Misfortune

Casey and Maggie were walking along the beach. It had been weeks since they were both injured and they were finally well enough to exert themselves.

"So…I saw you with Gabe again last night." Casey finally broke the silence that had been quite deafening in her opinion.

"Oh, yeah?" Maggie smirked to herself. "What about it?"

"Just you guys have been hanging around a lot lately. Is there, uh, something going on?" The doctor nudged the girl in the ribs, playfully.

"I don't know." Maggie felt shy talking about stuff like this but she would gladly tell Casey anything. She tucked a piece of corn colored hair behind her ear before she went on. "I like to think there is. He's really sweet and he makes me laugh."

"Don't forget he's not half bad looking either." Casey added.

"So, now, you tell me about you and Jack." Maggie gave Casey a sly look.

"What?" Casey asked as though she was completely innocent of something.

"Yeah! I see you had him together. You guys are getting quite close."

"No. We're just friends. We both knew his dad, worked in the same hospital, but we've never met each other before. I think we're just kind of mellow right now."

"What ever you say." Maggie turned her head from Casey to watch the surf roll in and out of the sand. Suddenly she ran into something. Or someone.

Gabe was standing right in front of Maggie without her knowing and she just ran into him. He made a sound like he had had the wind knocked out of him.

"I'm so sorry, Gabe. I wasn't looking where I was going. Why didn't you say something?" Maggie rushed around helping sit down so that he could catch his breath.

"I guess that's what I get for trying to surprise you huh?" He looked up to Maggie and his hazel eyes smiled at her.

"I guess." A sweet smiled filled her face.

Casey watched the whole incident and decided it was best if she got back to the caves. Gabe was there to keep Maggie company and she probably needed to help Jack with another injured something or another.

000

"Hey." She cocked a hand as a wave. He waved back.

"You know Sawyer I really enjoyed our walk yesterday." She grinned flirtatiously.

"You did now?" He smiled a dimpled smile at he as well. "To tell you the truth chickie, I had a good time to."

"Good." Tina stood there awkwardly for a minute before saying goodbye.

"Hey!" Sawyer called after her. He ran to catch up with her. She stopped and waited for him.

"What?" She asked.

"I was wondering…would you like to do it again sometime?" Tina bit her bottom lip and looked thoughtful.

"Usually I would play hard to get and say, 'we'll see', but seeing as how we're stuck on and island and I really have no excuse as to why I can't…I'll say okay."

"Okay? Is that a straight forward yes?" Sawyer asked.

"Yes." She turned and walked away for real this time. Sawyer starred after her. There was definitely something between them. Something that was beginning to grow and churn, working it's way into something.

Sawyer turned and went back into his tent. He had himself a woman.

000

"I noticed the drawers were arranged differently today." Jack observed.

"Oh, yeah. I meant to tell you I did that." Casey apologized.

"Why did you do that? Were you really that bored?" Jack laughed.

"No." Casey didn't go any further.

"I'm confused. My idea of fun is not rearranging medicine drawers. What's up?" Jack moved to sit next to her.

"Nothing. It's just…" she was going to have to tell him sooner or later. It's no that it was a bad thing. "I have an obsessive compulsive disorder." She sounded ashamed.

"Oh. Okay then." Jack got up and went to get a bottle of water out of the large cooler they had set up.

"That's it? No, 'how were you diagnosed?' no… 'How often to I need to expect to have the drawers changed'?" Jack shook his head. "Wow, that was much less painful then I thought it would be."

"Why did you think it would be painful?"

"I don't know." Casey giggled.

Casey was in her closet trying to pick out something to wear to work for the day. She chose a blue sweater and put it on. It was too big. She sighed and took it off hanging it back up before putting it away.

She then picked up a pink button up shirt. That looked even worse. All of her clothes were too big for her. She unbuttoned the shirt and glanced at the mirror to her side. She could see her ribs and other bones protruding out of her flesh. And her black slacks hung loosely on her waist. She looked ill.

She sighed heavily and put on another shirt. It didn't fit either. Now she was getting frustrated. She couldn't just wear a bra to work although that was a little too big too and she doubted that the other doctors would be impressed.

She hastily took the shirt over her head and hit her back on the dresser bhinde her. She heard the sound of glass break and turned around to see a shattered picture frame on the ground.

She massaged her back the best she could trying to work out the knotting pain that lingered. After all she had nothing to cushion the impact of the hit.

Casey had lost a lot of weight recently and she was starting to scare herself. She was anorexic and she knew it but she didn't want to tell anyone. Things were going well at work and she was in her OB/GYN round and she loved it. Casey was afraid if someone found out that she was sick she would have her internship taken away or something like that.

She carefully picked up the picture and looked at the picture it held. It was hers and Andy's wedding picture. She couldn't hold back the tears even if she wanted to. She missed him so much. She missed what she had had. A family…a life. Now look at her. She was controlling every aspect of her life including what she ate. She had been healthy before but now she just wasn't eating all together. She was so ashamed of herself but she didn't know how to fix it. She just sat on the floor and cried while she held the picture to her chest.

"Casey!" Jack called out for the third time. He waved a hand in front of her face.

"Huh?" She finally snapped out of it.

"Are you okay? You were staring off into space there." Jack looked at her concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking, that's all." Casey got up. "So what needs to be done?"

000

"Hey, Jack?" Casey came through the brush that acted as an entranceway to the caves. "Have you seen Maggie?"

"Not lately. I saw her with you earlier this morning but that was the last I saw of her." Jack walked up to her when seeing her worry.

"Well, have you seen Gabe then? He about four inches taller than me, short brown hair, hazel eyes and he's taken a liking to Maggie."

Jack shook his head. "Hey Case." He said to catch her attention. "Don't worry I'm sure they're fine."

"I know. It's just that I was just at the beach, and no one has seen either of them all day and then I came back here and they're not here either. They're not on the path to the beach and I would have run into them if they were there." Casey was really worried about the two. Jack could tell. He wanted to say everything was going to be all right but before he had the chance the boy, Gabe, stumbled through camp yelling for Casey.

"Casey! Casey they took her." His head was bleeding so Jack sat him down and began to treat that while Casey interrogated Gabe.

"Who? Who's they?" Casey noticed he was blinking fiercely and she knew he was trying to fight off unconsciousness.

"Bryan. The guy who did all of our fishing. He was there and he…he hit me and to-took her." Gabe was starting to slur his speech. Casey didn't have long before he passed out.

"Can you tell me where you were?" Casey asked quickly.

"In the jungle. We went for a walk…and…I…" he fell to the side and Jack caught him.

"Jack we have to find her!" Casey started into the jungle with no weapons and no sense of direction.

This was bad. Maggie was gone, Casey was frantic, Gabe was unconscious, and the worst part of it all was that it had happened before.

NEXT CHAPTER: Missing Maggie

Someone has taken Maggie and there are no leads as to where she would be. Not even Locke can pick up a trail. So, now all everyone can do is wait for the girl to come back. But with Casey in the frenzy that she is Jack wont take this sitting down…again. What will they do?