In the End
Chapter Fifteen
Thank you: To Crazyhorsegirl88 for help with the boar-hunting info. stuff. :D
Chapter Fifteen: Friends and Lovers
"Home sweet home," Sawyer said, stretching as he set his bag down on the sand.
Sitting her bags down as well, Rebecca wrapped her arms around herself tightly, shivering as a cool breeze swept over the island.
"So I guess this is where we part," Rebecca said, looking around the beach.
A woman she didn't know smiled at them as they passed. Sawyer growled at her.
"Sawyer!" Rebecca exclaimed.
"What?" Sawyer grunted.
Rebecca just rolled her eyes, smiling as she looked back towards the ocean. It just felt so good to be back. The beach was so much more welcoming than the caves, in Rebecca's opinion, and she knew Sawyer felt the same way. The fresh air, the smell of the ocean, the sound of the crashing waves. It was the only thing that had kept her (and secretly, Sawyer too) sane during the first few months on the island. She was thrilled to be back, and all she wanted to do was stretch out on the sand, and let the ocean put her to sleep.
"I'll see you around then," Rebecca said to Sawyer, and picked up her backpack, throwing it over her shoulder.
"You ain't sticking around, Sweetheart?" Sawyer said with a smirk. "I have to say I feel insulted. Especially after that whole saving your life thing."
Rebecca smiled to herself before turning back to Sawyer. How did she see this coming?
"First of all," Rebecca said, pointing an accusing finger in Sawyer's face, "I saved your life first. Second, while I was laying there helpless in the jungle, you were off running around with some teenager."
Sawyer let out a cough.
"Excuse me?" He said.
"Yeah," Rebecca shot, "so you better think twice before you talk about who owes who a favor."
Rebecca spun around gracefully with a wink that put a frown on Sawyer's face. Secretly he didn't want Rebecca to go, and was horrified of the thought that nothing would ever come out of their relationship.
"Hey!" Sawyer called after her, running to catch up with Rebecca.
Interested in what Sawyer wanted, Rebecca turned around.
"You scared of somethin'?" Sawyer inquired.
"Excuse me?" Rebecca said, mocking Sawyer's tone from earlier.
"You're scared of me," Sawyer accused.
Rebecca let out an incredulous laugh, pulling a strand of hair away from her face as she looked around.
"What gives you that idea?" She said, sounding furious.
"You're afraid of being with me," Sawyer said, smirking with pleasure.
"Yeah," Rebecca said sarcastically, "right. What, do you think I'm afraid you'll turn me into some pigtail, overall wearing, cowgirl hillbilly?"
"Come to think of it," Sawyer said slyly, "you wouldn't look half bad in overalls."
"You're disgusting," Rebecca replied bitterly.
"Just an observation," Sawyer shrugged.
Rebecca rolled her eyes and turned away.
"I know what your afraid of," Sawyer said, in a much more lower, serious, tone than before, "you're afraid you're getting yourself into something you don't know you really want to be apart of. You're afraid this will all go wrong and blow up in your face. You're so worried about what could happen that you're afraid of just goin' for it."
"Well sorry if I'm not the 'just goin' for it' kind of girl," Rebecca retorted.
"You were one of those girls who took their cousins to the prom, weren't you?" Sawyer accused playfully. "Bet you didn't go to homecoming either."
"You know why I don't want to be with you," Rebecca exclaimed, spinning around, suddenly furious, "because I know guys like you! You're the kind of guy who will butter a girl up, make her feel special. Buy her dinner, maybe a nice ring. Then give it a week or two, and you disappear. No note. No goodbye. You're experts at breaking hearts."
She held Sawyer's gaze for a beat, and a clear past of heart aces and betrayal glared back at him. At last Rebecca looked down. This was obvious this was something Rebecca had been wanting to let out for quiet some time, and the worst part was that it hit so close to home. He had never thought about how it must feel to be the one to get left, he never let himself think about it. To see it thrown back at him by someone like Rebecca, Sawyer could admit that he was disgusted with himself. The pressure was on Sawyer now, and he knew that he had to be the one to prove Rebecca's theory about him, even though it would be difficult for the both of them.
"I'll make you a deal," Sawyer said at last, "I want you to stay with me, but you obviously have some major trust issues. So let's just take this for a..trial run. You give me a night, and by the morning, if you still think I'm a no good rotten scoundrel, then you can be on your merry way."
