Chapter 81
"Hey, what's wrong?"
Kate shuddered and said, "We were on flight 815. We crashed here two months ago."
The woman paled and said, "How many of you survived?" Her voice was weak and shaky.
Kate knew what she really wanted to know and she said kindly, "What is his name?"
Giving Kate a look of gratitude the woman said, "Jack. Jack Shepard."
Kate almost fainted; the world swam in front of her and she croaked, "Yeah. He's fine." She stood and backed away from the woman, who had broken into a glowing smile.
"He's alive?" She stood shakily and Kate didn't help her; she was still in shock and she didn't hear Sawyer coming behind her. He put his hand on her shoulder and she jumped.
"Easy, Freckles, it's just me. The pilot's dead, no co-pilot anywhere." He noticed the look in her eyes and he stopped, glancing at the woman. "What's going on?"
The shock was wearing off a little and Kate just felt queasy; the woman stepped forward and said, "I'm Sara, by the way, Sara Shepard."
Sawyer's eyes snapped to Kate's and she smiled wanly and nodded. "Jack's ex-wife." The look on his face was almost worth the nausea she was swallowing; his eyes widened in surprise and his jaw fell open as he stared at Sara.
The impossibility of the situation made him laugh, and as he chuckled Kate grinned and laughed, too. How crazy is this place? It was no more improbable than Cassidy showing up on a fishing boat, and Sawyer suddenly stopped laughing, remembering what he had so offhandedly wished earlier, that he had something to hold over Jack's head. Had he called Sara here to use her against Jack? Walt had called Cassidy, so it wasn't totally implausible, right? His stomach lurched at the thought of the dead pilot and guilt seeped its way into his heart; Kate noticed the change and she took his hand. "What is it, James?"
He shook off the feeling and smiled down at her. "Nothing. Come on, let's get out of here before this thing catches fire; there was a lot of smoke in the cockpit." He waited for Sara to walk into the tiny aisle, shakily, and he offered her his free hand; Kate had a deathgrip on the other and when Sara took his offered hand Kate tightened her grip, crushing his with an irrational stab of jealousy.
Sawyer exited first and helped the Sara down, then Kate; as he lifted her he kissed her softly, setting her feet gently on the ground. Sara was gazing at the wreckage, pale and weak-kneed. "Wow," she said, softly, "It looks..." her voice trailed away and tears rolled down her cheeks; smiling at Sawyer, Kate went to her, hugging her as she cried.
"It's okay," Kate said, trying to comfort her, "It's okay. You're alive, Jack's alive...things could be worse." She laughed to herself at the truth of those words.
Sawyer watched them, Kate holding Sara, stroking her hair as she sobbed, and a surge of love coursed through him, making him shiver a little; she was a good person, no matter what anyone else thought, no matter what she thought. His heart lightened as he stared at her; she cared about everyone, and he marveled at how deep the wellspring of her compassion went, that she could offer comfort to Jack's ex-wife. Shaking his head he grinned to himself. She is one of a kind.
Sara's tears stopped finally and she drew away from Kate's shoulder, looking a little sheepish. "Sorry," she said, her voice still thick with tears, "I guess the adrenaline got to me." She wiped her eyes and looked around at the jungle. "So, where are we?"
Joining Kate's side, Sawyer said, "We don't know. Mystery Frickin' Island."
Sara looked a little hesitant and shy, then she said, "I don't know your names."
Kate smiled, shaking her head. "Sorry. I'm Kate, and this is..."she stopped, unsure of how to introduce him. Was he James only for her?
He chuckled at her indecision then said, "Sawyer." His eyes smiled at Kate and she grinned back; James was hers alone.
Vincent came tearing into the clearing and Sara yelped a little in surprise; Vincent glanced at her but went to Sawyer, barking madly. "Whoa, whoa, slow down." He listened as Vincent woofed a few more times, then he smiled and looked at Sara. "Well, well. Guess who's coming to dinner?"
