Nightime had fallen over the island, and now that dinner was over, the survivors were scattered around the beach in their little groups, talking around the campfires that served no purpose of heat, just so that they could see each other. Jack and Kate had seperated themselves from the rest of them, about twenty metres away from the nearest group. They had their own campfire going, and it cast an orange glow against them so that they could easily been seen by anyone watching them.

"It's so good to see them laughing together again." Claire commented with a smile as she glanced over at them. Truth be told, laughing was all that they could hear from the pair.

Charlie ndoded, agreeing. "They were both so depressed when they were mad at each."

Claire sighed. "Look at them, they're so sweet!"

She didn't need to tell them, because everyone was already focused intently on the pair. Shannon sighed as well. "I wonder what they're talking about."

"It's so secretive with those two." Claire said.

"Like Romeo and Juliet."

"Tristian and Isolde."

"Adam and Eve."

"Prince Charming and Cinderella."

"Will you two quit it already!" Sawyer complained. He wondered why he had chosen to sit near them when he could easily have gone and sat with someone who wouldn't spent the whole night swooning over Jack and Kate. "I had to spend three weeks locked in a cell with them watching and hugging and stuff."

Charlie frowned. "But you were gone for six weeks. Where were you the other three?"

Sawyer jabbed his thumb at Jack and Kate. "They gave the newlyweds over there their own room, left my by my lonesome."

"Oh, right."

"Did they ever kiss?" Claire asked him.

Sawyer shook his head. "Not once."

"What about when they were alone?"

"Nothing's happened between them, so they say." He told them. "But from what I picked up when we were together, they kissed in the jungle, but Freckes ran off afterwards. Thats why they were mad at each other."

"Oh, wow." Claire smiled, ignoring the rest of the sentence other than that they had kissed.

"Why did she run?" Shannon asked.

Sawyer gave her a sad look before looking over at Jack and Kate. "Its in her programming. It's what she does."

Claire shook her head, following his gaze to where Jack and Kate were smiling at each other. "She shouldn't run from Jack." She said softly.

"I don't think she will do for much longer." Sawyer told them.

-----------------

"You're cute when you laugh." Jack told her, watching her nose screw up a little.

"Only when I laugh?" She tested him.

He nodded, trying his best to be serious. "Yeah, only when you laugh."

She laughed, hitting him lightly on the arm. "Well, you're only cute when you laugh..." She fired back at him. "Which isn't very often."

He gave her a smile. "You'd be surprised how much I laugh when I'm not with you." He told her.

"Oh, forming the island stand-up club are we?" She teased him.

He blushed a little. "I meant, that I don't really laugh when I'm not with you." He told her honestly. "Well, not like this anyway." He added, considering they had been laughing for almost half an hour non-stop.

She smiled at hearing this, and leaned back on her arms. She was almost lying down in the sand behind her had it not been for her elbows propping her up. Now that she had reclined, Jack caught sight of Sawyer, Claire, Charlie and Shannon watching them intently, but he ignored them, not even letting Kate know that they were watching.

"I've got to admit," Kate started, "Since we got back, everything just feels...better."

Jack followed her example, and leant on his side, propping himself up with an elbow just as she had. The elevation from the one arm caused him to lean over her just slightly. "Everything, huh?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "I guess I just appreciate being lost now." She admitted. "For the first time in my life, I had nothing to run from."

Jack looked at her, a sad expression crossing his face. "You ran from me." He pointed out.

Kate looked away, her gaze falling to the shifting sands. The moment they had been sharing was long gone now. "I'm sorry." She murmered awkwardly.

"Yeah, you said before." He said, simply nodding.

"No, I mean, I'm sorry I ran."

She saw his confused gaze out of the corner of her eye, and his frown tempted her own eyes to remain on the sands. "So, you're sorry that you kissed me, and then you're sorry that you ran as well?" He asked, not entirely sure what that was supposed to mean.

She shook her head, however. "No, I'm not sorry for both of them." She looked up, meeting his eyes. "I'm not sorry that I kissed you, Jack. I was upset, I was going mad, and you were there, and when you were, I didn't feel crazy anymore. You made everything better just by holding me, and I just had to know how much better things would feel if I kissed you."

He nodded. "So, you did it out of curiosity?"

She bit her lip surpressing a guilty smile. "You're lucky I had a control over my curiosity, otherwise it probably would have happened sooner."

