Ilayda - Haha. I tried to think of the most disgusting yet easily accessible craving she could have at the time...and that's all that would come to mind. And don't worry...Richard will eventually make an appearance. I just love that guy. =]
Lostcandy - Despite that I was sick all week, I have a great time at camp. I spent a few precious moments eating peanut butter (Yeah, Charlie!) with my friends Andi and Liz while talking about LOST. Liz is a Jater, but Andi is a Skater. I will convert her in the end!!! Bahaha.
Famous4it - No need to miss me, for I have returned and am eager to continue! I hope my unpredictable-ness continues and keeps you happy and occupied as long as this story lasts. =D
Boo2ubam (Chpt 12) - I'm glad your holidays went well! Anything interesting happen?
Boo2ubam (Chpt 13) - I was actually sad to kill Charlie so early. It was just something that had to be done though. =[
Boo2ubam (Chpt 14) - I'm glad you're liking the Biblical side. This chapter I'm posting now was very much inspired by some of Ted Dekker's books. He writes Christian thrillers. I highly recommend (to all of you) reading his books whether you're religious or not. They steal my breath away!
Boo2ubam (Chpt 15) - Hehe. No problem!
Boo2ubam (Chpt 16) - I love leaving people speechles. -content sigh-
Boo2ubam (Chpt 17) - Three days probably seems like nothing now! Don't -cranky face- me. Haha.
Temporarilymisplaced - I think Kate would be offended by you calling her food revolting! -giggles-
Northern Wolf - Glad you're loving it!
Jess (Chpt 14) - Ah...Jacob has better stories to tell than those about creation. And details like that may have been too much for Kate.
Jess (Chpt 15) - They will be bonding in the near future...unless the characters tell me otherwise. They've taken a life of their own lately.
Jess (Chpt 16) - Of course, it's much stronger than loneliness alone! =]
Jess (Chpt 17) - A Hume/Shephard dinner party. Bahaha. Now that would be interesting. xD And, yes, Jacob is very concerned when it comes to the baby.
Amy (Chpt 16) - I know the feeling. Jack angers me quite often in the fic. xD
Amy (Chpt 17) - Jack is a bit too busy for romping in the jungle with Kate right now...much to my displeasure. Lol. And like I said in a previous review, camp was amazing. =]]]
P - Glad you're back and still enoying my fic! =]
Jacklostkate - Such a long review! It made my heart spin with happiness. I'm thrilled you're enjoying it and that I at least seem to be staying in character. I always have a problem with getting too out of character and it's probably bound to happen sooner or later in this fic. So far, so good though, it seems! I'm glad you're enjoying my imagination. This fanfiction is really challenging it to a point where it's content and very eager to write more. Thank you so much for such a long and encouraging review.
Jellybelly89 - I am glad you're enjoying my writing. =]

Oh man, Guys...I am so so so sorry for such the long wait! It's not even that I had writers block or no will to continue. A lot happened. To sum it up, I went to camp, my dad lost his job, I returned to my home town for two weeks and everyone and their brother wanted to make plans to spend some time with me, ect ect. I'm back now though and eager to continue. I must warn you, I start college on the 28th. It will take me awhile to get used to and possibly awhile to update after I'm there. This is my first year of college and I wanted to get focused on school before I put attention into hobbies, you know? As important LOST and this fanfic are to me, I'm not sure those paying for me to attend school would be very happy if they resulted in my failing.
Oh! And please thank my dear friend Kevin for helping me out with this chapter! I was struggling with a certain scene and greatly appreciate his input. You would have had to wait another day without him. Haha.
I'm not sure how good this chapter is. I really wanted to get an update up asap...so I kinda rushed. -shaaame-

It was dark and everyone was flocking to the caves. News that Claire had returned spread like a wildfire through the caves and beach and now nearly everyone had to go see for themselves. Fortunately for me, it meant my absence would go unnoticed. Sometimes I swore Jack used those who also stayed at the beach to keep tabs on me, but everyone had a totally different focus tonight.

