a/n: First of all I want to apologize for taking sooooo much time updating. Part of it was the normal day to day stuff...life just kept interrupting. Also got a bout of writer's block that I didn't expect. I think it was because I was trying hard to make this a good chapter. Worried about writing it right because it really is the pivotal point of the whole story and I was concerned that it I didn't get it right then…well it would suck. But on the bright side it's an extra long chapter.

So, let me know what you guys think about this heart to heart 'cause I again I feel like I always have trouble writing those chapters.

Chapter 18

It was mid-afternoon as Kate trudged along the jungle alone. She was on her usual fruit finding chores venturing to an area Sayid has suggested she look. It had been a few days since she had called it quits with Sawyer and she had been keeping to herself. Sun had asked her a few questions about what happened with Kate only telling her she had felt it was the right thing to do.

Unfortunately, Sawyer had chosen to sulk and kept his distance from Kate avoiding having to have any direction conversations with her. But she knew he watched her as she walked along the beach almost as if he was trying to gauge if she had changed her mind and being disappointed that she hadn't. Kate knew that she had hurt him even if he refused to admit it, but she also knew that it had been the right choice. It would hurt less now, for both, than if they got in any deeper.

Sighing, she picked a tree and started to climb hoping the physical activity would clear her head. Reaching between the branches she plucked the fruit and threw it down to the blanket she had laid on the ground. As she climbed to the next branch her mind wandered to the topic it had been on for the last 4 days – Jack. Feeling a little weird after her conversation with Sawyer she had gone out of her way to avoid the doctor even though she knew he probably wanted to check on her continued recovery. She figured the island gossip about her and Sawyer had probably reached the caves and people were now waiting to see what would happen between her and Jack.

She thought back to her dream again – the image of Jack holding a pregnant Kate on the couch while their daughter sleep soundly made her smile. It was so different from the image of her hiding in a barn in Australia and she was even sure it was attainable. Would her legal problems be resolved if they were rescued? And even if they were, she really wasn't sure how Jack felt. He hadn't made any real moves towards her, had he? But then again there had been Sawyer, she told herself.

Deep in her debate with herself she started climbing down the tree. As she was almost down she placed her foot on a piece of bark on the truck that gave way causing her to stumble down the rest of the way. Reeling backwards she felt a pair of hands firmly grab onto her waist and steady her as she fell against the body attached.

"Hey, be careful" a voice cautioned.

Kate turned around recognizing the voice instantly. It was Jack. She felt her stomach do a small flip at his touch.

"You okay?" he asked his voice full of concern.

"Yeah", she replied holding his gaze. "I must have caught a piece of dry bark." She noticed he hadn't let go of her waist.

"Okay, don't need you getting hurt again." He teased.

"Oh? Don't want to play doctor anymore, Jack?" she found herself teasing back.

"I don't mind playing doctor." He laughed. "Just don't want you having to take a nasty tumble to do it."

Kate felt her cheeks flush at his flirtatious comment and suddenly felt like she was back in high school for a moment. "So jack "she said anxious to break her silence. "What are you doing out here in the jungle?" she asked gently pulling out of his grasp.

"Actually, I came looking for you." He replied.

Kate felt a small lump form in her throat as she squeaked out, "Me?"

"Ah-huh. I…ah…I wanted to check on you, make sure you're feeling okay." He explained. "You've been making yourself scare at the caves and at the beach."

"I've been busy." Kate commented somewhat disappointed that his reason was medical. What were you thinking Kate? she told herself.

"You need to be taking it easy, Kate." Jack told her. "Your body suffered a major trauma and I want to make sure there's no lingering effects." He bend down to help her pick up the fruit she had gathered.

"I feel okay. I'm getting stronger every day." She replied taking the fruit from him and placing it in the bag.

"I'm not sure climbing trees is such a good idea." Jack was in full doctor mode. "Especially alone. Look what just happened."

"I stepped on a piece of dry bark, Jack." She replied. "That happens when you climb trees."

Jack chuckled lightly at her comment as he handed her the last piece of fruit. As their fingers brushed on the exchange both of them felt an electric jolt causing Kate to pull back her hand and drop the fruit.

"Sorry." She mumbled feeling her cheeks get hot as she picked it up. Jack didn't say anything but watched her wondering if being close to him was effecting her the way being close to her was effecting him. He had used checking on her health as an excuse to seek her out, but he really just wanted to see her, talk to her. He wanted to see if what happened between her and Sawyer may have anything to do with him.

