Hey you guys, sorry it took me so long to update, that whole homework thing (I now have a damn egg baby! I know I know, robot baby, egg baby…. WHATEVA!) and I went to NY for about 5 days so I really wasn't here. But I finished this chapter as fast as I could, so if there are a few minor spelling mistakes, gimme a break, I'm tired and I have to write 4 essays, do 2 projects, and write 1 lost review…
Also it should be brought to your attention that a few scenes in this chapter are quite graphic, one dealing with suicide, and the other with mature subject matter, if you feel bothered by either of them, perhaps you should skip this chapter.

Just Incase

Chapter 3

Things Aren't What They Seem

Kate slowly slid open one of her somnolent eyes, they slowly adjusted to the latent morning sun that had just crawled out of slumber an hour ago. She moved her hand over to Nike, but only felt the wrinkled, downiness of the standard airplane blanket underneath.

She sat up instantly, flinging the other blanket away from her. She drew in a ragged breath as she stared down at the empty space beside her, only littered with a handful of sand.

She could feel her blood pressure begin to rise as her hands started to quiver along with her lower lip. Her fearful eyes darted around the area she had been in. Quickly, she moved and looked around all pieces of luggage. Her heart was pounding like a symphony of drums, slowly becoming faster as more pain began to rise in her chest.

She sat down, her back against the luggage pile as she placed her head on her knees and tears streamed from her face, blending with the sand below to become solid chunks. She looked up and through stringy pieces of brown hair and blurry eyes she saw Jack, or who she assumed was Jack walking down the beach.

She gathered herself up and stumbled over to him, trying to relax enough to get words out. As she got closer she saw that Jack was carrying something, almost cradling it. Kate wiped her weary eyes with the back of her hand, and looked up to see he had Nike.

She dashed across the sand, scattering it everywhere, and when she got to him, he could barely utter a greeting before she tore Nike from his arms, and cuddled her close. He stared, unknowingly, an eyebrow arched and watched as Kate slowly regained herself.

When she did she gave him a hard punch to the shoulder, "What the hell did you think you were doing?" she asked angry placing her hand back on Nike's bottom to support her.

"Hey, I was trying to help," Jack yipped holding his slightly injured shoulder, "You were still sleeping and she was beginning to cry so I fed her and changed her for you, I was just going to get rid of the diaper," he stated.

"Oh," she replied and began to feel penitent, as she leaned her cheek against Nike's hair. She was now pulling on her earrings once again, "I'm sorry Jack," she apologized as she lightly touched the arm that she'd just pummeled, "It's just that no one's helped me take care of her for such a long time, and being in this place," she paused and sent him an almost forced smile, "it's kind of scary."

He sighed, he barely noticed but she was apologizing to him again, "Its okay Kate, I should've asked before I took her, I can imagine it couldn't have been comforting," he replied morosely, "It didn't hurt you did it?"

"Did what hurt me?" she asked as they began to slowly walk down the shore. The early morning breeze had kicked in and it was still chilly, but the way the colors danced across the sky, mingling together, there was an ambiance that implicated a beautiful day was before them.

"Did your heart hurt?" he questioned when they reached the spot that they'd slept at the previous night. Jack took off his backpack and pulled out a bottle of water, an apple and a granola bar, he handed them over to Kate after she had taken a seat.

"For breakfast," he explained as he plunked down into the sand beside her, sending fans of tiny grains in every direction.

"Thank you," she replied as they watched the waves scarcely make it to shore with a pathetic crash, "And yeah it did, vaguely," she replied looking at him.

He nodded but kept his lips pursed, he really didn't know what to say, he didn't know what was wrong with Kate, and he wouldn't be able to tell until he got his father's stethoscope. He knew he packed one when he traveled to Australia, he packed one when he went anywhere, just for show.

Kate looked away from him to down the beach, it was early morning, yet the population was dwindling, she could only see a few people waking around, to the cooler that was used for food and water, "Where is everyone?" she asked as she turned back.

"They all went to higher ground, Sayid got the transceiver working, but it can't receive a signal because the beach is too low of ground," Jack explained.

"Dude!" Someone hollered from down the beach, a large man was slowly making his way towards them. He was about six feet tall, but overweight. His frizzy hair blew in the wind, and his blue t-shirt was drenched with sweat, "Dude, you'd better go check on that guy with the hunk of plane sticking out of him," he suggested, "He's looking kinda dying."

"He's not going to die, but when I removed that piece of shrapnel, it put his system in a minor shock," Jack explained as he got up.

"You took it out?" Kate asked shocked, "I thought that you had to leave it in?" she asked as she rocked Nike.

"That was yesterday," he explained nonchalantly, "I thought he'd be at a hospital by now."

Kate watched him grimly as he walked away through the sand with the man who had come to get him. Kate sighed as the lids of her eyes became heavy suddenly, like a change in the air current caused it. It then came to her attention that she had yet to see Jack rest, or sleep for that matter. But he was after all a doctor, so if anyone was liable to make a professional choice when to rest, it was him.

Kate yawned exhaustedly as she made her way through the bar to the kitchen. The tray of glasses and dishes jingled as she barely held on to the sides. Her apron that she had put on at six in the morning was crinkled with worn wrinkles and stained with substances of all sorts. Her hair was messy and stringy, easily falling out of the weak bun she barely managed to tie after the club has closed.

She had received the three am to three pm shift, so she arrived when the clubbers were still parting hardy, and stayed until the elderly women came in for their mid-morning tea.

Her head was swimming as she brought the dishes into the kitchen for Drac to wash up. It was now two pm, which was known as the slow hour, mainly because Willy didn't take many customers at the time, so that cleaning and cooking could be caught up with.

