Chapter 12- Live Together Die Alone

A new day was beginning on the island. The sun was bright and high in the sky. It was already becoming hot so early in the morning.

However, most people were still asleep in their shelters. The wedding and subsequent party had ended at dawn but some people had continued their celebrations in private much later than that.

This was the reason why the beach was still so quiet.

Sawyer awoke in his tent to the feeling of light kisses on his neck and a soft body holding him. He smiled but his eyes were still closed. "Morning 'Chacha…" He quietly said.

"Good morning Cowboy!" Ana-Lucia seductively said as she kissed his chest.

"Easy woman!" He teased her. "You didn't let me get any sleep all night long, begging me for more and more…I'm exhausted!"

"Entonces no me quieres mas?" (So are you tired of me?) She playfully whined.

"Of course I want you, Mi Amor." (my love) Sawyer said as he returned her kisses.

"Well, I see you learned some Spanish last night." Ana sweetly purred into his ear.

"Yeah Chica. You're a great teacher." Sawyer replied between kisses.

"I'm very pleased with your progress, Tex. Tell me that you want me but say it in Spanish. Say it… Te quiero Ana-Lucia!" Ana gently demanded.

"Te quiero, Ana-Lucia!" Sawyer said staring deeply into her eyes. "Te quiero, mi amor." (I want you Baby)

"Oh yeah… I like it! You're Spanish is improving!" She whispered.

"Thank you Baby. Can you teach me more?" Sawyer teased.

Ana laughed mischievously, "Si, venga y besame…" (Yes, come on and kiss me) She whispered. Sawyer placed his hands in Ana's hair and brought her face closer to his, kissing her lips passionately.

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Back on the beach Emma, one of the children from the camp, was sitting alone with her doll in front of Ana's tent.

Libby saw her and smiled at the little girl and said, "Morning Princess! Did you sleep well?"

"Where's Ana?" Emma asked. "She's not in her tent and I want to play with her."I m

"I think she woke up early and went for a walk Sweetie." Libby said.

"No Libby. I already looked for her and I can't find her anywhere. Did she go back into the jungle to find The Others?" Emma seemed so concerned about Ana.

Emma and her little brother Zack had fallen in love with Ana ever since she'd saved their lives on the day of the crash and later when she rescued them from The Others' camp.

Ana-Lucia was their hero and they had become very attached to her…and Ana had become as equally attached to them.

"I don't think so, Emma. She shouldn't have gone far. I'll go and look for her, ok. Are you hungry? What do you think about waking up Hurley so that he can get you some breakfast? I think he's been asleep much too long …and you know he has tickle spots." Libby mischievously said.

The girl laughed and ran towards Hurley's tent. Waking him up was one of her favourite things to do. Hurley was great with the kids and so much fun.

Libby smiled as Emma ran towards Hurley's tent. She had a pretty good idea where Ms. Cortez was but she wanted to see for herself… with her own eyes!

Libby walked towards Sawyer's tent and noticed the red rose that Ana had worn in her hair the previous night, lying in the sand in front of the cowboy's tent.

"Oh, I knew it!" She exclaimed excitedly.

Libby decided to leave and let the couple enjoy their love in peace. However, when she took a few steps backwards she stepped in something wet and sticky in the sand. It was coming from Dylan's tent next door to Sawyer's tent.

She went closer to his tent to investigate. "Dylan?" She called for him but he didn't answer.

Libby entered his tent and couldn't hide the horror that she'd felt when she realized what was happening. The red sticky liquid was coming from a pool of blood under Dylan's dead body.

She put her hand to her mouth and screamed.

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The counter was reset back to zero again. Another 108 minutes and Jack was exhausted.

He'd had a long night in the hatch. Making love with Kate and pressing the button, loving again and then the button again…and not necessarily in the same order!

Jack returned to the bedroom. Kate was still sleeping nude underneath the blankets. He sat in a chair and quietly watched her sleep. She seemed so serene. Her breathing was soft and slow and her face looked so peaceful and happy…content after a night of lovemaking.

