Chapter 3: Maternity Leave

Disclaimer: I don't own LOST

A/N: ok this might run a little long because Kate is in this episode a lot.

Claire was yelling and the baby was crying. She ran over there to see what had happened.

Kate saw that Danielle was there.

"Hey! Hey! What are you doing here? Get away from Claire! Get out of our camp!" Kate yelled at her and Danielle gave Claire one last look before she left.

"Are you ok Claire? What did she say?" Kate asked Claire. Claire looked like she was in a daze.

"She said there was something wrong with Aaron." Claire said.

"Do you think she's right?" Kate asked her.

"I don't know what to think. There is obviously something wrong with Aaron but Danielle is saying that it is because of the others. Jack is coming to check on Aaron." Claire said.

"Well I suppose something could have happened. But I am sure everything is fine. It's good that Jack is coming. I am going to go get some water and I'll be back." Kate smiled comfortingly at Claire and walked away. She wanted to know what Jack was going to say but she didn't want to be with Claire when Jack was there. So she leaned against a tree not too far from Claire tent so she could hear the conversation when Jack came.

"Hi Claire. Locke told me that the baby isn't doing well?" Jack asked Claire. He set his backpack down and sat down across from Claire. He motioned for Claire to give him the baby.

" I really appreciate you coming down here in the middle of the night." Claire said.

"No problem." Jack smiled.

"It's just not like him. He usually always sleeps though the night and there's this rash too." Claire said.

"Babies get sick Claire." Jack replied as he continued to examine Aaron.

"But he has a fever and a cough." Claire said.

"Perfectly normal." Jack said.

"He hasn't been eating at all." Claire said.

"Claire, The baby is fine. It's probably just a small virus that is typical for children this age. The rash is a sign of it."

"What if it's not? What if it is something really bad, like an infection?

"Infection? Where'd you get that idea?" Jack asked.

Kate had been watching the scene unfold. Jack was so good at this. But Jack needed to know about Rousseau.

"Rousseau was here." Kate told Jack. She came forward. She watched for his reaction. Jack turned to Claire, completely ignoring Kate. "What did she say to you?"

"She said that she knew he was infected." Claire replied.

She knew that Jack was trying to calm Claire down, but couldn't he at least have acknowledged her presence?

"There's no infection Claire. No one else has gotten sick have they? Just let this fever run its course. Everything will be ok. I'll come back in a few hours and check on him again. Okay?" Jack asked.

"Okay." Claire nodded but Kate could tell that she didn't think it was ok.

Kate watched Jack leave then she sat down where Jack had sat.

"Hey I'm sure if something was wrong Jack would know." Kate said comfortingly.

"I know. But what if he's wrong? What if there really is something wrong."

"There's isn't. " Kate said firmly. "Do you want me to stay with you to help you with Aaron?"

"I would love that but it's not necessary. I can take care of him." Claire said.

"Ok. If you need me for anything, come get me." Kate said, and she left.

Kate walked to her tent and sat down. She wasn't sure if she was going to sleep. Jack was still mad at her for sure. Or maybe Jack was just preoccupied with thoughts of the hatch and the guns. But she knew it wasn't just that. She really missed talking to him. He always had such good advice. Kate lay down to sleep and after a while, she did fall asleep.

The next morning, Kate wrote in her diary.

Dear Jack,

I am starting to have this idea that you don't want to talk to me, that you want nothing to do with me. I hope that is not the case, because I really miss you. I tried last night. I said something and you didn't even acknowledge me. Maybe it was because you were trying to keep Claire calm, but I feel otherwise. Maybe I am supposed to move on? Did you move on? Maybe you did…

Kate.

Thinking that last thought, that Jack had moved on and didn't want anything to do with Kate, made her angry. It made her want to do something that would make Jack mad. But what? She couldn't' think of anything. So she decided to put everything she had into the people around her. And Claire needed her right now.

Kate walked to Claire's tent. Claire was sitting with Aaron, who was crying. Claire looked like she hadn't slept.

"Hey Claire, how is Aaron?' Kate asked sitting next to Claire.

"He's doing about the same." Claire seemed frantic. " I need to get a vaccine for him!"

"Claire, he is not infected. Did Jack come back during the night?"

"Yes he did and he said that the baby seemed to be doing a bit better but Kate, mothers know these things. He's not well."

"When has Jack been wrong about this sort of thing?" Kate asked her.

"When Ethan came and tried to kidnap me and Jack thought it was just apart of the pregnancy and then the next day Ethan took me and Charlie." Claire said.

