They all just looked upon her as she collapsed to the floor, shivering and weeping. She stayed like that for almost ten minutes, and no one did a single thing to stop it. They all just watched.
But suddenly whatever strength she had inside her was now coming out as she was too wiping the tears away from her stained face and picking herself off the floor. But they all knew that wasn't going to last for long because her voice was still quivering. "Now…what are we going to do to get him out of there?"
"Kate I strongly advise you head upstairs now." Locke mentions.
"Whatever you are about to talk about, you can say in front of me DAMN IT!" She was too passionate about this so Locke then gives in. Knowing this is going to hurt her, but it's her choice to stay. He has to keep reminding himself of that.
"Alright." He sighs. "We should stay here for the night, three outside and two inside. Take shifts; watch to make sure he wakes up. We plan from there."
"And if he doesn't?" Damn it Charlie…let your mouth slip again.
"If he doesn't, we shouldn't risk our lives."
"A few of them saw." He pauses. "She saw." He says everything in a whisper.
"What!" Juliet exclaims.
Ben takes a moment to stroll over to Jack who is on the other side of the glass, he is unconscious and on the verge of death. He looks down at him with pity and slowly turns back towards Juliet. His eyes flicker towards the camera in the corner. He quietly responds to her outburst. "They don't know we can see them. They are in the video station."
Juliet takes a step back. "She saw the whole thing?"
"No…no…they replayed the tape for me and they got her out as soon as it started. But she came back in and saw the finished product."
"Oh my God." Juliet lets out in a long gasp.
"Oh so now you are showing emotion, when it was happening you sure seemed like a cold hearted bitch, just looking on, no movement or even a single flinch." He drones out. "Now go patch him up." He demands.
She politely nods and heads out the door. Ben stays behind just watching Jack.
"I'll stay first." Kate states. And no one argues.
"Alright has-been, we'll leave ya'll too it." Sawyer says patting Charlie on the back as Hurley, Locke and himself head towards the ladder.
"What? Why me?" A shocked Charlie asks. Nervous to stay around Kate he her state of despair.
"Because you were elected short-stuff, deal with it." Sawyer turns around to leave. Charlie quickly grabs his arm and yanks him close to his face so Kate can't hear. "I'm no good with women who are full of emotion and all that bullocks."
"Sucks to be you then, don't it!" Sawyer smarts as he hastens up the ladder.
He turns around in the dank room to find Kate staring at the screen. He goes up to her and places one hand on her shoulder causing her to flinch. She had been so deep in thought she wasn't expecting it. She doesn't even look towards him. She just keeps staring at the battered and bloody man before her. He walks away to explore this little hatch a bit more. "Get up." She whispers as her lips inch closer to the screen. Thinking that maybe if she gets close it will be easier for him to hear. She was willing to try anything at this point. "Damn it Jack get up." She demands. Her hands reach up towards the screen and stroke his damaged figure. "GET UP!" She pleads at the screen, her jaw is hurting because it is clenched so tight, but she could care less. He has to wake up, he needs to wake up. If he stops breathing so would she.
Suddenly there's a loud creaking noise. Kate watches as Juliet shuffles across the room and to Jacks side and kneels on the moist cold floor next to him. She gently pets through his cropped hair and Kate's gut sinks seeing this. Who the hell was this woman and why was she caressing Jacks hair, why did she kiss Jack earlier, and why did Jack kiss back? The last question on her brain really gnawed at her.
The woman brings over a bucket and a cloth and starts to affectionately wipe Jack's back clear of the blood that had soaked his skin. It slowly dripped waterlogged down his sides making a tingly feeling to pass through his skin; this caused him to stir a bit.
Kate watched on with hope, knowing he was still breathing. Juliet smiled down at him.
"Why Jack, why did you do it?" She asks plainly.
He groans, still out of it.
"Why were you willing to die for her, a criminal?"