Rebecca didn't reply, but Sawyer could tell she had been listening.
"Hell, we don't even have to do anything," Sawyer went on, "for all I care we sit there and stare at each other all night."
As she considered Sawyer's proposal, Rebecca bit her lip.
"Okay," she finally agreed, "one night."
"One night," Sawyer nodded, and shook her hand with a firm grip.
(space)
"Jack!" Kate called, approaching Jack in the caves.
Jack stopped what he was doing, and turned around. The day had been hectic, with a fair share of people still on edge about the murder, and the brief disappearance of the monster making everyone both nervous and anxious. Between reassuring people that if they stepped outside they wouldn't be swallowed whole, and lying about fake plans for a fake search party for whoever could be out there, Jack was not only already exhausted while the day was still young, but hadn't been able to see Kate all morning. Jack couldn't help but to be pleased with Kate's perfect timing of coming to see him: he had been on the verge of telling everyone to just shut up for hours.
"Hey," Jack said, smiling as Kate walked up to him.
"Busy day?" Kate asked, looking around the caves.
"You can say that," Jack replied.
"Do you have time for a break?" Kate asked hopefully.
Jack looked down at his wrist, as if checking the time, grinning broadly.
"Think I deserve an early lunch break?" Jack asked playfully.
"Definitely," Kate said, nodding confidently.
"So where are we going?" Jack asked, hoping that Kate was planning on rescuing him from the crowded, nerve-wracking caves.
"That," Kate began with a mischievous grin, "is for me to know and you to find out."
Kate winked at him, and motioned for Jack to follow her. Having no other choice, Jack shook his head, though he was still smiling as he followed Kate out.
(space)
So far the day was cool, with a clear sky above them. Like any day, Charlie and Claire had spent most of their day on the beach, enjoying the sun and waves, but today, unlike most other days, Charlie noticed that Claire seemed much more sullen than normal.
"Want to go for a walk?" Charlie asked after sitting with Claire for almost a half hour in silence.
Claire didn't respond. Charlie couldn't be sure that she even heard him. After awhile a distant look had developed in Claire's eye, and she just sat there, ignoring the world around her- including Charlie.
"Want to see if there's any fruit left at the caves?" Charlie tried.
Still no reply.
"Hey I heard this giant bird just landed in the valley and left a pile of chicken legs," Charlie said, "weird, huh?"
"Would you please just go away?" Claire begged, voice uneven.
Charlie was surprised but pleased to hear Claire's voice, but wasn't please to hear her speak as though she was on the verge of tears.
"Are you okay?" Charlie asked, looking at Claire in concern.
Reaching up, Charlie cautiously pulled a loose strand of hair away from Claire's face, but not cautiously enough. Charlie's hand was quickly swatted away, and tears began to form in Claire's eyes. All Charlie do was sit there, hopeless, as he wondered what he was supposed to do.
"Why won't you tell me what's wrong?" Charlie wanted to know desperately.
"Fine," Claire said in a huff, "I just had this dream all right. It really bothered me."
Charlie hesitated before responding.
"What was it about?" He asked carefully.
Claire didn't respond, and for a moment Charlie was afraid she never would.
"I was in this place," Claire began, "I think it was on the island, but I'm not sure."
As she revealed the dream to Charlie, Claire could see it replaying in her mind, as it had done so many times that morning.
"It was this room," Claire went on, "and there was this heart monitor, and bed, and crib.."
Charlie cringed, knowing where this was going.
"And in the crib was this baby," a ghost of a smile crept upon Claire's face, "it was my baby Charlie- he was my baby. I know it."
"Claire-" Charlie began.
"I mean, why else would I be dreaming about babies, right?" Claire said rhetorically.
She looked up at Charlie, her eyes meeting his.
"My baby's alive, Charlie," Claire finished, "I know he is."
Charlie knew there would be no convincing Claire otherwise. And besides, it was just a dream, right?
"How do you know it's a boy?" Charlie asked instead of negating Claire.
Claire snorted.
"Well Charlie, in the human anatomy-"
Charlie's eyes widened when he realized his stupidity.
"Never mind," he said quickly.
Claire let out a laugh.
After sitting all day with Claire, who was lost in her own world, it felt good to hear her laugh. He didn't want to rain on Claire's parade, reminding her of the harsh realities of the present, but he didn't want to lead her to false hope either.
