Chapter 114
They sent him back again, and again, and again and after his fourth trip Jack was a bundle of raw nerves and emotions; seeing Ana shot over and over, her blood spraying on him as she coughed out his name and that she loved him drove him to the brink and each time in his anguish he pulled his gun on Kate before being snatched back to the chamber. His rage had given over to frustrated tears and as he stood, shaking and crying, Hanso came out of the control room and put his hand on Jack's shoulder before he threw it off violently. "Jack, maybe you should take a break."

He glared at Hanso with furious contempt as he wiped away a tear. His eyes were sunken and hollow and his skin was gray with fatigue and grief but he flared and said, "I'm not stopping until I have her back. You could help me out, you know. I keep going back to the same place and I can't get there in time, so why don't you put me in a place where I can DO SOMETHING?" His rage kicked in again at the thought of getting there just that split second too late; he tried yelling, shooting his own pistol in the air, anything to distract them until he could get there but it never worked; every time he came into the glade he was greeted by Ana shooting Sara and Kate blasting Ana, then the blood, and the words...

He made a resolution in his mind; this was the last time. Hanso said, "I'm not controlling it, Jack, you are. You want it, but do you want it? Her? If you did you'd have her by now." He was pushing him dangerously, he knew, but he didn't want his joy at getting Ana back to diminish his hatred of Kate. It had become apparent, after all of the attempts, that no one on this Island was going to get to Kate but the Island had told him the secret, no one except for Jack; it was his destiny, the reason he had been brought here. So Hanso pushed, a little, getting Jack closer to the edge, then he added the usual words of caution. "Remember, Jack. Nothing but Ana. The consequences could be bad for all of us."

Jack nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I know. You tell me every time. Can we try again now?"

Hanso didn't like the look in his eyes and he leaned in, suspicion creeping up on him. "I mean it, Jack. You could do far more damage than you imagine, and not just for them, understand?"

Jack nodded restlessly, his eyes already far away as he tried to plot his course ahead of time, every second could count. "Yeah, Al, I got it."

Hanso sighed and went back into the control room and the white walls slid shut as the ticking began again. It graduated into a deep whine and Jack was in the jungle; he took off running as soon as he felt earth beneath his feet; the howl, more running, then the shot and the yelp and Jack pulled his gun, cocking it. The last time.

He shot Kate through the trees before he even came into the clearing and she was on the ground, bleeding from her stomach as he skidded through the bushes. He didn't even glance at her as he scooped Ana into his arms, kissing her frantically as she struggled, pushing him away. "What the hell was that?" she shouted, conveniently forgetting that she had come to kill Kate herself. She looked over at Kate, who was holding her stomach in horror as blood pooled out of it and Sara was beside her, trying to staunch the bleeding with anything she could find; she pulled off her shirt and stuffed it onto Kate's wound, glaring up at Jack in disgust and fury.

"Ana, listen to me," Jack didn't even acknowledge Sara as he grabbed Ana's arms, reveling in the feel of her warm skin beneath his fingers. "They were going to kill you." He gestured to his bloodstained shirt and her eyes widedned as he said, "This is your blood. There's a kind of a time machine at the Foundation, I've been coming back to try and save you." She was looking at him like he was insane and he shook his head, desperately. "I know it's crazy, Ana, but it's true. I had to do it, to save you."

His eyes wandered to Kate, who was crying softly as blood trickled from her mouth and Sara was trying desperately to stop the bleeding but it was too late; unless Sawyer showed up soon Kate was as good as dead. She swallowed with horror as she realized even if Kate did survive she would certainly lose the baby. Kate seemed to be thinking the same thing and she said, weakly, "The baby...get James...hurry..." Her eyes rolled up in her head and passed out.

Sara stood, her eyes snapping with wrath as she advanced on Jack and Ana; Jack swung his gun up and pointed it at her, but Ana was staring in horror at Kate's prone, bleeding body and she whispered, "Baby?" A hundred lead weights dumped into her gut and she felt dizzy as Kate started convulsing on the jungle floor and Sara ran back to her, trying to keep her calm; her hand went to her own stomach, clenching the material and her skin in her grip as she gazed at the blood seeping from Kate's belly.

Sara snapped as she tried to hold Kate still. "She's pregnant." Glaring icily at Jack she said, "Was pregnant."

Ana turned to look at Jack, to see how he was taking it because she couldn't imagine that he would have killed Kate if he knew she was pregnant but the look on his face made her pale and back away from Jack in disgust. "You knew?" This wasn't Jack, this was a stranger; she didn't know the man who would kill a pregnant woman just to get something he wanted and her skin crawled as he gazed at her with love and fear.

