Author's Notes: I know. I took so long! I'm sorry. This is the second to last chapter. The last one really should be up by Sunday night. I am in the process of writing another Jate story, with a pretty cool plot if I do say so myself. I'll tell you more about that with the last chapter of this story, and I hope you all check it out.
By the way, these last few episodes of Lost have been CRAZY!
SOS: Missing Moments
by touchofxpink
There was something about the situation that bothered Jack. It wasn't the extreme tension between him and Kate; that seemed to be easing somewhat. It was something Kate had said, about the Others and their sophistication. She seemed to know a lot about it, too much, in his opinion. He couldn't contain himself; he had to ask her.
"What did you mean back there?"
Kate looked at him quizzically. "What?"
Jack supposed there were a lot of ways she could misinterpret that question. "In the net," he clarified, "You said they were sophisticated… The Others."
She looked sheepish. "Uh, last week, when the baby got sick… Claire and I went into the jungle and uh… found another Hatch."
He could hardly believe his ears. "What?"
"It's a medical station. There's nothing you can use; it was all cleared out, but I found some lockers. They had clothes inside -- all worn and dirty. And they were on hangers like costumes, you know. And there was a make-up kit, and a fake beard."
Jack wanted to berate her for traipsing off into the jungle basically alone. She knew how dangerous it was. That bothered him so much more than the fact that she hadn't told him. But he couldn't tell her that. "When were you going to tell me this?"
She stopped and stared at him, deadly serious. He stopped as well and stared down at her. Maybe it's better I didn't know, Jack thought, I would have gone crazy.
Kate's harsh voice brought him back to reality. "When you decided to let me back in the club," she said defiantly.
The words hit too close to home. He walked away. "What?" Kate continued, "You can keep one of them locked in the hatch for like a week and say nothing, but then when I…"
Her voice trailed off as she joined him in the clearing. Jack looked around. A chill descended over his body as he viewed the invisible "line." "We're here," he said quietly.
Kate looked uneasy as well. "Are you sure?"
I could never forget this place, Jack thought. They had a gun to your head. Every second of that night haunts my dreams. He pointed around the clearing. "That's where they took a shot at Sawyer. Right over there," he swallowed, "was where they pushed you out of the jungle with the bag on your head. And right there is where I laid my guns down."
The memories of the place were crashing down around him. He needed to do something. He stepped towards the center of the clearing and spread his arms out wide. "Hey, hey! I'm back! You say you're watching us! You hear me? We've got your man. If you want him you're going to have to come out here! Come on out!"
Kate looked at him desperately. "Jack!"
"I know you're out there! I know you can hear me!"
"Jack, they're not here."
"I'll be right here 'til you talk to me! I'll be right here!"
She wasn't sure exactly how many minutes passed before Jack lost his voice. One moment he was screaming, the next he was rasping at the still vacant air. Kate immediately rushed to his side, and he waved her away.
"Jack, come on. Let's go back. They obviously are not here."
"They're here," he whispered, a manic glint in his eye. "They heard me."
He was starting to scare her. "Come on, Jack," she tried again.
"I'm not leaving until they answer me."
It was obvious he wouldn't go back to the beach or the hatch. But it was equally obvious that they couldn't remain standing in the rain forever. Kate laid a hand on his arm and that seemed to calm him. He stopped seething and looked at her, as if he was seeing her for the first time in a long while.
"Come on, Jack. We can stay here. But let's at least make camp. We need to dry our clothes or we'll catch a cold or a flu or something worse."
He nodded, resigned. "Let's set up in that clearing over there. I'll get some wood for a fire."
Kate shook her head. "You're already worn out. Just sit down. The rain's slowing. I can get the wood and something to eat."
"Okay," Jack said, looking wary. "Take the gun, just in case. And be careful."
"You know me," Kate said, laughing, "I always am."
Jack smiled back, but it didn't entirely reach his eyes. She took the gun and hurried off in the jungle to avoid the awkward silence that had descended on them.
Kate wasn't exactly sure what their relationship used to be. They were something more than friends. There was an undeniable chemistry between them. At first, he represented everything that she had lost with Tom. He was seemingly the same, a handsome doctor who made her feel safe. But she came to realize that he was a different person entirely, with his own complexities and shortcomings. He wasn't perfect. That made her like him more.
When she realized that he was real and attainable, she became afraid. She wasn't used to being with guys like him, guys who were perfect in their imperfections. She was afraid of tainting him. She was afraid that if she let him in, he would grow tired of her or see that she really wasn't the person he believed she was. She was afraid of disappointing him. She was afraid of feeling the pain when he left her.
Kate arrived at a suitable climbing tree. She dropped her bag to the ground and began shimmying up the trunk. Her limbs ached with the need to move, and she climbed higher than absolutely necessary.
She reached the top most branch and perched herself on one of the sturdier limbs. The tree was fairly tall, and she could see the surrounding forest. To her right, smoke from the fires of the beach rose above the tree line. To her left, Kate could see Jack pacing around the clearing, head in his hands.
Her heart went out to him. He kept glancing towards where she had disappeared, as if expecting to see her emerge any second. She wanted to ease his pain, to let him know that he had done all he could.
If she had been a braver person, she might have climbed down from the tree and gone to comfort him. She might have gone to let him know that cared. But she was still too afraid. So instead, she picked a few guavas and then went off in search of firewood.