For the World
Kate's got stomach cramps and they're driving her insane. Jack manages to lend a helping hand as usual, and helps her to realise something else along the way.
Kate grimaced as another wave of pain hit her. Leaning against a nearby tree, she placed a hand on her stomach, composing herself before she tried to attempt walking again. The fire in her lower stomach was pounding against her, making it extremely difficult for her to stand up straight, let alone walk, especially seeing as the same pressure was loading steadily onto her back as well. If she bend down to far to ease the ache in her stomach, her back hurt, and vice versa. She hadn't even considered eating breakfast that morning, and knew that she wouldn't be able to keep food down that day.
She had always suffered with strong stomach cramps around the time of her period, ever since she was thirteen. Strangely, after fourteen years of them, they hadn't eased up at all. Usually, she had some medication with her, which had run out as soon as she had gone on the run. Sometimes, Tom mailed her some to a secure place, but after his death, he couldn't do that anymore. So she was subjected once a month to agonising pains that made her want to curl up into a ball and die. She did have one remaining bottle of medication that she kept with her for extreme cases, but she had lost it in the crash, and as far as she could tell, Sawyer hadn't put it with the rest of his stash. This was one of those extreme cases.
For the better part of the morning, she had been in her shelter, until people started coming to see if she was Ok. She had called through the tarp to them that she was fine, but it was Claire who came in and saw her balled up with a pale expression and had worried. Claire thought that she should get Jack, but Kate assured her that it was just cramps and that she would be fine in a few hours. When Claire persisted, Kate got up, and went for a walk to prove her point. It had hurt, but the cramping had eased a little, which is when her back started to ache. Claire advised her to talk to Jack when he brought the water down, and within a few minutes, Jack had arrived on the beach.
As soon as Kate saw him, she disappeared into the jungle. If there was one person she didn't want to see right now, it was Jack. She started to make her way to the caves, knowing that he would he wouldn't be there again for the better part of the day, but it was taking her much longer than usual, because she was having to support herself with the trees. Just when she thought the cramping couldn't get any worse, unable to support her own weight anymore, she reached the open field.
Sighing, she let herself fall to the ground, defeated. She knew that the only way she would be able to make it across that field was if she crawled it, and she was too proud for that. Instead, she brought her knees up to her chest, wrapped her arms around her stomach tightly, and rested her head atop her knees. She gave in completely, letting herself cry. She didn't know why she was crying, it was probably the hormones making her emotional, but it was helping as a release. She hated feeling this weak, and knowing that without her medicine, there was nothing she could do about it. The person she hadn't wanted to see had now become the person that she needed most. Jack would know how to stop the pain.
She didn't hear the approaching footsteps or the nearing person saying her name in a confused manner as they got closer to her, becuase her sobs blocked it. She didn't know someone else was there until she felt arms on her shoulders. Looking up, she saw that the person she had been longing for was now sitting on the ground beside her, facing her. His eyebrows were knitted together tightly, frowning at the sight of her crying but the compassion in his eye was exactly what she needed.
"Jack.." She muttered weakly, her voice thick from the tears, and he moved his hands from her shoulders so that he could place his arms around her. She leaned into him, her legs still drawn up, and let him hold her.
"Hey," He said softly, his voice like that of someone comforting a crying child. "Hey, what's the matter?"
She looked up at him, wiping her eyes. "Nothing." She said simply. "I'm Ok now." But her mind was screaming otherwise. She knew that she should just tell him, because he was a doctor, and there was the doctor patient confidentiality, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it.
"Kate, you're anything but Ok." He noticed instantly. "Look at you, you're paler than a sheet." He observed, and put his hand on her forehead. "You're warm as well." He said, his eyes becoming even more concerned. "Why didn't you tell me you felt sick?"
"I didn't know until this morning." She said.
"Why didn't you come and see me when I was at the beach?" He asked. "I would have given you something."
"You don't have what I need." She told him. "I lost it in the crash."
"Kate, if you have medication that you need to be taking..." He started but she cut him off.
"I don't need to take it all the time. Just when I need it." She said.
"What is it?" He asked her, but she didn't answer him. "If you tell me what it is, I might be able to improvise." He said convincingly.
"I can't remember." She lied, putting her head back down on top of her knees. Jack's hands were still around her.
"What are they for?" He asked again.
"Jack, it doesn't matter now." She said, her voice muffled by her arms. "The pain will be gone in the morning." She realised her mistake in admitting she was in pain, and didn't have to look up to see that Jack was instantly more concerned.
"You're in pain? Kate-?" He asked, but she shook her head.