Silently Kate stood up and started to put the bag on her shoulder when Jack reached out and stopped her. "Let me carry it." He offered.

"I can carry it." Kate protested holding onto the strap.

"I know you can. But I'm trying to be a gentleman, will you just humor me?" he smiled holding on to the other strap.

Kate looked up at him and couldn't help but return his smile. He did seem the type to keep chivalry alive. And besides what was so wrong with letting her guard down if just for a little and not play the tough girl role? Just relax and let him take care of her. "Okay." She replied releasing the strap. "If you insist."

"How about we take a walk?" Jack suggested "You know catch up."

Knowing 'catch up' possibly meant talking about Sawyer, Kate still nodded. She wanted to spend time with Jack away from everyone else if only for a short time. Isn't this after all what her dream had meant?

They started slowly down the path each waiting for the other to say something. Finally Jack spoke up. "So, no complaints of any headaches or dizziness, right?" he asked.

Kate sighed inwardly. More medical talk. "Nope. I'm still a little sluggish and have gotten tired more easily since I woke up, but even that's getting better."

"Getting enough sleep?"

"I should be asking you that question." She retorted.

"Ok. Ok." Jack chuckled. "Other than that everything else is okay?"

"Yeah."

"So…no particular reason why you've been avoiding the caves?" he questioned.

Kate, who had been walking slightly ahead, stopped and looked at him surprised by the question. "No. Why?"

"Well, you usually don't stay away too long. I usually see you at the caves at least once a day." He pointed out.

She shrugged her shoulders trying to act nonchalantly. "Don't know. Been busy taking it easy per doctor's orders." She smiled at him.

"And yet I go to the beach and you're not around." He replied.

Kate sighed, "Bad timing, I guess. You must have just missed me."

Jack reached out and touched her arm. "You're not avoiding me, are you?"

She glanced down at his hand before looking back up at him. Images from her dream of life with him flashed in her mind: The house, her pregnant, the cradle, their daughter. She remembered how irresistible his smile was during the pillow fight and how genuine his laugh was as he threw her on the couch. She wondered if he had ever had a pillow fight with any of the women he had been involved with before. As she ran her gaze over his face and fell on his lips she remembered how her stomach flipped when she had watched her future self kiss Jack. She wondered if his lips were as warm and soft as she imagined. She wondered how she would react if he kissed her for real.

"Kate?" his voice broke into her thoughts.

"Huh?" she asked breaking out of her day dream.

"Where did you go?" he asked.

"To the future." She whispered before realizing what she said.

"Oh yeah?" he commented. "Nice dream?"

"Yeah, it was." She admitted.

They walked a little further in a comfortable silence enjoying the presence of one another before Jack spoke up again. "So, you never answered my question."

"No? Which one?"

He stopped at a small clearing surrounded by a cluster of trees. Pulling out a bottle of water he took a sip before replying. "Are you avoiding me?" he asked sincerely. For some reason he was determined to keep on this topic.

Kate looked up at him and despite a nervous initial thought of lying to him she knew he probably would know if she was lying. "Maybe." She finally said being as honest as she could at that moment.

Jack was surprised by her answer. He was expecting a 'no' or at the least a wisecrack. Instead he got a response that was genuine…and somewhat hurtful. Why would she be avoiding him? "Why?" he asked.

Kate turned away for a moment finding it easier to speak without looking at him. "I'm not really sure."

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked again. "Hurt you feelings?" His voice was full of concern that maybe he had done something or said something indirectly to hurt her.

She shook her head. "No." she said softly.

"Then what's going on?" he inquired still standing behind her.

"That's what I've been trying to figure out." She said softly turning around to face him. She noticed his face still held a touch of weariness.

"Figure out what?" his gaze probing trying to read her feelings.

Suddenly Kate got nervous. What was she thinking? She wasn't thinking, that's the problem. "Nothing." She said quickly. "It's nothing." She started to take a step forward but Jack blocked her path.

"Kate, how long are we going to do this?" he asked, his voice lowered.

Looking down at the ground Kate kicked at a small pebble. "Do what?"

Reaching down Jack tilted her chin up so she'd meet his gaze. "This song and dance we're doing. Taking one step forward then two back."

Kate swallowed hard as she looked into his hazel eyes. Eyes that seemed to be filled with both confusion and concern. Eyes that told her that he wanted to understand what was going on.

"Is that what we're doing?" she asked instead of answering.

