Summary: A two-shot based on minor S4 spoilers. Jack and Kate go off on their own after trekking to the radio tower, and some developments occur. Enjoy.

Title: Passage

Author: AtholBrose

Rating: K

Spoiler Warning: Some minor S4 spoilers

Disclaimer: The show and its characters belong to ABC, Bad Robot, and JJ's crew.

A/N: My first fanfic, so I would love to receive some reviews/feedback as much as you're willing to give me!

Part I

A rare, full breeze made its way down from the canopy of hala trees above her. She slowed a moment to let this opportunity swoop in and surround her skin; it felt good. With the jungles so lush and thick with forestry, this relief was like God playing against himself as some ironic twist; two elements in nature fighting against themselves. The trade winds are rarely able to fully penetrate the thick canopy of trees and when they do, they do so only in kaleidoscopic blessings, peeking through softly into the humid jungle. Eventually, one of the two forces would have to give way. Kate sighed and willed herself to lurch forward with another step, her eyes peeled on the trail in front of her and the flash of blue denim, trudging ahead of her own.

The monotony of her steps coupled with sound of their labored breathing pulled her into a lull. She knew they were rambling with a vague sense of direction towards the ash hill where Rousseau had led them through to get to the Black Rock. She knew, along with everyone else back at the beach, that someone had parachuted around that area, or at least within that radius. They all saw it. And she knew that, while it was probably unwise to go with Jack given the possibility of her new health condition, she wanted to go. She insisted on going. She wanted to be rescued. She remembered Sawyer's disappointed look - the slight frown when she told him about the hike, and the tight crease of his lips as he turned away from her. She pushed the image out of her head like a surly intrusion. After all this time on the island, he was still only thinking of his own...

"Oomph..."

She found her forehead bump and graze the back of Jack's t-shirt, and grasped the loose parts of it to steady herself. He'd stopped in his tracks.

Jack turned around and impulsively reached out for her wrists. "Hey...sorry."

She laughed, "It's ok. I should've been looking ahead."

He smiled wanly at her as he let go of her. "I think we can probably hike for another 30 minutes or so before we stop and make camp. How are you feeling?" he inquired.

"I'm alright," she breathed as she kneeled to re-tie her shoelaces. "You think we're heading in the right direction?"

Jack ran his hand through the strands of his hair; it had been a while since he'd cut it, and was quickly growing into a soft weight on his head. He made himself a mental note to cut it once they went back to the beach. "Well, that's kinda I why I think we can probably go on for a while in this direction, " he spoke as he waved his arm towards what just looked like more trees, "and then...I don't know. I figured if we keep heading east, we'll hit a shore, then walk along that till we find the ash hills. But it's gonna get dark soon, so we won't hit the shore tonight."

Kate straightened up and looked up into his brown eyes, now flecked with gold from the sunlight dousing his face. She smiled, "Let's go then...no pain, no gain, right?" as she stepped around him.

Jack, keeping his eyes on her, brought out his arms in front of him in mock gesture while chuckling, "Lead the way..."

They didn't hit the shore by dusk, but found themselves at a small clearing where they decided to make camp for the night. Jack took off his pack and lowered himself to sit adjacent to Kate who was already taking a couple of swigs from her water bottle. Here he was, about to spend a night alone with her since...since the two waited at 'the line' when Michael showed up. That night seemed so long ago to him, an event in the distant past, but not forgotten. It had been etched into his memory bank much more vividly than he'd like. It was so…pronounced; it loomed large. As he stared into the fire he'd pieced together, he thought back to when he saw West Side Story for the first time for a film elective he'd taken at Columbia. He remembered that scene where Tony and Maria first catch a glimpse of each other from across the room, and everything starts to fade and recede in the background. Quiet moments with Kate are like that; being around her in that intimate setting made him forget where he was or why he was there.

He mentally shook his head. She chose Sawyer, he chided himself, and, besides, before long, he knew all this would all soon come to an end - their time together, their memories and their future. He sighed.

