"You didn't have the inhalers?" Rue said incredulously as her and Twinkle sat down in Sawyer's tent while he lay with his bandaged shoulder. Sawyer went to defend himself but was cut off.

"Hay we know nobody else would be upset if you died but we would! So the next time you decide to piss off the tribes wild men, consider the fact that your dieing would be selfish." Twinkle said seriously. This was a topic that she didn't want to mess around with. He needed to know that he was not expendable; he was no longer that guy in the lifeboat that they decide to throw over bored because he had no family.

"They weren't going to kill me." He finally defended, prodding his bandage. "They were like little pissed off pre-schoolers, harmless kids."

"Have you ever read 'The lord of the flies' because they were just harmless kids and then before you know it piggy is dead."

"Have you ever read Sandy beach? They were harmless kids and guess what? Nothing happened. They sat on a beach for the entire book before having a swim and going home." Sawyer finished and Rue waited a moment before asking him.

"You've read Sandy Beach? Don't you think it's a little above your level with all the illustrations and the scene where the cousin makes a sand castle, hard core stuff."

The two girls sat for a little while giggling to them selves about something they were trying their hardest to hold in, it took about thirty seconds before Twinkle burst.

"So you snogged Kate huh?" Twinkle blurted.

"How the hell!?" Sawyer started trying his hardest not to grin. "Just shut up bout it right?" But there was no chance. The girls immediately started singing.

"Sawyer and the Kate and the Snog and the love and the Kate and the Sawyer and the torture and the Love and the snog and the Sawyer." Over and over until Jack came to give Sawyer a check up, at which they quickly shut up and quickly ran to tell someone else.

4815162342

Hannah, Rue and Twinkle were going through the 'loot' of Daisy's bag in front of Sawyers bed, it was another desperate attempt to bring Sawyer back to normalcy.

In the bag, along with the normal depository of clothes was an ipod, ipod speakers, a phone, battery charger for the phone, a video camera, a whole lot of disks for the camera, a battery charger for the camera, a teddy bear, five boxes of tampons, five packets of pads, six bottles of tea tree oil (Hannah said she really couldn't live without the stuff), tea bags, two boxes of band aids, hairbrush, toothbrush and makeup.

Hannah told them that she really didn't want to talk to her mum at all when she finally got to L.A, so she packed everything she would need for the entire term that she was staying there. They then spent the next half an hour giving Sawyer a makeover with all Hannah's makeup, and doing his hair.

When Jack came in for Sawyer's check up he jumped when he saw him, and started laughing looking positively delighted. It was then that Sawyer started to wake up. Hannah and Rue took fright, ran and jumped behind the lounge (they really didn't want to be in sight when Sawyer woke up and discovered he was covered in lipstick and eye shadow), while Twinkle just went on packing up the makeup. Jack stared around at the contents of Hannah's bag, which was spread around on the floor.

"What's all this?" He picked up a bottle of tea tree oil.

"Do you mind? It will probably be better than alcohol"

"Nah, go for it." Hannah said eagerly. Anything that would help with Sawyer she was all for.

Sawyer started stirring in the bed. Jack lent over him "Sawyer?"

"Doc?" The voice was low and gravely. "Wouldn't mind getting me a drink would you?" He said condescendingly to his always rival.

"Hey, we still have some fun orange juice!" Called Twinkle who was already at the fridge.

"Water will do him." Called Jack in reply.

"Nah, I want juice." Mumbled Sawyer.

"Juice it is then." Twinkle took over. Hannah and Rue came out from behind the lounge

"Sawyer." Rue putting a hand on his arm, "You look terrible."
"I don't know Rue," Said Twinkle. "I think he looks quite glamorous. What do you think of our beauty queen Daisy?"

"Disastrous! Really. That colour is all wrong, it doesn't complement the bags under his eyes."

"Oh aren't you just full of sunshine and Daisies." Sawyer said still unaware of what was plastered all over his face.

"It's a gift."

"Burry that gift in a dark place Daisy."

Kate came in, moved the girls out of the way and started to wipe Sawyer face with a towel.

4815162342

Sawyer was now coming to grips with the fact that everyone didn't hate him and that they actually respected him for the whole bullet thing. Once in passing he heard the distasteful word of hero, which he blamed these people for entirely and vowed to make those people in particular hate him.

Hate was a normal thing to come his way, he took comfort in the consistency, he knew exactly how to handle it, but non-sexual affection, pats of congratulations, smiles as he walked past, what were you supposed to do with them?

Most of the time he liked to see how far he could push people before they snapped back to what a basted mode, but on the rare occasion he didn't fight it and for whole minuets at a time completely forgot that life had not away been all sunshine and butterflies.

