The Dare

Disclaimer: I don't own LOST.

A/N: This takes place as if Jack, Kate, and Sawyer are all back and okay, and Jack and Kate are together. So it's been a couple of months since they were captured.

The group sat in a circle around the campfire, everyone enjoying each other's company.

Claire and Charlie sitting comfortably side by side, Nikki and Paulo relaxing on a log, Sun and Jin sitting close together while Sawyer laid down on the sand with his head propped up with his arm. Next to him were Hurley and Sayid. But everyone had their eyes on one couple.

Jack and Kate were sitting in the sand together holding hands as they gave each other affectionate gazes that were accompanied by tiny kisses every now and then.

Charlie cleared his throat. "So let's play a game."

Everyone looked at him like he was crazy.

"Oh come on you guys. Let's have some fun."

"And what do you suppose we do Chuckie?" Sawyer drawled.

"Truth or Dare." Hurley suggested.

"What?" Sun asked.

"You're telling me you didn't play Truth or Dare in Korea?" Charlie asked in disbelief.

"No."

Charlie and Hurley looked at each other with their mouths open until someone else interrupted them.

"I am not familiar with this game either." Sayid said.

Sawyer grinned as he stole a glance at Jack and Kate. This could be a lot of fun. "Well why don't they teach you two, and then let's play."

"Uh, I'm not sure how to teach it dude." Hurley said.

"Okay fine. I'll teach you." Sawyer spent the next ten minutes explaining the game to the others. At the end, Sun and Sayid looked at Sawyer with blank expressions on their faces.

"That's it?" Sun asked.

"This is supposed to be a fun game?" Sayid asked.

"Uh, yeah." Sawyer said. "All right Doc, you go first. Choose who you want."

"Why me?" Jack complained.

"Oh come on Jack." Kate grinned.

Jack stared at Kate before deciding. "I choose Kate."

Everyone groaned. "Shoulda seen that one coming." Sawyer muttered.

Kate grinned. "What will it be?"

"Truth."

The grin quickly disappeared off Kate's face. She was afraid of what he was going to ask.

Jack saw this and quickly thought of a harmless question. "What's your middle name?"

Everyone rolled their eyes. "Come on Doc! Get something juicy outta her!"

"Ann."

"Ann?" Jack asked.

"Yep. My turn." Kate said. "And I get to pick on you now Jack. Dare."

"Wait." Charlie protested. "I thought that Jack would get to pick truth or dare, not the other way around."

Sawyer shrugged. "I like it this way better."

Kate looked at Sawyer and back at Jack. "Hug Sawyer."

"What?!" the two men protested.

"Yeah you heard me right." Kate said with a smile. "Come on Jack. Get up."

Jack looked at her pleadingly and she just nodded her head towards Sawyer.
"It's not that bad Jack. He doesn't bite."

Jack reluctantly stood up and walked towards Sawyer. "Are you going to get up so we can get this over with?"

Sawyer grinned from his spot on the ground. "Sorry, I'm enjoying the view."

Charlie and Hurley began making catcalls.

"Come on man." Jack said.

"All right already." Sawyer stood up and the two awkwardly hugged while the other people cheered. Sawyer gave Kate a nasty glare and she just continued to smile.

Sawyer began to pull away but Jack just hugged him tighter. "Doc! Come on!"

He pushed him away and Jack started laughing.

Sawyer plopped back on the ground as Jack walked back over to Kate and sat down beside her. Kate put her arm around him as she kissed his cheek. "See? It isn't that bad."

Jack looked at her. "You're going to get it later."

"Okay my turn." Sawyer said. "If we let them two keep at it this game will never end."

Sawyer suddenly grinned as he thought of something. "Okay. I dare Jack and Kate."

Jack and Kate looked at Sawyer, mortified at what he might have them do.

"I dare you to keep your hands, and everything else, off each other for a week."

"A week?!" The two exclaimed.

Everyone grinned. This was going to be good.

"Yeah."

"That's not fair." Kate said.

"Too bad sweetheart. Life isn't fair." Sawyer said.

Kate glared at him.

"Okay it starts now so get your hands off him Kate."

Kate reluctantly pulled herself away from Jack, giving him a long look.

Jack looked down, suddenly feeling cold without Kate beside him. He looked up at Sawyer. "What about at night?"

"Nope,"

"What if Kate gets hurt?"

"Nope."

"What if-"

"No. Sorry Jack, you'll have to wait."

Kate and Jack sighed at the same time, and everyone else laughed.

"This is going to be so much fun." Charlie said with a grin.

"This is going to be a long week." Jack muttered to himself.

That night they kept distance as they said goodnight, and both of them found it hard to sleep without each other. They had decided to sleep in their own tents for the night because they knew it would have been too hard otherwise.

Four days later, they were going insane.

Kate sat by herself on the beach as Jack busied himself with checking out the other survivors, for the fifth time that day.

"Hey Freckles." Sawyer grinned as he stood in front of her.

"James." Kate shielded her eyes as she looked up at him.

"So how are ya?"

"Horrible."

