A/N: This is officially the longest chapter I have ever written. It was 12 pages on Word! I didn't realize there was so much in the episode. In the future, I may break up longer episodes in to two parts, just because it gets overwhelming to write/read. This one I kept together though so everyone could have lots of Jatey gooey goodness.
g3i0a4- Aww, thanks for being my first reviewer on this story. Jealous Jack is the best Jack, I agree.
Guppy3- Thanks for your sweet comments. I love AU stories too. The episodes will pretty much be the same, with a few changes, and I hope I can keep your attention.
rlmont91- Thanks for the review!
Ella Jullian- I love the Moth too, and it gets looked over so much. When Kate ran into Jack's arms after he gets out of the caves, I really started to think of them as a cute couple.
Strizzy- Thanks for reviewing!
babes- Thanks so much. I wanted to find an original idea and really start a brand new story.
AnnPatrick- This chapter is chock full of Jate. They will get slightly mushier as their relationship progresses, but they'll still be themselves, filled with doubt and insecurities. But it's why we love them so very much!
irenaki88- Thanks for the review!
yellosh- Aww, thank you. That's the thing that annoys me the most about Lost- they start all these great scenes and never finish them (such as the fire scene). It's part of what inspired me to write this story.
Chapter Two: Confidence Man
He didn't know how he did it, but Jack managed to convince Kate to spend the night with him at the caves.
"Just tonight Jack" she had warned, but Jack wasn't sure how seriously to take what she was saying.
They spent the night lying in each others arms, simply talking. Although it was tempting to go farther, the two didn't want to rush their relationship. Kate finally got to open up to Jack, yet she still refused to tell him what she did that was so terrible and he felt no need to push her. He was desperate for his relationship with Kate to work out and he didn't want to pressure her at all. He knew that he had the tendency to get jealous and somewhat possessive, but he vowed to try to remain calm and collected with Kate. Yet he knew this would be a problem with Sawyer around. Sawyer's attraction to Kate was obvious and Jack knew that his new girlfriend would remain friends with the wanna-be cowboy. Jack understood that he would have to be really, really patient. After all, their relationship was still somewhat of a secret. No one had really seen their kiss at the fireside the night before and although they weren't planning on hiding, they decided to let everything come out in time. They weren't going to put an announcement in the Island Herald.
Kate stirred in Jack's arms and he shifted a little so that he could look her.
"Good morning" he said with a smile as he bent down to kiss her.
"Morning" she said sleepily, a lazy smile gracing her own features.
"Sleep well?" he asked her.
"Definitely" she told him. "It was the best sleep that I've had in a very long time"
"Me too" he said with a chuckle as he kissed her again.
"I really should get up and be productive though" she said, her eyes darting towards the entrance of the caves.
"You think your leaving that easy?" he teased her.
"Hmm? I dunno. What's here to stop me?" she teased back.
Jack leaned down and kissed her passionately, and in less than a second Kate forgot all about being productive.
After a while, the two eventually got up and Jack went to go talk to Michael and try to sort out the cave situation. Kate helped him to put on his new sling, gave him one last kiss goodbye, and headed back to the beach, stopping to pick some bananas on the way to replenish the food supply. As she walked back along the shore, the bananas over her shoulder, she noticed a small rectangular object in the sand. Squinting to get a better look, she headed over to it and saw that it was in fact a book, and it was resting on top of some clothes. She put down the bananas and peered at the clothes, seeing that it was a pair of jeans, a shirt, boots, and some cigarettes. She automatically knew who it belonged to. Still, she picked up the book and stared at the cover of "Watership Down".
"Hell of a book" a voice said with a thick southern drawl and she turned around to look at who was speaking to her.
She saw Sawyer standing in the ocean and grinning at her. He walked back to the shore and Kate averted her eyes from Sawyer's near naked form. After all, she had seen Jack's bare chest the night before as they slept together and that was all she needed from now on. She dropped the book back on to the pile of his things and awkwardly shifted her weight from foot to foot.
"It's about bunnies" he continued, either ignoring her discomfort or simply not noticing it in the first place. "Didn't see you come back to the beach last night" he commented offhandedly.