Hurley, in another attempts to create happy vibes and less completely stressed out, tense people. Managed to fix (out of what ever he could find) some stumps, bats and a ball which he wrestled from Vincent.

Hurley and Charlie started to play a game of beach cricket up the beach a bit. Charlie batted the ball and Hurley caught it on the full.

"You've got to be kidding me man." Charlie complained, throwing down his bat.

"Sorry dude, I'm a good catch what can I say?"

Daisy walked past, back from picking fruit. She looked at both of them and they looked back at her. Before either could say anything she ran the rest of the way to the camp.

"Go fish!" Said Twinkle dramatically. Kate rolled her eyes and picked up.

"I can't believe we are playing this game. Come on guys at least something with some stakes. Poker?" The girls shook their heads.

"Sorry Kate go fish is all we play. Your free to teach us?"

"Teach." Kate moaned. Daisy ran straight into the middle of their game.

"Guys you have to see this."

"What is it?" They said not nearly as enthused as she had hoped. She dropped the fruit.

"Just come and have a look." Kate was the first to drop her cards; anything would be better than go fish. Twinkle and Rue followed suit though they carefully put their cards down in hope to return later.

"Cricket?" Kate said stupidly. Charlie immediately adopted a hurt face.

"No Kate. God that's offensive. This is beach cricket."

"What's the difference?" She asked. Hurley came back from retrieving a ball and replied.

"Sand. A lot of sand."

Twinkle giggled and nudged Kate. "He's got a point there."

"Well are you guys just gonna stand there and watch me sweat cause we could use some fielders." The girls looked at each other, rolled their eyes and all ran to different spots of the beach almost simultaneously.

A little way into the game they had accumulated about ten spectators and fifteen team members. Rue looked down the beach and saw in the distance of the camp a figure leaning up against a tree trying to see as much as he could from a distance.

She left the game and walked back to camp. As she came closer the figure moved out of site. When she came to the camp Sawyer was sitting in his plane seat looking immersed in an up-side-down book. She positioned herself right in front of him so that she blocked sun but it still created a halo behind her head. He didn't move. She tilted her head, hair falling over her face and then righted her self.

"What do you want short-stack?" Sawyer said not really interested in the answer.

"Oh I was just wondering how Rettop Yrrah is going?"

"Huh?" he grunted looking up at her in confusion. Rue leaned into Sawyer and said in a hushed voice.

"If you're going to pretend to read a book try to get it the right way up." He still didn't get it. She lifted the book out of his hand, flipped it and gave it back. Sawyer held the copy of Harry Potter in his hand and got the sinking feeling of being an idiot so he quickly tried to cover his tracks.

"Come on Rue your ruining this for me. The sexual tension is so high something is about to happen I bet ya."

"Sawyer this is the first book." He looked at her as if it should not make a difference.

"Their 11 years old!"

"Dam they start early. Be careful Suzie high school you may get left behind." Rue glared at him but decided to get to the point.

"You may have noticed there's a social situation going on down the beach. This is called a game and you, my emotionally stunted friend are going to play.

"No I am not." Sawyer said mockingly.

"Oh I beg to differ."

"Look Peaches I don't need no bonding session, me and Harry are fine where we are." Rue put her hands on her hips.

"Maybe so, but you are coming."

Eventually with a lot of pulling, pushing and treats involving eyebrow tweezers she got him down to the game. He spent a bit of time in his I don't give a crap mood but it didn't take long for him to get the competitive streak and really get into it.

Steve was batter and as the ball flew to him Twinkle started to cheer as she had for all who were playing.

"Go Scott! Wow!" Rue ran over to her before she could continue.

"Ah hun, that's Steve, Scott's dead."

"Oh, Got it."

Steve hit the ball and it flew through the air, him and Charlie started running back and forth. As the ball came down Kate seized the chance to catch it on the full, the same thoughts ran through Sawyer's mind. As they ran into the same space just before they would have collided Kate jumped up and caught the ball. Charlie and Steve stopped running and people started cheering Kate on her save. Sawyer looked up at the sky in defeat and then knowing full well that cricket is a non contact sport said.

"Oh stuff it." He charged the last few steps towards Kate grabbed her around the waist and footy tackled her to the ground. He grabbed for the ball while still enjoying the situation. She was struggling under his weight. Daisy, Rue and Twinkle were wolf whistling and Daisy screamed out.

"GET A ROOM!" Between shrieks of laughter. Sawyer eventually grabbed the ball out of her hand and stood up with it but before he could chuck it back to the bowler Kate, from lying position, slammed a kick to the back of Sawyer's knee. He crumbled on impact and dropped the ball in favor for nursing his leg. Kate picked up the ball and through it back to the bowler.

