Disclaimer: I don't own lost. The next chapters kind of long, still on the same night as the last two. its been a long day, in fic I suppose. Has a lot or romance and a few new twist. I'd like to point out that the lyrics used in a sceen with Charlie and Claire are the real lyrics to "Catch A Falling Star" and that the paper Shannon translated is a real song as well. Its called "Windmills of Your Mind" and its one of my favorites. With that said, let the show begin....
FATE
Monsters and Humans
The path was dark. Walls of leaves swarmed on either side, brushing agenst him as he walked. In
his dream, Jack saw himself as a young child at the age of nine, wondering through the jungle
down this narrow, claustrophobic path. Shadowy figures move past so quick that all you could
see were blurs. The trees moved around him as he squeezed his way through. Slowly, as often in
dreams, the leaves of the jungle began to turn into the starched, pale pink walls of the main hall
way in the house he grew up in, leading him down to his bed room at the very end. The white
door stood tall. Bright agenst the black shadows that still moved past it. And the scratchy cackles
sounding from inside the walls. He moved past an open door and glanced inside to see Shannon
and Sayid, still in the jungle. He was helping her climb up a the rocks with her hand wrapped
firmly in his. She smiled up at him. He continued to move down the hall, passing another open
door to his right witch looked like a hospital room. Inside, he saw himself standing beside a
women giving birth, as a fully grown man of course, in a white lab coat. He soon recognized the
women as Claire. There were two men standing beside her, one was Charlie, who was holding
her hand tightly as he knelt down beside her. The other he didn't recognize. This man stood with
his back agenst the wall, looking on bitterly. He moved on down the hall, witch seemed to get
thinner every moment. He could smell the powder from the dry wall and paint as he moved
through. The next open door showed the inside of a tent, where Sun lay on her side asleep. Jin
sat up behind her, stareing down at her with a look of rage in his eyes. Past this door to the next
on the right. It was the last he'd see before his own room. Inside, he saw Kate, walking through
the grass in the medow and out to the lake they had come across. She smiled as someone who's
face could not me seen wrapped his arms around her. Little Jack finally made it to his room and
slowly opened the tall white door. He found the same plain bed room as he grew up in. The walls
a pale blue, as was the blankets to his bed. The ceiling and carpet both white, but appeared
fadded in the present of the brightly clean pillows and dresser off to the side. A window stood next
to his bed, witch shown out onto their front yard. A few toys laid around on the floor, witch
included a plain from when he'd gone through his 'piloting' stage, long before he realized his
fear of heights. He looked around some more, letting the memory sink in. His gaze trailed over to
his closet on the wall across from him. The white door and raddling wooden knob just barely
cracked, leaving a black shadow across the carpet. The shadow grew and the laughter rose as the
door slowly opened, revealing the figure of a man standing inside, entirely made up of black and
white T.V. static, except for the item he held up in both hands. The news paper.
Jack sat up in his bed, eyes flew open. He would have screamed if words could escape his mouth.
He breathed heavily as he realized where he was. He could still smell the powder from the walls,
and that they were closing in around him. "Jack, what's wrong?" Kate asked, sitting up beside him.
"Nothing. I'm alright" He assured her breathlessly. She wasn't convinced. "Really. It was just a
bad dream. Go back to sleep" he suggested calmly, forcing a smile. "Well what was the dream
about?" she asked with concern. "Nothing. I don't even remember" he lied. He remembered every
second. It was replaying over in his head as he spoke. "Please, go back to sleep" he pleaded, not
wanting to alarm her. "Are you sure?" she persisted. "Yes, positive" he assured, and laid his head
back agenst the pillow. She gave in and snuggled up beside him. It wasn't long before she'd fallen
back asleep. But Jack on the other hand remained wide awake. He continued to play the dream
over and over in his head.
"How's he doing?" Charlie asked, looking up from his spot on the bed as Claire slid in through the
door. "He's fine, I didn't wake him. Sun's watching him right now" She explained simply. Charlie
nodded, and gave a week smile. "Are you ok?" he asked, a little concerned. "Yeah, I'm fine" she
assured as she sat down infront of him. "Ok, good. If you need anything let me know" he smiled
compassionately laying his hand over hers. "Well, now that you mention it..." she said
suggestively, a smile crossing her face. A grin came across his as well as he leaned in to kiss her.
