Kate was almost half way back to the beach. Even in the shade of the trees, it was hot day, and she wished she had thought to bring some water. The relatively short hike seemed much longer than it had just a few days before. She'd be glad to get back to the beach. She planned on finding a secluded spot where no one would bother her and sleeping the day away. She hoped Jack wouldn't come looking for her. Judging by how mad he'd been the night before, he'd probably be glad to be rid of her.
Not again, Jack thought worriedly. Maybe he should have expected this from her, after their argument last night. Hadn't his mother always said 'never go to bed angry'? Well, he hadn't listened, and now Kate was gone.
After pulling on some clothes, Jack grabbed a bottle of water and headed out of the cave. Hoping she hadn't been gone long, he decided to check and the pools first, in case she'd just decided on another swim.
Passing a fallen log, Kate briefly considered stopping to take a rest. She was getting frustrated by her body's weakness. She'd been walking less than twenty minutes, and already she was starting to feel drowsy and light headed. Suck it up, she told herself harshly. She couldn't afford to sit around, just in case Jack did decide to come after her. How lucky she'd been that he'd still been asleep when she woke up this morning.
Lost in thought, Kate didn't notice that someone was approaching until she heard whistling and look up to see Sawyer not even ten feet away. She considered hiding in the trees, but it was too late. He'd already seen her.
"Caught ya, Freckles", he said jokingly, seeing her panic.
She sighed and stopped, waiting for him to meet her.
He reached her and gave took an appraising look, obviously wondering what she was doing.
Well, she wasn't at the pool as he'd hoped. She must be heading back to the beach, he knew. Jack picked up his pace and headed towards the beach, hoping to catch her before he got there.
"So," Sawyer asked casually, "what brings you out to this neck of the woods?"
Kate motioned in the direction he'd come. "The beach"
"Ah," he said knowingly, dropping his full bag to the ground, "I get it. You missed me, huh?"
"Something like that" Kate laughed nervously; glad he didn't seem to be making a big deal of this.
Sawyer craned his neck, looking down the trail she'd come from. Kate quickly turned to see what he was looking at, but no one was there. Noting her response, Sawyer was pretty sure he knew what was going on.
"So, where' our fearless leader?"
"Jack? Oh, he's uh, at the cave I guess."
"Huh, and he knows about this? He said it was okay for you to go?"
"Sawyer," she said with frustration, looking behind her, clearly anxious to continue on her way, "in case you haven't noticed, I'm a big girl. I don't need his permission".
"Oh, I've noticed" Sawyer said with a sly smile.
Kate rolled her eyes and took a step to move past him. "Well, it was nice chatting Sawyer, but . . . hey what are you doing?
He'd grabbed her shoulders and stepped in front of her, blocking her path. "What's the hurry, Freckles? Why don't we sit down and chat for a few minutes? It looks like maybe you could use a breather."
Truth be told, it probably wasn't such a bad idea. Maybe it was partly because she was getting nervous, but she was really starting to get dizzy. She could hear the blood rushing in her ears, never a good feeling. "Don't worry about me Sawyer, I'll be fine."
"Well I am worried. You're starting to look like you did the other day, right before you passed out on me.
While this was true, Sawyer was also trying to stall her. Over her shoulder, he could see Jack heading down the trail towards them. He was hoping to hold her off until Jack reached them. Maybe together they could talk some sense into her.
"Really, Sawyer," she said, starting to get frustrated, "I'm fine, a little just tired. I'll rest when I get back to the beach." She started to pull away, but he held her tighter.
"What the hell, Sawyer? Let me go!"
At that moment, Kate felt another hand grip her shoulder tightly from behind. She knew who it was before he spoke.
"Kate, I've been looking for you. We need to talk".
At his voice, she dropped her head, seemingly giving up. Sensing this, the two men relaxed their grips on her. That had been her intention, and she used the opportunity. In one swift motion, she kicked Sawyer in the shin end elbowed Jack it the side. Both men let out surprised cries of pain, as Kate wrenched out of their grasps and ran away from them.
It didn't stop them for long, though. In what seemed like no time at all, they had her, now each grasping her firmly under an arm. She struggled and kicked, but couldn't get loose.
"Jesus Freckles, what the hell has gotten into you?"
She continued to struggle, gasping for breath. She didn't like to be restrained. It brought back too many bad memories. "Let me go! Please!" she begged.
"Kate. Kate." Jack said firmly. "You need to calm down. You're okay. No one is going to hurt you. We just want to talk to you". She continued to struggle, her breath coming in short gasps. This was not how Jack had hoped this would go.
"Kate", he warned, "you're making this harder than it needs to be".
Finally, she slumped slightly, letting them support her wait.
"Uh uh. Were not falling for that again" Sawyer remarked.
