This is the first Hydra team chapter. Since I never intended on writing this at all it was kind of a struggle. Working on the next one now (where all the action is...). Enjoy!


They had been hiking for two hours. Sawyer was in front with Kate right behind him. Frank and Ben followed at a distance of about twenty feet. Hurley and Miles were the last in line. No one was talking.

Sawyer was lost in thought. Could he just tell that they were Oceanic 6 survivors? Wouldn't that just be too bizarre? And what about Miles? That story wouldn't cover him. Or Juliet. He went over the old boat story again but couldn't get past the risk of some of these new people heading back with them to camp. How about a combination of the two stories? They could have shipwrecked and apparently some other people had crashed years back. They just used someone else's camp. Damn it. He would just have to assess the situation and improvise. Trust his old skills.

"What's wrong" Kate asked while speeding up a little so she was walking next to him.

"What?" Sawyer looked up.

"You were just swearing out loud. What's wrong?"

"Nothin'. Just going over the story."

"You need an extra pair of brains for that one?"

"Thanks. But I'll figure it out."

"Sure wish we had guns right now?" She smiled nervously, clearly looking for something to say. Why did it feel weird being here with James? They had hiked through the jungle together so many times before. Still, she felt awkward.

Sawyer looked at her and squeezed his eyes a bit. "Maybe I should ask you what's wrong, huh?"

"I'm fine."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really."

"Peachy." Sawyer shook his head and turned his eyes back to the ground in front of him.

After a few minutes Kate spoke again. She just had to ask. "Do you ever miss our times together?"

"Kate" He looked right at her. "Don't go there." His voice was firm and harsh.

Kate rubbed her neck with her right hand and turned away. She felt tears coming. Sawyer sighed. "Why don't you make things right with Jack, Freckles?"

She sniffed and rubbed her eyes. She loved that nickname. "It's too late for me and Jack."

"You sure? You're not just trying to avoid difficult conversations?"

She stopped and turned to face him, a little annoyed by his words. "Yes I'm sure. You don't know anything about the situation James." She started walking again. Sawyer followed.

"No. I don't. I just remember a little talk me and Jacko had before the blast where he was all sad like a puppy cause he'd lost ya."

"This isn't about me and Jack, Sawyer."

"This ain't about you and me either Kate."

She stopped walking again. James looked at her then shook his head. Don't steal my peace of mind Freckles. I've got a good thing going here. He stepped past her and continued walking.


Kate felt out of place. Coming back to the island hadn't been what she'd expected it to be. There was no sign of Claire. And Jack was different. He wasn't drinking anymore (having no alcohol helped) but he also seemed to be on a mission again. Back to his rescue mode she thought. As for Hurley and Sun… she had seen so little of them over the past three years. To be honest, she was no closer to them then she was when they left the island three years ago.

And Sawyer… When they returned to the beach with Sun and Frank she noticed something had changed. He was different. His anger seemed to have subsided and he was full of happy chatty talk, showing off his dimples to everyone that wanted to see. Juliet was different too. She actually smiled. And not a polite smile, but a genuine smile. The way she hugged Sun and Jin displayed more affection than she had ever seen from Juliet. Miles and Jin hugged and Sawyer and Jin shared a look that can only be shared between really good friends. These four people had bonded over the past three years; something that their 'Oceanic 6' group never did.

When Sun shared parts of their adventure, Kate could see Sawyer taking Juliet's hand. He then gently stroked hers by forming small circles with his thumb. Juliet slowly rested her head on his shoulder. Kate felt uneasy. Was it because she missed having that type of intimacy herself? Or was it because she was jealous? When she asked about Ben and Sawyer snapped at her she felt angry. Something was off. His behavior was so unpredictable she didn't know how to talk to him, or even be around him. First he'd seemed happy to see her. Now he just treated her like 'one of the guys'. That's why she was so eager to go on this hike. She wanted to talk to him to clear this up. Whatever 'this' was. Her first attempt earlier today had failed and she had no idea how to act around him now.

She was lost in her own thoughts and didn't hear Miles approaching. He smiled at her while throwing a small stick up in the air.

"It's kind of fun to see you in the wild now."

"Excuse me?"

"Sorry, that sounded totally superficial and sexist. It's just that I heard so many stories about you after you left. It's nice to meet the leading lady."

"We met before Miles."

"Yeah, like… 1 second."

"So what stories have you heard?"

"Just stories… about you and Jim. He was kind of hung up on you the first few months after the island shifted."

"And after the first few months?"

"Ah, you know Jim."

"I'm not so sure."

"He's a guy. He has needs. He was quite the favorite of the Dharma ladies for a little while."

"I guess that changed when he and Juliet got together."

"Totally. Which was excellent for me. Less competition."

Miles tossed the stick to the side. He squeezed in front of Kate for a few meters because the path had become too narrow. When the path widened again he slowed a bit so he could walk next to her again.

"Him and Jules are really happy you know."

"Are you trying to tell me to stay away Miles?"

"I'm just saying… They're my friends. And they're good together. I guess she makes Jim bearable and he makes her human. Yet again, excellent for me. Makes my life a lot easier."

