This fic is dedicated to all my fellow jate shippers at fanforum, for giving me the inspiration for this story! Chapter 1 takes place directly after What Kate Did. Enjoy!

Disclaimer- Not mine. I just borrow the characters to play with, I'll put them back when I'm done, so please don't sue me.

Charlie and Hurley slowly turned to each other, matching expressions of confusion on their faces.

"Am I the next in the line of crazy people seeing things that aren't actually there," Charlie began slowly, in his usual tactless way, "Or is Jack talking and drinking with the girl who just killed Shannon?" Hurley ignored his question, still distracted by the sight in front of him.

"Didn't you say he was just looking for Kate?" Hurley questioned, frowning.

"I think he found her. Don't think things went the way he intended."

"Why?"

"Because I just saw her with Sawyer."

"So?"

"And he was kissing her."

"Dude, you couldn't have told me that part first?"

"I'm trying to get the image out of my brain, Hurls, the last thing I want is to talk about it!"

"Point taken. Can we just go now? This is just too weird to watch."

"Sure. Wanna go try golfing again? I think we're getting better."

The two were nearing the golf course, chattering with one another, when they heard somebody run into the jungle after them.

"Charlie!"

They turned around, and saw Kate finish jogging over to them, an anxious expression on her face.

"Oh, hello, Kate. How's Sawyer?" He asked cheekily.

"What? Why do you-nevermind, he's fine. Listen, have you-"

"Just fine?"

"…Yeah."

"Because he seemed better than fine when I saw them."

"When did you see him?" She frowned, not remembering Charlie coming by the hatch since Sawyer woke up.

"Oh, around the time he was attempting to swallow your face."

"What!" Kate shrieked, ignoring Hurley, who had started snickering.

"Kate, if you want privacy with him, you should really just go in the hatch, because you can't expect to shove your tongue down his throat in the middle of the jungle and not have anybody see."

"I did not shove my tongue down his throat!"

"No need to embarrassed, Kate, I completely understand. Oh, hey, did Jack catch up with you, because he seemed pretty eager to find you earlier!" Charlie snapped, angry for Jack.

"Yes, he found me, that's why I'm here!"

"Wait, why are you here?"

"Something happened, and I really need to talk to him." She told them desperately.

"Oh…well, what happened?" Charlie asked gently, beginning to feel bad.

"It's kind of private."

"Well then, so are Jack's whereabouts," Hurley shrugged, pulling Charlie with him as he began to walk away.

"Fine!" She spat, through clenched teeth. "You two are really obnoxious when you want to be."

"We know," They said in unison, smiling.

"Now, tell Charlie and Hurley what's wrong," Charlie said, attempting to sound soothing.

"Well, Jack found me, and I got really upset about something. He was being really sweet to me, and…I kissed him," She finished quietly, averting her eyes, feeling uncomfortable sharing so much with Hurley and Charlie.

The boys, however, didn't seem to notice her discomfort, and they both gasped, leaning forward, their eyes widening eagerly.

"Go on!" Hurley pressed, as Charlie began to bounce up and done on the balls of his feet.

"Well, after we kissed, I just started thinking about everything too much, and I got kind of freaked out, and I ran away, and just left him standing there," She trailed off, still feeling bad about that.

"You ran away! Because you started thinking! That doesn't even make sense-"

"Dude, let her finish," Hurley interrupted.

"So, I went to the hatch, and Sawyer woke up."

Charlie and Hurley both groaned, and Kate gave them a surprised, somewhat amused look.

"No, no, not that he's awake!" Charlie told her quickly. "Just that it leads to that horrifying sight I stumbled upon in the jungle."

"Well, I showed him around the hatch, and took him outside. We talked for a while and then he kissed me." Seeing Charlie starting to glare at her again, Kate rushed to finish what she had been saying. "And you know what I felt?"

"Kate, if you give us details, my ears might start bleeding," Hurley informed her, trying to stop her from saying what he didn't really want to hear.

"I felt nothing."

"Nevermind."

"Well, not nothing, but it was just a nice kiss. That's all. I liked it, but that's all."

"And how did you feel when Jack kissed you?" Charlie prompted.

"I felt amazed," She told them quietly, after a moment of hesitation. "Confused. I felt happy, and a little mixed up. But you know what I felt more than anything?"

"What?" They asked at the same time.

"Loved," She answered, unable to control the smile spreading across her face. "I told Sawyer all of that and left to go try and find him, because I need to talk to him now. I need to make him understand, and I need to know if that kiss meant anything to him too, or if it was just me," She sighed. "Now will you tell me where he is?"

