LEFT BEHIND

A/N: Sorry for the no update guys, but my jobs make me exhausted. I have a few days off now so I'm going to try to write at least two more chapters and hopefully space out the updating a little. I'm also a little bleary-eyed right now, so if there's grammar or whatever errors please ignore.
Thanks to everyone who read/reviewed/favorited/alerted, I'm so glad you guys are still into the story.

Left Behind

Chapter 30

Still

Sawyer was right; the cops were waiting for her. Three armed guards lined the dock with their hands lingering by their waists to grab their guns. She and Jack saw them immediately, but she didn't run, she couldn't because they would've caught her eventually.

So instead she crushed Jack's hand in hers and took all of her reserved energy to not let her face crack. Not let anyone know how terrified she was at that very moment. Jack steadied her when her foot first made the jump between the rusty incline and the precarious wooden dock. All three guards watched with caution as he straightened her and placed his hand on her stomach one last time.

It didn't even last for a second before the middle guard jutted a thumb behind him at a concrete building, "Let's go."

Pursing her lips together, her hand let his drop and she waddled towards the man who had retrieved a pair of handcuffs.

"Do you really need those?" Jack took a step forward with his chest all puffy and full of bravado but stopped when the other guards gestured for it.

"Yes," the response was stoic as she turned away from Jack and felt the cold metal snap around her wrists.

"She's pregnant."

The guard adjusted the cuffs tightly; she felt like she couldn't breathe, "I can see that," there was still no emotion as she was passed to the next guard and accompanied down the dock.

Jack's voice echoed off the emptiness of the pier, she knew he was trying to push through the barricade that she inadvertently placed between them, and that he wasn't going to have any luck.

"She needs medical attention, her weight is low and—"

"What are you, a doctor?"

"Actually, yeah I am."

"Well, she's a criminal."

After that they ran some blood tests, weighed her and started her on an IV, all the while she was handcuffed together.

Now she's reclining on a stretcher in a sterile white room, wearing a generic blue hospital gown and a cheap cotton sheet over her legs. Lunch just ended and in less than an hour, the doctor will be in to change over her IV and plead with her to get an ultrasound. She'll still refuse.

The doctor won't clear for transport back to L.A. until she has an ultrasound and she won't agree to the procedure unless Jack is present. It's not that big of a demand, but the guards seem adamant on her not getting anything she requests. She's not letting Jack miss out on the first ultrasound.

Because she could've been transported back yesterday, the guards have no patience left. This is the reason they handcuffed her so securely to the stretcher that she barely has enough room to feed herself.

A shrill squeak reverberates through the empty room as the silver doorknob turns and the doctor walks in. He's an elderly English man, very close to retirement. She knows this because he rambles all the things that he wants to accomplish before dying. He calls it his 'Bucket List'. His small eyes hide behind thick, but equally small spectacles and his head is bald except for a few stringy pieces of white hair.

"Afternoon Ms. Austen," he greets her without taking his eyes off of his clipboard, "How was your lunch today?"

"Fine," her hands cross over her stomach to remind him that he's not going to do anything that's close to an ultrasound, "And Kate is fine."

"Right. Right," he nods taking off his glasses and letting them hang from a chain around his neck, "I forget little things like that so I have enough room to remember medical procedures and all that boring stuff."

She shares a genuine smile with him, because she likes him. He doesn't judge her the way the rest of the guards do. He knows what she did and where she's been, but he still treats her like a decent human being. "Changing the IV?"

"Yes. Yes," he has a habit of repeating himself. His white lab coat camouflages him with the wall as he turns to retrieve the right dosage. He holds the bag until it's almost touching his eyes to read the fine print, "I don't suppose I could convince you to get an ultrasound today?"

"I only have one prerequisite."

"I couldn't persuade a first time mother with the fact that it would be extremely beneficial to know the exact state of the fetus," after hanging the bag full of clear liquid from the stand he gives her a look that pleads for her consideration.

Shrugging, she ignores the twinge of pain in her arm as he tugs on the tubes while transferring them over, "I lived on an island for five and a half months without a single ultrasound and this baby is still growing fine."

"Hmm," he muses while replacing his glasses at the end of his nose, "It's not that. It's those boorish guards who won't let the father be present."

Turning her attention back to her stomach, her voice falters, "That too."

"Well," he sighs loudly through his nostrils and scratches something down on the clipboard, "Lucky for you, I've gone over their heads and talked their superior into allowing another human being in this room."

"What," her head whips up and her teeth sink into her lower lip.

He chuckles from deep in his chest and places the clipboard down on a stainless steel counter, "Consider it my going away present."

Still not fully aware what is happening, the doctor leaves the room for a minute, leaving her alone with a heart beating so faster that the baby starts to kick. For what seems like hours, the only sound in the room is her breathing and the steady beat of the heart monitor.

Then the door opens and after the aged doctor enters, Jack is right there. She immediately notices the differences in him. His hair is a little shorter, his stubble is gone but his skin holds the waxy sheen of sleepless nights and his left eye is bruised black and hiding a small cut on his cheek. He's wearing a bright white dress shirt and a pair of black slacks accented with shiny black dress shoes and she knows he's going home today.

