Author's note: There are going to be some special guest stars from another show in the next chapter, you should be very excited. Don't worry about Daniel he'll be back very, very soon. This story is about to go waaaay off course from the show so be prepared. I don't know if you guys are ready for this chapter but I'm giving it to ya anyways ;) If you read this PLEASE PLEASE leave me a review, reviews are like oxygen for my writing. The more I get the faster there will be another chapter.

How do you guys feel about me carrying this story on into season 6? Let me know because it very well might happen. Love all of you and I hope your ready for this!

Miles' peaceful sleep was shattered by Sawyer's voice filtering through the walkie on his nightstand. Alex was still slumbering from the morphine Juliet had given her the night before. He answered it and found out that he was to report to the medical building immediately. He dressed quickly and kissed Alex goodbye without waking her. He had the feeling that a shit storm was brewing, he just didn't know why yet. Sawyer and Jin were standing outside when he arrived. Their faces were grim.

"What's going on, boss?" asked Miles. Sawyer couldn't look him in the eye.

"Sayid shot little Benjamin Linus last night." said Sawyer. Miles didn't speak for a moment. Sawyer knew he was thinking of Alex.

"Is he dead?"

"Not yet. Juliet is working to save his life." Miles didn't ask how he was doing. He didn't want to know.

"What do you need me to do?" asked Miles

"Get Kate, Jack, and Hurley. Keep them under house arrest. No one leaves until I say they do."

"You got it." said Miles. He headed off in the direction of the house Jack and Hurley shared. As it turned out, they weren't happy about the house arrest. Not at all. When he went to get Kate she bounced past him and took off for the medical building. He threw up his hands in defeat and went back to Jack and Hurley's house. Yup, it was a shit storm alright.

Kate, Jin, and Sawyer were standing outside the medical building talking.

"It seems like we spend all of our time standing out here, worrying about whoever's inside." said Sawyer. Jin nodded his agreement. He had been very quiet since he brought Ben back from the jungle. Seeing a child with a bullet in his chest can have that affect. Alex hadn't showed up yet. Sawyer hoped she would sleep for a few more hours. He wasn't sure how she would take this, whether she would be relieved or heartbroken. Daniel would have been useful at a time like this to tell them whether or not Ben would cease to exist in the future. His thoughts were scattered by Juliet bursting through the doors. Her face had the look if someone that had been fighting death himself. Her scrubs were bloody. She pulled down her mask and shook her head.

"He's stable but not for long. He needs a real surgeon. I can't help him."

"How can he die? He's alive in the future." said Sawyer

"He's dying, James." said Juliet "He's going to bleed out."

He took a moment to absorb her words then he started to walk away from them.

"Come on, Freckles." he called over his shoulder.

Juliet and Jin didn't bother asking where they were going. They already knew.

"Will you do the surgery if I shoot you in the leg?" Miles yelled it, pointing his rifle at Jack. Jack's poker face didn't even twitch.

"Stop it, Miles that won't get us anywhere." said Kate, pushing the barrel of his gun down and away from Jack. Sawyer and Kate pleaded with Jack, begging him to save little Ben's life. He flatly refused. He said he wouldn't save Ben's life again. Even Hurley joined in trying to persuade him. Jack's answer never changed,

"How could you just let a kid die?" Kate asked, her voice barely audible.

"That's not a kid on that table, it's Benjamin Linus." Jack replied stubbornly. Miles almost punched him, knowing the pain this would cause Alex but Kate pulled him away. They left Jack alone. Hurley went to the kitchens, everyone else headed back to the medical building.

When they arrived Juliet was looking for a blood donor to give Ben a transfusion. Kate volunteered. Juliet cleared the interns and nurses out of the room and started gathering the supplies she would need. Kate, Jack, and Miles sat in silence, praying to any deity that might be listening for Ben's life. Jin was outside making sure no one else came in, not even Ben's father. They needed a plan. They needed a plan really fast because the clock was ticking on Ben's life. Juliet set up the needles and the tube and got the transfusion started. Kate grinned bravely as Juliet stuck the needle in her arm. It's a good thing Juliet has nerves of steel because at that precise moment the doors banged open and Alex came screeching into the room. If Juliet had jumped she could have hit a nerve in Kate's arm and that would have been really ugly. Alex knelt by the bed and placed her hand on Ben's. She sat there in silence, unable to cry. This went on for about fifteen minutes. No one in the room spoke or moved, it was silent as a grave. Finally, Alex stood up, her mouth was set in a firm line of determination.

