Happy Medium

Chapter Six

"Where the hell did he go?" Sawyer said, kicking a stone out of his way as he followed Sayid into the jungle.

"Sh," was his reply from Sayid, and Sawyer shut up and watched as Sayid bent down and followed the trail of blood to Jack, who was down by Alex, who lay on the ground.

A string of thick rope lay on the ground beside the young girl, who looked unconscious, who appeared both unhurt and unconscious. Jack was collapsed on his knees beside her, holding her head in his hand. Sayid approach Jack carefully, trying to give him some kind of hint that they were there instead of just speaking up, not wanting to startle him.

"Is she dead?" Sayid said slowly.

Jack didn't even look up. He was staring down at Alex, helpless and confused.

"No," he answered, his voice shaking, "she's bleeding."

Drawing his hand back, Sayid saw that it was covered with bright red blood, as was the ground beside him.

"It's not enough for it to have been caused by a blow to her head," Jack continued, "but just enough-"

"That she could've done it herself," Sayid finished for him, and Jack nodded.

"Do you really think that she would've done this to herself?" Jack said, looking up to Sayid.

"We don't know what she's capable of," Sayid replied calmly.

Jack looked up at him, and was angry that Sayid could even think of suggesting such a thing. He wanted to shout a million things to him, but only found himself only able to say one:

"Just help me get her to the caves."

(Space)

Alex stirred awake to dim twilight- or was it sunset? Sunset, she decided, because had it been twilight, her mother wouldn't be sitting in the caves, but out somewhere in the jungle scavenging for food. Danielle sat on a stack of suitcases just inches away from the cot she lay on. Something soft lay under her head, and whenever she tried to move, a pang of dizziness shot through her, making her feel sick. Giving up, Alex sighed as she brought her hand up to her head to try and block out the pain, but instead of doing so, wound up attracting Danielle's attention.

"Jack said you shouldn't try to move," Danielle said softly, not breaking her gaze from the crack she was staring at on the ground.

"Oh," Alex said, partially surprised she still had a voice, "that's why you're here then? Jack sent you."

Danielle looked at her for the first time, and Alex was astonished to see the eyes staring back at her were rimmed red with dark circles underneath, from days of crying and sleepless nights.

"No," Danielle said sharply.

From the one word, Alex began to get the feeling that had she grown up with her mother, she would've probably been grounded for every little thing, and there was no way she would of ended up being a high school dropout.

"Jack told me I shouldn't try and get you to talk," Danielle continued, "but I had to."

"Why?" Alex asked, unable to understand why her mother, who really wasn't much of a mother, was getting so teary over a little situation like this.

"Because I needed to know you," Danielle said, her voice breaking slightly, "this is all my fault and.."

"How long was I out?" Alex said, horrified that Danielle was talking like she had thought that Alex was going to die.

"A few days," Danielle said quietly, "almost a week. Jack kept saying that you should be coming around soon, but you never did."

"So you thought I was going to die," Alex said, taking that in.

"I thought I was going to lose you," Danielle said, fighting off tears, "and then I realized that there was nothing to lose. I want to change that."

Fighting the pain, Alex forced herself to sit up, and after a few tries, she was able to successfully, as long as her mother held onto her arm for support. Alex's long hair dangled in curls around her face, uncombed and scattered every which way She pulled it out of the way as she relaxed a bit, before surprising herself by pulling Danielle into a hug. Neither had planned it, but both had accepted it, and though Alex wasn't sure what she was supposed to be feeling right now, and though she didn't realize it, she was finally beginning accept things for what they were.

"I'm sorry, "Alex whispered.

"No," Danielle said back through tears, just as softly, "no, it's all right."

Danielle closed her eyes to block out the tears that came as she held on to Alex tightly, and they remained that way until Alex had to pull back as her head exploded with pain. Alex brought her hand to the back of her head and pulled it back to reveal drops of blood that lingered on it, and looking down, she realized the soft thing that had been under her head had been a hand towel, now supporting a nice pool of blood in the middle.

"I guess I should..um.." Alex said, stumbling over her words.

"Yes," Danielle agreed.

Alex stared at the floor as she let Danielle pick up the towel and gently hold it to the back of her head, and then didn't protest as she was eased back down onto the couch. Closing her eyes, Alex sighed in relief, and when she opened them, she found Danielle turned away from her, just as she had the first time she woke up.

"Hey," Alex said, catching Danielle's attention again, "thanks-"

She took a deep breath, and quietly added: "Mom."

Smiling to herself, Alex shut her eyes again, and drifted off to sleep, leaving Danielle beside her. Gazing down at her, Danielle felt a motherly instinct come on, and reaching down, she pulled Alex's hair out of her face as she watched her sleep, and for the first time, she found herself thankful that she had a daughter.