"Um…well, last we saw him…you know what, I forgot!" Hurley told her in a rush.

"Guys, you told me that if I let you know about something that's private, you'd tell me!"

"It's just…he's with Ana Lucia," Hurley muttered.

"What?" Kate whispered in shock, feeling like she'd just been punched.

"They were just talking!" Charlie said quickly, trying to make her feel better. "Well, and having a drink together, but that's only because apparently he promised her that he'd have one with her before we all got on the plane-" Hurley leaned over and punched Charlie in the shoulder, promptly shutting him up.

"I guess it really was just me," She mumbled.

"Kate, no, it wasn't!" Charlie said firmly, rubbing his arm. "We all see the way Jack looks at you, and he talks about you more than you can imagine. That other girl is just his friend. You are one of the only things here that makes him happy, he loves you."

"Really?" She asked softly, beginning to look hopeful.

"Absolutely," Hurley jumped in, nodding. "You probably hurt him when you ran off, but he'll forgive you. Just go get him!"

"Thanks guys," Kate told them, a wide grin spread across her face as she turned to walk back to the beach.

Hurley and Charlie watched her go, smiling at each other, until Hurley remembered something he wanted to ask.

"Kate!"

"Yeah?" She asked, turning around to face him.

"What did Sawyer say after you told him all of that?"

She grinned and laughed for a moment at the memory.

"He said if I was able to resist his kiss, I was clearly a lost cause, so I should just go tell the doctor I need a physical."

"Hey, try that, it could work!" Charlie shouted, giving her a thumbs up.

Laughing once again, Kate turned and headed for the beach.

"Well, Hurls, I'd say that went well."

"Totally. We're good matchmakers, don't you think?"

"Oh, definitely."

Kate walked down the path to the beach, and took a quick scan of the area. She found Jack just as he stood up and began to walk away from Ana Lucia. She took a deep breath, and began to walk over.

"Jack!"

He turned around, and saw her coming towards him. Frowning, he turned and stalked off into the jungle. Kate sighed, but sped up to chase after him.

"Jack, will you just listen to me?" She begged, following him on the path back to the caves. He ignored her. "Jack, please stop!"

"No, Kate!" He snapped, whirling around to face her, a pained, angry expression on his face. "I think that it's my turn to walk away from you," He said, turning back around and beginning to walk away from her again.

"Then it's my turn not to let you," She said quietly, but fixedly, grabbing his arm tightly, forcing him to turn around and face her again.

"What do you want from me, Kate? You made your choice, I get that. There's no need to explain it to me."

"No, Jack, it's not what you think, and I do have a lot to explain to you."

"Like what, Kate? Sawyer pretty much spelled out what's going on between you two when he said he loves you, and you couldn't have made it any clearer when you ran away from me, straight to him," He said, no longer sounding angry, but hurt.

"You just assumed that because he says something while suffering from a fever of epic proportions it means I'm in love with him? Sorry to have to tell you this, but you're wrong. Sawyer's my friend, Jack. I don't want anything more than that from him. And I didn't run away from you to be with him."

"Then why?" He asked, already beginning to soften.

Kate let go of his arm, beginning to feel a little afraid of telling him all of this.

"I've been on my own for so long, Jack. I've gotten used to it, it's what I know. But…" Kate now looked down at her shoes, feeling his eyes resting on her. "When we kissed, it made me realize that I need you, like I have never needed anyone before. And that scares me. I want to be able to get past that, but then I think about if something horrible happened to you. I already can't even imagine it. If I let you in even closer, and then I lost you, I think I'd lose me too. That's why I felt like it was easier for me to run. Nut right now, I really want to stop running, for once in my life."

"Kate," He began, taking a step closer.

"Jack, you deserve so much better than me!" She exclaimed, finally looking up into his eyes. "I'm a mess, in every aspect. You're such an amazing person, and I feel like I would just drag you down-"

Jack never gave Kate the chance to finish, as he closed the distance between them, and brought his lips down to hers. Kate froze in shock for a moment, and then regained her senses, slowly running her hands up his chest, winding them around his neck. Jack wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her body in closer to his, before slipping his hand under her shirt, his fingers gliding across her burning skin. When they finally pulled away, Kate was breathless, looking up at Jack with a bright smile.

"Kate…there is no one better than you," He said simply, honestly.

Kate just gently cupped his face and kissed him again. Both of them were too wrapped up in each other to notice their audience. Charlie and Hurley had quickly decided that making sure their matchmaking skills were as good as they thought was more important than golf, and had followed Kate. Seeing her and Jack passionately making out in the middle of the jungle made them both grin, as they turned and high fived each other. Everything was right again on the island.