But with enough therapy (see S1&2 DVD's) and a new computer, I've managed to bounce back. So with my sincere apologies and hopes that most of you stuck around, here's chapter eight.
(Sidenote: I decided to keep somethings from the show the same, mostly because I didn't want to stray too far from canon ie. Henry Gale's real name being Benjamin Linus)
Chapter Eight
Kate felt as if she'd been staring at the sun. The image of Sawyer strapped to the chair, near death, burned in her mind and no matter how many times she tried to blink it away, he was still there, a ghost behind her eyelids, white on black, an exposure she didn't know how to erase.
She had given in. She had no other choice. They were killing him.
Sawyer had begged with her, pleaded in his broken, pained voice to not give up, to keep fighting. But she had given up and they took him away, a look of defeat on his face.
The last thing Kate remembered was Juliet's calm face reading her like she was the latest Steven King novel. Kate had decided then, she didn't care anymore, let them do what they wanted. After everything, all that she'd been through the last two months, even the last four years, she couldn't bring herself to struggle anymore. She was too tired to keep fighting.
Now, she sat on the edge of the bed they had given her, in a nightgown she had no memory of putting on. She sat on the bed, bent forward and steadied her breathing to keep from crying or worse, passing out again.
With a shaky hand she pushed against her knees to help herself stand, leaning back on the mattress when her legs gave out. Again, she pushed up and managed to keep her balance. Surveying the room she was in, Kate turned slowly to take it all in. Baby blue walls and paintings of sailboats surrounded her, while a plush cream carpet warmed her bare toes. The bed she had been sitting on moments before was a dark wood frame with cream blankets and it seemed to match all the other furnishings in the room. Kate shook her head, confused. What happened that over the course of two hours the Others had changed their minds so drastically about her?
Her stomach lurched as she made her way from the bedroom into what seemed to be a sitting room. If she had been out of it anymore than she already was, Kate would have guessed they had moved her to the nearest Holiday Inn. This room was too nice to be underground like the other rooms. A quick glance around the sitting room found no windows to disprove the theory of being above sea level, but Kate's eyes did manage to focus on the most beautiful platter of fruit she had ever seen in her life sitting on the coffee table.
Making her way over to the plate, she noticed two other things she thought she'd never see again being stuck on the island. One was a mug and a still-steaming carafe filled with the freshest coffee she had ever smelled, while the other was a sitting on the nearest side table: A large crystal vase, brimming over with pink roses. There had to be more than two dozen of the blossoms, interspersed with baby's breath and there, sticking out of the top was a small card.
Kate frowned. She had to be dreaming now. This was far too surreal for it not to be. She quickly strode over to the roses, ignoring her stomach as it growled when she passed the food, and picked up the card. Her eyes scanned the words, reading over the pristine handwriting once, twice, and even a third time, the message never making any sense the more she read it.
Katherine,
Please accept my sincerest apologies for your prior living arrangements. I hope this room is suited more to your liking.
Make yourself at home.
Regards,
Ben
Kate dropped the note on the table. Who the hell was Ben and why was he apologising? Feeling her legs wobble again, Kate sat down abruptly on the sofa, sinking into the overstuffed cushions as far as she could go. The overwhelming panic that was welling up inside of her was soon pushed away when attention was brought back to the coffee and fruit on the table.Without giving it a second thought, she reached for a slice of apple, popping it into her mouth, her eyes rolling back at the sweetness of it. It seemed like it had been forever since she had fruit that wasn't mango or banana. She reached for another slice and paused, hand over a piece of orange when she noticed them: Strawberries. Bright and red and Kate thought she might actually die from the sight. This was better than chocolate. Passing over the orange, she grabbed a strawberry and shoved it into her mouth, the stem sticking out passed her lips.
With a content sigh, she reached for the mug and filled nearly to the top with coffee, saving the rest of the room for cream. Taking a sip of coffee, she wrinkled her nose. It was decaf. She dipped a strawberry into the cup of cream and nibbled on the fruit as she poured more cream into the mug.
