Chapter 22
Abbassamento
"Ah. So you're just going to sink your way off the island. Sayid would be proud."
Maybe she was going crazy. Or maybe the island was just trying to make her feel like she was. Kate didn't know. Something was going on though. It wasn't normal to be seeing things and then having them disappear before they could be found out to be real or not. She had a feeling that none of what she was seeing was real, but for some reason, seeing it still scared her. She just couldn't seem to convince herself that it was fake, even though somehow, she knew it was.
With a deep sigh, she ran her hand through her hair, listening to the rain slowly stop. She had a feeling she wouldn't be going outside though, rain or no rain. There was really no point in it. There was nothing out there she needed. She would have loved to 'sink' for awhile, but could she be sure that if she went out there nothing would get her?
Standing up, she grabbed Vincent's leash. "I think we'll be fine for at least a few minutes." she told him, slowly heading outside. She stopped right outside of her tent and nervously looked around, making sure no one or nothing was out there. Everything seemed to be fine.
Bare feet made footprints in the soft wet sand on their way to the water's edge. Waves crashed in hard on the shore, still strong from the recent storm. She wasn't going out too far though. Stopping a bit away from where they were crashing down, she let the water wash over her feet and take the sand out from under them, making her sink.
She closed her eyes and crossed her arms, just thinking. Thinking about everything. Sinking seemed to calm her enough to give her time to clear her mind. She felt no need to be running around when she was sinking. Maybe if she could clear her mind, then she wouldn't be hallucinating anymore. Her thoughts began to drift, flashing back to a good memory she had with Jack.
The steady sound of the waves was peaceful and calming, seeming to take all of her cares for the day with them as they washed back out into the ocean. She had no idea how long she had been standing where she was, or how long Jack had been behind her watching her. It had been a stressful morning though and she felt that she deserved at least part of the afternoon to just stand still and relax.
He obviously felt the same way, since he had been standing there staring at her.
"Sinking again?" Jack asked finally, taking a few steps towards her, watching her curiously.
Kate opened her eyes, slightly shocked that he was there. She turned her head, smiling slightly and nodded. "Mmhmm." she replied. "It kinda helps with the stress." She shrugged slightly, expecting him to just laugh at her.
Jack looked at her, then nodded slightly. He sat down on the sand and began to take his shoes off. "Mind if I join you?" he asked her. "I've never done this before. It looks more hard than relaxing."
Kate smiled at him. "It's not that hard." she told him. She watched him take his shoes off, then reached for his hand when he began to stand.
Jack stood up. He looked at her hand and blinked a few times, then took it in his own. "So…you just stand here?" he asked her, moving forward slightly.
"Yup." Kate told him, nodding her head. "You have to close your eyes too." She turned to face the ocean again and shut her eyes, letting the water rush up over her feet.
Jack also closed his eyes, letting the water come up. So far so good. It was when it went out he began to have a problem. The earth seemed to move and he seemed to be standing still. Quite suddenly, he simply fell over.
Kate squealed when he fell over, falling over on top of him. A large wave came and washed over them, sending them a bit further up the beach. She coughed slightly, then looked down at Jack, a smirk spreading across her lips. "Nice one."
Jack blinked a few times, then chuckled. "Sorry." he said, moving to get up, but then realizing he couldn't since she was on top of him.
Kate paused a moment, then got up off of him. She smiled slightly and held her hand down to help him up. "Promise not to make me fall this time?" she teased.
Jack laughed. "I don't think I can make that promise." he told her, standing up. "How do you just stand there without falling over?" he asked her.
Kate smiled. "Come here." she said. She kept a hold of his hand and pulled him back to where the had been standing. "You have to pretend that you're moving with everything." she told him. "Close your eyes."
Jack looked at her unsurely for a moment, then turned slightly and closed his eyes.
Kate smiled and watched him. "And now think of something." she told him. She too closed her eyes, keeping a hold of his hand. She was thinking of him, but she didn't know that he was also thinking of her too.
