Happy Medium

Chapter Two

Jack, what's wrong?

Nothing Kate, it's just..

Just what?

I love you..

Kate smiled at the memory as she combed her fingers through her hair, watching as Jack got dressed.

"What?" Jack asked, looking confused.

"Nothing," Kate said, shaking her head and studying him..

And everything thing about him. Though she hadn't said it the night before, breaking his sentence off with a kiss, she loved Jack, and everything about him. The well built muscles in his arms, is broad shoulders, and the way his ribs stuck out the slightest from hunger. Okay, so maybe that wasn't the best thing to love, but she'd work on it.

"You're not eating," she commented, and Jack turned to her.

"Who are you, my nurse?"

"Maybe," Kate said, liking the idea, "just call me nurse Kate."

"Oh right," Jack said sarcastically, "I can see it now. Nurse Kate and Dr. Jack, saving the world from germs. Tv shows, lunch boxes, everything."

"You have to much spare time on your hands, don't you?" Kate said, and received a handful of sand thrown at her in response. "Hey! Fine, I'll shut up."

Kate couldn't remember having a better time with Jack, or any guy, for that matter. Sure she liked to flirt, and had her fair share of boyfriends, but Jack was different. She enjoyed being with him.

"Seriously though," Kate went on, "I'm worried about you. I've been sending Alex to spy on you."

"Oh," Jack said drastically, "that's why she's been spending so many nights at the caves."

Kate shrugged.

"Someone has to do it."

"Why don't you?"

Jack looked at her, eyes narrowed, and though he hadn't meant to sound so forceful, he had, and it made Kate stop, and divert her eyes to the ground, because she had to wonder: why didn't she?

(Space)

Shannon looked around the beach desperately for Sayid. For some reason, he had been avoiding her for the past few days. After bombarding Boone with the third degree, she had found out that he had admitted to previous murder, but had said nothing else to Sayid, or had done anything else. And Sayid couldn't of known about the conversation, dubbed with a kiss, between her and her brother in the jungle- could he?

She couldn't believe Boone. The boy had never. Jealousy, that's all, she kept telling herself, it's just jealousy. But at the same time, it was so..sickening.

Just then, she spotted Sayid and Sawyer running through the jungle, carrying something. Danielle was chasing after them, yelling something in French while Sayid argued back in Arabic and, well, the two languages just weren't working out together. As the two continued to carry what looked like a body, Shannon realized that they were bringing it towards her.

"Shannon!" Sayid shouted to her. "We need room to lay her down!"

"What?" Shannon yelled back, Sayid's yells being drowned out by a crashing waves.

But Sayid didn't here her, and he and Sawyer traveled faster towards her. Putting two and two together, Shannon began throwing things around her small camp site, knocking some magazines and tank tops off of a bed roll and onto the sand, just as Sayid laid down who appeared to be Alex on top of it.

"What happened?" Shannon asked immediately, jumping out of the way as Sayid sat on the edge of the cot, brushing Alex's hair out of her face, and then laying his head on her chest to feel for a pulse.

It was obvious he was only adding off of what he had seen Jack do, but Sayid was doing a pretty good impression.

"Do you have any water?" Sayid asked, lifting his head up when he was satisfied with the heartbeat he heard.

"Yeah," Shannon said, reaching for a full water bottle she had been saving that sat inside a suitcase she had stolen from Sawyer's stash while he was away on the raft.

She handed it to Sayid, who uncapped it, and pried open Alex's mouth to force some in.

"What do you think is wrong?" Shannon said, suddenly feeling the desperate need to hear his voice.

"I'm not Jack," Sayid said, feeling Alex's head, "but my guess is it could be as simple as dehydration, or as complicated as heatstroke."

"Little young for heatstroke, ain't she?" Sawyer commented.

Sayid glared at him.

"If you're just going to stand there and make sarcastic comments, go find someone else to annoy," Sayid said, and thought on it, "actually, you should probably try and find Jack."

"Sorry Muhammad," Sawyer said, "guess you didn't know."

"Know what?" Sayid said, looking up at him.

"Doc scored himself a date," Sawyer said pleased with himself, "him and Marianne are probably out sleeping under some waterfall right now."

Sayid cursed under his breaths, "Of all the nights."

