Thanks for the reviews. Glad you all liked Libby (who, incidentally, is me – most of what she says is what I would say!), and possessive Jack! You'll be pleased to know that it's only gonna get worse as their feelings become more intense…

I was going to end the story somewhere around here (after all the secrets and lies have been revealed), and start work on one of the myriad of new fics I have in mind, but I'm enjoying it too much to let it go, so I've come up with some new ideas, most of which will take a while to develop… ;)

Chapter 22. Back On The Beach

It was almost dusk when the fuselage came into view, like a lighthouse guiding them home. Seeing it sprawled across the beach, dwarfing the campsite, like the carcass of a wounded beast, Kate was seized by a momentary burst of panic, until she spotted the tiny figure of Sayid talking to the bald man Jack had previously identified as Locke. Whatever the outcome of his mission to the cockpit, they were all still there; they hadn't been picked up by a rescue boat during her and Jack's absence.

All around her people were laughing and shouting with joy, shaking hands and hugging each other, glad for this small skerrick of hope; even Ana was smiling as Jack slipped his hand into Kate's, squeezing it and grinning as if to say "We did it".

Their strength renewed after four long days of trekking around the coast, no one complained or asked to take a break as they crossed the last mile separating them from the main camp, increasing the pace in their eagerness to get there.

Claire saw them first from her post by the water, tossing her diary aside, and easing herself into a standing position to call out to Sayid and the others:

"They're back!"

At her words, the Iraqi looked up, a stunned smile crossing his face as his eyes travelled from Jack and Kate at the front of the group, to the twenty or so others trailing behind them.

Hearing Claire shout, Charlie came barrelling down from the tree line to stand beside her, high-fiveing a large, longhaired man who was hovering nearby. Behind them, Kate could see Sun and her husband, a blonde girl in a bikini, and dozens of others she didn't know; even the southern scavenger had emerged from the jungle to see what the commotion was about.

When the two groups met, the tail survivors stopped, Jack and Sayid meeting in the space between them like generals discussing the terms of a war. Pausing a few steps behind them with Ana, Kate watched as Sayid held out his hand and they shook, the Iraqi looking suitably impressed.

"Congratulations, Jack," he said, smiling as he added, "I thought you were being naïve when you said you wanted to look for other survivors. Fortunately, I was wrong."

Turning to Kate, he acknowledged her with a genteel nod of the head, causing her to grin back. "I'm glad to see that you and Kate both made it back safely."

"I'm glad to see you're all right too, man," Jack agreed with a broad smile as he turned, walking up the beach to the campsite with Sayid, gesturing for the others to follow. "As soon as everyone's settled in, I wanna know all about what happened with you and Charlie at the cockpit."

"Of course," Sayid agreed with another nod, looking slightly annoyed when Charlie scurried after them, seeming to relish the chance to play again with the big boys.

The sun had set by the time the Tailies had recovered their luggage and established temporary shelters at the top of the beach. This led to two awkward moments for Kate, the first when she was forced to show Kevin where she'd stashed his suitcase, watching with a sickening pang of guilt as, while checking to make sure that everything was there, his eyes fell upon the envelope of pictures that had meant so much to her a week before. Still conscious of her presence, he'd buried it carelessly under a pile of shirts, but later, when he thought he was alone, she caught him staring at them with such longing that it made her heart ache.

The second of these moments occurred when it came time for her and Jack to set up shelters of their own, and she realised that she had no idea what he expected from her now that their relationship had turned physical. Did he want to sleep with her every night until rescue came? Or was he content for them to maintain separate beds, like separate apartments, until they got to know each other better?

She was relieved when, in the end, he didn't object to her setting up a tent of her own, close enough to his that they could visit each other during the night, if they wanted, without disturbing any of the others. Even though Kevin, Libby, and most of the Tailies now knew that she and Jack were a couple, she wasn't sure that she was ready for the rest of the camp to find out, not when she'd made such a big deal about finding her husband.

The sky was dark; the first stars twinkling on the horizon by the time Jack finished doing his job as ambassador, crouching beside Kate where she was sitting alone in the sand, enjoying the rare moment of peace, the freedom of not having to worry about anyone's feelings but her own.

"I'm going to talk to Sayid now, if you wanna come," he said, offering her a hand to help her up. "Just so you know, though, Ana's coming too," he added hastily as she accepted his arm, brushing the sand from the back of her jeans.

She knew she had no right to be jealous, not after everything she'd put him through with Kevin, but the irritation that flooded through her at these words wasn't rational. "Maybe I should just stay here, then," she told him, unaware, until she actually said it, of how juvenile she must sound. She was tired of Ana following him around, of her forcing her way into his confidence, and assuming the position that should, by all rights, be hers. She was the one sleeping with him after all.

"I know you two got off on the wrong foot," Jack said, looking taken aback by her sudden coldness, "but she's not that bad once you get to know her. I think you'd like her if you gave her a chance."

He didn't seem to realise how close he was to pushing it, how defending Ana was only liable to make things worse.

"I'd like her if she wasn't in your ear all the time," Kate insisted, angered by his refusal to see things from her side. It was okay for him to spend excessive amounts of time with Ana, but she couldn't so much as think about Kevin without incurring his wrath. "When was the last time you made a decision without checking with her first?"

"It's just shop talk," he said, running his fingers uncomfortably through his hair, seemingly bewildered as to what they were really fighting about. "The only reason I've ever asked her advice is because she's a cop."

"Kevin's a cop – why don't you ask him?" she pressed, half because she wanted to see him included, and half because she knew it would get Jack to engage.

"Because – to use his words – I'm screwing his wife," he retorted, his own temper flaring. "That's generally not the best way to earn someone's respect."

Kate felt a pang of remorse, hearing how ashamed he was at himself for encouraging her to leave her husband, when it wasn't all that different to what had happened to him. "I just – I can't help it if I feel a little cheated," she confessed, softening towards him. "We're sleeping together – if you need someone to talk to, it should be me."

"I can't exactly exclude her from the meeting," he said, his own anger fading to embarrassment as he gave her an apologetic look, "But I want you to know that I value your opinion just as much as hers – more," he added with a roguish grin, shamelessly trying to win back her favour.

"Good answer," she told him, sliding her arms around his neck, brushing her nose against his before letting him off the hook with a long, lingering kiss.

"I know," he agreed, surveying her with affection when they came up for air, his arm finding its way around her waist as they headed over to the signal fire, to where Sayid and the others were waiting.

Next chapter: Sayid and Charlie fill Jack, Kate and (I know, boo!) Ana in on what's been happening back at base camp… ;)