Hey Guysssssssss, lol thanks for all your jerkin' views, they were pretty hot. Sorry I haven't updated much lately, it takes awhile to write plus all the teachers are like sending there evil homework powers after me! I mean what happened to the good old days when I could just go to school and watch movies and goof off?
I have a few little tiny notes about this chapter,
1) Kate's flashbacks have officially started and believe me they get pretty intense. Her friends (you will meet them) are based on my friends in real life. Drac (pronounced Drake) is based on my best male bud
Ethan: HEY
Second best male bud Davey, he made me the secretary of sexness and guns in gayland. Anyways his character is gay so if you have a problem with that you should probably skip over the flashbacks. Beth is based on my best gal pal
Ethan: HEY
Second best gal pal Lizzie and also on my other friend, whose name I will not mention for specific reasons.
2) The next chapter is where it starts getting really screwed up (rearranged, distorted, etc.) I will also try and introduce more characters.
3) Also I didn't mean any offense by anything Sawyer says or how I ethnically describe the characters. If it offends you in anyway I deeply apologize.

Just Incase

Chapter 2

Like Family

Kate gently took off her white blouse; well it had been white, now it was an odd beige color, from the wind, dirt, rain and exhaust from the plane. She tied it around her waist as she kept walking through the thick jungle. It was now past noon and the sun's scorching rays were as hostile as ever.

She sighed, she wasn't one to complain, but the island felt like a sauna. Everything was wet, either with rain, sweat or condensation from the evaporating water. Jack pushed on ahead of her, fiddling with the transceiver, she knew that he wouldn't give up until he found a signal. Behind her Charlie lazily slapped his shoes against the ground, snapping twigs and what not.

She heard him sigh, "Anything yet?" he asked as he moved around to avoid a group of tightly woven trees, that resembled pegs sticking out of a board.

"You keep asking if there's anything," he grumbled as he switched some more dials, just increasing the level of static.

"Well excuse me, but you did say the pilot said we were over one thousand miles off course, and that this transceiver might be the only way we get home, so is there anything or not?"

"No," Jack said politely, as they kept walking. For some odd reason he never seemed to run out of energy, he was at least ten feet ahead of them, and even though his full attention was on the electronic device he held, he never fell out of step once.

Kate walked through the peg-like trees, gripping one with her delicate hand and swinging around it to grab hold of another; it reminded her of the obstacle course that was always at the fair she used to go to when she was young. A smile crept to her face when she remembered the dark night being illuminated by millions of vibrant carnival lights. The smell of cotton candy, hot dogs, and cigarettes wafted through the air.

"So what were you doing in the bathroom?" she questioned Charlie as she let go of the last splintery, thin trunk of the saplings. She slowed her pace so she was walking next to him.

"I thought you could tell," he replied looking up to her, his eyes seemed as energetic as before when he whipped open the bathroom door, almost clear off the hinges, "I was puking."

Kate smiled, here she thought she was the useless one, the one holding them back, she realized then that everyone wasn't holding Jack back, he was moving everyone to fast ahead.

"My one tangible contribution to the trek," he explained as he raised the hood of his navy blue sweater over his head, almost like a turtle retreating into its shell.

"No, I'm glad you came," Kate stated as Jack seemed to get further and further away from them.

"Of course, every trek needs a coward," he announced as he looked up to see Jack patiently stand and wait for them.

"You're not a coward Charlie," Kate declared, "Jack's the hero, I'm the damsel in distress and you're the comic relief," she elaborated as they met Jack.

"I'm the what?" He asked looking up from the device for the first time since the trio started walking.

"Nothing," Kate replied then noticed something sticking out of Jack's pocket, "Hey that's mine," she proclaimed as she grabbed the grimy handle of the rattle, dry clumps of mud promptly fell off.

Kate placed it in the back of her pocket and they continued to keep walking, Jack always at least five feet ahead of Charlie and Kate. His energy supply seemed endless, Charlie seemed to be loosing liveliness, and Kate was almost always struggling for air, though it wasn't overly noticeable.

"So are you really Nike's mother?" he asked looking at her, hoping she wouldn't mind the personal question.

"Yep," she nodded as she dodged a slinky vine that suddenly fell before her. She pulled a crimp of hair off her face and behind her ear.

"Like you didn't adopt her, or she's not your sister, or you're not a foster mom or anything?" Charlie prodded once again, swiftly moving his hand up to push aside vines that blocked the path.

"Nope, she's one hundred percent my daughter," Kate replied with a smile as she waited for Charlie to emerge from the vines, "Why?"

"You just look awfully young to have a child, that's all. Not that I'm reprimanding or anything, I don't know the circumstances of how it happened. I mean my cousin Erika; she had a baby when she was sixteen, so I understand your situation," he spoke quickly, almost slurring all his words together, making sure Kate didn't take it the wrong way. "I didn't offend you did I?" he questioned his face falling.

Kate chuckled, "I couldn't stay mad at the bass player from Driveshaft," she replied as they kept walking.

"Guys," Jack began with a frustrated sigh, the kind a parent would use after coming home and seeing that their children had attempted to make smores in the toaster, "we really have to pick up the pace, we've been gone for almost six hours," he explained.

