Chapter 26

Half an hour later Kate and Sayid stood in the mouth of Locke's cave as Jack paced restlessly. Time was getting on and Michael still hadn't arrived. Dark clouds were beginning to gather on the horizon, casting a gloomy shadow over the camp and signifying the approach of evening.

Sayid had seemed quiet and despondent all afternoon, and when Kate placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder he didn't even look at her – failing to acknowledge any gesture of comfort now offered to him.

"You're doing your best under the circumstances." She smiled.

Sayid hadn't said anything to Kate about his earlier conversation, but it hadn't taken much for her to put two and two together and come up with four. "She just needs time." She told him.

"Time won't make a difference." Sayid shook his head sadly. "She's lost someone she loved more than even she realised, no amount of time can't fix that. It only makes it easier. The pain only fades because it's a fact of life that time is a great killer of memories."

"I know." Kate sighed – nobody but Jack – who had stopped pacing for the moment – realised just how much Sayid's statement rang true to her. "But she needs space to find herself again, that's something you of all people should understand."

"Just make sure you don't lose yourself in the meantime." Jack's tone was grave as he approached the couple, a look of complete seriousness upon his face. "Shannon will get through this, you both will, and she's going to need you to be there for her when she finally realises just how much she needs you to."

He glanced briefly in Kate's direction, smiling affectionately.

Suddenly they heard a rusting in the bushes as someone made their way up the path from the beach.

All three turned to see Michael appear from behind a nearby tree.

"Where have you been? I told you half an hour." Jack asked angrily as he approached the young man. He recoiled slightly at the sound of his own voice – his tone coming out harsher than he had intended it to.

"I couldn't find Sun." Michael explained apologetically. "Charlie said something about her being out with Jin. I couldn't just leave Walt to fend for himself! I've had to leave him with Rose for now."

Jack nodded. Although it didn't seem so, in the midst of his anxiety to find Locke, he still understood that as a father Michael had different priorities.

Too much time had already been lost though, and there seemed little cause to waste it further through launching into a seemingly irresolvable conflict.

"We'd better get going then." He explained, glancing up at the sky as he did so, noticing the encroaching darkness as it veiled the normally brilliant blue of its tropical beauty. "Ready?" He asked, turning to Michael.

"As I'll ever be." Michael nodded.

"And you two?" Jack asked, turning to Sayid and Kate who both nodded in response.

A twitch of Jack's head was the only sign that he had registered their reply as he took lead of the small party, guiding them cautiously into the jungle. Not another word was spoken between them as all four remained vigilant for any sign of Locke, fearing that if they were to miss anything by the time they retraced their tracks it may already be too late.