A/N: Hey everyone! I'm sorry this update took a little longer than the last few. I've been very busy lately with summer reading for AP English, but I'm going to keep up the updates as best I can. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own it…

WARNING: There's going to be a more intense scene in this chapter that is bordering on R-rated. Since this doesn't happen often, I wasn't sure if I should bump the rating or not. The first scene of the chapter that is in italics contains a flashback to rape, so if you aren't comfortable with that, then please don't read it! Oh, and it would really help me out if you guys that do read it let me know if its too much for PG-13 and if I should bump my rating. Thanks!


All The Right Reasons

Chapter 12: What Dreams May Come

The world seemed to come in a faint blur to Kate, so much so that she couldn't quite make out her surroundings. What came to her first was the dimness of the light and the way it flickered from the cheaply made fixture in the ceiling. Then came the paleness of the walls surrounding her and the sickly texture of the concrete floor.

It was odd and not exactly something that Kate could begin to rationalize within her mind. She knew where she was, remembered everything very well, but couldn't quit recall what was currently happening. Had she drifted off, only to wake up again? And why was everything so blurry? Her vision was coming in a dizzying spiral, throwing her into a bliss of confusion.

In just the split second it took her to blink, something shifted somehow and it was almost like she had been lifted into the air, only to be dropped in the same place again. She felt a warmth around her and a solidness just to her front. There was a flash of white before her and her vision cleared just enough to match the white with the dirtied one time dress shirt Jack was wearing.

His arms were around her, stirring a comforting warmth within her. She could see him much better now, feeling the lightness of his lips on her face and then her neck, falling down to her shoulders. In another blink of an eye, his mouth was on hers, his hands gripping her shoulders as his fingers laced through her long strands of hair. Somewhere in the confused bliss of her mind, the sudden blur of thoughts, she could hear him moan into her mouth, kissing her with all that he had.

The change was so sudden that she hardly felt it come. In another instant everything around her changed. She felt her mind fall into a chaotic whirl as she struggled to get a grasp on where she was and what was happening. She was in a white washed room. The color was blindingly stark and the whole place smelled of a sterile cleaning solution.

Kate saw him then, her vision still clouded, but clearing only for him. She saw first the flaming contrast of his hair, its vibrant red standing blatantly out from the white of the room. Next came the roughness of his face and the thickness of his beard and what could only be described as a cold kind of emptiness in his eyes.

Time, something that Kate wasn't even sure existed anymore, seemed to stand still as the most malevolent smile stretched across his pallid face. His eyes seemed to see only her, but it was a shallow gaze that Kate could never forget. It was almost in slow motion as he slipped off his long white lab coat, revealing his somewhat gruff attire. He tossed the coat aside as though it were meaningless, walking towards her with a tormenting stare.

Again Kate felt a pull in her mind, and suddenly she felt herself once again in the circle of Jack's arms. This time her back rested against the cold cement floor, the weight of him bearing down on her as he stretched out atop her. She almost wondered why he didn't speak and why she couldn't see his eyes, no matter how many times she gripped for his face, pulling at him to look at her. He seemed to be lost to the world as he left a thin trail of kisses down her collar bone, his stubble tickling the skin of her neck.

She was lost to it all again as the scene shifted back to the white room, the blunt color still as blinding as ever. She gasped in shock as she felt the weight of the man on top of her, the roughness of his hands traveling greedily down to her waist. He seemed not to notice her sounds of protest, but moved only to press her down further into the cement floor, muffling her screams as he crushed her lips with his own.

Blind terror was all she could feel now, the confused bliss of moments before lost to her. Kate could feel the roughness of the cement against her bare shoulders, its harsh surface cutting into her back as he gripped her tighter. She felt him nibble at her collar bone, gruffly muttering something inaudible in her ear. He smelled of whiskey and cheap cigars, his hot breath falling against her neck as she cringed to escape it.

