"Where? Where is he?" Jack asked, restless.
Tranquilly, Eko explained how he was the one to recover the bodies from the ocean after the crash. One by one, he had buried them and he remembered how one of the body wasn't like the others.
"That man was wearing a dark suit and was… stiff. It looked to me as though he had been embalmed. That is why I remember him."
"Show me! Take me to him, please!"
"I will, Jack."
Since nobody raised any objection, the group resumed their walking, this time heading to the beach where the tail had crashed.
As they walked, Sawyer's thoughts began to drift towards Kate. She followed the men without complaining, without showing more signs of tiredness than the rest of them were. Sawyer smiled. He was proud of her, proud of being able to call her his girl. Who would have thought he'd end up being the lucky man she loved?
As he followed her through the narrow path, he just couldn't take his eyes off her. He was one blessed SOB: his soulmate was plain gorgeous, he thought, his dimples now showing as he let his eyes wander to her rear end.
Kate chose this moment to turn around.
"Quit staring at my ass," she warned him, but there was a faint twinkle in her eye letting him know that she didn't mind being the object of his desire.
"Then give me something else to stare at," he replied with a salacious grin.
He waited for Kate to make another menacing comment, but all she did was look at him longingly. Sawyer just couldn't help himself. To hell with the other men thinking he was a sap. He had to kiss her.
With more tenderness than he'd usually like to display, he put his arms around her and drew her close. She didn't resist, meeting his lips halfway.
"I miss you," he then whispered in her ear and he could actually feel her shiver. He could help smiling with satisfaction. He hadn't lost his touch.
"Me too," she replied before taking his hand and following the rest of the group.
How was it that it had been less than two days since they had been intimate, but he still craved her as if it had been months? He just didn't know. But what he did know was that he was going to move heaven and earth to get some time alone with her.
Soon.
Sawyer's wish was granted when a couple of hours later Jack decided it was time for a real break.
"I'm going to go and find some mangoes," Kate declared. "We're running low."
She stole a glance at Sawyer who immediately picked up the hint.
"Need some help, Freckles?" he drawled.
"Sure," she replied, a naughty grin playing on her lips.
"We're leaving in an hour," Jack warned them, not fooled by their little act. He would have put money on them returning without a fruit in sight.
As Jack suspected, Kate and Sawyer had no intention of finding mangoes. They were looking for a nice, secluded spot where they could finally satisfy their hunger for each other.
Finally, unable to wait any longer, Sawyer grabbed Kate by the waist and positioned her back against a tree. Without wasting a second, his lips crashed against hers, their tongues met, their hands feverishly roamed all over each others' bodies.
"Do you have any idea what you do to me?" he asked her when their lungs threatened to explode.
"Why don't you show me?" she replied suggestively.
Sawyer smiled naughtily and was about to kiss her again when they heard a noise in the bushes behind them.
"Well, well, if it isn't my friend James!" a familiar voice suddenly said.
Recognising the Other they referred to as 'the bearded man', Sawyer dropped his head and sighed.
"Unbelievable," he muttered dejectedly before looking over his shoulder and seeing their old 'friend'. But he wasn't alone. With him, a group of about 25 people, survivors of flight 815. Amongst them… Walt.
"Mr Sawyer! Kate!" Walt exclaimed before they could say anything. "Where's my dad?"
Stepping away from Sawyer, Kate graciously filled the boy in. The survivors quickly decided to join the rest of the party immediately. The two lovers stayed behind, waiting for all the others to go past them.
"I didn't think you'd make it," Cindy told Sawyer as she came about them.
"I guess I had a good reason to, after all," he replied, glancing at Kate. The tenderness was apparent in his eyes and Kate felt a rush of love for him.
Everyone had gone now and Sawyer took a step to follow them. Why work up an appetite when there was no time to eat, he figured? But Kate grabbed his hand.
"We'll find a way," she said, looking as disappointed as he was. They shared a meaningful smile and then, hand in hand, they followed the group.
"Dad!!!"
"Walt!!!"
The father and son fell into each other's arms and the group watched the emotional family reunion in silence.
"Are you okay, son?" Michael was finally able to ask through his tears of joy.
Walt nodded.
"Yes, dad, I'm fine. They said that we can be together now. I can go back to the beach with you."
Michael raised questioning eyes to the man who had brought his son back to him.
"This is the truth, Michael," the man confirmed, "You're now ready to be a father. Take him, and all those we had taken, back to your camp. A new life awaits you."
"Then we're leaving right now," Michael declared, gazing at Jack, who nodded.
"Of course, Michael. We'll see you there later."
"Oh, just one more thing, Michael," the man who had been nicknamed 'Zeke' suddenly said.
Michael frowned, but before he could say anything the man shouted:
"Alex!!"
To the castaway's surprise, a brown-haired teenage girl emerged from the bushes, making Sawyer wonder how many of those Others were hidden there, watching them.
"Go with Michael," the man instructed her. "He'll take you to your mother."
Alex seemed to be in shock for a moment, before a smile appeared on her face.
"Her mother?" Locke wondered.
"Danielle Rousseau," the bearded man informed him.
"You took Rousseau's kid? Is that what you do? Take the children away from their parents?" Jack said with obvious disgust.
But the bearded man didn't seem to mind Jack's attitude.
"I'll explain everything in a moment Jack. Right now, I know Michael is anxious to leave."
Michael nodded and, with his hand on his son's shoulder, he exchanged goodbyes with his friends. They didn't know if they'd see one another again, but no one wanted to stretch the adieus longer than necessary. Slowly, one by one, the castaways followed Michael into the bushes.