"Ow! Damn it!" Shannon muttered loudly as her arm was scraped by a sharp twig poking out from
one of the bushes. "Are you alright?" Sayid asked as he turned back. "Yeah..." she sighed, tilting
her arm to look at the scranch. "Alright. Lets keep going" he suggested in a whisper, and continued
through the trees. "Where are we going again?" she questioned a little agitated, trying to keep up as
she ungracefully pushed through the trees. "To the caves" he reminded softly, glancing back at her.
His features were hard to make out in the dark, and the dim light from the moon reflected of his
eyes, makeing them almost glow. "What?" she whispered loudly, not caching him the first time. A
large leaf hand jumped up in her path, and she'd been to distracted with batting it away to hear him.
"To the caves" he repeated, stopping to face her. "I thought we were looking for Boone?" she
questioned, her voice rising even if she whispered. "We are. This will help us first" he assured.
"what will?" she questioned, now fully aggravated. Sayid sighed. "You'll see when we get there" he
answered, trying to keep himself calm. "Why can't you tell me now?" she questioned with
determination, crossing her arms. "Because I want to keep going" he explained, getting more
aggravated with her. "Well I want to find my brother" she insisted angrily. "And we won't if you keep
wasting time!" he snapped with frustration. Shannon took a deep breath before shoving past him.
"Shannon, what are you doing?" he questioned in a loud whisper as he walked after her. He pushed
through the leaves, trying to fallow her. He heard her call something back, but her voice was distorted
over the sound of leaves rustling all around them. "Shannon?!" he called again, still whispering, but
loud enough for her to here. He could only see little clips of her as he pushed through the leaves. She
was walking to fast. Soon, he'd lose site of her completely. He stopped for a moment, patting his side
to find the small mag light he'd been carrying. He had to look down, unable to feel it. He found it
finally, and slipped it out of his belt. He quickly twisted it on as he looked up, eyes back on the path.
The trees infront of him had stopped moving. "Shannon?" he called in a worried tone as his eyes
shifted around. "Yeah?" he heard her call back. Her voice sounded distant. Something shifted in the
trees close by. His eyes shifted to the sound instinctively, but saw nothing. "Stay where you are" he
instructed firmly, and began walking after her. He moved slow in order to make less noise as he
pushed past the twigs and leaves. "Sayid?" he heard her call, speaking low as if her were right infront
of her. A look of confusion crossed his face as he held the flash light out, pushing the leaves away with
his arm as he walked. He could still see nothing but the leaves. "Ugh, I can't here you" she huffed
moodily. "Just stay there" he insisted again, not sure what she was talking about. "No, you come here."
she continued to talk, completely ignoring him. He soon became aware that who ever she was talking to
was not himself. He moved quicker, listening as she spoke to the unknown figure. "This really isn't
funny. If you don't cut it out I'm leaving!" she snapped, her voice getting shaky with both anger and
fear. He brook through the trees and spotted her in an opening. She was surmounted by trees, in a little
circle where the leaves had disappeared. He had caught the last thing she said, and watched in
confusion as she talked away from him, facing the trees with her side turned to him. "Shannon?" he
questioned, emerging from the leaves and walking up to her side. He glanced in the direction she was
looking in and saw nothing. When he came to her side she gasped, and looked as if she'd just awoken
from something. She blinked a few times before turning to him. "Who were you talking to?" he
questioned, looking at her with confusion. Her jaw hung open as the thought, trying to remember. The l
look on her face told him she didn't know. "Come on. Lets keep going. Stay close" he suggested, and
held her arm as he moved forward.
Sun sat with her legs crossed, watching Ben as he slept. A potted plant sat in her lap, and she continued
to study the large orange flower witch had grown out of it. Its collars were far to bright to be grown
form any where in her country, but its size and shake reminded her of the one Jin had given her before
they got on the plane. If only he hadn't show her that flower, she would be safe in America. Away from
this island and its demons, both monster and human. The sound of the tent door rustling made her
jump, and she looked over her shoulder to see Michael slide in. "Hey. Just checking on you guys to
make sure your alright" he explained a little nervously as he sat down beside her. "Thank you" she
smiled, a little embarrassed. "So are you ready to tell me what happened?" he questioned in concern.