"Sorry," Kate apologized as she moved legs faster, the damp cargo pants weighting her legs down, making it seem like each step was through drying concrete.

Everything went silent for a moment. The only sound being the leaves and sticks on the ground being mulched by their hurried steps and Kate's light wheezing inhalations.

"Arete!" Charlie yelled as he threw his hands up in superiority. A smiled gracing his face from cheek to cheek.

Kate stopped and turned back looking at Charlie, then Kate. Both staring at him wondering what had gotten into him. "Arete," said simply once again, "That was the goddess we were going to make a song about too. We had the chorus and everything," he said as if he'd accomplished some death defying feat.

Kate grinned and Jack fought the urge to roll his eyes as he turned back to the tree-claimed jungle. Once again silence, almost so loud it could echo throughout the island, until Charlie broke it again, "Oh I wished I looked before I fell into," he began to sing, his voice a nice competitor to the endless silence, which made walking look like remedial work, "This place lingering with taboo," he continued, eliciting a soft chuckle from Kate.

"Chasing you through the clouds, trying to subdue," he held the last word, "You, Arete, you gave me the gift of virtue!" he chanted at a falsetto level.

"That's really good," Kate said with a laugh, "Why didn't you release that as a single?" Kate asked.

"My brother Liam, he really didn't believe in all that ancient Greek hodgepodge," he enlightened, "Thought that it was immoral to God, even though he was the biggest womanizer I've ever known." He spoke as Kate followed Jack, then noticed that they had arrived back on the beach.

A crowd of people could be seen gathering around some event taking place a hundred yards down the beach, Jack immediately took off for that destination, fearing the worse. Charlie shrugged and followed.

Kate did the opposite; she turned and began to drag her feet through the light sands and making her way towards Claire.

"Tell everyone what you told me!" an man yelled, his fist balled, the veins in his arms protruding out of his dark skinned arms like they were pumped full of rage, "Tell them how I crashed the plane!" he yelled, an African American man holding him back.

"The shoe fits, buddy!" the other man yelled back, his Southern accent dripping with hatred.

Kate had just approached the brawl, Nike lying against her chest; the baby's head was lolled lethargically against her shoulder, the heat making her sleepy.

"What's going on?" Jack asked flustered as he held the Southerner back.

"My kid found these in the jungle," the black man explained as he let go of the man he was holding on to, and passed a pair of handcuffs to Jack. Kate's heart sank in her chest and she quickly inhaled deeply.

"He was sitting in the back of the business flight the whole time, never got up once," the American man explained, his eyebrows furrowed with anger as he made the accusation, "And I'm just pointing out that the guy who was sitting beside him didn't make it."

"Thank you so much for observing my behavior," the dark skinned man declared with a subtle touch of sarcasm. Kate sighed; this man was getting blamed, because he was clearly of Indian ethnicity.

"Don't think I didn't see them pull you out of the line before we boarded," he spat back and tried to attack the other man once again, "Bring it."

"Hey man," a rather hefty man began, "Where all in this together, why don't we treat each other with a little respect?" asked lightly.

"Shut up, Lardo," he shot back. Kate had had enough of this.

"Hey!" she yelled and everyone looked to her, Jack held a gleam of curiosity in his eye, "Let it go," she stated simply.

The Southerner chuckled, "Who the hell gave you all the presidential power?" he asked as she walked through a space between the crowded people, "You think just because you got…"

Kate cut him off, "I don't know who let you get away with talking like that back wherever the hell it is you came from," Kate began as she hiked up Nike a bit more, changing her hold, "But I guarantee you, that if you talk to me like that, you will NOT get away with it," she stressed, holding his cerulean eyed stare.

"And what are you gonna do about it Freckles?" he asked as he walked towards her. Jack was ready to pounce on this guy, she could tell, she gave him a look to back off and stepped towards him, her eyes glaring daggers at him, "you'd be surprised," she growled.

He chuckled and turned his and walked away, throwing his hand up in an aggravating manner, Jack changed the subject abruptly, "We found he transceiver. But it's not working, does anyone know how to fix it?" he questioned.

"I might be able to," the East Indian man explained as he held out his hand. Jack handed him the device and walked away to check on the Marshall. Slowly the crowd dwindled down and Kate was left standing, still perturbed about the event that had happened.

Nike reached up and pulled a curl of her hair and giggled when it bounced back into its original form. She looked down into the chubby freckle-speckled, dirt stained face of her daughter, "Let's get you clean up, huh?" Kate asked as she rubbed her nose against her daughter's, educing a giggle fit.

She began to walk down the beach, the baby bag slung over her arm, when she saw the man who volunteered to fix the transceiver underneath a long palm tree on the shore, debris from the plane was littered around him and he was rummaging through suitcases piled before him looking for tools.

Kate simpered as she walked through the sand over to him, "I'm sorry about that," Kate expressed as she stood beside him hoping she wasn't disrupting him.

"There is nothing to be sorry about," he answered looking up with a smile, "you didn't do anything wrong." His hand held the electronic gadget in one hand, the outer case had been opened and the microchips and such were exposed, almost as if he were operating on it.

