Hey guys, I know that the chapters are getting pretty short, but I had to stop it there, otherwise it'd be like 20 pages long, because Kate goes into this whole thing with her family and crap.
Kate: Hey! You leave my family outta this!
Shiggity: I still don't own the cranberries

Pangs of Guilt

Chapter 32

Little Booties

"What's the matter?" Kate asked her daughter; gently swaying hoping the motion would calm her down some. It's not like she expected a response, after all her daughter was only two weeks old, and couldn't even hold her own head up.

Maverick continued to wail, and Kate looked down into her daughter's face. One of her curls decided to initiate an insurrection from the containment of her ponytail holder and fell softly to the tip of Maverick's nose, tenderly tickling it.

She paused her crying momentarily, taking a moment to gawk astonished at the strand of Kate's hair that danced over her face. Kate stared back at her baby in her arms, and muffled her laughter. She wished that they had found a camera, because the look on her face was picturesque.

Mesmerized by the boogieing curl, Maverick moved her hand out to capture it. Gripping the soft hair between her awkward fingers she pulled on it slightly. Kate laughed and bent down, giving her daughter a small kiss on the forehead.

"I take it, you're in a better mood to get washed now?" Kate asked, not waiting for an answer.

Moving the two-week old from a cradling position to let her rest her cheek on Kate's shoulder, she moved over to the pile of clothes they'd rationed for her. Apparently, there had been a few babies on board, Kate paused and thought of this a moment.

She crouched by the heap of tiny clothing until Maverick shifted and let out a small hiccup. Kate sighed and kissed the top of her head gently, and reached into the clothing pile, retrieving a small one piece, fuzzy green, pajama suit.

"Don't you fall asleep," Kate warned, "It's hard enough bathing you when you're awake never mind when you're asleep."

She stepped outside the cave into the bright sunlight, which was overpowering at the moment. Kate clutched her baby and protected her baby's face with her other hand.

She walked slowly, barefoot through the camp, the damp dirt from yesterday's brief shower sticking in between her toes. This had been the first time she'd chosen to leave the cave with Maverick without Jack in the past several days.

Claire saw her pass the fire and walked up to her happily, "Good afternoon, how are you two?"

"We're okay, but she needs to have a bath. I figured I might as well get it done, while Jack is out, so we don't have to worry about it later," Kate explained.

"Alright, I'll let him know where you are when he comes back," Claire explained, "I'd go with you, but I just got Alex to go down."

"Don't worry about it," Kate explained, she shifted Maverick in her arms, "Do you have any idea when the tooth will come in?"

"No," Claire replied gloomily, "I just wish it would hurry up, the little guys been crying about it for almost three weeks."

"Well tell him Auntie Kate hopes he gets better," she said and made her way to the beach.

Alex was furious; he balled his tiny seven-month-old fists and banged them on either side of the crib. Claire was hopeless, she didn't know what to do, even the spoon they had given him for teething didn't seem to work.

She sat gently rocking the crib with the screaming infant inside it. Her other hand was against her forehead. She could imagine how everyone felt, this was her child and even she was growing tired of the non-stop crying.

Charlie came into the camp carrying a pile of firewood, he dropped it off at the designated area and sat beside Claire.

"He still hasn't stopped crying?" Charlie asked.

Claire sighed heavily, she had barely gotten any sleep in the past few days, "I'm afraid he hasn't."

"Why don't you go catch a nap, and I'll deal with little Alex," Charlie offered.

"I'd like that Charlie, really I would, but if he's going to keep on crying, then how will I get any sleep?" she asked.

"I'll take him down to the old beach, maybe the sound of the waves will calm him?" Charlie pondered.

Claire sighed and nodded her head, "Don't worry Love," Charlie explained kissing her temple, then reaching and taking the screaming child, "We'll be fine."

Kate knelt down by the petit inlet, which was now christened 'Alex and Maverick's Bathing Area'. She held her close as she tested the water, today seemed to be the perfect day for a bath, the waves were coming in gently, by the time they reached the inlet the water level didn't change.

She smiled and laid out a small blanket, with Maverick's change of clothes, a towel to dry her off with, and a new diaper. Kate sighed, she hated diapers, it's not like they could have disposable ones, they hadn't found any. So the babies were forced to wear clothes cut in squares, which were suffice diapers, but cleaning them was the task at hand.

Glancing at her watch then at Maverick, she estimated that after she bathed her, she'd change her and feed her, then it was back asleep for another hour or so. She gently undressed her, and checked the water again just to see if it had changed.