"He's out there somewhere," Claire said, looking up towards the sky, "I can feel it-" she turned back to Charlie, "-and I want to find him. I need to find my baby."
Claire's eyes were suddenly filled with a desperate pleading, and Charlie knew what she was really trying to say. She wanted to go look for him, and she wanted Charlie to help. He knew it would do no good to tell Claire they couldn't, all that would do would lead Claire to sneaking off in the middle of the night, so Charlie said the only thing he knew to:
"All right," he agreed, though Claire hadn't asked the favor, "we'll go look for him-"
Charlie looked around.
"I mean, I don't know where," he said lightly, "it's not like a baby's just going to crawl out of Sawyer's stash or-"
He was cut off abruptly as Claire threw her arms around him.
"Thank you," she said through tears of joy.
A pit of guilt was already growing inside Charlie, and though he knew they were surely heading for a let down, Charlie still replied a "Your welcome" to Claire, praying this would turn out for the better.
5 months earlier
"Are you sure you two don't need any help?" The cab driver asked.
"We're fine," Claire promise the driver.
"Watch your step," Claire's friend Beth warned as she helped Claire over the curve.
Once on the sidewalk, the two looked up at the airport in front of them as the cab drove away.
"Well this is it," Claire said, feeling a mixture of nerves and excitement.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Beth asked her for the hundredth time that day. "You could always turn back."
"I know," Claire replied, "come on."
The airport was busier than Claire remembered it being the last time she was there. Then again, that was almost ten years ago, back when she and her mother got along.
"Claire," Beth sang into her ear.
"Right," Claire nodded.
"Now you know since you're pregnant, you can demand special attention on the plane," Beth said, sounding thrilled about this, "and they have to listen, because your hormones just might accidentally become outraged and sue them-" Claire raised an eyebrow, "-so don't be afraid to ask for anything."
"Okay," Claire promised.
They walked across the airport, Beth dragging Claire's bag along with them. Claire took the time to look around, observing the behavior of the people at the airport. This included everything from a couple arguing to a young man who had lost his ticket.
"Here we are," came Beth's voice, breaking into her thoughts, "boarding gate for flight 815."
Claire glanced up at the flight attendant who was seated at a post, reading a book. Looking closely, Claire saw the book was called Another Life. She shivered as she remembered the psychic's eerie warning: "Your baby can not be raised by another".
"You okay?" Beth asked.
"Yeah," Claire lied.
She felt guilty about not telling Beth about the warning, but a voice inside her was telling Claire she shouldn't tell. At that time Claire noticed a man who was maybe in his thirties enter, dressed as though he were ready for a funeral. He thanked a blonde woman, exchanging a quick hug with her. Claire knew it was rude to stare, but for some reason she found the couple interesting. As the woman let go, Claire noticed she handed the man something that could've been a photograph. Instead of looking at it, he stuffed it inside his jacket pocket, and then thanked the woman for the ride to the airport. Then the woman handed him what looked like a ticket, and a long argument over rather or not the man should accept it followed.
"You know," Claire said, "I think I'm going to go get something to it."
"All right," Beth nodded, and looked down at her watch, "well, I have an appointment. Will you be okay on your own?"
The knot of nerves from earlier tightened, and suddenly Claire knew that this was the real thing. She was flying to LA nine months pregnant, alone and unsupervised. But Claire could only imagine the things the psychic would have to say if he knew she was receiving help, and he seemed too much like the real thing for Claire's liking.
"Yeah," Claire lied.
"Okay then," Beth said, and offered Claire a smile, "good luck..and no going off to elope. I have to be there at least for the wedding."
Claire laughed.
"Don't worry," she promised.
With a wave Beth left, leaving Claire praying that she had made the right decision.
5 months later
Jack and Kate walked most of the way towards the beach in silence. They had each taken the path so many times that they didn't even need to look up, leaving them both to watch their feet as they walked.
"So are you going to tell me what we came out here to do?" Jack finally asked.
Kate smiled.
"We're going boar hunting," Kate replied.
Jack choked on the breath he was taking. Kate just kept smiling.
"Are you serious?" Jack asked her, incredulous.
"Yep."
In one swift movement, Kate pulled out a hunting knife that had been sitting in a hook that Jack hadn't noticed had been hanging on Kate's belt loop.
"Kate, we don't have enough time to-"
"It's not like we've run off to pick flowers in the mountain," Kate said, rolling her eyes, "boar's something we need. Boar hunting is productive work."
