As Sawyer sat in the church with Juliet he wondered despondently why things were as they were. It wasn't that he hadn't loved Juliet, for he had, there was no question of that. She was dear to him and would always be so. He was not however in love with her. Even when she had been alive, as much as he had tried to fool himself at the time, he knew now he hadn't been. She had been good for him and he was glad for the time they shared together, but after reuniting with Kate he had known where his heart really lay.

Yet now, in this church he had been compelled by what, he didn't know, but the need to sit with and be close to Juliet had overtaken him. Maybe it was that he hadn't seen her in so long, for she had died so young and he had lived to be so old. Yet it felt like more then that to him. Yet it did not feel like love, or at least not the type of "in love" love. All he knew was some otherworldly feeling had come over him and compelled him to sit down with her, and not Kate.

Sawyer didn't really believe in soulmates or any of that nonsense. However, he hadn't believed in time travel either and it was a bitch to find out that was a real thing. Still he wanted to know, why was he feeling so compelled to sit with Juliet and not Kate? If this was heaven, why wasn't he with Kate?

Why was it Juliet and not Kate that had awoken him?

He looked over at Kate, seeing her sitting with Jack. She looked happy, but then their eyes met and he could tell she was just as confused as he.

Christian had greeted him and the others when they arrived and seemed to be in charge somewhat here, Sawyer decided he would have to ask him why things were this way. Having never been one for waiting, he decided now was the time.

He excused himself from Juliet and left to find Christian. However, Christian had no answers for him. He knew little more then they did, having been just sent there to greet the new arrivals. However, Christian had been in this place a while longer then any of them and did know whom to ask. Christian explained where this being was and referred to them as the islands "guardian angel". So following Christian's instructions he went to head to where this being was. The thought of him and all the other survivors having some sort of guardian angel struck Sawyer as silly and strange. Where was this so called angel during all the tragedy that had befallen them all on the island?

Sawyer tried to follow Christian's instructions, but there were so many hallways and stairs that he found himself lost. The irony. Then, Just as he was starting to panic, a small rotund being with wings appeared in front of him and spoke.

"James Ford, you are wondering why it is Juliet, and not Kate whom you are with in this journey?" spoke the being.

Ignoring the urge to ask how this being had found him, Sawyer replied sarcastically.

"Well, yeah, Cupid, that would be damn nice to know. I mean Juliet was special to me, but Kate and I, we made a life together when I finally got off that damn island."

"I am not Cupid, but I can tell you why you aren't with Kate."

"Well, let it out Valentine." Sawyer said impatiently.

The angel continued on explaining.

"Kate and you have been together, in many times, in many lives. You will be together again one day, of that I am sure. You are what we up here refer to as 'soulmates.'"

Sawyer was stunned, soulmates were a real thing? After leaving the island for the last time he and Kate had been in love and even gotten married and had a few children, but it certainly hadn't come easy for them. Even when off the island, there had been many arguments, and breakups before they had been able to make things finally work.

"Then why?" Asked Sawyer, confused.

"Why are you with Juliet, here and now in this place? Why did you and Kate have so many years of uncertainty?"

"Well yeah, Cherub, it'd be damn nice to know all that."

"As for you and Kate, being soulmates doesn't mean things will always be easy. You both had many issues to work through, some of which still remain. Now as for you and Juliet, it's simple, Juliet is your guide."

"My...guide?"

"Yes, your guide."

"Well, gee golly that makes a ton of fucking sense, perhaps she should've guided me off that damn fucking island then!" raged Sawyer

"A guide, as in a spirit guide. As Jack is Kate's, and Sayid is Shannon's and so on and so. You will spend much time with her before incarnating again. It's also why you are so drawn to sit near her in the church. For though you and Kate will spend much time together on earth, you and Juliet will spend a good amount here together in the afterlife."

"So Juliet's what, an angel?" Sawyer replied confused.

"No, not at all. Let me explain more. " the angel replied as he continued on while Sawyer listened in astonishment.

"First thing you have to know is that your last life and the last life of your fellow survivors, wasn't real. It was a form of shared purgatory for you all. You being a cop and putting away the bad men, Kate being arrested by you, none of that actually happened. That reality was created for you all based on lingering issues in your respective lives, which you could not let go of. For you, it was the quest to become a better man, hence why you were a cop and putting the bad guys away this time instead of being one. For Kate she had to deal with the guilt of murder. Jack had to deal with his issues with never pleasing his father, and the others all had things to deal with as well."

