Those of you who know me from my other accounts will know that I rarely ever do multi-chapter stories, but I've decided to give it another shot. If I do continue (and I only will if you guys want it) it will probably be 3 or 4 chapters at most. And you'll probably also know that I, for some unexplainable reason, love to torture my favorite characters. And with the 3rd Hunger Games book coming out soon (the same day as Season 6!), I guess I had torturing in my mind. (Sorry Jack!) As usual, two geniuses named Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse own everything.
NOTE: The names of the drugs are 100% made up. Well, maybe not 100%. I did Google some things for Rocephin, but Sodium Pentothal was just because it sounded cool and I'd heard it somewhere before.
...
4 8 15 16 23 42. Kate hit Execute and the clock flipped back to 108. She rubbed her forehead, cursing the button for what seemed like the 100th time. She hated being on shift, but at the same time she didn't want to find out what happened if the button didn't get pushed. So, she continued to help Locke out, despite Jack's very vocal hatred of the whole situation. She glanced up as the clock flipped to 107 and decided to take a little break in the chair. She'd gotten maybe 2 hours of sleep last night and figured a couple minutes of rest wouldn't hurt.
Kate awoke to the hatch door crashing open and shouting voices bursting though it. She sat up quickly. How long had she been out? The clock now read 23, and Kate inwardly scolded herself for sleeping for so long. The noises grew louder, voices shouting her name. Sayid, Locke and…Juliet? Kate was up in an instant, rushing towards the group. And what she saw made her stop dead in her tracks and stare. It was Jack, limp in Sayid's arms. Blood was covering the Iraqi but Kate couldn't tell where it was coming from. Juliet, Locke and Charlie ran alongside him, Juliet administering medical care and questioning Sayid and Locke while Charlie hovered curiously along the edges, asking questions but getting no responses. Only small phrases drifted into Kate's consciousness. "The Others", "shot in the leg", "broken ribs".
Jack had been taken by The Others 3 weeks ago. Kate had taken off with Sawyer and Sayid, combing the jungle for a week and a half until they'd been forced to return to camp. Once there, Kate and Sayid had been in the process of making an actual plan for getting Jack back, but Locke had insisted they think everything through before racing off into the jungle again. If Kate was being completely honest with herself, she had been getting quite annoyed at Locke's constant thinking. It was slowing her down when all she wanted to do was find Jack and bring him home safe. But none of that was relevant now, because Sayid and Locke had managed to do Just that. They had left 2 days ago to check out a spot where The Others might possibly live, and had not allowed Kate to come. "You need rest", they'd said, "We'll be back soon". But any frustration Kate had towards them had disappeared when she saw Jack in Sayid's arms.
"Kate!" Juliet snapped, bringing Kate back down to Earth. Sayid was now entering the bunk bed room, the other 3 following him closely. Kate rushed over to them, tears filling her eyes. Sayid laid him down on the bed, as lifeless as a rag doll. Kate faintly could hear Charlie being pushed out of the room by Locke, while Sayid answered Juliet's never-ending questions.
"Jack" She whispered, kneeling at his side while the others rushed around, from room to room gathering medical supplies for Juliet and exiling Charlie to button duty. The bleeding was coming from his thigh, Kate could now tell, a bullet wound most likely. She took his hand in both of hers and stroked it.
"He was just sitting in the jungle, barely awake." Sayid was retelling the story to Juliet, who was only half listening. "Juliet!" He shouted to get her attention. Juliet paused and looked up at Sayid, waiting for him to continue. "On the way back, before he passed out, he told me about his injuries. He said he had a few broken ribs, and that his leg needed to be reset-it's broken-, said he needed some drug… Rocephin. He said it was very important that I remember, that he'd die if he didn't get it."
"John, could you get me some Rocephin. It's in the 2nd drawer from the top in the-"
"But, the 2nd drawer had a spill last week. Sodium Pentothal was leaking everywhere. It got into the Rocephin and a few other drugs." Locke explained.
"Shit" Juliet muttered under her breath, all the while attending to Jack's leg.
"What?" Kate asked. "What's Sodium…?"
"Sodium Pentothal. You might know it as "truth serum," Juliet explained quickly.
"No, no, we can't do that to him." Kate was quick to defend Jack, but Juliet shook her head.
"He's right; he needs Rocephin to fight the infection. He'll die, Kate. We don't even know how much spilled. He might not get any, or just a little bit and-"
"And if he does?" Kate asked.
"Then…" Juliet searched for the right words. "He's going to be a little too honest for a day or so."
"No, I'm not letting you do that to him." Kate continued to shake her head stubbornly, the volume of her voice rising as she spoke. "You know that's considered torture in most countries! We're not-"
She was cut off by a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Kate, I agree with Juliet. We need to do what's best for him, even if it means giving him a little truth serum." Sayid told her in his calm, accented voice.
Locke, who had remained fairly quiet during this argument, spoke up. "They're right. Kate, we don't have any other choice."
Kate opened her mouth to speak but they were all interrupted by a moan from Jack. Instantly, Kate and Juliet were at his side. "Jack? Jack, it's me. It's Kate."