"Except for the part about sneaking out," Jack pointed out.
"You worry to much," Kate said wisely.
Jack laughed.
"Come on," Kate said, "we're going inland."
"Inland?" Jack echoed.
Kate nodded.
"The boar don't want to be hunted," she pointed out, "they won't be anywhere near here-" Kate turned onto a trail Jack had never taken before, "then again, with Locke and Boone not bringing anything back for weeks, they may be heading back."
"Something tells me your plans not going to go as brilliantly as you think," Jack looked quickly to Kate, "no offense."
"You just have no self confidence," Kate accused.
Jack rolled his eyes.
"I went out to search for the best trails yesterday," Kate continued as she broke off the tip of a bush branch, "we need easy trails. If we get anything, we don't want to be lugging it around all afternoon."
"To be a vegetarian you seem to know a lot about boar hunting," Jack commented.
Kate stopped, and that same distant smiled Jack had grown used to in the early days on the island came back to Kate's face.
"My dad used to talk about hunting with my grandpa all the time," Kate said, "I remember I always wanted to be just like him, and after he..died, I was determined to be, no matter what it took. It was like..making up for lost time knowing his spirit was around me."
Jack studied Kate. So that's why Kate was always the first to sign up for all hunts and search parties, as Jack had pointed out to her during their first days of the island.
"I just like being in the woods," Kate shrugged, "it's like it's part of me."
Kate grew quiet after that, and looked up the path ahead of them.
"We're wasting daylight," she said, "we should go."
Part of Jack wanted to ask Kate more about her father, but the other part knew he shouldn't.
"Right," he agreed, and followed her.
They appeared to be the only ones in the jungle as they walked on, but when Kate turned paths again, the theory was proven wrong. Boone ran right into them. For a moment, he just stared at Jack and Kate.
"I was just heading back to camp," Boone explained, "Locke and I were out hunting-" he pointed behind him signaling where they had been, "and..yeah."
Kate looked over to Jack.
"Have a nice day," Boone side quickly, sidestepping the two to continue down the path.
Jack noticed Boone took the path down the trail at a quicker pace than he had appeared to be going before.
"There goes our boar," Kate sighed.
"Darn that Locke," Jack teased with a sarcastic grin.
The statement made Kate smile, which pleased Jack.
"You're happy about this, aren't you?" Kate inquired.
Jack couldn't help but to smile. Kate rolled her eyes.
"Fine," she said, "let's just go to the beach-" Kate heaved an exasperated sigh, "like always."
"I know," Jack said lightly, "we're just such a boring couple."
"Shut up," Kate shot, and Jack laughed.
They started the path back, and were surprised to find that Boone had already disappeared. A bird chirped over head, and as if his throat wanted to reply to it, Jack coughed.
"You okay?" Kate asked, sounding concerned.
"It's just a cough," Jack insisted.
"Yeah?" Kate said. "Well if I let out a cough like that you'd already have your stethoscope out and would be checking my temperature."
Jack laughed again, as did Kate.
"I bet it's because you're keeping yourself cooped up in the caves like that," Kate said thoughtfully.
"It's not my choice," Jack defended, "I mean, this morning I had to answer every question ranging from 'Does the monster have teeth?' to 'Which looks better, the blue shirt or the pink?'."
"Well I understand that you're a very important person Jack," Kate laughed, "especially in the fashion department, but honestly, you need to take more time for yourself."
"So far the only time I've ever gotten time to myself is when I've been kidnapped," Jack said.
"Hey, you're talking to America's most wanted here," Kate pointed out, "you might be giving me some ideas."
Jack noticed Kate's eyes were twinkling as though she were seriously considering the suggestion. Silence overcame them as they walked on, their banter dying into a lingering pause.
"I miss you," Kate admitted at last.
"I miss you too," Jack said sincerely, "but there's not much I can do about it. These people depend on me."
She's depending on you too, Jack reminded himself.
"I know," Kate replied, "unless.."
Kate thought quickly.
"Unless what?" Jack asked.
Kate bit her lip.
"Unless you move to the beach."