Kate opened her eyes, looking down slightly. She pulled her feet out of the hole that they had made and let the water wash the sand off of them, though there was really no point since they would just get even more sandy as she walked back to her shelter.
Sinking really seemed to have help calm her. Even if she had been thinking of Jack, and it made her miss him even more. "Come on." she said to Vincent, not feeling quite as stupid as she had before about simply talking to a dog like it was going to listen and understand her. After all, at least she wasn't talking to a rock or something. At least she had something that was alive that she could talk to. She didn't think she could stand not talking at all.
Vincent stood up, now soaked with water, though he didn't seem to mind. It was hot out anyway. He began to follow Kate as she headed back to her tent.
Kate slowly made her way back to her tent, the hot sun beating down on her, making her feel even more warm than she already was. She knew she shouldn't take any more medicine, since she had just recently took some. She pushed the tarp tent flap away then walked inside her tent, the shade making it a little bit better.
Jack would have been taking care of her if he was here, she knew it. Right now he probably would have been holding her and doing everything in his power to make her feel better. That's what he had done before. And even when there was nothing to make her feel better with, he still held her, even as she slept, just as he had done back when they had been with Them.
Going to the caves and getting help had not been one of the things she had wanted to do. But her fever was getting higher and Sawyer had told her that if she didn't go, then he was going to pick her up and carry her there. So there she was, on her way to the caves to get help.
The flu had been going around. A number of the castaways had had it over the last few days. It only seemed to be a twenty-four hour bug, but it really took a lot out of you.
The warm sun seemed to heat up everything, even though the shade of the trees seemed to be never ending. If only she could just find a cool place and lie down and just go to sleep until she was completely better. That seemed so much better than going to the caves and having Jack be all worried about her and probably have her load up on medicine and such. She didn't want to waste their supplies, just because she was a bit sick. Okay. So maybe she was more than just a bit sick. But she still thought going to Jack was completely pointless.
The air didn't seem to get any cooler, even as she headed inside the caves. Normally it was freezing there to her, but it was just as hot in there as it was under the sun right now, in her opinion. She had no idea where Jack was, and wondered if she could get away with leaving before he spotted her. Then she could just go back to the beach and tell Sawyer that she had went to the caves, but couldn't find Jack.
Jack watched her curiously from in his cave, wondering what she was doing. Normally she never came to the caves, and she looked a bit confused and out of it. Standing up, he headed into the main part of the caves. "Hey, Kate." he said, walking over to her. "You okay?"
Kate jumped slightly as he came up behind her, then turned around, blinking a few times. "Yeah. Yeah. I'm fine." she told him, trying to sound normal. "I just um…came to get some more water." She forced a smile.
Jack nodded his head slightly. "Well…The water is over there." he said, pointing. "And I don't see why you ran all the way to the caves. I just took some more water to the beach about an hour ago."
"Oh." Kate replied, chancing a laugh which came out really nervous. "I um…I didn't check for water there." she said.
Jack nodded slowly, studying her face. "Are you alright?" he asked her. "You look really flushed."
"I'm fine." Kate replied quickly, even though it was a complete lie. She felt like she could just curl up and die right now. Everything was aching, she was way too hot…
"Alright." Jack said, not believing her at all. "Something's going around. How about you let me have a look at you just to make sure you're not getting it?" he suggested.
"I have to go to the beach and do stuff." Kate replied, shaking her head. "I need pick some more fruit and stuff like that."
Jack sighed, not wanting to force her if she didn't want to get some medicine. "Alright." he said. "I'll be here if you need me though."
Kate smiled slightly. "Thanks." she said, then turned walked out, frowning to herself. Why did she have to be so stubborn? Would help have really been that bad? At least she would have felt better.
Jack had worried about her all day. He had eventually told Charlie to go watch her and make sure that she was okay, which he did.
