Hey guys, sorry I haven't updated in awhile. But I've been crowded with exams and summatives and more summatives and then some projects and well you get the point. But soon the magical place they call school will be closed for the summer and I can write when I'm not cleaning. Because I never catch a break.
Ethan: I still have that maid outfit…
And I'm very glad that so many of you like this story. I basically wrote all of it tonight and I have like laryngitis so please,
Ethan: Pretty please
Excuse any spelling errors this time, much obliged

Just In Case (Thanks for the correction)

Chapter 4

Lies

The light had not yet broken and christened the morning, Nike lay on her back, swinging her arms and kicking her feet, as she screamed into the early morning. Kate sat beside her, her cool hand placed to her forehead; she couldn't fathom why her daughter was crying.

She had checked to see if her diaper needed changing, or if she needed to be fed, those were the two main reasons and neither seemed to causing Nike's tears. She apparently wasn't sleepy and her temperature was fine. Kate sighed; maybe the crash on the island was finally getting to Nike.

Kate picked her up gently and held her as she rubbed her back, "It's okay," she coaxed, "its okay." She silently prayed Nike would fall to sleep soon; she didn't want any other of the islanders waking up.

The crunching of footsteps in the sand however, told her differently, "You should be dressed in more then a tank top in this weather," A voice told from a few feet away.

Kate turned her head to see Jack smiling as he approached her and knelt down next to her, "A little early for you to be up isn't it?" he asked Nike as he took her hand. She still continued to bawl. He looked to Kate for an explanation.

"I don't know what's wrong with her," Kate admitted embarrassed, "She never used to cry like this back in Australia. I've been trying for a good half an hour to get her to stop."

"And the ensemble," Jack asked as he brought her airplane blanket over and placed it over her shoulders.

"I thought maybe she was hungry," she enlightened as she pulled the blanket around Nike and herself.

"I thought you pumped?" He asked then realization hit him, "Sorry it's none of my business," he added quickly.

"Don't worry about it, and I usually do, but sometimes she wants the bottle so she gets the bottle and sometime she wants the real thing so," Kate paused, "Sometimes it's anything to get her quiet for a bit."

Jack chuckled, "She a busy baby?"

"Not usually, but she has her moments," she added as she adjusted Nike against her chest, "I…" Kate sighed, "I just feel like a rotten mom, I don't even know what she wants."

"Kate it's not your fault," he told her as Nike began to cry louder, "All babies go through this phase," he explained.

Suddenly a sleeping body a few feet away grumbled and turned over, glaring at Kate, "Can't you get her to stop crying?" Shannon demanded.

"Shan, give her a break," Boone mumbled back as he turned over, lying face down against his pillow.

"I'm sorry," Kate replied with a weak smile as she and Jack turned around to look at Shannon, "I don't know what she wants."

"Well maybe, if you were…" Shannon was interrupted. A few feet away Walt's dog began to bark frantically at something in a piece of the wreckage.

"Walt, man," his dad muttered as he turned over, "You gotta keep that dog quiet."

Walt held on to the dog's leash as he began to bark ferociously at the fuselage. Nike became more agitated and began to cry harder.

"Argh!" Shannon cried as she turned face down in her pillow, to attempt to get a little sleep.

Others were now waking up and coming closer to the fuselage as sounds began to come out of it, "Who woke up the damn zoo?" Sawyer asked as he rubbed the back of his head.

Kate shot him a daggered look, but then turned her attention back to the fuselage, "What is it?" she questioned.

"Maybe it's that thing from the jungle," Claire suggested as he backed up a bit, smiling weakly at Charlie.

"I think the thing in the jungle is a lot bigger then that," Charlie stated with a gulp.

"Well whatever the hell it is, it can't be that bad," Sawyer declared as he bent down and picked up a piece of flotsam from the beach.

"We don't know what it is Sawyer," Jack reminded as he turned around.

"Yeah, it could be another polar bear," Charlie suggested, then immediately regretted it.

"Polar bear?" Claire questioned as she placed a hand on her stomach, "What do you mean polar bear?"

"Well the other day in the…"

Sawyer interrupted him, "We found a polar bear and I shot it," he boasted, "so it ain't a problem anymore," with that he brought back his arm to hurl the piece of metal at the fuselage.

"Sawyer, don't" Jack warned.

Sawyer scoffed then threw the projectile through the air as hard as he could. It hit the shiny white of the plane evident in the moonlight with a clang and immediately the noise stopped.

"It was probably just a rat or something," he sneered and then turned his back.

The sounds started again with excessive, angry grunting as the fuselage shook, "I don't think so," an elder man said, the cut on his face from the crash adding a sinister quality to his smile.

The wreckage shook as three large, hairy animals emerged. They were husky, and course haired. The tusks that grew from their snout, shone in the night light, but the reflection of their eyes, the eerie green-yellow color, was spine tingling.

"Oh man," Hurley announced, "its boar."

"So?" Charlie questioned happily, "At least it's not a bloody polar bear."

"No dude," Hurley began, "Haven't you ever seen the movie Hannibal?" Hurley asked, "The boars in that like eat peoples' faces."

