LOST hope

When you've lost all hope, you can borrow some from me. Just don't give up.
K/J S/OC C/C Sawyer helps Dusty let go of her guilt, Kate helps Jack lighten up, and Claire goes into labor.

Chapter 1 - Looks Like Rain

"You're bleeding."

"What? Oh, that. It's nothing." Jack started, upon feeling a hand brushing his cheek lightly, and waved off the scrape nonchalantly and watched Kate sit next to him on the log near the fire. "A branch got away from me when I was hauling in firewood." He explained as she tilted his head gently toward the fire to get a better look.

"Those branches, they're dangerous." Kate said sarcastically, drawing out a brilliantly sincere smile that was rarely seen gracing Jack's handsome face. That dazzling smile of his was just what she'd been looking for to get her mind off her troubles. She reluctantly took her hands from his warm skin. "You should get someone to look at that."

"Like who? I'm the doctor." He chuckled, and Kate smiled, realizing the irony of her words. "So what's up?" He began, hoping there was no real reason she came to see him, but to see him.

Kate hesitated, as she realized there was no feasible explanation for her visit. She smiled weakly at him, knowing that when she looked in his deep brown eyes that lying to him simply wasn't an option.

"I just wanted to talk."

"About anything in particular?"

She sighed slowly, and leaned her head back to stare at the stars. "About how hopeless we are."

"Kate, we're not completely hopeless."

"No, just mostly."

Jack smiled, happy to know she was sharing a weakness with him.

"We're not going to die here. I promise. Someday we'll all be able to get back to our lazy chairs and fuzzy comforters."

"You had a fuzzy comforter?" Kate teased, eliciting yet another smile. Funny how those rare smiles became not so rare when she was around him.

"No, but I think when I go home, I just might have to get me one."

Kate laughed, and Jack gazed at her for that moment, when the fire threw flickering shadows across her features, and the worries that always hung in her eyes were chased away by laughter. It was amazing how her face changed when she laughed. If he thought she was beautiful before, he didn't know the meaning of the word. And knowing he put the laughter there, he chased the worries from her soul if but for that one moment, made him happy. Happier than he thought he could be stranded on this monster infested island.

"How's Claire?" Kate asked, after a moment of silence.

"She's doing good. As long as she doesn't stay out in the sun and keeps hydrated and nourished, she and the baby will be healthy."

"I worry about her."

"I worry about you." The words spilled from his mouth unintentionally. He smiled at his foolishness and looked down at his feet.

"There's no need to worry. As long as you're here I'll be fine." Kate said after a pause, a light smile playing about her lips. Jack looked over at her, smiling at him, and immediately forgot his regret. A silent moment passed, in which both were content to simply be in each other's presence, and look into the other's face. But Kate, as was characteristic of her, realized the intimacy of the moment, and brought dreary reality back into the picture.

"I should try to get some sleep."

"You're stealing my doctor lines. Pretty soon, they won't need me around here." He joked.

"That won't happen." Kate said seriously, then a smile grew across her face, without realizing she'd slipped back into the intimate moment again. So, she stood. "Goodnight, Jack."

"Goodnight, Kate." He said, and watched her walk to her bedroll. He gazed into the fire for a while, before reluctantly leaving the beach to return to the caves.

The next morning dawned, and the castaways were roused from their dreams of home to be slapped with harsh reality.

"How's my favorite mommy-to-be this morning?" Charlie quipped as he strolled up to Claire, who was sitting in the sand looking out to the ocean and rubbing her expanded belly.

"Oh, same old. You know, pregnant, stranded." She replied sardonically, with a brilliant smile she saved only for him. He sat quickly next to her so his knees wouldn't give out. "What're you doing at the beach this early?"

"Coming to see you. I brought you something." He said excitedly, with a giddy smile.

"Ooh!" Claire's face lit, a childish gleam sparkling in her blue eyes, and she bit her lower lip in anticipation. Charlie's heart fluttered. He reached into his back pocket to produce a stack of long leaves. Claire furrowed her brow, and Charlie fanned out the leaves. He'd sewn them together into a fan with a sewing needle and thread he'd found.

"It's a fan. You know, for when you get hot out here on the scorching beach while I'm nice and cool in the caves."

Claire scoffed. "Relentless. You never pass up an opportunity to bring it up, do you?"