He was holding a cup of coffee in his hand and was attempting to quietly set it on the floor but it slipped from his fingers and dropped to the ground with a crash and broke into several pieces.

The sound of cup breaking instantly woke Kate up. "Jack?" She called to him, confused.

"I'm sorry that I woke you." Jack said.

She smiled at him. "It's ok Baby, don't worry."

He got down on the floor and began to pick up the pieces of the broken cup but his eyes remained on Kate. She was feeling a bit shy and asked. "Are you staring at me, Doctor?"

Jack came closer to her and gently kissed her lips and Kate wrapped her arms around his neck. "Mmmm…coffee tastes so good…" She said tasting the coffee on his lips.

"Your taste is better!" Jack said with a malicious smile.

"Jack stop!" Kate protested, blushing and laughing.

"Jack! Are you here, Brother?" A voice called from the hatch entrance.

The sound of Desmond's voice frightened them both.

"Stay here!" Jack said and ran towards the computer room.

Desmond's eyes were frightened.

"What's wrong Desmond?" Jack asked.

"It's happening again Brother and there's nothing we can do about it!"

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"Who would do this to Dylan?" Tina cried. "He was fine last night. I don't understand."

"Back off everyone, there's nothing to see here!" Ana-Lucia said using her former police authority. She was feeling like a cop again, sending people away from Dylan's tent until Jack arrived. Sawyer was helping her keep an eye on the people, too.

"Libby take the kids with you!" Ana-Lucia said when she saw Emma and Zack approach Dylan's tent. Libby agreed and took the kids away from there.

"Walt its better you take Vincent and go with Libby, too." Michael said to his son.

"No dad, I'm not a baby. I want to know what happened to Dylan!" Walt insisted.

"Do what I say, boy!" Michael ordered again and Walt finally went away taking the dog with him.

Everybody was in shock. It was unbelievable that Dylan was dead.

Desmond was the second person to see the dead body after he'd heard Libby screaming. He saw the body and immediately started talking about contamination and then he ran off to get Jack

Sun translated to Jin what Desmond had said and he decided that it would be better that they stay away from Dylan's tent. Shannon, Rose and Claire preferred to stay away, too.

The rest of the survivors remained at the crime scene. Sayid was there trying to find some clues as to what happened.

"I need to see the body, Ana-Lucia." He said.

"Can I see your ID?" Ana asked like she used to do in the streets of L.A. Sawyer tried hard to contain his laughter.

"Ok. I'm from the Iraq Republic Guard. Is this good enough for you?" Sayid played along.

"It'll do!" She smirked as she let him pass.

Sayid entered the tent and was instantly horrified. Dylan really was dead. His face showed the panic and fear in his eyes that he must have felt when he knew he was dying.

Dylan's eyes were open and dilated. His body was covered in blood and had formed into a pool in the sand that had drained to the outside of the tent where Libby had discovered it.

Sayid thought that Dylan's blood must have completely drained from his body…there was so much of it!

"He was murdered." Sayid said to Sawyer and Ana after he'd left the tent.

"Really?" Sawyer said mocking Sayid. "Of course he was murdered Ali, and guess what… I think that The Others killed him!"

"But Desmond said that he died because of the contamination…" Steve said overhearing their conversation.

"Desmond is crazy, man!" Ana-Lucia said. "It was The Others! I'm sure of it! I've always said that everyone should be more cautious in this camp. I hope now you're all scared and finally believe me!"

"Excuse me, please! Let me pass!" Jack announced as he arrived at the scene followed by Desmond.

Jack passed Sawyer, Ana and Sayid and entered the tent. Desmond remained outside.

"What happened to him?" Jack yelled from the tent. "Who did this to this man?"

People started to talk at the same time. Desmond said out loud. "He was affected by the contamination. I'm sure of it! Kelvin told me that this could happen. Stay away from him, Brother. We need to burn his body!"

Jack shook his head as he exited the tent. "No. We need to find out what happened to him first!"