Charlie's eyes grew wide as he went back to watching the boar carefully.

The boar paused momentarily and took in the group, just short fifty people crowding around them, with the screaming baby and took it as a threatening situation. One let out a glass shattering squeal and the rest began to charge.

"Run!" Jack shouted as hysteria broke out. He placed his hand on the small of Kate's back as they ran along with the other survivors. He didn't want her falling because of Nike, or because of her heart problem.

The boars were now terrorizing the camp back by the fuselage, kicking belongings around, rooting through bags, and even hoarding people around. Jack found a dip in another piece of wreckage, only a few feet wide, but it could serve as cover from the boars.

He pointed it out to Kate, whom he let in first, then moved in himself, staying by the opening. The confined space mixed with Nike's crying was not the best of atmospheres, but at least they were somewhat safe here.

Jack peeked his head out, to see the boars ripping up some blankets, and tossing about suitcases. "I think we're safe for a bit," Jack pointed out, as he turned to Kate, who wasn't in good shape.

The vigorous running from the boar had left her almost wheezing for breath once again. Nike was crying and clinging on to her harder, but she was slowly becoming weaker as Nike slid down her hips.

"Kate, sit down," he told her as he helped her to the ground of the confines. He moved a hand to her shoulder, "Just relax."

"I can't relax," she told him, "my baby," she paused trying to breath, "is crying and…I don't even know why," she reminded irritably with labored breaths.

"Hey, hey, hey," he told her as he placed a hand on her cheek, "It's okay," he told her calmly, and before she could tell him it wasn't he continued to speak, "You said she never cried like this back in Australia, what did you do to make her stop crying?"

"I used to just give her to one of my friends, to see if one of them could make her laugh," she answered, her breathing slowing down a bit.

"Well give her to me, maybe I can quiet her down," he suggested. She looked at him skeptically, "Come on Kate, its worth a try," this still didn't seem to persuade her, "I'm a doctor," he reminded.

"You've used that line to get a lot of stuff you've wanted in life, haven't you?" she questioned as she carefully handed him her daughter.

He chuckled, "It has its perks," he informed as he looked down at the screaming baby, "What's the matter?" he asked her softly.

Kate stifled her laughter, by bringing her hand up to her face, "You're supposed to be relaxing," Jack reminded sternly.

"Sorry," she apologized, but kept her smile as she watched Jack.

"What's the matter?" he asked again, and amazingly, her crying quieted down a bit, "Is the island getting to you?" Her crying hushed a little more, "Do you miss all the people that loved you back in Sydney?" he questioned as he reached down and slipped his thumb into her hand. Her crying stopped as she looked at Jack with her gray eyes, waiting for him to say more to her.

Instead he brought her to his shoulder and began patting her back gently. Slowly her eyes closed and Nike drifted into a light slumber.

Kate smiled, "You did it," she moved closer to him, "You managed to calm her down, and get me over another heart malfunction," she stated, clearly impressed, "You're amazing."

Jack chuckled as he handed her sleeping baby back to her, "Hardly, you're the one who's been doing this by yourself for the last while," he reminded, "it's a hard job."

"Well we all can't be doctors," she answered with a smile as she rubbed Nike's back.

Jack reached and took her hand in his, "No, Kate. Really," he told her seriously.

She grinned even wider, eliciting a grin from him as well. There eyes met and captured each other, as they seemed to do more frequently now. Both knew what their lingering presence around each other meant, but neither was open-minded enough to admit it.

A lazy boar scampered by, sideswiping the fuselage bringing Jack and Kate's attention back to the present life. "They're all gone," a man announced, "Everyone can come out now."

Jack looked to outside, then back to Kate, who smiled feebly. He stepped out slowly and reached back in to help her out. Everyone was gingerly coming out of their hiding spot, all looking to the old man who had chased away the boar.

"What the hell just bloody happened?" Charlie asked exasperated as he puffed out of his spot, "They bloody chased me for a good five minutes."

"Those were boar piglets," the man announced, "They've come to feed on the carcasses," almost everyone in the crowd involuntarily winced, "Which is a Godsend because we needed a new source of food."

"What?" Shannon asked shocked, "We're going to eat boar?"

"Well, Mr.?" Sayid began.

"Locke," the man replied with a smile, "The names Locke."

"Mr. Locke is right, we've almost dwindled down to the last of our food supply," he announced, everyone stood silent, "I know there is various kinds of fruit on this island, and fish may be available if we can find a suitable mode for capturing them, but we need a steady source of protein, and boar seems to be that."

"Yeah, well how are supposed to kill one, even it we catch one?" Sawyer asked as he lit up a cigarette.

"With these," Locke explained as he reached down to a case beside him, he opened it and revealed the ten some odd knives that were inside.

"How did you get those on the plane?" Boone asked half astonished, half petrified.

"I checked them," he divulged, "Now if it's okay with everyone, I'd like to take out a party of people tomorrow to go hunt for a boar, I know how to track one, but it's unsafe for juts one person to go out there alone. It takes about three people to effectively take one down."

"What are you getting at?" Sayid asked.

