Chapter 15

The day Rousseau took the baby was the day the formula ran out. Kate shook the last 25 milliliters and put the bottle to Aaron's mouth. The babe drank vigorously and soon he was sucking air. Kate retracted the empty bottle, and raised the baby up to burp him. What are we going to do now? Jack and Kate had rationed the formula as best they could but the baby hadn't gained any weight after a week and it was clear he needed the nutrients to survive. Jack didn't tell Kate, but he was surprised at the little guy's fight. Despite all that had occurred, the premature infant's heart didn't fail, his lungs managed all his loud cries, and when he was fed, he slept soundly. Aside from the food, Jack's primary concern was the sunburn he had developed. Jack advised Kate to keep him in the tent as much as possible, but the sweltering heat inside prevented Aaron from sleeping, so Kate paced and bounced the baby along the shoreline, with the airline blanket draped over his head.

After Aaron let out a tiny burp, with some spittle to boot, Kate cleaned his face and laid him down on the pad that came with the diaper bag. She took out a diaper and wipes and began to change the baby. Kate fussed unnecessarily over the tape that attached the diaper together and pulled the top up. The diapers were too big for the tiny baby as they were likely intended for a 4 month old rather than a 4 pound infant. Kate looked at Aaron's arms that rested on his stomach, the redness clashing against his pale belly. She loosely swaddled the baby, and rose from the sand.

Kate walked down the beach, Aaron fussing but not crying along the way. She looked around the beach camp for Sun, but instead found Jack walking towards her.

"How's it going?" he asked.

"The formula is gone."

Jack looked away, his hands on his hips. He had finally gotten some rest, but the circles under his eyes had been replaced with permanent lines of stress between his eyebrows. Since Locke had returned with the formula, Jack had distanced himself from Kate and the baby, only checking on them once or twice a day. The first day, he took off into the jungle as Kate asked him about Aaron's sunburn, only to return late that night, announcing he had found boar in the valley. The next day, he busied himself gathering water. When Lauren disappeared in the jungle, Jack went with Sayid and the others to search for her. Kate worried whether Jack was withdrawing from them because he expected the baby to die or because the burden was too much to bear with her.

"We'll figure it out," he finally said, looking her in the eye. Kate gazed back at him, searching for reassurance, but finding none. He was lying.

Towards the center of camp, a crowd was forming. Kate looked past Jack and noticed Sayid walking with his hands raised. She followed Sayid's eyes and saw a woman with a rifle, being surrounded by survivors. Jake and Kate jogged towards the group.

When Rousseau had given her warning, Kate tried to grab Jack's arm to ask him a question, but he was distracted by Charlie yelling down the beach. Without even turning to look at her, Jack joined Charlie. The Others… are there other people on this island? Kate wasn't sure if she believed the French woman. Everything she said sounded insane, but after 16 years on the island, maybe she knew something the survivors didn't. Since the crash, several survivors had been lost in the jungle. Lauren, Ethan, Joanna… Lauren, they presumed dead because of the blood they found on the hilltop. But Ethan and Joanna had disappeared in the night. Locke said he searched for their tracks during his many excursions into the jungle, but he returned empty handed. Kate wondered if maybe they weren't really lost, but if foul play was involved.

The survivors had scattered after Rousseau's speech, but Kate was rooted to the spot, considering all the possibilities. They took her baby… what if they come after Aaron? The thought filled Kate with dread and she clutched the baby closer to her chest. Kate's green eyes were fixed on a random point in the sand, but as she blinked a figure entered her periphery.

"Can I hold him?" Rousseau whispered, holding out her dirty hands.

"What?" Kate took a step back, but the woman followed.

"Please…" her voice was filled with yearning. Kate stared at her, frightened of the look in Rousseau's eyes. Before Kate could say no or call for help, the French woman grabbed the baby, her fingers maneuvering around Kate's grasp as she swiftly lifted her elbow, smashing in Kate's nose. Kate's head flew back, and she released the infant and fell to the sand. Blood poured out of her nose but Kate let go of her face and tried to push herself up. Once Rousseau firmly held the baby in one arm, she swung the rifle around from her back, lifted it and hit the butt to Kate's head, knocking her out.

Jack, Sun, Sayid and Charlie all surrounded Kate when she awoke a minute later. "She took him" Sayid's voice echoed over and over in Kate's pounding head, as she broke from Jack's grasp and stumbled over to her tent. Sayid had only just entered the jungle but Kate knew she could track him if he got too far. She ducked inside and grabbed her pack, peering inside to make sure everything she needed was there. Water, lighter, spare cloth for torches, spare cloth in case of an injury, and the hunting knife Locke had let her keep. She glanced at the diaper bag she had dropped next to her, and grabbed a bottle full of coconut milk Sun had made, and added it to the bag. Kate zipped up the pack and tried to exit the tent, but Jack stood just outside, preventing her from truly leaving. Jack stepped forward, forcing Kate to retract into her shelter.

"Sit down," he ordered.

"We don't have time for this,' Kate argued.

"You're not going anywhere, sit down."

Kate sat on the cushions that made up her bed. Jack knelt in front of her and tilted her chin up, examining the wound on her forehead. He let go after a moment of Kate holding her breath, and reached into his pack and grabbed a towel and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide he found in a first aid kit in the wreckage. He poured it onto the towel and pressed it to Kate's head. Wincing silently, Kate didn't fight Jack's care. Her head pounded and she could hear the fizzing of the peroxide in her hairline. When Jack let go, he dropped the towel back into his pack and grabbed the small flashlight he kept in his pocket. Holding up his finger, he shined the flashlight in her eyes, and Kate stared at his fingertip.

