Okay, so I would have had this up sooner, but I was having a few technical difficulties.:(
In any case-Hope you like it.Thanks to Katy for the help.:)
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When you're cooped up in small places for a long time-it does stuff to you. You get crowded, things start happening and like it or not-not everything is in your control. Jack was having that problem. Sayid was watching him now, making sure that he did what he said. The problem?He couldn't focus.
Jack threw the guava seed across the camp, more out of habit than anything. This time though-it was more forceful.
"You know..."Sawyer said, walking up to him. "Throwin' seeds around...that don't solve much."
"How's your arm?"Jack asked, ignoring Saywer's sarcastic tone.
"It's been better...how are they?"
Jack thought he actually caught a glimpse of care in his eye, but realized it was only due to Kate.
It should have worried him, but thinking back to what she said, he smiled.
"Claire might be well enough to come out for a while tomorrow.The rest...well...They're sick, Sawyer.You can't expect them to just magically get better."
"Didn't say that. All I asked was how they were.Not just Freckles."
Jack laughed, sighing.
"Why are you out here, anyway, Doc?Cabin Fever got to ya?"
"Actually...yes.But I'm heading back in a few hours.Until then...I'm out here.Doing...Nothing."He said, realizing how crazy it would make him-just waiting.
Locke walked up to them. "Jack..."
'Yeah?"
''That transmitter?Apparently, Sayid's been working on it.He wants a group to go up and try it again."
"We've been through that already.The only wave we can get is coming from around here...the one from the island."Jack said, discouraged.
"Well-I'm not sure what he did. He swears he fixed the button...the one that broke when...''Locke stopped, watching the sensitivity in Jack's eyes. He'd barely been away from Kate for more than a few hours, and he already missed her.
"Okay.When are they going?"
"Now.Are you comin' or not?"
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Kate woke up again, coughing. For a split second, she felt surrounded by smoke, like something was holding her back.
"No!"She cried. "Help...please."
Charlie jumped up from his place across the room. "Kate!Kate, are you alright?"
"Yeah I'm fine.I'm..."She broke out coughing again.
Charlie felt her head, her temperature had obviously risen. "Okay...Um...Jack said to give you one of these if this happened..."He said, reaching for a vial.
"No.No...i'm fi-"Kate lifted her head, turning a shade of red.
"Okay.Just...drink.Water..."Charlie said, clearly nervous. "Drink the water, Kate..."
She breathed in deep, gripping the sides of the bed. "Where's Jack?"
"He's outside, I believe."
The water seemed to help a little, it slowed her coughing atleast. It wasn't until then did Charlie see the rash that had formed around her neck. "Bloody..."
"What?"
"Nothing...I...I'm going to go and...get Sun.I'll be-"
"No, Charlie...you can't leave.You can't..."Kate began coughing again, more like wheezing this time.
"Kate-breathe. on-"Charlie felt desperate, knowing full well that Jack should be there.
After a few minutes of coaxing, Kate seemed to calm down. "Where's Jack?"She asked again, this time she seemed more vulnerable than anything.
Her voice seemed like that of a little child. She needed something, but she wasn't sure as of yet what it was.
"He's outside...I could have Sun find him if you want..."
"No.I-could you go get her?"Kate asked, suddenly feeling like she wanted him to leave.
"I guess I could."Charlie said. The man was claerly scared for her, for all of them-but he was clueless as far as anything other than the emotional side of caring.
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Charlie had left to go get Sun, and returned with her within several minutes. "I'll just-leave you guys alone."
"You wanted to see me?"Sun asked, standing near Kate's bed.
Forcing herself into a sitting position, Kate winced. "To be honest-I just wanted him out of the room.I know it sounds mean but he was making me feel more nervous than anything."
Sun laughed a little, sitting down. "I understand.How are you feeling?"
Kate smiled a little, shrugging. "As good as can be expected, I guess.If you had something to do-you don't have to stay..."
"No.It's quite fine."Sun said. "I'm going to go check on Libby and Shannon.Do you need anything?"
Kate shook her head, and Sun went to check on Libby and Shannon.
To the surprise of the both of them, Shannon was the healthier of the two. ''Hey-"She said, smiling.
"Do you feel any I have something to drink?"Shannon asked, trying to sit up.
Sun went, getting Shannon some of the supplies she had found. "Drink slowly...you do not want to flood yourself too fast." Taking the cup from her, she sat it on a table close to the bed. "I would let you sit up-but I don't know what Jack's intention's were-"
"Where is the doctor, anyway?"Libby spoke up from across the room.
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Charlie opened the door to Claire's room, smiling when he saw she was awake. "Hi."
"Hey.Jack let you come back?"
"No.I-well...he left.He's outside...I went.I saw Aaron-"
"How is he?"Claire asked, her face lighting up.
"He misses his mum."Charlie said, pulling a chair towards where she was laying.
"Jack said he's going to let me go outside for a little while tomorrow...do you think he'd want to see me?"