The suggestion hit hard, as if she had yelled it rather than just calmly offered it. Was this why Kate had asked him out today in the first place? To try and talk him into moving back to the beach? The first time they were together, Kate had stayed at the caves with Jack, though it was obvious Kate would've preferred life at the beach. He had even noticed a change in Kate's behavior at the caves, despite the fact that she was with him: when she became distant, it wasn't like at the beach, where she would think things through, but it was like she was permanently shutting herself out, like the caves were engulfing her. And Jack would've loved to move to the beach with Kate, to make her happy, but he knew that with his duties of leader, and with a majority of the population now living at the caves, that wouldn't be the right choice. But it would still be the choice he wanted. Didn't he get a say? It sure didn't feel like it.
"Kate, you know-"
"Yeah," Kate said quietly, "you can't, I know."
Kate's hurt tone stung horrible, and the guilt began poking out at Jack.
"I want to," Jack said quickly, "it's just, with everyone-"
Kate stopped abruptly, surprising Jack so much that he almost tripped.
"I know," she said again, "it's just-" Kate hesitated before continuing, "I'm afraid something will happen, and you won't be there."
She stared down at the ground as she spoke, as if she was ashamed of how she felt, which made Jack feel even worse. Reaching over, Jack took Kate's hands in his.
"I'll always be there," he promised her, looking down at Kate though she wasn't looking at him.
Jack didn't expect Kate to reply, but didn't stop her when she opened her mouth to speak, though a distant call for Jack did the job anyway. He sighed.
"Maybe if we walk quickly," Kate said softly to the ground, and then looked up at Jack, eyes twinkling again, "we can just say we never heard them."
Jack grinned, and followed Kate down the path. She didn't say anything about Jack's promise, but he didn't expect a thank you. He didn't need one. When they finally reached the sand, Kate brought Jack's arm up(he hadn't even realized their hand was still connected), and placed it behind them, so that each of their arms was supported the other's back. They picked up the pace as they headed towards the tide, and made a mutual agreement to sit just where the dry sand met the damp. Kate sat with her legs crossed behind her, and in order to face her, Jack did the same.
"I think we lost them," Kate said.
"I'd hope so after you took off like that," Jack teased.
Kate smiled.
"Running is my expertise," she said.
Both Jack and Kate looked down after realizing what she had said.
"I'm sorry for the whole moving back thing," Kate said after a long pause, "really-"
"Don't be," Jack cut in, and looked around the beach, observing its calm residents, who went about their day without a care in the world. Oh what he would give to be able to be one of them. "Maybe someday, after all of this is over."
He smiled at Kate, who forced herself to return it.
"Do you really think someday all of this will be over?" Kate asked quietly.
Honestly Jack wasn't sure. He could hope this would all be over, but he wasn't the psychic. Still, Jack knew his word would mean a lot to Kate, and that was important to him.
"Yeah," Jack said, nodding, "I do."
Kate smiled again, this time sincere. Jack watched as she reached up with a hand, and place on the side of his face, cupping it. He shivered at the touch. Then, leaning towards Jack, Kate kissed him, ad Jack realized this was only their second kiss sense being back together. The kiss grew more passionate as Jack returned it, putting a hand on Kate's shoulder to steady his balance. Just then Jack heard someone whistle, while another let out a 'whoop' of cheer. Jack and Kate broke apart at the interrupted, resting their foreheads against each other. They didn't have to look up to know who was watching them: Charlie and Hurley. Kate let out a laugh, and Jack chuckled.
"There's no getting away from them, is there?" Kate asked him.
"Welcome to my world," Jack retorted.
They finally broke apart, both embarrassed at first, but then they each realized that they didn't really care what anyone else said, or cheered, for that matter. Nevertheless, it would've been great to have some privacy for once.
"Jack!" Someone called again.
Jack and Kate sighed in unison.
"You better go," Kate said, though that was the last thing she wanted.
"Yeah," Jack said, sighing again.
He reluctantly got to his feet, forcing himself to go see what the voice wanted. Kate got up as well, and Jack gave her a quick kiss goodbye before leaving. She watched him as he walked off, and was contemplating following him when she caught Hurley and Charlie grinning broadly at her from nearby. Blushing a slight shade of pink, Kate covered her face, looking down to the ground, though smiling all the same.
(space)
To Jack's surprise, it was Shannon who wanted his attention.
"Finally!" Shannon exclaimed when he reached the jungle line.
"Sorry," Jack said, a little taken aback, "I was-"
"Making out with your girlfriend," Shannon finished for him bitterly, "we all saw."
Jack realized that the whole beach had probably been watching. Still he was determined not to care. He wasn't ashamed of his relationship with Kate, and the devil on Jack's shoulder reminded him it was everyone elses fault he was never with Kate to begin with.