Tears burned at her skin, rolling down her cheeks only to wet the floor. She gasped and fought, but to no avail. She screamed with all that she had, her yells piercing the once silent air. Kate heard the rumble of his deep throated laugh, could feel his chest heaving against her own as he did so.

It was so clear, yet all so blurry at the same time. Everything came from flashes and fragments of what? Memory? Or was it even real? She couldn't tell, couldn't begin to determine anything as she succumbed to what seemed to be an all too familiar terror.

In a final flash, Kate barely registered that she was awake, that she had somehow been pulled away from it all. She was drawing in ragged, desperate breaths, quietly sobbing under her breath as she realized that it hadn't been real. It had been a dream. Nothing but a dream. It wasn't real and it couldn't hurt her, so why was she trembling?

Kate hadn't even got a hold of herself when she felt him laying beside her, his arm draped lazily over her shoulders while his other rested against her hip. Her mind flew into a frenzy then, eyes widening in terror as she leapt up from the floor, her feet moving so fast that she couldn't even comprehend it all. With a strangled sob and a scream she barely recognized as her own, Kate jerked away and ran.

Her mind was so lost in everything she couldn't explain that she forgot about the cell. The walls, the confinement, all of it. Her body slammed into the wall with an untamed force. She let out a wild cry of pain, sinking to the floor as she realized there was nowhere left to go. Kate waited in an agonized terror, knowing that she would be able to see the red of his hair and the hungry gleam of his eyes even in the near pitch black of the room. The voice that met her ears was far from expected.

"Kate?" his voice came out in a cracked, almost desperate tone. She could see how he was up in a start, everything about him alert as his head jerked this way in that, obviously looking for her.

Jack. She saw it all clearly now. It had only been Jack. A dream. All of it. But that was far from what she was thinking as she shrunk back against the wall, body nearly collapsing to the floor. She wanted to disappear just then, thankful only for the darkness that surrounded her.

He was at her side within seconds of spotting her curled up form hunched against the wall, sunk down into the floor. He sank immediately to his knees, moving beside her in an urgency that matched her desperation to run. And that was all she could think of just then. Running.

In the back of her mind as she fought for breath, she could hear him calling her name, begging her to hear him. To tell him what was wrong. She heard that clearly. And she nearly laughed at it, not bothering to think of that as an insane notion. How could she even begin to explain it all to him and why would she want to? This kindness he had shown for her and all of the caring, it would all vanish if he knew.

She was reduced to a fit of sobs as she tried to shrink farther into the cold cement floor, willing herself to just disappear somehow. She was afraid to look at him, to even turn at the sound of his calming voice. Kate was afraid that if she looked, it would be some cruel trick. She was afraid that instead of seeing his dark, concerned eyes, she would see only that fiery red hair that plagued her dreams.

"Kate…" his voice pierced through her clouded mind, but still she wouldn't turn to face him. She only shrugged her body closer to the wall. She couldn't count how many times he said her name or how much time had actually passed. She found herself wishing that he would just leave her alone and let her pull through her own misery.

The feel of his hands on her shoulder, lightly tracing his thumb across her back came from nowhere. His touch surged into her mind, her thoughts reeling to everything but him. And as she clamped her eyes shout, trying to drown out the feel of his hands on her back, drawing soothing circles along her shoulders, she saw the burly form of DeGroot and the flash of red from his hair.

She let out a sudden scream of fury, pulling herself hastily to her feet. She jerked from his touch, unable to see it as his own but feeling only the hands of that monster moving greedily along her body. She stumbled away, barely finding her feet as she fought to get away.

"Kate!" she heard him all but shout after her, unable to understand what was going on even for a second. She hadn't expected him to, even in the frenzy her mind was in.

"Stay away from me!" she snapped back, voice holding a feverish tone as she moved to the other side of the cell, as far as she could possibly get. This time she kept on her feet, body hunched against the wall in a defensive stance. She heard him continue to say her name, but she made no move to respond.

Jack came after her within a moment. She felt his hand roughly grip her wrist, tugging her back and pulling her to a halt. Kate was shivering violently now, trembling as he tried to pull her to him. It happened in the flash of a second and she hardly even registered her actions before it was over.