"What I'm getting at is, is there anyone on this island who has substantial, if any, hunting experience?" Locke asked.

A hush fell over the crowd, for a moment only the rough lapping of the waves could be heard, "Anyone at all?" he questioned again.

After a moment of silence someone spoke up, "I do," Michael said from where he was standing by Walt, "My dad taught me how to hunt geese once when I was a kid."

"Alright, that should be suffice," Locke nodded in acceptance, "Anyone else with even a shred of hunting experience?"

Kate sighed, "I do," she said quietly, but the crowd was so silent, that she could be heard clearly.

"What?" Jack, Sawyer, and Locke almost expressed in unison.

"I have hunting experience," she articulated, as Nike cooed and turned her head on Kate's shoulder to look at everyone staring at them.

"What sorts of hunting experience?" Locke questioned skeptically.

"I used to go out with my dad nearly every weekend for hunting trips," she disclosed, "I've tracked dear for miles, rabbits, foxes, basically anything that was in season," She explained.

"You?" Sawyer asked doubtfully.

"Yeah," she replied with a steady nod of her head.

"You hunted animals?" he asked again just to clarify.

"Yes," She replied exasperated, "I had a life before I had a kid you know."

"Not a very long one," Sawyer muttered as he turned away.

Both Jack and Kate were about to say some unkind words, but Locke had the opportunity to speak first, "Would you be willing to go out hunting with us?"

She looked to Nike then back to Locke, "I suppose, I mean if someone will watch her," she agreed.

"I'll watch her again," Claire offered, "I need all the practice I can get, plus Jack won't be far off will you?" she added with a hidden agenda behind her words.

"Huh?" Jack asked mindlessly, he was still thinking about the thought of Kate wandering around the jungle searching for boar.

"We'll leave around noon tomorrow," Locke announced, "I suggest you get lots of sleep."

Kate nodded firmly and Michael gave a groggy answer, after the boar chase everyone finally seemed to be realizing how late it actually was. The group slowly seemed to split up and move back to their own sleeping areas.

Kate blinked her eyes, almost keeping them closed for too long. She'd been having a lot of sleepless night lately, even before the island. Turning around to walk back to her spot on the beach she felt a warm hand cup her vacant shoulder.

She looked to her side and saw Jack ambling along with her in the sand, "You're really going to go out there tomorrow?" he checked, his voice questioning her decision.

"Why, do you think it's bad to leave Nike again?" she asked, fearing he thought of her as a poor mother.

"No, I think it's dangerous for you to go into the woods, with two guys we don't even know, one with a suitcase full of knives, to go and hunt boar, when you get breathless from running," he declared, he was strongly against her going into the jungle for anything.

Their feet dug through the light sand, flicking grains of it in every which way until they came to Kate's area. She bent down slowly and gently placed Nike on to the blanket on her back, then pulled another blanket over her.

"Jack," she sighed quietly as she turned to him, "I'll be fine."

He almost blew a raspberry. That had to be the biggest lie he'd ever heard. Kate could tell that he didn't believe her, "Really, I'll be fine, we're only going out for an hour, two at the most," she explained, "that's how long it usually takes to track boar."

"You're just full of surprises, aren't you?" he asked as he shared her smile.

"We all can't be spinal surgeon pilots," she replied jokingly as she walked a few feet and picked up a blanket that the boars had rampaged over.

"Hey, to be completely fair, I never got my license okay," he divulged, "I could never land the plane properly."

"Well I never quite got the hang of driving yet," she revealed, "Which is okay, because I can't afford a car anyways." She placed the blanket down on the sand, "I should be heading to sleep."

"Yeah," he agreed quietly, "Maybe I'll see you tomorrow before you head out," he stated as he began to walk away.

Kate rolled her eyes, "Alright, if I promise to see you as soon as I come back tomorrow, will it make you feel any better?" she questioned.

"Not really," he answered with a shake of his head.

"Well it doesn't matter, as soon as I come back tomorrow, I'll hunt you down and show you that I'm okay," she told him, "I promise."

"You shouldn't be so worried about her," Charlie advised as he came up behind Jack. To the untrained eye he was kneeling in the sand fumbling through the medical supplies they had, trying to arrange then in some order.

What he was really doing was watching Kate and Nike down a few yards on the beach. Kate had her legs in the gentle, foamy surf that lapped lazily against the shore. She was tenderly holding Nike up, helping her stand, and grinned as the near six-month old broke out into a fit of joy when the water touched her tiny feet.

"Jack?" Charlie asked once again, this time taking his hands out of his pockets and crouching down next to Jack.

"Huh?" he asked dazedly as he reluctantly took his eyes off of Kate, as he turned to Charlie, who squinted his eyes while giving a bemused look. There was no way sorting anything could be that interesting.

He looked pass the suitcase Jack was packing the drugs in and saw Kate and Nike in the surf, "Man, you got hit bad," Charlie replied with a light chuckle and a shake of his head.

