A/N: Wow, you guys rock. I swear, that's waaaay more reviews than I expected to get. Hope you're all just as much into this chapter as the last one. Each step gets a little more Jate, so bear with me.

A Foreign Morning

Morning

Jack's Cave

Jack's POV

I opened my eyes to the traditional stream of sunlight that filtered in slowly to my cave. I blinked and stretched my arms as I gently raised myself off the ground. The cave looked like it always did. Cave-like. I looked at my little collection of stuff thrown haphazardly into a corner. Nothing seemed to be missing. I stood up and walked over to the entrance, and looked at the scene before me. People were up, moving. The day had begun, just like every day did.

So why did today seem so different?

Because there was something different about today. Something truly and supremely different, and it bothered me I couldn't figure out what it was. I pulled my t-shirt off, and replaced it with a new one. Navy. I smiled as I remembered the look on Kate's face a few days when he was wearing it.

"Looks good on you," she'd said when his eyes inquired why she was looking at him so strangely. Just like that. Looks good on you. Then she'd smiled sweetly, and walked off. Just like that. Walked off after 'looks good on you'. I'd stood there kind of puzzled, watching her walk away. And then she turned her around. Her eyes caught mine, and she smiled again, probably at the look on my face.

She liked that look. I liked her smile.

I heard the shuffling of feet outside. I stretched my arms again, my back still stiff from sleep. I walked over to the entrance of my cave, yawning. And there she was, speaking of the devil. She was pacing, or from this angle anyway, that's what it looked like. She was walking up and down, muttering to herself. I watched, semi-amused. Her eyebrows were creased in frustration. Frustration over something.

I smiled. There was something about the way she looked today. The way her hair was messily tossed into a tight ponytail at the back. The way she looked both worried and confused at the same time. How she frantically paced. There was something about that strange combination that kept me standing there, at the foot of my cave, watching her. And enjoying the fact that she didn't know I was.

She turned around, took a step towards me – staring at the ground or she would have seen me – then shook her head as if deciding against the very action she had just intended to do, and took a step in the other direction. She stopped. I watched her eyebrows crease into a frown. An undecided frown. Whatever it was, I decided to make the decision for her.

I cleared my throat. She stopped walking and looked up at me. Her dark eyes met mine and her expression softened. I smiled. "Hey, Kate."

"Hi … Jack …" She takes a while getting name out. I can see from the look in her eyes that she definitely didn't expect to talk to me so soon. She's nervous. Her right leg kind of twitches. She shoves a rebellious strand of dark hair behind her ear, eyes down at the ground. "Good morning."

"Morning," I said. She doesn't look at me. "Something you wanted?" I asked gently.

Kate opens her mouth, closes it, then opens it again. She closed her eyes. "No," she said. She turns to leave, then stops. "Actually …" she trailed, looking back at me, and then stopped herself. "No, never mind, it's not important …"

"Kate," I said softly.

"Well actually," she turned back to me. Then, "Wait, no, forget it. Forget I said anything." She made to leave again.

"Kate," I repeated, more gently this time. She looked up at me with her big hazel eyes. I loved the color of her eyes. Most times they looked brown but some times, like today for instance, you could really see a shadow of green in them. They were unlike your typical eyes, and they suited her.

"Come on," I said, and I lead a reluctant Kate over to the bench of collected airplane-seats. She hesitated as she neared them, and this caught my attention. I examined her closer. The way she kept fidgeting. The strain in the way she spoke. The bags under her eyes. I neared her. "Are you okay?" I whispered.

Kate exhaled. "Yes," she said firmly and then paused. "No … well yes, I'm not sick. Really."

"Okay," I said nodding, as if this were just another routine check up. Like I was a doctor, and she was my patient. To anyone else, it would have seemed that way looking in. But it wasn't. Because around her, I was always Jack and she was always Kate. It was the way we were.

I looked intently at her. "What's wrong, Kate?"

She breathed. "Nothing …" she trailed.

"Kate," I pressed.

She looked down at her feet, as if suddenly fascinated by the ground. "I've been having … nightmares."

Her words caught me off guard. I blinked. Out of all the things I expected to hear (and believe me, my mind liked to take the most negative spin on things) nightmares was not what I had in mind. I knew Kate. I probably knew Kate better than anyone else on the island did. She was strong, and I would have never expected her to complain of as light a thing as nightmares. Which could really only mean one thing.

