He watched as some people started to build a fire nearby and wished that he could get up and do something, just to occupy his mind if nothing else. He wasn't sure how much longer he could take just sitting here. He was bored out of his mind and he had nothing to do but worry.
He looked up and saw Jack enter the camp. He looked tired and worn and in a pretty bad mood. He threw down his pack and headed over to splash some water on his face. Boone knew that this was the point where he should get up and go talk to him but obviously that was out of the question so he had to settle for just staring at Jack's back.
Jack turned around and looked at Boone. He seemed to consider smiling but then thought better of it so he just kind of stared at him for a minute. He then moved over to him but didn't sit down. "Hey," he offered.
Boone just looked at him. "Where the hell have you been?"
Jack refocused on him. "The hatch," he replied, sounding a little lost.
"You've been gone all day," Boone pointed out. "You said you'd be right back."
"Yeah, well, it wasn't that simple, Boone," Jack replied, looking around the camp. "Where is everyone?"
"Bunch of people went back to the beach," Boone explained, wondering why he was allowing himself to be so easily distracted. "Those others never showed so I guess they figured it was safe."
Jack nodded a little. "They're probably right."
"So what did you find?" Boone asked.
Jack looked down at him again. He seemed to consider the question for a long time. "Short answer - we should have left well enough alone."
Boone looked at him. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked. "Did something bad happen."
Jack glanced around again. "Not yet."
"Not yet?" Boone asked, but he could tell he'd lost Jack's concentration. "Hey, so, give me the long answer," he requested.
Jack glanced down at him again. "Another time," he said, turning and taking a few steps away.
"Jack, come on, that's not fair, I can hardly go after you," Boone called.
Jack stopped in his tracks but didn't turn around. Boone could see him breathing heavily.
"What happened?" Boone asked, his tone softer.
"I think I need some sleep," Jack replied, still not turning around.
"Please just come here a minute," Boone requested.
Jack turned around and Boone could see that he was upset about something. He closed the gap between them again and sat down next to Boone. Boone waited for him to say something but he didn't.
"Are you okay?" Boone asked finally.
"Long night," Jack said in way of explanation.
"Pretty long night for me too," Boone commented.
Jack looked at him. "I'm sorry but I couldn't leave," he said.
"So what happened?" Boone pressed.
"When I got there, Kate and Locke had already gone down," Jack explained. "So I followed them and I find Locke held at gun point and Kate tied up in a cupboard."
Boone looked at him. "What?" he asked, failing to comprehend what Jack had just said. "By who? The others?"
Jack shook his head. "I don't think so, no," he said. "It was just one guy and he doesn't leave the hatch, he's not in contact with anyone, he's on his own."
"So there's this guy that lives down the hatch?" Boone asked. "On his own?"
Jack nodded. "Yeah."
"So what's down there?" Boone asked.
"Living quarters, running water, food supply, lots of guns..." he paused. "And a computer."
"Computer?" Boone asked, wondering why that was so important. Jack had seemed to emphasise the fact. "What does it do?"
Jack looked him in the eye. "Saves the world."
Boone looked at him. "What?"
"Exactly," Jack replied, looking slightly amused.
"Wait, no, seriously, what?" Boone repeated.
"There's a computer and it's linked up to a timer. Every 108 minutes you have to enter a code into the computer and press a button to reset the timer. If the timer gets to zero, the world ends," Jack explained, really not looking convinced by his own story. "So I hear," he added.
Boone stared at him again. "Do you believe that?"
Jack shrugged. "Not really," he replied. "I don't really think anything happens if the counter gets to zero." He stopped and shook his head, seeming conflicted. "But I don't know that, and until I do, we have to keep pressing the stupid goddam button."
"So who's pressing the button now?" Boone asked.
"Locke's taken it on as his new role in life," Jack said, sounding a little bitter.
"So do you trust him now?" Boone asked.
"No," Jack replied simply.
"But you trust him not to end the world?" Boone asked, wondering exactly where Jack was coming from.
"Locke thinks it's his destiny," Jack explained. "He's a man who takes his destiny very seriously."