"You're definitely concussed," Jack said, clicking off the flashlight, "Are you nauseous?"

Kate didn't dignify him with a response and stood up shakily from the bed. Jack tried to stop her, but she pushed past him and left the tent.

"Kate!" He called after her but she wasn't listening. Pulling the leaves and vines aside, Kate ventured into the jungle after her child.

****Flashback****

Kate's feet pounded on the concrete as she ran, her head turning over her shoulder to scan for her stalker. Faintly, she heard steps and the clinking of keys. The alley ended in a chain-link fence and Kate quickly vaulted herself over. She sped across the street, thankfully free from cars, and ducked into another alley. Two dumpsters sat stinking inside the shadow of the buildings, and Kate wedged herself between them and waited. Moments passed before Kate heard the screech of brakes, followed by a car horn. Peeking her eyes from behind the dumpster, Kate saw Edward Mars flashing his badge at the angry driver. He glanced around and Kate worried he would see her, but his gaze never left eye level, and she was low to the ground hidden behind garbage in the shadows. He didn't see her, but he appeared to see something and he took off down the street. Kate sank back against the wall. She wanted to exhale a sigh of relief, but as the adrenaline subsided, the smell began to get to her. Pulling her t-shirt over her nose, she breathed shakily. Kate's anxiety told her to wait but her olfactory senses were begging her to leave. Her anxiety won out as Kate did her best to ignore the rotting tomato fumes that emanated from the bag next to her.

When she was sure the coast was clear, she slid out from her hiding spot. She walked down the street as the sky's evening colors shifted from orange and purple to deep navy. The streetlights were just flickering on, as Kate thought about her next move. Her decision to come to Sacramento had been well planned out; foolproof, she thought. She made it across the country from Florida, with only minor hiccups. Yet as soon as she made it to California, she felt like she was being hunted. A black van here, double takes there, Kate felt surrounded. When she saw the marshall getting out of his car outside the hotel she was staying at, she fled.

Kate found a parking garage and ducked inside. Graffiti covered the walls and most of the lights hanging from the concrete ceiling were blown out. Kate peered around above her, searching for cameras. She found one in the corner pointed toward the exit, but the spot where it should have flashed red was dark. Kate considered her options: take the chance that it was broken and leave it alone or smash it, just for there to be a recording somewhere of her doing so. Her eyes darted to a large hunk of concrete that had broken off from the wheel stop of a parking space. That will just crumble, her intuition told her.

Just then a car engine turned on on the level above her, and Kate stooped behind a red minivan as she waited for the car to come into view. Slinking between the wall and the parked cars, Kate slowly made her way to the back of the garage. A nice black sports car that shouldn't have been there, crawled down the ramp and around the corner. Kate watched it pass and held onto the front end of a station wagon. Slowly, the car exited the parking garage and Kate stood up and scanned the cars around her. She counted four cars that shared the same make and model, and walked towards the closest one. Kate tried the handle first, hoping it would be that easy, but of course, it was locked. Before she snatched the thin antenna out of its base, Kate pressed her hands to the glass of the window and tried to slide it down. The glass only gave a half inch, but it was enough. Kate grabbed the antenna and shimmied it into the cracked window. It took some work, but she was eventually able to unlock the door. Kate reached under the wheel and roughly pulled the hard plastic cover off the bottom. Kate had hot wired several cars in the past, and this car was the same as the others. The engine roared to life.

"MAKE YOUR OWN KIND OF-" The radio blared loudly before Kate smashed the dial down, muting it. Her heart pounded and she looked around the garage, but nobody was there. Kate put the car in reverse and pulled out of the spot. When she stopped in front of the street she contemplated where to go. When the marshall had run away, he had gone back towards the hotel. Kate turned the opposite way. An atlas sat in the passenger seat, but Kate ignored it. Turning onto the highway, Kate pushed the speedometer to 65 MPH before turning on cruise control. She brushed her fingers through her hair and sighed. L.A., here I come…

****Flashback Ends****

"Jack, I'm fine!" Kate pushed away his hand as it moved towards her face. She was tired of being coddled. He had fought her every step of the way and Kate was determined not to let him see how tired and scared she really was. They had finally found Sayid and were headed towards the black smoke, when she dared to stumble. Now, she sat against a rock with Jack fussing over her. Claire trusted me to protect him… I have to get him back… what if I'm too late? Kate's mind was racing. After everything… this can't be how it ends… He had survived the horrific birth that claimed the life of his mother. He had survived despite being two months early. He had survived for days without real food. He has to survive through this…

A twig snapped behind them and their heads whirled to see what approached. Vines ensnared the woman before them, but she swatted them away and limped forward. Kate's eyes widened as she saw that the figure stumbling towards them was Lauren… carrying the baby. Kate rushed towards them and pulled the infant into her arms.

Kate hugged Aaron close, as tears gathered in her eyes. As they fell, Kate laughed softly in relief. She pulled the infant back and examined him. He was perfect, the sunburn on his skin the only flaw Kate could see. She looked up at Lauren to thank her, but Sayid had wrapped her in a hug. Lauren's hands hung at her sides, not returning the embrace, her eyes distant. Sayid pulled back, but kept his hands on Lauren's arms. He bent down a little to look into her eyes, but she looked through him.

"Lauren?" he said gently.

The rain suddenly stopped, and the group waited a moment for Lauren to respond. When she didn't, Sayid put his arm around her shoulder and led them back to camp.