Everybody started to discuss at that moment what to do about Dylan. Nobody noticed Tina in front of his tent holding back her tears. She'd almost confessed her true feelings for Dylan at the wedding the previous night.

Suddenly she felt her vision becoming dark, her head was spinning. Her stomach felt weak, too, and she suddenly collapsed into Neil's arms.

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Hurley had totally lost his breath when he'd arrived at the hatch. He'd run the entireway from the beach. Kate was eating a mango in the computer room watching the computer button.

"Hurley! What happened?" She asked. "Where's Jack?"

"Kate, you have to get Jack's medical stuff and get to the beach right now!" Hurley said.

"Why? I don't understand. Desmond came here and took Jack with him so quickly…" Kate began.

"Kate, things are complicated on the beach. A man died and Tina has fainted." Hurley said.

Kate gathered Jack's medical bag and ran to the door but before she left for the hatch, she asked Hurley, "Who died?"

"Dylan." He said in a sad voice.

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"Bring her here!" Jack said to Neil. He was carrying an unconscious Tina in his arms.

Sawyer offered his tent to Jack take care of Tina.

"Brother, do you think she's infected, too?" Desmond asked Jack.

"Desmond, what are you talking about? I don't know anything about a contamination." Jack exasperatedly said.

"Desmond is right." Neil said. "Tina was always with Dylan. If he had some contagious illness maybe she…"

"Shut up!" Jack angrily said. "I want everybody to get out of here so that I can check Tina out."

Desmond and Neil left the tent as Charlie entered and asked, "Jack, I know you're doing your job but people are scared. Is she going to be alright?"

Jack took in a deep breath. "Of course she'll be ok, Charlie! She's in shock because of Dylan's death."

"Yes." Charlie agreed. "They were very close."

"Charlie, I want you to tell Sawyer and Ana to guard Dylan's tent, ok? I don't want anyone going in there until we figure out what's going on. Do you understand me?" Jack ordered.

Charlie agreed and then ran to tell Sawyer and Ana. Jack touched Tina's forehead. She had a fever.

"What's happening here?" Jack asked himself.

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Kate was running through the jungle holding Jack's medical bag. She couldn't believe that a man was dead. What could possibly have happened to Dylan?

Would The Others be responsible for his death? She was really scared. It was early in the morning but the shadows amongst the trees never seemed so frightening to her before that moment.

Kate stopped running to catch her breath. Then she heard a whisper. The voice sounded familiar.

"Katherine…Katherine? Where are you?"

"Who's there?" She called out. "Wayne? Is that you?" Kate was terrified.

"Why don't you want to play anymore?" The voice asked.

Kate bit her lower lip and closed her eyes. Tears were staining her face. She knew who that voice belonged to as she had recognized those familiar words. Things that she desperately wanted to forget.

"Go away! I'm not afraid of you!" Kate yelled turning in all directions trying to see who was there.

"There you are!" The voice whispered in her ear suddenly.

Kate became pale and a scream of a panic escaped from her throat as she fell unconscious onto the ground in the middle of the jungle.

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"What do you think is going on here?" Shannon asked Claire and Sun. The women were gathered in Shannon's tent.

"I don't know but I'm really afraid." Claire said as she gently rocked Aaron. "Desmond said that the contamination has started and there's nothing that we can do about it!"

"Ok, but if this is true then the vaccines that Charlie gave you Claire… wouldn't that give you immunity?" Sun asked.

Claire shook her head. "Desmond told me that the vaccines don't work."

"But Desmond didn't believe in the contamination story anymore when he joined our camp. He, also, said that he didn't believe that if we stopped pushing the button that something would happen. However, everybody knows what almost happened when Locke decided to stop pushing the button." Shannon's voice trembled as she remembered that frightening day.

Sayid entered the tent at that moment and interrupted the women's discussion.

"Shannon… Desmond, Michael and I are going to talk with Danielle in the jungle. We're going to try to bring her to the camp to see Dylan's body and tell us something about this contamination." Sayid calmly said.

