Chapter Seven

"How's he doing?" Melissa asked, peeking into the tent. Jo looked up from her medical book and emergency first aid kit. She smiled and looked back at Jackson who was sleeping, tucked into a sleeping bag.

Jackson still looked rough, although he was a hundred times better. His lip had a cut through it and he had multiple little cuts on his face. The biggest was the one across the bridge of his nose. It stretched from the side of his nose all the way to above his eye. Jackson also had many bruises blanketing his body and dried up blood everywhere. He had gone through a lot and it looked that way too.

"He'll be alright," Jo replied, "Maybe a little sore and achy in the morning, but he'll make a full recovery." Melissa smiled, sitting down beside Jo and looking over Jackson. She looked back at Jo with sorry eyes.

"I apologize for being so childish. I really jumped to conclusions and I was too quick to judge. I'm really sorry, Jo. I was wrong about you. When Jackson wakes up, I'm going to apologize to him too," Melissa replied. Jo nodded.

"It's okay, I'm sorry too." Melissa looked confused.

"What are you sorry for?"

"Just… everything. I'm sorry for causing all the hubbub in the first place," Jo said sadly. Melissa shook her head.

"Trying to help seven castaways isn't causing anything what so ever. You tried to help us… and I should be thankful to have you here. You're really an angel, Jo… besides, you saved Jackson's life." Jo smiled with embarrassment.

"I don't think it was all me who saved him," she said, "It was you guys too. Anyway, thank you, Melissa." They gave each other a smile and Jo breathed a sigh of relief. It was almost as if Melissa was truly giving her a nod of approval. This was the first time Jo really felt like she belonged.

"I hate to break up the moment, but I got to pee like a race horse," Jackson said, looking at them both with a smirk. Jo and Melissa both started laughing and Jo playfully pushed Jackson's arm. "Will you help me up?" he asked with an innocent smile.

"Yes, you jerk. Were you awake that whole time?" Jo asked. Jackson nodded with a foolish giggle and Jo shook her head, helping him up off his sleeping bag.

"Are you okay to walk on your own?" Melissa asked. "Wasn't your leg pretty bad off?" Jackson nodded and Jo turned to her.

"We have a system. I help him out to the woods and stand him up against a tree, then leave. I don't stick around for anything else," she said with a laugh. Melissa laughed with her and moved so Jackson could put his weight on Jo and walk out of the tent. Melissa sat there, looking around the tent at the all the medical tape and bloody bandages. She shivered for a moment. It looked like it was enough blood to have filled a coconut, but Melissa knew it wasn't that much. She liked to exaggerate some things.

"Well?" someone said aloud, making Melissa jump. Nathan was poking his head into the tent. "Are you and Jo cool?" he asked. Melissa gave a slight smile.

"Yes, everything's fine," she said. Nathan nodded and went back to work. Melissa sat there and looked around, waiting for Jo and Jackson to get back. Suddenly, something caught her eye. Melissa reached for a photograph folded in the side pocket of Jackson's camouflage backpack. She unfolded it and looked the photo over. It was obviously very old; it was at least ten years. There were three kids standing in a forest; two boys and one girl. Two of them looked about the same age but the one sitting in the front, on the ground looked about two years older. The younger boy and younger girl had their arms around each other and they seemed to be laughing. Suddenly, Melissa realized who the two kids were… their names were Cody Jackson and Johanna Emmett.

"What are you doing?" Jo asked as she walked in with Jackson slung over her shoulder. She helped him lay down on his sleeping bag and turned her attention back to Melissa.

"I was just looking. I don't mean to be nosy," she apologized, putting the picture back.

"It's okay," Jo said, reaching out to stop her. Melissa smiled.

"So is that…" she started to ask. Jo laughed and gently took the picture.

"Yeah, that's Cojack and I. We were so young then."

"Let me see," Jackson mumbled, reaching his hand out. Jo set the picture in his hand and he laughed as he examined it. "I remember that day," he whispered to himself. "It was a week before I was taken away." Suddenly, Jo's smile faded and Melissa looked at them both.

"Am I missing something?" Melissa asked gently. Jackson nodded with reluctance.

"Yeah... it's a long story. Basically, I was taken away from my mother when I was younger," he replied.

"May I ask why you were taken away… if it doesn't bother you too much?" she asked, catching Jackson's glance at Jo. He shook his head.

"No, it's okay," Jackson said, hesitating. "Um… well, my father died a few years ago and he was the main source of income in the family. My mother was a stay-at-home mom and after my dad died, she really struggled to get a hold on a consistent source of money. She would be gone all day at work, trying hard to work enough to pay rent. It didn't leave much else money for food or anything else, as you can imagine… so we basically were broke and my mom didn't have enough money to feed us. My Aunt Sam jumped on it and tried to help us but it was too late… and so Child Services came and picked me up." Melissa gasped.

"Do you get to see your mom?" she asked, concerned. Jackson nodded.

"Once every week for half an hour," he said. Melissa frowned. "It isn't as much as I would have hoped for, but I'm thankful to be able to see her." She nodded, looking into Jackson's blue eyes. He gave a slight smile back, catching her watching him. She smiled back.

"Well, I'm going to get something to drink. Want me to change your bandages before you go?" Jo asked him. Jackson shook his head.

"No, I'll be fine, Jo. Go get a drink." She smiled, getting up off the edge of his sleeping bag and walked out of the tent. It was a second or two before Jackson looked at Melissa and they spoke.

"So after all this time you thought Jo and I…" he trailer off, laughing some.

"What?" Melissa asked. "Anyone could make the mistake." He shrugged.

"I guess so. I still think it's kind of funny… the whole thing. Don't you?" he asked, laughing some more. Melissa couldn't help but smile. They sat there for a moment in silence and finally locked eyes. Jackson slowly leaned over and gently pecked Melissa on her cheek. She sat there in surprise and looked at him, shocked.

"What was that for?" she asked. Jackson smirked.

"Think of it as sort of a promise… that I'll call you when we get to the other side," he said. Melissa cocked her head slightly to the left.

"The other side?" Jackson smiled.

"When we're rescued," he told her.

"Ahh," Melissa said, nodding. "So you have hope again now?" He looked down at his stomach, picking at a bandage.

"I might have a little feeling that we'll be all right," he replied. Melissa gave a little giggle, catching Jackson's slightly embarrassed face. Suddenly, Eric stuck his head in the tent.

"Chief, you gotta come see this!" he shouted. They both exchanged looks before Melissa jumped up and helped Jackson off his sleeping bag. They both hobbled out onto the beach where the rest of the group was gathered. It was a moment before they saw what everyone was looking at.

"Holy shit…" Jackson muttered.

"Cojack, they picked up the signal from my chopper!" Jo shouted at them from the edge of the water. Melissa and Jackson both looked up to see a black military Black Hawk coming up towards the island and preparing to land.

"You were right about that feeling," Melissa whispered into Jackson's ear. He nodded.

To Be Continued…