Chapter 38
3rd Day
"So, is that really Sawyer Jr?" - Sayed said caressing the baby's head on Kate's arms.
"It's his clone!"- She joked. – As soon as he starts talking he'll probably come out with new nicknames for all of us.
Sayid smiled. It was not daylight yet but the group was already about to leave. Jack had told Sayid and Locke that he wasn't going with them to preserve Ana-Lucia, the baby and Kate. The Iraq agreed with him, although he felt concerned about leaving them behind but he also knew that was the best solution because taking them it would be an unnecessary risk. They didn't even know if they'd succeed in their mission.
"We must go now, Sayid!"- Locke said.
Rosseau had left already and it was waiting for them by the pound.
Jack gave Pedro a few painkillers for his shoulder, a piece of gauze and rubbing alcohol so he could continue changing his bandages.
Sayid asked Jack:
"Do you need more ammunition?"
"No."- Jack shook his head.
"I wanted to let you know that I don't feel so good about leaving you and Kate behind with a newborn and a post labour mother.
"I know, Sayid but there is no way we can't leave here now.
Sayid nodded tapping on Jack's shoulder.
"We're leaving them. I hope to see you soon."
"Me too."- Jack said. "Good luck and I hope you find Sawyer."
Locke and Michael shook hands with Jack.
"Be careful!"- Kate said. "We know what these people are capable of."
The group left. Jack involved his arms around Kate's waist.
"It's going to be alright, princess."- he said affectionately.
"I know because you're here!"- She said snuggling back against him while she was rocking James in her arms.
"I wish I could clean up a little bit."- Jack said.
"Me too."- Kate agreed. "Is the pond very far from here?"
"Pedro and Rosseau said it is not."
"We could go there, catch some fruits and clean up ourselves, what do you think?"- She asked with a naughty smile.
'I think you're tempting me, woman."- He teased her.
"Oh, come on Jack! We won't take long and Ana needs some fresh fruits."
He kissed her forehead.
"Alright then."
"I'll take Jamie to his mommy. Be right back."
Kate got in the tent and found Ana-Lucia seating on the blanket. She seemed to be feeling a little better as her face didn't look so pale anymore.
"It's good to see you like this."- Kate said. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I've been hit by a damn truck."- She joked. "But I'll survive. - She turned her attention to the baby, talking sweetly to him. - Where were you Jamie?
"It's my fault."- Kate said. "I couldn't resist taking him to show off to the others.
Ana-Lucia giggled and took the baby.
"Did they left already?"- Her eyes suddenly turned sad.
"Yes."- Kate said.
Ana took a deep breath.
"I'm going to try not thinking about it right now. I have to take care of my baby."
The baby boy started aiming for her breast instinctively. Ana Lucia smiled.
"Are you hungry again, baby?"
"Are you hungry, Ana?"- Kate asked her.
"I drank the milk you left for me but I'm still starving."- She confessed.
"Jack and I are going to the pond to catch fruits and water. We'll be back soon. Will you be ok?"
"Sure, no worries."
James cried impatiently, demanding his mom's breast. She snuggled him against her and he calmed down when he started nursing. Kate took from her gun from her back pocket and placed carefully beside Ana-Lucia.
"It's locked but loaded. For an emergency!"
Ana-Lucia nodded.
Kate was about to leave when she said:
"Oh, and before I forget, Jamie needs a change of diaper."
"I noticed."- Ana said wrinkling her nose. She kissed the baby's head. "I love you baby. You have such beautiful eyes."- She spoke to him tenderly.
Kate left and found Jack placing empty water bottles on his backpack.
"Shall we go, doc?"- She asked raising an eyebrow.
He chuckled.
"Oh, those seductive eyes! Come on!"
They held hands and walked away. The pound was more bigger and deeper than they thought; it wasn't very far from their camp and it had lots of trees around it, full of fruits. Kate claimed on a mango tree and threw them juicy mangos on the ground easily.
