A/N:I wasn't going to update again this soon but I thought it'd be a nice thing to do since you guys have rocked my socks so much. Thank you as well for the well-wishing, reconstruction on my house has begun and we're on our way to being good as new.I'm hoping sooner than later! Special kudos and recognition goes to anyone who can give me the best idea for something AU to stick into this thing that works and doesn't put the rest of my outline out of wack. I like writing what you want to see so keep those suggestions coming. Enjoy this chapter and hopefully I can update again in a few days.

INSERT DISCLAIMER (See Chapter One).

As always , please remember flashbacks are in italics

Chapter Twenty-Four: Discoveries

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"It's not unusual to be loved by anyone!" Faith hummed along to the loud music and continued to shuffle through the record collection. "It's not unusual to have fun with anyone!" She wiggled her nose in distaste, tossing another record back on the shelf before going on to the next, her eyes scanning the tracks.

A hand reached out to turn down the dial of the player and without turning her head, Faith caught Sayid's wrist.

"Don't touch the Jones."

Sayid chuckled as he pulled back and she released him still looking at the record. "Then I must request perhaps you turn it down just a bit?"

Faith shrugged but reached over to turn the dial downwards a few notches. She shifted her attention back to the records, sliding the one in her hand back on the shelf. "Would you look at these, it's like being in the Twilight Zone yo." She tapped the sides of the records, "The Dils, The Yardbirds, The Toys?" She shot him a teasing grin. "And my personal favorite the Hampton Grease Band."

Sayid smiled and nodded as he ran his eyes over the shelf. "This place certainly gives off a World War II vibe." He turned his attention back to her. "As far as I can tell, most of the things in this hatch are at least twenty to thirty years old. The washer and dryer seem to be the most up-to-date electrical devices."

Faith leaned past him to see Locke still in the dome. "So what about the computer? Think a button really controls the destiny of the known world?"

"To be honest Faith, it sounds like something out of a science fiction novel. The only problem is, we have no way of exactly knowing what will happen if we don't push the button as the film instructed."

"I'm the only one who's ready to find out I guess." She turned away from the shelf and flopped down on a sofa chair. "Not that I'm surprised by that."

Sayid took a seat in the chair adjacent to her, leaning his elbows on his knees as he clasped his hands and studied her. "I have come to realize that with each passing day I know you that I hardly even know you at all."

"Do you ever really know a person? I mean, sure, I'd be more than willing to tell you my favorite color or ice cream flavor if I had one but when it comes down to it, does it really matter?" Faith propped her elbow up on the armrest and placed her chin up on her palm. "You don't strike me as the type to let things go so fine, what the hell, let's play a game. You can ask me something and I'll ask you something back. First person that doesn't want to answer or that asks a question out of turn loses."

"You like games?"

"I love games." Faith didn't remove her eyes from Sayid. "Just like Locke does. Right Locke?"

Locke shifted from his position by the doorway, his arms crossed against his chest. "Absolutely." He nodded. "Mind if I join you?"

Faith glanced between the two of them but shrugged, motioning him forward. She waited until he had scooted up a chair then pointed at Sayid. "You first."

He leaned back against the cushion of his chair. "How long did you know about the hatch?" Sayid ignored Locke's gaze as it lingered on him.

"I was there the first time Locke found it several weeks ago, but at that point, it was completely buried. We didn't know what it was or if it was even useful so we kept a secret until we had unburied it completely." She slid her eyes at Locke but then just as quickly focused back on Sayid. "How are things with Shannon?"

"They are… better." He cleared his throat. "She seems to believe the task of keeping Walt's dog safe is the one new mission in life that will redeem her."

"Hmm, imagine that." Faith nodded at Locke. "Your turn."

"Were you really the one handcuffed to the marshal?"

She swore under her breath but shook her head. "Nope, not me, but I've been in that situation before."

"Cuffed?"

"Ah, thanks for playing Locke but you just lost." Faith chuckled. He grinned back but they both turned their eyes to Sayid. "You're up soldier boy."