Her eyes trailed away from his. "I told you.." she began softly. She had conducted a story about her
falling, and hitting the side of her face. The story wasn't even believable to her, and she found herself
babbling about none since as she spoke. Why was it so hard to lie to this man? She wondered as her
eyes caught hers again, cutting her off without even speaking. The words were simply stuck in her
troat, and for a moment she even forgot to breath. "You told me you fell. But I don't believe you" he
finished for her. She looked down once again, unable to continuing defending herself. Of Jin, for that
matter. "So please, tell me what I already know." he added softly, seriously. She took a gulp, preparing
herself to give in. To finally tell someone what she'd been wanting to say for many years. She took in a
deep breath, and began.
Kate sat up, awoken by the sounds of Jack as he mumbled to himself while loudly pushing through the suitcases on the floor, throwing items all over the room. "Jack, what are you doing?" she asked sleepily
as she pulled the covers off her hair still a tumbling mess from her sleep. "I'm looking for that paper"
he explained without looking up as he continued flinging the items out of his way. "Jack, maybe you
should-" she began to suggest with a look of concern as she came to his side, gently placing a hand on
his shoulder. "Where is it?!" he demanded, ignoring her words completely. "Jack..." she repeated
worriedly, stareing down at him. "What?!" he snapped, looking up at her. "You need to calm down"
she insisted firmly, not at all effected by his yelling. He took a deep breath and snapped out of it. "Your
right. I'm sorry. But I have to find it" he explained with a sigh. She nodded, understanding. "Let me
help you" she suggested, and helped him dig through the pile.
Claire's head fell back agenst the pillow as Charlie continued to run a trail of kisses down her neck. Her
hand pressed agenst the back of his head, fingers woven through the matted hair as she held him closer
to her. He buried his face into her neck, breathing hard agenst her skin. Her back arched as his hand
moved up her side, bringing the material from her shirt up with it as the kisses moved down her chest.
Her fingers crept down the back of his neck, pulling tighter as his other hand ran up her thigh. She sat
up suddenly, startled by the hard thud in her stomach. "What is it?" he asked worriedly, quickly
scrambling to sit up. She took a breath of relief as she stared down at her stomach. "They're kicking"
she explained, un enthused. "Claire....baby's are suppose to kick" he reminded her, eyeing her with a
look of concern. "They aren't kicking me, they're kicking each other" she corrected herself, continuing
to stare down at her stomach. "Oh, well that's a different story" he grinned up at her. She smiled back,
but only for a second. "My god, they're doing it again" she groaned, her gaze falling back to her bare
abdomen. "Maybe I can help" he suggested with a Cheshire grin. "Cut it out you two, don't make me
come in there" he yelled into the top of her shirt, holding it out with one hand. Claire's shoulders shook as she laughed, her head thrown back so her hair trailed along the pillows. "I love you" she beamed
when he looked back up, brushing her hand over his hair. He laughed a little before laying a soft kiss on
her lips. "So, where were we?" he questioned with a grin. She pushed his shoulder playfully, but with
enough force to get him on his back before rolling onto of him. He propped himself up on his elbow as
he leaned up to kiss her. Her thumb trailed down his cheek before she placed her hand agenst his neck,
pulling him closer to her as they kissed. Her other arm was wrapped around his shoulders as her fingers
trailed across his back. He wrapped both of his arms around her waist, his hands pressed agenst her
bare back as he pulled her closer to him. She continued to kiss down his neck as they moved up her
sides, lifting the shirt up with them. She leaned back, holding her arms over her head as
she allowed him to take off her shirt. For a moment she was blinded as the shirt passed over he head
and was pulled over her arms before being flung to the side. Her hair fell down around her back and her
shoulders as he eyes opened again. His smile grew as his eyes moved over her body, admiring every
thing about her.
