Disclaimer: No, I still don't own LOST, in case the previous disclaimers didn't already establish this fact.

A/N: I again wrote this for a challenge over at Lost-Forum (dot) com, so if you want to check out other wacky entries, I suggest you hop over there. This was a weird pairing for me, and I'm not sure how well I worked it, so please let me know!

Spoilers: Exodus Parts 1 and 2, Tabula Rasa, Numbers, possibly the other Kate episodes and maybe every other episode; I'm not sure, I've seen all of season one, so I guess everything's game.

Hurley paced the beach; he hated waiting. Jack had asked him to wait for him while he went back out to the Black Rock; Jack wouldn't say why, but he said he'd need Hurley's help once he got back. Hurley hated waiting; almost as much as he hated blood and the numbers.

Hurley continued to pace, wondering what Jack was doing and why he needed to be there when he got back; he really hoped that he wasn't getting anymore dynamite. "Hey! Hurley!" a voice from behind he shouted.

Hurley turned to see Kate walking up to him. Hurley suppressed his fluttering heart; he had had a major crush on Kate the first time he'd seen her, not like she'd ever like him. After finding out she was a convict, Hurley had been confused about his feelings. He did his best to avoid her for a while because he always seemed to stammer around her, but he wasn't sure if it was because he was shy or scared.

"Hi, Kate," Hurley said, relaxed. Time had erased basically all of his fear of Kate, and his crush had been reduced to an after thought; but on occasion, when he wasn't thinking and she just appeared (she was awfully good at that), Hurley felt a tug of his heartstrings at the sight of her. "What's up?"

Kate's long hair fell into her face and she swept it back, appearing frustrated with it. "Have you seen Jack? Somebody ate something that's making them feel nauseous and Sun thinks it might have been poisonous."

"Dude, that sucks," Hurley commented. "I don't know when Jack's gonna be back; he just asked for me to wait for him here."

Kate looked slightly disappointed, but then gave him a small smile. "I guess I'll wait for him," Kate said, sitting down on a log and taking out a bottle of water from her pack. "Do you know why Jack wants your help?" Kate asked after taking a large gulp, then she offered the bottle to Hurley.

Hurley took the bottle, slightly self-conscious. "No, he didn't mention it," Hurley admitted. "I think he went out to the Black Rock."

"What?" Kate said, jumping up. "Come on, we have to go after him."

"Wow, slow down, dude," Hurley said. He really didn't want to go out into the jungle, the dark territory, if he didn't have to. "Jack said he could handle it."

"Yeah, well, Jack's an idiot," Kate told him matter-of-factly. "Come on; I need someone to come with me."

"Why don't you go get Locke or Sayid?" Hurley suggested. "Because, I'm not like the best person to have with you in a jungle where there's a monster."

"No, Locke and Sayid are too far," Kate countered. "Plus, I want you to come." She paused her, and looked up at him uncertainly. "You make me feel safe."

Hurley wanted to rewind that moment. Did Kate just actually say he, Hurley, made her, escaped convict tough girl, Kate, feel safe? He must have been hallucinating. He looked down at her, and her pleading eyes made him cave into her wishes. "Sure, fine, whatever, dude, but let's go; I don't wanna be in there any longer than I have to," Hurley said, setting off in the direction he'd seen Jack take.

Kate caught up with him in a few seconds. Hurley glanced over at her once, wondering if she wanted to talk, but she appeared to be content just walking there beside him. Hurley decided not to break the silence, even though it made him slightly uncomfortable. Inane chatter kept him from thinking too much when things were bad, and he thought things were bad right then.

Kate took the lead when the entered the thick jungle, glancing to the left and right often and watching the ground. Hurley admired her skills in the jungle; he had no idea what she was looking for but she appeared to know, which gave him confidence.

There was a low grumble to their left, and they both froze. A few seconds later, the thing grumbled again, this time much closer. "Follow me," Kate said in a panicked whisper, and she took off to the left heading for clump of bushes they could hide in.

Hurley followed as quickly as he could, trying not to stumble and fall. Unfortunately, he did manage to fall. "Hurley!" Kate yelled, turning around. She started to make her way back to him.

"No, you go," Hurley told her weakly. He thought he might of twisted his ankle, if not actually broke it.

Kate didn't listen and rushed to his side. "Did you hurt yourself?" she asked, concern obvious in her eyes. She started to feel his left ankle; that wasn't the one he thought might be broken. She turned her attention to the other ankle.

"Ouch!" he said, wincing, when she prodded a little too hard. "That hurts, dude."

Kate gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry, can you move? We should really try to get out of the open, and I can't, well, umm…" Kate trailed off, but he knew what she wanted to say; there was no way she could lift him up, he was probably three times her body weight.

Hurley shook his head. "No, just leave me. I'll be fine."

Kate stood up next to him resolutely. "No, I'm staying here." She stood and appeared to listen; Hurley listened then too, and surprisingly he didn't hear anything. "I think it's gone," she said, relief spreading across her face.

She came and sat next to his head and smiled down at him. "I'll wait until I hear someone, and then I'll go get Jack. We're not too far off the main path to the Black Rock; I'm sure I'll be able to catch him."

"Kate, you don't have to stay," Hurley told her. He didn't want to hold her up just because he was clumsy. "I'll be fine."

"No," she repeated. "Besides, I want to stay with you." She grinned down at him.

Hurley shifted his weight, trying to get more comfortable. He bumped his ankle and shooting pain coursed up and down his leg. "Oww!" Kate immediately moved to help him find a more comfortable spot without jarring his ankle.

When Hurley had finally found a relatively comfortable position, his ankle wouldn't stop bothering him. "I think it's really broken," he whispered weakly, in a little pain.

Kate gave him a mysterious smile. "Maybe a kiss will make it better." Before Hurley could respond she bent down a pecked his lips. She pulled back slightly and appeared to think about coming back when they heard a noise.

"That's Jack," she said, standing back up. "I'll be back in a minute." She gave him a coy smile and took off in the direction they had run from.

Hurley sat stunned. Had Kate just kissed him? He wanted to replay that moment over and over, and he realized, with a smile, maybe his crush hadn't been as silly as he thought initially.

I love reviews:) Thanks to all my reviewers of the first two entries, I really appreciate it! Oh, and next up (I actually having the pairing this time) will be Jack/Claire, cool, right?