Balling her hand into a fist she threw herself at him suddenly, swinging at him with both arms. Her fist caught him head on in the face, slamming into his jaw with a force Kate hadn't known she possessed. Jack hissed in pain, immediately withdrawing as he let go of her wrist.

Moving the rest of the way to the far end of the cell, Kate sank down to the floor in defeat, drawing her knees up to her chest. Burying her face down to her lap, let herself fall into a fit of sobs, her entire body shaking. She couldn't bring herself to look at him, couldn't stand to think of what she would see in him now.

"Charlie!" Locke tried to yell, but found his voice caught in his throat, coming out only in a strangled gasp. The shock of it all had hit him like a hard blow to the chest, knocking the wind out of him. He could hardly tear his eyes away from Charlie's still unmoving form. Locke shifted his stance and made a move to run to his fallen friend, but was stopped as the gunman jumped into his path, blocking his way.

"Stay where you are!" the man barked, fixing the aim of his gun on Locke, stopping him in his tracks. There was a desperate, almost deranged look in the man's eyes now, a look Locke could hardly explain even in his own mind, "There's nothing to be done about it now!"

"What have you done?" Locke shook his head, eyes falling into a pool of helplessness. He looked all over the clearing, eyes stopping only for a split second at every tree, as though the answer to everything would just fall from one of them, "What have you done!"

"I defended myself, brother," was all the man could say, suddenly looking as hopeless as Locke. There was a regretful air about him, but Locke found it hard to accept.

"He wasn't here to hurt you!" Locke insisted, eyes bearing down hard upon the gunman, almost not caring anymore that he had an AK-47 fixed directly to his forehead, the man's finger gripped tightly over the trigger.

"And how was I to know that, brother?" the man was suddenly defensive, something Locke hadn't quite expected. He didn't have a chance to answer his question though, as a shout from nearby and the sound of approaching footsteps came from nowhere.

He didn't have to even turn his head to know that someone had stumbled into the clearing just behind him. Two men, he reasoned with himself as he listened to them panting for breath. Locke wondered when they would notice the scene in front of them and better yet how they would react.

It all happened so fast, that Locke hardly registered any of it in his mind. He felt rough hands jerking at his shoulders, pulling him back until he had fallen to the ground, landing none too gently on his back. As he struggled to sit up and pull himself back to his feet, he received a sharp kick in the side and felt the cold metal of the gun's barrel being pressed into the side of his neck. He couldn't help but notice the irony of the situation falling full circle to the way it had started, with him at gunpoint.

"Stay back!" the gunman yelled at the two the Locke could now visibly see. The dim rays of moonlight that fell through the canopy of the trees and into the clearing fell onto each man's face, and Locke immediately recognized Mark. The other man, only slightly older than Mark, he knew to be Adam.

The two looked absolutely terrified, the bewilderment on their faces unmatched. Each of them gazed confusedly at Locke, and then to the gunman, neither showing any sign of knowing what to do. At the man's frantic order to them, they all but leapt back, looking like all either of them wanted to do was disappear.

"Drop your weapons!" the man yelled at the two, and it was only then that Locke noticed that each was armed with a knife and there was a hastily made spear clutched in Mark's shaking hands, "Do it!"

When both men hesitated to obey, Desmond pressed the gun further into Locke's neck, causing him to gasp from the pressure of it. It was cutting into his skin at the end of the barrel, "I said drop it!" The two jumped this time, hastily tossing their less than adequate weapons in front of them, "Now step back! Move!" he barked and the two men quickly took several steps back, both visibly shaking.

"On your feet!" the man barked at Locke, relieving some of the pressure on Locke's neck by pulling the gun back only to bump his shoulder with it. Locke shakily pulled himself to his feet, his knees aching as he did so.

"These two-" the man pointed to Mark and Adam with the AK-47, eyeing Locke once he had stumbled to his feet, "Were they from your plane?" It wasn't a question so much as a demand.

