A/N: Thank you so much for all your reviews!
Hope you enjoy the rest!
The swirl of human voices and the sweetness of jungle air, then everything changes, and you can't decide if the ringing you hear is from your ears or from something around you. The air suddenly tastes different, drier and more unnatural, and your lips feel chapped. You reach your tongue out to lick them, and you taste a hint of alcohol which can't be possible because you have been sober for over a week. It's that realization that causes your eyes to shoot open.
Your breath comes in shallow, frantic gasps as you see the faded seat back in front of you, and you jump noticeably when the captain's voice comes over the intercom.
"Please return your tray tables to their upright position and shut off all electronic devices. We should be landing in Los Angeles in about 15 minutes. Thank you for flying with Oceanic Airlines and we hope you continue to fly with us in your future travels."
So, you had done it. You were back on Oceanic 815, dressed for your father's funeral, sitting there like nothing had happened. And yet it had.
"Do you get nervous flying?" You hear a familiar voice from next to you. You turn to face her, and try to keep your mouth from hanging open as you realize where you are and who you are talking to.
"What?" You say a little breathlessly, trying to control the tremor in your tone.
"Your hands. You're gonna strain yourself if you keep grabbing on to the armrests like that." Rose said, shaking her head.
You look down to see your arms practically strapped down, your knuckles pale white, and you relax as best as you can in your crisp suit.
"Just had a dream…." You say letting your voice trail off. And yet you know it wasn't a dream. You still remember all of it. Every moment, every touch. So vivid that you can feel it in every nerve ending. You pan your eyes around, trying to find her tresses of curly hair peeking over a seat back.
As you look behind you, you see Locke, sitting patiently, hands in his lap, not lit up by his usual exuberance, and you smile warmly at him because he was the man who gave you a second chance. But when he glances back, he actually appears to be uncomfortable with your gaze and hurriedly looks down to his hands.
And then it hits you. You are the only one who remembers.
You continue to search the seats for her face, peering over the aisle and arching your neck to try and get a better view, and still you see nothing. She must be near the front of the plane, you think; so when the plane touches down and you're allowed to unfasten your seatbelt, you hurry up to the front, just so you won't miss her. You try to ignore the nagging feeling that she won't remember, and instead focus on why you do. What is it that you are meant to do this second time around? What are you supposed to change? Are you there to help her escape? Could you possibly be here to give her the second chance that you would have offered her three days from now if you had really crashed?
There's only one thing you know with certainty, and it is this - even if she doesn't remember, you don't want anything in this life expect for her to be free to live one.
Searching the aisles one by one, you run to the front of the plane, panic bubbling up to the surface when you can't find her. As you force your way up to the cockpit, you can only be thankful that these chairs are filled with the living this time and not with the dead; that is your only solace. Your only hope is to get to her in time.
Before you know it, you're in the terminal, surrounded by a sea of people, and as you stand there in the midst of it all, you can't help but feel so alone. This is your burden to carry, the knowledge of what could have been, and now would never come to pass; it is yours alone. And if you fail, if you are unable to save her, you alone will be saddled with that guilt. You had been told to follow your destiny, but if this is what was meant to be, then you will fight it with every fiber of your being.
And then you know this is fate. Because when the crowd parts you see her. You can't look away.
You begin to walk towards her, quickly at first, but then slowly as your nerves get the best of you. Her back is turned to you; the Marshall is talking to a security officer, oblivious to your presence, so you just watch her for a moment. Her hair's a little shorter, and when she moves her head, her perfect curls bounce lightly across her back, and you resist the urge to reach out and touch them, like you used to when you would lie in bed together. You don't know if you've been standing there for five minutes or five seconds before she turns around, but when she does, time just kind of stops.
You never thought you would get another chance to look into those eyes.
At first, her face is blank, no sparkle, no glow, as if the life had been sucked out of her, and you're afraid she doesn't know you. But then you see it, a spark of recognition.
Her eyes flood instantly, and she mouths your name, as a single tear falls down her freckled cheek.
When you reach for her, you see your whole life together play out right before your eyes, and you get the feeling that if you can just touch her, all of it will be the way it's supposed to be, and nothing else will matter anymore.
But your hands just can't seem to meet. She strains at her handcuffs, and you try to reach forward, but your feet are suddenly glued to the floor. Everything around you is spinning, and it's a blur, it's all a blur, except for her. She's screaming your name now, tears streaming down her face, but everything sounds as if it is traveling through a funnel. Her voice echoes and reverberates, bouncing around in your mind, and you know it doesn't matter how close you seem like you are. She sounds as if she were a thousand miles away, and she may as well be.
It was never meant to be.
Darkness surrounds you, but you can still hear her yelling your name. It's clearer this time, and you realize that she's close, but you no longer understand where you are or where you are supposed to be. Suddenly, a bird chirps in the distance, and your eyes shoot open. The canopy of trees above you waves in the breeze, and the sunlight burns your eyes. You lick your lips and the taste of blood follows, and you wonder if what had just happened was a dream. And then, you hear her, and you realize her shouting isn't part of the dream. Destiny soon becomes of little significance and you no longer care that you are not sitting on a flight back to LA because maybe this is your destiny - to be here on the island with her. Maybe you are here, in whatever time period you've landed in, to find it. And as you rise to your feet, and start running in the direction of her voice, you realize that maybe you have been given a second chance.
You break through a line of trees, and you see her there in a clearing. And just like at the airport, only moments before in your dream, she has her back to you. You can hear her counting faintly, voice trembling with each number. When she gets to five, you say it with her. She turns her head slowly, as if she's afraid that she will find no one there when she does. And when she sees you, her face crumples with relief and more tears silently fall down her face. Before you know it, she's got her arms wrapped around you, and you press your nose into her hair, breathing in every little bit of her because you still can't believe it's real, and you feel like you need something tangible to hold on to. Cheek presses against cheek, and you hadn't even realized you were crying, until you felt a drop fall off your nose and into her curls.
You pull away slowly and simply say "you remember" because that's all that really matters to you now. She smiles widely at your remark, and you brush the hair away from her face. She opens her mouth to speak and the tears begin to fall once more.
"How could I forget?" was all she could mutter, and yet it was all you ever wanted to hear.
Hope you enjoyed! It probably wasn't what you were expecting, but I didn't really want to delve into any mythology.
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