A LOST fanfic: Taken care of

Chapter 23: Everything is about time

Kate was at her wits-end. A day after Megan started eating again, she suddenly began to have difficulties once again.

"Jack I can't watch this."

Jack froze, his hands hovering over the tiny tubing that would help Megan to eat. Feeding her with a bottle hadn't helped either. She just didn't have the energy to suckle.

"It's ok Kate. You don't have to watch. I'll make this as quick as possible. She won't feel a thing. I gave her something to sleep so that I could put this tubing in."

Megan had lost a little weight due to the fact that she was unable to eat. At the thought of it, it made Jack physically ill. He would've had Juliet assist him with this particular procedure, but, he was giving her and Sawyer some time to grieve. He would need to check on her again in less than an hour.

"She'll uh she'll be able to eat once you put that tube in her?"

Jack could hear the uncertainty in Kate's voice. But his main focus was getting the tubing into Megan so that she could eat. Taking a breath, he carefully and gently inserted the tubing. Swallowing, he felt someone wipe the sweat from his forehead.

"Hey you're doing great Jack. You just have to believe in yourself. Forget all the stuff your father ever told you about being a failure. You DO have what it takes."

Nothing was ever that simple to Jack. He and Kate locked eyes for a minute and in hers he saw a deep-seated belief in him that seemed to span millions of oceans.

"You're the only one that's ever believed in me Kate. Thank-you."

Kate finished wiping the sweat away from his forehead and followed the tubing connected to a machine in the corner of the room.

"How will she eat Jack?"

Jack traced Megan's tiny fingers and eyed the machine.

"The tubing goes down into her stomach and the other end is connected to the machine there in the corner. It would be best if she got milk from you. It'll strengthen her immune system."

A few tears found themselves trailing down Kate's cheek.

"How is it that my milk will strengthen her immune system Jack? Her heart is working twice as hard just to keep her alive! She can hardly breathe! When is this going to stop Jack?"

Jack flinched but tried to shrug it off before Kate could notice she'd hit a raw nerve. He was just as frustrated as Kate was about the situation. Giving Megan the best care he could with what they had was all he could do.

"Juliet and I will fix this Kate. Just give us some more time. There is always another option. I haven't given up. Megan is still fighting. She has been fighting since the day she took her first breath."

Sighing, Kate let her shoulders relax a little and scooped Megan into her arms. Placing a kiss atop her soft forehead, Kate nestled her up against her shoulder and the crook of her neck. She could see Sawyer eyeing them from his spot next to a sleeping Juliet.

"That baby looks good on you freckles."

She knew that Sawyer was only deflecting the spotlight off him and Juliet to make himself feel better. Kate could see pain etched into his features, but like Jack, he was good at hiding it.

"Sawyer, I'm... I'm sorry."

Sawyer shrugged it off but didn't respond. He turned his attention back to Juliet and ran a hand through her knotted blonde hair. Jack watched the monitors and ran a hand over Megan's brown hair.

"Remember when you went into labor with her? You wanted to have her under that tree less than half a mile from here?"

Kate groaned and laughed for a minute.

"She felt like she was coming out Jack. What do you expect? I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe and I felt like I was drowning in pain. Claire told me it was bad when she had Aaron, but I had no idea. Would I go through all that again? Ask me that in a few years."

Jack chuckled and then ran a hand over Megan's head one more time.

"Everything is about time Kate. You'll see."

A small smile spread across his face as he gave a light kiss to Megan's hand.

"Everything is about time. I'll make you better baby girl. That is a promise."

To Be Continued...