraid of what happens if he lives.” Her face went pale a moment and she looked sick. “Look at where we are, Jack.”

“That baby will have all of us to protect it, Kate.” He assured her. He gave her shoulder a squeeze, feeling it tense under his touch.

Nodding slowly, she looked back at Claire and smiled when Charlie brought the other woman a coconut. “What happens when the next one comes?” She turned to look at him. “What happens if I…” her voice left her. She shrugged her shoulders and looked away from him, making him nervous. Jack watched her shut down. Her face went blank, her body froze itself from revealing anything and she pushed off the sand, avoiding his grasp.

He watched her walk a few steps away from him before he called her name. Kate turned slowly, standing sideways on the beach. Jack frowned and stood, going to her. “I'm sorry that happened to you,” he knew he was right when she turned away and her lower lip trembled. Jack gave her ponytail a playful tug and watched her try to smile. Then he let her walk away.
**********
Finis