Fever Ch. 4
Jack always had trouble sleeping. His lifelong insomnia had only intensified on the island. Sometimes he was surprised when he realized that he hadn't slept, or even tried to, for days. In a crisis, however, he became acutely aware of the effect this had on his judgment and his ability to use his skills as a doctor. So he did as he had promised Kate and lay down, closing his eyes and willing sleep to come.
Sayid's words repeated in the doctor's head. Was there something to this sickness that Rousseau had told the Iraqi about? She had ended up killing the other members of her expedition...was that what Sayid had meant by "Do what you have to do?" Was Sayid telling him he might have to kill them? The Marshal had been bad enough. Jack knew he couldn't do that again.
Sayid was right. Someone needed to find Rousseau and ask her about the illness. Jack knew he couldn't go. Sun was competent, but if more people got sick and the only doctor was gone...no..it couldn't be him. Who did he trust? Who did he trust who was capable of making the trek into Rousseau's territory and bringing her back, if necessary? There was only one answer to that; Kate. But she shouldn't go alone.
Ana would have been his first choice to accompany Kate, but that wouldn't work. The two had hated each other at first sight. Like repelling like, Jack thought. Given those left, Jack surprisingly found himself leaning towards asking Hurley to go. The big man had been to Rousseau's territory before, and dealt with her successfully, obtaining the battery for the raft. Giving him something to do might keep Hurley's mind off the crazy idea that all of this was somehow his fault.
That settled in his mind, Jack drifted into a netherworld between sleep and wakefulness. He may have trusted Kate to go after Rousseau, but he didn't trust her to wake him up in an hour as he had asked. So he kept part of his mind aware of passing time. He didn't dream, so when he felt a hand on his arm, he knew it was real.
"Jack," a voice said close to his ear, "Jack!" More urgent now. Jack opened his eyes to see Steve hovering over him. "It's Sullivan, man...he's bad...had a seizure or something, eyes rolled back in his head, shaking, the whole bit...you'd better come."
Jack rose groggily to his feet going through the possibilities in his mind. "Okay," he said. "I'm coming. How are the others?"
Steve spoke quickly. "Claire's good. Sitting up, says she's hungry. Charlie went to get her something to eat. That guy is acting weird. Rose and Sawyer are still sleeping, but Sun thinks their fevers are down."
"What about Sayid?"
"He's about the same. Pretty out of it. Keeps rambling on about Rousseau and some chick named Nadia. Shannon's pissed," Steve snorted.
"He's delirious," Jack said, pulling on a clean shirt. "Maybe Nadia was on the science team with Rousseau..one of the ones who got sick? He's never said anything about her before."
"Don't know," Steve said, shrugging.
"Did he get any of Sun's tea?"
"Yeah, Kate gave it to him. She sent Shannon to get some sleep. She was just getting upset anyway."
They walked back into the larger cavern to find Sun and Kate both bending over Sullivan.
"His breathing is shallow," Sun said to Jack.
Jack took the man's wrist and checked his pulse. He could barely feel it. "Steve said he had a seizure, what exactly happened?"
"He sat up," Sun said, "And gasped," she inhaled sharply, "Then his eyes rolled back and he shook, but not like chills...just for a moment, then he fell back on the mat. He has not moved since."
"I don't think it was a seizure," Jack said, "I think maybe he's had a heart attack, but there's no way to tell for sure. The virus may have been too much for his heart to handle. I don't have the meds or equipment for this, dammit! There's nothing I can do here." Jack looked at the man helplessly. "We're just going to have to wait and see if he pulls through."
Jack slumped against the cave wall. Kate came over and sat beside him. "Did you sleep?" she asked, pushing him forward and rubbing his shoulders. He leaned into her hands and felt himself relax.
"A little. I need you to do something," he turned so he could see her face. "Sayid told me that Rousseau mentioned her team getting sick...after they had been to the black rock. She ended up killing them all, to stop it from spreading," Kate's eyes widened. "We need to find her," Jack continued. "I want you and Hurley to look for her. Hurley's been there, and Sayid has maps. Will you do this, Kate?"
Kate met his eyes and nodded. "Where are the maps?"
"I'm not sure where he kept them. They may still be in his shelter on the beach."
"He thought they were important. I bet he brought them with him. Maybe they're in his pack," Kate suggested. "I'll go check."
Shannon was sleeping when Kate entered the cave. She could hear the slight wheeze of the younger woman's breathing. Sayid's things were piled on the other side of the cave. Kate went over, found the backpack, and brought it into the light near the entrance. She began to go through it, laying items carefully beside her on the floor so that she could replace everything the way she had found it.
She pulled out some wires, two water bottles, and a shirt before feeling paper at the bottom of the bag. Her hand brushed something with rough edges and she took out a partly burned photograph of a woman. Kate looked at the picture.
"What are you doing?" Shannon's voice came from behind her.
Perfect timing, thought Kate. "I'm looking for the maps Sayid took from the French woman. Do you know where he keeps them?"
"They're over here. He was looking at them the night before he got sick," Shannon handed Kate the papers. "What's that?" she glanced at the picture Kate was holding.
"Nothing," Kate said, putting it back in the pack.
"Let me see," Shannon took the pack from Kate and pulled out the photograph. Her face hardened.
"Shannon, that's private," Kate said sharply. "Sometimes when you snoop you get what you deserve."
"Do you think this is her? Nadia?"
"I don't know and I don't care," Kate said. "And neither should you. We all had lives before we got here, Shannon. You did, I did, Sayid did, too. If he wants to tell you about her, he will." She took the picture from Shannon and replaced it in the pack. Rolling up the maps she turned to go. "Take some advice, okay?"
Shannon looked at her skeptically.
"Forget about this," Kate said. "Don't pry. I know something about secrets. Wouldn't it be better if he offers it, instead of you dragging it out of him?" With that Kate left Shannon alone with her thoughts.
Kate met Sun coming out of the infirmary. "Sullivan died," Sun said softly. Jack is not taking it well."
Kate found Jack sitting beside Sayid, who was leaning against the wall drinking more of Sun's medicinal tea. "How is he?" Kate asked.
"I think the fever is down a bit.," Jack said. "Sullivan didn't make it, though."
Kate heard Sayid sigh. "I know" she said. "Sun told me. I'm sorry, Jack."
Jack shrugged wordlessly and looked at the ground.
"Kate," Sayid spoke, his voice weak and raspy. "Jack said you went for the maps. Did you find them?"
"Yes, right here," Kate held them up.
"Give them to me. I want to point out a few things you need to know." With effort, Sayid leaned forward and unrolled the maps. "She has set traps. Charlie and I have both experienced them first hand. Be extremely careful in this area," he made a circle with his finger on the map. This small act seemed to exhaust him, and he eased back down and closed his eyes. "Be careful, Kate," he murmured.
"Sayid still needs to rest. Let's go find Hurley and see if he's up for this," Jack said.
Hurley was reluctant. "Dude, no offense, but this is a ba-a-ad idea."
"It might be the only way we're going to find out what this sickness is," Jack said. "If you leave first thing in the morning, maybe you can be back before nightfall."
Finally, after much protesting, Hurley agreed to go, but only if they returned before dark. "Not spending the night in the jungle of doom, Dude," he told Jack.
He and Kate went to pack and get some sleep, and Jack returned to the makeshift hospital to check on his patients.