(Space)

Later that evening, after many arguments and debates, Jack had finally agreed to let Alex get up and walk around, but only if she stayed near the beach, where other castaways could keep a good eye on her. Since the clothes she had been wearing wreaked of blood(or at least the smell) Alex changed into the dark green skirt she had stashed away with 'her' stuff, and decided to change shirts as well. Now, she walked the lining of the jungle, moving through the cool night's air in single steps, holding one arm around her stomach and staring at the ground as she went. She knew she was approaching someone's tent, but she wasn't sure of the owner until a soft voice told her. The song was in French, that much she knew, and the tune was familiar, but she couldn't quite place it., and she was still trying to place a title when the singer bumped right into her.

"Oh, sorry," Alex said, recovering herself.

She took a good look at the girl in front of her(Alex was still trying to learn names).

"Shannon, right?"

"Yeah," Shannon said, looking at Alex like she was some bug, "don't mention it, I was just going to give these back to your mom anyway, but I guess this can save me the trip."

Shannon shoved a few old sheets of paper into Alex's arms, and she found it hard not to drop them without losing her balance. Turning swiftly, Shannon began to walk back to her tent, and Alex watched her go for a moment before glancing down at the papers. She almost gasped when she saw what it was: maps, notes, equations. Solved equations, she saw, from when she surprised Sayid that day with her math skills. And on every paper the same French verses were written over and over again, along with he same numbers: 4815162342.

"Wait," Alex called after Shannon, "these are my mom's?"

Shannon caught a strand of her hair just before the wind blew it behind her.

"Yeah," Shannon replied.

She never moved, so Alex went to her, shaking the papers in Shannon's face.

"Where did you get these?" She demanded, wondering if Shannon stole them, and suddenly feeling very protective of her mother.

"They're not mine," Shannon snapped, "Sayid took them when the crazy woman kidnapped him."

Alex shifted her weight to keep from falling backwards.

"What?" She said, confused.

"Sayid didn't tell you?" Shannon said, sounding surprised. "Your insane mom took him prisoner, shocked him and stuff, demanding to know where you were. I guess sixteen years in the place finally got into her head."

Alex just stared at her.

"And then the other day she did it again," Shannon continued, "but Sayid talked her out of it, got her to come back here. She brought some explosives and stuff with her. My guess is all they wanted was some supplies-" Shannon glared at her, "and someone to look after you."

Eyes narrowing, Alex wondered what Shannon could possibly have against her. But instead of making something of it, Alex chose to ignore the comment.

"Explosives?" Alex repeated, getting an idea. "Do you know where they are?"

Shannon shrugged, uninterested.

"Jack's case, I think."

(Space)

Alex slept at the caves last night, and snuck out early the next morning, following Jack around secretly as he made his daily rounds, checking up on supplies, delivering water, and finally, the guns. Jack hadn't heard her behind him as he recounted the guns in the case, placing the explosives under them. At the sight of the weapons, Alex felt a whirl of relief come over her. Her plan was going to work, she knew it.

"Drop the gun," Alex said coldly.

Spinning around, Jack was shocked to find Alex facing him, a 9 mm pointed directly at his chest.

"Put the gun down Alex," Jack said calmly, holding his own gun in the air where his hands were raised, despite the fact that he had his own weapon.

"Jack," Alex said slowly, "put the gun down."

The weapon shook in Alex's hand as she held it in front of her, so she tightened her grip on it, trying to hide her weakness.

"You don't know what you're doing with that," Jack said, staring at the object that could take his life at any given moment, "you don't even know how to-"

Three quick shots to the dead center of the tree beside Jack cut him off.

"Know how to use a gun," Jack said, closing his eyes as he inhaled deeply, "where did you learn?"

"Around," Alex replied simply.

"Where did you get that?"

"Stole it from Sawyer when he wasn't looking."

Jack had to snort. Of course she did.

"Drop the gun," Alex repeated in a voice more seriousness than Jack had ever heard her use.

"What's going on here?"

Both Alex and Jack's heads spun around to find Kate standing not far from them, gazing at the scene in front of her in confusion and fear.

"Jack?" Kate asked, her voice sounding slightly frightened.

"I've got it under control," Jack lied.

Alex was growing impatient, and just as he said it, she aimed directly at him and pulled the trigger once more, knocking the gun out of his hand, leaving Jack's fingers to sting as red marks developed around them. At the sound, Jack jumped and Kate gasped, her hands flying to her mouth.

"Sayid!" Kate yelled for no apparent reason at all.

If the situation wasn't so demanding, Alex would've laughed. Two grown adults who couldn't defend themselves against a sixteen year old girl. In truth though, she didn't want to hurt either of them. All Alex wanted was those explosives, and she was going to get them one way or the other. As soon as the cry for help escaped Kate's throat, Alex aimed the gun at Kate, spinning with grace as she pulled the trigger, making sure the bullet only brisked Kate's arm, though the impact still caused Kate to fall to the ground, and unexpected by the both of them, black out.