"It was late and dark; I just stayed at the caves instead of walking through the jungle. Must be cold without your trunks" she said, trying to hint to him that she didn't need to see what she was sure was his naked ass (although she was very careful to actually avoid looking. She wouldn't even visually cheat on Jack).
"You bet. How about you come a little closer and warm me up?" he asked with a sleazy smile.
"You sure know how to make a girl feel special, Sawyer" she said in a disgusted tone with a role of her eyes.
She gathered the bananas back up and slung them over her shoulder once again before walking away, leaving him to his own thoughts of the past.
"This is gonna hurt" Jack told Sayid back at the caves.
His friend had come to him with a head wound and he was trying his hardest to gently tend to it. Sayid groaned but Jack kept dabbing at the wound with the peroxide soaked cloth, knowing how important it was that it didn't get infected.
"Ready to tell me what happened?" he asked, his curiosity and concern melding in to one.
"We were trying to find the source of the distress call. I saw the flare from the beach, and then the flare from Sawyer's position in the jungle. I switched on my antenna, activated the transceiver, and then ... darkness. Whoever hit me came from behind"
"They destroyed the equipment?" he asked, secretly glad that Kate had left the operation to come help dig him out; he didn't even want to think about how he'd feel if she had been the one who was knocked out.
"Yes" Sayid said with a nod and Jack sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face.
"Listen, we're gonna figure this out, but don't do any…"
"I will do what I need to do to find the man responsible" Sayid interrupted, and Jack sighed again with stress.
Suddenly, they heard what sounded like a struggle in the bushes and they heard a girl's voice cry out.
"We need some help over here!" the girl cried as she helped someone else to the caves.
Jack recognized the bloody man to be Boone, the one who had tried to help him perform a tracheotomy their first day on the island. Sayid recognized the girl to be Shannon, the blonde who had been able to translate the French signal. Both men hurried over to take Boone from Shannon and help him to the caves as the man gasped in pain.
"What happened?" Jack asked, slightly exasperated as he wondered how everyone was getting so hurt lately.
"Sawyer" said Boone simply and Jack turned to look at Sayid, sharing a look with him that said 'big surprise there'.
Jack grabbed a clean cloth and dipped it in the bowl of water next to him before grabbing the peroxide again. He started dabbing at the cut on Boone's temple, but he pulled away.
"Ahh, Jack, its fine. It's just a scrape" he cried out, grabbing the doctor's arm and lightly pushing him back.
"Yeah? Lots of scrapes today. I'm running out of peroxide" he grumbled, wishing he could have convinced Kate to have an unproductive day so that he could still be lying there with her in his arms, stress free and completely content.
"He just jumped me, man" Boone explained as Jack grabbed another bottle of peroxide and tended to the other cuts.
"Why?" he asked.
"Shannon has asthma" Boone explained after glancing at his sister.
"Asthma?" Jack asked, wondering if Mad Cow Disease and the Avian Flu were going to be next to strike the island.
How much peroxide would either of those require?
"Never seen her have an attack before" he commented after Boone confirmed Jack's question.
"Because she had an inhaler. She sneaks hits when no one's looking. She's just been embarrassed about it since she was a little kid. I guess breathing's not cool"
"Had an inhaler?" he asked, choosing to ignore the snide remark in there and focus instead on the use of the past tense.
"It ran out a couple days ago. But it had four refills, which should have been enough for a couple months. But she always forgets her medication, so I put it in my suitcase. Today I see that jackass reading Watership Down…" Boone continued
"You're losing me" Jack said, rubbing his temples at the start of an unwanted headache.
"It was in my bags-the stuff that I checked. If he has my book, he has my luggage. If he has the luggage, he has the inhalers. Her breathing got really rough today, man. If she has an attack, it's not gonna be good"
Jack let out a sigh of frustration as Sayid glanced nervously at the girl. She really was beautiful. There was something about the way she was twirling her long blonde hair that made her seem so innocent and vulnerable. He shook his head and willed himself to stop thinking like that. She was going through a health crisis right now- she needed help, not an opportunity to test her flirting skills. Besides, what chance did he stand with her and her long legs? Jack let out a growl before storming off to the beach, his frustrations taking over. He was going to solve this problem, go find Kate, and just let her make his day better like only she could.
