FicWad

Flashback

20 minutes earlier



Kate took in a lungful of fresh salty air. It was a beautiful morning out. She’d just fed and changed Megan and she’d fallen asleep again. Sometimes the three of them took a walk down the beach a ways, but this morning Kate felt like doing something on her own. Staring out at the waves, she grinned. A nice swim would do me some good. Going out a little ways Kate dove into the surf and when she resurfaced, she choked on a mouthful of water. Swimming to shore, she took note not to go too far out next time; a sneaker wave almost took her out to sea. As she made her way back to the tent, she was shivering. A slight breeze had picked up. By the time she got back to the tent she shared with her daughter and Jack she felt strange. There was a kind of weight settled in her lungs. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, she began to gasp for breath. Jack was still fast asleep. She reached a hand to wake him but he didn’t stir. Feeling warm hands on her face, she heard Jack’s voice, but it was faraway.

“Kate look at me… Can you tell me what you’re feeling right now?”

She didn’t understand what was going on. Why was she hearing Jack’s voice? He was asleep. Shutting her eyes, she continued to gasp. What’s wrong with me? Opening them, she now found it was dark inside the tent and Jack had her by the shoulders. In the firelight, she could see his very concerned eyes staring back at her. Leaning forward in his arms, she expelled saltwater from her lungs. She managed a glance over at Juliet who was now standing outside their tent. She didn’t even notice her come inside, but heard her voice.

“How did she get saltwater in her lungs?”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Her lungs burned as the saltwater exited them, chest heaving. Kate’s frightened eyes were having a difficult time focusing on anything in front of her. The last of the saltwater expelled itself from her lungs and she felt the warmth from Jack’s hand on her upper back. Now coughing spells wracked her wet and shivering body. Her brain finally registering that something had happened to her, she looked at her wet clothes. Helping her sit up, Jack looked over her carefully as he handed her the discarded water bottle lying haphazardly beside the bed. Staring at the half empty and faded bottle in her hands she shivered some more. Voice hoarse she became frantic.

“Jack why am I wet? What’s going on?”

Jack supplied Kate with a troubled stare not precisely sure how to explain her situation.

“Juliet and I believe you may have been sleepwalking Kate.”

An incredulous and unsure expression clouded Kate’s face.

“Jack I have never slept walked before in my life. What makes you think that’s what I did?”

The crackling fire was distracting Kate. Shivering more Kate wrapped her arms around herself. Running a hand through his hair Jack knew that it was almost pointless to argue
with Kate. What he needed to do was change the subject and come back to it when she was ready to talk. Right now, he needed to get her out of these wet clothes.

“We don’t have to talk about what happened right now Kate. But you need to get out of these wet clothes before you come down with a cold.”

Digging through a bag Jack found a cream tank top and cream pants to go along with it. Juliet had stepped out and pulled the blankets back down over the front and sides of Jack
and Kate’s tent so they had some privacy. As Jack helped Kate pull her wet shirt over her head, he took note of the thin long pink line that ran down her stomach. It hadn’t festered lately, which was good. He was careful as he dried her off. Helping her put the dry tank top over her head; he stole a kiss from her.

“So what did happen?”

Kate became slightly agitated at Jack’s words.

“I don’t want to talk about it right now Jack.”

She stopped him from helping her with the dry pants that lie on the bed.

“I’ve got it Jack. You don’t have to help me with every little thing.”

Nodding silently at first, he took a look a long scratch by her forehead. The firelight providing some much-needed light in the darkened shelter.

“Where did you get this?”

Prodding the scratch with his fingers Kate moved her head away.

“It’s nothing. I must’ve got it the other day while walking into a tree branch in the jungle.”

Jack stood his ground and shook his head in disagreement.

“The angle of this scratch doesn’t coincide with walking into a tree branch Kate. This looks like something you get when you hit your head on a rock.”

A bruise he noticed was forming around the scratch. Probing it some more Jack saw her wince.

“Jack, I don’t know how I got this on my forehead. Just like I don’t know why I’m wet and smell like saltwater.”

Worry tinged Jack’s features as he raised his right index and middle finger in front of her eyes.

“How many fingers am I holding up?”

Scrunching up her face and furrowing her eyebrows, she stared hard at Jack’s fingers.

“Six?”

Shoulders slumped; a frown inserted itself on Jack’s lips.

“You have a concussion. I need you to take it easy. Just for a little while. No sudden movements got it?”

Dismayed but not deterred Kate agreed, but only half-heartedly.

“Alright Jack whatever you say.”

It would be light soon; Jack needed her to stay awake for a while though. As a doctor, he knew that going to sleep with a concussion was not a good idea. He could see Kate staring out into the darkness, the waves crashing against the shore, the roar almost deafening. Her eyes fluttered a bit as she lie back against one of the seats from the plane
serving as a bed.

“Hey Kate, open your eyes for me. You cannot fall asleep right now. You need to stay awake and alert.”

Kate fought the drowsiness and tried focusing on the sound of Jack’s voice. He wished he knew how Kate had gotten her concussion and when. It wasn’t long until she slipped into unconsciousness, much to Jack’s dismay. A sick feeling crept over him, and didn’t seem to dissipate. The island had to be doing this to her.

To Be Continued...