A/N: Thanks everybody for the reviews – as always they are appreciated! I'm glad you guys enjoyed the fluff in that last chapter. And yes, October Sky, we are coming near to the end. I'm thinking about adding a bonus chapter – something that kind of popped up during the later part of this story and I thought I'd add it in the end…if you guys want.

I've also got another story in mind to start when I'm done with this one. Another non-island related story in which all of the main players (at least most of them) meet and become involved with each other as the result of something other than a plane wreck. But for now here's the next chapter.

Chapter 16

"Kate, it's time to go back." Tom's voice broke into her thoughts as he tapped her on the shoulder.

"What?" she asked distracted by what they had been watching.

"It's time for you to go back to the island." He explained.

Kate looked around and realized that they were back in the room where it had all started. "But…" she started to protest. "I'm not ready."

"Sure you are." He led her to the couch. "You've seen everything you're suppose to. Now you need to go back and decide what you want."

"Let me ask you something. All this that happened, the good stuff, is it because of my decision to stop running?" she asked almost as if she was trying to dig for more information.

"In part," Tom replied. "You found a reason to stop running and start living."

"And the misery with Sawyer was because I was still running?" she continued to probed. "Because I wanted to stop and live a normal life?"

Tom smiled and took her hand in his. "Katie, you've never been happy running, you know that. You've run because you felt it was the only thing you could do. There are a lot of things that you want, deep down inside, but for some reason you don't think that you're worthy."

Kate looked at her friend as tears started to form. It dawned on her that this was the end for them. Tom would be leaving her…again.

"I know that you are worth having good things in your life and you do deserve a chance to start over. But you're the only one that can give yourself that chance in the end. You have to decide to take it." He told her.

Impulsively Kate reached up and hugged him. "Tom, can I just stay here with you? I'd be happy here."

"No," Tom chuckled. "It's not your time. Besides, I'm not the one you want or need."

"Yes, you are." Kate insisted. "You've always been the one."

Tom shook his head and looked at her with a serious look on his face. "We were kids, Katie. It's a different kind of love you're suppose to have now." He told her gently. "You just need to not be afraid of it."

"You're the only one that's ever been there for me. The only one I ever loved. " she argued trying to keep her tears back.

"That's because I was safe." He replied. "You knew that I would always be there for you one way or another. No matter what I didn't turn my back on you." He wiped a tear from her face. "I'm the only one you felt safe to let yourself love."

"But…"

"No," he interrupted. "You need to let me go, Katie. Open yourself up to someone else. I know you're petrified that you might get hurt or that you might hurt somebody but if you ever want to have a life like what you just saw you need to take a chance."

"And if I don't want that life?" she challenged.

"Katie, this is your dream. It's like that Disney song from Cinderella…A dream is a wish your heart makes, this dream is your wish."

Kate didn't say anything at first absorbing everything he was telling her…that she wanted a family, she wanted to put down roots. Humpf, she couldn't even move to the caves how could she think about having a family.

"Katie, it's time for me to go." Tom's soft voice broke into her thoughts.

"Not again!" she cried. "It was too hard the first time; I can't let you go again."

Tom pulled her into his arms for one last embrace. Rubbing her back to soothe her he whispered in her ear. "It's not your choice, Katie. I have to go. And you'll be okay."

"N-n-no, I won't." she sobbed. "This isn't fair. This is too much."

"Yes, you will be okay." He said more firmly. "You're one of the strongest people I ever knew. Look at everything you've gone through and you've made it this far." He pointed out.

"I'm stranded on some island in the middle of nowhere, how is that being okay?" she replied as she slowly regained her composure.

"Well, for one you survived." He joked. "And for another you found some people to care about and people that care about you."

"And when they find out what I've done?"

"It won't matter in the end. They'll realize what some of us already know – you're more than just your past." Tom placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. Scooting down the couch a bit he placed Kate's head on his lap. "I'll always love you Katie." He said softly.

"Me too, and I'll miss you always." She whispered back before closing her eyes.

When Kate woke up it was dark and it took her a moment to realize she was back in her tent on the beach. Trying to sit up she found her muscles ached and she felt weak. Looking to the side she saw a figure that appeared to be sleeping. As her eyes adjusted to the moonlight she realized it was Jack.

"Jack" she called softly, her voice hoarse.

He opened his eyes almost immediately and looked over at his patient. "Kate, you're awake." He said excitedly and he went down onto his knees next to her placing his hand on her forehead.

She nodded licking her lips her throat feeling dry and scratchy.

"How are you feeling?" he asked smiling at her happy to see her conscious once again.

"Thirsty" she croaked out.

Reaching behind her he pulled out a bottle of water. "Here," he said taking her arm. "Let me help you sit up so you can drink. Just take a few sips at a time" Pulling her up gently he leaned her against his shoulder and gave her a few sips of water. "Better?" he asked looking down at her smiling when she nodded.