But Jack was pretty sure it wasn't a ploy this time. "Kate? If we let you go, do you promise to sit down and listen to me?"
She didn't respond, and he shook her gently. "Kate?" She nodded.
Sawyer looked at Jack doubtfully. "It's okay", Jack assured him.
They released her, and she sank down onto her hands and knees. Jack knelt down beside her and moved to rub her back, but she stiffened.
"Okay," he said, moving away from her, " I won't touch you. Just try to take some slow deep breaths, okay? Just like before, do you remember?"
Sawyer looked at them both with concern, finally realizing what was going on.
She didn't seem to be calming down, if anything she was getting more frantic. Although it was empty, her stomach rebelled, and she suddenly began retching. After looking to Jack, who was watching sadly but making no move to approach her again, Sawyer shrugged and decided to give it a shot.
He knelt beside her and placed a cautious hand on her back. When she didn't respond, he moved in, supporting her torso with one arm, and holding back her hair with his free hand. Jack watched solemnly, feeling guilty that they'd gotten her this upset.
Finally, when her stomach stopped its pointless spasms, Sawyer sank back on his knees, pulling her back to rest against his chest. He could feel her heart pounding and her harsh shuddering breaths. Not knowing what to do, Sawyer looked up to Jack, who handed him a water bottle.
"Here ya go" Sawyer said, lifting the bottle to her lips "do you want some water?" She drank it gratefully, and then let out a deep sigh.
"Better?" he asked. Her felt her nod against him.
After giving her a few minutes to calm down, Jack approached and knelt down in front of them. He called her name, but she didn't respond.
"Come on Kate," he urged, "you promised". Finally, she nodded, and he took that as an agreement to listen, even though she didn't look up.
Jack took a deep breath, trying to figure out where to begin. "We probably should have had this talka long time ago, but I guess it's going to have to happen now". He paused. "Kate, I'm not mad at you. I'm not now, and I never really was."
Sawyer was starting to get the feeling that this was probably not a conversation he was supposed to hear, but he couldn't exactly leave now.
Jack continued. "You have to understand, learning about. . . about your past, well, it took me by surprise. I needed time. But Kate, I know you. I know you're a good person, and I don't care about your past."
She looked up at him now, clearly surprised. He couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw hope in those glistening eyes of hers.
"I'm sorry that I hurt you. I'm sorry that I made you feel like I didn't care, but Kate, I do care. I care very much."
She remained silent, and he watched her face, trying to figure out what she was thinking. Finally, she spoke.
"Are you saying this . . . are you just saying all of this to get me to go back with you?" she asked quietly.
"No" he assured her. "I'm not. I'm saying this because it's the truth and because I should have said it a long time ago. You believe me, don't you?"
Slowly, she nodded.
"But" he said, "I do want me to come back with you." At that, they both noticed her stiffen, and Jack knew it would be difficult to convince her.
"I won't force you, okay? But please just hear me out. "The other night, when it happened, Kate, it was really serious. You lost a lot of blood. You don't know, because you were unconscious, but by the time I got you back to the cave, we were both covered in your blood."
Sawyer felt her shudder at this, and her heart rate picked up. "Jack, maybe this isn't the best time for this", he advised.
"I know, but I think she needs to hear it". He continued, "Kate, you were losing a lot of blood, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. You just got lucky, so so lucky, that it stopped on its own. If we were back home, in a hospital, you would have had emergency surgery and a blood transfusion. You would have been put on IV fluids and given large doses of antibiotics. Since we're not at home," he went on, "we just have to do the best we can. You need to drink and eat and rest, give your body time to make up for the blood it lost. But Kate, you're not out of the woods yet. Any infection could be very dangerous, life threatening. Hopefully, with luck and the antibiotics I've been giving you, you'll pull through this just fine. But you have to work with me. You have to rest and eat and drink and let me check you over. And you really have to take those antibiotics. Do you understand now, why I got so angry last night when you wouldn't take the antibiotics? I was afraid. And it's because I care, Kate. And not just as a doctor. I just care. Do you understand?"
Breathless, Jack waited for some response. Finally, she nodded. She looked like she might cry, but rubbed her hands roughly against her eyes.
Jack could have cried himself, with relief. "Hey" he said softly, reaching for her shoulder. "It's okay. You can cry if you want to. You've had a rough time."
She shook her head, sniffling, and rubbed angrily at her eyes. "Kate, it's okay," he continued. "You don't have to be tough all the time, you know. We won't think any less of you."
She looked up again, her eyes meeting his, but didn't say anything.
"What, Kate?"
"Jack, please. I'm so tired" she closed her eyes.
"Can we take you back so you can rest?" he asked, trying not to sound too hopeful. She nodded, and for once, didn't object as they picked her up.