"But if you want," Sawyer said, in a tone that said he really wanted to, "I'll go find them."

"No," Sayid said, "just go- somewhere."

Sawyer shrugged and walked off, leaving Danielle, Shannon, and Sayid in the tent with the still unconscious Alex. Her breathing was heavy and shallow, and her face had turned paler than usual(sitting on the beach day after day, she had developed somewhat of a tan) and Sayid began to become very nervous. He wasn't used to being around sick people, and he was unsure if he was worried too much, or not enough. And he sighed as he found himself thinking..of all the times Jack could finally decide to come onto Kate..

(Space)

"Jack, this isn't funny."

Behind her, Jack just chuckled.

"No Jack, really I- ah!" Kate screamed as she slipped, and felt herself being caught under the arms by Jack.

When Jack had asked her for the white cover up she usually wore, Kate had no idea what on earth he could want to use it for, but his answer was nothing she expected. He blindfolded her. He blindfolded her, and was now leading her out into the jungle. All Jack could say for his reasons was that she would like it, and he knew what he was doing. Since this came from the same person who thought taking Advil on an empty stomach could make you sick, she supposed she could trust him. But Jack was so caught up in his thoughts and..well..happiness..that his strength sometimes faltered on Kate, and she told herself if he dropped her one more time, Jack would be the one blindfolded after she knocked him out.

But at the same time, she couldn't help but to smile. Not only had Jack made a huge improvement the past few days emotionally(something he was embarrassed to admit or talk about..men- Kate shook her head) but when she saw that he could come straightforward about their relationship, so could she, and things were just much more at ease. Kate sighed.

"How is it that you complain every time I go out to pick fruit, you complain about my safety, but it's okay for you to lead me through the jungle blindfolded?"

Jack smiled.

"Because I'm the one leading you."

(Space)

Alex's eyes fluttered open and Sayid let out a sigh of relief. Eyes darting around, Alex panicked and immediately tried to sit up, and Sayid had to act fast to push her back down.

"Your okay," Sayid said, sounding as though he was reassuring himself the same thing.

"Where's Jack?" Alex said, all in one breath as she tried to calm down.

"He's.." Sayid tried to look for the right word, "out."

Though she stayed laid back, Alex looked all but relaxed, and took no noticed to her mother who stood only a few feet away.

"Alex," Sayid said desperately, "Alex, look at me."

After a moment, she did, and Sayid was almost surprised when he recognized the emotion she saw in her eyes: fear.

"You're okay," he repeated, "but I need you to answer some questions. Can you do that for me?"

"Sure," Alex said, easing herself into the cot.

"Do you remember what happened?"

Sure she did. The flashes, the sounds, the dead bodies..Alex shivered.

"I'm fine," she said suddenly, startling Sayid.

She tried to sit up, but her head exploded with pain, and Sayid held onto her as he eased her back down.

"I'll go find Jack," Sayid said, and looked up at Danielle, "can you watch over her?"

Danielle nodded, and Alex stared at her. That was the last thing she wanted. Had Sayid and Sawyer not brought Danielle back that day, she wouldn't be in this situation. She wouldn't of had to 'ask for her mother's permission' to do anything. Of anything, she'd just have to run it by Jack. And Danielle didn't care about her. Of course she didn't. Why else would she of left in the first place, sixteen years ago, leaving her father to raise a child alone and jobless in wherever-the-hell she was from? The thought made her eyes swell with tears, and Alex turned to the ground as she shoved Sayid's hand away, and stood up, ignoring the pain, and ran off into the jungle, having no clue where she was really going.

Alex held her bag tightly in her lap as she rested her elbow on the truck's windowpane. The young man beside her nodded to the beat of rock n' roll, and though she loved the song, Alex didn't take any note out of nerves. Any moment now, Alex was sure the truck would pull over, and she'd be jerked out of the car and beaten until death, and the thoughts haunted her as she shivered without realizing it.

"You okay?" The man asked, somewhat amused. "You seemed..tense."

"I'm fine," Alex muttered in a small voice and then added, "Adam."

Adam looked at her in surprise.

"How'd you know my name?"

"It's on your jacket."

"Oh."

Adam was eighteen, she found out from his drivers lisense that lay in the small compartment between the driver and passenger seats. He supported a short, dark brown haircut and brown eyes that she couldn't help but to call gorgeous.

