Title: Tremble Softly
Pairing: Sawyer/Kate
Rating: PG
Timeline: Post-season one finale
Summary: Kate heads down to the beach with Jack in tow and finds the destroyed raft floating in the water with three not-so well castaways on it.
Disclaimer: I don't own LOST, or Bad Robot, and I know no one involved with anything about the show, or anyone at ABC. This is merely fiction )

Tremble Softly

Chapter one

"Jack, I'm going down there."
"No, Kate, its too dangerous."
"I don't care, I'm going... and you can't stop me."

Kate stormed away from the caves towards the beach, annoyed. Everyday since the raft had launched, she'd been going down to the beach to see if there was any sign of a ship, or a problem with the raft that had forced them to come back to shore, or just any sign. Jack had always hassled her about it, saying it was dangerous to be going around alone, what with the Others all over the place. But he was especially insistent that day, as the "monster" had attacked three times the previous night. Kate didn't care. She hadn't even gotten the chance to say goodbye to Sawyer, and she was damned if she was going to let Jack stop her from looking out for him. She'd only walked about a hundred yards when she heard hurried footsteps behind her. Turning around, she saw Jack running towards her. She sighed.

"Jack, I'm going whether you want me to or not--"

"I know." he interrupted. "I'm going with you." he told her lightly. Kate raised her eyebrow.

"Why? So the monster can eat both of us instead of just me?" she asked sarcastically. Jack shrugged.

"Its not safe for you to be alone." he said. Kate shook her head but continued on, knowing it was useless to argue. The trudged through the jungle on the now beaten path. A few minutes passed without a word exchanged.

"So… why exactly do you go down to the beach every day, Kate?" Jack asked lightly, breaking the silence.

"Just checking to see if there's any sign of a ship, or the raft, or whatever." she replied casually, careful to keep her voice even and distant. There was a pause.

"I see." said Jack in a doubtful tone. Kate could tell he knew exactly why she went down there everyday, but didn't feel like talking about it. She picked up the pace a bit. Several minutes later they reached the beach. As Kate did her daily scan of the water, which was usually devoid of anything, she spotted something that made her gasp. There was a large, charred hunk of what looked like part of the raft, and she could make out three bodies collapsed on it. It was floating a couple hundred feet from shore.

"Jack!" Kate cried, running down the beach. Jack followed, staring at the raft incredulously. Kate dropped her bag and kicked off her shoes and socks as she ran, and plunged into the water without a second thought as she reached it, swimming as fast as she could out to the floating chunk of the raft. She heard a splash behind her just as she reached the raft, telling her that Jack had followed. The raft was floating at a depth where she could just barely touch the bottom. She managed to heave herself on board, and surveyed the damage, panting and frantically wiping water and hair out of her eyes. The raft was basically, well, gone. All that was left was this flat part of the deck. There was no sign of the mast, cabin, anything. There was a lot of charred remains, and they turned Kate's wet pants black as she moved around.

Jin and Michael were lying on either side of the raft, looking exhausted and dehydrated. She quickly felt each of them for a pulse and moved on, satisfied that they were alive. She had no idea where Walt was. She hurried over to Sawyer. Jack had arrived by now and was checking on Jin. Kate knelt by Sawyer, who was lying in the middle of the raft, covered to his chin by a charred blanket and looking ghostly pale. Kate removed the blanket and let a small cry of alarm.

"What is it!" asked Jack, looking up. Kate stared at Sawyer in horror. His shirt was soaked in blood from the shoulder down to his stomach. Here was a small hole in his shirt near the shoulder.

"He's… all.. bloody" gasped Kate, still startled. Jack heaved himself onto the raft and it wobbled dangerously, making her feel even more queasy than she had been just seeing all the blood.

"Is he alive?" Jack asked her, coming over there. Kate felt his throat with a shaky hand. She felt a pulse. It was really weak, but it was a pulse. She nodded with relief, releasing a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Good." he replied. He knelt on the other side of Sawyer and ripped open his shirt at the shoulder. "Shit.." he cursed, as he examined the wound. Kate watched anxiously, her hands clutching one of Sawyer's. "It's a bullet wound… he was shot…" said Jack, a hint of panic in his voice. "And he's lost a hell of a lot of blood…" he continued, squinting at the wound and trying to examine it best he could without touching it, water dripping from his hair and into his eyes. It looked like it was on its way to infection and he didn't want to worsen it by touching it without sterilizing his hands. Jack quickly removed his own sopping shirt and tied it as best he could around Sawyer's wound, given the awkward position of it, in the center of the shoulder. Then he turned to Kate, who was watching Sawyer's face, looking upset.

"Try and wake him up. Lightly tap his face, talk to him, see if he'll come around. I'm getting Michael up." Kate nodded and shifted so she was kneeling beside his chest, and cupped his face in her hands.

"Sawyer. Sawyer, can you hear me? Come on, Sawyer…"

Jack crossed over to where Michael was lying and knelt on one knee beside him.

"Michael?" he said loudly. "Michael, wake up." said Jack, firmly but gently shaking the man's shoulder. Michael groaned and Jack's heart leaped. Carefully he helped him sit up. Michael was very groggy and it was a few moments before he even realized that Jack and Kate were there.

"Jack?" he asked blearily. "Wha.. How.. Where the hell are we?" he asked, his voice raspy.

"Not far from the beach." he told him, examining the man's face for signs of illness. "How do you feel?" Michael moaned slightly and swayed on the spot before speaking.

