Happy Medium

Chapter One

Spoiler Alert: This story may contain spoilers for future episodes and former ones.

Series Note: This story starts a 'sequel series' to a series called "Fated"(thus, this being Fated Part Two). The series order is listed in my bio, along with the off-island sequel. Unless you want to be extremely confused, you might want to go back and read them. At this point, it'd take forever to explain everything.

Disclaimer: Lost belongs to J.J. Abrams and Co. at ABC.

Note: To fully understand the 'medium' aspect, the show Medium is excellent, and one of my favorites. I think I gave my own character(the medium) more powers than a normal medium has, but they were important to this story. Really, anything that has to deal with psychics is inspired by Stephen King's The Dead Zone, along with the USA series Dead Zone, both of which I love and am..well..obsessed with!

Note2: This picks up right where A Bend In the Road left off, though the story of Jack and Sarah remains- but a mystery to ponder..does he know the baby really is his?

Summary: A lovesick Jack leads Kate to a 'secret spot' in the jungle, and meanwhile, Alex worries about herself as she starts having weird dreams again, and the rift between her and Danielle doesn't help anything. Alex-centric.

Medium:

1. Something, such as an intermediate course of action, that occupies a position or represents a condition midway between extremes.

2. A person thought to have the power to communicate with the spirits of the dead or with agents of another world or dimension.

3. a state that is intermediate between extremes; a middle position; "a happy medium"

definitions curtsey of ray of the Pacific's bright morning sun welcomed a new day at sea. Sighing, Kate stared deeply into the aqua blue water below her, trying to make out any form of life at all. Though she was with a small group of people, she still felt so alone. Sawyer, of course, had tried to fix that by attempting to be slick and come on to her, something that failed for him repeatedly, though like an energizer bunny, he just kept going, never losing energy.

"Imagine finding you here," Sawyer said as he approached her from behind.

Kate kept her arms folded flatly on the railing Jin had built on the boat, pretending to ignore him.

"Michael caught you some fish," he informed her.

"Go away," Kate said coldly.

"Gawd," Sawyer said, stepping back a little, "I'm just trying to make conversation! It ain't my fault you have to be all depressed over you and Jacko's second breakup! Because let me tell you, if you think he bought the whole 'I'm doing what's best for-"

Sawyer was cut off by a jerk as he hit the sit of the raft.

"Ow," he complained, rubbing his side as Kate massaged her arm, and turned back to Jin, "what the hell was that for?"

Jin didn't answer, and Sawyer was about to step towards where Jin should've been when the boat jerked them to the side again, throwing Sawyer down on the deck and the raft tipped sideways as Kate clung for life. Sawyer knew his head was bleeding, and he could feel his body growing cold as conscious slipped slowly away, but he knew he had to save Kate.

"Grab my hand!" Sawyer ordered, and Kate reached for his hand twice and missed both times.

The raft gave a final tug, and Sawyer heard himself screaming Kate's name as she let go abruptly from the railing, cutting her hand as she fell into the rushing waters below, and a loud roar broke the yells and screams pounding in his head as Sawyer gave into darkness.

On the beach, Alex awoke with a gasp and a scream. Panting, she tried to calm herself down by running her hand through her long, dark brown hair, and looked around to remember where she was.

Usually, Alex spent most days at the beach and nights at the caves. She had a thing about sleeping in wide open spaces, and had taken up a role as Kate's spy, agreeing to let her know of any odd behaviors suddenly occuring in Jack, and typical day to day analysis. But last night she recalled trying to fall asleep in her usual spot only a few feet away from Hurley when Shannon and Boone had come in out of nowhere. Shannon was getting onto Boone about how he should be telling Jack something and Boone's argument was that Jack could probably care less about every little problem.

Of course, Jack was nowhere to be found during any of this. Locke broke it up, and took Boone to the side to talk to him about something, and though it was quiet afterwards, Alex found herself unable to go back to sleep, and had snuck out behind Sawyer who came to the caves around eleven to refill his water bottles. Why he had to do it in the middle of the night, she didn't know, but didn't complain, as she had to admit that it was a little creepy in the jungle at night, especially alone.

So now she sat with some dead passenger's blanket fallen off of her and the lightweight jacket Sayid had found her nearly a week and a half ago when she had ran from whatever that thing was in the jungle. Alex was still having trouble believing that she had been here for only two weeks. It seemed like an intercity. So much had happened that it was unbelievable, and she didn't see how everyone was able to deal with it.