Jack stormed into Sawyer's tent, ignoring the man who was sitting in the airplane seat and staring quizzically at him. He pulled the place apart, going through suitcases and throwing things aside.
"Where is it?" he growled, moving on to another suitcase.
"Hey, Doc. Long time, no see" Sawyer snarled.
"Where is it?" Jack demanded once more, getting angrier by the minute.
"Where's what?" Sawyer asked in a bored tone.
"The girl's asthma medicine. Shannon. Her inhalers" he snapped.
"Oh, that" Sawyer said blandly.
"You attacked a kid for trying to help his sick sister" Jack accused, disgusted with the man in front of him.
"No, I whooped a thief 'cause he was going through my stuff" Sawyer maintained, and Jack really lost it.
"Yours?!" he yelled, unable to control his anger any longer. "What makes it yours?!"
"…Which I had to move because everybody wants to help themselves" Sawyer kept saying, ignoring Jack.
"You can just take something out of a suitcase, and that makes it yours?" he demanded.
"Look, I don't know want kind of commie share-fest you're running over in cave town, but down here possession's nine-tenths and a man's got a right to protect his property" snarked Sawyer.
But enough was enough for Jack.
"Get up!" he demanded.
"Why, you wanna see who's taller?" Sawyer sneered.
"Get up!" Jack yelled again.
"Sure you want to make this your problem, Doc?"
"Oh, yeah. I'm sure" Jack said, knowing that he had to protect those who couldn't protect themselves, especially from the guy who lusted after his girl.
Sawyer finally stood up and the two stared off for a second before they were interrupted.
"Hey! What's going on here?" Kate asked as she entered the tent.
She had seen Jack coming down to the beach, but his hard stance and angry strides kept her away from him. She watched him enter the tent and heard everything he yelled at Sawyer, but when he demanded that he get up, Kate knew she had to intervene before a fight broke out. Jack's shoulder was still healing and he didn't need anything to irritate it.
The two men exchanged looks before Jack stormed off without a word. Kate glared at Sawyer before following Jack out of the tent, her heart hurting as she realized how much stress he was under.
Kate followed him to a clearing in the jungle where he finally stopped and let out a frustrated growl.
"That's not gonna help us get the medicine" she said with a soft smile, referring to Jack's flexing fist that seemed to be aching to hit a certain someone.
He turned to face her and said "Maybe not, but it'll feel good"
"So what's stopping you?" she asked
"We're not savages, Kate. Not yet."
Kate took a step closer to him and he opened up his arms. She gracefully fell into him, resting her head on his chest and sighing lightly. Jack instantly felt better with her in his arms and he tightened his grasp on her, burying his head in her hair. Her slender fingers started to massage his back as she remained in his embrace and he let out another sigh, this one filled with much less rage. She always did manage to make him feel better. He kissed her forehead and her bare shoulder, relaxing a little. However, he stiffened again with her next words.
"Let me talk to Sawyer" she whispered.
Jack pulled back from the hug and stared at her. Was she crazy? He didn't want her any where near that man.
"What makes you think he's gonna listen to you?"
"He says we have a connection" she said as she stepped back closer to him and gently caressed his face, soothing her fingers over the tired crinkles around his eyes.
"Do you?" Jack asked as the bottom dropped out of his stomach in preparation for her answer.
"Please" she said with a roll of her eyes. "We get each other, remember? Not me and him" she assured her boyfriend with a smile.
She stepped even closer and wrapped her arms around his neck and gently kissed his lips.
"Hey, come back" he complained as she pulled her lips away from his after only a brief moment.
"Not until you tell me why you're not wearing your sling" she demanded.
Jack blushed a little and tried stammering out a good excuse, saying something about it being too hard to work, but she just gave him a bemused smile and nodded her head before kissing him again.
Kate walked back into another clearing in the jungle after reluctantly leaving Jack and she saw Sawyer chopping wood. All of her anger at the man for not telling her about Jack yesterday and for causing him so much stress today boiled at her surface.
"What do you want?" she growled.
"Excuse me?"
