Sorry that took so long. I was doing other stuff. But here's your update. It'd be really nice to get more reviews. So um...I think I might do a five reviews or no update thing.

Chapter 12

Che Cosa Desiderano

"Love reminds you that nothing else matters."

They lied there in silence for awhile, having nothing really to say to each other. Each seemed to be thinking, and not really sleeping. Did they love each other? They were being really close since they'd gotten there. But was it love? Or was it fear and the need to have someone to hold onto?

Jack knew he loved her. He loved her with all of his heart. He would have done anything for her. He knew that. He'd known that from the beginning. He wasn't so sure about her though. Did she really love him? Or was it just that she needed him and then went this was over she'd run back to Sawyer?

Kate wasn't sure if she loved him or not. Love had been so confusing in the past. With Tom. With Kevin. No. It hadn't been confusing. She'd loved Tom and she'd loved Kevin. But both times hearts were broken. What if she broke Jack's heart? What if she couldn't stay in one place? What if everything just went wrong? She shifted slightly, opening her eyes as she heard footsteps. "Jack." she whispered, pushing him slightly. Her eyes went wide as she saw three men stop in front of their cell. "Jack." she repeated.

Jack shifted slightly. "Hmm?" he murmured, slowly opening his eyes. He looked at her for a moment, then followed her gaze over to the men. A bit startled, he slowly sat up and just looked at them, not wanting to talk first.

The first man opened the cell door, glaring in at them. "Jack Shephard, get up." he said, his voice firm. "Get up now."

Jack glanced down at Kate. So this time it was him. "I'll be back." he whispered, placing a kiss on her cheek. He stood and headed towards the cell entrance, the other two men grabbing him and leading him down the hall.

The first man shut the cell door, but didn't follow the other two. He leaned against the bars, looking in at her. "You love that man?" he asked her. "Jack…You love Jack?"

Kate looked at him, frowning slightly. She nodded her head. "Yeah." she said quietly. "Yeah. I love him."

The man nodded his head. "Well…Love him now." he said. "Cause if he doesn't do what we want him to, then he ain't gonna be around for you to love no more…And neither will that Southern guy."

Kate looked at him, shaking her head slightly. "What do you want him to do?" she asked quietly. "And what do you plan on doing with us if he doesn't?"

The man smirked slightly. "What do I want him to do?" he asked. "Well let's get into some history first…Talk about what this place is. You wanna know what this place is, Kate?" he asked her.

Kate looked at him, trying to tell if he was messing with her or not. He seemed to be serious. She paused, then nodded her head.

The man nodded back. "Well a long long time ago, before any of us here were born, around the time when Italy was just coming together. There was a man who had the dream of learning everything there was to know about the human mind and then mixing it all up and maybe fixing some things, making people think things that would never be though, messing with their emotions, all of that stuff. It was his dream. Or maybe, he was just crazy." He shrugged. "Well anyway, he built himself an office and began to experiment on people. Things went wrong, and he took off. He still had his dream, so where did he come? He came here. He built this place under the ocean near an island. Well, the island was already run by Hanso, so he had no way of getting patients, because it was deserted. So he gathered workers. And those workers would kidnap people and bring them here and keep them here. At first things were nice and clean and organized, but then he got so into his work, that he forgot about all of that stuff. He became so involved, that one day he tried an experiment on himself and ended up dying. His workers took over though. They lived here. The had families here. And they still went out and captured people to continue his work. Well it turned out, that not long after he died, his wife found out she was gonna have a baby. And so after that baby got old enough, he was put in charge. And for years the line went on and one…until now. The person we have in charge is very sick. His name in Matthew and he has a large tumor on his spine. And Jack was brought here to fix him. If he fixes him, we'll repay you by letting you go. If he refuses, we'll kill Jack, Sawyer, and Jessie then do some more of our experiments on you."

Kate looked at him, taking all of this information in. "So…So you want Jack to do surgery on your boss, and if he does, you'll let us go?" she asked, trying to make sure she had all of this straight.

The man nodded his head. "You got it." he told her. "And if not, you get to watch your friends die one by one."

Kate looked down. "Do I um…Can I talk to him if he refuses?" she asked. "Try to change his mind?"

The man shrugged slightly. "All depends, Kate." he told her. "All depends. He might be awhile in there, so maybe it'd be best if we moved you in with your other friends until he comes back. How's that sound?"

Kate looked around, then nodded slightly. Being in this place creeped her out. Being in this place alone was even worse. She slowly walked out after the man opened the cell door and looked at him. "You going to beat me like the other guy did before you take me there?" she asked him.

