It had been 3 days since Jack's emergency appendectomy, and Juliet had surprisingly been able to convince him to rest. Well, not convince him, really, since every time she went in to check on him he was asleep. Whether or not he was faking it, she could only wonder, but at least he was getting the rest he needed. She figured he probably didn't want to address the discussion she had had with Kate while sewing him up. After she had called his unconscious bluff, he had remained silent and, apparently shocked, until she had left the tent.

Juliet was in the middle of the kitchen area with Sawyer (who had returned to the beach with Claire, Miles and Aaron), Sun, Jin and Kate, eating some lunch when all of a sudden she heard her name.

"Juliet!"

She turned around to find Jack sloppily attempting to run over to the kitchen area. She began to run towards him herself, scared that something might have happened.

"Jack! Why aren't you resting, is everything—"

But before she could finish asking what had happened, they had reached each other. Jack stopped when he reached Juliet, and took her chin in his right hand, his left hand resting on her waist. He softly, but confidently pressed his lips to hers, they shared a kiss that mirrored their first two: simple, but passionate none-the-less. Juliet felt paralyzed in shock. Was he really doing this, in front of everybody, in front of Kate? Was he choosing her?

Jack pulled back, looking for the reaction in Juliet's eyes. As always, they were impossible to read. Deciding to finally conquer his shyness, he knew what he had to say. "Juliet, what you said in the tent the other day, you were wrong. And I don't know why you would ever think things like you said to Kate, but that's behind us now. All that I was trying to prove to you when I kissed you is that I'm all yours, and I'll be right here, with you, no matter what. Thank you, for saving my life. Not just in the surgery, but from the moment you first told me to get off that damn table," Juliet chuckled. "I love you Juliet. I love you so much," Jack finished, and this time, he did see a reaction from her. And it was exactly the one he wanted.

Juliet knew it was her turn now, and she wanted nothing more than to return his favour, but she wanted this moment to last. She grabbed his right hand with her left, and used her other hand to trace over his features, their eyes never breaking contact. His stubble, hair, ears, his dark eyes, his lips. Lips. And once she got there, she knew she had waited long enough. She stepped in closer to him and brought her lips to his slowly, tenderly. And this time, their kiss was much more passionate than any that either of them had shared with anyone. Their mouths opened. Their hands let go of each other, and Jack's left arm went around Juliet's waist, his right going around her upper back underneath her arms, now around his neck, to grasp her right shoulder. After what was one of the best moments in both of their lives, their lips broke apart, leaving their arms where they were, and their foreheads pressed together.

"I love you too Jack," Juliet said, both of them beginning to tear up. "I love you so much."

Just as she was about to kiss him again, they were interrupted by screams and applauding. They both turned to find every inhabitant of the beach standing in the kitchen area, looking onto their moment, clapping and cheering. Obviously this had been well-anticipated, and not just by the two lovers.



"Look's like Romeo finally read his play!" Sawyer yelled to Jack.

Jack and Juliet turned to face the others, their hands going like magnets into each other's. Juliet smiled sheepishly, and saw that the only one not clapping was Kate. Her expression was unreadable, even for Juliet, but she didn't care what Kate was thinking. Jack had chosen her.