"Would appear so." He said keeping her eye contact. "Wanna talk about it?"

Kate shrugged her shoulders and took a step back. Part of her becoming scared at the idea of getting closer to Jack. Scared that it wouldn't work and then she'd lose their friendship. She didn't want to be stuck on the island and have Jack going out of his way to avoid her – the way Sawyer seemed to be. She could handle that with Sawyer she knew she couldn't with Jack. "I'm not sure what's going on." She finally said.

"Kate, something's going on between us. It's been there for awhile." Jack challenged.

Looking back at Jack Kate found herself nervously chewing on her fingernail. "I know."

"Think we should keep ignoring it?" he smiled weakly not sure what her response would be.

Kate knew that she didn't want to do that, but she was still nervous about admitting anything too.

"What do you want Kate?" Jack asked when she didn't answer his other question.

She looked up and stared into his warm eyes again getting lost in the dark pools for a moment. 'You' a part of her wanted to scream out. 'I want you Jack Shepard!' But another part stopped her reminding her of her past specifically her past relationships, and how most of them had been failures.

"Kate…" he reached over and took her hand.

"Jack, I can't ." she said softly trying to pull her hand away his touch weakening her resolve somewhat. But Jack refused to let go.

"What DO you want, Kate?" he asked again this time a little more determined.

She could feel tears welding up in her eyes. Why couldn't she just let go? Tell him what he wanted to hear? What she wanted to say? Then she remembered Tom's words about her needing to believe that she deserved to be happy. She needed to forgive herself and realized she could start over…for real.

Still looking at her Jack reached up and placed his thumb on her temple and slowly caressed it. "What do you want, Kate?" he asked a third time almost in a whisper.

Feeling the warmth from his gentle touch run through her Kate nodded. "Us" she finally admitted. "I want us."

Jack's expression didn't change but Kate saw a brief flicker of a smile in his eyes. "Are you sure?" he asked his tone very serious.

Kate nodded her head as she swallowed hard. "Yes."

Jack pulled back his hand from her face and Kate instantly felt the warmth draw out with it. "Then why did you pick Sawyer?" he inquired with a hurt tone in his voice.

Kate was taken back by his question and looked over at him shocked. This wasn't the reaction she expected from him. "W-what?"

"If this is what you wanted…me…us…why Sawyer?" his eyes now registering the hurt he had been keeping locked up until now.

"Jack…I…"Kate stammered not sure what she was trying to say.

"Why Kate?" he asked again. "The truth."

She shook her head but didn't answer right away. "I don't know." She finally said.

"Sure you do." He replied. "I mean don't you and Sawyer have some kind of connection? Isn't that what he said?"

"We understand each other." She admitted.

Jack nodded his head almost as if trying to make his point. "So, what happened?"

"What happened with what?" she asked starting to get a little annoyed with his prodding.

"With you and Sawyer…What happened?"

"Jack…"

"I mean you chose him."

"Wait a minute!" Kate put her hand up to protest. "One minute you're asking me what I want and the next you're demanding to know about Sawyer and I."

"You don't think that's relevant?" he asked

She shook her head. "No, I don't." Now Kate was confused by his questions. She really didn't want to discuss her and Sawyer with Jack anymore than she had wanted to discuss Jack with Sawyer a few days ago.

Jack rubbed the back of his neck in frustration not sure what it was he was trying to find out. He had been thrilled for a moment when she finally admitted she wanted something with him, but there was still a part of him that wanted a reason why she had originally chosen to be with Sawyer. Jack wasn't sure why, maybe it was male pride.

Kate watched him fidget around for a brief moment before taking a small step towards him. Jack never took his eyes off her.

"Why?" he asked again. "Why did you choose him?"

"He's not a bad guy." Kate replied suddenly feeling like she needed to defend her actions.

"I wasn't saying he was." Jack sighed.

"I know he can come across as selfish and…"

"Kate, I really don't want to go over Sawyer's attributes." He interrupted "Maybe this discussion was a mistake." He mumbled looking down.

She felt a new wave of tears start to build up at his words. "You're saying we'd be a mistake?" she spit out disappointment filling her.

"I didn't say that, Kate." He looked at her again and paused for a moment. "I just…"

"You want to know why." She finished his sentence and Jack nodded.

Talking a deep breath she walked over to a large rock nearby and sat down. Jack in turned leaned against the tree next to him and silently watched her and waited.

Kate's inner voice told her she needed to stop her past behavior. It was time for her to put her trust and faith in someone and that someone was Jack – she knew that in her heart if she didn't she'd never stop running.