The guy shook his head. "Nah." he said. "We tend to let Todd do all the beating people around here. I'm Benry, by the way."

Kate gave him a slightly weird look, but then quickly hid it. Benry? What kind of name was Benry? She followed the man down the hall, stopping when the got to the cell that contained Sawyer and Jessie. She walked in after the man opened the door, glancing at him as she shut it. "Hey." she said quietly, looking at Sawyer.

"Hey yourself, Freckles." Sawyer replied miserably, wanting out of this place. "You here to get us outa here?"

Kate sat down on the floor. "I don't know." she replied. "But Jack might have a way of getting us outa here."

Sawyer looked at her and raised his eyebrows. "Really now, Freckles? And how's Doc gonna do that?"

Kate shifted slightly. "They brought us here for a reason, Sawyer." she said quietly. "They needed Jack and they're using us as bait to make him do what they want. And if he does what they want, they said that they'd let us go."

Sawyer crossed his arms. "And what exactly do they want him to do?" he asked her.

"They want him to operate on the guy that runs this place." Kate replied. "He has a tumor, and they want him to fix it."

Sawyer nodded his head slightly. "And you really believe that if he fixes this guy then they're gonna let us go?" he asked her, not sounding like he believe it at all.

"What other hope do we have, Sawyer?" Kate asked him. "You think we'll be able to get ourselves out of this place? I have to believe them."

Sawyer shook his head slightly. "And here I am thinkin' you had common sense…" he answered.

Kate glared at him. "And if he doesn't do what they say, then they're going to kill the three of you." she added.

"Kill the three of us?" Sawyer asked. "And what about you? Hmm? They gonna make you queen of the island?"

"Sawyer, stop it." Kate cut in. "Just stop it. How do you know they aren't lying? You don't. And even if they are, don't you think it'd be a lot better to be here together than to be killed off one by one?"

Sawyer sighed and stopped, glancing down at Jessie who was looking at him. "And how're we gonna make sure he does this surgery?" he asked her.

"I think, I think I might be able to get them to let me talk to him." Kate said. "Maybe I can convince him to do it."

Sawyer nodded his head slightly. "Well you better make sure he does it." he said. "Otherwise Chewy over there's gonna flip his lid." he said, nodding to a Korean man that was angrily stomping past the cell.

Kate arched a brow, not sure what that was all about. "Well um…You have your reasons for wanting him to do it, and I have mine." she said. "But either way, he needs to do it."

Sawyer sighed and nodded. "Well then we're gonna make sure it gets done so we can get outa here." he said.

Kate nodded. She looked down at her hands and sighed. What if this all turned out horribly? What if everything went wrong and they got killed anyway? She backed herself up against the wall and looked at Sawyer and Jessie, feeling a bit of jealousy. No. She couldn't be jealous. She loved Jack. It didn't matter who Sawyer was with. "I think I'm going to take a nap until there's something I can do." she said quietly, then closed her eyes.

"Nighty night, Freckles…" Sawyer replied. "Sleep tight. Don't let the bedbugs bite."

Kate frowned. "I'm not particularly fond of bugs…" she said. "Mind keeping those creeping ones with the little green feelers off of me?" she asked.

Sawyer chuckled. "No problem, Freckles." he replied. "Creepy bugs…Little green feelers…Alright." He smirked and shook his head slightly, then looked down at Jessie. "You a scared of bedbugs too?"

Jessie smiled slightly. "No." she told him, shaking her head. She looked at the wall and closed her eyes, still smiling. Her eyes soon opened though when she heard a commotion going on down the hall. "Think everything's alright?" she asked quietly, looking up at Sawyer.

"Is anything ever alright?" Sawyer muttered in response. He ignored the yelling and shook his head. What was the point of getting up to see what it was? It didn't sound like Jack, so he really didn't care.

The fighting got closer and a tall man finally stopped outside the cell. He opened the door then stood back, watching two other men throw a child into the cell. "Now knock it off." he told her, shaking his head as he shut the door, then walked off with the other two.

The girl stood up and stomped over to the cell door. "Next time you'll leave me alone!" she yelled. "Idiots!" she added. She crossed her arms, ignoring the other people in the cell with her.

Sawyer arched a brow at her, surprised she was still in one piece, considering she was fighting with them. From what he could see, she looked to be around ten years old. Her clothes were dirty and tore and she didn't even have any shoes on. "Well you know how to handle yourself in this place." he said with a nod. "Maybe you should teach us…You got a name?"

The girl turned around, keeping her arms crossed. "I'm Jayla." she replied. "And you are?"

