A/N - Yes, another OC :) This is actually an old one of mine and I'm revamping and posting again :) I edited the chapter with some new facts and details now that I have a better idea of who Cooper is.

If you're curious as to what Cooper looks like, she is played by the gorgeous Rachel Weisz in my mind, and in the future, in videos.

Enjoy! xx

Chapter 1: Perfect Strangers

Sawyer spat at Pickett as he locked his cage and smirked at him. Worried about Kate and unable to break free of this god forsaken compound, he could do nothing else to vent his anger. Kate's cage was empty making him feel even more isolated. He didn't know where she was; not since she had been covered in a hood whilst they were out hauling rocks and taken away what that defiant blonde, the one he'd heard Pickett address as Juliet.

Pickett was still hell-bent on making Sawyer pay for the death of his girl; and the man's snide comments as he shut Sawyer back in the confines of the animal cage made him sure that his time was nearing the end. He just wanted to make sure Kate wouldn't have to witness it.

A loud scraping of one of the metal doors of the interior compound caught Sawyer's ear. He flicked his head to shift his shaggy mess of hair out of his eyes, thinking that he might see Pickett coming back for round two. But it wasn't; it was someone Sawyer hadn't seen before.

The first thing he noticed about her was the scar on her arm, it sliced from her elbow to her wrist and though it wasn't deep, it was definitely fresh. In her hands she carried what looked like a collapsible chair. He also took note of her shoes; heavy hiking boots and unlike what most of the Others around the compound wore. Her long, shapely legs were wrapped in dark denim jeans with a black singlet visible through her purple hoodie with its sleeves pushed up to her elbows. Her curled, auburn hair was twisted up into a loose ponytail with a few wavy, russet strands shaping her soft, round face. Her skin was porcelain in colour, like a china doll and her hazel-green eyes were large and sparkling. Her thin but supple lips were pulled into a small smile as she approached Sawyer's cage.

Pausing, she cast her eyes down to a shallow puddle just in front of him and then back up to his puzzled face. "You're not going to try and electrocute me, are you?" She asked before she crossed the puddle.

Sawyer cocked his head at her, noting her English accent, but didn't say anything.

She smiled and pointed up over her shoulder to a mess of vines that had overgrown in the outer corner of the compound. "You see that? That's a camera hidden in there." She informed him. "And it's my job to sit in a room and watch you all day."

"Then what're you doin' out here, sweetheart?" Sawyer glared at her.

"It's broken." In one swift move, she kicked open her chair and sat down. "And while they fix it, they sent me out here to watch you and make sure you don't escape."

"Broken?"

"Take a look around," She gestured to the rusted bars of his cage and the wild forest melding with the manmade buildings. "Does this look like a top shelf facility to you?"

"Who are you?"

"I'm Cooper." She replied. "Cooper Mackenzie. And I'm not here to hurt you or annoy you; I'm just here to keep an eye on you."

Sawyer slipped his hands through the cage bars and leant against them. "Where's Kate?"

Cooper sighed. "I knew you'd ask that; but I'm sorry I can't tell you."

Scoffing, Sawyer kicked at a rock of dirt making it crumble to pieces. Those damn Others; all so secretive and coy. They loved playing their games. "So why am I lucky enough to have you as my baby-sitter?"

She shrugged. "I drew the short straw." She tucked her legs up under so she sat cross legged.

"You ain't here to stab me with another needle, are ya?" The dull ache in his chest, where Ben claimed to have inserted a pacemaker, throbbed at the memory of being strapped to that table and injected with God knows what.

Cooper's lips curled into a wry smile. "No, James, I'm not." She sighed deeply. "Ben...has a strange way of dealing with people sometimes." She cast her round eyes down to her hands. "And once he gets an idea in his head it's hard to talk him out of it."

"He the one that cut you?" Sawyer thrust his chin at the pink scar on left arm.

Cooper quickly slid the sleeves of her hoodie down over her arms. "No." She replied curtly.

