Thanks for the reviews. It's awesome that people are enjoying "Pale Reflection" so much. This, I'm not sure about -- Has it become too mythology-based? I've never written an on-island chapter story before, so I might've gotten carried away... ;)

Chapter 36. The Medical Station

Despite her confusion, the medical facility was almost exactly where Claire had said it would be, give or take a few hundred yards.

Even though it wasn't that far, the hike took them almost three hours, because before they'd set out, Libby had ambushed Kate at the entrance to her tent, threatening to tell Jack she was pregnant if she didn't promise to take it slowly and rest as often as she could.

It wasn't easy to think of excuses with Sayid glowering at her, seeming to wonder why she was there if she couldn't keep up, and she was pretty sure none of them were very original, from refilling her water bottle, to painstakingly reknotting her shoelaces, but as afraid as she was of Jack finding out, she was even more afraid of him finding out too late, when he was forced to nurse her through a miscarriage.

She knew that he would never forgive her for putting them both through that, or himself, and she was pretty sure that she'd never forgive herself, either. As complicated as it had made her life, she no longer had any doubts about whether or not she wanted her baby: it had become real to her in the moment that she'd discovered how easily it could be taken away.

The door was buried in the side of a ravine, half hidden by vines. As Sayid brushed them aside, letting first one, then the other, creak open, Kate began to wish that they had something more substantial than hunting knives for protection, but she needn't have worried, because the inside was deserted, stripped of anything of use.

They found the examination room, but the machines Claire had described were missing, the cabinets empty and overturned. There was no nursery, no crib, just the faded outlines of the wooden plaques that had previously decorated the walls.

"They must have abandoned this station in a hurry, when Claire escaped," Sayid said as they systematically opened and closed each locker in what Jack insisted looked like the interns' locker room at St. Sebastian's, checking for anything that the Others might have overlooked; anything that would enable them find Them again. "They knew we would come looking for Them."

The hope Kate had been clinging to, that they would get answers, evaporated when their search came up empty. "Maybe this isn't where They brought her," she argued, unwilling to accept that they were just as powerless as ever, but Jack shook his head, misunderstanding.

"Everything's here, it's just not… here," he said; shaking his head again, he slammed his palm against the nearest locker, the look on his face telling her that he felt as defeated as she did.

"I'm going to search the perimeter one more time, then I suggest we head back to the beach," Sayid told them, disappearing back into the corridor.

Watching Jack drop his head, massaging the bridge of his nose, as the Iraqi's footsteps receded, Kate thought about telling him, if only to make him understand why she couldn't let this go, but she didn't want to provoke him, not when he was holding himself together by a thread.

If he found out that she'd knowingly allowed him to lead her there, like a sacrificial lamb, while there was every possibility that the Others were still around, he'd be furious. He wouldn't even care that it was his baby she was carrying; in fact, that would probably just make him angrier. He wouldn't get to be happy or excited or proud: it would just be another problem for him to solve, another thing to lose sleep over.

When Sayid returned, they closed up the facility, replacing the vines, and headed out, making the long trek back to the beach in silence. Even the Iraqi was more reticent than usual, staring straight ahead as he debriefed.

As soon as they emerged from the jungle, Kate, too tired and miserable to talk to anyone, started towards her tent, intending to make good on her promise to Libby by taking a nap before dinner, but she stopped when Kevin barrelled past her.

"I can't believe you," he said, and at first, she thought he was talking to her, but when she turned to face him again, she saw that his words were directed at Jack, who looked ready for another violent confrontation with him, now that the Others were out of his reach. "You go off at me for not protecting Claire, and then you let Kate go into the jungle."

"Kevin!" she called sharply, to silence him, running over to them when she realised what was happening, but he motioned for her to stay out of it.

"Do you want Them to take her, or do you just have your head stuck so far up your ass you can't see what a phenomenally stupid idea that was?" he continued as if she hadn't spoken, red-faced with anger, and Jack stopped, confused as to what they were fighting about this time.

Out of the corners of her eyes, Kate could see a crowd gathering, Claire watching the proceedings, wide-eyed, from between Libby and Charlie. Sayid stood by, ready to break it up if it came to blows, but otherwise, disinterested.

"I didn't let her do anything," Jack insisted, too fired up to care that they were making a scene. "I told her to stay on the beach, but you of all people should know how stubborn she can be. She wanted to come."

"So?" Kevin persisted, taking a step towards him; a step that Jack met with one of his own. Opposite her, Kate saw Claire tense, her hand flying to her belly, and Libby whispered something to her, rubbing her shoulder to soothe her. "You should've said no. She shouldn't be going on hikes – you're a doctor, you're supposed to know that."

"Kevin," Kate tried again, but unaware of the real cause of the conflict, Jack let out a sarcastic laugh, shaking his head. "So I should wanna keep her barefoot and pregnant like you do?" he retorted, and for a moment, Kate was afraid that Kevin really would hit him. If he knew what he was saying, he probably would have deserved it. It made him sound like he was being smart.

"You shouldn't have any trouble with that," Kevin ground out darkly, catching himself, by sheer force of will, before he put his fist through Jack's face.

Claire flinched again, doubling over, but this time, she didn't appear to be listening, gripping the side of her abdomen as Libby tried to get Jack's attention. "Jack—"

"What the hell is your problem?" he demanded, bewildered by this remark, and Kevin glanced at Kate as realisation dawned on him.

"You mean you don't know?" he asked, letting go of some of his anger when he realised that Jack hadn't led her into danger intentionally. "She didn't tell you?"

"Jack!" One hand still on Claire's back, rubbing it absently, Libby waved her free arm at him, but he was too focused on Kate to notice.

"Tell me what?" he asked, his dark eyes boring into hers, searching for an explanation, and she thought she was going to have to break the news to him there, in front of the whole camp, until Libby's voice cut through the tension between them.

"Jack!"

The urgency in her tone was unmistakeable this time. "What?" he asked, shifting his attention reluctantly from Kate.

"Claire's in labour."

Damn Claire! She's like the new Michael... (I hold Michael personally responsible not only for ruining the second Jate kiss, or at least, The Talk, but for season 3, since he was the one who delivered them to the Others. That's why he's not in this fic, because I hate him!)

I know Kevin didn't tell him, but I have something else fairly dramatic in mind, which brings me to:

Next chapter: Jack tries to get Kate to help him deliver Claire's baby... ;)