If only you knew, she thought to herself with a pensive smile, "Well we know he certainly isn't going to apologize and I felt someone should," she explained, "I just can't take people like that."

He smiled when she sat next to him and continued to work on the transceiver, taking a small screw driver and loosening some certain wires, "Some people have problems," he offered.

"Everyone has problems," she stated bitterly, "But we all don't go around acting like a big jerk."

He chuckled, a meaningful, deep chortle that almost shook his entire body, he placed the device on the ground and placed his hand over his face, "You're certainly one to speak your mind," he noticed.

"We it comes to certain topics," she answered with a sly smile. She stuck out her hand in the air, it was covered from dirt stains from the earlier expedition, and she blushed slightly, "I'm Kate."

He shook her hand gently, "I'm Sayid," he introduced himself.

"Do you need help with anything?" she asked, "I don't know much about electronics, but of you need me to find anything."

"I'm fine for now," he stated, "Besides I think you have your hands full at the moment."

Kate nodded, "I'm sorry, this is my daughter, Nike," she introduced the five-month-old and sat her in her lap.

The sun was setting; the night winds would soon be claiming the beach, stirring everyone in a fury of panic, that the monster would come back. That was the very least thing they needed, they could barely live amongst each other, and now there was another dangerous factor added.

Kate had spent most of the day talking to Sayid, learning somewhat about his past in the Republican Guard. She had no biased opinion on anything he had done in the past, it's not like hers was laced with cashmere made by God, himself. In retrospect she probably helped him by being having an untainted conscience.

Around the time Nike needed to be changed she excused herself, and took her to an isolated area on the beach and gave her a quick sponge bath. With her taken care of, Kate need only worry about herself, but she was dreadfully tired, a day of hiking followed by childcare was not a lazy day.

She walked meekly down the beach just above the surf, the waves gently lapping close to her feet, the sound like some angelic choir that made her eyelids spoiled with sleep. Nike reached up and began to play with her earring, bringing a smile to her lips, "You never get tired of earrings do you?" she asked her daughter who smiled lopsidedly.

"Kate!" someone called her from ahead on the beach, from the faint light she could only seen a dark contour waving her down. She stopped walking for a moment and arched an eyebrow, and the person began to run towards her.

Turning she faced the ocean, the water carrying the sun's dying light to shore as the waves feebly crashed, not even making an attempt to be fierce. Kate understood to well, that the ocean had seen better days; it was probably tired from carrying flotsam from an airplane all day.

"Kate," Jack sounded reprimanding as he stopped beside her, "You shouldn't be out here by yourself, we still haven't found who the US Marshal was transporting. And not after that thing," he gesticulated towards the trees lining the beach, "We don't know what it can do."

"It can chew up a pilot pretty good," she explained with a huff, as she turned toward him, her bruised cheek outlined by the morbid, but equally glorious sunset. See this Nike moved her hand up and with one finger jabbed the area harshly, "Ah," she winced then looked at her daughter, "Someone's in a naughty mood today."

Jack smiled grimly, "How's it feel?" he asked as he brought a large hand up to touch it, the bruise was still swelling and warm to touch, but in a matter of days would be invisible.

"Jack, its fine," Kate assured as she rolled her eyes, "I've had worse," immediately she wished this was an episode of Peabody's Improbable History and she had a way back machine. Biting her lip she watched him intently.

"About that Kate…"

"I don't want to talk about it," she interrupted, not wanting the subject to even bud, never mind blossom.

"I was going to say, if you want to talk about it, I'm here," he finished. Looking at her quizzically, wondering why she was so guarded.

"Thanks, but I know I won't need to," she explained as she turned around. Jack knew she something had happened to her, to make her apologize to everyone, for everything that wasn't her fault.

"How's you're heart?" he asked trying to get her back, making sure that she wasn't completely sheltered from everyone on the island.

"It's okay I guess, nothing really big since I yelled at that guy," she enlightened.

"Sawyer?" Jack asked crossing his arms over his chest to stop from balling his fists.

"The guy with the accent?" she questioned back, "the one who was verbally abusing everything within a five foot radius?"

Jack nodded, "You were in pain when you yelled at him?" he asked. She glanced at him, a quick flash of fear peeked out of her eyes, if he blinked he would've missed it, but he didn't, "Kate, were you?"

"Yeah…" She answered uneasily, "Is that bad?" Nike reached up and grabbed a piece of hair once again, pulling it straight then musing as it returned to its previous state.

"Well have you been relaxing like I told you to?" he asked.

"No exactly," Kate began as she looked over to him; she bit her lip, knowing she was going to get an earful.

"Kate, you have to relax, it's not so hard to do, you sit on a blanket and you read. Or you sleep. Or you do something else," he exclaimed fighting from loosing his cool, "This isn't some joke."

"I know it's not a joke," Kate replied angrily, her eyes glaring at him.

"Then why do you treat it like one?" he chastised loudly. Nike looked over to him with a questioning face.

"Because Jack, it's not so easy to relax when you're the solitary caregiver to a five-month-old who relies on you for everything," she yelled back and her voice cracked in pain. She placed the hand that wasn't supporting Nike to her chest and uttered a small gasp of pain as her eyes watered.

