Jack noticed her attitude had shifted suddenly. He didn't sense the fear he'd sensed before and he thought to question it, but he didn't. He was almost afraid that if he did, he'd flip that switch back over. He watched her hum to herself as she finished preparing dinner and he leafed through the book she'd been reading before standing and moving into the kitchen to help set the table.

"I was thinking," Kate told him, her eyes darting towards him, "That maybe we should start thinking about life here."

"What do you mean?" Jack replied, his voice deep and confused. He watched her shrug her shoulders as she moved to take a salad out of the fridge.

"What if we can't escape," she offered, looking back at him while raising an eyebrow. "What if we never get out of this place? How long do we try before we just give in and let this be home?"

Shaking his head, Jack laughed. "Kate…"

"No," she stopped him. "We have to start thinking of it as a possibility."

He pushed off the counter and took the salad from her, putting it down beside her. "I won't start thinking of it as a possibility. Ever. This is temporary. This is not where we're raising our child."

"What's so bad about it?" Kate questioned. "I know what they did to get us here, Jack, I didn't forget that. I didn't forget the emotional rollercoaster I had to go through, you had to go through, hell, Sawyer…" she trailed, her thoughts winding back to a day when she'd held his warm body through the bars of her cage and pleaded with Pickett not to kill him. "I know what we've been through, but since then? The only thing making this place 'bad' is our constant insistence that it has to be bad." She paused before adding, "What if it's not?"

Jack turned away from her, walked towards the dining room table before turning again. He couldn't believe SHE was saying this. Kate stood there, hands on her waist, and he pressed his fingers into his forehead. He considered, calming himself because he knew getting angry with her wouldn't solve anything. "Why the sudden change of heart?"

He dropped his hand and watched her hands slide forward towards her belly before falling away. "I'm tired of fighting. I'm tired of lying and scheming and hiding. I'm tired of being afraid. Tired of being afraid of disappointing you by enjoying any of this because I think you're enjoying part of this and it's not fair that I can't." Then she softened. "Where are we going to go?"

"Home."

"And what is that?" She leaned an elbow on the counter, her fingers touching the edge of the glass bowl. "That a beach on the other side of the island? Because if they want us, they can just go over there and get us. Or are we getting off the island? Somehow, magically, we get back to the mainland and someone spots me and realizes that I'm wanted."

"What do you want me to do, Kate?" Jack told her plainly, his head cocking to the side.

She pressed her lips together tightly. "This might be the only chance at a normal life for US. You know that?"

Jack nodded his head slowly and then moved forward again, grabbing the salad bowl and taking it to the table. When he turned again, she was holding back tears, her bottom lip pressed tightly between her teeth as she served them, her hand gripping the counter. He walked towards her, watching her turn her head and swipe at her cheeks. "Hey," he said softly, taking her by the waist and turning her towards him. She looked away, another tear working its way down her cheek.

"I just want to be happy," she half-whispered, her voice lost in sadness. "And right now, I can't be because I'm scared you'll hate me for it."

"I'd never hate you." Putting his arms around her, he felt her burry her head in his chest as she started to cry heavily, openly. He wanted to take her to Ben, show him how wonderful his utopia was. Jack kissed her head and he pulled her back, looking into her eyes and nodding. "I don't trust…"

She shook her head. "I know, but no place is perfect, Jack."

"Is this really what you want? To stay here?" He watched her consider.

"No, I want to go back to the way things were before when all we were scared of was some howling in the jungle." She shrugged. "When the only people who kept us prisoner were ourselves." Kate tugged on his shirt, looking up into his eyes. "I want to start over and do it right."

He laughed, cradling her face in his hands. "Only if I end up with you."

Kate blushed, moving away from him towards the food and he sighed. If what she wanted was to pretend this was normal, he could do that.

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