Her stomach churned as she set the tray of dishes down next to him on the counter, he too one look at her and gasped, "You look like three day old vomit," he announced, his dark eyes gleaming, as he continued to wash the plates in the sink.

Kate rolled her eyes at him, "And you look lovely yourself today Mr. Thundersrain," she countered sarcastically as she leaned against the counter, resting momentarily.

He smiled. She had become close with Willy, Beth and Drac in the past month and a half. She came to think of them as her family, Drac her brother, Beth her sister, and Willy her father. He was extremely overprotective of her, everything she seemed to do worried him, when he should be worrying about Beth. Not that she'd ever bring that to his attention, she learned growing up with Lindsay, that the last thing big sisters liked was a tattletale.

"No really, you look sick," he replied as he hands disappeared under the sink full of soapy water, "You should take better care of yourself," he brought out a white porcelain dish and ran the clothe around it a few times.

Kate rolled her eyes, "I think I just got that stomach flu that's been going around," she enlightened as she took the dish he handed to her and began to dry it, "I got sick yesterday morning."

"There's no stomach flu going around," Drac declared as Beth came in with another tray full of plates, "Believe me if there was, Beth would have it, you sees more people then anybody," he smiled deviously as he made fun of her.

"Hey, shut up," she replied as she hopped up on the counter, "At least I get some regularly," she added with confidence, as she smacked the gum around in her mouth.

"A little too regularly," he stated with a superior chuckle. Beth scoffed and reached out a scrawny, boney hand and landed a slap right across Drac's back, hitting the lower part of one of his shoulders.

He yelped and placed his hand on the tender area, rubbing it gently, "Kate, are you just going to let her do this to me?" he questioned wanting back up in facing the five foot six, hundred and five pound demon, "Kate?"

"I think I'm going to be sick," she announced and threw the towel she was using to dry dishes with onto the ground and stumble over the gleaming, ivory floor. Placing a hand to her stomach and one over her closed mouth.

"Honey, let me help," Beth called as she ran and grabbed Kate, holding her steady as they made their way to the kitchen door. Willy opened the door almost the exact same time as they moved to push it, he stumbled back, "What's the matter?" he asked frantically noticing the shape Kate was in.

"Kate's gotta up her chuck," Beth explained as they hurried past Willy who stood in the doorway watching them walk down the hallway, "You call me if you need me!" he hollered.

They forced open the bathroom door and Kate hardly made it to the stall before she got sick. After finishing Kate wiped her mouth and flushed the toilet, barely finding enough strength to move to sit on top of it.

"So what do you have?" Beth asked as she reapplied the orange and purple eye shadow that clashed with her red and black outfit. Her hair was pushed back by a headband, the sharply cut pieces jutting out the side of her head like a lion's mane.

"I don't know, maybe it was just something I ate," she stated as she placed her head in her hands. Her breath was slightly ragged, she detested getting sick, it always did a number on her system.

"Have you," Beth began as she looked away from the mirror and back to Kate who looked at her obliviously, "You know, had you visit from 'George' this month?" she questioned and then began applying the shade of plum lipstick she wore.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Kate questioned as she looked up from the floor suddenly. Her fingers began to play with a stray piece of hair, as she weaved it through them.

"Hmmm," Beth pursed her lips together, "I'm taking my break now, I have to go run some errands," she stated abruptly, though this was not out of the ordinary. Beth usually left anytime she pleased, for however long she felt was necessary, "I'll be back in five minutes okay, You think you can hold out until then?" she asked as she threw her gaudy purse over her shoulder.

"Umm…Yeah?" Kate was sure that this had nothing to do with her, but in that string Australian accent, she could her plan unfolding.

Kate sat onto the porcelain seat, waiting for Beth to comeback. She slowly removed her hot feet from her sandals and placed then on the cool floor, she shivered and sighed relieved.

As she began to trace the indents in the tile, she heard the shrilling squeak of the unkempt bathroom door, and looked up to see Beth enter, her large over exaggerated purse over one shoulder, a bag from a nearby drug store over the other.

"Sorry it took me so long, Hon," Beth explained as grabbed the bag from the counter and moved over to Kate, "Willy caught me and the hallway and started bombarding me with questions about you, you've got him really worried, he said he was keeping the club closed until I figured out what was wrong with you and I said that would take approximately fifteen minutes," she speedily explained as she crouched in front of Kate.

"How do you know what's wrong?" she questioned with an arched eyebrow as she leaned back.

Beth smiled and pulled out five boxes from the bag, "I want you to do all of these," she explained and handed them to Kate. They were small in stature, but stacked up on one another, they were quite tall.

Kate looked down and studied the boxes, "What?" she almost shouted, "No Beth! No I'm not doing this," she refused and tried to get up from her seat but Beth forcibly pushed her back down.

"Is that because you already know the answer?" she asked deviously, as she popped her gum once again, "Because I think you already do."

"Beth, there's no way I'm pregnant," Kate countered and handed back the boxes to Beth.

"And how do you know that?" she questioned as she pushed the boxes back into Kate's hands.

"Because the last guy I slept with was almost two months ago," she admitted then immediately blushed a smidgen at her revelation.

"Kate, did 'George' visit you?" Beth asked again.

Kate rolled her eyes, "Beth this is ridicu…"

"Did he?" Beth pressured, Kate's eyes moved towards the tiles, in hopes to avoid Beth, and her questions.

"Kate, if you didn't get it, you're so pregnant," Beth explained and closed the stall, "just do them, and you'll see I'm right," she said arrogantly as she closed the stall door and hopped up on the counter to wait.

