Part 161: When it Rains . . .Part 2

Claire rested next to a stump. She had been rubbing her belly the whole time. Kate was tending to a nearby fire, waiting for Jack to arrive. The blonde pregnant woman had stopped her heavy breathing a few minutes, and relaxed. Her breathing was more calm. Kate wouldn’t take her eyes off of her regardless. Claire then smiled brightly. “It’s stopped.” She said.

“That happens, I think.” Kate mentioned.

“No, no, no, they're not coming anymore.” She replied, “I'm fine. I'm okay. I'm okay.”

“No, Claire,” her friend stood up, trying to move.

“No, no, no. I'm okay, really.” The blonde said, trying to walk away.
”Claire, c’mon, now!” Kate said, getting in front of her, “I really don’t think you should be moving.”

“Kate, I am fine now, it was just-“

Claire jolted slightly and then a large splash of something hit the ground. The blonde stared down at the ground, seeing her inner thighs were soaked. “WHAT IS THAT?” she screamed.

“I think your water just broke,” Kate’s heart began to race.

“No, no, no,” Claire began to panic.

“Okay . .uh . . okay, yeah . .let’s sit you back down . .”

“I can’t have this baby now!” the Australian protested.

“Just sit down, please, Claire.”

“I CAN’T HAVE THIS BABY NOW!!”

“Please, Claire, sit down, Jack is coming.”

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Back at the caves, everything was almost deadly quiet. Jack continued to let his blood pump into Boone. The young man laid motionless. Mandy rested her head on his shoulder, leaning forward. Sitting there was making her tired. McKay and Taylor rested on a nearby rock face, staying close by for their friend’s sake. Sun was taking a break, drinking some water. “Mandy,” the young man whispered.

Mandy then shot her head up, hearing her boyfriend speak. Jack leaned over, gently touching his shoulder. “Hey, Boone.” He smiled.

“I messed myself up pretty bad, huh?” he groaned.

“It’s okay, sweetie. You’re going to be a okay.” She said, stroking his hair.

“My leg hurts.”

“Don’t try to move it, “ Jack said, “Can you breath okay?”

“It fell on me.” He whispered.

Jack blinked, “What fell?”

“The plane. There was a plane.”

“What?” Mandy wiped her tears, “Boone, I thought . . .I thought Locke said you fell of a cliff?”

“No, no. There was . . .it fell. The plane. It's because of the hatch. We found a hatch.” Boone coughed.

Jack was growing concerned. Was the young man speaking the truth or was this some sort of delusion? He moved over toward his face a little bit more. “Boone, stay with us,” he whispered, “What hatch? What are you talking about?”

“Locke said, . . .John said, . . .John said not to tell.”

“Not tell what?” Mandy asked.

“Wasn’t . . wasn’t Mia’s fault . . .she . . .she tried to save . .”

“Boone, Boone, hey, “ Jack said, tapping him on the cheek, “What did Locke say about not telling?”

“My leg hurts,” he coughed.

“Boone, stay with me.” Jack ordered.

“Shannon . . .Mandy . . . Shannon . . .Mandy . . ..”

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Kate was pacing around. The sun was beginning to go down. In about thirty minutes, it was going to be dark. Claire strained in pain. Kate worried; what was taking them so long? Then she heard several footsteps in the jungle. She turned expecting to see Jack but she saw Jin, Tony and Charlie. The three men came up to her. Jin then took Tony’s hand and moved it over to Kate’s so he would know she was nearby. “Tony?” was all she was able to speak.

“How is Claire?” he asked,” How far are her contractions?”

“About every two minutes,” Kate mentioned, “Tony, where is Jack?”

“He’s preoccupied at the moment,” the blind doctor said, rolling up his sleeves, “You got me.”

“Tony, you are blind. You can’t deliver this baby.”

“You’re right, he’s not going to,” Charlie said, “You are.”

“What?” Kate gasped.

“Don’t worry, Kate. I will be right there with you, talking your through every step,” Tony said, wiping Boone’s blood and his own sweat off of his face.

“Okay, Okay, then we pick her up and carry her to Jack.” Kate pointed.

“Kate, it’s too late for that. We move her and it’s going to make it worse.”

“I can’t deliver this baby.” The brunette grunted through gritting teeth.

“Yes, you can. I brought towels, and water. The only thing I couldn’t find was a bloody camera!”

“I can’t deliver this baby, Charlie.” Kate turned to him.

“Well, somebody bloody well has to and it ain’t gonna me!”

Tony rolled his head. He then grabbed Kate by the shoulder. When he was certain he knew where her face was, he slapped her. The brunette grunted from the blow. Then he grabbed Charlie by the arm and slapped the spit out of him. The two friends stared at the blind man, holding their cheeks. “IS EVERYBODY DONE COMPLAINING?” Tony asked aloud.

“Uh . .yeah,” Kate whispered.

“Yes, sir,” Charlie replied.

“Now, let’s go help this baby arrive.” Tony began walking over to Claire.

Jin was already comforting her. The Korean man took Tony’s hand and guided him down. The blind doctor felt for Claire’s face, and gently stroked her hair. “Tony, help me.” She whispered.

“I will, honey. I promise,” he smiled, “How are you feeling?”

“You know I was out there for over a week . . .days I can't remember. I mean, what if, what if they did something to the baby? I'm not ready for this. I'm not. . . I'm so scared. I'm scared, Tony.”

“Honey, if it makes you feel any better, I am scared too. This will be my first delivering that I can’t see.” The blind doctor turned, “But we’re going to get through this, right Kate?”

“Yeah, “ the brunette said, kneeling toward Claire’s legs,” We’ll get through this together.”