Quick Note

Big thankyou to all of you still reading – we are approaching the end. In fact... one more chapter, not including this one. This and the next one are both really short, but they didn't work as a single chapter, so I left them apart. And if anyone is wondering, I doubt there will be a sequel. Enjoy!

Chapter 25

Ben didn't move. He could only stare. This wasn't possible – had he miscalculated? Impossible – but then... Jack should be here. What?

"Hello again," said Sayid.

"And then he said, 'Tell him we've gone after Kate'," Juliet repeated, at the same time pushing Jack's hand back to his head, to hold the cloth steady. "Hell, these guys know how to knock someone out," she added, when she realised the cut on Jack's head was still bleeding.

"Are you sure that's all?" Jack asked. "Damn them!"

Just before Jack had been about to leave the beach, he'd lost consciousness. That was all he remember when he woke up to Juliet's wide eyes several hours later. It had already started growing dark again. She had informed him that Sayid had knocked him out, taken Locke, and gone after Kate himself. Jin and Desmond had gone after Sun, both taking the guns. Jack took some comfort knowing Locke was a dead aim with those knives.

Juliet, meanwhile, had been standing by Jack's side almost constantly. Close enough that he felt rather restricted.

"You think I'm suddenly going to make a break for it, head into the jungle?" he asked testily.

"Yes," she said, and the finality of the statement made him realise that plan wasn't going to work. He sighed, and Juliet smirked. "Sayid will get her back," she reassured him.

"And if he can't? What if she's hurt? What if she's already dead?!" Jack yelled the last part, and Juliet reached out a hand. Feeling her touch on his shoulder, he turned to her.

"Don't think like that. She'll be fine."

"You said Ben wants to hurt me. Nothing could hurt me more than him killing Kate."

"He'll be expecting you to be there, though. He'd wait until you got there before hurting her. So, technically, she's safer if you stay away."

Jack couldn't argue with Juliet's logic, and that made him want to argue even more. He stalked off down the beach, and even though she watched, she kept her distance. He felt useless. All he could do was sit on the beach and pray – something he had never done it his life. He didn't know who to ask, or what to say, so instead just let himself whisper her name to the heavens, in the hope that someone would care.

There was a pause as everyone looked around, cataloguing everyone else. Sayid stepped through the doorway, leaving Locke in direct line of sight with Kate. Ben kept his eyes on Sayid, not seeing the knife Locke was holding. Before Ben could remember his previous plan, and shoot, Kate swung her around and head-butted him.

He staggered back, one hand flying to his nose, and she almost smiled with the satisfaction. Locke took advantage of Ben no longer pointing the gun at Kate, and sent the knife flying towards his chest. It hit with a sickening sound; a smooth, slick, wet sound, as it dug through his ribs and pierced his heart. He fell back, dead instantly, and hit the floor with a soft thud.

Kate turned her head away. Yet another life that had been lost to save hers.

"Are you all right?" Sayid asked her, at the same time, coming around to untie her.

"Yeah. I'm fine," Kate replied, though she didn't dare ask where Jack was; surely Ben had been right, assuming Jack wouldn't be able to stay away. Not of his own free will, at any rate. She noticed Locke looking at Ben's dead body with an odd expression. Almost conflicted.

"What?" she asked, as the ropes finally came free and she could step away from the pole. Locke turned to her.

"When we had him in the hatch... I thought he was alright. I thought we could trust him. If I hadn't been so easy to deceive, maybe..."

"Don't think like that," Kate said, cutting him off. "I'm okay."

"I wasn't thinking just about you. You were right, before, when you said that if we'd tried harder to find you, Sawyer might not have died." Kate looked down for a moment.

"I didn't mean all that. I was just... frustrated. There was nothing you could have done. You had to protect everyone else, anyway." Locke nodded, seeming slightly relieved. She wondered how long he'd been stressing over this.

"What was he planning?" Sayid asked Kate, as he pulled the knife out of Ben's chest, looking rather satisfied with his death. Kate tried not to look at the body, or the very minimal amount of blood spilling out.

"I don't know," she lied. Somehow, telling them he'd been about to kill her felt too awkward. What could they do? "Can we go home now?"

Locke smiled. "Yeah. Before Jack comes after us."

"Where is he?" Kate asked feverishly. Her eyes flicked to Sayid then back to Locke, trying to tell if it was bad news.

"I didn't think it would be a good idea for him to come after you, alone. Which was what he was about to do," Sayid said.

"You convinced him to stay back?" Kate asked in surprise. Please let him be okay, she thought.

"In a way," Locke said cryptically. Kate shook her head.

"You tied him up, didn't you?" she guessed.

"Nah. Just knocked him out." This wasn't exactly reassuring for Kate.

"He's okay, isn't he?" she asked nervously.

"Yes, he's fine. Probably worried about you, so we should get back." Kate suddenly had a thought.

"Aren't the rest of his people outside?" she asked, nodding at where Ben lay on the floor. On death, his heart had stopped immediately, so there hadn't been much blood spilt. It was disturbing; it looked as if he was just sleeping, until you went closer and saw the vacant expression on his open eyes, still somewhat surprised, and saw the ragged hole in his chest.

"We dealt with them already," Sayid said, before leading the way out.

I'm coming Jack. Don't worry, I'm coming. All Kate wanted was to find Jack, throw herself at him, and kiss him until she couldn't breathe. She didn't know if she would want to let go even then.