Title: Conception
Author: Diandra Hollman
Feedback: Would love it! diandrahollman@gmail.com
Website: http://diandrahollman.tripod.com/index.html
Date Finished: 
Rating: R average with a few spots of NC-17
Keywords: Would you believe I wrote a new story that 
    doesn't have any slash in it? No? Yeah, me neither. Slash, 
    Jack/Sawyer, Mpreg and a pretty good share of roughing up 
    of Jack just because. Let's call it therapy.
Spoilers: Follows cannon, sometimes loosely, sometimes very 
    closely, from the season one finale through season four. 
Disclaimer: All characters belong to JJ Abrams, Damon Lindelof   
    and Bad Robot. But if any future episodes involve Kate 
    being shot and surviving long enough for her to declare 
    her undying love to Jack and/or Sawyer after approximately 
    five thousand bullets are removed from her chest and Jack 
    goes on the rampage after her killer complete with a lot 
    of yelling and crying then I may have to kidnap them for 
    their own good as well as for the sanity of the viewing 
    audience.
Archive: E-mail me and I'll let you know when I finish it.
Summary: Sawyer's eyes widened as the pieces of the puzzle 
    finally clicked into place in his mind. "You're tryin' to 
    tell me you're pregnant?"
Author's Notes: The timelines are going to be pretty screwed 
    up in this story. Partly because I started writing it 
    before the season 2 premiere and then felt the need to re-
    write it to accommodate all the stuff having to do with 
    the hatch and the doomsday computer and now it's gotten 
    totally out of control. Working knowledge of the show and 
    character's backgrounds (as seen in flashbacks) as well as 
    several major (and some minor) plot points from all 
    seasons is assumed.


Conception
By Diandra Hollman 


It had been two months since flight 815 had crashed on this 
godforsaken island. It had been a little over a month since 
Jack and Sawyer had started fucking - just before the failed 
rescue mission that resulted in Walt being kidnapped by the 
Others. And it had been one week since Sawyer had first woken 
in the middle of the night to the sound of Jack vomiting in 
the bushes. The first time, Sawyer had assumed he had just 
gotten some bad fish from Jin and when Jack had crawled 
wearily into his tent he had feigned ignorance, molding 
himself to the other man's back and drifting back to sleep. 
After the third time, though, Sawyer found he couldn't ignore 
the nagging feeling in his gut.

"You dyin' on me now, Doc," he asked as Jack dragged himself 
back into the cave that had served as both a shelter and a 
doctor's office for the past months. 

"Wha'd you care," Jack rasped, slumping against the cool rock 
near Sawyer's head. 

Sawyer smirked as he watched Jack struggle to find a 
comfortable position to sit in. "I don't. I just don't want 
the villagers to go blamin' me if you drop dead on 'em."

"They wouldn't blame you."

"No," Sawyer asked, an amused glint in his eye. He reached 
casually between Jack's legs, swirling his fingers through the 
mixture of eucalyptus oil and probably a little blood that 
seeped from the doctor's swollen opening. "Seems to me I'd be 
the most likely suspect."

Jack groaned and reached down to still Sawyer's wandering 
hand. "They all know what we've been doing these last couple 
months."

A lazy smile tugged at the corners of Sawyer's lips. "So? That 
don't make me any less likely to kill you." Hell, given his 
history, he figured he was bound to eventually hurt Jack one 
way or another. He tried to pretend that this idea didn't 
bother him.

Jack sighed. "You want to kill me, go ahead. I'm too tired to 
fight you right now. At this point, you might even be doing me 
a favor."

Sawyer felt his stomach clench at the tone of Jack's voice, 
but he refused to let himself get soft. Not even here, where 
no one but Jack would see it. "Now what sport is there in 
that," he scoffed. He held out his arm invitingly. "C'mere."

Jack awkwardly moved to Sawyer's side, laying with his head 
pillowed on one deeply tanned shoulder. Sawyer's arms locked 
around him possessively. "Sleep now," he said quietly. "I can 
always kill you in the morning."

Sawyer laid awake long after Jack fell asleep, feeling the 
doctor's gentle breaths waft across the skin of his throat. 
No, he vowed silently. Jack would not die. Not as long as he 
had a say in the matter anyway. 'After all,' he thought, 
tightening his grip on Jack minutely. 'Possession is nine-
tenths.'

********

By the end of the week Jack was so drained that he needed 
Sawyer's help getting back to the caves - a place Sawyer found 
himself spending more and more of his time these days when he 
wasn't smooth-talking or outright harassing people into giving 
him their shift in the hatch so he could be there when Jack 
was. After that, Sawyer had taken to following Jack on his 
nightly trip into the bushes or the hatch bathroom, supporting 
him when his arms shook so badly he could barely hold himself 
up and practically carrying him back to bed. Sawyer would 
never admit it - at least not out loud - but he was beginning 
to really worry about Jack.

"Should we be training in a new doctor yet," he asked 
casually, trying to ignore the discomfort he felt at the 
thought.

"I'm fine," Jack repeated stubbornly, as he did almost every 
night that he didn't feel like death warmed over. Sawyer 
sighed resignedly and silently returned to his usual position, 
pressed against Jack's back, arm curled around him 
protectively.

********

As the days and weeks went by, Sawyer found it increasingly 
difficult to brush off the nagging feeling of unease. What 
food Jack managed to eat he could never seem to keep down. He 
was losing weight at an alarming pace and seemed perpetually 
exhausted. More so than usual, anyway. Word had spread quickly 
on the island about Jack's illness and the survivors had 
learned to go to Sun with all their non-emergency medical 
problems. Kate had taken to hovering over Jack, practically 
suffocating him in her determination to take care of him. 
Sawyer knew she couldn't bear the thought of Jack dying any 
more than he could, but it still annoyed him. He had to 
virtually drag her from the caves every night before 
collapsing in exhaustion beside Jack. It no longer mattered 
that Jack was too ill and tired for sex - Sawyer no longer 
seemed to desire it, too caught up in his worry over Jack in 
spite of his best efforts to claim otherwise.

Sawyer rarely let Jack out of his sight. He had probably 
learned the names of every person on the island as they came 
by, sometimes with medical emergencies but more often, it 
seemed, to check on the island doctor. It was during one of 
his increasingly rare moments alone that it happened.

A female voice tore through the jungle, screaming Jack's name. 
Startled, Sawyer dropped the book he had been reading and took 
off in the direction of the sound, his heart pounding as the 
primitive part of his brain took control. 

He found them in a clearing. Jack was sprawled on the ground, 
unconscious. Kate hovered over him, cradling his head in her 
hands, her bag of freshly picked fruit laying forgotten 
nearby.

"What happened," Sawyer demanded as he dropped to the ground 
next to her.

"I don't know," Kate babbled frantically. "We were talking and 
he just fell...I think he hit his head." Wild eyes met his. 
"He's getting worse," she said mournfully.

No. Sawyer was not going to let Jack die like this - from a 
little fall in the jungle with Sawyer helpless to do anything 
about it. Sawyer slapped him a little too harshly and barked 
"Damnit, Doc, wake up!" 

A reprimand rose to Kate's lips and quickly died in the wake 
of Sawyer's next words. "Come on, Jack, snap out of it." 

Jack. She had never heard Sawyer call him "Jack" before. The 
slip betrayed his fear more than anything else could.

A soft moan brought her out of her reverie. Jack's eyes 
fluttered open and he visibly strained to focus on the worried 
faces above him. "Where," he gasped.

"Jack," Kate called, forcing her voice to remain calm and 
soft. 

Jack's glazed eyes rolled in her direction. "Kate," he asked, 
clearly disoriented.

"Yeah, it's me," she said, a note of relief in her tone. "Do 
you think you can walk back to the caves?"

Jack's confusion seemed to clear at that and he nodded, 
immediately moving to sit up. Together, the two outlaws 
managed to help Jack get back to the caves. Sawyer barely 
suppressed a wince as he slung a supporting arm around Jack's 
waist, feeling just how thin the man had become. 

By the time they got him settled back in the caves, Jack 
seemed to have regained alertness and was busily working to 
convince Kate that he was just fine. Sawyer had gotten to know 
him better than Kate over the last few months, however, and he 
could tell that Jack was frightened. He just didn't want to 
show any weakness in front of Kate. 

"Man says he's fine, Freckles," Sawyer interjected, hoping 
she'd take the hint and leave. 

No such luck. "He collapsed and hit his head on a rock. I'm 
not a doctor, but I know that's not normal behavior. He could 
have a concussion."

Sawyer rolled his eyes exaggeratedly and turned to Jack, 
holding up his right hand, middle finger outstretched. "Hey, 
Doc, how many fingers am I holding up?"

"Fuck you," Jack muttered.

"See," Sawyer concluded triumphantly. "He's fine. Now stop 
fussin' and let the man rest."

Kate rolled her eyes, but gave in and left anyway. Though she 
did give a disapproving look to Sawyer on her way out of the 
caves. Sawyer knew she probably didn't trust him to take care 
of Jack, but then she didn't seem to trust anyone with 
anything. Not that he really cared if she trusted him. 

"How's the head, Doc," he asked after she left.

When his question was met with silence, he began to wonder if 
maybe he had misread Jack's cues and *he* was the one Jack 
didn't want around in his moment of weakness. He watched in 
confusion as Jack prodded at his own abdomen methodically, as 
if searching for something beneath the skin. When he found 
whatever he was looking for the expression on his face became 
one of realization and dread.

Sawyer knelt beside him. "You mind tellin' me what's going 
on," he asked impatiently. 

Instead of telling him, Jack grabbed Sawyer's hand and brought 
it to his abdomen, pressing the other man's fingers against 
the spot he had just been prodding at. "Can you feel that?"

Sawyer didn't need to ask what he meant. He didn't need a 
medical degree to know that the hard mass he felt under his 
fingers was not normal. Memories came flooding to his mind of 
pain, hospitals, watching a face that used to be so jolly and 
full of life turn gaunt and pale as death. It hadn't ended 
well then, with all of the luxuries of modern medicine and it 
certainly wouldn't end well here on an island in the middle of 
nowhere. "Tumor," he said out loud, his voice flat and 
emotionless.

"That's what I thought at first," Jack admitted.

"Well if it's not a tumor, then what the hell is it?"

Jack's eyes closed as he seemed to muster up the courage for 
what he was about to say. "Sawyer, I need to tell you 
something, but you have to promise me you'll just listen and 
try to keep an open mind."

"I'm a born and bred Southern Christian who's been fucking a 
man for the past four months. That open-minded enough for ya?" 
Granted Sawyer had never really been a model Christian, but 
there wasn't much point in splitting hairs over it.

Jack sighed. "I'm not..." He faltered, searching for the best 
way to say what he needed to say. "What do you know about 
hermaphrodites?"

Sawyer frowned, thrown by the question. "Half man, half woman, 
right?"

"Something like that," Jack conceded. "Some hermaphrodites are 
born with ambiguous sexual organs, but some can appear to be 
one gender until they hit puberty and their hormones start 
doing things they're not supposed to."

"You goin' somewhere with this, Doc?"

"I'm one of them," Jack finally blurted.

Sawyer blinked at Jack in stunned silence for several moments, 
as if he were waiting for a punch line that would never come. 
"Look," he finally said. "I don't know what kind of game 
you're playin', but..."

"No," Jack interrupted, gripping Sawyer's hand just tightly 
enough for him to feel discomfort. "Just hear me out. I got 
appendicitis when I was fifteen. They took x-rays and found 
out that I had an ovary."

"An ovary," Sawyer parroted skeptically.

"One ovary. One testicle. I've been on hormone therapy ever 
since."

Sawyer's eyes widened as the pieces of the puzzle finally 
clicked into place in his mind. "You're tryin' to tell me 
you're pregnant?"

"I can't know for sure yet...not without any medical 
equipment, but yeah, I think it's a possibility."

Sawyer lapsed into stunned silence.

"It shouldn't be," Jack continued, babbling nervously. 
"I'm infertile. Or I was, at least."

"So how did this happen," Sawyer asked, his voice laced with 
equal parts anger and frustration.

"I don't know," Jack snapped. He sighed and forced himself to 
calm down before he continued. "Locke claims the island cured 
his paraplegia. Maybe..."

"Locke," Sawyer repeated incredulously. "The crazy guy with 
the knives?"

Jack ignored him. "What if he's right, Sawyer? What if there's 
something about this island that is affecting our physiology? 
Repairing damaged nerves, restoring fertility. If there were 
an opening - some sort of rudimentary vaginal canal somewhere 
along the rectal wall..."

"All right, I get it," Sawyer interjected. "Somehow this 
hellhole of an island has gone and made you a goddamn freak of 
nature." He ran his hands through his hair nervously. "Is it 
mine?"

"Fuck, Sawyer, who else would it be?"

"I don't know," Sawyer spluttered. "You're the one with two 
sets of equipment! What d'ya need me for?"

"That's not how it works, Sawyer. Human beings need two sets 
of DNA to reproduce."

"Aw, hell." Sawyer bit his lip as silence fell over them 
again. "So you're not dyin'," he finally asked.

"Not yet, no."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means it was dangerous for Claire to give birth in the 
middle of the jungle and she didn't need a C-section. Even if 
I stayed in the hatch, there's just too many things that could 
go wrong. Odds are I won't survive. And that's if I even make 
it to term without any complications, which would be a miracle 
in itself."

"Can't you just..." Sawyer made vague hand motions in the 
direction of Jack's abdomen.

"Aborting the pregnancy would be even more dangerous," Jack 
explained calmly. "Without the right equipment and a sterile 
environment..." he shook his head. "My chances of survival are 
limited no matter what. At least if I try to carry it to term 
there's a chance the baby will survive."

Sawyer felt his shoulders droop a little in defeat. "A 
chance?"

"Better one of us than neither," Jack said in a flat, almost 
clinical tone. Sawyer's expression didn't change, even though 
his stomach twisted at these words. "I'll do my best to teach 
Sun and Kate everything I know, but there's no precedent for a 
man giving birth, so I have no idea what to expect..."

"Woah, hold on. Let's take this one crisis at a time here. I'm 
still tryin' to figure out how me gettin' you pregnant is even 
possible." It was the ultimate irony, really. He had been so 
careful all his adult life, taking all the right precautions 
to insure he didn't get one of his many one-night stands 
pregnant, only to impregnate *Jack*. "Aw, shit, I ain't cut 
out to be a daddy," he groaned.

A dry, humorless laugh erupted from Jack. "Neither am I."

Sawyer lay beside Jack, staring up at the cave ceiling 
defeatedly. "How much time've we got?"

"It's impossible to know for sure, but I'm guessing it's about 
two months developed already."

"Damn," Sawyer muttered. "What've we gotten ourselves into 
here, Doc?"

Jack didn't respond. He simply shifted his body closer to 
Sawyer's, unconsciously seeking warmth and comfort to combat 
the fear that his leadership status couldn't afford.

******

"Dude, are you sure you're okay?"

Jack sighed. He and Sawyer had decided to wait until he was 
sure his illness was caused by his pregnancy before they let 
anyone else know. Unfortunately, the longer they waited the 
more concerned people became. Jack felt like he was constantly 
reassuring everyone.

"I'm fine, Hurley," he said softly, barely looking up from the 
sink where he was diligently scrubbing dishes.

"But Kate said you were..."

"Man said he's fine, Curly, now beat it," Sawyer snapped, 
tossing his book aside in frustration.

Hurley left reluctantly, shooting Sawyer a wounded look on his 
way out of the hatch.

"Would it kill you to be civil every once in a while," Jack 
asked after he left.

"I don't know, it might," Sawyer fired back, a crooked half-
smile spreading across his face.

Jack shook his head and went back to washing dishes, his 
progress halted when Sawyer suddenly moved with cat-like 
stealth to stand behind him, wrapping his arms around the 
doctor's chest. Jack moaned softly as Sawyer's tongue painted 
abstract patterns on his neck. 

"So, Doc, you think you can handle a little strenuous 
activity?" He slipped his hand beneath the hem of Jack's 
shirt, smoothing his palm over warm, bare skin. 

Jack dropped a plate back into the water with a dull splash 
and groaned, tilting his head instinctively to grant better 
access to Sawyer's wandering tongue. "The button," he 
protested.

"Screw the damned button," Sawyer growled between kisses. He 
held back a groan as Jack stiffened suddenly and twisted in 
his arms.

"We can't just ignore it, Sawyer."

"I thought you didn't believe in that crap." He moved to claim 
Jack's lips, only to be halted by a firm hand on his chest.

"It doesn't matter. As long as it's our shift, we're 
responsible for making sure it gets pushed."

Sawyer opened his mouth to argue but the words died in his 
throat as the computer in the next room began beeping.

A flicker of victory danced in Jack's eyes and he raised his 
eyebrows expectantly. "You gonna get that?"

Sawyer grumbled a curse and let go of Jack reluctantly, 
trudging into the next room and entering the numbers into the 
computer, stabbing at the keys violently in his frustration. 
He was so busy scowling at the counter as it flipped back to 
108 that he didn't notice Jack approach until a strong arm 
wrapped around his chest. He smirked. "Change your mind, Doc?"

"I'll make a deal: I'll do it if you promise to lay back and 
let me do all the work," Jack murmured, so close to Sawyer's 
ear that he could feel his lips brush teasingly against the 
sensitive skin. At least if he was calling the shots he knew 
there would be less...*temptation* to ignore their duties.

Sawyer groaned. "I don't know...man in your condition...I'm 
not sure that's such a good idea."