"Good luck, Alex," the man said.
Alex turned around and gazed at him.
"Thanks, Tom," she said without much warmth before turning her back to him and disappearing from their view.
"So, Jack, you want to know why we took Alex?" the man Alex had called Tom began when everybody had sat down.
"Yes, and Claire, too, while you're at it," Jack said curtly.
"Well, you all know why we took Walt, don't you? We took Walt to allow Michael to realise that he could be a father to his son. He needed to be conscious of that, or he'd have lost his child forever."
Tom paused for a second, gazing successively at each of them to make sure they understood. Nobody moved or spoke, so he continued.
"Same thing with Alex. Before Danielle had her, she murdered all her team, including her baby's father, under the pretext of some illness. Well, no such thing exists on this island. Tell me, Jack, how could we leave such a woman to take care of an infant? We took Alex, waiting for Danielle to show us proof she could provide what her daughter needed."
"And it took 16 years???" Sawyer exclaimed in disbelief.
"Yes," Tom confirmed. "Until you came on this island, she had no one to interact with. We couldn't know for sure she was ready. Now... we know."
"Were you afraid Claire would harm the baby?" Kate asked.
"Well, Kate, even though we knew Claire had planned to give him up... We weren't afraid she'd harm him. But we knew that letting her deliver the baby in the middle of the jungle wasn't the safest way to go. So we took her, planning on keeping them with us afterwards. They would have been more comfortable with us anyway, you know."
Ignoring a dubious look from Jack, the man added:
"When she escaped, we decided to let her go, but to keep a close eye on her. We sent Ethan to do that... But we didn't know he had fallen for Claire. He couldn't stand the idea of letting her go. He went crazy."
"That's why he killed Steve," Sawyer said.
"That's Scott. Steve is alive," Locke retorted absently.
"You know, I'm still wondering what does it have to do with you anyway. Why did you have to get mixed up in our lives?" Jack asked.
"I've told you before," Tom explained patiently. "This island is very special. It brings people here from time to time to fix them. Then they leave. We don't want you here, we're helping so you'll go sooner. This island is our safe haven."
"How could an island possibly take a plane down?" Kate wondered, puzzled.
Tom smiled.
"You remember Desmond, do you?" Kate nodded, so he continued, "Well, he was in the hatch for three years, I believe you know that. One day, he didn't push the button on time. The powerful electromagnetic field surrounding the island was released at the exact time your plane flew over the island. And it caused it to break apart and crash."
"It's just a coincidence, then," Jack pointed out.
Tom shook his head.
"No. There are no coincidences here, Jack. You should know this by now."
"Why isn't this island on any map?" Eko wanted to know.
"Because this electromagnetic field works as a shield... it's like this island is in a snowglobe. That's why your raft came right back."
Eko had another question.
"When we disabled the security system, the sky seemed brighter… I guess it means the snowglobe is no more, is that right, Tom?"
Tom smiled approvingly at Eko.
"You're right, Eko. Now, planes and boats can see the island. When you go back to your camp, you can radio for help again. This time, they'll hear."
Kate and Sawyer exchanged a look. They both knew it was now totally out of the question to go back to their beach. They would have to find a way to escape, and soon.
"When you leave, the security system will be reset and we'll be hidden again," Tom added.
A silence followed these words, everyone trying to grasp the implications of them. After a while, Tom stared at Locke, who had been strangely silent through all the explanations.
"So, John, have you made your decision?" he asked to the castaways' surprise, except John's.
Not faltering, Locke replied:
"Yes," he confirmed. "I'm coming with you."
It was like Jack had been stabbed.
"What?? What do you mean, John?" he exclaimed. "You want to stay with them?"
He just couldn't believe it.
"Yes, that's exactly what I want, Jack," Locke replied serenely. "This island… I've never felt more at home, more comfortable anywhere. I feel alive, I feel… I feel whole. This is where I was supposed to be. This is my destiny, Jack."
Long seconds passed during which no one dared speak; would Jack once again try to decide what was best for someone else?
"Are you sure it's what you want, John?" he asked rather calmly.
Locke smiled a little, seeming almost proud.
"Yes, Jack, it's what I want."
"Then… good luck, John."
In a move that would have been surprising not that long ago, Jack and John shook hands and even hugged briefly. It was obvious both men had a lot of respect for one another. Eko followed, exchanging a few words and a handshake with the man he had a one main thing in common with: faith.
Then it was Kate's turn and she made it quick. She knew she would never see John again and it saddened her. There had been a time in her life when she used to leave the people she cared about without regrets, but that time was gone. She and John had never been that close; but they had been through a lot and she had always respected him. She was glad he had found what he was looking for out of life.
Sawyer was the last one to shake Locke's hand.
"Well, never though you'd find yourself friends as… strange as you are" he said, smirking. As he had made a habit of, Locke chuckled, not offended at all. "Glad you found what you wanted," Sawyer added, now serious.
"I wouldn't have found peace without you, James, I've told you before. And… I'm proud of you, you know. You'll make a great husband to Kate," Locke said with a grin.
"Husband? Well, we're not there yet," Sawyer replied, taken aback. He was glad Kate was out of earshot. The idea that Kate could decide to spend her entire life with him, to commit to him, seemed preposterous to him. Not that he wouldn't give everything he had for that to happen, but he was having a hard time believing it could.
"You're closer to being ready than you think, James. Your love is strong. Have faith in it."
As Sawyer pondered over Locke's answer, Tom spoke again.
"Time to go, John. They have more to do," he said, referring to Eko, Jack, Kate and Sawyer.
Smiling and not looking back, John followed Tom.