"Yes…" Locke panted, finding it painful just to breathe, "Yes, they're with me…"

"How many of you are there?" another demand, the frantic look in the man's eyes becoming more desperate with each passing moment. Locke began to wonder if he wasn't just going to die here, shot by this man.

"Forty-two, not counting the missing…" Locke said with a sigh, exasperated as he wondered where all of this was going to end. He hardly dared to steal a glance at Charlie, afraid of seeing his still form. Out of the corner of his eye, Locke saw movement behind him and realized that it was Mark making a move for his knife that he had tossed in front of him.

"Move and I kill him!" the man yelled furiously, eyes blazing as he stared down the other man. Mark hesitated, looking from the gunman to the knife, as though weighing his options. Enraged, the man yelled again, firing a warning shot into the air, "Do you want him to die! Stay where you are or I'll blow his damned head off, brother!"

No one had a chance to let the man's words fully sink in. The next few seconds came and passed in a blur, everything happening so fast that none could even register it all in their minds. There was a rustling coming from nearby, towards the end of the clearing, but just as the gunman turns to face the sound, a man had leapt from the foliage and was upon him before he could even blink, yet alone aim and fire his gun.

There was a strangled yell and a shout of fury as the gunman was thrown to the ground, the unmistakable form of another man on top of him, having knocked him off his feet. Locke saw first the tanned skin and the mess of raven black curls and knew straight away that the new man to enter the scene was Sayid. A relief like he had never felt washed over him with a pleasant effect, though it only lasted a few moments.

"Locke!" he heard Sayid force out in a muttered growl, having tackled the man to the ground and using all the force he had to overtake him. Locke saw the AK-47 slide across the jungle floor, kicked out of the tussle by Sayid. Taking the hint, Locke dove for it, pulling it somewhat awkwardly in his arms.

Feeling frozen in place, it took several agonizing moments for Locke to again pull himself up off the ground. He struggled to his feet, keeping a death grip on the gun. When he got to his feet, he found that Sayid had successfully pinned the gunman to the ground, landing a punch square in the man's face. The other two men had rushed over now and were attempting to help Sayid. Locke approached, the AK-47 held securely in his grip.

Locke didn't know what he had been expecting. A part of him had though Sayid would immediately begin to question the man, wanting as much information as he could get about the Others. Locke didn't know why, but he hadn't thought of the gunman as an Other since he first few moments he had stumbled into the clearing looking for Charlie. There was just something different about him, something that Locke hadn't expected at all.

He found himself completely shocked though when Sayid swiftly pulled the nine millimeter from where it was safely stowed in the hem of his pants. The man wasted no time in hitting the gunman hard over the head. With only a half weary groan the man's eyes rolled to the back of his head, his body going suddenly limp as he fell the rest of the way to the ground.

Sayid sat over him, unmoving for several moments, simply panting as he fought to draw in gulps of air. He didn't look to any of them for some time before finally turning to Locke, a look that he could've sworn was grimly faced, "Where's Charlie?"

Shaking his head, Locke nodded to where he knew Charlie lay, still unmoving, "He's over there…"

Sayid stood up, brows furrowed as his lips parted in a look of shock. He saw the dark form he knew was Charlie, laying sprawled beneath a tree at the far end of the clearing. He shook his head, almost in a grim disbelief. It wasn't supposed to be this way. Having sentry guards was supposed to keep everyone safe. Alive. But then who was to protect the sentry guards?

He looked then to Adam, addressing him though he still couldn't recall the man's name, "Keep watch over him," he nodded to the gunman's unconscious form. Sayid turned to Locke, nodding as he met the older man's gaze, "We need to tend to Charlie…"

Wordlessly and without a single glance at the other, Sayid and Locke walked across the clearing, heading toward Charlie's still form. Locke felt his eyes water as the neared the scene. He didn't want to think of it. He didn't even want to have to be here, just now. He found himself unwillingly envisioning Charlie's boyish grin and hoping that there would still be time to see that grin again.

