This is my first fanfiction. I took some artistic liberties so some timelines may not be cannon. If you enjoy please review. That's all I ask. Oh, I am not making any money off of this.

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Benjamin Linus is a very intense man as Juliet was quick to learn. He welcomed her to the island and did everything to make her feel as comfortable as possible. While doing his best to help her adjust he made sure not to stare directly into her eyes. He learned as a young man how powerful his eyes could be with a combination of silence. He also knew that he scared her at times yet wanted nothing more than to make her see how much he truly cared for her.

He watched her walk from her house to the jeep that took her every morning to the lab where she conducted most of her work. It's been a very long time since he had been able to show anyone his more gentle side. For so long he had to keep other people in check and make sure that they understood that he's not a man to be challenged or crossed. Even the surliest on the island learned to back down from him and it always amazed him that it was his eyes that did most of the work.

As he watched Juliet being driven off to her lab his mind wandered to when he first began to shrug off his shyness and learned to intimidate those around him in subtle but very influential ways. There was never a specific moment when it happened. Just a series of events, that evolved to create a chain reaction, to create what he now is today.

1982, Dharmaville

Ben had just turned 17 a few weeks ago and found his agitation for this place growing each day. The Hostiles who have become his new family told him to keep waiting and that he would be free of the the Dharma community soon. Soon, he was learning, could mean possible years. There was a pressure on him to learn for he may have real potential to become very important to their movement in the future. Honestly he truly didn't care. As long as he was free of the Dharma community he would be satisfied.

His general hostility toward the Dharma community stemmed from the fact that he never fit in and was always seen as the cleaner, invisible and someone to be ignored. As a child his quiet nature made others uncomfortable and they avoided him. His education was well grounded and he found himself a master of human psychology and history fascinated him to no end. Books had become his safeguard against the agony of his existence while in Dharmaville. But amongst scientists and researchers history and literature was not seen as relevant.

His father was no help as he, from time to time, bemoaned that his son didn't bother or even try to excel at mathematics or science. The day Ben but on a workman's outfit was a disappointing day for his father. This only strengthened his love for the Hostiles, who continued to encourage him and educate him as best they could at a distance. They told him that within a year his education would take a dramatic leap as he will learn how to manage things off the island in his not too distant future. That filled him with some form of hope. A light at the end of a very dark tunnel.

Today he had the opportunity to work in the labs. Cleaning up whatever mess they made. He didn't mind working there as he got to see what they were working on. Most of the older scientists that knew him growing up left the island to be replaced by a new crew. Few people knew of his past and those that did only saw him as the shy boy who did was he was told. They never bothered to see him beyond his father who was a competent worker when supplied with enough alcohol to drink in the off hours.

Ben was quiet but very observant and learned that the tests were not going as well as they had thought and were making plans to contain and then later harness the energy that was on the island. Computers were brought to the island to manage the systems and to observe possible progress. For now containment and control over the situation was their main concern.

Ben watched as they set things up and was brought in to move rather sensitive equipment into place. He knew of the technology they were using but felt no desire to learn more about it. While working he observed some of the younger scientists watching him. Two of them were quite curious about him from the start but made it their prerogative to ignore him as much as they could. That is, until they heard about his past on the island and that he was there at the time of the incident. Their curiosity grew and when they knew no one was watching they would inquire him about his past.

One of the two was Dr. Lisa Howard and wife of the new coordinator of the island, Dr. Eric Howard. She was smart with numbers and very focused when she was required but was socially awkward when around others. He found her pleasant to be around as she always respected him when he was around. Her friend, Dr. Sarah Strandburg was another story. Ben found her to be arrogant beyond understanding but he respected the fact that she was passionate about her work. Very little distracted her from it but had no problems putting other people even her supervisor Eric in his place.

Sarah always had questions for Ben and became very good at intimidating him for answers that she knew he was unwilling to give.

"You are avoiding my questions Ben." She looked directly into his eyes and held him there.

"I was just a child then and was recovering from an accident. As I said before ask my father. He was there. That is if you can get through to him when he isn't drinking." He took the last of the garbage from the lab and walked out. He was humiliated and powerless to speak back. All his words get twisted up and never even come out.

If Ben wanted to quit and leave the island it would only be too easy. But he wanted to stay for he had some sort of purpose here and wanted to see that come to fruition. Upsetting the scientists which were regarded almost as gods was not a good idea.