Jack sighed and squinted at the counter. "Well, we have 107 
minutes left. We could stand here and argue or..." He trailed 
off with a smirk as Sawyer responded by dragging him toward 
the bedroom with a firm grip on his wrist.

**********

Sawyer barely contained his amusement at the look on Kate's face. 

"Is this some kind of joke?"

"No, it's not," Jack said gently. "That's why I've been sick."

She blinked at him, baffled. "How long have you..."

"My best guess is about two to three months."

Her eyes widened. "So when we went to get the dynamite..."

Jack winced. When he had traced back to the most likely date 
of conception he had been horrified to realize that he had 
been pregnant when they had been working with unstable 
dynamite and running from that...thing that Rousseau called a 
security system. "I didn't know then."

Kate looked for a moment like she wanted to scream at him for 
sneaking the dynamite into his own backpack instead of hers, 
not realizing just what he was risking by being so stubbornly 
obsessed with protecting her from harm. It passed quickly 
though and her expression melted into one of worry and 
confusion. "Are you sure? You just said you were sterile. What 
if something else..."

"I'm sure. I'm going to tell everybody eventually but I wanted 
to talk to you and Sun first. You're going to have to help me 
when the time comes to deliver the baby."

Kate's eyes widened and she sputtered. "Jack, I...I could 
barely help Claire. I can't cut you open..."

"We don't have much choice, Kate. I trust you."

Kate flinched subtly at that. "If anything happened to you..."

Jack put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey." She looked up, meeting 
his intense gaze. "It won't," he said firmly.

Sawyer rolled his eyes but bit his tongue. *Now* the good 
doctor decided it was a good time to start lying about the 
odds of survival. That figured.

Kate's eyes darted from one man to the other. "I knew you guys 
were..." She faltered, seemingly reluctant to say the words, 
then continued. "But I didn't know it was serious."

Jack glanced at Sawyer from the corner of his eye and said 
nothing. Honestly, he wasn't sure just how "serious" anything 
between them was.

"When are you going to tell people," Kate asked.

"Soon," Jack promised. "I just need to figure out how I'm 
going to do it."

Kate nodded. After a rather long, slightly uncomfortable 
pause, she stepped closer to give him a brief hug. 
"Congratulations."

Sawyer cleared his throat, shaking Jack back to the present. 
"We goin' or not," he asked impatiently.

Jack nodded and gave Kate a friendly smile before following 
Sawyer through the jungle, leaving Kate to finish gathering 
fruit.

"What the hell was that," Sawyer demanded when they were a 
safe distance away.

"What," Jack asked, confused.

"When were you plannin' on tellin' her the part where you 
think havin' this baby is gonna kill you?" 

Jack flinched. "I wasn't. Not today at least."

Sawyer stopped walking and spun to face him. "You didn't think 
maybe it was important to tell her she and Mrs. Miyagi are gonna 
be the new island doctors after they cut that kid outta you?"

"Not now, no," Jack said weakly. 

"And why the hell not?"

"Because I don't want to give them another reason to give up 
hope," he blurted. He sighed and forced his voice back into an 
even tone. "You saw how worried everybody was when they 
thought I was dying. They've already given up hope of rescue. 
If I tell them there's a very good chance I'll be dead in a 
few months..."

"Oh, get over yourself." Sawyer didn't like the direction this 
conversation was taking. So he decided to turn it around the 
only way he knew how. "Yeah, they were worried, but they got 
along just fine without comin' to you for every little ache 
and scratch. They'd get along just fine without you."

Jack blinked at him in shock. 

"'sides, I ain't givin' up that easy." He pulled Jack into a 
kiss so slow and tender that it seemed completely at odds with 
his words.

Jack sighed and leaned into the kiss. "Bastard," he murmured 
against Sawyer's lips.

Sawyer smirked. "'bout time you noticed." 

**********

Sawyer lounged in front of his tent, pretending to be 
engrossed in his book, his eyes focused on the spot several 
yards down the beach where Jack and Kate were deep in 
conversation. Ever since Jack had told everyone he was 
pregnant it seemed there were always people around him, 
offering help with this or that or just verifying that yes, he 
was serious about the whole pregnant hermaphrodite thing and 
yes, it was really Sawyer's baby. Rose especially was 
constantly offering him food, it seemed, and had volunteered 
to make alterations to his clothing as the baby grew.  Sawyer 
couldn't seem to get Jack alone for longer than a couple 
minutes before somebody or something drew his attention away 
and it was really beginning to grate on his nerves.

Kate looked in his direction suddenly. He didn't bother 
pretending he wasn't looking at them. She brushed back a 
strand of flyaway hair and nodded, cocking her head at Jack 
and murmuring something. Jack shifted and glanced in Sawyer's 
direction, murmuring something back. She gave him a tiny smile 
and nodded again.

Sawyer feigned intense concentration on his book as Jack 
walked away from her, pretending not to notice as he 
approached. He was surprised when Jack paused to kneel beside 
him, leaning close to speak directly into his ear.

"Meet me at the caves tonight," he said, his voice low and 
full of promise.

Sawyer swallowed a groan. "Sure thing, Doc," he said 
flippantly. 

Jack brushed his lips against Sawyer's jaw fleetingly as he 
leaned back. He gave Sawyer a look of blatant desire and then 
stood, leaving without another word.

Sawyer shifted slightly, trying to ignore the sudden surge of 
arousal he always got when Jack looked at him like that. He 
caught Kate looking in his direction and smirked as he fully 
realized what was going on. Jack had made arrangements to 
spend the night alone with him - no distractions - away from 
the hatch and the rest of the group, leaving her in charge. 
This day was definitely looking up.

*********

Sawyer arrived at the caves a good two hours before Jack. He 
took a nap while he waited, knowing he probably wouldn't get 
much sleep once Jack showed up. 'Hopefully,' he thought with a 
smirk. 

He woke to find Jack sitting beside him, watching him. "How 
long've you been there?"

Jack's fingers brushed the inside of his arm, sending shivers 
through him. "Not long. I had a hard time getting away."

Sawyer grumbled unintelligibly. "Any of 'em know you're here?"

"Just Kate," Jack admitted. "In case of emergencies."

Sawyer nodded. He would prefer nobody knew where they were but 
he knew Jack would never agree to that. "C'mere," he murmured, 
tilting his chin invitingly.

Jack leaned closer and let Sawyer pull him down into a kiss, 
groaning softly as Sawyer's tongue plunged past his 
unresisting lips. His remaining self-restraint crumbled and he 
fumbled to unbutton Sawyer's jeans, his fingers trembling. 

"Slow down, Doc," Sawyer whispered against his lips with a 
smirk. "We got plenty a time."

Jack shook his head and yanked Sawyer's jeans and boxers down, 
freeing his already half-hard length. He stood to strip off 
his own clothes while Sawyer kicked the restrictive material 
away.

Sawyer groaned as Jack straddled him a moment later, naked 
from the waist down, and leaned down to capture his mouth in a 
passionate kiss, grinding their hips together, heated cock 
brushing against equally heated cock. Sawyer matched his 
movements, thrusting up against him, hands going to the 
buttons of his shirt. Jack moaned loudly as Sawyer's teeth 
sank into his lower lip, tongue following close behind to 
soothe the bite, and gasped as the southerner's hands delved 
under his shirt, fingers pinching his nipples roughly. He 
fumbled with Sawyer's shirt, unbuttoning it clumsily, shoving 
the material aside and tracing the contours of hard muscle as 
he returned the fervor of Sawyer's kiss, their tongues 
tangling furiously.

Sawyer smirked as Jack broke the kiss with a groan, rocking 
his hips desperately. He reached down to cup Jack's hips, 
pulling him in tighter, grunting at the increase in friction. 
He hissed as Jack responded by seizing his wrists and 
repositioning them up by his head, holding them firmly to the 
ground. Jack's mouth covered his again, his kiss demanding and 
aggressive, grinding his throbbing cock against Sawyer's.

The need for air forced him to let up, though he hovered a 
hair's breadth away, letting their breaths mingle in the 
charged air between them.

"Damn, Doc, you really are worked up, ain't ya," Sawyer 
panted, his lips brushing Jack's. Jack growled incoherently 
and he smirked. 'Guess that's a yes,' he thought, bucking his 
hips up to meet Jack's thrusts.

Jack strained to look at the man beneath him as his senses 
gradually succumbed to the pleasure radiating through his 
body. "'m gonna come," he muttered.

Sawyer groaned, his cock twitching at the uninhibited passion 
and need in Jack's eyes - the pupils so dilated in arousal 
they appeared entirely black. "Don't let me stop you." He 
lifted his head to capture Jack's parted lips, swallowing his 
loud moan as the last of his restraint shattered and he ground 
his hips into Sawyer's hard. Sawyer raised his knees, planting 
his feet on the ground for leverage, and thrust back just as 
powerfully.

Jack came a short time later, his impassioned cry muffled by 
Sawyer's lips. Sawyer growled and rolled them both over before 
Jack had a chance to recover, thrusting against him 
mindlessly. Jack gasped and clutched at Sawyer's back, the 
pleasure still rolling over him as Sawyer shuddered to a halt, 
groaning loudly in his ear as he came, adding to the sticky 
mess on Jack's stomach. He held himself over Jack as he 
recovered, carefully keeping his weight from crushing the man.

Jack smiled up at him sheepishly as he came back to himself, 
fingering the edge of Sawyer's opened shirt. "Guess I got a 
little carried away."

Sawyer grinned stupidly. "Hell, Doc, if this's what happens 
when you stay away for a couple weeks I may have to start 
injurin' people myself just to keep you busy."

Jack laughed lightly and pushed the material from Sawyer's 
shoulders. Sawyer sat back on his heels and removed it 
completely, using it to wipe the remnants of their encounter 
from himself out of reflex. 

"Don't," Jack protested a moment too late. "I don't have any 
extra clothes."

Sawyer shrugged and tossed it aside. "Don't matter none. I can 
go without." His breath caught as he got a good look at Jack, 
sprawled on the ground, shirt half-off, skin flushed and damp 
with sweat, the slight bulge of his abdomen painted with their 
combined fluids. "Or maybe I'll just steal yours."

Jack chuckled softly, shaking his head. "Sorry. I'm not an 
exhibitionist."

Sawyer raised an eyebrow at him as he knelt back between the 
doctor's legs, spreading them wider with gentle hands. 
"Really? So that wasn't you I saw skinny dippin' a couple 
weeks ago?"

Jack's answering snort turned to a groan as Sawyer's hands 
lightly massaged the inside of his thighs. "I had boxers."

"Yeah, *white* ones," Sawyer countered. "Don't exactly leave 
nothin' to the imagination." He bent to lick their spent 
fluids from Jack's abdomen, the gesture at once both soothing 
and sensual.

Jack sighed, tunneling his fingers through Sawyer's long hair, 
brushing it back so he could see the man's face clearly. "You 
were watching me?"

"You kidding?" Sawyer grumbled between licks. "Damn near went 
in after you."

Jack hummed contentedly. "What stopped you?" 

Sawyer huffed. "You were givin' people enough of a show." He 
finished cleaning Jack's abdomen and began kissing his way up 
his body, careful not to let the man's chest hair tickle his 
nose. "Didn't need me rippin' those boxers off and fuckin' you 
'til you were screamin' my name."

Jack smirked, letting his hands roam lazily over Sawyer's 
back. "I don't know. I think a couple people might've enjoyed 
that," he said playfully.

Sawyer stopped licking at his collarbone abruptly and glared 
at him. "Hell no," he growled. "Ain't nobody else seein' you 
like this."

Jack laughed. "A little possessive, are we?" He stopped 
laughing suddenly and groaned. "Look who I'm talking to," he 
muttered.

"Damn right." Sawyer pressed his hips into Jack's, letting him 
feel his growing arousal. "Your ass is mine."

Jack pulled a piss-poor poker face, his eyes darkening with 
renewed lust. "Contrary to what you may believe, shoving your 
dick up my ass does not give you ownership rights."

Sawyer rolled his eyes. "I know that, Jackass. Do you always 
gotta kill the mood?"

Jack's face broke into a smirk. "Sorry."

Sawyer grumbled under his breath and bent to nip at the soft 
skin of Jack's throat. Jack's hands dipped lower, kneading the 
taut muscles of Sawyer's ass. The muscles flexed as Sawyer 
thrust against him, his cock quickly growing thick and heavy 
with blood. Jack's own spent cock stirred and he moaned as 
Sawyer's tongue dipped into his ear suggestively. 

"I want you again," Sawyer whispered.

Jack shivered as the warm breath tickled his damp skin. "Then 
take me," he whispered back, turning his head to nip at 
Sawyer's earlobe.

A loud groan erupted from Sawyer's lips and he strained to 
reach the backpack Jack had left nearby, loathe to detangle 
himself from Jack long enough to retrieve it. He swore and 
glared at the pack as he realized he couldn't quite reach it.

Jack surged against him suddenly, rolling him onto his back, 
straddling his hips and smiling down at him. He reached for 
the backpack, snatching it easily. He unzipped it and dug out 
a bottle of oil, tossing the bag aside. "Looking for this?"

"Yes," Sawyer hissed, snatching it from his hands and popping 
the cap, squeezing a generous amount onto his palm. He coated 
his fingers with the cool liquid and sat up, recapturing 
Jack's lips.

Jack gasped into Sawyer's mouth as he felt a slick finger 
massage his opening, spreading moisture and dipping 
tentatively inside. He tried to push back, force it deeper, 
but it moved with him, taunting him.

Sawyer's smirk turned to a hiss as Jack reached between them 
and wrapped his hand around Sawyer's renewed erection. 

"Get on with it," Jack snarled. Then he gasped as the world 
spun suddenly and he ended up flat on his back again. He 
moaned as the finger returned, this time sliding deep inside 
him. He spread his legs wider, tilting his hips to encourage 
Sawyer's attentions. 

Sawyer groaned and worked a second finger in beside the first, 
gently stretching the long-neglected muscles. He bent over 
Jack, kissing him deeply, thoroughly exploring the man's mouth 
with his tongue. By the time he got a third finger inside the 
clenching opening, Jack's hips were twitching with tiny, 
aborted thrusts, his cock once more standing at full 
attention. 

Jack's hand covered Sawyer's and he broke the kiss, panting. 
"I'm ready."

Sawyer eagerly pulled his hand free and reached for the oil, 
coating himself liberally, hissing at the shock of the cool 
liquid on his overheated skin. He lifted Jack's legs onto his 
shoulders and Jack reached down to guide him. They both 
groaned loudly as Sawyer thrust slowly into the tight heat. He 
stopped when he could go no further, taking deep breaths, 
moaning as Jack's muscles rippled around him, trying to coax 
him deeper.

"Fuck, you're tight," he grunted.

Jack moaned and thrust up against Sawyer restlessly. "Damnit, 
move!"

Sawyer shook his head with a chuckle. "Yes, boss," he 
muttered. He planted his knees firmly and began a rhythm of 
slow, leisurely thrusts, holding Jack's hips still with an 
almost bruising grip. He swore as Jack bucked against him. 
"Would you slow *down*? I'm tryin' to make this last."

Jack groaned and stilled reluctantly.

Sawyer let go of Jack's hips and collapsed forward onto hands 
splayed on the ground by Jack's head. "You got no idea how 
long I've been waitin' for this, Doc," he groaned.

Jack grunted, rolling his hips in counterpoint to Sawyer's 
languid thrusts. "I think everybody's got an idea the way 
you've been looking at me."

"I ain't the one who's been lookin' like he's been laid even 
when he hasn't."

"I'm pregnant, Sawyer," Jack grumbled. "I'm glowing."

"Yeah, well, you're glowin' in the damned *dark*," Sawyer 
muttered.

Jack chuckled breathlessly and wrapped one hand behind 
Sawyer's neck, dragging him down into a kiss, sighing as the 
blond nipped and licked at his kiss-swollen lips. His other 
hand went to the small of Sawyer's back, feeling the play of 
muscles beneath smooth skin that propelled the thick cock into 
his welcoming body. "Harder," he whispered.

Sawyer smirked. He was in no hurry now that he'd come once 
already. He was perfectly willing to take his sweet time until 
Jack was begging him to finish it. "Patience, baby."

A frustrated groan was his only warning before he was forcibly 
rolled onto his back. 

"Just once, Sawyer, I'd like you to listen to me," Jack said 
as he rocked over him, his rhythm only slightly accelerated. 

"I listen just fine," Sawyer protested, massaging Jack's 
thighs with open palms. "I'm just tired of you bein' so damned 
bossy."

"I am not," Jack grumbled, leaning back to brace himself on 
Sawyer's thighs, spreading his knees wide and riding the man 
with renewed purpose. 

"The hell you ain't. Even when we're fuckin' you always gotta 
be the one in control."

"Shut up," Jack retorted, the twinkle in his eyes assuring 
Sawyer that he wasn't serious.

"I mean it, Doc," Sawyer grunted, feeling his balls draw up 
toward his body. "One 'f these days I'm gonna have to tie you 
to a tree and gag you so I can fuck the hell outta you in 
peace."

Jack moaned and reached one hand forward to wrap around his 
straining length, stroking in time with his rocking movements. 
"Is that a promise?" he gasped.

Sawyer groaned, his cock twitching excitedly at the thought of 
having Jack completely at his mercy - of finally showing the 
good doctor once and for all what it was like to let somebody 
else be in control. He bat Jack's hand away and sat up, 
gripping his hips to guide his movements. "You'd like that, 
wouldn't you? Bein' all helpless...forced to take me in that 
tight ass o' yours until you scream," he whispered, his lips 
brushing Jack's cheek, scraping against rough stubble. 

