Keep watch that was her job. Even though she had 2 children asleep in a tent and a "husband" who was off doing god only knows what. It hadn't been safe for the children to be left alone on the island, but that was before Danielle had gone mad and killed herself. That was before the "Others" had been killed. Now, the island was as safe as it was going to get. It had been 7 years. Seven years of not knowing what was going on in the world around them. Seven years of waiting for nothing, for the hopeless. Seven years of dreaming that one-day, they would put a rudder to the island they were stuck on.
"Kate!" She turned around. There, approaching her was her husband, Jack. "Kate! Come, and get some rest. Claire's offered to take your shift," he said as he approached her.
"I'm fine, I was just thinking," she said in reply.
"Are you sure? You look pretty tired to me." Jack sat down next to her on the beach.
"I'm sure. Listen, I'll come to the tent later, you should go and check on the kids." Jack got up. Kate heard him mutter something that sounded like, "women," as he walked away. Kate rolled her eyes, and turned her attention back to the horizon.
About a year ago, it was decided that people would keep watch during the night for any passing ships. Two towers of logs were ready to be burned if any ship passed within eye-range. Tonight, it was Kate's turn to look for ships. Charlie had gathered the kids, and there were a lot of them, in the tent that he shared with Claire, and read to them from the Bible he had found in a bag in the jungle. After reading to them for a while, they all scattered to their respective tents. Jack and Kate had Lily and Tommy. Lily was 3 and Tommy was 5. Sayid and Shannon had Chad who was 6 and they were expecting another in another month or so. Aaron had grown up calling Charlie, "Daddy," so the name stuck, and Charlie became Aaron's Dad. They also had Spencer who was just 6 months, and Megan who was also 5. Then there was Walt. He explained how he had escaped from the Others, and now lived in a tent by himself. There were other children on the island, from various people who hadn't even known each other a few years ago. The plane-crash had brought them together, as a community. Everyone had a job, whether it was gathering food, or teaching the children. It was felt by everyone that just because they were on an island, doesn't mean that they shouldn't know how to read, write, and do basic math. That job was given to Hurley, and sometime Charlie, depending on who wasn't doing other jobs.
Kate was so lost in thought that she almost missed it. A boat, about a mile or so away. She stood up so quickly that she almost fell back down. This wasn't a small boat like the Others had, this was a big boat, a cruise ship.
"Light the pillars!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. "There's a boat!" People sprung into action. Within seconds, both pillars of logs had been lit, and were burning nicely. Charlie came up to her.
"Do you think they'll stop?" he asked her, she could hear the anticipation in his voice.
"I hope so Charlie, I really do."