Chapter Ten: All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues

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"What happened to you?"

Faith entered the cave and ignored Locke, supporting Sayid as they moved past towards Jack. The doctor looked up, surprise on his face as Faith helped Sayid lie down. They were both panting and sweating, dirt covering them.

Sayid sat up. "Listen to me…"

Kate moved forward as well and Faith stepped away running her hands through her hair.

"We found her -- the French woman."

"Kate, get some water." She rushed off and Jack squatted down to begin checking Sayid's injuries. "What happened?"

"We had to come back," Sayid groaned. He paused to accept the water handed to him by Kate and sipped greedily at the bottle. "We're not alone."

Jack looked down to rip a tear into Sayid's pants then glanced over his shoulder at Faith. "Are you hurt too?" He pointed at her head. "You're bleeding."

"Are you deaf?" Faith snapped. She blindly accepted the bottle Kate handed to her but kept it hanging at her side. "He said we're not alone. Listen to the man."

Sayid reached up grabbing Jack's shirt. "The French woman, we found her and we think there are other people on the island as well."

Jack ripped Sayid's pants open wider and frowned as he saw the bleeding wound on his thigh. "One thing at a time, I need to look at this."

Faith looked up to see Hurley entering the cave as fast as he could, a clipboard in his hand. She glanced past him to see Locke and he nodded a silent greeting.

"Jack, the census I was doing… I got everyone's names. One of them-"

Jack continued to work, his head down.

"Jack!"

He finally stopped and looked at Hurley, an annoyed expression on his face. "What Hurley? Can't you see I'm working?"

"I interviewed everyone Jack and one of the guys, Ethan, he wasn't on the plane!"

"Ethan?" Faith squinted as they all focused their attention on Hurley. "The guy Locke's been hunting with?" She glanced over at Locke. "That's the guy you mentioned before I took off right?"

Jack stood up. "Has anyone seen Ethan?"

"He went to get wood." Michael stepped forward at the same time as Locke, the older man still wearing a look of bewilderment on his face. "He went down the path towards the beach."

"So did Charlie." Locke spoke up. "He went after Claire."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Faith glanced between him and Jack. "Let's go after them."

"Absolutely not. You're bleeding and you're exhausted. Stay here with Sayid."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"No. I'm not. We're wasting time." He moved past her and motioned at Sayid. "Look after him; we can argue more when we get back."

"Jack…" Locke spoke up, "We should wait and – Jack!"

The doctor ignored him rushing out of the cave in a dead run for the path.

Locke looked towards Faith as he shifted to go after Jack. "Glad to see you back Faith."

She nodded and turned away, bending down to tend to Sayid's wound.

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By the time Locke came back empty-handed and without Jack as well, he was sweaty from running and went immediately for his knife case. Faith rose up as she watched Kate approach him and the two began to talk. Locke answered her softly as he shoved his knife into his belt and then put the metal case back up on a high shelf. He handed Kate a knife and they both turned at the same time Faith approached them.

"You lose Jack too?"

He glanced over at Kate putting on her knife sheath. "Don't worry, we'll catch up with Jack. I just thought it would be a better idea to gear ourselves with some kind of advantage."

"I'm coming too."

"I figured you'd say that." He motioned at her head. "Are you sure you're okay to go?"

Faith patted her knife and motioned towards the entrance. "Let's not waste any more time."

"Boone, where do you think you're going?"

She glanced over to see Boone approaching and sighed as he stepped in front of them, blocking them from leaving with his sister right behind him.

"I heard you're forming a search party. Can I help?"

Faith glanced at Locke then back to Boone. "It's a search party, not a Scooby meeting. Why don't you stay here with your sister and hold her hand?"

"You could use another person, especially if you have to split up."

"He has a point." Locke stepped forward and extended the extra knife in his hand. "Yes, we can use another person if you're up for it."

"I'm up for it."

"Then let's get moving."

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She resisted the urge to retrieve her knife and gouge out her eyes as they were stopped again this time by Michael. "No," Faith interrupted him as his mouth began to open, "We don't need an extra person."

"Well some of us want to help too."

"Then put together another party."

Michael looked shocked at Locke's sudden suggestion but nodded. "Fine, maybe I will."

"Good." Locke smiled and edged around him, "We're going North; I suggest you go South."

Faith couldn't help but laugh as she passed Michael. She paused to throw a sharp look at Boone and Kate still standing behind her. "Hey, Justice League, you two coming or not?"

They both threw Michael a sympathetic glance as they passed, quickly heading after Locke and Faith into the forest.

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"Wow Doc, we never would have found you if you hadn't been going in circles." Faith quipped dryly as they approached Jack ten minutes later, an annoyed look on his face as he gazed around.

He shot her an irritated look and she smirked as Kate walked up to him.

"You both should go back," Locke suggested. "Look after Sayid, Faith and I, we'll find Claire."