"What do you want, Sawyer?"
"Freckles, I got so many answers to that question, I wouldn't even know where to start."
"What do you want for the inhalers?" she asked, trying to keep her anger in check.
"Ah. Good question. Hang on a tick" he said, swinging the axe one more time. "What do I want? A kiss ought to do it."
"What?" she asked, trying to hide her disgust.
"A kiss. From you, right now"
"I don't buy it" She told him with a shake of her head.
"Buy what?" he asked as he went back to chopping wood.
"The act. You try too hard, Sawyer. I ask you to help a woman who can't breathe, and you want me to kiss you? Nobody's that disgusting. I've seen you, you know."
"Seen me what?" he asked as he visibly hesitated before bring the axe down hard again.
Kate told him about the piece of paper and he made her read the letter. Shaking, Kate ran off, hoping to find Jack and a little comfort after her confrontation with Sawyer. She wasn't sure why she got involved anyway and she wasn't sure how Sawyer could make her feel so cheap so easily. It was never like that with Jack. Jack made her feel like a million dollars. And right now, she just wanted to be in his arms again and know that everything would be alright.
By the time Kate made it back the caves, it was nightfall and Shannon's gasps for air could be heard from far away. The girl was sitting around the fire with some of the other castaways, coughing and struggling to catch her breath as her brother held her hand. Kate looked for Jack and saw him panicking, going hastily through all of the medications he had, desperate for anything that would help. She walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her and their eyes met before he went back to his search. Kate sighed at the pain she saw in his eyes before helping him by clearing off all the bottles that he had tossed to the side.
Suddenly, everyone looked up as Sawyer entered the caves, an empty water bottle in his hand. Kate gently said Jack's name and he looked as well before getting up and heading over to Sawyer, his face red with anger and frustration.
"Give me the inhalers… now" he demanded, his fists clenched tightly.
"Hell, I wondered when you were gonna stop asking nice" Sawyer goaded him.
Sawyer lifted his cup to take a sip of the water, but Jack punched him in the face, knocking it out of his hand. Kate gasped and her hand covered her mouth, and she suddenly became concerned as Jack moaned and rubbed at his injured shoulder. She took a step towards them as Jack ignored his pain and towered over Sawyer who finally gotten up.
"Well, it's about time, Cowboy. I've been telling you since day one we're in the wild. Didn't think you had it in you" Sawyer taunted.
Jack punched Sawyer again, knocking him to ground. Kate gasped again as she looked at Sawyer's bleeding mouth. She felt no sympathy for the man, only concern for Jack. She knew he didn't want it to get that far, and she also knew his arm was hurting.
"That all you got?" asked Sawyer as he stood up.
"Jack, come on" said Kate softly, walking over to him and taking his hand, gently pulling him away. "Is your arm ok?" she asked in concern as she massaged his shoulder.
"I'll be fine" he told her pulling her into an embrace and lightly kissing the top of her head.
"What's this?" snarled Sawyer. "Doc and Freckles?"
"Shut up Sawyer" she snapped at him. "We should take care of your hand" she said to Jack, lightly trailing her finger over his bloodied knuckles.
"Yeah" he said, kissing her full out on the mouth, forgetting that everyone else was even there.
Sawyer watched the exchange before stomping off and leaving them be. The night was still long for Jack and Kate though. Jack was up most of the night with Shannon, trying to get her to breathe, and Kate wasn't going to sleep without him, especially during all of this turmoil. She watched in wonder as Jack calmed Shannon down and she caught her breath again.
'He's going to make a great father some day' she thought before pushing it from her head, not even sure why she was thinking about that anyway.
She watched as Hurley complimented Jack but he just brushed the other man off, storming off into the jungle. She called after him but he either ignored her or didn't even hear her.
Kate exchanged a look with Sayid who immediately followed after Jack. Sayid had been watching Shannon intently. He was furious with Sawyer. He already suspected that the man had been the one to knock him out, but he knew that he was the one hurting this poor, innocent girl. Shannon certainly didn't deserve this, and Sayid knew that he had to help her in whatever way that he could. He didn't care what it entailed; he felt a fierce need to protect this girl that he had hardly even said a word to. Their eyes met for a second but the contact was broken when Kate called his name. He nodded at her, shared one last meaningful look with Shannon, and then followed Jack into the jungle, ready to propose to Jack his final and possibly horrifying idea to get Sawyer to talk.