But now those same people she had looked up to the past few days were staring at her like she was some creature from outer space, and as a couple walked by her, slowly making there way a good distance from her, she muttered, "Sorry..I'm fine..it was only a dream."

Alex glanced to the right where some survivors were gathered around some old guy who was standing on top of a pale of chopped wood and bamboo. Michael was watching him talk with his arms crossed, and Sawyer was listening as well as he rested his back against a tree, placing a water bottle on his head as he closed his eyes.

Only a dream..

Alex hated LA. especially the southern parts, near Mexico where she lived. You could never find a place to stay, and never find a ride. It was like trying to catch a cab in New York. She clutched her arms around her tightly as a soft October wind blew the trees lining the dirt road Alex was walking that led to an interstate, and follow that a bit, with two turn offs, you'd arrive in the neighborhood she lived in with her horrible foster family, her stupid sister Becky who was fourteen and had the personality of a caged monkey: never able to stay in one place at the same time, and incredibly loud. Then came her younger foster brother Jared, nine and too shy to survive in the city, and she was the one who would end up cleaning up his cuts when he finally came home hours after school let out.

Ever since her father died when she was eight, Alex had fed for herself, becoming an outcast at any school she went to, and moving foster home to foster home. Not caring about her looks, she wore your typical jeans and shirts, unstlyish in LA high schools but suited well with the managers she worked for. A job at a local karaoke bar and grill paid her lunch and bought whatever book they were reading that month in English, and if she could successfully hide it in a small safety deposit box she had kept since she was a little girl, Alex would give some extra money for Jared to buy some ice cream, or pay for his school supplies as well.

She felt bad for the guy. His parents had split up when he was three, and both refused to take him. The family they now lived with, or rather, the woman they now lived with, only supported a job at a gas station down the street, and had no extra cash whatsoever, which meant dull birthdays, and no Christmases. Since Jared was still just a kid, she had played Santa last Christmas with her last paycheck of the year, and had bought him a baseball bat and a glove. He still had a ball he found one day, but from the lack of friends, she knew a bat and glove would probably do no good to him, but had promised Jared she'd play when she'd get the chance, and said 'hey, consider it your first weapon'.

Alex wasn't ashamed to say that her only friend was nine years old and still unable to add two digit numbers(something she was trying to help him with) or that her Friday nights consisted of staring at the wall and daydreaming about ways to humiliate(and not just the old 'kick me' sign trick, true humiliation) the seventeen year old Becky, who came from a rich family who had suddenly undergone money problems and had skipped a year of high schools.

Becky now hung out with seniors who talked about getting caught smoking in the bathroom, and girls who constantly cried over there last breakup, while Alex usually skipped lunch, and snuck into the backstage area of the autotorium where she'd play the piano for the next forty-five minutes, being a bother to no one.

Music was one thing she was good at, one thing she enjoyed, and one thing she couldn't afford. On a regular basis she wrote songs and kept them in a notebook tucked away at the bottom of her backpack, which was presently slung over her shoulder, and the restaurant she worked in included a baby grand, and she usually volunteered to lock up(age didn't seem to matter to her thirty year old boss) only to wind up playing whatever tunes came to mind until the last bus of the route left at ten thirty.

But today was Tuesday, the day she was only scheduled to work until six so that Janet, a single mom of two, could make some extra cash. Janet played around with other workers schedules so that she could pay for her two year old's preschool tuition, and Alex had no problem at it, having a sympathetic spot for people who had it hard. The only problem today was that for the first time, she had left her jacket in Algebra(the room had turned unusually cold) and her money was in it. Her plan was to then ask anyone she saw at the restaurant, Roscoe's(owned by Roscoe's great-great grandson, Tom, who had no business managing anything but did it to keep the place in the family line) but she had completly forgot. now hitchhiking had failed, and it was a long walk home. That was when the sound of a truck grinding over gravel startled her, but only for a moment.

"Now what's a girl your age doing walking the streets this far into town?" Said a young voice from the drivers side window.

"Maybe she's got no licensee and no money," Alex replied casually.

The man in the truck smiled.

"Need a ride?"