"So what's your name?" Adam asked her.

"What?"

"Come on," Adam said, still maintaining his enthusiasm, "two way street, you know?"

"Yeah, yeah," she said, "fine, my name's..Carrie."

So it was the last book she had read. She had to come up with something. That's when she noticed Adam studying her, and she grew nervous.

"You don't look like a Carrie," he commented seriously.

"Oh really?" Alex said, eyes narrowing, thinking 'I could get used to this'. "What do I look like then?"

"An.." Adam pretended to act like he was concentrating really hard, "Alex."

"You've got to be kidding me?" Alex said, looking at him. "How did you know?"

"My jacket your book bag."

Alex flushed as she remembered being unbelievably bored during a history movie and sketching her name in block letters all over the side pocket of her messenger bag.

"So what's your story?" Adam asked, glancing over to her.

"Huh?" Alex said innocently.

"You're walking alone five miles from home," he said, "no rhyme mean there, by the way."

"Fine," Alex sighed, "I'm an orphan. I live in a foster home outside Oakridge, and I spend most of my time taking care of my foster brother. I have absolutely no life at all and there's no chance of me getting one."

"Wow," Adam said in mock amazement, "I'm impressed. I was expecting- I dunno, I had a fight with my mom, I'm failing school, I lost my job, the world sucks, you know, the usual."

Alex raised an eyebrow.

"Do you normally pick up hitchhikers?"

"It's a hobby," Adam said with a chuckle, "so you're not doing anything Friday night then?"

"What?" Alex said, shocked.

"You heard me," Adam said with a cocky grin.

"Um.." Alex looked out the window.

She had never even came close to being asked out before, unless you counted Jared begging for her to play with him. Was he even serious?

"Sure," she shrugged, and Adam smiled, satisfied.

After all, what could it hurt?

Back in the present, Alex felt hot tears run down her cheeks as she ran, and finally had to stop when she was at least a half an hour from the beach. Satisfied that no one was following her, Alex fell against a tree, and sobbed. She was embarrassed from her tears, but lately she was unable to stop them. Her emotion was just so great recently, and who could blame her? Her estranged mother wasn't making the slightest effort towards any kind of relationship, or if she was, Alex didn't recognize it.

Or maybe she was the problem, for each time her mother tried talking to her, Alex would turn away, and remember something important she had to do. It pained her to live on the beach where everyone was counted off into couples and families, and she felt a pang of jealousy towards Walt, whose father fought for his son's affection. Then there was Sayid and Shannon who, up until recent times, stayed together day and night(though she was the only one who knew they slept together, and only because nature decided to call around one AM, and on the way back to her camp, she had heard them giggling). Charlie had the still-pregnant Claire, and even Sawyer had Kate, when he wanted too.

But yet, when things went wrong at the caves, Alex slept by herself, opposite beach from her mother, curled up under a blanket that wasn't hers. She didn't know how to built a fire and her ego didn't let her ask, so most night she stayed up late, shivering. Which was why she liked staying at the caves. Not to mention, first thing every morning for the past week, Kate had met her on the path to the beach demanding 'anything happen to Jack last night', as if Kate wouldn't be the first to know. Nonetheless, Alex admitted that it was kind of cute how worried Kate was about Jack, and though she never knew what happened that night when Sawyer had tried to kill Jack, she had a feeling that it had to do with firelight and that 'L' word everyone seemed to be obsessed with. And the same thing probably happened last night, save Jack going into a coma, of course.

Snap.

Alex swept around.

"Who's there?" Alex asked, madly swiping at the tears that lingered on her face.

Snap.

"Hello?"

Alex's response was a blow to the back of the head, welcoming a fiery darkness as she was choked with a drug she didn't even see coming. With one last struggle for breath, Alex gave up, and made no noise as her head hit the ground moments later.

Author's Note: Yes, poor girl. So much is going to happen to her this fic. But it'll be okay in the end! Thanks for all the reviews!

Coming up next, on "Happy Medium":

(prepare to be spoiled)

Jack's surprise for Kate is revealed, but the trip doesn't end happily when they find Alex strung up in the jungle. And you'll never guess who is blamed for the act.

Thanks again!

October Sky