Okay, here you have it, Chapter 26. This is getting harder and harder to write with each chapter but we are getting closer to the end.
Chapter 26
On a prayer,
In a song,
I hear your voice,
And it keeps me hanging on.
Oh, raining down, against the wind.
I'm reaching out,
'Till we reach the circle's end.
When you come back to me again.
When you come back to me again.
Sayid had taken over for his shift of steering the boat. He watched Sawyer as he sat at the edge of the deck looking out over the horizon for any sign of the island. They had all worried about him. He barely spoke and when he did he seemed to have reverted back to the angry man he'd once been. For the most part they'd all just left him alone, although this posed some difficulty considering they were on a boat in the middle of the ocean. The only one that seemed to be able to keep him in check was Rachael and they'd all assumed it was because she reminded him of Juliet.
"How are Claire and the baby?" Sayid asks when he sees Jack climb up the ladder onto the deck.
"Doing wonderfully" he replies. "She had just as easy of a delivery as she had the last time".
"So all is going according to plan so far" he asks.
Jack nods, "So far so good". He notices Sawyer sitting at the edge of the boat.
"Has he been sitting there all morning?"
Sayid nods, "Tried to get him to talk to me but all I get is sarcastic Sawyer"
"Are we still on course?" asks Jack
"Right on target, based on the coordinates we should start seeing the island by sundown"
Sun and Jin come up onto the deck.
"What are our plans when we get there?" Jin asks.
"We need to find the statue", Sun pipes up.
The three men look at her questioningly and she continues to speak. "This morning I had more flashes of memories. After Flight 316 landed, I stayed in the present, the rest of you landed in 1977" She proceeds to tell them what happened to her after flight 316 up until the flash when she was back in their current present with Jin.
"But John died before Flight 316" Sayid says confused.
She nods, "Except that John was alive again after Flight 316 landed"
"He couldn't have just come back to life", says Jack. "The island was a lot of things, but resurrection?"
"Okay, let's look at what we know" replies Jin. "You all said that John died this time after 815, he was listed by the media as a casualty of the curse"
Jack nods, "Four days after 815 landed in LA he died of a brain aneurism". He pauses a moment and then continues. "You said Ben was with you after 316 landed" he says directing is comment to Sun.
Sun nods, "He seemed to follow John's every command"
"So, whoever or whatever John was, he had taken over power from Ben?" asks Sayid.
"It seemed that way to me" replied Sun. "John told Ben he wanted to talk to Jacob. Richard Alpert led us all to the statue. It was shortly after Ben and Locke went inside that the flash happened."
Sawyer had been listening to their conversation and he finally gets up and goes over to the group.
"So, did the flash happen because Juliet detonated the damn hydrogen bomb, like we first thought it did? Or because of whatever happened inside that statue?" he chimes in, first in an angry tone and then softening just a bit.
They all look up at him, surprised he'd joined their conversation.
"I guess that's what we need to figure out" says Jack.
"What if everything that happened here, happened for a reason" John's voice rings through Jack's head.
Jack had been trying to remember his previous encounters with John Locke. Had there been truth to what the man had been trying to tell him? Before John had killed himself, in their alternate life he'd written Jack a letter. "I wish you had believed me" were the only six words written on the piece of paper. Was there more to the meaning of that letter? He now wondered.
"When we get to the island then, first we go after Juliet then we go for the statue?" Jin asks, looking towards Sawyer.
"Sounds like we have a plan then", says Sayid. "When we find the island, we'll try to circle the boat around as close to the Dharma barracks as we can."
Sawyer leaves the group and goes down into the boat.
"Hey Sawyer", Kate says turning from the table when she hears him coming down the stairs.
"Freckles" he says walking by her without saying much else.
"James" she says jumping up and grabbing his arm. "Don't do this"
"Don't do what Kate?" he asks.
"Block the rest of us out" she says turning his head so they were looking eye to eye.
"You don't get it do you Freckles, none of you get it"
"Yeah James we do get it. She's not gone, Ben isn't going to hurt her"
He looks down. "I made her a promise Freckles, I promised her I would kill Ben before I ever let him get his hands on her"
Before she can speak they are interrupted by a voice from up on the deck.