"What do you mean by situation?"

"Almost a year ago I was in a correctional facility for women because I made a mistake and it cost someone their life, that old song and dance." She was aware of how quiet it had gotten and cleared her throat. "What about you Sayid, what's the worst thing you've ever done?"

"Back in Iraq I tortured someone for information to help the enemy, I tortured someone who at one time trusted me to do what they believed was right, what I was supposed to believe was right. What I did was the one thing I promised myself to never do again." He leaned forward. "When I talked of torturing Sawyer before, you said you know what I was going through. What did that mean?"

"Oh come on, you don't think I'm this much of a bad ass because I'm good at making cookies do you?" Faith joked. "I made some mistakes, killed someone, tortured a few people, and ended up hurting everyone that ever trusted me. I'd say that about sums it up."

"Why-"

"Game over, thanks for playing." She lifted herself out of the sofa chair. "It's been lovely chatting but I feel the need to burn off some energy so if you'll excuse me…"

"Faith…"

She ducked back into the hallway, mindful of the fact they followed her.

"Faith, wait a minute."

"What?" She turned back around, placing her hands on her hips as she glared at them. "Is this where you offer me therapy sessions? Shoulders to lean on? Thanks but no thanks. Been there, done that, and I don't need them."

Sayid shook his head. "No but we-"

"Then what? Am I a suspect now? An Other? Should I be locked away?"

"We just want explanations, we want to get to know you. There's nothing wrong with that."

"Well then that's where you're wrong. Knowing me will get you hurt or worse and I don't want that on my conscious right now." She shot a sharp look at Locke. "At least not with what's already there."

The exit door to the hatch opened and shut and the three of them stood there, waiting until Jack appeared from the tunnel.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing." Faith turned as he came behind her. "What can we help you with Jackie?"

He shot her a look at hearing the nickname. "I was thinking it'd be a good time to start sorting out the food maybe."

"Ah, good thinking, you get right on that." She patted his shoulder as she started past him.

"And what about you?"

Faith kept going.

&&&&&&&

"It's around here somewhere." Hurley continued to shove aside vines. "I know that it's-" He stepped back as the door came swinging open and Faith poked her head out.

"Oh sup Hurley, what are you doing out here?" She looked over to see a middle-aged African American woman smiling at her. Faith narrowed her eyes. "What's the password?"

The woman glanced at Hurley in alarm.

"Just kidding." Faith shoved open the door, motioning them inside. "Jack's in there but no clue what he's doing, probably fussing at Locke or something."

Hurley nodded as he stepped inside and the woman followed. "This is Rose. She's gonna help me sort out some of the food."

"Ah, good idea." Faith acknowledged Rose with a nod of her head. "Have fun with that."

"Where are you going?"

She glanced back at Hurley with a shrug. "I was thinking maybe dinner and a movie." Faith grinned. "Tell King Jack and Nostradamus I'll be back later in time for my shift."

Faith turned and kept going as far as she could from the direction of the caves and the beach, going in any direction where she could be alone.

&&&&&&

It was a simple tree. A tree made of a long trunk and branches that were covered with green leaves but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to destroy it. Faith ran her hands over her face then squatted down, brown eyes staring at the tree. She had lost track of the time since she had come out deep into the jungle but the sun continued to shine down brightly on the island. No one had come for her. She figured that was a good thing.

She straightened and forced herself to focus harder on the tree.

"Maybe it'd be easier if you imagined it as a person."

She kept her eyes locked forward. "Go away."

"But I don't want to." The image of a British woman in her forties appeared beside her, dressed in a double-breasted pinstripe suit. She was several inches taller than Faith with long brown hair and blue eyes. Her face expressed knowledge beyond her years yet she still possessed a kindness that could be seen hovering just below the surface of her pale skin.

Just seeing her sent Faith back several steps.

"It will get easier as you continue your training."

