Chapter 44
Jack rushed Locke, grabbing him by the shirt and shaking him before Ana could stop him; she tried in vain to pull him off but he was enraged and he shook her off without a thought. "This your fault, John! Michael's gone and that's on you!"
Locke remained calm and that infuriated Jack even more. "You believed her too, Jack. This is on you too."
"I told you she was crazy. That we couldn't trust her." He paled a little and his eyes blazed crazily as he shook Locke again. "We sent Kate and Sawyer off on some wild goose chase on her word. We sent them straight into the lion's den, Locke, and we did that on your word." He released Locke with a shove, picking up his pack and slinging it on his back.
Ana was watching him, warily; he was freaked out and the last thing he needed to do was go tromping off through the jungle. "Jack, what are you doing?"
He glanced at her angrily. "I'm going after...one of them." Uncertainty struck him like a hammer; if he went after Michael then Kate and Sawyer would be delivering themselves into the hands of the Others for no reason; if he went after them then he left Michael to a terrible fate- but he had a better chance of finding Kate and Sawyer. "I'm going after Kate and Sawyer."
"Jack," Ana said softly, putting her hand on his heaving chest, "Are you really gonna go running blindly into the jungle in the middle of the night?"
Breathing heavily, he stared at her for a minute; reason filtered into his brain at her touch and his shoulders sagged a little as he shook his head. "No."
Locke smiled. "We'll go at daybreak, Jack-"
Jack spun on him, snarling, "No. You're not going. You stay here and finish the hatch. We're gonna get them and bring them back here, and then we're gonna see what's in this damn hole. And I really hope it's not another doomsday computer."
Smiling, Locke spread his hands out. "Fine, Jack. But I am doing it this way because I want to get in there, not because you're ordering me to. You're not the ruler of the city. Not yet."
Craziness was flickering in Jack's eyes again as he stared at Locke. "What the hell does that mean?"
Locke rubbed his forehead and squinted at him, smiling ruefully. "Nothing Jack. I was just thinking about a story I heard not too long ago." He glanced up at the stars shining through the canopy and he felt a pulse from the island. "It will be light in a couple of hours. If you plan on going after them at dawn you'd better get a little more rest."
Jack glared at him and hoisted his pack higher; he turned to Ana. "Are you coming?"
She glanced between him and Locke; she didn't really want to go wandering in the jungle in the dark, but if she knew anything about Jack it was that once he got it in his head to do something he was going to do it, especially if it was Locke goading him into it. His demon, she thought, and as she did it appeared in the embers of the fire, snapping silently at Jack's heels. It didn't scare her as much this time; she almost expected it, and she glanced at Locke. He saw it too, and he smiled at her.
Jack took in the silent exchange and it pissed him off; he was already mad that Ana even hesitated at all when he asked her to come and now she was sharing some secret smile with Locke. After what they...did...he didn't see why it should even be hard for her to make a decision; it made him feel small and insignificant to her, like she didn't care about anything but the sex. He shook his head in disgust at himself and stomped off into the trees, leaving Ana behind.
She hesitated, then grabbed her pack and followed him into the dark, pulling out her flashlight as she did. She should have known better than to deliberate; with Jack it was black and white, him or them; no in between. And indecision was just a weakness, though she hadn't really been undecided; she would have gone no matter what.
The thin beam from the light illuminated the path in front of her; she could just see his heels in the edge of the light. "Jack." He stopped and turned to wait for her.
"I didn't think you were coming. Figured you were going to stay with your buddy." Sarcasm dripped from him like acid; it burned her where his words fell and that pissed her off.
"Shut up, Jack. You are such an asshle sometimes." She snapped it at him, her hands angrily cocked on her hips. "You think just because I screwed you a couple of times I have to do everything you say when you snap your fingers?"
He snorted in disgust. "That was pretty crude, Ana. But then I guess that's what I should expect from you." The words were out before he could stop them; the frustration over Locke, Danielle and Michael and the fear for Kate and Sawyer came to a point and he snapped.
"Excuse me?" Ana was tense and glaring; she couldn't believe what he had just said. "Expect what from me, exactly?" Her voice was cold and dangerous.
"Oh, come on, Ana. We barely know each other and you're in the sack with me without hesitation? Or should I say the shower? That's what I mean." He couldn't believe he was saying these things; he didn't mean any of them but he couldn't stop the words from passing his lips.
"Really. Well, you've known me longer than Kate, but I bet you wouldn't be calling her a whore if it was her you had in the shower." She knew those words cut him and she smiled grimly. Kate would always be a weapon; unfortunately she could be used both ways.
He smiled coldly. "Well, I wouldn't be just fucking Kate."
Ana snorted, though it felt like a knife was twisting in her gut. "That's always been obvious. I hope you enjoy pining after her for the rest of your life, 'cause I can tell you she is never gonna leave Sawyer for you."
"I know that." The anger was gone; his voice was just sad. "Stay or go, Ana, it's up to you. I don't care." He turned and kept walking without looking back; she sighed, glancing back at the camp; turning her flashlight after Jack she followed his heels as they led the way.
