"Sure, you can absolutely wait a few months before you launch. I was just assuming you didn't want to die."
Lena had just been helping out at the raft when one of the survivors started talking about how they had to launch now. She was pretty sure his name was Arzt.
"So when can we launch?" Michael asked, annoyed.
"3, maybe 4 months." Arzt replied.
"Come on, even a weather man on TV doesn't know what'll happen." Sawyer complain. "Why the hell are we listening to Arzt?"
"Because I'm a doctor, and you're a hillbilly." Arzt retorted. Lena almost laughed, but she refrained.
"You're a damn high school science teacher."
"Sawyer, just let the guy talk." Jack intervened. Arzt, instead of even acknowledging Jack, continued on obnoxiously.
"It's been raining every afternoon." He said. "You know what that means? Monsoon season, which is bad. Now, the winds are blowing north, and that's where you want to be?"
"And?" Lena asked, very irritated with him.
"It means that when monsoon season hits, the winds will shift to the south." Arzt explained. "The raft goes with the wind. Can anyone tell me what is the only piece of land that is south of us?"
He's acting like we're all high school students, Lena thought.
"Antarctica." Jack answered.
"That's right, Jack, Antarctica." Arzt said. "And I don't think you all want to end up there."
"So when do we have to leave?" Michael asked.
"Yesterday."
…
Michael, Jack, and the others made plans for the raft to set sail tomorrow. Michael assured everyone that he could have it ready by then, and Lena sure hoped so. She did not want to be stuck on this island any longer.
There was just one slight problem: the fourth spot on the raft. Kate and Sawyer had been fighting over it all day.
And now, it seemed, was the climax.
Sawyer grabbed Kate's backpack as a large crowd started to gather around the two of them. Lena joined, her hand placed on her sword just in case.
"Look at this!" Sawyer yelled, dumping out the bag's contents.
"Sawyer, please." Kate whispered. Lena moved forward to stop him, but them something held her back.
This is between them.
"You all remember Johanna, don't you? The woman who drowned?" Sawyer said, holding up a passport. "Now, what's Kate doing with poor Johanna's ID? Could it be she'd do just about anything to get on that raft? So she could get herself rescued, run off with a new identity before half the reporters in the world descend on this damn island? She might even poison the captain himself."
"Shut up!" Kate shouted, but Sawyer wasn't finished.
"She doesn't care about nothing or nobody but herself." Sawyer continued. Lena mentally objected. If anyone only cared about themselves, it was Sawyer. She was about to say this when-
"Tell us the truth, Kate." Sawyer said.
"Yes, okay!" Kate exclaimed. "I was on the plane, with the Marshal. Yes, I was wanted and caught and being transported back. Not matter what I say about what happened, I'm going to jail. But Michael, I didn't poison you."
Kate? A criminal?
But the more Lena thought about it, the more it made sense. The way she never, ever talked about her past, and how she always seemed so tense and prepared to run.
Always ready to run.
…
"Hey." Lena said, sitting down next to Kate. It was nighttime now, and she was sitting by the fire. Sawyer had gotten the spot on the raft.
"Hey yourself." Kate replied. "I'm surprised you're even here. Most people are avoiding me as much as they can."
"Yeah, well I won't." Lena said. "Everyone has their secrets Kate, something to hide. Yours just happened to be revealed."
"Honestly, I'm glad it was." Kate said. "I hated having to lie to everyone." Lena didn't say anything, just stared into the rising flames, lighting up the night sky.
…
"Thank you for coming, Miss Ashford." The lawyer said as he sat down. "I know how hard this must be for you."
Lena only nodded. She was there because of Joseph's suicide note. Apparently, he had made one request and it was for her.
"I'm sorry, but I will have to read the note out loud." He said. "It is standard procedure."
"That's alright." Lena whispered. The lawyer unfolded the letter and cleared his throat.
"'Lena. I'm sorry I'm leaving you, but I have to do this. Just don't forget me, okay. And take my name. That way you'll always have a piece of me. Goodbye, Jospeh.'" The lawyer read. Lena felt tears stinging her eyes, but she made no effort to wipe him away.
"Can I do that?" Lena asked. "Take his name?"
"That's why I'm here, Miss Ashford." The lawyer said. "I can make it legal. If you would like to change your surname to Hale, that would be the most common response."
Lena thought about it. She wanted to honor Joseph's wishes, but she didn't want to change her last name, either. She couldn't dishonor her mother.
"I will make Hale my middle name." Lena decided. "I don't have one, anyways."
"I thought you might do that." The lawyer said, pulling out a sheet of paper. "All you need to do is sign here." He handed Lena a pen, and she took it. After only a millisecond of hesitation, she signed the paper.
She was now Lena Hale Ashford.
…
"Damn, you are a really heavy sleeper."
Those, and the not-so-gentle shaking of her arm was what woke Lena up. She was greeted by Kate standing over her, being the one who caused Lena's sleep to end.
"Kate whatever-your-last-name-is, how dare you wake me up." Lena muttered tiredly.
"The French woman is here."
And just like that, Lena was wide awake.
"What do you mean?!" Lena demanded. "She just walked into our camp?" Kate nodded, and Lena followed her gaze to see that, in fact, who she assumed was the French woman was standing in the middle of the beach, surrounded by the other survivors.
Lena ran over, with Kate not too far behind. Sayid was the only one who dared to get close to the woman with the shotgun.
"Danielle?" Sayid said softly. "What are you doing here." Danielle. That must have been her first name. Danielle Rousseau.
"The Others are coming." Danielle replied sharply.
"Others?" Sayid asked. "What do you mean? What Others?"
"Our ship crashed on this island 16 years ago." Danielle began. Oh great, a history lesson. "There were 6 of us. At the time, I was 7 months pregnant. I delivered the infant myself. We were only together for 1 week when I saw a pillar of black smoke 5 kilometers inland. That night, they came and took her. Alex. They took my baby. And now they're coming again, for all of you."
"Who is coming?" Jack asked in a slightly irritated tone. Lena agreed with him on this one. Danielle had given a very vague explanation.
"The Others." Danielle repeated. "You only have 3 choices: Run, hide, or die."