Title: Still Not Found
Pairings: Jack/Kate
Spoilers: Hm. Random stuff here and there and a spoiler for tomorrow night's episode "What Kate Did". I usually hate spoiling future stuff in my fics, but I couldn't help it.
Disclaimer: As usual, I don't own any of this.
Announcement: Reviews are love. I got some reviews for me to continue so I'm going to even though I have no idea what I'm doing with this. Please read and review it!

Everything seemed high tech and new as Kate ran through the self-operating sliding doors. She saw the reception and put her game face on. She had spent the last two months searching for him; she wasn't going to screw this up. It's been almost a year and a half since she and the other survivors had been rescued and she hasn't seen any of them, only heard from a few friends – she assumes they're friends – in letters. But she hasn't seen anyone and she really wants to see him, it's been way too long since the beach.

Kate always woke up with the sun, whenever she wasn't sleep in the hatch that is. When she slept on the beach, on the bumpy sand, with nothing but an airplane blanket and a blanket of stars in the sky around her, she would wake up as the sun rose, turning the sky orange, starting her day ahead of everyone else.

She woke up on that day and did what she did every other day: brushed her teeth (with an actual toothbrush eventually thanks to the hatch), brushed hair, checked on everyone else to make sure nothing happened during the night and head down the path where Jack would meet her half way. But it was different that time.

She stretched after she woke up and started rummaging through her bag. Pulling on a cleaner t-shirt to replace the one week old one she was wearing, she noticed something out in the ocean. It was a big something.

Quietly she crept towards Sayid's little shack. He was still asleep, his breathing still normal. She searched for the binoculars or the hand held telescope to be out in the open. No such luck; she would have to go search deeper. His bag was near the end of his simply made bed and she pulled it gently towards her.

She dug through his clothes, feeling a smidge of guilt and disgust for doing this, and finally found a pair of small binoculars.

She went to the point where she was brushing her hair and looked out past the ocean water, and proved her theory. There was a boat. A gray stick like ship slowly heading towards the island slowly. She figured she had a good four hours at least to figure things out. Some how.

She was a few feet away from the reception lady. She put on a wrinkled forehead look, and clutched her arm. She had just cut herself in her car. It sounded stupid, even suicidal in a way, but she figured she would get over it eventually. She really missed him.

"Ohmygod! Ohmygod! I need stitches!" Kate threw on the ditzy act that she perfected over the years of running, "I was chopping onions! And my dog! He came running in and he scared me so I slipped and knife cut me. Ohmygod! I need stitches! Now!"

The fifty something year old woman looked at her long, blinked and then said, "Alright. Let me page Doctor Sheppard. Maureen? Take her to a spare room?"

It took every ounce of her not to grin like a fool.

"Right this way…Kate." Maureen, she guessed, said to her. And Kate followed her, clutching the damp with blood cloth to an empty room.

Kate knew the time on the island was slowly ticking to its end. She knew she wasn't going to see Jack, Hurley, Charlie, Claire or Sun ever again. She was going to miss them all in her prison cell. Kate didn't want to think about it.

She wanted to run, she had a four-hour advantage at least. But both her and who ever was going to be after her had the disadvantage of getting caught by them. The others. They were still unknown after nearly two years. Kate didn't know what could be worst. Twenty-five years of jail time (at least) or brutal bashings and smashings from them.

She was lost in thought. She didn't even hear Jack call her name out. She felt her shoulder being taken a hold off and Kate with her quick reactions grabbed the arm and twisted it.

"Oh, shit! Jack! I'm so sorry." She let go quickly when she saw the familiar chin stubble, brown hair and tattoos.

"It's alright. We're all a bit jumpy since Walt and Shannon. Don't worry about it."

She spent the next five minutes apologizing. She could feel how out of character it felt. But she really was sorry. Finally she stopped when Jack told her playfully to shut up. She quickly forgot about the ship and the rescue, although it was in the back of her mind, slowly nagging her to memorize this moments because she's screwed in a few hours.