He'd hit a sore spot and he knew it. "Not so chatty now, are ya?" he smirked.

"I wouldn't play this game with me," She warned. "I know a lot about you, James."

"That so?"

Cooper nodded. "You see, as well as watching you on those monitors all day; I've also read your file back to front. I know you were born in Jasper, Alabama. I know that when you were eight your mother, Mary, was killed by your father who then turned the gun on himself. I know that you blame a conman for their deaths, but for some reason you still appropriated his name and career for yourself. I know you have a daughter, Clementine, and her mother pressed charges against you for conning her. You were in prison for almost a year. I know that you were arrested for assault in Australia and being deported back to the US on Oceanic 815," She smiled. "And do you want me to tell you your seat number, too?"

Sawyer nervously chewed the inside of his lip. "Why are you telling me this? What is it you want, exactly?"

Cooper took a moment to make sure they were alone, checking over her shoulders and glancing up to see if the red light of the camera was blinking yet. Thankfully, it wasn't. Just to make sure she wouldn't be heard, Cooper stood right up against the cage so all she had to do was whisper her request. "I want you to take me with you."

"What?"

"I can get you and Kate out of here."

Sawyer was immediately suspicious. "Why?"

"Like I said, I know a lot about you." Cooper spoke quickly and quietly, worried someone might interrupt them. This was her only chance to get him on her side. "But I also know about your friends. I know all about the terrible things you've done." She took hold of the bars and leant in close to him, so close she could see the three creases in his furrowed brow. "And I would still rather take my chances with your people than stay here."

Sawyer contemplated her offer for a moment. She was an Other; she was one of them. He'd been fighting against these people for weeks now; and she wanted his help? It was a lie; a ruse. He was a conman, he knew when he was being played. But he'd mentioned her...Kate. She would get Kate out of her, keep her safe, make sure she didn't have to witness his execution. Maybe Cooper was conning him right back, promising him something she knew he couldn't say no too.

"What about Jack?"

Cooper nervously tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear as she shook her head back and forth. "No, he's being watched closer than you two are."

"Well, sorry English, but-"

"If you don't let me help you; you're going to die." Cooper said. Her statement hung out there in the air, having its desired effect on Sawyer as he shifted nervously from foot to foot. "And believe it or not, I don't wish that to happen." A loud metal-on-metal screech followed by a bang told her that someone was coming out. "Are you in or out?" Cooper asked quickly.

Sawyer glanced over at Kate's empty cage; his heavy heart beating faster with the prospect of freedom only inches away; nervously biting her lip in anticipation. He could hear footsteps behind him as someone approached. "In." He whispered gruffly to her. And she smiled.

"Coop?" Juliet cast a suspicious glance between the captive Sawyer and her friend. "Can I see you for a minute?"

Cooper forced a smile on her face. "Of course." She didn't dare sneak a final glimpse at Sawyer before she walked away, Juliet would spot her. Not to say that she wasn't already forming her own assumptions; she was a very intuitive person.

Juliet held the door back inside open for Cooper and waited until she pair had walked deep back into the compound before she opened her mouth. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Cooper tried to sound casual as she opened the door to her bunker where she spent most of her days. It was one of the nicer areas of the base, but the equipment was so old Cooper was sure it was from the seventies. She didn't understand why Ben didn't update it; but she assumed they hadn't had to use this area of the building for awhile.

"Talking with Ford," Juliet folded her arms tightly across her blouse. "You were just supposed to watch him."

Cooper sat herself at the desk in front of the monitors, making sure all the cameras were back in working order. The screen on the far right showed Sawyer sitting against the fish biscuit contraption in his cage and rubbing the back of his neck. "Firstly, I was watching him. And secondly; I was talking to him not with him."

Juliet's sneer evolved into a smirk and then she let herself smile; it was hard to stay mad at Cooper. They'd been friends since Juliet arrived three years ago; Cooper had been here for five. "Ok." She conceded. "Is everything working okay?" She nodded her head towards the monitors.