"You really had me scared there for awhile, Kate." He said softly giving her a couple of more sips of the bottle.

"What happened?" she asked as he helped her lay back down.

"You were bit by something, I think it was a spider." He took her wrist wrapping his fingers around it to check her pulse. "You collapsed on the beach and then became unconscious. You had a pretty high fever and I couldn't get you to wake up."

"How long was I out?" she asked looking up at him. His face showed her the concern he had had for her and the hours he must have spent taking care of her.

"About three days." He revealed.

"Three days?" she couldn't believe that much time had passed. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, I'm serious." He said plainly.

As she continued to look at Jack she noticed the tiredness wearing on his face. She had been out for three days and he probably hadn't sleep much if at all during that time. She felt a pang of guilt thinking about having been a burden.

"You don't look like you've slept much Jack." She scolded.

"I'm not the patient." He tried to joke. "Besides, I'm fine."

"You look tired." She reached up to touch his cheek and locked eyes with him. Holding their gaze Kate saw an affection in his eyes that she hadn't seen before…at least not in any great amount. She remembered seeing a flash of something close when he had told her he help Sawyer with his headaches for her. Now she was seeing something stronger in his gaze, something that he had been hiding from her previously or maybe it was that she had been too scared to really see it.

"I'm fine." He repeated. "You're the one we should be focusing on." He gently placed his fingers on her throat and felt her glands looking for any signs of swelling. "How do you really feel? Any soreness?"

"My muscles feel a little achy and my head is pounding. Other than that I feel great." She joked. "Really Jack, you don't have to fuss."

"I can't help it fussing…" Jack started.

"…is part of my nature." Kate finished the sentence with him laughing.

Jack looked at her for a moment then broke into a smile. He was more than relived that Kate was feeling strong enough to try and joke. He thought about how close he had come to losing her during the peak of her fever. The idea that he would never see her bright hazel eyes or her curls blowing in the wind nearly drove him crazy. He knew that she was with Sawyer but at least alive he got a small part of Kate in his life and a small part was better than none. Standing up he pulled a bottle of aspirin out of his medical pack and handed her a couple along with the water bottle. "Take these and try and get some more sleep." He instructed.

"Jack, I've been sleeping for three days." She protested.

"And you'll sleep for a few more hours." Dr. Shepard retorted with a laugh. "It's the middle of the night if you haven't noticed and you head will feel better in the morning."

"I'll sleep if you do." She challenged locking eyes with him again. "Don't make me drug you again."

Jack returned the gaze and gave a small chuckle at her last comment. "Okay, you win." Kate smiled broadly as he went and laid down on the makeshift bed in the corner. Within a few minutes both of them had drifted off acutely aware that the other was nearby and somehow taking comfort in that.

The next morning everyone was delighted to see Kate walk out of her tent. Though she was still weak and achy Jack determined that she was on her way to a full recovery. Jack had tried to get Kate to stay at the caves for a few days until she got stronger, but Kate reluctantly declined. Sun offered to keep an eye on her on the beach at night while Jack continued to check on her during the day.

Sawyer had been by that first morning to see her and somewhat jokingly offered her a space in his tent. Kate joked around with him but in the end didn't take the offer very seriously. She was glad that Sawyer had apparently forgotten their argument though it continued to play in her mind sporadically. She also thought about what both Boone and Tom had told her about the decision already been made and she needed to figure out what she needed to be happy. She decided to keep both men at arm's length as best she could until she could get her strength back and her thoughts clear.

"You look deep in thought." Sun commented as she joined Kate on the beach a couple of days later. She had seen the young woman sitting along a more secluded part of the beach staring out at the horizon.

Kate looked over at her and smiled. "Just thinking about some stuff."

"Good stuff?" Sun guessed.

Kate shrugged her shoulders. "Do you ever wonder what your life would have been like if you made some different decisions?"

"Sometimes I wonder where I would be if I hadn't married Jin." Sun confessed.

"Better or worse?" Kate asked.

The Korean woman shook her head. "It would be hard to say, but I don't think it really matters. It's not a decision that can be changed."

"What if there was a decision you could change? Would you do it?" the young woman asked pulling a stray curl away from her cheek.

"I think if you're second guessing a decision you made then you really didn't make a decision – you made a choice. And you can always change a choice." Sun commented. When Kate didn't reply Sun put her hand on Kate's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Kate looked over at her friend and decided to tell her what she had been thinking about. Maybe it would help to hear it out loud. "When I was sick…when I was unconscious I had this dream."

"What kind of dream?"

Kate hesitated for a moment before continuing. "We had been rescued and in one part of the dream I was living with Sawyer."

"Oh?" Sun said with a hint of disappointment in her voice. She always felt that Jack was the man for Kate not the charming Southerner.