"What's the problem?" Jack said, shaking himself out of his thoughts.
Shannon rolled her eyes.
"Sayid wants you," she informed him, "he's at the caves."
She headed towards the path to the cave, and assuming he was supposed to follow, Jack did as well.
"Is something wrong?" Jack asked, concerned.
"I guess so," Shannon said, sounding irritable, "he's been carrying on all morning, but no one can calm him down enough to see what about.
Jack had to bite back a sigh. He knew it was selfish, but Jack was hoping that if someone had the nerve to interrupt his short time off, it was for a life or death situation. That made him sound like a jerk, yes, but why was it that he seemed to be the only person that someone could come to if something was wrong? As flattering as it was, Jack really couldn't see the difference between asking him for help, and asking someone else for help, unless it was something private.
When they reached the caves, Jack was relieved to see it had calmed down since that morning. Looking around, Jack spotted Sayid standing nearby, arms crossed, looking frustrated.
"What's the problem?" Jack asked, approaching.
"The maps are gone," Sayid replied rapidly.
Jack blinked.
"The what?"
"The maps!" Sayid replied. "The maps of the island! The ones I took from Danielle and the ones I drew. They're gone."
Jack shook his head, not comprehending.
"So what's the problem?" He asked, confused.
Sayid's eyes narrowed.
"What could possibly be the purpose of stealing maps?" He asked Jack.
Jack shrugged. He didn't have a clue.
"Either they're going somewhere," Sayid said darkly, as if he knew a deep secret about something, "or they're looking for something."
"I'm still not getting it," Jack said honestly.
Sayid sighed.
"Everyone here is afraid," Sayid began, "they won't go out into the jungle. Locke, Boone, and Danielle, know their way around by heart. Who else do you know would want to go out?"
Jack choose to hold back he and Kate's earlier attempt at boar hunting.
"I don't know," Jack finally said, "who?"
"No one," Sayid answered, "which means, whoever took the maps isn't one of us."
Jack stared at him. It didn't help that part of his mind was still back at the beach with Kate.
"I'm still not-"
"Someone's up to something," Sayid said with a sigh, "and it's probably not good."
Jack glanced around the caves, this time keeping an eye out for any suspicious behavior, though he still didn't fully understand Sayid's reasoning.
"What do you want me to do about it?" Jack asked, not meaning to sound as harsh as he did.
Sayid raised an eyebrow.
"Help me investigate," Sayid proposed, "see if you can find out anything from anyone. Anyone who looks suspicious, or anyone who's out of place."
Jack sighed, placing his hands on his hips. To Jack, this all seemed a little ridiculous.
"Are you sure you didn't just..misplaced them?" Jack said.
"I'm sure," Sayid assured.
He glanced to the side, trying not to show his irritation. Then, before he could stop it, the outburst he had been rehearsing in his mind since the first month on the island came out.
"Can't you just ask someone else?"
Jack could've sworn the entire population of the caves had stopped and turned around. Sayid stared at him, as if Jack had just asked the most insane thing. And to Sayid, Jack was sure that did sound insane.
"Is something wrong?" Sayid finally asked.
Jack wanted to scream, but instead he just sighed.
"No," Jack lied, "sure, I'll help."
"No," Sayid said suddenly, "I'll find someone else."
This time, Jack raised an eyebrow. Sayid left so abruptly that Jack couldn't even see which way he had gone. Sighing once again, Jack could only hope that Sayid didn't hold a grudge. However, Jack was still pleased at himself for finally sticking up for himself, and made to go back to the beach.
"Jack!"
Jack let out a groan of frustration, kicking the wall near him, wincing as his toe connected with the rock.
"Dude I just wanted to let you know you dropped this," Hurley said, handing Jack an assortment of items, which Jack recognized as being the ones he kept in the bottom pocket of his pack.
Sure enough, when he checked, the pocket had a mean rip through it, and the fabric that had once covered the whole was missing. Jack couldn't even bring himself to sigh. What he really wanted was a pillow or something to scream in. Or just to be able to be with Kate again for more than fifteen minutes would've been nice too.
"Thanks," he said to Hurley, taking the items carefully.
