Alright, you guys and your reviews are just too awesome! This was supposed to be a one-shot actually, I just forgot to click on "complete" LOL! But since I love you and I am a sucker for reviews, here is chapter 2. There is long author's note in the end that I would really appreciate your feedback on, so please check it out and let me in the comments or PM me or something. Thanks!

Passing Phuket

Chapter 2

The rain pours violently, hitting the pavement mercilessly and immediately turning to mud as it mixes with the dirt on the ground. Kate sits on the bench at the side of the road, watching the buses file in and out of the station, and stares at the wet bus ticket in her hand. Her bus had left almost four hours ago but for some reason she is still sitting on that bench, drenched from head to toe, her backpack soaked on the bench next to her.

She watches the people bustling around her, trying to get out of the downpour, to find some shelter and wait it out. But Kate just sits there, aimlessly tracing with the toe of her shoe in the puddle of mud under her feet. She stares up at the sky and sees another black cloud approaching from the horizon.

Her instincts finally kick in and take back control of her actions. Her instincts and her heart never get along, her instincts usually winning in the end, sending her packing and running, but for some reason, they could not get her on the bus this morning. Instead, she had sat on that bench and let the sweet melody she heard that morning echo in her head over and over again, wishing she had stuck around to hear it play out to the end.

She finally comes to her senses, realizing that sitting in the middle of a bus station, with tourists traveling walking in and out every minute is not the wisest choice for a woman whose face is plastered in every police station in at least two continents. She grabs her backpack and walks back towards the only place she knows in Phuket, besides the bus station.

She is not sure what she is expecting when she walks into the bar, but an overwhelming sense of disappointment overtakes her when she looks around and does not find him there. She drops her bag on one of the stools and pulls her self up on the one next to it, ordering a beer from the kid behind the bar.

"I thought you'd be half way over the ocean by now, Kate," she hears a voice behind her say, and she tries her best to hide the shameless smile that spreads across her face.

She turns around and looks up at him, sober and the bruises on his face starting to heal nicely. She is glad to see that the smile on his face matches hers, "So you do remember me," she says back, a little more flirtatiously than she had intended.

He ducks his head and smiles, "I wasn't that drunk, Kate."

She bites her lip slightly and motions for him to join her, "I realized that you didn't return the courtesy last night," she says, and he looks at her quizzically, "you know my name. I don't know yours," she explains.

He smiles, a wide, genuine smile, "Jack."

"Kate," she says, extending her arm for him, and fighting back a giggle. He takes her hand in his and shakes it gently, and does not let go, as he looks over her shoulder to the backpack next to her.

"It's a good thing you didn't leave today," he says, not letting go of her hand, holding it in his between them, dangerously close to his lap, "there is a hell of a storm coming in tonight, and by the looks of it, you already got a little of it clinging on to you. You're soaking wet, Kate."

She drops her head, staring at their hands for a moment, before pulling her hand away, "if I didn't know any better, I'd say you're worried about me, Jack," she says, her tone coming out a little harsher than she had intended. He turns slightly in his seat, to face forward, and he mumbles as he brings his drink up to his lips, "if I didn't know any better, I'd say you have a problem staying in one place for too long, Kate."

The look in her eyes says it, he stepped over the line with his line and he knows it. He drops his head, shuts his eyes, and curses under his breath, "shit."

She is quick to grab her bag and get on her feet, flight instincts in gear to run to the door. He feels her getting off her stool next to him, and reaches for her, grabbing her wrist and stopping her in her tracks.

She tries to pull her arm away, and is surprised that his hold on her is not harsh or forceful, it is gentle, and she manages to pull her arm away, but before she can walk away, she hears him say, "I'm sorry, Kate, please, stay."

She clenches her jaw and turns towards him, "You don't know me. You don't know anything about me," she spits at him, the rage burning through her eyes.

He nods and reaches for hand again, taking it tenderly in his, "I know, Kate, I'm sorry. That was absolutely uncalled for," he says. The gentle rubbing of his thumb against her skin is probably enough to break her, but she looks at him and cannot deny the sincerity in his eyes and voice, "please don't go," he says, and it comes out as a question more than a request.

She nods, managing a small smile, and squeezes his hand slightly. She moves to make it back onto her seat, but he surprises by getting off his, trapping them both between the tight space separating the two stools, "actually," he says, his lips just a few centimeters away from her forehead, his warm breath tickling against her cool skin, "how about we get out here?"

She looks up at him, trying to control the flush creeping into her cheeks, brought on by the proximity of his body, pressed flush against hers and making no attempt to move. She does not trust her voice, so she just looks at him questioningly. He smiles and looks around the bar, "look at his place, Kate. It's a dump. I was thinking maybe we can get dinner somewhere less sleazy, with real solid food," he says with a soft chuckle.

"Are you asking me out, Jack?" she asks, glad to see the playful banter is back.

"I just acted like a world class jerk. I am just trying to make it up to you, Kate," he answers honestly, hoping that he is not scaring her off again.

He finally lets go of a breath he had no idea he was holding when she nods her approval and moves back, making way for him to lead the way.

Author's Note:

Ok, so that was chapter 2… What did you think? Worth going on with this?

Here's what I need your help with. First I have never completed a long multi chapter fic, so if I am to do this, I need your help, ok? This means comments and reviews, even if it is negative, even if you hate. Alright? Second, I have two options with this. Either a short fic, a few chapters long, of them meeting in Thailand and then going their separate ways, and then meet later on the island, and everything remains canon, like on the show. OR a longer fic that becomes totally AU with events happening that will not be canon and the island no longer exists (so far…). But you know what I mean, either they meet and then go to live their lives that lead to the island, or something totally new.

So please please please let me know what you prefer and I promise I will try to make it worth your while no matter which way the fic goes. Thanks!