Chapter 7

Aaron was overwhelmed by the flow of the sippy cup, and much of the coconut water dribbled down the side of his chin. Kate pinched the nipple of the cup and slowed the flow. The baby coughed and she removed the sippy cup and patted the baby's back. For a while this continued, until finally she and Jack managed to feed the baby an ounce of the coconut water.

"We have to find something else soon, this isn't a solution," Jack worried aloud.

"Jack," Kate sighed, "Can we take a moment to enjoy the win? For now he's fed. Look, his little eyes are closing and he might actually be able to rest."

The two stared at the baby for several minutes, watching the newborn fall into a fitful sleep. Kate gingerly laid the baby down into the makeshift crib she had fashioned earlier. Aaron cried out for a moment, but he nestled his head against his tiny outstretched arm, then drifted off. Kate and Jack let out the breath they were holding in, and smiled at each other. Quietly, Jack arose and nodded towards the rest of the camp. Jack and Kate had positioned themselves several hundred yards away from the main group, Kate was worried the others would be unable to cope with the endless cries of the hungry newborn.

"I'm going to go check on everyone, do you need anything?" Jack whispered.

Kate shook her head, quietly opening the jerky Jack had given her.

The sun overhead suggested it was nearing noon, almost a full day since the crash. During the morning, since the group departed into the jungle in search of formula and water, two of the injured had died. A man with shrapnel sticking out of his abdomen and the man Jack had saved with the wounded leg. At some point in the night, both men had caught fever and with the heat and lack of water, Jack had been unable to save them.

Jack neared the signal fire and Hurley rose to greet him.

"How's the baby?" Hurley questioned anxiously, the quiet beach hinting that the baby's state had changed.

"Alright for now, he's asleep," Jack reassured him. They walked together towards the ocean and Jack bent down and scooped up a handful of water and splashed it on his face. He had still yet to sleep.

"How long you think until the others are back?"

The Korean man approached them carrying a tray. He spoke only in Korean but motioned to the fish he was presenting them.

"What?" Hurley shouted. Jack snorted softly and looked towards where Kate was down the beach.

The man continued speaking in Korean and motioning towards the fish.

"Eat that?" Hurley yelled over the waves. The man nodded and Hurley laughed.

"I am starving… but I am nowhere near that hungry," Hurley stated despite the man's protests. He continued pantomiming eating the fish, but Hurley just laughed again.

"NO, no thank you! NO!"

Jack walked back towards the signal fire as the Korean man strode away with the uneaten fish. Hurley rushed to keep up with Jack. Jack was walking with no direction as he walked past the signal fire, his mind utterly disassociated. The waves were crashing on the shore, there was chatter around the crackling fire, and somewhere nearby two volunteers were digging graves. Yet through all that Jack thought he heard the distinct tinkling of ice in a glass.

****Passage of Time****

The survivors on the shore were growing anxious. The cries of the newborn had begun once more, and for hours the camp waited for it to end. Jack and Kate tried alternating between feeding Aaron water and coconut water, but since waking from his short nap, he wasn't tolerating either one. Jack grabbed the trail mix out of his bag and stood up from the sand. Kate looked up from rocking the wailing infant.

"I'm going to trade this for more water." Kate nodded. She had had two bottles to start the day, and the one she designated as her own had been empty for a while; only Aaron's still had any left. Jack had just taken the last sip of his bottle. There had been a few bottles of water recovered from the wreckage, but most of them were damaged and leaking, the ones intact couldn't have sustained the whole group of survivors for more than a day in the hot sun.

Jack approached the shelter of the man he least wanted to deal with at that moment. Jack only knew him by his reputation, but allegedly, Sawyer had looted one of the bodies on the beach before the last explosion, and Jack had heard about his racist comments to Sayid, accusing him of crashing the plane. Jack sighed and tapped his knuckles to the metal being used as a wall. Sawyer pulled the tarp aside and gave Jack a cheeky smile.

"What can I do for ya, Doc?"

"I'm willing to trade for some water." Jack held out the trail mix in his hand.

"Phewww, wow, what a treasure. Trail mix! Unfortunately for you doc, I'm all out of water. Just traded my last half bottle for a fish with Master McGill over there, we worked it out caveman style."

"You traded the last of your water?" Jack asked suspiciously.

"Maybe you need to visit your buddy the ear doctor, cuz I don't know about you but I heard thunder this morning. And hell, I'm an optimist."

Jack stalked away sullenly, rubbing his forehead in frustration. No water. He couldn't bear to walk back to Kate empty handed, so he paced along the treeline. For several minutes, Jack let the ocean waves soothe his weary mind. Only if he concentrated could Jack hear the shrill cries of the infant this far down the beach, so he didn't, he let the crashing of the waves take over his mind. If he wasn't actively moving his body, he might have fallen asleep. One step in the sand after another, Jack would turn and follow his footprints over and over. Step. Crash. Step. Crash. For the first moment since the crash, Jack had a small sense of tranquility.

Then it was gone. The crashes of the waves were drowned out by the crashing within the trees. Charlie burst through the treeline yards in front of Jack. He frantically searched the area before his wild eyes landed on Jack. He sprinted over and doubled over breathing heavily.

"What happened? Where's everyone else?" Jack demanded. A second later, Sayid and Ethan came barrelling out of the jungle. Jack left Charlie hunched over and jogged to Sayid.

"What happened?" Jack repeated.

"That thing! That sound! It followed us!" Sayid was distraught, clearly not understanding exactly what he had experienced. Jack looked to Ethan who, like Charlie, was hunched over trying to breathe.

"Where's Locke? Wasn't there a girl with you?"

"Locke! He… he didn't move!" Sayid sputtered.

"How far from here did you see it?"

"We didn't see it." Sayid's eyes were wide.

"Did you find anything?" Jack was beginning to lose hope. Sayid and Ethan shared a glance.

"We found the transceiver and we did find some formula," Sayid began. Jack immediately smiled and tried to interrupt with questions but Sayid held out a hand to stop him. "However, the transceiver is not working, and Locke has the formula." Jack's smile faded as quickly as it had appeared.

"Where is he?" Jack demanded intensely.