The Five Graces

1

The familiar scent of burning wood and salty air reached Kate, and it called her from her thoughts. She was thankful that something broke the solitude she'd begun to feel upon pondering her situation. On how it'd gotten so bad. So bad, in fact, that she'd begun unconsciously avoiding him. Just because of the simple fact that the things he made her feel scared the daylights out of her. Not that they were unpleasant feelings; no they were by no means unpleasant. But she'd never felt them before, and Kate feared the unknown.

Kate looked about herself, and found the source of the fire she'd smelled. Charlie and Hurley bickered about a small fire the Brit had just stoked. Kate decided they'd be a good distraction from this enigma that had developed inside her.

"No, no, no, man that's all wrong!" He nearly screeched in exasperation.

"Dude, give me a break, I've never done one of these."

"That's why you should hand it over calmly and back away before you hurt yourself."

Hurley gave him a blank look and stared back at the rubix cube in his hand. He almost had one side blue, but for one red square marring perfection. He spun the bottom, and Charlie groaned.

"You think you can do it?"

"Oh I know I can, brother."

Hurley tossed the cube into the air and Charlie deftly snatched it and began working. Hurley laughed animatedly at him before walking away.

Twenty minutes later Charlie sat in the sand, tongue sticking out of the side of his mouth in concentration as the cube neared completion. Kate had to restrain herself from going over to him and insisting he turn the cube over so she could try. Instead, she stood from her place in the sand and walked back to the place she'd been sleeping for the past two months.

She'd erected a small tent made from scraps of tarp, metal and sticks from the jungle. It was rather sturdy, she'd admit with pride. She tried taking a nap, since there didn't seem to be much else to do, but found her mind was too full of thoughts for sleep to come. So she walked down the beach to talk with Sun who'd come with her husband to the beach to fish.

Sun was an amazing woman, Kate had realized when she discovered she spoke nearly perfect English. But somehow, Kate thought she'd always known Sun was amazing. By the look of understanding and deep thought always present in her dark eyes.

"Good afternoon." The Korean woman greeted her, even before Kate located where she stood.

"Hello, Sun."

"I was going to the garden, care to join me?"

"I'd love to."

Kate followed Sun through the jungle. No matter how many times she'd traveled this path, the beauty of the jungle illuminated by the high sun always took her breath away. Sun kept her gaze trained on her feet, so she'd not trip on the vegetation that wound around the path.

"How's Jin?" Kate asked absentmindedly.

"He is well." She replied, and Kate heard the smile in her voice. It brought a smile to her own lips, but one of wistfulness. If only she had someone to smile about. "He and Michael were going to fish and Hurley insisted on tagging along." Kate chuckled at thought of the sight. It was only a few weeks ago that Michael and Jin were at each other's throats. Now they seemed to connect like few people on the island did.

"Is something wrong?" Sun asked suddenly. She'd glanced over her shoulder and noted the pitiful look on Kate's face.

"What? Oh, no, nothing's wrong." Kate attempted to laugh it off but ended up sounding more nervous and embarrassed than anything. Sun just cast her a look of concern mixed with understanding that made Kate wonder just what the Korean woman knew.

Just then Sun stopped dead in her tracks.

"What is it?" Kate asked, but Sun immediately shushed her with a wave of her hand. Slowly, she turned to face Kate.

Boar. Sun mouthed, and Kate stood on her tip toes to look over Sun's shoulder. Sure enough, a large boar was rooting through their garden. Kate took a step backward and began to turn around when she felt a tugging on her foot. A vine on the ground had wrapped around her ankle. She lifted her foot up and tried shaking it off. To her horror, she began to lose her balance, and quickly set her foot back down, snapping the vines that held her down loudly.

The sounds of the boar's riffling stopped, and so did Sun and Kate's movements. They turned simultaneously over their shoulders to see the boar ease through the grass and spot them. It huffed and stomped its hooves. Kate wasn't going to run until absolutely necessary. There was still a chance it would leave them be peacefully. This was just wishful thinking, on her part.

The boar charged and Kate yanked her foot from the vines and she and Sun bolted off in the direction of the caves.

Sun was not as fast as Kate, however, and the boar was hot on their heels even as they dodged and weaved through trees. So, as they passed a felled tree, Kate shoved Sun with all her might over it to land on the ground hidden on the other side. Thankfully, the boar paid no attention to the Korean and kept charging after Kate. She made several sharp turns but the boar seemed determined to run her down.

Just when she was about to climb a tree or dive into the brush to escape it, an arm shot out from behind a tree she was passing and pulled her around the other side. Her back was pinned to the chest of a man, and she was about to push away and look who had saved her when it hit her.

