A/N Yuppie! Chapter 4 has just arrived :D We have a bit more about Samantha and a brand new character mentioned on the show by name but never appeared on the screen. Do you know what happened to him on the show? I'm not sure yet whether to follow the canon with him or not. We'll see :D Thank you my readers, my loyal friend LostInLost18and my fantastic reviewer GwenCooper92.

All the other lurkers out there and new readers, please leave even the shortest of reviews to let me know what you think. Enjoy the story!

Tom Beaumont was as kind as to beta-read this chappie for me. Thank you.


CHAPTER 4

"Aren't you uncomfortable in that dress?" said a male voice that seemed to materialize right behind Samantha.

"Huh?" she said, snapping out of her thoughts and looking around. The man she found behind her was 25 at most. She eyed him with interest and smiled warmly. The look on his face told her that she was expected to do something else. She wasn't quite sure what exactly.

"Your dress. It looks mighty uncomfortable," he said, frowning slightly. He instantly regretted talking to her in the first place. This whole situation was awkward.

She looked down at her short floral dress. "Oh. Yeah, it is slightly irritating," she said, smiling again, happy that she finally understood him.

"Samantha," she said brightly, extending her hand.

So strange, he thought. One moment she seemed mute and then switched the pesky mode on. He seemed taken aback, but accepted her hand.

"Eli. Eli Levinson," he said, putting his hands in his pockets. She kept looking at him with her big, eerie eyes. "So whatcha doing, girl?" he asked to break the uncomfortable silence, while he nodded at the piece of cloth in her hand.

She followed his gaze and answered, "I want to soak it for Irma. She has a fever."

"Irma?" he started. He knew Libby, Brandon, Tyler and Goodwin. The others were just faces.

"The older woman…in the green sweater...the one with a gash in her side," she explained patiently.

"I thought she was unconscious. How do you know her name?"

"She had a wallet with her."

He nodded and then they both went to the ocean to soak the piece of clothing. She went first, giving him the chance to observe her legs. A bit too skinny for his usual tastes, he judged but she was the only girl here that was around his age. Well, that was his guess at least.

The lady cop was also nice-looking – but he preferred blondes. Besides, she didn't look like somebody interested in any romances any time soon. Samantha bent down to wet the cloth and seemed oblivious to Eli's eyes roaming her shape. I take back my words. That dress is perfect, he thought, smirking.

Eli trailed Samantha back to Libby and the woman lying under a tree. The unconscious woman's skin was ashen and glistened with sweat.

"Thanks, Sam. I appreciate it." said Libby as she took the wet cloth from Samantha. She folded it twice and put it on Irma's forehead. Again, Eli felt out of place. His eyes couldn't miss the makeshift bandage and the crimson patch on it. He never felt good near blood.

"Erm...I'd better go. See you around, Libby," he said to the shrink. He really liked her. She was the first person he met after the crash. He was grateful that she volunteered to care for the cuts on his back, even when he screamed at earnest as she sprayed them with that awful airplane vodka. "Samantha," he nodded to the blonde girl. She lifted her head to look at him and brightened up.

"Bye, Eli," she replied brightly and watched him go.

~oo0oo~

Goodwin volunteered to look for mangoes. He asked if anybody would come with him, but morale was getting lower every day. Most of the people were either injured, busy taking care of the injured, doing nothing in particular or doing everything just to have something to do. He knew he had to make this trip into the jungle as brief as possible to prevent suspicion.

Ana seemed to trust him. Having the leader on his side was vital, so he was glad that he chose wisely after reaching the beach. It might seem that the doctor would be an instant leader, but Ana didn't really have to do anything to create an aura of dictatorship around her. Most of them trusted her blindly. Luckily for him, they weren't eager to change anything, so even Ana couldn't have talked them into leaving the beach.

Goodwin stopped at the usual meeting place and waited. Even though he expected it, the rustle of the trees beside him made him jump a little.

"Shit! You really like to do that, don't ya?" he said.

"How could I refuse myself the pleasure of seeing your scared face?"teased the man coming from behind the tree. He had the face of a handsome rogue along with a slight smirk and messy black hair. The whole playful look was distorted by ragged clothes he wore.

"Do you have it?" he asked. Goodwin nodded, took a small piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to the man, who skimmed through it. "22? That's quite of a group you got there," he said frowning.

"Yeah, one hell of a bunch of Merry Men. It took me some time to gather info on all of them," Goodwin answered bitterly. "It's like walking barefoot through broken glass." Survivors weren't eager to share their stories with him and he had to be delicate so as to not rise any suspicions. Even a shadow of doubt in Ana's eyes could cost him dearly.

"Yeah, you got to be careful. I never liked Russell. But Lynde? That's nasty," the man said, practically revelling in how fucked up the whole situation already was.

"I know. Eko was a hasty decision. But now I have the whole list, so Jacob can analyse it freely," he explained. He wasn't sure whether he really believed that nobody else would die.

"And what about…" the man started, but let the continuation hang in the air. Goodwin let out an exasperated sigh. He knew exactly what the question was, but he didn't have an answer. Ben gave him an important task and he wasn't going to fail – even though he felt like he didn't have enough tools to perform it.