Jack instantly moved an arm around her back holding her up so she wouldn't fall and get a face full of sand. She began to wheeze for air, her hand slowly sliding from around Nike's waist, Jack noticed this and grasped the child before she could fall to the ground.

"There's one bedroom, one bathroom, a large kitchen and a beautiful view from the balcony," the landlord described as Kate walked around the vastly empty apartment. Her shoes lightly clicked over the hardwood floors and the sound echoed.

"It's beautiful," Kate spoke in awe, still glancing around the open room.

"All the appliances come with the kitchen and cable comes free," the landlord said once again, she was standing at the door waiting with a clipboard, tapping her feet impatiently. She would've preferred to rent the apartment to a young married couple who were native to Australia, but no one had made a move on it yet.

"When can I move in?" Kate asked as she pulled her bag back up onto her shoulder, it had slowly been sliding down.

The landlord sighed; she was a short, stocky woman in her late fifties. Her graying hair was wrapped securely in a painfully tight bun on the back of her head. Her thick cat's-eye glasses slid down on her short pig nose, "As soon as I get proof of citizenship, then you can sign the documents right away," she almost grumbled as she pushed her glasses back up to the bridge of her nose, "But I have to tell you that there's a," she smiled innocently.

"That's okay," Kate expressed with a grin as she pulled out the fake ID Leo had gotten before his untimely demise.

She glanced at it, then glanced at Kate, "How old are you?" she questioned, her eyes squinting to look at the small print.

"I'm nineteen," Kate spoke the truth, she hadn't bothered changing her age, if anything she looked younger then nineteen, and her name was still the same. She had used a pseudo name for the bank robbery, and she doubted Anthony had followed her.

The landlord wrote it down on the mandatory sheet, used for filing, "And what's your current address now?" she questioned, her eyes glaring over the top of her glasses. The light from the window gleaming off them, causing an almost demonic quality.

"The Holiday Inn," Kate stated, "I just relocated here about a week ago, I figured I should find a good apartment."

"Did you by any chance find a job yet?" she questioned almost lethargically, like dealing with Kate was a bore.

"Actually I have a job interview in about an hour at the club a few blocks away, The Astrobleme," Kate explained.

"Alright then," she finished writing in all the required information, "I'll get this processed tomorrow, and you should be able to move in by Friday," the landlord explained, "But there is a few things I'd like to clarify, the rent is about a thousand dollars a month, but that's just for you," she paused and took her glasses off and began to clean them, "I'm afraid if anyone moves in here with you, I'll have to raise the rent a bit."

Kate scoffed and received an interesting look from the landlord, "No, it's just, that won't be happening," she informed, "It'll be me living here alone for a long time."

"How long have you been working as a waitress?"

Kate looked up from her daze, it probably wasn't the best thing to do during a job interview, but sometimes her mind just wandered in and out of reality now and then, "Umm, I worked as a waitress when I was sixteen to earn a few bucks, then after high school, I uh, served drinks full time," she lied, serving drinks wasn't what she usually did at Anthony's, but it was in the job description.

"I see," he said trailing off, he put her résumé down on the table and rubbed his temples with one of his hands. His gray hair fell from in front of his eyes; he looked like he should be a grandpa, not a club owner. "And where exactly are your references for this job?" he asked, his voice sounded pained.

"Umm, I don't exactly have any, I kind of severed all ties when I moved here," she smiled sheepishly, she just knew she wasn't going to get this job, "But I have nothing else to do, I'm not a student, so you don't have to worry about classes getting in the way of my work. So I could take long shifts," she explained. The job she was applying for was for a waitress.

During the day from around five in the morning to seven at night, the establishment worked as a restaurant, mimicking a diner almost. But from eight at night to four in the morning, it was one of the hottest clubs on the strip.

He looked into Kate's eyes, "I've got tons of people lined up for this position," he enlightened, "Some with over ten years experience, some with actually degrees from bartender college, but all of them have references," he almost bragged, "I keep a small staff, and that's because the staff is almost like a family," he explained as he got up from his seat.

Kate looked to the floor, she knew she probably wouldn't get the job, but part of her told her she had to try. "But something about you," he began, "How you came in here with no references, and nothing to loose. That tells me you belong here," he told her and she almost fainted.

"Welcome to the family," he greeted shoving out his plump hand, and Kate gratefully accepted it, "What do you say we meet the rest of kiddies, eh?"

In a small room located behind the bar was a kitchen. Kate followed the man back and was blinding instantaneously by the stainless steel and white walls. The floors were white linoleum the kind that had speckled indents within. The sink, stove and cupboards were all made of steel, gleaming in the industrial room, it all held a mechanical feel.

The outline of the kitchen ran in a 'u' shape around the room with a small island in the middle, the only abstract qualities were two doors, a wooden one that led to a closet, and another metal one leading to a freezer.

On the small island in the middle of the room, two people were gathered by it, loitering lazily. One was a man in his early twenties, his black hair had been closely buzzed to his head and he stood more then six feet tall. He had a burly quality about him, but he wasn't fat, more like well set. Kate first noticed his mysterious eyes, almost pure black, like the sky at midnight, they seemed to even hold a mystical property to them.