"Are we almost there?" Shannon asked softly, looking around paranoid as she hugged herself to keep
warm. "Yes" he assured, turning back to check on her. She shivered and continued walking. He would
have offered her an article of clothing if he'd been wearing any thing more than a wife beater, but could
do nothing for her. It wasn't long before they made it to the caves. Shannon looked around,
recognizing the place even in the dark as Sayid moved around, feeling agenst the walls of the caves in
search of something. She opened her mouth to ask what his was doing, but closed it again. She decided
not to bother him with questions. Instead, she simply sat down on one of the rocks and trusted him to
know what he was doing. After all, he has gotten me this fare. And he is the only one helping me.
Actually, he's the only person who noticed something was wrong to begin with. If it weren't for him, on
one would even know Boone was missing. Well I'm glad I've got him helping me, because I'd have never
had the guts to come here alone. Why is he helping me anyways? she though as she watching him move
around, squinting to make out his figure in the dark. "Oh no..." he said freely, with a look of worry as he
stared at the opening to one of the caves. "What?" she asked, standing once again. "Its open" he
explained, in a voice that sounded as if he were announcing the end of the world. Her heart sunk when
she thought that he very well could be. "So...?" she questioned, not seeing the problem of a cave with
an opening. "This is the cave where we had been keeping Danielle. The fact that its open means she's
escaped" he explained calmly, leaning his head agenst the wall of the cave. Shannon jaw dropped. "How is
that possible?" she questioned in shock. "She must have had help. Lots of it" he explained solemnly. "So
what now?" she questioned, a little disappointed that they were now farther from finding Boone than
before. "Well, we either go back and wait until morning so we can fallow his trail, or we keep going on
instinct" he explained simply. Shannon thought for a moment. "What if we stay here and wait until
morning?"she suggested. "Sounds reasonable to me..."
"I don't understand. If he keeps treating you like this, why do you stay with him?" Michael questioned,
after hearing Sun's confessions for over an hour. "I tried to leave once. Before we got on the plane. I had
it all planned out. I was suppose to leave at the air port, make them think I was dead" she explainedsoftly,
tears still fresh in her eyes. "Why didn't you?" he asked with a concerned interest. "I couldn't leave him"
she answered softly, looking down as if in shame. "On the day he purposed, he gave me this flower. This
big beautiful flower...and then at the plane station, just when I was about to leave I looked back, just for
one last time...and there he was, holding the flower....and I couldn't go, because I knew he still cared" she
continued mournfully. "If he cares about you so much, then why dose he hurt you?" Michael inquired
persuasively. "Its hard for you to understand, but where we come from things are just...different. A wife is
suppose to respect her husband, and trust his interest. And to contradict him, its like betrayal...." she tried to
explained. "So instead he's the one who's done wrong and he's tricked you into blaming yourself" he
confirmed, still no where near convinced. "No, its not like that-" she tried to assure him, but it was no use.
The look on his face said it all, and she bowed her head, knowing he was right. Another tear rolled down her
check as she stared down at the sand before her. After a moment she looked up once again, looking him
dead in the eye. "will you help me?" she asked softly, nervously. "I'll do everything I can" he assured her.
His expression remained serious as laid his hand over hers.
"I don't understand!" Jack was saying, as he flipped through the pages of the news paper. "How could we
be the only ones in this obituary. That papers from New York!" he exclaimed, stareing down at the two
pages filled with the faces of the plane crash victims. "Maybe they ran out of room" Kate suggested
skeptically, not knowing what else to say. "This isn't funny, Kate" she sneered, turning a look at her.
"Well...I just don't see the big deal about a news paper" she explained with a shrug. "The big deals is that its
dated two months after the crash. Witch means some how it made its way here all the way from New York
after the crash had already happened. Tell me, Kate, how the hell is that possible?!" he ranted. "I don't
know, Jack. But theres a logical explanation. You of all people should know that. You're a doctor for Christ
sakes!" she exclaimed, getting a little fed up with his attitude. "Yeah, I'm a doctor. So I'm not suppose to
believe in anything but facts, right?" he questioned angrily. "That's not what I meant-"she tried to explained.
