Kate awoke still feeling a bit groggy and found herself staring up at trees with patches of sky in between. She was at the caves lying on plane cushions. Last nights events flooded back to her. Sawyer and Sun dragging her to the caves to Jack. Not being able to breathe, and then her memory went fuzzy.

She was brought out of her replay by a small shift of weight on her left side. She let out a gasp of surprise upon seeing Jack's sleeping form slumped over with his head resting on his hands which happened to be holding one of hers. Now she was confused. Jack hadn't spoken to her in almost a week, so why was he sitting here holding her hand?

She remembered how he had reacted upon hearing about her hike with Claire. He had been upset she knew, but he did what he had to do to make sure she would be ok. So that's all this was. She was his patient. He would do the same for anyone else on the island. She kept telling herself that. She needed to believe that because she was terrified that when he woke he would forget whatever small amount of tenderness he had shown her last night and go back to avoiding her.

After a few more minutes of watching him sleep, Kate reluctantly decided it was time to wake him up. She figured he'd want to know she was up and ok so he could go and get on with his day. So she gently squeezed his hand and inwardly braced herself for his reaction.

Jack awoke and quickly sat up. He hadn't noticed her lying there yet. He immediately brought a hand up to his neck to rub what must have been aching muscles. He had to be in pain from sleeping like that all night. "Son of a.." he trailed off when he noticed Kate. She was looking at him with a slightly amused expression on her face.

"Hey" he said in a surprised tone as last nights events came rushing back to him. "Hey" she replied. "I'm sorry my hand wasn't more comfortable" she quipped. Jack, obviously still trying to wake up looked at her with a confused expression on his face. "What?" he asked. She gave a light chuckle and gestured to their entwined hands with her eyes. She was hoping to keep the mood light by making a joke.

Upon realizing that he indeed was still holding her hand Jack immediately withdrew it to his side. "Oh...I, uh...I just.." he trailed off. He looked at his shoes for a moment before raising his head to look at her. "How are you feeling?" he asked in his patented doctor mode voice. Kate sighed realizing that now that he was in doctor mode it was definitely all business.

"Pretty good" she answered as he checked her arms, legs and stomach for any sign of the hives. She had to force herself not to shiver when his hands reached her stomach. "Well, it looks like the hives are gone, how is your breathing?" he asked. "Good" she said softly the memory of last night coming back to her. It had been terrifying not being able to breathe. Jack must have noticed her slight change in mood because he quickly changed the subject.

"Do you want to sit up?" he asked. She nodded and he wrapped an arm around her shoulder to help her sit up. "You should eat something" he said. "It will help with the weakness." She watched as Jack looked around the cave. He noticed someone left two mangos and a water bottle on the medicine cart and went to pick them up. From the look on his face she could tell he wasn't happy that he had slept in. It must be late in the morning if someone else had already been here with breakfast.

Jack walked back over and sat next to her on the cushions. She noticed he left an appropriate amount of space between them. He handed her the water which she proceeded to drink rapidly. She hadn't realized how thirsty she was. She watched him silently cut up the mangos. She couldn't read his face. He just seemed lost in his own thoughts.

When he finished, he handed her some mango and then turned to eat his own. But he hesitated. He seemed conflicted about whether to stay or to leave. The awkward air in the cave seemed to rise. They both wanted to say something, anything, but didn't know where to begin. After another minute of silence Kate couldn't take it anymore.

"Thanks" she managed to get out. It was barely more than a whisper, but his nod assured her that he had heard her. After a moments pause she continued. "I mean for everything, last night…and staying with me" She trailed off and studied the rest of her mango not knowing what else to say.

He looked at her briefly and gave another nod. A soft "You're welcome" followed. A small smile appeared on Kate's face. Words. That was all she wanted. Just to hear his voice speaking to her. It wasn't much, but it gave her the confidence to continue. She passed the water bottle to him and spoke as he took a drink.

"Jack, about the hike…let me explain" He cut her off with a shake of his head as he swallowed the water. "You don't have to explain anything to me Kate. You can do what you want, you don't need my approval." Though he tried to say it in an even tone, Kate could hear a hint of anger, or maybe it was distress, in his voice.

"Then why are you so upset?" she asked gently praying she hadn't crossed the line. The last thing she wanted was for him to just get up and leave. But he didn't leave. He remained silent for what seemed like hours to Kate. She watched as the wheels turned in his head. She had no clue what he was thinking, but it was clear he was trying to form what he wanted to say.

She felt the tension between them rising as Jack struggled with whatever inner demon he was battling at the moment. She had no idea he was fighting with his own feelings towards her. After what felt like an eternity he finally spoke. "Kate..it's mostly my fault that things are the way they are between us." He paused and continued to speak at the ground. "I've been punishing you for something that isn't your fault and I'm sorry." He took a breath and continued. "The reason I'm upset is because I care about you. It's not about whether you're capable; it's just about needing to know that you're safe."

Kate let out a breath she didn't know she was holding as he finished. She had no idea what to say. She hadn't been expecting that. Luckily Jack was still staring at the ground. Kate opened her mouth and closed it again. As she tried to wrap her mind around what he had just said, Jack got up and moved to get his backpack. Kate didn't even notice he had moved until he was standing right in front of her looking down at her.

"Make sure you take it easy today" he said. "If you need me for anything, I'll be at the hatch." He then started walking towards the path that led to the hatch. Say something! Her mind was yelling at her. "Jack!" was all that came out. He turned around and walked a few paces back towards her. Crap. She hadn't thought past calling his name. She remained seated looking at her hands and willing her brain to come up with anything to say to him.

"I..uh.." she started, "thank you…for caring" she choked out. He was silent and after a few seconds she raised her head to look at him. There was that nod again, but this time it came with a small and slightly amused smile. He turned back around and headed into the jungle. A smile broke out on Kate's face as she watched his retreating form. And they both breathed a sigh of relief. Things were going to be ok.

THE END

A/N: All feedback is appreciated!