I strayed off the path toward the caves and made my way toward the hatch. The jungle at night made me slightly nervous, but I felt a certain protection from Jacob. I shifted the weight of my backpack from one shoulder to the other and glanced around at the looming shadows. The moon cast a dim glow through the trees that was just bright enough to light my way, but I could have found my way to the hatch with my eyes closed.

I just sort of wandered around as I neared my destination. Jacob had said near the hatch. He hadn't really given me a direct location, had he? I tugged at my tank top then rubbed my shivering hands up and down my arms. The island always got cool at night, but I had been too distracted to remember a jacket. A rustling noise came from the distance and I spun in a circle. My throat felt dry, but I croaked out, "Who's there?"

A figure stepped into the slight clearing, though hovered back near the trees and bushes. I could just make out a gun in one hand and a walkie-talkie in the other. "Don't shoot," I pleaded, holding my hands up slightly as I took a few steps forward. I squinted my eyes as the person stepped near me then gasped as the light from the sky revealed the person I was supposed to be meeting to be Juliet. She looked startled and I honestly didn't blame her. "Hey…" I scolded myself for sounding so stupid.

"Who are you?" She kept the gun raised and held her thumb dangerously close to one of the buttons on the walkie-talkie. "You're one of the ones from the plane, aren't you?"

I nodded mutely and fumbled for words. If Jacob weren't already dead, I would have killed him. I was at a loss. "I was supposed to…"

"Where's Claire?" She interrupted me.

It hit me that they were probably all out looking for her incase she hadn't made it back to our group. "She's with us. Juliet, you need to…"

"How do you know my name?"

"Jacob sent me." I hoped that was the right answer to everything. Panic rose in my chest as she pressed her thumb against the button of the walkie-talkie and raised it to her mouth. I was about to stop her, but the walkie-talkie began beeping loudly then emitted a few short segments of static. She swore as she shut it off. "I know you were trying to reach Ben or Richard, but that's not the best thing to do right now," I said quickly then continued speaking before she could get a word in. The look on her face was a mixture of confusion and a bit of fear she may have been trying to hide. "My name is Kate Austen and I'm a survivor of Oceanic 815. There's too much to explain, but we've met before. Your name is Juliet Burke and you work for Benjamin Linus. You had Ethan kidnap Claire because babies can't be born on the island. They can if conceived off the island though, I can tell you that. Jacob sent me to talk to you. I know what you want more than anything is to get off this island and if you trust me, I can help you."

Juliet slowly lowered her gun, but didn't put it away. "Why should I trust you?"

She didn't look as surprised as I expected her to be, but after living on this island there wasn't much that was truly shocking anymore. "Because…" Once again, words failed me. "Because I've been to the future and our people are going to be getting really close really soon - and not necessarily in a good way. If you don't believe me, I can tell you all about The Incident, because that's how I got back here in the past."

"I don't know how you know all of this, but if you're telling the truth, why don't I recognize you?" She crossed her arms and glanced around. Her voice had lowered.

I swallowed and looked away from her. "Just a side-effect from time travel, I guess." I didn't even want to think about her dying, let alone tell her she had died. This was almost too easy though and it felt slightly unreal. I had a feeling Jacob had something to do with that. I closed my eyes and rubbed my face for a moment. When I looked back up, she was staring at me. "I know this is probably a lot to take in…"

"I need to take you to Ben and…"

"No." I shook my head. Ben was the last person I wanted to see anytime soon. He was who got us all into this mess. If it wasn't for him…I didn't even want to think about how happy I could have been. "We can't talk to Ben. Richard, maybe, but not Ben. Is everyone out looking for Claire?"

"Just I am," Juliet answered. She was eyeing me in a way that let me know she still didn't trust me. "The others have gone home. They'll be back though."

Her last sentence almost sounded like a threat, but I brushed it off. "So they're all gone. Good. That's good." I wondered how she had convinced them to let her look for Claire alone, but I didn't press the matter. "I need to go to where you were taking care of Claire and the baby. I'm pregnant." She opened her mouth (presumably to speak), but I continued on. "I conceived off the island, but with the time travel and all…" I ran a hand through my hair and glanced up at the sky. "I was hoping…"

"That I could take a look at the baby," she finished. "We'd better get moving if you don't want to be caught."

