Kate trod through the jungle, not sure what she should tell Claire about Aaron. If Aaron was fine, then her task was obvious, but if he wasn't, she would either have to lie and risk Claire's friendship, or tell the truth and risk Charlie's health. She was weighing the negatives of each option when she almost collided into Jack. He stared at her for a moment before folding his arms across his chest.

"What are you doing here Kate?"

"I'm just going to the beach," she was starting to feel defensive already. She had never been able to stand it when people tried to control and command her, Wayne, Edward… she didn't like that Jack seemed to take the familiar tone with her.

"And what about Claire?"

"She asked me to go; she wants to know how Aaron's doing." Jack's gaze was challenging and she knew that she wasn't going to win an argument against him. "You feeling any better yet?"

Jack smiled and Kate was surprised, she couldn't remember the last time she had witnessed him without either worry plastered over his features of anger burning in his eyes. "I'm fine, Locke didn't even fight back."

"You didn't hurt him did you?" She hadn't expected Jack to actually go through with the fight; he had only attacked Locke once before.

"Why should that matter Kate? He is the one that caused Charlie to do this. Right?"

She wanted to argue, she wanted to tell Jack that he was taking the blame that should be attributed to Charlie and placing it onto Locke. She almost did argue with him, but she couldn't lose Jack. She needed to keep a hold, however tentative, upon both Jack and Sawyer, so that when trouble came, she would have enough people to count on to save her.

"Right."

She was rewarded for her lie by the traces of the smile returning and the release of tension from Jack's body. "I'm going to go to the hatch, check on Charlie." He didn't wait for her to reply, walking away.

She almost felt like collapsing after he had gone. She hated that she had to deceive him by pretending that she was the coy little girl lost who needed his protection. She certainly wasn't coy, and she didn't need protection. But sometimes, when she closed her eyes, it felt like it would be a nice dream to have. She could have someone to go home to at the end of the day; have a normal life and kids. But then Sawyer would appear and tear up her fantasy, replacing it with his own. With the reality of the dream she had harboured since childhood, the chance to be free, to do anything, to be able to keep running.

She shook her head at herself and began to go to the beach, she couldn't let herself think things like that, and she couldn't give into either fantasy for the simple fact that, if she chose one, she was scared that she would lose the other forever. If she picked the wrong life, she couldn't go back again.

She was fully jolted out of her dreams when she reached the beach and laid her eyes upon Sun, standing at Claire's tent, trying to soothe a screeching Aaron. Her face was flustered, stray strands of hair sticking to her head from sweat and frustration. She spotted Kate instantly and rushed over to her, holding Aaron in her arms.

"Kate, I can not do this! You have to take the baby."

"But…"

"Kate! He needs his mother." The stress in Sun's voice made Kate hold out her arms, having Aaron placed awkwardly inside them. Sun wiped a hand across her forehead, sighing lightly. She took a few seconds, steadying herself and when she spoke again the poise was back in her voice. "What was the fight about?"

"Jack blames Locke for what happened to Charlie."

"Oh."

Kate had expected more of a reaction but Sun looked down to Aaron, whose screams had quietened into whines, smiled weakly at Kate and hurried away.

Kate looked around the beach, trying to think about who could take care of Aaron. She was considering taking him back to the hatch when she spotted Locke sitting by himself. She'd seen him around Aaron before; he would probably know how to keep him quiet. She walked over to him.

"Mind if I sit down?"

He looked up and she took in the cut lip, the bruised eye and cheek that she could instantly attribute to Jack. He smiled when he saw that she was holding Aaron. "Go ahead." She sat down in the sand and nervously jiggled Aaron, he was still whining. "How come you've got him?"

"Sun couldn't cope."

"Ah," he paused for a moment, seeming deep in thought. "I could watch him… you know… if you wanted me to."

There was hope in his voice and Kate felt a pang of guilt that she had to destroy it. She pushed the feelings aside, being on the island was starting to make her weaker. She was beginning to care about people again, and whenever she did, bad things seemed to happen. "Probably isn't a good idea."

"Did Claire say that or did Jack?"

"Jack probably wouldn't like it too much," she decided to change the topic, "how is your face?"

"It's fine, not too much damage done."

"He said you didn't fight back."

"I'm not much of a fighting man Kate." He sighed, "but one day Jack is going to have to realise that the world doesn't have to do what he wants it to, we don't have to be his slaves, obeying his every beck and call."

Kate didn't know how to respond. For a moment she wondered what Locke was talking about before she remembered she was holding Aaron. "I'll ask Claire about Aaron."

Locke smiled, looking down at him again. "He'll be missing his mother, that's why you can't get him to be quiet."

Kate nodded, standing up. "I'll go take him to the hatch." She began to walk away, back up the beach, her mind still reeling over Locke's statement about Jack treating the islanders as slaves, trying to work out how the statement had to be wrong.