Standing before the man's still form, Sayid knelt down beside him. Reaching out a hand that trembled ever so slightly, to placed two fingers over Charlie's temple, holding his breath. A part of him didn't even want to take the man's pulse, didn't want to have to voice the verdict. A let out a tremendous sigh of relief when he felt a steady pulse beneath his fingers, the heart still beating.

"He's alive," Sayid confirmed, hardly able to mask the joy that had washed over him, not to mention the relief. He couldn't imagine having to cope with a man's blood having to be on his head so soon since he had been thrown into leadership and he found himself wondering for the hundredth time how Jack had managed.

Sayid ran his hands over the front of Charlie's dirt stained shirt, his fingers searching for any kind of moisture that would signify blood. He felt further relief when he realized that the man hadn't been shot. There was no bullet wound. He then examined Charlie's head, running his fingers through the man's mass of dirty blonde hair until he found what he had been looking for.

Already there was a large lump forming at the back of Charlie's head, a small pool of blood seeping from it. Feeling it over, Sayid realized to his satisfaction that the bleeding had long since stopped and the wound was beginning to clot on its own.

"He's been hit over the head," Sayid commented, a sense of assurance in his voice. He couldn't begin to explain the utter sense of relief that had washed over him. Even in the dim light, he could see the same look flash through Locke's eyes and he knew what the other man must be feeling.

"Is he going to need a doctor?" Locke asked, almost not wanting to know the answer. He didn't have to be told that they didn't happen to have a doctor at hand.

"It's only a small wound. He should be fine," Sayid confirmed, glancing back down to Charlie once more, "We need to get him back to the caves."

"What about-" Locke began, nodding his head to the unconscious gunman. Sayid paused for a moment, as though deep in thought.

Without a word, Sayid got up from the ground beside Charlie and strode back across the clearing, leaving Locke in bewilderment. He made his way back over to the gunman's unconscious form and met Mark's eyes as the man stood over the prisoner.

"We need to get Charlie back to the caves," Sayid said once he had the attention of the two men. Both gazed attentively at him, "I need you both to carry him back. Locke and I will deal with the captive."

Jack looked at her for a long while, still standing several feet away as he tenderly massaged his face where she had hit him. He still couldn't believe that she had done it and didn't quite know what to think of it. All he knew was to keep his distance. She had made that much clear to him.

He had his back to her, but somehow he knew that she was watching him. That she had been this entire time since the had hit him. Jack would occasionally steal a glance back at her, hoping that she wouldn't see, but he knew that she did. He couldn't begin to explain this sudden change that had come over her. It was like a fear, a vicious, gripping terror that had got a hold of her, blocking out all rational thought.

And suddenly Jack felt a bitter, almost sardonic smile playing at his lips, turning into a low chuckle as he shook his head. Wasn't this just the way things always were when it came to her? Just when he thought they had taken a step in the right direction, she'd somehow take ten steps backwards and leave him wondering how it had all happened.

The better part of Jack knew that he shouldn't hold any of this against her, that it was just selfish of him if he did. He knew she had been through hell these past days before he had found her. And he still didn't know just what that hell had consisted of, but if it could somehow break through her tough exterior and whittle her down to this mere shell of what she had been, then he didn't even want to think of it.

But there was still a tiny part of him, the part that bit at the back of his mind, tempting him to just give in. It was the part of him that knew this kind of thing was all in her nature. That for some sick reason that he may never know, she couldn't get too close to anyone without reflexively trying to hurt them. Jack had seen that in her when she had begged him for help with getting the Marshall's case from Sawyer and it was a sad truth.

"Jack…" the sound of her voice cut through the tense air like a knife, tearing sharply at him. He winced, knowing that it was inevitable that they had to talk this out.

He turned to look at her, and at seeing her, taking in her worn appearance even in the nearly pitch blackness, Jack felt himself begin to soften. But he immediately clenched his teeth, hardening his expression with every ounce of self restraint that he had. He couldn't just give into her, not yet.