After giving the two some time alone, Kate followed after them. Their trail led her straight to the beach, and she arrived just in time to see her boyfriend and Sayid dragging an unconscious Sawyer by his arms. She cursed under her breath, frightened that Jack was about to do something he would forever regret.
"What are you doing?" she asked, her voice laced with the fear she was feeling.
They ignored her and Kate couldn't help but visibly wince as Jack paid her no heed. Sayid and Jack continued to drag Sawyer in to the jungle. Exasperated, Kate yelled out to Jack once more.
"This was Sawyer's choice, not mine" he growled at her, much more harshly than he intended.
"If you do this ..." she started, but they kept dragging Sawyer away, ignoring her.
As Sayid tied Sawyer to the tree, Jack pondered Kate's words. What did she mean? If he did this, would she break up with him? Or did she just mean that he'd regret it? He didn't want to do anything to lose Kate, especially not after he finally just got her. But he couldn't let a girl die because of Sawyer either.
He let Sayid do what he had to, watching the whole time, trying to control the lump in his throat as he thought about Kate. He stepped in a few times, trying to get Sayid to ease up, reminding him that they just wanted Sawyer to talk and they didn't want to kill him. Finally, Sawyer caved, saying he'd only talk to Kate though. Jack pushed his jealousy down and went to get her while Sayid stayed with their prisoner to watch that he didn't escape.
Jack found Kate standing just near the spot that they had Sawyer.
"Have you been listening?" he asked her softly.
"How could I not?" she asked. "You could hear his screams from a mile away" she told him, unshed tears in her eyes.
Jack's heart was breaking. Did Kate feel something for Sawyer? He took a step towards her and put his hand on her arm but she jerked away from him. His heart shattered at this, he couldn't believe he disgusted her that much.
"Kate, I'm sorry. I can't let Shannon die though"
"There are other ways" she exclaimed angrily.
"Not with him there aren't. Please don't hate me" he begged. "I couldn't take it if you hated me. I'm just trying to do what's right for everyone. Everyone just expects me to know what to do and I don't know Kate. I don't know what to do at all. I didn't sign up for this job, it was thrust on to me" he told her emotionally.
"I know baby, I could never hate you, I'm sorry" she whispered, suddenly wrapping her arms around him and smiling when a relieved Jack hugged her back. "I know how much stress you're under and I didn't mean to make it worse. I just worry about you so much. I don't want you to do something you'll regret"
"I know, and I'm trying hard not to, I swear. Besides, I think Sawyers ready to talk"
"That's good" she said with a smile as she slowly pulled out of his embrace to look in his eyes.
"The only thing is… he'll only talk to you. Why's that?" asked Jack
Kate's eyes darkened as she pulled away from him completely. She turned her back to him, composed herself, and turned to face him again.
"Sawyer wants one thing from me in exchange for those inhalers" she told her waiting boyfriend.
"What's that?" asked Jack, dreading the worst.
"A kiss" she said, a frown on her face.
"WHAT!?" he asked, unsuccessfully trying to not blow up.
"Jack, calm down" she said, holding her hands up in a defensive position.
"This is calm for me!" he yelled back, but when she gave him a pointed look he calmed down a little and grumbled out a sorry.
"Obviously, I'm not going to make out with him" she said.
Jack really calmed down at this. He began to feel embarrassed as he realized it was never an option for her. He never once thought that she would do everything possible not to hurt him. He had been burned so many times before and he just automatically assumed that Kate would be the same. But she wasn't. She was so different, and so perfect, and he instantly regretted losing it on her.
"I'm sorry I yelled" he apologized. "You have to understand, I'm new at this whole healthy relationship thing"
"Me too. Don't worry. And don't be sorry. I would have done the same" she told him with a light peck on his lips. "You're the only one that I ever want to kiss"
"And you're the only one I ever want to kiss" he told her back.
