A LOST fanfic: Taken care of

Chapter 12: Protecting the ones you love

Jack got up from the end of the bed, ready to exit the tent. His hands curled into tight fists. Juliet put a hand on his forearm.

"Jack don't go out there. That's what he wants. It's what the Black Smoke does. It tricks you. Taunts you into doing what he wants. His biding. He once lured me into the jungle claiming that my sister and my nephew were here and in trouble. It turned out not to be true."

Jack kept his fists curled. But that was exactly what the Black Smoke wanted, was for him to be angry, it would be easier to lure him in. The man that stood outside the shelter in which he and Kate called home for the past five years made him angry. His fists still curled tightly he attempted to leave the shelter. As he grabbed for the blue tarp over the front to serve as privacy he heard Juliet speak again, but not to him this time.

"Kate you need to stay absolutely still. No sudden movements."

Kate completely ignored Juliet and grabbed for Jack's hand. He squeezed it and looked into her eyes.

"Stay here with Juliet. I won't let him hurt you or Megan."

Jack's heart skipped a few beats when he saw the man who looked like his father holding something in his arms. He grew leery of the situation and willed himself to back away,
but something told him to get closer. Forgetting to breathe for a scarce moment or two, Jack could see a pink bundle in his 'father's' arms. It was a wet and screaming child. Turmoil seemed to build inside of Jack but the doctor in him said to take the screaming child away from the evil that was standing before him. Jack peered at the howling bundle and then up at Christian.

"Megan?"

Christian shook his head no and gestured towards the screaming baby.

"No. This is someone else. You can take the baby."

Mindful of the child he'd scooped up into his arms, Jack frantically looked around, but Christian was now gone. Taking tentative steps back to his tent, the baby kept screaming. Once inside he set the child down on the makeshift table to have a better look at them. Unwrapping the pink blanket from the child, he found that the baby was a little girl. She continued to cry as Jack examined her.

"Hey there. It's ok. I know it's a little cold out here. But this blanket will keep you warm, and we'll take care of you."

The baby girl on the makeshift table squirmed as Jack cleaned her up. Her entire body was bright red and he noticed that there was a clamp that tied off what was left of the umbilical cord stump. A crowd was beginning to form outside the shelter. Sawyer stood just outside and called to Jack when he saw the squirming baby on the table through the tarp. He looked suspicious and a little worried at the same time.

"Did Kate just have another baby doc?"

Taking but a brief millisecond to glance at Sawyer standing 'guard' outside his tent Jack gave an exasperated sigh and turned back to the little girl in front of him.

"No Sawyer. Could you please give us some space so I can work on her? Get those people out of here."

His focus was again on the little girl whose face was scrunched together so tight from screaming he thought it would stay that way. He tried comforting her. Getting her to calm down was not going to be easy.

"Hey now. What's the matter? Does something hurt? It's ok. Juliet and I will make you all better."

Juliet walked over and perched herself next to Jack and reached over to caress the tiny baby's head after she'd cleaned her hands.

"Hey. What's the matter little one?"

The little girl only cried louder. Kate who was sitting quietly and holding Megan tried her hand to comfort the girl.

"Hey there sweetie. It's all right. Nothing will hurt you here."

At the sound of Kate's voice, the little girl stopped howling and her cries were but whimpers. Jack and Juliet exchanged confused looks at each other and then towards Kate. Jack
remembered Charlie telling him Sawyer's voice comforted Aaron and made him stop crying when he was a baby. Juliet ran a finger down the infants left arm as Jack continued looking her over.

"Her umbilical cord has been cut recently. The only place you can find clamps like this is back at the medical station. When my 'father' gave her to me, she was still covered in amniotic fluid. Therefore, the mother wherever she may be gave birth to her less than one hour ago. We should find the mother and make sure she's doing all right."

Juliet's mood went down considerably and kept her tears in check. Swallowing she answered Jack.

"Assuming she's even still alive."

The nameless baby in front of Jack and Juliet began to whimper, but she was no longer screaming. Jack stopped testing the infant's reflexes for an instant and looked at her facial features. They seemed familiar. Her tiny nose resembled his own and her lips held the tiniest of smirks. A name slipped from his mouth before he could stop himself.

"Gracie..."

Juliet furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head.

"I'm sorry?"

A wide smile spread over his lips. But as he attempted to bring Gracie over to Kate she disappeared from his arms. For the briefest of moments he got to see his second little girl. Even if it was just a glimpse of what was to come. Juliet was right. The Black Smoke was toying with him. Taunting him, and the island was helping.

"She's my daughter, and her mother is sitting on the bed over there. You were right. He was taunting me. He wants something. But what is it?"

Juliet's eyes were wide. She knew things about The Black Smoke that Jack didn't.

"I can't tell you that Jack. Only you can figure that out. Just like I had to figure out why I was seeing my sister and my nephew."

Jack's anger began to bubble to the surface again. Why give me something and then rip it away from me?

To Be Continued...