Lost Video Island

[SuperKC]

Hahha Aislynn I love you! Soon!

[SuperKC]

Prompt #18.

Title: But Not Broken
Chapter: 4 - If the Answer is No, Can I Change Your Mind?
Genre: Road/Action/Adventure/Romance
Fandom: LOST
Characters: Sun/Jack
Rating: R
So far: After a short-lived rest in Quepos, Jack and Sun are on the road again, heading for the Panama Canal.
Thanks: To my beta, kmousie.




Chapter 4 – And if the Answer is No, Can I Change Your Mind?

Sand and blood – that’s all she really remembered about the island. That’s what made her furious about the chase and all the people who had been killed for what they supposedly knew. Family was the other thing. They lived together and they died together. There were parts of her – irrational, forgetful parts – that wished they were still back there. It was the only place she and Jin had ever really been happy together.

She sat on the bed, waiting for Jack to return from the hotel lobby, her muscles tight and aching, tense with the fear of being alone. Two days had gone by and they’d kept themselves holed up, hoping Winchester and his men would assume they’d moved on. A safe place was never taken for granted, but it also never stayed safe for very long. Someone would be back for them, and the truth was they probably should have left already – would have, too, if it hadn’t been for Jack’s injury. Their exhaustion coupled with the first glimmer of hope that came with Locke’s message had made their rest heavy and needful – a kind of relief from their burden.

She was always surprised at the things she learned about Jack in these quiet times. Like the way he always rubbed his neck when in deep conversation, a subconscious, nervous act. He had been so strong – stronger than anyone she’d known – but there was still this vulnerable side to him – a side he was never very good at hiding. It’s why they had looked to him as a leader in the first place. It wasn’t because he was a doctor, although she had to admit that it helped. It was because he breathed this air of confidence and compassion that so rarely go together. It was something she had seen in Jin when she first met him – before her father broke his spirit. It was something she saw in Jack, too.

In the closet of their small room had been a black dress, left behind by a previous occupant and somehow missed by the cleaning crew. She put it on after he went downstairs. It fit her perfectly and she wore it now, feeling for the first time in a long time like a lady – with shaved legs and exposed knees. She was the fall-back plan. They needed to access a computer so they could identify the location in the coordinates. If he couldn’t get to one himself, the plan was for her to distract the front desk clerk, a young man who had taken a liking to her.

This trickery had been the hardest thing to get used to. They had become criminals, in nearly every sense of the word. Despite the life her father lived, she never made allowances for him. He had chosen his life. She never thought about what might have driven him to those decisions. For them, it was a matter of necessity. Do or die, as they say. The motive had never mattered to her before. She hadn’t even taken it into account. Now, she had no choice. She was faced with her own, very real motives.

She heard the sound of the latch being unlocked from outside. She knew it was Jack by his familiar footsteps, but still got goose bumps every time a door opened.

“Santa Catalina,” he said simply before opening the closet’s folding door and kneeling before it, collecting their things. She stood quickly and walked over to him. Something was wrong.

“Jack?” She knew she didn’t want to hear what he had to say, that their stay in Quepos had run its course.

“Peru.” This one-word utterance was spoken as though it explained everything. A ha! Peru! Sun thought sarcastically. This all makes perfect sense now!

“Put these on. We’re leaving.” He handed her some clothes from their pile of clean laundry and stuffed the rest haphazardly into their packs. He didn’t look back at her. She kneeled down beside him and placed her hand on his to steady it.

He looked at her then, finding her eyes wide with urgency. He always found these moments difficult. “I was leaving the lobby when I saw two men come in and accost the front desk clerk. They described us to him and gave our names. I hid around the corner, listening. He told them he hadn’t seen us, and they left. But when I approached him after they were gone, he said he could tell they hadn’t believed him.”

Sun swallowed, closed her eyes slowly and bowed her head. It was stupid, but she’d had this vision of them leaving the hotel, arms hooked together, glancing ever forward, not afraid of what was behind them, like vacationing lovers. It was a simple, happy dream, and the memory of it crept into her mind like that broken figurine – so fragile. She never should have played with it in the first place. She suddenly felt foolish in that well-fitting dress that she’d relished only moments before and wanted nothing more than to take it off.

Jack disrupted her thoughts. “We’d better hurry.”

