A/N: Thanks so much for your reviews! Hope to get more. :)

Chapter 5

"Jack...What do you think made her scream like that?" Kate asked him as they ran as fast as they could back to the caves.

"I don't know," Jack replied, "She can't be in labour. At least she shouldn't be. Her due date isn't until late next week."

Kate stopped running and put her hand on her forehead. She had just remembered what Charlie had told her this morning.

"Jack...Jack wait!"

Jack turned around and jogged back towards her. He put his hand on her shoulder and looked into her eyes.

"What? What is it Kate? Are you okay?" he asked.

"It's Claire. I just remembered...Charlie he told me this morning that Claire has been in a lot of pain lately," Kate told him, "He said that Claire didn't want anyone to know about it but he was worried so he wanted me to tell you because he couldn't find you. Charlie told me that Claire was saying that she was okay, that the pain was just false labour pains. Jack, one of the reasons I was looking for you this morning was to tell you this...damn it. I can't believe I forgot. I was just so caught up in...You know...I should've told you the first moment I saw you. Now who knows what's could be happening..."

"Kate, it's okay. We're going to get back to the caves right now and we're going to help Claire," Jack said, "She'll be fine...yea...she'll be fine. Come on let's go."

He took her hand in his and they started running again. They heard Claire scream again and they ran even faster. Every turn they made led them to taller thicker patches of trees which blocked their path. The tree branches were long and sharp. As they ran a couple of them scratched Kate's face. Blood slowly oozed through her skin. She wiped it off with the hand that wasn't holding Jack's. As they neared the caves, the tree branches seemed to surround them. They were almost back to the caves when Jack fell to the ground clutching his hurt arm.

"Oh god! Jack what's wrong? Are you okay?" Kate asked as she knelt down next to him.

She took his arm and held it gently. The white bandage around his arm was ripped and blood stained. The long cut in his arm was now deeper and it was slowly gushing out more and more blood. She let out a shaky breath and looked at him.

"Jack..." Kate said, "We have to stop the bleeding."

"No...The caves...Claire. We don't have time," Jack mumbled.

He stood up slowly. As he did he saw something through the bushes. A man in a black suit. His father. Jack blinked and shook his head. He opened his eyes but he could still see his father there with his expressionless face peering at him.

'Another one is going to die because of you.'

Jack watched as his father mouthed those words to him. He could only hear it in a whisper but he knew what his father was saying to him.

"No...no..." he whispered to himself.

"Jack! Your arm! How are you supposed to help her with your arm in that condition?" Kate cried.

'Time is running out Jack.'

"No! We have to get back to the caves now! There's no time for this. We don't know what's happening to Claire!" Jack yelled, "For all we know she could be in labour and her baby will be born prematurely. My arm is fine. We have to go help her!"

"How are you supposed to help her if you won't let me help you? What good is a cut up bloody arm Jack?" Kate yelled back.

Another scream pierced the jungle as Kate and Jack bickered. Jack turned to run but she grabbed his good arm and held him back. Kate took off the white button up shirt that she was wearing over her tank top and ripped the bottom of it. She took hold of Jack's wrist and wrapped his arm tightly with the torn shirt.

"If you had just let me help you in the first place, we would be back at the caves by now," Kate said as she wrapped his arm.

Jack didn't say a word. He just stared at his father.

'It's not a nice feeling is it? Not being able to help someone when they need it most. Especially when someone is holding you back, someone that you love. Now you know how it feels Jack. Now you know.'

Jack's breathing grew faster. He wished that his father would just shut up and disappear. He looked down at his arm. Kate was just about done wrapping it. He glanced up and saw his father still staring at him. He shook his head and blinked rapidly. He couldn't take this anymore. The inability to go help Claire, his fathers cold dark eyes staring at him, he just couldn't take it.

'Jack what's wrong? Can't handle the pressure? Can't handle the fact that even if you were at the caves helping the pregnant woman right now she is still going to die?'

"No...no!" Jack cried.

"Jack? Jack what's going on?" Kate asked worriedly.

"No...I'm not going to lose another patient! I won't let her die!" Jack screamed, "I'm not going to let another one die dad! You just watch! I'm going to save her!"

Jack pulled his arm out of Kate's grasp and ran towards the caves. Luckily Kate had just finished wrapping his arm up before he ran from her. She hoped that he was alright. She didn't know where his sudden outburst came from.

'I'm not going to let another one die...dad?' Kate thought, 'Oh Jack...what the hell is going on...'

-- - -- - --

Jack ran into the caves and saw Claire lying on the ground with Charlie by her side. He ran over to them and knelt down.

"Jack! Help me! I don't know what's going on!" Claire screamed.

Jack stood up and grabbed his backpack full of medical supplies and returned to Claire.

"She just started screaming Jack. The next think I knew she was on the ground...screaming," Charlie told him.

Jack checked Claire's pulse and then put a hand on her stomach.

"You're in labour Claire," Jack said loudly over her screams, "You have to clam down for me okay. I know you're in pain but you have to breathe."

Charlie sat beside her and held her hand. Claire held onto it for dear life and you could see the pain in Charlie's face because of her mighty grip but he didn't care how much it hurt. All he cared about was her and the baby. He put a hand on her sweaty forehead and comforted her.

