Sink Or Swim

Chapter 54

*author's note: FINALLY done season 5! Flashsideways here I come. Since the girls were dead two years at the time of the crash they are now two years older. Another OC for lost is bugging me….oh fun. (Said with author sarcasm)

"Mom? Earth to mom," Mac heard with her eyes closed as she leaned against her seat on the plane.

Mac opened up her eyes and looked around. "Sofia…..what is it?"

"Paige was blabbing about the visit to grampa again," the 14 year old complained.

Mac smiled. "Well it was an exciting trip, being in Australia and all wasn't it Paige?"

The 9 year old nodded. "Yes."

"Don't be so hard on your sister, Sofia, sisters are very important. I know it doesn't seem like that now, but you'll come to rely on each other as adults," she informed them as the plane shook. She grabbed the side of her seat. The fasten seat belt sign coming on.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the captain has turned on the "fasten seat belts" sign," the flight attendant's voice came over the PA as the rattling stopped.

"Girls put on your seat belts," she instructed her daughters.

"But the rattling stopped," Paige pointed out. "It's not like we're going to crash on some deserted island.

Sofia shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Surviving a plane crash would highly impossible away."

Mac laughed. "OK you two, just put on your seat belts ok?" she questioned her daughters' as the fasten seat belt dinged again.

"Sorry about the unexpected bumps, folks. We just hit a pocket of rough air. It should be a smooth ride from here on out," a male's flight attendant voice came over the PA.

"Mom you ok?" Sofia asked her mother.

"Yeah, fine," she assured her daughters as she looked out the window.

On-Island -

Mac sat up as she rubbed the back of her head as she spotted Jack on the ground. "Jack!" she yelled as she saw Kate as she ran to him.

"Jack? Jack," Kate cried. "Can you hear me? Jack!"

"What happened? Where are we?" Jack questioned.

"At the hatch," Kate explained.

Mac and Jack walked over and looked down the crater. "What? They built it?" Jack asked dumbfounded.

"We aren't in 1977 anymore," Mac pointed out.

"Yeah. They built it," Kate agreed.

Sawyer kicked Jack down the crater. "You son of a bitch."

"Sawyer!" Kate and Mac screamed at the same time, as Kate started to climb down after Jack.

"Uhh!" Jack groaned.

"You were wrong!" Sawyer screamed as he started to climb down.

"Sawyer stop!" Mac ordered as she grabbed him.

"That's the damn Swan hatch-blown up just like we left it before we started jumping through time! You said we could stop it from ever gettin' built! That our plane would never crash on this Island!" Sawyer shouted at him.

"Stop it!" Kate yelled up at him.

"This ain't LAX!" Sawyer pointed out. "Let go of me, Mac," he hissed as he pulled his arm away.

"Sawyer stop!" she warned.

"Stop it!" Kate repeated.

"You blew us right back where we started! Except Juliet's dead. She's dead, you son of a bitch, 'cause you were wrong!" Sawyer exclaimed.

"Sawyer... I'm sorry. I thought we were supposed to... I thought it would work," Jack informed him solemnly.

"Well, it didn't!" Sawyer told him.

"Sawyer this isn't going to do Juliet any good!" Mac screamed at him. "I'm going back to the van, to Sayid, come with me."

"You think you're any less guilty then him drill sgt?" Sawyer screamed at her accusingly. "You and Sayid went along with him, you think I want to go back there and try and help save him. It should have been you, not her. Why you come back here Mac? She got you off this island to have your son. Now what do you have?"

"Sawyer stop it!" Kate warned.

"No, Kate let him scream, it may not help but it'll make him feel better. Plus he's right," she acknowledged.

"Your daughter's are very pretty," Mac heard a woman's voice tell her as she looked across the aisle.

"Thanks," she acknowledged as she looked at her daughters' slept. "Mackenzie Grayson," she introduced herself.

"Ana Lucia Cortez," she introduced extending her hands. "What were you guys in Australia for?"

"Visiting my father and his wife," she explained. "You?"

"Taking care of some business," she answered. "Long trip."

"Yes it is, I could do without the turbulence," she stated.

"Yeah, makes a long trip that much longer," Ana agreed. "How old are your daughters? Sorry if I'm being to noisy."

Mac laughed. "No, it's fine. Sofia's 14, and Paige is 9."

"Ladies and gentlemen, nothing to be alarmed about, but if there is a doctor onboard could you please press your call button?" the flight attendant stated on the PA.

Mac looked at up and then watched the flight attendant go to the front of the plane. "That doesn't sound good," she stated.

"Someone probably did something stupid," Ana told her. "It's best to stay out of it, it seems they have it handled."

Mac walked from the site on her way to the van as she spotted Jin. "Jin! Sayid?"

Jin looked at her. "He's hanging on. It did not work?"

"No, it didn't. They're at the site, I'm going back to the van," Mac answered soberly and walked off with purpose. She grabbed the side of the steadying herself before going in.

She heard Sayid cough, gag and wheeze before she went in. "Hey…..Hurley how is he doing?"

"Don't worry, dude. Everything's gonna be fine," Hurley told him as he looked at Mac.

"Hey why don't you take a break Hurley I got it," she told him, as she put Sayid's head on her lap. "Hey….."she greeted as she kept her voice calm.

"It did not work?" he questioned as he coughed.

"No…." she answered. "Hey you need to stop talking ok?"

"When I die... what do you think will happen to me?" Sayid questioned.

"I've tortured more people than I can remember, I've murdered. Wherever I'm going…" he lowered his voice, "it can't be very pleasant."

"Sayid, come on," Hurley stated from outside the van.

"I deserve it," Sayid assured them.