She placed her in the water, holding her up with one hand, and began washing her with the other. Cupping water in her hand and placing it in Maverick's soft hair. To her surprise, she didn't protest, apparently to tired.

Kate gathered her out of the water in the oversized fluffy beach towel, and cradled her against her chest.

"I guess you're not one for excitement," Kate explained while drying her off gently, "Eat, sleep and poop, just like daddy," Kate laughed.

The thought was gauche to her, Jack a daddy, her a mommy. They seemed too young to be parents, but Lord knew she'd lived several lives before now, so it was nice to have something stable.

To have Jack always there to lean on, and, Kate looked down at the bundle in her arms. To have this gift, this perfect baby, Kate smiled. Sure, Kate was positive that once and a while her daughter would be bad, and make absurd decisions, a trait which she would get from her mother. But she also knew she would have a strong, sensible, understanding side that came from Jack.

She gently placed Maverick on the blanket she had spread out, and placed the square material of soft cloth underneath her. Kate never thought in her life that she's had to learn how to pin a diaper. She never really expected to have kids; her dad had told her that if any man was foolish enough to settle down with her, then he deserved the havoc that followed her around.

Kate scoffed at the thought of him, she hadn't seen him since she was fifteen, the night she left. She never knew the real reason he didn't care for her, but she assumed it was because she was a late baby, and the idea of a daughter had never appealed to him.

She couldn't do half the stuff needed to do on the farm, because she was a girl. It was another kid to send through college, when he could ill afford it as it were. Kate could understand his perspective, but after having a baby, being attached to it for eight straight months, she couldn't understand how anyone could treat their child, even if they were an accident and unprepared for like he treated her.

She guessed that's where her mom came in. She knew her mom loved her, she didn't know why, maybe because she was just one of her children, and she felt the bond Kate automatically felt to Maverick. Maybe she loved her more because she was a girl, and her mom hadn't been blessed with one until her.

She remembered helping her mom do all the feminine stuff around the house. Helping her cook fresh apple pie, after collecting apples from the orchard. Or cleaning the house, they'd always pretend they worked for a cleaning service to make it more fun. Her mom had taught her to sew, iron and do laundry at a young age, so she was an expert before the age of ten.

Kate looked down and saw that she had somehow managed to pin the diaper while lost in her thoughts. Maverick looked back up at her, catching her eyes very quickly, Kate sent a smile to her, and she looked away focused on some hidden object.

Kate unzipped the fuzzy green pajamas and lightly guided Maverick's legs to the bottom, to where the attached padded boots were. Kate laughed; she'd always loved these.

Ethan: And now for Sayid's song! Well we agreed at doing a duet! Why because the song and theatre is my calling!
(Ethan and Sayid are turned backwards on a stage, both wearing matching, shiny outfits. A soft music starts to play)
Ethan: (Whips around, moves forward with beat and starts to sing) If you, If you could return, don't let it burn
(Boone is standing guard at fire)
Boone: (falls into fire) AHHH IT BURNS!
Ethan: Don't let it fade
Sawyer: (Hits flashlight that burnt out) Damn it the light faded
Sayid: (Turns and walks up to Shannon)
Shannon: (is taking down everything in the living room)
Sayid: I'm sure I'm not being rude (grabs hold of Shannon's face as he always does) But it's just your attitude! It's tearing me apart, you're ruining everything
Sun: (breaks into the song) And I swore, I swore I would be true, and honey so did you, then why where you holding her hand?
Ethan: Whose hand?

Jin: (cheeky smile) Danielle
Danielle: (does that thumb on nose, wiggling fingers thing)
Sun: Is that the way we stand?
Locke: Were you lying all the time, was it just a game to you?
Charlie: But I'm in sooo deep, you know I'm such a fool for you!
Ethan: You've got me wrapped around your fingahahahar, did you have to let it linger?
Kate: Oh, I thought the world of you, I thought nothing could go wrong, but I was wrong, I WAS WRONG!

Jack: If you, if you could get by, trying not to lie, things wouldn't be so confused
Kate: And I wouldn't feel so used
Jack: But you always really knew, I just wanna be with you!
Ethan: (bulldozes all cute couples away) But I'm in soo deep, you know I'm such a fool for you! You got me wrapped around your fingahahahar did you have to, did you have to, did you have to let it linger?

Hey guys that took to long, and now I'm out of time:( I'm sorry but I will NOT be answering reviews this time, but I promise to do a double assed job at it next time. I hope ya'll forgive me (so so so sorry)

Next Chapter- A little fluff on the beach, Kate remembers her family.