"Sawyer." Sawyer replied, looking at her, a bit disturbed by her appearance. Her hair had very tight curls and was dark black, making her extremely bright green eyes stand out. He also noted that her skin was so pale it was almost white. "So…Jayla…You just get here?" he asked.

Jayla shook her head, leaning against the wall. "I've been here since I was five." she replied. "My brother Mitchell was three…But they killed him when he turned four, so now it's just me."

Sawyer frowned, but nodded slightly. "Well this is Jessie and Kate." he said, pointing to each one as he said their names.

Jayla looked at the two of them, then over at Sawyer again. "How long have you been here?" she asked. "I don't remember seeing you last week."

"We been here about a day." Sawyer replied. "Got here sometime yesterday. Who knows what time. Know anyway we could get outa here?" he asked her.

Jayla rolled his eyes. "Yeah…and that's why I'm still in here." she replied sarcastically.

"Well ya don't gotta get a attitude." Sawyer replied, frowning slightly. Dang. This girl reminded him of himself.

Jayla shrugged her shoulder. "You gonna do something about it if I do?" she asked him, arching a brow at him.

Kate looked back and forth between the two of them, smirking. "Ooh, Sawyer, I think you just met your match." she said with a grin.

"Shut it, Freckles." Sawyer replied, frowning at her. He looked at Jayla again. Trying to change the subject, he continued on questioning her. "So how old are ya, Squirt?" he asked.

"Ten and a half." Jayla replied. "But age doesn't really matter in this place. They only need it so they know how many needles to give you when they experiment. And don't call me Squirt, Mr. I talk with a Funny Accent."

Sawyer rolled his eyes. "It's called a Southern accent, Miss Mouth." he replied. "So you been here for five years…" he said, nodding.

"Five and a half." Jayla replied.

Sawyer rolled his eyes. "Five and a half." he corrected himself. "So they just let you talk back to them?" he asked her.

Jayla shrugged. "Most of the time." she said. "It ain't like I can very much hurt them. And plus, I'm the only ten year old they got here."

"Don't you mean, ten and a half?" Sawyer asked, smirking slightly.

Jayla rolled her eyes. "That your boyfriend?" she asked, looking down at Jessie. "Cause if it is, I really pity you."

"Shut it, Shortcake." Sawyer said, frowning even more at her.

Jessie smirked and shook her head. "We're just friends." she said.

"Awful close together for bein' just friends…" Jayla told her, crossing her arms even tighter.

Sawyer sighed. "You got a problem with it, Shortcake?" he asked her, arching a brow at her.

Jayla shrugged. "Just thought I'd let you know that you look like you're more than just friends…" she replied simply.

"Well know what I think?" Sawyer asked. "I think you been trapped in here so long that you forgot what manners were."

Jayla nodded slightly. "Alright. Then what's your excuse?" she replied.

"Ooh." Kate said, not being able to hide her grin. "I really do think you've met your match."

Sawyer looked at her. "Ya know what, Freckles…"

Jayla cut him off. "Do you use nicknames just because you like them or because you can't remember peoples' actual names?" she asked curiously.

Sawyer sighed and closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the wall. "People, just kill me now." he muttered.

"Ooh. A new record." Jayla said. "Normally it takes at least an hour with me before people say that." She smiled slightly.

Sawyer chuckled, shaking his head. "Glad to help ya beat your record." he replied, his voice hinting sarcasm.

Jayla glanced over at the cell door as one of the men came back. "Come back for me already, Bighead?" he asked him.

The man rolled his eyes, unlocking and opening the door. "Fortunately, no." he replied. He glared at her, then looked at Kate. "Get up." he told her. "Get up and come with me."

Kate looked at him for a moment, then glanced around the cell. "Why?" she asked. "You plan on beating me?"

The man sighed. "If you don't get up I'll beat you." he replied. "Now stand up and follow me."

Kate frowned and looked at the ground, seeming to be considering whether to follow him or not. After a moment, she pushed herself up off the ground. Crossing her arms tightly, she followed him out of the room. She looked around as she walked, feeling a bit nervous. This entire place made her nervous. And now she was alone with no one to help her if she was attacked. She kept her mouth shut though and tried to obey by just following quietly.

The man walked for awhile, finally stopped beside a door. He turned to face her, watching her carefully. "It's been raining a lot lately." he said. "And thing's are starting to flood. We don't want anything ruined, so I was you to get everything that's outside and bring it inside." he said.

Kate frowned, but nodded slightly. "Alright." she said quietly, not wanting to get beat again. She tugged on the door, finding it a bit hard to open because of the wind. She finally managed to get it opened the and went to prop it up, but the guy stopped her.

"I don't want in here flooding too." The man informed. "Keep it shut unless you're going in and out." he told her.