Jack's breath hitched slightly and his hands went to Sawyer's 
shoulders, steadying himself as he rocked faster.

"I'd make you come 'til you damn near pass out...'til you beg 
me to stop. I'd fill you so full you'd taste it when I come in 
you."

Jack bit his lip to corral a whimper, the movement of his hips 
becoming irregular, desperate. "'m almost there...please..."

"Go ahead, baby. I'm right behind you," Sawyer husked, 
reaching one hand between their gyrating bodies and squeezing 
the head of Jack's cock between his fingers.

Jack cried out incoherently as he came, exploding over 
Sawyer's hand and stomach. Sawyer shouted as he followed close 
behind. 

Jack sagged against Sawyer, head dropping wearily to his 
shoulder. 

Sawyer summoned up what energy he had left, stubbornly holding 
himself upright as the last of his orgasm faded away. He 
groaned, closing his eyes as Jack's lips explored his neck 
lazily. "You really let me do those things I said?" he gasped.

Jack huffed softly, the warm puff of air against sweat-
dampened skin making Sawyer shiver. "I don't know," he 
murmured. "I've never done it before."

Sawyer groaned, mentally pumping his fists in the air and 
whooping for joy. When he'd first begun pursuing Jack he'd 
held the crazy hope that maybe he would be the first man the 
straight-as-an-arrow doctor had been with. That hope had been 
shattered when he'd first coaxed Jack into bed and gotten 
fucked six ways to Sunday. But now Jack was giving him 
another, equally promising opportunity. Breaking in a virgin 
may have been fun, sure, but breaking in a bondage virgin as 
stubborn and controlling as Jack was an even more exciting 
prospect. "Well, why didn't you say so? You got no idea what 
you've been missin'."

Jack snorted softly. "I never saw much appeal in getting tied 
up and spanked."

Sawyer groaned against at the mental picture that sprang to 
mind at the suggestion. "We don't gotta do anything you don't 
want."

Jack straightened, looking down at him with a soft smile. 
"I'll think about it."

He moved to slide from Sawyer's lap but was stopped by firm 
hands on his hips.

"Don't move."

"Sawyer," Jack moaned. "My knees are starting to hurt."

Sawyer groaned and reluctantly let go, helping Jack stretch 
out on the blanket beside him, following close behind. He lay 
propped on one elbow, his left hand lazily stroking the 
sensitive underside of Jack's arm, tracing the lines of his 
tattoo. "I missed this," he murmured.

"Which part," Jack asked suspiciously.

"Havin' you all to myself. No button, no emergencies. Spendin' 
a whole night with you just sleepin'."

"Just sleeping?" Jack parroted with a tired smirk.

"Mostly," Sawyer clarified with a straight face.

Jack's chuckle was broken by a gasp. His eyes went wide and 
his hand flew to his abdomen.

"What," Sawyer asked, alarmed. "What happened?"

"I think the baby moved."

Sawyer frowned. "You think?"

Jack grabbed his hand and pressed it over the soft swell. 
"Here...feel that?" 

Sawyer's eyes widened in amazement as he felt a slight flutter 
beneath the taut skin. "Yeah, I feel it."

Jack laughed breathlessly. The sensation wasn't entirely 
pleasant, but he barely noticed the discomfort.

Sawyer shook his head. "Fuck..." He realized that the reality 
of Jack's condition had never fully sunk in until that moment. 
He wasn't sure he was ready to face it. "This is crazy."

"No crazier than anything else on this island," Jack said 
softly.

Sawyer's eyes met Jack's, reading his apprehension. "I can't 
take care of a kid. Not by myself."

Jack sighed, lightly rubbing the back of Sawyer's hand. "There 
is a chance I will survive this," he allowed. "But it's small. 
You'll be fine. And you won't be alone. I'm sure there's 
plenty of people back at camp who would be willing to help."

"And what happens if we ever get off this island?"

Jack's fingers stopped their soothing patterns. "We'll think 
of something." He rushed on as Sawyer opened his mouth to 
argue. "Let's not talk about it right now. I'm getting tired."

Sawyer backed down easily. He knew they would have to talk 
about it at some point, but he would gladly stall that 
conversation for as long as possible. Besides, he didn't want 
to ruin their first night together in weeks. He nudged Jack. 
"Roll over."

Jack rolled onto his side and Sawyer unfolded a second 
blanket, spreading it over them and molding himself to his 
lover's back. Jack sighed and relaxed into Sawyer's embrace.

Sawyer nuzzled Jack's ear gently. "Get some sleep," he 
murmured.

Jack hummed contentedly, already half asleep.

Sawyer lay awake for several minutes longer. He wasn't sure 
what frightened him more - being forced into the roll of 
single father or losing Jack. The fact that he didn't know the 
answer made it that much more distressing. 

He pushed those thoughts from his head. Jack was right. They 
had several months yet before they had to really worry about 
it. Maybe they would be rescued by then and Jack could be in a 
sterile hospital with all the necessary equipment when the 
baby was ready to be born. His hand went unconsciously to 
Jack's chest, resting over his heart as he drifted to sleep, 
reassuring himself with the strong, steady beat.

**********

Jack woke feeling rested for once. He shifted and felt a pair 
of strong arms surrounding him. He tried to turn his head but 
all he could see was a mess of blond hair. "Sawyer," he 
whispered.

Sawyer grunted and shifted closer, tightening his grip. Jack 
moaned softly as he felt the blond's morning erection prod at 
his backside. He rubbed Sawyer's arm insistently. "Sawyer," he 
called, louder.

"I heard ya," Sawyer mumbled sleepily. His hand smoothed down 
Jack's body, wrapping loosely around his half-hard cock, 
coaxing it to life. Jack moaned deeply and tilted his head as 
Sawyer's lips and teeth explored his neck.

"Where'd you put the oil," Sawyer asked, his voice still 
gravely from sleep. 

"You were the last one who had it," Jack reminded him.

Sawyer groaned and lifted his head to look around the cave 
half-heartedly. "How bad do we need it?" If he didn't have to 
move from his current position he was damned if he was going 
to.

Jack sighed and stretched his arms as far as he could reach, 
searching beneath the edges of the blanket. He made a 
triumphant little noise as his fingers closed around the 
bottle and yanked it from it's hiding place, handing it back 
to Sawyer.

"You do it."

"Why am I doing all the work," Jack protested.

"'cause once I'm inside you, *I'm* gonna be doin' all the 
work. 'sides, I thought you liked bein' in charge."

Jack rolled his eyes and squirted oil into his palm, muttering 
a few expletives under his breath as he reached back awkwardly 
to spread it over Sawyer's stiff cock.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Sawyer muttered back, snatching the bottle 
from Jack and squirting oil onto his fingers before capping it 
and tossing it aside. His hand replaced Jack's between their 
bodies, seeking the doctor's sex-swollen opening. 

"Lift up," he ordered a minute later as he positioned himself.

Jack lifted his leg and Sawyer caught it, guiding it back over 
his hip as he slid deep inside Jack's sleep-warmed body.

Jack moaned as he was filled once more, shifting slightly to 
accommodate Sawyer's wide girth. He gasped as Sawyer gave an 
experimental thrust, the angle forcing him into contact with 
Jack's swollen prostate. 

Sawyer forced himself to hold still, pushing aside the 
primitive urge to just thrust into that tight heat until he 
climaxed. "You okay?"

Jack shifted and Sawyer bit back a moan as the flesh gripping 
him rippled with the movement. "Yeah, just...go slow."

Sawyer groaned. "I'll try, darlin'." 

He rocked slightly; tiny, semi-thrusts that barely qualified 
as movement but managed to let him slide the slightest bit 
deeper.

Jack moaned and reached back to tangle his fingers in Sawyer's 
hair, turning his head and bringing their lips together in a 
sloppy kiss. Sawyer's tongue invaded his mouth, plunging and 
retreating, the wet slide of muscle mirroring the movements of 
his body. He smoothed a hand over the soft swell of Jack's 
abdomen and Jack smiled as Sawyer pulled back, lips hovering 
less than an inch apart, each of them sharing the other's 
panting breaths.

"What're you smilin' about," Sawyer growled.

"Nothing," Jack whispered. He sighed as Sawyer nipped at his 
kiss-swollen lips. "I like this." Sawyer snorted and he rushed 
to add "being able to stay in bed late without worrying about 
people walking in on us. Spending time with you."

Sawyer groaned. "You gettin' mushy on me now, Doc?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "I'm pregnant."

"That gonna be your excuse for everything?"

Jack chuckled. "Ever been around pregnant women? They're very 
hormonal...can get upset with very little provocation."

Sawyer paused in his movements. "You sure you ain't been 
pregnant since before the crash?"

Jack turned his head to glare at Sawyer and Sawyer smirked. 
"I'm kidding." 'Sort of,' he added mentally. He resumed his 
thrusts, rocking against Jack in a slow, gentle rhythm. He 
nuzzled Jack's neck, kissing the spot where he could see a 
pulse throbbing beneath the skin. "I like this too," he 
admitted. "Havin' you all to myself. Bein' able to make you 
scream without worryin' about the neighbors."

"I don't scream," Jack protested.

"We'll see," Sawyer smirked, reaching down to wrap his hand 
around Jack's straining erection. 

Jack's hand clamped around his wrist before he could move. 
"Not yet," he pleaded.

"Relax," Sawyer soothed, brushing his lips against the 
delicate ridges of Jack's ear. "I know what I'm doin'. I just 
wanna touch you."

Jack's hand loosened reluctantly and he hissed as Sawyer gave 
a tentative stroke, spreading the moisture leaking from the 
tip with his thumb. Jack went limp in surrender, moaning as 
Sawyer's fist moved in slow, rhythmic strokes, in time with 
the thrust of his hips. 

Sawyer brought Jack to the edge time and time again, only to 
stop, bring him back down and start all over again. He 
repeated the process until Jack's body trembled 
uncontrollably, incoherent moans spilling from his lips in a 
near constant stream. Sawyer felt a surge of pride beneath the 
almost overwhelming lust. Seeing Jack Shephard reduced to a 
mindless, quivering mass made holding off his orgasm for so 
long completely worthwhile. 

"Please," Jack gasped, reaching back to dig his fingers into 
the back of Sawyer's thigh, massaging the sweat slick skin 
spasmodically. 

"Please what," Sawyer murmured, his fingers dancing along the 
length of Jack's swollen cock, tracing the sensitive veins 
beneath the heated flesh. "Tell me what you want, darlin'." 

Jack gasped loudly and bit his lip, his body stilling as his 
orgasm washed over him suddenly. He moaned softly and spilled 
over Sawyer's hand.

Sawyer cursed and returned his hand to Jack's hip, holding him 
steady as he thrust his way to his own climax, his fingers 
digging bruises into Jack's thigh as he spilled into his 
still-spasming body.

"I told you I don't scream," Jack panted.

Sawyer muttered something unintelligible and nuzzled his neck, 
holding him tightly as they both slowly recovered.

"I should probably get back," Jack sighed. He didn't move, 
though, loathe to leave the warmth of their makeshift bed. He 
could still feel Sawyer's cock softening inside him. It was a 
strange, intensely intimate feeling.

Sawyer grunted softly. "You don't 'gotta' get nowhere. There 
ain't any emergency. Everyone'll be fine without you for a few 
hours."

Jack gave in easily, letting himself relax in Sawyer's 
embrace. Then he frowned and turned his head to squint at 
Sawyer. "A few hours?"

Sawyer smirked. "Give me about twenty minutes and I might be 
able to go again."

Jack groaned. "Haven't you had enough yet? I'm already going 
to be limping for the next twenty-four hours."

"Hey, you were the one molestin' me last night," Sawyer 
argued.

"Yeah, well, that was last night. I'm not eighteen anymore. 
And I'm starting to feel like there's nothing between us but 
sex."

"Really fuckin' good sex," Sawyer muttered, nibbling at Jack's 
earlobe. 

Jack's eyes closed briefly and he cleared his throat to 
disguise his building whimper. "Be that as it may, that can't 
be the *only* thing we have in common."

Sawyer hesitated. This conversation was headed for dangerous 
territory and that made him nervous. 

Jack felt him stiffen and rushed to reassure him. "I just want 
to do something other than fuck every once in a while."

"Like what," Sawyer asked cautiously. 

Jack felt his stomach gurgle suddenly. "Like have breakfast 
for starters."

************
(a week later)

Jack woke, disoriented, on the bottom bunk in the hatch. He 
climbed from the bed, nearly falling on his face before 
finding his balance. He seemed to be doing that a lot more now 
that he was noticeably increasing. The baby was growing so 
fast that Rose could barely keep up with the alterations to 
his clothes, though he could still hide it if his shirts were 
loose enough. 

Jack grew wary as he walked from one room to another. It was 
too quiet. "Locke?" His alarm grew as he glanced into the main 
computer room and found it deserted. There was no way Locke 
would have abandoned computer duty, so where the hell was he?

He spotted the door to the armory open. As he moved closer to 
it he noticed Locke's crumpled form on the floor. He was at 
the older man's side in seconds, calling his name worriedly. 
He didn't think to look around for anything or anyone that 
might still be posing a threat first - a move he regretted the 
moment he heard the click of someone cocking a rifle behind 
him. He looked up and froze in surprise.

"Stay in there."

"Michael, what...what are you..." Jack ignored his order, 
taking a step toward him, arm out to show that he wasn't 
posing a threat.

"Stay in there, Jack," Michael snapped, gripping the rifle 
tighter.

Jack hesitated. He hadn't known Michael long, but he doubted 
the man capable of murder. His voice sounded desperate - like 
he didn't want to hurt Jack but he would if he got in the way. 
"Hey...whatever's going on..."

"Look, I'm going after my son and nobody is going to stop me, 
okay," Michael cut in. "That is my right. That is a *father's* 
right."

"There's another way to go about..."

"Get in the damn room," Michael shouted.

"You gonna shoot me, Michael," Jack shouted back, his hand 
going unconsciously to his abdomen. 

Michael fidgeted and glanced behind him nervously, as if he 
expected someone to come in at any second. "No, but I'll shoot 
your damn computer." He ranted about the computer not being 
what everybody thought it was but Jack was no longer 
listening, too focused on figuring out how to calm the 
irrational man. 

He stepped back as Michael waved the gun in his face again. 
"We'll do this together, okay," he offered, trying to make his 
voice calm and soothing. "I'll come with you."

"No," Michael said quickly. "I have to do it. Now. I have to 
do it alone." His voice wavered slightly. Then he squared his 
shoulders and stepped back, slamming the door to the armory 
shut, trapping Jack inside.

********

Sawyer swung open the door to the armory to find Jack expertly 
loading one of the guns, Locke sitting behind him looking 
chastened. "Howdy boys," he greeted warily.

"What are you doing Jack," Locke asked.

"We're going after him," Jack announced, shoving the gun into 
Locke's hands and grabbing a rifle, brushing past Sawyer on his 
way out of the armory.

"What..." Sawyer turned to Locke. "What happened," he demanded.

"Michael went after Walt," Locke answered simply.

Sawyer's eyes widened and he spun on his heel, marching after Jack 
and snatching the gun from his hands before he knew what was 
happening. "You're not goin' anywhere," he growled.

Jack glared at him. "I didn't ask for your permission." He reached 
for the rifle but Sawyer yanked it from his reach. 

"Do I have to remind you that these people *shot* me? You think 
you're just gonna go runnin' after 'em?"

"He has a point, Jack," Locke put in, emerging from the armory, 
stuffing his gun under his belt. "You have to think about the 
baby."

Jack clenched his fists in frustration. "Well what the hell are we 
supposed to do?"

"I'll go," Sawyer volunteered. "You stay here and keep pushin' 
that button." 

"You can't go after them with only two people," Jack argued.

"Don't intend to. I'm sure Freckles'll be glad to come along."

Jack wanted to argue but held back, biting his tongue. Every 
instinct in him screamed to keep Kate safe but deep down he knew 
she was capable of taking care of herself. "Fine."

Sawyer glanced over his shoulder at Locke, who was too wrapped up 
in his own preparations for the trek to pay attention to the two 
of them. He brushed his lips against Jack's in a fleeting kiss and 
stroked his fingertips against his stubbled jaw. "Relax. We'll get 
'im back."

*******

Jack paced restlessly, feeling like he was going insane. He 
couldn't stand just sitting there, waiting for the rescue party to 
come back...or not. He couldn't stand knowing that they were out 
there and he couldn't help. He glared at the counter as it flipped 
from 48 to 47.

He jumped when he heard voices at the hatch entrance. His 
momentary panic was quelled instantly as he recognized Charlie's 
loud British lilt.

"Hey, where's Locke," the former rocker asked as he and Hurley 
rounded the corner. 

Jack saw his opportunity and lunged for it. "If anybody comes 
looking for me, tell them I'll be back by tonight," he said, 
grabbing the gun Sawyer had insisted he keep out just in case.

"Why? Where are you going," Charlie asked warily.

"Just do it, okay," Jack said impatiently, tucking the pistol into 
the back of his jeans.

"Well, excuse me," Charlie snarked. "I was just wondering where 
our pregnant doctor might be going that requires him to carry a 
sodding gun."

Jack sighed. "Michael went looking for Walt. Locke, Kate and 
Sawyer already went after him. I'm going to try to catch up to 
them."

"Are...you sure that's a good idea," Hurley asked. 