"Seems to be." Cooper sent a smile over her right shoulder. "How's Ben?"

"Being prepped for surgery."

"Kate convinced Shepherd to do it?" Cooper's eyes widened, she hadn't been sure the plan would work.

"Yes, she did." Juliet smiled again, but this one was tenser, more strained.

Cooper fiddled with some buttons on the switchboard and pulled up the feed from the camera in the operating room. Sure enough, there was Ben, nervously puttering around the room. "It's happening now?"

"Soon. I'll be in there with him."

Cooper nodded. "Well, I'll have my eyes on you." She pointed to the monitor.

"Cute, Coop." Juliet said as she backed out of the room. "I'm not sure how long it'll be; but I'll try to keep you posted."

Cooper nodded, holding a nervous glance with her friend before she left her alone. They both had the same feelings about Ben, and he wouldn't let either of them off this island. Should things go against the man during his surgery, it wasn't going to have the worst outcome for Cooper or Juliet; who shared the intense desire to get away from him. Ben's hold on Juliet was much stronger than it was on Cooper; she had noticed that from the very day Juliet arrived to the island. Ben was instantly fond of her and often found ways to be around her more than necessary.

But he didn't know.

He didn't know how close Juliet was to finding a cure for the infertility on the Island. At least, in some capacity.

Cooper was pregnant.

Nearly ten weeks along. Juliet was keeping a close eye on her, monitoring every change and keeping the findings hidden so Ben wouldn't find out. Juliet's worry was that her treatment may not work; and if that were so then Cooper would have to leave the island or both she and her unborn child would perish, like the nine other patients they had lost in recent years.

Since Oceanic 815 crashed on the island; Ben's feelings toward Juliet intensified and he spent less and less time worrying about what Cooper was doing; she suspected this was the reason he gave her the task of monitoring Kate and Sawyer. He had Juliet and Cooper abandon their fertility experiments and made Cooper become a nine-to-five security guard while Juliet was able to keep researching; though to a minimum. And it was for this reason that Cooper decided to approach Sawyer and ask him for his help. She knew, if she made it back to their camp, that she would be an outcast and everyone would be suspicious of her; but she didn't care. They were her way off this island; her way for her child to be safe.

There hadn't been visitors to this island in years; now here they were right on Cooper's monitors; it was her chance. Her only chance. And if it meant she had to leave Juliet behind; then that's what she was going to do.

xxx

Over the next half hour, Cooper's heartbeat grew steadily faster. She wanted to make sure Jack, Juliet, Ben and Tom were deep into the surgery before she made her escape with Austen and Ford. She also knew that Pickett was watching the surgery like a hawk; waiting for Ben to be okay so he could go out and have his revenge on Sawyer. So, if she played things out right, she could get out quickly without being seen.

When the clock neared four in the afternoon, Cooper rose from her chair and retrieved her hidden shoulder bag from behind her desk. Within the bag was all the items she had managed to take with her from her house when she'd left that morning; it was all she was going to take with her. As well as a spare pair of jeans, a couple of t-shirts, a toothbrush, a book she was determined to finish, and two handguns with as many extra rounds as she could carry; she had a cache of injections that Juliet had been giving her weekly to aide in her pregnancy. Cooper knew she had exactly enough for nine months; but she hoped she wouldn't have to use it all.

Cooper was in the midst of setting up her desk to make it look like she hadn't left in a hurry when something on the monitor caught her eye. Kate was weaving her way through the bars of the top of her cage. "No..." Cooper zoomed in on Sawyer's cage and saw Kate start trying to break him out. "Dammit." She was going to have to move now.

Clicking off the monitor, Cooper snatched up her bag and headed out to the cages, grabbing one of her handguns as she walked outside. Kate was trying to break through the lock on Sawyer's cage by smashing a rock against it. "Kate!" Cooper called, aiming her weapon at the prisoner.

Austen turned to face her, holding up the rock as a weapon. "Stay away!"