****

Costa Rica had an abundance of two things as far as Jack could tell – shitty paved roads and shitty dirt roads. Even someone used to driving them would find them treacherous. And the rain didn’t help a bit. It was impossible to predict how long it would take them to get anywhere. Two days from their hasty escape in Quepos, Jack found that Panama wasn’t much different.

When they were on the move, Jack never really thought that much about the precarious holding pattern they were in with their pursuers – a perpetual game of cat and mouse in which their only chance of escape was moving undetected. Mice are small and can go places that a large hungry feline cannot. The recent days spent in hiding had given him time to digest their newfound autonomy, now that Claire and Aaron were gone and they were just two. Despite the close calls, Jack was certain that they had a better chance now than before at evading Winchester and his men. If they played it right, perhaps they could find some hole in the wall, some crack to fall into.

Crossing the border into Panama had been a kind of quiet, symbolic victory. They were one step closer to God, whatever Locke had meant by that. But when they finally reached the canal, he was still uneasy. As far as he could tell, they hadn’t been followed. But the truth was that they were always followed, whether it seemed that way or not.

Sun sat up, jolted out of a reverie of her own when Jack parked the car. It was she who spoke first. “Are we stopping for the night?” Neither of them had slept in at least twenty-four hours, and nightfall was just around the corner. Sun pushed her hair from her eyes and unsuccessfully fought back a yawn.

“I don’t think we should cross the bridge.” Jack had been thinking about this all day. It was only now that he spoke up.

“You mean across the canal? I don’t understand. We have to get to Santa Catalina, Jack. It’s our only chance.”

He looked at her puzzled face, at the panic that rose within her so much more quickly than it used to. “No, I don’t mean that. Look.” Jack unfolded the map at his side, and Sun leaned in to study it. “Other than the Bridge of the Americas, there’s really only one, maybe two other ways of crossing the canal by car. All of the traffic bottlenecks at this point. Chances are they’ve got somebody waiting for us at every entrance – less of a chance that they don’t. It’s suicide.”

“So what do we do?” Sun asked, still a bit shaky from the rough ride.

“We have to get a boat. This is a major shipping thoroughfare, Sun. Several dozens of cargo ships cross the canal every day, possibly more. They’d never be able to find us. It’s an easy way to fall off the radar.”

Sun nodded. He was right. “You mean to stow away?”

He drew away from her and began folding the map. “I don’t know, Sun.” He shook his head and licked his bottom lip, another of his nervous habits. “But I do know that in order to get out of this we’ve gotta change the game. All of this, until now, has been reactionary. We have to start looking ahead a few moves. Otherwise we’re dead.”

“Dammit, Jack.”

“It’s the only smart thing, Sun.”

“I know,” she said. But that’s not exactly what she meant. All of his reassurances came with a hint of doubt. She knew he only said it because it was real. But for once she just wished he could tell her things would be okay – that they were going be fine.

Outside the car, Sun could hear the muffled music of Latin America. She heard laughter and smelled the unmistakable scent of the grill. The sweltering humidity had subsided, and a cool breeze had replaced it. She wanted to laugh. She wanted to eat food and dance and forget about all of this. But her only two options were to either stow away illegally or die. She looked at Jack, his head hung low, his hand running through his short hair. She closed her eyes.

“You looked pretty.” The words escaped his lips almost involuntarily.

“What?” Her eyes snapped open to look at him.

“In your dress,” he answered quietly. “I wanted to tell you that earlier. But the timing didn’t seem right.”

“Oh.” She fought back a blush.

“So,” he paused. “Let’s do this.”

“Let’s do this.”

[rbexter93]

awh!!!!!!!!
Is your ship called jan or sack or...cuz its really cute
_________________

[SuperKC]

It's called,

Jack/Sun LMAO

I was calling it "sack" as a joke but I don't really like Jan or Sack haha. I know some people call the people that SHIP Sun/Jack "Bandaids" LOL.

Glad you're liking it! More soon!

[Aislynn]

[SuperKC]

Wow! *blush* Aislynn you really know how to review some fanfic!

The next part is coming a LOT sooner than it took to get this one up.

[IntoTheVoid]

''You look pretty''

SO Jack!

Really enjoyed this chapter KC
_________________

"Jack is the guy she should be with.
She does genuinely love him.
And she knows that he would take excellent care of her." - Damon Lindelof

[SuperKC]

Thank you Elle!