"It's okay love. You'll make it through this. I believe in you," Charlie said to her in a soothing tone, "You can do this Claire."

"Thanks Charlie...But I don't know...how much more of this I...can take," Claire said in between breaths and screams, "I've never been in labour before..."

Kate returned to the caves and saw what the situation was. She ran over to them and sat down on the other side of Claire. Kate turned to Jack and looked at him with worry in her eyes.

"Jack, the baby is coming right? Prematurely..." Kate said and then she lowered her voice so only Jack could hear her, "Will she be okay? I mean her and the baby, will they survive this? Will she make it?"

Jack closed his eyes for a second and returned Kate's worried look.

"There is a big chance that they might not make it," he replied quietly.

Kate lowered her head and took Claire's other hand in hers as Jack kept encouraging her to go on and to stay calm. He kept telling her that everything would be alright and when Kate kept hearing the words "you'll be fine" she cringed.

"Why is this happening now Jack? My due date isn't until next week!" Claire cried.

"It's...It's okay Claire. There are many cases in which a baby is born prematurely," he responded in the only way he knew how.

"Will my baby be okay? Will he?"

Jack hesitated before answering her question. He couldn't think of an answer for her. He knew what the chances were. He knew all the medical stuff but he just couldn't think of an answer to her question. He just didn't know how to tell her that she might not even make it let alone the baby especially under these conditions, the environment, the scarcity of supplies.

"Jack! Will the baby be alright?" Charlie asked.

Jack didn't want to give them false hope but he didn't know what to do. That's when he heard him again, saw him again.

'So son, are you going to tell them the truth or not?'

His father's voice echoed in the caves. Jack could see his father's silhouette beside him. Jack closed his eyes and swallowed.

"Jack! Jack!"

He opened his eyes and realized Kate was calling him.

"Jack! The baby! I think the baby is coming!"

He looked down and could see a head surfacing. About half an hour later, the baby's full head had appeared however the skin was a shade of light blue.

'Oh god...oh god...' Jack repeated in his mind, 'It can't be...'

"What's wrong Jack!?" Claire asked, "That look on your face...what's wrong? What's wrong with my baby!?!"

Jack stay silent as the baby's shoulders started to appear. He held the baby's head gently and looked around his tiny neck. The umbilical cord was wrapped tightly around the baby's small neck. Jack quickly unravelled it as much as he could.

"You're doing...you're doing fine Claire," he managed to say.

The baby's body finally came out but with it came a huge amount of blood. Claire screamed again.

"What in gods name is going on here?" Sawyer said loudly as he walked into the caves with an unlit cigarette in his mouth.

Locke pulled him aside to where everyone else in the caves were before he could stomp over to Kate and Jack.

"Claire is in labour," Locke told him, "It'd be best not to go over there right now."

Sawyer nodded and lit his cigarette. Locke took it from his mouth and threw it on the ground. He stepped on it and looked at Sawyer.

"It'd be best not to light up in here either with the baby coming," Locke warned.

"Fine."

Sawyer sat on a rock and watched as Jack did his hero thing.

'He's doing it again. Being a hero. Delivering a baby and getting the girl,' Sawyer thought, 'Now that's why I hate him.'

Jack took a deep breath and held the baby gently.

"Jack...is it a boy? It's a boy right?" Claire managed to say.

Jack nodded his head slowly and tried to show them the grave look in his eyes. He looked down and saw all the blood that Claire was losing. He tried to remain calm. Claire's breathing was rapid now. Her face turned pale and her skin grew cold. She was trying to hold on to her life.

"Jack?" Kate said referring to Claire's heavy breathing and pale skin.

Jack shook his head and looked down.

"What about the..." Kate said quietly.

He shook his head again. Kate tried to hold back tears. She held her head low and squeezed Claire's hand. Jack took the baby and wrapped a blanket around it. He stood up and placed the baby onto a large rock.

"Jack..." Claire said in almost a whisper, "Why isn't my baby crying? Why isn't he moving? What's going on Jack?"

Claire then turned her head and started coughing loudly. Jack looked at her and closed his eyes. In his mind he could see his father laughing at him, telling him that it was all inevitable.

'I knew you wouldn't be able to save them. And this just proves me right. You're a failure Jack.'

Jack's eyes shot open. He clenched his teeth and balled up his fist tightly.

"No...I'm not going to give up. I'm not going to let Claire die. I'm not going to let this baby die," Jack whispered to himself, "I'm not going to let any of this happen. You're wrong dad...you're wrong about me. I'm going to save them."

"Jack!" Kate screamed.

He looked down at Kate. Tears ran down her face. He glanced at Charlie who was holding his head in his hands and rocking back and forth. He looked at Claire. Her eyes were closed. Her chest was not rising with every breath that she took because while Jack was telling himself that he could save them, she had taken her last breath.

"No...No!" Jack cried as he punched the rock that he placed the baby on.

'I guess Jacko isn't much of a hero now,' Sawyer thought as he watched everything that was happening.

TBC...

A/N: Omg omg! I don't know why I just wrote that. Ahh! Don't hate me!! lol.I guess we'll have to see what will pop into my mind for the next chapter.