"This is so stupid, you're so stupid" Kate declared as she and Beth stared at the five strips of toilet paper placed on the counter to cover the tests as they determined the result, "I know I'm not," she added.

"You're not, or you don't want to be?" Beth asked back, gaining that smug smile she often wore. Sometimes Kate just felt like smacking it off her face.

"Girls?" Willy asked from the door with a light rap, "Girls can I come in."

"Yeah," Beth answered as she turned toward the door and popped her bright pink gum.

"Is everything okay?" he asked as he entered the room, his face glistened from sweat caused by concern, "What's going on if you don't mind me asking?"

"Kate's packing a kid," Beth announced, "I got her some pregnancy tests, we just have to wait two more minutes and we can see the results."

Kate's eyes grew wide with mortification, she instinctively punched Beth in the arm with quite a bit of strength, "You idiot."

"What?" Willy asked startled. He ran a hand through his thinning, white hair, "Kate…Are you… pregnant?"

"No, it's just what Beth thinks," Kate replied sending a stern look to Beth who just giggled, "This isn't funny Beth, you've got Willy worried to death, me going crazy…"

"Willy, she hasn't had her you know what in a month," Beth announced.

"Beth!" Kate cried and slapped her in the arm, "Just…Just shut up okay? You look much better with you mouth closed!"

"And you didn't think you weren't pregnant?" Willy asked with an angry sigh, "Jesus Kate, I thought you were the smart one…"

There was a very awkward and unwelcome silence as Willy stared her down disappointingly, unsure of what to do, until Beth called, "Time."

She slid off the counter and announced, "three out of five is considered a passing mark," and then proceeded on lifting up the covers, "What do I need to see on the first one?"

"A blue line," Kate muttered quietly as she flipped through the eclectic collection of instructions. Beth nodded and placed the cover over and moved to the next one, slowly lifting the cover.

"A black dot," Kate answered before Beth could ask the question. Slowly she moved on to the last three tests, her exterior demeanor not expressing anything.

When she was finished, Beth turned around and faced Kate and Willy, who stood separated, Kate leaned against the wall by the mirror, and Willy never left the doorway.

"So?" Willy asked after a moment of silence. Beth smiled showing off the pearly white teeth accented by her dark lipstick.

"You passed Kate," she finally divulged, "You passed with a five out of five."

Kate's heart froze in her chest as she just stared at Beth and her quirky smile. After a few moments Willy felt the need to speak up, "Do you know who the father is?" he asked stoically as Kate moved back into the stall to sit on the toilet.

"Yeah," she replied with tears in her eyes, as she placed her head in her hands, "My husband."

Willy and Beth quickly looked at each other then at Kate over the shocking revelation, "You're husband?" Beth questioned, "You have a husband, and you never felt the need to tell us!"

"I was married for a day, he was a police officer, and he died the day after our honeymoon. He got shot on duty, that's why I couldn't stand America anymore," she replied, "I just had to get away from there, everything reminded me of him," she lied straight through her teeth to the people she loved the most.

"Do you want to phone your family?" Willy asked as he bent down to her, placing a hand comfortingly on her shoulder, suddenly becoming understanding.

"I can't," she replied as tears filled her eyes, "my mom and my dad are dead, so is my sister."

"Suddenly being your friend isn't that comforting right now," Beth stated.

"Beth," Willy hushed her, then turned back to Kate, who was in shambles, "Kate, Sweetie, do you want the baby?" she looked up at him and sniffled, "Because if you don't none of us will hold it against you."

"I want this baby more then anything in the world," Kate replied with tears, "I just don't think I can do it alone."

"Then you're going to have it, and we're going to be next to you every step of the way, from cravings to babysitting," he smiled as he tipped her chin and she laughed.

"I call godmother," Beth announced, as she unwrapped a sucker she seemingly pulled from nowhere and shoved it into her mouth.

Suddenly the bathroom door swung open and Drac marched in, "Alright I can't take it anymore," he hollered, "Even though this room is like a hell to me," he stated as he eyed the wall like he didn't trust the room, "What the hell is going on you guys?"

Kate wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand, "I'm going to have a baby Drac," she announced, "I'm going to have a baby."

He looked at her and raised an eyebrow, "Are you shitting me?" He questioned, "Because if you are…"

She giggled, "No, no, I really am," she assured.


"So the bun's in the oven now?" he questioned skeptically.

"Yes," she replied with a small smile.

He smiled and moved in to hug her, as the others did in the tiny cramped bathroom stall. Before he pulled away Drac managed to playfully say, "you ho, I always thought I'd be the first one to have a baby."

"So how old is your daughter?" the man asked Jack, as he looked over the stitches that were implanted in the side of the Marshal.

Jack chuckled; this was getting quite inculcating, "She's not my daughter, Hurley," Jack replied coolly and could almost mouth the words as Hurley expressed his surprise.

"Wow, so she's not your girlfriend?" he asked again. Jack pursed his lips to keep from smiling and shook his head. Hurley nodded in response, "Yeah she looked to young to be married anyways," he paused, "And hot, I mean there's no way any one guy should just get her, it's not fair."

Jack chuckled looked back down to the stitched wound and began to prod around it lightly, "So you're not going to have to like, you know, open him up again or anything?" Hurley asked him nervously rubbing the back of his neck, "Because last time I passed out."

"Yeah I remember," Jack replied, the image of poor Hurley falling and crushing the Marshal was still freshly imbedded in his mind, for a moment, he thought the Marshal would suffocate.