"Do you really believe that she'll come to our camp, Habib?" Shannon asked. "Rosseau is crazy and if you tell her that there has been a possible contamination here then she could kill us all, one by one."

"Even so, we're going to try. Personally, I'm not convinced that Dylan died because of some contamination theory. To me it looked like an Others' attack." Sayid said.

"Do you really think it was the Others' again?" Claire asked frightened.

Everyone was silent.

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Jin left Sawyer's tent. Sun had asked him to find out what was going on with Tina. His English was improving and Jin wouldn't let Sun go herself.

Sun was worried about Tina. When she saw Jin coming, she got up off the ground and went to talk with him. Claire joined her. Sayid and Shannon stayed behind in their tent.

"How she's feeling?" Sun asked Jin in Korean.

"I think she'll be alright!" Jin replied in Korean.

"What he did say?" Claire asked.

"He said that he thinks she'll be ok." Sun said.

"Ok, maybe Sayid is right." Claire said. "Maybe The Others' did kill Dylan. But I'm asking myself - why would they do this? They promised us an armistice if we didn't cross their line."

"That was before Claire." Sun said. "Before Jack and Ana brought the kids back. Walt, Emma, and Zack…maybe they're mad now and want revenge."

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"Shannon, don't try to change my mind. I'm going into the jungle to find Danielle." Sayid said as he left their tent holding a pack.

"Ok, but promise me that you'll be careful and will come back to me soon, Baby." Shannon tearfully said.

Sayid kissed her. "Of course my love, and you promise me that you'll stay out of this mess. We don't know yet what we're facing."

Shannon agreed. Sayid said good-bye to his friends and held his wife one more time before he left for Sawyer's tent to meet Michael and Desmond.

They were all waiting patiently for him.

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Tina slowly opened her eyes. Her vision was still a little blurry but starting to return to normal.

Jack smiled when she woke up. "Tina? How do you feel?" He asked.

"A little dizzy. What happened?" She groggily replied.

"You fainted after you saw…you know…." Jack started to explain. Michael stood by Jack as Desmond watched from the background.

She frowned feeling sad. Jack touched her forehead.

"You don't have a fever anymore. I'm sure that this was all just an emotional reaction due to the shock of seeing your friend like that. Do you want to get up?" Jack asked offering her his hand.

"Yes!" She answered in a quiet voice.

"I'll help you." Jack said as he raised her up with his arms.

"Aline!" Michael called when he saw her standing near Sawyer's tent. "Can you come here?" She came over immediately to help.

"Can you please help Tina get to her tent?" Michael asked.

"Sure." Aline said staying by her friend's side.

Before she left Tina asked Jack, "Can we give Dylan a beautiful funeral?"

"Yes, of course." Jack answered. "I'm really sorry for your loss."

Aline hugged her and Tina finally cried on her friend's shoulder. Sayid walked up to the women and shared his condolences with Tina.

When Jack saw Sayid he asked, "Michael told me that you're going into the jungle to talk to Rosseau. I think this is a great idea but I don't believe that what's happening here is because of a contamination or anything like that."

"I agree with you Jack, but I need to know the truth." Sayid said.

"Me too!" Michael agreed. Desmond remained silent.

"Ok, I agree with the two of you." Jack said. "But we still need to know the truth. If Danielle talked about a real contamination and the only way to stop this disease is to kill the infected people then I'll ignore this. This would be out of the question!"

"How can you ignore the facts Brother?" Desmond asked. "If you prefer to ignore this contamination theory then I will not stay in this camp because I don't want to die."

Michael became annoyed. "Ok! Whatever! Stay or go man. You never contributed much to this camp anyway, except whiskey for Sayid's wedding party!"

Desmond started to reply but Sayid interrupted him. "Hey, that's enough! We need to stick together now. We should go while there is still daylight!"

"I'll see you soon." Jack said to the group. "Hurry back so we can have a funeral for Dylan. I made a promise to Tina."

When the group left camp, Jack finally sat down in front of Sawyer's tent alone. He needed to think about recent events. What if there really was a disease that could kill everyone in camp one by one… starting with Dylan?

