A/N: Sorry this took me so long to post. My life's a little crazy right now. I don't want to guarantee that I'll be able to update too soon again but I'm trying. If I get ten or more reviews though, I promise to do everything in my power to update again, probably by late Thursday night or Friday (I'm traveling all day Thursday and I don't know if I'm going to be able to get to a computer.) So remember, review and let me know what you think.

Tia- Thanks for reviewing. I'm glad you liked it.

hybridwolf10- I'm glad I've got a new reader, and I'm happy that you like it. Keep reading/reviewing!

Philadelphia- I like when people take care of Jack. I kinda just wanna give him a hug sometimes. That's sort of why I started writing this. Thanks for taking the time to review.

Hellmouth21- I'd like to be in Damon and JJ's seats too. I'd be making a lot of money AND I'd know what the hell is going on at that island. Let me know if you figure out a way for me to swap places with one of them :)

HeatherUTSA2003- thanks for reading and reviewing. I really appreciate it.

Elle- Thanks, I'm glad you like it so much. Keep reading and reviewing!

lostgemini687- they are most definitely meant to be together. And thanks for the review and the compliment.

kcdancer- thank you for taking the time to read and review my story. I'm glad you like it.

Chapter 10: Outlaws

"You wanna come hide the guns with me?" Jack asked Kate the afternoon following Ethan's death.

Kate had nodded and accepted the hand he had extended to her. He helped pull her off the rock she was sitting on by the waterfall and the two hiked deep into the jungle, finding the rock under which the silver case was hidden.

Jack put away the three guns he had with him and then Kate handed him hers.

"Thanks for the loaner" she told him.

"Always a pleasure" he answered with a smirk and she knew that he wasn't mad at her anymore for taking the gun.

"So, was anyone curious where they came from?" she asked nervously, her eyes on the ground.

Jack's heart broke a bit when he saw how nervous she was. He hadn't even thought about how it might have affected her to hand the guns out and how it might have made her self-conscious.

"The others knew there was a Marshal on the plane. I guess they just assumed he was traveling alone, protecting them from terrorists. Sounds like a good theory to me" he told her as he lightly touched her shoulder and smiled at her, pleased to see that she smiled back.

"Did you get all the guns back?" she asked him, her spirits uplifted a bit.

"All except one" he told her.

"Who?" Kate asked.

"Let me give you 3 guesses" he said as they started to walk back to camp.

"Sawyer" she said with a shake of her head. "I can get it back" she said quickly without thinking about how Jack would react to that.

"Really? How are you going to do that?" he asked skeptically, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer.

He didn't need to hear any more about how Kate and Sawyer had a connection. He preferred to think of the two of them as completely separate. In fact, he preferred to think of them as living on two different planes of existence.

"I speak his language" she answered simply.

"You've done this before, Kate" he said, his fists clenched. "And if I remember it right, you almost made out with him, and he never even had what you said you could get"

"Well, I only almost made out with him because torturing him didn't work" she snapped back, but the smile on her face let him know that she was being good-natured.

"Let him keep the gun" Jack told her as he returned her smile and took her hand. "It's not worth it."

"What, are you afraid he's going to shoot me if I ask?" she said as she looked up at him.

"I just don't want you to owe him anything" he told her. "Let's just drop this" he said as they made their way back to the caves.

"Alright" she agreed, seeing how he was getting upset.

Of course, Kate wasn't really planning on dropping it. She just had to find another way to get that gun back from Sawyer.

After speaking with Sawyer, Kate knew how she was going to be able to get the gun back. She also knew that Jack wasn't going to like it very much. It was going to take a little lying, a little cheating, and just a little manipulation. But it was something Kate was prepared to do. She needed to prove that she could take care of herself.

As she approached the sun-bathing Shannon, Kate put on her best begging face.

"You want something" Shannon said immediately as Kate walked over.

"Am I that obvious?" Kate asked, a frown replacing her puppy dog eyes.

""No, you were actually pretty subtle. But asking for things is my specialty. I could smell the desperation from a mile away" said Shannon with a smile and Kate returned the smile. "So, what can I do for you?" asked Shannon as she sat up and put her sunglasses on top of her head.

"I need to do something that'll probably go on from tonight until tomorrow. And I don't want Jack knowing where I am, so…"

"…So you want me to lie to your boyfriend about your whereabouts"

"Something like that" said Kate as she picked at her nails.

"Done. Is there a specific lie you'd like or should I just make something up?" asked Shannon.

"Wait, that's it? You'll do it?" asked Kate incredulously.