"Well if you don't need me or anything, this tent kinda freaks me out, and I'd rather be looking for medicine or something," he replied. Jack nodded in agreement and watched as Hurley slowly made his way across the sand.

Jack moved momentarily across the tent to a suitcase that he had filled with all the prescription medication he was given, and finally after a few moments of rifling, he found a fresh piece of gauze. He wasn't exactly sure what kind of people brought gauze on an airplane, but suddenly, they didn't seem so stupid.

He moved back to the Marshal, and vigilantly positioned the gauze securely in place. The Marshal groaned at the pain and Jack almost fell back, stunned.

"Sir?" He questioned leaning close to the Marshal, "Sir, can you hear me?" he asked.

In response the Marshal slid open his eyes to cracks and groaned a bit more, "Where is she?" he asked, his throat sounded rusty, like the springs of a bed when bounced on.

"Where is who?" Jack asked as he handed the man a bottle of water, who knocked it away and reached up, maliciously grabbing Jack by his shirt collar. He was still surprisingly strong.

"Where is she?" He demanded, his voice a low growl, his teeth gritting together.

"I don't know who you're talking about," Jack replied calmly, trying to get the Marshal to relax, "But you need to lie back down," he explained and gently pushed him back towards the ground.

"Look in my suit pocket," he demanded. Jack cocked an eyebrow at him curiously, wondering if he was having hallucinations from the high fever, "Look in my jacket pocket now!" he yelled again and Jack reluctantly rummaged through the contents of the pockets.

He pulled out a piece of white paper, so clean it almost acted as a light for the caves as it reflected the sun's vibrant rays. On the other side was a picture of a girl holding a black board with letters placed on it. Her name read 'Kate West', and Jack's heart stopped.

Sure enough, there was Kate, looking utterly despondent, her hair messy, her face tired, her spirit beaten. Jack silently wondered if this was some hoax, the picture seemed to be printed off a computer and didn't seem to be legitimate, but then again, there was a Marshal lying right before him.

"Don't trust her," he moaned, and then tumbled back into unconsciousness.

Kate's teeth sunk into the apple with a large crunch, and she smiled, trying hard to stop any of the juice from sliding down her face. She sat cross-legged beside Nike on the blanket Jack had laid out the night before.

Nike looked up at her in awe and misunderstanding as she bit into the apple again. She whimpered a little and reached for the apple, "Gah!"

"Sweetie, you can't have the apple, you can't digest it," Kate explained simply, but of course Nike didn't understand.

"Am I interrupting something?" Kate looked up to see Sayid smiling at them, as she tried to calm her daughter down.

"No nothing at all," Kate explained as she moved Nike into her lap, "Did you get the transceiver working?" she questioned optimistically.

Sayid sighed, then bent down on his knees so he was eye level with her, in a very low, serious voice he spoke, "We did, but the battery ran out. But we heard another transmission being played off the island," he disclosed, "A French woman voice was repeating the same message, asking for help. But by the iterations, I calculated that she'd been on the island for sixteen years."

Kate looked at him, eyes wide in wonder, "She's been stuck here for sixteen years?" Kate finally questioned.

Sayid nodded his head morosely, "But you cannot tell anyone," he implored, "If we loose hope of being rescued, then what else have we got left?"

"Is there anything else?" she asked, sensing he needed more then he let on.

"Yes, actually," he began, "I'm trying to rebuild the transceiver, so if you have anything electronic that you'd be willing to donate, I'd very much appreciate it."

Kate brought over the baby bag that lay beside her in the sand and delved through it until she found what she was looking for, "Is this good?' she questioned as she took the CD out of the Discman and handed Sayid the electronic along with two pairs of earphones, "I have a camcorder to, but I'd like to keep that if you don't need it," she explained.

"No, this should be useful," He explained, "Thank you very much."

Kate nodded grimly, as Sayid forced a smile and left, beginning to initiate groups to certain jobs. She gently moved Nike off her lap and placed her head to her knees, just trying to relax momentarily until she had to come back to reality. She begged herself to remember the meditative exercises that Beth had taught her a few years back, but it had been awhile since she had found her calm spot.

She could hear her heart pounding away, like a jackhammer to a sidewalk or road that needed restructuring. Her head was swimming, moving her surroundings every which way. She also realized that she was tired, extremely tired.

She gently snaked an arm around Nike, and fell to her side, ensconcing the baby in her arms. Nike let out a coo, then settled in closer to Kate as she closed her eyes, she couldn't keep them focused on the form of her half-masticated apple.

"Kate?" someone questioned as they shook her. She moaned, she was tired, couldn't they tell that? "Kate?" they questioned again.

"What?" She moaned as she sat up. Even little Nike began to whine about the intrusion on her sleep.

"We have to talk," she looked up and rubbed her eyes, Jack stood towering over her.

Kate stifled a yawn as best she could, and soothingly rubbed Nike's back in hopes of calming her down, "What is it?" she questioned a little peeved at the fact that he'd woken her up for seemingly nothing.

"Is there something you need to tell me?" he questioned as he sat down beside her. His eyes almost bore into hers, and she began to become jittery under his stare.

"About the French lady?" she questioned as she reached into her baby bag and pulled out a bottle of milk.

"No Charlie told me about that," Jack informed as he watched her vigorously shake the bottle.

She handed it to Nike, who snatched it and immediately began sucking out the contents. She turned around to Jack, and shrugged her shoulders innocently, "Then I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I'm talking about this Kate," he explained as he handed her the piece of paper that was folded in quarters, miniscule smudges of sand lay in the crevasses.

She hesitantly opened the paper and her heart stopped. She sighed and put her hand to her head dejected, when Anthony wanted something, he stopped by no means to get it back.

