Just thought I'd add some drama, you might all hate me for it though...


Chapter 12

"Shhh" Kate rocked Lilly on her shoulder, trying to calm the crying baby down. It was late afternoon and Kate was on one of her daily walks in the jungle. She liked to go for walks with just her and Lilly, it gave her time to think-precious alone time she rarely ever got. Usually Lilly was quiet and content on these walks, but not today, instead she cried, her big blue eyes staring up at Kate.

"Your tired, I know baby." Kate whispered, kissing her on the forehead. "You were up all night, weren't you? Trust me, daddy knows, he's sleeping right now."

Lilly continued to wail, and concerned Kate placed a hand on her forehead. It was hot! She was burning up.

"Sshhh baby girl, it's all right," Kate whispered, trying to soothe her, but inside she was panicking. What if Lilly was really sick? What if they couldn't make her better? Awful thoughts ran through her head, and she was suddenly aware of her heart thumping loudly inside of her chest.

Picking up her back pack carefully Kate began to power walk to camp. She was a fair bit away from the hatch, and even further from camp. Lilly was still crying in her arms, and Kate felt a lump beginning to form in her throat.

What if Jack couldn't fix her, what is she was "infected" like Danielle had warned her the day she and Claire had gone looking for the medicine, only to find the other hatch?


"Hey you seen Freckles?" A very tired Sawyer asked Charlie who was sitting with Claire. Charlie shook his head, just as someone spoke behind Sawyer.

"On the path to the caves,"

It was Jack, he walked towards the Sawyer.

"I saw her go that way, 20 minutes ago maybe, why?"

Sawyer frowned. "Not that's it any of your business Doc, but she went for a walk with Lilly and said she wouldn't take long."

Jack shrugged. "Kate can take care of herself Sawyer."

Sawyer glared at Jack, clearly in one of his bad moods, he was just about to give him a mouthful when something interrupted him.

A horrified scream.

"Kate!"

Sawyer ran towards the shouts, with Jack at his heels. Booth were crashing through the jungle, running as fast as there legs could carry them.

"Freckle's!" Sawyer reached the path and found Kate's backpack abandoned.

"KATE!"

He screamed so loudly, that surely she must hear him, but there was no reply.

"They took her." Jack said behind him, in a mixture of shock and amazement, "They took her, they took her and Lilly."

Sawyer was looking around wildly, panicked and not knowing what to do, Jack had never seen him like that before.

"Which way'd they go?" he asked desperately.

"That way!" Locke came into view, hunting knife in one hand, backpack in the other.

"I heard what happened," he said quickly, before pointing to the ground with his knife.

"look, there was a struggle."

"Don't give me your crap Mr. Clean!" Sawyer shouted angrily without warning, his fear turning to sudden rage, "just tell me which way they went!"

Locke shook his head, "I would, if I knew which trail, there are three distinct trails, maybe even four. Four groups of people going diffrent directions-and Kate could be any one of them."

Sawyer looked at him, he felt so utterly helpless. How could there be three or four different trails? And which wasKate and Lilly's?

"Locke, Sawyer and me will take this one," Jack said quickly, trying hard to stop himself from panicking, let alone Sawyer."You get Sayid and the others to follow the other two."

Locke nodded, and Sawyer and Jack began a desperate race.


"Sawyer slow down!" Sawyer ignored Jack's voice and continued up the pace.

"Sawyer!"

Jack grabbed hold of Sawyer's arm, pulling him back.

"Get the hell off me!" Sawyer threw a wild punch that hit Jack square in the jar. Jack fell backwards before quickly getting to his feet, ready to fight if need be.

"Calm down!" He shouted angrily.

"Don't you tell me to calm down!" Sawyer shouted, "They took my wife and my kid! So don't tell me to calm down! Don't think I'm stupid Doc, I see the way you look at her, that's the whole reason you're here-that and your just trying to be the hero, like always!" he took a step towards Jack, but Jack held his ground.

"Sawyer you're running around without even looking for a trail!" he shouted angrily. "Look, I only just learned how to follow a trail, and I've lost it, ok? and I'm trying to find it again!" he was panting hard, but not so much with failed strength, but with anger.

"And if you got a problem with me and Kate being friends, I don't know why, because that's all we are, Sawyer, we're just friends." He wiped the blood away from his lip which he'd bitten hard when he'd hit the ground.

An awkward silence passed between them, neither having ever been so open with the issues that surrounded them and Kate, finely Sawyer looked away.

"You found the trail yet?" he suddenly sounded like a broken man.

Jack was just about to open his mouth when they heard a very faint scream in the distance.

The two must have run towards the sound as fast as they could for at least thirty minutes, and Jack felt like his lungs were about to burst, he was about to ask Sawyer to stop, when he came across a horrifying and yet familiar sight.