I couldn't help but think she was going to turn me over to the Others, but I continuously pushed the thought from my mind. "So, you believe me?" I questioned cautiously as I followed her.

"I'd believe just about anything these days," Juliet deadpanned. "I don't trust you, but I believe you."

As contradicting as that sounded, I understood the feeling. I could work with that.

----------

As I sat on the hospital bed, I pondered whether or not Jacob was somehow making this easier for me. I had tried to explain more on the walk there and Juliet seemed to accept what I had to say. I reminded her multiple times, I could eventually get her off the island. I just hoped fate was working for me and not against me on that.

"It's going to be cold." Juliet finished hooking up the monitors and grabbed the bottle of jelly to place on my exposed stomach.

"I know." They always said that on movies. The doctor would rub the jelly on the woman's stomach and she would shiver and grin then tighten her hand around her husband's or boyfriend's. I shivered and frowned then tightened my grip on the sheet under me. I glanced around the room, avoiding looking at the monitor or Juliet.

"How far along are you?" she questioned.

I figured as a doctor, she should know that. "Present or future-wise?" I questioned to humor her. I glanced at her smile then tried to think. "About a week, maybe. I don't know. Everything is a blur right now. Is the baby okay?" I glanced over at her, trying to study her expression as she stared at the monitor.

"A week," she repeated, shaking her head slowly. "That's impossible. The baby looks to be at least eight weeks along. Are you sure?"

I rubbed my forehead. "Eight weeks is impossible past, present, or future," I answered. I tried to take everything into account, but my mind was still barely able to wrap around the simple fact that I was indeed pregnant. "Does everything look okay though?"

"Well, I don't want to worry you right now," she answered. That was enough to worry me. "With everything you've explained to me about traveling through time, God knows how that could effect something like this. I'm telling you, it looks like he's eight weeks along. I'm not really getting a heartbeat though."

My throat felt dry and my chest tightened. "Does that mean…?"

"It doesn't mean anything right now, Kate." After another moment of staring at the monitor, she turned it off then wiped the jelly from my stomach with a towel. "It looked like it was starting to move around which is a sign your baby is alive." She smiled at me, but I could tell it wasn't a sincere smile. "We just need to keep checking up on things, alright?"

I nodded and sat up more then got to my feet. "Right." The thought that I may lose another baby made me feel sick to my stomach. I couldn't even handle losing Aaron. I wanted to go to the caves for the night, but not only did Jack not want be there - he was also busy with Claire. "I should be going back, but I think we should meet again."

She nodded in agreement. "I think that we may have some old one-way walkie-talkies back at the barracks. I can look and we can meet back here a week from today. I recall hearing you have a doctor back at your camp, am I right?"

"Yeah. Jack." I fought back a wave of jealousy that tugged at my heart. I had to remind myself that she didn't even know who Jack was yet. "I'll be fine with him until we can find a way to keep in touch."

"Good. I should probably get back and let them know I couldn't find Claire."

I nodded my head. I thought about warning her to keep her people away from my people for everyone's safety, but it slipped my mind a second later as I began thinking about the baby again. "It was nice seeing you again, Juliet." I couldn't say I was being completely honest by saying that.

"It was nice…seeing you again - meeting you." Juliet smiled.

I smiled back then wrapped my arms around myself and walked from the Dharma Station.

----------

I couldn't get my mind off the baby. I sat on the ground near the tree line by the beach, hunched forward with my knees pulled to my chest and my hands folded against the front of my chin. It was impossible. There was no way the baby could be that far along. I leaned forward even more and pressed my hands to my eyes. I decided I could definitely not lose this baby now that Aaron was gone.