Things had been fine for most of the rest of the day. Charlie occasionally sent other people back to the caves to report to him how Kate was doing and such. It wasn't until it was dark out and Jack was just getting ready to go to bed until Charlie rushed into the caves out of breath. "Jack., you gotta go to the beach."
Jack looked at him, frowning slightly. He put his pajamas back down. "Why?" he asked. "What happened?"
"I don't know." Charlie told him. "She…she…was just walkin' and then she collapsed to her knees outside her tent. She got sick and now she ain't even bothering to try and get up."
Jack's frown grew. Without another word, he turned and headed quickly to the beach. Why hadn't he just helped her earlier? Forcing her would have been better than letting her suffer and then having to run and get her. He paused when he got to the beach and glanced towards her shelter. Great. She'd gone inside. Now he was going to have to convince her to let him in so he could help. He rubbed his forehead and walked over to her tent, knocking gently on the tent flap. "Kate." he said softly.
There was no reply.
Jack sighed. He pulled the tent flap and walked in, finding her sitting on the floor, hugging her knees. He sighed and knelt down beside her, placing his hand on her forehead. "Come on, Kate. Let me take you to the caves." he said, putting on hand around her and one under her knees, picking her up.
Kate didn't refuse. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, letting him pick her up and carry her toward the caves. She felt horrible. Absolutely horrible. Her chin trembled slightly and a few tears leaked onto his shirt as she buried her face in his shoulder.
Jack rubbed her back gently, trying to comfort her. "Shh." he soothed, glancing at her. "We're almost there." He leaned his head against hers, holding her close. He had a feeling that in the morning she'd pretend that she hadn't even been sick, but for now, he was going to take care of her.
Kate sniffled, keeping a tight hold on his shirt. She too knew that in the morning she would pretend like this never happen and get on with her normal life, but for now, she was going to let him take care of her.
Jack carried her into the caves and back to the infirmary, placing her on the cot there. He waited for her to leave go, then grabbed his bag, searching through it. He pulled out a thermometer, then looked up to see her staring at it in disgust. "Don't worry." he said. "I sterilized it and I haven't even used it on anyone yet." He waited a moment, then turned it on and handed it to her.
Kate stared at it a moment, then put it in her mouth, watching him as he continued to go through his bag.
Jack gave her a comforting smile, then pulled a bottle of medicine out of his bag. He put it down and took the thermometer from her when it beeped. Looking at it, he frowned. She had a fever of 103."Here. This'll bring your fever down." he told her, taking a pill from the bottle and handing it to her. He handed her a bottle of water also. "I'll be right back." Turning, he headed out of the infirmary.
Kate took the pill and drank some of the water, then slowly lied down on the cot. She hoped he didn't send her back to her tent, because she really didn't feel like she could move. Not bothering to see where Jack went, she shut her eyes, sighing to herself.
Jack came back in a few moments later, carrying a bowl that was filled with cold water from the stream. He took a piece of cloth and soaked it in the water, then rang it out and lied it on Kate's forehead.
Kate slowly stopped shivering and opened her eyes, glancing at him. She shifted slightly closer to him, making it a bit harder for him to hold the cloth to her cheeks and forehead.
"Here." Jack said. He sat her up and sat down behind her, shifting so she could rest her head on his lap. He continued to try to cool her down, also trying to comfort her.
Kate groaned smally and rolled onto her side, resting her head on his leg. She closed her eyes, moving closer to him, beginning to drift off.
Jack watched her, placing his free hand on her back and rubbing it gently. "Night, Kate." he whispered. When he was sure she was asleep, he knelt down and kissed her cheek, then moved so her was lying beside her.
The next morning, Kate woke up early, feeling a lot better than she had the night before. She looked to find herself in Jack's arms and smiled smally to herself. She made sure he was asleep, then kissed his cheek. "Morning, Jack." she whispered. Getting up, she left to head back to the beach.