"Kate!" Jack cried, and immediately stepped to help her.

"Stop!" Alex shouted, aiming the gun right at his head.

Jack stopped in a running stance, and watched as Alex approached him. With all the strength she could muster, Alex shoved Jack to the ground, leaving him in a crouching position and holding him there, his face just inches from hers. Some sort of unknown fear had seemed to taken over Jack, along with the guilty feeling he'd have if he hurt the girl, even if it was self-defense. He just hovered there, shaking slightly, and Alex couldn't help to think if maybe he didn't want to protect himself. Or maybe that was just the suicidal visions getting to her head.

"Jack," she said, breathing heavily, the gun still pointed to his head, "I need you to calm down.

"No!" Jack exclaimed, his eyes wide in terror, like he was watching a horror film. "Kate-"

"She'll be fine," Alex assured him, "it just brisked her. But now I need you to listen to me. First of all, I'm not going to shoot you."

"Yes you are," Jack said in a nervous voice that wasn't his.

It was odd how well this was going. She could expect someone like Boone to react like this, but not Jack. Alex figured of anything, Jack would at least attempt to fight back. But he never did.

"No," Alex said, shaking her head, "I'm not going to shoot you, but I am going to hurt you."

"Why are you doing this?" Jack said, his voice weak.

"I need those explosives," Alex said, "and this is the only way that I can get you to give them to me, and I don't need anyone else to know."

"Take them!" Jack said desperately and Alex loosened her grip a little, surprised. "Listen, I can take care of Kate. I know a place where we can go, far away from here. I won't go back to camp, I promise."

"No Jack, you will," Alex said.

"No," Jack said, shaking frantically, "no I-"

"You will because you're a good guy," Alex continued, "you make good choices, you make your own decisions, and I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, but I don't need that right now."

"Please, don't-"

"Trust me," Alex said, "you'll thank me."

"Thank you?" Jack repeated. "Why would I-?"

"Just trust me!" Alex said, a little more forcefully. "Listen Jack, I just need you to calm down. This isn't that big of a deal."

"Yes it is-"

"No it's not," Alex interrupted, "you're just scared."

"No," Jack said, not wanting to face the truth that he actually was, "it's Kate, I need to-"

"No," said Alex, "you're afraid for yourself, and I want you to be, because that's what you and Kate are working on, right? True feelings and all of that?"

This time, Jack didn't protest, or even ask how she knew. He just stared at her, eyes wider, if possible. The look almost made Alex wanted to shout 'why aren't you fighting back!'.

"Now look," Alex continued, hoping her calm voice would calm Jack down, "I'm going to take this gun, and knock you out with it-"

"No, don't-"

"Yes, I have to," Alex said, "this is the only way. You'll only be out for an hour or so, long enough for me to do what I need to do."

"Kate-"

"I'll take care of Kate," she said, wondering if Kate knew how lucky she was to have a guy like Jack who cared about her so much, "I promise."

That did calm Jack down a little.

"Good," Alex said, a little relieved, "good, see there? You've stop shaking, you're calming down. Now I need you to look at me, straight into my eyes."

Jack did.

"That's good," Alex breathed, and held his head in place with her right hand as she took the gun in her left, "that's good, everything's going to be okay. You'll be fine. You'll be fine, Jack. That's good-"

And before she began repeating herself again, Alex brought back her left arm, and Jack watched in fear as she flung it forward, bringing it down hard against Jack's face, and Jack didn't even have time to scream as he collapsed to the ground, his head hitting against a patch of grass beneath him. Alex gaped at what she had done, and for a moment, wished she could take it back, knowing that she may never have Jack's trust again, until she remembered her promise. Grabbing the explosives from the case, Alex tore off the lightweight jacket she had been wearing for the past few days, and dropped down beside the unconscious Kate. She tied the cloth around Kate's arm tightly. Then, she pocketed Sawyer's gun, and holding the explosives carefully in her hand, ran out of the jungle and towards the beach.

Author's Note: Please don't kill me! Trust me, that scene scores a future J/K scene, and the J/A friendship will live on! Sorry for the wait, the site's been down. Thanks so much for the reviews!

Coming up next, on "Happy Medium":

Alex fulfills her plan, only to get caught, earning her an interrogation by Sayid(not "Confidence Man" style!). Some luggage washes up on the shore that wasn't from the crash of flight 815, and Alex's dear old boyfriend, Adam, makes a return, as does Jack's dad, in the final chapter of "Happy Medium".

And in future fics:

The Shayid issue will be resolved, Claire will deliver her baby, and the reason why Alex's dad lied about her mom's 'death' will be revealed.

Thanks again for the reviews!

October Sky