"Jack, this isn't real," she expressed to him as she gave it back.

"Oh so some cop has a mug shot of you in his suit pocket for no reason," he asked sarcastically.

"Jack it's not like that," she tired to explain as she took the empty bottle from Nike, and placed it back into the baby bag.

"Were you the one in handcuffs on the plane, Kate?" he questioned bitterly, his face showed disbelief, over the fact that Kate was a convict, and that she was trying to deny it.

"Jack, I…"

"Were you the one in the handcuffs?" he asked sternly, raising his voice, but not enough so the others could hear.

She turned her gaze towards the ground and uttered a pathetic, "Yes."

Jack shook his head and laughed cynically, "Unbelievable," he announced as he got up to leave.

"Jack you don't understand, I left the United States for a reason," she revealed, "I was involved with this guy, he was an evil, heinous guy, Jack," she began to explain, praying Jack believed her, "He asked to much of me, so I left and went to Australia, I thought he'd just give up looking for me," she continued as she used the back of her hand to wipe the tears away, "But he didn't," he voice cracked, "He sent this guy, whoever he is, after me, and he made fake mug shots."

Jack stood, his hand covering his eyes, rubbing his temples gently. This whole mess, this whole island thing, was giving him one hell of a migraine. He looked back to Kate, who was patting the back of her giggling daughter, "I'm not a bad person, Jack," she declared.

He scoffed almost too smugly, "Kate when you're ready to tell me the truth, and not some made up garbage, I'll listen," he stated and began to walk away.

Kate sunk back into the sand, her body bruised, her spirit beaten, her heart broken. How come no matter how far she traveled to get away from Anthony, he always managed to find her in one form or another.

Holding up a silky, periwinkle dress Kate sighed in disapproval. It barely had spaghetti straps, and a weak lining of lace hung off the dangerously low-cut neck. She didn't know what disgusted her more, the fact that someone would wear skimpy clothes like this, or the fact that about two years ago, she would've been wearing this dress or some carbon copy just like it.

She threw it into the useless pile and continued to fumble throw a suitcase of the so newly deceased, separating the useless from the convenient. Nike sat beside her in the soft sand playing with one of the stuffed animals Kate had managed to shove in her bag before they left Australia.

She found a bottle of iron pills, and sighed as she threw them into a pile of medications she was making for Jack. Just because he didn't care for her, didn't mean that other people should pay for their tiff.

"Well, well, well," a smug voice mocked; "Now the good Doc's got you doing his dirty work for him." Sawyer took out a cigarette and began to light it.

"Please don't smoke around my daughter," Kate asked angrily but politely, "I've been able to keep her out of public smoking places, and if she gets cancer from second hand smoke from you, I'll be pissed," Kate explained as she continued to separate the clothes.

"Easy Freckles," Sawyer put away his smoke in defeat, "You're just a little ball of fire today aren't you?"

"Why do you have to call me Freckles?" she asked, annoyed with him already.

Jack ambled away from checking on the Marshal. He'd gotten worse in the last few hours, and Jack knew there was barely anything he could do. What bugged him most was the fact that if he was at a hospital now, he could easily save the man's life.

He sighed with a pang of anger; maybe there was more medication in the luggage that had been stocked by the jungle's edge. The owners hadn't been located yet, and in his heart, Jack knew they would never be.

As he walked mindlessly out from a large piece of wreckage, almost into the open, he noticed that Kate and Sawyer were having a conversation. Well to him it looked more like an argument.

He decided it would be in his own best interest as well as hers, to avoid interrupting the disagreement. She might even go off at him, especially after their little fight that morning.

He was about to walk back when he began to overhear the conversation. Silently and stealthily he made his way back behind the protection of a large, shining metal piece of the plane and stood noiselessly and motionlessly, letting his ears take in every word.

"Because if I didn't call you Freckles, I'd have to call you T.M." he explained as he leaned against a tree casually. He reached his arms high above his head and stretched them along with his neck.

"T.M.?" Kate questioned as she looked up from the luggage, her face held disbelief at straightforward, yet annoying he was becoming.

"Teenage Momma," Sawyer replied with a smirk, showing off amazingly white teeth for a smoker.

Kate rolled her eyes, "I was twenty when she was born you idiot, I'm almost twenty-one now," she informed as she returned to organizing the clothes, not wishing to deal with the subject anymore.

"The way I see it," Sawyer began gaining a superior look to his face, "You're almost twenty-one now, mean you were almost twenty a year ago. She can't be older then six months," He announced pointing to her daughter, "meaning that you were pregnant when you were nineteen, making you a teenage momma," he clarified with a haughty smirk.

Kate sighed in frustration, "Well if it makes you feel any better, I was married," she almost whispered, her words were muffled by the tears she was working exhaustedly to detain.

Jack's eyes grew wide; he'd never thought that Kate had been married. He thought she had just gotten herself stuck in an accidental situation.

"Almost as in, 'not now'?" Sawyer questioned as he cupped his hands together and placed them behind his head, curving his back directly with the tree.

Kate didn't reply, her torn eyes scanned the soft, powdered sand, and the small pieces of debris that lay within. Her face kept the look it always seemed to have, she managed to keep it incognito most of the time, but Jack had learned that overemotional situations made it stick out like a sore thumb.

It was that look like she was to blame for all the faults of the world. That somehow she caused them all, and was now paying some drudgery penance, almost as if the weight of the world was on her back.

"Well, I do hear that teenage marriages don't last that long," he stated with a jab of stinging sarcasm.

