Author's notes: Thanks again for the reviews. October Sky, your comment actually gave me some ideas on what Alex is going to do. The next chapter will be more from her perspective. Anon, your review is a little bit of a spoiler for Season 2, so if anyone else is not up to date you might just want to skip to the story. Thanks for saying this could describe Walt's adventures (misadventures?) while he isn't on the show. I think he has to come back some time. Of course almost nothing I wrote actually happened, except that the raft crew survived and Sawyer's wound is getting infected by the looks of things. And I can't really spoil my story now.

The islanders combine forces to combat Sawyer's infection as rescue operations proceed.

Sayid told Michael, "It takes many months of intense training to become skilled at hand-to-hand combat. Do you realize what you are asking?"

"I don't have months, man, more like days. Can't you just show me some moves?"

"It is not that simple. There are infinitely many ways an opponent can approach you, and it takes time to learn the many moves and countermoves required. I can show you 'a few moves,' but they will be effective only against unskilled or unwary opponents."

"That's better than nothing; I've got to learn what I can, and quickly."

Sayid gave Michael a short lesson, and warned Michael that if he was serious about this he needed at the minimum several weeks of practice. Michael thanked Sayid, saying he understood and that every little bit helped, and then he was off to the beach to build the canoe, with Jin providing most of the help. They would build the vessel near the water, and test it by sailing it around the coast of the island. Should the canoe prove seaworthy, they could investigate the north shore where that ominous powerboat most likely docked.

Meanwhile, there was plenty of other activity back in the caves. Sun had brought in several plants, and Jack was testing them to see how well they could produce a stain suitable for a microscope slide. After combinations of mincing and heating, he found one that worked rather well, even though neither he nor Sun could identity the plant by name.

Jack then drew a small sample, no more than a couple drops, actually, of blood from near Sawyer's shoulder wound. After fiddling with the homemade microscope that Sayid had completed, adjusting the position of the lenses and moving it around so that it caught the most light, Jack recognized a strain of bacteria. One that could be treated simply by penicillin, if one had a sufficiently large quantity. They would need more than the dwindling supply of antibiotics they had on hand. But Jack had an idea.

"Sun, have you seen any mold growing around here?"

"Mold? The climate is certainly humid enough to support its growth. Let me think … why yes, I believe I saw some not too far from my garden. I had to make sure to build it far enough away. Why … ?" But Sun immediately figured out what Jack had wanted it for. "I will collect some immediately." She went and scraped some mold off the bottom of some tree trunks and nearby shrubs, and returned. Soon Jack was boiling the mold in water, purifying it and making it suitable for a solution that could be injected with a syringe. Soon Jack was talking to his patient.

"Hang on Sawyer, I think you'll be just fine. I was afraid you had some mysterious island infection, but it looks to be related to a non-too-uncommon bacterium. We whipped up a batch of what you need. Now hold still, this will hurt a little, but not as much as being shot."

"Is that an example of your impeccable bedside manner, Doc?" Sawyer just had to comment. "You may have missed your calling; you could have been a regular stand-up comedian, instead of one of those medicine men who like to play with needles."

"Ha, ha, this will be over before you know it." Jack injected the penicillin solution before he finished the sentence. Sawyer gritted his teeth, not allowing himself to show any more pain.

Jack continued, "I plan on giving you these injections twice a day for the next week. That should be enough to stop the infection in its tracks. You should be aware that your arm will most likely have limited mobility for some time."

"Why, thank you so much for giving me something to look forward to," came the response in a voice dripping with sarcasm. "You really know how to brighten up the day."

When Jack was finished with Sawyer, Kate approached the doctor with an idea of her own. She still felt like she had to prove herself to the other castaways, and taking risks was not a factor.

"You know, I think we should reconsider breaking through that metal door in the tunnel connected to the hatch."

Jack's initial response was, "That's too dangerous. After what happened in the other tunnel we should just stay far away from there."

"That's just how the Others will think we will reason. Besides, it looks like Michael is planning a rescue attempt from the north shore. We stand a better chance if we come at them in more than one direction."

The logic was starting to make sense to Jack, but he was still uncomfortable with the idea.

"We can use the dynamite and don't even have to be in the hatch when the door blows if we use a long enough fuse. Then we can wait and see if there's any reaction."

Jack was giving in. "This sounds like a last resort kind of idea.'' Then he added, "You can't do this alone, Kate."

"I know. I'll find somebody."

"If you really intend on doing this, I want to be there with you." If someone had to handle dynamite, Jack wanted it to be himself. He couldn't bring himself to trust Kate after she ran away from hatch, forgetting that she was supposed to be carrying some of the dynamite sticks, but honestly didn't want to see anything bad happen to here. "But we really have to think this through more."

Kate sensed that Jack was beginning to warm to her idea, and didn't want to lose him at this point, so she agreed. "Why don't we just take a walk down there, and get away from all this commotion for a little while?"

Well, it couldn't hurt to walk over there. Jack and Kate made their to the hatch, taking along one of the guns for protection, but as they got there, they stopped short. Something didn't look right, as if some pieces of equipment used in the digging had been moved. The pair got the feeling that they weren't alone. Kate drew the gun, and after a minute, Jack called out, "Who's there?" Several seconds later, from out of the shadows behind some trees emerged a mysterious yet familiar figure.