"We have to take him to Richard." she said evenly.

"You're absolutely right." said Juliet

"What can Richard do that a doctor can't?" asked Miles curiously .

Juliet and Alex ignored him.

"You'll have to take him," said Juliet "I'll stay and talk to his father."

Kate interrupted them abruptly.

"Alex, you can't go on your own." said Kate. Alex didn't protest. She needed all the backup she could get. They discussed logistics for a few minutes, who would stay and who would go. Sawyer and Miles left for the surveillance room, they had to make sure no one else was on shift. Kate snuck over to the motor pool and drove a van around the back of the medical building. Juliet and Alex moved Ben onto a gurney and rolled him out the back doors. Kate hopped out of the driver's seat and helped them transfer Ben from the gurney to the back of the van.

"I'll give you as much of a head start as I can." said Juliet. Alex nodded gravely and climbed in the passenger side of the van. Kate drove them on the back roads, avoiding being seen by as many people as possible. Alex didn't speak.

"Alex, it's going to be ok." said Kate. Then she seriously reconsidered her words when she saw Alex ball her hands into fists.

"The twelve-year-old version of my father is bleeding out in the back seat. Everything is not fucking okay." snapped Alex. Kate wisely chose not to respond. The rest of the drive was silent. When they arrived at the pylons Alex discovered the code for the fence wasn't the same it had been when she had lived there before. She cursed and kicked one of the van's tires. Kate was about to run all the way to the barracks and back when they saw a van on the horizon.

"This is either really good, or really bad." said Kate. When the van got closer they saw it was Sawyer. He parked next to them and came to stand by Alex.

"You guys need the code for the fence?" he asked.

"Yes," said Alex "Are you here to stop us?"

"Technically, I'm supposed to be looking for the kid."

"Are you or aren't you, Sawyer?" Alex raised her voice when she got irritated. Ben's time was running out. He didn't respond, instead he punched the code into the fence. "All right then, let's move."

Alex wrapped Ben in a blanket and Sawyer volunteered to carry him, they would move faster that way. Kate used Sawyer's walkie to call Miles and tell him which tapes needed to be magically erased. They started their progress into the jungle, following a fresh trail that Alex picked up.

Juliet stormed into Jack and Hurley's living room. Unfortunately, her entrance wasn't very dramatic because no one saw it. No one was in the living room and someone was in the shower. Please don't be Hurley, please don't be Hurley thought Juliet as she opened the door to the bathroom.

"Get out Hurley!" It was Jack.

"It's not Hurley," Juliet leaned up against the wall "I needed you today."

"Juliet?" Jack's arm reached out for a towel but Juliet snatched it first. He was going to have to have this conversation with his genitals all shriveled up and tiny. "Juliet this isn't funny." He wouldn't step out from behind the shower curtain. She was thoroughly enjoying the humiliation that was rolling off of him in waves.

"I needed you the way that one doctor needs another and you weren't there for me."

"I already operated on Benjamin Linus to save his life, I wasn't about to make the same mis-" Jack was cut off because Juliet slapped him.

"Did you swear by the same oath that I did?" Juliet was trying not to yell "What happened to do no harm? You used to stand for everything that was pure and good on this island, you did the right thing even if it meant you might die trying!"

His face reminded her of one of those marble angel statues from the Renaissance. Sure, they were beautiful but they were still cold, unfeeling, marble. She threw his towel on the wet floor and left without another word. There was nothing more she could do here.

Alex, Sawyer, and Kate didn't have to follow the trail for very long. Someone yelled

"Stop right there!" from the trees. They heard the clicking of at least two guns. Alex flinched, she was still gun-shy. Kate squared her shoulders and turned to face one of the men that came out of the jungle. There were three of them and they were definitely Others. One of them was actually cute, Kate noticed. He had skin like chocolate milk and blue eyes with long, wavy golden-brown hair. He held his gun down when he noticed Ben. The other two weren't so friendly.