He let out a laugh that escaped him. "Define sooner?" He questioned.

"Like...when you were buried in that cave in...or when you gave me the guava seeds...or that time we were playing golf..." She listed, not going on to prove that she was absolutely desperate for him.

"I have to admit," He agreed, "There were a few times that I had thoughts about kissing you."

Her eyebrows shot skywards, and her heart started thumping in her chest. "When?"

"Well, that day in the shower for definately..." Neither of them could supress the smirk that came with that memory. "...then later on that night, when we were eating together. It felt, well, kinda like a date really. You know, meeting up, going somewhere for a nice meal."

She nodded. "I guess so."

"Then there was the time that the Others had you, I really wanted to kiss you then and tell you that everything was going to be okay...and then when we were in the net...and when you told me that night that you were sorry..."

"Wait a minute." She interrupted him. "All of that happened after the kiss."

"Exactly."

"I don't understand." She frowned.

He sighed. "After that kiss, I just couldn't get you out of my head, and after a while, I realised that I didn't want to." He admitted, sending shivers up her spine. "I wanted to hold you again, to kiss you again. I wanted to feel that amazing again and again until I couldn't feel anything else."

Kate let out a shaky breath that she didn't know she had been holding. "Then, why don't you do it now?" She asked him, her voice sounding huskier than she meant it to.

"Because you were sorry that it happened."

She shook her head. "I'm not sorry. I never was."

"Then why say it?" He asked her. Why had she lied?

"Because I knew you wouldn't want to hear the truth." She told him.

"I always want to hear the truth, Kate." He said. "I'd rather you hurt me wth the truth than make me feel better with lies."

She shook her head. "You'll only hate me for it."

"Please, just tell me." He begged her.

"I love you."

It was so quick, that he didn't even see it coming. He half expected her to say the she loved Sawyer, but him? Now that was a shock.

"What?" He checked.

"I love you." She repeated, clear as day, honesty screaming from her eyes. "That's why I had to tell you that I was sorry, because you didn't love me."

She looked away from him, tears forming in her eyes. After a moment, she felt Jack's hand touch her cheek, and he gently manouvered her face towards his again, returning their gaze to each others.

"Who told you that I didn't love you?" He asked her, a gentle frown on his forehead.

"No one."

"Then how do you know it isn't true?" He questioned.

She simply shrugged. "It is, though."

He shook his head. "No, it's not."

She laughed slightly, and shook her head. "You don't love me Jack." She decided for him.

"I do love you, Kate." She looked up at him, her eyes questioning him. "More than anything else that I would want to think of."

He leant down, closing the gap between their lips as they connected. Every part of their bodies tingled with the sensation, but after a mere few seconds kissing, they were forced to part on account of the wolf-whistles and catcalls. They looked up to their cheering audience.

Kate hid her face in Jack's neck from the embarassment. "Oh god." She murmerred.

"We have an audience." Jack said simply.

"They're never going to let us forget this." Kate groaned.

"They're probably arranging our wedding."

Horrified, Kate pressed her fingers over Jack's lips. "Jack! Sh! They might hear you!" She hissed, and silenced him by kissing him again.

--------

"And Eko can be the prist so it will all be legal." Shannon suggested.

"I think we have some wedding rings that we saved from when we burnt the fuselage." Claire remembered.

Shannon almost exploded with a thought. "I have a white dress in my luggage. It will definately fit, Kate."

"Sun can grow some lovely flowers for the bouquet."

"I get to be best man." Sawyer jumped in.

"What?"

"Says who?" Claire demanded.

"Says me! I've been forcing them together for the past months, I think I deserve some repayment!" He demanded back.

"No way!" Claire told him. "You haven't been doing anything."

"I recall shouting at them in that damn cell." He recalled. "I think my exact words were JUST SLEEP WITH EACH OTHER ALREADY."

Shannon shook her head, shooting him evil looks. "You weren't there for all the talks we've had with Kate."

"It doesn't matter. I'm being best man." Sawyer decided.

"No you're not-"

"Okay! Okay!" Charlie interrupted. "Easy way to solve this. I got him out of a cave in. If he hadn't survived that, there would be no wedding to have. I'll be the best man."

--------

Still locked in a loving embrace along the beach, Jack and Kate were oblivious to the planning happening among the other group. Jack pulled away for a moment, to let her know one very important thing.

"You're right."

"About what?"

"Things do feel better now."