-----
Jack's leg was on fire but he didn't dare slow; he was almost afraid that Locke really was behind him with the gun, waiting to shoot him again if he stopped. He was pretty sure there was someone tailing him, anyway, probably one of the Others, set to follow him and make sure he did what he was supposed to.
He was still torn about Kate, but he supposed he would get over it too. He wanted Ana, and that realization was giving him strength to keep running; he was afraid of what Locke might do to her if he didn't hurry. He kept seeing her swimming in his vision; her muscles rippling in the beam of the flashlight; her taut body strectching out as she reclined on the warm ground; their skin, wet and slick in the shower; and he increased his pace as he thought about her alone with Locke.
He was scared, too, he didn't know how he was going to convince Kate that he was on their side, because he wasn't. He wanted to stay here, to be with Ana; letting go of his drive and hostility was getting easier and easier and slipping back into Old Jack was a tighter fit. He was glad. He loved to feel so free, and alive, and he mourned the loss of thirty-nine years of fun and happiness, sacrificed for the approval of a man who was lost himself.
There was a sudden ripping sound and then a huge crash; Jack stopped, staring around in terror; what the hell was that? He ran again, in the direction of the crash, and he came skidding to a stop as he burst into a clearing to find a small plane, crumpled on the ground, and Kate, Sawyer, and-
"Sara?"Loss of blood, exhaustion and shock overwhelmed him and the world went black as he crumpled to the ground.
-----
The world was fuzzy around the edges and his mouth was dry; and he had been thinking about Sara for some reason; she was swimming in his vision, even, and as he focused he saw it really was her and he shut his eyes again, sure he must still be dreaming.
"Jack?" she asked, tenatively touching his arm. He opened his eyes again and she was still there, sunlight framing her blonde hair, and he smiled. She looked relieved and she sighed, "Hey."
"Sara? What are you doing here?" His fingers traced her cheek softly; she leaned into his caress, smiling.
"I was in Sydney, Oceanic flew me out there to identify some baggage and personal effects. They were flying me back on the private plane to Hawaii, then I was supposed to connect to Chicago."
Jack stared at her for a second, then said, "Why didn't mom go? Why did they send you?" He was afraid to hear her answer; but she smiled at his fear. "She's fine, Jack. She didn't want to go so she asked me." He sat up, his head still a little light, and he noted that Kate and Sawyer were giving them their space; they sat on the other side of the clearing, talking quietly and glancing at the two of them every few minutes.
Sudden fear stabbed Jack; he jumped up and winced as the bullet wound in his leg stretched and pulled wide. "Kate!" She glanced at Sawyer and they both rose, coming to him as he hobbled towards them. They even moved as one person, all of their motions synchronized together; they were fluid and natural and Jack was more than a little jealous. It made the lie easier. "Locke is coming for you, Kate."
Sawyer was skeptical, and so was Kate, but she said, "What happened to your leg? He shot you?"
Sara joined them, eyeing Jack sadly. He hadn't changed, always needing to fix something. Still driven. Jack smiled at Sara as she stood next to him, and he said, "Yeah. I told him I wouldn't go along with killing you, Kate, so he shot me. He's got Ana, I don't know what he'll do to her."
Sara was alarmed; someone was trying to kill Kate? And he shot Jack? Where the hell had she ended up? "What's going on, Jack?" she asked, taking his hand almost without realizing it.
Sawyer snorted. "Ana? He can have her." Kate snickered a little but stopped at the look on Jack's face. Oh my God, she thought, he really loves her. She softened towards Ana just a little.
Jack turned to Sara. "I can't really explain, now, Sara. Later." He kissed her quickly, almost as a reflex, and Kate saw with perfect clarity what her life would have been like had she chosen Jack instead of Sawyer; a quick peck on the cheek, a touch of the hand, a lifetime of judgement for a husband who was never there, always busy fixing other people's problems while he ignored his own. She clutched Sawyer's hand tighter, thanking God he had given her a choice in the first place. But it had never really been much of a choice, had it?