[SuperKC]

fuck!

[SuperKC]

Title: But Not Broken
Chapter: 5 - Infinity
Genre: Road/Action/Adventure/Romance
Fandom: LOST
Characters: Sun/Jack
Rating: R
So far: Jack and Sun sneak onto a tourist boat with the help of some local teens in order to cross the Panama Canal undetected.
Thanks: To my beta, kmousie.





Chapter 5: Infinity

Even though he was tall, Sun could tell that he was no more than eighteen. He was all confidence and spoke English well, though it was laden with a heavy accent. His name was Chepe, and he was originally from El Salvador. He was their ticket onto the tourist ferry that would take them to Gatun.

They could have bought their way on easily, but they couldn’t be seen with the spectacle of tourists. They needed a place to hide. As the son of one of the boat’s many deckhands, Chepe could get them on board early and under cover for a few hundred bucks and a modest amount of their drugs.

Sun and Jack stood in an alley beside a restaurant, speaking with the kid and at least a half a dozen of his friends, whose dirty mouths began to water at the sight of the meds. They dressed all the same, decidedly North American – like all teenagers, aching to separate themselves from their parents, yet fading into one another like bricks in a wall. There was only one who stood out, looking tidy and out of place, hands shoved deeply into his pockets, eyeing the ground in front of him.

The trip was about a half a day, a cheap money maker to enthrall tourists with the marvel of twentieth-century engineering that was the Panama Canal. From what Jack could make out, Chepe – who refused to speak in his native Spanish – explained that they would be stowing away on one of the lower levels – a small storage room of some kind.

Sun spotted the better-dressed one gawking at her and then exchanging knowing looks with the ringleader, Chepe. Was he bargaining for her? She glanced anxiously at Jack as he discussed the deal with the teenager. Jack caught her eye and knitted his brows, nodding his head slightly – a move mostly imperceptible to the boys. He stepped forward, instinctively shielding her from them with his tall frame.

“Look, Chepe, maybe this would be easier if we did this without your friends here?” Jack shrugged, pocketing the drugs and the money to let him know he was serious.

Chepe looked confused for a moment and then laughed, looking between his diminutive friend and Sun. “Jai?” He nodded towards the boy at his side. “Can’t help he likes what he sees.”

It was a statement that prompted Jack to grab the youngster by the collar. Sun flinched as he did. The teenagers tensed up, their jaws tightening visibly, mostly in fear, as each of them took several steps backwards. He growled a threat in Spanish that Sun could not understand. She looked at the one he called Jai, a flash of embarrassed crimson rising in his cheeks as he averted her gaze awkwardly.

Chepe held up his hands. “Fuck! Okay, okay,” he said, his El Salvadorian accent still thick with amusement. He wrenched back towards his friends, still caught in Jack’s tight grip. He shouted something in Spanish and the boys ran off. He looked back to Jack and peeled out of his grasp.

Jack eyed the now-humbled boy, who suddenly looked much younger than he actually was. “So when do we do this?”

***

It was hours yet until sunrise when they met Chepe at the docks. He was already on the boat, and he wasn’t alone. “Chepe. Jai,” Jack said as the two teens hopped easily from the deck to the wooden planks where Sun and Jack stood.

“Jack,” Sun whispered as she tugged on his sleeve, noticing two small pistols which were tucked behind each of their belts. “They have guns.”

“Why the artillery?” Jack asked Chepe, who was helping Jai lower the entrance walkway.

“I could ask you the same thing,” Chepe responded simply, referring to Jack’s nine-millimeter.

Jack looked at Sun, her face nervous and uneasy, and then back to Chepe. “Fair enough.”

Chepe turned and held out his hand. “My payment?”

Jack pulled out a small brown bag and tossed it to Chepe, who caught it easily. “That’s half,” he said. “You get the rest when we arrive in Gatun.”

“You don’t trust me?” Chepe asked, a smirk creeping onto his face.

“I don’t trust anybody,” Jack answered stonily.

“Fair enough,” said Chepe. “Come on. We don’t have much time. The crew will be here soon.”

