Chapter 6
Sawyer's head drooped, the effects of the alcohol combined with the warmth of the fire hitting him faster than he'd expected. Suddenly, he jerked up, startled into alertness by a sharp cracking sound right near his foot. Jack had returned and thrown a log onto the fire as loudly as he possibly could. "Tired?" He looked at Sawyer laughingly.
"Bastard," Sawyer muttered, pissed off.
Jack sat back down. "Any change? Or were you too busy sleeping to watch her?"
"Yeah, I was watchin' her," he answered spitefully. "She's still breathin', ain't she?" He turned surreptitiously and looked to make sure she was, in fact, breathing. Relieved, he saw that she still slept easily.
"She woke up again. Said to tell you she knows you're wearin' her underwear and she wants you to stop."
Jack looked at him in shock, thinking he was serious. Sawyer looked down at the ground, grinning.
"Funny. Really funny, Sawyer. I'm glad this whole thing is so entertaining for you."
"You born without a sense of humor, doc, or did you just have it surgically removed?"
"I'm sorry, but it's a little hard for me to see the humor in all this!" He paused. "It never should have happened. I was so stupid," he said angrily.
Sawyer rolled his eyes, but didn't answer. They sat for a few minutes without speaking.
"She gonna be okay?"
Jack looked at her. "I think so. I'd say its been at least four hours, maybe five. She hasn't shown any signs of heart or kidney failure, and she's obviously not in a coma. She'll probably just wake up and feel like she's got the world's worst hangover."
Sawyer nodded, obviously relieved.
After awhile, Jack said, seemingly out of nowhere, "So...what did you do?"
"'Scuse me?" Sawyer replied, taken aback.
"For a living. Before the crash. You know what I did, obviously. What did you do?"
Sawyer sighed, irritated. "You really wanna make small talk?"
"You have any better ideas to keep us awake? And please don't say something disgusting."
He snorted derisively. "You wish."
"What's wrong, you don't want to answer? Because from your attitude and the way you treat people, I'm guessing you either worked for the Department of Motor Vehicles or the IRS."
"I was self-employed, okay?" Sawyer said bitterly, wishing he had another drink.
Jack laughed. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means..." he began scornfully, and then stopped. How the hell could he answer that one?
Jack waited.
"It means I made my own money. In my own ways," he said smugly, settling back against the log.
"Uh-huh." Jack looked amused. "And I'm guessing those ways weren't exactly legal."
Sawyer was pissed off. "Yeah, well, too bad we ain't all lucky enough to have mommy and daddy pay our way through med school."
"What makes you think that my parents paid for it?"
"Did they?"
Jack looked into the fire, not answering.
Sawyer nodded as if justified. "Must be nice," he said sarcastically.
"You want to know the truth? If I could do it over again, I'd never take their damn money. Every terrible thing that's happened in my life happened because I was too much of a coward to refuse it."
"Like what?" Sawyer asked, trying not to betray his curiosity.
"Well, for starters? If I hadn't become a doctor, my dad might still be alive," Jack said in a flat, sullen tone unusual for him.
Sawyer looked away from him into the fire, torn. He should tell him. Why the hell was he keeping it back? Why couldn't he just tell him about his father?
Jack waited for the requisite sarcastic remark, but it didn't come.
Sawyer sighed, finally deciding to just tell him and get it over with. Hell, it probably wouldn't make any difference, anyway. He took a deep breath.
Jack was watching him. "Why don't you just go ahead and get some sleep?"
His momentum checked, Sawyer was a little annoyed. "What!"
"We should sleep in shifts. That way we won't both pass out at the same time. Somebody needs to keep an eye on her breathing all night. I'll wake you up in a few hours and you can take over."
"You tryin' to get rid of me, by any chance?"
Jack seemed weary. "You really want me to answer that?"
Looking almost a little hurt, Sawyer smiled bitterly. There was no way in hell he'd tell him now. "Fine. Say two hours?"
Jack nodded, seeming distracted.
