A/N: I meant to add a note on the last chapter, but I apologize for the gap between chapters. I graduated from law school! Shout out to unorthodox-oblivion for all the reviews! That warmed my heart to see! Hope you enjoy this chapter, it is dedicated to you!

Chapter 22

Locke was no longer even leading the group, Kate and Lauren were in front. Jack brought up the rear, not bothering to try and converse with Locke. They had been trekking since dawn, and it was well past noon now, and there was nothing but jungle. No trail, no sign of life, just green trees, green grass, green brush. Kate, who had almost begun to feel at home in the jungle, was now feeling overwhelmed by all the green. The woods of her childhood were more dynamic than this, with oranges and browns littering the greenery, with plenty of birds and wildlife to pay attention to. Here, it was eerily quiet. The rush of the wind through the trees was all they heard beside their own footsteps tromping through the grass. An odd bird would chirp far away, but it never felt quite real. Kate realized she shouldn't think too hard about it.

Lauren kept pace with Kate, but the two didn't speak often, unless they needed a break. Locke was right, North was the only clue they had, and they would either hit the coast or find something. Kate looked at Lauren, who had sweat and grime all over her face, but was still very pretty. Kate thought back to seeing Lauren as a flight attendant, it seemed like so long ago, but the air of composure Lauren had was still enduring, despite all that had happened to her.

Ahead of them, the trees thinned and the valley opened up to reveal a wide open plain before rising into another mountain. On the left side of the plain was a pipe sticking out of the ground. Kate saw it first, and gestured to it.

"What is that?"

The group approached it and found a small pile of pneumatic tubes under the pipe. Kate picked one up and opened it, finding a notebook with the Dharma Initiative logo on the inside. She scanned through the pages, finding notations about 0415 showering and taking an injection. The whole book was filled front to back with descriptions of every task 0415 did that day. Lauren had opened a tube of her own and was reading through a different notebook, while Jack and Locke looked around them. Lauren looked up suddenly and glanced at the jungle behind them. Kate was about to ask her what was wrong, when she heard it too. Whispering. Jack and Kate's eyes met and he yelled for them all to run. Locke listened this time, but Lauren was transfixed at the sound. Kate grabbed her wrist and pulled her along, but the whispers grew louder, chasing them.

"You're not supposed to raise him."

Kate's blood froze when those words met her ears. She stopped to glance around, when she was shot in the neck. It buzzed and her body went rigid in pain as the dart sent shockwaves through her until she went limp, unconscious. Lauren looked back and saw Kate go down, and she turned to pick her up and grab her.

"Jack!" Lauren screamed.

Jack turned and saw Kate on the ground. He raised his gun and started firing blindly into the jungle. Lauren nearly rolled her eyes as she lifted Kate onto her shoulders. She could pick her up, but running was another matter, yet Lauren was filled with adrenaline and managed a couple steps, until she too felt the shock of a dart hit her thigh, and she was down.

****Passage of Time****

Kate felt the gag in her mouth before her eyes opened, and she knew that all she would see would be darkness. She was right, gagged and bagged and on her knees, Kate was tied up and blind to the situation she was in. Her heart pounded as she tried to gather everything she could from her remaining senses. She was near the beach, she heard the waves, but she wasn't on sand, there were wooden slats under her knees. A dock maybe? She listened to the people talking around her. Two men and one woman were speaking in a foreign language Kate couldn't recognize. Occasionally, she could feel the barrel of a gun graze her back.

"Remove their bags," a deep, gruff voice spoke.

Kate kept her eyes closed for a second, as the white light of the sun flashed down onto her face. When she blinked her eyes open, allowing them to adjust, she was greeted by a man with a full beard and shabby clothes standing in front of her. Beside him was Ethan and two women, both dressed in the same raggedy garb. One of the women was quite young, probably a teenager, Kate realized. She looked familiar.

Beside Kate, Lauren held her head high as she glared at the people before her. Jack looked angry but confused, and Locke looked curious and almost amused.

Kate tried to yell through her gag, but it just ended up muffled nonsense.

"What have we done with your boy?" The bearded man seemed to understand the gist of what Kate was trying to say. "Well, that's an interesting question Kate, considering he's not your boy at all, is he?"

Kate was confused at first, but Ethan knew that Kate had not given birth to Aaron, so of course this man knew she was not his biological mother. That didn't make him any less her son.

"Now I'd like you to listen real close. All of ya!" The bearded man bellowed. "You will never see that boy again if you don't… You." He stood in front of Jack. "You're a doctor."

Kate stared at Jack as he was face to face with the man. Jack met his gaze and nodded. The man hadn't asked a question, but now Kate knew what this was about now. They needed Jack for something, to fix someone. And he would do it to save the baby. Kate's heart surged as she watched Jack's stubborn eyes try to find a way out of this, but come to the same conclusion as Kate. They had the baby. He had to do what they asked.

"Excellent…" he moved on from Jack, and stared at Locke.

"You. You were going on a walkabout, weren't you?"

Locke's eyes narrowed. "What the hell is a walkabout?" Kate thought to herself, utterly confused by the turn the conversation had taken.

"Weren't you?" the bearded man's tone demanded a response.

Locke nodded.

The man finally landed on Lauren.

"Now, you. You're just a good person. Despite that venom you're spewing at me, huh?"

Lauren didn't blink as he stared her down. Kate loved her for that. Before they knew it, the bags were back over their heads and they were shrouded in darkness once more.

****Passage of Time****

When Kate came to, her hands were still bound behind her back, but she was no longer gagged and the bag on her head was removed. She found herself in a grove that seemed familiar. She sat up and quickly shimmied her arms around to the front of her body so she could see the knots she was working with. With her teeth, and some patience, she freed herself. Standing up she looked around. She knew where she was. She was back at their beach. Just a few yards away was Sun's garden. Kate didn't have her pack, her gun, her child or her friends. She felt around her pockets just to see if they had left her anything, and she found a note.

"If you pass the notebooks, you've gone too far.

Do not come looking."

Kate folded the note delicately and put it back in her pocket. She glanced around and went towards Sun's garden, as the path back to the beach camp was well traveled by now. When she finally returned, she found Charlie on the beach playing his guitar.

"Kate! Where the hell have you been? Where's Jack? Where's the baby? Are you alright?"

Kate wanted to collapse and cry, but instead she steeled herself, and asked Charlie, "Where's Sayid?"