***

The room Chepe led them to was even smaller than Sun could have imagined. They entered the tiny room; once they were both in, they barely had enough room to turn around, let alone sit. On one side of the room were stacks of large boxes, and on the other side were shelves filled with cleaning supplies. The light bulb above them was busted; Chepe gave them a small lantern and a rusting metal bucket.

“What’s the bucket for?” Sun asked, without thinking.

“You’ll figure it out,” Chepe answered, grinning widely.

“Oh,” Sun said, blushing a bit. Jack laughed, and she flashed him an angry look.

He silenced his amusement and turned to Chepe. “So about how long will we be down here?”

“The tour doesn’t start for a few more hours,” Chepe said. “After that, it’ll be about a half a day and perhaps another hour for the tourists and crew to clean out. They all go to dinner in Gatun. That’s when we’ll extract you.”

Jack nodded. “And until then?”

“We will bring you some food later,” Chepe explained, standing in the doorway. “Water too. No matter what happens, don’t leave this room. We’ll come for you. Even if you think the ship is sinking, don’t leave the room. Unless it fills with water, then you can leave. And even then, only when it gets too deep. And even then…”

“Chepe!” Jai elbowed him, rolling his eyes. “He watches too many American movies.” He shook his head and chuckled, looking once again at Sun, who was surprised at his humor and his impeccable English. She remembered his predatory stare in the alley and couldn’t bring herself to smile at his joke. His grin fell when he noticed her apprehension. “We’ll be back soon with the food. No one will come down here. There’s a store room on one of the upper levels. Fully stocked. You’ll be okay here,” he said and pushed Chepe into the darkness of the quiet corridor, shutting the door behind them.

Jack scanned the room, holding up the lantern, which seemed to provide even less light now that the door was closed. “Well...” he said.

“Well,” Sun echoed.

“Maybe if we move some of these boxes,” he gestured. “We can probably figure out a way to make this place a little more comfortable – maybe make a place to sit or lie down.”

“It feels damp in here, Jack,” Sun said abruptly. She moved closer, breaching the short distance between them. She leaned in and grabbed the lantern from his outstretched arm. “Let me see that.”

Jack relinquished the lantern, suddenly drunk with the feeling of her warm body pressed against him. She pulled up his sleeve, examining his sutures. The gash was still healing. He dropped his other arm, letting it rest gently on her side.

“Should we wrap this again?” Sun asked after setting the lantern on the shelf behind them. She raised her eyes to meet his and found them curiously wide. “We don’t know how long we’ll be down here or what kind of germs are floating around. We don’t want to risk infection.”

Jack only nodded, not bothering to stop the flood of thoughts filling his mind. She was so close, her hair pulled back messily, softly brushing her neck.

“Jack? Are you all right?” Sun reached up, touching his rough cheek, pulling him out of his trance.

“Yeah, fine,” he said, nodding his head suddenly, awkwardly.

“You’re not claustrophobic, are you?” Sun asked, though she knew the answer was no. She suddenly became aware of his hand at her waist and his hip pressing into her stomach. She pulled back slightly, dropping her hands from his face and arm.

“No.” He shook his head. “Just a little tired,” he lied.

“Well let’s re-arrange these boxes, and maybe we can get some sleep,” she said. “I’ll wrap that arm later.”

***

The canal was calm, like a sound, and the boat moved smoothly through it. Jack had arranged the boxes so that both he and Sun could sit somewhat comfortably on top of a pair of large sturdy crates, while Sun had fruitlessly searched the room for a new bulb. The small lantern’s dim yellow light was all they had to see by, and their eyes quickly grew accustomed to the level of darkness. Chepe had made good on his promise and brought them a basket of food, mostly bread, and a jug of water.

The boat had been on the move for only a couple of hours, so it was still mid-morning. Sun pulled her legs to her chest and leaned back into the wall behind her crate. Jack took a sip of water from the jug and handed it to her.

“Thirsty?”

“No.” She shook her head. “I’m all right.”

“Awfully quiet over there,” he said. He stood and moved onto her crate, sitting next to her with her knees pressing against his good shoulder. “Thinking too much?”

“Maybe too little,” she answered monotonously.

“You’re a bad liar.” He smiled and rubbed the back of his neck. “Something’s got you restless.”

She sighed then, a deep and defeated sigh. “What do you think we’re going to find in Santa Catalina, Jack? Do we even know what to look for?”

