Jack could hear Sawyers' voice as the crew member who was acting as their guide reached forward and pulled one side of the double doors open.
"I ain't waitin' for Jackass to show up and tell me what to do. You can all stand around like you've forgotten how to think for yourselves without Ben Casey, but I'm havin' a shower."
Jack passed through the door and found himself in what appeared to be a standard sized high school type gymnasium. His eyes were immediately drawn to Sawyer, as usual at the epicentre of attention; he was just pulling off his underwear. Throwing it in an industrial sized canvas cart, he headed for an opening in the wall at the end of the room, obviously housing the showers to which he'd just referred. Their guides' eyes got wide as several more of Jack's people, of both sexes, quickly followed suit, disrobing and depositing their garments in the hamper, then heading for the showers.
Oh shit, Jack thought, his hand going to his forehead; they're going to think we're heathens. He shot a furious look at Sayid, standing beside an older man who was wearing an officers' uniform. The Iraqi shrugged and mouthed Sawyers' name as explanation. Jack turned briefly to the young man who'd led them down here, "Communal living, not much privacy, you lose your sense of modesty pretty quickly." He waved his hand in dismissal of the casual nudity and headed over to Sayid to find out how he'd let the situation get so out of control.
Sayid introduced the man in the white uniform as the ships' Purser. As they got caught up in a discussion of what arrangements had been made for the survivors, Jack decided to let the whole Sawyer incident go. The Purser certainly didn't seemed disturbed by the lack of modesty displayed by his people, so he figured he was just making too much out of it himself.
The bunch from the second boat had filed into the room, mixing with those who had been ferried out first, and were quickly brought up to speed as to what instructions they'd received so far. They all dumped the contents of their various back packs and duffels into the laundry cart, and the young man who'd lead the second boat load to the gym wheeled it out, leaving the Purser as the only crewmember still present. They drifted naturally into their various usual cliques to await their turn at the showers, Boone and Shannon distanced themselves from the rest, still trying to process the sudden rescue they'd given up hope for months ago.
"What's up with those two?" the Purser asked Jack, frowning.
He looked over, Boone and Shannon were obviously arguing, although neither one was actually saying anything. He suddenly realized how menacing Boone looked with the knife sticking out of his belt and the five foot long walking stick in his hand. Jack turned back to the man. "Can you please arrange for someone to get a cane down here? My people are going to have a hard enough time reintegrating without getting strange looks by appearing like they're ready to go all ape shit on people's asses." He used the dodge to try to redirect the fellows' attention away from the fact that the two weren't really talking to each other. As the man pulled out his radio, Jack headed over, reluctantly, to find out what their latest blow out was about, and to give them shit for not speaking.
"Guys?" he questioned, trying not to look at how hard Boone was attempting to keep the weight off his right leg.
"He says he doesn't want to take a shower." Shannon shot over her shoulder at Jack; he thought she appeared both furious and frustrated. She turned back to her brother, "What the fuck?" She demanded, angrily.
"Boone?" Jack fought his urge to look down at the leg and tried to catch the young man's eye.
He couldn't quite meet Jacks' gaze. "I, uh, I've got no one to watch the baby." He responded, quietly.
Jack looked first at Shannon, and wondered why not her, then realized that Boone probably needed her help and wanted them to shower together; he seemed to be leaning a little more dependently on his makeshift cane than usual. Jack then glanced around at all the people waiting their turn at the showers; many of whom had undoubtedly watched Andrew several times. He frowned as he realized that Shannon was right, Boone not wanting to take a shower made no sense. "I'll do it." Jack offered, shrugging.
Boone grimaced a bit and replied falsely, "Thanks," He lifted the makeshift baby carrier over his head and handed Andrew over to Jack.
Shannon pulled the knife out of his belt, dropping it on top of his green bag sitting on the floor by his feet, and his t-shirt out of his pants and over his head; he switched hands on the pole so she could pull it all the way off. "Jeans." She ordered.
He looked at both of them, sighed deeply, then fumbled with one hand at his waist before Shannon reached forward and undid the pants, the weight of his belt sending the well worn denim falling to his ankles. Their eyes naturally followed the path of the jeans. "Jesus, Boone," for a second, she was all concern.
"What happened" Jack handed her the baby and squatted down, looking at the mess that was his right shin.
"I tripped while I was hunting this morning and fell, I'm a clumsy idiot." He tried to dismiss it as nothing, not admitting the truth, knowing Jack felt guilty as hell that the leg still pained him at times.
"You did not trip, you asshole, it gave out on you didn't it? Fuck, I can't believe that you still think you can lie to me and get away with it. I thought you were limping a bit before you left this morning." Shannon immediately realized the truth and blurted it out, not giving any thought at all to Jack's feelings. "You wouldn't fucking take the walking stick, would you? Christ Boone, you are such a dick." She gave him a disgusted look; then turned to go and get him a chair, muttering to herself, while Jack continued to examine his leg. Returning, she pushed it a little harder than necessary up against the back of his knees.
Boone fell into the chair with an "Oof, ouch, fuck." He looked over his shoulder at her, scowling, "Sadistic bitch."
"That hurt? Good." She smacked her hand across the top of his head.
