Lost and its characters belong to JJ Abrams, Bad Robot and The Others. Kate recounts to Jack the story he told her. Written for my friends on the Jater Couch on the Fuselage -- possible season three spoilers.
Lost - Counting to Five
by Mystic
November 9th 2006
Kate ran. She ran with the rain on her face and Sawyer at her back; one urging her back, the other pushing her forward. She cried, her eyes so full she could barely see the steps she was taking and when she collapsed onto the sandy beach she felt numb.
She held the walkie talkie up to her lips and they trembled as she pressed the button and called out his name. It felt like betrayal. It was a cold cloud seeping into her chest and she gasped for air just waiting.
"Tell me the story," he replied after a moment.
"I'm safe." She shook her head, her eyes staring into the sand.
"Tell me. The story." He spoke cautiously, anxiously and she nodded at nothing.
"You were in residency. First solo procedure." Kate took a breath and she closed her eyes and she could see him on that beach, hear the waves crashing softly behind him and she remembered the terror inside of her then. This man, this person she'd never met, he'd given her – without question – the one thing she never thought she'd earn: trust.
"Who was she?" Jack asked, and now Kate could hear concentration in his voice, as though he were working on something. His mind steadied by her words.
"16 year old kid. A girl," Kate gave a short laugh, hearing him echo it. "At the end, you ripped her… the…" she pressed her fingers to her nose and somehow the word escaping her mind felt like betrayal too. It was just a stupid word, she should remember it. For him, she should remember anything.
"Dural sack," he offered quietly and she heard something clinking, something metal.
"The nerves spilled out of her like angel hair pasta." She laughed, half sobbing.
"That you remember." He dead-panned.
She wiped at her nose with her finger, "It created a pretty good mental picture."
He chuckled and she could hear him sniffle, heard Juliet say his name and she listened to the manic beeping slow and balance itself. Kate heard him say 'clamp' and she understood – as long as she kept going, he kept going – so she took another breath.
"You were terrified, but you had to fix… you had to deal with it." Kate huffed out a ragged breath. "So you made a choice. Five seconds. That's all you would give it." She felt her lungs constricting painfully. "One," she started, hearing Jack say it with her, in time with her until her five was barely a whisper and his was a strong solid word.
Kate sat in silence, listening, waiting for his voice again. She heard Sawyer breathing not far from her.
"You went back to work, sewed her up and she was fine." She smiled, her hand clasping down on her left knee before she started to cry. "Why did you…" she cried out.
"You're safe, you're ok," Jack responded.
The walkie talkie in her hand went dead and she looked up, staring out at the other island across the water and she dropped her head into her hands, the walkie talkie falling silently into the sand.