Good Enough - Chapter One
3/10/5

It was morning. She didn't know the exact time, but time mattered less and less on the island and few of them wore watches anymore; morning begun when the sun rose and bed time occurred when each survivor's tiredness gradually washed over them in the firelight and story exchange. She knew it was early; the sun had not yet peeped above the horizon and the sky was still yawning under flickering eyes. Kate groaned, rolled over gingerly so not to fall off her perch upon three plane seats and grabbed the water bottle from beside her backpack. It was coated in sand, like everything else she owned; but there was no point in worrying or complaining so no-one did.

She sat up and roughly folded the standard issue Oceanic Airlines plane blankets that served as a duvet and pillows. Her hair hung in delicate tendrils around her face and Kate swept it back into an unkempt ponytail before pouring a small amount of the water into her hands, to rub over her face to wash away the sleep and remnants of the night. Glancing around, she could see the other beach dwellers were still deep in sleep; Sawyer hidden behind his tarpaulin, Michael and Walt lying off to one side with Walt's arm lying lovingly over Vincent. Wearing the same clothes she had slept in, Kate grabbed her toothbrush and miniature toothpaste, plus the water bottle and a couple of passion fruit she had picked the day before. No need for shoes when you're living on a beach, she thought as she wandered out of the main camp and made tracks in the sand, like a path for another to follow.

Later she would wonder if she had subconsciously known to halt where she did, but after five minutes or so Kate stopped by the shoreline and took the little generic tube from her pocket and proceeded to brush her teeth. She spat into the sea and washed her mouth out with the fresh water from the caves, and spat again. And it was then the sun crept over the waves, an orange arc of light flickering the sky with the pink and gold of dawn; and it was then the silence was broken.

"Click." She could hear the smile in his voice as he said it. Kate turned to see Jack standing just beyond the treeline, having emerged from the jungle exactly opposite to where she stood. He had his hands out, framing the image of Kate standing at the water's edge as the sun greeted the day. He wore ripped jeans and a blue checked shirt she hadn't seen on him before. "Morning stranger." He joked as he made his way over to the water.

"Hey." She smiled sleepily. "And I thought it was just me who woke this early, huh?"

"Mmm, 'fraid not." Jack slung his half empty bag down between them. "Couldn't sleep?" He sat down in the sand and Kate followed suit, offering him a passion fruit and using a small penknife to cut open their breakfast.

"Kinda… I don't know. Can't seem to get beyond the sunrise at the moment, something always wakes me. Which is a very bad routine to be getting into since it's not exactly like I've got a 9-5 job to be getting to." She gave a small grin and bit into the fruit. "You?"

"Aw, ya know… I've gotta go for my early morning run before work and then down a grande double expresso shot Americano before getting to the office…"

"But of course." Their eyes met and Jack winked. Kate felt her heart miss a beat, like it always did when he gave her that face, that face reserved for her; when Jack forgot for just a second all the pressure and responsibility placed upon his shoulders and just let himself enjoy these moments. His eyes would crease up a little and fill with light, his shoulders would relax and just occasionally she'd get a smile, like a reward or a shared secret. Kate loved these moments, but they were so few and far between; with Jack at the caves and her at the beach, and his endless work schedule and the tension that seemed to sometimes creep between them… that tension that felt like a spark in the air, like the nervousness of a first date. She didn't tell him the reason she didn't want to move to the caves was because she was afraid she'd screw him up. She didn't tell him how scared she was, how much strength she made up, of how even here she couldn't look in a mirror without wishing there was someone else staring back at her.

"So what's the grand plan for today then?" Jack broke her train of thought and brought her back to reality from the reverie that was about to spin off course. "Is it gardening, trekking or fruit picking?"

"My life's that boring huh?" She played with a twig in the sand, writing her name like an engraving. "Just 'cause I'm not stitching wounds with cotton thread or in any plane crashes today, I'll have you know I'm a very busy girl."

"Right."

"Yup."

"And this busy girl would be doing what…?"

Kate leapt up and mischievously pushed him over, covering Jack's new shirt with sand. ""I'm sorry, but I'm just too busy to tell you right now." She ran a few metres up the beach and turned around, a grin on her face as he stared after her as she knew he would. Jack rolled on to his front in the sand, his feet dangling precariously close to the water's edge. He watched as Kate walked backwards along the beach for a few strides, taking in her image, the way her hair framed her face, the graceful arc of her foot as she took step after step. He shook his head, trying to do away with the ideas forming. She called out to him as she retreated, "But… if you've time later to teach me a thing or two up on Hurley's golf course, I'll be by the caves after lunch."

"Uh huh? After beating me up you want my help now?" Jack pushed himself to standing and glanced down pointedly at his considerably sandy attire. "And now will I actually be teaching golf on the golf course or something else?" As soon as the words had left his mouth, Jack regretted saying it. This was Kate, why was he flirting? Things on the island were already complicated enough. He could feel his cheeks burning red as he watched hers do the same, but her answer caught him by surprise.

"You decide." And with that she turned and jogged gracefully down the beach, sand kicked up with each stride. Why couldn't it be like that all the time? Why did she always feel so secure when Jack was there, why couldn't she tell him her fears, why did she run from him and long for him in equal measure? The questions filtered through Kate's mind as she ran. She blinked firmly and in her mind took a picture she never could have seen; of the two of them sitting there, the only ones awake, sharing jokes as the sun split the sky as though neither had a care in the world. She framed it and saved it to the back of her mind, for a rainy day or more likely, for when the tension surfaced again, because of her insecurities or because he was too good to her when deep down she knew she didn't deserve it.

I know that I'll never be alone
You will never let me go
You are my anchor
Hold my hand
While I'm sinking in the sand
No one else could understand
You are my anchor