Fever Ch. 7

Jack and Hurley walked ahead carrying Danielle's trunk. Sayid walked beside Jack. Kate and Libby followed. Sayid didn't say it, but Jack knew he was thinking of Danielle and wishing they had been more insistent about her remaining with them. They would have the answers they needed and perhaps she would still be alive.

They had almost reached the edge of the clearing when they heard angry voices.

"I said stay away from her. Are you bloody deaf?" Charlie yelled.

"Ease up, Ringo," Sawyer snarled, "I was only helpin' out with the kid. You ain't exactly been actin' the proud papa like you was. Girl's been sick. She needed some help."

"Shut up!" Charlie was red-faced and blustering, moving from one foot to the other, fists clenched.

Jack put the trunk down and came up behind him. "Hey!" he said loudly,"Knock it off."

Charlie turned and glared at Jack.

Sawyer looked past Jack to Kate. "Hey there, Freckles, thought you'd decided to live in the jungle with Frenchy. Glad you changed your mind."

"Uh...Dude," Hurley said, "Rousseau ain't exactly living in the jungle anymore either."

"What's he talkin' about, Jackass?" Sawyer sauntered over to stand by Jack.

"Rousseau is dead," Sayid said.

"I say good riddance," Charlie scoffed, "She was nothing but a nutter."

Sayid's fist landed square in Charlie's gut, knocking the wind out of him. He doubled over. The follow up smashed into his face. Charlie's eyes rolled to white and he was sprawled on the ground, blood spurting from his nose as Sayid stalked off and Sawyer followed, smirking.

"Got whatcha deserved ya little has-been," Sawyer muttered over his shoulder.

Jack stooped to help Charlie.

"Get the hell away from me," Charlie groaned.

Jack shook his head at Charlie. "Fine, you can take care of yourself," he said, and trailed after the other two men.

Hurley looked down at the musician. "Dude, here's a clue: You don't want to piss off Sayid, or the Doc." He reached down and gave Charlie a hand up. Libby pulled a rag from her pack and held it to his nose.

"Keep the pressure on," she said. Then she and Kate walked on toward the infirmary, leaving Charlie to nurse his own wounds.

Rose was sitting up reading her Bible, which she had insisted Steve fetch for her as soon as she was well enough. She was glad to see Libby and the two women talked for a while about what had been happening on the beach. Kate went to talk to Claire. Jack entered began making his rounds. He interrupted their chat to check on Rose and Libby picked up Rousseau's journal and sat down outside the cave to read.

An accented male voice interrupted her. "Does she write anything else about the sickness?"

Libby glanced up from the book to see Sayid at her shoulder. "No, not so far. Just the one mention of...David? She spends a lot of time on the weather...science stuff I guess. It's slow reading. How's your hand?"

Sayid crouched down, flexing his fingers. "Fine. I did not hit him hard."

"Hard enough to knock him on his ass," Libby laughed. "He deserved it. That was a pretty insensitive thing to say."

"Still, I should have held my temper," Sayid said. He shook his head in disgust.

"You're awfully hard on yourself," Libby observed. She stared past him and Sayid followed her gaze to see Shannon standing watching them. "If looks could kill, we'd be in trouble," Libby looked back at him. "I think she wants to talk to you," she refocused her attention on the book, and Sayid turned and walked toward Shannon.

Just as he reached her, Shannon turned on her heel and started away from him. Sayid took her arm and firmly guided her into the cave. "We are going to talk," he said.

"What? What is there to talk about?" Shannon glared at him. "You've obviously found someone else to keep you company."

Sayid ran both hands through his hair and sighed. "Shannon," he began, "Do you trust me?"

"Trust you?" she seemed confused by the question.

"Yes, do you trust that I care about you, that I would not do anything to hurt you?"

She looked at the floor. "Yeah, I guess."

"You do not act like it. You are acting like...like I would lie to you, or like you expect me to hurt you."

"What were you talking to ...oh crap! I can't remember everyone's names!"

"Libby," Sayid said. "She is looking over Rousseau's journal...Rousseau...Kate and Hurley found her. She's dead." Sayid looked down at the floor.

"Dead? How? Was she sick? I mean, besides the obvious."

"No. She had been shot."

"By who?"

"Perhaps it was self-inflicted. There is no way to know. But her journal may have clues in it that can help us deal with this illness."

"Isn't it in French, like the maps?" Shannon said hesitantly.

Sayid looked away, uncomfortable.

"She speaks French, doesn't she? Libby, or whatever her name is...she speaks French so she's helping you." Shannon's voice quivered.

Sayid spoke cautiously, not wanting to upset her further. "Libby was on the beach. You were not. Besides, there may be things in the journal that you are better off not knowing."

"Oh...so now you're protecting me? No thanks. I'd rather help, but I guess you don't need me." Shannon picked up Vincent's leash and called for the dog. "I think I'll take Vincent for a walk. I need some fresh air. I hate these damn caves."

Sayid slid down and leaned back against the wall. He stared at the opposite wall until his vision blurred.

"Knock, knock," a female voice said a few minutes later and Libby stood in the entrance. "I found something that might be important."

She opened the journal to the page marked by her finger and read aloud. "David is dead. Robert won't tell me what happened, only that it had to be done. What did he do? I am frightened. Claude and Jeanette are both acting strangely. What will happen to my baby?" Libby looked at Sayid. "She, this Rousseau, she had a baby?"

"Yes, a daughter, Alex."

