CHAPTER 4

Sayid sat on the boat alongside Alex, who desperately wanted to know about her mother. He told her everything - how Danielle spent sixteen years looking for her, how she never quite gave up. Tears of joy and sadness filled Alex's eyes. She was so happy to have finally left the Others. It was like a heavy weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Sayid promised her that he would try to find Rousseau, to tell her that they had found her long lost daughter.

Sawyer was sitting with Jin and Sun, explaining to the Korean lady what had happened - from when they were in the field and found the strange blue books, to their capture, and then the arrival of Henry, who seemed to be the Others' leader, and their time spent at their camp. Sun translated everything to her husband. The couple still couldn't believe what Michael had done to get his son back.

As for Jack and Kate, they were sitting next to each other, keeping a small distance from the group. Kate was resting her head on Jack's shoulder, looking out to sea. Sayid had told them he had talked to Michael, who was gone to get rescue for them. She didn't know how she was supposed to feel about that... If they were to be rescued, she would be off to jail, no questions asked. But if they stayed on this island, she could be free, she could have a life with Jack.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked her, looking down at her pretty face.

"Just... stuff."

"Uh-huh, what stuff?" he asked with a mischievous grin.

"That if we ever get off this island I'll probably never see you again," she said with sadness in her voice.

"Don't say that, Kate. We're here, now. Michael said he was gonna get rescue, but you heard Henry - he said he wasn't going to be able to find this island again. Kate, I just... I told you a long time ago that you deserved a new life on this island..."

"Yeah, I remember. But... if I start my new life here, I'm gonna have to leave it here if we ever get rescued, cause I'm going to jail, Jack. If we... if I start my new life with you, I'll have to let you go..."

"Kate, no matter what happens, if we do get rescued, and if you do go to jail, I promise you that I will do anything to get you out, okay? Do you really think you could get rid of me that easily? I could never go on through life without you, Kate. But right now, we're stuck on this island. And God knows how long we're gonna be here. Heck, we don't even know if Michael is gonna find rescue. So... what do you say? You wanna start your new life, now?"

Kate looked into his chocolate brown eyes and saw how sincere he was. He was right - she had the right to start her new life. In response to his question, she nodded, kissed him on the lips and looked at him again. He was smiling broadly.

"No more running?" he asked, just to make sure.

"No more running," she answered, feeling safe and happy already.

"Ah, beat me to it, Doc," smirked Sawyer, who was now watching them with a smile on his face. "But hell freckles, if things don't work out between you and Jack-o, my door's always open."

Kate rolled her eyes. Typical Sawyer, she said to herself, smiling. Jack, though, didn't think it was funny. He was looking at Sawyer, frowning. Kate noticed and kissed him once more, letting him know that she wasn't about to go with Sawyer...

The sun was slowly rising in the sky when Jack awoke. They were still on the boat, out in the ocean and Jin was navigating it, smiling despite everything that's happened. Jack looked down at Kate, who had fallen asleep in his arms the night before. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, smiling at the sight of her beautiful, peaceful face. He mentally patted him self on the back, proud of himself for finally taking initiative. Kate stirred slightly and opened her eyes to see his smiling face. She smiled back at him, still tired.

"Did I wake you?" asked Jack, feeling guilty.

"Well... you did but it doesn't matter," she answered before yawning. In the distance, they could now see the survivors' camp set up on the beach. No one was awake yet, due to the early morning hour.

"Is that your camp?" asked Alex, looking out to shore.

"Yes," answered Sayid, who was sitting next to her.

When the boat was close enough to shore, they threw the anchor to the water and all seven of them hopped in the smaller rowing boat. Sayid and Sawyer navigated the boat until it came to hit land. They all got out and walked up to the camp, giving Alex a small tour. She was amazed at how well they'd accommodated - makeshift tents made out of pieces of the wreckage, small fires here and there, and some sort of storage place where all the Dharma food was kept. They sat down around one of the still burning fires and ate a bit. After awhile, Charlie came out of his tent and spotted them.

"Bloody hell... they're back!" he yelled, a big grin on his face. His shouting kind of woke up the whole camp, therefore lots of people were coming out of their tents and circling around the group of seven. Everyone started speaking, pointing to Alex, who they knew wasn't one of the survivors, and noticed that Michael nor Hurley was there. Jack, his leadership instincts kicking in, spoke up. "As you all probably know, we set out yesterday to help get Walt back, with the help of Michael," he started and everyone stopped speaking. "He was uh... he was compromised by the Others, made a deal with them. He had to bring us to them in order to get his son back. We uh... we had a plan but, they caught us and brought us to some sort of harbour... Michael's gone to find rescue with Walt..."

Everyone started speaking again, not believing Michael would do such a thing, betray them like that, though some were happy to hear he was gone to get rescue. Charlie asked "Where's Hurley?"

"They let Hurley go," answered Jack and silence came back. "They let him go, the Others. He's probably half way here by now..."

"Who is she?" asked Bernard, pointing to Alex, who stood by Sayid. The Middle-Eastern man spoke up "She's Rousseau's daughter, Alex." Everyone began to stir again.

"The French woman's daughter?" asked Charlie.

"Yes. She helped me free Jack, Kate and Sawyer when I promised her that I would tell her all about her mother. She's not like the Others, please welcome her in our group."

The survivors nodded their heads and spread out, talking about all that had happened recently, with the purple sky, the betrayal of Michael, and now the French woman's daughter being on their side. Some still asked questions to Jack, who couldn't hear a thing since they were all talking at once. Then...

"HELP!" someone yelled near the tree line. "I need help here!"

Jack and Sayid immediately ran toward the cry for help, to find a panicked Bernard helping Locke and Desmond carry an injured Eko. He had cuts, bruises and burns all over his body. The other two men had not even a small scratch.

"What happened?" asked Jack, while following Eko's carriers to the nearest tent, where they laid him down on a makeshift bed.

"There was an incident, down in the hatch," explained Locke. "Eko unsuccessfully tried to blow open the hatch's blast doors."

"Kate?" Jack called, looking at Eko's wounds.

"Yeah?" she responded, standing right behind him.

"I need you to go get me some alcohol from Sawyer's stash."

"Got it," she said and left, while Jack ripped Eko's shirt to take a close look at his scratches and bruises. His wounds weren't really that bad, but on this island, you had to carefully disinfect and treat them in order for him to be at his hundred percent. Kate came back and handed him some bottles of alcohol, which Jack applied on the priest's scratches. After sewing up a deep gash on his arm, he was done with his doctor work.

"Thank you, Jack," Eko thanked him, getting back up to continue working on his church, which made Charlie's day. The camp had calmed down since this morning and were now simply enjoying another day on the beach, under the bright sun.

Kate was sitting on the sandy shore, listening to the waves crash and letting the sun warm her face, eyes closed. When she heard footsteps behind her, she smiled, knowing who it was. Jack sat besides her and she opened her eyes, glancing up at him with a loving look. They sat in a comfortable silence for awhile, before Kate, realising she hadn't told him yet, spoke up. "Jack..."

"Yeah?"

"I love you, you know that right?" she asked him.

"Yeah, yeah I think I do."

"Good," she said and rested her head on his shoulder. He put his arm around her waist and they sat together, holding each other for a very, very long time, not daring to let go.