"If I remember correctly Faith, you were injured and bleeding earlier so you're in no better shape then I am to find Claire."

"You'd be surprised what kind of shape I'm in Jack." Faith crossed her arms. "And Locke's right, you're the only trained physician on this island, don't be stupid and play Captain America only to get yourself hurt or worse."

He shot her another look then glared at Locke. "Can we go or not?"

Locke let out a loud sigh but nodded and motioned towards the near by forest. "By all means, follow me."

Faith lingered behind watching them leave and she glanced over to find Kate studying her. "What? Got something to say?"

"Why are you being so hostile to Jack?"

"Is it hurting your feelings?" She noticed Boone had stayed behind as well. "Wait, is this the point where you both gang up on me?"

He held up his hands. "No. I'm not going to say a word."

"Good." Faith looked back at Kate as she adjusted her belt tighter around her waist. "Jack's acting foolish right now and racing off into the jungle isn't going to help us find Charlie or Claire any faster. We both know that."

"He's only trying to help."

"The only reason is because he feels guilty Kate. For what? I don't know but deep inside he's pushing himself because of something he did."

"I'm starting to think he's not the only one doing that."

"How funny." Faith smirked and pivoted on her heel to follow Locke and Jack. "I was just about to say the same thing."

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Boone tied another strip of an old red shirt to a tree and glanced over at Faith. She was leaning against a tree with her arms crossed, watching Jack and Locke argue about the correct time to take a break and he stepped away, clearing his throat as he swung pieces of the left-over shirt onto his shoulder.

"You don't like Jack much do you?"

"I don't hate him if that's what you're asking." Faith watched as Kate and Jack moved away to talk quietly, Locke sitting down and taking a water bottle out from his bag. "Do you know what the definition of hero is Boone?" She looked him directly in the face. "It's someone who gets other people killed. Jack's brave and he's a good person but in the end, he's going to be just like every other human being and make a mistake that's going to cost either himself or someone else their life."

Boone opened his mouth to say something in response when they heard Locke yelling and looked over to see him with something in his hands. Faith moved towards him at the same time as Boone, both narrowly missing colliding with Jack and Kate as they came running back.

"What is it?"

"A clue," Locke grinned. He held up the small piece of tape, the letter L written on it in black marker. She recognized it, remembering having seen Charlie writing on the tape several days after they had landed. "Looks like Charlie's leaving us a path to follow."

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"No, we should stay together, Jack."

"Why? We've got two trails and three trackers now."

Faith shot Jack another look and shook her head. "I'm sorry but I'm not one for being head of the conga line. I'm stick with Locke."

"Fine. Kate can track. We'll head this way and follow the rest of Charlie's letters and you guys can follow the footprints we found."

Faith shrugged as Locke nodded. "Sounds good to me." She turned and nudged Locke to continue but he didn't move to follow her until Kate and Jack had disappeared further into the jungle.

Boone was beside her before Locke took the lead again, the younger man shoving his hands into his pockets. She glanced over at him from the corner of her eye and smirked. "What?"

"You and Sayid… What exactly happened out there?"

She noticed Locke slow down a bit and chuckled at his attempt to mask the interest from Boone's question.

"We found the Frenchwoman from the transmission. She set up some traps and we got separated." Faith shrugged. "By the time I found him again, he and the woman, Danielle, were in a pretty heavy standoff. She's been alone for sixteen years. As you can guess, it wasn't easy for her to let people go that she could actually have a decent conversation with."

"I can imagine." Locke spoke up. "Sayid mentioned we weren't alone. Did he mean Danielle or…"

"When we were coming back we heard voices. I guess it wasn't just in my head after all." She narrowed her gaze at him. "Who is this Ethan person?"

"I thought he was from the plane. He stared tagging along with a group of men who began to hunt with me in order to get more food for the rest, and I just never thought anything of it. I do know this," Locke's look was somber. "Ethan, if that's even his real name, no matter who he is, knows a lot more than me about hunting and he definitely knows more about this island."

"Then I suggest we find Claire as soon as possible."

"I guess the next question is; what do we do with Ethan once we find them?"

Her look was dark as she gazed at him again, hand unconsciously wrapping around the handle of the Jackal. "I think the real question is what do we not do to him?"

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"Red shirt."

Both Locke and Faith stopped their conversation to glance over at Boone, the man still trying a strip of red around a tree trunk.

"Huh?"

Boone stopped and grinned at both of them. "Neither of you watched Star Trek back in the day? The crew that would go down to the planet with the main guys -- the captain and the guy with the pointy ears -- they always wore red shirts, and they always got killed."

Faith snorted. "That's why I stick to black."

Both Locke and Boone chuckled, and the three of them continued their slow, calculated pace through the dense forest, Boone behind them.

"Your blade Faith," Boone mentioned, "They also used it in a Star Trek movie."

"You don't say." She rolled her eyes playfully at Locke and he grinned.

The younger man continued on oblivious to them. "So, in the real world, what did you two do? How about you Mr. Locke?"

