Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original character.
Author's note: I'm so mad! I had half of this typed up then the document manager got all weird and I couldn't edit it so I had to start over! grrrrrr.
Author's note #2: Spoilers from Namaste -- which totally kicked ass!!! -- in this chapter.
Chapter 8: From Bad to Worse
" Hey...Riley, right?"
I stopped in my tracks and looked back toward the hammock. A bassinet was situated next to it. I smiled and walked over to her.
" Yeah," I smiled. " Who are you?"
" Amy Goodspeed," she replied, " Horace's wife."
My eyes fell on the sleeping baby boy in the bassinet.
" He's adorable," I said, my eyes locked on the infant. I couldn't get my own dead baby out of my head -- I doubted I ever would.
Amy smiled.
" Thanks. Do you want to hold him?" she asked.
I inhaled sharply.
" Sure." I carefully lifted him up into my arms, cradling him to my chest.I saw Juliet watching me, but pretended not to notice. " Have you and Horace picked out a name yet?"
" Yeah, we're gonna name him Ethan." I would have been disturbed by this bit of news if I hadn't felt the waterworks coming on. Great. Why the hell was I so emotional all of a sudden? " Are you okay?"
" Sorry," I said as I placed the baby in her arms and backed away. " Um, I've gotta go."
And then I ran.
" I'm surprised you showed up, Danny. Sydney's probably crawling with his people."
" Yeah, well I still showed up, didn't I? Lawrence I got it covered."
" You got the money?"
" Yup," said Danny, his voice low.
I snorted, watching them over the top of my menu.
" We'll make the exchange in my room," Danny was saying, and I had to strain to hear him. " Suite 823 on the eighth floor. Midnight."
I watched them get up and leave the bar. Ten minutes later, I left to go up to my own room. Looked like Plan B would go into effect tonight after Danny and Lawrence made the exchange.
I sat cross-legged in the grass, a short distance from the pylons, lost in thought. A hand touched my shoulder and I flinched.
" Riley are you insane?" inquired Jin.
" No," I said softly, " Relax, I just needed some time to myself."
He was quiet for a moment.
" You can't go off by yourself, especially unarmed," he said. I rolled my eyes. " Radzinsky and I --"
" Who the hell is Radzinsky?" I inquired.
" He works at the Flame. We found a hostile in the perimeter today."
" That so?" I said, not even bothering to hide how disinterested I was.
" It's Sayid." he replied.
My jaw dropped.
" What?!"
" He was wondering around in the jungle in handcuffs. We took him back."
" Does Sawyer --"
" Yeah, he knows." he replied. " Jack, Kate and Hurley all got moved into their houses. They got a spare one too, if you wanna move out of Sawyer and Juliet's house."
I sighed.
" You passin' on the message from Sawyer?"
He nodded and extended his hand to me. I grabbed it and he pulled me to my feet.
I felt nauseous and lightheaded as I approached the door of suite 823. Breathe, Riley, come on. You can do this, I thought, giving myself a light mental shake as I knocked on the door. It was well after midnight and Lawrence had left mere minutes ago. I had to act fast. The door opened and a sleepy looking Danny stood in the doorway.
" C-Can I help you?" he asked, failing to stifle a yawn as he stared at me.
" Um, yes, my name is Grace Norton, I work for Mittelos Bioscience?" I said, hoping he would buy my act, " Um I'm sorry to be bothering you so late, sir, but Mr. Alpert is very upset. Can I come in?"
Danny's face registered Alpert's name. I could see he was shocked.
" Yeah, um...come on in...Grace." he said. He stepped back and I went inside, smiling slightly as I heard the door shut behind me.
When I got back to Sawyer and Juliet's house later, I could hear them arguing in the bedroom. I slunk into the bathroom where I found some clothes that Juliet had laid out for me. I didn't change, just tucked them under my arm and waited for them to finish their argument so I could leave. A few minutes later, Sawyer emerged, looking pissed.
" I told you, just leave it alone, Jules!" he shouted over his shoulder. Then his eyes fell on me. " You're back."
" Not for long," I said coldly, " I got your message via Jin. I'm moving tonight."
Juliet emerged from the bedroom and stared at me.
" Are you sure?" she asked.
" Yeah," I replied. " I just wanted to wait til I could tell you both. But before I go --" my eyes flicked back to Sawyer. " What's going to happen to Sayid?"
" I don't know." he said. " but he's safe."
There was a knock on the door. When I opened the door to leave, Jack was standing on the porch.
" Hey," he said quietly.
" Hey," I murmured back as I passed him.
I fingered the key in my hand nervously as I approached the house Phil had directed me to when Jin and I returned. Kate caught my eye from the neighboring house as I stepped on the porch and I nodded at her before going inside. The house was nice enough -- living room, kitchen, one bedroom, one bathroom. I suddenly felt incredibly lonely. Just then, there was a knock on the door.
" Who is it?" I hollered irritably.
No answer. I groaned and went to answer it. My jaw dropped in horror.
" Hey Riley. You miss me?" said Steve.
Muahhahahaha yes it's a cliffhanger! Review and No flames!