Jack struggled to open his eyes and focus on her. "Kate?" He asked softly.
Before she could answer, Sayid was handing her a wooden stick. "Give him this. Put it in his mouth." Kate looked down at Juliet, who was at Jack's leg now, ready to reset it.
"Jack," Kate said gently, stroking his hair, "Jack, this is going to hurt. So, I need to you bite on this, ok?" She carefully put it into place. But Jack didn't seem to understand what was going on and did not like this new, wood-tasting stick that was being forced into his mouth. Kate took up his hand again, giving it a little squeeze. "Squeeze my hand when it hurts, ok Sweetheart?"
Before Jack had time to respond or even realize what was happening, Kate nodded to Juliet, giving her the OK. Juliet gave his leg a sharp twist and pull and Jack screamed out in pain. Biting down hard on the stick and squeezed Kate's hand so hard she thought it might break; Jack's screams of agony turned into moans of distress as he continued to squirm, his brow furrowed in pain. Kate took the stick out of his mouth and stroked his hair, whispering things to him that the others couldn't hear. Sayid and Locke had retreated to the doorway and now watched the women with Jack. Juliet focused solely on medical care, making sure his leg had been reset correctly and that the bleeding had been stopped. Kate, on the other hand, was intent on making sure he wasn't in too much pain. She continued to hold his hand, while stroking his cheek and hair and telling him that it was going to be okay, that he was home.
After a few moments of this, Juliet was confident that he was okay for the moment and Kate watched as Jack fell back into unconsciousness. "John, go get the Rocephin please." Juliet instructed, glancing at Kate to see if she would argue. Kate opened her mouth to fight Juliet on the issue, but closed it looking at Jack and knowing he would die without the drug, truth serum or not. Locke came back into the room, and he and Juliet injected just enough into Jack's arm. With most of the action over, John returned to the button, sending Charlie back to the beach with Sayid, while Juliet stayed in the hatch just in case. Kate had stubbornly refused to leave Jack's side, so Juliet had brought her a chair and left the two alone.
With Charlie and Sayid returning to the beach, word had spread like wildfire around the camp that their leader had returned, but had been severely injured by The Others. Sayid and Kate, however, were fiercely protective of the unconscious Jack and only let a few people visit at a time. He had been brought in around 9:30am, and the visits had started around 11:00am. But at promptly 5:00pm, the doors to the hatch were closed to the majority of the survivors and Charlie, Juliet and, surprisingly, Sawyer made sure everyone stayed on the beach until news came from the hatch the next day.
After giving up trying to wake Jack for dinner, Sayid at least made sure Kate had eaten before he ate. It had been decided earlier that Sayid, Locke and Kate would stay in the hatch overnight. Juliet had been sent back to the beach to watch the rest of the camp, but not before giving Sayid basic instructions in case Jack woke up. Sayid was on button duty until 2:00am, when Locke would come and take over, for both the button and the responsibility of caring for Jack in an emergency until Juliet could be brought from the beach. Kate, of course, had appointed herself as Jack's personal nurse, and insisted in sleeping at his side "in case he needed anything".
Sayid knew that they hadn't taken their relationship to this level yet, in fact he knew that they weren't in a relationship at all. However he was close to both of them, Jack specifically, and knew how they felt about each other even if neither of them would admit it. So, he hadn't argued when Kate had decided she was going to "watch" Jack all night. "Just make sure you get some sleep yourself, Kate. You won't be any help to him if you're exhausted."
"I will Sayid, I promise," she assured him.
It was a few hours later when he heard from Jack and Kate next. It was around 1:00am and they had been quiet all night, that is until Sayid was woken not by the button, but by Kate's worried voice calling his name. He rushed into the room, where Jack lay squirming in pain as Kate tried in vain to calm him. "What happened?" Sayid asked, giving Jack a quick check.
"I-I don't know, he just woke up complaining about his leg." Just before she got out the word "leg", Sayid's hand grazed his bullet wound, checking for further damage. Jack sucked in a quick breath in pain and reached to push Sayid, who had already removed his hand, away. "He needs some pain killers or something." Kate said, her tone becoming more panicked as she rummaged through the drawers of medical supplies, which had been moved to Jack's room.
"I will get them." Sayid said calmly, gently pushing Kate away from the medical supplies and getting the pills himself. "Sit him up," he instructed while getting Jack a glass of water. When he returned, Jack was leaning against Kate and shaking. He was running a fever, Sayid knew before Kate had time to tell him that Jack was burning up. "This will help the fever as well as the pain." Sayid stuck the pills in his mouth and tried to pour the water in. "Swallow, swallow," Sayid told him firmly. But Jack stubbornly spit everything out, his medical degree obviously forgotten for the moment.
Sayid swore under his breath but Kate calmly turned to Jack, stroking his hair and holding his head against her body. "Jack, I know it hurts but you've got to take these. It will help you, I promise. Trust me, Sweetheart, and take these please," she pleaded with him and Sayid handed her the pills and water. Kate gently placed the pills in his mouth again, whispering in his ear to swallow, and gave him a drink of water. Jack wordlessly swallowed the pills and Sayid took the water back, setting it on the table. "Good, Jack, thank you." Kate whispered to him before laying him back down.