"What?" Jack questioned befuddled. Charlie pointed at Kate down the beach and Jack smiled innocently, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Charlie almost burst out laughing, "Now that has to be the clearest lie I've ever heard," he stated as he wiped the tears building in his eyes from laughing, "You're so hooked on her,"

"I'm not," Jack denied seriously, as he began to place more medication into the suitcase.

"Oh come on, everyone can see it," Charlie replied as he handed Jack an aspirin bottle he'd almost sat on.

"What?" Jack asked quickly dropping the bottle he had. Charlie noticed this and bit his lip to conceal a grin while Jack picked the bottle up, trying to act suave and dismiss his surprise.

"Really, I think almost everyone on the beach sees it," he explained and watched as Jack's eyes got wide, "The thing that really gets us it why you two refuse to see it."

Jack chuckled, "I'm sure everyone on the beach thinks that Charlie," Jack chuckled as he finished packaging up the pain killers, "Or maybe you just have a little too much time on your hands," he added with a sly smile.

"Oh, so you don't believe me," Charlie smiled impishly and his eyes shot to Kate, and then to Hurley who was washing off a shirt in the ocean, "I'll prove it to you then."

Jack sighed, "Alright I…"

"Hey Hurley!" Charlie had cupped his hands over his mouth and was yelling from where Jack and himself were situated. Jack covered his eyes with his hand and was silently glad that even with his big mouth, Kate couldn't hear him, or was acting like she couldn't.

"Yeah Dude?" He answered back. He stood up and turned to face Jack and Charlie who were a few yards away while he wrung the extra water from his shirt.

"Can we play a quick game?" Charlie asked. Hurley gave him a perplexed expression so he added, "Just to help prove a point."

"Yeah, sure," he replied.

"Alright, I'm going to ask you three questions, you've have to tell me the first word that comes to your mind, okay?" Charlie instructed

"Okay," Hurley agreed.

"Okay, cartoons," Charlie gave the first word.

"The Simpsons," Hurley yelled back.

"Okay, Star Wars," Charlie gave the second word.

"That 'Koo Ker' sound Vader makes," Hurley hollered back.

"Alright, last one. Jack and Kate," Charlie yelled. Jack almost fell into the sand. He was just glad that nobody including Kate had heard him.

"Love," Hurley shouted as he began to walk over to Charlie and Jack, "Is your point proven?"

"We don't love each other," Jack expressed almost angrily.

"Yeah, okay, except that you totally do, Dude," Hurley replied, then bent down to see what Jack was staring at, "See look, you're even like stalk watching her now."

"I'm not," Jack replied with a nervous chuckle.

"Yeah, okay," Hurley sighed as he turned and began to walk away down the beach.

"I don't," Jack strictly informed Charlie.

"Alright, I get it," he replied as he stood up and dusted clumps of sand off his pants, "But let's just say for a moment that you did," he began but got a deadly glare from Jack, "Just for fun," Charlie stated placing his hands up in a surrendering position, "She only met you a few days ago, so don't go trying to round a square."

"Don't try to what?" Jack asked, as he finished packing the last section of medication.

"Don't go trying to make a square into a circle. I mean she can obviously take care of herself and her daughter without much help, so don't try and shall we say 'tame' her," Charlie replied as he started to walk away, then he stopped for a moment, "And not that any of us mind," he began, "But she's not going to burst into flames if you're not watching her every single minute of the day."

"Mommy has to go out in the woods to get some piggies," Kate told Nike as she neared Claire who was waiting with a friendly smile gracing her face, "I'll be back in two hours," she promised as she kissed her daughters cheek, "Now you be good for Claire."

"You have nothing to worry about, I'm sure she'll be an absolute angel, she was last time," Claire reminded as she took Nike from Kate.

Kate smiled, "Yep, I'm sure she'll be fine," she agreed with a hesitant nod of her head.

"Kate, are you ready?" Locke called from a few meters away on the beach. He and Michael already had their packs and knives ready.

"Whoops," Kate smiled, "Mommy got to go," she told Nike then blew a kiss as she began to walk towards Locke and then into the jungle.

Jack was watching the whole thing from in between the crack in the blue tarp blowing in the wind in his ramshackle tent.

"Did she go?" Charlie asked from the doorway as he passed it, knowing Jack was watching her every move.

"Yep," Jack replied, not caring a shred of what smart-alecky comment he was going to respond with. He still didn't like the idea of Kate in a jungle, especially with Locke. Something just seemed off about him.

To Jack's surprise Charlie didn't give him any sass, instead he seemed to almost offer condolences, and a quick reminder not to worry, because Kate could obviously take care of herself.

After he heard Charlie's sandy steps descending away from him, Jack muttered, "I just hope she doesn't burst into flames."

The verdant undergrowth was becoming overly tricky to walk through, but Locke had been persistent on this being the direction of the boars' headquarters. The afternoon sun hung high in the sky, like the examining light over a dentist's chair. It was effectively heating up the jungle consistently.

"You're son is taking this awful well," Kate finally broke the dawdling silence between the three of them, Locke hadn't been much for words and the stillness was driving her crazy.

Locke was a few feet ahead of them, so she didn't see when a small, almost superior smirk came to his face, "Yeah, Walt's a pretty tough kid, he's been through a lot lately," Michael divulged.