Kate sighed. Good going Kate.. good going. She thought to herself.

"Ok yes Jack thought it was apart of the pregnancy. But as soon as he learned you were gone, he went looking for you and didn't stop until we found Charlie."

"If Jack had listened to me, then none of this would have ever happened and Aaron would probably be ok."

"Claire, don't blame Jack for this. Aaron is not infected. Jack felt bad for weeks for thinking that you were hallucinating." Kate couldn't believe herself. She was sticking up for someone that hated her at that moment.

"I know it wasn't Jack's fault." Claire seemed to calm down a bit. "I just want to blame someone you know? I just wish I could remember what happened then I would know what to do."

"You really think he is infected huh?" Kate asked her

"Yes I do."

Kate sighed. "Ok. Then I believe you. I will help you whatever way I can."

"Let's go to Libby." Claire said.

"Libby?" Kate asked.

"Yeah. She said she was a psychologist." Claire said.

Kate and Claire went to talk to Libby.

"Are you sure about this? We don't really know her." Kate said.

"I think she can help me." Claire said.

Libby and Hurley were by the ocean talking.

"So you're a shrink right?" Claire asked.

"Um I'm a psychologist but shrink works too."

"Ok good. Can you help people remember things?"

"It depends on what you need to remember."

Claire then told Libby all about what had happened before she had been kidnapped.

"Claire, I don't think that your memories are gone, I think you are blocking them." Libby said after Claire finished talking.

"Then I need you to unblock them. There is something wrong with my baby and they did something to him." Claire said.

Kate's heart sunk. Claire was willing to do anything to keep her baby safe and Kate couldn't blame her.

"Ok." Libby nodded. Libby looked at Kate. "Kate we are going to go over there into the jungle for a while and talk. Could you stay here with the baby?"

"Sure." Kate said and took Aaron from Claire.

They walked into the jungle and sat talking.

"Hey Aaron. How are you? I hope that we can get you to feeling better soon." Kate smiled at him.

Aaron was still crying. He hadn't stopped all night.

"You know, I used to want a baby. I almost had one too, But it didn't work out." Kate said, and she stared out onto the ocean. Pain ripped through her heart as she thought of the memory.

Suddenly she heard Claire screaming. She ran to find her.

"It was Ethan. I saw him!"

Libby was trying to comfort her. "Claire, it's ok."

"No it's not! "

"What happened?" Kate asked.

"I don't know." Libby said.

'What did you do!" Kate asked.

"Nothing." Libby said.

"Do it again!" Claire yelled at her.

"No Claire, you were screaming. "Libby said

"I remembered! I saw Ethan and he was giving me a exam!" Claire said. "I was drugged and he did something for me."

"Claire, you need to come down. It's not good for Aaron." Kate said.

Claire took Aaron from Kate. "You know what, Aaron is sick and I need to find that place It is real. There's medicine for Aaron. I need to find it. Kate, please help me find it." Claire looked at Kate with pleading eyes.

Kate looked back at Claire. "You're going with or without me huh?"

"Yes" Claire said.

"Ok. Give me ten minutes to get ready. Get your stuff and get Sun to watch Aaron." Kate said.

"Thanks Kate!" Claire said, and with that she was off.

Kate sighed. She would need a gun for protection, which meant she had to go to one person. Sawyer. The man she loved to despise. Wait, did she just say that? Yes she did.

Kate walked over to him before she changed her mind.

"I need a gun. And you don't get to ask why." Kate said.

Sawyer looked up from his book. "Well, Thelma, seeing as I got all the guns, I do get to ask why."

Thelma… nice.. "No. You don't."

"Yes I do. Watch. Why?"

Kate rolled her eyes. She should have known he would have been like this. "Just give me a gun Sawyer."

"Look at this, I found a new paira glasses, you like them?"

"Ok look. I'm going into the jungle to look for Rousseau."

"The French Chick? Why?"

"The baby is sick and Claire thinks she knows where some medicine might be."

"I got medicines."

Wait, was Sawyer actually acting compassionate? It seemed when it came to babies that Sawyer seemed nicer. Kate would love to see him as a father but she wasn't sure she'd want him to be the father of her children, if she ever had children.

Stop thinking that way. She chided herself. What was with her and thinking about children lately, especially with Sawyer of all people.

"She thinks he's really sick, as in quarantine sick." Kate said.

"Well what do you think?"

"I think that she's a little too worried but she's going with or without me."

"No boys allowed huh? Ok what do you want, nine millimeter or rifle?"