"What happened to her?" Libby sat, cross-legged again, on the floor facing him.

"Rousseau said that The Others took her. Before we met up with you, Rousseau had taken Claire's baby, Aaron, to try to trade him for her own child. But she was wrong about who these Others wanted."

"Walt, Michael's boy." Libby said.

"Yes," Sayid sighed.

"Well, there isn't much after that. Some pages have been torn out. One page evidently got wet, it's hard to read, but I'll see if I can figure it out," she paused. "You okay? Your girlfriend didn't look happy."

Sayid gave Libby a quizzical look. "No. Shannon is not happy."

"Neither are you," Libby said. "Go after her. Talk it out."

Sayid did not respond.

"Okay. Tell me to mind my own business," Libby laughed. "Old habits die hard."

"What do you mean 'old habits"," Sayid asked, puzzled.

"Oh, other people's business is my business, off island," Libby said. "I am...was...a therapist. People pay me to listen to their problems."

"People pay for that?"

"Oh yeah, they pay. They tell me things they can't tell anyone else. I know lots of secrets," Libby raised her eyebrows playfully.

"Why would someone tell their secrets to a stranger?"

"Because I won't judge them. And, I can't tell anyone else, ever. Part of the job."

"Why would you want to listen to other people's problems all day?"

"I'm interested in why people do what they do," Libby said. "Lots to observe on this island, that's for sure," she said, climbing to her feet. "She wants you to go after her, you know," she smiled. "I'm done here."

Sayid rose and followed her out of the cave. There was no sign of Shannon, so he wandered into the infirmary looking for Jack. Instead he found Claire, sitting on the cot nursing Aaron. He murmured an apology and turned to go.

"Sayid, wait," Claire said. "I don't think I ever thanked you." Aaron pulled away, finished for now, and Claire buttoned her shirt with one hand.

"What for?"

She gave him a small smile. "I know Charlie never could have gotten Aaron away from Rousseau on his own," she said. "You're the reason I got Aaron back. Thank you." She stood and kissed his cheek.

"Have you seen Charlie?" Sayid asked. "I owe him an apology."

"Why?" Claire asked.

"We...he...I hit him," he said.

"You hit him? I would say you should look where he landed'" she grinned. "He's probably still there," she paused, shifting Aaron to her other shoulder. "Why did you hit him?" she asked, her tone serious now.

"Rousseau is dead, Claire," Sayid said. "When I told him, Charlie called her a name, and indicated that her death was for the good. I lost my temper. She should be pitied, not ridiculed."

"Rousseau is dead? How?" Claire was visibly shocked.

"She had been shot. Kate and Hurley discovered her body."

Claire sat back down on the cot, her face pale in the dim light from the doorway. "I didn't wish her dead. That isn't what I meant," she said almost to herself.

"What?"

She swallowed hard and looked at Sayid, her blue eyes swimming with tears. "I told Charlie I couldn't feel safe as long as she was around. You don't think he...?"

"I need to talk to Jack," Sayid moved to leave.

"Wait," Claire said. "Charlie has something. A statue. The Virgin Mary or something...I didn't even know he was religious. He just shows up with this, won't let it out of his sight. Do you think it's hers? He's been acting so strange."

A realization dawned on Sayid. "I don't know. Stay here, find Sawyer or Sun. You shouldn't be alone. I'll talk to Jack. We'll find out what happened, trust me."

"Okay, sure," Claire rocked Aaron gently.

Sayid headed next door into the hospital and nabbed Jack as he was leaving. "Does Charlie have a drug problem?" Sayid asked the doctor bluntly. When Jack just looked at him, Sayid repeated. "Does Charlie have a drug problem? Answer me, Jack."

"Yeah, he did. And he might again," Jack admitted. "How did you know?"

Sayid told him everything Claire had said.

"Do you actually think Charlie killed Rousseau?" Jack looked skeptical.

"He would have had to catch her off guard," Sayid admitted. "But we saw him shoot Ethan. We know he's capable of it, especially if he thought he was protecting Claire and Aaron. And if he is on drugs...it is possible."

Jack knew Sayid was right. "We need to find him," he said.

"He can't have gone far," Sayid reasoned. "It has not been that long since..."

"Since you decked him," Jack finished. "I thought he deserved it, by the way. I guess maybe more than we knew. Do you still have the gun I gave you?"

"Yes, I will go get it."

"Meet me back here in ten minutes. I'll get Jin. Sawyer should stay here in case Charlie comes back."

Shannon was sitting on the floor of the cave folding her clothes. She didn't give any indication that she noticed when Sayid came in.

"Shannon," he said, "When you were out with the dog, did you see Charlie?"

"No," she kept her eyes down. "Why are you looking for him?" Hearing the click of the gun as Sayid checked the chamber she finally looked up.

"You're taking the gun? Why do you needa gun to look for Charlie?" a note of panic crept into her voice.

"None of us should go into the jungle unarmed," Sayid said, avoiding the question. He walked over and stood next to her. "I do not like arguing with you. I am sorry that I cannot tell you what you want to know right now. Perhaps in time, I will. Can you accept that?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"No, not really. I suppose I am asking for your patience. Can we call a truce?"

"I guess there are a few things I'd be reluctant to share with you," Shannon admitted. Her eyes locked on the gun in his hand again. "Just come back safe. We can talk when you're ready."

"I will be careful," Sayid said. He gently kissed her forehead and was gone.