Leaning back into the sofa, Kate allowed herself to relax. She reasoned it was okay, if only for a minute. She didn't know when she would be able to feel this normal again.
She'd nearly devoured the whole fruit platter and the coffee was long gone when a door shut loudly beyond the walls of her room. Kate stilled, a piece of pineapple halfway to her mouth and she glanced at the main door to her room, noticing now for the first time that it didn't match the rest of the room. Where every other door in the suite was wood, this was a metal door, heavy and without a handle, just like her old cell.
Kate frowned as the handle jiggled and it sounded as if a padlock was being clicked open on the other side. Muffled voices made their way through the door and Kate jumped up off the couch when she recognised Tom's deep southern accent. She was partway to the bedroom when the door swung open and Juliet came in, a black plastic case in hand. Spinning around to face her visitors, Kate tried not to look too relieved when it looked like Tom was staying outside, shutting the door behind Juliet.
Juliet's eyes were wide as she took in Kate's slightly panicked state. "Hi Kate." She said with a small, uneasy smile. "You okay?" Setting the case down on the coffee table, she kept her eyes on her patient.
Kate nodded slowly. "I, uh... You caught me off guard..." She scratched her head and rocked back on her feet, feeling awkward with Juliet in the room.
"Oh," Juliet's smile widened. "I'm sorry. I'll knock next time, or something." She chuckled and glanced at the door. "I just wanted to check up on you. See how you're doing..."
Kate turned and walked back into the bedroom, not inviting the other woman to follow. Juliet stood by the coffee table. Kate sat down on the bed and watched her.
"I see you liked the fruit and coffee." Juliet pointed at what was leftover before looking up towards the roses. "And you read Ben's card." She nodded and glanced over at Kate, walking into the bedroom as she spoke. "He chose the pink roses. I didn't think you were a pink girl, but he insisted..." She chuckled again, feeling awkward at how one-sided this conversation was turning out to be. "He can be a bit over-dramatic at times. Sorry."
Kate nodded and pursed her lips. She was trying hard to focus her energy on the carpet and not pounding the hell out of Juliet at the moment, and it was getting increasingly hard with her talking.
"I'm sorry," Kate broke her eye contact with the carpet and glared at Juliet. "Why are you here?"
Juliet looked taken back at Kate's harsh tone. She obviously hadn't expected such a reaction for her niceties. "I just wanted to introduce myself and apologise in person. Welcome you in. If that's okay with you." She said the last part carefully, watching Kate for any other backlash.
Kate just shrugged letting Juliet continue.
"I'm Jul-"
"Juliet. I know. I heard when you were torturing me." Kate crossed her arms over her chest; suddenly feeling very exposed in her nightgown.
Juliet pressed her lips together. "We weren't torturing you, Kate."
"You were torturing Sawyer."
Juliet kept silent, not being able to deny that. A few moments of silence passed and Juliet sighed and stood up. "You look cold. Have you been in there yet?" She asked, pointing to another door which could only have been the bathroom. When Kate didn't say anything, Juliet took that as a 'no' and motioned for the younger woman to follow her.
Kate did reluctantly at first, but as she walked into the bathroom she forgot about being upset with the blonde and focussed on how inviting the shower was looking right now. Out of the corner of her eye, Kate saw Juliet shake her head.
"Not this," She waved her hand to another wood door beyond the shower. "This." She said, opening the door and revealing a nice sized walk in closet. On one side, a few dresses hung from plastic hangers and comfortable looking sandals sat underneath. On the other side, a full-length mirror, and opposite the door, big comfy chair and Kate could barely keep from gasping, a picture window. Kate brought a hand up over her mouth as she walked the five feet to pull back the curtains and look out.
A welcoming view of the ocean greeted her, waves rolling in, the white crests crashing on the rocky shore twenty yards from their building. In the distance, the sun was climbing just above the horizon, painting the sky a fiery orange. To Kate, her best guess, it looked as it they were a few stories up, maybe four or five. She shook her head, dragging her eyes away from her view and looking at Juliet. "How..."
