PENNY'S BOAT

CHAPTER 1: EVERYTHING CHANGES

Charlie's elation was overwhelming. I did it! We're all saved and I don't have to- His thoughts, his very future was smashed into a thousand tiny pieces as the porthole exploded inward, knocking him off his feet in a massive rush of water.

He dashed to the hatch door and slammed it shut, ignoring Desmond's manic protests. One last message. One last chance. Charlie thought to himself as he grabbed a marker from the communications desk.

In large letters on his left palm, he wrote the last words he would ever communicate to another human being. The last message he would ever deliver. Fitting really, that the writer of so many wonderful songs would end it all with a few short words.

Desmond shouted in anguish, "CHARLIE! YOU CAN MAKE IT! WE'LL MAKE IT OUT TOGETHER!!!" He continued pounding on the porthole until he saw them, the words that would change everything. This simple communication would shatter the destiny he thought inevitable.

Three words. It's Penny's Boat!

Hurley sat staring into the distance. The ocean had always seemed endless; stretching out until it met the horizon. The blue sky and the blue ocean's meeting almost made it seem like the island was floating in mid-air. Hurley smiled at the thought and looked at Bernard, the old dentist he'd met… He couldn't even really count the days now. The island had almost become his life.

"You know what?" Hurley asked.

"What, Hurley?" Bernard asked with a smile.

"I've sat on this beach for months now, staring out at that ocean, and… I wanna do a cannonball." Hurley responded, grinning from ear to ear.

Bernard put a hand on Hurley's shoulder and nodded reassuringly, "Hurley, if you want to do a cannonball: Cannonball."

Juliet threw another shovelful of dirt aside. She was lost in thought, wondering how events would play out from here. How long has it been now? 3 years. And now after all this time… Can I really… Can I really go home?

"What're you gonna tell 'em?" Sawyer asked.

Juliet turned in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

"When that boat shows up, there'll be lotsa questions. Some little man from Oceanic's gonna show up with his clipboard and start callin' our names. What d'you think is gonna happen when they realize there's no Juliet Burke in the manifest?"

"That's quite simple really." Sayid - who had just finished collecting the guns the fallen Others had carried - answered, "Shannon told me… everything about herself, about her life before the crash. Including details about Boone. For the time being, we will pretend that Juliet is Shannon and Desmond is Boone. It's a tough fit since both are older than their new identities, but I doubt there will be any background checks. Oceanic will just be rushing to get this problem dealt with since - Need I say? - accidents like this are bad for business."

Sawyer looked at Sayid in surprise, "You're up for that, Mohammed?"

Sayid gave Juliet a look that, in Sayid's rather solemn set of expressions, constituted a smile of approval, "They helped us call for rescue and defeat the enemy at the gates. The least we can do is bring them home. And anyway, we need to make sure nobody ever finds out about what happened here."

"Why? What do you mean?" Juliet asked.

"A number of us are now what would be considered murderers in the outside world. Our circumstances were dire, but even that might not save us the trouble of an investigation into the events that occurred after the crash. We're going to have to remove the grave markers we've set up and mask the graves. As far as Oceanic and the authorities are concerned, the marshal, Boone, Shannon, Ana Lucia, Libby, and Eko were all killed in the crash. Since the hatch, Rousseau's camp, and the Flame have all been destroyed, we don't have to worry about any structures being located by investigators checking the areas around the beach camp. We need only pull the beech craft back over the Pearl to ensure all traces of the Dharma Initiative are erased from this vicinity." Sayid responded. He had hesitated before mentioning the graves. Nobody wanted to disrespect the dead, but they had themselves to worry about now.

Sawyer looked down in thought, "Say now what happens if blondie here's friends decide to come back for round two?"

Juliet shook her head, "They won't. Once we're rescued they'll have no reason to come back here. They aren't dumb enough to try anything that would antagonize the government. As far as they're concerned, as long as they can live on this island in peace, there's no problem. Although…"

Sayid nodded, "Benjamin Linus. He'll want vengeance for this humiliation. He's lost the object of his desire-" Juliet cringed as Sayid continued, "-and a good number of his people. As far as I can tell, despite the calm façade, Benjamin is a very vengeful and dangerous man. We'd be wise to ensure he remains trapped on this island forever."

Sawyer cracked open another beer, "Well then I guess we'd better send the bug eyed bastard packin'. We gonna banish him or will it be…" Sawyer made a slashing gesture across his throat.

Juliet frowned, looking out at the water. "Either way it doesn't matter, but do we really need more blood on our hands?" She asked, looking from Sayid to Sawyer, "I think maybe we should just live and let-"

Sayid followed her gaze to the ocean where Desmond was rowing the outrigger back to shore. He noted the absence of Charlie and looked further down the beach to where Hurley was swimming joyfully.

"Come on. We have work to do." Sayid said solemnly.