"My head is pounding…I feel really dizzy.. So thirsty…" he struggled to speak properly, trying not to slur his words. Jack nodded and quickly put his arm around the man's shoulder as he swayed again, looking as though he was about to faint. It sounded to Jack like he had a combination of heat stroke and dehydration. He imagined that Jin was in roughly the same shape.

"What happened?" Jack as urgently, hoping that Michael wasn't about to faint again. Jack's eyes widened slightly as the man suddenly looked terrified and nearly knocked Jack over as he fell to one side without warning. "Michael?" Jack asked urgently.

"They took Walt.. They took.. All my fault… they took him…" Michael's voice grew quieter and quieter, and Jack shook him slightly. "Michael? Who took him? What happened?"

"The Others.." he whispered, and then blacked out, his full body weight suddenly against Jack's arms. He cursed and carefully lay Michael down where he was, running a hand through his short, wet hair, trying to think. He could see that Sawyer was not responding to Kate and she was growing more and more distressed by the minute. He knelt beside her.

"Its not working!" she told him, her voice cracking dangerously.

"I know.." said Jack with a sigh. "Look, we have to get them to shore. We need to go get water and supplies." Kate nodded slowly, reluctantly releasing Sawyer's face, wincing as it fell limply to the side, as though he were already de-- Kate cut herself off, trying not to think of that.

"How are we going to get it there?" she asked, her voice uncharacteristically quiet and forlorn. Jack shot her a worried glance when he heard her tone, but didn't comment on it.

"We'll have to push it… There's no other way… hopefully it wont be too heavy." Kate nodded and followed him, slipping back into the cold water with a shiver. She couldn't really touch here and Kate was forced to merely kick her legs and push for the first several yards. Finally she was able to get a good grip in the sand with her bare feet and together they pushed as fast as they could, their muscles straining and aching, their clothes clinging to them.

It took a lot more manpower than they had thought and Kate collapsed in the shallows with the raft finally ran aground, holding herself up on all fours, the waves crashing into her, and breathing heavily, trying desperately to catch her breath. Jack stumbled over to her.

"Are.. Are you okay?" he asked, his own chest heaving. She swallowed and looked up at him, nodding weakly.

"Just.. Give m-me.. A minute.." she gasped, feeling the lactic acid burning her legs. Jack nodded and went over to Michael, who had woken up again, and half dragged him off the raft, onto the beach. Kate stood wobbly, climbed back up onto the raft, nearly falling over but kneeling beside Sawyer again. Her wet hands slapped lightly at his face as she felt Jack half-lift, half-drag Jin off the raft and onto the beach. Kate's calls to Sawyer increased in anxiety.

"Sawyer? Come on, Sawyer, please wake up.. Please!" her voice was desperate, her hands slapping him a little more forcefully every time he failed to respond.

Then suddenly, she heard him groan softly, and felt his head move slightly in her hands. Her heart swelling, she continued to tap his face, more gently now, her bright green eyes shining with tears. "Come on Sawyer, wake up… you're almost there… come o-- Saywer!" she said his name in delighted relief as he groaned, his eyes slowly opening. Tears spilled over and down her cheeks as she gently stroked the side of his face, trying to get him to focus. He blinked many times and finally looked up at her, his pale, unlit eyes meeting her own.

"Hey… Freckles.." he rasped, his voice hoarse and quiet. Kate's face broke into a smile and she gently pushed a strand of hair out of Sawyer's face, her heart racing with relief, tears still pouring down her cheeks.

"Jack! He's awake!" she called to him, her voice cracking with emotion. He hurried over and looked down at Sawyer, giving the man a grim smile. He turned to Kate.

"I need to run to-- Kate, are you listening? KATE." he said her name loudly, snapping her out of her daze, putting his hands on her shoulders firmly. She had been staring at Sawyer, and Jack was suddenly worried that she was in shock. Kate looked at him slowly, slightly unfocused, but snapped out of it when Jack shook her shoulders firmly. She gasped slightly and shook her head, clearing her mind.

"Sorry.. Sorry.. what did you say?" she asked, flustered.

"I need to go to the caves. I want you to stay here with Sawyer, try to keep him conscious. Here, I had a bottle of water in my bag." he handed her the bottle and she wrapped her fingers around it, taking it from him. "Try and get him to drink some… even a sip or two is better than nothing. I'm going to get some guys and come back with meds. Okay?"

"Okay." said Kate, nodding at him. She crawled around so she was kneeling behind Sawyer and sat, spreading her legs into a V-shape and pulling him up so he sat, leaning against her for support. She saw Jack disappear into the jungle and silently hoped he would be quick.

"Are you.. Gonna take care of me… Freckles?" Sawyer asked weakly, wincing as he moved and his shoulder was jolted slightly. He looked up at Kate, and she felt him shake as he did so, as though moving zapped all his strength.

"Yes, I am… and Jack too." she told him softly. She uncapped the water bottle and held it up to his mouth. "Here, you need to drink some…" she gently tipped the bottle and he opened his mouth. He seemed to be fine for a moment but then coughed, most of the water spraying forwards out of his mouth. Her eyebrows contracted in sympathy and she wiped away the water from his chin, then tried again. He kept more down this time and she stopped when he shook his head, not wanting any more. At least he had had some. He leaned on her heavily and she felt herself trembling slightly as his body pressed into hers, hoping desperately that Jack would hurry.

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