Game Plan

[alliecat8]

Title: Game Plan
Sequel to Time Out and Cold.
Characters: Sawyer, Jack, Kate, Sun (squint and it's J/S and maybe S/K)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 724
Written for fanfic100's prompt #26, Teammates
Spoilers: through "...and Found," + a bit of future spec, no big future spoilers
Disclaimer: Only mine in my dreams

A/N: This is pt. 3 of 4. Part 1 and part 2 were posted on Monday and Tuesday, respectively. Thanks for putting up with my wonky timeline!

And again, apologies for my wounded!Sawyer fetish.





He wants to tell her to go away, because he needs to be alone. If Sawyer dies, and right now that’s looking like a real possibility, Jack wants his to be the last voice he hears, the last touch he feels. He wants to be alone with Sawyer in this fight to save his life. He also wants to protect Kate, because it’s a gruesome battle and Jack knows that Kate cares about Sawyer, in her own way. Also, Kate has a way of getting underfoot, and he’s afraid she’ll be more of a hindrance than a help. Sun would have been his choice of nurses, but Jin is home and Sun needs to be with him. And when Kate wants to be included, she won’t be denied. So it’s Kate, not Sun, who fights by Jack’s side in the first hours after Sawyer is carried to the hatch and transferred from the makeshift stretcher to the bed in what has now become Jack’s infirmary.

It’s been too long, the fever is dangerously high, and Sawyer hasn’t regained consciousness since he collapsed in the jungle. The hatch is well-equipped with medical supplies, including IV antibiotics, but Jack has no way of knowing whether or not they’re too old to be of any use. He starts an IV, anyway, and cleans and bandages the wound, and then there’s nothing to do but wait.

“He won’t die.” Kate sounds defiant, almost angry.

Jack has already learned his lesson about making promises he can’t keep. “He might.”

“No.” She says it with such fierceness, Jack almost believes her.

He discovers that Kate is not a nurturer. She’s harsh and rough, often impatient, always demanding. But she’s efficient. And she’s a lion. She does everything for Sawyer, nothing is beneath her, nothing too demeaning. Jack isn’t sure whether to hate her or admire her, so he does both.

Sun visits, after she’s spent time with Jin. She brings salves and herbal remedies and comforting words. They make an odd team, Sun and Kate. Sun is almost reverent in her ministrations. Kate’s are so rough, they seem like contempt.

They try to get through to him, each in their own way. Sun soothes without words, a slow and gentle form of silent encouragement. She waits patiently for change, for some sign of improvement. “Stop wasting my time, Sawyer,” Kate barks. “I’ve been here all day, waiting for you to wake up. Quit being lazy and open your eyes.” Jack glares at her, but inside he’s just as anxious for a sign, something to tell him that Sawyer’s still with them, still fighting. “Come on, Sawyer, get in the game,” he says, but there’s no movement, no fleeting expression, nothing at all to indicate that he’s been heard.

Kate, impatient for change, brings a basin of soapy water and begins to wash Sawyer’s hair. “It’s too long,” she tells him rudely. “You look like a girl.” She towel-dries the soggy mass, then shoves a toothbrush in his mouth and scrubs. “Spit,” she orders.

Sawyer, understandably, doesn’t respond. “Spit, dammit.” She grabs a fistful of hair on the back of his head, turns his face to the side and shakes him. “Don’t make me have to slap you.”

Jack watches her in helpless fascination. “Are you trying to kill him?”

Kate doesn’t answer him immediately, just wipes away the toothpaste when it runs from Sawyer’s mouth. “Don’t say that word.” She glances up, gives Jack a hard look. “He can hear you.”

She means “kill.” Kate won’t allow any talk of dying.

Sawyer wouldn’t dare, Jack thinks. He wouldn’t dare die, and let Kate have the last word. And that’s what this is about, he realizes. Kate is goading Sawyer. Sawyer might not understand encouragement. He might not understand that he has to come back because people care about him. But he understands a fight. And Sawyer never backs down from a fight.

Kate’s hand flicks toward Sawyer’s temple in a fair imitation of a slap upside the head. “You can hear us, you son of a bitch. I know you’re in there.” Her voice is sharp, belying the tears that Jack sees in her eyes. Kate knows exactly what she’s doing. Sawyer’s a fighter, and she’s making him fight. This time, instead of glaring at her, Jack smiles.

