Jack kept his promise, staying with Kate, watching over her as she slept. He even remained with her when he began to hear voices shouting outside the bedroom. Jack simply remained on the bed with his arms wrapped around Kate, constantly checking her pulse and her temperature to ensure that she was ok. As much as Jack did not want to have to leave Kate or disturb the peaceful moment, it was inevitable that whatever problem the others were having would eventually be dumped on him. Jack loved everyone on the island, they were his family, the only real family he had ever known, but just like with any family, being the head of the household was often exhausting.
Sayid and Ana Lucia burst through the door to the bedroom just as that thought passed through Jack's mind. Jack immediately sat up when he heard them enter.
"Shhh, Kate is sleeping, please don't wake her!"
"I am sorry Jack but we have a situation concerning Henry, perhaps you can join us outside and we can discuss it," Sayid suggested.
"No, I'm sorry but I can't leave Kate right now," Jack replied as he rose from the bed. He motioned for Sayid and Ana Lucia to join him on the other side of the bedroom.
"Keep your voices down and quickly fill me in on what is happening," Jack ordered.
Ana Lucia held out a piece of paper with a rough sketch on it. "Henry drew this, a map to his balloon. I think we should go out and see if we can find it. If it's there, then we know he is telling the truth. If not, well then we can deal with that. But at least it's a way to find some answers."
"I agree with Ana Lucia. We must find some way to know if Henry is telling the truth. My methods were unsuccessful and I know you want the truth Jack," Sayid added.
Jack looked over the map in his hands before speaking. "If he's lying, this could end badly. If he's lying, there could be others besides him, others waiting for you at this spot. We all know there are others on this island and we know they aren't exactly friendly neighbors. If they are setting up a trap, you won't stand a chance."
"Jack, I've already killed one of them, I am capable of handling this and we need the truth." Ana Lucia responded.
"I know we need the truth and we seem to have run into a brick wall with getting answers out of Henry, so if you guys think this is the best plan, I will go along with it," Jack conceded.
"Good, I will get Sun to come watch Kate while we are gone and you go gather your things, we can leave within the hour," Sayid said.
Jack turned quickly, looking Sayid directly in the eyes, "No, I'm afraid you have misunderstood me. I will support your decision to make this journey and won't try to stop you, but I will not be joining you. Kate is ill, very ill and she needs someone with medical knowledge to look out for her right now."
"But Jack, you are our leader, we need a third person. We need you to join us on this trek." Sayid implored.
Jack simply shook his head, "Kate is sick, she needs me and I cannot leave her right now, not for a pow wow on our problems, not for a hike into the heart of darkness, not for answers, not for a nap, I cannot leave her. She is my priority right now. I have to stay here. You can find someone else to go with you." With that, Jack turned and once again climbed into the bed with Kate, who had remained sleeping throughout the heated discussion.
Sayid and Ana Lucia exchanged a look but then quietly exited the bedroom closing the door behind them. They continued outside and walked back to the beach, discussing Henry and Jack and the plan to find the balloon. As they approached the beach, they ran into Charlie who was walking through the jungle. They immediately stopped their conversation, hoping that Charlie had not overheard them.
"Hello mates, how's it going?" Charlie greeted them
"Good afternoon Charlie, where are you headed?" Sayid asked, hoping he would not say the hatch.
"Oh, I was just off to gather some fruit, hoping for a few moments away from the scorning looks of the rest of the camp. Let's all hate Charlie, the baby napper, crazy drug addicted Charlie, never good for anything except causing problems. Well I'm bloody not a baby napper. I just wanted Aaron to be safe!" Charlie ranted.
Sayid and Ana Lucia were a bit taken aback by his outburst. Everyone knew Charlie was a bit volatile recently, especially after facing Claire's rejection along with dealing with the lingering effects of heroine withdrawal. Everyone tried to tip toe around him and not set him off.
"Woah man, we were just making small talk, don't flip out." Ana Lucia said in response to the outburst.
"Sorry, sorry, didn't mean to freak out. Where are you two headed? Coming from the hatch?" Charlie inquired
"Yes, we just left the hatch and are about to head back to the beach," Sayid told him.
"Oh, were you with the prisoner you have locked up down there?" Charlie asked as if it were nothing
Sayid and Ana Lucia both gasped, trying to regain control of their facial expressions.