"Sooo, what do we do about Sawyer?" she asked. "Just keep letting Sayid torture him?"
"No, that won't work. I have a feeling Sawyer will let Sayid chop him up into a million little pieces before telling us where they inhalers are. I'm thinking the only way to find out is for you to give him that kiss."
"You can't be serious" she said, her jaw dropping.
"Trust me; I'm not happy about it. But I'm not going to make you kiss him. I'm just leaving it up to you to decide what to do. I don't want him touching you, I really don't. But I don't want Shannon to die either"
"I know; I feel the same way" said Kate with a sigh.
She looked at Jack. He looked like someone had just run over his puppy. His heart was shattering over the fact that he had to let his girlfriend kiss another man. Jack wanted to snatch Kate up and pull her away from there and forget about Sawyer, and Shannon, and Sayid. But his responsibilities came first and he knew he couldn't. Kate walked over to him and wrapped her arms around the back of his neck. She pulled him into a deep, long lasting kiss, and the two kissed one another until their lips were red and swollen.
"Only you" she whispered as she walked away, leaving Jack with her taste and the feel of her skin.
She entered the clearing where Sawyer and Sayid were with the feeling of Jack's eyes boring into her back. She knew how much he was hurting and she just wanted to take away his pain. She just wanted to get this over with. She nodded to Sayid and he left them alone, going, she was assuming, to stand with Jack. Hopefully he could keep him calm. Kate just crossed her fingers that Sawyer would be willing to just give up the information and tell them where the inhalers were without anything in return.
"So, I'm here. Where is it?" she asked him crossly
"Happy to tell you as soon as I get that kiss" he said, panting from the pain.
"What? Are you serious?" she asked halfheartedly.
"Baby, I am tied to a tree in the Jungle of Mystery. I just got tortured by a damn spinal surgeon and a genuine Iraqi. Of course I'm serious. You're just not seeing the big picture here, Freckles. Are you really gonna let that girl suffocate 'cause you can't bring yourself to give me one little kiss? Hell, it's only first base. Lucky for you, I ain't greedy. Jackass won't mind too much, I mean, now that you two are married and what not"
Kate swallowed hard and looked once more at him. She knew she had to do it to save Shannon's life. She nodded her head, unable to even speak, and kneeled down on the floor in front of him. He closed his eyes and she closed hers as she leaned in. Their lips were inches apart when the sudden image of Jack invaded her mind. Kate and Sawyer were moving closer and closer together but the image of a heartbroken Jack wouldn't get out of Kate's head.
"I…I…I can't" she whispered, hanging her head and pulling away. "I can't. Please Sawyer, please don't make me do this" she begged.
He was a quiet for a moment before looking up at her. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears that were clinging to her lashes, making her eyes look even bigger, and her cheeks were flushed with shame and fright.
"I don't have it" he mumbled under his breath.
"What?" she asked incredulously.
"The medicine. I don't have it. I never did" he said, looking down to avoid her eyes.
"The book…they said you found it in their luggage..."
"Book washed up on shore. It went in the drink with the rest of…"
Suddenly, Kate pulled her fist back and punched him right in the face. He cried out but she ignored him and jumped up, leaving him to his misery. He had put her and Jack and the rest of the survivors through so much. She was just glad she didn't kiss him. But she was still furious that Jack had to be unsure and stuck thinking about what she and Sawyer were doing at that moment for absolutely no reason.
She ran from the clearing back into the jungle where Jack and Sayid were waiting. She flung herself into Jack's arms like she had done yesterday, this time more careful of his shoulder.
"I didn't kiss him" she told Jack as the two love birds wrapped themselves in one another. "And he doesn't have the medicine. He told me" she said with a sigh as Jack breathed a contented breath beside her, his heart repairing itself and his stomach losing the sick and twisted feeling.
"He's lying. Can't you see that? He's been lying from the beginning. He doesn't want us to get off this island. That's why he attacked me!" yelled Sayid.
"Hold on a minute, man" Jack said, trying to calm him down.
"He destroyed the transceiver!" Sayid shouted as he started storming off towards Sawyer.
"You don't know that!" Jack yelled after him as he grabbed Kate's hand and the two ran after him to try and stop him, yelling his name as they did so.
