A/N: Nope, still don't own squat. And, to let you know so you don't get confused, this takes place after The Hunting Party.

Sawyer didn't know what to feel as he trudged helplessly behind Locke and Jack on the what seemed like endless search for Kate. He had always known that the Doc had felt something towards her, but he could never have imagined just how intense those feelings really were.

He had always got the feeling that she had felt something towards him, maybe more as the friend/companion thing they had just then. Nobody treated him the same way as she did. When she left, so did a little piece of normalcy he had ever felt on the island. He had always felt like he had known Kate forever.

He hadn't said much ever since he had gathered all the willing survivors that wanted to help find the second half of the leadership party. What would he say? They had made it quite clear ever since the first week they had been stranded on the island that they weren't interested in anything he had to say.

Suddenly Locke stopped in his tracks. Everyone else did too, watching him expectantly, including Sawyer. Many people were whispering to themselves, wondering what the hunter extraordinaire had to tell them this time. Jack looked like he couldn't make up his mind whether to feel hopeful or impatient. He decided to show a mixture of both.

"What is it?" he asked, voicing the thoughts of everyone else.

Instead of explaining something like he usually did, he brought his index finger to his lips as a sign for them to be quiet. It worked, almost too well.

Sawyer kept his eyes fixed on Locke. He couldn't help but wonder what the man was up to, or looking for this far from their side of the beach. And to be honest, he couldn't hear a damn thing.

He opened his mouth to speak, but someone beat him to it. "What are we doing, besides just standing here listening to nothing?" It was Charlie, standing somewhere behind him.

Sawyer, like everyone else, watched Locke for an answer. But he didn't reply. "Charlie is right. This doesn't seem to be getting us anywhere. We have already wasted five minutes right now," Sayid replied, and soon everyone else was murmuring in agreement.

To everyone's relief, Locke nodded. "I thought I heard something up there, like footsteps. You all need to be on your guard, and your senses alert. If you want to help and be out here, you need to learn to listen."

Without anything else to say, he trudged along, looking everywhere for some sign. Hour after hour passed, and the anxiety of the group was making itself visible, little by little. Jack sensed it, but chose to ignore it. He couldn't admit to the inevitable. That Kate was gone, maybe even…well, he wouldn't admit to it. He wouldn't wave his hidden white flag in defeat.

Memories of Kate kept fighting their way to the front of his brain, so that pieces of all their meetings would flash before his eyes at once. Regrettably, shamefully, a lot of them included him throwing hurtful accusations at her, catching her off guard. All of them hurt her, he knew it then and he knew it now, but somehow, selfishly, he had needed to do it. To have someone to blame.

If he could take it all back, he would. He would make it up to her by rescuing her, or bringing her back, whichever way it happened to be.

"Jack." Sayid's voice cut into his unspoken promises. He and Locke turned around to face him, to hear what he had to say this time.

Sayid hesitated before he spoke, his hands on his hips, that defeated look on his face like he had every time he had to say something no one wanted to hear. "I hate to say it, but we're on a goose chase. It has to stop. How long will be out here before someone back on the beach or the caves gets seriously hurt? Who is out there that can take care of them?"

Jack gave a small smile, not wanting to hear what he knew Sayid was going to say. "What are you saying? That we should give up?"

"It wouldn't be like that, and you know it. I'm just saying that we are deeper in the jungle than we have ever been before. It has taken us two days just to get here, which means it is going to take us two days to get back from here. The fruit is getting scarce, and our water is running low. If we continue under these conditions, we would be committing suicide," he said boldly.

Some people started murmuring amongst themselves at this, knowing the ex-soldier was speaking the truth. Jack knew that after this, he would lose at least half of the search team.

"We can't just leave her in the hands of these Others. We all know what they are capable of. Ethan showed us that all too willingly. Yes, if we continue then it would be like suicide to us, but if we give up then its murder to her!" Jack snapped. As could be expected, more muttering occurred after these words. Even Sawyer was at a loss for words.

