There was a jerk just below her navel when Kate looked at her. Juliet tried to ignore it and Kate made it easy as she gripped, pulled, twisted, doing as she was told for once. The pain was overwhelming as the joint found its locking-place; it spiked through her and she was unaware she was tipping over until Kate's arms were around her, dragging her close. Juliet didn't hear herself scream, only the echo of it when the world stopped exploding behind her eyes. Kate's fingers did a testy jitterbug on the sweat sticky skin as the doctor curled in against her.

I could get the knife now. The thought was at once absurd and perfectly rational to Kate as Juliet buckled and shuddered against her. She wouldn't have another chance. The clink of the handcuffs on her wrist-their wrists-was enough to make her reconsider. It was absurd. What would she do with the knife? In the open, in the wild (and she had to resist hearing those words in Sawyer's voice), Kate had the upper hand anyway. Getting her hands dirty was an absolute last resort. She gripped the other woman's shirt, keeping Juliet's sobs muffled against her arm as she waited out the end of the Others pain.

The surge of agony ebbed. The echo died. The rattle-hum-clank of the mysterious black cloud was far and gone. Kate's arms were still around Juliet. Juliet's arms were around Kate and neither was sure when that happened. Juliet thought back to that little tug, the one that was low and unexpectedly dark, as she settled against Kate and faked resonating pain. The younger woman smelled heavily of the jungle, a scent that was overly complimentary to the brunette's feral mystique. Juliet's cheek rubbed Kate's shoulder, a tame kitten's bunt compared to the jaguar shrug-shove Kate responded with. Too far, but Juliet felt that strange little tug again and finally had the right name for it. It was want, coming from someplace behind her frustration and the pain. A rational explanation given, she summoned that pang of desire as she slumped her back against a slim tree trunk, blue eyes catching hazel in a look that was half-challenge, half come-on.

Maybe I should try to get the knife. Kate's eyes were harsh on the blonde's and Juliet turned away under the pretense of getting comfortable. The unanticipated tingle of the eye contact rolled off of the professional runaway's back with a shudder. Every tendon and muscle was puddled with imagined adrenaline, poised for another mad dash away out of the goddamned jungle of mystery and back to Jack. Back to civilization and the familiar tides of worthiness and failure. Kate watched Juliet tuck her knees to her chest and rest her head, feeling the rage at her captor bubble like bile in the back of her throat. She was only staying because the bitch had her arm, because they'd found a safe spot, because she was tired and she didn't want to drag Juliet any further. She fidgeted with her excuses, mulling them over in her head, trying to avoid the truth about this whole situation. She'd walked into this trap under her own power, eyes wide open and facing forward, in the hopes of saving...Jack. Yes. Jack. Now she was caged again in the wide open air and the jingle of the chain made her palms itch. It was a lot easier to concentrate on her resentment and hate then to consider the sting of something heavier than anger when Juliet's jaw had rubbed against her upper chest. A lot easier to be enemies in an uneasy truce than to risk a coin toss with the Others mind games.

The silence was alright with Juliet. Better than opening her mouth and unleashing the backdraft of fury Kate was building up. She risked a peek at the sullen young woman as Kate jerked and twitched in a farcical attempt to make herself comfortable. Juliet knew Kate wouldn't find that relaxation, not without the key in Juliet's hip pocket. Kate was not a woman who could take ease in captivity, no matter how open the cage. The blonde allowed herself a moment of arrogance, considering playing a few of her own cards just to get under the other woman's skin, but a promise she had to believe Ben would keep held her in check. Just thinking about him made her restless again, and she risked Kate's ire to adjust her arm and resettle against the tree. Sure enough, Kate's head shot up, eyes narrowed, lips thin. Juliet met her glare with an even stare of her own. It was time to stop playing the wounded bird. Time to be a lion tamer.

"Stop lookin' at me." Just as Juliet was about to open her mouth, Kate snapped out the curt order, scrubbing her shoulders against the tree trunk as though she could climb it with her back. Juliet resisted the urge to give the handcuffs a little yank-she wasn't fond of getting punched. It was reassuring to see exactly how uneasy Kate was. She didn't need any more ammunition than what she already had-Juliet was further under Kate's skin than she'd realized.

"Stop fidgeting," Juliet countered, after giving Kate a chance to think she wasn't going to reply. She tried to tuck her injured arm around her waist, stifling a smirk at the expression on Kate's face when the chain jingled delicately. Kate's eyes shot away again. Juliet's stayed, and as she waited for the next joust, she counted the freckles she could see in the moonlight.

The fury dulled to resentment. Kate glared off into the trees beyond them, pondering everything except for the situation she was in. She dug her heels into the soil underneath her, trying to find a bit of tree that didn't feel completely made of knots. Juliet had gone still again, and goddamn her for managing to find a comfortable spot. Kate risked another look, freezing when she realized the Other hadn't even bothered pretending to turn away. "What?" Kate demanded, low and dangerous in the face of the impassively calm blonde. She felt like wrenching Juliet's other arm if it would just get her out of here.

"There's nothing else to look at," Juliet explained in a voice used the world over by adults condescending to toddlers. Kate caught the implication, her eyes narrowing and her nose wrinkling in a mix of disgust and annoyance. She rolled her shoulders, rocking forward to a crouch. The chain jingled again and the captive planted her hand over it.