Jack took off his shirt and shoes before inserting his feet in the water. Kate came down and with a little knife that she got from her backpack, she cut a piece of mango, happily tasting it.
"This mango is so sweet!"- She said sitting beside Jack.
"May I try?"- Jack asked.
She put the mango aside and kissed his lips. Jack laughed and got the mango from her hands plus the knife and cut a piece for himself. Kate stood up and took off her shirt and pants, keeping only her bra and panties on. Jack admired her body under the sunlight. She put her foot in the water wanting to go in and swim.
"Come Jack!"- She said calling him with her index finger.
He finished with the mango and took off his pants but kept his boxers on. Kate saw the wound on his leg.
"Baby, this must be hurting."
"Don't worry!"- He said grabbing her inside the water.
Kate smiled and kissed him. Jack unclasped her bra, removing it. The two of them got inside the water hugging and kissing, splashing water all over. She felt Jack caressing her thighs and whispered in his ear:
"We can't take too long…"
"We're not going to, I promise!"- He said touching that warm spot between her legs. She moaned and nibbled on his shoulder.
"Oh, Jack..."
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In the tent, Ana Lucia had just finished changing the baby's diaper. She was blowing raspberries on his little tummy.
"You're mommy's sweetheart...yes. you are…"
She saw a pair of legs passing by the tent through the crack of the tarp. She smiled and said:
"Jack, Kate! Where are the fruits? Did you guys really go to catch them or…"
She didn't hear an answer but continued hearing steps outside.
"Jack! Kate!-She called one more time. Still no answer. Her heart beat faster and instinctively she got the gun that Kate left her. She hold the baby carefully and stood on her feet with some effort and got out of the tent.
"Kate, is that you out there? Jack?"- She enquired one more time.
Suddenly, Ana's fears came to life when two men and a woman came out from behind the trees.
"Back off!"- She yelled. "Back off or I'll shoot you, you son of a bitches!"
The woman laughed sarcastically.
"No, you won't shoot us Ana-Lucia Cortez because you don't want to accidentally hurt your baby.
Ana Lucia shot up.
"Try coming near me."- She warned.
The baby cried out loud because of the shotgun sound.
"I'm sorry baby, mama is trying to protect us!"- She whispered to her son, rocking him with one arm.
The three of them kept facing her but they didn't dare to come closer. She didn't know but they were doing that to distract her because a taller and stronger man came from behind and grabbed her before sticking a needle on her arm; still, her efforts to hold her baby in her warm was noticeable. Soon, the woman took the baby boy away from her and Ana Lucia fainted, collapsing on the ground.
"Alright, we got her!"- one of the men said.
"Isn't he beautiful, Danny?"- The woman said rocking James in her arms. "Can we keep him?"
"I ain't sure, Collen but now we don't have time for this, we must go after Shepard and Austen. They are at the pond.
"I suggest we wait for them to come back."- The other man suggested. "They have no idea what's going on and it would be easier to catch them here."
Danny agreed, he seemed to be the leader of that small group. He admired the tiny baby on Colleen's arms.
"If there's not objection from Ben, we'll keep him. I heard the mother is going to be erased.
"How about the father?"- Colleen asked.
"I'm not sure but it seems like Ben has plans for him."
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After all those four days of ordeal, Jack and Kate finally could enjoy each others company with no interruptions while they cuddle at the pond's shore.
They were laying down above their own clothes laying on the grass, naked. Quietly, they're enjoying some sunlight together, hugging each other and feeling the warm of their bodies.
"I always feel that I am healed from everything every time we make love."- Jack commented smiling to her.
Kate giggled and peck on his lips:
"I feel the same way."
"We must go back."- He said standing up and catching his clothes from the ground.
"Yes, Ana's hungry. We need to take the fruits and I also don't feel good about leaving her too long by herself with the baby.
They got dressed and started the way back to their little camp. They were relaxed, exchanging love glances. When they arrived, Kate rushed to the tent with some fruits for Ana Lucia but she got scared when she saw that Ana and the baby were not there.
"Ana! Ana!"- Kate called around their camp.
