CHAPTER 2

"Right, Kate, I want you to close your eyes, and relax." Libby instructed. "Jack, have you got her?"

Jack nodded from his position behind Kate as she closed her eyes. Claire, Michael and Hurley were still there, with the addition of Libby, who thought it was best if Jack sat securely holding Kate, in case she had another outburst like before. He sat with his legs either side of hers, propping her back up against his chest. Her head relaxed against his shoulder as she took deep, calming breaths.

"Kate, what happened in your dream?" Libby asked when she was sure that Kate was relaxed enough.

"The baby was crying." Kate said in a quiet voice, that didn't sound like her own.

"Where was the baby?"

"She wasn't in the cradle. I'd put her in the cradle. She wasn't there."

She was now completely in a trance, gripping both of Jack's hands tightly with her own. Libby had said that Kate needed someone who she trusted and was comfortable with completely to keep hold of her throughout this, and immediately Jack had chosen to do it.

"Kate, where was the baby?" Libby repeated.

"She was outside, with Jack. They were down by the water."

Jack was listening intently to every word she said, wanting so much to take the pain away from her, but knowing that he couldn't. The expression on her face was like she was back in the dream. If he hadn't been able to hear her voice, he would have thought that she was.

"Kate, I want you to walk me through what happened."

"I went down to them. The baby was crying. Jack said that she was teething. I talked to him, but he wouldn't say anything. He just told me I had to stop running."

"When did he tell you she was teething?" Libby asked. "You said that he wouldn't say anything."

"I don't know. He told me before. She'd been waking up all week."

"Kate, have you had this dream before?"

"I was scared something was wrong with her." Kate continued, not hearing Libby. "He'd told me not to worry, that there was nothing I could do, just to let her teeth come through."

"Kate-"

"She wouldn't stop crying. I was so scared. Then there was the blood."

"What blood?"

"They were standing there, and when he didn't say anything, I tried to calm her down. I put my hand on her back, but when I pulled my hand back it was covered in blood. Her blood, on my hands. I didn't know what was happening. I asked Jack."

"What did he tell you?"

"He told me that I had to stop running, and I said I had. He told me that I ran and they got hurt. Just like before."

"Before?" Libby muttered to herself, looking up at Jack who gave her a confused look back. "I don't think this has to do entirely with what's happening here." She concluded.

"You think this has happened before? The dreams?" Jack asked.

"I think that she's had an experience that leads to these dreams, but recent circumstances have lead to them being set in the now familiar surroundings." She told them, before concentrating back on Kate. "Kate, what happened before?"

"He died." She said, a tear slipping out from underneath her eyelid and running down her cheek. Jack wanted to raise his hand and wipe it away but he didn't want to release either of Kate's hands.

"Who did?" Libby asked.

"Tom. Tom died because of me. I killed him." Jack remembered her saying that the toy airplane belonged to the man she loved, and the man she killed. "I was running, and he wouldn't get out of the car. They shot him."

"Who shot him?"

"The police. They were aiming for me, and they shot him." She said, her grip on Jack's hands becoming tighter. "I thought that I would be able to do it without him, but I couldn't. I couldn't do it."

"Do what?"

"I didn't know about it until he was gone. I thought I could do it, I really did. I tried, but it didn't work."

"Kate, what happened?"

"The baby died." She muttered. "The baby died."

"Tom's baby?"

"I tried to do it. I went to a hospital and had the baby, and then they let me go."

"What about the baby?"

"I took him with me. I called him Chris."

"Kate, how did the baby die?"

Her grip on Jack's hands heightened again, her knuckles turning white, and her previously calm face screwed up as tears rolled down her face. "No." She whimpered. "It wasn't my fault. I tried to help him." Her breathing became faster.

"Kate," Libby said, coming back to a stern tone of voice. "Kate, come back."

"I didn't mean for it to happen." She choked.

"Kate!" Libby tried again, but Kate let out a sob and didn't respond to her.

"What's happening?" Jack asked.

"She's returning to the memory of the baby dying." Libby explained quickly. "Kate, I'm going to count to three, and then you're going to come back to us. Ready, one…two…three."

"Chris!" She exclaimed, and then her eyes snapped open, looking at the tarp of the shelter above her. Breathing shuddering breaths, she collapsed into silent tears. "Oh god." She whimpered, as Jack's hands unlinked from hers and wrapped around her body instantly.

"It's alright, your back." Jack whispered to her as he held her. She held herself to him, glad to have been pulled out of that memory. There wasn't a day when Chris, or the way he had died ran through her mind, and it had gotten worse ever since she had those dreams. She hated that everyone in the tent had heard about it, but was consoled a little by the fact that she was in Jack's arms.

"Jack." She wept, and he pressed his lips against the top of her head.

"Sshhh, I'm here." He said to her gently. "It's alright, sweetheart, I'm here." He didn't care, for once, about hiding their relationship from everyone else. Both of them had wanted to keep it to themselves for a while, to enjoy each other without the influence of others, but right now, she needed him, and he wasn't going to back down from her call.

"Jack, I never hurt him." She told him. "I never did anything to hurt him."

"I know." He said, if only to calm her down.

