Thanks to those of you who reviewed. Reviews are at an all time low (and I mean all time), so I thought maybe now was the time to start wraping this fic up, if people are getting bored with it. I do have a ton of ideas left, though -- too many, because there's still so much I haven't covered... ;)

Chapter 29. The Long Walk Home

After spending the previous three nights in Jack's arms, the familiar warmth and weight of his body was noticeably absent when Kate became aware of her surroundings again.

At first, she thought he must have drifted away from her in his sleep, or moved to avoid making the others uncomfortable, but then she heard voices, low in conversation, and she realised that he and Sayid, at least, were already awake.

"Forgive my intrusion," Sayid was saying in the same mildly offended tone he'd used when telling them to gather firewood, "But I thought you said that Kate had a husband?"

Realising that it was her they were talking about, and what Sayid had presumably seen on waking, Kate kept her eyes shut as she waited to hear Jack's response. From what she could gather, Sayid thought that she and Kevin had been reunited on the other side of the island, and that the two of them were using this trek as a way to carry on some sort of secret affair.

"Had a husband," Jack assured him, a hint of indignation in his tone, and Kate could imagine the strained look on his face, the one he always got when he was trying to keep his temper under control. "They're not together anymore."

"And this has nothing to do with you, I hope?" Sayid asked, and Kate could hear the disapproval in his tone.

"No, it doesn't," Jack told him tersely, even though this wasn't entirely true: while he hadn't officially broken them up, he certainly hadn't encouraged Kate to try to fix things with Kevin.

"From what she told me, they wanted different things – he wanted to settle down, have a family, and she wasn't ready," he added, and Kate was reminded of why she'd fallen for him in the first place: even in the heat of an argument, he'd managed to keep her secret, in spite of the fact that it made him look guiltier than he was.

"But you, you don't want that? To settle down?" Sayid pressed, sounding less persuaded than ever to support their relationship, which to him, Kate realised, must look pretty sordid.

The future wasn't something they'd talked much about, with the possibility of rescue looming; she found herself holding her breath as she eagerly awaited Jack's answer. She hadn't wanted that life before, not while she was still on the run, but if they really were stuck on the island indefinitely, then maybe, one day, she could still have it.

"Not any time soon," Jack agreed, and Kate couldn't help feeling disappointed by how closed off to the possibility he sounded, even if she knew where his reluctance was coming from. He said it wasn't a fling, but maybe it wasn't serious either, not like that.

Kevin had told her on their second date, before they'd even had sex, that he was going to marry her; by their sixth, when she finally gave in, this had grown to include having babies with her as well. She'd fallen into a relationship with Jack so much faster; surely he must have some idea of where he wanted it to go.

"The situation is… complicated," he confessed, and Kate could see him running his fingers nervously through his hair. "We still have a lot to figure out about before I can even think about where it's all headed."

There was a beat, as if he was debating with himself whether or not to go on, then he added, almost apologetically, "I tried settling down once, and it didn't work out. It's gonna be a while before I'm ready to make another commitment like that."

While she could understand what Jack was saying, the idea that she'd given up any chance she had of reconciling with Kevin for what might turn out to be a temporary romance still stung; afraid of what she might hear if she let the conversation go on, she cracked her eyes open, stretching as if she'd just woken up.

"Morning," Jack said, pecking her cheek lightly when she sat up, his expression guilty, as if he knew, or at least was afraid, that she'd been listening.

"Morning," she echoed, knowing that now was not the time to take it up with him, not while they still had company. "Morning Sayid. Charlie up yet?"

As soon as she glanced over at him, she saw that he wasn't; she was going to suggest they wake him so that they could get a start on the long walk back to the beach, but he started at the sound of his name, lurching into a sitting position.

"What?"

His hair was matted on one side, and he appeared to have drooled a little in his sleep; Kate couldn't help grinning how young and cute he looked in his dishevelled state, and even Sayid cracked a tiny smile.

"What?" Charlie asked again, bemused, mirroring their grins, albeit uncomfortably. "What're we all laughing at? What'd I miss?"

The earlier tension broken, at least for the time being, they polished off the rest of their supplies, packing up their belongings and extinguishing the fire before heading back into the jungle.

"You're awfully quiet," Jack said when, hours later, she still hadn't said more than two words to him, slowing until they fell back to a safe distance behind the others. "Is something wrong?"

Now that she'd had time to think about it, Kate wanted to tell him no like a reasonable person, to accept that what he'd said made sense, but as confused as she was, she couldn't help lashing out at him by saying, "If there was, would I even have to tell you? It's not like we're committed to each other or anything. For all I know, you tell all the women you sleep with you love them. I know I say it all the time."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw understanding, then regret, wash over his countenance. "You heard," he said, stiffening, as his eyes travelled to the leaves at their feet.

