Claire ran a hand through her matted hair. They would be in Los Angeles soon and all of her friends had fallen asleep. Kate's hand was still wrapped around hers. Though Claire didn't want to admit it, she was terrified to leave the island. Over the past three years it had become her home, she had become so used to being "Crazy Jungle Hair Claire" that she was worried she wouldn't know how to act normally again. She was scared that Aaron would be afraid and even more afraid that Thomas would try to sue for custody of Aaron once the secret got out that he was her son, not Kate's. Though he hadn't wanted him, things would likely change when he learned of the large settlement she would receive from Oceanic.
Kate jolted awake as the intercom began to crackle. "I've been able to get in touch with the air traffic controllers at LAX and we have been cleared to land. We should begin our descent in about ten minutes."
Claire squeezed Kate's hand and the brunette stood up again. "We all have our stories straight?" She asked. The other survivors nodded.
"What about the munchkin?" James asked.
A worried look came across Claire's face as she glanced at Kate.
"We can say that we found him, that your camp got attacked by a wild animal and in the chaos Aaron got left behind. We saw your camp destroyed and we thought that Aaron was the only survivor so we took him in and I raised him. We said he was mine so that he wouldn't have to learn the gruesome truth."
The other survivors nodded in agreement. Kate walked over and slid into a seat next to James.
She lowered her voice and spoke, "I don't know what's going to happen, legal-wise. I had a trial once we got back. You can't exactly hide when you're front page news."
"But unlike you, Freckles, I wasn't exactly America's Most Wanted." James pointed out with a chuckles.
"James," Kate said pointedly.
"No more conning, I swear," he said, sticking out his hand to shake. "And I think you should start calling me Sawyer again." He said with a small smirk.
"Deal, Sawyer," Kate shook his hand again and returned to her seat. She got the feeling that being called James reminded him of Juliet and it had finally been too much for him. A few seconds after Kate sat back down the plane began to descend. Everyone in the plane grew tense, the last time any of them had been close to land in any type of major transportation: ship, plane, or helicopter.
Kate clutched Claire's hand and shot her a reassuring smile. She looked around the plane. All of the other passengers were gripping their seats, bracing for impact. The plane was dead silent as they hit pavement, bumping a little bit and then coming to a stop. They all sat in silence for a second, staring out their windows. They had made it.
Sawyer let out a whoop and all of the survivors started to cheer. Richard had begun to cry. While three years had seemed like forever to them, it paled in comparison to Richard's 200 years.
Frank emerged from the cockpit, a triumphant grin on his face. His passengers stood and gave him a standing ovation. Frank hammed it up, taking a dramatic bow and then walking over to open the door.
They all walked over. Sawyer wrapped his arms around Claire and Kate's waists.
"You ready, Blondie, Freckles?" Sawyer asked the two women.
They both nodded eagerly, walking over to door, following Frank, Richard, and Myles. As they neared the doors, seeing the mass of people that waited for them, Claire suddenly froze.
"What's wrong?" Kate asked, stopping in her tracks.
"Maybe this was a mistake. I look like I'm insane. Aaron's probably going to be scared of me."
"Go ahead," Kate whispered to Sawyer before turning to Claire.
"I can't imagine what you've been through in the past three years, but you have to come back for Aaron. He needs his mother, we both know that. This is what everyone we love died for, so that we could have this chance. Jack⦠And Charlie..."
At the mention of Charlie's name Claire looked up. "Okay," She nodded. Kate grabbed her hand and the two exited the airplane into the long terminal. Richard had slipped away, but the others were waiting for them. They all began to walk together, as they exited the terminal they were swarmed by a mob of reporters. Airport security kept them at bay long enough for them to be ushered away by representatives from Oceanic and Ajira.