"It was easier to be with him." She started out.

"Oh?"

Nodding slowly she continued "Sawyer and I are alike in some ways. Not so much the obvious, but more how we lived our lives."

"On the run?" Jack asked immediately hating the hint of sarcasm in his voice.

She shot him a hard look. "Guarded. Neither one of us is good at letting people in. We've had stuff happen in our past that makes us weary. And sometimes it's easier playing a role and making up a story about who you really are."

"But you let him in."

"Not really." Kate looked over at Jack and he leaned against the tree. More than anything she needed for him to understand he wasn't competing with Sawyer. It was different with him. "I only let him in on the surface…and he was fine with that. He didn't push. Maybe because he didn't want me pushing too deep either. We let ourselves just continue like before with a little change her or there."

Jack didn't say anything. He knew Kate was referring to his asking about her past and wanting her to be honest with him. His need to have honesty between the two of them was something he was sure she didn't understand.

"Nothing that went too deep." She continued. "And it was easier that way. That's how it's always been."

"So the, why the change of heart?" he finally spoke. "Why break it off?"

Kate looked down again at her hands fidgeting with her cuticles. "Because it's wasn't enough for me. It wasn't what I really wanted and…because…because he's not you." She admitted softly.

Jack felt his heart literally skip a beat at her words. "Really?" he asked, his breath caught in his throat.

She nodded but didn't trust herself to answer. She still wasn't sure if he shared her feelings. And if he did was she ready to take the next step? Let her guard down and grab a chance to be happy?

"Why didn't you say something before?" he asked keeping his position against the tree.

"I told you I'm not good at letting people in." she replied. "I have trust issues."

"You don't trust me?" he asked disappointed at the idea.

Kate stared at him for a moment admiring his strong features, the muscles in his arms more defined by all his physical labor on the island. She pictured herself wrapped up safe in those arms and felt her stomach flutter. "I trust you." She stated simply. "You're the first person in a long time I've trusted."

"Then…"

"You don't trust me." She blurted out.

"Kate, that's not true!" he denied taking a couple of steps in her direction. "I trust you."

"No," she shook her head insistently. "You don't…not completely."

"What makes you think that?" he asked not sure where any of this was coming from.

"When Michael was poisoned you told me that you didn't know what I was capable of." She told him feeling her voice choking up. "And you wouldn't let me carry the dynamite either."

Jack couldn't believe Kate would still be upset about the incident with the dynamite. Knowing he had to explain his reasoning if he wanted to pursue anything deeper with her Jack took the final few steps towards her and sat down next to her. As she turned to look at what he was doing Jack caught the combo of fear and anger in her eyes.

"First of all, Kate, I do trust you." He reassured her. "You're one of the few on this island that I know has my back." He said slowly and watched as she nodded. "When Michael was poisoned you came to me asking how he was, who would be taking his place on the raft. And I had just found out you wanted a seat on the raft…but I know that you wouldn't intentionally hurt somebody. I was wrong to say that to you. I guess what I really was saying was that none of us know what the other is capable of…good or bad."

Kate swallowed a gulp of air when she heard him say that. For a moment she wrestled internally with the idea of telling him about her role. If he felt she had nothing to do with Michael's poisoning would she push him away telling him the truth? She knew she might, but she also knew she needed to start being more honest with him.

"I gave Sun the idea." She finally admitted. "I told her that if Jin got sick he wouldn't be able to go and she'd be able to keep him here. I figured that I'd get his spot on the raft." She spoke quickly so she wouldn't lose her nerve.

A few long silent seconds passed in which Kate kept her head down too nervous to look at him afraid of what she'd see in his eyes.

"I know." Jack finally replied in a low voice.

Surprised she turned at looked over at him trying to make sure she heard him correctly. "You know? How?"

"I figured someone would have given Sun the idea. Just didn't seem to have that in her to come up with something like that. I figured someone she was close to and trusted helped her." He replied. "Someone with a possible stake in it."

Kate averted her eyes to the ground. Here she had been worried confessing would anger and push him away and he had already figured it out.

"Why didn't you say anything?" she asked incredulously.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I figured you probably were already beating yourself up for using Sun like that…and you had enough to deal with when Sawyer 'outed' you" he explained.

"Yeah." She nodded. "Pretty good payback huh?" she said sarcastically.

"I didn't mean it that way."

"I know." She said softly.