"I'll be fine."

"Great," Charlie muttered. "Bloody fantastic. These 'Others' have 
murdered people you know. And I hear they're especially fond of 
kidnapping children and pregnant people but go ahead. Go ask them 
to give Walt back. I'm sure we can find another doctor. Maybe 
there's another group of survivors on the other side of the 
island, I'm sure they'd have one."

Jack stifled a groan. "I'll be fine, Charlie. I know what I'm 
doing..."

********

"Look what I found," the Other announced, shoving a bound, gagged 
and hooded Jack into the clearing. "He was following his friends 
about a half a click back."

Michael's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to protest but was 
immediately threatened into silence by the man who looked like 
Santa's crazy brother.

Jack fought against the man holding him fruitlessly before being 
shoved onto a fallen log. He heard a voice whispering nearby but 
couldn't make out the words. He twisted his arms, trying to loosen 
the rope on his wrists and jumped when a shot rang out from 
nearby. He could have sworn the noise was followed by Sawyer's 
voice letting loose a string of curses. Jack tried unsuccessfully 
to shout around the gag in his mouth and received a sharp blow to 
the head for his efforts.

"Shut up," a voice hissed.

"You're bluffing," Kate said to the bearded man on the other side 
of the thick bushes. "There's probably more of us than there are 
of you." She sounded sure but the look in her eyes betrayed her 
wariness.

"That's an interesting theory," the Other said patronizingly. Then 
he lifted his arms like Moses parting the Red Sea and shouted 
"Light 'em up!"

Kate wavered slightly as about a dozen torches lit just outside 
their clearing.

"We seem to have a misunderstanding here so listen carefully," the 
bearded man continued. "Right here, there's a line. You cross that 
line, we go from misunderstanding to...somethin' else. Now give me 
your weapons, turn around, go home."

"No," Sawyer growled.

The Other sighed. "I'd hoped it wouldn't come to this. Bring him 
out, Alex!"

Sawyer stiffened, eyes widening as Jack was shoved roughly into 
the clearing, hands bound behind his back, bag over his head - 
obviously more to disorient him than fool them as there was no 
mistaking who their captive was, even though the loose shirt and 
surrounding darkness managed to conceal his condition. Still, it 
wasn't until the man ripped the sack from his head that Sawyer was 
able to shake himself from his frozen stupor. 

He only took a few steps forward before the bearded man put a gun 
to Jack's head. "Don't!"

Sawyer stopped in his tracks and fumed. "If you hurt him..."

"Shut up," the man snapped.

Jack struggled, a string of muffled curses emitting from behind 
the gag. The Other tightened his hold in response, pressing the 
barrel of the gun harder against the base of his skull. "It's your 
choice," he said, his voice almost sing-song. "You can hand over 
your weapons and go back where you came from or you can live with 
the fact that I shot this man right in front of you when you could 
have saved him just by going home."

Jack's eyes met with Sawyer's, trying to plead with the 
Southerner. 'Don't.' Those guns were the only leverage they had 
against these people... His eyes slammed shut as the pistol ground 
painfully into his skin.

"I'll give you to the count of three," the bearded man snarled. 
"One...two..."

"Stop," Kate cried. She stepped forward, her hands out in a 
placating gesture, and dropped her gun on the blanket beside the 
fire before stepping back. Locke followed her lead a moment later. 
Sawyer remained frozen in place, staring dumbly at the surreal 
scene before him.

The bearded man cocked his head and adjusted his grip, dragging 
the barrel of the gun from Jack's chin to his temple. Sawyer 
didn't miss Jack's wince as the metal dug into his skin, likely 
bruising him. He glared, not taking his eyes from the Other as he 
stepped forward slowly and deposited his rifle on top of the other 
weapons. "You and me ain't done, Zeke," he growled.

"Zeke" merely smirked and pushed Jack toward him before bending to 
pick up the weapons and disappearing into the night.

Sawyer untied Jack's hands none too gently and ripped the gag from 
his mouth. "Have you lost your mind?"

Jack shrugged him off and glowered silently. 

"Well," Sawyer prompted, Jack's silence only infuriating him 
further.

"Sawyer," Kate scolded, stepping closer and placing a hand on 
Jack's arm, her concerned eyes searching his face. "Are you all 
right?"

"Yeah," Jack replied gruffly. "I'm fine." He shrugged out of her 
grasp and backed away from the group. "We should go."

"It's getting late," Locke pointed out. "We've already got a fire 
going. Maybe we should stay here - start again in the morning."

"If it's all the same to you I'd rather set up camp further from 
the line," Sawyer snit.

Locke held up his hands in surrender. "Okay...we'll move."

Sawyer kicked dirt onto the fire and the group headed back the way 
they had come.

Hours later Sawyer sat staring at the new fire, poking it absently 
with a stick as his companions slept fitfully. He couldn't sleep. 
Not while they were unarmed in the middle of the jungle surrounded 
by boars, polar bears, Others and who the hell knew what else. He 
glared at Jack. He knew why Jack had followed them. Hell, if it 
were him, he would've done the same thing. But that didn't' mean 
he had to forgive the man.

********

When they arrived back at camp Jack headed straight for the hatch. 
Sawyer followed him. The last shift on the button had just ended, 
which meant they would have a good twenty minutes at least without 
interruption. 

"You gonna tell me what the hell that was about," he demanded.

"Leave me alone, Sawyer," Jack snapped without turning his head.

"I thought I told you to stay here," Sawyer pressed.

"You don't get to tell me what I can and can't do." Jack unpacked 
his backpack, tossing things on the counter angrily.

Sawyer's jaw clenched. He seized Jack's wrist in a bruising grip, 
spinning him around. 

Jack's eyes flashed. "Let go of me."

"What the hell is your problem? You tryin' to get yourself 
killed?"

Jack's eyes narrowed and he tried to yank his arm free, hissing as 
Sawyer responded by tightening his grip. "Let go. Now," he 
ordered.

"Not until you tell me why the hell you would do something so 
stupid!"

Sawyer staggered as Jack's other fist connected with his jaw. It 
was his left hand and therefore not as strong a blow as it could 
have been but it was still a mean punch. He let go of Jack's wrist 
instinctively and wiped at the corner of his mouth, surprised when 
he didn't find blood.

"I don't have to explain myself to you," Jack growled.

Sawyer's eyes darkened and he lunged at Jack, grabbing him by both 
wrists and wrenching his arms behind his back, pinning him against 
the counter before he had a chance to struggle.

Jack glared at him defiantly. "What are you gonna do? Hit me?" He 
twisted his wrists against Sawyer's grip, clenching his teeth 
against the pain it caused. "You would have done the same thing!"

"I ain't the one puttin' my baby in danger," Sawyer snapped.

"I don't need you to protect me," Jack practically shouted.

"Fine then," Sawyer shouted back. "Next time I'll let the crazy 
man blow your head off!"

"That wouldn't have happened if you had let me go with you in the 
first place!"

Sawyer gaped. "Is that what this is about? Me not lettin' you run 
off into the jungle after Mike?"

"No, this is about you treating me like a child! I don't need you 
to decide what I can and can't do!"

"Obviously you do!"

Jack's eyes widened and he fought to free himself from Sawyer's 
grip with renewed purpose. "Let me go!"

"Damnit, Jack, listen to me!" 

Jack stilled in grudging defeat and glared at Sawyer.

"You knew goin' after Mike would be dangerous, 'else you 
wouldn't've had us take the guns. And I know you can't track worth 
a damn. So what the hell were you thinkin'?"

Jack's jaw clenched.

"Answer me, you son of a bitch," Sawyer yelled, twisting Jack's 
right arm slightly, regretting the move immediately when it made 
Jack yelp.

"They took Claire," Jack finally blurted. "They took Walt, they 
killed Scott and they almost killed you. I can't just sit around 
here pushing a button, waiting for them to come after us again!"

Sawyer went silent, stunned. He felt all the fight go out of 
Jack's body at once and shook his head in disgust, stepping back 
and letting go. Jack clutched his reddened wrists to his chest 
defensively, like a wounded animal. He gasped and staggered as 
Sawyer suddenly lashed out, backhanding him across the face. 

Sawyer winced as Jack slumped against the counter, catching 
himself on the tile before he could fall. His eyes widened as Jack 
inexplicably began chuckling.

"Didn't your daddy teach you not to hit pregnant women," he 
sneered in a poor imitation of Sawyer's voice.

Sawyer clenched his fists, his jaw tightening. "Yeah, Jackass, he 
did. Right before he shot my momma in the face."

Jack looked up at him, his eyes dark. He pulled himself upright 
and whirled, swinging at Sawyer's head.

Sawyer caught his arm easily and spun them both around, shoving 
Jack against the nearest wall and pinning him with a firm grip on 
his elbows.

"You wanna kill yourself, go ahead," he spit. "But you're doin' it 
on your own. I ain't savin' your ass again."

"Jack?"

Sawyer looked toward the sound of Kate's voice, startled. She came 
around the corner, her eyes widening as she took them in. "Sawyer! 
What are you doing?!"

Sawyer let go of Jack, taking a step back. "We were just having a 
little talk, Freckles." He turned back to Jack, who glared at him 
defiantly. "I'll see you later, Doc," he muttered, brushing past 
Kate on his way out the door.

********
(A couple days later)

"What the hell do you think you're doin'," Sawyer demanded. He 
had been surprised to come back from a swim to find Jack 
rummaging around in his tent but that surprise was quickly 
turning to anger. It wasn't like Jack to go behind his back 
like this - not anymore. If he wanted something Sawyer was 
willing to give all he had to do was ask. The fact that he 
didn't told Sawyer that either Jack knew he would refuse to 
give up this particular something or their relationship was on 
shakier ground that he had realized.

Jack held up a bottle of pills. "You stole these from the 
hatch," he accused.

Or maybe it was a combination of both. Sawyer's eyes narrowed. 
"You stole them from me."

Jack flustered. "What?"

"Y'all were in my stash when I left. I just took back what was 
mine."

Jack blinked in shock. He had always known Sawyer could be a 
selfish son of a bitch, but this was really pushing it too 
far. "These belong to all of us, Sawyer. To the group." He 
tried to slip past Sawyer but was held back by a firm grip.

"You don't want to do this," Sawyer growled, his voice low, 
dangerous. "Just give me the pills and we'll forget it ever 
happened."

Jack searched his eyes. "Are you threatening me?"

Sawyer didn't even blink. "Last chance, Doc." He knew he 
wouldn't lay a hand on Jack, but there were other - non-
physical - forms of punishment.

Jack's face hardened. He tightened his grip on the bottle and 
brushed past Sawyer, heading up the beach and back toward the 
hatch. Sawyer watched him, his anger and frustration reaching 
a boiling point. It wasn't just Jack he was mad at, but 
everyone - the world in general. Ever since he got back people 
had treated him like he was insignificant - like he had no say 
in anything of any importance. They ignored him, treated him 
like the harmless bully they didn't have to listen to. Well he 
would change that. He would make them listen.

*********

In the end it proved an easy con. He fed Kate hints about Jack 
and Ana's plan to raise an army to fight the Others, knowing 
that Jack had likely said nothing to her and that that would 
get under her skin like nothing else. The has-been was more 
than willing to help him - if only to get back at Locke for 
embarrassing him. For a moment - when it looked like Sun may 
have actually been hurt by Charlie's attempts to drag her into 
the jungle - Sawyer wondered if he was making a mistake. But 
it was too late to back out by then. Besides, he reasoned, she 
wasn't really hurt - just rattled enough to put the rest of 
the group on edge. Everything fell into place from there and 
Kate, Jack and Locke played right into his hands, becoming so 
wrapped up in their distrust that they didn't see what was 
happening until Sawyer had already stolen the guns from under 
their noses. 

He felt a pang of guilt after the con was revealed and he saw 
the flash of hurt in Jack's eyes in the light of the campfire. 
But the hurt quickly settled into a look Sawyer could read all 
too well as he had seen it many times before. Disappointment. 
Jack wasn't surprised. In fact, he knew he should have 
expected something like this would happen. Sawyer convinced 
himself that it didn't matter. He was taking the guns from 
*Locke*, not Jack, though he realized that this newly gained 
power could help him keep Jack in check - keep him from 
running off into the jungle in a fit of self-righteous anger 
without first clearing it with Sawyer. 

Kate accused him of wanting people to hate him but she was 
wrong. He wanted people to respect him, however grudgingly. 
But more than that, he didn't want to be a follower. He 
refused to take orders from people who were no more qualified 
for leadership than he was. This was his way - the only way he 
knew how - of rebelling against the closest thing they had to 
authority on this godforsaken spit of land. Of making the tail 
wag the dog.

*********

It had been days - weeks - since Sawyer had talked to Jack. He 
had barely even seen him until he waltzed up on Sawyer's poker 
game to advise Hurley to fold. He proceeded to correctly guess 
Sawyer's hand and basically read everybody's tells as if they 
were stamped on their foreheads. The opportunity was too good 
for Sawyer to pass up.

"Think 'cause you watch poker on TV that you can tussle with 
the big boys?"

Jack looked torn for a moment between his sense of duty and 
the offer to relax for a while. "I've gotta get back to the 
hatch."

"Hatch ain't goin' nowhere, Doc," Sawyer smirked. "How 'bout 
you put your mangoes where your mouth is?"

Jack wondered if that was supposed to be a come on. From the 
look on Sawyer's face he suspected he was at least supposed to 
think so. Sawyer, Kate and Hurley all looked at him 
expectantly as he debated and finally relented.

Victory danced in Sawyer's eyes as he gathered the cards and 
re-dealt. This game was finally getting interesting. 

*********

It didn't take long for Sawyer to realize he was in over his 
head. He had been sure when he invited Jack to join them that 
he would be as easy to read as a book. But it turned out that 
Jack wasn't as easy to read at the poker table as he was in 
the bedroom. 

"Think you're in my head, Doc?"

"Call or fold," Jack said coolly, sipping at his water bottle.

Sawyer confidently laid down his pair of queens. There was no 
way Jack could beat that.

Jack gave him a subdued smirk and revealed his own pair of 
kings. "But at least I'm not in your head," he teased. He 
glanced at the pile of fruit he had collected in an 
embarrassingly small number of hands and added "Well, I guess 
that's it."

"What do you mean 'it'," Sawyer snapped. No matter how he felt 
about Jack it irked him that the man could breeze in and beat 
him at his own game so effortlessly. He couldn't let him leave 
without trying to regain some of his dignity.

"Sawyer, you're busted," Jack said gently. "I got it all. It 
wouldn't really be fair for you to go out and pick more 
mangoes."

"Oh, I got a helluva lot more mangoes," Sawyer fired back. 
"Wanna play real stakes? Name 'em."

Jack laughed. "It's a pile of fruit."

Sawyer bristled. "Yeah, and I want it back."

"Should I go and get a ruler," Kate asked suddenly.

Both men glanced at her, startled. Sawyer had almost forgotten 
she and Hurley were still there. He ordered Hurley to leave, 
figuring Kate would take the hint and follow suit. 

Hurley glanced between the two men. This was promising to lead 
to either a hell of a fight or a make-up. Either way it 
promised to be entertaining and he was reluctant to walk away 
from it.

Kate made the decision for both of them, standing and 
announcing "let's go leave these boys to their sandbox." 

Hurley followed reluctantly and Jack frowned, wondering what, 
exactly, they thought was going to happen here.

"One more hand, Doc. What's it gonna take?"

Jack pretended to think about it for a minute as if he hadn't 
known exactly what he wanted and how to get Sawyer to give it 
to him from the beginning. "The medicine you stole from the 
armory. All of it."

Sawyer glanced sideways at him. He had known Jack would find a 
way to get the meds back sooner or later. He had also known 
that he would give them to Jack, although he wouldn't make it 
easy...didn't want anyone to think he was getting soft. But 
now here was Jack offering him the perfect opportunity on a 
platter. All he had to do was keep playing, even though he was 
sure now that he would lose - badly. "Deal."

********

After another hand in which Sawyer got his ass handed to him 
he decided he couldn't hold back his curiosity anymore. "So 
where'd you learn to play cards, Doc?"

Jack's eyes wandered for a moment like he was stalling, 
debating his answer. "Phuket."

Sawyer frowned. "What the hell were you doin' in Thailand?"

Jack looked mildly surprised.

"What, you don't think I know where Phuket is?" 

Sawyer flashed a dimpled smile briefly, enough to make Jack 
smile involuntarily and look away, a blush rising to his 
cheeks. He knew he was well into his second trimester, which 
explained why he couldn't stop thinking about Sawyer, or, more 
accurately, about fucking Sawyer. The other day he had caught 
sight of the man reading in front of his tent and been 
hypnotized. The glasses resting on the bridge of his 
nose...the graceful fingers manipulating the pages...the soft, 
bronzed skin of his throat, partially revealed by his half-
unbuttoned shirt. He had longed to feel those hands on him, to 
run his tongue over the sharp line of his collarbone. He had 
been startled to hear the soft whimper that spilled 
involuntarily from his lips and had darted back into the 
jungle before the fantasy got the better of him. But now here 
he was, sitting across from Sawyer, trying to win back the 
medicine through a game of poker, absolutely certain that if 
they weren't in the middle of the camp in the open he wouldn't 
be able to control the urge to knock the table aside and beg 
Sawyer to fuck him until he couldn't see straight. He could 
see the suggestion, the longing, in Sawyer's eyes and knew he 
wanted the same thing. He swallowed a groan and tried to 
ignore the blood rushing between his legs, forcing himself to 
focus on Sawyer as he began dealing the cards.