"No, you don't." She cut in. "Please, Jack, please believe me." She said, as she turned so that she could look into his eyes. "I love Chris, I wouldn't do anything to hurt him, not in a million years. He was all I had, Jack."

Jack placed his hands on her shoulders. "Hey, it's all right," He said with a smile. "I believe you." He told her strongly, so that she would definitely understand that. "I know that you wouldn't have hurt him, not your son."

She hugged him tightly. "He was my whole world, and he disappeared." She cried. "I tried to keep him with me, but I couldn't."

"What happened?" Jack asked her. She looked at him, tears welling in her eyes. "Its okay, you don't have to tell me." He said when he saw how much the mere memory was paining her.

Shaking her head she replied "No, no, I need to tell someone. I never told anyone." Jack looked around at the others, then back at her, wondering whether or not she wanted them to leave, but she shook her head again, she really didn't care. "He was nearly a year old. We'd been on the run together the minute we left the hospital. We managed to get by, staying in motels, travelling a lot. He wasn't even sick, Jack. There was nothing wrong with him at all. Then one day he was crying a lot, I thought he was sick, but he didn't have a temperature or a rash or anything, but I was so scared because he just wouldn't stop crying." That was what had worried her in the dream, as she had told them before. "I was holding him in the car. We weren't going anywhere, just sitting outside of a motel. Then, he just stopped. It was silent. I thought that he might have gone to sleep, but when I looked closer, he'd stopped breathing." Her next breath came in a sob. "My baby died in my arms, Jack. I tried for hours to get him to wake up, but he wouldn't. Chris died, and I don't even know why." She looked away, almost laughing at herself. "I guess people like me just aren't meant to be mothers."

Jack placed his hand underneath her chin, turning her to face him. "Kate, that's not true, and you know it." He told her quietly. "You'd make a brilliant mother."

"How could I?" She asked. "I couldn't keep my son alive, let alone safe."

He shook his head. "It sounds to me like Sudden Infant Death Syndrome." He explained. "There's hardly ever cause, no reason at all, and it's certainly no one's fault."

Kate stared at him for a few minutes and then hugged him close again. "Jack, make the dreams stop." She begged.

"We'll find a way." He promised her, "We'll stop them."

"I can't lose another baby."

After this statement, the others all looked at each other in some kind of disbelief, looking from one another, to the pair sitting on the bed. Couldn't lost another baby? Kate was pregnant? Now? And was it Jack's? They had all seen the little things going on between them that night - the comfortable way in which they held each other, the desperate way that she clung to him, the soft kisses he placed against her hair and forehead. It was clear to them that something was going on between them.

Some of them left without making excuses, letting the pair have their space, after all, this was a very hard thing for Kate, and clearly she didn't need them hanging around. Libby stayed where she was, and Hurley put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's all right, Libby." Jack said quietly, giving her a smile. "I can take things from here. Thanks for your help."

"Anytime." She said with a soft smile back, and taking Hurley's hand, the pair left the shelter.

Claire also hung back, still sitting near to Kate's side. "You going to be okay?" Claire asked them both.

Kate nodded sadly, still holding herself to Jack. "Thank you for believing me, Claire." Kate said, her voice hoarse from the crying.

"No problem, sweetie, just take it easy." Kate nodded, and then Claire smiled at Jack. "You take care of her Jack Shephard." She said in that motherly tone she took with most people now.

"I'm not going anywhere." He assured her.

"Oh, and another thing…" Claire said, "I don't know why you're both trying so hard to hide it from us. We all know that you love each other." She smiled, and then left the shelter.

As she left, Jack kissed Kate's hair again. "I'm sorry I made such a fuss." Kate said, like a scolded child apologizing for breaking something expensive.

Jack shook his head. "It's all right." He told her, placing a hand on her forehead. "You're still burning up." He mused. "When was the last time you got a decent nights sleep?" He asked her.

"About three years ago." She answered.

"Kate." He said in that tone he reserved only for her, that loving pitch. "You should get some rest."

"No." She said. "I can't, not after that." It sounded like she was scared to fall asleep in case of what she might see.

"I'm not going anywhere, Kate." He promised her. "I'm not going to let anything hurt you."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you." She said sadly.

"It's all right." He said. "We don't have to talk about this now."

"I've only known since this morning." She continued.

Jack realised that she wasn't talking about Chris anymore. "Known what?"

"That there's a baby." She admitted, and they looked into each others eyes. "I know that we've been careful, and all, but it's for real, Jack. I'm pregnant."

Jack felt a smile spread across his face, and he leaned his forehead against hers, kissing her. "Kate, that's the best news I've ever heard." He told her.

"You're not mad?" She asked.

"Why on earth would I be mad at this? We might be on a deserted island, but that doesn't change a thing. I love you." Kate looked away sadly. "Kate?"

"What if it happens again, Jack?" She asked. "What happened to Chris, what if it happens again? Just like in the dream-"

"Kate, I promised that I wasn't going to let anything or anyone hurt you." Jack reminded her. He placed his hand over her stomach slowly, waiting until she placed her hand over his with a sigh. "That goes for this little one as well." He said, and he kissed her again.

"You really think we can do this?" She asked.

"Without a doubt." He nodded, and she knew just by looking in his eyes that he wasn't lying. He really would walk to the end of the earth and back for her.