I was lost in my thoughts and almost drifting to sleep with I felt someone tapping on my shoulder. I lifted my head and turned to see who was behind me. Sand scraped the skin on my arms as I fell to the side and tried to scramble away without getting to my feet. A cry caught in my throat along with my breath.

"Why are you scared, Mommy?" Aaron's blond locks ruffled in the cool breeze being swept off the ocean and somehow complimented the playful smile on his lips. His blue eyes sparkled in the moonlight yet were horrifyingly cold and emotionless. He stepped repeatedly from one foot to the other almost as if he were dancing and his hands tugged at the bottom of his Clifford t-shirt.

I couldn't speak. Tears were already blurring my vision and I was struggling to make my lungs work. I climbed to my hands and knees and crawled toward my son then sat up. Sand smeared across his smooth cheeks as I placed my hands on his faces. I could feel him. I choked on a sob and pulled his small body against my chest. Burying my face in his hair, I inhaled his scent then broke down crying. I clung to my little boy and for the first time in awhile, I felt like I was home. "Aaron. Aaron. Aaron. Aaron." I repeated his name and entangled my fingers against the fabric on the back of his shirt.

"Mommy, why are you sad to see me?"

I pulled back and placed my hands on his face again. "I'm not sad to see you," I quickly corrected him. "I'm just so happy to see you, Baby. I love you so much. How did you get here?" Sometime about the lack of expression in his eyes put fear in my heart, but I was overwhelmed with the emotion of him just being there.

"God loves you as he loved Jacob." His deep blue eyes turned a light shade of grey. His fingers tickled my arms as he slid his hands lightly down them and stopped at my wrists. "I have a riddle, Mommy."

"You have a riddle, Sweet Pea?" I stared into his eyes, caught in a mixture of confusion, fear, and intense relief. I sniffled and forced a smile. "What is it?" I rubbed my hands up his arms and let them rest on his shoulders.

A grin I recognized so well as his mischievous smile tugged at his lips, "Tell me," he said. "Where is evil bred; in the heart or in the head? God loves you as he loved Jacob!" A fit of giggles erupted from him as he pulled away and bounded skipping into the jungle. "God loves you as he loved Jacob! God loves you as he loved Jacob! God loves you as he loved Jacob!"

"Aaron!" I called after him. I scrambled to my feet and ran in the direction he was going, stumbling repeatedly as tears distorted my vision and prevented me from accurately seeing where I was going. "Aaron, stop! Aaron!" I panicked as I lost sight of him then suddenly ran into a wall - only it wasn't a wall.

I tried to pull away as hands firmly grabbed my shoulders but I found myself unable to break loose. "What are you doing?!" I cried, not looking up to see who was holding me back. "I have to catch my son!"

"Stop chasing him, Eve. He isn't real."

I stilled and looked up, coming face to face with Jacob. Anger swelled in my heart. "What the hell are you talking about?!" I hit his chest with my fist then took in a few breathes as if the world was running out of oxygen before hitting him again. "What is this?! Your new way of luring me to meet you somewhere?! I thought I could trust you…" I laughed and I knew it sounded a bit maniacal, but then again, I had just seen Aaron.

"I didn't do that, Eve. I wouldn't trick you into meeting me." He moved his hands from my shoulders to my cheeks and looked me in the eye. "You can trust me, Eve," he whispered. "You are so lost right now. I want to show you light. I want to draw you away from the darkness and show you my love for you and your friends. My daughter, let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart."

I yanked away and pointed a finger at him. "Whatever game you're playing, how about you go back and play with Ben some more!" I all but shouted at him. "I don't know who you are, but I want nothing to do with you and your love. I don't want anything to do with you and whatever you're trying to pull on this island and neither do my friends. And my name is Kate!" I stared at him for several moments. There was silence and then at first I thought he had started laughing. Then to my horror, I realized he was sobbing. I had made him cry.

Soft sobs lingered in the air. They tore at my heart until there was a very real pain in my chest. Then he was gone. I was so overwhelmed by a feeling over loneliness, I sunk to my knees. Burying my face in my hands, I leaned forward and also cried.

----------

"You look hungry."