"Well then what did you mean?" he interrupted impatiently. "I just don't see why the paper is so important
that you have to go searching for it in the middle of the night just to find something you already knew
about!" she exclaimed. he took a deep breath and looked away from her. "So tell me, Jack. What's the
reason?" she questioned, her voice lowering once again as she calmed herself down. "It was in my dream" he sighed in surrender. "What did you see?" she questioned softly. "Its hard to explained. But it has
something to do with this paper and I think its trying to tell me something" he explained emotionally. Kate
sighed, not knowing what to think. Jack wasn't the type to believe in dreams, ever. Something strange had
gotten into him, and it was starting to make her worry.
Charlie lay on his back with one hand behind his head. The other rested on Claire's shoulder as she used his
stomach as a pillow. "Your amazing" he mused, beaming down at her. "Your not so bad your self" she
replied playfully, walking her fingers up his chest. He took her hand in his and kissed her across the knuckles
before holding it over his stomach. She snuggled in closer, resting her head back down on his shoulder. A
sleepy yawn escaped her mouth as she settled back down. "Tired?" he questioned with a suggestive grin.
"Mm, hm..." she nodded agenst his chest. "Want me to sing you to sleep?" he asked playfully. "If you
like..." she replied with a laugh. She felt his chest rise and fall as he pulled his arm around her tighter and
began to sing. "Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket, never let it fade away, catch a falling star
and put it in your pocket, save it for a rainy day..." he sang, moving her hand with his gently to the beat.
"For love may come and tap you on the shoulder, some star-less night, just incase you feel you wanna hold
her, you'll have a pocket full of star light" he continued with a light smile. Claire smiled euphorically and
slowly began to join in. "So, catch a falling star and put it in your pocket, never let it fade away, catch a
falling star and put it in your pocket, save it for a rainy day" they sang together softly as they held each
other close. Slowly her eyes flittered shut as she dazed off to his dreamy voices.
Shannon sat up, back agenst the rock as the cold breeze blew through. She'd wrapped her self in the bright
pink shawl as best as she could, but remained chilled. Sayid slept on his side only inches away, his back to
her. The bay lay at her feet. Unable to sleep, she decided she might as well do something to keep herself occupied, so quietly she unzipped the bag and pulled at the map she'd been translating and looked over it. It
still made no since to her. Just a bunch of gibberish about circles, tunnels, apples, windmills and space.
Something was spinning, or revolving, and something about a picture in a hall way, and drums. It truly made
no since. But the tone had something familiar to it. Something she couldn't put her finger on. She stare over
the words again and tried hard to remember their meanings. After a moment, it came to her. So simply that
she almost felt dumb for not realizing what it was. quickly, she pulled out the note pad and pin she'd been
using to wright down and began scribbling the translations. After a moment, she stopped and read over her
wrighting. Like a tunnel that you fallow, to a tunnel of its own. Down a hallow to a cavern where the sun is
never shown. Like a door that keeps revolving in a half forgotten dream, or the ripples from a pebble
someone tosses in a stream. Like a clock who's hands are sweeping past the minutes of its face, and the
world is like an apple spinning silently in space, like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind.
A triumphant smile swept across her face as she stared down at the paper. She could no longer wait until
morning. Now that she understood the paper, she hand to look for herself. Quickly, she shoved the map
back inside the bag and zipped it back up. She slipped the mag light carefully out of his belt and twisted it
on, holding it in her hand as she slowly climbing to her feat and heading into the cave.
"Are you sure its alright? Because I can say if you like" Michele offered, turning in the door way. "No, you
go get some sleep. I'll be fine here" she assured him with a smile. "Alright. Good night, Sun" he said with a
little nod. "Good night" she replied, and watched as he slid out the door. She sighed a little before crawling
into the matt witch would normally be Shannon's bed, beside Ben and pulled the blankets around them.
Slowly her eyes fell shut and she drifted off to sleep.