"You're over the line, we're taking you to Richard." said one of the mean ones, he had really bad teeth.

"What a coincidence, we were taking this kid to Richard." said Sawyer

"Why?" asked Bad Teeth

"He's been shot, dumbass," Alex had to stop herself from screaming "Let's go!" The Others made their group walk in front so they couldn't run without being shot at point blank. The cute one stepped forward to walk with Kate.

"You bring injured kids into the jungle often?" he flashed a brilliant smile. She couldn't stop herself from smiling back.

"No, this is the first time." she replied

"May I ask who I'm holding hostage for invading my turf?"

"I'm Kate. May I ask who my captor is?" Her heart was pounding.

"Angelo, or Angel for short, you know if those hippies ever give you some time off-" Bad teeth cut him off.

"Angelo, stop verbally fornicating and get back here!"

He grinned at Kate again and dropped back. The rest of the walk was silent except for Ben coughing blood onto Sawyer's jumpsuit. The jungle opened up into a clearing where Richard was waiting for them. He closed the distance between them and looked Ben over without speaking.

"Spread out that blanket, let's lay him down." said Richard. Kate helped Sawyer gently lower Ben to the ground.

"Richard, they were over the line." said Bad Teeth

"Get lost," snapped Richard. Angel and the Other two turned to leave. "Not you Angel, I'm going to need you."

Angel smirked at his companions as they skulked off. Richard had produced a stethoscope from his pack and was kneeling next to Ben, listening to his chest. Alex knelt next to him and waited for him to stop listening.

"Can you heal him?" she asked.

"I can't," said Richard "But I know someone that can."

"What are you waiting for?" Alex could cry now, the tears were streaming down her face. It was like a knife in Richard's heart. He wanted to gather her in his arms and hold her so she never had to cry again. How could he feel this way about someone he only saw a few times a year? Suddenly, he felt light-headed. The way he felt when one of those memories of her was about to hit him. Could he really call it a memory if it hadn't happened yet?

He was at the temple, the safe haven for his people. It wasn't safe anymore, though. There were bodies scattered all over the courtyard. Some of them were children. Richard walked up the temple steps and through the first room into a hallway. He knew there was something horrible waiting for him in the pool room. He walked into the pool room very, very slowly. He was relieved when he saw that there wasn't anyone floating in the pool. He didn't see her until he turned around. Alex's lifeless body lay on the floor next to a bloody knife. Her eyes were closed. Someone she knew had killed her. It had to be someone she knew. Richard knelt and collected her in his arms. It agonized him that she had probably only been dead a few hours, that he had just missed her killer. Tears stung his eyes as he carried her outside. He had to lay her to rest, the temple seemed fitting. When he came back outside there was another man inspecting the courtyard, an Asian man Richard had never met before. He looked up.

"What happened?" he screamed, running towards Richard "Oh my God Alex, what happened?" He knew she was dead the moment Richard walked outside. Her body didn't just call out to him, she screamed her story. He fell to his knees and clutched his head until it became a whisper. Richard left him like that for a moment. He laid Alex down and covered her with the blanket from his pack. Then he came back and sat by the man.

"What happened?" asked Richard

"She was killed protecting the temple. Jacob gave her the ability to keep Locke out and he had Sayid kill her." said Miles "I loved her so much, I know you loved her too man. I know she never wanted to hurt either of us and that's why she did what she did."

"What are you talking about?" asked Richard

"Richard! What are you waiting for?" Alex's voice. Richard was pulled back to the clearing in the jungle where 12-year-old Ben was bleeding out right in front of him.

"You should know he'll lose his innocence and he'll always be one of us."

"So will I," said Alex without hesitation "Do it." Richard nodded to his protégé.

"Angel, help me get him to the temple."

"I got him, boss." Angel scooped up Ben, winked at Kate, and took off walking as fast as he could without jostling Ben. Richard and Alex stood looking at each other for a moment. Richard reached out to cup her cheek and kissed her forehead.

"He'll be fine, go get some rest."

Alex thanked him and she left with Sawyer and Kate. They didn't speak on the journey back. Not one of them spoke until they walked in Jack's front door and announced that they'd saved Ben's life. Hurley, Juliet, Jin, and Charlotte cheered. Jack remained unmoved, like stone.