(x)
"… You just don't have what it takes." The older surgeon looked down at his son and lectured him about 'having what it takes.' In his eyes, Jack wasn't a leader. He had too big of a heart and so, he often put people before himself - a fine quality in a man but not in a leader. "What. Are you going to cry now?"
Keeping his eyes trained to the ground, Jack softly shook his head and mumbled, "No, sir."
"Good. Now go get cleaned up before dinner." A sip of whiskey and a twitch of his brow, he remained on his high throne, watching as his son, his student, his failure padded his way down the hall.
(x)
"Jack. Jack! Come on, wake up Jack!"
Groggy, Jack fluttered his eyelids open for a second to recognize the familiar outline of
Charlie.
"Jack! Come on, you bloody bloke. I think something's wrong with Claire!"
At that last sentence, Jack bolted upright and looked at Charlie through blurry eyes. "What?"
"It's Claire. I think there's something wrong with her."
"Damn it." Before Charlie had even finished his sentence, Jack was well on his way to Claire. The fear was gone, replaced by the face of a hero or rather in this case … the face of a doctor.
It was minutes before he had reached her; Claire was bent in a sitting position with her hand lightly pressing against her eight month due belly. Quick short breaths forced its way in and out of her lungs, threatening to cut off both her and her baby's supply of oxygen. Her face was damp with perspiration and as Kate crouched beside her, his heart skipped a beat and his breath lodged in his throat; as if his job wasn't hard enough.
"What's wrong?" He glanced over at Kate, waiting for an answer as bottles among bottles of pills, alcohol, and what have you poured onto the ground. The trained physician fumbled in his pack for a rag and a bottle of water.
"I don't know. Charlie called Boone and Boone woke me up. Is she alright?"
"I don't know." Jack turned back to Claire and felt her temple before handing the cloth and water over to Kate. "Keep dabbing her head with it." Kate dribble some water onto the old fabric and began moistening Claire's forehead while Jack tilted Claire's chin up to get a good look at her face. "Claire. Claire, look at me. What's wrong?"
"I-I ca-can't br- eath."
"This started a few minutes ago, she just started breathing heavily and sweating a lot. Is she gonna be alright?" Charlie looked on with concern as his form blocked the thin wisps of sunlight just peaking over the horizon. "Is she going to be alright?"
"Charlie, you're going to have to give me some space. I don't know yet." Without missing a beat, Jack looked up at Boone and ordered like a commander, no – a leader. "Boone, I need you to go to my duffle bag beside the stream and find a small flashlight. And I need you to bring it to me."
"Alright. Flashlight, duffle bag. Flashlight, duffle bag." Boone ran off towards Jack's sleeping quarters only to have Charlie replace his spot, keeping his silence yet offering his support.
The doctor's gaze again rested on Claire as he worked the same tactic he had with Shannon. "Claire, I need you to look at me. Okay? Look at me. Remember what I did with Shannon, those breathing exercise? I'm going to need you to do the same. Alright? Breath, breath through your nose. Just like this." He demonstrated what he needed Claire to do, but as luck would have it, she struggled in vain. "No no no, in through the nose, like what I'm doing. You can do it. Yeah, there you go. Perfect, keep it going. Inhale … Okay. Good."
Boone arrived moments later with the flashlight and panted softly. "Here."
"Thanks." Jack took it with gratitude and swiftly shone the light at Claire's eyes; watching with relief as her pupils responded properly to the changing stimuli. Having accomplished his job, he called Boone and Charlie apart to keep a watch over her. "Okay, you guys are going to need to stay with her. Her baby probably kicked harder than usual, triggering the anxiety attack. You need to keep her relaxed. Do not let her panic."
I do not own any of the characters and/or anything I may have mentioned here.