Sawyer took one more long, lingering look at Kate as she breathed softly, the rising and falling motion of her chest just barely visible in the firelight. He lay down a few feet away from her and closed his eyes.
Jack continued to stare into the fire.
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Shannon woke up cold, trying to pull her blanket up around her and then realizing she didn't have one. When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Charlie. "What the hell?" Then she remembered... Boone's birthday, the book, and Claire's baby...it all came back. They must have all fallen asleep at some point. She reached underneath her and pulled out the book, still warm from her having slept on it.
Pulling herself up, she noticed that somehow, during the night, Charlie and Sayid had gotten ridiculously close to one another. Apparently, Charlie thought he was with Claire and Sayid thought he was with Shannon. She started to laugh and covered her mouth, not wanting to wake them up. She noticed Claire sitting down the beach near the water. Still laughing, she made her way out to her.
"Hey," she said, nearing her. Then she noticed that Claire was breastfeeding. "Oh," she said, turning her head, embarrassed. "I'm sorry...I didn't..."
"No, it's all right!" Claire said. "Really..stay!"
"Are you sure?" Shannon asked hesitantly, sitting down.
Claire smiled. "I can't really afford to be shy around this place. And besides," she said, looking at Shannon confidentially. "Kate delivered him, so...she's still seen more than you."
Shannon laughed, nodding. "That's true." She glanced back at the campsite. "Did you happen to see those two?"
Claire nodded, smiling. "It's times like these when you really miss having a camera around."
They looked out at the waves for a few minutes as the sun gradually came into view.
Shannon glanced at the baby. "He's growing fast."
"Tell me about it. I'm gonna have to start eating like a bear just to keep him happy."
Shannon looked wistful. "I was pregnant once." She picked up a handful of sand and let it trickle through her fingers slowly.
Claire looked at her, surprised, not sure what to say.
Shannon glanced up at her. "It's not what you think though. I didn't... I mean I didn't have to..." She stopped. "I lost it."
"I'm sorry," Claire said softly.
"Don't be. It was almost a relief, actually. The guy I was with...He was such an asshole. I think he did it on purpose."
"He hurt you?" Claire asked, looking sick.
Shannon nodded. "He hit me in the stomach. And then I had to keep Boone from trying to kill him, of course." She shook her head, almost smiling. "He would have just gotten himself killed." She paused, lost in thought. "It's just as well, though," she said, looking back at Claire. "I mean, what kind of mother would I have made, right?"
Claire looked down at the baby gently, and then back up at Shannon. "I used to think that too. I was so terrified when I found out...and then even more when I realized that I'd be alone. But now...I don't know. I wouldn't change it. Even the way things are, here... I don't know what I'd do without Charlie. He's such an amazing friend." She smiled back toward him.
"A friend, huh?" Shannon said, teasingly.
"For now," Claire said, almost blushing. "What about you two?" she asked, glancing toward the campsite again.
Shannon smiled secretively out at the waves.
"That's what I thought," Claire grinned.
"He's so different from the guys I've always been with. I actually think Boone would have liked him, if he'd just given him a chance." A slight shadow passed across her face. She glanced back down at the baby, and seemed tentative. "From what they said...it seems like...he was born pretty close to when Boone..." She paused.
Claire nodded. "Yeah...I think it was. Within a few minutes, even."
Shannon smiled softly. "Just one of those weird coincidences, huh?"
Claire looked thoughtful. "I don't really believe in coincidences."
"You don't?" Shannon asked quietly, intrigued.
"Mmm-mm." She shook her head slightly.
They both looked at the baby, who was now finished with breakfast and had fallen asleep.
"Will you come back and finish the book sometime? He's dying to know how it ends. I can tell."
"You can?" Shannon asked, smiling.
"Definitely," Claire said. "The door's always open. Well, you know..if I had a door, it would be open." She smiled goofily.
"Okay." They looked at each other almost gratefully.
Then they both burst out laughing as Charlie's just-awakened, irate voice drifted down from the campsite. "For God's sake, man, get off of me!"