"Find something." Kate peered at Juliet for a moment, waiting to win the showdown. She got no response, only an intent stare. Her hand curled around the chain, the corner of her lip twitched, then she gave it a tug. "Look someplace else."

"No." Juliet let her good arm relax, watched it flop uselessly when Kate gave the cuffs another yank. She felt like a twelve year old, passively resisting her mother's rules. "If you don't like it, ignore me."

"I can't if you keep lookin' at me." Kate gave the chain another tug, watching it glitter and reflect the scarce light. She didn't notice the casual shift of Juliet's hip. The blonde woman adjusted her position carefully, folding a leg, bracing her foot just so.

"I can't help that," Juliet replied in the same clear, calm tone. She watched Kate's eyes again, ready to make her own predator move. "Why does it bother you?" There was that unpleasant truth again. Kate's eyes flicked away, dodging Juliet's intent stare. The twitch of her fingers on the chain was enough of an answer for the Other. Kate opened her mouth, another witty response primed and ready. It was brushed away by sudden warmth, lip on lip, tongue slipping over tongue. Her eyes dropped closed, then snapped open as her thoughts reassembled themselves into a great screaming klaxon. This was not Sawyer. This was not Jack. This wasn't even a man, it was Juliet. This was that stupid truth she'd been dodging, pressing full against her, bearing her backwards to the root-rumpled forest floor. Blonde hair draped in a curtain as the Other moved closer. Body to body now, that alarm was faltering.

Juliet surprised herself, managing to move swift and graceful enough that Kate didn't know what was happening until it was too late. She hadn't planned past the controlled advance that left her on top of Kate, her injured arm tucked along the brunette's side, her thigh locked firmly between Kate's. The other woman was wise to the game now, holding Juliet just far enough away that she might have been able to catch her breath if she'd bothered to pull her mouth off of Juliet's. The kiss, briefly spiked with passion, slowed. Kate's eyelashes fluttered, as if she was trying to convince herself through method acting that this was all a dream. Juliet pushed with her toes, trying to get more leverage, to bring herself closer and to stop Kate from trying to writhe away. Instead, the grip on her shoes skidded on the roots behind her. Her knee cracked against another root, her other leg slipped and her injured arm folded. The liplock broke as Juliet tumbled over on her side. She heard bells and saw stars. Her arm throbbed fiercely and she gave a faint whimper. This is what you get for not planning ahead, she silently cursed to herself.

The heat went away, but Kate's muscles felt electrified. As Juliet tumbled off of her, she hooked her heel around the other woman's. The blonde's momentum brought Kate rolling up onto her side, and instinct took over. Kate pressed her knee down, found a toehold and pushed. Juliet was accommodating, bending one knee to give Kate room to press her thigh into more sensitive places. The seam of Juliet's pants was suddenly much too rough as Kate rocked her hips and ground downwards. She wasn't thinking anymore, only doing. Action was what she did best-words, plans, those were best left to other people. Air hissed between Juliet's teeth, and Kate descended.

Juliet didn't think she would have to yield. Then Kate's teeth scraped on her lip, the pain a shocking companion to the harsh pleasure of the thigh between hers. Nails scrabbled at her tunic, and Juliet revised her non-plan. She forgot about Ben, Jack, Sawyer, whoever-the-hell-else there could be tramping through the jungle of mystery. She let the weight of her present and past, and the reason she'd dragged Kate out here in the first place, go with the shirt as Kate pulled it over her head. Another grind and Juliet was arching helplessly off of the roots, her good arm jerking at the chain as Kate's teeth caught on her nipple. Small, incoherent sounds worked free of Juliet's throat, her distant sense of humor noting that now she was the one getting angry with the handcuffs.

In the end, it was like a kitten trying to fight a jaguar. Juliet, injured and surprised, was overwhelmed by Kate's inexpert but enthusiastic attentions. The small pains that came with fumbling fingers quickly vanished under the waves of bliss that followed those explorations. At the peak, Kate sealed her mouth over Juliet's, letting the Other vent her response to Kate's impassioned assault in near silence. Juliet shuddered, savoring every last stroke and murmur. It came as a mild surprise that Kate didn't immediately withdraw. She watched with heavy-lidded eyes as Juliet struggled back into her shirt, reaching out to help with the injured arm. Kate was still silent when Juliet leaned up for a less frantic kiss, obliging the older woman with unusual tenderness. She hardly jumped when Juliet lay a palm flat on her stomach.

When Juliet's hand slipped lower still, Kate leaned back. The chain wasn't bothering her anymore, as it clinked and dragged on her bare skin. She wasn't sure how to think of Juliet, whose lips were as heady as wine and whose tricky fingers and agile wrist were making short work of her senses. She was drowsy with desire, sticky with the muggy jungle night and willing to lose herself to both this once. As Juliet's fingers followed Kate's slickness to her core, the slow burn overtook Kate's thoughts. It boiled off the fury, the exasperation and the pain and all that was left was that truth, rattling and molten in her brain. Soon after, it was all color and lights, and when that was done, comfort and sleep came easy to them both. The truth, as they say, will set you free.