Kate was hanging from a tree

For a moment Sawyer and Jack both thought she was dead, and then they noticed her hands clinging tightly to the vines holding her up.

She was still alive

"Hold her!" Jack shouted.

Sawyer didn't need to be told twice, he rushed to Kate, supporting her whole weight in her arms as Jack struggled up the tree.

Kate was gasping for air, her eyes rolling into the back of her head. How long had she been trying to support herself like this? It could only have been minutes ago! Then, suddenly her arms fell to her sides, and her whole body shuddered.

"Cut her down!" Sawyer shouted, now struggling to hold her. "Jesus Christ she's diein'! Cut her down Jack! Cut her the hell down!"

"I don't have a knife!" Jack shouted in horror as the truth struck him. He pulled at the vine helplessly, but it was much too strong. He found himself feeling sick as he realized how utterly powerless he was to free Kate. Why hadn't be brought the Goddamn knife?

"Cut her down!" Sawyer was hysterical, silent tears sliding down his face, through he didn't even know it.

"C'mon Freckle's," he sobbed, "don't do this, don't do it, hold on Freckle's! Hold on!"

He could feel the life draining out of Kate in his arms, she was still gasping for air as he tried to hold her up. Sawyer could feel his own strength draining-how much longer could they both hold on?

Jack was still struggling with the vines franticly in the tree, ripping and tearing with bare hands, when, at last they snapped and Kate came crashing to the ground.

Jack jumped out of the tree and rushed to her side, Sawyer had her in his arms, Kate was barely conscious, still gasping for breath, hands feeling and clawing as if she were looking for something that wasn't there, as if she were blind.

"Breathe Kate," Jack told her loudly, "breathe Kate, breathe. Deep breathes now."

Kate gasped, struggling to pull air into her lungs, Sawyer was holding her as tightly as he dared, completely and utterly concerned for her.

Jack looked around him quickly. They must have come minutes after she was hanged, could they still be around now? Could they be watching them? He turned back to Kate who was breathing a little better.

"Lilly," Kate's voice was hoarse, but the word was just understandable, "Where's Lilly?"

She was looking around now, swollen eyes open and peering into the dark jungle. She seemed confused, as if she had just woken from a bad dream. Struggling a little she turned to face Sawyer, her voice wobbling.

"Where's Lilly?"

Sawyer hugged her close, "shhh, it's ok Freckle's," he said quietly, trying hard to keep himself composed as she stared up at him for answers, and he avoided her eyes. "It's alright, your safe now, it's alright Freckle's," he whispered.

It had now dawned on Kate that Lilly was gone, but she was trying hard not to accept it, repeating her question, hoping that somehow Lilly might just appear. But the awful truth struck her hard and she began to sob into Sawyer's shirt.

"It's alright Freckle's" she heard him whisper over and over again, as he hugged her exhausted body close to him. "It's alright."

But they all knew it wasn't.


How long they sat there they weren't sure, but it got dark quickly and they were forced to make camp.

Kate fell into a fitful sleep. He neck was bruised badly, and very swollen. Even now she gasped for her breath as she slept. Through it was a wonder she could sleep, if she hadn't been so exhausted, she surely would have woken from the nightmares.

She hadn't said much, mostly she just cried into Sawyer's arms. She hadn't known where they were taking her, she'd been unconscious for most of it, and she didn't remember the rest.

She didn't remember them taking Lilly, just that Lilly had been sick, that she was sick and she needed to be looked at. It was heartbreaking to hear Kate cry for her child, her child who was ill, out there with some stranger doing God knew what to her.

Now Sawyer and Jack sat close by her, watching the flames of their campfire as they flickered and crackled in the dark.

"As soon as we get Kate back to camp," Jack began quietly, "We'll go out and look for Lilly-we'll bring her back Sawyer."

Sawyer nodded slowly, he was very quiet, and Jack didn't blame him.

"What happened to your hands?" he asked suddenly, pointing to Jack's swollen and scratched fingers, he seemed confused, "how'd you hurt yourself doc?" he asked again.

Jack sighed, trying to brush it off. "Oh, it's nothing; I just broke two of them when I was breaking the vine. It's nothing, I'll strap them when we get back; they'll heal in a couple of weeks."

Sawyer didn't say anything, just gave Jack a look which he knew meant thank you.

Jack felt awkward and awful, he didn't know what to say, he didn't know what to do, but he wanted to break the awful silence that was so thick it was almost suffocating.

"We'll get Lilly back," Jack repeated once more. "I promise Sawyer, we'll get Lilly back, and Michael and Walt too."

Sawyer pulled his eyes away from Kate who was sleeping fitfully and nodded.

"We ain't just gonna get her back," he said softly with cool, hard hatred in his voice, "We're gonna get even."


Hope you enjoyed it :D