Chapter 31- Cave Discoveries and Ideas

Hope and Ben-Ben followed Jack and Kate, after they outran the bees, into a cave. Jack froze and Hope got a look at what stopped him. Jack was staring down at what appeared to be the human remains of a man. "Who is he? How did he get here?" Kate asked.

"Kate, I can't perform an autopsy, but there doesn't seem to be any major trauma to the bones. We got another one over here. Someone laid them to rest here," Jack said, going to another skeleton. This one was that of a female.

"Who, Dad?" Hope asked.

"I don't know," Jack admitted.

"Where do they come from?" Kate asked.

"Didn't you guys shoot a polar bear last week?" Jack asked dryly.

"Yeah," Kate, Hope, and Ben-Ben all said.

"Where'd that come from?" jack asked, making a valid point.

"Hmmm. Touché, Dad," Hope said as they looked around.

"Any idea how long they've been here?" Kate asked.

"Long. It takes 40 or 50 years for clothing to degrade like this," Jack said, picking up a bag. When he emptied it, it had two stones; one white and one black.

"What is it?" Kate asked.

"Hello? Anybody in there?" Locke's voice interrupted before Jack could say anything.

"Everyone all right?" Locke asked as Jack put the stones back into the bag.

"A few things aside," Jack said.

"You four run fantastically. I'm glad my diversion spared you. I was only stung several hundred times," Charlie said sarcastically.

"Well, you're the idiot who split the hive. I told you not to," Ben-Ben said, annoyed.

"Benjamin, it was an accident," Jack said warningly.

"Yeah, well, thanks to his accident we all got stung," Ben-Ben said sourly.

"Whoa. Are these the people who were here before us?" Charlie asked, looking at the skeletons.

"What are you talking about?" Locke asked, coming over to look.

"Well, just...You know, there could have been people here before us, right?" Charlie stammered.

"Clearly. But who were these men?" Locke asked.

"Actually, Mr. Locke, one of them is female. My grandfather gave me an anatomy book when I was five for my birthday. A woman's bone structure is smaller than that of a man's. And this one is female," Hope said, indicating one of the skeletons.

"Our very own Adam and Eve," Locke said dryly.

"I don't know about that, but it is a man and woman on a tropical island that can make people think of Paradise," Hope said as they filled water bottles.

"One or two of us should stay and help Charlie salvage the wreckage," Locke said.

"You offering?" Kate asked.

"Sure," Locke said.

"I'll stay here too. If there are any medical supplies I can carry them back," Hope said, wiping her sweaty face with the sleeve of her shirt.

"We should move out. People are probably getting thirsty. What?" Kate asked when Jack didn't move.

"Forty-six people need to drink a half gallon a day each. Carrying all this water back and forth is gonna be a real pain in the butt," Jack said.

"You're starting to make me regret volunteering," Kate said with a smile.

"You know, Dad, these caves make too good a shelter just to be used for burial. Adam and Eve, they must have lived here. Their plane crashed or maybe they were shipwrecked. They probably found this place and knew they could survive here. Unlimited supply of fresh water. Tree canopy keeps the temperature down, shields out the sun. The openings are narrow, easier for protection against predators. We don't need to bring the water to the people. We need to bring the people to the water," Ben-Ben said as Jack stood.

"I think you're right, son. I think we can live here," Jack said as they walked out.

Ben watched with a measure of relief as Jack, Kate, and his son came out of the cave. Granted, Hope wasn't there and he was worried about her, but at least his boy was okay. "Dad, I hope everyone agrees," Benjamin said to Jack.

"I do too, son. Living in these caves would be a lot easier. Good call, Benjamin," Jack said.

"Thanks, Dad. I just hope there are no more bees between here and the beach. I'm not afraid of bees, like Charlie, but I don't care to get any more stings either," Benjamin said, looking around warily.

"Do you think Hope knows what medical supplies to look for?" Kate asked, changing the subject.

"I know my daughter. She's very astute with medicine. If we are still here she could probably deliver Claire's baby," Jack said.

"She's that good?" Kate voiced the question Ben was thinking.

"Yeah. She may be almost 13, but she's not inept. She always seems to know what to do in a situation," Jack said, pride tingeing his voice.

"Well, we can thank the Outward Bound program and summer camp for that. Hope got lost on a hike at summer camp when we were 10 or 11 and she begged Dad to let her try the program," Benjamin said.

"I've never heard of it," Kate admitted as they started walking and Ben and the others followed them out of sight.

"It's all survival training. You have to survive on your own with just a few matches. It's not for the faint of heart. Believe me, I was nervous about letting her try. It was too much like sending her to France as an exchange student," Jack said.

"She's a lot stronger than people would think, but she doesn't brag about it. She keeps it to herself until it's needed," Kate said, voicing Ben's own opinion on his daughter. Ben had thought his opinion might have been biased, but Kate's opinion matched his when it came to Hope.

"Yeah. That's what makes her different, I guess. She's the kind of hero who would be the last to know about it. She would save the day and wouldn't even know she had," Jack said.

"So she's modest. Did she learn that from you?" Kate asked.

"No. I can't take credit for that. She didn't learn modesty from me. The day she was born I got the idea her mother was modest. She was a little shy about having a male doctor delivering her babies," Jack said.

"So, you really aren't their father?" Kate asked.

"No. I just adopted them when their mother died and I had no idea where to even find their father. I'm just the doctor who delivered them. I just never thought that taking them in would change my life forever," Jack said, their voices drifting away.

Ben watched as his son disappeared from sight. Ben didn't quite know how to grab his son or daughter. Neither one was alone long enough and considering how much they appeared to love Jack, Ben didn't know if he should even try.

Ben-Ben, Jack, and Kate walked through the dense foliage. Ben-Ben swiped his face with the back of his hand. "Ya know, Dad, I was thinking what if we were living at the caves. We could build a dam around that spring so that everybody could have fresh water, and we can get the infirmary off the beach. You guys think it's a bad idea?" Ben-Ben asked, panting slightly as they came to a stop to breathe.

"No, no, it makes sense," Kate said.

"But?" Jack asked.

"No "but," Kate said.

"Good. Because a lot of people are still hoping a rescue boat's gonna show up. They aren't thinking about their own safety. We're gonna have a lot of convincing to do," jack said as they continued on.

"We?" You still haven't convinced me yet," Kate said dryly. Jack looked at Kate without a word and they walked on.