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They crested the ridge of the pass and started descending; it wasn't much easier; the path was littered with loose stones that would shake loose at the touch of a foot and make them slip and slide to keep their balance. Eko was far ahead; Vincent padded a few feet in front of them like a scout; he sniffed at the bushes and sticks as he passed; occasionally he would woof out something to Sawyer, who would translate to Kate. She was still in awe of him, what he could do, but she was becoming adjusted to it, strangely enough; he could talk to animals and it was perfectly normal, he could heal her with just his touch and that was fine too. She wondered if he had anymore tricks up his sleeve.
Vincent yipped; Sawyer smiled and chuckled, then glanced down at Kate, who was looking for him to explain. "He said whoever...well, to use a more delicate term than his, pooped...there had some serious digestion issues."
Kate eyes him with mild disgust. "Is that really what guys talk about when they hang out? I mean, does that stuff just come up in idle conversation?"
"Well, sure, Freckles. What do women talk about? Shopping?" He squeezed her to him as he grinned.
She shook her head and gave him a naughty smile as she leaned up and whispered into his ear. Eyes widening, he nodded and smiled triumphantly. "I knew it. Us poor boys get all the blame when it comes to locker room talk." He looked wistfully at her. "I wish I could be a fly on the wall when you tell your friends about me."
"I don't have any friends to tell." Her voice was cheery, but Sawyer could feel her sorrow. He had never fully appreciated how lonely her life on the run must have been; he was lonely and he didn't have any bosom buddies but he had a few guys he could have a beer with, and of course he always had women, and though he didn't really care about them, they were at least company. Kate was alone; except for the ill-fated bank robber boyfriend and the Marshal. He suddenly understood why she had asked him to shoot the Marshal, why she couldn't do it; he was the closest thing she had to a friend in the world.
Sadness and pity for her flooded him though he tried to hide it; Kate wouldn't appreciate it any more than he did; her life was her life and she had to deal with it. And anyway, she wasn't alone anymore. "Kate, you have friends. What about Sun? And Claire? They care about you." He turned his head slightly, so she couldn't see his eyes. "Jack is your friend."
She laughed and he glanced down at her. "Well, I appreciate that you included Jack, but there is no way I would ever talk to him about that." She laughed harder, and he had to join her; it was infectious. "Can you just see the look on his face?" She bent over double, gasping for air; her giggles finally stopped and she raised up, her eyes wet with hysterical tears and her face flushed. "Damn, that was funny." She hiccupped and started laughing again.
He stared at her in awe; she was so friggin' beautiful it hurt his eyes to look at her. She hiccupped again, still giggling, and he reached out and touched her shoulder lovingly; her hiccups were gone. She looked at him, wonderingly, and he smiled. And hiccupped. She snorted and sat hard on the ground as giggles shook her again; Sawyer sat next to her and kissed her, cutting off her laughter; She raised her hands to his face and he pressed her back into the springy soil, lying against her. He hiccupped again and Kate burst into laughter that was quickly stifled by his searching tongue and his insistent lips.
Kate felt something wet and cold on the back of her neck and she broke away from Sawyer to see what it was; a fuzzy face and black nose were right in her face. She gasped and jumped a little; Sawyer glared up at the happily panting dog. "What, Fido? You keep interrupting me and we're gonna have a serious problem."
Vincent came as close to rolling his eyes as a dog can; Kate felt a sudden empathy with Vincent. She could relate to the eye-rolling. He woofed impatiently at Sawyer, who looked diappointed. "Okay, okay, tell him to keep his underoos on. We'll be right behind you." Vincent woofed again, looking obviously unconvinced. Sawyer narrowed his eyes. "It takes longer than two minutes, dumbass dog. Just 'cause you can hunch a pillow in sixty seconds don't mean that's how it's supposed to be done."
Kate giggled again and Sawyer looked down at her, smiling. "Two minutes, eh, Tex?" She shook her head. "You take at least four."
Vincent grinned and woofed, his tongue hanging out with doggy laughter. Sawyer rolled his eyes."No, you can't watch for pointers! Get outta here, you pervy dog!" Vincent yipped and ran off into the trees and Saywer shook his head in exasperation, dropping his mouth back to Kate's, but she kept bursting into giggles randomly and it tended to break his concentration. After a few minutes he gave up and rolled away from her, a little irritated.
"I'm sorry, Sawyer. I haven't had the giggles like this in a long time." Her stomach hurt and she tried to pace her breathing but every thirty seconds she'd start laughing again when she pictured Jack's face if she sat down and had a girl-talk with him about...that. She sat and pulled her knees up under her chin, still shaking intermittently with random chuckles, but they tapered off as Sawyer watched her, irritation gone as he was entranced by her.
She finally took a deep shaky breath, willing herself not to laugh again; she held her hand out to Sawyer, who took it and pulled her up against him, kissing her deeply as she pressed into him, any desire for laughter gone.
He broke away, sighing and nodding in the direction Vincent had gone. "We'd better go before Ed sends Lassie back to find us." He shook his head, grinning. "You think I'm a southern pervert, huh? You should have heard what Vincent was saying. Whoever said dogs have cleaner mouths than us obviously never had a one-on-one with a horny-ass mutt."
She grimaced with disgust. "Ugh. I am never letting him lick me again."
Saywer looked at her closely. "Freckles, have you ever taken a good look at where he licks himself?"
She burst into laughter again, and he hugged her to him, feeling the vibrations against his chest. Slowly, together, they went after Vincent into the jungle.