Jack turned away from her for a moment. "As for the dynamite." He looked down at his hands and started rubbing the palms together. "I had a more selfish reason for not wanting you to carry them."

"You're getting use to playing 'hero'?" she teased half-heartedly.

Turning he met and held her gaze. "I didn't want what happened to Artz to happen to you." He confessed softly. "I didn't want you at risk."

Kate's pulse raced for a second at his words. He was telling her he had feelings for her, wasn't he? He did care, she told herself, beyond friendship. Kate saw in his gaze the emotions he was feeling and it made her shiver. She knew she should say something but wasn't sure what. Finally she squeaked out. "Really?"

Nodding he took one of her hands in his rubbing the top of it gently with his thumb. "Really."

They sat there silently for a moment looking at her hand in his not sure what should be said next.

Finally Jack spoke. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Kate panicked. Had he changed his mind?

"For making you believe I didn't trust you." He explained.

"It's not like I didn't give you reason." She replied still watching his thumb gently trace circles over her hand and loving the feeling it was inducing. "I should have been more honest from the start."

He nodded. "Yeah." He let go of her hand and stood up. "I guess I put you on the spot a couple of times too demanding some honesty." He rubbed his hand along the back of his neck again as if trying to brush of the tension that continually seem to camp out there. "But I gotta tell you Kate, I've had enough people in my life lie to me, play me. I guess I just am tired of it."

Kate bit her bottom lip and looked down at the vines running along the jungle floor at her feet. She wasn't sure how to respond. She knew she had put him at arm's length every time she had been less than honest. "I'm sorry." She whispered.

He took a deep breath and lowered his head to look at his feet. "My father was a master at manipulating people. "he continued. "I spent most of my life watching him handle people and situations, most of the time to his advantage."

Kate remained silent. This was the first time Jack had revealed anything personal about his life and she didn't want him to stop.

"He used to tell me that to succeed in life you had to be detached…put aside your feelings. Let fate decide for you." Jack's voice was full of emotion as he spoke. He turned and looked over at the young woman. "He was a big believer in fate. 'Never choose Jack, because when you lose you don't have what it takes.' I heard that my whole life."

"That doesn't sound like you" Kate commented, "letting fate decide things."

He nodded. "It's not. But I remember growing up thinking about how easy he made it seem going to work dealing with everything he saw at the hospital and then coming home and not letting him effect his home life." He kicked around a small rock. "And it bothered me that I couldn't be that way. I always felt like I disappointed him when I couldn't 'let go'. It wasn't until I got older that I realized that while he looked like he wasn't fazed he really was just avoiding taking responsibility for his actions by putting it on fate. And his feelings? He was just drowning them in a bottle of liquor. Making himself numb to everything. "

"Sometimes that's better than dealing with them." Kate replied quietly.

Shaking his head Jack walked back over and sat down next to her. "No, it's not." He impulsively took her hand in his again and turned to face her. "Your feelings are important – good or bad – and you need to deal with them. Shutting them off only works for a little while, believe me I know. Eventually you ended up having to face them one way or another. My father was proof of that. When everything fell apart for him he didn't know how to face it and so he ran…right into a bottle of whiskey…and eventually that helped kill him." Jack's voice cracked as he relieved his father's death again and he could feel his eyes start to tear up.

Kate watched as the emotions flooded his face and all she wanted to do at that moment was pull him into her arms and comfort him, let him know it would be okay. Instead she reached out her free hand and brought it to his cheek and caressed it. Smiling weakly Jack leaned into her touch enjoying the warmth it brought.

"We need to stop." He said in almost a whisper.

"Stop what?" Kate asked.

"Running away from our feelings, "he replied, "putting these walls up."

"I know." She agreed turning her hand over and rubbing the top of it along his jaw line. She knew he was right. She was tired of running and tired of feeling alone, feeling as if she didn't deserve some happiness in her life, as if love wasn't for her. Sitting her next to this man holding his hand made her truly realize she did want everything she saw in her dream…and more importantly she wanted it with Jack. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead." he squeezed her hand ever so slightly.

Taking a deep breath she looked him straight in the eyes. "What do you want, Jack?" she said, asking him the same question he had asked of her earlier.

The doctor looked over at the beautiful young woman sitting in front of him, her eyes glistening with light tears and felt his stomach do a flip. He knew exactly what he wanted, he had known it for a long time…or rather his heart had…it just took his brain a little longer to get the idea. "You." He finally said. "I want you."

