• Written By: Edward Kitsis, and Adam Horowitz, story by Javier Grillo-Marxuach
• Directed By: Tucker Gates
• Backstory: Kate
• Featured Storylines: Michael/Walt, Jin/Sun, Locke, Sawyer

Born to Run

A roadside motel in a rural area. A blonde in a convertible pulls up. She gets into the trunk and pulls out a license plate from a large collection. She replaces the one on her car with a new one-- Ohio. She sneaks into an empty room, and heads into the bathroom, and dyes her hair. We soon see that the woman in question is our Kate. 

She heads into the office to pick up a letter, saying her name is Joan Hart. She sits in the car and reads the letter. She cries.  

Beach: Kate is playing with the toy plane. Charlie approaches and brags about how popular Driveshaft must be now that he’s gone, and when he comes back it’ll be even bigger. Kate expresses doubt that the raft will work. Charlie says he’s confident, and that when they get rescued, they’ll all be famous. 

Over at the raft, there’s a commotion. A castaway, Dr. Arzt, a high school science teacher, explains to the raft builders that monsoon season is coming, and they need to set off right away if they don’t want to get caught in a nasty storm and blown south, out of their path.  

Kate catches up to Michael, asking about the raft. He wonders why she’s suddenly interested. She says she’s going with them. 

--commercial break— 

Michael tells Kate the raft is full. Kate tries to negotiate, saying Sawyer really doesn’t belong on the raft. Michael insists that Sawyer’s going.  

--flashback— 

A dolled-up Kate is in a hospital, bringing flowers to someone named Diane Janssen. She slows as she sees a police officer sitting by one room. She hides her face with the flowers as she passes him.  

In the hospital parking lot, a doctor, Tom comes out to his car. Kate is sitting in it. He’s shocked, but knows her. He asks what she’s doing there. She explains that Diane is dying and feels she owed it to her to see her. She asks for Tom’s help. 

Beach. Sun approaches Jin, asking if he’s sure he’s going. He says he is. She walks off, dejected. 

Jungle. Sayid is leading Jack out to the hatch, where Locke is. Locke shows them the hatch. Jack is shocked, asking what it is. Locke says he has no idea.  

Beach. Sawyer asks Michael about their supplies. Michael is annoyedd at the questions, and mutters that maybe Sawyer isn’t the right person to go. Sawyer is incensed. He stalks up to Kate, who’s melting a picture from a piece of ID. He tells her Michael told him that she was jockeying for his place on the raft. He tells her that he knows why she wants to go, and susses that she’s the fugitive the marshall was accompanying. She turns away. He correctly assesses that her only chance of running is to get on the raft, instead of getting rescued on the island. He tells her no way is she getting his spot. She says if she wants it, she’ll get it. 

Back at the raft, Michael takes a drink from a bottle of water Walt hands him. Walt asks about the argument with Sawyer, and being sure that they’re going to come back for the others. Michael suddenly feels ill. Walt panicks and runs off for Jack. 

Walt happens upon Sun and Kate, and tells them what’s going on. Sun goes back with Walt, Kate runs off to find Jack. 

At the hatch, Jack asks Locke why he hasn’t told anyone. Locke says he used his judgement, comparing his decision to Jack’s decision to hide the gun case. Jack asks how the hatch gets opened. Sayid protests, saying it should be buried, and asserting that it was never intended to be opened from the outside.  

On their way back, Kate catches up to Jack and tells him about Michael. 

Beach. Jack looks over Michael, asking him questions about what’s wrong. Walt looks on, scared, and Kate tends to him. 

--flashback— 

Kate’s in Tom’s house. She’s looking at pics of Tom’s wife and baby. She asks about them. He says his wife is in Cedar Rapids, visiting her parents. Tom tells Kate that he arranged for Diane’s appointments to be shifted, and they have about three hours. Kate asks if “it” is still there. Tom says it’s the middle of the night.

They drive out to the middle of nowhere, and park under a tree. Kate marches out a location and starts digging.

Back on the beach, Locke asks Jack what might be happening. Jack says Jin is on the same diet as Michael, and notes that whatever it was hit Michael fast. He paws through their water bottle stash and comes up with one with residue at the bottom.

--commercial break—

Jack tends to Michael, and switches water bottles with him. Michael realizes someone must have done this to him. He thinks it’s Sawyer. Locke is questioning Hurley about who’s been filling the water. Hurley tells Jack about Kate wanting on the raft. Locke wonders why. Hurley mentions Kate’s fugitive thing, not realizing Locke didn’t know.