"Oh," Kate replied, not wanting to ask for details in fear of being nosey.

"Yeah, his mom died a few weeks before the plane crash. He lived in Australia and I lived in the United States, I haven't seen him since he was a little kid," he revealed more about his shadowed past.

"Well at least he has you now," Kate's answer was hopelessly optimistic.

"Yeah, I'm very proud of him too," Michael declared seemingly from nowhere, but the impressed smile on his face, told Kate this had been some sort of revelation. She glanced over and sent a smile while still walking.

"Well what about you?" he questioned feeling arrogant for talking only of himself, "What were you doing in Australia?"

"My daughter and I lived in Australia," she informed as she stepped over a large branch which had fallen off one of the trees during one of the frequent storms.

"You lived in Australia, as in, you don't anymore?" he questioned.

"Well my current residence is some island," she reminded, then with a giggle replied, "I was on the plane to go visit an aunt in California."

"Oh," Michael said with an understanding nod, "Is that where you're originally from? I mean you don't have an accent or anything."

"No I'm originally from Cana…" She stopped suddenly because Locke's relentless walk had seemingly come to a halt.

He brought up his hand and pointed to the few yards of thick bushes before them, rustling could be heard from a few feet away, along with the occasional low snort.

He moved his hands gracefully through the air, directing Kate one way and Michael the other. Kate was quite familiar with the gestures, her dad had used them all the time, but to Michael it was a whole other language.

"Man, I don't understand anything you're doing," he whispered quietly, "the only signal we used for goose hunting was a thumbs up after the birds were shot," he elaborated.

Before Locke had a chance to hush him, one of the boars that had the opportunity of visiting the beached survivors noticed the highly unwelcome guests and let out one of its high pitched shriek. It began to tear through the bushes rapidly; it was heading right towards them.

A few seconds before the boar would've rammed into Kate's legs, Locke pushed her hastily out of the way and into the underbrush. The shove was a little harder then expected and so unanticipated that Kate didn't have time to get her hands up to stop the fall. She hit the ground quick and hard, and only felt a pang of face in her cheek, and a dagger in her chest before everything went black.

"Peanut butter? Really?" Charlie asked again.

"Yes, I'm the only Australian who loves peanut butter. I used to have it everyday as a kid," Claire explained as she looked up from writing in her journal.

"How could you not get sick of it?" he questioned with disbelief and almost disgust, peanut butter in his books was pretty grotesque.

"I could never get sick of peanut butter," she announced, "I'd give anything to just shoved my hand in a jar and…"

"Yuck!" Charlie crinkled his nose in repulsion and stuck out his tongue, "It is true what they say about pregnant woman and their cravings then," he wondered out loud.

She laughed in skepticism, "It's not a weird craving, millions of people, probably billions eat peanut butter each day."

"And it's disgusting!" he replied still trying to get her to agree with him.

"And toffee and cream isn't?" she asked sticking out her tongue to prove her point.

"Mmm, it's delicious," he rubbed his stomach to exaggerate his point, with a large smile on his face.

"It's fattening," she reminded as she placed her journal down on the blanket next to her.

"You're pregnant, you don't need to worry about weight," he informed as he brought his knees up and draped his hands over them, the masking tape on them read, L-A-T-E.

"No, I still have to watch my weight, I put on a pretty pound with this little bugger," she pointed to her stomach, "and I was mediocre to start with," she replied thinking of her old body, she was skinny, but she could've been skinner.

"I bet you looked just fine," he replied with a cheeky smile, "And you don't need to worry about weight," he added quickly hoping to have the last say.

"No, I'm sure Kate didn't have to worry about weight," she disclosed, "I'm still amazed at how skinny she is for having a six-month-old."

"Skinny?" Charlie chuckled, "The girl's almost not there, she's like an ex-Kate."

Claire giggled, "Oh what time is it?" she asked suddenly, reaching into Kate's tote bag and bringing out a bottle of milk, "I'm supposed to feed Nike at two if Kate isn't back yet."

"It's 2:10 Love," Charlie announced, "You'd better feed the hungry little tike."

"Yep," Claire agreed then turned to get Nike, "Sweetie, it's time for you bott… Charlie she's not there."

"What?" Charlie asked jumping up from his spot in the sand, and running to get a better look of the space where Nike was lying for a nap.

"She's not there!" Claire replied a little more shaken, her heart pounding, "Where did she go?"

"I don't know love," Charlie ran a hand through his hair, "I have no clue she was here a few minutes ago."

"Great, now not only is she hungry, she's lost," Claire exclaimed as she pushed herself to get up from the blanket.

"Take it easy, she couldn't have gotten that far, Kate told me she was just learned how to scoot around," Charlie explained as he helped steady Claire.

"Charlie look," she pointed to the tiny marks in the sand leading away from the blanket, "She crawled away."

Neither said anything, instead they quickly followed the path of scrapes in the sand, until they stopped abruptly around twenty or thirty feet from where Claire was sitting.

"Well what do we do now?" Charlie asked looking at the dead end.