Twinkle turned to Daisy and Rue. "That's girl power baby."

4815162342

"So you will arrive in a week? Seven days right Hunny?" The high-pitched voice of Hannah's mother, Vikki, screeched through the phone. Hannah held the receiver a little further away from her ear as she sat on the veranda looking out over the ocean with the book Finding Cassie Crazy resting on her knees. Vikki on the other end sat in a large room, on expensive carpet painting her nails a shade called Priestess Pink Polish.

"No mum I told you, Dad booked the flight wrong it's in nine days, 22nd, the flight is 815 ok? You want to write it down?" She mumbled away from the phone. "Tattoo it on your forehead." Vikki didn't hear this though, too preoccupied with a growing rant.

"Oh yeah, god that's typical of that man, all ways stuffing up plans, never does anything properly. Always ruining things."

"Yeah sure mum, dad's a dirt bag, half my genes suck, moving on." She said quickly, hoping to get off the phone as soon as possible, talking to her mother always seemed to cause a rather sizable tension headache.

"The 22nd? Oh Jane's new foster child comes in then."

"She couldn't find a charity case in the whole of the united states?" She said apathetically

"You so awful sometimes. She wants to keep helping Australian kids even though she lives over here and none of them have much else in there lives, they would probably find a plane trip exhilarating." She said genuinely. Daisy on the other hand was amazed at her mother's ability to be completely condescending and elitist without knowing it. Vikki was an heiress, her father owned a massive, international insurance company which he sold just before he died, leaving his entire wealth to Vikki and her sister Jane and leaving both of them with no need to ever work. Vikki enjoyed being an upstanding woman of society, going to charity events and joining women's groups, who met once a week and had tea and scones while commenting on the injustice of social issues they really knew nothing about.

"Ok mum well if that's it…"

"Oh Hun this cute kid just moved in next door, gorgeous body, do you want me to hook you guys up together for lunch or something, at your age you should be dating much more than you are." Hannah wanted to hit something very badly. He heard a knock at the door, and being the only one at home as her dad was off on business she felt it was her sworn duty to quickly hang up on her mother and go and answer the door.

"Someone's at the door Mum, gotta go, bye." She quickly slammed down the receiver before Vikki could say another word. She got up and walked across the tiled floor to the door and opened it to find a young man with shaggy blond hair standing in front of her.

"Hi." She said. He said nothing just standing there, looking at her wide eyed. Hannah looked around awkwardly. "How can I help you?" Still nothing. "Ok…I'm going to shut the door now." She said slowly.

"Wait. Are you Steven Joseph's daughter?" His voice was almost trembling with anticipation.

"Yeah. What of it?"

His face light up with a great smile.

"I'm Jonah. I'm your brother."

4815162342

"Hay Ana." Said Rue as her and Twinkle swung around a tree to meet the head tailie. She looked at them strangely.

"Hay." She responded awkwardly. The girls ignored this and Twinkle pushed on.

"So… some island we crashed on. Talk about weird right?"

"Yeah." She tried to get back to smashing the coconut on a stick but the girls just stood there and it was very distracting so she faced the situation.

"Look, you girls have never talked to me, except for ones when you invited me to a night performance of The Wizard of Oz in slow motion. And now you just launch into awkward conversation?"

"That's us." Said Twinkle.

"We're spontaneous." Added Rue.

"Ok. Well I've got stuff to do so," She was trying to find a way out when Daisy walked up to the scene and she let out a sigh, someone she knew how to handle.

"Hay Hannah."

"Hay Lucy." It was Daisy's nickname for Ana Lucia. At first she had rejected it but now it was kind of homely and put a grin on her face.

"So you three got something secret thing going on that I don't know about?" Daisy asked mockingly.

"Oh yeah, we're buddies." Twinkle said. She patted Ana Lucia on the shoulder. Ana just looked at the hand like it was a foreign object, not meant to be there.

"Oh really?"

"Totally," Rue nodded. "Us and Ana, we're like this." She crossed two of her fingers and held them up for Daisy to see. "We even have an inside joke." Ana looked at Rue strangely.

"We do?"

"Now we do."

"What's the inside joke? Twinkle asked, feeling out of it.

"That is the inside joke."

"Our lack of inside joke is an inside joke.

"Yeah, we could even go one more and say this converation is an inside joke but then Daze would be in on it making it just a joke."

"Got it." Twinkle and Rue looked back at Daisy and Ana as they were satisfied with their conclusion. Ana turned to Daisy.