Faith wiped the sweat from her forehead. She clutched nervously at the towel in her hand and glanced up. "What if it doesn't? I mean, what if this whole thing is a mistake."

"It's not a mistake." Elizabeth leaned forward to place a comforting hand on Faith's shoulder. "You were chosen to be the Slayer Faith, this is your destiny. Don't just listen to me because I'm your Watcher. Listen to what your heart is telling you as well. It will never steer you wrong."

She nodded and turned towards the door, hesitating as her hand griped the handle. "I've never had anyone that believed in me this much before… it's nice."

"I'll always be here for you Faith but in the end, what matters the most is you. You are the Slayer now."

"Seriously Faith, you must concentrate harder if you are ever to accomplish such trivial things."

"You're not her, so just go away." Faith eyed the First with a sneer. "You'll never be anything but an annoying shadow."

"True, no one will ever replace your first watcher but my word, look at me," The First motioned down at the clothes, "I do pull off a rather good impersonation."

"Did you come to talk me to death? Cause I'm thinking that war tactic might actually work."

"It seems to be doing a pretty good job so far." The First shape shifted and Boone appeared. "How about this, this better?" He shook his head. "No, of course not, you're still wounded by the loss of the Good Samaritan aren't you? You can't even save yourself Faith, what in the world makes you think you could have saved him?" The First shifted again. "I like this one personally."

Faith stared at Mayor Wilkins. "What do you want?"

"Hmm, the right answer is usually world peace but for some reason, I don't think it's gonna work for you. It doesn't work for me either so it brings us back to square one." The First mimicked placing his hands in his pockets and glanced around. "It's a shame really but you're just not ready. You have no idea what's going to happen in the next few weeks do you Faith?"

"I'm sorry, I seem to have misplaced my crystal ball."

The First chuckled. "Slayer humor, I tell you, it never gets old. Of course, if you had a crystal ball, it wouldn't have done you any good. The people on this island; I do enjoy watching them work. They're very smart, very driven."

She crossed her arms over her chest and shrugged. "Very annoying? Yeah, I got that part."

"Tell me Faith, when your darling Buffy had the witch do that trick with the scythe, what exactly happened?"

"Don't act like-"

"Just answer the question little girl."

She rolled her eyes. "Girls all over the world that had the potential to be a Slayer now could. They needed to be found and trained of course but unfortunately for you, they're out there."

"I seem to remember taking down your numbers a peg or two. Still, not the same amount of damage that was done to me but like I said before, you win some and you lose some." Mayor Wilkins form faded to be replaced by the preacher's. "You see Faith, and I say that word with double meaning, unlike you and some of your wannabes, I never lacked faith, I never lacked belief. It eventually led to my downfall at the hands of your beloved Buffy but what do you want? Nobody's perfect." He chuckled. "The human race is a funny thing. They can try over and over to persuade themselves that the things they can't see aren't real but that doesn't take away from the fact that they still exist. This isn't a dream, this isn't some game; this is a test to see how much you believe."

"In what?"

"Why, in you of course." Caleb smiled. "Unfortunately, belief alone isn't going to get you out of this alive. These others on the island, they have big plans for you and for the people on this island they deem worthy to take. It's a brilliant plan if I may say so myself."

"So what's the plan?"

"Now girly-girl, what would be the fun of watching if I knew how it ended?" The First shook his head. "No, I want to enjoy every minute of what's going to happen but I will tell you this, you're never going to see what's coming and when you finally do, it'll be like looking in a mirror." He flashed her another grin as he morphed one final time into the image of her first Watcher. "At least try to look on the bright side Faith. Maybe they'll make it quick and leave the torture process completely out of it. After all, it'd be a shame to bring back such fond memories wouldn't it?"

The First was gone in a flash of light and Faith finally let out the lengthy breath of air she had been holding back. With a scream, her first flew forward, splinters of wood flying in every direction.

Faith pulled back her hand, watching as the blood ran between her knuckles and slowly coated her fingers. Not once did she look towards what was left of the tree, its long trunk snapped clean in half.

