Temporarilymisplaced - I don't think this chapter is quite as intense as I wanted it to be. I couldn't seem to write it right. Kate is hardcore, but remember that Ethan kicked Jack's butt. =]
Amy (Chpt 10) - Unfortunately, there's more Skate to come...so don't feel too sorry for Sawyer.
Amy (Chpt 12) - Yay for cliffhangers? x]
Leytonrox94 - Glad you enjoyed the chapter!
Jess - I don't know why...but the whole Kate playing with knives comment makes this one of my favorite reviews ever. Haha. Kate could definitely become a target if she isn't careful. Her judgement isn't always the best. .
Anon - I always study the shows actual events before writing the chapters. Reading the transcripts and then also sometimes watching the episode. And then studying discussions about the episode on the LF! There are sooo many situations she could get herself into. I had to decide between three main ones for this chapter. It seemed like everytime I made a decision there was 2 or more potention outcomes. ;-;
Lostcandy - Isn't suspense awesome? x] She could have gone for the guns...but imagine all the time that would have taken. By the time she got to Charlie and Claire, it would have been too late and she wasn't exactly thinking far ahead enough to give herself time.
I'll keep the whole doing my work thing in mind. ^.-
Northern Wolf - Daniel does make it look easy! Maybe I should revive him and marry him and drag him to school with me. He could just be my professor. x]
Pavement Chaser - She might think twice about taking things into her own hands now though.

There were sooo many ways I could take this chapter! I think I made like 20 decisions as I went down thru it. I just hope I made decisions that would entertain you the most. I got stuck at how much I actually wanted to traumatize Kate. Still hoping I made the right decisions so that you guys will continue to enjoy reading!

"I know who you are," I repeated, keeping my hand at the level of my eye. I gripped the knife so tightly my knuckles had turned white and my fingers felt completely numb.

"I don't think you do, Kate." Ethan smirked, apparently amused by my interfering. "Come on out, Guys! It looks like we have ourselves another guest!"

I took a few steps to the side as two more men appeared from the jungle. Both were behind me and advanced toward Charlie and Claire. I glanced around for Tom, Richard, or Ben, but instead I only saw Pickett and a man I hadn't really met while I had my stay with the Others. Charlie and Claire were silent behind me. I didn't look back at their faces, but I could sense their fear from where I stood. Unfortunately, I had enough fear of my own. The three of us could have taken Ethan, but we couldn't take all three of them with our bare hands and a knife. Narrowing my eyes at Ethan, I took a step toward him.

"Danny, take care of them," Ethan said. "I'll take care of this one." Before I could move, he stepped forward and grabbed my arm, pressing his fingers against the stab wound. He grabbed the knife from my grip and tucked it against his belt. I held in a cry and struggled against him, staring in horror as Charlie was knocked out and Claire was dragged -screaming- into the bushes.

"You want me to do something with him?" Danny nodded toward Charlie's unconscious body. "Take him with me?"

Ethan shook his head and gave my arm a hard jerk, presumably to get me to stop moving. "I'll dispose of the body."

"Let go of me!" I threw punches at him and kicked him in the shins, but the pain shooting up and down by bad arm was enough to make me weak. "I want to speak to Juliet!" I saw a flicker in his eyes, but his gaze turned cold again within seconds. Out of the Others, Juliet and Richard were the only ones I put any trust at all in - not that I trusted them completely, because I didn't.

"I don't know who you're talking about. Now shut up." Ethan slammed me back against a tree, holding both of my arms. He kicked my legs to get me to stop kicking him and narrowed his eyes. "You're a feisty one," he stated. "I would have had an easier time if someone else had followed them, wouldn't have I?" He pushed me forward, keeping his grip tight on my arms as he forced me to walk in front of him. It didn't matter if I let my legs to give out; he just dragged me along.

His grip was too strong. I had easily escaped from those such as the marshal, but this guy could have taken even him. I was shoved against vines, struggling for my life as he pulled out a rope from his backpack.

"I have no intention of hurting you, Kate," he stated. He undid a tangle with one hand, making sure I didn't escape with the other. "I know more about you than you think I know. But right now, I have Claire to deal with. I just need to make sure you don't follow me." He raised his fist and hit me alongside the head. Everything went black.

Things were blurry when I woke up. I found myself standing on my very tiptoes with my arms stretched high in the air. I lifted my head, moaning at the pain as I glanced up. Both my hands were tied together and tied to a branch. My arms felt like they were about the fall off, especially the one I had been stabbed in. I tilted my head forward again and was about to close my eyes when I noticed something shiny. After a moment of fighting dizziness, I recognized it as my knife. I quickly glanced around.