"Ah-huh." Kate replied. "But we were on still on the run. Or at least I was and he was running with me. We kept moving around working dead end jobs and never really putting down any roots." She explained. "We just kept moving trying to stay one step ahead."

"Like you did before the crash?"

"Yeah." Kate said softly. This was something she never talked about." Nothing had really changed from before the crash except that Sawyer was with me."

"Doesn't sound very good." Sun commented.

Kate looked over at Sun having caught the small tone in her voice that made her think Sun wasn't happy about the idea that Kate would still be running or maybe she wasn't happy about her running with Sawyer. "It wasn't." She shook her head at the memory and continued. "We ended up making each other unhappy."

"Oh Kate, that's too bad." Sun wasn't sure what else to say.

"But there was another part. In this one I was with Jack." Kate revealed.

"Really?" Sun asked a bit surprised. "With Jack?"

She nodded, "I had turned myself in and he helped me. He let me stay with him after my bail release and he hired an attorney and got his friend that was a cop to help out. I ended up with probation and didn't have to go back to jail."

"Did you and Jack stay together?"

Kate smiled at the memory and nodded. "We got married and had 2 kids." She replied.

"Really?" Sun exclaimed. "Married? You and Jack?"

"It was weird dream. I mean Claire was in it and Boone and my friend Tom and you were in it…"

"Me?"

"Yeah, you came to visit when I was pregnant. We were talking about you and Jin and then about the baby. I even showed you the nursery." She giggled as she told more of her dream. Sun joined her in the laughter but didn't interrupt.

"And while you were there this antique cradle that Jack had bought to surprise me was delivered. It was beautiful." Kate said wistfully remembering the beautiful wooden cradle sitting in the living room.

"That sounds like a really nice part of the dream."

"It was." Kate confessed blushing. She couldn't believe she was telling Sun all of this but it felt good to talk about all of it. "And you kept telling me how much Jack loved me and how I should never forget that."

"I said that?" Sun said surprised.

"Yeah, but I think you were thinking about you and Jin though. You guys were still trying to work things out."

"Oh. What else happened?"

"We had a little girl and then right before I woke up I saw our 3 year old daughter and I was expecting another baby – a little boy." Kate continued to ramble smiling at the memory of the pig tailed little girl.

"Sounds wonderful."

"Yeah."

"Sounds like you were happy."

"I was." Kate admitted softly. "All because I stopped running."

"And did being with Jack have something to do with that, you think?"

Kate looked over and Sun and tried to muster a smile at her question feeling a blush on her cheeks. "Maybe" she replied shyly.

"What do you think the dream meant?"

"Well, Boone said it was suppose to help me decide whether I wanted to be with Sawyer or with Jack. But Tom…" Kate's voice choked up a bit , "Tom told me that I already made the decision and I was just trying to validate it."

"You think he was right?" Sun asked. "Was it Jack?"

"Tom wouldn't tell me. He said I had to figure it out myself." She explained.

"You don't think being happy with Jack in your dream isn't a sign? Sun said pointing out the obvious.

"I don't know. If that's true then why am I sitting here instead of at the caves?"

"Maybe you're afraid…afraid to be happy."

There it was again, Kate thought. Someone else pointing out that she was afraid to let herself be happy.

"It sounds like your life was better with Jack than Sawyer." Sun continued.

"Actually, it was better partly because I didn't have to run anymore." She replied. "You know, Sawyer really isn't a bad guy." She wasn't sure why she suddenly felt the need to defend him.

"No, he's not." Sun agreed.

"He can come off as this idiot redneck and he is at times, but he's also this vulnerable little boy that had a hard childhood." Kate told her. "I think he tried to hurt people before they can hurt him."

"That's understandable." Sun replied.

"But he does care. I've seen it come out." Kate continued "And he can make me laugh sometimes when I don't feel like it without even trying."

Sun nodded but didn't say anything more. Kate seemed to be making some sort of list almost as if she was trying to figure out Sawyer's appeal to her. "He can do sweet things if he wants to." She added thinking about him sitting in his tent reading to Aaron to keep the baby happy.

"And Jack?" Sun finally asked.

Kate took a deep breath and looked back out to the horizon for a few seconds. "Jack's not like any man I've met before." She finally said quietly. "He's…." she paused for another second thinking about the doctor. "He's warm and compassionate and he cares. I can see that …how much he cares. And he's good, you know? And he sees the good in people even when others don't. And he has this way of making bad situations better." Her mouth turned up a bit in a small smile. "I trust him" she added almost in a whisper.

"Kate…" Sun started to say.

Kate turned and looked at Sun almost as if she just realized that the young woman was still there. "I need to go talk to Sawyer." She suddenly said pushing herself up from the sand and dusting off her pants. "Thanks for listening." She said before turning up and walking back towards the beach camp.

In our next chapter Kate and Sawyer have a heart to heart. Will their passion get the best of them?