Chapter 3

Jack woke up the next morning and rolled over to see the beautiful woman lying next to him. Her disheveled hair shone in the sunlight peaking its way into the room. She was everything he ever wanted and more. He hated himself for letting her go; for screwing up their lives. He wanted nothing more than to be with her again, but he didn't want to put her through what he had already done. The separation was best for both of them. Or so he thought.

As he looked over, Kate all of a sudden opened her eyes. "Well good morning. It's been awhile since I've woken up next to you." She smiled, almost causing him to blush. Jack said nothing and just looked to the ground. "Don't worry Jack, this isn't anything serious. I wouldn't want to make everything in your life miserable." Referring to what he said about their relationship days before. She then got out of bed and headed to the bathroom, Jack watching her every step she made.

"Jack, I think I am going to take a walk. Clear my head. Try to figure out what we have to do. You can stay here, I'll be back soon."

Kate then headed out the door and stepped into the bright sun. As she walked down the dusty road, she spotted Beth from next door. Kate gave a hearty 'Hello' and a nice wave. She headed over to Beth quickly. "Hey, I'm just going for a walk. Would you like to come with me. I would love to talk to you about everything. I feel like there is so much I want to know. Even though Richard is completely against that…"

"I think I can do that. However, I think I will keep mum about certain facts about the future. But a walk would be nice. I need to clear my head."

So the two walked on together up into the trees of the jungle. Heading toward the beach on the other side.

"Can I ask you something? How did you get to this island?" Kate questioned.

" Well I think that is a safe question. As little long if you don't mind hearing the story."

"Not at all." Kate responded.

"OK, well, where do I start…"

And with that Beth began her life story.

"I was born only to my mother. My father died months before my birth. I knew very little about him. Only that he was a brave man. My mother, incarcerated at a young age, had me in prison. I don't remember much about her, I only have one picture of her. At that time, prison was not the place to raise a young baby, so the state took me away to live with my aunt. However, my aunt turned out to be rather unstable mentally, so I was pushed on to live with my uncle. For awhile I was happy, but then something happened. I grew restless. So I started running away, starting trouble. Nothing too serious, but I got in trouble with the cops sometimes. And finally one day, everyone had enough. Especially my uncle… He felt awful with how everything worked out. He wanted to take care of me in every possible way because he felt he owed it to my mom. But I didn't let him. I couldn't stay…"

"I know how that is." Kate interjected. "And what about your mom. Did you ever visit?"

"No. I couln't. By the time I was old enough, I held so much resentment and anger towards her, that I couldn't see her. She never saw me again." Beth drifted into a quiet speech, as she reflected on the past.

"And so, one day I decided to move to Europe. Stretch my legs. Get away from the States and start a new life. However, the island had other ideas. I crashed the same day the plane took off. There were only ten survivors. Myself, Danny, Josh, Rebekka, and a few others. Danny is a doctor and held all of us together. He never let us down. I owe my life to him. Currently, he's somewhere in the jungle, trying to find a way out of this place…"

"So is that why you are so melancholy? You love him? I can tell in your tone."

"Well, that is partially the reason. However, he thinks I love Josh. It's a mess. Truly."

"I know what you are going through. I had the same thing happen to me. When I was on the island…"

"Kate, I am going to stop you there. While you might find this creepy, I know everything about the Oceanic survivors. I know the love triangle between you, Jack and Sawyer. It is part of our history. It is how we got to this place."

"What? How did you get here because of us? You can't tell me that and then not tell me anymore!" Kate began to grow anxious and agitated.

"I know, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have. It's just… Don't you see. History is repeating itself. The story I just told you. Can't you draw parallels? The island is in need of the same people as it once was. It is in danger again!"

"So are you telling me that we can do nothing to stop this? That Jack and I have no real affect on the future? That Jacob just restarts the cycle and tries to find new people?"

"First of all, no. You and Jack do more than you can ever imagine. Trust me on that one. And second of all, Jacob is no long in power. But I can't tell you who is. I have already told you too much." Beth counteracted.

"I am beyond confused and aggravated right now. There is still so much I don't know. I think it may be best if I returned to where I am staying. I must tell Jack about all of this."

"Kate, please, I am telling you this in confidence. You know that if you tell Jack this, he will not use it to his advantage and react haphazardly. Maybe just ease him into it. I trust you with this information, and unlike Richard, I think you need to know this to move forward, still, maybe Jack doesn't need to know everything right now".

She had a point. Kate did know how Jack could jump to conclusions and that was the last thing she wanted to chance. She wanted to rebuild her relationship with him, not destroy it.

"Alright, I see your point. I won't go back just yet. Just please tell me more about yourself. I would like to hear about your past. As I'm sure you already know, your life is very similar to mine." Kate stated sincerely.

And with that Beth began to talk more about her childhood. Her run-ins with the law and her relationship with her uncle. She briefly glazed over her relationship with her mom. Not letting anything too hurtful to reach the surface. Beth's feelings toward her mother were always strong but her resentment never subsided. She knew she was so much like her, but at the same time could not shake the anger of not having her in her life. There was so much that Beth needed to get over. And her talks with Kate began to ease her pain….

*More to come*