&&&&&&&&

The alarm was beeping as she reentered the hatch and Faith grunted as she made her way towards the dome. Placing a hand on her hip, she narrowed her eyes at Hurley sitting there with his head down on the desk.

"Yo! The computer needs to stop beeping." She watched him jump straight up in the chair from surprise. "And I mean like literally… before I put my fist through it."

"Yeah dude, I know." Hurley punched in the code, hitting Execute and he sat back as the numbers reset themselves. He barely glanced her way again before placing his head back down on the table and Faith turned away with another grunt.

She found Jack standing at the sink and leapt up onto the counter next to him. "What's up Doc?" She tilted her head, "Do you ever randomly get the image of Bugs Bunny when someone says that to you?"

He chuckled but finished rinsing off the dish in his hand and sliding it into the rack on the other side of them. "Only when people say it a certain way." Jack glanced over at her, and the smile that had been on his face quickly disappeared. "Faith, what happened to your hand?" He reached over, grabbing her right wrist and pulled her towards him.

"I got into an argument?"

"With who? Sawyer's gone."

"Very funny." She smirked, "But no, not a person, a tree. I didn't like how it was looking at me." Faith yanked her hand away. "I'll be-"

"Don't even finish that sentence Faith." Jack shook his head as he stepped away, coming back not even a minute later with his bag. "Not everything has to always be five by five or whatever it is you like to say."

She watched as he pulled out bandages and other items. "You really don't have to-" Faith sighed as he jerked her hand towards him again and began to clean the blood off her fingers. "Alright."

Jack was quiet for a few minutes as he worked. "How'd this really happen?"

"I told you. There was a tree, sudden temper problem, bam! And then there was me with bleeding fingers. It's just one big mess of nothing you need to worry about."

"I can't help but worry Faith when you start showing up with blood on you. It wasn't that long ago you were-"

She was the one to cut him off this time. "Do you have to constantly remind me of what happened? I was there Jack, I'm the one who died and came back, trust me, the memory of it's not going anywhere anytime soon."

"I didn't mean it like that Faith."

"Why do you keep saying my name?" She rubbed at her forehead with her free hand. "I don't know what I'm saying right now, just ignore me." Faith lowered her hand. "You know the one thing that's been plaguing me though, is what happened to the Others? I mean, Danielle tell us they're coming, she hightails it, we wait, and then they never showed up."

Jack put the final touches on her wound, beginning to wrap it with some gauze. "I guess you didn't hear."

"Hear what?" Faith straightened her spine. "Hear what Jack?"

"Danielle, while we were gone, she took Claire's baby and was gonna try to make a trade with the Others."

"She was trying to see if they'd give her back Alex."

He nodded. "Sayid and Charlie went after her and found her standing where the smoke was coming and there was no one there."

She whistled. "I completely missed that newsletter. Damn, never knew Danielle had it in her, wicked tough situation you know? At least the baby's back and we still have some time." Faith paused, "Maybe I should go try to find Danielle and knock some information out of her, I haven't tried that yet, it could be useful."

"Maybe you should get some rest instead." Jack chuckled. "Not saying I don't think you handle yourself but you've been running on E for a couple days, you're gonna burn out if you don't get more sleep."

"No can do." Seeing how he was finished, Faith slipped her hand from his and jumped off the counter. "I have a date with Mr. Shower."

"There should be some shampoo in there already."

Her eyebrows rose. "Whoa Jack, been dipping in the funds already?"

Jack chuckled but shook his head. "Kate was in there earlier, said you'll come out smelling like sulfur but a shower is a shower."

"Got that right." Faith grinned. "Thanks Doc, I'm a hundred percent now." She went back into the hallway, not even looking towards the dome and made her way into the bathroom. She paused at hearing something loudly hitting the walls and backed up, head tilting as she looked down the long tunnel.

The tapping continued and she followed it, eyes trailing the wall as she walked.

"It's just me."