Sawyer had undone his bounds already as Sayid ran over to him and Sawyer pounced on his assailant. The two rolled around on the floor for a bit, trying to get a punch in, while Kate and Jack yelled for them to stop. Finally, Sayid rolled over on Sawyer and all the sudden he screamed out in pain. Sayid got up, a look of horror on his face as he stared at the knife he had just imbedded in Sawyer's arm. Kate gasped in shock as Jack dropped her hand and kneeled in front of Sawyer in doctor mode. Jack pulled out the knife and blood began spurting, getting even on Kate who was still gaping in shock. Jack immediately put pressure on it and told Sayid to get his bag from the caves. He had hit an artery. He and Kate tried to help him while they waited, Kate holding him down and Jack putting pressure on the wound. Sawyer's eyes closed and then opened again.
"Let go. I know you want to" he croaked out.
"Shut up, and stop moving" Jack demanded.
"You've been waiting for this, haven't you? Now you get to be a hero again, 'cause that's what you do. You fix everything up all nice" he snarled. Turning to Kate, he said "time to let go, Freckles. You're not going to make out with me, we all know that. What else I got to live for? Hey, Jack, there's something you should know. If the tables were turned ... I'd watch you die" he sneered and Kate couldn't help the involuntary shiver that ran up her spine.
She didn't want to ever think about Jack being in this position. Finally, Sawyer lost consciousness and Sayid returned with the bag. Sayid held Sawyer down as Jack worked, and Kate just sat off to the side, trying to catch her breath and count to 5.
Kate sat with Sawyer until he woke up, pouring over his letter and coming to a few realizations. After he woke up and they spoke, she fled from his tent and his anger. But she knew that he was angry at himself, not her. She returned to the caves to find a much happier Jack.
"Eucalyptus!" he cried out when he saw her, a big smile on his face.
"Umm? Bless you?" she tried.
"No" he said with a laugh. "Eucalyptus works to treat asthma. Sun was able to find some and now Shannon's going to be ok"
"That's great!" said Kate with a smile as she kissed him, his happy mood matching her own. "Does this mean Dr. Jack gets to leave the office for the day?"
"Looks like it" said Jack with a flirtatious smile.
He grabbed her up suddenly, holding her in his arms like she were a baby.
"Jack, put me down, you're going to hurt yourself" she exclaimed with a laugh.
"You weigh less than a mango. Don't worry so much" he said as he carried her back to the caves, depositing her softly on the ground. "I've been waiting to make out with you all day"
"Funny, I've been doing the same" she said with a smile and the two leaned in and began to kiss.
"I'm glad you didn't have to kiss him" Jack whispered after a while.
"Me too" she whispered back.
"Is it wrong that I think he got what he deserved?"
"I don't know" she said with a sigh. "On the one hand, he does deserve it. He was a jerk, and a life hung in the balance. On the other hand, he's been through a lot Jack, and he's in this self-deprecating worthless place. He feels like there's no point in him living. I feel bad for him. He tries, but it's hard for him" she explained.
"That's my Katie, compassion for everyone" he said as he nuzzled her neck.
"You never call me Katie" she said with a smile.
He just continued to kiss her neck and she kept smiling.
"I'm just jealous of him I guess" said Jack as he continued his possessive kisses. "I don't want him looking at you"
"He's going to look Jack. But as long as I have you, I don't need or want anyone or anything else" she told him as the two fell back on to the airplane seat in the cave, trailing kisses on any available skin that the other had.
The next morning, Kate returned to the beach in time to see Charlie packing up Claire's stuff as she ate the air out of an empty jar, and Sayid and his backpack leaving a footprint trail in the sand as he left the remaining survivors behind.
A/N: And that's Confidence Man. I was torn over whether or not Kate and Sawyer should in fact kiss, but I decided it would be better if they didn't.
Next chapter: Solitary
This is a Sayid one, and the only real Jack/Kate action is at the golf course that Hurley builds. So the chapter will be slightly shorter and much fluffier. I'll probably add some extra fluff scenes as well. Also look for a confrontation between Jack and Sawyer, and some playful Jack.
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