"It'll be gone in the morning, I've just got to ride it out." She repeated. She found herself wondering why she didn't want Jack, her best friend, to know what was wrong when he could so easily cure it? They knew everything about each other, as it had all come out into the open one day. She had told him about what her crime was, about Tom, and about her real father, and in return, he had told her about Sarah leaving him, his father, and his work-a-holic attitude.
Jack sighed at her stubborness, and his hands travelled up and down her back, eventually settling on the lower part of it, stroking it gently. Immediatly, he noticed the difference as she seemed to collapse against herself, letting out a sigh. Something triggered in his memory.
"Cramps." He said out loud.
Kate raised her head. "What?"
"The medication is for stomach cramps?" He guessed.
Kate sighed, and nodded, having been caught out. She should have known better than to try and hide it from a doctor. "However did you guess?" She muttered sarcastically, but Jack knew there was no bitterness directed at him.
"How long until you are due?" He asked.
Kate blushed, glad that he couldn't see her blushing. "Two days, give or take." She said.
He kept his hand rubbing at her back, watching as bit by bit, she eased up a little more. "Sarah, she suffered from them too." He revealed quietly. "Every month she was just confined to bed for a day or two whilst she got over them. Sometimes it got to the point where they were so strong that her medication just didn't work, and she was in agony. We managed to find another way to ease the pains though." He told Kate.
"Please tell me you have a hot water bottle?" She said in a pained voice.
"Sorry, no, there might be one in the hatch." He said, "But I've got the next best thing."
"Chocolate?"
"Okay, third best thing." He said with a laugh.
"What was it?" Kate asked, ready to try just about anything at that moment.
"Turn around, I'll show you." He instructed, and Kate shuffed around so that her back was facing him.
Jack edged forward placing his legs either side of her, he placed one hand on her back, but when he went to put his other hand on her front, he found that her legs were blocking him out.
"Kate," He said softly, leaning in closely. "I can't do this with your legs up." He told her.
"It doesn't hurt as much like this, though." She reasoned.
"Please, Kate, let me help you?" He asked her, and slowly, she stretched her legs out before her.
With better access now, Jack placed his other hand on her lower stomach. She leaned her head back on his shoulder, but not as much so that his hand on her back was crushed. That hand continued to rub her back, easing the pain, and his other began to rub small circles against her stomach. Lack of food recently meant that her jeans had become that little bit looser around her hips, so Jack managed to get away with sneaking his hand about an inch below her belt. She tensed up at his touch going lower, but when she found that he had found the exact spot to make his massage work, she completely forgot about where his hand was.
He continued rubbing small yet firm circles against her stomach, trying to loosen it up. "Kate," He began, awkwardly. "We've been here for a little over three months." He said, and she nodded in agreement. "Was it this bad the last time as well?" He asked.
"And the time before that." She confirmed.
Jack frowned, "Why didn't you come to me sooner?"
"I didn't come to you at all, Jack, you came to me." She pointed out.
He sighed, she was right. Would she even have said anything at all if he hadn't come across her? He thanked Claire for the hint that something was wrong with Kate. She hadn't told him what was wrong, only that something was wrong and she had taken off on the path to the caves. "I could have helped you, Kate." He told her. "I could have found you something, a painkiller, anything to help with the pain."
"I know." She said sadly. "I just..."
"Stubborn little thing, aren't you." He mused, and subconsciously placed a kiss on her forehead. Neither of them thought any more of it than a simple friendship kiss, no different from the kiss on the cheek they would give as a greeting in the morning, or one before they parted for the night.
"I can't help it." She shrugged.
"How did you deal with the pain last time?" He asked her.
"Umm..." She trailed off. "I didn't. It kinda dealt with me." She revealed, knowing that he wasn't going to like that. After all, he was a doctor, and her friend.
"Were you sick?" He asked.
"I threw up a couple of times." She said, there was no point lying anymore. She may as well just tell him now. That way, if they were still on the island next month, she would be able to go to him a lot more easily.
Jack sighed heavily again. As the pain in her back subsided almost completely, Kate sat up more, then settled back completely against Jack's chest. With use of both of his hands now, Jack continued his massage on her stomach. Already the pain felt more bearable. After a few more minutes in silence, Kate spoke up.
"How do you do it, Jack?" She asked. "I can put pressure on my stomach until the cows come home but it never works like this does."
"The key isn't in the pressure." He told her gently. "It's in the warmth it creates. The movement over your stomach heats it up, and works in the same way a hot water bottle would, only with more pressure." He said, remembering doing this for Sarah when he wasn't at work and she was in pain.
"So, if it gets bad again, I should just do this?" She checked.