The other was a petite and scrawny girl. She sat up on the island, her arms and legs crossed as she blew her Hubba Bubba gum in big bright pink semi-circular orbs out of her mouth. Her hair was choppy almost to her shoulders, but not quite, it was dyed a variety of colors from bright red flowing into bright purple. Her make up consisted of sparkled and bright mismatched colors, it looks more as if she'd tried to decorate a Christmas tree, then apply makeup.

They were both leaned over a magazine gabbing at something among the pages, "You know that they're totally fake," the girl explained with a devious smile as another bubble escaped her mouth, into the air with a 'pop'.

"I could care less," the guy replied with a sigh as he leaned further down on his hand, which pushed his cheek up making his left eye look like a slit. She smacked him swiftly on the back of his head, "Ah what was that for?" he asked rubbed newly injured spot.

"You should care," she replied as she placed her scrawny fists on her hips in an attempt to frighten, "This is what society is going to the perfect female body? Making it so that girls have to get so much surgery that they crap silicon?" she asked and another bubble came from her purple stained lips.

"Touchy," he answered moving away from her, "I just meant I don't care 'cause I don't swing that way."

"Yeah I remember now," she rolled her gray eyes; "you never got over that 'girl's give you cooties' stage in grade school." She laughed to herself as the man look upon her with disapproval.

"If you two would stop fooling around, I'll introduce you to your knew coworker," the boss offered from beside her. Both of their eyes fell upon her and Kate froze, she was never really good at dealing with attention.

"This is Kate, she's gonna be the new waitress," he announced, "This is Beth," he introduced the scrawny, ill looking twenty-year old who had hopped down from the metal island, "And this is Drac," he introduced the man who loomed over all three of them, "And I am, of course, Willy."

Kate reached out and shook Drac's hand and was surprised by his genuine sincerity about being happy to meet her. She smiled and shook Beth's hand. The sleeve of her shirt fell back momentarily and when Kate looked down she could see deep red scratch marks, crosshatched across Beth's wrist.

She looked down and seemed to notice too as she pulled away from Kate's grip and pulled the sleeve of her sheer, rainbow top back down. "Glad to meet you," she greeted, her accent strong on every word.

"Glad to meet you too."

Kate's face was now beet red as Jack gently helped guide her to the ground, tears freely streaming down her face. Nike was beginning to get riled up, squirming in Jack's arms to go back to her mother.

In the frenzy that was taking place, Jack was able to get Kate sitting in the soft sand and he knelt down in front of her, with her wailing daughter still cradled in his arms, "Kate," he told her calmly, "Kate you have to listen to me," she portrayed no action that told him she was listening, so he tipped her chin up. Staring directly into her frightened jaded-gray eyes, tears rolled down her cheeks in fat, long strides as she dug her hands into the sand, gripping in pain.

"Listen to me Kate," he implored, as he gently held her chin in his hand, Nike had stopped her torrent of tears and now watched suspiciously as Jack continued, "You have to do what I tell you," he declared, "I want you to take three short gasps for air and then one huge gulp, okay?" he questioned Kate moved her eyes to the ground and Jack questioned once again, "Okay?" and she nodded through gasps.

"Alright," he began, "I'll do it with you, okay?" her tears were falling from her face and soaking his hand, making it shine in the twilight. Nike was reaching for her, babbling incoherently, stretching her tiny arms.

"One," Jack took in a quick breath, along with Kate who winced.

"Two," they took another shirt gasp.

"Three," he announced and grabbed Kate's hand, catching her eye, he squeezed it tightly and they both inhaled deeply.

Kate's heart stabbed in her chest as she sucked air in with all her might, the pain grew as she inhaled in deeper. Then suddenly something seemed to click and the pain floated away, she took another breath to double check and was relieved to find that Jack's idea had worked.

She look back up at Jack, her face still rouged, tearstains glistening off her swelling cheeks, the commotion seemed to have stopped momentarily. Only the tranquil sound of the waves moving to the shore at a snails pace could be heard. They both just sat looking at each other, staring almost, neither knowing what to do.

Kate gently moved in and wrapped her arms weakly around his neck, hugging him loosely. To Jack though it was the most meaningful embrace he'd ever taken part in. He moved his hand up and rested it on her back, over the gritty material of her tank top. For some odd reason, Jack felt as if this was her first hug in years.

"Thank you," she replied as quietly. She softly took Nike from him and giggled with her daughter, scattering kisses all over her face. Jack smiled as he stood, then bent down offering Kate a hand, "I'm sorry I got mad at you," she expressed as he helped her stand up.

"Kate, it's okay for you to get mad, you know," he enlightened, "It's a normal human emotion, you're allowed to feel anger."

Kate's lips pursed together and her eyes told him that there was something he didn't understand, like she was being torn up my secrets underneath it all, "Kate, I think you should go sit down," he suggested.

"I'll go to sleep as soon as I can get cleaned up a little," she elaborated as she began to walk through the sand; the grains that flew off her shoes sparkled in the light, giving her an ethereal glow.

"Then go get cleaned up," he told her as he jogged to catch her, she was amazingly resilient, but he guessed all mothers had to be.