Kate's ears clearly perk up at this as she gets even closer to the television. Charlie notices her movement. "Didn't your mother ever tell you it's not safe to sit that close to the tele?" He asks trying to lighten the mood, but not accomplishing it.
"He's waking up." She states and Charlie hastens around the chairs and stands next to an eager Kate.
"What's happening, what's going on?"
She flips her head to face Charlie, aggravation writing boldly across her features. "SHHHHH!" Her head immediately turns back towards the television.
"Jack? Jack are you going to answer my question?" She asks, knowing she has to keep talking to make him come out of the shock he was now in from the sheer pain. "Jack?"
He grumbles in pain.
Out of the corner of his eye Charlie watches as Kate's body starts to quake. Wishing he could just stop it, somehow. But the only way is if Jack were here, and safe.
"That's it, that's it Jack, just wake up, let me know you are okay." Kate urges him on.
Then Ben appears from no where, standing right in front of their view. "Why is he holding a bat?" Charlie questions.
"Please don't, please don't hurt him anymore…please." She implores Ben. Suddenly he faces the camera causing Kate to jump. He gives them a satanic smile as he raises the bat. Next thing they know, the camera is no longer in service.
"NO!" Kate screams. And soon enough all three guys who were positioned outside were down in the hole. She falls to the ground as Charlie and Sawyer rush to her side. "He…he woke up." Is all that can escape her mouth before there is a loud crashing outside.
Locke's eyes widen as he attempts to climb up the ladder. "LOCKE! What do you think you're doing?"
"I want to see it, I need to see it."
Sayid forcefully pulls him down. "You're not going anywhere." Sayid tells the bald adventurer.
But after enough tugging on Locke he decided to stay down with them, knowing next time he will get to see it. He is completely determined. "Fine, I'll stay." He said looking over towards Kate, pity overtaking him.
She hoped that any second she would awaken from this nightmare; that she would wake up, walk out of her tent, and see his silhouette sitting on the shore as the sun rose in the distance with all its glory. She would go and join him, sit close to take his smell in, the smell of guava and determination. She would pick his arm up and wrap it gently around her shoulders, not rushing, just taking him in. He wouldn't know where it came from but she doesn't think he would protest. She would sit there with him all day if she could, no getting up for anything. Even if she had to pee she would hold in just incase she would come back and he would be gone. She wouldn't let him out of her sight or even out of her reach, just incase the nightmares became a dreadful reality she so feared and he would be ripped away from her once more, causing her heart to stop beating.
"Will you answer me Jack?" Juliet asks as she places the soaking cloth on his back once more. This time his winces at the touch, which means he is finally about to fully regain consciousness. "Jack…Jack are you awake?" She asks louder.
He moans as his eyes start to flap open. "Why didn't…why didn't you kill me?" He manages to get out.
She looks down at him worried.
"You should have killed me." He states as a tear travels down the bridge of his nose, landing on the hard concrete. He slowly brings his left arm towards his face, wincing at the extreme pain that is flooding through his body during the movement, and brings it up to a large cut on his head and groans.
She sighs seeing his inner torment seem to seep out with the warm red liquid from his back. This whole ordeal had completely wounded him, inside and out.
"How do you feel?" She asked, but as soon as the words escaped her mouth she was hitting herself over the head for asking…that had to be the stupidest question anyone could ask in a situation like this.
He slightly chuckled, which soon turned into a fit of coughs causing the pain to intensify. "Just like I look." He says between coughs. He body contorts in anguish.
"I'm sorry." She says with what seems to Jack, little feeling.
"No you're not." He responds back drearily. He takes in his surroundings. He was still in the hydra but something seemed different. It was more muggy than usual and his table was gone. Wonderful. First he loses Kate to Sawyer, then his determination, then his will to live, and now they even took his fucking table away from him. What else were they going to do next, take his first born? Like he would ever have a first born, not now that he was locked in here bleeding, not even if he was still at camp. Because the only person he wanted a first born with was in love with someone else.