"How did you know that?" Sayid demanded
"I just know. I'm not as out of it as everyone thinks."
"Well Charlie, since you already know about him then perhaps you would like to join us on a trek to discover who exactly Henry Gale is?"
Charlie agreed and the three of them set off into the jungle, with Sayid and Ana Lucia filling Charlie in on what they already knew and what they were looking for.
Meanwhile, back in the hatch, Jack continued to lay with Kate until she awoke sometime later.
Kate awoke feeling much better than she had earlier. Actually, she was feeling much better than she had in days. She felt someone's arms wrapped around her and she turned to see Jack lying in bed behind her, holding her. Kate couldn't help but smile at that. The last clear memory she had was that she and Jack were not getting along well. Everything after her hike with Claire was a little blurry but she knew that Jack had been with her, helping her through it all. She knew he had been there or else she wouldn't still be alive right now. When he felt her move, Jack's eyes popped opened and he saw her smiling at him.
"Kate," Jack said with excitement in his voice. He could tell that her eyes were looking more coherent than the last few times he had seen her awake.
"Hey Jack, what's going on? What happened? I don't really remember much."
"You've been sick Kate, you have malaria. You've had a really high fever and some other pretty intense symptoms for the last few days. But you don't need to worry, I'm taking care of you, you're going to be just fine. How are you feeling right now?" Jack reached up to feel her forehead, noticing that her fever had dropped significantly.
"I feel groggy, confused and my head kinda hurts but I think feel better than I have recently."
"Well you are definitely looking better, sounding more lucid as well. Those are all good signs. Do you think you could eat something? It's been a few days since you've had any food and you need to eat to keep your strength up."
"I feel a little nauseous but I could maybe eat a little." Kate rolled over and sat up on the bed but immediately fell back against Jack as a wave of dizziness overtook her.
"Woah, you're ok, take it easy. You've been laying down for a while and you've had some pretty intense headaches. You're also pretty dehydrated because you haven't been able to keep much water down, so we gotta take it slow. You're going to have to let me help you ok?"
"Ok," Kate agreed without any argument. Truth was that she wasn't feeling very much like helping herself at all at the moment.
Jack helped her sit up and he kept his arms around her, holding her up as the dizziness passed. "Would you like me to take you out into the main room while I get you something to eat? Or would you rather stay in bed and have breakfast in bed?" Jack asked her with a smile.
"I want to join you; I need to get out of this room. Even though my memory is hazy, I just instinctively know I have been in here for way too long." Jack couldn't help but chuckle at this. In the short time he had known Kate the one thing he knew without any doubt was that Kate had a restless spirit. Jack reached down and grabbed Kate behind her knees and her back and carried her out into the main room. Kate didn't even protest at being carried, she knew she was too weak to walk. Jack laid her down on the sofa and then moved into the kitchen to find something for her to eat. Locke was in room and greeted Jack and Kate as they entered.
"Good to see you looking better Kate," Locke said, "But Jack, I must say I am disappointed that you refused to go with Ana Lucia and Sayid. They needed you and you let them down."
"I don't care John, I did what I had to do and I am certain that I made the right decision," Jack responded with an intense forcefulness and confidence. Kate was taken aback, she had no clue what they were talking about but she had seen Jack second guess almost every decision he had made since they landed on the island, but whatever decision John was referring to, Jack was obviously not second guessing.
John then walked over to the armory, opened the door and slipped a plate of food inside before closing the door back once again. He then turned to Jack and said, "I need some fresh air, I trust the you can handle things down here for a few minutes." He then turned and exited the hatch.
Kate was getting more confused by the minute. As soon as John left, Jack walked over to her and handed her a plate with a peanut butter sandwich. She took it and then looked at Jack, "What is going on? Jack please tell me."
Jack sighed and sat down beside Kate. He then proceeded to tell Kate about Henry Gale, about how he had come to be with them and how Sayid and Ana Lucia had gone to find out if his story was true. Kate was truly shocked and somewhat hurt that Jack had felt the need to keep this from her, even before she got sick.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Jack stood up and began pacing around the small room. "We didn't tell anyone Kate. At least, I didn't. I didn't want people to panic. You saw what happened with Ethan and with the black smoke. You saw how terrified the tail survivors were. I didn't want people panicking, make poor decisions. I wasn't planning to keep him here forever and I certainly wasn't planning to torture answers out of him, I learned my lesson with that already, but it all just happened and then you were sick and things just got out of hand."