Jack took out his own bottle and took a long gulp. He turned to Kate, and spoke first. "How're you feeling?"

Kate smiled, "Hungry, actually. I'm out of those granola bars...do you have any?" she asked as she motioned to his pack. Jack shook his head, "Nope, I'm out too. Guess I better start hunting for any mangoes around here, " he spoke as he started getting up. He saw that she was starting to rise as well.

"No, you can stay here. I think I'm good...but, um, it might take me a while if I have to climb a tree to actually get some," he said in self-mockery. Kate looked askance at his profile and narrowed her eyes a bit.

She knew what he was doing. She knew he was again trying to protect her. But the tensions and the emotional headaches of the last week that had been bubbling inside her were now aching to lash out. Sawyer's sudden personality twist, Juliet's infringement, the rescue and pending arrest for her crimes, and...Jack. Her anxieties over Jack reverberated the loudest of them all.

She would be the first to admit that her relationship with Sawyer wasn't exactly kosher. And while Juliet had proven herself to be resourceful since joining their camp, Kate still didn't trust her enough to throw her. All of these misgivings, she knew, was due to the feelings she felt for Jack. And they desperately wanted relief.

She frowned at Jack's figure as he went through his backpack looking a knife. Kate wanted to push the nagging thoughts aside, afraid of what it would stir, but the more she tried to, the more it started to anger her. Finally…

"Why am I here?" she spoke, her tone low and even. "Why did you agree to have me come with you?"

Jack looked slowly from his pack to her green eyes, now partially illuminated by the fire Jack had insisted on building.

Kate stood up, determined even more now to get some answers. She looked down at his crouching figure, her hands on her hips. Jack tried to be nonchalant, silently wondering if her abrupt turn in mood was a sign. He sighed, "I knew you'd fight me if I told you no. You probably would've come anyway, even if I said I didn't want you to."

"Why wouldn't you want me to come?" she huffed, even though she knew what he was about to say.

"Kate, it's not that I didn't want you to, it's just...," he replied, bracing himself, "I just don't think that someone in your condition–"

Kate cut him off and snapped, "I don't know if I'm pregnant. I might not be. So, spare me your medical lecture, ok? I'm a big girl, so you can just stop treating me like I'm some fragile–"

"I'm not, Kate!" Jack could feel his frustration rising. "What if you are pregnant?" he snapped back, "Your need to prove something isn't worth putting yourself at risk," he paused and looked away.

He took a deep breath, "If I were Sawyer...if," he spoke softly,"...if you were pregnant with my child, I wouldn't be thrilled about you traipsing in the jungle with you-know-what out there..."

Kate, unable to stop herself, continued her tirade. "You know what, Jack? Before you knew me, I was doing just fine on my own. I was living on my own and fending for myself. And now? Now, I feel like I have to constantly get permission to do anything around here! From you, from Sawyer...I can take care of myself, Jack! I can make my own damn decisions!" she shouted.

She can feel the heat rising to her face with every accented syllable escaping her lips. She felt so angry, but she knew that her anger was being pinned undeservedly towards the man in front of her. This man who, time and time again, had tried to keep her out of harm's way. She remembered his words on the way to the tower...'because I love you..." Did he mean it?

Kate bit her lip as they both fell silent after her outburst. She ran a hand through her loose hair, frustrated. She knew that the only person that deserved a lengthy tirade was herself. She looked into his soft, brown eyes, full of concern and compassion. And just as quickly as her resolve started to fade, 'flight' took over.

Jack took a step towards her, and looked rueful as he spoke, "I know you can, Kate. I just...I worry...about you. I care–"

"Just forget it," Kate clipped her words, and she quickly turned around before she'd fail in letting her tears fall in front of Jack. She quickly gathered her things, blinking furiously and pushing back the impending sob lodged in the back of her throat. She could hear Jack's voice, but it sounded like he was miles away…

"Kate...wait a minute. What's this about?"