"I can't get cleaned up until I get someone to watch her, Claire went to sleep and I don't want to wake her up," Kate explained as she slowed her rate of ambling down so she could walk comfortably with Jack.

"I could watch her you know," Jack suggested, he looked over to Kate to see her response. Her face was scrunched in a pensive manner, he could tell she was clearly thinking it over, "Come on," he pressured, "I took good care of her when I found her," he reminded.

"I feel so bad with leaving her here," she shook her head, "We've never been separated more then a day," Kate disclosed, "When she was born there was a few complications, so she was in NICU and I was in ICU, so we couldn't see much of each other," she elaborated as she nuzzled her cheek against her daughter's who let out a small giggle.

"Kate, I've been trained how to take care of babies, believe me I think I can handle yours for an hour," he said with a smug laugh, "Besides," he continued, "She likes me," he added as he took her tiny hand within his and she giggled.

"Well that's true," Kate nodded; she had stopped walking and looked at Jack who still held her daughter's hand, "Alright," she agreed, "I'll be back in less then an hour, if you need to change her, which I doubt you will," Kate rambled as she dug through the baby bag, "here are some baby wipes and diapers," she handed them to him.

"Alright," he nodded, "But why not just give me the bag?" he asked pointing to the yellow tote.

Kate smiled, "I need to fill up some more bottles, which should be an interesting experience in itself," she sighed and Jack laughed.

She kissed Nike's head lightly, "You be good for Jack," she stated as she handed the half-asleep baby to him. She then turned away, the moonlight outlining her in a slate tinge, she took a few more steps then walked back towards Jack who held the sleeping baby, "here," she told him as she handed him the rattle.

Immediately Nike seemed to be thrust out of her sleep, she ripped the rattle away from him and began to shake it consistently. Kate smiled as she walked away and Jack yelled, "You just had to give me a hard time didn't you!"

Jack rummaged through the medical supplies he'd been given, marking down the different drugs, and the quantity of them. Nike sat beside him on a beach towel he had laid out for her. She hadn't stopped shaking that rattle since Kate had given it to her and that was almost thirty minutes ago.

Jack looked up from the notepad he was scribbling on and glanced at her, she was dressed in a light, one piece pajama suit, that Kate must've changed her into earlier. She sat bashing the rattle into the sand with force, then admired the indents she had made. She smiled to herself impressed with what she had accomplished and Jack let out a chuckle.

She looked over to him, catching his eyes, and then started to giggle as well. She dug her inexperienced hands into the sand, marveling at how it just slipped through her chubby fingers. Looking back over to Jack she noticed he was gone, and a unrefined look of puzzlement passed her face.

Cautiously, she crawled over the downy sand to the pile of luggage Jack was located behind. She stopped and plopped her diapered bottom down in the sand, gazing at the luggage, wondering where he went.

Then Jack sprang out from behind the pile and expressed, "Peek-a-boo!" Nike responded instantly with a outburst of giggles, opening her mouth and closing her eyes. To her it was the most innovated thing in the world.

Opening her gray eyes once again she noticed that Jack had disappeared. She eyed the luggage once again, trying to figure out what she'd done to trigger his reappearance before. Then before she could fully decipher the game, he popped up again with another, "Peek-a-boo."

She laughed again, and Jack chuckled, unaware of Charlie's presence. He slid his arm down the front of the suitcases relaxing there for a moment, watching Nike chuckle. Charlie merely shook his head and walked past Jack giving him a pat on the back and a, "Good job," as if Jack belonged on the short bus.

He felt foolish for a moment and considered going back to his work, until he felt the small grip of a hand pull on his. He turned back to Nike who was jerking his hand with delight, and suddenly, he thought that what Charlie thought, didn't matter.

Kate walked through the cool, night sands of the beach. Her feet ached from earlier that day, her feet bruised and blistered from hiking and running to such an extent. The grains rushed against her feet every time she moved, and with each step, her pain seemed to be diminishing. Like the sand almost had a therapeutic value. Which made her consider the thought of dropping to her knees and rubbing her face up and down the jagged surface of the beach, like striking a match to a brick wall.

She had lied to Jack, it did hurt. A dull stabbing pain could be felt there whenever she inhaled, but she wouldn't let him think she was weak, if she already hadn't done that with that Godforsaken heart of hers.

She saw Jack playing with Nike, drawing little designs in the sand to amuse her. Kate realized that he wasn't a bad guy, but he was a doctor, he had a strong sense of morality, and would stick by them if Kate spilt her guts. So she made the decision to stick to the sham of a story she had come up with for a background.

"Hey," someone called out from behind her. Kate turned around and as her dark curls settled she could see the vague outline of a girl about her age. She was skinnier then Kate, but also curvier. Her hair was dyed that Paris Hilton, industrial blonde, but her dark brown roots were slowly beginning to show. Kate knew girls like her back in high school, she didn't particularly care for them and they belittled her. This girl had obviously wanted something.

"Hey I've been looking all over the luggage and crap, and I can't find my mirror," She explained though it sounded like she was complaining. Kate arched an eyebrow wondering if she wanted sympathy from her, because if she did, she had come to the wrong person, "I was just wondering if you had a mirror I could borrow."