"I see it, there it is" they hear Hurley's voice.
Both scramble up the steps and onto the deck, in the distance they can see land.
James says a silent prayer hopefully soon this would all be over.
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Juliet opens her front door and is greeted by Alex.
"Hey Alex", she says opening the door further letting the young woman in her house.
"Hi Dr. Burke"
"Call me Juliet, please. Julian's still sound asleep, so you should have a bit of quiet time this morning"
For the past three mornings, Alex had been coming over to watch Julian while Juliet worked at the clinic. Still recuperating from her accident she had found that by lunchtime she was exhausted and needed to come home to rest for the afternoon. She had decided that while she waited for whatever was going to happen she at least needed to be productive. In the alternate past she'd had a great relationship with Alex, and that same relationship seemed to have been built in this reality. She'd been nervous the first morning when she'd left Julian with the young woman but when she'd come home and found Julian curled up on the couch with her she decided that in this reality too, Alex would be one that she could trust. As well as feeling productive, working at the clinic allowed her to get to know the people of Dharma-Ville. She found that the majority of the people she remembered. There were very few members of the 'Others' that she didn't recognize. Thus far, it seemed that Ben was the only one that remembered their other reality.
"You now where to find me if you need me. I'll be home at lunchtime", she tells Alex as she heads out the door.
She runs into Goodwin as she walks through the Barracks to the clinic.
"Mornin' Dr. Burke" he says catching up with her and walking with her.
"Hey Goodwin" she says, keeping pace with him.
"I hear you are working at the clinic now, that's great" he says.
In the distance she can see Ben glaring at the pair of them. She stops and looks at Goodwin. During the night she had come up with a plan which she needed Goodwin's help with.
"Come to the clinic later, I need to talk to you" she says. "Make sure that Ben doesn't see you come"
He looks at her sceptically.
"Please Goodwin, don't ask questions. Just come alone"
He nods, turns and walks away from her. She looks back at Ben, he had a smirk on his face. She shoots him icy blue glare, turns and walks towards the clinic.
"Be damned if Ben is going to take away anyone or anything else I care about" she thinks to herself.
Two hours later the clinic was empty. She turns when she hears his voice.
"You came" she says somewhat surprised.
"I almost didn't" he replies, "But I can't shake this feeling of familiarity that I have for you. I had to come"
She approaches the door, looking out and then locking it behind her. She turns back to Goodwin.
"I need to ask you something, and you can't ask questions because I can't tell you the answers" she says.
He looks at her with an unsure look.
"I need you to take Alex and Julian and get away from the Barracks
"But" he starts.
"You are right", she says before he can continue. "There is a reason that I am familiar to you. We have met before, but I can't explain it right now.
"Juliet" he says shaking his head. "That's crazy, why would I take Alex and Julian and leave?"
"Because", she starts. "Things are going to happen here and I don't want any of you caught in the cross fire"
"Where should we go?" he asks.
"Hydra Island" she says. "You'll be safe there, I think"
"You think?"
"Goodwin, I don't know exactly what's going to happen. Ben brought me here against my will. He kidnapped my nephew and forced me to come back to the island"
"Come back to the island?" he looks at her sceptically. "Juliet, I think you need to explain this all a little better"
"I can't explain, not yet. I can tell you that there are people coming for me and for Julian. When they get here Ben is going to fight. I don't want you, Alex or Julian caught in the crossfire. When it's all over I promise, I will tell you everything. But I need you to do this for me. I need you to keep Julian safe"
For a few moments he thinks it over, "Alright" he finally says, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't understand this one bit, but I'm going to trust you" he tells her.
"Thank you. When this is all over I will come back to Hydra Island to get you. Don't come back till we come for you"
"Got it" he says with a nod, "I'll make the necessary arrangements. We'll leave after dark tonight" he says.
"And I'll make sure Alex and Julian are both ready" she says.
He turns and leaves the clinic leaving Juliet alone again. "This has to work", she thinks to herself.