End

Link to Conclusion, "Victory"

Comments

[eponine119.livejournal.com]

Your take on Kate here is just heartbreaking and makes me want to cry. It's interesting to have her not be the nurturing type -- I never really thought about it -- but god, the way you write Kate is exactly how I would be, and that's what kills me. I'm amazed by how real and how true to human nature the things you write are. So good.

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I'm trying really hard to get a handle on Kate. I never gave her too much thought (other than just *grrrr* cattiness) until I threw her in the mix at fanfic100. I *do* think that she understands Sawyer better than anyone else, and she'd know just how to get through to him. You're wonderful and awesome and amazing for seeing it, too. :D

[hkath.livejournal.com]

Oh, Kate... why am I suddenly so filled with love for you, when you usually inspire only mild annoyance? Oh yes, it's because you're *not a cliché* in this fic! Yay! :D

I can't wait for Sawyer to wake up and get pissy with her. Or not. I want to see what happens!

*hearts you*

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

Oh, what a wonderful review! I'm actually starting to have fun writing Kate. She irritates me, too, but I'm trying to train myself to look at her from different perspectives. fanfic100 is expanding our horizons! :D

*hearts you back lots*

[zenana7.livejournal.com]

Insightful and well done. Esp. well done as a counterpart to the last installment -- inside Sawyer's head. Now we're outside. Glad the island is real here!

Jack isn’t sure whether to hate her or admire her, so he does both. I can relate. Good depiction of Kate.

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I wasn't *really* gonna make the Island be nothing but a dream...but it was fun messing with people's heads for a day or two, LOL. ;)

I *still* don't have a good grasp on whether or not to hate Kate or admire her. I flat-out hated her until the devil made me sign up to write her 100 times at fanfic100, but I'm getting more open-minded. We shall see.

I ♥ you to death for reading and leaving such prompt feedback! *hugs*

[meredith44]

I just knew if I waited long enough, part 1 would come about. (No, I am not at all anal about order... Why do you ask? *grin*

Anyway, on to the review...
And when Kate wants to be included, she won’t be denied. Isn't that the truth! *grin*

Sawyer wouldn’t dare, Jack thinks. He wouldn’t dare die, and let Kate have the last word. I love this take on hurt Sawyer. I love that Kate is goading him rather than coddling him. Of course, I must admit, I have a sort of thing for a more forceful Kate, what can I say?

Great job, and I'm off to parts 2 and 3 now.

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

I wondered if some of y'all were waiting to get the darn things in order! I was afraid the muse was gonna wimp out on pt. 1, if I didn't commit myself by going on and posting the part that was finished. Now she's balking at doing pt. 4, but it's too late to back out, now! Since you're a new friend I'll warn you, I used to be a hardcore J/S slasher and some of my fanfic100 entries are/will be J/S with just a gratutious sprinkling of Kate. If that squicks you, watch my headers carefully. ;D

I love foceful Kate, too. Expect to see lots of her. ;)

Thanks so much for reading!

[meredith44]

After having read part 2, I think I would have been fine reading that first and then reading this as a prequel. I just am very anal about order in stories, and if I'm told that there is an order to them, I like to follow that order if at all possible. I'm weird that way, I know. *grin*

I used to be a hardcore Sawyer/Kate fan, and that was all I read. Then foxxcub and halfdutch corrupted me introduced me to the hotness of Jack/Sawyer, and I love that just as much now, so no worries about any squicking out. I adore all combinations of J/K/S as long as they are written well. (Which is why there was much excitement (and perhaps jumping up and down, but I won't admit that *grin*) when I found out that someone had claimed J/K/S for fanfic100 and that person was a good writer. < /gratuitous praise >)

I'm glad you love forceful Kate too. She is so much more fun to read than passive Kate, even if both can be found in canon.

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

*blushes madly*

Yes, foxxcub and halfdutch are very bad influences, LOL. They, along with uberaeryn were the ones who lured me into the J/S harem. They set a very high standard, and I'm honored that you think my writing measures up. That's a great compliment. I think you're awesome, too! :D

[holycitygirl.livejournal.com]

Jack isn’t sure whether to hate her or admire her, so he does both.

My favorite line. (Might even have to be part of my FFJ this week) ;)

This was really insightful, I like how you are touching on that Kate and Sawyer understand each other thing. I'll be glad when her strategy works.