"You look tired." Jack caught the fruit I tossed him. He placed it beside him then went back to sharpening a knife. "What's been happening at the beach?"

I hadn't gotten any sleep the night before so there was no doubt there were dark circles under my eyes. "Locke's been telling everyone what's happened with Claire…and with Ethan. I think it's time you used those guns, Jack."

"Uh-uh. No," he replied. "I hand them out, someone hears something out in the jungle and gets scared, the chances of us shooting each other are much higher than of us shooting him."

"We're beyond sharpening knives here, Jack." I rubbed at my eyes then placed my hands in my pockets.

"I am not putting guns into untrained hands." He glanced at me then looked the knife over.

"Not everyone here is untrained."

------------

I returned from the caves to find the beach in an uproar. They were all near the water, hovering over the body of Steve -or was it Scott? I balanced myself against a tree and watched in silence from a distance. "What kind of love is that, Jacob?" I whispered. I knew that Ethan had killed the man they were all surrounding. I also knew that in the very near future, fate would turn around and kill Ethan. "Is that how you love us? By letting everything end in death?"

My stomach was turning and my mouth tasted bitter. "I should probably feed us, huh?" I cooed and placed a hand on my stomach. I knew right away I was feeling sick from lack of food. I took one last glance as the dead body down the beach and my fellow surviving friends and acquaintances then walked to my shelter.

-----------

"So you heard of the plan to get the son of a bitch who took Claire?" Sawyer caught up to me as I strolled across the beach.

I glanced over at him. "I have." Well, it wasn't a lie. No one had told me recently, but I had already been involved in the past. "But I don't think Jack plans on inviting me to your game of mousetrap."

"He don't," Sawyer answered. "But who the hell left him in charge?" He pulled a shot gun from his pants and offered it to me. "You in?"

I couldn't help but grin. "You bet." I took the gun and looked it over before shoving it in my jeans. "When are we leaving?"

"You're not coming, Kate." Jack approached us from the side, shaking his head. "We already have enough people."

"Well now, Doc, nice of ya to join us," Sawyer stated, grinning from ear to ear at Jack. "Last I heard, you were co-leading this little attack with Sayid and Locke. Wonder what they'd have to say about having some extra backup."

"I'm going with you, Jack." If anything, I wasn't even going to go after Ethan. I was going because I missed spending time with Jack. "If you want to stop me, you're going to have to take the gun from me." I motioned to the visible part of my gun then held my arms out so he could freely grab it.

Thunder cracked in the distance and Jack glanced up at the sky. He looked at Sawyer and I again. "We're leaving now."

I dropped my hands back to my side and glanced at Sawyer out of the corner of my eye. "Well, let's go then."

It had started raining by the time we all got situated in the jungle. We hid behind trees, peering into the clearing where Claire stood. She looked terrified and I didn't blame her. I wanted to rush out there and ensure her I knew she would be fine, but I couldn't do that. I gripped my gun tight in my hands and glanced to both sides. Sawyer was hidden on one side of me and Sayid was hidden somewhere on the other side. Jack and Locke were both spread out behind trees across from me.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. I was caught between past and present as Ethan appeared in the clearing and went after Claire. Before I knew it, Jack was tackling him. Sawyer was cheering Jack on and Sayid was commanding everyone to hold their fire.

"Knockout," Sawyer said as Jack slugged Ethan across the head. "Nice one, Doc. Now, maybe somebody can tell me just who or what this son of a bitch is."

Ethan slowly opened his eyes from his spot on the ground. As he began to get up, I stepped out from behind the tree and raised my gun at him just as everyone else did.

"Uh, uh, uh, Jungle Boy." Sawyer shook his head and placed his finger on the trigger of his gun. "Not even for one second."

Rage suddenly filled me as I stared at Ethan. It started as a tingling in my chest then worked its way down my arms. I licked my lips then took two steps forward and sent six bullets into the man's chest. Everyone watched as he collapsed dead then turned to stare at me in shock. I faced Jack. "He deserved to die. He would have never told us anything."