"Oh, good, you're awake." Ethan came through the bushes, dragging Charlie by his feet. He let the unconscious man lie on his back two or three feet away from me. "I didn't think I'd need two ropes for this job. I guess I'm just going to have to hope he doesn't wake up any time soon, huh?" He leaned forward, examining the bruise forming on Charlie's head.

"I guess so," I spat. I inched forward as best as I could, using the very tip of my foot to drag the knife closer. After a few moments of struggle, I managed to pick it up with my feet and tried to adjust it. I used all my upper body strength to hold myself in the air. The knife was pointed slightly downward, but I knew if I could get it high enough it wouldn't matter. I began moving back and forth. Tears stung my eyes at the pain in my arm. "I want to speak to Juliet!"

"There is no Juliet at our camp!" He spun around and stepped off to the side.

I would have been high enough in the air to stab the knife though his face or at least through his shoulder, but his step to the side was unexpected. The knife slipped from my feet and I swung backward and smacked into the vines behind me. "No!" The knife fell through the air and landed sticking out of Charlie's stomach. "No! Charlie!"

Ethan stared down at him for a moment then looked up at me. "Well that takes care of our Charlie problem, doesn't it? Once a murderer, always a murderer." He took a few steps forward and grabbed me, stopping me from swinging. A kick to the groin sent him reeling backward, tripping over Charlie's body and landing on his back. He stayed in that position for several moments before hoisting himself to his feet and staggering forward. He grabbed me hard and slammed me sideways against the vines practically surrounding us. He laughed as he glanced down at my flailing feet, seeming amused that I was just high enough in the air to not be able to get my footing. Grabbing me again, he pushed me as hard as he could backward into the vines behind me.

Tears were beginning to fall down my face. I began being pelted by raindrops though and I took pride in the fact he couldn't see me crying. After a moment of swinging through the air, he grabbed me again, standing off to the side this time.

"Do not come after her, Kate. If you do, next time I will kill you."

I glared forward then turned my head and spat in his face. It earned me a slap across me cheek, but it was worth it. "I want to speak to Juliet!" I yelled after him as he walked away. "Let me speak to Richard! I don't care if I have to speak to Tom! I'll even talk to Ben!"

Once he was out of sight, I yelled loudly in anger. I began swinging myself violently, twisting against the rope and kicking my feet in anyway possible. I hit myself against the vines, tried to run up the vines, swung forward as far as possible to try to loosen the rope and slip from the branch. My arms and every other part of my body was in immense pain, the burning feeling where the ropes touched my wrists almost unbearable. I squeezed my eyes shut, willing myself not to look at the body in front of me. "Jack!" I swallowed a few times then yelled so loud I thought my throat was going to rip open. "Jack!"

I opened my eyes just as Locke came bursting into the small clearing, Boone trailing only a few feet behind him. They stopped at Charlie's body. Locke only took a moment the stare, but Boone just stood there even after Locke moved. The older man got over the shock of the dead body almost immediately, which wasn't surprising at all. "Boone," he called, snapping him out of his daze. "Help me get her down." He pulled out a knife and hurried over to the vines, beginning to climb them.

"Right." Boone rushed forward, watching Locke climb.

"Lift me up," I pleaded. Hanging by my arms was beginning to be too much. I was still swinging, unable to get my footing to stop myself. "Please."

Boone grabbed my legs and hoisted me into the air. "Here. Swing your leg over my shoulder." He struggled as he lifted me higher, helping me so I was sitting on his shoulder with one leg on either side of him. "How did this happen?" He pushed me over toward Locke so he could cut the rope.

I couldn't answer. Even though I was finally able to lower my arms slightly, there was no relief to the pain. The rain let up until it stopped, but my tears came faster until my sight was blurred by them. The rope was finally cut and I collapsed, unable to hold myself up. Boone fell to the ground with me, fortunately twisting so that he didn't land on me. I rolled to my side so my back was to them, painfully curling up.

"Help her up," Locke commanded. "I'm going to go get Jack."

I didn't want to get up. I was in too much pain to move and my stomach was beginning to roll as the fact I murdered Charlie kicked in. I didn't have the strength to fight as Boone eased me into a sitting position. I stopped my crying and pulled my knees to my chest, leaning forward against my legs. I crossed my arms and began breathing deeply.

This was impossible. Charlie couldn't have died. He wasn't supposed to die until right before we got off the island and I was supposed to stop it. I waited to wake up, half praying that I was having some awful, vivid dream spawned from being pregnant. "No," I mumbled, shaking my head. I shrugged off Boone's hand when he touched my shoulder. "No. No. No!"