"Far East, huh? Wouldn't'a taken you for a world traveler. 
That where you got the art on your shoulder?"

Jack didn't hear him, too focused on his hands as he dealt. He 
frowned as he realized what Sawyer was doing. "How about you 
deal again?"

Sawyer blinked at him. "What?"

"This time from the top of the deck."

Sawyer looked down at the cards and smirked. "Well, I had to 
try."

Jack smiled hesitantly and watched carefully as Sawyer 
gathered up the cards and reshuffled. Sawyer looked at Jack as 
he re-dealt the cards. It was obvious he had underestimated 
Jack. It was also obvious that he had much to learn about this 
man. The hints of a dark, seedy past intrigued him and he 
found he was looking forward to weaseling them out of him - a 
task that could prove challenging as the doctor had seemed 
determined to duck around the subject, refusing to answer even 
Kate's innocent queries regarding his tattoos. He decided that 
he would find a way to get Jack to tell him about whatever 
demons he was avoiding, even if it killed him.

********

"Do you even know what amoxicillan is," Jack asked as Sawyer 
added it to the pot.

Sawyer shook his head. Jack wasn't the only one with a tainted 
past. "You may've been to Phuket, but I've been to 
Tallahassee." Jack stared blankly. "Let's just say somethin' 
was burnin' and it wasn't from the sunshine." Jack blinked, a 
frown beginning to crease his forehead. "Don't worry. Nothin' 
too serious," he added quickly.

Jack shook his head and absently shuffled his cards, looking 
back and forth between the table and the mound of fruit beside 
him. "I'm all in."

Sawyer searched his blank face and smirked. "Well that's the 
move of a man who wants me to lay down."

Jack ignored the blatant suggestion in his purposeful wording. 
"You're not gonna lay it down."

"I'm not, huh," Sawyer taunted. "Why's that?"

Jack looked around and leaned in, as if he were about to 
reveal a secret. "Because there's a bunch of people watching 
us right now and you don't want them to see you lose. Again."

Sawyer faltered, glancing at the small group standing several 
yards away. Were those binoculars? He was pretty sure they 
were just waiting for the two of them to fight and/or kiss and 
grope each other but Jack was right. He would gladly surrender 
the meds to Jack - he'd won them fair and square after all - 
but he wouldn't do it publicly and ruin the image he'd worked 
so hard to maintain. "All right. I call. Whatcha got?"

Jack tossed his cards on the table and Sawyer gaped. "A pair 
of nines? You pushed in with a pair of nines?" He had just 
been thoroughly out-bluffed. 

"You caught me," Jack said "innocently". "Let's see 'em."

Sawyer grumbled and slapped down his even more pitiful hand.

"Guess it was enough, huh," Jack noted smugly.

Sawyer muttered a few curses. He didn't mind the losing 
part...much, but the definitive proof that Jack was a better 
player and could call his bluff so easily made him want to 
slap the good doctor silly. Or at least fuck that self-
satisfied smirk from his face, he thought as Jack hauled 
himself to his feet with a tiny groan.

"I'll come get the meds later," Jack said, picking up his 
backpack and walking away.

"Hey," Sawyer called, stopping him in his tracks. "When I 
asked you what you wanted for stakes...why didn't you ask for 
the guns?"

"When I need the guns, I'll get the guns," Jack replied 
confidently.

Sawyer watched him leave, debating whether or not he should 
follow him or just wait for him to come back for the medicine. 
He had no doubt Jack was right. He had just proven he was 
capable of manipulating Sawyer into giving him what he wanted. 
But that was just a pile of fruit and some pills he had known 
he would eventually hand over anyway. He wouldn't let go of 
the guns quite so easily.

*******

Jack had entertained the admittedly unlikely hope that Sawyer 
would not remove the meds from his stash before Jack came to 
collect, forcing him to reveal the location of the guns. But 
when he entered Sawyer's tent they were sitting in a haphazard 
pile on a corner of an Oceanic Airlines blanket. Sawyer lay 
sprawled across the rest of the blanket, hands folded beneath 
his head, waiting. 

"I didn't think you'd let them go this easy," Jack admitted as 
he knelt on the ground and began loading the medicine into his 
backpack.

"I ain't *lettin'* 'em go. You won 'em fair and square." 
Sawyer watched Jack methodically place the jars one by one 
into the pack. "You never answered my question."

Jack looked up. "What?"

Sawyer sat up suddenly, his face mere inches from Jack's and 
Jack resisted the impulse to pull away. Intense eyes bored 
into his and his breath hitched slightly as Sawyer's fingers 
brushed his shoulder, over the tattoo the Southerner knew like 
the back of his own hand. "You get these in Phuket?"

Jack nodded, his eyes unerringly drawn to Sawyer's mouth, 
watching the way his lips moved, molding his words from that 
deep, drawling voice that was once again invading Jack's 
thoughts and dreams.

Sawyer smirked as he saw blatant desire rapidly take over 
Jack's face. "Why don't you tell me what it is you really 
want?"

Jack forced himself to look away, his fingers trembling 
slightly as he zipped the backpack. "I don't know what you're 
talking about." His eyes slammed shut as Sawyer's thumb 
brushed his lower lip. 

"Course you do," Sawyer said softly. "I've seen you watchin' 
me. Only thing keepin' you from draggin' me into the jungle 
like a damned caveman is you need people to think you still 
hate me."

Jack's eyes narrowed. "I do hate you."

Sawyer's hand drifted down to settle on Jack's hip. "You just 
go ahead and keep tellin' yourself that. But that don't change 
the fact that you still want me to strip you naked and fuck 
you 'til you can't walk no more."

"I never said it did," Jack muttered, letting go of his pack 
and grabbing Sawyer's head with both hands, bringing their 
lips together violently.

Sawyer was slow to respond, startled by the sudden reversal. 
He recovered quickly, cradling the back of Jack's head and 
matching his unrestrained hunger, biting at his lips, their 
tongues fighting for dominance. 

Jack's fingers fumbled with the buttons on Sawyer's shirt, an 
impassioned groan slipping from his lips. Sawyer swallowed the 
sound with a growl and swatted his hands away impatiently. He 
twisted around, dragging Jack onto his "bed" and pulling back 
so he could remove his shirt himself. Jack took the hint and 
yanked his own shirt over his head, tossing it aside before 
attacking Sawyer's jeans. Sawyer groaned as the material was 
pushed out of the way and a hot, wet mouth engulfed his 
rapidly hardening length. 

"Keep that up and this'll be over real soon," he muttered. He 
hissed as Jack's answering moan sent vibrations shooting 
through his spine. For a man who claimed to have had little 
experience with men outside of a couple drunken encounters in 
college, Jack could suck cock like a pro. 

Jack bobbed his head a couple more times and pulled away 
abruptly, unbuttoning his own jeans frantically and wiggling 
out of them gracelessly, sending them in the same direction as 
his shirt. 

Sawyer wrestled out of the remainder of his clothing and 
crawled over Jack's naked form like a predator cornering his 
prey. He took Jack's mouth in a rough kiss, his hand going 
automatically to wrap around the doctor's bobbing length.

"No," Jack gasped against his lips, halting his movements with 
a tight grip on his wrist. "I want you inside me."

Sawyer groaned loudly, his cock twitching excitedly. Bastard 
was going to kill him. He clawed at the edge of the blankets, 
fishing out a half-empty bottle of lotion.

Jack's eyes widened. "You anticipated this?"

Sawyer flipped open the bottle and poured some of the milky 
substance onto his palm. "Like I said, I seen the way you've 
been lookin' at me." He held back another groan as he wrapped 
his hand around his cock, coating himself with the lotion. 
"Figured it was only a matter of time." He knelt between 
Jack's legs, hooking his hands under the man's knees to drag 
him closer, spreading his thighs wider.

Jack moaned as a slick finger slid inside him, his hips 
twitching as it found his prostate immediately. "Don't." 

Sawyer jabbed it again pointedly, delighting in the little 
squeak he got in response.

"Damnit, Sawyer, don't. Just...fuck me already."

Sawyer groaned. "Roll over."

Jack clambered to his hands and knees, spreading his legs wide 
and tilting his hips backward, opening himself up to Sawyer. A 
surge of arousal went through Sawyer as he took in the obscene 
display. He ran one finger around the sensitive rim of the 
exposed opening, his cock twitching as it clenched in 
anticipation.

Jack groaned, shifting impatiently. "Please...Now!"

Sawyer positioned himself behind Jack. Jack felt the swollen 
head of Sawyer's cock nudge against him and tried to push 
back, eager to feel that full, thick length inside him. 
"Please," he repeated, his voice barely more audible than a 
breath.

Sawyer's hands went to Jack's hips, holding him steady, 
stilling his movement. "Relax," he murmured. 

Jack blew out a noisy breath and opened his mouth to tell 
Sawyer to get the fuck on with it already but the words died 
with a strangled moan as Sawyer pushed past the outer ring of 
muscle and slid deep inside him in one swift plunge.

Sawyer ground his teeth as Jack's body opened up and welcomed 
him inside with little resistance. He pulled back and pushed 
in again without giving Jack time to adjust. Whatever self 
restraint he may have had left flew out the window as Jack 
responded by arching his back and thrusting his hips backward 
against Sawyer's tight grip, growling softly. He didn't want 
tenderness. He wanted a quick, hard fuck. Sawyer happily 
obliged, slamming into Jack with little finesse. Jack 
responded with a noise that reminded Sawyer of a cat in heat 
and matched his movements.

It only took a few thrusts for Jack to come. He gave a wild, 
incoherent shout, all of his muscles going tense for one 
seemingly endless moment and then relaxing completely, his 
entire body quivering. His arms went weak and he lowered 
himself to his elbows, pressing his flushed hot cheek to the 
cool blanket. He frowned as Sawyer's thrusts slowed to a stop. 
He knew the man hadn't come yet - the hard length still 
impaling him was proof enough of that.

"Y'okay," Sawyer asked through clenched teeth. 

"I'm fine," Jack panted, his words slurring slightly. "Why'd 
you stop?"

Sawyer muttered something unintelligible and bent low over 
Jack, hooking his arms under his shoulders and hauling him 
upright.

Jack sighed and leaned back against Sawyer's broad chest. 
"What the hell are you doing?"

"Shh." Sawyer began rocking his hips in tiny thrusts, barely 
moving. 

Jack groaned at the gentle stimulation to his sex-swollen 
passage. "You're not gonna make me come again."

"Hush up, I'm tryin' to concentrate."

Jack closed his eyes and leaned his head against Sawyer's 
shoulder, letting his mind drift, basking in the glow of his 
recent orgasm. He didn't react as Sawyer tipped his chin with 
gentle fingers and covered his lips in a slow, deep kiss, his 
tongue invading Jack's mouth in time with the movement of his 
hips. His hand smoothed down Jack's chest, headed for his 
stomach, splaying his fingers against the swollen bulge where 
their child grew and massaging gently. 

Jack broke the kiss with a sigh. "Sawyer, would you just 
come?"

"Damnit, Doc, can't you just sit still and shut up? I never 
said I was doin' this for *you*." Not completely anyway. He 
couldn't help that he got off on making the all-powerful 
doctor come undone. Bonus points if he could make him beg.

"Then get it over with," Jack grumbled.

"You got someplace you need to be?"

Jack opened his mouth to reply but all that emerged was a 
strangled little yip as Sawyer altered his angle slightly, 
sliding his cock against Jack's swollen prostate.

Sawyer smirked. Bingo. "That's better."

Jack moaned softly and hissed, "Bastard."

A spark of victory pierced through the dark lust in Sawyer's 
eyes. "Love you too, darlin'."

Jack glared at him through eyes that were slightly unfocused. 

Sawyer paused his movements and tapped the outside of one of 
Jack's thighs. "Sit up a bit."

Jack grumbled under his breath but complied, shifting his 
knees closer together. Sawyer moved so his own knees framed 
Jack's and squeezed slightly as he slowly pulled out until 
only the head of his cock remained inside. He hissed and Jack 
swore as he drove back in, the new position constricting 
Jack's channel, squeezing Sawyer tightly.

Sawyer set up a slow, steady rhythm, pulling halfway out and 
thrusting deep, making sure to brush Jack's swollen gland 
along the way. He had learned long ago the benefits of taking 
his time and giving his partner pleasure - often multiple 
times - before letting go himself. But this, he decided as he 
felt Jack's body ripple around him, drawing him in, trying to 
milk his orgasm from him, was really testing the limits of his 
endurance. He dipped his hand lower, cupping Jack's wasted 
length, trying to coax it back to life. Jack moaned softly. 
"That's it," Sawyer encouraged. 

Jack's hands reached backward, his fingers digging into the 
back of Sawyer's thighs, clumsily trying to direct Sawyer's 
movements, feeling the tension building low in his abdomen 
again. His vision blurred hotly and he panted, arching as 
Sawyer bit and licked at his neck, latching onto the soft skin 
at his throat and sucking, bringing blood to the surface until 
Jack squirmed at the pleasurable pain. Jack gasped as he 
reached a plateau suddenly, his mind going blank as all 
sensation zeroed in on the parts of him that Sawyer touched.

He came quietly the second time, his eyes rolling back in his 
head, hips pulsing with the waves of pleasure, his cock 
twitching dryly in Sawyer's hand. 

'Good enough,' Sawyer thought with a growl, tossing aside his 
remaining self restraint and giving a few more sloppy thrusts 
into Jack's spasming body before his climax rolled over him. 
Jack felt wetness between his legs as Sawyer continued to 
thrust through his orgasm and dimly registering the pain of 
the man's teeth sinking into his shoulder. He moaned and 
slumped in Sawyer's arms, not trusting the man to keep him 
from falling but not really giving a shit at the moment.

Sawyer caught him clumsily, his grip tightening as he slowly 
regained control of his senses. He pulled out, hissing as the 
relatively cool air assaulted him, and lowered Jack to his 
side on the blanket, following close behind, facing him but 
not touching him. His chest swelled with pride as he watched 
Jack slowly recover, noting the deep flush of his sweat-
glistened skin, the dramatic heaving of his chest and the 
dazed, utterly relaxed look on his face. He shivered as his 
own sweat cooled but didn't move a muscle to do anything about 
it.

Jack's eyes opened slowly and Sawyer caught a flash of 
vulnerability before he looked away. Then, unexpectedly, he 
shifted closer to Sawyer, nuzzling him, kissing the dip in his 
neck.

Sawyer frowned. "You okay, Doc?"

Jack hummed and brought his lips to Sawyer's ear. "Tell me 
where they are." 

Sawyer stiffened. "What?"

"The guns," Jack murmured.

Sawyer pushed him back, searching his face in disbelief. 
"That's what this is all about? You gettin' me to tell you 
where the guns are?"

Jack frowned. "What do you mean?"

Sawyer rolled away from Jack and sat up, reaching for his 
shirt. "Rule number one, Doc: don't try to con a con. Or you 
gotta at least do a better job."

Jack pushed himself upright, shaking off the last remnants of 
pleasurable lethargy. "I'm not trying to con you, Sawyer, I 
was just hoping you'd be reasonable."

Sawyer snorted and stood, reaching for his pants and hopping 
from one foot to the other to yank them on. "Reasonable? How 
is givin' you the guns reasonable?"

"You can't be the only one who knows where they are," Jack 
argued, feeling his cheeks flushing again for an entirely 
different reason. "If anything happened to you..."

"What makes you think I'm the only one who knows?"

Jack faltered, staring in shock. "Who else knows?"

Sawyer glared at the fastenings of his jeans as he did them 
up. "It ain't important." He gave Jack a smile that was closer 
to a sneer. "'f something happens to me, you'll know."

"Sawyer..." Jack moved to get up and stopped suddenly with a 
nearly inaudible whimper.

Sawyer momentarily forgot his anger when he saw the pinched 
look on Jack's face. He knelt beside him and took Jack's chin 
in his hand. "What happened? Did I hurt you?"

Jack shook his head. "Baby..."

Sawyer's alarm grew. "What about it?"

"It's moving," Jack hissed.

Sawyer frowned and rested his hand over the bulge in Jack's 
abdomen. Sure enough, he could feel rippling movements under 
his palm. "Is that bad," he asked.

"No. It just hurts," Jack groaned. 

The confused wrinkles in Sawyer's forehead deepened. "Is it 
s'pposed to?"

"Abdominal pregnancy," Jack explained. "They're usually 
painful." His hand joined Sawyer's on his abdomen, rubbing 
gentle circles in an effort to soothe the fetus. 

Sawyer felt the restless movements slow. Jack relaxed, 
breathing deeply. Once he had regained his thoughts he covered 
Sawyer's hand with his own and waited until Sawyer's eyes met 
his. "Please. Just tell me. No one else has to know." 

Sawyer's expression hardened again and he ripped his hand from 
Jack's, reaching for the doctor's clothes and dropping them in 
his lap unceremoniously. "Get dressed." He stood and headed 
for the tent flap. 

"Sawyer, don't," Jack called after him. 

Sawyer hesitated, his posture stiff. "Take your meds and go 
back to the hatch, Doc," he said over his shoulder. "We're 
done here." Then he pushed back the flap and stomped out.

Jack stared after him in shock for several minutes, feeling 
sick. The sickness gradually morphed into anger as he tugged 
on his clothing. He knew he should have expected this reaction 
from Sawyer, but the cruel bite to his words...the fact that 
he thought Jack would trade sex for the guns...well, he could 
see how it might look like that. But the fact that Sawyer saw 
his desire as simply a manipulation pissed him off. Obviously 
he didn't trust Jack. After all the times he had saved 
Sawyer's life, everything they'd been through, the fact that 
Jack was risking his own life to bring the man's child into 
the world, Sawyer still didn't trust him.