"Yeah," Kate replied as she dug through the diaper bag at her side and pulled out a small compact mirror, "You can have it, I don't really need it," she replied.

"Thanks," she answered a little too blandly, "Oh and my brother was telling me that your boyfriend or something was a doctor, Boone said I should probably know who the doctor was," she rambled not really paying attention to her own words.

"He's not my boyfriend," Kate smiled, "But that's Jack, and he is the doctor," she pointed back to where Jack now had Nike lifted above his head as he entertained her, "I'm Kate by the way."

"Hmm," the girl said as she took out a pink colored lipstick tub and draw over the faint lines of her lip as she watched herself closely in the mirror. After mushing her lips together and opening them with a 'pop' sound, she replied, "I'm Shannon." She had finally taken the time to look past Kate and at Jack, "Whose kid?"

"Mine," Kate answered as she walked away; she had had enough of Shannon for today. Shannon watched Kate closely with her cobalt eyes, as she approached Jack with a smile and immediately lifted her daughter into her arms, kissing her lovingly on the cheek.

"Yeah right," she huffed as she turned on the spot and stomped back to her spot on the beach.

"Who was that?" Jack asked as he sat back next to Kate, he had added more brushwood to the fire.

She sat with Nike in her lap, her arms wrapped lightly around her torso for support as she shook the rattle, "That was Shannon, she was looking for a mirror," Kate didn't want to go any further into the topic if she didn't have to, but then remembered, "She said her brother told her to find out who the doctor was."

"Her brother?" Jack posed as he leaned back in the sand, "I've barely talked to anyone on this island other then you and Charlie."

Kate began to smile but when Jack looked over to her she quickly hid it, "She told me his name, it started with a 'b'," She crinkled her nose up as she tried to think of the name, "It was an uncommon one."

"Oh, Boone?" Jack pondered out loud.

"Yeah," she nodded, "you know him?"

"Yeah, he helped me out earlier with the guy who has that piece of shrapnel in him," he enlightened, "he told me his sister was inane."

"Well let's just say she's a Veronica to my Betty," Kate answered drawing out a chuckle from Jack.

"How's your heart?" he questioned after it fell silent.

"It's okay, I guess, I can't really tell," she answered honestly. Looking over to him she asked, "Do you know what the problem is?"

"I have no clue, heart problems is a broad category, if I had a stethoscope I'd be able to narrow it down a bit, but I can't find mine," he replied with a sigh.

"Don't worry about it," she replied stoically, "I'm sure it's nothing, I mean it just happened."

"Yeah it just happened after a plane crash, after you fell out of the tree and your heart stopped, after you ran until you couldn't breath, and got so angry that your heart tensed up," he countered, then realized he was probably scaring her to death, "I don't mean to scare you, it's just that you have to take it easy," he explained as he saw her hurt eyes stare at him, "Especially for her," he replied as took the sleeping baby's hands.

Kate smiled an almost phantom smile and ran her fingers lightly through Nike's thin, fawn, curled hair. He could see by the almost black bags under her eyes that she had not had a substantial amount of sleep in the past days.

"You should get to sleep," he suggested getting up from his cozy spot beside her, "When Nike wakes up I'm sure she'll want a lot of things, and if you're to tired to give them to her, then that doesn't pass well with either of you," he disclosed as he handed her a bottle of water.

"What's this for?" she asked eying the water suspiciously as she vigilantly moved her hand up to take it.

"It's to help you swallow these," he stated as he dropped two red pills in her hand, "They're Tylenol, because that bruise on your face doesn't look to soothing," he replied. Even if she did just hit it off the floor in the cockpit, it wouldn't bruise nearly as much.

Kate was too tired to argue about anything, she accepted the pills and gulped them down with, "Is it okay if I just go to sleep here tonight?" she questioned, "All my stuff's here anyways."

"Yeah," Jack agreed, "I'll stay up for a little while more, just until the fire burns out," he stated.

Kate smiled and placed Nike onto the blanket she was sitting on. The infant grumbled and adjusted her position but then fell back asleep. Jack handed Kate a blanket and she covered both Nike and herself with it, "Goodnight Jack," she whispered.

"Goodnight Kate," he replied back.

Hey guys I just wanted to take this time to add a lil' something, something. If you really like this story and you absolutely, positively CANNOT WAIT TO READ MORE then you should check out my MSN space (link in my profile) because if I write a part I really like, then I put it up, so it kinda gives sneak peeks. Also 'Shiggity's view on Another' is up and it's kinda a written commentary, one why I made certain things happen and where ideas came from.

Whirlwind-2005
Wow, I'm sorry it took you so long to read (PS I HATE JOHNNY DEPP, DIE EDWARD SCISSOR HANDS!) but I'm glad you found it interesting. Sawyer and Shannon were introduced briefly in this chappie, but believe me you'll see more of both (I kinda took a different spin on Shannon), and in the next chapter I'm gonna work Hurley and Locke into it. I didn't mean for Claire to come off cocky, she's just being playful. And Kate isn't weak, she's just unsure.

Freckles-101
Hmm I know where I'm going with Kate's heart problems, but do you? Probably not, let's just say that they can be fixed…perhaps. In the next chapter Jack finds Kate's mug shots and everything goes to hell, so be ready for that.