“There’s a monastery,” he said after a moment. He hadn’t mentioned it before, not for any particular reason, just hadn’t. “Locke’s message said, ‘Go to God.’ I don’t know if it has anything to do with it. Maybe it doesn’t. Hell, Locke’s never very easy to understand even when you’re face to face with him. But it’s a start.”

“Do you think he’s safe?” Sun sat up, crossing her legs in front of her.

“He’s alive, isn’t he?” He turned to face her.

“We’re alive and we’ve never been safe, Jack,” she said honestly. “I don’t feel like there’s such a thing as safe anymore. I stopped believing in that a long time ago.” She lowered her head, feeling the sting of tears dangerously close, and swallowed hard to keep them at bay.

Jack reached over and pulled her to him. She nearly collapsed into his lap, her arms wrapping desperately around his steely frame. “Look at me,” he said after a moment, cupping her chin with his hand. She looked up at him, face glistening with salty tears. “I promise I’ll keep us safe, okay?”

She looked away from him then, at her shoes, her scuffed pant leg, the dirty floor, trying to push away the thought of the bloodshed of forgotten friends. She knew the folly of his statement – how truly impossible it was for him to promise her something like that. And she hated him for saying it, despite wanting him to comfort her. That wasn’t what she had truly wanted. What she had really wanted was for the reassurances to be true. And now those empty words of comfort ate away at her, spread doubt through her like a drop of blood in a bucket of water. “You can’t promise me that, Jack.”

“Why not?” His voice was hollow, giving away his own disbelief.

“You just can’t.” She felt the tears on her face harden as they dried.

“I know,” he said and pulled her in closer. “I know.”

They sat together like that for a long time, her arms around his abdomen and her head resting on his shoulder. After a while, she sat up fully but kept herself locked to him. She felt the rush of air between their bodies and sucked in a sharp breath before snuggling close to him again. She closed her eyes and, for a moment, she did feel safe, with his strong arms wrapped around her and those tight walls enclosing them. It was fleeting – a transient yet entirely real feeling.

And then came the footsteps.

***

When Jai grabbed her by the arm and yanked her from Jack’s grasp, Sun shouted. She hadn’t spoken Korean in longer than she could remember, but they don’t have English translations for words like that.

She could feel Jack behind her, reaching for his gun, his warmth still so connected with hers. But it was too late. Chepe, coming in from behind Jai, already had his at the ready. “Be cool! Be cool!” Sun heard him say, but her thoughts were moving so quickly she couldn’t be sure.

“Let her go!” Jack reached for her.

“Would you shut the fuck up?” Chepe hissed at Jack. “She’s going with him now, all right? If you shout again, someone’s gonna come down here and find us. I don’t know who you’re running from, but I’m guessing that being arrested might make it easier for them to find you.”

“No! No!” Sun screamed. Chepe moved to hit her, to shut her up, but Jai pulled her out of his reach.

“Quiet!” Chepe shouted, the corners of his mouth wet with spit.

“Idiot! Put it away!” Jai growled and pushed Chepe’s arms down, glaring at him until he relented and stuck the gun back into his belt. Jack advanced, taking a step toward him now that he was disarmed. Jai glared at Chepe and then back to Jack, “Don’t be stupid, man. Just put it down.”

“Not until you let her go,” Jack said.

Jai looked at Sun now and loosened his grip on her arm. “Sun? Is that your name? Sun?” She nodded but didn’t look up at him. “I need you to come with me, Sun,” he said. “Please, just look at me.”

“Sun, you stay right here.” Jack interrupted.

Sun took in a shaky breath and lifted her gaze to Jai. He had stopped the other one from hitting her. He didn’t have to do that. So now she looked at him.

“I promise you, I mean no harm,” he said. “Please? Please come?”

Sun stared and blinked hard, to be sure she could tell what she was seeing. Deep within his dark brown eyes and that desperate voice was a nugget of truth. He was earnest, and at that moment she had made up her mind. There wasn’t a question. It was knowledge she felt. She was going to be okay this time. She nodded, and Jai smiled, not a triumphant smile, but one of gratitude.

“Jack,” Sun turned slightly, looking back at him. “I’m going with him.”

“What?” Jack lowered his gun. “No,” he said. “You’re not. You’re staying right here.”