Kate looked down, then looked outside, squinting through the heavy rain. The place was fenced in, reminding her of a dog yard. The wind was blowing stuff all over, and she knew she'd have problems opening the door and she carried all of their stuff in. She glanced at the man again, then headed outside, trying to do exactly what he told her to do.

She'd worked for a few hours, moving everything she found. A picnic table, a lawnmower, a leaf blower, lawn ornaments, and much more. The sun had began to go down and thinks were already freezing. She was soaked and wanted to go back inside, her stomach growling in hunger. Putting her hand over her mouth, she coughed a bit and closed her eyes. Sniffling, she pushed her wet hair out of her face and headed for the door for a last time. She tugged on it, frowning when she realized it was locked. "Hey!" she yelled, pausing to cough again. "The door's locked!" She waited, but no response.

Looking around, she tried to find another way in, but saw nothing. She rubbed her eyes, then knocked on the door, hoping to get someone's attention. "Hey!" she tried again, her voice slightly high-pitched. She didn't want to stay out here. She could already feel herself coming down with a cold. "Please, let me in!" she pleaded.

The door opened after a few moments and the man arched a brow at her. "Oops." he said. "Sorry. I forgot you were out there." He shrugged and moved aside so she could come in.

Kate quickly stepped in, thankful that the inside was much warmer than being outside. She stood there shivering, looking at the ground. "Could…" Her voice trailed off and she cleared her throat. "Could I maybe have some dry clothes?" she asked quietly.

The man looked at her, blinking a few times. He rolled his eyes. "You always want things, don't you?" he asked. "You're never happy. You should be happy you even have clothes. You're not getting dry ones." He shook his head at her in disgust. Turning, he headed back for the cell she was staying in.

Kate frowned and slowly followed him, coughing every couple of moments. She crossed her arms, not even feeling like talking back. Her head hurt. Her throat hurt. Her body hurt from moving so many things. She was just happy to be going back to the cell. Dry clothes would have been nice though. Maybe, if she was lucky, there'd be something to eat for her there…or maybe even drink. She watched as the an unlocked and opened the cell, then stepped in.

Sawyer looked at her, frowning. "What happened, Freckles?" he asked, glancing at the man as he left. "Looks like ya got attacked by a water park."

"Leave her alone, Sawyer." Jessie said, standing up. She walked over to Kate and put her hand on her arm, gently helping her sit down. She watched her cough, then placed her hand on her forehead. "Here." she said, reaching over and grabbed a bottle of orange juice that had been left for her when they had supper.

Kate took the bottle and opened it. She took a small sip, wincing at the pain in her throat. She put the bottle down and closed her eyes, annoyed with this whole place. "Has Jack come back yet?" she asked, her voice slightly raspy.

Jessie frowned and shook her head. "No." she said, looking at her sympathetically.

"Oh." Kate replied, shifting slightly. She rubbed her eyes, then slowly lied down. "I'm just gonna go to bed now." she mumbled, coughing again.

Jessie nodded slightly. "That's probably a good idea." she said. "You look really exhausted." She patted her shoulder, then backed up over to where she'd been sitting by Sawyer.

Exhausted barely even described what Kate felt. She was completely drained. She made a small noise and rolled over onto her side, drifting off quite quickly.

Sawyer watched her, shaking his head slightly. He glanced around the room, then pulled his backpack over and dumped all of his stuff out. There was hardly anything in there, but what he was looking for was in there. He pulled out his sweatshirt, then scooted over to Kate. "Freckles…" he said, shaking her slightly.

Kate shifted slightly, making a small whining noise. Her face scrunched up a bit and she looked like she was going to get up, but she stayed fast asleep.

Sawyer frowned, looking at her for a moment. "Come on, Freckles…Get up and put something dry on." he told her, pulling her into a sitting position.

Kate slowly opened her eyes, looking around. She looked at Sawyer and then at the sweatshirt. She coughed again, then took it from him and turned around, scooting into the corner. She took off her freezing, wet shirt and pants, then put his warm dry sweatshirt on, thankful he had given it to her. She coughed again and crawled back over to Sawyer, lying down with her head on his lap. He was quite warm compared to her. She put her arm over her mouth, coughing.

Sawyer frowned and watched her. "Come 'ere, Freckles." Sawyer said. He put his arms under her and lifted her up, putting her on his lap. He pulled an oceanic blanket out of his backpack and wrapped it around her, holding her close to him. "Warmer?"

Kate leaned her head against his shoulder, nodding slightly. "I want Jack." she mumbled in a raspy voice.

"Jack'll be back soon." Sawyer replied. "Just go to sleep, Freckles."