She smiled and nodded. "Are you sure? I mean warts and all?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, I'm sure. Warts and all." He leaned forward and pressed his lips gently to hers. Kate immediately returned the kiss. Deepening the kiss he reached out and pulled her into his embrace wanting her as close to him as she could get. Opening her lips she accepted his tongue as it explored the inside of her mouth dueling with hers as her arms wrapped around his neck tightening her hold on him. They pulled away only when the need for oxygen became greater than the need to kiss. Resting his forehead against hers Jack smiled. "Took long enough, huh?" he joked.

She smiled slightly and nodded. But from the look on her face Jack could tell she still had something on her mind. Pulling back he put his hands on either side of her face. "What's wrong? Bad kiss?"

"No." she replied. "It was a great kiss."

"Then what?"

Reaching up she took his hands in hers. "If we're going to do this then I need to tell you everything."

"Kate…"

She shook her head quickly. "No, Jack. It's not fair for you to not know what you're getting into."

"It doesn't matter." He replied.

"See, that's the problem. You can't make that statement without knowing what I did…and why. "She insisted. "It's the only way that I can believe that you're not going to leave."

"Kate," he took her hand and intertwined their fingers. "I'm not going anywhere, I promise. Besides, how far could I get we're on an island?" He joked.

"I'm serious Jack!" she replied excitedly.

"Ok." He nodded. "Only if you want to."

"I do." She replied.

Looking around Jack noticed that it had started getting late. He wasn't too keen on keeping this conversation on hold until they got back to the caves. For one he was afraid Kate might change her mind and for another he knew they wouldn't get the privacy they needed.

"Before you start how about we set up camp?" he suggested. "It's getting a little late to walk back and besides it'll give us a chance to talk without being interrupted."

"Ok." Kate replied. "How about that spot over there." She pointed next to them to a small clearing surrounded by some trees.

"I'll look for some wood for a fire." Jack volunteered.

A short time later the two were sitting in front of a piece of tree trunk Jack had rolled over eating some dried boar meat and some of the fruit Kate had picked earlier. When they were done they sat silently staring into the flames each of them momentarily lost in their thoughts until Jack finally cleared his throat. "You still want to tell me?" he asked. "Because it's okay if you changed your mind."

She shook her head. "No, I need to do this." She said softly still trying to gather her nerve.

Impulsively Jack draped his arm around Kate's shoulders and pulled her to him. Wrapping his other arm around her waist he placed a gently kiss on her temple. "Just remember I'm not going anywhere."

Snuggling deeper into his embrace Kate closed her eyes for a moment and just enjoyed being his arms…feeling his warmth wash over her and make her feel safe. She hadn't felt this with anyone since…she couldn't remember when. And that feeling made her fearful with what she was about to do. What if she told him everything and he left? She'd be crushed, she knew it because even though she wasn't ready to admit it to him she was falling in love with the handsome doctor…falling hard and falling deep. Trust him, Kate, she told herself. Trust him to love you no matter what.

"My parents divorced when I was about 12 years old…" she started.

It took her awhile to get through the whole thing but she told him everything. She told him about her step father and the abuse and running away, crying as she did. Jack remained silent but held her as her tears came making soft soothing sounds as he rubbed her back telling her silently everything would be okay. She told him about Tom and the heartache of feeling responsible for his death. He in turned assured her, as Tom had in her dream, that it hadn't been her fault – he had made the choice to get into the car. She told him about the Marshall and his personal vendetta to capture her and how she had ended up in Australia. By the time she was done Kate was emotionally exhausted. She felt as if she didn't have any tears left inside her. And between her emotional state, the fire, and Jack's warm embrace Kate fell asleep.

Hours later she woke up to darkness. Best she could tell it was still very early in morning hours. The embers of the fire were dying down and she felt a little shiver run through her. She pulled at the blanket draped across her shoulders. As she shifted she felt something across her waist and realized it was Jack's arm. He was laying behind her his chest pressed against her back. Smiling she burrowed herself deeper into his embrace and felt his arms tighten around her before feeling a kiss on the side of her neck.

"You didn't leave." She stated happily.

"I told you Kate, I'm not going anywhere." He replied before sitting up slightly and placing a kiss on her lips. "You're stuck with me."

Grinning she reached up and caressed his chin. "Looks like it, huh?"

Laying back down Jack pulled her back to him. "Yeah it does."

Next Chapter: An epilogue.And I promise it won't take as long as this chapter did. As always let me know what you thought.