“Jack, listen to me,” she said. “Trust me. I’m going to be fine.”

Jack narrowed his eyes and loosened his grip on the gun in his hands. He slipped it behind him begrudgingly.

“I’m going to be fine,” she said again as she stepped out of the room with Jai and Chepe. “I’m going to be fine, Jack. Trust me… I’m…” Her words were cut off by the heavy metal door slamming shut after them, followed by the soft click of the lock from outside.

Jack swallowed hard and kicked the door violently. “Fuck!”

[SuperKC]

Title: But Not Broken
Chapter: 6 - God
Genre: Road/Action/Adventure/Romance
Fandom: LOST
Characters: Sun/Jack
Rating: R
So far: Stowed away on a tourist boat, Jack and Sun are separated.
Thanks: To my beta, kmousie.





Chapter 6: God

Confidence. Sun had felt full of it when she had left Jack in that cluttered room. The tiny lights lining the walkway – which reminded her of the lights in a movie theater – gave off an eerie, unsettling glow, and the soft whirring of the boat’s engine caused a lump to rise in her throat. The longer she followed Jai down that winding corridor and the farther away she was from Jack, the more she felt that confidence slipping away from her. She heard Chepe’s uneven breaths behind her and swallowed hard, hoping she could drown out the noise. She tried to remember why she had made such a stupid decision as to go with them, to put her trust in them.

“Shh!” Jai whispered and held up his hand – a signal. Sun and Chepe halted instantly. She held her breath and listened carefully; for the first time, she could hear the soft lapping of water against the boat. The sound in the hallway was not as muffled as in the storage room. Then, she heard something else. There were footsteps, but they weren’t coming from behind them.

“Above us,” Sun whispered to Jai, who turned around to face them.

“Okay,” he nodded towards Chepe, “you need to go back to the storage room. Make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid to get us all caught. I’ll take her to the room.”

Chepe nodded and wordlessly turned back towards the storage room. After he rounded the corner, Jai pressed up against the wall, allowing Sun the space to pass him in the narrow corridor. Despite the knot that grew tighter in her stomach with every step, Sun pressed on, walking past him. She looked back at him for instructions.

“Just up ahead, the door to the right,” he said and pointed.

Looking ahead about twenty feet, she saw a stream of yellow light peeking out through the crack at the bottom of the first door. This was it. Had she been right about him? She wondered. She hoped. She closed her eyes, taking another step forward. A myriad of thoughts rushed through her mind, all sorts of scenarios, but she could not have expected the sound she heard next.

***


Three feet – that’s how much space Jack had between their crates and the door. He paced that length back and forth, cursing under his breath. He remembered her face, her words – Trust me, Jack. He closed his eyes, halting his steady motion. How could he have let them take her? And so easily? It was only her reassurance that allowed it to happen. But the longer he waited, the more his mind filled with the thought of what might be happening to her – Jai’s rough hands on her skin, a gun, a shout, her cries, something taken that didn’t belong to them. Try as he might, he couldn’t push the thoughts away. He sank to the floor, back against the wooden crate they had shared together. “Sun,” he whispered and touched the white gauze she had wrapped his arm with. “I’m so sorry.”

There was a sharp knock at the door and he jerked his head up, standing quickly. “Sun?”


***

It was unmistakable, muffled, but at that moment, it was as clear as anything she had ever heard – the sound of a lullaby. Jai urged her forward, pushing her gently on the shoulder. She looked to him for an explanation, only to find his eyes full of desperation. “I’m sorry I hurt you,” he offered. “I was scared. I panicked.” She nodded and continued on her way. When they reached the door, Jai pushed it open.

The room was mostly empty save for a few crates, with grey walls and a small lantern, not unlike the one she and Jack had used. A young girl in a tan-colored skirt and top sat in the corner, on the floor. In her arms, swaddled in a grey blanket, there was a tiny nursing baby.

“Hello,” she said, “I’m Sun.”

The girl stopped singing and looked up. “Hello, Sun. I’m Mirabel. This is Luz,” she said quietly. “I saw Chepe bring you and your friend in this morning. I watched in the dark.”

Sun knelt down, sitting beside her. Mirabel was young – fifteen, perhaps younger. She was skinny too, not someone Sun would have imagined had just given birth. The baby was tiny, dark hair matted down, pink skin, small fists pumping involuntarily as she suckled at her mother’s breast – a newborn. “When was she born?” Sun knew it had to be recently.

