Sorry that it's taken me a real long time to get anywhere with this. I am completely making this up as I go along. Thanks to all my patient reviewers, and here is your well deserved chapter that I more than owe you

xxx

Jack was joined by Sayid and Hurley on his way back to the caves. He didn't mind the company, anything to take his mind off of Kate. He hated to admit it, but he missed her. As much as he tried to convince himself that she clearly wanted Sawyer now, and not him, he just couldn't face it. He felt something for her. He had always had a connection with her that hadn't been there with any of the other survivors, and the surprise kiss in the jungle had only intensified whatever it was that he felt for her. But she was avoiding him, spending time with Sawyer, and subsequently, he found himself being followed around by Ana Lucia a lot recently. Sure, Ana was a wonderful person, and when things weren't getting crazy and no one was panicking, she allowed herself to become rather laid back and let Jack see the fun loving person inside more...but she wasn't Kate.

"Dude, seriously, whats up?" Hurley asked, focusing on the path ahead of them.

Jack frowned, kicking a stone as they walked. "Nothing." He said simply, thought with more force than he would have liked. Nothing? That was a serious understatement. What was really wrong was everything. Somehow, on an island of fifty people, he had managed to continue to exclude his social life from everything, his love life was in a whirlwind, and his career was reduced to cleaning scratches and removing splinters.

"Yeah, that wasn't denial..." Hurley mused purposefulluy.

Jack had an extreme sense of deja vu for a brief moment. Hurley had said that to him before, when he had asked whether him and Kate were moving into a cave together. Now, over a month later, Hurley was still being proved wrong on that. Kate had never spent the night up at the caves, let alone with him, she always returned to the beach when the others did. So many times he had wanted to call her back, to ask, to beg her to stay just one night with him, a need which had only increased after their kiss.

"Could this have anything to do with why Kate is also acting strangely?" Sayid mused aloud.

Jack stopped walking and thought for a moment, before regaining his pace. Hurley raised his eyebrows at Sayid, who nodded in confirmation. "I don't know, does it?" He asked blankly.

"Jack, man, where's the light gone?" Hurley asked dramatically.

Jack just blinked in response. "Light? What light?" It was middle of the day, and the field they were in was full of bright sunlight.

"You know, the Kate light..." Hurley prompted. "Everyone knows about the Kate light." When clearly it was revealed that Jack didn't know about the Kate light, Hurley continued. "Whenever you're with Kate, or you're taking about her, you light up, and its like, it doesnt matter that we're stranded or anything 'cause you've got her."

Jack turned to Hurley, and said with a completely straight face. "I don't have her." Then he turned on his heel and continued walking.

Sayid then spoke up. "Jack, I have spent enough time in the company of love to know when it is being denied."

Jack had stopped in his tracks, but not from Sayid's voice. Something else had caught his attention. He turned around, listening for the sound again. He heard it, coming off to his left. "Did you hear that?" He asked them.

"What, Sayid talking?" Hurley asked. "Course I-"

"Shh!" Jack instructed, and the man fell silent. Again they listened. The sound came again. In a higher pitch, and louder.

"That was a scream." Sayid realised.

The scream formed a bile in Jack's stomach. He knew who it was.

"Dude, it sounded like-" Hurley began, but Jack beat him too it.

"Kate..."

Immediately, the three men took off towards the sound of the scream. Of course, Hurley couldn't keep up with them, seeing as Jack was pushing all his energy into his sprint, and Sayid was trying to keep up with him. Jack had forgotten everything he had thought before about Kate not caring for him anymore. His scream had awoken a strange ache inside of him, an ache that he couldn't stand the thought of her being hurt.

Then, after five minutes straight of sprinting, the screaming ceased to a deal hault. Jack stopped running, and thought. The sound had been so close, they had to be near her, but the abrupt stop scared him. What had happened? They couldn't follow her now, they might not find her...

"KATE!" He yelled into the jungle awaiting a reply, but getting none.

So he took off in the direction that he was running anyway, barely giving Sayid a chance to catch up. Hurley brought in the rear, leaning on his knees to catch his breath for a moment, and muttering to himself: "He so loves her."

Jack ran and ran until his chest ached for more air than he was taking in. He didn't care about the pain, all he cared about was Kate. Then, they came into a clearing, of a familiar grouping of trees. They stretched up, covering the sky, and slowly, swinging gentle from a branch, was a noose...and hanging from that, completely unconscious...was Kate.

A/N: Sorry it's a short chapter, but this is the only place I could end it.