"Kate!" Jack's voice overpowered my own. I lifted my head as he hurried after Locke. His worry for me seemed to dissipate at the sight of Charlie's body. "What happened?" He knelt down beside the corpse, checking for any sign of life. He placed his hand beside the knife, examining the object. "I need to get this out."

"Jack, he's gone," I whispered. Using Boone for support, I struggled to my feet then inched toward him. "You can't do anything." I placed my hand on his shoulder only to have it shrugged away. "Jack, please." I got to my knees beside him, trying to make him look at me as he pulled the knife from Charlie's stomach and used Charlie's shirt to put pressure against the wound. He held out his arm to keep me from getting too close. "Jack, he's dead!" I grabbed his arm. He shoved me back and I hit the ground hard. My dignity suddenly hurt more than any part of my body and I lied there in shock for a moment.

"Damn it!" Jack got to his feet, pacing back and forth beside the body.

"Jack." My voice was thick with tears. I definitely wanted nothing more than to just go home. He didn't respond to me and I pressed my hands to my eyes. This couldn't be happening like this. I had to happen like before. I got to my hands and knees, and crawled toward Charlie. "Stop the bleeding," I commanded anyone who would listen. I beat my hands down on Charlie's chest, intent on restarting his heart like Jack had. "Wake up! Wake up! Charlie!"

That seemed to get Jack's attention. "Kate! Kate, you're not going it right." He grabbed my shoulders, trying to hold me back as I struggled against him. "Hey." He sat down behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me back against him and holding me there. "Take the body," he said to Locke and Boone.

I watched as they lifted Charlie. "No!" I called as they began to take him away. "I can fix him! Bring him back!" I struggled against Jack's grip until pain forced me to stop. I fell silent, not moving as he began to loosen his grip. He finally let go and got to his feet, but I just sat there staring at the ground. My tears stopped and I shoved down my feelings, numbness covering the pain. Quivering, I too got to my feet. "We should get back." I forced my body to move toward the cave.

"Kate." Jack's voice sounded shocked. "Kate, what happened?" He placed a hand on my arm.

I hit his hand away and fell silent. No part of me felt like explaining or talking at all. My stomach was still rolling and I suddenly despised being pregnant. I turned and leaned against a tree, closing my eyes. At least I hadn't shouted out I was having a baby to get to Juliet. Though, I wondered if it would have gotten me there. "It didn't happen like this before," I mumbled, forgetting Jack was there despite that his hands were on my shoulder. "I should have talked to Danny. I should have explained."

Jack rubbed the spot between my shoulder blades. "Kate, you're not making any sense. You're probably in shock. We're almost to the caves."

Of course, I was in shock! I just screwed up destiny again, or so I thought. I just accidentally killed yet another person. Once a murderer, always a murderer. The nausea wasn't fading, but I wasn't emptying my stomach either. I backed away from the tree.

I didn't know how I got back to the caves, but I assumed Jack had something to do with it. He stopped me by the stream and helped me to my knees. "Wash yourself off," he said. "I'll be back." he grabbed a piece of cloth and dipped it in the water, handing it to me before walking off.

I hadn't even noticed all the mud on me until then. No one seemed to be around so I stripped to my bra and underwear then rinsed the dirt off my skin. In some places, blood mixed in with the mud and I assumed it was from slamming myself against the vines. I knew the water was cold, but I could barely feel it. I could barely feel anything aside from the burning in my arm muscles.

"What happened to you?" Jack knelt down beside me again, lying new clothes on the ground before examining the bruises on my body. "Did Ethan do this to you?"

I didn't answer. I grabbed my shirt and eased it on, followed by my pants. After getting to my feet, I brushed past him and walked into the cave. My bed seemed like the best place at the moment. I knew he'd follow if I tried to escape to the hatch, where I really wanted to be. I wished I could just take him there with me. Pulling my knees to my chest, I leaned forward against my legs again. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a water bottle being put down beside me. A blanket was wrapped around my shoulders and Jack sat down behind me, his arm lightly touching my back. I stayed frozen to my spot, refusing to acknowledge my surroundings.

I was suddenly exhausted, but unable to sleep. I couldn't stop scolding myself for what I had just done long enough to close my eyes. Jack must have been exhausted too because I could feel him slouching against my back. Every few moments, his head would end up on my shoulder. It was oddly comforting. He'd wake himself up again though and straighten up. I finally slouched back against him, resting my head against his so he wouldn't move anymore.