Disclaimer: Just borrowing Jack and Kate, not making any money.
Started at 1 am, not well proofed, falls into the "It was late and I couldn't sleep" category of writing.
The Last to Know
It was odd that Shannon was the first to say something. It wasn't that Kate didn't like her- really she had no strong feelings about her one way or the other- but just that they were so completely different. She felt like she'd formed something of a connection with some of them but she'd spoken barely two words to Shannon, until that day, when she began to realize that maybe the other girl was more perceptive than they'd given her credit for.
She hadn't gone looking for Jack, that was the thing. She had gone to the caves to get water, possibly to see if Charlie was doing any better, and because it was something to do, and she always needed something to do.
It was a surprise, though a good one, to find Charlie asleep. He needed rest and he needed to forget for a time. It was less of a surprise to find Shannon there, painting her toenails.
"Jack's not here," she announced the moment she saw Kate. "He and…the guy with the kid…went off that way." She gestured vaguely with one hand.
Kate shrugged, hitched up her backpack. "Doesn't matter, I wasn't looking for Jack."
"Really? Seems to me like he's exactly what you're looking for."
She froze, and then turned around slowly, fixing a curious look on Shannon. What was that supposed to mean?
"What?"
The blond girl shrugged. "Nothing. Nevermind."
"No, what?"
Another shrug. "Just wonder how long you're planning to ignore it."
"Ignore….what, exactly?"
"He's into you, you're into him."
"I'm not…" She was about to say that she wasn't "into" anyone but that wasn't strictly true. "I think we've got bigger issues to deal with. Besides, Jack's definitely not…"
She trailed off, not sure how to phrase it. Interested? Liked her? Had a crush on her? Hell, that sounded like thirteen year old girls at a slumber party. Well, whatever you wanted to call it, Jack wasn't.
Shannon just capped her bottle of nail polish and reached for what had to now be a very out-of-date fashion magazine. "Oh, he definitely is."
--
By all appearances, she was there because she was worried about Charlie. That was what he kept reminding himself. But then, Charlie was…well, he was doing better. And yet unless she intended to walk through the jungle in the dark, it looked like she had every intention of staying there for the night rather than going back to the beach.
"Uh...dude? Have you heard a single thing I said?"
He turned quickly back to Hurley, and realized he hadn't.
"Sorry, I was…thinking about someone- something else."
Hurley followed the direction of his gaze.
"Yeah I noticed. So….what's up with that?"
"With what?"
"You and Kate-"
"Hurley…not this again. There is no…it's not…nothing is "up". Really…" He shook his head slightly. "We've got bigger things to deal with."
"Whatever you say Dude."
--
She was tossing wood onto the signal fire when she felt someone watching her. They kept it burning even though every day it seemed less and less likely that someone was going to pass and see it. It was something, to feel like they were doing something to get off this island. She turned and found Sawyer watching her, with that typical amused, superior look.
"Something I can help you with?" She finally inquired.
Well now that depends Freckles. What did you have in mind?"
She rolled her eyes and turned back to the fire. Sawyer always had to get some sort of juvenile sexual innuendo out of his system before he got around to whatever he'd sought her out for. She waited, didn't walk away, because she had seen him over the past few weeks actually making an effort. At the very least, he was no longer actively trying to be hated.
"So you just going to stand there, or are you going to help me?"
He crossed his arms and shrugged. "Might just stand here. After all, the view ain't bad."
She tossed a piece of firewood at him, and he caught it with surprisingly quick reflexes. "Well Hell Freckles, I was just waiting for you to say please."
"I guess you'll be waiting awhile then."
He threw her a trademark grin as he joined her tossing wood onto the fire. "So…you and Dr. Jack…off in the jungle…alone…hm?"
She gave him a dirty look. "We were looking for Charlie and Claire."
"Uh-huh. Right you were."