"What's wrong?"- Jack asked. "Isn't she here?"
Kate preocupou-se e os dois saíram procurando-a desesperados pelos arredores. Nada. Ela ouviu um dos arbustos se mexerem, voltou seus olhos na direção do barulho, mas já era tarde. Sentiu uma dor aguda no pescoço ao ser atingida por um dardo tranqüilizante. Seu corpo inteiro entrou em convulsão. Jack was exasperated com aquilo e sacou sua arma, atirando na direção de onde o dardo viera. No entanto, suas balas acabaram e ele não conseguiu atingir ninguém. Num impulso incontrolável, colocou Kate em suas costas e tentou fugir com ela, mas foi atingido por um dardo na perna direita, caindo quase imediatamente, desfalecendo junto com sua amada.
Kate was definitely concerned and then both of them went looking for Ana but they found nothing. She heard the bushes moving and turned her eyes towards the noise but it was already too late.
She felt a sharp pain on her neck when she was hit by a tranquilizer dart. Her entire body went into convulsion. Jack was exasperated by that and drew his weapon, firing in the direction the dart had come from came. However, his bullets ended and he was not able to hit anyone. On an impulse, he placed Kate on his back and tried to escape with her but he was also hit by a dart on his right leg and fell almost immediately, fainting with his beloved.
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Nikki was already tired of running without knowing from what; she had been running since she escaped from that bizarre place with Alex's help two nights ago. She hadn't stop much to rest. She could only think she needed to make to this camp where she would be safe, although she didn't know how she would do that. She just kept walking non stop.
Alex had advised her to go North but the impression Nikki had was that she had been walking in circles for quite a while now and wasn't very far from the place she had escaped from.
Nikki decided to stop. She was breathing hard with her hands on her knees. She got her backpack out of her back and drank one more sip of the water she had been saving. She sat on the ground and closed her eyes resting against a tree. She was very dirty and sweat, her long dark blond hair was sticking to her forehead.
Suddenly, the sound of steps approaching caught her attention.
"Oh my god, oh my God! They've found me, they're going to take me back!"- She murmured.
She didn't even have a gun to protect herself. She started predicting her own end; those people were going to capture her again and they were be so mad because she escaped that they'd kill her right away.
Nikki didn't want to die, she'd beg for her life, she'd do whatever they wanted. The steps were closer this time and then she saw a woman with a messy hair and rough appearance showing up in front of her whie pointing an arrow to her chest.
Nikki cried out loud:
"No, no, please! Don't kill me! You can take me back! I promise I won't try to escape again!"
"Nikki?"- Pedro shouted coming out of the trees.
"Pedro? Is that you? How…?"
"Danielle, please put this arrow away from her. It's Nikki!"- Pedro told Rosseau.
The French woman put the arrow down but looked suspicious. Locke, Michael and Sayid also showed up.
"I thought I was never going to see you again."- Pedro said hugging her.
"Did you escape from the Other's camp?"- Sayid enquired to her.
"Other's camp? What are you talking about and…who are you?"- Nikki asked.
"I don't think she has any idea of what is going on, Sayid."- Locke said.
"I'm not sure...maybe she did escape with someone's help or maybe this is a trap for us. They let her go to attract us and be captured."- Rosseau said.
She pointed the arrow to Nikki again.
"No!"- Pedro said putting himself in front of her.
"How did you escape, Nikki?"- Michael asked serious. He knew the Others enough to know they'd never free anyone without a deal; he had been a victim of that once.
"There was a teenager girl, Alex, she took care of me during the whole time I was in captivity. She's the one that helped me to escape. She said I should try to get to this camp from the survivors of a plane crash. Is that you?"
Rosseau's eyes brighten up when she heard her daughter's name. They were close then. That made her excited.
"Did you speak to Alex?"- She asked Nikki.
"Yes, if it wasn't for her I'd have never escaped."
Tears rolled out of Rosseau's eyes and she said:
"We must keep going, their camp isn't far. Come with us, show us the way where you came from!"
