Jack sighed and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.

"You do realise, that there is a chance that even after this operation, Christian may still not be able to walk?" he said to the team in the operating room.

"You're a spinal surgeon though!" The woman piped up, speaking for the first time.

"That doesn't mean I'm a miracle worker," Jack replied.

"But you fixed your wife didn't you?" said Ron.

"- Ex-wife," Jack interjected.

"Yeah, Yeah, but you fixed her right? No-one thought she'd walk again but she did?"

Jack felt an overwhelming surge of hurt and anger, the usual feeling he got when the Other's revealed how much they knew about him, and the other survivors.

"Yes, I repaired her damage, her case was similar to this one – Christian has multiple crushed lumbar vertebrae," Jack said heavily.

"If it's almost the same damage, why aren't you sure that he'll be able to walk?" Ron asked. Jack gestured for the clamp, his hands still working away in Christian's back.

"Because," Jack paused slightly, concentrated on the job at hand, then continued.

"How much do you guys know about spinal cord injuries?" There was no reply, so Jack judged by the blank looks on their faces.

"Ok, well you know that the spinal cord carries all the signals between the brain and the limbs, right?"

They nodded so Jack continued,

"Well the vertebral column is like a series of cotton reels, which are the bones; threaded on a string, which is the spinal cord. In Christian's back, many of the bones are fractured and they are pressing against his spinal cord. This resulted in paraplegia – Christian is paralysed from the waist down. Now I am trying my best to repair the damage – but I can't make promises. With this kind of injury, we can never be completely sure."


One Hour Later

"Ok, I've repaired as much damage as possible," Jack said calmly, but inside his head was frantically going through what had to happen next.

"I am free to go once I have completed this operation, am I not?" he asked.

Ron paused for a moment, then answered. " I don't see why not… you have completed your end of the bargain. I do not think that Ben has any further use for you."

"I need you to do something for me before I close Christian up," Jack pointed to one of the men.

"You are to go to the house of Sophie, the woman with the red hair. There you will find a young boy, and Kate Austen. I'm sure you know of her," Jack glared at him.

-------------Earlier That Morning-----------

"So remember, at that house by 11 o'clock. Kate will be there, remember you must convince her to go along with it. I think some of her memory is coming back, she should remember me at least slightly and I don't think she likes Sophie much so hopefully it shouldn't be too hard,"

The little boy nodded at Jack's words.

"Ok Brett, now this part is the most important. I will send a man from the operation to come and get you – but I will only send the man that has a red scar next to his ear. It is easy to spot. If anyone – anyone else comes for you, do not go with them. Do you understand?"

"Yes. I know what to do." Brett answered.

---End---

"Jack, I don't think you are in any position to order us around," Ron said, getting angry.

"I'm not? I have my hands near Christian's spinal cord. Don't think for a second I don't know that he's your leader, and how much you all need him. You've been jumpy all morning, and I'm pretty sure none of you are stupid enough to believe that I don't know exactly how I could kill him. Right now." Jack voice was raised slightly, making his point extremely clear.

"That's it. Ben's going to hear about this!" Ron spat, reaching for the walkie talkie. He switched it on, but nothing happened. He pressed every button on it, banged it a few times and flicked it on and off repetitively but nothing worked. Shaking with anger he threw it across the room.

"More and more minutes are passing. Christian's not a young man, the more time that passes the more likely that he will die on the table if I don't get him stitched up," Jack threatened.

Ron's face was red with fury, his cheeks inflamed and his eyes watering and blinking as if he was just cutting a strong onion.

"GO! Go get them! Now just go and get the boy and Kate. Bring them straight back here!" Ron screamed at the shocked young man whom Jack had chosen.

"You know what will happen if you are not back with them in fifteen minutes," Jack said, waving the clamp threateningly.


A/N : Getting close to the end now Yew! What did you guys think? I did some research on spinal injuries for this one lol, wanted it to sound like I knew what I was talking about. Haha! Please review, hope you guys are liking it!