Missing Dimples-Part 2
Hey. I hope you guys like this. I promise, Sawyer WILL be in this, just not in awhile. I know it's different than the show, but this is 'What if...' fics, and I had this idea and ran with it. Please review...but I know my characters are sort of out of character. I tried to keep them in character, even though they are friends with Sawyer.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kate slowly woke up with a voice screaming in her head, her whole body aching in protest. The sun was just coming up, and she idly wondered what had woken her up. Then, a shriek echoed down the beach, waking everyone else up. Looking over, she saw Sun running down to the waves, crying hysterically. Kate was disoriented, not sure what was going on. Then her sharp green eyes took in the morning.
Everything was normal except the water. The usually crystal blue water was tinged with red, soaking the shoreline, and the surrounding shallow water. Her stomach fell, as she quickly got to her feet and made her way to Sun, fearing the worst. Many curiously followed, keeping some distance between the sobbing Korean woman and a red figure in her arms. Wait...figure!
She started to run, as did Sayid and Jack from behind her. They got there, watching as Sun rocked Jin's unconscious and bloodied body back and forth, whispering something in Korean, and saying "I'm sorry" in English. Jack pried him out of her grasp, as Sayid held Sun, who was still muttering incoherently. Kate scanned the ocean for any other bodies, but none appeared. She bit her lip, wondering about Michael and Walt...and especially Sawyer. She turned her head back to Jack, who was checking Jin. Sun had stopped crying, just staring ahead without blinking.
Jack nodded, standing up, and wiping blood off his hands and onto his pants. He nodded at Sayid, who carefully picked Jin's body up, and started carrying him to shore. The people there were scurrying around, finding towels, water, and a place to put him down. Jack knelt beside Sun, who still stared out at nothing, not acknowledging his presence. "Sun?" she heard Jack ask, but the other woman didn't move, or even look in his direction. Kate walked up to him, putting her hand on Sun's silky black hair, trying to sooth her and herself. "Is she in shock?" Jack shrugged, half nodding, and said, "Kind of." Kate tilted her head to one side, surprised by his answer, that seemed so vague.
"Is Jin going to be alright!" she asked, trying to keep the fear and panic from her voice. Jack nodded, grabbing Sun by her armpits and heaving her up. "He'll be fine. He has a nasty wound on his leg, looks like from scrapping up on something hard. It's not bad, and should heal soon. He banged his head, which is what is making all of the blood. It's not as bad as it looks." He lightly led Sun out of the water, who followed him wordlessly.
As Jin rested and Sun sat at his side and stared out into space or a memory, the camp went back to strained life. Every few seconds, someone would look out into the water, hoping to see another body float in, at the same time not wanting more hurt and pain. It was like yesterday, although much more urgent. It seemed like people were just trying to busy themselves to take their mind off of the raft, and the still missing people from it.
That night, hardly anyone got any sleep, especially Jack and Sun, who stayed by Jin's side all night long.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kate woke up, scanning the horizon and water. No blood red stained waves, no burning wood air. Everything seemed normal as it could get on the island. She picked herself up, and went to go talk to Sayid, who was keeping watch nearby.
"Did I miss anything!" she asked, watching as people slept.
Sayid shook his head, looking up at her with sad eyes. "Nothing since yesterday. It was a quiet night. The only thing is that Jin should be waking up today." Kate nodded her thanks, and made her way to where Jack was keeping his 'ward' on the beach, in the safety of the trees nearby.
Sun was clutching Jin's hand tightly, as if she let go, he would disappear again. Jack looked up, bags under his eyes, and gave her a tiny, worn out smile. "Hey," she said, plopping down next to him.
"Hey."
Kate looked over at Sun, then said under her breath to Jack, "Has she said anything?". Jack shook his head, looking down. She could tell his need to fix was in over-drive. Just one of the differences between Jack and Sawyer. While Jack would try to help everyone, Sawyer would let things play out. That got her to thinking about Sawyer again, which she was doing a lot these days. How he was a gruff outlaw on the outside to everyone else, but if you go underneath all of the mask, you could see someone who wanted to protect you. Jack, it seemed, was the same on the inside as out. No surprise, no shock, no game to find out what's inside. The fun of 'knowing him' didn't hold the same sway as it did with Sawyer.
She opened her mouth, not really sure what she was going to say, when Jin let out a groan. In a flash, Sun was talking to him in her native language, while Jack was checking his pulse. Jin's eyes opened slowly, taking in his surroundings. Before he knew where he was, he yelped out. "Sawyer!" Jack locked eyes with Kate, as Sun tried to calm down the Korean who was trying desperately to get up. "Michael!"