Jack ground his teeth as he felt wetness slip from inside him 
- evidence of his weakness. He wondered why he kept coming 
back, why he let Sawyer do this to him, get under his skin. At 
some point he may have entertained the idea that he could 
change the man, but now he saw the pointlessness of it. Sawyer 
would never change. Even now that they both knew their days 
together were numbered. Their relationship - such as it was - 
would always be about lust, hate and, at times, grudging 
alliance.  

Jack grabbed his backpack and stormed out of the tent, cutting 
through the camp on the beach and heading for the jungle, 
ignoring the knowing looks of some of the other survivors as 
he passed them. He couldn't face anybody right now. Sawyer was 
nowhere to be found. Not that Jack wanted to find him at the 
moment. In fact, he realized, he wasn't sure he ever wanted to 
see him again. 

********

"...three weeks ago," a voice Jack didn't recognize was saying 
when he entered the hatch. Whoever it was sounded frantic, 
voice pinched with pain. "We were staying in a cave off the 
beach...At least untie my arms!"

Jack rounded the corner to find Locke and Sayid crouched 
beside a bound man. The man had an arrow through his shoulder, 
yet neither of the other men seemed concerned or inclined to 
do something about it. "What the hell is going on here," Jack 
demanded.

All three men looked up at him in surprise. Nobody noticed the 
small, fleeting smile that tugged at the captive man's lips, 
the spark of recognition in his eyes that transformed into 
shock as he took in Jack's obviously pregnant form. Sayid told 
Jack about Rousseau trapping this man - Henry Gale, he said 
his name was - and she believed he was an Other.

"An other *what*?" Henry moaned.

Jack fell immediately into doctor mode, kneeling awkwardly 
beside Henry and giving him water. Henry couldn't tear his 
eyes from the bulge in Jack's middle. He wondered if his 
fevered mind was playing tricks on him, but he didn't have a 
chance to further ponder this strange turn of events before he 
passed out.

**********

"Is that really what it looks like," Henry finally asked 
during one of his daily trips to the bathroom, nodding to 
Jack's stomach.

"Yeah," Jack answered simply, not moving from his position in 
the doorway as Henry moved to wash his hands. 

Henry nodded. "Do you mind if I ask..."

Jack cut him off. "Actually I do."

Henry looked surprised. "I was just curious."

Jack looked away from him and shifted awkwardly. He hadn't 
agreed with Sayid's "interrogation" of Henry, but he didn't 
trust the man either. "I'm a hermaphrodite," he said flatly.

Understanding flashed in Henry's eyes and he looked away, 
turning off the water in the sink and reaching for a towel. 
"When is it due?"

"I'm not sure," Jack lied. "I've been a little fuzzy on time 
since we got here. Are you done?"

Henry gave a brief, tentative smile and nodded, letting Jack 
lead him back to his cell. "Is the father on the island too," 
he asked innocently.

Jack hesitated, his hand on the door. There was nothing about 
the man's questions that suggested anything other than natural 
curiosity, but they still made him uneasy. Perhaps because 
ever since Jack had pulled an enraged Sayid from him before he 
could beat the man to death he had been strangely calm and 
docile, as if accepting whatever fate was in store for him at 
their hands...or feeling confident that he would be rescued. 
"Yes."

Henry just nodded thoughtfully, picking up the book Locke had 
given him and settling on his cot without further question.

Jack closed the door and spun the combination lock, telling 
himself he was imagining the knowing, solicitous flash in 
Henry's eyes whenever the man looked at him. 

**********
(A couple days later)

"They'll never give you Walt," Henry said with distressing 
surety. 

Jack stared at him a moment longer before brushing past Ana 
out of the armory. Ana glowered at Henry and shoved the door 
closed with a dull thud, following Jack into the kitchen.

"I'm not so sure trading people's their thing," she said 
hesitantly, watching him fuss with his backpack, getting ready 
for his trip out to the “line”. 

"Well, talking to him is getting us nowhere," Jack pointed 
out. "So maybe we can get something for him."

"You want me to come with you," she asked tentatively.

Jack glanced into the next room where Locke sat hunched over 
the drawing he had been working on for several hours it 
seemed. Something had happened to Locke in the time he had 
spent alone with Henry. Jack didn't know what it was but it 
made him uneasy and he didn't feel like finding out what would 
happen if they were left alone again. "You need to stay here."

Ana seemed to understand his meaning and accept his judgment. 
She handed him the gun. "You need it more than I do."

Jack accepted the weapon and flicked it open to count the 
number of bullets left.

"Do yourself a favor, man," she continued. "Don't go out there 
alone."

Jack smiled reassuringly. Ana, while seemingly as defensive of 
him and his child as anyone else in their group, had never 
tried to talk him out of anything - only offering help and 
advice. She seemed to understand his need to do something 
about these Others posing a threat to them, even if it meant 
putting himself in danger. Maybe it was because she and her 
small group of survivors had been through hell because of them 
but whatever the reason Jack appreciated her support and 
reservation of judgment. "Okay."

*********

Jack found Kate and Sawyer squatting beside a small inlet of 
water, Kate catching tadpoles with her bare hands while Sawyer 
watched and offered both encouragements and taunts in equal 
measure. "Hey," he greeted.

"Hey yourself," Sawyer replied, his eyes roving shamelessly up 
and down Jack's body.

Jack spared him a quick glance and then focused on Kate. "I'm 
going back out into the jungle to talk to our friend with the 
beard. See if we can make a trade."

Sawyer's eyes widened. "You're doin' what now?"

"Sawyer," Jack sighed.

"Don't you 'Sawyer' me. Why the hell would you wanna go do 
something stupid like that?"

"I'm just going to talk to him," Jack spit, annoyed. "Not 
challenge him to a duel."

Sawyer opened his mouth to reply but Kate cut him off with a 
hand on his arm, still damp and slippery from the water. "He 
wants to trade Henry for Walt," she explained. Jack nodded, 
his lips pressed in a firm line.

Sawyer forced himself to calm down and stood. "And I s'pose 
you're inviting me 'cause you want a gun, huh?"

"I'm not inviting you, I'm inviting Kate," Jack replied 
blandly, enjoying the brief look of hurt that flashed in 
Sawyer's eyes a little too much. "I've already got a gun, but 
thanks for offering."

Sawyer spluttered. "How in the hell'd you get a gun?"

Jack gave a huff of a laugh. "Does it matter?"

'Damn right it matters,' Sawyer thought angrily. 'Someone's 
gonna have hell to pay for armin' you and lettin' you run off 
into the jungle like a damned fool.' He said nothing though, 
too steamed over Jack's refusal to let him go along, if only 
to protect him.

Kate glanced back and forth between the two of them and 
nodded. "I'll get my things."

"You sure you don't need me to come along," Sawyer tried 
pathetically. He knew Jack had been upset after his failed 
attempt to get Sawyer to give up the guns but how long was he 
planning on staying angry? 

"Yeah, I'm sure," Jack said abruptly, glancing at Sawyer but 
not meeting his eyes. 

Sawyer's eyes narrowed. Something wasn't right but hell if he 
knew exactly what it was. He watched the two of them walk away 
and decided he would just have to pull Jack aside as soon as 
they got back and give him a good talking to.

**********

The net appeared seemingly from nowhere, closing around them 
and lifting them several feet into the air. "Sorry," she 
whimpered when it stopped moving.

Jack grunted and squirmed uncomfortably for a moment before 
giving up with a sigh. "You okay?"

Kate nodded. "Yeah."

He turned his head to inspect their prison. "This isn't one of 
theirs," he noted and sucked in a breath as the movement caused 
the net to swing, forcing Kate to press uncomfortably tight 
against his abdomen, squeezing the air from his lungs.

"No," she agreed. "It's not sophisticated enough." She 
grunted, her voice strained as she braced herself against his 
chest, steadying them. "Must be one of Rousseau's traps so 
she's not far from here."

"It could be a week before she shows up," Jack grumbled and 
strained to reach for the gun.

"What are you doing," Kate squeaked as the net swayed.

"I'm trying to get the gun," Jack grunted. He tried again and 
stopped, frustrated. "I can't get my arm around."

"All right, hang on," she muttered, slipping her arms around 
his waist awkwardly and drawing up his shirt. He groaned as 
the movement forced her even tighter against him. Tiny sparks 
of pain shot from his abdomen. He closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry," Kate murmured as she fumbled to get a grip on the 
gun. "I don't want to shoot you." After a brief struggle 
wherein she almost lost her grip entirely she finally, 
mercifully, slid the gun free of his waistband and pulled her 
arms back around front. "Got it," she breathed triumphantly. 

Jack groaned as the pressure on his abdomen slackened. "Now 
give me the gun," he ordered when he recovered his breath.

"Why? What for," she asked, confused.

He nodded to the rope several feet away straining to hold 
their weight. "I'm gonna try to shoot the rope."

Kate responded by shoving the gun through one of the holes in 
the netting, brushing off Jack's protests with a confident, 
"I'm a better shot than you are."

"Oh really," Jack asked, amused.

"Yeah, I told you, I grew up hunting with my dad." She took 
careful aim, squinted and pulled the trigger. A large chunk of 
the tree behind the rope ripped away but the rope remained 
frustratingly intact.

Jack sighed. "Well, at least they know where they are," he 
cracked and made another grab for the gun.

"What, are you gonna waste another bullet," Kate asked.

"We'll still have thirteen more to shoot each other with," he 
fired back.

"Fine," she relented. "You have a better angle than I do 
anyway."

"Oh, that's gonna be your excuse when I make the shot," he 
challenged. 

Actually, if he made the shot she figured she would probably 
justify it by saying that a spinal surgeon had steadier hands, 
but for the moment she didn't say anything. She simply braced 
herself against his chest again, steadying them both.

The net stopped swaying for a moment and he fired. The rope 
snapped easily, sending them plunging to the ground. His legs 
crumpled beneath him and he landed on his back with a groan. 
Kate landed on top of him and rolled to her side immediately, 
trying to spare him the brunt of her weight. Her head slipped 
from the top of the net in the process and she struggled to 
extract herself. "Jack!" She turned and bent over him, pulling 
the net from his face and cupping his cheeks. His eyes were 
shut tightly, his face pinched with pain. "Talk to me, Jack!"

A small, pained noise burst from his lips and he stirred, his 
dazed eyes meeting hers.

"Don't move," she blurted. "Stay still." She wrestled herself 
fully from the net and pushed it from him as best she could. 
She rested her hands on his abdomen and searched his face 
anxiously. "Are you okay?"

Jack nodded but she saw the pained tears shining in his eyes. 
He covered her hands with his own, holding tightly. "Just give 
me a minute," he said, his voice tight.

She nodded and sat still while he drew several shaky breaths. 
She could feel the baby move under her hands and winced. It 
had taken a lot of prodding to get him to admit that it hurt 
when the baby became especially restless. Combined with the 
fall, she suspected he had to be really hurting. "Maybe we 
should go back..."

"No," he argued. "I'll be fine."

Kate bit her lip. She wanted to argue but she knew from past 
experience that it would do no good. When Jack was determined 
to do something nothing short of locking him up and throwing 
away the key would stop him. She grimaced as she remembered 
drugging him to keep him from going off to find Locke in a fit 
of rage, forcing him to take a much needed rest. She could 
knock him out now and use the net to drag him back to the 
beach - let Sawyer deal with him when he woke up - but only if 
she had to.

She felt the baby's movements gradually slow and watched the 
tension drain from Jack's face. He nodded, as if confirming 
his own thoughts and squeezed her hand. "Help me up. Slowly."

He moved to push himself up and she wrapped her arm behind his 
shoulders, supporting him. He groaned when they got him into 
an upright position and stilled, panting softly.

Her other hand flitted over his face, concerned. "Maybe you 
should just sit here for a minute."

He shook his head stubbornly. "I'll be fine." He rolled away 
from her onto his hands and knees. Kate scrambled to untangle 
the net from his legs before he hurt himself further. He 
climbed slowly to his feet, wavering slightly as he came 
upright. Kate's hand went to his back, ready to catch him if 
he fell.

He steadied himself and took a deep breath. "Let's go."

***********

"We're here," he announced as they arrived at a clearing. He 
stepped out into the open and began shouting. "Hey, I'm back! 
You say you're watching us! You hear me? We've got your man! 
If you want him back you're gonna have to come out here!"

Kate flinched as the thunder rumbled. This whole scenario was 
making her nervous. They were too exposed, too vulnerable. She 
wished she had kept the gun Sawyer had given her when she went 
on her trek with Claire. At least then she could cover Jack if 
anything happened. "Jack!"

Jack ignored her completely. Possibly, she thought, not even 
hearing her. "I know you're out there! I know you can hear 
me!"

"Jack, they're not here," she called gently.

He didn't listen, continuing to yell for what felt like hours, 
weaving between challenges, pleas and threats. By the time he 
had no voice left to shout Kate was wishing she had followed 
through on her instinct to knock him out, drag him back to 
camp and tie him to a tree with the sturdiest rope she could 
find. She built a fire and sat with him dejectedly, resigned 
to spend as much time out there as it took for him to give up 
and go home.

"Maybe they can't hear you," she offered.

"They can hear me," he insisted stubbornly, his voice scratchy 
from overuse.

They jumped as a twig snapped loudly nearby, accompanied by a 
rustle of leaves and the sound of footsteps running in their 
direction. They stood warily, Jack drawing the gun and cocking 
it. A flame appeared - a torch - moving rapidly toward them as 
if someone was running. The closer they got, the louder and 
more clear their frantic gasping breaths. A figure burst into 
the clearing and collapsed two feet from their fire. Kate 
gasped in shock as they bent to roll the person over, the 
firelight illuminating a familiar face. "Michael!"

***********

"Well, well, well, what've we got here," Sawyer drawled as Ana 
Lucia confronted him for the second time in one day. "Is 
Little Red Riding Hood going to follow the Big Bad Wolf back 
to his stash o' guns?" He had planted the idea that she was 
after the guns in Kate's head because it had seemed a logical 
assumption but now Ana seemed to be taking it to heart, 
blatantly stalking him through the jungle.

"Why don't you give me that one right there," she retorted, 
her arms crossed over her chest, her posture relaxed and 
confident, like he was a suspect she knew she could coerce 
through authoritative air alone.

"I ain't gonna 'gimme' you nothing," he sneered. Her beat cop 
tactics were useless here and they both knew it.

She came at him menacingly and he dropped his backpack, 
tucking the gun back in his waistband. He barely ducked out of 
the way as she took a swing at his head, whacking her on the 
backside as her momentum carried her past him. He laughed, 
oblivious to the angry flash in her eyes. She wrestled him to 
the ground easily, straddling him and grabbing his arms in her 
strong grip. He rolled her over before she could get a firm 
hold and pinned her, both hands crossed under one arm, his 
other hand pressed to her hip to keep her from kicking.

"What are you gonna do now, Muchacha," he sneered.

She stared at him for a moment, as if reading him, weighing 
her possibilities. Then she did the last thing he would have 
expected: she lifted her head and kissed him. He let go of her 
arms, surprised, and she wrapped them around him, shoving her 
tongue into his mouth possessively. He let her roll them over 
again and finally broke free of his shock, tearing at her 
clothes as fiercely as she did his. He had never necessarily 
been attracted to Ana - in fact she had grated on his nerves 
every chance she got since they met - but he was nothing if 
not an opportunist.

In almost no time he was inside her. She rode him hard, her 
hands fisted on his chest, her intense stare boring into his. 
He rolled them over and she yanked him into another kiss, 
their tongues and teeth clashing as violently as their bodies. 
He had never been with a woman so demanding - had never been 
able to fuck with so little restraint. Even with Jack he had 
held back, especially after finding out he was pregnant.

He shoved thoughts of Jack from his mind, along with their 
accompanying pang of guilt. They weren't married, for God's 
sake. This shouldn't feel like a betrayal. It was just sex. 
Hard, messy, animalistic sex that allowed them to vent their 
frustrations, leaving bruises and scratches on each other's 
skin. Catharsis through sexual release. 

When it was over they lay side by side, panting from exertion, 
dazed from the force of their coupling. She recovered first, 
retrieving her clothes and dressing silently. He dragged 
himself upright and reached for his own clothing. After 
successfully wrestling himself into his pants he paused, 
watching her dress, marveling at the strength that was belied 
by her soft, feminine curves. 

She turned to catch him staring. "What?"

"Don't you want my phone number," he asked with a smirk.

She stepped menacingly toward him. "You tell anyone about this 
and I'll kill you," she said, her voice flat and matter-of-
fact.

He smirked. He would have expected as much. "Guess that takes 
cuddlin' off the table."

She didn't respond - didn't even bat an eye - just stalked 
off, leaving him to finish dressing.

********

He was getting close to the end of the manuscript Hurley had 
found in the luggage when Jack appeared, trailed by Kate and, 
oddly, Locke and ordered him to put it down. He refused and 
Jack ripped it from his hands, tearing off several pages from 
the end and dumping them into the small fire nearby.

Sawyer jumped to grab the pages, saving them before they were 
burned too badly and whirled on Jack. "What the hell is your 
problem," he demanded, eyes flashing. He knew Jack was still 
mad at him but it wasn't like him to lash out randomly like 
that.