--
"I'm fine Jack. Really, I feel fine," Charlie insisted as Jack checked again the fading bruises on his throat. His voice still slightly hoarse, Jack suspected he was anything but fine, but it would hardly help to discourage him when he was so clearly trying for normalcy, despite Claire still being gone. So he backed off.
"Okay."
Charlie wandered off a few paces and he was packing away the medical supplies when a hand rested lightly on his arm. He turned to find Kate, a slight frown of concern creasing her brow.
"How is he doing?" She gave a slight nod in Charlie's direction.
Jack shrugged. "A little better I guess. More normal."
The frown lessened, replaced by a sort of resigned look. "What's normal here?"
She had a point, but he wasn't sure how to answer that, so he merely shrugged again. He was surprised when she squeezed his arm. "Are you okay?"
"Me? Fine."
He said it too quickly, too awkwardly, and she stepped back and let her hand fall to her side.
"Okay. Well, I better get this back to the beach," she hitched up the backpack she was holding.
He nodded. "Okay."
She paused, like she was going to say something else, but then just gave him a small smile and walked away from the clearing.
"Tell me, are you naturally this dense or do you actually practice in your spare time?"
He jerked out of his reverie, staring in the direction she had gone, to see Charlie, arms crossed over his chest, looking disgusted. Jack knew he must have looked completely confused, because Charlie gestured impatiently in the direction Kate had just gone. "Her! Kate! Just kiss her already!"
"Charlie!"
"I'm just saying Jack…whatever you're waiting for…don't. It's too uncertain. And you could both use someone to lean on."
--
What was he waiting for? He couldn't honestly say it had never crossed his mind, but he'd always pushed such thoughts aside. They were trying to survive, trying to fight off starvation and polar bears and unseen monsters and a mysterious enemy they hadn't even identified. The last thing Jack needed to be thinking about was how Kate smiled when she teased him, the light touch of her hand on his arm, what her skin might feel like under his hands…
He shook his head to clear it; another long day of searching for Claire was obviously playing with his mind. He glanced to where she was sitting across the fire from him. That was his mistake, looking at her at that moment. At a moment when the firelight threw flickering shadows over her features, at a moment when her hair fell loose over her shoulders, the way he liked it best, at a moment when she caught her bottom lip between her teeth in silent contemplation. At a moment when she looked so beautiful she took his breath away.
As if she felt his gaze, she looked up suddenly, and met his eyes.
--
Her heart jumped into her throat. Jack had never looked at her like that before- with such intensity. The campsite around them and the jungle beyond were quiet, everyone else asleep. After a long moment of silence, hypnotized by the look in his eyes, she rose as if in a dream, and walked over to the other side of the fire, where he sat.
"Hey."
Not a brilliant opening line but it served to break the silence. He glanced down, breaking the intense gaze between them, then back at her with a slight smile as she sat down next to him. "Hey. You should get some sleep."
"So should you."
He nodded faintly. "Yeah, I know. I was just thinking. Thinking about something Charlie said."
"What's that?"
He met her eyes again. "He asked what I was waiting for. And I realized, I don't know."
She cocked her head slightly, giving him a quizzical look, unsure what he meant. In response, he reached out and slipped a hand around the back of her neck, tracing his thumb gently along her cheekbone as he did so. She knew she should say something, or her was going to kiss her, but suddenly she wanted him to.
His mouth brushed over hers, hesitantly at first and then more firmly as she didn't protest. She shifted slightly, moving into him, deepening the kiss, her hands sliding over his shoulders. His hand twisted into her hair while his other hand stroked lightly down her arm and slipped around her waist pulling her closer. Everything was breathless and dizzy and yet somehow perfect.
Finally they drew apart, if only to breathe, and she couldn't help but smile at him.
"Charlie really asked what you were waiting for?"
He nodded, smoothing her hair back from her face. "Really. Why?"
"Because Shannon asked me how long we were going to ignore it."
He smiled, and settled back with his arm still around her, her head resting on his shoulder. "Well, looks like we were the last to know."