Orlando-crazy
Aww I'm glad you like it. But I can't update as often because it takes a helluva time to write.

amlost

I'm glad you like it, and believe me if I can actually get everything I want to happen I this story, it's going to be purely Jack and Kate

Lara Chubb of Deep Hollow
Aww I thought some of the diehard Leo fans would like that. And yeah, believe me more people will think that Jack and Kate are married..

Lostobsessivefreak
It took about 13-16 days of writing (I'm not sure because I had it shipped back and forth between computers so I could write when it was late, late night). I'm glad you liked it and I hope that you're passed your ummm 'barrier' in your writing (Waterfall…) I hope to talk to you soon and good luck with your acting classes!

Piper
Glad you like it, I'll try to review ASAP

October Sky
Yep all Kate's flashbacks from 'Another' apply to this story, but I'm continuing on, adding new characters on and then killing them off so I can get some hatemail (I'm just kidding), no one dies…so far. I tried to add the threading scene in as much as I could, but it really didn't fit that well.

CrAzYhOrSeGiRl88
Yeah I know how you feel about Kate being tied down. I didn't want it to make it look like she's juts pawning off Nike every time she wants to go somewhere. So expect to see her excluded on some things, like the polar bear hike, which means lots more J/K scenes but then their all about him yelling at her for the mug shot….

standardblack

I MADE IT JUST FOR YOU! Lol I hoped you liked the 'Peek-A-boo' scene because I remembered you reviewing saying you wanted more Jack and Nike scenes. So there you go (And expect a sentimental on in the next chapter) and in about chapter 13 or 14 expect a heart breaking one.

Flutemarcher
I'm glad you liked it, and I will admit... it was fun. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as the first one (it had some funny Charlie scenes in it (I myself love the 'hero, comic relief' scene)

Josee
Lol yeah, everyone thinks that they're married, and people still think so (IE Locke and Hurley that I haven't added in yet)

Jackluver928
Pangs of Guilt is currently a WIP (work in progress) it's on the back burner now, but don't worry this story can only be about 24 chapters long.

Rain1657

I let my imagination and Ethan take over for a bit. For a little future scoop, he's in this and he's meaner then ever, like seriously, he's a bitch. And he does end up dying, but not by Charlie, probably the last person you think shoots him.

Gowland
LMAO Jack doesn't have to die at the end of another, two alternate endings were made, like in a movie or whatever, so if you didn't want him to die, juts ignore chapter 23, hee hee. I have plans of killing a main character but not for awhile so don't worry about it.

Smilez4eva
I'm glad you liked it and thanks for the review.

Trish
I'm glad you liked it so much, and I'm glad it rocked your world, I hope that all the other chapters are equally as good

Pink Pinker
I'm glad you like the story, and of course Ethan is back
Ethan: (Hannibal Lecter-esque) I never left…
Believe me he gets pretty violent…

Eliza4928
I'm sorry the chapters are so long, but you know each one is supposed to be the equivalent of an one hour episode. But I'm glad that it was worth reading.

Jerseygirl00320
I'm glad you like 'Another' and read it, and I look forward to your future reviews. I might go into a little implied C/C and S/S but I dunno yet, maybe not, because I just like sticking to good ol' Jack and Kate.

Lillywriter
Yeah it's amazing how much J/K you can write without actually making them mack it up at every minute. LOl believe that wont happen for awhile, but when it does, it'll be worth it.

Insane Insomniac
Dear Diary,
II gave me a review today, it warmed my special spot
PS Austranada has taken over Alaska with Kangaroos and flinging squirrels.
Love PEL

ELfan78
Lol I tried to write fast and it took me 7 days! ARGH because of homework (stabnation!) but I'm glad you liked it and I will try to write faster…

FanOfLOST
Lol I'm sorry it took you so long, but thanks for the hat tip Lenny. Lol we're reading 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' in English and Lenny made me think of that.
Ethan: Evil Nurse Ratched!
I hope you liked some of the saying in this chapter too, there are a couple I really like, and as for that 'assume' thing, my mom always tells me that, so I always use 'presume'.

Holly lover of all things Shiggity
(Blushes) Aww, seriously that is the nicest thing anyone has said to me! Well one of the nicest (I don't wanna go making all the other reviews jealous) (whipers) it was the nicest…
I'm sorry it took me so long to update, but it takes time to write, and you know you can't force a beautiful thing
Ethan: What about labor?
What about shutting you mouth. Anyways, I'm sorry I haven't updated POG in awhile, but I promise I'll do so soon, you see this story can only be 24 (number of lost episodes) long, so after that it's over until the new season, and then it's POG all summer long baby. Also if you like my writing I do reviews of Lost weekly (I try) and their funny so it's kinda a different style, the link is at my webpage and my webpage link is on my profile. Anyways thank you so much for the support!

Next Chapter- After Kate DOESN'T go on the crazy polar bear walk, she stays back on the beach to help. Getting to know Claire a little better, getting to meet Hurley and maybe Locke. Oh and getting an earful of bitch when he finds her fake mug shots. Plus the sweetest flashback ever! Hope to hear from you!