She swallowed hard, obviously seeing now that she had his full attention and looking as though she suddenly didn't know what to do with it. For his part, Jack didn't tear his eyes away from her for a single moment, but he watched as her own fell to the floor, studying it as though it somehow held all the answers she needed. He could see a kind of shame washing over her face, radiating her eyes.

"Jack, I…I'm sorry…" she finally choked out after a moment, eyes furiously blinking away at tears. At seeing his stony expression, she almost hesitated again, but a newfound courage seemed to wash over her and she continued, "I'm sorry I kissed you…"

It was only moments after arriving at the caves that Charlie began to come to, his eyes fluttering open as he groaned in protest. His eyelids felt like they were made of lead, as did his arms and legs. Everything seemed to weigh him down. Even the air itself seemed to be forcing down a terrible pressure on him. It was the kind of weakness that Charlie could only relate to a bad hangover, only he was certain this was much worse.

There was a stinging ache in his head and it seemed to radiate from a particular spot towards the back. Reaching a hand to feel around there, his fingers met a sticky substance that was cemented into his hair, and when he pulled his hand back to see red smudges on his fingers, he knew it was blood.

"You're awake," Charlie's eyes snapped up to see Locke standing over him. In all the confusion of the passed few moments, he hadn't even noticed the man's presence. Against his will, he groaned again as another spurt of pain shot down his back and went through his arms and legs, all the way to the tips of his fingers and toes.

"What happened?" Charlie's voice came out in a cracked slur, throat parched. It almost felt as though the world was spinning as Locke thrust a water bottle into Charlie's trembling hands. Charlie drank gulps at a time, feeling as though he hadn't had a single drop for days on end.

"I was hoping you could tell me that…" there was an almost regretful tone to Locke's voice. He had hoped that Charlie would remember something, maybe help him to fill in the blanks about the gunman.

Charlie's mind reeled as he attempted to recall something, anything. There was a biting ache at the back of his mind and it stung so badly that Charlie hissed in pain. Despite the extreme discomfort though, Charlie pressed on, wanting to be able to help in any way that he could. He remembered being in a tree. And the stars. He remembered the stars. He didn't know why, but he did. And then it came to mind that he had been in the tree on sentry duty.

"I was on sentry duty…" Charlie mumbled, face contorting into a look of pain as his head continued to throb. Locke looked thoughtfully at him before nodding.

"Yes, but did you see anything suspicious?" Locke couldn't pull the desperate tone from his voice. He couldn't explain the need to know more about the gunman, but it was so strong that he had to press on, "Anything at all?"

With another deep throated groan, Charlie shifted uncomfortably, clamping his eyes tightly closed as he tried to remember. The dark outline of a form, somewhere distant came to mind. He remembered a kind of curiosity he had felt, and then a pang of fear that had followed. As the figure had come closer to his sight, he had known it was a man. But Charlie remembered he had long since climbed out of the tree. He remembered his feet planted firmly on solid ground.

"There was a man…couldn't quite see him…" Charlie muttered, looking to gauge Locke's reaction to this revelation. The man looked slightly pleased, but it was obvious to Charlie that Locke was looking for more.

"Did he say anything to you?" Locke sounded excited all of a sudden, as though he had struck on a gold mine. Charlie only halfway understood, remembering that the man had in fact said something to him, but he couldn't see how it would matter to Locke.

"Just rubbish about some bloody snowmen…" Charlie felt frustrated now, wondering if he was somehow confused. Why would the man have mentioned snowmen? Yet somehow, that had been the most clear memory of them all. He could still hear the man's thickly accented voice as he said it, "He wanted to know if I was him…Bloody lunatic if you ask me!"

"Charlie!" came a high pitched cry from the entrance to the cave. Both Locke and Charlie turned at the sound to see a unkempt Claire standing just outside the cave, a squirming Aaron clutched tightly to her chest.

"What happened!" there was a panic about her as she hastily approached, falling down on her knees beside where Charlie lay. Locke smiled to himself as he watched the scene, "You look terrible!"