"We don't have an inside joke."

"I thought as much."

4815162342

"So they just left you at the hospital?" Hannah said passing a cup of coffee to Jonah and sitting opposite him on the couch. He nodded, not at all emotional about the fact. "I don't know if this is what you want to hear but I wouldn't put it passed my parents, the humanitarian section of their brains were left out at the baby factory. I assume I got my concisions from my, I mean our grandparents on my dad's side, they were in the peace core and Greenpeace. They died a few years ago. So who have you grown up with?"

"I was adopted by the woman who manages the foster agency in New South Wales. Her name was Carol. She was my mum, but she died when I was ten, cancer. Because I knew everyone at the agency too well and because it is dam hard to get adopted if you are any older than seven I just kind of floated year to year from one of the people who worked at the agency to the other. Majority of them offered to keep me at theirs for good but I quite like the floating. I get restless in one place for too long. Where's your mum?" He peered around the room, he knew they were alone but he was hoping for some sign of a woman, a picture.

"My parents split a few years ago and trust me, it's the best thing they could ever have done for man kind. I swear having the pair of them in the same house was like having to baby sit two four year olds who were both constantly having tantrums. She lives in LA now with my aunt."

"And your dad?" He asked tentatively.

"He is away on business."

"What does he do?"

"Don't know."

"Where is he now?"

"Don't care. He stays out of my business, I stay out of his, it's a good system."

Jonah took a deep breath. He decided there was no nice way to say it that would make her feel better, or him for that matter so he just did it like ripping off a Band-Aid.

"Your father is a financial consultant, yes?" Hannah nodded. "I found your, I mean our dad, I followed him to the docs in Sydney because I missed him at his hotel. He works for a religious cult who um…well they kill people, they kill people and he manages the money to do it." He blurted out quickly. Hannah's heart was beating fast. It couldn't be. But it did explain a lot. The people that sometimes turned up on their door step. The fact that he was always away and never gave location and never spoke about his work, the reason why docs was dropping in every month even though they were very wealthy.

"Get out." She said hollowly. Jonah frowned at her.

"Look I am telling the truth I came all the way up here to protect my little sister."

"Little sister? I am not your little sister and even if I was you would think you would be grateful to get out of the pit that must be your existence and find your family but no you have to accuse us."

"Accuse your dad." They were both shouting by now. She was defensive, not really of her father but of the fact that if what he was saying was true she would need to face up to a lot of facts. Innocence is bliss after all.

"Who are you anyway, coming in to this house, drinking our coffee!"

"You offered it!"

"Yeah…Well…how dare you take it knowing what you were about to tell me. I was in perfect happy bliss with my book, sitting on the veranda, having MY coffee. How dare you take my happy day away from me!"

"Look I know your scared but you have to face the facts sometime Sis. Our dad, who, I suspect from what you have said, you don't like very much anyway, is a bad guy, or at least helping out bad people, which isn't all that better. Now I am going to call a woman at DOCs who is a friend of my mum's, because you would be stupid to leave with me, a guy you just met, and she will take us to there and figure it all out."

"Get out of my house NOW."

"Are you an idiot, your in danger, these people could turn on your family at any point."

"Oh yeah?" Daisy picked up the butchers knife from the kitchen. "Well guess who else is in danger? GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HOUSE."

4815162342

4815162342

"Don't worry everyone, I'm a fireman." Rue panted between gasps for breath.

"What the hell dudes?"

Hurley stood over them. They looked at him upside down from the flat of their backs. He had been on a plane that had crashed. They laughed.

"Hurley dear," started Daisy seriously. "Please don't tell me that you've never realised how much funnier the world is from the flat of your back!" She wore an expression of outright shock. Hurley him self looked kind-of taken a back which made the girls laugh more.

"Come on try it." Twinkle urged, patting the grass beside her. Hurley shrugged and lowered him self down to lye next to her. He lay there.

"Guys nothing is happening." He said a grin coming over his face. "This is so stupid." He said starting to giggle. Before he knew it he was shouting out a big jovial laugh.

"Hay guys what's happening?" Charlie wandered over. Daisy beckoned while in hysterics.

"What's so bloody funny?" Charlie said thinking it was something about him.

"I'll tell you what's so funny." Pipped up Twinkle, all the funny things that had ever happened in her life were resurfacing and she had to tell the stories amongst fits of laughter. "There was this story that our foster dad, Mitch used to tell us. Remember Rue?" Rue nodded unable to articulate words as her face was contorted with silent giggles. "It was about when he was in the police rescue squad. They got called out to save a cat from an old ladies tree and afterwards the old lady made them tea and coffee and cake and on their way out the drive way they ran over the cat!"

