I just want to clarify that the so called "spoilers" featured in this fic came from the offical abc press release for episode 4.10, so it's nothing that you can't read in the tv guide. I don't even know what happens to Jack, because that mystery is what the episode is about, not the fact that he's sick, or the developments in his relationships with Juliet and Kate. Since this takes place after "The Other Woman", I was more interested in how Kate and Juliet would react to each other and Jack, and the feelings the situation would bring out.

SECOND PLACE

"I don't get it," Jack complained to Juliet, running his fingers through his hair as they watched Daniel carry out another one of his cryptic experiments, while Charlotte stood by clocking him with a stopwatch.

It was a new day on the island – almost the New Year – and they were still in limbo, waiting for someone to invite them onboard the freighter.

"They told us they were gonna recuse us. So why is it taking so long?"

His voice faltered as he wiped the sweat from his brow with his wrist, and glancing over at him, Juliet saw that his usually tanned face had paled to almost the same grey as his shirt. "Jack? Are you okay?" she asked him, frowning when she noted for the first time how worn he looked. He was so focused on the rescue that he wasn't taking care of himself. When was the last time she'd seen him sleep? Or eat? She couldn't remember, which wasn't a good sign. "Maybe you should try to relax…"

"There'll be plenty of time for all of us to relax once we're on that boat," he assured her, deflecting her question, but as he took the satellite phone out of the his back pocket to check the display for what she was sure must have been the tenth time in the last hour, she noticed that his hands were shaking. "Right now I'd feel better if we heard from Sayid."

He stared out to sea in the direction that the freighter was docked, as if hoping that it might tell him why they'd lost contact with their friends for the second time in less than a week.

"You know what? I'm gonna ask them again, and this time I'm not leaving until I get an answer," he told her after a moment, his tone resolute, but as he started towards them, his knees buckled, and if Juliet hadn't been there to catch him, he would have tumbled face first into the sand.

"Jack, you really need to lie down," she warned him, struggling to lift him back to his feet.

He shook his head with a stubborn look, setting his jaw. "I promised them that if they came with me, I would get them off this island," he argued, but he almost fell again when he tried to stand without her support.

"And that's exactly why you need to rest," she reminded him, hoping to appeal to his sense of reason, but that wasn't the side of him that was in control.

He was off again before she could stop him, stumbling through the sand, slumping under the weight of each step. He wasn't going to make it. If he kept going, he was going to collapse.

"Jack!" she cried, scurrying after him, her voice so high and panicked that it attracted the attention of everyone on the beach, including Kate, who was coming from the opposite direction with Sun.

Her smile disappeared when she saw him and her green eyes widened with alarm; shooting a brief glance at the Korean woman, she jogged over to meet them, reaching him just as Juliet did.

"Jack?" Her voice was soft and tentative as she tried to get his attention. "Jack, look at me."

She cupped the sides of his face in her palms, pressing her thumbs into his cheeks, but when he couldn't seem to focus, she shifted her hands to his shoulders instead, turning to Juliet for an explanation. "What happened? What's wrong with him?"

"He hasn't slept in days, he's probably dehydrated…" Juliet told her, irritated that until that moment, she seemed oblivious to what rough shape he was in.

She'd known for a long time that he was in love with her, and that Kate was supposed to have feelings for him too, yet she'd spent all that time over at the barracks with Sawyer and Locke, breaking Jack's heart; not for the first time. It made her wonder what it was about her. On the surface, she came across as self-absorbed, flighty and reckless: his polar opposite in every way.

Maybe that was it. Maybe that difference was the reason that he seemed to want her so badly.

"He's been so busy with the rescue – he hasn't taken any time for himself since he made that call."

"Well we'll just have to make him," Kate insisted, her expression grim, and to her surprise, Juliet saw a flicker of fear there. She wasn't sure what it meant, other than that she was concerned about him, but it made her chest tighten when she thought of the way he kissed her outside the chemical station and swore that he wasn't afraid of Ben.

Jack's eyes were starting to glaze over; Kate ducked under his arm, motioning for Juliet to go the same. "Get his other side, would you?"

Her voice had taken on a harsh, authoritative tone that Juliet had never heard before; too stunned to think of a response, she did as she instructed, draping his other arm over her shoulders.

Even thought Kate was smaller, she managed to take on the bulk of Jack's weight, steering him back on course with a gentle but firm tug whenever he tried to veer off of it, back towards Charlotte and Daniel.

Unlike Juliet, who was used to dealing with patients who wanted her help, she didn't seem fazed by his protests, shutting them down or just ignoring them outright as she guided him through the flap of his tent and onto the bed.

"I told you, I'm fine. I don't need to rest – what I need is for someone to tell me what the hell is going on," he complained as she peeled off his boats and set them aside, but he was too weak to push her off as she braced a hand against each of his shoulders, forcing him to lie back.

"No, you need to take it easy, or Naomi won't be the only one they have to carry out of here on a stretcher," she told him, brushing his forehead with her palm.

It was like she'd done this all before, and she probably had, Juliet reflected.

Kate had been in his life for three months before Ben arranged to have them kidnapped, for that exact reason; that was three more months than Juliet had had to get to know him, and learn how to handle him when he wasn't at his best.

They had a kind of shorthand – a silent understanding – that Juliet was afraid she and Jack would never reach, especially if things went to plan, and he managed to get them all rescued.

"He's burning up," Kate announced as she took her hand back. "We need to try to get his fever down."

She sat back on her heels, surveying the tent, frowning when her eyes landed on a collection of bottles, most of which were empty. Those that weren't weren't far from it. "Damnit," she muttered, picking one up and holding it out Juliet. "Can you get him some water?"

With everything else that was happening, Juliet hadn't been able to pin Jack down long enough for them to discuss the status of their relationship, but something told her that as the only other doctor on the island, and the closest thing he had to a significant other, she should have been the one staying with him while Kate fetched her things.

"Juliet!"

She started at the sound of her name, realising that while she was watching Jack, Kate was eyeing her, waiting for her to spring into action.

"He needs water! Now!"

Part of her – the part that was mean-spirited and selfish, and jealous of the history that she shared with him – wanted to tell her about the second kiss that she wasn't privy too, and explain to her why she should get it herself, but Kate had already shifted her attention back to Jack, easing his shoulders up off the mattress so that she could strip him down to the waist.

He was still out of it, but not so much that her tenderness was lost on him; the corners of his mouth turned up into a slight smile as he kept his eyes fixed on her face.

She returned his smile as she balled his shirt up and slid it beneath his head, murmuring something that soothed him enough for him to lie back, and while Juliet didn't catch the words from her place by the door, the affection in her tone, and her expression, was unmistakable.

And so was Jack's happiness at seeing how much she still cared about him.

Juliet couldn't even tell if he knew that she was still there: he hadn't asked for her or acknowledged her presence since they entered the tent. He only seemed to have eyes for Kate.

As Juliet slipped unnoticed onto the beach, it struck her that the truth couldn't have been any clearer than it was at that moment. Jack might have kissed her of his own volition, and vowed to protect her from Ben, but despite his noblest efforts to convince himself that he did, he would never love her: not like he loved Kate. She would always come first where he was concerned.

The most Juliet could ever hope for was second place.