Chapter 24

Hey, here's the next one. Let me know what you think!

The next twenty-four hours consisted of sitting around, jumping at every sound and trying to eat fruit they didn't want. Jack continued to watch over Sawyer, checking his vitals but not gaining any response.

The sun was setting on their second day in the cave, Jack, Sayid, Mike and Walt were sitting around the small fire they had managed to make, not far from Sawyer. They were eating the fruit Sayid had found that day, not speaking. Just as the silence was getting unbearable, they heard noise from Sawyer.

They all scramble over to him, Jack crouched by his head, moving aside his hair.

"James? Can you hear me?" Sawyer opened his eyes, looking dazed and unable to focus. "James? Are you with us?"

"Yeah," his voice was a whisper, his eyes sliding shut as he kept talking, "What happened?"

"We were attacked as we escaped, on the boat. Do you remember that?"

"We... we were in the cage. We made it to the boat, we - we were leaving..."

"That's ok. Don't worry about it. Can you move?" Jack looked at Sawyer's feet as they moved slightly. When he moved his arms, he groaned in pain. "That's ok. That's enough. You'll be in a lot of pain for a while."

"What happened?" Sawyer's voice was even weaker as he asked again, his eyes still shut.

"They ambushed us when we were on the boat. Ben... he shot you with the taser. The voltage was strong, stronger than before."

"Are you ok?" He opened his eyes to look at Jack.

"Yeah, yeah we're all fine, don't worry about that. Just relax."

"Where are we?" His eyes wondered to the rock ceiling above him.

"Caves, not our caves, other ones. Don't worry about that now. Here, have some water," Jack reached over to grab the nearest bottle. He put his hand under Sawyer's head, raising it up and tipping water in his mouth. "Just rest now. We'll wake you in a bit." Jack watched as Sawyer's eyes closed and his breathing slowed slightly. "That's about the best we can hope for right now. He knew who we were and remembered up to the ambush. It's actually pretty impressive. We should rest tonight. We'll try again in the morning."

"He's really weak. He's in pain."

"Yeah, but it's ok Walt. He'll be like that for a while. But it's ok."

Jack watched as Mike led Walt away to the other side of the cave, Sayid going back to the fire. He sat beside Sawyer, watching his chest rise and fall, trying not to think about his lifeless body on the boat. He slept that night, but his dreams were plagued by Walt screaming and Sawyer seizing. When he woke in the morning, he didn't feel rested at all. As he looked over he saw Mike and Sayid in deep conversation.

"You two ok?" He had walked up to them, keeping his voice down as not to wake Walt.

"I am telling Mike he should allow Walt to come with me when I go looking for fruit."

"And I'm telling you no. I'm not letting him out my sight again."

"It will be better for him. Jack will be trying to understand how Sawyer is feeling, Walt might not want to see it. You can help, let Walt have some fresh air."

"I think that's a good idea Mike. I need to check Sawyer's injuries, you can help. Walt shouldn't be here for that. Sawyer won't want him here." Jack could tell Mike was not convinced, but knew it was the best option.

"Ok. Fine. But you look after him." Sayid just nodded in response, walking over to wake Walt. Once Walt and Mike said goodbye, he and Sayid left. Mike and Jack watched them go.

"I need your help. I need to judge Sawyer's injuries. We need to wake him, then see how he is, ok?" Jack walked over to Sawyer, Mike following.

Jack crouched beside Sawyer's head, Mike facing him on the other side.

"James? Can you hear me?" Jack put his hand gently on Sawyer's shoulder, "James?"

"Stop calling me James," the voice was quiet and breathy, but the words made Jack smile.

"Ok. I suppose you can hear me then?"

"Yeah, I hear ya."

"Good. You know who we are? Who you are? Where you are?"

"That's a lot of questions Doc. Pick one."

"Who am I?"

"Jack, and he's Mike. Where's Walt?"

"He's fine, Sayid took him to look for fruit."

"Good. He doesn't have to see this," Jack looked at Mike as Sawyer spoke.

"You're going to be fine. Where does it hurt?"

"Everywhere."

"That's to be expected."

"How bad was it?" Jack looked at Mike again as Sawyer asked the question. Not sure how to respond.

"Bad. Really bad man. Ben shot you. With the taser. The charge was strong. It stopped your heart. I managed to get it restarted...'

"You don't say..."

"But I almost didn't. You had a seizure. We... we weren't sure you would wake up."

"Walt saw it?"

"Yeah, he was there. But he's ok."

"No, he isn't. Not after seeing that."

"He is Sawyer, he's ok," Mike spoke for the first time, "You saved him. He told us you pushed him out the way, you jumped in front of him. You saved his life, I can never repay you." He took hold of Sawyer's hand, who squeezed it back.