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Sawyer opened his eyes, seeing the trees and the gradually lightening sky above him and wondering for a second where he was. Then he remembered, and became angry at himself. He must have fallen asleep on his shift. Turning to check on Kate, he was almost startled out of his skin to discover that she was watching him.
"Hey," she said weakly.
He sat up quickly and moved nearer to where she lay on the ground, noticing that Jack still slept a few feet away.
"Hey. How long you been awake?"
"Not long. How's your foot?"
"What?" He was confused, and realized with a sinking feeling that she might still be disoriented. Maybe she wasn't out of the woods yet.
"From the thorn. You think you're gonna make it?"
Looking at her closely, it dawned on him with almost indescribable relief that she was mocking him. There was a gleam of amusement in her eyes.
He breathed out slowly as the tension melted away. "Tell you the truth, I'm a little more worried about yours. How 'bout we wake the doctor up and see how you're doin'?"
He moved toward Jack, but she stopped him. "Let him sleep a little longer. He must have been awake all night." She looked over at him tenderly.
"You scared the hell out of us, Freckles." Sawyer looked at her seriously.
"I'm sorry. Was it pretty bad?
"You don't remember anything?"
"I remember being in the plane, and the snake. And then...throwing up." She looked at him, embarrassed. "Did I really throw up?"
"Just a little. Don't worry, though...my lips are sealed." he said, smiling. He paused, wanting to talk about what she'd said last night, but unsure how to bring it up. "You don't remember anything after that?"
She appeared to be thinking. "I think I must have been having weird dreams all night...I don't know what was real and what wasn't."
He looked away, hesitantly, and then back down at her. "You asked me a question...somethin' you said you wanted to know. I promised I'd tell you."
"What was it?" she asked, confused.
He was disappointed. To his surprise, he actually wanted to explain himself to her now, and she couldn't even remember having asked the question.
"Forget it. It's not important."
She looked at him searchingly. "I can't remember it...but I bet I know what it was."
"Yeah? What?"
She smiled slightly. "I don't need to ask again."
"Why not?" he asked, somewhat relieved but also strangely let down.
"Because. I just realized I already know the answer."
He looked at her closely, intrigued. Did she remember? Or was she thinking of something else? What answer did she think she knew? They watched each other, neither one quite brave enough to break down the barriers they had erected around themselves.
"Kate?" Jack's voice was surprised, almost unbelieving. He sat up, blinking in the light. He moved quickly over to her, instinctively putting his fingers gently on her neck and checking her pulse before he did anything else.
She smiled patiently. "Am I still alive?"
He laughed as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "Looks that way, doesn't it? You gave us a good scare, though."
"So I heard," she said, looking at Sawyer.
"How do you feel now?" Jack asked.
She closed her eyes. "Mmm... We didn't all get drunk last night, did we?"
"You didn't," he answered, looking pointedly at Sawyer. Sawyer returned the gaze, witheringly.
Kate smiled. "Because I feel like I have a hangover."
"What do ya know, doc? You got one right. Guess third time's the charm, huh?" Sawyer said in a snide voice.
Kate looked at Jack. "I don't get it."
"Don't worry about it. It wasn't that funny." They smiled at each other. Sawyer looked annoyed. "You want to try to sit up?"
"Yeah."
Sliding his arms underneath her back, he gently helped support her to a sitting position.
"Whew..." She clung to him for a second, closing her eyes.
"Dizzy?"
"Just a little." She leaned her head against his shoulder for a second, and he tried to look as if this didn't affect him.
When the spell passed, she let go of him tentatively and looked around. "I actually don't feel that bad, considering."
"Want some water?" Sawyer asked.
"That'd be good," she said, looking at him gratefully. He went to get some from his backpack.
Kate looked at Jack, then down at her foot. "Can we take this thing off?"
"Let's wait till we get back to camp. Once the wrapping comes off, your ankle's gonna ache like a bitch, so..." He stopped, noticing that she was trying not to laugh at his choice of words. "What?"
"You've been around Sawyer too long," she said with a smile.
He nodded, smiling back at her. "I couldn't agree more."