He squeezed his eyes shut and continued to fidget. Kate looked worriedly at Sayid, silently asking when Jack would be out of pain. "It could take up to 30 minutes."
"30 minutes?" Kate exclaimed. "What do we do until then?"
"Just make him comfortable. That's all we can do." Sayid remained composed, even as Kate began pacing the small room.
"Kate," Jack moaned.
Kate instantly stopped her pacing and went to his side. "What is it?"
"My leg…my leg is on fire," he explained weakly.
Kate chewed on her lip as she wracked her brain for ways to help him. "I know. What about if we got you a cool towel? Would that help?" Jack nodded. That was all the encouragement Kate needed. "Sayid, could you-"
"Yes," Sayid answered before she could even finish her question, rushing off to fetch what she needed.
Kate noticed Jack was gripping the side of the bed and eased his hand off the wooden frame, replacing it with her hand. "Here you go; you squeeze my hand when it hurts." She brushed the back of her other hand across Jack's cheek, getting a feel for just how high his fever was. She guessed it must be 101 at least, maybe 102. Jack then clamped down on her hand, turning his head as another wave of pain washed over him. Ignoring the pain in her hand, she brushed his hair back and leaned in closer to him. "Shhhh…it's okay, it's okay…it will be over soon, Sweetheart" And after a few seconds longer, he relaxed again, releasing his tight hold on her hand but keeping it in his.
His eyes flickered open and he brought his gaze up to her. "Kate."
"Yes? I'm here." She cooed, not even noticing Sayid entering the room.
"It hurts, Kate," he moaned, one of his hands hovering over his leg wound but not daring to touch it.
"I know, Jack, I know. We gave you some pain killers but it could take a while to kick in."
Sayid interrupted them by setting a bucket on the ground next to Kate. "There are two cloths in here. I brought the bucket of ice water so you could dip them back in if they get too warm."
"Thank you, Sayid. As nice as Hurley and John are, I'm really glad it's you that's down here," Kate told him sincerely.
"You don't have to thank me Kate. I want him to get better just as badly as you do. Now, are you going to be okay in here alone? I'll be in the computer room, but if you want me to stay…" He trailed off, leaving it up to her.
Kate shook her head. "No, I think I can handle it."
"Okay. Just call if you need me," Sayid assured her, leaving the room with the door open a crack so he could hear them if there was a problem.
With Sayid gone, Kate reached into the bucket and pulled out a cloth. She squeezed some of the excess water from it and carefully placed it over Jack's wound. The cool water on the wound that felt like it was on fire was like heaven to Jack, who instantly relaxed and sighed in relief. Kate smiled, happy that she was at least able to take a little bit of the pain away. "You like that, huh?" Jack nodded, and Kate placed another on his blazing hot and sweaty forehead, causing him to relax even more and finally notice his surroundings. "Tell me if either of them gets too warm, I can dip them back in the water for a few seconds." Jack watched her silently, and Kate smiled at him when she realized he was more interested in watching her than listening to what she was saying.
But even if she wouldn't admit it, she loved the attention. So she placed a quick kiss on his forehead as she got up to dry her hands. Turning back around, she teased him. "You still awake over there?"
If Jack did hear her, he didn't let it on. "You're still here," he stated.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" She asked, sitting back down in her chair.
"Well, Sawyer-"
She cut him off with a shake of her head. "Jack," she took a deep breath, not even knowing where to start. "I thought I was in love with him. But I was wrong, okay?" She said simply. She wasn't even sure he could pay attention to her words in his state, let alone remember this when it was all over.
"Okay," he agreed. So maybe he was listening. He winced involuntarily.
"Do you want me to change them?" She asked. He nodded and she did as she said she would, dipping the cloths into the water and then gently placing them back onto his leg and forehead. When she was done, he unexpectedly grabbed her hand, holding it tightly. "What's wrong?"
He looked straight into her eyes. "I don't wanna be alone, Katie."
Katie. It was the first time anyone had called her that in a very long time. It didn't take her long to decide that she liked it. "You're not alone, Jack. I'm here."
"Just-just don't leave," he begged.
Just the vulnerable look in his eyes made her heart want to break. "Jack...what did they do to you?"
He immediately broke the eye contact and pulled his hand away, and that scared her. "No." His tone was stubborn but she knew he had some truth serum in his system, that if she wanted, she could probably get it out of him.
But she couldn't take advantage of him like that. "Okay, you don't have to talk about it. But when you're ready, I'll be here." Then his eyelids started to droop and she knew the medicine had kicked in. "Jack, I've been sleeping here with you, to make sure you were okay during the night. But I can stop if you want. Is that what you want?"
He shook his head fiercely. "Stay," he commanded. She complied without argument. In fact, as much as she hated this whole situation, she loved the fact that he wanted her there, that he had asked for her on the way back. She crawled into bed with him and the two silently dropped off to sleep.
...
If you want me to continue, please review!