And thanks to that nagging little thought of rescue bugging her slowly, she kept forcing herself to think of challenging topics that would bring both her and Jack into a conversation nearly impossible to drop. Politics seemed key.

But finally, Jack realized how high the sun was. It was kind of Kate's fault too. She made him laugh (curse her sense of humour) and when Jack laughs, really laughs, he throws his head back, forcing him to look up at the sky and the sun.

"I'm just going to drop these off at the caves. I'll be right back." Jack said and he gave her a small smile. She tried to smile back but just ended up looking down at the finely crafted dirt path.

"Kate…?"

"God, this is my chance. No one is watching me. No one is here with me. I can run. I could run. I really could." She thought.

"Kate? Come here…"

"What do I do?"

She walked slowly to Jack's voice, as if somehow walking in slow-mo would help her process what to do faster. "Yeah?" She called.

"Oh my god."

"Ms. Austin?" Maureen snapped Kate out of her trance, "Dr. Sheppard will be here in 5 minutes. Just keep your cut under pressure, okay hun?"

"Do you think he could speed it up a smidge? I'm feeling just a bit…faint." Kate just barely got that out without laughing. This wasn't her.

"Yes. Of course." And Maureen whipped open the door made of up material and left.

Kate quickly went over to the sink and cleaned her cloth. She quickly made sure the cut was okay, just to make sure it really wasn't anything big, and sat down waiting patiently and thinking of what she could possibly say to the man she missed so much.

The sprint back to the beach was marathon worthy and before she realized what she was doing, she was on the beach hearing joyful screams and seeing dances of happiness.

She glanced over a Jack. His face had pure confusion. He obviously wasn't looking at the big picture. The ocean. "What the hell…" he started. But Kate interrupted.

"Jack…" She pointed, "look…"

Something flickered in his eyes when he finally registered that a ship was here, but it quickly went away.

"Kate…"

Kate quickly made the choice then and there. She wasn't going to run. It was pointless to run. She would sooner get parole and get out of jail then actually survive in that jungle on her own. "I'm not going to run, Jack."

Kate turned from him quickly. She didn't want him to see the few tears forming. She could hear him calling her name but she was Kate. She was strong. She didn't cry. She never cried over something like getting caught.

Then something pulled her gently but still firmly. Then she was kissing him. It wasn't the first time, but it was a different kiss, once she registered it. It was gentle but passionate all at once and it ended much too soon. Damn Sawyer and Charlie's catcalls and the obvious stares.

Then it was a blur. Kate's rights were read to her. She was loaded on to a boat, put in a separate room than anyone else. Somehow she got to the dock where the piercing photographer's cameras blinded her from any memory of her walk of shame.

"Hi, I'm Doctor Jack Sheppard, what seems to…" He stopped and Kate smiled the smile she has been saving up all day.

"Kate…"

"Hey, Jack."

"This was too casual sounding. This should be more…more something. A hug. That'll make it more…something." Kate thought to herself.

She stared at him for a while. He looked a bit tired, but still very awake (he would have to be with his job). He smelt of fresh air, of trees. He still had that chin stubble, she's thinking that the lack of shaving wasn't just because of their situation of the island, but because he likes it like that. She realizes finally that she hasn't spoken, but Jack beats her to it.

"What…how?" He sounded so confused.

"Shh, it's okay. Look, we'll figure it out later. Right now I'm just so glad that I found you. When's your shift done?"

"About four?"

"Okay. I'll be back around then." I smiled and headed out the shower curtain door.

"Wait, Kate. What about your cut?" His natural side, his doctor side, spoke up.

She grinned still pretty proud of her idiotic plan that worked, "Oh this thing? It's fine. Not even worth looking at."

I know this is basically getting us no where not even a hint of whether Kate is running away or not. I'm so cruel, I know but I really wanted to update because of the fabulous reviews I've been getting. I'm also been dying to post this chapter AFTER tomorrow's episode and write it based on the things that will happen but I just wanted to post this. Anyways, as always REVIEWS PLEASE!
xo