"It's nothing…" Charlie insisted, his face warming with a blush as he watched her stare wide eyed at him. She looked like a mess, as though she had only just woke up. Charlie supposed that one of the other survivors had gone to wake her while he had been out.

Locke smiled on at them, knowing that there wasn't much else that Charlie could give him. It was likely the gunman had knocked him out very soon after realizing that Charlie wasn't who he had though he was. Pulling himself shakily to his feet, Locke thought it best to just leave the two alone for now. He began walking away, wanting to see if Sayid had made any progress with questioning the captive.

There was a pause. A long and purposefully drawn out silence in which neither wanted to speak, nor could. The air was laced with a tension that was heavier even than before, Kate's words seemingly lingering there. It was as though even as she spoke them, the air around her vibrated, her voice undeniably shaking.

Jack's eyes were wide, a look that could only be described as disbelief stretching across his features. The shock radiated in his eyes, and there was a greater degree of surprise there even than when she had hit him. And it certainly felt as though she had done so again.

Then came the ache. A terrible, racing ache, coursing through every inch of him as her words sank in. And in that moment, Jack knew it would have been better if she had dealt him another physical blow, for this hurt far worse than anything else she could have done would have.

Kate's eyes were fixed on the floor, no longer able to face him. He saw just in that brief moment that he dared to look how her head was hung in shame, tears falling silently down her cheeks. The only sound she made was a tiny sniffling as she continued to cry. Jack turned away, no longer able to face her.

It had been less than a minute since Kate's revelation and Jack felt numb. He felt angry. Under it all, he felt betrayed and even furious. Hot tears burned in his eyes, but he couldn't let her see what she had done. A small part of him still thought she was wrong, that it had all been in the moment. But that wasn't enough to relieve him. It wasn't enough to dull the anger he felt with every bone in his body. The betrayal.

And he couldn't say anything. The silence loomed over him, mocking him in his lack of speaking. He wanted to say something. Anything, but he couldn't think of where to start. He imagined yelling, shouting at her with all that he had, but the weight of it all kept him under a reign of silence. And Jack had no way of knowing that his silence stung her even more than his words could have.

And in a sudden moment of realization, he couldn't be silent anymore. If anything, she needed to know. It was wrong to keep quiet. He was running as surely as she was and it wasn't right.

"I'm not…" the words fell from his lips awkwardly, as though he was unsure he should be saying them. Just by the look in his eyes, there was no doubt that he meant them, but it was obvious he questioned saying them.

The moment of uncertainty lasted only seconds, not even long enough for it all to register in either of their minds. Time had momentarily escaped them, the confusion overwhelming for each. And it an instant it all came crashing down around them.

The door to the cell came crashing open, causing both Jack and Kate to jump. It shattered the silence that had seemed to last forever, crushing the tension. The same men as before, the ones that had taken Kate away rushed into the room. This time they came at Jack, pulling him forcefully to his feet before he could think to protest. And if he had thought of it, he wouldn't have stopped them, no matter how much he would have wanted to. Because he knew that if they didn't take him, didn't use him for whatever it was they wanted, then they would use her.

As he was pulled toward the door, stumbling painfully as he went, his eyes flashed to Kate's for only a second. Biting his lip, he nodded grimly to her in that moment, as though assuring her of something, though he didn't know what.

When the door was slammed shut behind him, he heard her screams. There was a violent pounding at the door, and sobs like he had never heard from her. She yelled with a fury, beating at the door with her fists, moving with an untamed force. Jack heard her call his name, screaming from behind the metal door with all that she had, that he might hear her. He clamped his eyes tightly shut then, feeling more confused and lost than he had felt yet.

A/N: Well, what did you guys think? I hope that first scene was okay for the PG-13 rating. I'm not trying to push things here, so please let me know if you feel like I should bump my rating! It would really help. As always, I look forward to your feedback, so please review. Thanks for reading and I hope you liked it! I should have a new chapter up later this week…