Tina's symptoms were strange but what had happened with Kate had been even more strange.

The first thing that Jack thought of when he saw Tina, after she had fainted with a fever, was the similarity to Kate's episode in the jungle. Kate had had similar symptoms recently and had, also, recovered quickly like Tina.

The only way to find out if Dylan's death had something to do with Kate and Tina's symptoms would be to find out if Dylan had had symptoms like this before he died.

Jack was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't realize when Locke arrived on the beach carrying an unconscious Kate in his arms. Sawyer called to him. "Jack! It's Kate!"

Sawyer was coming from Dylan's tent where Ana was still watching the front door.

Jack blinked his eyes and jumped back into reality. He ran towards Locke and asked. "What's happened to her?"

Everybody went to see what was happening. Claire put her hands over her mouth before she said. "Oh My God! It's Kate!" Charlie made the sign of the cross over his chest.

Jack took Kate from Locke's arms and took her into Sawyer's tent. Locke followed carrying Jack's medical bag.

People tried to get closer to see better but Sawyer intimidatingly said, "Ok everybody…back off and let the Doc take care of her."

"Is she infected, too!" Steve shouted.

"Keep your mouth shut, you idiot!" Sawyer said. "If somebody is infected here - it's you with your stupidity!" Sawyer went back to Dylan's tent.

Jack gently laid Kate down inside Sawyer's tent and checked her pulse. Fortunately, her breathing and pulse were strong. He touched her forehead. She had a fever again. He whispered into her ear. "Don't Kate! Not you! Please! Wake up, Katie!"

The fever seemed high. Jack found a Tylenol in his medical bag and Locke gave him some water from his canteen. Jack took the water and dampened Kate's face. Then he took the Tylenol and tenderly said to her. "Kate, take the medicine! You'll feel better!"

Locke remained quiet watching the pair.

She opened her eyes and blinked several times before closing them again. Jack gave her the pill with some water. She took the medicine with great difficultly, coughing and sputtering. He held her and smiled when she had finally swallowed the pill.

"Yes! Good girl! I learned a lot with you!" Jack said. Kate opened her eyes again and asked confused. "Where am I? What happened?"

Locke answered. "You're on the beach. I found you unconscious in the jungle, not far from here. Do you remember anything?"

"No. I just remember Hurley coming to the hatch and asking me to bring Jack's medical bag because Tina was sick and Dylan was dead. Is he really dead?"

"Yes. He really did die, Kate." Locke said.

Kate tried to sit up but she felt dizzy again and rested her head on Jack's shoulder.

"How did he die?" She finally had the strength to ask.

"We don't know yet." Jack said. "Libby found him dead in his tent this morning."

"Everybody is becoming frightened Jack." Locke said. "They think that Dylan died from some mysterious island disease. They say that Tina is infected, too…and now Kate."

"Me?" Kate asked in a frightened voice. "What are you talking about John?"

"Have you had these symptoms before, Kate?" Locke asked.

Kate didn't have time to answer because Jack answered for her. "Of course not John! This is the first time that I've ever seen Kate react like this and if this had happened before then she would certainly have told me - wouldn't you have Kate?"

Kate didn't answer. Locke persisted. "What happened when you were lost in the jungle and Jack found you?"

"Nothing happened, John! She just got lost." Jack angrily answered for her again.

Locke stopped his interrogation as he realized how angry Jack was becoming.

"All right Jack!" Locke finally said. "But you have to say something to the people on the beach. Whether you like it or not they've elected you as their leader. You have to give them some kind of answer to alleviate their fears."

Jack bit his lip and sarcastically said, "Ok John. Tell everyone that I'll come out and make an official statement. Now give me a minute with Kate, please."

Locke agreed and left the tent. Kate sadly said to Jack, "Poor Dylan! Live together, die alone, right?"

"No Kate. Not this time." Jack quietly said. He interlaced his fingers with hers and looked deeply into her eyes. "I'll take care of you Kate. Nothing is going to happen to you because I'll protect you. Don't stay away from me, ok? I want you to get your stuff from your tent and come to me in the hatch. If someone asks you something about what happened then act as natural as possible."