"Well I was there, Jack," she reminded him, her indignation increasing when he made no attempt to apologise, or even explain. "I only wish I could wake up to that every morning."

He stared at her for a long moment, his expression unreadable, before tearing his gaze away, fixing it straight ahead as he said, "I don't."

"Don't what?" she asked, taken aback, forgetting to be angry in her confusion. Was that his way of apologising? Of telling her that he was sorry she had to find out like that?

"Tell every woman I love them," he explained, his voice low with emotion as he looked back at her. "I haven't said that to anyone since Sarah, and before that… there weren't many."

Kate's heart softened towards him on hearing these words; she nodded, but before she could open her mouth to forgive him, the air was rent by a familiar sound:

MROOOOOWRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOBWWRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

The mood shattered, every muscle in her froze as it came closer, shaking the trees like some monstrous typhoon. She could hear the grinding of gears, the metallic clunk of a chain being ravelled and unravelled and then…

"Kate, come on!" she heard Jack yell, his hand tight around hers, pulling her to their left while Sayid and Charlie disappeared into the trees in the opposite direction.

"What about the others?" she yelled back over the din.

"They'll be fine – Sayid's a trained soldier," he reminded her, the words broken up by gasps as they flew over the ground at an inhuman speed, scanning the jungle for places to hide.

"Jack!" she cried fearfully when the thing that couldn't really be a monster crashed through the canopy behind them, squeezing her eyes shut in anticipation, relieved that he was going to be with her, wondering how much it was going to hurt, but he shoved her into a bamboo grove before it could reach them, holding her against him as it continued to grind past them.

Clinging to him so tightly that she thought she was going to crack one, maybe all, of his ribs, she buried her face in his neck, focusing on how strong and solid he felt until the whirring began to subside.

When he drew back to study her face, to make sure that she was okay, she wanted to cry, not just from terror and relief, but because they'd come so close to dying without her getting the chance to tell him how sorry she was.

"I'm sorry I got so angry," she choked out, still holding onto him. "It was stupid – a stupid thing to pick a fight about. Of course you love me."

"I wouldn't've been so scared just now if I didn't," he agreed seriously, kissing her. "I think I was more afraid for you than I was for myself," he added when they pulled back, holding her close, resting his forehead against hers while they waited for their heart rates to slow.

"Me too," she agreed, breathing heavily against him, feeling him struggle for his own breath, wanting to get closer, relieved that she still could.

Her legs were weak, her whole body shaking, so she let him pull her into his lap, settling against him as they listened, waiting until they were sure that it wasn't going to come back.

"What do you think happened to Charlie and Sayid?" she asked when he eased her off of him and to her feet, leading her back to the path.

He didn't let go of her right away, holding her hand as they started walking again. "I'm sure they found somewhere to hide like we did," he answered confidently, though she could see the shadow doubt in his eyes. "They're probably on their way back to the beach as we speak."

"Shouldn't we look for them?" she asked, remembering what her father said had about leaving men behind. What if they were hurt, or needed help… or worse? They deserved to be brought back.

"No," he said, squeezing her hand reassuringly, silently willing her to trust him. "That's not what Sayid would want us to do. We could end up getting lost ourselves, and we can't take that risk, not with that thing still out there. If we're lucky, we'll run into them – if not, we'll catch up with them when we get back to camp.

"They'll be fine," he repeated when this failed to elicit a more enthusiastic response from her, but all she managed was a weak "Yeah" and a watery smile in return.

With the threat to the others looming over their heads, the rest of the hike seemed unbearably long; when she and Jack finally broke through the tree line, onto the beach, she was relieved to see them standing in a huddle with Ana and Kevin, Sayid apparently having come to the same conclusion as Jack.

Aside from a tear in the knee of Charlie's jeans, and a bloody graze beneath, they both appeared unharmed, but as she got closer, she saw that their expressions were grim, Charlie fighting back tears as he surveyed the two cops with hatred.

"What's going on?" Jack asked, his hand slipping from hers, when it became clear that they were fighting, and she could hear the alarm in his tone. "What happened?"

"It's Claire," Charlie managed to choke out, and Kate felt her blood run cold. She seemed like such a sweet girl: had something happened to her and her baby? "They—They took her. She's gone."

Next chapter(s): The search for Claire, Kate finds a way to repay Libby, and something that will shake the love triangle up and create a lot of angst... ;)