Kate's mouth hung agape momentarily as she took the time to collect herself. She calmly rose from her spot, her fists clenched, but her face still hurt like she was burning from the inside out. Sawyer watched her smugly, as did Nike, she sensed that something had happened, and reached up to be held.

Kate bent down and picked her up, along with the tiny stuffed polar bear and handed it to her. "My husband's dead you asshole," she finally broke the dawdling silence. And though her words were full of apathy and bitterness, tears still managed to huddle in her eyes, "He died saving my life," she replied as she turned on the spot and marched away from Sawyer who stood dumbfounded in the sand.

She continued to gait irritably, and strode right past Jack, not paying him any attention as she struggled to keep the tears out of her eyes. He wanted to chase after her, but he would probably add gasoline to the fire, rather then water.

He released a vexed huff, and began to walk over to Sawyer, "You just had to go to far, didn't you?" Jack questioned, shaking his head in disappointment as he picked up the surfeit of medications that Kate had managed to find.

"You shouldn't be talking Jacko," Sawyer divulged as he lit another cigarette, "I saw you guys fighting earlier today, looks like you hurt her more then I just did, and I was really trying," he disclosed as he took a long puff from his cigarette, then blew into the air a long stream of smoke that soon grew invisible with the winds.

Jack didn't speak as he placed more of the medication into the bag he'd brought along, "So what was that about anyways?" Sawyer questioned with a smirk, "What'd she do that pissed you off?"

"Nothing," Jack replied as he finished shoving his bag full.

"Really, because that was a whole lot of angry actions for a whole lot of nothing," Sawyer replied as he threw his cigarette into the sand.

"Just leave her alone Sawyer," Jack told him as he turned to go back and help the marshal out, things weren't looking to good with him.

"My, aren't we mighty hypocritical today," Sawyer pestered as he walked in the opposite direction.

Jack sighed; he hoped that they would be rescued soon, because he didn't know how long he could deal with all these people. Since he was the one who stepped up at the beginning of this giant mess, everyone seemed to look to him for answers, and he didn't have most of them, hell he didn't have any of them.

As he paced closer to the tent where the Marshal was resting, he heard Nike cry and rustling around within. He quickly pulled back the crinkled blue tarp that wavered in the wafting wind.

He pulled it back and was shocked to see the Marshal, vivacious and wide awake, with his strong hands wrapped around Kate's neck. Her face was contorted in pain, and she grimaced, gasping for air.

Nike sat beside her on the ground howling, while watching the disgusting attack before her. Balling her fists she shook them up and down, her face became wrinkled and cherry in color.

Swiftly, Jack moved in and tried to separate the two. Kate's hands painfully gripped the Marshal's wrists, her nails digging in deep trying to get him to release his grip, but he didn't even drop one finger on his harsh hold.

Jack tried to pry his hands, but they were clamped so hard around the soft skin of her neck, that it had already been bruised, his hold was almost magnetic.

Seeing no other option Jack grimly jabbed his thumb into the Marshal's recently stitched side, not hard enough to break the tedious stitches, but hard enough so the Marshal could feel an immense pang of pain.

He gasped and instantly released Kate who crumbled to the ground. Nike's crying a simmered to a deep whimper as she watched the motionless figure of her mother, the gasping form of the Marshal, and the overwhelmed outline of Jack.

He didn't know who to help first, the Marshal seemed to be choking on his own saliva, and he could barely see the rise and fall of Kate's idol figure. Grabbing a bottle of water, he quickly moved to the other side of the Marshal, giving him the water.

He looked to the side and saw that Nike's gray eyes were glued to him, she whimpered slightly with every inhalation, but watched his every move, like she was enthralled.

He lifted her gently under the arms and moved over to Kate who lay still on her stomach. One of her arms stretched out, while the other was completely bent. Placing Nike gently in his lap, he placed a hand on Kate's cool wrist, after finding a stable pulse; he turned her over on her back.

"What did you do Kate?" He questioned angrily, immediately placing the blame on her. She tried feebly to push herself up, but failed, "I didn't do anything," she whispered, her voice raspy.

"Kate," he began to berate in a disbelieving tone, and then he realized his mistake. He was blaming Kate, giving her reason to have that somber face all the time. She could be telling the truth, about the Marshal, about everything, but then again he barley knew her, she could be some cold-hearted murderess. He sighed as he looked into her eyes; they'd lost the shimmer that had always held hope. Whatever he believed she was, he'd have to decide now.

He smiled, it was weak only touching the corners of his lips but it held warmth, "You always seem to be in the wrong place at the wrong time," he informed as he helped her up gently. She began to waver a bit and he placed his hands on her forearm to steady her, she was cold and clammy to touch.

Once she had regained her steady head, he reached out and gently brushed the puffy skin of her neck, "You bruise to easily," he pointed out again as he cupped his hand around her neck.

Their eyes connected for a moment, and Jack quickly looked away, grabbing another water bottle that was near he handed it to Kate, "Everyone bruises when their choked," she enlightened as she took a small sip.

Jack smiled regretfully, "So why the sudden change of heart?" she questioned quietly as she screwed the cap back onto the bottle, "I thought I was a liar."

Jack opened his mouth to answer, but the Marshal chose to speak instead, "Where is Kate?" he demanded in a low growl seemingly recovered already.

Jack looked at Kate, she'd lost her look of sorrow for a brief moment, as it was consumed by a look of blind fear, Jack would've missed it if he hadn't been staring so intently.

"I want to talk to her," he disclosed, the cadence in his voice softened for a moment until he added, "Alone."

Jack shook his head as Kate picked up her baby from his lap. Nike wrapped an arm around Kate's neck, and then placed her fingers mindlessly in her mouth as she watched Jack move towards the Marshal.