He let out a long exasperated sigh. Clenching his fist tight as the pain worked its way through his body. Luckily Juliet had come in and bandaged him up, otherwise he might have bled out and he would not be lying on this fucking cold floor with no table and no Kate. Wait, he takes that back. They both would still be a reality, only he would be dead. Life's just fucking peachy.
Juliet lifts herself up with her arms, having completed bandaging his wounds. She starts to walk towards the door. "I'll be back with your lunch in a few minutes. And in around two days you can come eat with everyone else if you are a good boy."
Jack sneers at her. "Wonderful."
The door slams, causing Jack to twitch slightly.
"Common, there is nothing else we can do here love." Charlie says grabbing Kate's arm and lightly tugs it towards the ladder.
She just nods and follows the slight pull. Everything seems to be a massive blur, and before she knows it she is waking up the following day in her tent. Maybe it was just a nightmare like she had hoped.
"Knock knock." A small voice comes from outside the tent.
"Yeah." Kate's voice comes out raspy.
Claire pulls the tarp aside and walks in, positioning herself next to Kate's make-shift bed.
"How are you? You seemed really out of it yesterday when you guys returned."
It wasn't a nightmare.
Shit. This can't be happening, that couldn't have happened to Jack, it just couldn't have.
Claire's hand drapes around Kate's. "Are you alright?" She asks with concern.
Then like lightening it replayed in her mind, even though she didn't see much, he mind imagined the rest showing the finished product, his bloodied body lying lifeless on the floor. And before she knew it tears were streaming down her face.
"Hunny, they need to know if you remember how far it took you to get where Jack was, when they brought you to him, they are going to try and get him out of there." Claire says with a huge sense of hope filling her voice.
"Um…I…I don't know, it was a ways. But I remember we went left from the area with the rocks. And we didn't change direction much, not many turns."
"Okay hunny, I'll go tell them." She gets up and dusts the sand off her pants.
"No, I will, it doesn't matter anyways, I'm going with." She says getting up.
"Um hunny I don't think that's such a good idea."
"I don't care, he needs me." She brushes past the short Aussie and crutches out of the tent to find the guys."
"Kate, stop." Claire calls out. Kate rolls her eyes but does as she is told.
"What?" She sighs out annoyed.
"It is not safe for you to go, plus..." Claire starts
Kate huffs and starts to walk off, only to be stopped by Claire's hand on her forearm.
"PLUS, you will only slow them down, wasting precious time they need to get to him." She says with force.
Kate hangs her head. "Damn it."
Claire smiles knowing she is right, gladly winning Kate over. "Good."
"Hey." Says Niki who is coming over towards the two.
"Yeah?"
"Um the guys were just wondering if you've asked her yet." She asks shoving her hands in her pockets.
"Yeah, yeah I have. I'll go inform them" Claire says walking off towards the group of guys gathered watching the three.
Niki is about to leave as well until she sees the completely distressed look on Kate's face. "Don't worry, we're going to get him back." She puts her hands on Kate's shoulders.
Kate doesn't even know this woman, but as soon as she has contact with her she falls into her arms and sobs. The woman known as Niki rubs her back soothingly. "It's alright, its okay. We're going to bring your boyfriend back."
"NIKI COME ON!" Paulo shouts towards the woman.
She backs away. "Just think, when we return he might be with us." She says looking into Kate's pained eyes. She locks eyes with Sun and nods for her to come over.
"Th…Thank you." Kate manages to stutter out as the woman releases her. "I have to go now, but just keep the faith."
Kate bites her lip and accomplishes a small nod. Soon an arm is wrapped around her shoulders, she looks over and sees a worried Sun looking down at her as Niki and the men leave. Kate leans her head on Suns shoulder as the two watch as the group disappear into the jungle.
"It's going to be alright." Sun says in a soothing voice and holds Kate tighter to her.