Sun was telling him something, probably that Sawyer and Michael weren't here, but Jin kept shaking his eyes, and looking around wildly. After a few minutes of Sun soothing him, he finally calmed down enough to lay back down.
"How do you feel?" Jack asked, nodding at Sun to translate. Jin shrugged it off, practically whispering to Sun. "What's he saying?" Jack asked, trying to keep his doctor patience, but lacking at his bedside manner, as Sawyer had once put it. Kate cracked a smile at the thought of the time when Sawyer had been knocked down by a wave, and it was surprisingly Sayid who had saved him from drowning. Jack had been lecturing him about swimming in the strong current, when Sawyer snapped, and said, "I ain't your kid, Jack-o-lantern! I'm fine, and if you think a little push and some water has been the worst I've gone through, you're sadly mistaken."
Sun turned her large, puppy dog black eyes onto Jack, explaining what Jin was saying. "He says that a boat was coming towards the raft, so they fired the flare. When the boat came, the hillbilly people on it demanded that they give over Walt. The guys refused, so some of the hillbillies came on board the raft. Two were holding back Michael, while two were headed towards Walt. Sawyer tried to protect him, but one of Them pulled out a gun, and shot him in the upper arm. He fell into the water, so Jin dived in after him."
Kate felt her heart race quicken as Jin kept thrashing around on the bed, still trying to tell Sun. "He says that things are harder to remember after that. He heard Walt screaming for Michael, but he couldn't find Sawyer or Michael. The boat went back in the direction of the island, with Walt among them. Then, something heavy from the raft fell on him, and he blacked out."
Jack nodded, looking so serious and grave, as Jin tugged on Sun, trying to warn her of something.
"He says he has a feeling that they were The Others. The boat could only come from somewhere very close, like the island. We all thought that the whispers were talking about taking the baby boy, but he thinks they were talking about Walt."
Jin whispered something to Sun, which she lovingly said back, before he fell back on the rock-bed, worn out from telling his story. He slipped back into sleep, with Sun still by his side.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The next day, every one of the castaways watched the water, waiting for other bodies to wash up. Part of them wanted it, so they could know what happened to the person. But a part of them did not want to know that all hope was gone for them, if they washed up dead. The eyes constantly scanned the horizon, but only the sea water answered back to their silent pleas. Kate watched as the bottle full of the messages the survivors had put on the raft, floated back. That was the only thing.
Days went by, with people still looking at the ocean. Still, there was nothing. No small boy, no black father, no southern hunk with dimples. Slowly, some of the survivors stopped watching, and went back to watching the trees, or conversing among themselves. Jack was one of the first to give up hoping and watching. He went back to being the hero leader, healing people temporarily. Locke followed, thinking their disappearance was a sign from the island. A sign to go back to looking for a way into the Hatch, and hunting those 'disappearing' boars. Then it was Charlie, who hadn't really cared or gotten close to any of the missing castaways.
Kate could tell who really cared about the people still out there. Shannon and Vincent watched for Walt, while Sayid watched for his new-found friend, Sawyer. Claire and Aaron sat on the beach, waiting for him to come back and soothe them both. Once Jin was well enough to even sit up, he and Sun would sit on the beach, just like the others who hoped it wasn't the end for the three.
One day, Kate overheard Jin telling Sun something. It wouldn't have caught her attention, except for the anguished look on Jin's face, and the sympathetic gaze from Sun. They conversed in Korean a few more minutes, until Jin shrugged and got up.
Kate wasn't sure what to do, so she just stood there, patting her hair. Sun looked up at her with those eyes that held burdens, like most of the people here did. Everyone had a sad story to tell of their pasts, although most people didn't want to tell. And everyone had to face their fears on this island, at one time or another. Sun just couldn't put up an act of being fine. Her eyes showed the stress and worry of what had happened.
Kate sat down next to her, as they both watched Jin hobble over to where the water bottles were. "He feels guilty. He thinks he could have done something when he was there. He feels he abandoned them. Should have swam after the boat and Walt, or searched in the water more for Sawyer and Michael."
Kate's head looked up, as she let Sun's words filter through her head. "There was nothing more he could have done. He tried his best, and got hurt in the process. He couldn't have known, and it's too late now."
Sun nodded, "I know. He knows. Doesn't stop him from feeling guilty."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, hope you liked the Jin/Sun factor. I love them two. Guess what! Next chapter...Sawyer comes! Yay! What we've all been waiting for! And I swear, Sawyer is going to come in the next chapter, and I'm going to give him a LONG scene with Kate, with lots of explaining.