"Yeah, of course. That's what girls do for each other. Don't get me wrong Kate; this island's got slim pickings. Back in the real world, I doubt there'd be a long lasting friendship to be made between us. But here, you're the closest thing I've got to a 'girlfriend'" she said as she made air quotes. "So, any specific story?"

"Ummm…" Kate shrugged as she was at a loss for words.

"Bonding" Shannon said simply.

"Bonding?" Kate asked, still not understanding the blonde before her.

"You and I are bonding. We both need a friend on this god forsaken island so you and I are having… a slumber party… to better get to know each other" Shannon explained.

"A 'slumber party'?" asked Kate, using Shannon's air quotes. "What are we, 14?"

"Do you have a better idea?" asked Shannon. "Men will believe anything if you say it with the right flair"

"Alright, fine" Kate acquiesced. "But you and your flair better stay far away from my boyfriend" she mumbled under her breath.

"I heard that. And don't worry. My doctor stage has long since passed. I've moved on to a different breed of men" Shannon assured her.

"Like soldiers?" asked Kate as she raised one eyebrow.

"I don't think we've bonded enough to talk about this" snapped Shannon as she pushed her sunglasses back down on to her face.

"Got it" said Kate, her hands raised in a defensive position.

"I'll take care of Jack. You go do whatever it is you have to do. What do you have to do anyway?" asked Shannon, her curiosity piqued.

"Thanks a lot, Shannon. Bye!" called Kate over her shoulder as she ran off.

"Whatever" said Shannon with a roll of her eyes as she lied back down on her towel.

After convincing Sawyer that he couldn't track a boar on his own, Kate accompanied him into the jungle. Night had fallen and she began to feel guilty about lying to Jack. She hoped that Shannon had been able to convince him that she was spending the night trying to make a girlfriend. Sawyer pulled out the little bottles of alcohol and Kate's eyes narrowed.

"Where'd you get that?" she asked as she looked at the mini bottle of vodka.

"Plane" he answered simply.

"Jack was looking for the liquor cart" she told him.

"It's a good thing I found it instead, then, huh?" he told her with a smirk.

"Got any more of those?" she asked after a brief moment of hesitation.

The more drunk the two got, the more secrets were revealed in their little game of "I never."

"I never cared about having carte blanche because I just wanted to spend some time with the only other person on this island that just don't belong" Sawyer said.

He shook his head when he saw that she wasn't drinking.

"Sassafras, you seem to be forgetting the rules of the game" he chided.

"Don't flatter yourself Sawyer" Kate told him. "I'm not out here for you, or for me. I'm here for Jack"

"What's the doc got anything to do with this?" asked Sawyer.

"Sawyer, I feel like I belong with Jack. He makes me feel safe and protected. I'm moving on with my life. I'm trying to turn it all around" she stressed.

"Spending the night out in a jungle of mysteries with a man who's not your boyfriend doesn't seem like a favor to the doc to me. You can fool yourself all you want Freckles. But you can't fool me. You'll never change. What does Jackass think of your night out with me anyway?" asked Sawyer.

"I never carried a letter around for 20 years because I couldn't get over my baggage" Kate said harshly, gritting her teeth and trying to ignore what Sawyer was saying.

Sawyer shook his head and lifted the little bottle of alcohol to his lips, taking a swig. He looked genuinely hurt by her words and for a brief moment she regretted it. But then he changed it all with his next challenge.

"I never killed a man" he said, watching her through narrowed eyes.

Kate hesitated for a moment, her eyes looking towards the ground and despair clenching at her heart before taking a drink. Sawyer looked sad and hurt too, his eyes focused downward in a mirror image of hers. After a long moment, he too took a drink. Kate wasn't surprised. She was almost comforted by the fact that she wasn't the only murderer on the island.

"Well, looks like we got something in common, after all" he said sadly.

Kate didn't say a word, but rather she continued to look down at the ground, a million thoughts running through her head.

"Jack!" Shannon called out as she saw him by the caves.

Jack turned around with a sigh. He didn't feel like being the one to fix everyone's problems right now. Presently, he was concerned with locating Kate who had apparently gone missing.

"What is it Shannon?" he asked reluctantly and was surprised to see Sayid coming towards them out of the corner of his eye.

"Kate just wanted me to tell you something. I had to come up here to fill a water bottle anyway, so I told her I'd let you know" she said as she raised an empty water bottle as proof.

"What is it?" asked Jack, slightly apprehensively.

"She and I have decided we were going to spend the night together. Do girly things. You know, like a slumber party" said Shannon with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Girly things?" asked Jack skeptically.