Faith took a step back as Sayid climbed out of one side of the tunnel and she squinted as she bent down to stare into the long, open shaft. "What in the world are you doing?"

"Desmond mentioned something to Jack about this place being a electromagnetic center. I've been basically crawling around to see how everything's connected but there's ten feet of concrete every direction I go."

"Someone sure did take a lot of time and effort into building this place."

"Exactly." Sayid nodded. "And the main question we need to figure out is why."

"Yeah," Faith snorted. "Good luck figuring that out." She noticed as his gaze lingered on her bandaged hand. "Disagreement with a tree." Faith turned to head back to the bathroom. "Don't ask."

&&&&&&&

The water from the shower had soaked her bandage, and she gritted her teeth as she ripped it clean off her hand. Her knuckles had already begun to heal. All I need is another thing for Jack to notice. Faith wrapped the towel around her damp body and climbed out of the stall.

"I take it the water was nice?"

"Thank you for waiting until I was done perv." She shut the shower door and shot an irritated look at Locke standing by the sink. "And yeah, considering I've been using cold water from the showers at the caves, the luke warm water was nice for a change."

He chuckled and leaned forward to finish shaving in the mirror. "The steam helps me shave since I can't seem to find any crème."

"I'm so happy for you." Faith looked into the mirror and stared at her reflection, taking silent note of the dark circles under her eyes.

"Been having bad dreams?"

"I don't think I'd call them dreams." Faith glanced around, eyebrows furrowing. "Where are my clothes?"

"In the washer, they were dirty."

"And what do you suggest I do in the mean time then? Show off our collection of towels Vanna White style?"

Locke chuckled again but shook his head, reaching over to grab a stack of clothes on his left. "Kate left these for you when she took your other clothes. She thought you guys were about the same size so they should fit."

"Ah, she's so thoughtful." Faith took the clothes from him. "I think she's secretly in love with me." She paused at the look he gave her. "Joke, damn!"

Locke smirked but shook his head, his eyes lingering lower than her face.

"So help me God, if you're looking at my-"

"Your hand."

"Oh." Faith shifted the clothes and she lowered her hurt hand down to her side. "That." She let out a weak laugh. "Big evil tree. I took care of it."

Locke turned to look at his reflection again as he began to wipe at his face. "I saw." He was quiet, wiping his hands before sitting his towel down on the counter.

Faith watched in silence, not moving one inch, waiting. He finally turned his head, locking eyes with her and she was irritated to see usual knowing the smile on his face.

"Hey Faith, my shift's up and –" Hurley paused in the doorway, eyes wide as he stared between Locke and Faith. He quickly turned around, embarrassed. "Dude, I didn't see a thing I swear."

She rolled her eyes but smiled. "Geez Locke, I guess the cat's out of the bag." Faith glanced at Locke one more time then made her way out of the bathroom, patting Hurley on the head as she went by.

&&&&&&&&

The alarm would begin beeping in forty-five more minutes. The very act of resetting it each time was tedious beyond describing and Faith flopped down on the couch with a heavy sigh. She tapped her fingers against her legs, eyes locked on the sight of her bag.

She made no move to reach for it. She didn't even look up as the person approached and stood in front of the coffee table, staring at her.

"The island healed you."

Her eyes traveled slowly up to settle on Locke's face and she didn't suppress the sneer that appeared on her lips. "Now is not a good time John."

"It healed you didn't it?" He was watching as if expecting confirmation but when seeing that she wasn't going to answer, he continued. "It did the same for me, this place. Wherever we are, it's special and more than I ever now I believe we're here for a purpose." Locke motioned towards the space beside her. "May I?"

Faith remained quiet but waved her hand nonchalantly, still looking at the bag as he took a seat beside her. They were both quiet for a few minutes when finally she cleared her throat. "Why exactly do you think the island healed you John?"

"I'm not sure but all I can think is so I could help us, help us find this hatch and find hope."

"Hope." Her lips twisted. "Hope of what?"