"It's ok!" Cooper told her. "I'm going to help you."

"Why should I believe that?" Kate snarled back.

Keeping her gun aimed on Austen, Cooper advanced on her whilst using her free hand to retrieve a set of keys from her pocket. Kate watched, cautious and defiantly suspicious, as Cooper unlocked Sawyer's cage. For a few seconds, they all just stood there. Cooper shot a glance at Sawyer, Kate immediately noticed this.

"What the hell is going on?" She shrieked. Almost as if on cue, thunder clapped loudly up in the heavens and rain started spraying down on them.

"English is coming with us." Sawyer said as he finally walked free of his confinement.

Kate's frantic eyes darted between the pair of them. "With us?"

"Look, we could chit-chat about this all day but we have about five minutes before they realize I'm not still at my post." Cooper told Kate. "I know you don't know me and you don't trust me." She held out her pistol, handle first, towards Kate. "So you take this. But we have to leave now!"

"Let's go, Freckles." Sawyer urged Kate and the three of them took off into the jungle.

Cooper took the lead but she could feel Kate close behind her. They'd barely been running two minutes before the air was filled with the blaring sound of the alarm going off. They know, Cooper thought as her feet pounded along the jungle floor.

"Do you know where you're going?" Kate asked her as they ran.

"Trust me!" Cooper shouted over her shoulder as she leapt over a fallen tree and kept right on running.

After a few more minutes, the thickets and shrubbery began to thin out and the dirt that littered the floor became interspersed with sand; Cooper knew they were getting close. She slowed down and felt Sawyer and Kate slow behind her as she broke through the trees and fell to her knees on the sand just metres in front of the ocean.

Kate stared in awe across the water. "That's our island?" She cried pointing Cooper's gun out in front of her.

"How the hell you suggest we get back there?" Sawyer asked Cooper as he leant on his knees to catch his breath.

"There's a raft." Cooper wheezed. "Hidden in the bushes." She rose shakily to her knees and uncovered the raft hidden by herself and Alex a few days before. It was camouflaged well underneath a thick palm shrouded by chunky shrubs. Sawyer helped her uncover it then the pair of them and Kate started sliding it towards the water. None of them heard the footsteps as someone else reached the beach.

"Where do you think you're going?" Danny sneered, appearing as if out of nowhere, with a gun pointed directly at Sawyer.

"Pickett!" Cooper shouted; he hadn't seen her yet. When he did, he hesitated and lowered his rifle just slightly.

"Hey, Danny!" Juliet's voice sang out from the edge of the jungle.

Before Danny could even turn around, Juliet fired two bullets into his back. He fell forwards to his knees and then onto his stomach. Juliet's eyes scanned up from his body to her friend, who seemed to be helping Kate and Sawyer.

"Cooper..." Juliet shook her head back and forth. "What the hell?"

"I have to go, Burke." Cooper told her, her chest still heaving in exhaustion from the run. "And I have to go now."

Juliet lowered her gun, snatched Cooper's elbow and yanked her aside. "But in your condition-" She whispered in her ear.

"Juliet." Cooper cut in, keeping her voice just as low. "You said I had to leave if I wanted to survive... I'm leaving."

Her chin quivering, Juliet stood aside and allowed her only friend to board the small raft with Kate and Sawyer. She stood there and waited until the raft was a speck on the horizon; way out of the range of a gunshot. Moments later, she was joined by a couple of her comrades, Jason and Matthew, who both stared at Danny's dead body lying in the sand.

"It was an accident." Juliet said to them, not taking her eyes off the fading raft. "Austen and Ford escaped."

Jason looked up and down the beach. "Cooper...where is she? She wasn't at her post..."

Juliet thought for only a moment. The one thing that bonded her and Cooper was their desire to leave the island; Cooper had found a way to do that. She had to protect herself, and Juliet knew of only one way to help her. "She's dead." Her voice shook as she approached Danny's body. "Let's get him back."

xxx