(space)
That night, Jack regretted his earlier need to let out frustration. It turned out that while Jack was at the beach looking for Kate, Kate was at the caves looking for Jack as well, and it just went downhill from there. At last Jack was able to steal a moment for himself, as Kate would say, and instead screaming into a pillow, Jack threw the pillow, which was really just a jacket, which collided gracefully with his medical supplies, sending them sprawling to the floor. He received no offers for help, and was left to savior whatever medicine he could fine.
"Need help?" A voice asked from the entrance.
Jack's heart leapt. Kate.
"Uh-" Jack fought to make sure he didn't drop the bottle of pills he was holding, "sure. I'd love some."
Kate smiled as she glided across the cave and began helping Jack. With Kate's help the job got done twice as fast, leaving them to do whatever they pleased.
"It's good to finally see you," Jack said, afraid that if he waited to long to say something, someone would come ask him to do something else.
"Yeah," Kate agreed, "you look exhausted."
At Kate's comment, Jack realized he really was tired.
"I am," he admitted.
"I should probably go then," Kate said apologetically, and turned towards the door.
"No!"
Jack's face reddened in embarrassment at the quickness of his request.
"Or not," Kate said, sliding back towards Jack.
Though he had been desperate to see Kate all day, Jack found that he didn't have a clue as to what to say. Obviously, neither did Kate. As an icebreaker, Kate bent down, and picked up something off of Jack's floor: a sock. She held it up so that Jack could see.
"You know," Kate said playfully, "when I first met you, I never expected that I'd be picking up your dirty socks."
"You know," Jack said mockingly, "when I first met you, I never thought I'd be asking you.." his tone grew serious, but only a playful seriousness, "if you could keep picking up my socks, because frankly, I don't have the time."
Kate laughed, and Jack chuckled at his own joke. She looked down quickly after that, and her gaze turned distant, as if contemplating something. Jack was about to ask what was wrong when Kate came towards him suddenly, forcing Jack into a kiss. He felt Kate drop the sock behind him as he let the shock wear off. Not wanting to give Kate the opportunity of being able to tease him about being the only one to ever make the first move, Jack was the one that chose to deepen the kiss, and soon they were slowly sliding to the ground.
(space)
Kate was in a small room. It was dim and damp, and Kate could feel the cool sensation of blood trickling down her cheek. Though her vision was blurred, Kate could make out two men standing up across from her, both holding riffles and facing a figure on the floor below them.
"We're wasting time," one of the men said.
"He's wasting time," the other replied.
"Kill him," the first instructed.
"He's already killing himself."
The figure below them suddenly twitched, and Kate's eyes widen to see that it was a body. Even worse, as her vision came to focus, she saw that the figure was Jack. She tried to cry out, to say something, but when she opened her mouth, nothing came.
"We should save his soul," the first man suggested.
"It was his choice," the other said, "he did this to himself."
Did what to himself? What was going on? Where were they?
"No second chances for this fellow then."
The convincing seemed to have worked.
"He's already had his second chance," the second man said, "and if he hasn't realized now-"
"That she's not good enough-"
"That he's too good-"
"Then he doesn't deserve-"
"To live."
It was as though they were singing a song they had written together. The two riffles went down, and Kate could only watch in horror as both triggers were pulled. Two gunshots fired through the air in unison, and blood began pouring out of Jack. Kate was frozen in fear. Jack was dead, murdered. Jack had been murdered, and the two gunmen didn't even bother turning back to her.
Kate let out a small gasp as she awoke from the dream that was really a nightmare. She looked around as she tried to catch her breath, and tried to remember where she was. Then she looked over and saw Jack sleeping soundlessly, and remembered. At some point Jack had laid a blanket over Kate, though only a jacket carelessly laid over him. Then Kate remembered the nightmare. Jack had been murdered, and now Kate knew why. It was because she wasn't good enough for him. She didn't match his standards. And as much as Kate hated it, she knew it was true, and that was why Kate grabbed the jacket from Jack, carefully replacing it with the blanket, and fled from the caves.
Author's Note: Okay, so no one's haunted..yet. Sorry this took so long to get out! I wanted this out by Thursday, at the latest, but I got really sick, and couldn't write. But at last, the holiday break is here, so I have plenty of time for updating:D Thanks so much, as always, for the reviews! You guys rock!
Coming up next, on "In the End":
Don't forget about Sawyer's bet, the outcome of which, will be revealed. But of course will see what happens that night, what's revealed, and the results of Kate's escape from the caves.
Thanks again!
Until next time..
October Sky