"Jack, I'm worried about you" Kate explained, laying her hand on his fore arm. "Don't be" he insisted in a
huff of breath. "Then stop acting like this" she begged with pleading eyes. "Like what, Kate?" he snapped,
turning to her. "Your not being yourself" she explained firmly. "Oh? And how would you know that?" he
questioned sarcastically. For a moment, she was taken aback. "How can you say that?" She questioned in
shock, outraged at the question. " I've spent every night with you for almost a year! I know you better than
anyone on this island!" she reminded him. "And yet you know nothing about me" he protested with
aggravation. "Well you know what, Jack? Get over it. Because I'm the closest anyone ever gonna get" she
snapped before rising to her feat. "What the hell is that suppose to mean?" he questioned skeptically,
walking after her as she stormed out of the tent. "It means the reason no one knows anything about you is
because you won't tell them anything!" she exclaimed angrily, stopping to face him. "I don't tell them
anything? Look who's talking!" he exclaimed angrily. "Yeah? Well maybe that's because I don't want
people to know me. Maybe I like keeping some aspects of my life secret. But atleast I don't go around
whining about it!" she ranted accusing. "Why? What is the point of keeping everything secret?" he
badgered, fallowing her still as she walked away from him. "I don't know, Jack. You tell me!" she yelled
without looking at him. "Will you two shut the hell up?" a smug southern voice called from his tent. "Shut
up, Sowyer" the two snapped in unison, turning to the instigating, aggravated man sitting outside his tent.
"Look it, love birds. Some of us singles are trying to sleep, so take it in the tent and keep it the fuck down,
please" Sowyer snapped insensitively. "Look, Kate. Neither one of us are the most open people, but I need
you to just trust me with this" Jack compromised, a little calmer now that he could ignore Sowyer. "And
what if I can't?" she questioned, crossing her arms. "Your not makeing this any easier" he noted with
frustration. "Well neither are you!" she shoot back defensively. "Oh my god! Will you two look at
yourself? Jesus! Your bickering like a married couple? And over what? Because bad ass over here is to big
of a man to tell you his little insecurities ? Let me tell you something. The man's mind is a fucked up place
freckles, and I don't think you wanna go there. So maybe you should just trust him and let him do what he
needs to do?" Sowyer suggested, makeing his way into the conversation with no invitation needed. "Stay
out of it, Sowyer" Jack snapped angrily, turning to him. "No...he's right, Jack" Kate said softly, putting her
head down. "He is?" Jack questioned, rasing an eye brow. "I am?" Sowyer fallowed with a similar
expression. "Yes" Kate nodded. "Your right, I don't know you. And if this dream or what ever it is you
thinks trying to tell you something, then I need to just stand back and let you find it" she explained
apologetically. For a moment Jack looked like he didn't know what to say. "Uh...thanks, for understanding"
he said after a moment with a little shrug. "Yeah..." she sighed, then looked up. "Let me know when you
find it" she then finished bitterly, and began walking away. "Wait, Kate!" Jack called, about to fallow her.
He stopped himself, knowing that they could argue all night and she'd still be to stubborn to give in. "Damn
it!" he cursed angrily before shooting a leer at Sowyer. "Hey, don't look at me. You're the one who won't
open up to the girl" Sowyer said defensively, holding up his hands as if surrendering. "Shut up.." Jack
muttered before shoving past him to his tent. A slick smirk crossed Sowyer's face as Jack staggered off to
his tent miserably. "I love my work" he mused to himself before walking after her.
Sayid sat up, and quickly looked over his shoulder. "Shannon?" he whispered, squinting to see in the dark.
No response. "Shannon!?" he called again, as he sat up. He fumbled to his feet and felt around his waste
band for the flash light. It was gone. He looked down at the ground where she'd been sitting, and spotted
the pad of translations sitting on the ground. He lifted it up and looked over the front page. The wrighting
was new he could tell, and the ink was a little smeared. He didn't take time to read it fully. He glanced up
from the paper to the opening of the caves. "Oh no..." he sighed grimly, putting two and to together.
"Shannon?!" he called, leaning inside the caves. She'd gone way to far in to here him now, and the inside
was pitch black. There was no way he could make it through there and find her safely, but he had to try
none the less. Why, Shannon? Why did you have to do this alone? He wondered to himself as he felt his way
through the pitch black tunnel into the cave. He squinted hard, but still could not even see his own hand
infront of his face as he walled. If he fell or got turned in the wrong direction, who knows how badly he
could be hurt. And at the pace he was moving he'd never catch up to her in time. The whole idea was
dangerous, rash and senseless. "Shannon?!" he called again, despretly hoping to here her call back. Instead,
the only sound that returned was the rumbling of the walls around him. "Shit" he muttered, as he quickly
made his way back to the opening. The rocks fell around him, caving in, in a cloud of dirt and dust as he
finally made his way out. He coughed histaricly as he stared back at the only entrance to the cave witch was
now destroyed. With no other option, he snatched up the bag and ran his way back to the beach.
