Disclaimer: Don't own anything. Except when I am sleeping. aka dreaming.

Kate was fidgeting around with her belongings outside her tent while sorting them out with Claire, who apparently kept ranting on about Charlie and her baby and a little bit of something about Locke, too; but she was too distracted with her own thoughts. Her mind drifted to last night, before they had stumbled upon Michael.

It started awkwardly at first, and as the tension builds up, she was practically lost in thought; she thought hard for a word to say, and had a little fight with her own conscience before spilling out, "I'm sorry I kissed you." For a moment there, Kate thought he was not going to respond. Her exterior showed calmness and she fought hard not to let the panic show. Why the hell did she say that? Sorry that she had kissed him? No, she had lied once again. She was not sorry. Every lingering moment of the kiss was what she had hoped for since day one; when they first met, when he gave her trust, courage.

The kiss was what she had craved for, and it was enough to make her breathless for words. A soft smile finally crept on to Kate's lips. If only she hadn't thought she'd gone crazy that day, she wouldn't have run once again. Jack looked at her, his actions flawed because he was nervous as well – like a teenage boy falling in love once again. He then licked his lips and looked at her; He began recalling the event as well. "I'm not." Kate's heart melted at the softness of his voice; so tender, so romantic. And never had she felt so warm and fuzzy inside before. She wanted to move forward, to hug him, to have him, to be his everything. They began moving closer to each other, closing the gap in between them, and Kate knew he had wanted the same. It was until Michael abruptly rolled down the steep hill that had brought the night's event to a halt.

"Hey, hey are you still there, Kate?" Claire's words jolt her back to reality.

"Yeah, I'm still here." She scanned her surroundings nervously, looking at nothing in particular. Her face was evident, showing both sadness and a hint of nostalgia. With that, she zipped the suitcase, pulled herself up and said goodbye to Claire.

"Hey, have you seen Claire?" Charlie asked. "Turnip head needs his mommy. He can't stop crying."

"Yeah. She was with me a couple of minutes ago."

"Thank goodness. The baby might actually go into dehydration any moment now."

"Have you seen Jack?"

"Yeah, he was in the hatch with Michael. If you go now, maybe you'll still able to catch him."

"Okay." And with that, she walked towards the hatch.

Reluctantly, she entered from the hatch's back door. She had no idea what to expect. Both Locke and Jack are still there but apparently Michael, who was no where in sight, had left. Jack looked at her, the series of events that happened last night flash before him. And he went soft again.

"Hi, Jack."

Locke, who understood their body language, tried his best to keep aloof. No doubt that anyone on the island, who knew them understood their chemistry. Even Locke who could care less about anyone's relationship right now, understood in an instance. "Alright then, I'll leave you two alone." And he smiled awkwardly and exits from the hatch.

"Hey, Kate." Jack said, never for a second had he left his glace after setting it on Kate.

"I, um…" Kate looked down, blushing while clasping her fingers together. "How's Michael?" That feeling, it came back again. And she wished that she could escape from everything despite how she had always wanted this – this 'thing' with Jack. If it ever exists, that is. Now, the devil of her own thought is filling her with doubt.

"He's great."

And then there was silence. Jack rubbed the back of his head – a gesture he did whenever he gets nervous. He approached her, slowly, and he extended his arms slowly to reach out, wanting to just hold her into his arms, to embrace her but retracted quickly before he had a chance. Maybe he shouldn't.

"Good. I'm just here to make sure that everything is okay." She nodded several times. God, stupid, why does she always have lie? "I'll.. Just leave now." She pointed in the direction of the hatch door nervously with her thumb.

Just when she was about to walk away, Jack regained his courage. He knew just what he had to do. He did not want to let this chance slip away again. He wanted to take his chance. Despite everything… despite the possible feeling she had for Sawyer.

"Kate. Wait."

The surface of his palm rubbed against her bare shoulder. God, it felt so good, so warm. If only she could have him right now. She turned around, "I like you. I really do." And just then, Kate wanted to run. She had no intentions of hurting anyone, not especially Jack. Albeit the words were exactly what she had been waiting for since the day they met but she can't. She loved him way too much to hurt him.

Jack once again, warped his arms around her before she had any time to react. She had her arms on his chest, surprised by the sudden gesture. "I…like you too." Both of them looked into each other's eyes during the long embrace. Even Kate herself was surprised with the defeat, with the sudden outburst of emotions but her confession was what that scared her most. But for most part, she was relieved to let it out, to have admit it and she is not running away from her past for once in a her life. A tear started sliding down her cheeks. Jack gently wiped it away, "It's going to okay."

And before she knew it, his lips were pressed against hers once again. And that had comfort her. All her life problems were seemingly danced away as she melts into his arms.

First fic ever. Constructive cristism are welcome. And I apologise humbly for any gramatic errors. Please review!