"I can try to show you the direction."- Nikki said. "But I won't go back to the place. No way! Pedro how did you escape? Did Alex help you too?"
"No."- Pedro said. "They tortured me and I don't know why they just let me go."- He told her.
Locke raised an eyebrow, surprised.
"You never told us that."
"If I have told you, would have believed me?"- He justified himself.
Sayid became suspicious.
"How about that story you told us about being a writer writing a book about the survivors of a plane crash?"- Locke questioned him.
All the attention was now turned towards Pedro.
"You told them you were a writer? Pedro, why did you lie?"- Nikki asked him.
He became nervous and try to explain:
"Not everything was a lie. I only said that to make John believe me and help me because I knew Jack would be harder to convince. I also realized that there was some sort a competition about the group's leadership between them so I took advantage of it to survive."
Michael shook his head.
"Not everything was a lie, man? So what part was actually the truth?"
"Well, the part that I'm not one of them."
"How about the information you had about us being the survivors of a plane crash?"- Sayid enquired.
"I heard a few conversations while I was living with the Others so I used that to my favor."
"That's enough! I don't want to hear anything else. This guy is a liar!"- Michael said.
"Shut up, Michael." Sayid said. "You are not better than him since once you were capable to betray us to recover your son. Pedro has been helping us this whole time.
"Then how did you and Nikki really get to this island?"
"I've already told you, John, our boat broke, we got stuck in the sea then the current brought us here to this island.
"And what were you really doing in the sea?"
"Well, Nikki was teaching me scuba diving, she is a scuba diving instructor as I mentioned before. I was on a mission. I had been hired by Penelope Widmore to find Desmond, her fiancé that disappeared while he was participating on a boat race around the world.
Everyone's eyes went wide open.
"But you found him Pedro. Why you didn't tell him that?"- Locke asked.
"Because I realize there is no means to leave this island and I thought that giving this information away would not bring m any good.
"Enough of the chat, we must go!"- Rosseau said, impatiently.
Nikki stood up and said:
"I'm not sure which direction I came from but Alex told me to follow North saying that I should take West, she warned that death was waiting for me there.
"Then we're going to West. That's where they are."- Rosseau affirmed, determined.
"I won't go with you."- Pedro announced. "Ill go back to our camp with Nikki.
Sayid understood.
"Alright, when you get to camp tell everyone we are ok and that Jack will come back as soon as Ana-Lucia recovers.
The group move forward, every time increasingly divided. Pedro and Nikki stayed behind hugging each other.
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Sawyer was still sleeping on his cell when he was awakened by the familiar sound of the shoes of the woman with whom he talked the previous day. He got up fast from the mattress on the ground and faced her; this time she wasn't wearing a white coat. She had an innocent glance but Sawyer knew that was just a mask that was hiding her true nature.
"To whom I own the honour of your Majesty visiting my humble chambers"- He said sarcastic.
The woman smiled and came near his cell.
"Do you feel calmer now?"
"Like a baby sheep."- Sawyer said. "What do ya have for me, Poison Ivy?"
"Poison Ivy?"- She repeated. "You are very creative; I'll give you that but I actually came to officially introduce myself to you so you don't have to create any more nicknames for me. I'm Juliet."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Romeo."- Sawyer said with sarcasm. He didn't give a damn about her name. "When am I going to get out of here?"
"Soon."- She calmly stated. "You'll leave here tomorrow morning."
"And may I ask where the hell am I going to? To your house? I'd like to let you know that I have a girlfriend."
Juliet giggled.
"Taking you home seems like a great idea and also I don't care about your girlfriend but no, I won't tell you where you're going."
"And what are you here for? Just to laugh a little bit more at me?"
"No, I came to let you know that later you will receive a visitor that you will enjoy seeing very much."
Sawyer frowned.
"What? Did Madonna bailed me out?"
"You'll see. I'm doing this because I want you to stop thinking that we are the enemies."
She left then making Sawyer very intrigued about the supposed visitor he was going to receive.
To be continued...