The questions always came each day and he learned how to avoid answering. He would begin to stutter and leave, coming back to finish the work when Sarah and Lisa were not there.

It was two weeks later that he overheard a conversation between Sarah and her friend Lisa. Sara did most of the listening while Lisa rambled on. "I found something interesting today. The computer is hooked up and someone has to push a button every 108 minutes. Tedious but none the less very important."

"Tell me something new."

"You've been asking Ben questions about the incident?" Sarah nodded. "Well he's not the one to ask. His father will talk though when he isn't completely drunk after hours."

Sarah's interest was finally tapped. "How so? I've been trying for weeks to find out what happened at that time. There are only four people left that remember it and each of them won't or can't speak of it."

Lisa spoke more quietly than usual and Ben strained to hear. He had excellent listening skills after being so quiet over the years. Even with Lisa whispering he could make out what she was saying.

"I don't think Ben was helped with any facilities here. I've found some old records at that time and was surprised to find some important records missing. He was treated here but never discharged. From what I gather he was found just outside the perimeter as healthy as he could be. He claims to have no memory of how he got there."

"The Hostiles helped him? Lisa that is ridiculous. They're savages with guns." Sarah stood up and walked to her house.

Ben couldn't help but fell stung by her remark. They had no idea who those people were and what they were doing on the island. The Dharma institute never cared about learning about anything beyond how to obtain their own goals.

Those two were looking too deeply into his past and would have to be dealt with. Lisa would be speaking to his father soon enough. He knew what type of alcohol would open his lips but ignite a rather violent side of him as well. If Lisa and Sarah were who he thought they were, they won't try to make any trouble. He walked up to Lisa who was rather surprised to find him there.

"I know you want to speak to my father. A nice bourbon should do the trick. Careful his temper gets riled up with it afterwards." Ben was about to walk off but Lisa called him back.

"Wait, I just want to learn more about you. There are so many secrets around here. It would make me feel so much more comfortable knowing something from the past about this place."

Ben didn't want anyone knowing about his past. It was a pathetic one at that. He felt so helpless with it and ashamed that he was landed with such a sorry excuse for a father. It didn't help that Lisa and Sarah were looking into his past and there was very little he could do about it.

He observed her and began to realize that she was nervous about something. "Are you alright, Lisa?"

"What? Oh, yes I am fine."

Then he locked eyes with hers and observed that it made her feel uncomfortable. She wanted to look away from him but couldn't. He gave a little smirk at her discomfort. "Lisa, your husband is calling you. You should get back to him. I hear he has quite the temper."

Her anger flared instantly. "You are out of line Ben Linus."

"Not if you want answers." With that Ben walked away and for the first time in a very long time he felt in control. He enjoyed that feeling.

Lisa walked back to her house hearing her husband call out for her. A chill went up her spine, for it was the first time Ben Linus scared her.

The next few weeks went by without incident or any questions about his past. At least not from Lisa, who had grown a dislike for him and avoided him when she could. Sarah on the other hand was more adamant about his past than ever before.

"You scared Lisa. I am sure you know that. What did you say to her to get her on edge around you?" Sarah wasn't going to be so easily intimidated. She bore straight into his eyes not scared of them in the least.

He was prepared for this. His outside family gave him some information to help keep Sarah at bay. "I told her to answer to her husband's calls. She tried to put me in my place. You can stop treating me as if I am not in the room when I most certainly am."

Sarah smiled. "I want answers Ben. And if you don't want your father to be fired I suggest that you begin to give some information up."

"Like the fact I know you are sleeping with Lisa's husband? I have the tapes to prove it."

"I don't care about that. Go ahead and tell the whole island for all I care. I'm too important on this island for that to affect me."

Ben stopped a moment. He hated confrontation like this. He much preferred to stay quiet and be left alone. But after meeting the Hostiles he realized that he would have to get over his shyness and learn to fight back. "The questions you have are the same ones I've been asking since I was thirteen. My father won't even tell his own son what happened. Why would he care to answer you? Now as for getting my father fired. That won't happen because he knows too much and that he is a good worker despite being a drunk."

Sarah looked at him and smiled. "I think I am done now. I'll get my answers soon enough."

"Perhaps the Hostiles know the truth. Go and ask them."

Ben left worried now that this woman wanted to know about the past. He knew that people have been sent to the island to search out for possible Hostile spies and that he had to be on his guard. Sarah had her eyes on him. After being told to complete one more task for the day did he find a way to safeguard his past.