"Yeah." Jack said with a nod. "If it doesn't work, it's because your body heat that comes from your hands is always going to be the same as in your stomach, and it might need an outside source emitting the same heat." He told her.
"Meaning...?"
"Meaning that you should come and find me, or send someone else to get me, and I'll lend a helping hand." He said with a smile.
"But, you're always so busy." She protested.
"Never too busy for you." He told her, with another kiss to the top of her head. "And I mean it, Kate. If it hurts, even if its in the middle of the night, come and get me. I don't care what I'm doing, or anything else, just, come and get me, because I hate the idea of you being in pain and just suffering it."
Hearing just how much he really did care, Kate gave a smile. "Ok."
"Promise me?"
"I promise." She said, nodding.
Thunder sounded far off in the distance, and Jack looked up above the field beside them, noticing the dark sky in the distance. They probably had about half an hour until it hit them. "Kate, it's going to storm soon." He told her. "Think you can make it back to the beach?"
"Honestly? No." She shook her head. "Not before the storm hits. It took me an hour to get out this far to start with."
"If we go in the other direction, we can get to the hatch." He told her.
"I'm on duty tonight anyway." She told him. "I was meant to be there before sundown."
"You're not on duty anymore." He corrected. "You need rest."
"Jack, I'm fine." She said, as he helped her onto her feet. She still found herself in pain, and although it wasn't as bad as before due to Jack's wonderful hands, she still couldn't walk all to well. He noticed her wince and lean forward with her hands on her knees.
"Kate, you're not fine." He said.
"But the hatch-"
"We'll go to the hatch." He assured her, bringing her arm around his shoulders as if to help her walk. "And once we get there you're going to eat, lay down, and rest." He said. "I'll take care of everything else."
She nodded, and she started in the direction of the hatch. Jack had other ideas, and put one arm under her knees, and another around her back as he lifted her back into his arms. "Jack-"
"We need to get there before it rains." He said. "Otherwise you're going to burn up even more."
Without any more arguement, Kate allowed him to carry her to the hatch, if only for the fact that they did need to get there before it rained. She had to admit she was comfortable. She loved the moments when she was in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck, securing them tightly as she closed her eyes again him. "Jack?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks." She mumbled.
He smiled. He leaned down to give her another kiss, meaning to catch her forehead as he had done before, but at the same time, she lifted her face to smile at him, and he caught her lips instead. Strangely, his lip lingered there before pulling back slowly, and he found that he had stopped walking. Kate's eyes were closed, but when they opened, she looked up at him with the look he hadn't been expecting. He had expected awkwardness, or embarrasment; he was sure his eyes showed the slip up, but instead, her eyes were filled with an inviting look which caused him to lower his lips to her again.
Although this wasn't their first kiss, the magic that jumped between their clashing lips could easily had fooled them into thinking otherwise. Kate parted her lips, allowing him to deepen the kiss, and she let out a gentle moan as his tongue danced alongside hers, exploring her mouth. Her moan spurred him on more, and he continued to kiss her until they both were fighting for breath. He lifted his lips from hers once again, looking down on her with such emotion in his eyes that was reflected equally in her own. She leaned up, starting the kiss this time, and this time it was gentle, slower, and more controlled. Kate hated her stomach cramps, but right now, she wouldn't change them for the world. Jack's lips worshipped her own until the sound of a voice broke them apart.
"Kate! Dude! There you are!"
They broke apart, and they turned in the direction of Hurley who was walking towards them.
"We've been looking all over for you, and Claire said you were most likely with Jack so..." Hurley lapsed into silence as he took a double take at what was right infront of his eyes. Jack holding Kate in his arms, almost protectively, and both of them were breathing rather heavily. "..you guys were just kissing and stuff weren't you?" Hurley realised, a strange look over his face.
Jack and Kate looked at each other. "Uhh...yeah." Jack said. "Yeah, we were."
"Not the pathetic goodnight ones that you usually give each other?" He checked.
"No." Jack said, shaking his head, and smiling at Kate.
"You mean, you guys just kissed properly. Like, for real?"
"I sure hope it was for real." Jack said. "Otherwise my imagination's got some explaining to do." Kate decided not to answer any of Hurley's questions, because she was having too much fun watching Jack struggle with them.
"Like, love, real?"
"Love real?" Kate asked, taking back her decision.
"You know, are you guys not denying it anymore?"
"Denying what, Hurley?" Jack laughed.
"That you love each other!" Both of them stared blankly at him. "Oh geez. You're still denying it." He said, and waved a hand in the air, then shouted back as he started to leave. "By the way, Locke's wating in the hatch for you to take him off his shift!"