Claire gulped, "We have to tell Jack," she enlightened.

"Bloody hell," Charlie huffed.

"What are you doing up here?" Beth asked as she elegantly stepped across the roof of the club, using her tip toes for added effect. Beth had told Kate that in a previous life, she was a ballerina.

"Thinking," Kate replied as she wrapped her hands around the cup of tea she was drinking.

"Uh huh, are you thinking, or are you musing?" Beth questioned as she took a seat next to Kate on the concrete lip of the roof. Their legs dangled over the three stories to the alleyway below that was decorated with graffiti from various gangs of the area.

"Musing," Kate replied with slight smile, it was a calm summer night, the traffic wasn't too bad, and the stars could easily be seen and sought after for comfort.

"About who the hell the Ghetto Kings are and why they feel the need to deface Willy's property?" Beth asked as she reached into a hidden pocket in her jacket and pulled out a stick of bubblegum.

"What?" Kate asked with a smile. Beth pointed in the direction of the massive graffiti mark that had been made on the wall over the dumpster. The words 'Ghetto Kings' were colored using almost an infinite amount of color, and it almost shone in the night. A crown accompanied the word kings symbolically.

Kate chuckled, "No."

"Hmm, about babies then?" Beth asked as she blew a large bubble almost bigger then her head, then sucked it all back in her mouth before it popped.

"Yeah, about babies," Kate replied.

"Any baby in particular or…" Kate cut her off with an icy glare, "I'm guessin' your baby."

"That'd be a good gamble," Kate agreed as she took another sip of her tea.

"I thought you wanted it?" Beth questioned, the glitter on her eyes looked like clusters of stars in the light of the full moon.

"I do want it," Kate responded, a smile played at the corners of her lips, "But I don't think I'm ready."

"Well what gives you that idea?"

"Do you want to know what I have in my fridge? A half a gallon of orange juice and a box of Poptarts," she divulged angrily, "I barely know how to take care of myself, and now another life has fallen into my hands."

"Wow," Beth replied astonished, "you keep your Poptarts in the fridge?"

"Beth…" Kate rolled her eyes.

"No really, what's up with that?" she asked with a sassy smile.

"You're about as useful as a silent car alarm," Kate replied harshly.

Beth let out an over exaggerated sigh, "You know that Drac and I will be here to help you whenever you need it. It's not like he has a life, and I don't sleep. And Willy will give you anything he can."

"But I wanted to do this as much as I could on my own," Kate informed, "No offense."

"Well you know the saying, 'it takes a village to raise a child'."

"Yeah and that child usually ends up the village idiot," Kate retorted sarcastically.

"Don't be stupid, we'd never give it your job," She countered with a grin.

"Alright, I'm leaving," Kate informed as she began to stand.

"Oh don't cry Princess, I'm sorry," Beth apologized.

Kate let out an exasperated sigh and sat back down on the ledge. For a moment only the sounds of traffic could be heard until Kate noticed Beth's muffled giggles.

"What's so funny?" Kate asked turning to Beth, knowing she probably didn't want to know the answer.

"I was just thinking," Beth answered nonchalantly.

"About…" Kate questioned.

"What if you have twins?" Beth announced elated.

"Goodnight Beth," Kate told her as she got up and made her way towards the door going downstairs.

"Oh my gawd! What about triplets!" She keeled over with a fit of laughter and giggles, "Now that is irony," she added when she was calm enough to speak, "That would just be a kick in the ass."

"Kate?" a voice called to her, "Kate, you have to wake up," her eyes fluttered weakly and her chest burned when she breathed, and why was her face wet?

When she opened her eyes she saw Michael looking down upon her, he threw up his arms and released a sigh of relief, "Thank God," he praised.

"What happened?" she asked feebly as he helped her sit up.

"The boar charged at us, Locke pushed you out of the way, and ten dove but I didn't move quick enough. The boar basically gored my leg," he explained quickly, "And you've been passed out for the last fifteen minutes," he told her, "Which is why we have to get back to camp."

"Where'd Locke go?" she questioned as she leaned over to gauge the seriousness of Michael's wound.

"He left to get the boar," Michael told him abruptly as Kate ripped off on of the sleeves of his top, "He said that you and I should head back to camp."

"We're going to do that," she agreed as she tied the piece of fabric tightly just under his knee, "But it's going to take us awhile, the fall took a lot out of me, and you can't walk by yourself."

"Well somebody's bound to come looking for us, I mean they all saw what direction we went off in, and when we're not back on time, they'll know something's up."

"What time is it?" she asked as calmly as she pushed herself up by using trees for support.

"Almost 2:30," he explained as she reached down and helped him to his feet. She was beginning to shake as he was, the whole shock of the situation leaving and the injuries setting in, "You don't look to good."

"Huh?" she asked as he put an arm around her shoulder.

"You're pretty pale, are you sure you're okay?" he asked again beginning to become concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she clarified as they began to hobble out into the densely packed jungle.

"He's going to hate me," Claire whispered as Charlie swiftly led her towards Jack's tent. His arms were firmly wrapped around her shoulders to give her comfort and support.