Charlie laughed a little, glad the mood had lightened. "Of course he would...I would have stayed with him but Hurley insisted I go back...he's actually making Aaron laugh. Not that he understands a word Hurley says but-"
"You left my baby with Hurley?"Claire asked, somewhat surprised.
"He's great with him, actually...Aaron's fine, Claire.Just...relax."
His words seemed to calm her a little, save for a slight look in her eyes. She seemed distracted, clearly from everything that had been happening.
"Charlie?"
"Yeah?"Charlie asked.
"How are they?Shannon and Kate, I mean.I feel bad...because well-how can I be getting better if they aren't?"
"They are, Claire.Kate well...she had a coughing fit earlier.But everything's fine.Listen-I'm going to go back out there...for a little while.If you need anything...just..."He smiled as he saw her. She looked happy this time.
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Several hours had passed, and Jack had returned to the camp. He, Sayid and Locke had found a signal, but it had faded away before anything could be found out. After another few failed tries, they had decided it would be best to quit for the day.
Jack was making his way back to the hatch when he was stopped by Ana."What do you want?"
"Have you seen Sawyer?"She asked.
"No.Why would I?"He said, seeming a little annoyed.
"I think he took somethin' of mine and I'd like to think that maybe I could get it back."
Jack laughed, shaking his head. "Have fun trying..."
"What is it?This thing between you two.You act like you're in high school fighting over the same girl the way you do."Ana said, her hand on her hip. "Whatever-have you seen him?"
"Last I saw, he was at the caves."Jack said before walking off.
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When he went inside the hatch, he wasn't surprised by the scene he found. Charlie sat on a couch nearby, scribbling something down in a book. Other than that, everything seemed still.
"Whatcha doing?"Jack asked, grabbing a bottle of water.
"Oh...they're lyrics."Charlie said, showing him the page.
"Oh."Jack said, not that interested.
"Not that anyone'll ever read them...or hear'em sung but..."Charlie sighed, staring at the doctor.
"To be honest...I'm surprised you stayed away as long as ya did.Something wrong?"
"Nope.Sayid kinda made me stay away."Jack said, laughing. He took a large swig from the bottle, twisting the cap back on. "Isn't it still your shift?"
Charlie looked up from what he was doing, nodding. "Kate kind of ushered me out...said she needed to talk to Sun. I've been out here ever since she had the episode-"
Jack laughed, shaking his head. "That's Kate for you, I guess.What do you mean episode?"
He watched the expression on Charlie's face change, obviously realizing he had slipped on something."
"Charlie?What happened to Kate?"
No answer came from Charlie. Rather, his eyes widened, as if clamoring for an excuse. ''It was nothing, Jack. There's nothing to worry about."
"Then why won't you tell me what happened?"Jack asked, seemingly not noticing how upset he was getting.
"She had a bloody cough attack, okay?She started coughing, her face getting red-I gave her something to drink and she was fine.She had a fever-but she's fine Jack."
"Why didn't you tell me?You could have sent someone to find me."
"The way you tore out of here?Jack, noone wanted to see you like that.It's not like you two are that into each other...I figured that it was nothing I couldn't handle.Kate's fine now.Shannon's getting better...and Libby can speak without coughing. She can move without pain.Jack-"Charlie stopped, watching the look on Jack's face.
"You should have found me...regardless.What if you couldn't solve it?What if it was something more, huh? You wouldn't have known what to do.Kate could have been..."Jack stopped himself, begging himself to calm down.
"I'm sorry, Charlie..I just-"
Charlie saw the man-saw how clearly shaken he was. "You do love her, don't you?Jack-I apoligize for not coming to find you.I But you've got to stay calm.You have to believe she'll get better."
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After calming down, Jack paced around the hatch. Should he go in? Should he talk to her? Or should he try avoiding that area, unless it was his shift. He knew his started, in minutes actually.
But remembering that last words she said. "I love you, too"-He kept asking himself if she meant it.
Had what she said been medicine induced? The way he went off on Charlie, he knew he shouldn't have.
But he loved Kate. As much as he'd spent trying to hide it-Jack truly loved Kate. Hearing the door to the room she was in open, he saw Sun step out into the hallway.
"Jack?Kate asked to see you. Since it is your shift now-I figured you would go in."
"Thank You.Um-were there any problems?With the other two patients?'
"No.Claire is doing better as well.Getting excited about going outside tomorrow, too."Sun said, seeming to understand.
Jack nodded, heading into the sick room. He saw her, felt her staring at him.
"Jack?"She asked, in a sitting position.
He shut the door behind him,heard in click shut. "Yes?"
She bit her lip, knowing it wasn't something she could avoid. "Can we-Can we talk?"
"Sure."He said, pretending he didn't know what about.
"What I said-I meant it, you know."
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I know that wasn't jam-packed with Jate or anything.But the next chapter should be them talking and stuff like that. I wanted to include a PB&J scene in here...I think it worked fine the way it did. Also, I'm probably going to include a Shayid scene soon (because I miss them)...but yeah...Jack and Kate are just getting to the point where they're comfortable with everything...
Thanks for reading. Now...click the purple button-let me know what ya think!