He didn't turn around. "Why don't you guess?"

"Okay… Well, you're either a taxidermist or a hit man."

Faith surprised herself by laughing and she glanced at Boone from over her shoulder. "That's a good one, do me next Ms. Cleo."

Locke laughed, "I was a ... Regional Collections Supervisor for a box company. They made boxes."

"Yeah, right." Faith and Boone muttered at the same time. They shot each other small smiles as Locke continued following the trail.

Boone tapped his chin thoughtfully, studying her as they started after him. "Let's see. You're either a model for the handy expensive knives on the Home Shopping Network or…" He paused, "To be honest, I don't know."

Locke chuckled again ahead of them. "That makes two of us Boone."

She rolled her eyes ignoring as the two of them shared a look. "I already told the wise one here that I did random jobs, I've only had one steady job my entire life."

"Well what was that?"

Faith cursed inside her head repeatedly. "Only one I was really good at, I kinda got rid of things that were bothering people."

"Like a bodyguard?"

"Yeah, like a bodyguard." She looked ahead to see Locke had stopped in his tracks, turning so he could study her. "What?"

"Nothing." He shrugged. "But I do believe I guessed bounty hunter a couple of conversations back."

"Bounty hunter and bodyguard are two different things." She glanced away, looking around. "Why are we stopping?"

"Trails gone cold." Locke gestured ahead. "Dangerous terrain is coming up, might be best if Boone heads back."

"Me? And not you guys too? I don't think so." He scoffed.

"If you start now, you can get back to camp before dark."

"No, way." Boone shook his head. "I'm not going back."

"Suit yourself." Faith shrugged. She motioned at Locke to continue. "Come on now. I don't want to have to lead, you know I hate that."

He smirked but nodded and they began their trek again through the jungle.

"So," Faith glanced back at Boone who was now walking beside her. "What'd you do in the real world? Let me guess, model for Abercrombie and Fitch?"

Boone glared at her. "I run a business."

"What kind?"

"My mother has this empire -- the Martha Stewart of matrimony. I run one of the subsidiaries."

"That's interesting." Locke stopped again and Faith glared at his back.

"Now what?"

"It's gonna start raining in one minute."

"One minute?" Boone and Faith shared a quick look. "You sure?"

"Give or take a few seconds."

She rolled her eyes causing Boone to chuckle. "Whatever you say Obi-Wan." Faith smiled as Locke looked her way. "Can you predict lotto numbers too?" She stopped with a frown. "Of course, I'm sure if that was the case, you could have perhaps predicted our plane crashing too."

"Nope, sorry." Locke extended his arms out and lifted his head. "Only the rain."

Her response was lost as it began to pour down rain on their heads and she stared at Locke before looking towards Boone.

His eyes were wide and when he looked back at Locke, his eyes were filled with a look of amazement and disbelief. "They teach you how to predict the weather at a box company?"

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"I think we're lost."

Faith glared at Boone as the continued climbing up a rocky hill, the water still drenching them. "Oh yeah?" She yelled over the sound of rain and thunder. "Way to go Nostradamus. Well, I think it's raining; now we're both psychics."

"We're not lost!"

She glared over at Locke as he stopped. "Really? Then where are we? I'll find a payphone and call the coast guard to come pick us up."

He ignored her sarcasm and gestured around. "Don't you feel it?"

"Feel what? The rain?" Faith quipped. "Yeah, it's kinda hard to miss."

"No, it. It. Don't you feel it?"

"All right, John," Boone shook his head. "This is getting too deep for me. I'm gonna follow the strips back."

"Suit yourself."

Boone stopped and looked over at Faith, her eyes still on Locke. "Are you coming or are you going to keep on too?"

"I think I'll stick with the human compass, you go ahead." Her dark eyes flashed to his and she smirked. "I'm sure your sister is dying to have you back by now."

"Boone."

They looked away from each other to see Locke had dug a flashback from his backpack.

"You need this more than I do." He tossed it towards Boone but the younger man fumbled it and the flashlight fell to his feet, hitting something with a heavy clank.

All three of them squinted and Faith ducked down as Locke came near their feet.

"What is it?"

"Here." She handed Boone the flashlight as Locke took out his knife, bending down as well. The light clicked on and Locke pushed away dirt and leaves to tap at the wet ground. It continued to give off a resonating clanking sound.

"I think it's steel."

"Steel?" Boone frowned. "Like from the plane?"

"This far out and buried?" Faith scoffed. "Not likely." She glanced at Locke then took out her knife, tapping at the ground near her own feet and she paused at the hollow sound that echoed back to her.

All three of them began to push the dirt away from the plate, the span of it growing larger as they pushed back the wet dirt and leaves.

"Guys, what exactly are we looking at?"

Locke grinned and his eyes connected with Faith's, a light in them flickering with sudden energy and ever-growing interest.

"That's what we're gonna find out."