January 13

~•~

"What are you doing?" Katherine expressed, finding Jack sauntering into her bedroom without warning. She lowered her laptop screen slightly, watching as Jack continued to stride into her room. "This is my room!"

"Well if you want I could lock the door?" Jack said sarcastically, seating himself on the foot of Katherine's bed. "Kay, look, I'm bored. All we ever do is sit around. Let's go on a walk or somethin'."

"I don't know if you can tell, but I'm kind of busy," Katherine responded in agitation, watching as Jack unfolded a piece of paper and began sketching on it. She turned back to her laptop, continuing to type in the document she had pulled up on her screen.

"A workin' girl, huh?" Jack arched an eyebrow, looking up at her for a moment before returning his eyes to the paper in his hands. "Doin' what?"

"It's nothing, really."

It wasn't nothing. The thing Katherine was typing was a day-by-day record of how the Experiment was going so far. She didn't feel a need to tell Jack, because Katherine had her own personal reasons. It kept her busy, and she enjoyed doing it. Almost as much as she liked being alone, which Jack clearly couldn't tell despite her hints.

"Ah, sure," Jack remarked, leaning against the board that extended above the foot of the bed and finishing his sketch, flipping to another page of the notebook he was in and beginning a new one.

"Mind telling me what you are doing?" Katherine asked, looking up from laptop screen for a short moment to focus upon Jack. "You seem pretty occupied with whatever the hell you're doing."

"It's nothing, really," Jack said with a smirk. Katherine could tell he was mocking her, which caused her to make a sound of protest. She reached an arm out to her side, taking the nearest pillow and tossing it at him.

"Woah, okay!" Jack expressed, bringing his arm up to block the pillow before tossing it back at Katherine. "Calm down, Plumber!"

"As if," Katherine responded in an irritated tone, but she couldn't stop the smile from growing on her face.

A comfortable silence fell between them. Katherine didn't expect it, but it seemed as if the two of them completing their hobbies was a pretty settling thing between them. She didn't feel the need to break the silence, and neither did Jack.

No words were needed to express the way they were slowly growing on each other.

<><><>

January 29/30

~•~

Jack sat in the living room, his eyes fixed on the clock on the wall. It slowly ticked, the big hand inching ever so closer to being perfectly upright.

With one final tick, the clock struck midnight. Jack leaped off of the couch, rushing to the kitchen and to the fridge to take out the small cake he had ordered. It was difficult to get things from the outside world when they were trapped on the villa's property, but he was luckily able to find a company that was willing to deliver the cake.

He grabbed a lighter on his way out, stepping carefully up the staircase. The quiet of the house surrounded him, and he cringed slightly when the door to Katherine's bedroom creaked when he opened it.

He sat gently on the edge of the bed, looking at Katherine's sleeping figure for a moment before he gently shook her shoulder. She stirred slightly, turning her head and taking a moment to wake up before her eyes spotted Jack sitting beside her, lighting the candles on the cake with the lighter. "Jack?" She mumbled, her voice thick with sleep. "What are you doing?"

"I came to wish you a happy birthday," Jack responded with a smile, motioning to the small cake that he held in his hands.

Katherine sat up, rubbing her eyes and smiling slightly at Jack. "Well..." she began hesitantly, "thank you."

"Make a wish, Plumber," Jack said, holding the cake out for her to blow the candles. She gave him a smile, closing her eyes and taking a moment to make a wish: I wish that something good will happen during this experiment. When she opened her eyes and blew the candles, she heard Jack instinctively ask, "Well, what'd you wish for?"

"If I told you, then it wouldn't come true," Katherine responded softly, looking down at the cake. "Wait..." she began, bringing her eyes up to Jack, "is it really my birthday? How'd you know?"

"I may have given the Institute a call," Jack said with a grin. "January thirtieth was what they told me."

"They were right," Katherine sighed, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Let's hope eighteen treats me well." She took the cake out of Jack's hands and set it on the nightstand beside her bed. Tentatively, she wrapped her arms around Jack's neck and drew him in for a hug. "Thank you, Jack."

"You're welcome, Plumber."

<><><>

January 31

~•~

Jack and Katherine sat on a blanket that was placed on the grass of the yard behind the villa. The two were playing an innocent game of cards. But neither were paying close attention to the game at hand, and they were instead focused on the conversation they were having.

"I have six siblings," Katherine told him with the faintest trace of a smile. "I'm the third oldest."

"Sounds like Thanksgiving is fun in your family," Jack said amusedly, observing the cards in his hand.

Katherine laughed softly, drawing a card from the stack, "It sure is. My father is from both Hungary and Austria, so we often have relatives come in for the holidays." She paused, the thought not striking her mind until now. "Which won't happen this year."

Jack looked up at Katherine for a moment, sensing the distress in her voice. He quickly steered the topic away from her family, not wanting to upset her, "Well, I don't really have a family. I do have several close friends who are like brothers to me. One of them was even chosen for the Experiment."

"Really?" Katherine raised a single eyebrow. "What's his name?"

"Davey," Jack responded, "Davey Jacobs. He has a kid brother named Les."

Katherine smiled faintly, "Is he one of your best friends?"

Jack nodded, shifting in his place, "He is. Along with Crutchie."

"Crutchie?"

"He's a little younger than me, but he's really smart. 'e graduated high school early and went to university with me."

"He sounds like a great person," Katherine responded. She looked up at the mountains that surrounded the house. It was built in a valley, creating a scene that was beautiful and open. The wall around the property reached the base of the towering hills, meaning the subjects of the Experiment had just enough room outside to go out into the valley. "Don't forget that the Institute is coming tomorrow for their monthly checkup."

"Got it."

Katherine smirked to herself, tossing her cards down and throwing her hands up in victory, "Four aces! I win!"

"What? How?"

"Guess I'm just that good," Katherine responded, gathering the cards back into a single stack.

"Or maybe you just got lucky, Ace," Jack pronounced, though he couldn't suppress a growing grin.

"Ace?"

"New nickname," Jack said, "I think it sounds better than calling you 'Plumber' all the time."

Katherine smiled, leaning back onto her hands. "I agree."