She'd been this close to him before. And all those times, she couldn't help but notice the way he smelled. Like campfire mixed with sweat and shaving cream. Whenever she had smelled that scent, it sent her heart into maddening rampages. Because that scent was tied to Jack.

Prickling awareness suddenly made her skin super sensitive as he pushed her a few inches away from him so he could look around the tree at the boar who was stupefied at the disappearance of his prey. Jack leaned his back against the tree and looked at Kate's back, which was still turned to him.

Suddenly, they both heard a squishing thud and a high pitched squeal. They looked around the tree to see the boar on its side, writhing, with a knife hilt stuck in its neck. John Locke leapt from the trees like a madman and yanked the knife from the boar's body and deftly slit its throat, spraying blood over his clothes, but stilling its movements.

Kate's mouth hung open. Not that she hadn't seen pigs being killed before, but the unflinching movements with which Locke had slaughtered the animal was unnerving.

"Are you alright?" Jack asked, and Kate looked to him. Sweat beaded on his hairline, and his brow was drawn into an expression of concern.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." She stammered. His scent still enveloped her. "Sun is probably in the woods-" She gestured behind her, and Jack's eyes widened.

"Sun! Is she okay?" He nearly shouted. Kate narrowed her eyes.

"Sun is fine, too." She replied, almost stung. She wasn't sure why it tugged at her heart to hear the urgency in his voice when worried about Sun. It wasn't there when he'd asked about her.

"Sun is bruised, that's what Sun is." The Korean woman said with more conviction than Kate had heard her use since that first day on the beach she revealed she knew English. She stomped out of the brush to meet them. Kate almost laughed. Her clothes were torn and dirty, and her hair was disheveled.

"I'm so sorry, Sun. I just wanted to get you out of its way." Kate apologized, trying to suppress her smile. Sun grinned back.

"I know. Thank you, you may have saved my life. I know I'm a very slow runner." To this she chuckled nervously, and Kate laughed heartily. Jack's gaze snapped to her as she did so, and she immediately quelled her laughter. She looked to him nervously, not realizing he was still so close to her.

"I guess you probably saved my life, too, huh?" Her hazel eyes looked something synonymous to scared, and Jack couldn't speak. "What were you guys doing out here, anyway?"

"Hunting." Jack finally managed. "You led it right to us." A half smile graced his lips. The breeze picked up and Kate unconsciously took a deep breath. He smelled like strength. She swallowed hard.

"Come on, Sun. We've had enough excitement for the day." Kate said in a faux calm as Sun watched Locke with a grimace. "I know." She whispered to her and put an arm around her shoulder. Kate threw a glance back at Jack as they were walking away. His gaze was still locked to her and she flashed him a weak smile. He returned it.

"You girls stay out of trouble." He warned, and Kate laughed, thankful that he broke the intense atmosphere surrounding them.

"Can't make any promises." She said over her shoulder with a smirk and Sun giggled.

Kate was taking deep breaths as she and Sun walked through the jungle to the beach. His scent still lingered around her. Or maybe it was just the memory of him.

"You'll hyperventilate if you don't shallow your breathing." Sun said without looking to her.

"What?"

"You were breathing so deeply."

"Was I?" She asked, though she knew very well that she was, and why she was, though she berated herself for it.

"You know, when I first met my husband, I fell for him so quickly." Sun said thoughtfully. Kate narrowed her eyes.

"Really?" She asked suspiciously.

"Everything happened so fast. We were young and passionate. It was all so new to me that I was frightened."

"Why are you telling me this?" Kate asked, point blank. She was not afraid to be frank with Sun. She heard the smile in her friend's voice.

"It was just something that popped into my head." Sun attempted nonchalance. Kate brushed off the strangeness of her words and said goodbye at the beach.

As Kate meandered toward her own shelter, she breathed in the salty air. It smelled like the sand and the sea. She frowned. His scent had dissipated, and she couldn't remember exactly what it was like. As she plopped hard onto her blanket, she only wished she could be near him again, and memorize everything about him.

I'm so typical. I need to start writing different kinds of stories. All I write is lost lost lost lost lost. And it's usually Jack/Kate Jack/Kate Jack/Kate, too. The show's been away too long. I need inspiration. I"m getting crazy already. Anyway, ...if you liked this chapter...even if you didn't, review and tell me so. Even if you just say those generic things you say to all other writers, even if you say the same thing to me at every chapter, I don't care. Say it again. I just want to know you're reading this.

Alright, enough begging. Review if you want. Don't if you're a jerk. :) just playin. I"m such a fruit sometimes. I need to get out of the house. School starts next week, and I'm almost glad for it.

Will update soon,

- Austin B.