Sun's eyes flew open, startled by the sudden paranoid feeling of being watched. She looked over her
shoulder to see Jin stareing down at her. A look of surprise crossed her face as she quickly sat up. "Don't
pretend I don't know what your doing" he instructed with a determined look. "It stops now, Sun" he
confirmed. She eyed him with confusion, trying not to show her fear. "I don't know what your talking
about..." she assured him uncertainly. "Don't lie to me. I'm talking about you, and that man. Your going to
stay away from him, and every one else on this island, understand? It stops now" with that, he grabbed a
hold of her arm and pulled her to her feet. "Jin, I can't leave-" she tried to explain, gesturing with her free
hand at the pile of blankets witch Ben was hidden under. Jin ignored her as he dragged her out of the tent by
her arm. Unable to stop him verbally, she ripped her arm out of his grip and pulled herself away. He turned
to her angrily, his chest rising and falling visibly as he breathed. "I am not leaving. I am watching this child
because he needs to be protected" Sun confirmed sternly. "Let his mother watch him. You're my wife, you
come with me" he demanded, and went to grab her arm once again. "Not any more!" she replied forcefully,
pulling away from him. "I'm not taking orders from you any more. I may be your wife but I am not your
property. And unlike this child I do not need to be protected, and if I did, the last person I'd want to have
doing it was you" she explained bravely, looking him directly in the eye. Jin grimaced, speechless for a
moment. "How dare you do this to me? After all I have done for you? Provided you with a home, a life you
always wanted? I gave you every thing you ever dreamed of!" he tried to convince her, talking firmly in a
low, demanding voice as he moved closer to her. "No, not every thing" she assured him, looking down at the
ground. "What, then? What more could you possibly want?" he sneered. "Love" was the simple answer, as
she looked him in the eye one last time. And with that, she walked away. And no flower or sweet remark
could bring her back. She was free. Jin watched her leave angrily, stareing long after before returning to his
own lonely tent. She sank to her knees in the middle of the sand, pulling her skirt down to cover her knees. It
was only seconds before she became overwhelmed with emotion, and the sobs broke out loudly as she cried
rivers into her open palms.
"Dad, is she alright?" Walt asked, standing in the door way of their tent. "Yeah, she's fine." Michael assured,
stareing on as he placed a hand on his shoulder. "Never better.." he mused, a look of stone upon his face.
"How's that?" Walk questioned, raising an eye brow as he looked up at his dad. "Because....she's free" he
explained, turning to back to him.
Sowyer tried hard to keep up as he fallowed Kate through the trees. "May I ask where your going, freckles?"
he called, pushing the thick leaves out of his way as he walked not far behind her. It seemed like anything she
pushed past snapped back at him with twice the force. "Stop fallowing me" was her only reply, and she said it
without even looking back. "Oh yeah, and leave you walking through tulgy wood in the dark all by yourself"
he called back sarcastically. "I can take care of myself" he assured him with an attitude, trying to lose him in
the trees without running. "So can I, but you don't see me walking through here at night" he exclaimed. Kate
stopped and turned to him. "You come out here by yourself all the time!" she reminded him. "Well, yeah, but not in the dark!" he corrected himself, still keeping his point. She crossed her arms and raised an eye brow at
him skeptically. "Only when I have to take a piss" he assured, giving the scouts honors sign. She gave a laugh
and shook her head. "Theres that smile I was looking for" he grinned triumphantly, take a few steps forward.
"You're an ass" she sighed, before she began turning away. "And you're a bitch" he grinned, continuing to
fallow her. "Oh, thanks" she muttered sarcastically, looking back at him over her shoulder. "Wasn't meant to
be a compliment" he shrugged. "what was it, then?" she questioned skeptically. "A generalization that put
you and me together" he explained. "Yeah, right.." she muttered skeptically as she broke through the trees.