Sayid sighed. "You know that we do not have the energy or the resources to continue like this for who knows how long. I am not having this discussion. We are turning back. We have no choice."

"You can go. But I'm staying."

No one moved. It was clear by their expressions that they were afraid of going back without their doctor and leader. What would happen if they just left him out here? Would he be caught next?

"Jack, Sayid's right. We can come back later, but we need to restock. We can head back out first thing in the morning," Locke suggested, though it was more like a light-hearted command.

Seeing no way out of the situation, Jack nodded weakly. "Fine." Soon, Kate. I'll find you soon. I promise.

Kate jumped at the sound the door made when it opened. Hours had passed since the two men had left her, groggy, tired, and thoroughly pissed off. The same two men came in who had been there when she woke up the first time. "Hello again, Kate."

Kate didn't answer.

The older man laughed. "I know how you're feeling. I was confused when I was in your position, many years ago. You may not remember me, but…"

"I remember you. You almost killed me when you found me in the jungle."

The man laughed again. "You have it wrong. I was never going to kill you. You were more like leverage to get your leader, Jack, to see things the way they were going to be. You of all people should've known that."

Kate glared at him. She wanted to tell him she knew that he was lying, but somehow knew that he was telling the truth. He had had no intention of harming her then. She couldn't say the same thing this time.

"My name is Mr. Friendly, in case you have forgotten, but you can call me Tom, if you prefer."

Almost against her will, Kate shot her head up to glare at him. Did he know…but of course he couldn't…was he doing this on purpose?

He just gave her an innocent look, seemingly unaware of how much the name 'Tom' meant to her, but he could sense her uneasiness.

"You are not here on purpose. I know that you must be waiting to ask that question at the right time, so I'll spare you the trouble. We have been watching you for some. Seen you do everything you could to prove yourself to Jack." He spat the name like it was something disgusting.

"We have watched you befriend the southerner too. They both mean something to you, something more than you would care to admit. And you mean something to them too," he said casually, watching her for the reaction that was coming.

"Is that why you're doing this? Do you want something from them?" she asked exasperatedly.

Tom let out that ridiculous gruff laugh once more. "No. Their possessions are meaningless to me. This is much bigger than that. You are bigger than that, and I think that deep down, you know that."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I am talking about you. Your contributions to the island may go unnoticed by your fellow survivors, but they do not go unnoticed by us. Have you ever wondered why your plane crashed here? Why you just happened to be on it, and why you were one of those that survived, instead just another body falling from the sky?"

Before Kate could respond to this, Tom continued. "Tell me. Why did you save his life? The farmer who turned you in?"

"Did you find her?"

"Where is she?"

"Why did she leave?" Everyone who didn't join the search party were bombarding those that did with all sorts of questions, questions that Jack wanted to ask himself. He now knew how celebrities felt.

He left the others to find some alone time. The last thing he wanted was to see anyone except Kate. They were all acting so selfish. It was selfish to give up on Kate because of some injuries somebody might get in the future. They said they understood, but no one understood.

No matter what they said, it wasn't useless. And they had been too damn close just to turn around and go back. Why did they find it so easy to keep living their island lives without Kate? Kate was a part of their island family. Without one, they suffered; that was their attitudes when Boone and Shannon died. They had all let their grief show, and even today they still weren't quite the same.

They were all acting like nothing had happened, that Kate was just off somewhere, planting seeds in her garden with Sun, or picking fruit for them all to eat without showing any gratitude. It was all just so easy to pretend like nothing happened.

He feet led him to the hatch almost automatically, and Jack wasn't fully aware of where he was until he saw Mr. Eko sitting in front of the computer, watching Jack for answers that he had to know that he did not have.

"You did not find her, did you?"

Jack shook his head. "No."

Mr. Eko smiled encouragingly. "Tomorrow, I will go out with you. I will help you find her."

Jack took a moment to stare at him appreciatively before answering. "Sounds good."

"We will not come back without her," Mr. Eko said, determinedly.

Jack stared at him incredulously before replying. "Okay."

A/N: Good? Let me know.