"Hurley give us some privacy, ok?" Mac pleaded, as she watched him leave the area. "Sayid, look at me, focus on my voice ok?"

Sayid looked up at her. "How did you…..ever love me?"

"Hey, stop that right now ok? We're all capable of good and evil," she told him as she touched his face. "All that you've done, you redeemed yourself. OK? And don't you EVER doubt that I loved you," she told him, her voice breaking. "I needed this to work so I wouldn't have to say goodbye again. I've done that to much," she informed him.

"You do not have to say goodbye," Sayid told her as he coughed. "Tell our son," he started.

Mac fought back the tears in her eyes. "Don't you leave me Sayid. Don't you make me bury you! I don't think I can handle burying another person I love."

Hurley looked in the van. "Um…sorry dude…they're back," he told her.

Mac nodded as Jack entered. "He's not doing to good Jack," Mac told him, her voice breaking.

Jack started to exam in. "Even if I could get the bullet out, bleeding won't stop, there's nothing I can do for him," Jack explained.

"There's somethin' I can do. There's a temple, if we can get Sayid there we can save him," Hurley told them.

"And you know this how?" Miles questioned in a demanding tone.

"This guy Jacob told me just before you got here," Hurley told them.

"No one was here when I got here, Hurley," Mac told him.

"He's dead," Hurley explained.

"Who's Jacob?" Jack demanded.

"Does it matter? Can you fix Sayid, Jack?" Hurley questioned.

"No," Jack admitted.

"Then you're gonna have to let me do it," Hurley told them.

Jack and Jin get Sayid out of the DHARMA van - Juliet's body is covered, next to the van - Hurley takes the guitar case out of van.

"Are we gonna sing Kum Ba Yah on the way?" Miles teased.

"It's not a guitar man," Hurley told him.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, captain Norris here, we're now beginning our final descent into Los Angeles international airport, I'm happy to tell you it's a beautiful day in Los Angeles, 72 degrees, 6 miles visibility and winds outta the south-west at 5 miles an hour," the captain's voice stated over the PA system.

"Girls, wake up, we're almost home. Buckle up," she told them as she straightened up her seat.

"I'll be putting on the fasten seat belt sign now, we'll be on the ground in just a few minutes, thank you so much for flying Oceanic Air," the captains voice said again.

"Glad to be home?" Ana asked.

"Think so," Mac answered as the plane landed, her standing getting her carry on bag and the girls from the over head department.

"Being in the back, we're going to be the absolutely last people off this plane," Paige moaned.

"Just start moving, we'll be fine," Mac instructed. "Nice to meet you," she told the other woman as she started to move.

On-Island - Jack, Jin, Sayid, Kate, Mac, Hurely approach the wall surrounding temple.

"That's a big wall," Hurley pointed out.

"How're we gonna get him over the top?" Jack questioned.

Hurley goes to the hole and looked down. "We're not, we're bringing him in through here."

"This is going to be fun," Mac pointed out as she went down the hole. Hurley finds Montand's skeleton. Kate finds a bag and empties it, Hurley sees a book.

"Who brings a book into a cave?" Hurley questioned as Mac found a torch taking it and handing it to Kate to light. "And why is his arm missing?"

"It was ripped off when he was attacked by the black smoke," Jin stated.

"Well, this is gonna be awesome," Hurley stated.

"Can we move?" Mac begged.

"Yeah, lets go," Jack agreed as they started to make their way through the jungle and all come up to a hole in the ground. "Watch your step," he advised.

"Yeah," Kate agreed.

Mac stopped, holding up her hand as she heard whispers. "Are you freaking kidding me?" she questioned, then she heard guns cock around her.

"Let's go," one of the guards tell them leading them to the temple.

Mac looked at the man who started to speak Japanese. "Dare da omaetachi (誰だ 御前達―Who are you?"

"Who are you?" a translator repeated.

Cindy appeared. "I know who they are. They were on the first plane. Oceanic 815 along with me."

"Cindy…" Mac greeted.

"They should not have come here. Seeing this place is unforgivable. Ute! Shoot them!"

"You sure?" the translator questioned as the man walked away. He shrugged "Shoot 'em."

"Wait!" Mac screamed.

"Woah, wait, no!" Jack pleaded.

"Jacob sent us!" Hurley added.

The Japenese man came back. "What did you just say?" he questioned as the other man translated.

"I said, Jacob sent us. He said, you would help our friend," Hurley explained and pointed to Sayid.

"Have you encountered Jacob? Prove it!" the man said in Japanese.

"He wants you to prove it," the translator stated.

"Uh…" Hurley hesitated.

"He is lying! Shoot them!" the man said as an other cocked his rifle.

"He gave me that guitar case!" Hurley screamed.

"Did you look inside it?" the translator questioned.

"Maybe," Hurley admitted.

The Japanese man opened up the guitar case to reveal a large wooden Ankh. He holds it up to examine it and then breaks it in half.

"Dude!" Hurley screamed.

Dogen extracts a piece of paper within the Ankh and reads it.

"What are your names?" The translator questioned.

"Hugo. Hugo Reyes. Tell him," Hurley told the others.

"Jin Soo-Kwon," Jin answered.

"Kate Austen," Kate answered.

"Jack Shephard," Jack introduced himself.

"Mackenzie Jarrah," Mac answered.

"What about him?" the translator asked.

"Sayid Jarrah," Jack answered.

The Japanese man folded up the paper, saying something in Japanese.

"Pick him up - get him to the spring," the translator translated.

"Hey, excuse me, I carried that case across the ocean and like, through time, so I wanna know what that paper says," Hurley told him.

"The paper said that if your friend there dies, we're all in a lot of trouble," the translator explained.