"Jack, I'm afraid I'm not following you…you think that something really is happening to me?" Kate nervously asked.

"I'm worried Kate. I just want to be sure that you'll be ok. Sayid, Desmond and Michael went into the jungle to find Rosseau. They're going to try to get some answers about the disease that killed her group. You know she's crazy and it's possible that she wants to come to our camp and tell everyone that they'll all become sick soon. If that's the case then we have to stop this…"

"They would have to kill me and Tina to stop the disease!" Kate suddenly realized.

"Yes, but don't worry, no one is going to hurt you as long as I'm alive. I'll watch over you and Tina, especially you! Are you going to do what I ask?" Jack finally asked.

Kate smiled and joked. "Well, I think that your invitation to move in together is a bit sudden but maybe we can do this."

Jack laughed and gave her a little kiss on her forehead.

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Pacing in front of Dylan's tent, Sawyer couldn't stop looking towards his tent trying to guess what was happening in there. He was concerned and wondering if Kate was going to be all right.

Ana-Lucia realized this and became annoyed with him and said. "Sounds like Mrs. Shepherd is feeling better now don't you think Cowboy?"

"What are ya talking about, Lucy?" Sawyer replied equally annoyed.

"Nothing." She said. "I'm just saying that Kate should be better soon because Jack is taking care of her. So stop worrying about your goddess, man!"

Sawyer suddenly grinned. "Are you jealous, Lu?"

"Jealous of you and Kate? Come on. Give me a break, man! We're watching a dead body and we don't even know how he died… so I have more important things to worry about!" Ana quickly answered.

Sawyer smiled again and held her kissing her neck.

"Yes. You are jealous, Gorgeous, but I'm all yours after last night. Only yours Baby!" He drawled in her ear.

People started looking at them and she quickly moved away from him. "Stop it Sawyer! People are watching us!"

"I already told you that I don't give a damn if anybody sees us!" Sawyer said annoyed with her attitude. He just wanted to kiss and touch his woman in front of other people like a normal couple but she was so stubborn about having a real relationship with him.

Ana-Lucia remained quiet and Sawyer walked away from her. Ana was right. Sawyer was thinking about Kate but only because he was concerned about her.

Ana didn't realize it but for a long time now Sawyer's thoughts had been about her, his beautiful and angry girl.

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After talking with Kate in Sawyer's tent, Jack went to talk with the other survivors on the beach.

"We lost one of us today!" Jack said. People remained quiet listening to their leader.

"However, this is not a reason to panic. There is no proof that Dylan died because of a contamination or some island disease." Jack explained.

"What about Tina?" Violet, an older, chubby lady asked.

"Tina is fine!" Jack assured his people. "She's just in shock because of Dylan… like everyone else is here."

"But if Dylan didn't die because of a disease, how did he die?" Neil asked.

"I don't know yet." Jack honestly answered. "Sayid, Desmond and Michael are in the jungle trying to find some answers about Dylan's death. If he was murdered by The Others then we're going to take all the necessary precautions for the security of the camp."

"Precautions like last time?" Luke, an ex-cop asked. "You guys are going to use someone as bait to catch The Others like you did with Claire… and Scott was murdered!"

"No! Definitely not!" Jack confirmed. "The situation is different now. I suggest that nobody walk alone in the jungle, especially at night. Stay in pairs or larger groups. I'll be in the hatch if someone needs me."

"What about Dylan?" Steve asked. "We have to bury him."

"We'll have a funeral at sunset." Jack announced.

"I'll pray for him in the Church before the funeral." Eko said.

Everybody started talking amongst themselves, making plans for Dylan's funeral. The panic was under control… for the time being.

However, Jack was still worried. He looked for Kate amongst the group and saw her. Her face was still pale.

He needed to get her off of the beach soon as possible. Jack wouldn't let anyone touch her!

Even if it meant losing his own life to protect the woman he loved.

To be continued…