"I'm not leaving you alone with her," Jack explained. The Marshal quickly disagreed with him, "She's dangerous," he began to try to persuade Jack, "she's the one who needs to be kept under watchful eye. She's being tried on three separate accounts back in America, she…"

"She's not the one who tried to strangle someone now is she?" he questioned raising an eyebrow as he turned to look to Kate who was cuddling Nike tight to her.

"I'm dying right?" he questioned with a sudden deep cough that seemed to rack his entire body. The wind blew the tarp open softly and as the light splashed across the Marshal's face, it could be lucidly seen that his pigment was ashen.

Jack looked to the sand and pursed his lips, "Yeah, you're going to die," he answered somberly.

"Well someone has to keep an eye on her after I do," he began then wheezed again, "she's dangerous, you don't know what she's done."

"I don't care," Jack answered, "From what I've seen she's a good person," he expressed as he left the Marshal's side to help Kate up. He gently took Nike from her and guided Kate outside the tent.

"That's all I need," he replied as he bent down to the Marshal. His face contorted into pain and grief. He raised his hands out and lunged for Nike, ready to do whatever it took to get his way.

Jack quickly moved to the side, falling back but quickly regaining himself and moving to his feet. Nike wrapped her arms around his neck in fear and began to cry, "Don't ever try that again," Jack threatened as he left the tent tenderly rubbing Nike's back as her little dress' ruffles blew in the wind.

Kate sat a few feet away in the sand; her hair gently blew back and forth as her eyes slipped closed, her hands were pressed into the grainy ground for support. Jack shuffled through the sand and sand beside her quietly, he moved to hand Nike back to her but she reluctantly shook her head, "Can you just hold her for a little while?" she questioned, her voice held sadness.

"Yeah sure," Jack replied surprised at her answer as he moved Nike back against him, she lay her head just on his shoulder, commencing to fall into sleep.

"I don't feel that good," she answered his unasked query. She slowly blinked and turned back to the ocean the sun was beginning to set, spreading an eclectic group of hues across the sky.

"Well you were just strangled," he answered. She chuckled at her misfortune, "I don't think that's it," she added sorrowfully, "I'm tired," she stated, the bags under her eyes already told that story, "And I'm dizzy, and my chest is starting to hurt again," she replied with a deep intake of air, then continued in a slightly frightened voice, "And I have no idea what's wrong with me," she stated.

"Kate," he began, "I'm sure it's nothing serious, probably some shock that your body is going through, it will go away in five days," he promised.

"And if it doesn't Jack?" she questioned, interested in his answer.

"Then I'm going to do anything in my power to make sure that you're okay," he guaranteed as he placed his hand on her shoulder in a gesture of comfort.

She smiled, ridding herself of the fears that plagued her mind, "Thank you Jack, not just for this, but seeing me as a real person."

"Just take it easy," he changed the subject knowing that Kate would refuse not to thank him if he declined he did anything, "You're got an angel of a daughter to take care of," he replied placing the sleeping baby in her arms.

As he moved away her hand caught his, gripping it lightly in hers, "Jack I mean it," she replied. His eyes bore into hers and something clicked between the both of them, the sudden realization of the feels they both had became apparent.

The image though was shattered quickly by a gunshot that broke the serene silence of the island. Kate leaned over and looked to where the noise came from as Jack quickly stumbled to his feet and ran to where the Marshal's tent was.

Inside his body lay, a gun in his hand and blood slowly oozing from the bullet wound on the front of his head. His eyes were open and shocked, pupils dilated, as his pale skin turned even whiter.

Jack entered immediately moved down to check his pulse. When he found none, he sighed angrily and muttered a curse word. The blood from his head had splattered all over the blue tarp and clumped into the sand.

Kate being concerned moved back the tarp and quickly turned around and covered Nike's eyes.

"Did he…"

"Yeah," Jack replied solemnly as he placed a blanket over the Marshal's body and got up, moving outside the tent.

A crowd was gathering, everyone interested in the gunshot they'd heard, and proud to have pinpointed the source.

"What's going on Dude?" Hurley asked casually as he eyed Kate and Jack.

Jack sighed and placed his hand on the back of his head, searching for the words, "The Marshal woke up, I told him the extent of his injuries," he began trying to put it in laymen's terms to explain it swiftly and effectively, "He took a gun from his ankle holster and shot himself."

Everyone stood dumbfounded in the sand for a moment, "He shot himself?" Hurley finally asked again.

Jack nodded in confirmation, and whispers could be heard throughout the crowd, "I don't want to die," a small boy cried as he held on to his dog, a golden lab.

"Walt," a man, obviously his father comforted, "Come on man; you're not going to die."

"But he died, and he was a police officer," Walt cried with panic, "I want to go home."

The crowd's voices began to rise and hysterics began to take place, people terrified about dying, or being eaten like the pilot, or dying from some disease.

"Hey," Jack called out, everyone slowly hushed and looked towards him, the dying sunlight framing him with an ethereal glow, "No one's going to die, okay?" he spoke carefully, "The Marshal, his wounds were to deep, I didn't have the right medication, and his fever made him loose sanity. He raved about things that didn't exist, he tried to attack Kate, so we left momentarily."

Everyone looked to Kate, and noticed the reddened irritation on her neck; they slowly seemed to calm down, realizing that it was the lack of sanity.

"Just take it easy," Jack placated, we've found more medication, so if another situation should arise, we'll be ready."

Almost synchronized everyone let out a sigh of relief, "Yeah and it's not like we're going to need it anyways," Hurley began, "The rescue party's coming any day now."