Kate smiled. Now he was talking her language. "Nine millimeter. It would be hard to carry a rifle."

"Ok then." And Sawyer magically pulled one out of his jeans and gave it to her, but not before pulling it away again. "You promise to give it back?"

"No." Kate said, and he gave it to her.

"Fine then. " he muttered. " I see how it is."

She gave him a small smile and walked away to where Claire was with Sun.

"You ready to go Claire?" Kate asked her.

"Aaron, I have to go now. Don't cry. Shhhh. I'll be back really soon and I'm gonna make you all better. Okay?"

"Are you ok?" Kate asked her as they left.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Claire said.

They walked through the jungle in silence for a while, and Kate concentrated on looking for signs of Danielle. She wanted to do something to make Jack angry, and she was doing it. She knew he would be mad that they had gone out with only telling a couple of people. That is, if he still cared about her.

"What do you know about Rousseau?" Claire broke the silence.

"Not much." Kate replied.

"You spent all that time with her when you went to the Black Rock. You must have talked about something." Claire said.

"Her ship crashed here. Her and her research team were stranded here." Kate said.

"What happened to the rest of her team?" Claire asked.

"They died."

"How?"

Kate was not going to tell her how. Claire probably wouldn't like it very much. "Tracks are gone. Trail ends here."

"Kate." Claire looked at Kate in the eye." How did they die?"

"She killed them." Kate gave in.

"What?" Why would-?" Claire was interrupted.

"Because they were infected. You believe me now don't you?" Danielle appeared.

The next couple of hours were very eventful. Danielle took them to the spot where Claire had scratched her and then they had found another hatch. It had been very interesting and Kate hadn't really had a chance to comprehend it yet. Claire and Kate were now walking back to camp. Danielle had left a little earlier.

"So what do you make of all this?" Kate asked Claire, wanting to break the silence.

"I'm not sure. Right now I am concerned about Aaron." Claire replied

"Danielle wanted me to kill her. Before, when we were walking in the jungle and she was shaking you. I pulled out my gun and you went ahead. She asked me to shoot her. Of course Iwouldn't do that. But it was so… I can't even explain it."

"Well Danielle is insane. She just told me to kill Aaron if he was infected!" Claire said.

"Yeah I know. I do feel bad for her though. I mean she's been here with no one to talk to for sixteen years! " Kate said.

"Yeah. I'm just concerned about Aaron right now. I hope Jack is at the beach when we get back so I can ask him to check on Aaron." Claire said.

Without realizing it Kate rolled her eyes. Can there be one conversation she can have without it coming to Jack.

"Well if he's not there he is probably at the hatch and I can go get him." Kate couldn't believe she had said that. As they made their way to the beach Kate was desperately hoping Jack was already there so she wouldn't have to get him.

Sure enough, he was at the beach.

"Ok Claire. Let me know what Jack says about Aaron. I'm going to go put my stuff in my tent." Kate said as they parted ways.

Kate walked towards her tent and put her bag in the tent, as she left the tent Sawyer walked by.

"So you finally came back huh?" Sawyer said

"Yeah."

"Did you find anything?" Sawyer asked.

"Nope."

'Well what happened?"

"Nothing Sawyer. I am tired ok?" Kate was still mad at him for what he had done.

"Well can I have the gun back?"

"No Sawyer." And Kate walked off. She saw that Jack had left and Claire was alone so she wanted to see how Aaron was doing.

"How is he?" Kate asked Claire.

"Jack says he is doing much better." Claire seemed really happy.

"Oh that's wonderful Claire."

"Yeah I know. You told me so." Claire smiled.

"I wasn't going to say that Claire." Kate smiled back. "How was Jack? "

"Jack?" Claire was confused.

"Well I haven't talked to him in a while so I was just wondering."

"Well he seemed really distracted."

"Oh yeah?" Kate said. "I think there's something going on in the hatch. I really should go down there and see what's going on but .." Kate trailed off.

"What happened Kate?"

"What do you mean?"

"Between you and Jack. The last week or so you haven't talked at all."

"Yeah we have.' Kate looked away.

"Kate you can tell me you know." Claire seemed to be a bit hurt.

"I know. I just don't want to talk about it." Kate said.

"Yea okay." Claire said.

Kate felt bad but she really didn't want to talk about it.

The rest of the night was uneventful. Kate went to sleep early because the day had been very eventful. She wasn't sure if she should tell people what had happened and what they had found. It probably was important to tell people, but she just didn't want to.

A/N: Well I tried to shorten it by not having the whole going into the hatch thing but it still turned out long. Well please review!