::eagerly awaits next installment::

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

"Might even have to be part of my FFJ this week"

Awww...that would make my day. I'm such a dork, I cried when my fic that was nominated at lost_fic_awards didn't win, even though the one that won was the one *I* voted for! Congratulations on yours, though! :D

I'm glad you thought it was insightful. I worry that my fics are getting less substantial, because I'm focusing on quantity right now. I'm trying to train myself to use fewer words and make the ones I *do* use count, but I'm never sure if I'm succeeding. Your feedback really means a lot to me. :)

Off to write the payoff uh slash rest of the story!

[holycitygirl.livejournal.com]

:) Well I will keep praising you as long as you keep writing. You are awesome. Don't doubt it.

I've always had the opposite problem when writing. My style tends much more toward the subtle, the short, the hopefully sweet. And the longer a fic is or the more I write the less good I feel it is. We have like exact opposite insecurities.

But I think you are definately succeeding. I've always found ficlets and drabbles to be great writing exercises. I looove how you are doing these short sections of the story leading up to whatever the resolution (although I do hope it is a happy slashy payoff)

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

Oh, P.S., I didn't mean for that to sound like I didn't vote for yours, because I totally did! Yours was in a different category from mine. And the one that won in my category totally deserved it. I'm just an insecure dork. ;)

[ellel.livejournal.com]

“Stop wasting my time, Sawyer,”Kate barks.“I’ve been here all day, waiting for you to wake up.Quit being lazy and open your eyes.”
Brilliant!!!
Oh,love this Kate! If only the cannon one was like her;)

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've been writing insightful!Kate lately, for some reason. I guess it's because of the "connection" she and Sawyer supposedly have.

Sigh, I need some motivation to finish pt. 4. You know things are bad when you can't make yourself write J/S smut. >:(

Thanks so much for the lovely fb! *smooches*

[halfdutch.livejournal.com]

This is great stuff. Definitely your best. ;-D

Such a fresh but true take on Kate. She's *not* all schmoopy and I love that. We all know she's tougher than Jack. This is just fantastic.

And yeah, if I had read this before writing my last fic, I think I would have just given up on it!

*loves*

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

THANK YOU for the praise!

It's funny that you should say that about giving up on yours after reading mine. That's exactly what I thought when I read your hurt!Sawyer fic. " I can never live up to this standard." Your stuff is the best there is! I think it's great the way that the awesome fic writers out there keep us all on our toes by setting such good examples. Yay for mutual admiration! :D

*loves back*

[arabella-hope.livejournal.com]

*wibbles* I just thought Kate wasn't a good nurse ;(

Thanks for linking me...this is my favorite of the 4 actually (well, alright, smut sorta trumps, but...), so emotional and this is REALLY how Kate would act (or, you know, I'll eat those words in a week). It's how she SHOULD act if TPTB know what's what.

And you didn't want to have to work Kate in all the time? You have SUCH a fabulous grasp on her character! *runs back to rec50 with new fic in hand*

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

Those were the perfect words to say on a day when I feel like I have no grasp on her character at all. I like strong, ballsy Kate, but the writers seem to be going toware smoopy Kate, maybe to counterbabance Ana. But, I have another good friend who doent't appreciate tough Kate at all, she thinks she's just a scared little girl. So, I put out a cry for help on LJ to try to get an accurate picture of her. Help me pimp my post. (You'll see). There'll be a big payoff in the end that may or may not include Kate. XD

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

Btw, Allie's brain on drugs can't spell.

Thanks for sharing your cold with me. I really enjoyed it. ;D

*feels much healthier today, dammit*

[neon-lights-x.livejournal.com]

I love this! Your Kate is more believable/realistic than Show Kate. You make/inspire me to write even though I suck so horribly,

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm so happy when people who like Kate think I write her well. It's a challenge because I have real issues with Kate -- I fight against disliking her a lot of the time. I'll have to admit I liked the way Kate behaved in my fic better than I did the schmoopy way she acted in canon...er, I mean schmoopy except when she was throwing Sawyer on the floor and running away from the buttton and leaving him in the hatch to die! See what I mean about issues? lol

Anyway, I'm glad you found your way to some of my Kate stuff, and I'm so glad you liked it. This feedback was very well-timed since I've spent my day writing Kate and wondering if I know what the hell I'm doing. ;)