Thanks for the reviews. I'm glad no one thought them saying "I love you" was too unrealistic...
Chapter 26. We Should Turn Back
"Wait up you guys!" Kate heard a voice call as she, Jack and Sayid set out along the path through the valley.
Sayid let out a barely audible sigh as they turned to see Charlie scurrying up the hill, pulling his backpack on as he ran. "What are you doing out here, Charlie?" he asked, a note of impatience in his voice when Charlie halted a few paces behind them, his hands on his knees as he recovered his breath.
"I'm coming with you," he gasped, wiping the sweat from his face with the back of his hand as he straightened. "On the trek."
"While I appreciate your enthusiasm, we already have more than enough people going as it is," Sayid said told him, his eyes flicking in Kate's direction, and she had the distinct impression that his words were aimed at her.
While neither he, nor Jack, had tried to prevent her from leaving with them, she knew that they weren't happy about bringing her along, albeit for different reasons. Jack hadn't wanted her to endanger herself by helping with the watch, and that was much safer than this; she suspected that he was only allowing her to come now because he didn't want to start another fight with her, and because he would miss her too much if he left her behind.
"I'm twenty five years old – I'm not a bloody kid!" Charlie complained, his eyes flashing with anger as he registered the implications of the Iraqi's words: that he wasn't wanted, that he would just get in the way. "I risked my life to help you get that transceiver," he added, appealing first to Jack, then Kate. "You can't tell me I can't come."
"He's right," Kate agreed, somewhat selfishly, returning Charlie's grateful smile: four was less of a crowd than three, and besides, she wouldn't've liked it if they'd tried to tell her no either.
"Okay, but you have to keep up," Jack told him seriously, and he responded with a vigorous nod. "I don't wanna be out here any longer than we have to."
"Me neither," Charlie reminded him with a shudder. "I don't fancy being that thing's second course."
Kate gave him another, tiny smile, impressed by the courage he'd shown in coming after them when he'd seen what it could do; the fact that no one would have minded if he'd decided to stay back at the beach only served to make him braver in her eyes.
Sayid didn't offer any more arguments, but Kate could tell that he was annoyed at being overruled again as he walked on through the valley without speaking. The least fit of the group, Charlie lagged behind, singing quietly to himself as he moved at his own pace, while Kate slowed down until her steps fell into rhythm with Jack's, travelling so close beside him that one of her arms bumped against his. A couple of times, he caught her fingers as they brushed against his, clutching them discreetly before letting go under the guise of adjusting his backpack, or running a hand over his hair. Each time, he would catch her eye and smile at her, a gentle, reassuring smile, his eyes promising to make it up to her as soon as they could find another moment alone.
When he reached the next burst of jungle, Sayid stopped and waited for the rest of the group to catch up, his hand resting on the hilt of his knife as he listened for signs of oncoming danger.
Seeing how tense he was as they wove their way through the trees, into the increasing darkness, made Kate nervous too; she snatched hold of Jack's arm when something that turned out to be a baby boar came crashing out of the undergrowth to her left, clinging to him for much longer than she should have with both Sayid and Charlie watching them.
"It's okay," he told her softly, laying his free hand over hers and squeezing, "We're gonna be fine. Better," he added, with a grin. "We're gonna be rescued."
She gave him a watery smile in return, torn between hers doubts, and her fear that he was right, as Charlie passed them with a curious look.
"Everything okay, man?" he asked, glancing from Jack, to Kate, and back again, his eyes lingering on Jack's bicep, where their hands were still joined.
"Everything's fine," Jack agreed, letting go of her reluctantly as she took her hand back, settling it on her hip. She thought he looked slightly hurt, afraid that she was ashamed of being with him, but he seemed to understand why she wasn't ready to shout their relationship from the rooftops, because he didn't object.
"Dandy," Charlie quipped, staring at them for a few seconds longer, his mouth open, as if he wanted to say something, before moving off to catch up to Sayid.
They walked on in silence, stepping over logs and fallen branches as they made their way deeper into the jungle, the transceiver tucked safely inside its towel in Sayid's backpack.
With the thing that killed the pilot still out there, along with Ana's friends, neither he, nor Jack, seemed prepared to stop until they reached the safety of the mountains, so they pushed on through the morning, pausing just long enough to catch their breath as they refilled their water bottles.
Kate's shoulders were sore, and her legs were beginning to ache, by the time Sayid held up a hand for them to wait, but no sooner had she begun to relax when she caught the strained look on his face. "What? What is it?" she whispered, glancing over at Jack, whose expression of alarm she was sure must mirror her own, as they crept forward, crouching behind a clump of bushes with him and Charlie.
"It appears to be some kind of bunker," he told them, keeping his voice low, as he gestured to a ramshackle structure half buried in the jungle floor.
"You think it's Theirs'?" she checked, her voice rising louder than she'd intended in her fear; as she tried to keep herself from panicking again, she felt a warm, familiar hand close around hers, holding it tightly, and for once, she didn't try to break contact. Instead, she glanced over at Jack with a grateful smile, thankful for his presence, and the comfort it offered.
"Perhaps," Sayid agreed, darting to the next tree to get a better view.
Kate moved to follow, but Jack held her back, flashing her a warning look. "Stay," he mouthed.
"You too," he added to Charlie, who rewarded him with another disgruntled scowl as he sank deeper into the undergrowth.
"Yes, Sir," he muttered under his breath, but if Jack heard him, he didn't react.
"It's empty," Sayid told them when he rejoined the group, his brow furrowed into a deep frown, "Which is disquieting enough, but the whole place appears to have been rigged with explosives. I think we should turn back," he added seriously to Jack. "We can't take the risk that whoever built it is still out there."
Jack opened his mouth to respond, but whatever he was going to say was lost at the sound of a gun cocking behind them.
"You should have stayed on your own side of the island," a female voice with a heavy accent said, and they all turned to see a scruffy, dark-haired woman pointing a riffle at them.
Next chapter: More Rousseau and the radio tower! (I've already written it, and am about to start work on chapter 28, so that should be an incentive for you to review, especially since there will be more Jate once they get some time away from Sayid and Charlie!) ;)