Sawyer returned, kneeling down with the bottle of water. "Here you go, Freckles."
"Thanks." She took it and drank as if she was completely parched.
"Not too much, Kate," Jack said, concerned. She kept drinking. "Kate..." She still ignored him. "Okay.." He took the bottle from her, gently but firmly.
"What the hell are you doin'?" Sawyer said angrily. "Can't you tell she's thirsty?"
"If she drinks too much at once it'll upset her stomach again."
"How 'bout you just let her decide for herself for once?"
"You want her to be sick? That's really responsible of you!"
Kate shook her head, rolling her eyes. "Oh my God...Have you two been doing this all night?" They looked at her, a little sheepish. "Never mind...I don't want to know."
Sawyer said, somewhat sullenly, "You might as well give her the rest of the water, because that's all there is. It's the last bottle."
Jack looked irritated. "What do you mean it's the last bottle?"
"You really need me to translate that?" Sawyer looked at him as if were retarded.
"What happened to the rest of the water?"
"Well, between drinkin' it and throwin' it up, we kind of went through a lot yesterday, Jackass, " he said sarcastically.
Jack sighed. "We need to get back to the caves, then. I don't want to take a chance on you getting dehydrated." He looked at Kate anxiously. "I guess we'll just have to carry you."
"No." She shook her head decisively. "Nobody's gonna carry me. I can walk. I'll be fine."
"Kate...you can't put very much pressure on that leg. You haven't even tried to stand up yet."
"So I'll try." She placed her hands on the ground to prepare to stand, but then looked regretfully toward the cockpit, as if remembering something. "What about the stuff from the plane? That's the whole reason we came out here, Jack."
"It can wait. It's not important at all right now. What's important is that you're okay." They looked at each other almost shyly.
"You two want to be alone?" Sawyer asked contemptuously.
Kate looked at him, rolling her eyes. "Help me up," she commanded, holding her arms up. He grasped her upper arms and carefully pulled her to a standing position as she balanced on her right leg. She stood there for a second, getting her bearings, then looked at Jack tentatively.
"Okay," she said, taking a deep breath. "Here goes nothin'." She took a small step forward, putting her left leg down and attempting to shift the balance onto it. It collapsed under her almost immediately, and Jack and Sawyer both dove to catch her.
"Okay, Kate...That's not gonna work," Jack said.
"Wait. Just..wait a second. I wasn't ready that time."
"Kate..."
"Just give her a chance, all right?" Sawyer glared at him.
Delicately, she tried again to place some weight on the leg, but her knee buckled again.
"Damn it!" she said, furious.
"All right, Kate," Jack said softly, realizing how much it pissed her off to have to rely on somebody else. "If you really want to try to walk..." He looked at Sawyer wearily, as if he'd rather do anything in the world than say what he was going to say. "Then we can try to support you on both sides so you can put all your weight on your right leg."
Sawyer didn't look extremely thrilled at the prospect, either. It would force him to be one foot away from Jack for the entire trip back. When he looked at Kate, however, he immediately gave in. "That sound all right to you, sassafras?"
She sighed, sympathizing with his reservations. "We don't really have any choice, do we?" She held out other arm, reluctantly. Swinging her backpack, along with his, onto his shoulder, he linked his arm in hers and tried not to look at Jack.
"Ready?" Jack asked, smiling down at her.
"I guess we're off to see the wizard," she said in a dry tone.
"You start singin', I'm outta here," Sawyer said warningly.
She laughed. "Duly noted."
They took a few hesitant steps, Kate gradually figuring out how best to distribute her weight and keep her balance. With her arms linked in theirs, the three of them slowly made their way out of the clearing and headed back to the caves.
THE END
(I just wanted to make clear, for anyone checking back on this, that it was completed last April after 6 chapters - it was my first fic, and it was really just a trial to see if I could handle the characters. It was never meant to go beyond 6 chapters. I realize it was confusing because I didn't add a "The End", plus I forgot to change the status to "complete." Sorry for the confusion!)