"Yes. Girly things" said Shannon as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Kate's a girl too"

"Yes, I'm aware of that" said Jack as he started to lose his patience. "So you two are having… a slumber party…" he said slowly.

"Precisely. See you tomorrow. Goodnight Sayid" said Shannon as she walked off, waving to Sayid who was at Jack's side.

"A slumber party?" asked Jack incredulously as he turned to Sayid once Shannon was out of earshot.

"Do not ask me to understand women" Sayid told him. "Particularly, that one" he said as he pointed to Shannon as she filled her water bottle.

"What do you think they're going to talk about?" asked Jack, still confused.

"Most probably us" said Sayid with a sigh. "Expect some giggling over the next few days."

"Giggling? From Kate?" asked Jack, still horribly confused. "She's been corrupted" cried Jack as he came to the realization.

"Indeed" said Sayid with another sigh. "Come. We should get you some water" Sayid told Jack as he steered him over to the waterfall.

Shannon smiled to herself as she saw the reactions of Jack and Sayid. They had both fallen for it. She was glad she had done this little favor for Kate. Not only had she done what Kate asked her and made a quasi-friend, but she had also gotten Sayid thinking about her.

"I've still got it" she whispered to herself as she started the walk back to the beach, a bounce in her step.

After sitting in silence for a while, Sawyer finally turned to Kate.

"Is Jack the man that you love?" he asked her.

"What?" she asked, looking back up at him.

"You scoffed at me when I said I had never been in love. You seemed to think being in love was the most natural thing in the world"

"It is" she insisted.

"Well alright then. Is Jack the man that you love?" he persisted.

"It's really none of your business. I'm going to bed" Kate told him, rolling her eyes at him and using her sweatshirt as a pillow as she lied down.

"Now, now Freckles. There's no need to get so annoyed. It was just a question. A pretty easy one too. Either you love the man, or you don't" Sawyer told her.

"Goodnight" Kate said shortly and she rolled over so her back was to him.

"Fine, fine" said Sawyer, as he too lied down and tried to get some sleep.

All was quiet for the next hour, and neither a word was passed between Kate and Sawyer. Finally, the silence was broken by a small sound from Kate.

"Yes" she whispered.

Sawyer had been breathing deeply to try and convince Kate that he was asleep. But he was wide awake and when he heard her whispered yes, he closed his eyes and took a deeper breath.

The next day, after finding his boar and sparing its life, Sawyer went on a search for Jack. He found him in a clearing, chopping wood. Leave it to Doctor Jack to spend every spare moment doing something for the group.

After they spoke for a few moments and Sawyer realized that he had met Jack's father in a bar before, he walked off, trying to get the memories from his mind. Jack however, couldn't get the memory of the night before out of his mind. Shannon had come to him and told him that Kate was spending the night with her. But Jack now knew that was a lie. She had spent the night with Sawyer and had done something to get that gun from him. Swinging the axe angrily, he left it where it landed in the middle of the log and stalked off towards the beach, determined to find Kate.

He found her at the beach, packing things up in her tent.

"Hi" she said with a bright smile. "I thought I'd move the rest of my things to the caves."

Jack didn't say anything. Instead, he held the gun Sawyer had given him up so that she could see it.

"Sawyer gave you the last gun back?" she asked. "That's great."

"Is it Kate?" he asked harshly.

"What do you mean?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Look, Sawyer said you gave him something and that's why he gave you back the gun. I told you to just leave it alone" he said angrily.

"Jack, I got the gun back, and I didn't have to do much of anything. I helped him track the boar that got to his stuff. That's it. Nothing else happened" she said as she took a step closer to him and rested her hand on his arm.

"Nothing else happened? You just tracked a boar?" he asked, relaxing a bit.

"Nothing else happened" she assured him as she lifted her hand to his cheek.

"Alright. I believe you" he said reluctantly as he loosened his tense body and relaxed into her touch. "That guy drives me crazy though."

"I know. Don't let him get to you" she told him.

"He was asking me about my father" Jack confessed.

"Your father?" Kate asked. "I wouldn't worry about it. He was just trying to get a rise out of you."

"You're probably right" he agreed. "Here, let me help you move your stuff" he told her as the two packed up her tent.

As they worked, Kate watched Jack. Would he ever understand what she did? Could she ever tell him? Kate hadn't lied last night when she said that she loved him. She just hoped that he felt the same way. But she couldn't tell him. She was terrified of pushing him away.

Next Chapter: …In Translation: after the raft mysteriously catches on fire, Jack and Kate find themselves dealing with some old issues that are being dredged up. Can they ever really get over them?