"It's time to give us the guns back," Jack replied.

Sawyer chuffed. "You burned the ending of my book and now 
you..."

"Where are they, James," Locke interrupted, sounding much like 
a teacher trying to get a particularly stubborn bully to admit 
he'd stolen little Billy's lunch money.

"Just take us there, Sawyer," Kate added. "Quit playing 
around."

Sawyer turned to Jack. "What'd you bring her along for, a 
sympathy vote?" Then he turned to the others and added, "why 
don't you two just go...play in the jungle." 'So I can figure 
out why the hell Jack's so damned anxious to get his hands on 
the guns and talk him out of whatever fool plan he's got now,' 
he added mentally. He stopped when he heard a familiar 'click' 
and looked up to find Jack aiming a gun in the vicinity of – he 
was pretty sure – his crotch.

"Take us to the guns. Now."

Sawyer gaped at him. Jack had been more emotionally unstable 
than usual in recent months but this was getting ridiculous. 
He reached instinctively for his own gun and froze when he 
realized he hadn't seen it since his encounter with Ana. 
"Bitch," he muttered as he figured out what had happened. "She 
stole my damned gun," he explained as Jack looked confused. 
"Ana Lucia."

Jack faltered slightly but kept the gun level, unsure what 
kind of game Sawyer was playing. "Why would she need a gun?"

"Jack," Locke interrupted, his expression suggesting dreadful 
realization. "I need to tell you something."

********

"What the hell were you thinking, John," Jack asked as they 
made their way back to the hatch. 

"Jack, leave him alone," Kate scolded. 

"No, Jack, don't leave him alone," Sawyer shot back. He was 
tired of Kate defending everybody even when they did something 
incredibly stupid.

"Shut it, Sawyer," Jack snapped. "If Ana hadn't lifted your 
gun..."

Sawyer threw up the hand not holding his torch. "Well, ain't 
that swell. Gimpy McCrutch over here covers up that the Artist 
Formerly Known as Henry Gale tried to strangle your little 
amiga and suddenly it's on me when she goes vigilante."

He ran straight into Jack as the doctor spun around suddenly. 
"How about you go back to the beach," he growled.

Kate gave Jack a nudge forward. "Hey, enough! Both of you!"

Sawyer glowered at her and opened his mouth to tell her to go 
take a flying fuck but the comment died on his lips when 
Michael burst from the hatch right in front of them, collapsing 
outside the door. Sawyer ran into the hatch, Kate and Locke 
close at his heels, vaguely registering Michael frantically 
babble "he shot me!" at Jack. They found Ana slumped on the 
couch, blood blossoming from her chest. Libby lay several feet 
away, a blanket clutched to her middle. Sawyer knelt beside 
her, stroking her hair helplessly while Kate checked Ana's 
pulse. He vaguely registered Jack arriving, Eko inexplicably 
beside him, helping him support a moaning Michael.

"She's dead," Kate announced grimly.

Before Sawyer could register the words Libby jerked to life, 
spitting blood at him and wailing in pain. He reeled back as 
Jack descended on her, ordering Kate to help him get her on the 
bed. 

Once she was on the bed Jack ordered Kate to retrieve his 
supplies, which she did without hesitation, her lips pressed 
into a thin line to hold in the screams of horror that 
threatened to claw their way out of her chest. She handed Jack 
a wad of gauze and helped him put pressure on the wound. "Can 
you do anything," she asked.

Jack muttered something under his breath, looking less than 
optimistic, and told her to keep applying pressure, leaving her 
to talk to Michael. "How long ago," he asked as he wiped blood 
from his hands. 

"What," Michael asked, startled. 

"When did this happen? How long ago did he leave?"

"I don't know, uh..." Michael spluttered. "Twenty minutes, 
maybe a half hour..."

Jack turned to Sawyer and Lock. "We can pick up the trail. 
Catch up to him."

Sawyer protested. "Man's got a head start, a gun..." 

"He shot three of our people," Jack snapped, moving in until 
his face was inches from Sawyer's. "One of them's dead, the 
other..."

"Who's gonna take care of Libby while you're off playin' Daniel 
Boone," Sawyer argued, desperate to make Jack see reason for 
once. 

Jack deflated, his eyes falling from Sawyer's to land on his 
chest. He knew the man had a point, but he wasn't up to 
admitting it.

"I'll go," Eko volunteered, instantly commanding attention 
despite his soft tone. He nodded to Locke. "John, you have 
tracking experience, yes?" 

"Yeah," Locke said, dazed.

"We will find this trail together," Eko promised Jack.

Jack gave in with obvious reluctance. "You find *anything*, you 
come right back here and we figure out what we're gonna do next 
together." He stalked from the room, heading back to the 
bedroom to take care of Libby. Sawyer watched him leave, 
wanting to follow but knowing he would only get in the way. 
Libby needed his full attention. 

**********
(Hours later)

"Where are they," Jack muttered, pacing the floor restlessly. 

"Just calm down," Kate said gently. "Finding his trail in the 
dark's not gonna be easy. They'll be back."

Jack washed the traces of blood from his hands, jaw clenched 
in frustration.

"Jack," Michael called from the table he and Sawyer sat at, 
watching helplessly. "She say anything? Libby?"

Jack shook his head. "She's still unconscious. The bleeding 
stopped."

Kate perked up. "That's good, right?"

"No," Jack ground out. "That's not good."

Michael stared blankly. "And there's nothing you can..."

"I can make her comfortable," Jack said as he finished drying 
his hands. "But I don't have what I need." His eyes met 
Sawyer's pointedly.

"Why are you lookin' at me? I gave you all the meds..."

"The heroin, Sawyer."

Sawyer broke the ensuing silence with a sigh and stood. "Give 
me twenty minutes."

"Kate's gonna go with you," Jack added softly as Sawyer 
started to leave, stopping him short.

"It doesn't take two people to carry..."

"Kate is going with you," Jack repeated, his tone leaving no 
room for further argument. Sawyer's shoulders fell slightly as 
he realized what Jack was doing.

"What are you talking about," Kate asked cluelessly. "Why..."

"He knows the heroin's in my stash with the guns," Sawyer 
explained. "So I can either show you where it's at or let poor 
Libby suffer."

Kate looked to Jack, her expression going from shock to 
horror.

"That about it, Doc?"

"Yeah," Jack snapped. "That's pretty much it." 

He stalked deeper into the hatch and Sawyer started in the 
other direction, calling "let's go, Freckles," over his 
shoulder. 

Kate gaped at their retreating backs for a moment and slowly 
moved to follow Sawyer. She couldn't help feeling like a child 
of divorced parents the way the two men kept using her in 
their power plays against each other. She had assumed the 
reappearing animosity between them would be temporary - merely 
the result of a bad fight - but now she wasn't so sure.

********

Sawyer was hovering around the hatch living room when Jack 
emerged from the bedroom, empty needle in hand, looking broken 
and defeated. Sawyer straightened and took an instinctive step 
toward him. Kate looked up from the broken statue on the 
kitchen table with anticipatory dread. Jack shook his head 
solemnly and headed for the bathroom without a word. 

Sawyer hesitated, unsure if he should follow, if Jack would 
even want him to. Then he caught sight of Kate. She had 
slumped back in the seat, her chin quivering, tears pooling in 
her eyes. He went to her instead, sliding onto the bench 
beside her and drawing her unresisting body into his arms. He 
glared at the wall in front of them, his forehead creased with 
pained disgust at the senselessness of it all, feeling Kate's 
tears dampen his shirt. She had held herself together 
stoically through the deaths of the other survivors - people 
they had known a lot longer than Ana and Libby - but this was 
different. Their deaths had been accidental. This was cold-
blooded murder.

"You okay," he asked as her tears slowed to a stop.

Kate sat back up, wiping her cheeks and nodded silently.

Sawyer hesitated until she looked him in the eye and said "I'm 
fine. Go." Whether or not it was true, it was clear that at 
the moment she wanted to be alone. Sawyer got up slowly and 
went to check on Jack, who had yet to emerge from the 
bathroom. 

He found Jack in front of the sink, a half full duffle bag 
with the Dharma logo emblazoned on it in front of him. He 
leaned against the counter, his face twisted in anger and 
grief. When he saw Sawyer approach from the corner of his eye 
he turned his head to wipe discreetly at his eyes. 

"What do you want, Sawyer," he asked, the earlier snippiness 
gone from his voice.

"I want you to talk to me without tryin' to take my damn head 
off," Sawyer replied softly. 

Jack turned to face Sawyer, his arms crossed awkwardly over 
his chest, his face blank.

Sawyer repressed a groan. This could be more difficult than 
he'd anticipated. He wasn't sure it was a good time to talk 
about this anyway, with Libby's body still warm in the next 
room, but he knew Jack wouldn't want to talk about *that* and 
he needed to confront him before this whole situation between 
them got completely out of control. "All you had to do was ask 
for the guns."

Jack snorted harshly. "And you would've just given them to 
me?"

"No," Sawyer admitted. "But how do you know I won't just move 
'em someplace else now?"

Jack stiffened. "You wouldn't."

"Well, I guess that depends on what you're plannin' on doin' 
with 'em."

Jack's eyes darkened. "What the fuck does it matter..."

"You think you're gonna round up a posse and go chargin' into 
battle?"

"These people killed three of us..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Sawyer cut him off impatiently. "They 
also kidnapped Mrs. Dundee 'cause the crazy French woman 
thinks they want kids. What do you think they'll do to you?"

Jack sneered. "Don't pretend that you're doing this to protect 
me."

"It ain't always about *you*, Jackass." Sawyer gestured 
violently at Jack's abdomen. "That kid is just as much mine as 
he is yours."

"Don't," Jack spit. "Don't play the baby card. You know as 
well as I do that you don't care about this baby."

Sawyer threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. "Well, 
gee Doc, if it ain't you and it ain't the baby what the hell 
do you think it could be?"

Jack opened his mouth to reply and stopped suddenly, his face 
twisting in pain. His hand went to his abdomen and Sawyer's 
eyes followed, seeing the taut skin ripple even through the 
stretched-out T-shirt. He sprang into action, grabbing a 
nearby towel and soaking it in water as hot as the sink would 
allow as Jack leaned against the wall and slid to the floor, 
cradling his abdomen, gritting his teeth against the pain. 

Sawyer knelt beside him and yanked the hem of his shirt up, 
draping the warm cloth over the swell. He unconsciously 
reached a soothing hand toward Jack's face, only to be batted 
away.

"Don't," Jack gasped.

Sawyer frowned but relented, watching Jack breathe through the 
spasms helplessly. 

When it was over Jack sat slumped against the wall, spent. 
Weary eyes met Sawyer's and he sighed. "What do you want, 
Sawyer?"

Sawyer tentatively reached out to rest his hand on Jack's 
abdomen, relieved when Jack allowed him to do it without 
comment. "I want you to stop hatin' me so damned much."

Jack stared at him for a moment. "I don't hate you," he said 
softly. "I just wish you weren't such an ass all the time."

Sawyer repressed a smirk. 

"And for the record, that day I came to get the meds...I 
wasn't trying to manipulate you."

Sawyer frowned. "Then why'd you ask for the guns?"

A humorless chuckle escaped Jack. "Because I thought maybe if 
I asked you'd trust me enough to tell me where they were."

Sawyer blinked at him for a moment, then looked away. Jack was 
right, he was an ass. Then again, he'd known that long before 
he met Jack. What was more surprising was the pang of guilt he 
felt now, knowing it had caused Jack to pull away from him so 
completely.

Jack held out a hand to him, jarring him from his thoughts. 
"Help me up."

Sawyer helped him stand slowly with a firm grip under his arm, 
watching his face for signs of distress. "Y'okay?"

"Yeah," Jack breathed. "I'm fine." He turned hesitantly, as if 
feeling awkward after the sudden turn in the emotional charge 
of the room, and went back to fussing with the duffle bag. He 
looked up when Sawyer's hand closed around his forearm.

"You don't need Kate. I'll take you to the guns."

Jack's eyes softened slightly and he nodded. "Okay."

Sawyer nodded tightly and left the bathroom, letting Jack 
finish packing.

***********

"You kept them here the whole time," Jack asked, watching in 
shock as Sawyer revealed the hidden compartment beneath the 
bedding in his tent.

"Last place anyone'd look," Sawyer muttered. "Easy access." He 
avoided looking Jack in the eye. He had fucked Jack right on 
top of his stash without the good doctor suspecting a thing. 
Funny how that knowledge didn't make him feel so smug anymore. 
"Let's just get this over with."

Jack hesitated a moment longer before slipping the backpack 
from his shoulders and unzipping it.

"So what happened out there in the jungle," Sawyer asked as 
they began gathering the weapons and ammo. 

"Exactly what he said happened," Jack replied densely. "He 
found the camp..."

"I ain't talkin' about Mike," Sawyer interrupted, handing Jack 
one of the pistols. "You 'n Freckles. Before you found him you 
were gone all night."

Jack frowned slightly. Why Sawyer was so interested in talking 
about his expedition with Kate all of the sudden he wasn't 
sure. "We were caught in a net."

Sawyer stopped digging through his stash to gape at him. "What 
the hell's that supposed to mean?"

"It means we got caught in a net," Jack said flippantly, 
sliding his backpack on, oblivious to the mixture of hurt and 
relief in Sawyer's eyes.

Sawyer turned his back before Jack noticed. "That what they're 
callin' it these days?" he muttered under his breath. Not that 
he had any right to feel betrayed, really. He just never 
would've figured Jack for a player. And he never would've 
figured Kate the type to pursue a man who had shown little 
interest in women at all since they crashed but what the hell 
did he know? 

He finished gathering what meager weapons they had left and 
followed Jack out of the tent, silently following him to the 
hatch.

**********

"Who's gonna talk?" Sawyer mumbled.

Jack looked up from the box of ammunition in his hand. "What?"

"The funeral. Who's gonna talk?"

"I'm sure Hurley'll want to say something about Libby," Jack 
answered, unsure of why Sawyer would be so interested.

Sawyer barely heard him. "I never even knew her last name," he 
muttered. He looked up to meet Jack's questioning gaze. "Ana 
Lucia."

"Cortez," Jack answered easily, going back to unloading the 
guns.

Sawyer shook his head. Of course Jack would know. All that 
time he had spent with Ana talking about how they could train 
an army... "Well there you go." He hesitated for a long 
moment, debating his next words. "I screwed her," he blurted. 

Jack looked up, startled. "What?"

"That's how she got my gun. Ana. She jumped me." He looked up 
finally and caught Jack's look of hurt and confusion. "We got 
caught in a net," he added, stressing the last word pointedly. 
He may have felt guilty about his encounter with Ana but he 
sure as hell wasn't about to let Jack take the moral high 
ground when he was just as guilty.

Jack didn't try to point out just how mistaken Sawyer was. 
"Why are you telling me this?"

Sawyer sighed. "Cause you're the closest thing I've got to a 
friend, Doc." He was also only the second person Sawyer had 
come close to having a stable, long-term relationship with but 
at the moment this one didn't seem to be working out any 
better than the last. "Because she's gone," he added softly. 
It seemed like every person he'd ever been close to had left 
him at some point - some by choice. He didn't really expect 
Jack to be any different. Once they were off the island he 
figured Jack would put as much distance between them as 
possible. Knowing that now would make it a little easier to 
accept the inevitable. He shook off the melancholy that tried 
to settle over him. "At least now we get to kill somebody." He 
cocked his rifle pointedly.

**********

The funeral was interrupted when a sailboat appeared a couple 
miles off the coast of the island, heading right for them. 
Jack stood with the rest of the group, watching anxiously as 
Sayid and Sawyer swam out to meet it. He squinted as the two 
figures crept around the deck, guns drawn and kicked in an 
opening into the inner compartments. They pointed their guns 
at an unseen entity for a while and then Sawyer inexplicably 
lowered his gun and Sayid disappeared into the opening.

Jack ordered the rest of the group to stay back as he went to 
greet them, his eyes widening as Sayid reappeared, a familiar 
man beside him, staggering and leaning against the Iraqi's 
supporting frame. Desmond. 

"You," the Scotsman slurred drunkenly as he caught sight of 
Jack. His eyes fell on the man's distended abdomen and he 
frowned. "Did I miss something?"

***********

Jack was half listening to a drunken Desmond rant about the 
outside world no longer existing when Sayid arrived, giving him a 
look that clearly said "come with me now." He pushed 
himself to his feet and moved to follow him, leaving Desmond 
to wallow in his self pity for a while longer.

"When I told you I believed that Michael had been compromised 
you asked me how we might take advantage of that," Sayid began 
as they walked away from the campsite. "I believe fate has 
given us our answer. The boat."

"A boat," Jack parroted incredulously.

"This camp Michael is leading you to across the island...that 
is where they will set their trap." He tossed his torch into a 
pile of wood. "While Michael leads you by land, I can approach 
far more quickly by sea and I can go ashore undetected." 

"Go ashore and do what?"

"Scout them. Their numbers and positions. Their weapons. Then 
I'll go to the nearest beach and start a signal fire with 
these." He showed Jack what looked like ragged pieces of 
ancient paper. "They burn with a dark black smoke. You and 
your team will come to meet me at the signal and we will go in 
together."

"We're not even sure if Michael's been turned by them," Jack 
flailed.

"He has been," Sayid said quietly, confidently.

Jack sighed and gave in reluctantly. He had questioned Sayid’s 
judgment once and been proven tragically wrong. He wouldn’t do 
it again. "I'll have to tell Kate and Hurley and Sawyer what 
we're doing..."

