Chapter 8: Not long this time

"Whoa, what happened?" Jack stood up, no longer hypnotized. Jack heard a wheezing noise come from the cave behind him. He turned to see Kate struggling for her life. He ran in and lifted her delicate body. "What happened to you! You're a lot worse than when you first got shot!" Jack stepped over Lily, knowing she could wait, but Kate needed to get back to the beach and fast.

Jack walked as fast as he could, carrying Kate's weight along with his. He was following where he thought the path was before Shannon wrecked it. Kate began to feel heavier and heavier. Jack's pace began to slow. Then the beach was in viewing distance. He walked on.

When he finally got to the shore he placed Kate in the tent next to Shannon. Jack grabbed the duffel bag filled with pills and other antibiotics. He searched the labels for any kind of pain killer. Once he found one he forced it down Kate's throat. She shot her eyes open. She sat up and held her neck. She started gasping for air. "Oh god, I've choked you!"

Jack leaped up and lifted Kate so she was standing. He gave her the Heimlich Maneuver. Hearing the crack of her ribs as her thrust his fist upward broke his heart. Kate kept gagging. Jack knew that in two minutes she would be dead. He stopped, grabbed a bottle of water and Kate chugged it. She gargled the water, but couldn't swallow. She tipped down and the water fell out of her mouth. Thirty seconds passed and Kate fainted. Jack didn't know what else to try.

"What's going on!" Claire darted in. "I heard gagging!" Claire saw the lump in Kate's throat.

"I don't know what to do, she'll die!" Jack cried sitting in the sand. Claire jumped over Shannon to Kate and caressed her throat just like Jack taught her. The pill didn't move.

"I don't know," Claire started to cry also. Ten seconds passed.

"She only has a few seconds left before she dies from suffocation!" Jack panicked. Jin came in holding a thick board. "Oh no!" Jin stood over Kate. In a quick swipe he whacked Kate's stomach. Kate coughed, but didn't regain consciousness. He tried again. Kate coughed louder this time, hacking up the pill. "Oh my god! You could have damaged her lungs! And severely broke her ribs!" Jack blushed, knowing he was the one who broke her ribs, Jin just did more damage.


Jack revived Kate the next week. She had her ribs bandaged and her throat moistened. "You're going to need a lot more pain killers now, sorry," Jack said sheepishly.

"At least I'm alive," Kate laughed.

"Yes, but I was the reason you almost died! And besides Jin was the one who saved you!" Jack admitted. Kate giggled.

"Ouch!" she grabbed her ribs. "I guess I won't be laughing for a while!" Kate said joyfully.

Shannon had shown no sign of recovery. Even the next two weeks she had not woken up. "Will she be able to deliver the baby if she is in a coma?" Claire asked Jack.

"She won't be able to push, we'll have to do it for her," Jack said, changing Kate's bandages.

"How will we help her push?" Kate looked puzzled.

"Uhh," Jack chuckled. "I was hoping Claire would be able to tell us!" Claire looked utterly surprised.

"I don't know how! I was conscious when I gave birth!" Claire demanded.

"But not after!" Kate joked. "You didn't even remember you had Charles, or what you named him!"

"So, I still pushed!" Claire turned away as Kate and Jack joked about her. "Your all mean! I'd like to see you go through hours of labor!"

"Been there, done that," Kate said. Jack widened his eyes.

"Oh, hem, it, uhh, doesn't show," Jack said, surprised.

"Just kidding!" Kate chuckled again. "OUCH!"

"That's what you get! HA!" Claire and Jack were laughing together now.

"It won't be long before Shannon does have to have her baby," Claire said calming down.

"Claire, I still can't tell if she's even pregnant anymore," Jack said.

"She is, I can feel it," Claire said, looking determined.

"A feeling isn't very promising," Jack said.

"Oh yeah?" Claire grabbed Jack's hand and put it on Shannon's stomach. "Now what do you say about feelings?" Everyone laughed.