I somehow always mess up when I post here! So this is a continuation of chapter 1. I also forgot my disclaimer, so i may as well do it now, i dont own anything having to do with lost. and now, the rest of chapter 1...

"Hey Perkins, this ones got a mouth on him, don't he?" one man said to the other.

"Sure does Dowd, why don't you wipe that grin off his face?"

And without warning, the man called Perkins punched Sawyer squarely in the jaw, knocking him backwards and into the door frame. Sawyer slumped down, his head lolling on his chest and Jack bent down to help him. As Perkins and Dowd walked down the corridor, Jack called out to them "Where's Kate!" There was no response. "Where is she!" He hollered again to no avail.

Sayid bent down to help Jack lift Sawyer onto one of the bunks. "Private Ryan?" he asked.

Sawyer grinned up at him his head slightly cocked, through his bloody teeth he answered, "All I could come up with on the spot."

A week later, after a nerve wracking flight from Sydney to LA, Jack found himself standing in his empty, immaculate house, still no closer to understanding what the hell had happened to them. Worse, he had no idea where Kate was.

Much of his time at home was spent pacing and answering the phone calls from family members he hadn't heard from in years. His mother had been a constant presence at the house, and while at first it had been comforting to have her there, that had worn off in about two days. He was constantly assuring her that he was fine, he was adjusting fine, and he would be fine for the foreseeable future. After all, he had only been away for two months. This was, of course, a lie. He was far from fine.

He had he had been offered his job back at the hospital, but hadn't yet accepted. He was in limbo, unsure of his next move. He thought of Kate constantly, and one night it had come to him. It was so simple, he was surprised he hadn't thought of it before. He had to find her. It was the only way he could become a normal, functioning human being again, he had to know that she was okay.

Thinking that it would be a difficult task, Jack had prepared himself for a long and involved search, possibly with the help of expensive private detectives and attorneys. He was surprised then, when a simple internet search of a prison database had come up with her name as well as her mug shot. She was being held at a high security women's correctional facility in Arizona. The following morning, Jack had packed a few things, left a message on his mother's cell, and drove the 6 hours from LA to Phoenix. There he had bought the truck, hired a high priced criminal lawyer who got results, and made the 2 hour drive to the prison just outside of Tucson.

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Jack could see the prison in the distance, distorted by heat waves in the open desert. He noted the sign on the side of the road that always made him chuckle. "Camping, 3 miles" and just below it "State Prison, Beware Hitchhikers". A few short minutes later, Jack parked the Chevy in visitor parking and hopped out of the car. His jeans sticking to his legs in the heat, he walked slowly to the guard station in front of the high brick walls and barbed wire.