CHAPTER 19
As Jack entered the cave adjacent to Sawyer's to check on Locke he was startled to see John up and pacing restlessly. Although relieved that Locke was now evidently on the road to recovery he was still alarmed to notice just how pale he still looked, even in the dull light of the caves. At that moment Locke glanced up at him and smiled, but to Jack's trained eyes there seemed to be something different about John tonight – as though there was something he was trying to hide.
"Hey John." Jack greeted him, slightly uneasy about the fact that there was something not quite right about the older man this evening. "How do you feel?"
"Better." Locke nodded. "Thank You."
"Mind if I take a look at you?" Jack asked.
Locke shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head as an indication that he did not object.
"Just lay down here a sec." Jack said indicating an area of the cave floor that was free of loose boulders and rocks, before helping Locke to lie down, grabbing a small blanket from the bed that he had hastily made up for him the evening he had first brought him back to the caves, rolling it up into a tight ball and placing it under Locke's head to try and make him more comfortable. "There." He said.
Locke simply smiled as he lay back, lifting up his t-shirt to just above his abdomen. Jack guessed that he had simply grown accustomed to the whole process of examination by now, despite the fact that he had left him very much to himself over the past couple of days.
As Jack applied pressure to Locke's stomach he immediately felt his abdominal muscles tense below his fingers, as though the pressure caused him pain, but as he looked up there was no pain registered on Locke face.
"Does that hurt?" Jack asked.
"No… just feels a little uncomfortable." Locke strained.
Jack gave him a wavering look before offering a vague nod of acceptance and replacing his t-shirt before turning his attention to his leg.
He removed the dressings carefully in an attempt not to irritate any inflamed and sensitive areas that still may exist around the wound. Locke winced as Jack tugged gently at the final layer of gauze, which had become stuck to the flesh in a sticky mess of blood and infection – but to his relief as it was finally pulled away and Jack began to clean the wound with water, rubbing it down gingerly with a strip of clean cloth, the healthy pink tinge of the flesh below was revealed.
"Well it looks like we can finally remove your stitches." Jack smiled. "It shouldn't take very long." He assured him as he removed a small pair of sewing scissors from his rucksack and began to carefully cut away at the thread. Locke made a sharp intake of breath as the first of the stitches were gently pulled from the wound, but the process didn't seem to cause him too much discomfort. "I'm going to bandage your leg again just for tonight." Jack explained when he'd finally finished as he started binding the laceration. "I'm afraid the puncture was pretty deep so your leg will be pretty sore for a while still… Do you fancy a walk?" He asked as in an afterthought. "It might do you some good after so many days confined to bed, and I want to take a look at how you walk."
"I thought you'd never ask." Locke smiled.
