After the Storm
by Noa08
AN: This just sort of... happened. And I'm almost 99 percent sure about where I want this to go. So hang in there with me and I will love you forever :D
Warnings: Season 2 spoilers! Massive amounts of Jate, Sawyer/Kate Friendship and some squeemish scenes for those who don't like blood etc. I've been watching a lot of House lately, so if Jack gets overly doctor-ish, that's why.
The first thing Kate realized upon opening her eyes was that she was in the dark. The second was that she was sore and the third was that she had no idea where she was.
Rolling over onto her side, She winced as her arm pressed against the cold cement floor. It was definitely bruised. She inhaled a shaky breath and mustered up as much strength as she could. With a grunt, she pushed herself up into a sitting position and to her relief, found a wall she could lean against.
Her legs splayed out in front of her, she leaned her head back and tried to get a better view of the room she was in. At least, she was very sure it was a room. She couldn't tell. Darkness invaded her senses completely. She couldn't see, didn't know what she was touching, what she was feeling. She didn't even know if she was okay.
Steadying a shaking hand, she felt around, pressing fingers against flesh and bone. Nothing felt broken, nothing felt like it was bleeding. A slight bump on her forehead indicated how she got where she was without knowing when or why. Her wrists were sticky and raw; rope burns . . . she had been dragged. That would also explain why her arm fell at a funny angle and why she couldn't move it. She'd never had a dislocated shoulder, but as the pain hit her full force, she was thankful she never did.
With a gasp, she reached for her left arm and set it down gingerly on her lap. Closing her eyes against the blackness that surrounded her, Kate breathed in again. The thick, hospital smell of disinfectant greeted her nostrils and almost made her choke.
Kate pleaded with her spinning head to give her answers. Where was she? How long had she been out? What the hell happened? Where was Sawyer? Where was Jack?
Jack.
Kate remembered being on the pier. She remembered the taste of the cloth-made gag in her mouth. She remembered the ache in her knees and the rush of blood to her head when she realized how screwed the three of them were. The bittersweet memory of Jack looking at her so intently, unwavering, washed over her and Kate shivered.
She must be in the hatch that the Others lived in. Or . . . something. Her head was so foggy. She couldn't drown out her mixing thoughts, couldn't stop them rushing together behind closed eyes. What seemed like hours passed, though it could have only been minutes and exhaustion finally won over.
Kate was asleep.
Loud footsteps and a glaring yellow light that shone into her small room woke Kate up. She didn't know how long she slept, but her legs were numb from where circulation had been cut off to the area. It must have been a long time.
The footsteps grew louder and Kate blinked a few times, clearing her blurry eyes against the harsh brightness. She could see the room she was in now. A small closet-like space, the walls were a plain white and the light was coming from a small square of glass in the only door to the room.
A shadow stopped in front of the window, blocking out the light and Kate squinted to see any sort of facial feature. A click and a rattle of keys slipping into a lock, and the door handle turned. Kate jumped and as fast as she could, she stood up, clutching her arm to her side. She tried to make herself look fierce but only succeeded in looking scared.
The door swung open and light filled the room. Kate blinked hard against the light.
"-Take her down the hall. Klugh's waiting." A young girl's voice outside the door spoke, and as Kate's eyes adjusted, she saw a bulky man move forward to her.
"C'mere." The man said gruffly and reached out to Kate. Only having enough time to stumble backwards, Kate raised an arm to prepare for a strike, but instead he grabbed her good arm and yanked her toward the door.
Finally finding her voice, Kate yipped, "No!"
"God dammit! She's feisty, Alex." The man growled as he pushed Kate to the door. Kate moved as much as she could, refusing to stay still, knowing it might be her only chance at survival.
A young girl poked her head around the corner and rolled her eyes. "That's not my fault, Neil."
With a hard shove, her captor sent Kate into the door frame and her face was the first to collide with the cold steel. She gasped and forced herself not to cry. She couldn't. Not in front of these people. It would be a sign of weakness, something she couldn't afford to let them see.