“Yesterday, in the night,” Mirabel answered.

Sun glared at Jai, who stood by the doorway, keeping his distance. “Why would you bring her here? This isn’t any place for a newborn. She could get sick.”

“I asked him to,” said Mirabel. Sun turned to her then and noticed how pale the girl looked. She continued, “My father does not approve. Jai is Chocoe.”

“Chocoe? I’m sorry, I don’t understand.”

“Chocoe is Indian,” she explained further. “Jai was born in the city, went to school with my brothers and me. But my father, he’s very racist. He would send my baby away or kill Jai or both.” Mirabel gave a heartbroken half-smile. “He’s not a very understanding man.” Sun knew how Mirabel must feel. It wasn’t love that had prompted her own father to accept Jin into her life, that much was certain. If she had known that then, she would have run away too.

“I ran away last week,” Mirabel continued. “Chepe’s been helping us. We were meant to go sooner, before the baby. But I started feeling sick. Couldn’t travel. I’m scared for her. She won’t cry or nothing. I never had a baby before. I don’t know if she’s right. She doesn’t seem right…” Mirabel’s voice drifted as she buttoned her blouse and looked at Luz, now sleeping. “Does she seem right to you?” The young mother thrust the swaddled infant urgently towards Sun, who took the baby girl into her arms gently.

“That’s not why I brought her here, Mira. Luzita is fine. Tell her.” Mirabel looked at Jai and rolled her eyes.

“I’m fine, Jai. Don’t worry,” she grumbled.

“You’re not fine,” he insisted. He knelt next to Sun. “She bled again today.” He reached over and gestured towards Mirabel’s dress. There was a dark wet stain there that Sun had not seen before. “I thought you might know what to do.”

“Are you still bleeding?” Sun asked, concerned.

“No,” Mirabel said forcefully, giving Jai an annoyed expression.

“Have you been to a hospital?” The sleeping child stirred in Sun’s arms, letting out a soft sigh as she slept. She seemed healthy enough – just quiet, exhausted from her journey into existence. Sun looked at Jai, full of worry, and then into the tired eyes of the girl at her side. She knew that it wasn’t the child she should be worrying about.

“Not yet.” Mirabel shook her head. “There was a hospital in Gatun. I had a doctor waiting for me. By the time we knew she was coming, it was too late. I could not go to a hospital here – Papa would be looking for me there. He knew the time was soon.” Mirabel’s voice continued to grow faint as she talked; her exhaustion was beginning to overcome her.

“Jack,” Sun said abruptly, as though the thought just occurred to her. She looked at Jai. “He’s a doctor.”

***


“Your girlfriend is safe,” Chepe’s voice came from behind the door. “She’s with him now.”

The words pierced Jack’s brain like bullets. She was with him, Jai. Maybe she had trusted him, but Jack did not. “What is he doing with her?”

“That’s none of your concern,” said Chepe through the door. “You just shut your mouth and stay put.”

Jack didn’t respond. He felt his face flush with red-hot anger. He stood and walked closer to the door, pressing his ear to it for several long moments. He knew he couldn’t get it open himself. He’d already tried; his fist throbbed at the memory, and he looked down at his bloody knuckles. Frustration had gotten the better of him. He stood back again so his voice would sound far away. “Why are you here?”

Then he heard the latch being unlocked. “I’m here to make sure you don’t do anything stupid. I’m coming in,” Chepe said.

Jack positioned himself just behind the door. Chepe pushed the door open and took one step into the room. He peered out from behind the open door just as the butt of Jack’s gun came crashing into his jaw with the sickening smack of flesh, metal and blood. Chepe staggered forward, unable to keep his balance.

Jack hit him again. Chepe brought his hand to his face, feeling the warmth of blood spilling from his nostrils. Jack pushed the door closed and kicked him in the back of the leg, forcing him to his knees.

Chepe lunged wildly at Jack’s legs, but Jack stepped back and narrowly avoided the boy’s grasp. Chepe nearly fell, grabbing onto one of the crates to pull himself up. Jack aimed the gun at his temple.

“Take me to her,” he said, voice firm and thick with fury.

