A/N: Thank you to all of my reviewers. You have been more than awesome! I love you guys and I just wanted to tell you thanks. Keep reviewing!
Missing Maggie
Casey stood on the beach. It had been two days since Maggie had been kidnapped. Jack had filled her in on all of the 'other' stuff. She feared for Maggie. She missed Maggie. She wanted to cry but she could come to let herself. It wasn't as if anyone was around to see it. She still couldn't.
She hadn't slept in the two days her companion had been gone. Maggie had been like the younger sister she never had. Maggie was bright and beautiful and it made Casey feel even worse that she wasn't the only one having a hard time with all of this.
Gabe was feeling so guilty for not protecting her. He said he just stood there, or at least it felt like he did. But judging by the head injury that he had Casey knew he didn't just stand there. Images ran through her mind. She ran different scenarios of what happened. What were those people doing to her? Would they ever see her again? Casey just didn't have the answers she needed.
Jack saw her standing there. Her posture was relaxed and her thumbs rested on the belt loops of her jeans. Her pink T-shirt was dirty from yesterday's expedition. She didn't go with them today. And now Jack had to give her the status report and he didn't want to. He knew how upset she was. He knew that she was scared and angry for Maggie. A lot of people were but Casey was more so. He began to approach her.
"Did you find anything today?" She asked before Jack even appeared. He could hear him behind her. The crunching sand gave him away.
"No." He answered straightforward. "I'm sorry."
She nodded slowly. She didn't really expect them to find anything. If Locke, the hunting genius, couldn't find a trail yesterday what would make today any different? There was a long silence. Jack just stood beside her. The sun was setting and various pinks and oranges tinted the colors of the beach.
"She really looks up to you, you know?" Jack thought Casey needed to talk. He always seemed able to draw things out of her that other people couldn't.
"I know," was all Casey said in response.
"That's all I'm getting huh?" Jack looked at the ground and moved his feet around in the sand.
There was another long silence. "I want her back." Jack heard her whisper.
"What?" He asked for her to repeat it.
"I want her safe. I want her…I want her here with all of us." Her voice cracked. She was going to cry. No…not with Jack here. The last thing Casey wanted to look was vulnerable. And she was looking that way right now. "I want to know if she's hurt or scared. She's like my little sister. I love her Jack and I don't her to be afraid." The tears finally came. She didn't choke or sob or anything…they just fell.
Jack wanted to do something. He laid a hand on her back for comfort and her shoulders went tense. She crossed her arms, as her crying became fiercer. Jack turned her towards him. "She is going to fine Casey. I'm sure of it. Maggie a smart girl, she knows how to take care of herself." Then he pulled her into a hug. He had know idea why he did it. It just felt right.
Casey didn't care that Jack was holding her. She nuzzled into the nape of his neck and cried even harder. It felt nice to have someone who cared. Maggie cared but she wasn't there at the moment. But, Jack was doing a great job of making her feel better though.
As Casey's sobs became more of hiccups Jack realized that this was the first time he'd ever seen Casey cry before. She had let one tear go when she told him of what happened to her husband and child but that hardly counted as crying. Jack also thought about all the people Casey had lost in her life. Her husband, her son, her sister…she had lost more people in the last several years than some people loose in a lifetime. He wasn't about to let her loose Maggie too.
Casey leaned out of Jack hold. She felt much better. Like a weight had been lifted. And she thanked Jack for his support.
"You are coming tomorrow right?" He asked referring to the search that was to be held the next day.
"Yeah. I'll come." She nodded and wiped the rest of her tears off of her face. She said good bye to Jack and he walked away. She was really lucky to have him as a friend. She didn't know what she'd do with out him. She smiled at the thought of Jack. After hearing about him so often from his dad she was sure if they ever met she'd want to slug him but he was just ordinary. Sure he was a good doctor but he had problems and self doubt like everyone else. He was a good guy.
NEXT CHAPTER: In the Jungle
Casey, Jack, Sawyer, Locke, Kate, Tina, and Charlie are off looking for Maggie again. They run into trouble along the way though. Things on the island never seem to be as easy as they want them to be.