"Nope." He grinned proudly.

"Well thank you, that was very sweet. It will come in handy." He flashed him another brilliant smile as she tested out her new toy. "Oh, it works!" She exclaimed, pretending to be surprised. Charlie scoffed.

"Of course it works! I made it!" He was too busy pretending to be hurt to notice the playful look that suddenly passed behind Claire's eyes. She leaned over to him and placed a quick kiss on his cheek. He seemed surprised at first, and looked to her, but she had looked away shyly. But he smiled, and nudged her with his elbow, breaking the edgy moment.

Locke sat on a large rock, looking out to sea. It was where he thought best. Alone, with the breeze against his face and the waves crashing in front of him. He sensed a presence to his left, and turned to see a woman approaching. He'd noticed her before, though he didn't know her name. She looked heavy, like she was carrying some burden on her small shoulders. The lightness in her tone betrayed the sadness in her eyes.

"Hi."

"Hello." He replied, curious.

"Locke, right?"

"Last I checked."

She chuckled. "I'm Dusty." Shoving her hand out to him, he took it and shook it. "You're the one who does all of our hunting, and provides us with our food, so…I just wanted to say thank you." He paused a moment thoughtfully.

"You're welcome."

"Mind if I sit?" She asked, after a moment of awkwardness in which Locke studied her.

"Be my guest." He scoot over so she could sit next to him on the rock, looking out to the horizon.

"John Locke. 1632-1704. Influenced the founding fathers so heavily that Thomas Jefferson essentially plagiarized most of the Constitution from him."

"That's very good."

"Thanks. Two years of Government shoved down my throat. I never really thought I would have any use for it."

"So what is it that you do, in the real world, anyway? With that kind of knowledge, you should know no boundaries."

Dusty chuckled. "Well, I'm worked for a computer company briefly, but found it utterly boring. So I found a photojournalism job for a Science magazine." She was interrupted by someone calling her name from camp, not too far away. "Oh, that's Hurley. He's been carving a likeness of me from a chunk of wood for the past few days. Either he's finished or he's already forgotten what I look like. I'll see you around, Locke."

"See you around. Oh and Dusty," He called as she'd taken a few steps away. "It would be best to find a dry place to sleep tonight." He said mysteriously, pointing to the North, to the dark clouds that appeared in the distance. She nodded, and turned, continuing back toward camp.

Locke was right. The rain started just as the sun slipped below the horizon. Small, fast drops that felt like tiny pins on your skin. The castaways had sought shelter for the night in their makeshift tents, or huddled under the wing of the plane. But Dusty stood on the beach. Looking out at the sea, though it was too dark to identify the rolling waters. The moon and stars were hidden. The small drops of water filled the air, and soaked her from head to toe. Her clothes and hair clung to her skin, and she moved her fingertips gently at her sides, to feel the rain dripping from them.

There was a flash of lighting off at sea, and a loud clap of thunder came to her ears shortly after. The noise of the storm was soothing. It made her feel small, forgotten, in the world that pained her so every day. The anonymity of standing soundless in a loud storm soothed her, strangely.

The children loved storms, too. Not like other kids, who were scared of the thunder. It lulled them to sleep, just as storms had lulled her to sleep when she was a child. They were so special. Pain welled inside her chest so quickly, she felt she would burst. She had to do something. So, she opened her mouth and yelled. At the top of her lungs. Loud and long.

"Amy!" She screamed, but her voice was drowned amidst the thunder which rolled over the island at that moment. Dusty heaved a sigh, strangely angry. But very much relieved. To release her name into the air, not to have it bottled up inside her. To let the wind and the rain know how beautiful she was. But she wasn't finished. Amy wasn't the only beautiful one.

"Braydon!" She screamed again, just as loud, and just as long, until she was out of breath. Tilting her head up to the clouds, feeling the rain lessen, gently pelting her face, Dusty smiled. Now the trees and the sand knew the children, too. She could share the goodness and beauty of knowing them with something else. Suddenly, exhaustion assaulted her, and her knees gave. The lack of sleep from the past few days had caught up with her, and she leaned gently back onto the wet sand, not caring how dirty she became. Only that she felt lighter now, and Dusty drifted into forgiving sleep with a faint smile caressing her lips.

-Austin B.