He Knows

Disclaimer: I don't own LOST.

A/N: I felt like writing some Jate fluff, so here it is!! Please let me know what you thought!

The wind blew softly around the survivors as they made their way back down towards the beach. Kate pulled her hair back in an attempt to stop it from blocking her vision. Next to her, Jack was squinting against the hot sun bearing down on them, also trying to stop the sun from blocking his vision.

Jack was excited. Nothing could bring him down. He was finally getting off the island, and Locke couldn't do anything about it. Aside from that, he'd gotten back at Ben, and to top it all off, he had told Kate he loved her. Telling Kate he loved her was the best thing he had ever done. He felt so free and careless for once in his life.

Kate was feeling anything but excited. In fact, she felt the exact opposite of Jack. She was dreading their return to the camp. Sawyer would be there, and Kate was angry with him. The last couple of days, he had shut her out and hadn't cared about anything, and then he wouldn't let Kate go with him. Then Juliet would be there, and to top it all off, Jack had told her that he loved her, and she had acted like a complete idiot.

Jack glanced at Kate, and Kate gave him a shy smile. Jack returned it, and then they continued on. They had been doing that all day. They had spent the night up at the radio tower and then had started their trek home early this morning.

"What do you think they're up to, back at camp?" Kate asked Jack, hoping to strike up a conversation.

"Well, they're probably on the lookout for Desmond and Charlie. They're still not back yet." Jack looked behind him at Claire and then back at Kate.

"Do you think something happened?"

"I don't know." Jack said honestly.

Kate nodded.

"So what do we do when we get to camp?"

Jack shrugged. "I guess we'll just wait for further instructions."

"Whatever happens, you'll let me know, right?" Kate asked, biting her lip. She hoped that she was back in his inner circle, but she really had no idea.

Jack nodded. "Yeah, I'll let you know."

Kate smiled. "Thanks Jack."

Jack smiled at her. "You're welcome."

They spent the rest of the trek in silence, just enjoying each other's company. When they got back to camp, Kate tried her best to avoid Sawyer, but he soon found her and tried to talk to her.

Jack was stuck talking to everyone about what to do next. They had decided to stay put on the beach until they heard from Desmond and Charlie, and then they would decide what to do next. Sayid thought that they should take advantage of the Other's houses and move there, but Jack was reluctant to go back to that place.

After Jack had finished talking to everyone, he left them and headed for a secluded place on the beach. He dropped his backpack in the sand and sat down, sighing contentedly. He hadn't felt this relaxed in a long time. He closed his eyes and dropped his head, breathing deeply.

Suddenly he heard yelling, and he turned his head, seeing Sawyer and Kate arguing. Jack watched them, unable to pretend that he wasn't curious. He was definitely interested. It looked like Kate was chewing into Sawyer for not letting her go with him. Jack was pretty sure that he could hear Sawyer telling her that he was trying to protect her, to which Kate answered, "I don't need protecting! I can take care of myself!"

Jack shook his head.

"Hey."

Jack looked up to find Juliet staring at him, a slight smile on her face.

"Hey." Jack grinned at her.

"May I?" Juliet motioned to the spot next to Jack.

Jack nodded. Jack thought he was imagining things, but it seemed like Juliet was acting a little shy.

"Sawyer and Kate are at it huh?" Juliet motioned towards the pair.

"Yeah."

"You know why?"

"I don't need to know." Jack said, and Juliet believed him.

"It all went well?" Juliet asked.

"Yeah, except we don't know what happened to Charlie and Desmond."

Juliet nodded. "They'll show up."

The yelling between Sawyer and Kate grew louder, and Jack couldn't help but smile a little.

Juliet watched Jack. She knew that he loved Kate, and that no matter what Juliet did, his love for Kate would never change.

Juliet looked down. What she was about to do would pretty much destroy what chance she had with Jack, but she figured that they would probably grow apart when they got off the island anyways.

"You know, she does love you." Juliet's throat closed.

"What?" Jack turned towards Juliet, his eyebrows raised, questioning her.

"Kate, she loves you." Juliet stared straight at Jack, saying it quickly.

Jack stared back at her for a long time.

Jack looked back at the ocean and started to smile. "I know." His smile broadened.

"You know?" Juliet asked, surprised.

Jack nodded. He had always known that Kate loved him.

"Did she tell you she did?"

"No." Jack almost laughed. Of course Kate wouldn't tell him that. She could barely tell him what her favorite color was, he hardly expected her to tell him how she felt about him.

"Then how do you know?" Now Juliet was getting irritated.

"I just know."

"And that's enough for you?"

Jack paused before answering. "Yes." And then he stood up and walked away.

Juliet looked back at Kate, who was staring wistfully at Jack while Sawyer was talking to her.

Kate quickly looked back at Sawyer as if Sawyer had just said something offensive to her, and she snapped at him before walking away.

Juliet watched as Kate walked down the beach on the same strip of sand that Jack had walked on. She didn't know if Kate planned it that way or if her feet had just naturally gone there.

Kate stormed over to the food pantry, where she grabbed an apple and bit into it angrily.

"Hey Kate." Jack got her attention. He was standing in the food pantry too, getting some oatmeal.

"What?" Kate answered more harshly than she intended to.

Jack licked the spoon and pointed it at her.. "You want to have some oatmeal with me?"

Kate couldn't help but smile at his attempt. "That was lame, Jack."

"But it got you to smile didn't it?"

Kate smiled wider. "I'd love to have some oatmeal with you." She took the spoon from his hand.

Jack grinned and pulled out another bowl and spoon. "It's a date." He winked at her and Kate's heart soared.