AUTHOR: Sailor Nova

RATING: PG

DISCLAIMER: I own none of these characters! All characters are owned by ABC, Bad Robot and Disney.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story takes place after "I DO" and before episode "NOT IN PORTLAND" of season 3! This story is what I would liked to have happen next and well, we all had a long time to wait and wonder what does come next! So enjoy it for what it is and please review! Thanks!

Sawyer and Kate ran. They didn't exactly know where they were going but then Jack had told them to run, so now they were running through the forest and all Sawyer could think was 'Damn, there IS nowhere to run to!' He didn't quite get the chance to tell Jack or Kate that they were on a completely different island from their own! There was yelling behind them, the Others were chasing after them with guns! 'Great! What now? This doesn't look good…' Sawyer needed to come up with a plan.

Jack stood over Ben on the operating table. Tom said, "Doc, he better not die."

"I can't make any guarantees….but I will try," Jack prepared himself to finish the surgery.

Jack glanced at Juliet. It was she who had asked him to kill Ben. Would she try and make him mess up?

Jack didn't know who to trust, Juliet or Ben and it was killing him! The one thing he did know was that from now on, the surgery was going to be to try and save his patient's life and not kill him!

Sawyer and Kate had been shot at, chased and yet still managed to find a boat! They got in and Kate said, "We need to go in this direction! It should get us back to our side of the island!"

"Except for one little thing…" Sawyer started.

"What's that?" Kate seemed confused.

"We're not on OUR island!"

"What?! Well, when were gonna tell me?!" Kate yelled.

"Well, we were just a tad busy there, darlin'!" Sawyer said sarcastically. There was a pause and then he said, "We have to go in that direction."

"Fine." Kate nodded.

The surgery was over and Tom watched as two orderlies took Ben to the recovery room. He then turned and burst into post op. where Jack, Juliet and a few nurses were washing up. "Well, Doc, it looks like you're in the clear for now, just remember…" he got face to face with Jack, raised his eyebrows, grinned and said rather menacingly, "I'm gonna kill you if he dies." Tom took a few steps backward and then went out the door. Jack looked at Juliet. Juliet turned and left. She went down a corridor when she meet up with some men. She continued down the hall and they walked with her. "How did it go?" she asked.

"They got away."

"Damn."

"So…how did it go?" they stopped walking.

"Good…." She walked away from them. "So far…"

Charlie peered into the horizon. He squinted his eyes and then yelled, "Hey, it's a boat!"

"What?" Claire asked. A few people gathered around. "Did he say a boat? Where?"

"It's Kate!…And Sawyer!" yelled Charlie. Everyone was happy at their little reunion, then they got down to business. They started planning a rescue for Jack.

Ben groaned as he woke up. He blinked his eyes. "Alex…."

A guy burst into a gathering room where Tom, Jack, Juliet and some Others had been waiting in. He burst out, "Ben's awake! He's seems ok! He's asking for Alex."

Juliet sighed. This was NOT good! 'Now he's asking for her again, I won't be able to control the situation much longer if he insists on seeing her…'

Jack went to leave the room. "I'd better check him." Tom caught him on the arm as he passed him. "Looks like you've got a reprieve so far, Doc." Tom chuckled as Jack pulled away from him.

Jack was taking care of Ben when Tom came in the room. "Hey, my patient just woke up! He's not ready for visitors just yet!" Jack had just about had it with Tom.

"Hey, it's alright, Jack…" Ben was sleepy but managed a smile. "How's everything, Tom?"

Tom stood there and wondered what he should tell Ben. He didn't after all, want him to get overly upset so soon. His very noticeable silence and glance at Jack made Ben actually get puzzled. He also glanced at Jack, who then looked right at him. "Wh-what's wrong?" Ben stammered.

"Nothing, I –I just didn't know if he was gonna…"Tom was actually flustered but managed to try to hide his feelings of contempt for Jack. Maybe Ben would be upset if he knew I hated Jack…

"I told you, I can't guarantee anything but in a couple of days, I'll be able to do another x-ray and see if I got all the tumor and that it doesn't grow back," Jack worked as he talked.

"Heaven forbid," Ben stated as he stared at the ceiling. "Tom?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you do something for me?"

"Anything."

"Could you go find Alex and bring her to me?" Ben turned his head and looked right at Tom.

"You bet." Tom smiled and left.

"Who's Alex? If I might ask…" Jack was still working away.

"Of Course you can ask, you may have just saved my life Jack." Ben turned his head and looked at Jack. "She's my daughter."

Locke and the rest of the gang had come up with a rescue plan. They decided to take their boat, guns, walkie talkie and other odds and ends and go and rescue Jack and if possible recue him and maybe in the process get a few answers as well. If they were lucky, that is. So they got in the boat and started out. They were only a short distance from the shore when running after them came Desmond. He was waving his arms and yelling. "Don't go!!! If you go, one of you won't come back!!"

Hurley, who insisted on coming for his own reasons which he wouldn't say, asked Locke, "What did he say, dude?" Locke who had heard very clearly what Desmond had said, paused and then still looking back at Desmond in the distance said, " I don't know."

Ben in the meantime had been having some pain but it only seemed to be when he was moving his legs. He attributed it to the whole exhausting operation, tensions were starting to run high and as Tom was trying to help him put his robe on they had a fight over Jack. "You're acting like a mother hen, Tom, as if Jack were doing something wrong."

"He did! He cut your bladder…during surgery!" Tom seemed near tears.

This alone made Ben confused and to hear that Jack had betrayed him…

"He-He did? But why? Why would he unless…" All of a sudden Ben came to realize his worst fears had just been realized! "No.." he whispered. Now it was Ben who seemed near tears which made Tom, who was holding him up, hold him that much tighter. Ben just let him hold him for a minute and then looked him straight in the eyes. "Tom, you said you couldn't bring me my daughter before because Juliet wouldn't let you. Is that right?"

"Yes, she said that she was on the verge of making a breakthrough in her research."

"But she's said that before and I don't believe it! I don't believe it anymore!!!" Ben grabbed a bedpan and threw it against the wall. He swayed a little and sat down. "Tom, get me my daughter NOW!" Ben started shaking as soon as Tom left the room. First he finds that Jack had betrayed him and now he finds out that the one person whom he suspected but didn't want to believe it, had betrayed him. That person was…Juliet. After Ben's wife had died, he found he had started to have feelings for Juliet. He thought maybe she would in time realize it and maybe even return his feelings but…no.

She made it clear at every turn and opportunity that she felt nothing from him and was getting colder and even a bit cruel to him. That once bright and happy assistant had distanced herself so much from him that he began to realize that she could be capable, might be capable of actually betraying him and betraying the project! Would she go that far, knowing what was at stake? He didn't want to believe that she could, but now it had all but been confirmed to him. His illness, if she could get Jack to kill him…"Juliet, my beloved…" he whispered, "How could you?"

TO BE CONTINUED! NEXT CHAPTER UP IN A DAY OR SO!! PLEASE REVIEW!