"Hey!" Alex grabbed Kate by the shoulder to steady the older woman. "Watch it! She's still a person." The girl growled at Neil and turned Kate's face to get a better look at the new bruise forming on her cheek.
"That's why you're no good at this Alex," he heaved a sigh and grabbed Kate by the shoulders again. "You get too attached to these damn people." Neil shook his head and pushed Kate out the door. Kate watched the girl frown at her older companion as they moved past her down the hall.
Her feet were stumbling and she could barely stand up, and every once and a while Alex would steady Kate in Neil's grasp. They passed doors and doors, all with small square windows letting only a bit of light through. It reminded Kate of a mental institution she had seen in a movie once. Not surprisingly, the thought didn't comfort her.
A few seconds later, they turned a corner and they were in a large, open room. A table was in the center and a few steel cabinets were scattered around the room, along with several spot lights, all aimed at the table.
The tall, black woman from the pier was there and she turned around the moment they entered the room. Kate's eyes widened as she realized what exactly this was: a crude excuse for a medical examination room.
Instinct finally caught up to her and Kate's eyes darted around the room. No exits, except for the one she just came through. No windows as they were underground, just like all the other bunkers. She twisted a bit in the man's grasp and he grunted.
"She won't stop moving, Bea," Neil looked to the woman pointedly, and as if to prove his point, Kate squirmed out of his grasp and tried to run for the door behind them. She didn't make it far before Alex and Neil were on her. A glimpse of a slumped form tied to a chair in the far corner of the room caught Kate's eye as Alex grabbed her dislocated shoulder.
"Sawyer!" Kate cried out, both in pain and in recognition. Sawyer didn't move, his shoulders slumped and his arms tied behind his back. He was unconscious.
A loud clatter echoed in the room, and everyone turned their head to the sound of it. Kate noticed someone else, also tied to a chair in the opposite end of the room.
Jack.
His eyes were wide as if he had just woken to the sound of Kate's cry and he leaned forward in the chair, his arms straining against the ropes that held him there. "Kate!" He yelled out, his voice harsh and dry, like he had been yelling for a long time.
"Jack!" Kate pulled against Alex and Neil to no avail. With a whimper, she gave up and looked to Jack with tears in her eyes.
Bea sighed, ignoring the outburst. She motioned for the man to bring her closer to the table. "We're just going to have to sedate her. I can't do the physical examination if she's going to be all over the place."
"No!" Jack cried out and pulled against the ropes that held him to the chair. No one heard him, except for Kate. Neil pushed her forward and with Alex's help, they had Kate laid out on the cold metal table.
Kate refused to stop moving. With every ounce of strength she had left, she kicked and struggled against them. Neil wondered out loud if they would need another person. Bea called out for Pickett and a moment later, another large man walked into Kate's upside-down view.
"We need to sedate her," Bea looked annoyed by the fact.
Pickett chuckled and Kate watched as he moved to a cabinet and opened the doors, revealing a plethora of medical paraphernalia. Alex and Neil now had her held down at the shoulders and the ankles and Kate winced as she pushed up against their force. She couldn't see Jack, but she could hear him repeating over and over to her that it would be okay, that he would get them out of there. She desperately wanted to believe him.
Pickett returned into Kate's line of sight and raised a vial and a syringe. He pushed the needle into the vial and she watched as the clear liquid filled the barrel. A sick feeling passed over Kate and she stilled, watching.
Pickett smiled down at her then and passed the empty vial to Bea. In one swift move, he had Kate's arm in his hand. Kate screamed and pulled away, managing to throw Neil off guard enough that she sat up. Alex held tight onto her ankles and she tried to kick the girl off, all the while beating at Neil with her good arm.
"No!" Kate yelled as Pickett reached for her arm again. Bea shook her head and stood off to the side of the group, watching as the entire scene unfolded.
"Stick her, Pickett!" Neil shouted.
"I'm trying, aren't I?" Pickett sneered back, making another grab for Kate.