“No,” said Chepe, still on his knees. He reached for his gun, and even the cold barrel of Jack’s nine-millimeter pressed to his temple didn’t stop him. He held out the gun, a revolver, limply, and pulled back the hammer. Jack easily swatted the gun from his hands and then lowered his aim.

“Suit yourself,” Jack said. He hit Chepe a third time. It would be the last. The boy fell to the floor with a sharp and painful cry.


***


“What do you mean, you won’t?” Sun asked, upset at Jai’s refusal to bring Jack to look after mother and child. “You brought me here to help. He’s a doctor! He can help! He should have a look at her. He should have a look at them both.”

“Please, just keep your voice down. I just don’t trust him.” Jai shook his head. “That’s why we didn’t bring him here.”

“But you trust me?” Sun asked. “I don’t care who you trust,” she continued before he could respond. “You’re going to bring Jack here. If you don’t and something happens to this baby, if something happens to Mirabel, it is nobody’s fault but your own, Jai. Think about that.”

“I won’t have him here.” Jai said now, raising his voice slightly. “I’m taking you back. Mirabel, take Luzita from her.”

Sun handed the baby to Mirabel and stood. “Why are you being so stubborn?”

“Let’s go!” Jai said, grabbing her arm more forcefully than he had earlier.

“No!” Sun screamed and tried to pull her arm from his grasp. “Jai, don’t do this!”


***

Jack remembered that they had turned left when he watched them exit the room. He slowly advanced down the winding corridor, making sure to check each room as he went past. Finally, he saw a light coming from beneath one of the doors and picked up his pace. He raised the gun as he approached the door, backing against the cold wall. He heard voices from inside.

“No!” It was Sun. “Jai, don’t do this! Please! You’re hurting me!” she shouted.

Jack kicked in the door, which swung easily open. Sun and Jai stood in the middle of the small, dimly lit room, and Jai once again had Sun’s arm firmly in his grasp. They both jerked their heads towards him as the door opened.

“Let her go!” Jack shouted and fingered the trigger lightly.

“Jack, no!” Sun shouted and reached for the gun. Jai let go of her as she did.

Jack lowered his arms, not because of Sun’s shouting, but because of the sound he heard next. Luz filled the air with a piercing cry. He stepped forward and could see a mother and child hidden behind one of the crates.

“¡Escucha!” Mirabel laughed. “¡Finalmente, Sun! ¡Mira!”

***


“She’s lost a lot of blood,” Jack said to Sun and Jai. Mirabel slept in the corner with Luz at her side, finally succumbing to her exhaustion. “That’s typical, especially for an at-home birth. The baby is healthy. But Mirabel…” he shook his head. “They both need to be a checked into a hospital as soon as we arrive in Gatun. She may have an infection. She needs medical attention, antibiotics, maybe a transfusion, things I can’t do for her here.” Jai nodded in understanding.

Chepe sat on a nearby crate and grimaced as he held a cloth to his bloody, swollen nose. “And what about me? My nose? Is it broken?”

Jack sighed, “I’m afraid so.”

“Son-of-a…” Chepe started.

Jack cut him off. “You gave me no choice, you know?”

Sun walked over to Mirabel as Jack continued talking with the boys. Mother and daughter were sleeping deeply now, breathing steady and synchronized. Sun sat cross-legged beside them. She couldn’t help but envy the girl. Of course there were tough times ahead, but there would soon be an end to Mirabel’s journey. Now that she was out of her father’s clutches, she, Jai, and Luz could start their life together without fear. Sun still had miles to go, maybe forever.

Sun glanced up at Jack, his shirt splattered with dried blood – his own, Chepe’s, Mirabel’s. She had asked him to trust her, and he had doubted her. But now was not the time to think of that; she pushed away her angry thoughts. Beside her, Mirabel stirred. Sun looked down and saw that the girl was staring right at her, a slight grin on her face.

“Jai makes me angry like that too,” she said quietly.

“What?” Sun asked.

“Your doctor friend,” said Mirabel. “It’s obvious he really cares for you, you know?”

“We’ve been through a lot,” Sun said and shrugged, ignoring Mirabel’s implications.

“Maybe,” said Mirabel. “But he looks at you like Jai looks at me.”

Sun shook her head and smiled weakly, “No.”

Mirabel chuckled. “You’ll see,” she said. “You’ll see.”