"I want to see you in the infirmary later, before dinner, you understand?" Jack was pissed that he'd tried to hide it.
"Jack, it's nothing." He protested.
Jack stood and easily adopted his 'don't question my authority' voice. "The infirmary, later," he ordered, taking Andrew back from Shannon. He wanted to get away from them before he got caught in the middle of what he was sure was going to be an escalating conflict. He'd never met two people more deeply in love, who fought and argued quite as much as these two did. In fact, he'd been surprised that Shannon had carried the baby to term, what with how worked up she could get.
"Yeah, okay," Boone capitulated, sounding sulky, like a kid who'd been told he had to kiss his ugly Aunt Martha because she'd just gotten him a bike for his birthday.
As Shannon started shaking her finger, furiously, in Boones' face, obviously berating him, Jack suddenly remembered the reason he'd headed over to talk to them in the first place. "Shannon." She turned to him as he interrupted her silent chastisement. "Talking, you know actually speaking, making sounds with your voice? That's what people do in the real world; I suggest you give it a try." He looked at Boone who was obviously enjoying the sight of Shannon getting shit for something. "Don't look so smug, that goes for you too, you're just as bad as your sister. In the last half hour I've started to realize how hard it's going to be for all of us to adjust to being back in society, so don't compound it by drawing unwanted attention to yourselves with your island bestowed gift. It might just turn into a curse instead. And, Boone, the knife? Not so necessary." Jack shook his head. "I don't think I saw one polar bear or boar on the way down here. Just leave it behind," he realized that there was probably no chance of that, it was like an extension of the boys' arm, "or keep it in your bag. We don't need people thinking that you believe you're Rambo or something."
After they both nodded understanding at him, he turned and left. He could hear Shannon start in on Boone again, out loud this time.
After about five minutes of giving him shit, she asked him, "So, asshat, just how long did you think you'd be able to keep this a secret?"
"Well, certainly longer than I managed to, that's for sure," he responded. He reflected that he'd been wrong earlier, she'd pretty much completely skipped acting concerned and had gone straight for the kill.
"We're in the middle of the fucking jungle, you idiot." She shouted, momentarily forgetting their new circumstances.
He looked around the gym, frowning, "Um, well, Shan, about that? Not so much anymore."
"Well we were when you decided to hide it." She always had thought quickly on her feet. "What if an infection had set in? What about gangrene? Jack already almost amputated that leg once, before you stopped him, what if he really had to this time?" She demanded.
"Uh, Shan, I think you would have figured it out sooner rather than later, 'cause I'm pretty sure you would have had my pants off well before it might have become infected." He smirked up at her suggestively, as he removed his last sock, and pulled his jeans off over his feet.
She'd been taking her clothes off, as well, while she'd been railing at him and now stood in just her bra and underwear. Her anger suddenly dissipated, as she realized just how right he was, even in the antiseptic atmosphere of the gymnasium she wanted him. "You are…" she shook her head.
He pulled her into his lap, she was careful not to bump his leg. "Going to kiss you now?" he finished.
She buried her hands in his hair and slid her tongue between his lips, kissing him passionately. His hair was almost down to his shoulders, thick and faded to a light brown with reddish gold sun bleached highlights. He'd asked her if she minded if he let it grow out. He'd always kept it short, first at his mothers' insistence, then for work, which, on reflection, he realized amounted to pretty much the same thing. So he figured that if there was no corporate mandate, or nagging insistence from Sabrina, that made him cut it, he'd really like to just let it grow, for the first time in his life, actually having a choice. She'd expected him to look feminine with his fine features, but instead he'd just gotten even sexier, his full lips making him look very seductive. This might be the last time she'd be able to do this she thought a bit sadly as she grabbed fistfuls of it, she was sure that, now they were back in civilization, he'd probably have it cut at the first opportunity.
As they continued to kiss, he slid his hands up her back, and started undoing her bra.
"Looks like whatever those two were arguing about, they worked out." The Purser glanced over Jack's shoulder, chuckling.
Oh God, now what were his 'problem children' up to, Jack wondered? He closed his eyes briefly, before he turned. Jesus, couldn't they keep their hands off each other for more than fifteen minutes? "Excuse me." He took a deep breath and headed over to them. He was sure they had sex more often than Bonobo Apes. Pretty much everyone in camp had stumbled upon them at one time or another, except Walt, Jack hoped, but he wasn't so sure he hadn't either. If he hadn't been before, the Purser was probably completely convinced by now that they'd all reverted to complete hedonism.
"Guys?" he said to them for the second time in less than half an hour, this time however with far less success as neither one acknowledged him. "Guys?" he repeated more loudly. They pulled apart, Shannon's bra dangling from one of Boone's hands. They looked up at him, more than just a little guilty.
"I agreed to watch Andrew so you could have a shower together, not so you could play slap and tickle, though, god knows with you two, I'm sure they'll end up being pretty much the same thing. Enough with the public foreplay," he looked over at the entrance to the showers, then back at them with a shake of his head. "I think it might be safer if I just bump you to the front of the line. Come with me."
Shannon stood, shedding her underwear while she waited as he worked his way out of his boxers, sliding them carefully over his right shin and over his feet. She reached down and helped him up, picking up the pole from the floor and handing it to him.
They followed Jack to the showers.