They had reached water fall that the two of them had found long ago. 'Oh, look. Its our spot" he mused
sarcastically, pretending to be romantic. "Our spot?" she asked, rasing an eye brow. "Well, were the ones
who found it, ain't we?" he reminded her. "No, I found it. You just happened to be with me" she confirmed.
"Well, aren't we selfish?" he teased with a smirk as he unbuckled his belt. "yeah, I'm the selfish one" she
huffed sarcastically, crossing her arms. He grinned up at her as continued to remove his shirt. "What are you
doing?" she questioned, eyeing him strangely. "I'm taking a swim in lake Kate, thank you very much" he
explained, tossing the shirt and belt aside as he sat down on the rocks and began untiing his shoe laces. She
laughed, and shook her head in disbelief. "What, is there a charge or something?" he teased, looking up at her
as he slid the timberland boot off his foot. "No...but its probably freezing" she explained. "Well, I guess we
won't know until I get it now will we?" he replied, removing his other sock and shoe before standing back on
his feet. "Suit yourself" she sighed, putting her hands up in serenader. "Oh, what? You ain't coming with
me?" he teased, smirking up at her as he walked backwards into the water. "No" she assured him simply.
"Aw, come on, freckles..." he insisted. She kept her feet secure on the rocks, makeing it very clear that she
wasn't getting in. "Oh, no! I'm drowning! Come on, wonder women! Help me out!" he teased, splashing
about as if her were actually drowning. "Having fun?" she questioned, hands on hips as she watched his
childish attempt. "Are you kidding? This is a hoot! To bad I have to keep all this fun to myself" he explained, still trying to be persuasive. "Well, I think I'll leave the 'hooting' up to you" she assured him, and lowered
herself onto the rocks. "So tell me this then, freckles..." he began, wading his way over to her. "If you didn't
wanna swim, why'd you come out here?" Kate thought for a moment, looking down at him. "I dunno. The
view" she answered, glancing up at the water fall. "Yeah, I guess the view ain't bad" he teased, looking
directly at her breast. "You pervert" she exclaimed, with a roll of her eyes. "Takes one to know one" he
replied, pulling himself up so that they were eye to eye by crossing his arms over her legs and pushing up on
the rocks. "So are you getting in, or what?" he asked once again, talking very close to here ear. "I told you,
no" she answered finally. "Fine, I didn't want it to come to this but you gave me no choice" he sighed. And
with that he grabbed a hold of her legs and pulled her into the water with him. He laughed Histaricly as she
popped back out of the water, now soaking wet. "Oh, you bastard.." she threatened as she made a move
forward. He quickly swam backwards to escape the attack. "Woo, carefully freckles. Wouldn't want you to
hurt yourself" he teased playfully. She made a jump at him, dunking his head under the water. He pushed
himself back up, pulling her over his shoulder and tossing her backwards into the water. She came up
laughing once again. "You're a dead man" she confirmed, and with that she ducked back under the water. He
looked around for a moment, unable to see her moving in the dark water. Before he knew it, shed tugged him
under. They fought playfully under water, trying hard to keep the other one down. They moved
unconsciously under the fall before Kate managed to swim to the top, catching only a gulp of air before he
grabbed her by the thigh and pulled her back under. She kicked herself out of his grip and, holding onto the
slippery wall of the cave, pulled her self up. She gasped for air as she rested her back agenst the rocks. She
closed her eyes and turned her head to the side. Her chest rising and falling as the air re-filled her lungs. After
a moment, she turned back to see Sowyer at the opposite side, face only inches away from her. She gasped
and jumped a little, startled by his sudden appearance. He couldn't help but laugh. "Oh my god. You scared
the hell out of me" she exclaimed breathlessly, holding here chest with one hand. "No kidding. You should
have seen your face" he teased, still laughing. She glared at him playfully and tried to dunk him once again.
She managed to get her hands over his head, elbows pinned onto his shoulders, but was unable to push him
under. He took the opportunity to wrap his arms around her waist, and try to pull her down. Unbalanced,
they stumbled backwards until her back was agenst the wall. They caught each others eyes for only a moment
before pulling in for a spontaneous kiss that neither of them tried to stop.