"No! Michael cannot sense we know he is lying. All we have is 
the element of surprise, Jack. Right now it's only your 
responsibility to keep it secret."

Jack bit his lip. His confidence in this plan waned a little 
more with each new development. If these people could turn one 
of their own against them there was no telling what they were 
capable of. But he trusted Sayid. And as long as he knew the 
Iraqi was backing them up he felt safer. "Black smoke, huh?"

"This time they will know that we are coming," Sayid declared.

**********
(The next day)

They walked through the jungle in funereal silence until 
Sawyer moved to pick up a doll lying curiously near a tree.

Kate grabbed his arm. "Don't even think about it. It's a 
trap." She looked up at the green canopy warily. "A net. 
Rousseau's got 'em all over the island."

"How the hell would you know that," he asked suspiciously.

"I tripped one," she explained haltingly as they set off back 
on the trail. "Jack...we ended up..." She faltered and 
laughed, embarrassed. "Never mind."

Sawyer stopped walking and made a small noise halfway between 
a laugh and a groan. 

"What," Kate asked innocently.

"The Doc told me y'all got caught in a net. I thought he 
meant, uh...somethin' else," Sawyer mumbled guiltily.

Kate frowned at him. "Why the hell would you think *that*?"

Sawyer flustered. "Why not?"

She looked at him with blatant disgust. "Just because you made 
a living off of breaking up relationships doesn't mean I would 
jump at the chance to steal Jack from you. I'm not like you, 
Sawyer."

"Never said you were," he grumbled defensively. It occurred to 
him that Jack wasn't *his* to steal either but he didn't 
bother pointing that out.

A noise from the bushes startled them suddenly. All of the 
team members who had weapons drew them and crouched, waiting 
for an attack. They watched as a giant bird flew 
overhead...except Michael who pulled the trigger in his 
nervous panic. A series of clicks sounded as he tried futilely 
to shoot, slowly realizing that there were no bullets in his 
gun.

"Did that bird just say my name," Hurley asked, skittish.

"Yeah, it did," Sawyer drawled. "Right before it crapped 
gold." He continued walking, shaking his head and wondering 
whose brilliant idea it'd been to invite the men who was 
seeing people in bathrobes wandering the jungle a mere week 
ago. He didn't notice the suspicious look Michael gave Jack 
only a few feet away.

"Sorry, man, I guess I forgot to load that one," Jack lied 
smoothly, holding out his hand. "Wanna hand me that mag?"

Michael handed the magazine over warily, watching as Jack 
pulled ammunition from his pack and loaded it. Something 
wasn't right but he couldn't confront Jack about it. Not now. 
Not while there was still a chance of him getting his son 
back. He felt horrible for betraying his friends but he had no 
choice. He told himself Jack would understand, at least. Jack 
was going to be a father soon. He would realize that Michael 
had to do this...wouldn't he?

He thanked Jack that night while they were gathering firewood, 
choosing his words carefully in case the whole incident with 
the gun had been an honest mistake and Jack didn't suspect 
anything. "Thanks for coming out here...risking your neck for 
my boy."

Jack merely nodded and said, "Live together, die alone, man."

Michael nodded stiffly and turned his attention back to 
gathering wood.

Jack turned his back on Michael, becoming lost in thought. As 
strange as Michael's behavior was he still wanted to believe 
that Sayid was wrong. He had seen the look in Michael's eyes 
when he'd held Jack at gunpoint. It just wasn't in his 
character to knowingly endanger anybody. Yes, Walt was his son 
and being a parent could make a person behave irrationally, 
but that didn't mean he was leading them into a trap.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Jack spun around, startled. Michael had disappeared at some 
point without him noticing. Sawyer stood in his place, looking 
at Jack with a pained expression. "What?"

"When you said you and Freckles were caught in a net I thought 
you were talkin' in code or somethin'. Why didn't you tell 
me?"

Jack sighed quietly. He had hoped they wouldn't have to 
address this. He should have known Sawyer would weasel the 
truth from Kate eventually. "I did. You didn't listen."

Sawyer flinched. "When I told you about me 'n Rambina..."

Jack shoved the pile of logs he had collected into Sawyer's 
chest. Sawyer instinctively wrapped his arms around them. "If 
you're trying to apologize don't bother. I'm not mad about you 
sleeping with Ana Lucia."

Sawyer hesitated. He wanted to point out that they hadn't 
actually *slept* together per se - just had a quick, 
meaningless fuck - but he wasn't sure how to say it and not 
sound like a complete ass.

Jack seemed to understand anyway. Sawyer felt his gut clench 
at the look in Jack's eyes - an odd mixture of betrayal and 
acceptance. He wasn't angry, but only because he figured 
Sawyer just wasn't capable of being faithful - that he should 
never have expected Sawyer to see him as anything more than 
another notch in his belt.

The eyes slid away as Jack turned to continue gathering 
branches. Sawyer hesitated. He didn't know how to handle this 
kind of reaction. He almost wished Jack had screamed at him, 
hit him, told him he never wanted to see his face again - 
*that* he knew how to deal with. 

He bit his lip and reluctantly turned to carry the branches 
back to their campfire. He knew he had to address this sooner 
or later, but now didn't seem the right time.

**********

"So these others," Sawyer began conversationally as they 
resumed their trek the next day. He was getting desperate for 
conversation - tired of the stony silence that had surrounded 
the group since they left. "You think they're left over from 
the Dharma folk?"

"I don't know, man," Michael said.

"My theory? They're aliens," he joked. "That's why they use 
the fake beards. Their heads may be pathetic."

"Prosthetic, dude," Hurley corrected somberly.

"You can't even spell and now you're correctin' me?" Sawyer 
fired back. "What do you think, Freckles?"

"Just keep moving," Kate murmured low enough so only Sawyer 
could hear. "We're being followed."

"What?" Sawyer spluttered.

She paused, pretending she needed to tie her shoe. "Just keep 
smiling."

Sawyer watched Jack warily as he and the rest of their group 
continued on the trail ahead. He was beginning to wish he had 
fought a little harder to keep Jack's stubborn ass back at 
their camp where he was safe, but it was too late for that 
now.

"There's at least two of them," Kate continued. "Across the 
river."

Sawyer glanced in the direction she indicated and saw a couple 
figures move through the dense foliage.

"In about five seconds I'm gonna turn the tables on 'em," she 
said, pulling her gun surreptitiously, going full-on bad-ass. 

"Wait a second," Sawyer protested.

She merely cocked the gun and asked, "you in?" Then she turned 
and aimed into the jungle before he could reply. He scrambled 
to bring the rifle to his shoulder. He wasn't happy about this 
but he certainly wasn't about to let her take on these people 
alone.

In the chaos that followed Sawyer heard Jack shout something 
and saw him run toward their stalkers. Sawyer darted after him 
but Jack merely crouched behind a rock, scrambling for his own 
weapon. Sawyer spotted one of the Others through a break in 
the trees and fired, watching dispassionately as the body 
tumbled down the steep incline toward them.

"He's getting away," Kate moaned, her eyes on the second 
figure disappearing deeper into the jungle. 

Jack moved to check on the fallen man, Sawyer staying close to 
his side, his eyes scanning the jungle for further threats.

"He's dead," Kate declared, darting past them. "We have to 
find the other one."

"No," Jack barked.

She brushed him off. "I'm going. Sawyer..." 

Sawyer was already two steps behind her, but they both stopped 
when Jack shouted "I said no!"

Sawyer whirled on him. "You crazy? We let them go they'll know 
we're comin'!"

"It doesn't matter if we catch them now," Jack blurted. Sawyer 
stared at him, silently demanding an explanation. Jack looked 
back at Michael, the accusation blatant on his face. "They've 
already been warned."

*********
(A couple hours later)

Sawyer was quiet until they stopped to rest. Jack retreated 
from the group when he thought no one was looking and Sawyer 
followed him. He found Jack kneeling next to a stream, an 
empty water bottle in one hand, the other cradling his 
forehead. He jumped when he heard Sawyer approach, watery eyes 
meeting his momentarily before looking away, moving stiffly to 
fill the bottle. 

"If you're here to chastise me, save your breath. I'm not in 
the mood right now."

Sawyer knelt beside him silently. As much as he would love to 
rip Jack a new one for doing something so crazy and stupid he 
knew it was pointless now. Instead he cupped Jack's chin and 
coaxed his head up and around, closing the gap between them 
and covering Jack's lips with his.

Jack tried to pull away at first but gave in quickly, letting 
Sawyer kiss him. 

Sawyer pulled back after a minute, pain filled eyes locking 
with an equally tortured gaze. "I love you," he whispered.

Jack stared at him stupidly, certain he was hallucinating.

"And I'm sorry for all the shit I've given you...since the 
crash."

"Why are you telling me this now," Jack stammered.

Sawyer sighed. "Cause I don't know if I'll get another 
chance."

Jack looked away, blinking rapidly, going back to refilling 
the bottle. "We're not gonna die," he said weakly.

"I know," Sawyer replied softly, although he wasn't so sure he 
believed it. "But if somethin' goes wrong...I don't want you 
dyin' on me before I get another chance."

Jack recapped the bottle with trembling fingers and took a 
couple small, hiccupping breaths as he felt a sob build in his 
chest.

"Hey..." Sawyer drew Jack into his arms awkwardly. Jack 
dropped the bottle and clung to Sawyer tightly. "It's all 
right."

"I can't do this," Jack blurted. "I had no idea Michael had 
been turned until Sayid told me. I let him talk me into this. 
I fell for it..."

"Shh..." Sawyer rubbed circles on his back, absorbing the 
forceful shocks of his ragged breaths. "We know now. The 
plan'll work."

"I don't have a plan," Jack moaned. "The plan is to meet Sayid 
and let him decide the next move and even that much is his 
idea. I don't know what I'm doing!"

Sawyer closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He should have 
guessed as much. Jack had never really been a leader. He had 
only been forced into the position because he had seemed to 
take charge after the crash, caring for the wounded, seemingly 
cool-headed and fully in control. But since then he'd been 
flailing, desperately trying to hold their little community 
together without cracking under the pressure. Sawyer winced as 
he remembered pulling an irrational, screaming Jack from 
Locke, feeling all of the strength leave him at once and 
catching him as he collapsed to the sand and threw up. He had 
nearly fallen apart then and Sawyer had been sure they would 
lose him for good if he didn't take a step back and rest, 
recuperate all the blood he had lost in a vain effort to save 
Boone. That was why he had gladly handed over the sleeping 
pills without comment when Kate had asked for them.

"I'm sorry," Jack whispered miserably. "I'm so sorry."

"Quit apologizin'. It ain't your fault."

"It is," Jack argued. "I'm the one they want."

Sawyer stiffened. "What're you talkin' about?"

Jack pulled out of his arms and sat up. "The Others kidnapped 
Claire because they wanted her baby. The only reason they 
don't have Aaron is because she escaped. I'm their second 
chance."

Sawyer's face twisted in confusion. "That don't make any 
sense. If you're the one they want what'd'they want Mike to 
bring the rest of us along for?"

"I don't know," Jack admitted. "But what else would they want 
me for?"

Sawyer cursed under his breath. He reached for Jack's water 
bottle, shoving it into his open backpack and zipping it. 
"Well, if they want you they're gonna have to go through me 
first." 'And Kate,' he thought. He had no doubt the woman 
would throw herself on a land mine to save Jack.

The sad look in Jack's eyes deepened and he reached out to cup 
Sawyer's stubbled cheek. "That's what I'm afraid of."

Sawyer cringed inwardly. He wished he could reassure Jack that 
they would all be all right but he couldn't. He had no idea 
how their "plan" would turn out and that gave him a deep sense 
of dread. He caught Jack's hand as he pulled it away and 
kissed the sensitive skin on the inside of his wrist. "I'll be 
right there with you. Whatever happens," he murmured. 

Jack nodded, blinking back tears, and squeezed his hand.

***********

After the polar bears and visions of dead/missing people and 
mysterious hatches and food drops, finding a pneumatic tube in 
a valley surrounded by canisters filled with used notebooks 
shouldn't have been shocking.

"0400: S.R. moves ping-pong table again," Kate read from one 
of the notebooks as Sawyer uncovered the map Locke had spent 
days drawing and handed it to Jack. "0415: takes a shower. 
What is this?"

Sawyer was distracted by a cloud of black smoke rising in the 
distance. "Hey, Doc, what'd you say Sayid's signal's gonna be 
when the coast is clear to hit that beach party?"

Jack followed his gaze, eyes widening. "That's miles from 
here." He spun on Michael. "Where were you taking us?"

Michael stared at him blankly. "What?"

"Sayid said he'd light the signal so we could meet him at the 
shore - why aren't we going to the beach?" Jack waved his gun 
at his side impatiently.

Michael frowned. "We are headed to the beach..."

"We're nowhere near the beach," Jack shouted.

Michael flustered. "Look, I *had* to, I..."

A burst of noise surrounded them - sounding like several dozen 
ghosts whispering all around them - and Jack, Kate and Sawyer 
all raised their weapons, eyes darting fearfully.

Sawyer grunted as something struck his neck. He looked in the 
direction it had come from but saw nothing. A surge of 
electricity jolted through him, sending him crashing to the 
ground, his limbs thrashing helplessly as if taken over by a 
seizure. 

Jack panicked. "Run," he screamed. 

He and Kate darted away as Hurley cowered on the ground and 
Michael shouted frantic pleas to their unseen attackers. They 
didn't get far before Kate stumbled, shouting as a dart hit 
her shoulder. She was down in seconds, body twitching as 
Sawyer's had. 

Jack fired several rounds into the nearby bushes and turned 
instinctively to Kate. He had just reached her when he felt 
something strike his calf. He spun around, pistol raised, 
searching for the source of the projectile, the world already 
turning fuzzy around the edges of his vision. It vaguely 
occurred to him that they must be using a tranquilizer on him 
before the ground tilted beneath him and he collapsed. He saw 
several blurry figures dart into view and struggled to sit up. 
A pair of hands on his chest shoved him back down and a cloth 
was shoved over his face as he finally lost consciousness.

*********

"Move," a voice snapped and Jack felt the barrel of a gun jab 
into the small of his back. He grunted and trudged forward 
blindly. They had been walking for hours, he was sure. His 
only comfort was that he could hear his friends' muffled 
moans, groans and curses nearby. They were alive. Likely 
bound, gagged and with hoods covering their heads like him but 
alive. Earlier he had stumbled with a cry, almost crashing to 
the ground before several hands caught him, and heard Sawyer 
shout. The words were muffled but the threat in them was 
obvious.

The ground beneath them turned from dirt and leaves to wood 
and they were spun around and forced to kneel. Their hoods 
were removed and they got their first look at their captors. 
Ironically, they looked exactly as Michael had described them. 
Jack looked at the familiar bearded man among them with 
apprehension.

"Son of a bitch," Sawyer yelled through the gag, earning him a 
kick in the gut from a particularly scrappy looking man.

"Hey," the bearded man snapped. "Everybody just calm down."

Jack caught sight of Michael behind him and Michael squirmed, 
averting his gaze from the accusatory stare.

"Your beard is fake," Kate muffled.

"I'm sorry, missy, I didn't get you," the bearded man replied 
patronizingly.

"She said she knows your beard's fake, Tom," the attractive 
black woman beside him said impatiently.

Tom thanked Kate for pointing it out and peeled off the 
prosthetic. "I can't tell you how much this thing itches. And 
thanks for telling them my name...Bea," he added, looking at 
the woman pointedly.

A motorboat that looked all too familiar to Sawyer appeared 
suddenly, pulling up alongside the dock. The captives watched 
in dread as Henry stepped from it, barefoot and cleaner than 
before but still bearing the marks of Sayid's interrogation. 
He stepped in front of Jack and smiled. "Hello again."

Sawyer ground his teeth into his gag. He could feel the man 
behind him holding the rifle at ready. Another outburst would 
only make things worse for all of them.

Henry spun on Tom suddenly. "Where's your beard?"

"I think they know," Tom said, his tone making it clear that 
Henry was, in fact, his superior. 

Henry let it go and turned to Michael. "Let's take care of 
business, shall we?"

A low rumbling noise eclipsed all other sound suddenly, 
seeming to make the entire island quiver with the vibrations, 
and the sky turned a shade of violet. Those who could covered 
their ears. Kate instinctively crouched closer to Jack, as if 
preparing to shield him should the light turn out to signal an 
explosion. As suddenly as it had started, the noise stopped 
and the sky returned to its serene blue.

The Others seemed to brush off the strange incident easily. 
Henry pulled Michael aside and they spoke for several minutes, 
Michael glancing worriedly back at his friends periodically. 

"I was promised you wouldn't hurt them," Michael said, 
gesturing to the captives. It made him sick to think that he 
could have led them to their own slaughter.

Henry nodded. "A deal's a deal."

Michael stared at him, dumbfounded. "Who *are* you people?"

Henry smiled. "We're the good guys, Michael."

Jack, Kate and Sawyer watched as the Others let Hurley go with 
instructions to return to their camp and tell the rest of the 
survivors to stay away. Michael drove off in the boat Henry 
had arrived in, Walt at his side, looking back at the three of 
them with sick regret.

Jack felt two pairs of hands pull him to his feet with 
surprising gentleness and looked to Kate and Sawyer, trying to 
reassure them with his eyes alone. Both stared back with 
obvious concern. Then Kate blinked slowly. 'We'll be okay,' 
her look told him before the bags were pulled over their 
heads.


To Be Continued...