"I did it for you, Ana, " he said, "They killed you. Kate killed you. I saw it happen-" he paled too and she felt a little sorry, but after losing her own child to a gunshot she couldn't imagine going along with someone who had just done the same thing, and for the same reason. Because he wanted something, selfish bstard.

"Don't ever, EVER say that you did this for me, Jack," she hissed, and she turned her back on him, kneeling beside Kate and helping Sara try to calm her waning convulsions. Kate's eyes flickered open and she smiled at Sara then at Ana, too. "Hi," she whispered weakly and her eyes began to glaze over; as Sawyer came crashing through the bushes with Vincent he screamed and fell to his knees and put his hands on her, frantically, desperately trying to heal her but it was too late; she was dead.

Ana had moved away as he went to Kate and Jack went to her side immediately but she pushed him away, disgusted at his touch. He didn't understand why she was so angry; he had to do it, didn't she see? He grabbed her arms and said, "Ana, please. I had to do it-"

His words were cut off as Sawyer's steel hand went around his throat and he snatched Jack's gun away from him and threw Jack aside, then glaring at them both he said, "Well, I hope this makes you happy, Jack." He put the gun up to his head and pulled the trigger.

-----

They were walking in the sunshine, the four of them, Kate's hand in Sawyer's as they tried to decipher his dream; he had finally relented and told Kate about it, most of it, he left out the part where he turned into Jack because it made him sick.

"Well, the bus station I get," she was saying, "and the beast and the head, and the hydra."

He smiled aside at her. "You just like thinking about me in a toga."

"I can't lie, Tex," she grinned, squeezing his hand, "I certainly do."

They were quiet for a second, grinning stupidly at each other as Sara watched and smiled too. They were so perfect, so...she couldn't even find the words to describe them and she was an English teacher, for God's sake. They just belonged together and Sara could see a change in Sawyer since the night before; he didn't seem so sad, so unsure and she was glad for him, that Kate had helped him find his way.

Sara said, "I think the Hydra is the most important thing he was telling you." They both glanced over at her and she blushed a little. "Sorry."

Kate smiled, "For what? Don't be afriad to speak up, Sara."

She grinned at Kate, loving her even more. "Okay. When Hercules battled the Hydra, each time he cut off a head two would grow in its place. In the myth he has a helper, his nephew Iolaus, who would burn the stump of the hydra's neck as he cut off each head until the last head was defeated." She glance dat Sawyer. "But he didn't want you to kill it?"

Sawyer shook his head. "After a while the heads turned on themselves, you know, bitin' and snortin' fire at each other 'til only one was left and it died on its own."

Sara nodded. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely, Sawyer. Cut of the head of the beast and the others will fight for the spot." She looked a little excited as Sawyer and Kate both nodded. "Kill the leader and the Others will take care of themselves."

Kate vanished. Just simply vanished as they were walking; no warning, no noise, just a blink and she was gone. Sawyer panicked, looking around for her in vain, how the hell could she just disappear like that? He could still feel the warmth from her hand on his and as he started calling for her, crying out her name he disappeared too, with a light POP! and Sara was left alone, stunned, with only Vincent left beside her.

She glanced at him and he seemed panicky too; that worried her more than anything and she sat down , hard, trying to figure out what to do. As she sat, petting him distractedly, he vanished with a POP! too, and Sara was alone.

-----

Ana gasped in horror as Sawyer's blood drenched her and his body fell into a heap on the ground next to Kate's; Jack grabbed her and as he did, Vincent groaned and convulsed then he began to shift and change and with a mighty glare of bright light Vincent split apart and the angel rose from his skin, spreading his silvery wings out wide and beating them with disgust as he stared at Jack.

He shielded his eyes against the bright light and suddenly he was back in the chamber and Ana was with him, naked but for a white sheet wrapped around her. She looked a little confused as she looked up at Jack but she could still see Sawyer's blood on him and she recoiled from his touch as she remembered everything. She touched her own face and brought back bloody fingers; willing herself not to throw up she said, "I want to go back."

Jack looked at her with disbelief. "What? How can you? It was you or her, Ana."

Her hand gripped the sheet around her middle and she said, "You of all people, Jack, should have known how that was going to affect me. You killed her and you killed her child and I don't ever want you to touch me again." She spun on him angrily, "I got rid of Jason and you slipped right into his place. Good going, Jack."

Locke and Hanso came out of the booth and Hanso looked a little perturbed at all of the blood; he shouldn't have pushed Jack so hard, it was an oversight on his part. "What happened?"

Ana glared at Jack one last time. "Send me back, now."