Boone nodded. He couldn't argue with that. Locke always used to talk about destiny and what was meant to be and Boone had a feeling that whatever was down that hatch, Locke would adopt it as his new belief system, because that's just the kind of man he was.
"Boone, you can't tell anyone about any of this," Jack said. "This is not to become public knowledge, okay?"
Boone was kind of getting sick of keeping people's secrets, every time he did something he seemed to get himself caught in another web. He didn't understand why people couldn't just pool their information, he had a feeling things would go a lot more smoothly around here if they did. And maybe a plane wouldn't have fallen on him. But he also knew that he wasn't about to argue, especially with Jack.
"Okay," he said.
Jack gave him a little nod.
"So who's this guy?" Boone asked.
Jack looked away and seemed upset. "Just a guy."
Boone looked at him and tried to place his expression. He wasn't happy, he could tell that much. "He have a name?" Boone asked.
Jack looked uncomfortable. "Desmond," he said finally.
"Is he crazy like the French chick?" Boone asked. "How long's he been down there?"
"He's... not completely with it," Jack admitted. "He's been down there for three years, give or take."
"God, three years down a hole, that's..." Boone trailed off and sighed. "We should count ourselves lucky, we're neither alone nor down a hole."
"Oh, we're down a hole now," Jack said, sounding unimpressed. Boone looked at him. "Desmond did an escape act, we're running the hatch now."
"So you're gonna go back there?" Boone asked.
Jack nodded. "I have to," he said. "There's still a lot we don't know. We need to find out exactly what pushing the button does. And there's something else, a magnetic wall, hastily put up."
Boone raised his eyebrows. "A magnetic wall?"
"Well, I'm guessing it's what's behind it that's magnetic," Jack explained. "And we need to find out what that is."
"So you're going back," Boone said again, though not as a question.
Jack nodded. "I'm going back."
"Now?" Boone asked.
"Well, not this exact second," Jack said.
"You should wait until morning," Boone told him.
"I think I wanna get back tonight," Jack said, shaking his head a little.
"You'll find your way back easier in the light," Boone continued.
"I found it fine last night," Jack pointed out.
"Jesus, Jack, take a hint," Boone exclaimed, getting annoyed.
Jack just gazed at him, looking rather clueless. "What?"
Boone rolled his eyes and gave an exasperated sigh. "Make me spell everything out, why don't you? Like it's not difficult enough, have to make me beg..." he muttered. He looked back up at Jack who looked vaguely amused, which Boone guessed was an improvement, even if it was at his expense. "I want you to stay," Boone said, somewhat grudgingly. "I don't want you to go."
Jack smiled at him. "Sorry," he said. "I'm being an idiot, I know I am. Like I said, long night. Long, stressful night."
"So what exactly happened?" Boone asked.
Jack looked at him and then shook his head. "Nothing, no big deal," he told him. "I'm just beat. Drained."
Boone nodded his head a little. "So maybe you should sleep before you go back for more," he suggested.
"Hint taken, I'm staying, calm down," Jack told him, looking a little amused. "Come on, let's get you up," he said, getting to his feet and handing Boone his crutches. "I hope you got someone to help you last night when I was gone."
"Shannon made Sayid give me a hand," Boone replied.
"Good," Jack said, positioning himself behind Boone. "Ready?"
"Uh-huh," Boone replied.
Jack supported his weight from behind as Boone managed to push himself up using his crutches. So he wasn't exactly perfect at this standing up thing yet but he was definitely getting better at it. Jack helped him back to the tent and sat him down, taking the crutches off him. He laid back and looked up at Jack.
"You're gonna be here when I wake up, right?" he asked. "Your not going to go running off at first light?"
Jack smiled at him. "Relax," he said, sitting by Boone's side. "I'm here now, okay? And I'll tell you before I head back there tomorrow."
Boone nodded a little. "Okay."
Jack gave him another smile and laid down beside him. He took Boone's hand in his and ran the fingers of his other hand up and down Boone's forearm, sending tingles through his body. He smiled contentedly and closed his eyes.
"Night," Boone mumbled.
He felt Jack lean over and leave a kiss on his cheek. "Good night, Boone."