"I don't see how it's your business," he almost snarled.

"Chill. Just curious," laughed the man.

"How's the front section doing?" Goodwin asked. He wanted to change the subject as soon as possible to avoid further questions.

"Well, it's definitely calmer there. Ethan fit in easily and it seems that nobody from us got hurt so far." After seeing Goodwin's sour face, he added, "But if it'll make you feel better, he still doesn't have a list and Ben's growing impatient. You did great job here, man." He hid the piece of paper in his bag.

Goodwin wanted to ask him more about Ethan. Even more importantly, he wanted to know about Juliet. He just hoped she was doing okay without him.

"I better be going. Mangoes for dinner. Yay," he mock-cheered.

The man snickered."Lucky bastard. I'll just have to stick to boars."

They bid each other short goodbyes and Goodwin marched toward the survivor's camp. Along the way, he gathered mangoes from a stash he kept near the meeting place – he couldn't very well return without them – and reappeared on the hot sand of the beach.

On his way, he passed poor Irma, dying slowly but surely underneath a tree. Samantha sat next to her and held her limp hand in hers. Goodwin glanced at the girl and their eyes met. He smiled at her and, after a pause, she smiled meekly before moving her gaze to Irma.

~oo0oo~

As Goodwin moved further away, she relaxed a bit. There was no way she would get over the influence this guy had over her.

"Goodwin has mangoes. You should eat something and I'll stay with her. Donald's asleep," said Libby, who returned from her search for antibiotics empty-handed, except for a newly-discovered full bottle of ibuprofen tablets, which did as much good against creeping, deadly infections as wishing upon a star did.

"Thank you, Libby," she said. The female doctor was the very opposite of Goodwin. She made Samantha feel completely at ease.

"Want some?" she asked.

"No, I'm fine. I've already eaten. Go now. You already look starved," she urged the young girl. Samantha finally stood up, but instead of going to Goodwin, she chose to see Tyler and nag him for a coconut or some bananas. The man seemed scared to talk with her, so it was fairly easy to get food from him. After a successful mission of making Tyler uncomfortable with her cheerfulness, she took her prize and headed straight to Mr. Eko, who sat apart from the other survivors.

He didn't seem to be interested in her presence, but she didn't really expect him to be. She sat next to him and followed his gaze to the waves. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The damp air was salty on her tongue.

"Have some water," she said and handed him a half of a coconut filled with water. The giant shifted a little. She waited patiently with an extended hand, like a animal trainer waiting for a tiger to come closer so she could tame it. Her hand began to tremble a little from the weight of the fruit.

Mr. Eko glanced at her wrist covered in fading marks that once were bruises. A strange thought crossed his mind. The marks formed a strange pattern on her skin. Almost like a handprint. He shook it off and took the coconut from her. They both drank silently and stared into the anxious ocean. He returned the fruit, with a small nod indicating his gratitude.

She smiled brightly at him, understanding his message clearly. She put both parts of the coconut next to her. Eating in front of Mr. Eko was out of the question. That would be cruel.

After a couple of minutes, an idea popped in her head. She glanced at him somewhat nervously and bit her lip. Was it okay? Could she really? Would he be mad at her? But she wanted to do it so much. Her thoughts were chaotic as she contemplated her next move.

He felt her uneasiness and looked at her. She lit with a radiant shade of red which made him even more curious. She shifted her gaze, seeming to have some internal struggle.

"Oh, shoot. Here it comes," she muttered under her breath and did the last thing he could have expected – she hugged him. Not just with her arms around him. She glued her whole upper body to his sunburned torso and sneaked her arms around his neck.

He stiffened for a second with his arms raised in mid-air, as if his body was trapped between protesting and hugging her back. After a moment of hesitation, he chose the latter.


~~~~~~~~~~BONUS SCENE~~~~~~~~~~

Goodwin's "Plotting techniques for dummies Vol 1"

They bid each other short goodbyes and Goodwin marched toward the survivor's camp. Along the way, he gathered mangoes from a stash he kept near the meeting place – he couldn't very well return without them – and reappeared on the hot sand of the beach.

On his way, he passed poor Irma, dying slowly but surely underneath a tree. Samantha sat next to her and held her limp hand in hers. Goodwin glanced at the girl and their eyes met. He froze and felt cold sweat all over his body.

"I..I went for mangoes. See? They're right here," he blurted out and presented the girl with the fruit.

"Just mangoes. Nothing suspicious. I went for mangoes. It's what people do, right? They stand up and head towards the jungle to find some mangoes. Perfectly normal, " he could feel his hands shaking.

"No plotting behind your backs. I do it all the time. I mean going for mangoes and not the plotting! I'm not an enemy! I mean, I don't even know how to plot an evil scheme. Ben does it, " he said and added quickly " Ben the old lady. My aunt from Florida. Ben as in Benthilda. It reminds me of this funny story when Juliet told me that her stockings were missing and that she had some suspicions..."he laughed but Samantha just stared him down unblinkingly.

"I just went for mangoes," he finished and backed away.