Sawyer was watching Jack closely; he knew it was a trick but he wanted to see where he was going with it. "You want us to go running off into the jungle to help get her back? Come on, Jack, I ain't Einstein but I ain't that stupid."
"Well, that's in the eye of the beholder, isn't it?" he snapped; it was partly fear because he knew by looking at him that Sawyer didn't believe him. The thought ran through his mind that Locke had known all along Sawyer wouldn't believe him, maybe this was a way to get rid of him. He blanched at the thought of Ana, alone with Locke and his heart sank as he stared helpleesly at Kate.
"Please, Kate, I'm afraid of what he'll do." He wasn't lying, really; Kate could see that he really was terrified for Ana. She glanced at Sawyer but his face was cold; he didn't like Jack appealing to Kate that way, she was crumbling and he was suddenly pissed at Locke for sending Jack. Damn him, he knew how Kate would react. He wondered if Locke had a bit of con man in him himself.
Sara was completely confused and still in shock from the crash and finding Jack; she watched the three of them silently, trying to piece things together. One thing, though, she didn't like the way Jack was talking about this Ana person. "Who is Locke? Who is Ana?"
No one answered her; Kate was still staring mutely at Sawyer, who finally relented under her gaze. "Okay, Freckles," he said, his heart full of misgivings. "But we go slow, and careful." He turned to Jack and his eyes flashed dangerously. "One mistake, Jack, one wrong move," he paused and poked Jack in the ribs with his finger; a blue bolt shot from it and Jack yelped as it scorched his skin, "and I'll fry you like fcking bacon."
Kate glanced at Jack's leg; what she could see through the shredded pant leg was a deep purple and blood was still seeping from the open wound. "James," she whispered, and nodded towards it.
Sawyer looked disgusted, but he sighed and knelt down to take a closer look; Jack jerked away as he reached out, and he snorted, "Be still, Doc." He lifted away the cloth and looked at the hole; sighing heavily he closed his eyes and reached out to touch Jack's leg.
Kate smothered a laugh at Sawyer's obvious discomfort at touching Jack anywhere, much less anyplace below his waist. The wound was closing and she was actually a little amazed that he could muster enough desire to heal Jack to make it work. God, she loved him.
Jack gritted his teeth as Sawyer's fingers touched the wound; he looked down and it was gone, like Sawyer's bullet wound. He stared at Sawyer with awe and a little jealousy. "Damn, that would be handy to have as a doctor," he said weakly, and Kate and Sawyer chuckled.
Sara was gaping open-mouthed; she was suddenly sure that she had really died in the crash and this was just a dream before she found herself in heaven. Dizziness washed over her and she wavered a little before Sawyer reached out and steadied her; she smiled up at him and as he grinned back she drew in her breath sharply; she was sure she was in heaven because angels danced over his shoulder in the sunlight that cast a halo around him; they were singing and playing harps, though she couldn't hear them. She blinked and they were gone; she sat down, hard, only Sawyer's guiding hand keeping her from completely falling down.
Jack knelt to her, quickly, and she smiled weakly as her eyes rolled up in her head and she fainted. He checked her pulse and her breathing and sat back, sighing. "She's okay, just freaked out, I guess." He stared at Sawyer again, shaking his head. "I gotta tell you, Sawyer, she isn't the only one."
Laughing a little, Sawyer smiled at Jack; he had changed too, and for some reason this Jack didn't irritate the sht out of him. At least not as much. "Well, don't you go faintin' on us again, Doc, 'cause I can't carry you both." He waved his hand and Sara's limp body lifted into the air, he deposited her in Jack's arms and smiled as he pointed towards the jungle. "You first, Jack. I still don't trust you."
Their eyes met and held; Kate watched a little nervously, though they seemed content to let it go with staring. Jack finally dropped his gaze and Sawyer smiled. "Smart move, Sawyer. I wouldn't trust me either."