Juliet shrugged and stepped away from the wall where she had been leaning. "We knew you liked the ocean. Gave you the best view we had."
"But the rest of the... there's no windows." Kate frowned.
"This side's the only one with a good view. You wouldn't want to see the other sides, anyway. It's just jungle." Juliet smiled reassuringly, waving her off.
Turning her gaze back to the window, Kate took a deep breath, watching the constant motion of the waves collapsing against each other. All she wanted was to be back home, on the beach with everyone. It was funny, but she never remembered being this homesick for Iowa. Then again, she didn't really have a family in Iowa, not like she did here and now. Her chest tightened and she bit down on her lip to keep from crying, and steadied her breathing with a frustrated sigh. It seemed like all she ever did lately was cry.
Juliet cleared her throat from where she stood at the door to the closet. "Well, you can have a shower, get cleaned up. All of these are in your size," she pointed at the clothes. "If there's anything you need or want, let one of us know... Just relax, Kate. We're going to take good care of you."
"Why?" Kate mumbled, not looking at her captor, never taking her eyes off the ocean.
"Why?" Juliet repeated. "Because you're special, Kate. We didn't think... we actually thought that Cla-" she stopped short when Kate did finally turn to look at her. "It's just... we feel it's important to take care of you." She offered a smile, but Kate shook her head, not hearing it.
"Why me?" Kate set her jaw, wanting as many answers as she had questions from this woman. "Why us? Why here and now and... Why am I here and where are they? Where's Jack and Sawyer?"
Juliet just gave her a sad smile. "I can't tell you any of that, I'm sorry." She said eventually, looking genuinely apologetic when Kate burst into tears and pushed passed her back into the bedroom.
Juliet followed to find Kate on the bed, head in her hands. Her sobs had subsided and now the brunette was silent. "Get out." She growled, not looking up.
Juliet winced again. "I can't," she said and held up her hands when Kate glared. "Not yet, I need to take some more blood from you,"
Kate closed her eyes, feeling a headache already starting to form behind her eyes. "More? You already took blood from me?"
"Yes," Juliet went back into the sitting room to retrieve her case. When she came back into the bedroom, she set the case on the bed, opening it. "You don't remember? We took four vials..."
Kate looked stricken. "When? I don't remember..."
"It's okay, just a side effect of one of the drugs we gave you." She explained in the most comforting tone as possible, as difficult as that was. Juliet sat on the bed next to Kate and grabbing a syringe out of the case, she attached it to a vial, setting it aside. "Hold out your arm." She pulled a strip of rubber tubing out and moved to grab Kate's arm.
"Drugs?" Kate repeated, pulling her arm out of reach.
"It's nothing, really, Kate. Just a few sedatives, that's all." Juliet reached for Kate's arm again, this time grabbing it. "Just to keep you calm, relaxed."
"A few?" Kate asked.
Juliet nodded, ignoring Kate's obvious tone. "Close your hand into a fist."
Kate squeezed her hand shut, now knowing why she lost all energy to resist. "Why do you need my blood?" When Juliet looked at her, Kate sighed. "Right, can't tell me." She looked away as Juliet prepped her arm with alcohol.
After a while, Kate felt the tubing loosen on her arm and Juliet sighed. "Alright, all done." She pressed a cotton ball against the inside of Kate's elbow.
Juliet was carefully placing everything back in the case, including four more vials of blood when Kate looked back. "I didn't even feel that." Kate said absently, looking down at the vials with her name printed on them.
Juliet slid the used syringe into a biohazard-marked bag and winked. "Well, among other things, I am a doctor."
"Other things?" Kate echoed, suddenly feeling light-headed.
With a smile, Juliet stood up. "I'll see you later, Kate."
Kate nodded, lying back on the bed, too weak to move any further. She wondered if giving Juliet four vials was too much. A few seconds later, she heard the heavy front door open and close. Sighing, she stretched out, happy to be alone again. All Kate wanted to do, now that Juliet was gone, was take a long, hot shower.
And she decided she would, as soon as the room stopped spinning.