"Kate." When he speaks, she knows that they're feeling the same relief, the tension is gone because they at least get a chance to say goodbye.

"Now I know this is a reunion," the doctor wheels a machine across the floor, "but I'd really like to do the procedure, then I promise I'll give you a few minutes to yourselves."

"Okay," Jack agrees. He walks carefully, new shoes not scuffing the floor and takes her hand in his as much as he can without strain on the cuffs.

The doctor flips on the machine and the screen turns from black to a pale gray, numbers scroll across it as the program loads, "Can you pull your gown up a bit."

On instinct she reaches but there is not enough slack from the cuffs to do so.

There isn't even enough time to blink before Jack responds, "I got it." He pulls the sheets up to just under her stomach and her gown to just over, exposing the protrusion of skin. When he returns to her side again, his thumbs move against her wrist, massaging where the cuffs dig into her skin.

"All right," the doctor sits on a rolling stool and shakes a bottle of something, "This is going to be cold."

She nods and inhales sharply when the icy ooze is drizzled over her stomach.

"And a little bit of pressure," He touches what looks like a wand to her stomach, the presses down with some force.

There is an immediate noise that sounds like thumping in a hollow room, "There's the baby's heartbeat," the doctor points at something flickering on the screen, "and there's the heart."

She doesn't speak a word because the shape that shows up on the screen, the shape of what's inside her looks exactly like a baby. After everything they've been through on the island, they finally have a concrete image of their baby. Glancing at Jack, he doesn't look back, but the broad smile that pulls against his lips exudes his pride.

At a point that shows the perfect profile of their baby, the doctor freezes the screen, "Everything looks fine. The fetus is healthy; I'd say you're just shy of six months along. Unfortunately due to the baby's position, I can't tell you the gender."

"I didn't want to know anyway," through her revelation, she feels Jack's dejection. Of course he would want to know, they've already been through so much, that she's sure Jack would plan every minute of her remaining pregnancy if he could.

The doctor nods with an understanding smile, makes a few more notes, and shuffles towards the door, "I'll leave you two alone for a few minutes."

The sound of the lock clicking on the door draws her out of her reverie of just staring at the caption on the monitor. Turning to Jack, she notices the same awe in his eyes, "What do you think?"

"I think it's gorgeous."

Then he's kissing her, there's passion, but nothing too rough. Enough to let her know that he really did miss her, which she never doubted. She knows he did. She knows he missed her even when he chose to leave their settlement on the beach.

He falls to his knees beside her so she can reach him with enough slack from the cuffs. His hot breath tickles her ear as he laughs weakly; his cheek is smooth against hers as his hand moves to cradle her head. Dragging the pad of her finger lightly to his black eye she questions, "What happened?"

"When they took you off the dock, I tried to go after you," he forces another laugh and bows his head making her drop her hand, "things got violent."

Despair creeps back into her mind, "You shouldn't have Jack." Guilt soon follows because she's dragged him into this. She wonders if he'll ever have a normal life again, one where he's a respected doctor who doesn't have to worry about a baby with a convict mother.

His lips press to the tip of her nose and he rests his forehead against hers, "You'll always be worth it."

"It's going to be awhile before we see each other again, isn't it?" She closes her eyes to capture her tears and focuses on Jack, how he still smells like salt water and sweat though they've been off the island for over a week.

Jack draws away and grabs a white cloth from the stainless steel counter, "Kate, we're going to beat this. Hurley said he would pay for the best lawyer, and we have settlements coming from Oceanic," his hand is gentle as it wipes away the remaining gel from her stomach in swift, skillful movements, "You might not even have to be in jail until after you have the baby."

"Because that's so much better," she huffs with sarcasm and tries to swat at an escaped tear.

Jack smudges it across her cheek with his thumb, careful the cut that no longer needs butterfly stitches, "It would at least give us time to get settled. Buy a house and get ready for the baby without being rushed."

"You may need to do that stuff without me, Jack," she sighs when he cups her cheek and rolls her head to the side and finds his gritless fingertips.

"No."

"Jack," her voice is even and calm as she watches his expression, the way the lines etched in his face as deeper from fatigue, "this baby deserves a home."

He slips his hand into hers and presses a kiss to her cheek, "And we won't have one until you're there with us."

Then all too soon the door opens again, with the elderly doctor swatting away the guards away with a manila folder, "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid it's time for you to go."

Jack nods, his fingers tightening around hers as he kisses her one last time, "I'll find you," his eyes burn unblinking into hers, "I promise that wherever they put you, I'll find you again."

She can't think of anything to say. That it's thoughtful and warms her heart, but it's meaningless. Even if he does find her, she'll still be locked up. Short from staging a prison break, there's very little Jack can do.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"Take care of your mom," he whispers to her stomach and kisses the pale skin lightly.

His fingers slip from hers, his shoes tap across the floor, the door closes and the scent of him is gone. As the doctor blathers on about specifics and what time she'll be leaving tonight as he tidies up the room, she wonders what the odds are that Jack will actually find her; if he won't forget about her once they get settled in L.A.

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