Wish You Were Here

Chapter Two

Author's Note: For you joy, peanut butter shippers, I decided to add in a Charlie/Claire story line. I'll try and get to it this fic, but plan to do it sometime in the future. Let's just say you'll get song writing Charlie and maybe, just maybe, a kiss. But not a romance kiss, because I agree with the producers on the C/C romance, it just doesn't need to happen right now. Really good friends, but not lovers, not yet.

"What's his name?"

"Where'd he come from?"

"What happened to him?"

"The plane crash, you idiot!"

"Where's Boone?"

"Jack, where's Boone?"

Jack eyes snapped opened from trying to reassure himself that he could do this again. Questions had meanwhile filled the air around him, demanding answers they knew he didn't have, but asked anyway, just because he was 'in charge'. Looking down, Jack saw that Kate was beside him, hands crossed. She had obviously been asking the question for awhile He looked around, and saw that Boone was, in fact, missing. The castaways looked around for the whereabouts of the by, and it was Sayid who saw the swift movement of cloth through the jungle trees. He took off after him, leaving Shannon to scream, "Sayid!" after him, and confused stares.

(Space)

Boone swore to himself that if he ever got off the stupid island, he'd go to the gym, and work out, something he'd always told himself he'd do, but never got around to doing it. Maybe it was his two jobs that got in the way. Being a lifeguard required a great deal of training, and swimming everyday, of course, but he hadn't been a very good one, and nothing had prepared for this. When he got back to camp, Boone felt like he was about to pass out. His head was pounding, heart was racing, and he was sweating beyond reason, but everyone was too preoccupied with the new castaway to notice, and who could blame him? During those few moments, Boone had completely forgotten about the transceiver, and the message, but had remembered while running through the jungle, escaping from nothing.

Panting, Boone rested his back against a tree, then leaned over, wheezing, as he tried to regain a steady breathing pace. He let out a few coughs of exhaustion before letting his head rest against his tree, and fumbled around the side pocket of his pack, where he kept his meds. Taking one, Boone let it does its work as he went through his usual debate of hating himself, telling himself he'd run out eventually, and might as well learn to deal with it now. Then he'd remember the horrifying face of his hallucination, the heart-raising voice, and the fact that it was, as he had recently learned, Locke's daughter.

"What're you doing?" Sayid's voice demanded from not to far away.

Boone shove the meds into his pocket, and forced himself up.

"I was just-" Boone quickly tried to think of a lie, "-I thought I was going to be sick. Hiking through the jungle with him and all."

"Did you find out who 'he' is?" Sayid asked.

Assuming that he had gotten away with the lie, Boone answered his question.

"No," Boone said, and beginning to walk into nowhere.

Hoping that Boone might accidentally lead him to wherever it was he and Locke went everyday, Sayid didn't protest, and just followed.

"When did the plane crash?" Sayid asked while noticing the side pocket of Boone's pack was unzipped, something that would go unnoticed to anyone who had given the bag so much as a glance before.

"Sometime early this morning," Boone said, recalling the previous nights events, "maybe two, three, sometime after-"

Boone stopped his sentence short. He had forgotten all about what happened with Sayid and Shannon, and began to feel a little uneasy about walking in the jungle alone with the same man who was able to knock him unconscious for over an hour. He figure if he was capable of forgetting with everything that had happened, maybe Sayid did too.

"After Locke fell," Boone finally finished, and held his breath waiting for Sayid to answer.

"Locke fell?" Sayid repeated.

Boone let out a breath of relief.

"Yeah," Boone said, "it was weird, he just- fell down."

He decided not to bring what Locke had said, the one thing that hadn't been able to escape his mind, into this. Later, he'd thought, he'd have to remember to ask Locke about it. What had startled Boone so much was how scared Locke looked. For the first time he had witnessed Locke really, really, afraid, something that hadn't even been seen the day of the crash, and he wasn't about to let Locke's reputation down now. And the fact that the man had been set out to kill him for the last eight years helped.

"How much do you know about Locke?" Sayid asked, finding himself curious of the man the entire island knew least about.

"Not much," Boone said.

Except that his wife and daughter were killed by some drunken lunatic eight years ago in a car crash.

But somehow it still seemed unfair to Boone that Locke knew every detail of Boone's life, yet he knew nothing except for that one scrape of memory about Locke. Save the fact that he swore he worked in a box company.

"And how much does Locke know about you?"

"More than I know I think," Boone said, a paranoid part of him wondering if Sayid knew or was suspicious of anything.

"And that doesn't scare you?" Sayid said, eyebrow raised.

"It scares the hell out outta me," Boone wasn't afraid to admit.