The roar of laughter at this attracted the attention of anybody with in shouting distance. Tears ran down their faces. A few people as they checked out the scene joined in, enjoying the spontaneity even though they didn't know what had started it. Laughing is contagious. A few more stood back hesitantly with puzzled faces.

Claire looked on smiling, the old smile that had seemed to fade after she had been taken by Ethan. Hurley reached out his arms and carefully brought Aaron down to sit on his belly. He bounced the baby up and down on his stomach, which extracted a gorgeous little chuckle from him. Claire laughed. She lay down in-between Hurley and Charlie. Hurley passed over Aaron and she lowered the baby's tummy down and blew raspberries on the soft skin.

The three girls in the middle of the small crowd were a complete mess.

Screams of laughter weaved their way through the jungle. Giggles, shrieks, cackles, hoots and roars of it were making their way to the inner sections of the camp and causing many eyes to roll.

Sawyer was siting against a tree with an amused expression on his face as he listened to the half uttered stories of hilarity coming from the girls and their company lying on the ground. Kate came up to Sawyer with an expression of responsibility on her face.

"Why aren't you at the hatch you are soposed to be getting your meds" He just looked at her with a sly grin emerging from the corner of his mouth. She looked at the clump of dirt he had in his hand and decided to lay off the responsibility. "It's not worth trying Tex, you're a hopeless shot."

Kate said waltzing up beside him. He replied by dumping his handful of dirt in her hair. She got him back square in the face. As he picked up another huge clump of dirt she put her hands over her head protectively. Sawyer dropped the dirt, grabbed her around the waist a tackled her to the floor with his good arm. She didn't get defensive or pissed off to his amazement. She just rolled over and laughed with the crowd.

There were heaps of people lying around by now which was slightly dispersed when Vincent ran in and started running over the bodies and licking people's faces.

John, Eko and Sayid were sitting down on a log enjoying the atmosphere. Jack on the other hand was standing stiffly clearly in a predicament. He was too mature and filled with responsibility too let go and join in yet he knew that pretty close to the surface he did want to. So he consoled him self to having a go at Sawyer as Vincent climbed all over him.

"Wow you've finally made a friend Sawyer."

"Laugh it up with your hundreds of friends Doc." The cowboy shot back.

There was certain lightness about the banter. They both knew, or at least sensed that the other was joking. They had a quiet understanding where they took comfort in the normalcy of narking at each other and would miss it if they were ever rescued or separated.

4815162342

After Jonah had made a speedy exit Daisy crumbled on to the shag carpet floor. She held her forehead in her hands, just looking wide eyed at her thoughts, trying to make sense of it all but not wanting to. Then she remembered the plane she was catching that night to Sydney for her week retreat in the capital city. A week she always left conveniently between the time when she told her dad she was leaving for the states and she told her mum she was arriving. A week to stay at a plush hotel, to shop, go out clubbing, laze around in room service bliss. She finished her packing, still shaken from her encounter with her maybe brother. What he said made sense but she refused to own up to the fact, she was going to the states in a week, she had half a year to figure out what to do next.

She bored the plane that night. As it was dark each plane seat was light with little lights over head, casting strange shadows on the passengers faces. The flight hostess checked her ticket.

"First Class, Yes Miss, just straight through this way." The Woman led her through the divider and pointed out her seat before returning to the other passengers. Daisy walked tiredly up to the plush lounge seat, which already had a neighbor comfortable. As she walked up he turned on his overhead light as he rummaged in his bag for something.

"You've got to be freakin' kidding me." She groaned fiercely. Jonah looked up from his bag. He looked at her first with shock and then curiosity.

"You reconsidered?" He asked surprised.

"My belief in a higher being that doesn't like me? Quite possibly." She forcefully sat down in the puffy layers of linen and rearranged her carry on bag.

"I can't believe your just going to let it go, you could be in real danger you-."

"How did you get a seat in first class? Last time a checked the government was giving out massive checks to foster agencies around the country." She asked almost accusingly.

"My uncle owns this airline. He is the reason the Agency is still open." She acknowledged this answer and then constructed a wall of linen between him and her.

"You're insignificant. You don't exist."

"You're annoying and a mental case." He gave up. Pissed off that all his efforts had to go to her.

The plane trip was total silence interrupted every once and a while by a snide remark from both parties. As they landed and trudged off the plane Jonah tried to make an appeal to her. She was his sister, but Hannah was a stubborn thing, things always ended or started on her terms. He figured he'd give her a day or so too cool down and then he would drop in and try to reason with the beast.