"You don't have to warn me Miles. There's nothing between me and Sawyer anymore. You can stop campaigning for them."

Pfeww…

"Good. I've got more than enough on my to do list."


"So you and Juliet are together I noticed?" Ben had crept up behind Sawyer.

"That ain't your business." He snapped back.

Ben just continued talking. "Sorry to hear. I was looking forward to seeing her again. She and I always understood each other very well."

Understood each other my ass.

"Can I give you a piece of advice?"

What the fuck? "No thanks."

"She can get … emotional… sometimes, as you might know. She easily mistakes good intentions for something else when she's like that."

Sawyer kept walking, not the least bit interest in getting into a conversation with Ben.

"You know what's ironic?" Ben continued. "Off all the people I know, you ended up being Head of Security of the Dharma Initiative. As I recall you didn't exactly have a clean track record."

Sawyer's hands started to itch. "You eager to lose some teeth, Frankenstein?"

"Quite the temper as well. You haven't changed a bit. James."

"Will you just shut up, man." Miles interfered. He caught up with Ben and James and was now staring at the shortest of the two men. "We're not interested in anything that comes out of your mouth."

Ben smiled coldly.

"I'm sure you will reconsider that statement very soon."


They had to make camp in the jungle that evening. James cursed himself for leaving so late that morning. They could have had a comfortable night at the barracks if they had left earlier that morning. Even though things had gone fairly smooth (Ben had been annoying but 'tolerable' that day) he was in a bad mood. He also found himself avoiding Kate again. He had gone into the bushes to collect fire wood. Just when things seemed to have quieted down, this uncomfortable feeling crept up on him again. He felt guilty towards Kate for avoiding her and terribly guilty towards Juliet for everything relating to Kate. Focus asshole, focus. Focus on finding a way off of this rock for her.

Miles had followed him on his fire wood trip. He knew his friend too well to not notice what was going on. And blunt but honest he out of the blue commented on the whole situation. "Just acknowledge she's hot man. Every man would think that!"

"Well I ain't every man."

"Just because you slept with her doesn't mean you're the God of her universe you know. If you have unfinished business, just finish it." Sawyer picked up a few branches that seemed good to light the fire.

"Christ, you're hopeless, Jim."

"What am I supposed to do huh? If you're so full of brilliant observations and ideas, answer me that one."

"Well, you could just tell her straight to her face that it's over between you, that you're planning on asking Jules to marry you, and that you're sticking to your plan."

Sawyer grumbled.

"You're such a fool, you know that." Miles was on a roll. "You've got a super smart hot girlfriend who you happen to totally love…. I think…?" Miles was playing mind games now, Sawyer knew that.

"Yeah yeah doctor Freud. I get your point."


They reached the barracks in the morning of day two. The boats were still there, waiting to be used by them. Miles, Kate and Hurley took the first boat. Sawyer, Frank and Ben took the second. The ocean was unsteady and it took them an hour to cross over to the smaller island.

There were seven people there; seven survivors of Ajira flight 316. Some of them walked up to Frank to ask them what happened; where he'd disappeared to; where the Korean woman was; and who these other people were. Frank tried his best to answer the questions. When they saw Kate and Hurley another round of questions started. Where did they go after crashing? Did they know where the other people on the plane were?

Before entering the boats earlier that day their group had agreed on a story. They would stick to some parts of the truth. They would all be victims of a prior plane crash: Sawyer, Miles, Jin and Juliet. They wouldn't mention Oceanic, or time traveling, or Jin and Sun being married. Not too much detail. More chances of messing up. Sawyer's golden rule of conning, and everyone was to follow it. When asked about their disappearance from the plane, Kate, Hurley and Frank kept things as vague as possible and added post traumatic shock and blows to the head as reasons for not remembering every detail (Ben kept quiet altogether).

Their story seemed to go down pretty well. Sawyer would have felt comfortable if it wasn't for one guy. He introduced himself as Caesar and seemed to have taken it upon himself to lead this survivor's camp. Even though he acted welcoming and friendly, Sawyer felt his eyes on him wherever he went.

There appeared to be three more survivors. They were injured and taken inside the Hydra station. It was cooler and less dusty there. Caesar offered Sawyer to have a look. Two of the three people were unconscious; one was awake but clearly confused. It was weird being back at the Hydra station. First time he'd been here he'd been a prisoner. This was where he had met Juliet. When they joined the DI he had been here many more times for professional reasons. The place now looked neglected: no one had been using the station since the Others left.

"Have you ever been here?" Caesar had noticed Sawyer looking around with a specific interest.

"Yeah, we've been here before. Not lately though." He turned to look at Caesar. "Had no reason to come here much. Nothing but deserted cages and broken computers."

"Do you have any idea what this place once was?"

"Dunno man. Seems like a scientist's place. I ain't no scientist. Not my cuppa tea."

They spent their second night with the other survivors. The questions had stopped. Frank had shared with them his plan to examine the plane more closely. Maybe he would be able to get it operational again. This news seemed to provide just that little bit of hope that people under extreme circumstances need to be able to relax, even just for a little while. Sawyer dozed off after Ben had fallen asleep, his legs heavy from the long walks.

On to chapter 8.