Jack was yelling, his voice becoming louder over the din of Kate's cries and Neil's aggravated shouts. "Let her go!" He pleaded, though no one was listening. "You can keep me, just, please, let her go!" Kate had never heard Jack sound so desperate. It scared her.
Kate grunted as Pickett finally grabbed hold of her dislocated arm. "Screw you!" She spat out, unable to move her arm out of his grasp.
"Language, missy!" Pickett grinned and stuck the needle into her arm, not even bothering to find a vein.
Kate gasped in surprise at the sudden, cold metal of the needle in her arm. Her face froze in a silent cry as the man pressed down on the needle's plunger. Kate's eyes found Jack's as she felt the liquid infiltrate her bloodstream. Tears spilled over onto her pale cheeks and she felt her body give itself over to the medicine.
"That's better." Neil laughed and dropped Kate back onto the table with a thud.
Alex shot him a glare as she let go of Kate's legs. "Shut up."
Neil glared back and opened his mouth to fire back. A raspy gasp interrupted him and the four Others looked down at their patient lying on the table. Kate's eyes were wide open and she struggled for air. Unable to lift her arms to signal that she couldn't breathe, she whimpered and cried, body shaking uncontrollably.
"Kate!" Jack yelled out to her. "Kate!" Again, he pulled at his ropes. "Untie me!"
Bea moved forward to Kate and reached out to feel her pulse. Neil watched in horror and Pickett backed away from the table, bumping into a lamp. Alex panicked, "Is she supposed to do that!" she cried, pointing a finger at the struggling Kate.
Jack rocked his chair and slammed it down on the cement, garnering the attention of the group. "She's going into anaphylaxis! Do you even know what you're doing!" He screamed at them, eyes darkening.
Bea hesitated, unsure of what to do, before pointing over to Jack. "Untie him! Quickly!"
Neil rushed over and hours seemed to pass before the roped had been loosened enough for Jack to stand up out of them. He rushed over to Kate's shaking form, and felt for her pulse, pressing against her neck.
"She's losing blood pressure," he said out loud, more for his sake than anyone else's. Kate looked at Jack, her eyes pleading with him to save her. Jack caught her stare and with what he hoped was a reassuring smile, he told her he would.
"You!" He looked to Pickett. "I need epinephrine! Do you have any?"
Pickett nodded and backed into the cabinet, opening the doors again. He scanned labels and threw vials aside, looking for the right one that Jack needed.
Jack leaned down and pinching her nose, he blew a breath of air into Kate's mouth, watching her chest for any movement. When there was none, he yelled over his shoulder to Alex. "Go find me a pen!"
Alex nodded and ran off, tearing out of the room.
Kate grasped at Jack's shirt as she struggled to breathe. "Don't worry honey," He told her and pushed her hair out of her eyes. If it was possible, Kate looked slightly relieved at those words.
Glancing up, Jack saw a scalpel on a nearby tray. He grabbed it and looked back to Kate. Her eyes were closed now, consciousness escaping her. "Dammit!" He yelled. "Kate!"
Alex returned and handed him the pen she had found. Jack took it and ripped the ink cartridge out with his teeth, spitting it onto the floor. He threw the empty pen down onto the table next to Kate and with a silent prayer, he tilted her head back and he counted.
One.
Jack found the small indent in the center of Kate's neck, holding his fingers there as a place marker, he reached for the scalpel.
Two.
With a steady hand, he made a small incision a half inch wide from left to right where his fingers had been. Blood spilled out around the wound and for the first time, the sight of it made Jack sick.
Three.
His hand shaking now, he pinched the cut until there was room to fit the pen.
Four.
Grabbing the pen, he slid it into Kate's throat until it was almost an inch deep.
Five.
Jack closed his mouth over the open end and blew two quick breaths into the tube. Watching Kate's chest again, this time rising and falling with each puff of air, he waited five long seconds and then breathed into the tube again. He did this over and over again, pausing to check her pulse and finding it weak.
Jack pleaded with her still form to move, for her chest to rise on it's own, for her eyes to open and look at him.
All he needed her to do was breathe.