Encampment. Charlie is playing his guitar, writing a song while Claire cuts his hair and Turniphead sleeps. Charlie asks her what she’s going to do when they get rescued and offers that she and the baby can stay with him.

Caves. Kate approaches Jack, asking how Michael is. Jack says he’ll be fine. Kate asks if someone is going to take his place on the raft. Jack interrupts her to ask if she poisoned Michael. She asks if Jack really thinks she’s capable of that. He says he doesn’t know what she’s capable of.

--flashback—

Kate pauses in her digging when Tom brings out beer. He says it’s not fair for her to be home. She hits paydirt and finds a metal NKOTB lunchbox. Inside it are several time capsule type items, including Tom’s toy plane. Kate finds a tape, labeled “Kate and Tom, 1989.” They sit in the car and play the tape. On it are two young voices—theirs-- on August 15^th, 1989 talking about their time capsules, and their relationship and their future. Young Kate says as soon as she can, she wants to run away. Young Tom says she always wants to run away. Young Kate tells him he knows why. In the car, Tom stops the tape. He says it’s funny how things turn out. They look at each other and kiss. Kate says she’s sorry. Tom says they’d best get to the hospital, and they drive off.

Caves. Locke is tending to a wound on his leg. Walt watches and asks what happened. Locke just says he injured it, and asks if Walt wants something. Walt tells him that he didn’t do it. He didn’t poison his dad. Locke says he knows Walt wouldn’t do that, and grabs his arm gently. Suddenly, Walt panicks, and tells Locke, “Don’t open it! Don’t open that thing!” and runs off, leaving Locke bewildered.

--commercial break—

Beach. Sawyer tosses a bottle of Pepto to Michael. Michael says Sawyer is off the raft, accusing him of poisoning him, and making allusions to his criminal activities.

Sawyer is incensed, and stalks over to Kate, dragging her over to the others, who are around, watching Michael. Sawyer grabs Kate’s backpack and dumps it out. He finds the ID she was burning. It was Joanna’s. He tells Michael Kate would do anything to get on the raft. A crowd gathers. Kate tries to get him to shut up.

--flashback—

Hospital. Tom brings a patient on a gurney out to a hallway where Kate is waiting. He walks off to leave her alone with the patient, who is groggy. Kate looks at her for a moment, and then says “hi, Mom” and tries to wake her up. She wakes up, looking at Kate. Kate cries, and takes her hand. She says she’s sorry for what she’s put her through. Her mom stares back, still out of it, and starting to cry, then she starts calling for help. Kate drops her hand and panicks, running off when a staffer comes down the hall. Security comes and grabs Kate. She punches him. Tom comes out, asking what’s happening. She says she needs his car keys. They run out to the garage and get in his car. She drives to the garage entrance, only to find it blocked by the police. She stops, and tells Tom to get out. He refuses. She guns the car and breaks through the barrier. A police officer shoots through the windshield. She crashes into the police car. She looks over and sees that Tom has been shot. Sirens grow louder, and she realizes she can’t stay. She gets out of the car and runs off.

Back on the beach, Sawyer insists that Kate tell the others the truth. She tells them that yes, she was the fugitive, and that she’ll be going to jail if they go back. But she insists that she didn’t poison Michael. The crowd turns away from her and leaves. She sinks to the sand, looking at the contents of her backpack strewn around, including the toy plane.

--commercial break—

Sun looks on as the raft gets worked on. Jack approaches her. He mentions that Jin looks determined, and says he knows she doesn’t want him to go, and asks if that’s why she tried to make him sick. He realizes it’s easy for the water bottles to have gotten mixed up. She says she didn’t want him to die out there. She didn’t know what else to do, and that she wasn’t trying to hurt him, only using enough to make him sick. She asks Jack to not tell the others. He agrees, but tells her that Jin is definitely going, and that she should say goodbye.

Evening. Kate is alone by a fire. Sawyer approaches her, saying he’s back on the raft, and tells her they set sail tomorrow. She asks if he’s there to apologize. He says no, and says she cornered him. She asks why it’s so important for him to be on the raft. He says because there isn’t anything on the island worth staying for. She’s quiet for a moment, and then tells him to be safe. He walks away.

By the raft, Walt comes over to where Michael is resting. He tells Michael that he’s the one who burned the raft, and explains why he did it. Michael says it’s okay, and they can stay if they want to, that they don’t have to go. Walt gets a strange look on his face and says yes, they do.

Sun approaches Kate, and says Jack knows, and that she didn’t tell him it was Kate’s idea. Kate notes that Jack is good at keeping secrets. Sun says that when she was a little girl she believed that once she found the man she loved, she’d be happy forever. Kate sighs, and agrees.

--end episode 22--