A/N: Hello everyone! I'm so sorry this took me so long to get posted! I've actually had this written for several weeks, but I was they trying to improve it, but then I just the gave up and forgot XD here it is; what may be the last St chapter of my Lost fic.

They all cried and waited in silence for what seemed like an eternity, but in reality could only have been less than two hours.

Jack was exhausted, but he wouldn't sleep. Even if he wanted to -which he didn't, he wouldn't sleep. Jack's mind was tearing him apart. One part wanted to lash out; repay Roger what he'd done to Kate. Make sure he knew what he'd done. The other part just wanted to hold Kate forever and never let go.

Flashback

"I'm sorry" Kate said as she got up from her seat on a log and turned to leave.

"Are you?" Jack asked. He wasn't angry with her, he just wanted to understand why she left. Why she ran.

Kate turned to face him, with a disgusted and insulted look on her face. "Yeah, I'm sorry." Kate stepped closer "I'm sorry that I am not as perfect as you!" She began to raise her voice, but it was somehow more of a painful than angry tone. "I'm sorry that I'm not as good!"

Jack stepped back and held up his hands, as if Kate would shatter if he touched her. "Wh-what's going on with you?" He took his tone down a few notches, sorry that he was yelling at her earlier. This was not the Kate he knew. Here she was, angry, yelling, and burning her throat trying to hide her tears from Jack.

"Just forget it" Kate said in a bitter tone, and turned to walk away.

"No, don't walk away from me, no." Jack grabbed her wrist, anxious to keep her there with him.

"Let go of me!" Kate yelled, resisting his strong grip.

"Kate! Kate, Kate, Kate." Jack kept his hold on her and pulled her close to him, scooping her body into his arms.

"Don't! I-" Kate resisted one last time, before her voice cracked into a sob. She gave in to the inviting warmth of Jack's chest and folded her arms between them, letting Jack hold her.

Jack held onto her as if he was holding her together. As if she would break apart and fall in pieces to the ground. "It's okay. It's okay." Jack said in a soft voice he spoke only to Kate with. He could feel her tears soaking through his shirt, but he didn't care. He didn't move. He just held her with a tight, but gentle grip. "Kate."

"This place...this place is crazy." Kate said between sobs. "I can't. It's driving me nuts."

Jack stepped back and looked into her face, keeping his hands on her shoulders. "I know. It's okay. It's alright." He said, looking straight into her eyes. This was the second he'd seen her break down, but this time was different. This time, the island, the crash, it was all finally getting to her. It was all starting to eat away at her. This time, Jack couldn't be angry with her. This time he understood. This time, instead of walking away and leaving her to cry by herself, he held her. "It's alright" Jack felt sorry. Both times that Kate had cried in front of him, it had been his fault. "Alright?"

Kate froze, and looked straight back into his eyes. She saw something there. It was gentle, still, sad. It was beautiful.

Neither was sure who started it, but they kissed. Jack's heart burned with passion and love, and he gave into the kiss, placing his hands back on Kate's back.

Kate held Jack's face, her mind pounding, but not as fast as her heart did.

End of Flashback

Kate's face had faded away so quickly to Jack. He wanted desperately to hold on to the images he had in his head of her freckles sparkling like stars, her hair a vast sea of soft curls, her gleaming jade eyes that always showed hope, even when she cried. He missed that beautiful face so much already. But now her face was pale, and her freckles seemed to fade like wet paper. He hair was matted with blood and dirt, still damp from the rain that had finally ceased only moments ago. He couldn't see her eyes anymore, but when he'd last seen them, right before she let go, they were already such a dank color grey.

Jack gently brushed a stray lock of her deep brown hair from her face, tucking it carefully behind her ear. He knew Kate didn't blame him, but he also knew that it was his fault. In every way, right down to the first time he ever argued with Kate. Right before she passed, Kate told Jack that she loved him. But did she know that Jack loved her? The last time he'd said it to her was when he proposed to her, but so much time had already passed since then. He even before Kate told him why she came back that she didn't come back for him or because of him. She was still angry with him, even when she showed up at his house the night before their flight left L.A.

Jack knew what he had to do now. He had to find Claire. For Kate. He'd find Claire, and then keep his promise to her and help take care of Aaron. But the staying safe part? That might be hard, especially here on this god forsaken rock. It was indeed god forsaken, but it wasn't completely forsaken. The demons still haunted the jungle, the devils still roamed through the trees, the monsters still crouched behind the rocks, and the souls of innocent lives still washed up with every wave that crashed on the shores of this hellhole.

Jack returned his thinking back to the present. Not the past mistakes, good-old-days, or what would happen next. Just now, here...this. That's all there was now. That's all it'd ever be.

The others were scared to speak, each fearing what to say, and what might happen if they said it. No words came to mind, anyway.

Jack was the first to break the silence, with a sigh followed by a mumble no one could make out, but they knew he said something.

Flashback

Jack walked along with the rest of the people, then he saw Kate. She was sitting on a tree stump, with one leg crossed over the other and putting her shoe back on. "You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I just got a rock in my shoe." Kate replied.

Jack knelt down beside her, trying to catch a glimpse of her emerald eyes. "He didn't mean it, you know." He said to her.

"What?" Kate asked, looking up to meet his eyes.

"Sawyer. When he said he didn't want you to go with him, he didn't mean it." Jack could tell that it had hurt her and been bothering her.

"If he didn't mean it, why'd he say it?"

"He's trying to protect you. That's why I asked you not to come back for me." Kate thought about what she had just been told. She remembered what he meant by the last part. She didn't say anything to him, so he got up and turned to leave, but she stopped him. There was still one more thing she had to know.

"Hey" she said, getting his attention just before he walked away. "Why you sticking up for Sawyer? He'd never do it for you."

"Because I love you." The answer came unexpected. It hit her in the stomach like a brick. Though she wished there could be something between her and Jack, she'd never seen that it was there. She was always sure he was with Juliet, or Ana Lucia, or just some other girl. She had never seen that he really cared for her - beyond the way he automatically cared for everyone, as a doctor, and even as the good man he just was. No, he actually loved her.

End of Flashback