"And this spirit guide crap?" Sawyer asked.

"Normally, spirit guides are angels. You, and every other soul that was ever born or will be born have your own spirit guide. However, in your case, and that of Kate and many of your other fellow survivors, these spirit guides got a break for a change. Therefore, your spirit guides for this life were other people whom were already on the island or whom crash landed with you. "

"So my angel decided to what, go on vacation? What'd they do leave heaven and head to Maui?" Sawyer asked sarcastically.

"No, perhaps I didn't explain it well. Your angel and those of your fellow survivors were given breaks so that we could help some other souls advance their spiritual growth more then is usually possible in a lifetime. We have been using the island to bring people together. You see, every twenty to fifty or so years a group of people whom are stalling in their spiritual growth are selected to help other stagnant souls. The more advanced of the pair is what we refer to as 'the guide'. Their purpose is to help make you a better person. However, be assured that both of the pair gain spiritual growth from this arrangement. Before Juliet and the rest of those whom wound up on the island were born into this life, we gave them all charges. Jacob as the protector of the island was tasked with supervision of these pairs and the task of helping everyone come together. The island is our way to ensure everyone meets their charges. Jacob was also tasked with finding someone spiritually advanced enough to finally take over his role. He miss chose Jack whom was not ready for the role and Jack passed it along to Hurley. Hurley then spent the next fifteen hundred years helping several batches of island arrivals to come together. "

"Deepdish is here, in the church." stated Sawyer.

"I will assume you are referring to Hurley. Yes, he is here now. This place is outside of time as you could have well guessed. For everyone here it has only been mere moments since they died. Our higher ups also insured all of you would look as you did while on the Island. A great thing for most of you, but not for your friend Hurley whom finally slimmed down." replied the angel slightly amused.

Another thought occurred to Sawyer.

"Juliet...did she know?" She'd always seemed to know more about the island then he ever had, but still Sawyer doubted she was that enlightened of their situation. Still he'd felt the need to ask.

"No, of course not, she will though after you all are done getting reacquainted in the church. Everyone will be informed then of who their soulmate is and what kind of obstacles they need to face in their next life to grow both together and apart. Juliet and Jack will both work together to find appropriate incarnations for you and Kate to grow and learn together. We will review their choices to see if they have learned what you and Kate need in order to grow spiritually. A higher up will then help them select their future incarnations."

Another question occurred to Sawyer .

"If everyone on the island was either a guide or their charge, then why was everyone in the church not paired up with someone?"

"Some spirit guides had multiple charges. John Locke for example had quite a few, Boone and Michael being amongst them. Juliet and Jack just had you and Kate and that made your bonds with them even stronger. "

Yet another thing occurred to Sawyer. How would Juliet feel about all this? Once Kate came back to the island, he'd reassured her so many times that nothing would change between them. He didn't want to see her ever get hurt, let alone be the one to cause such pain to her. He knew Juliet had abandonment issues still and worried what this would do to her.

"You are concerned for Juliet, are you not?"

Could this being read minds? Sawyer was more then a little unnerved at the thought.
"We only know what we need to know, James." the being said answering Sawyers thought before continuing on.

" To answer your unspoken question, Juliet will be fine. She too has a soulmate. I believe you know him as Jack, or "Doc" as you like to refer to him as."

Sawyer sighed in relief. He was meant to be with Kate regardless, but it would have eaten away at him if Juliet had been left alone and miserable as a result.

"You and your friends are free to stay here for a time, however eventually you all must go back to earth to learn and grow more. You and Kate shall find each other again, of that I am sure. For though there will be no island to guide you to each other next time, soulmates usually have a way of finding each other. You will both likely incarnate near your fellow survivors and the bonds you forged in this life with them all may very well carry over into the next earth life, if you are so lucky as to meet any of them. "

Another thought occurred to Sawyer and he couldn't resist voicing it.

"So the big guy upstairs couldn't come up with a better way to get everyone together then having a bunch of us crash land on some damn island?"

"Well, we aren't miracle workers, the island has a certain magic to it that keeps people there. It is needed for this type of growth, though we much wish it wasn't."

Sawyer was not happy with that answer and was about to fire off a comeback when the angel said one last thing before quickly vanishing.

"James, go back to your group now, tell anybody you want what I told you. There is no need for rest or sleep here, so you all will move on from the church at your own choosing. At which point everyone will be informed of all of this regardless. Have a happy afterlife!"