There weren't your typical nightmares.

I approached her, and her head rose so our eyes collided. "How many times have you had them?"

Kate bit her lower lip. "Three times, as of last night."

I looked at her. "How come you didn't come to me before?"

"They're just nightmares, Jack."

They're just nightmares, Jack. They're just nightmares, Jack. Her words played over and over in my mind. And I didn't believe them for a second. "Is it the same dream each time, or are they different?"

"They're the same," she said, and then stopped. "Or well, they're different. But the same. Like, it's the same dream, but it just goes a little farther each night."

"What's it about?" I asked.

Kate didn't answer.

I didn't push it.

"Have you been under any stress lately?" I asked. Back to doctor mode.

She rolled her eyes. "Jack."

"Humor me," I said. I took a seat next to her on the bench. "Have you been under any stress?"

Kate shrugged her shoulders. "Not any more than usual."

"What about physical exercise?" I asked.

"What about it?"

"What kind of activities have you been doing?" I elaborated.

Kate shrugged again. "I don't know … walking … swimming … climbing trees. God, we're stranded on an island, Jack. I'm doing all the normal stuff."

I shook my head and smiled at that. "Do you know how strange that sounded?"

Kate smiled back. "I'm replaying it in my mind."

I looked back at her, and my smile faded. "How bad are these dreams, Kate?"

Kate didn't reply.

"Kate," I whispered.

"They're … they're bad," Kate said, and I knew it took a lot for her to admit that. Fear hardly ever got in her way. It would be something if it did now. She shook her head, eyes cast at the ground. "They're pretty bad."

I touched her shoulder lightly. She jumped as though electrocuted. "Calm down, Kate," I whispered. "It's just me."

"I know," she said. She closed her eyes, her words released through clenched teeth. "I know, it's just … I can't sleep. These past few days, I've been trying to each night, but either I wake up just in fear I'll have the dream again, or I do have it and I wake up just to throw up and …"

I can hear the desperation in her voice. The pain. And it gnaws at me.

"And I can't do it anymore," Kate whispered. Her voice was hollow.

I didn't know what to say for a second. I just sat there. We both just sat there. Staring at each other. "Has this happened before?"

When Kate didn't respond right away, I had my answer. "What happened that time?" I asked.

She looked away. "I was eight years old. Recurring nightmares." She shuddered. "I was sent to see a psychologist. It didn't really help."

I watched her. I watched as she fidgeted on the bench. As her eyes kept flickering towards the ground. How nervous she was. How pale she looked. How her exhaustion wore her down. "How did they stop?"

Kate shrugged her shoulders uselessly. "I don't know. I don't remember. One day they just … stopped. Never reappeared."

"Until now," I finished.

"Yeah," she said tonelessly. "Until now. Only it's a different dream now."

"A worse dream."

She looked up at me, and flashed a strained smile. "Stop finishing my sentences."

"Stop starting mine."

She laughed. It was a tired, worn laugh. But it was still a laugh. "You're a nut."

I smiled in response to that. I mean, really, what was there to say? "Look, Kate …" I whispered. Her eyes jumped to mine, and I bit my lower lip.

Should I do it? The question played thoughtfully in my mind. On one hand, I would divulge the secret I'd decidedly chosen to keep from the rest of the island. However, what was the use in advantage that you'd never seize anyway? Besides, this was a just cause. This was more than a just cause. Right?

Right?

I lowered my voice though no one was within earshot anyway. "I'll meet you outside your tent tonight after dark."

"Wait, why?" I could hear the intrigue in her voice. Her eyes sparkled.

I grinned. "Just make sure you don't fall asleep."

"I don't think that'll be a problem."

I looked at her. She was staring at me suspiciously. She was curious. I loved her curiosity. How it ate at her insatiably, and how easy it was for me to taunt it. "Don't tell anyone we're going to meet."

Her eyes followed me. "Okay …" she said slowly. "… Are you going to tell me why …?"

I grinned at her and got up off the bench. "Nope."

And with that, I left, knowing the answer to the question I'd woke up with that morning. What was different about the day. Why this morning felt so foreign to me. I knew the answer now.

I'd woken up to Kate's fragrance.

And I liked it.

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A/N: Hey, so, if you liked this chapter, review. If you didn't, review and tell me why. I'm a good listener. Anyways, next chapter'll be better. Especially the ending. You guys are gonna eat up the ending. Seriously.