Alex stopped for the first time. She had been letting him drive on break as she continued walking, and she was now getting her first good look at the man- correct that- boy in the truck. He couldn't of been no older than nineteen, the youngest seventeen, but she was sure that she had never seen him around school. Alex stared at him, trying to decide if he was actually giving her a choice, or was planning on attacking her at any given moment, but as she looked at him, she made her choice, knowing that his smile told it all.

The crowd was breaking up as Alex finally reached Michael, who looked as if he had had enough of the day, though it was only ten in the morning.

"What's going on?" She asked as she caught up with Michael just as he placed a water bottle he had just took a gigantic swig of down.

"Jin wants to build another raft," Michael told her.

"Sounds determined," Alex said cooly, glancing towards Jin, who was already sorting out the taller sections of wood from the larger, "can I help?"

"What?" Michael said, looking at her in surprise. "Sure. I mean, I don't see why you would want to, I mean, there's no point in-"

"Yes there is," Alex said, and Michael's look deepened, "I'm going with you."

Michael stared at her for a moment.

"What?" He said, and shook his head. "No. It's too dangerous."

Turning, he walked towards a path that Alex knew by now led to the caves, and she followed him.

"You're letting your son go!" Alex protested. "And I know ships- trust me."

She took a moment to glance to the side, but Alex immediately regretted it as the first thing she saw was Sawyer, and memories from her dream hit her in lightning bolt flashes as she remembered how he looked lying there, helpless and bloody, staring up towards the son with his eyes vacant.

"I mean," Alex continued, a little more determined, "think about it, I was on one when I crashed here. And so was Danielle!"

Alex had found it hard to begin calling her mother 'mom'. There was some sort of sentimental value to the word that Alex couldn't explain, and that she didn't have. Whatever it was, the name made Michael stop, and turn around.

"Fine," Michael sighed, "if it's all right with your mother, then I guess it's all right with me."

Alex smiled.

"Thanks."

She then spotted Danielle coming out of another path, and her shotgun was slung as it usually was over her shoulder, so Alex knew she had just been hunting and, most likely, had had no luck.

"Hey, Danielle!" Alex said, running after her.

Danielle stopped to let her catch up, and had looked at Alex the same way the survivors had earlier when she woke up screaming. To have been lookingfor a child for so long, and to finally found it, Danielle didn't seem all that thrilled to have her around. She camped with the Oceanic survivors, and talked to Sayid on a regular basis, but the relationship between Alex and her mom was zero to none, and neither of them had bothered to do anything about it.

"I was just wondering if-"

Alex stopped short. Her stomach had churned suddenly, and just when she thought she was sick, nothing came up her throat, and Alex continued to double over.

"Alex?" Danielle asked softly, confused.

Flash

Alex closed her eyes in pain and saw a dark wave take over, crashing against a navy blue-black sea.

Alex double over again, choking as Danielle held her shoulder, trying to steady her, and Alex thought she was asking what was wrong when she was hit with another flash of pain as water splashed the deck of a wooden raft, and seeped back through into the ocean. Another flash and she saw Sawyer and Michael laying there dead, with blood covered faces and shocked looks in their eyes. Another flash and the wave took over again, and Alex blacked out.

(Space)

Around that same time, Jack was waking up on the beach. He was laying face down in the sand, and the grains stuck to his bare, uncovered chest as he lifted his head the slightest. Jack noticed his shoes and socks lay a few feet away, coated with sand that some lady bug seemed interested in. The previous night's events came rolling back to him, and Jack smiled in memory. It slowly faded, however, as he recalled his first kiss with Kate, that night by the fire, when love was just a selfish thing he wanted, used only to keep her there by his side to comfort him, and remembered waking up the next morning, alone and embarrassed. He almost regretted looking over to his left, but was happy when he did, because this time, Kate was still with him.

Author's Note: See, I can write romace..sort of. Anyway, hope you guys liked the first chapter! Thanks so much for all the reviews you guys gave me last story! That was the most I've gotten in a Lost fic! I have to warn you though, blacking out might be a common thing in this story once again, or at least, for a while. It'll also move a little fast, and may not be that long, but never fear! I have lots of ideas for future fics!

Coming up next, on "Happy Medium":

Sayid is unsure of how to care for Alex, and the carefree Jack has a surprise for Kate.

Oh yeah, and sorry for the cheesy smile, but it fits, ya know? Thanks again!

October Sky