"Oh relax. You spent two weeks without looking at the guy, I would think that you could handle this."

"Yeah well.." Kate trailed off, not wanting to think about the time they had spent apart when they had been captured.

"How's he doing?" Sawyer asked her.

"You'll have to ask him. I haven't talked to him in the last two days. We don't trust ourselves."

"Well I'll have to do something about that."

The next day Sawyer told Jack that Kate wanted to see him at the place where they kept the water.

Jack walked to the place where they kept the water with great anticipation. He missed Kate an awful lot, and they had been avoiding each other so that they wouldn't be tempted. But he couldn't handle it, and he was glad that Kate seemed to feel the same.

Kate met him there and smiled at him. "Hey."

"Hey."

"So what did you want?"

"Me? I thought you wanted something."

"No." She stared at Jack and licked her lips, trying not to stare at Jack's.

"Sawyer did this."

Kate narrowed her eyes. "He's trying to get us to lose."

"Okay turn around and I'll go this way while you go that way."

"Okay. Bye Jack."

"Love you."

"Love you too."

Finally it was the last day of their bet, and Jack stood at the water's edge as he watched the sunset, his heart beating. When the sun disappeared, he and Kate could kiss again.

After what seemed like a lifetime, the sun finally disappeared and Jack turned around, desperately searching for Kate.

He jogged up the beach where Claire was holding Aaron. "Hey Claire, have you seen Kate?"

"No Jack I'm sorry."

Jack sighed and went on as Claire grinned behind his back. Boy was he in for a surprise.

He walked over to the water where Sayid was, and asked him.

"Sorry Jack, I have not seen her."

As Jack walked away, Sayid couldn't help but smile.

The more people Jack asked, the more crazy he got.

Jack went into the jungle to find Sawyer who was chopping wood.

"Sawyer." Jack called out to him.

"What?" Sawyer turned and dropped the axe he was holding.

"Have you seen Kate?"

"Nope sorry Doc. I'm guessing the bet is over?"

"Yeah and we won." Jack sighed as he went back to the beach.

Claire looked at her watch and saw that it was time for her to talk to Jack.

"Hey Jack!"

Jack walked over to her.

" Have you checked the place where you first met her?"

"What?"

"The story you told her, when you were stitching her up." Claire said carefully, remembering Kate's exact words.

Jack's face brightened and he smiled at Claire as he ran off to find Kate.

Jack slowed his pace as he reached the beach where he had first met Kate. His heart began beating faster as he spotted Kate sitting in the sand. He tried to sneak upon her but he stepped on a twig.

Kate jumped and turned. When she saw Jack she smiled and stood up.

Jack ran to her to close the space between them.

"Hey." Kate said.

Jack grabbed her and kissed her.

Kate pulled away. "I missed-"

"Shut up." Jack pulled her back to him and deepened the kiss.

Finally they were forced to break apart and they gasped for air as they stayed in each other's embrace. Kate lifted her head and gave Jack a series of small kisses. "You have no idea. Kate said, breathlessly, pausing to kiss him. "How much." She kissed him again,. "I missed you."

"I think I do." Jack murmured. "That was evil of them."

"But we made it." Kate said with a grin.

"Barely." Jack pulled her even closer to him as he kissed the top of her head.

Kate sighed as she closed her eyes. " I made us a picnic."

"Oh really?" jack looked over her head and smiled. "A blanket and a basket? Where'd you get that?"

"The blanket was from my tent, and Rose had the basket in her tent." Kate and Jack broke apart and she took his hand, leading him to the blanket.

They sat down and Kate opened up the basket.

"We've got Dharma chips, Dharma bread, and Dharma mayonnaise."

Jack laughed. "No meat?"

"No. Unless you want me to get a fish from Jin so we can have fish sandwiches.

"No thank you."

"Oh, and I have dharma wine." Kate winked as she brought it out.

"What?" Jack grinned.

"Yeah I know."

"Why would they have wine?"

Kate shrugged. "Let's just enjoy this okay?"

Jack nodded.

Kate and Jack made the sandwiches together, and ate while they played their own little game of truth or dare.

"Okay dare." Jack said reluctantly.

"I thought I was supposed to pick for you?'

"That's Sawyer's rule remember?'

"Oh right. Okay fine." Kate sat deep in thought for two minutes while Jack went through different scenarios in his head. By the time Kate was ready, Jack was worried sick.

Kate grinned. "Sing me a song."

"What?"

"You heard me."

Jack figured it wasn't as bad as some of the other things he was thinking, and he started to sing to her.

By the end of it Kate was crying as she sat in Jack's lap. She had moved over to him during the song.

"Where did you hear that song from?"

Jack shrugged. "I used to play it when I played piano. I actually made up the lyrics."

"When did you do that?"

"Just now." He softly stroked Kate's hair.

Kate's eyes widened. "Jack Shephard you are full of surprises. You never told me you played piano."

"Surprise!" Jack grinned.

Kate reached up to kiss Jack. He was everything she could ever want and more.

A/N: Let me know what you thought:)