"He's not going to hate you," Charlie announced, "He might be a little disappointed at first, but it'll wear off."

"Then Kate's going to hate me," she stated near tears.

"Love, it's not going to be that bad," he replied optimistically.

"Charlie, Kate's going to come back, and find that the only thing I have left of her daughter is this tote bag," she announced holding up the yellow bag for emphasis, "I lost her daughter."

"Well…" Charlie stumbled to think up an excuse and make her feel better.

"See, sure their understanding people, but some things are just over the top," she added.

"Well the first step is to talk to Jack," he explained as they neared his tent.

"Jack?" Claire called, her voice was shaky.

"Yeah?" Jack asked from within the tent, the flaps were swaying in the wind, but a view inside was still obscured.

"We need to talk to you," Charlie spoke up, "It's very important."

"Okay, then come on in," he proclaimed.

Charlie and Claire let out a large sigh almost at the same time, then pulled the blue trap back and entered the tent.

Sitting on the ground was Jack, and directly in front of him was Nike, giggling and playing with a stack of water bottles.

He looked to them and smiled, "What's so important?"

"We thought we lost her!" Charlie exclaimed as he reached and picked her up happily, "Am I ever happy to see you, yes, Charlie's happy to see you!" Nike giggled and he placed her back on the ground.

"She crawled over to me when I was putting the empty water bottles in my backpack so I could bring them back here, I figured you wouldn't mind if I took her, you were pretty involved in a conversation," Jack explained.

"Well, it's time for her bottle," Claire enlightened as she rummaged through the bag and came out with the bottle she'd had before, "Kate told me to feed her at two is she wasn't back yet."

Jack lifted Nike into his arms and Claire handed him the bottle, he looked up as Nike began to drink down the contents, "Kate's not back yet?"

"No, none of them are," Charlie divulged, "And to be honest everyone's starting to get a little edgy."

Jack sighed, "Kate said they'd be back at two for sure, she promised to see me as soon as they came back. Something's not right."

"So what's going to happen?" Claire asked as Charlie helped Jack stand up.

"I'm going to ask Sayid to go out and help me look for them," He disclosed as Nike finished her bottle, "Just keep watching her, and be ready to feed her at six if we're not back yet."

Charlie and Claire nodded and watched Jack quickly gather his stuff and rush out of the tent.

"He's really head over heels for her, isn't he?" Claire asked.

"We're only about twenty-five minutes from camp," Michael announced as they hobbled past a tree with a blue piece of fabric tied to it, "I used blue for every twenty-five minutes," he stated trying to get Kate to laugh, but she just kept huffing.

She was tired and weak. She just wanted to sit down and go to sleep for a century, "Michael," she barely huffed out, "I think I need to sit down for a few minutes," she declared when they had come across a suitable spot.

"Yeah, sure," Michael agreed, "I'm getting pretty tired myself," he added, Kate knew it was to make sure she didn't feel completely useless.

"Thanks," she stated gratefully as they both sat back and rested against the tree.

Michael sighed as he relaxed against the tree, a little break now and then wouldn't hurt anyone, but he couldn't get over the fact that Locke had juts left them. Birds chirped over head and the flock flew in synchronized dances across the beautiful blue sky, there wasn't a single cloud scarring it.

Dots of pink, purple and blue could be seen in the distance against the dark green of the shrubbery, so many wild flowers grew in this jungle, almost all of them Michael had never even seen in a book before.

He took a glance at his watch and realized that they probably rested for too long, and now the camp was surely worried about them, "Hey Kate, we should get going," he suggested to her, but she looked as if she was sleeping.

"Kate?" he questioned as he reached up and shook her shoulder gently, she didn't move or groan.

"Kate!" he asked more seriously as he reached for her wrist and barely found a plus, "Oh man!"

"Are you sure this is the way they went?" Jack asked as he and Sayid hiked up a medium sized mound in the earth.

"Yes, I was out placing a transmitter in the tree to hopefully narrow down the area that the French woman's signal is coming from, they marched past the tree I was in, Kate threw me a wave.

The came to a sort of crosswalk in the trees with more then four paths to choose from, the interesting thing was each had more then three distinct sets of foot prints running down it.

"Do you know of anyone who has come out this far?" Sayid questioned.

Jack sighed, "No." It seemed useless, with this many routes it would take several days to venture down each one.

"Help!" a screamed suddenly echoed from the distance. Birds rested on tree branches stirred with the sudden noise.

"Did you hear that?" Jack asked. Sayid place a finger to his mouth to gesture to be quiet momentarily. Jack nodded and everything once again fell silent, until the shout broke through the forest again.

"That way," Sayid pointed to the fourth trail. Immediately the two men took off down it, run for a few minutes until they found Michael and Kate sitting against a tree.

"Man am I glad to see you guys," he breathed a sigh of relief.

"What happened?" Sayid asked as he bent down before Michael and check his leg, "Where's Locke?"

"A boar attacked us and he ditched us to go off and hunt it," he explained as Jack bent down before Kate, "She's got a weak pulse, I don't know what happened to her. Locke pushed her out of the way of the boar, and she was knocked out for a good fifteen minutes. Then we stopped for a break about ten minutes ago, and she just passed out."