"I don't know the answer to that." He slid his hands to rest on the top of his knees. "Why do you think the island healed you? You died and it brought you back, why?"

"Jack brought me back."

"I don't believe that and neither do you."

"You're right, I don't believe that." Faith swung her gaze to his. "But I don't believe this healing island bullshit either."

"Then how do you explain it? How do you explain what you did today with that tree?" He kept his gaze steady with hers despite the heat behind her eyes. "I saw it Faith, I stood there and I watched as you basically snapped that three in half with one hand, one fist. How do you explain that?"

"I don't." She turned her head and he watched as she reached over her bag, unzipping it and bringing out a plastic video box. "I can't."

"What is that?"

"Something Desmond gave me." Faith stared down at the box. "He said it would help me, that it was meant to be watched, whatever that means. Guess the Orientation box you found wasn't the only thing worth watching in this joint."

"Think it's more instructions on what to do here? The other tape told us what we're supposed to do but it didn't exactly say why. Maybe that's what this tape does."

"If that's the point, why tell them at all?" She shook her head. "Besides, the so-called Orientation video was on a filmstrip, this is an actual VHS tape."

"They added it in later." Locke suggested, eyebrows up. "An updated version."

"Perhaps." Faith agreed. "But if that's the case then that means they still monitor this place and that your button may be a way of them monitoring whoever's here."

"We don't know that."

"Put it on the list." She snorted. "We also don't know what's on this tape because in case you haven't noticed, there aren't any video players in here."

"I don't get it. Why put a video tape in here if you can't play it?"

"I'm not sure it was ever meant to be in here." Faith cleared her throat again. "On the film strip, the text at the bottom with the symbol said this station was just one out of the six on the island."

Locke straightened up beside her as if the wheels in his head were beginning to turn faster. "That means the Others might be in the other stations, more people from Dharma maybe. Kelvin, the guy Desmond met, he might have been one of them."

"Maybe but more importantly, that means there has to be a video player in one of the other stations."

They both stared at the box.

"Looks like we're going hatch hunting."

Her grip tightened on the box and she glanced back at Locke again. The look on his face was one of relaxed anticipation mixed with optimism; he was watching her and actually waiting this time for her confirmation to his idea. It actually came across like he was leaving the final decision up to her, that he needed her to make it and agree with him before doing anything at all.

"Looks like it." She rose from the couch. "But first I need to show you something."

Locke's eyebrows furrowed but he nodded, rising from the couch as well, and he watched with confused eyes as she moved to stand in front of the gun closet.

A couple flicks of her wrist slid the door open and she shut it behind them, flipping on the overhead light.

"Faith, what are you-"

"The tape was in here."

"What?" Locke looked around. "Why would the tape be-"

"You ask too many questions man." Faith shook her head and went to the back wall. Her fingers felt along the wall until coming onto a raised section of concrete and she pressed down, straightening and stepping back just as the wall shifted in front of them. Without a word, she grabbed the raised side and pulled it forward, with her strength, the action easy and the door let out a small groan of resistance.

Locke's mouth was hanging open, his filled with curiosity and amazement. "He showed you this?"

"Yep." Faith ducked inside and he followed.

They both straightened, eyes scanning the room. Other than a cot and a wood end table, the small room was bare. Faith moved forward and opened the top drawer of the end table.

"Who in the world lived here?" Locke looked around. "It's barely enough room to do anything…"

"Besides sleep, I know. Desmond said he didn't even know the room was here until after the Kelvin guy died and he started poking around this place. It was pure luck he said that he found the wall trigger." Faith moved away from the end table and lifted up the loaded 9mm she held in her hands. "But it's pretty safe to say that whoever was staying in here had something to do with whatever is going on with the Island and they meant business."

"Wonder where they went."

"That's what I want to know. There's a shotgun under the cot but they didn't take that either."

He ran a hand over his head. "Think the video tape Desmond gave you will give us any clues?"

"I'm not sure." She shrugged putting the gun back. "Something tells me I might not want to know."