Page 43 of Auctioned to the Lumberjacks (Auctioned)

Finn is pouring shots of JD but gives up halfway to comfort Skye. She seems oblivious to his presence and alone in her agony. He returns to the shots and passes Skye one, urging her to drink for medicinal purposes.

She downs the shot, gasping at the bitter heat.

"You really saw her?"

West nods. "Finn took the photos. We couldn't get any closer without arousing suspicion. I'm sorry, Skye."

She shakes her head. "This is more than I could have hoped for. I know she's alive. That's more than I've known for weeks."

"Is your friend the woman behind the bar with the black hair and those things in her ears?"

"No. Shona doesn't look like that."

Skye slumps against the back of her chair, breathing hard. Her hand clasps at her throat and she makes a strangled sound as her breaths get shorter and shallower.

"Skye?" Finn steps forward, but I'm quicker to respond. I scoop her into my arms, pulling her against my chest. "It's okay, Skye. You're okay. Hallie's going to be okay. Just breathe." I inhale a long and loud breath, hold it for a second, then exhale it equally slowly. "Copy my breathing, yeah?"

Her eyes focus on mine, and she tries to mimic my pace, failing at first but then gradually matching the slow pull and push of my diaphragm.

Finn and West watch and exchange glances that I don't try to analyze. Skye opens her eyes, looking up at me. I pull her in for a tight embrace, and she tries to wriggle free feebly but then accepts defeat. Her eyes are wet with tears, which soak through my shirt as she eventually rests herself against me, trying to sink into me as much as she can.

She may not find comfort in my dark heart, but she will find protection.

"Can one of you get her some water?" I growl.

I want to know what happened tonight, but I need Skye ready and able to tell us what and who features in these photos that Finn and West have plenty of.

I carry her back to the kitchen table and place her in a chair. Finn rests the water in front of her, but she doesn't notice. I push it closer to her hand. "Drink, Skye."

On autopilot, she grasps the glass and downs the cool liquid all in one go. Her body shivers as it passes through her, but it seems to revive her a little.

West pulls out the phone again, and she continues to look.

We all watch Skye inhaling every detail of her daughter through the photos. There is one picture in particular that she keeps going back to.

"Can you tell us who else is in the pictures?"

She ignores my questions and continues flicking through just the baby pictures. I understand her fixation, but we can't let her dwell. She's in danger of losing a grip on the reason behind West and Finn's visit to Carter's bar.

The fire roars in the background as if it is in tune with the panic and stress that are clearly taking hold of Skye. Suddenly she drops the phone and shoves the chair back, standing only to brace her hands on her knees and gasp for breath all over again.

"Sit down, for Christ's sake, Skye!" I can't help myself. We don't have time to keep reviving her, and all this desperate energy is raising my blood pressure all over again. I'm going to need to chop more wood.

"It's Shona!"

"Shona?"

"The woman I was telling you about, Jack. The one who I reached out to and messaged the other night! It's her in this photo, holding Hallie. And looking too damn cozy with Carter. I don't understand."

Silence follows as we all consider the implications of this new information.

The message Skye sent to Shona could give Carter enough information for him to find her here.

Maybe she didn't tell him. We can't know for sure.

But either way, we need to be prepared for the worst.

I want to avoid discussing this part in front of Skye. She's dealing with enough as it is. What she needs is a warm embrace in bed so she can fall asleep feeling secure. I'm about to encourage Finn to take her so I can talk things over with West when the sound of shattered glass ricochets all around us, and a sudden gust of cutting night air bursts into the room like an unexpected explosion.

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