"Locke left you?" Sayid asked angrily, he could see the obvious injuries that both had received and wondered how anyone could leave them in the middle of the jungle.

"Kate," Jack whispered as he put a hand to her cheek, her face was ashen and like ice to touch, the slight smudge of blood across her cheek gave her face a horrible macabre appearance, "Kate you have to wake up okay?" he questioned.

"Wake up Sweet Pea!" Anthony yelled as he barged through the door almost knocking it clear off the hinges. He irritably flipped on the lights and marched towards her bed, "We got a club to be at."

"Anthony, I don't feel good," she wheezed, "I have a stuffy nose and I can barely breathe or talk," she expressed weakly.

He reached over, clamping one of his strong hands over her forearms and pulled her into a sitting position, "I don't care if you have leprosy," he growled furiously in her face, "I want you dressed and in the car in fifteen, and you'd better be punctual Katie, because colds may only last a week, but broken bones last a lot longer," he replied as he pushed her back down to the bed and slammed the door as he left.

Kate knew she wasn't going to be done in fifteen minutes, a lump rose to her throat and tears stung at her eyes. As she lifted herself back up from the bed and stumbled over the cold wooden floor under her feet, she silently wondered what would be broken this time.

"No," She screamed as she shot up from lying on her back. Her heart thumped and her head dizzied as she tried to pin point where she was exactly.

She looked to her left and saw a pile of medication and realized she must've been in Jack's medical tent. As soon as she found out the flap almost burst open as Jack stumbled in holding Nike.

"At least you're awake," he sighed as he placed the sleeping baby down on the blanket beside Kate.

"Is she okay?" Kate questioned, tears pricking her eyes, that dream was too realistic for Kate's liking.

"She's fine Kate," Jack stated as he sat down next to her and placed a hand on her forehead checking her temperature, "You're the one I'm worried about," she looked at him questioningly so he continued, "You collapse in the wood after a boar attack and then you sleep for almost twelve hours."

"What time is it?" Kate asked groggily as she moved a hand over her eyes, she had a booming headache.

"It's almost three in the morning, I just went out to check the fire," he elaborated, "And don't worry, I've been feeding Nike every four hours, and she's perfectly fine, but I want you to take it easy, absolutely no leaving the camp in the next two days for anything at all, only bathroom breaks."

"Fine," She replied with a sulky look to her face.

"By the way, who's Anthony?" Jack questioned as he handed Kate a couple aspirin and a bottle of water.

"What? Why?" she asked quickly, her eyes flashing.

"You were saying his name out loud for the past few minutes," he replied as she took the pills and swallowed them.

"Let's save that for a rainy day," Kate replied casually as she lay back and pulled the blanket more tightly around her.

"Alright," Jack agreed as Kate began to slowly drift into sleep.

He quietly tidied a few minor things up before moving outside and permanently putting out the fire. He gathered the blanket he was to cover Nike and then he moved inside to the opposite corner of his tent.

He had barely closed his eyes when he heard Kate's voice speak to him from the grogginess of a half-conscious mind, "Jack?" she called, her speech sounding slurred.

"Yeah?" he called back gently, a smile almost gracing his face because of the humor of the situation.

"Are we friends?" It would be a serious question if asked any other time, but when the word 'friends' comes out almost sounding like 'frayed ends' it's hard to be taken with sincerity.

"Yeah," he replied back trying to muffle his small chuckles as he turned over to face the flaps of the tent.

"Oh," she responded, sounding dismayed in his answer, "You sure?"

"Yeah," he answered "Why?" He questioned, then he realized that maybe he was an even bigger fool for continuing a conversation with Kate when she was high on exhaustion.

"Then why do I feel like kissing you sometimes?" She posed in the darkness of the night. Jack himself couldn't think of an answer because he was too dumbfounded at the revelation Kate had just made. And Kate didn't ask again, because she was innocently swept into a sleep.

And there you have it chapter 4 of Just In Case. Thank you for the person who pointed that out to me (Actually 'incase' is a word, but not the one I was looking for)
Ethan: I believe the one you were looking for is IDIOT!
Hey….shut up.

Alright so here's the deal, I can't answer reviews because I'm supposed to be sleeping and I still haven't finished my English homework
Ethan: Hey I'm working on it
So I gotta take a rain check on answering the reviews, I'm sorry if you had a question or something, but juts repeat it to me, and I SWEAR I'll answer it next time.
PS thanks for all the condolences on Lisa, and now Dave is with her as well (But I didn't much like Dave) so it's all good, and my precious Constantine is still alive so all the better :D

Next Chapter- Jack goes all crazy loco, and the burning of the bodies begins! Plus will kate listen to Jacks demands. Nope she won't because he's all crazy-loco like out in the jungle and you'll never guess who he comes across………it's not his dad……… I'll give you a hint……… You put it on a door, and then you lock it
Ethan: I know! Boone!
Locke: (slaps Ethan upside the head) it's me prickhole
Ethan: Aye, there be the rub