Alright a few things to say before reviews. Firstly I'd just like to thank Oreata for making me my awesome DA account avatar
Ethan: Dispointgustment rules!
Secondly, I've placed a sort of plot timeline for 'Just Incase' on my MSN space. So check it out if you wanna
Know what's going to happen or Want to make a comment/ask a question/ or make a suggestion (I love all three and I will get back to you), but remember its SPOILERS for the story. So don't go there if you don't wanna be spoiled (the link can be found in my profile)
Lastly, this chapter is dedicated to Lisa, my Canary of 5 years who decided to pass away when I was in New York, and then when I went to go bury her I fell down the stairs. But she was a good bird! You're my bird Lisa! RIP Li-Li
Ethan: (cries and hugs Shiggity) it'll be okay, Dave will die soon.
Yeah that helps a lot…

Smilez4eva
Hmm I haven't decided if Jack is married or not, probably not, because then his wife would've had to die or divorce or something, I dunno, so for right now I'm saying no. Glad you like it.

Pink Pinker
This one took a pretty little snippet of time out of my life. Lol all I'm saying is I have a couple of big projects to finish before I can start the next chapter.

Gowland
Hey thanks for checking out my site. I never put up a sneak peek this time, because nothing really appealed to me (other then the Sawyer/Kate fight, but that was written like 30 minutes ago…) But I put up kinda a plot timeline there now. It gives off spoilers!

FluteMarcher
Lol I even continued it in this chapter (The Jack/Kate/Nike family thing). And I'm glad that there is some humor in it. Mostly in the flashbacks, or Charlie and Hurley parts.

Oreata
Hey I'm going to publicly (Well almost publicly) Thank you for the awesome DA avatar you made me! THIS GIRL ROCKS! ;) Thanks again!

Trish
I'm glad you love it (And that you dance) I miss the dance routines, but you know I'm not allowed to write about any song that isn't mine (New FF rules)
Ethan: WHY GOD WHY! (burns dancing shoes)

Jackluver928
Oh you'll see how good he is with Kids (especially this one) in the upcoming chapter. I'm sure it'll warm all Jack fans' hearts

Jerseygirl00320
Hey glad you checked out my MSN space, and I'm slowly adding in more characters (Locke in the next chapter I promise, then Sun and Jin in around 6)

Lillyfan78
Hey you took the time to review right? It's the least I can do to mention you! And I'm so not doing my homework yet. It's about 1:30am on Friday. I'm to tired to do anything really, lol, this of course is an acceptance.

SOCCERroxmysox

Sorry it took me so long to update, everything seemed to come at the exact same time and I was like WTF, but you know I tired really hard in all my spare time and managed to complete the chapter.

Diveprincess

Aww I'm someone's hero! Lol it reminds me of the comic book characters I came up with in grade like 7. Ahh good times
Ethan: (pokes)
What? Sorry, thanks for the review (and I will continue to try and keep being your hero) Shiggitygirl to the rescue
Ethan: Ethanboy!

Rain1657
Aww I'm glad you love it so much (And believe me I'm contemplating putting in some Leo stuff just for you ;) ) though I have no idea how I'll work it in, but you know I totally can if I put my mind to it. And this one is sooo long (this chapter) it's 20 pages, without reviews added…

CrAzYhOrSeGiRl88
Though Jack and Kate seem to be on good terms here, in a few chapters, they'll both be going bitchcakes at each other. POG is on hold until the summer, because unlike this story (It's only having about 23-24 chapters (depends on how many shows they make), whilst POG is limitless.

Freckles-101

You thought that was interesting, wait until he disappears in the jungle and everyone's like WFT? And then the crap starts to hail and everything goes to hell (Because Jack isn't there) And since Locke is already out hunting someone else (You know who) has to find him…

October Sky
Another is not a sequel to this, this is just kinda a 'what if' (that probably explains nothing unless you're an avid comic book reader)

Ethan: Nerd
(Flips him off) anyways lol, Jack will find out about Anthony and Leo, and Lindsay, and Drac, Beth and Willy, and the Marshal, and the Brady Bunch. But it's in a much MUCH later chapter, I estimated about 12 or 13…
And yes, the entire seasons shows will be masticated and spit out to my perfection, then preserved like a jam or jelly of sorts.
And it's juts freaky about that Gio guy. My pal Aimee has a cat named Leo and it loves me and I like won't let it go…

Orlando-Crazy
Sorry for the late update (I know I know) but it was like extremely late.

Miss Jasadin
Lol that was an ALTERNATE ending, if you don't want him to die, never read past chapter 22 again… And no the only people I'm killing off are those who're axed in the show.

Lara Chubb of Deep Hollow

Lol I bought that magazine and my mom was like reading it in the store and she's like OMG look at Charlie and Sayid and Hurley and she was laughing so hard and everyone was looking at her, and my dad called her a loser. It was soo funny. (She (like me) has a very predominant laugh)

Whirlwind-2005

That part about Jack being told by Charlie…All for you ;) Nah don't worry about Shannon, I just usually portray her as nicer, but I'm making her a stone cold bitch in this one.

Holly
Aww I'm glad you like my writing (People like you keep me writing) or else I'd just be like "Writing…PSSSSSH" lol. I hope the flashback was still cute (I dimmed down the cute, and turned up the foolish).

Next Chapter- When it's realized that Kate is one of the few people on the island who can actually hunt, she enlists to help Locke and Michael bring back a boar, whilst Claire watches Nike. But when Nike disappears and the hunting group don't return, people start to panic.
Ethan: DON DON DON! DON-NA!