Sawyer didn't feel the gentle hand on his shoulder; he was too deep in sleep. It shook him slightly, then a bit harder, causing his head to loll almost lifelessly from one side to the other.
The hand shook him harder and harder until his subconscious finally submitted to his waking mind and his eyes fluttered open, blinking and squinting against the bright morning light.
"Hey, Sleepyhead." Claire's friendly face was the first thing he saw once his eyes finally adjusted to the almost piercing sunlight.
Once Sawyer realized that the interruption of his dreams posed no danger, he sighed and leaned his head back against the cave's outer wall, closing his eyes once more.
"How may I be of service?" Sawyer asked sleepily.
"Just saving your dignity, that's all." Claire replied simply. "It seems to be pretty important to you."
"Saving my dignity." Sawyer repeated. "And just how do you figure that?"
"If you'd seen yourself all sprawled out on that rock, you'd understand." Claire said with a small giggle.
Sawyer opened one eye, surveying her with cavalier indifference. Then, with an annoyed sort of groan, he sat up on the rock and pushed himself to the edge.
"Well since I'm up…" He muttered, reaching a tentative foot down to the ground to test it. It seemed firmer than it had the night before, but there was no harm in being careful.
It's fine." Claire confirmed. "I took a walk earlier. She stared off into the distance at nothing in particular, eyes glazed. "It's finally over." She added more to herself than to anyone else.
It looked like Claire had forgotten Sawyer was there. Trusting Claire's judgment almost despite himself, he pushed himself off the rock, his feet promptly sinking at least three inches into the mud.
He swore and looked over a Claire, scowling from beneath his furrowed brows.
"Your definition of 'fine' needs some tweaking." He muttered as he stumbled sleepily off into the bushes, sinking ankle-deep into the mud each time he put his foot down, and wrenching it out for every step.
He found a good spot to take care of his business, well concealed by shrubbery. He fumbled with his fly, blinking the remaining sleep out of his eyes.
"None of us can believe it." A female voice from behind Sawyer startles him, and he spun around.
Kate was staring thoughtfully up at the sun-speckled jungle canopy. She met Sawyer's eyes. "I thought it was going to rain forever."
Sawyer stared at her for a few seconds, stunned that she didn't seem to see anything out-of-the-ordinary in what she was doing.
"What in the hell?" Sawyer managed to finally half-stutter. "Do you mind, Freckles?"
"Do you want me to leave?" Kate asked. It was more of a statement than a question; she knew he wanted her to stay.
"Uhh…" Sawyer didn't know what to say. If he said 'yes', then Kate would leave, but if he said 'no', she would know he wanted her to stay.
"It's okay." Kate said with a half-smile as she slowly left the clearing. "I'm going."
"Wait, you don't have to -" Sawyer called out after her, but she was already gone.
He groaned, hitting his forehead with the palm of his hand.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid."
Sayid peered critically at the rope, before hanging the approved coil over his shoulder.
"Going somewhere?" Charlie asked, approaching him.
"Yes. I'm going to see what condition the beach is in after the storm." He replied. "You are welcome to join me."
The sound of a baby wailing met their ears, and Charlie sighed.
"Sorry, mate." He said, taking a few steps away. "Duty calls."
Sayid smiled.
"Another time, then." He said, adjusting the rope over his shoulder.
"You bet." Said Charlie.
"I'll take that offer." Kate said, pulling his attention to the mouth of the cave, where she was standing, feet coated in mud.
Sayid looked at her skeptically.
"If I were to get caught in quicksand, would you be able to pull me out with this rope?" He asked.
"I guess we'll find out." Kate replied, looking doubtfully at the rope.
After a few more seconds, Sayid sighed.
"Ok." He said and passed her one end of the rope. "Tie this to your belt."
This part of the jungle was particularly thick, and home to most of the edible fruits and berries on the island.
Jack grasped a low-hanging branch and pulled himself up into the tree. He perched on the branch and, adjusting his sack, began plucking exotic-looking fruit from the surrounding branches.
He wobbled a bit on the branch as he tried to stay on. Not that this was a first for him, but he usually opted for the more heroic stuff over foraging, and he was never much of a tree-climber back home, even as a kid.
A sudden squelching sound from below made Jack freeze. Someone was walking through the mud in his direction.
"Hello?" He called out tentatively.
There was no reply, only the slow, deliberate sound of approaching footsteps.
A chill ran up Jack's spine, and he quickly gathered his legs up onto the branch being sure to stay perfectly still.
A small gap in the leaves provided a good vantage point. He pushed back a few that were in the way, searching for the source of the sound. His heart was beating hard in his chest.
Branches rustled behind him, but before he could spin around, a heavy object caught him in the side of the head, and everything went black.