For hours they had been hacking their way through the tough undergrowth of one of the island's many forests. Jack, Locke and Sayid had departed from camp early that morning, in hope of following what looked to be one of the Others lurking around their camp. So far, they had endured no luck.
Running water bombarded their senses as they emerged from the forest into a clearing. Filling up their water bottles, they sat in silence, trying to understand what they were doing. Was chasing after this shadow really that important? Or were they just on a wild goose chase? Another thought crept into Jack's mind as he washed the sweat away from his face - Kate. He had asked her before they went if she wanted to come. Her answer had surprised him.
"I sort of promised Sun I would help her with her garden." Kate had said, her green eyes studying every move of his while he was getting ready to go. If only she was here. He would have been able to make sure that she was safe. Jack smiled as he remembered the previous night's make-up. He was glad that he and Kate were on speaking terms again.
6 hours had passed since their stop over at the stream. Sayid looked over at Jack who was very pale but refused to stop. Something else was pushing him to keep going, something other than the desire to find this shadow.
"Maybe we should turn around. The sun will set in a couple of hours and if we don't turn around now we might not be able to find our way back." Sayid looked at Jack and Locke, his face looked tired and in his eyes it was evident that he had suffered a great loss.
"Okay!" Jack sighed, looking at his watch. He felt dazed and sick. Sleep wanted to sweep through his body but he denied it access. His main thought was looking after the other survivors. Many looked up to him and he felt that he owed each one of them something.
Getting back to camp seemed to take less time than they had thought. Or perhaps it was just the fact that Jack was dazed. His feet were on autopilot, following close behind Sayid and Locke. The campsite came into focus. Someone said his name, calling him over but all he thought about was sleep. Finally, Jack allowed sleep to enter his body after a long time trying to fight it.
Kate waited and waited. Patience was not one of her strong points but she would wait for Jack to wake. She watched him as he slept - the steady rise and fall of his chest, the tattoos on his arm standing out as the only abnormal thing about his perfect body. There were many mysteries about Jack, the tattoos were just one of them.
Jack slowly began to wake from his sleep as daylight seeped through the open tarp. An angel was there, sitting next to him, smiling. As his eyes began to focus he realized that the angel was indeed Kate. The perfect gift to wake up to. Her figure was bathed in sunlight and her messy brown hair pulled back into a ponytail.
"Hey there sleeping beauty. You've been out for almost a whole day."
Kate said.
Jack sat up, smiling - Kate's smile sure was infectious. It made him feel warm inside, knowing that she had looked over him. But that wasn't her job, he was the doctor, it was his job to take care of people.
Kate replied as though reading his mind, "You can't look after everyone all the time Jack. Sometimes you have to let other people look after you."
Words would not come from Jack's mouth as he thought deeply about what to do.
"You don't have to say anything. It's ok. I'm just going to go get some food. You should stay here if you're still tired" Kate explained. Getting up, she made her way to the front of the tent, her hand briefly touching his.