Kate and Jack laughed to themselves as Hurley disappeared off down the path towards the beach. Kate shook her head. "Are we denying anything?" She asked.
"It seems like everyone else thinks we are." Jack said, shaking his head.
"Let them think that." Kate said. "For once in my life I don't care what people think." She said, and Jack kissed her again.
"We'd better get back to the hatch before Locke catches us as well." Jack said. "And if he doesn't, this storm sure will."
They set off towards the hatch, and about halfway into their fifteen minute journey, Kate's cramps started returning. She didn't say anything to Jack, but he knew from the deep frown she had on her face, and the way that her eyes were tightly shut. He assured her that they were almost there, and she nodded, tightening her arms around his neck, and he walked a little faster.
Once they got there, Kate was near enough in agony again. Every few seconds, she would give a tiny moan that never left her throat. She seemed to be in more pain that when he found her before. Locke greeted them when they walked into the living room area.
"Hi, Jack, why are - Kate?" He spotted the painstricken Kate in Jack's arms and followed Jack curiously over to the bunk beds. As he lay Kate down, Jack turned to Locke.
"Is there a hot water bottle in this place?" He asked Locke.
"I think so, in the bathroom."
"Can you bring it in here, and a towel?" He asked, and Locke wandered off to find it.
Jack unlatched Kate's arms from around his neck, and lay her back on the bunk bed. She had broken into a sweat again, and was still frowning with her eyes closed. Jack brought his hand to her forehead, sweeping away her hair. "It's getting worse, isn't it?"
"I lied." She said simply. "About the name of my medicine. I do know what it's called." She said, almost through gritted teeth.
"Oh, Kate..." Jack said. "What is it?"
"Mefanamic acid." She said quickly. "I had a bottle of pills on the plane with me, and I had about half of the bottle left, but I lost it in the crash."
"Wait here a second." Jack said, kissing her forehead quickly and then going over to the medicine cabinet. Locke walked into the room with the towel and hot water bottle. "Thanks, John." He said, taking it from him and putting it to one side for the moment.
He didn't manage to find the exact bottle of pills she needed, but he did find a strong enough painkiller that would ease her discomfort to some extent. He got a glass of water, and took it all over with him.
"Kate?" She opened her eyes at him. "I've got some painkillers. It's not the ones you need, I'm sorry, but it's strong enough to help." She nodded, and sat up a little to swallow them.
After she had done, she lay back down on her side. Jack wrapped the hot water bottle in the towel, knowing that through her thin t-shirt and with the heat of the hot water bottle itself, it would burn her otherwise, and then he placed it against her lower stomach, where he knew the pain was. When she realised that he had actually gotten her a hot water bottle, she smiled at him.
"Thank you." She said.
"You just get some rest, okay?" He said softly, and, forgetting Locke was in the room, he continued to lean over her, caressing her back softly because he knew that it was hurting as much as her stomach was.
"Okay. You're staying with me?" She asked quietly.
"I'm not going anywhere." He assured her, and leaned to give her a kiss on the forehead. "Just try to sleep, you won't feel the pain then." He said, and she nodded, laying her head down on its side and sighing against the pillow. "I love you, Kate."
Four weeks later, Kate got pains again, and again it was Claire who found her almost writing in pain on the floor of her shelter.
"Kate! What's wrong?" Claire asked, going to her side.
"Cramps." She muttered weakly.
"You want me to-"
"-get Jack." Kate finished for her with a tiny laugh. "He made me promise after last time."
Claire went to send another survivor to get Jack from the caves, and then went back to Kate, sitting beside her on the sand. Somehow, it was only a few minutes until Jack arrived in Kate's shelter. It turned out that he was only down the beach tending to someone else anyway, and once someone told him that Kate was in pain and needed him, he had quickly dashed off to the other side of the camp. Straight away, Jack went to her side.
"It's not working." Kate said simply. "I tried to stop them myself, like you said, but it's not working."
"It's alright." Jack said, smoothing her hair and giving her a kiss. "We'll get through this together again, Okay?"
Kate nodded, and Claire made herself scarce as Jack positioned himself behind Kate, and began massaging her stomach rythmically. Then she decided to call back out to Kate.
"Kate?" Kate looked over at Claire tiredly. "Does that really work?" She asked, notioning to what Jack was doing.
"More than anything." Kate said, snuggling into Jack even more, and Claire disappeared. "Sorry to call you away from your patient." Kate said simply.
"Don't worry about it." He said, kissing her on the lips this time. "In a choice between you and David, I think it's safe to say that I'm going to pick you." He said, bringing a smile to her lips.
"You know, it's ridiculous how much I love you." Kate said with a weak laugh, "But I wouldn't change it for the world."