Kate quickly hoisted her pack over her shoulder. Through the tearful haze, she saw Jack's hand reach out for her arm. He was going to stop her.

"Where are you going, Kate?"

She drew her arms away from Jack before settling them across her chest. Her mouth drew a tight line as she glared at him, "Back to where you think I belong."

Jack frowned and took a few steps toward her, but she'd already grabbed the torch staked a few feet away from her and turned quickly on her heel. He feebly called out to her, "Kate…wait..." But she didn't wait.

Stuffing his water bottle into his bag, he quietly cursed himself. Sure, he wanted to give her some leeway, some space in letting her go alone for a while, but, as he quickly slid the pack over his shoulders, Jack knew that circumstances called for him to catch up to her than allow her the luxury of 'alone time.' Back in normal society, maybe. Here, the situation was laughably rhetorical.

Gingerly holding his torch while brushing the tree ferns aside, his thoughts drifted into autopilot.

How did they get to this point? He knew he'd probably let himself in too deep; he let himself care about her when the signs started telling him not to. She was from a different world, far too different from his own. And she was spontaneous with little regard for her own safety or health. She was, to put it succinctly, self-destructive, and it was maddening. Yet, she held a power of him, an influence. He winced slightly at his words to her on their way to the tower...what had possessed him to do that? Jesus, maybe I'm the one that's self-destructive, he thought. He's never known himself to be impulsive, yet in that moment, he put it out there...for her. Of course, it's all for her.

He snapped out of his reverie quickly. Now's not the time, Jack, he admonished himself, focus. As he looked out past the dark ferns, he worried whether he'd find her. Any speck of orange from her torch was nowhere to be seen. He took a cautious step forward, then another when he suddenly realized that he'd pushed his shoe in something soft, ball-like and semi-squishy. Great, he thought, disgusted.

"Just what I need..." he muttered.

God, what hell is wrong with me?, she wondered, as she slowly made her way towards what looked like a large banyan tree about 20 feet ahead of her. Her stomach growled as she gritted her teeth in ignoring her hunger pangs. The light winds pushed the trees over her to sway lazily back and forth; the sound was soothing, yet feeling small and alone, it was more menacing than anything else. Everything else was quiet, and she let in a small rush of fear drown her. But only for five seconds...she remembered.

After taking small steps with her arms clutched at her sides, she set down her pack against the tree. Crouching, she knew she had to go back and look for Jack. A part of her was disappointed that he didn't come after her right away. She craned her neck to see if there was a small spot of orange, off in the distance; the torch representing that small beacon of hope, but all she saw were the dark, opaque shades of black and green. She shook her head, determined to believe. Of course, he'll come back. He probably didn't enjoy listening to her little flare-up, but she knew, in her absolute faith, that he'll come looking for her.

As she started to take out her bottle, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the dark, yet unmistakably shiny skin of a mango, half-buried in the ground. She stood up to make her way over, practically drooling in anticipation. She kneeled down next to it and started shoveling it out when she felt her fingers touch flesh that had already been gutted out. She grimaced, irritated as she reluctantly tossed it aside.

Wiping her hands on her khakis, her stomach let out another grievous complaint, and before deciding whether to search the grounds for another fallen, partially-eaten mango, she heard a faint rustling of leaves behind her. Then a crunch, louder this time. She stayed still. Finally, the sound of scraping feet finally finding their destination. She bowed her head slightly as she knew. It was Jack. Kate slowly stood up and turned around, half-expecting an out-of-breath, frustrated Jack. Keeping her body only partially facing him, she lifted her face up towards the man she knew she was so afraid to love.

It was Jack. But he stood placidly before her with an apologetic look in his dark eyes. She tore her eyes away from his for a moment, and glancing down, she noticed, in his hands, were two ripe mangoes, both comfortably nestled between his left wrist and stomach. She looked back up to greet his eyes once again and gave him a small smile. He returned it and softly added,

"You still hungry?"