Kate could tell that Jack was truly struggling with this. But still, she was hurt that he hadn't even confided in her about all of this. "But why didn't you tell me? I thought…I thought you knew that you can confide in me. I thought you trusted me," Kate said with a dejected tone.
Jack stopped pacing and looked Kate in the eye, "I do trust you Kate, more than anyone on this island, probably more than anyone I've ever met."
Kate could see the sincerity in his eyes and knew that he meant what he was saying. At that moment, a little bit of the weight on Kate's shoulders lifted. "Then why didn't you tell me?"
Jack sighed and began pacing again. "Because it was dangerous! We don't know who he is, where he came from, or what he is capable of! I couldn't have you with him knowing it wasn't safe! When we went to look for Walt and they brought you out with a bag over your head and a gun to your throat…Kate, I thought I was going to throw up. I've never been so scared. I was too scared to do anything and that almost cost you your life! After seeing that, I could never…NEVER put you in a situation to be in that kind of danger again! Locke locked Ana Lucia in the armory with him! What if he had done that you you? Don't you understand? I didn't tell you because I was trying to take care of you. You mean too much to me to let something happen to you." Jack continued to pace, getting more and more agitated as he was talking.
His speech caught Kate off guard. She wasn't expecting him to say he cared about her. She was sure that she had messed up any chance she had to be an important part of the life of Jack Shepard when she kissed him and ran and then followed him into the jungle only to be captured.
"Did you just say you cared about me?" Kate asked in a small voice
Jack took a breath and realized all that he had just confessed to her. There was no backing out now. "Yes Kate, I said that I care about you and I meant it. I do care about you and I want to see you safe and healthy. That's the most important thing to me right now."
Upon hearing this, tears began to fall down Kate's face. "Jack, it's been a long time since someone has cared for me. Even my own parents didn't care about me. You are a great man and you deserve the world and yet here you are, caring about a fugitive, a murderer, someone with no hope of a future."
"Kate, you have hope of a future. I promise, there is always hope. I couldn't stand to see you lose hope. That would be as bad as seeing you in physical danger. You are a great person yourself, beneath your tough exterior, you are warm and more caring than anyone I've ever known. You are always willing to put your own needs aside to help someone else. Kate, there is nothing about you to make me not care. Anyone with as much goodness as you, has hope of a future."
Kate was full blown sobbing at this point. Jack walked over and took her in his arms and held her as she cried. "Oh Jack, I don't know what to say, except that I care about you too. I care about you so much and I am so sorry that I ran before and that I that followed you. I'm sorry I messed things up."
"Shh, Kate, it's ok now, it's all ok. We'll deal with everything and from now on, we will be honest with each other, ok?"
Kate sniffled and then agreed. She looked at Jack and spoke, "Ok, well if we are going to be honest, what was John talking about earlier? What decision is he upset about?"
Jack was hoping that he wouldn't have to explain that to her, but he should have known that she would pick up on it, even in her disoriented state. "Sayid and Ana Lucia went out to look for Henry Gale's supposed hot air balloon. They wanted me to go along with them, though I'm not entirely sure why. Perhaps they wanted someone to make sure that the two of them didn't kill each other, I'm not sure. But I couldn't go. I promised you that I wouldn't leave you alone and I wasn't about to break that promise. I'm not leaving you Kate, not while you are sick and even once you're better you're going to be stuck with me. I care about everyone here but since I saw you get sick, I know that you are my priority, I have to make sure you are ok before I can worry about anything else."
Kate was once again overwhelmed by her own feelings and by the intensity of Jack's feelings for her. She realized that he had refused to do something to help the group, refused to do something to help them find answers, refused to do something to a fix problem and be a leader like he was compulsively drawn to do and instead had chosen to do something to keep her safe and happy. He had put her ahead of everyone else. Kate suddenly realized that no one in her life had ever done that before, not her mother, definitely not her father, not her step father or Tom, not Sawyer. But Jack had. Jack had put her first, above everything else. Despite all of the insanity and dangers on the island, despite her illness, Kate suddenly felt safer than she ever had in her entire life.