The conversation grew quiet, and Boone began to wonder why his pack was so heavy when he remembered the dead transceiver inside. If anyone were to fix it, Sayid could, and now was the perfect time to say something, especially if he didn't want anything to start amongst the castaways. Stopping, Boone turned swiftly, almost running into Sayid, who he didn't realize was right behind him.

"What?" Sayid inquired.

"Um.." Boone began, not sure how to tell him, "there's something else."

"About Locke?" Sayid said, confused.

"No, about the plane," Boone said, reaching into his pack, "when I was inside I went into the cockpit where I found that guy..and this."

Pulling it, out he showed Sayid the transceiver. Sayid reacted calmer than he ever could've, though he did looked like his heart just skipped a beat.

"A transceiver?" Sayid said in awe.

He reacted like a quiet old man would react at winning the lottery: excited but not about to jump around.

"There's more, Boone added.

Sayid stared at him.

"I got a message out," Boone said, "a May Day."

Sayid just continued to stare at him, as if waiting for someone to say "April Fools".

"A May Day?" Sayid repeated finally. "What did you tell them?"

Boone could've laughed at witnessing Sayid trying to hide his excitement. Because who wouldn't be excited at news like this? Unless, of course, they didn't believe him.

"I told them we needed help," Boone remembered, "that we were the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815."

"What did they say?" Sayid said, somewhat urgently.

"She acted like they didn't expect there to be any survivors," Boone said, "she wanted to know where we were, and I told them somewhere in the South Pacific. I told her that there was a pregnant girl, and a French woman who had lived here for sixteen years, and-"

Boone was thankful after Sayid interrupted him, because he had almost blurted out the secret hatch he and Locke had found.

"You told them about Danielle?" Sayid said, blindly.

"Yeah," Boone said, "I thought maybe they could trace back, look for scientist who-"

"Danielle's ship blew off course," Sayid said, eyes hardening, furious, "it would be no use."

Turning, Sayid began to walk back toward the beach. Boone stared after him, trying to understand a word at what had just gone on.

"Well excuse me for trying to help out for once around here!" Boone shouted, then hated himself for it, realizing he sounded like an eight your old girl trying to get back at her brother. Or step brother.

"Maybe if you were around enough to help-" Sayid replied simply.

"Just don't tell anyone, all right?" Boone called after him.

This time, Sayid turned around.

"Of course not," Sayid said, eyes still cold, "why would I get their hopes up?"

Boone watched in loath as Sayid continued down the path. Waiting until he was out of sight, and then turned, heading to the only place he knew where to go.

(Space)

With help from Michael, Kate, and Charlie, Jack had managed to get the unknown survivor to the caves, where they laid him down near the waterfall. Jack noticed a trace of dry blood on the cave wall near them, and he couldn't help but to wonder if it was his. Tracing his gaze, Kate met his eyes before quickly looking away, but Jack then wished he hadn't.

Walking into the caves was the one man Jack never wanted to see again: Sawyer, and worse, he was walking towards him. Jack then could've kicked himself when he saw that Sawyer was heading towards the waterfall. That was the first time Jack realized what was happening to him. He was becoming afraid of Sawyer. The air around him was dead silent as Jack found himself watching every move, with a slight, jumpy fear that Jack wanted to murder, send through hell, and bury again.

Though he didn't have a mirror to prove it, only Kate's word, he knew by the amount of pain that Sawyer had gotten him bad, but not badly, and began to wonder where his subconscious mind had been during Sawyer's little ritual.

Jack felt's Kate arm on his and the tension in the room was knife-cutting as Sawyer gave Jack one good look as he stood up. It was uncertain, especially to those who didn't have a clue as to what was going on, what Sawyer was trying to say with that look, rather it be plain hatred, anger, loathing, or an apology, and Jack frantically tried to decide that as Sawyer cupped some water in his hands, let it run over his bruised forehead, and finally, stand up, walking over to Jack, where he stood a moment before finally gathering the strength to talk.

"Um.." he began, "I found something, back in the jungle."

Not able to do more than stare, Sawyer considered that a sign to go on.

"A body bag-" Sawyer continued, and allowed Jack to take that in, knowing that, most likely, only Jack would know exactly what he meant.

And Jack did take it in. When he heard the words 'body bag', Jack was sure his heart had skipped a beat, but no coma came, so he figured he had to just take it in and hide it, right along with everything else.

"There was something else too," Sawyer added in a quiet voice that wasn't quite his.

When Jack couldn't bring himself to ask what, he just watched as Sawyer reached into his back pocket, and brought out two items.

"Found somethin' of yours," Sawyer finished.

"What makes you think it's mine?" Jack forced himself to say, thankful his voice didn't go uneven.

"Your signature was on the papers," Sawyer shrugged, "the body's a few miles east of here in some wreckage. You can't miss it."

Sawyer turned and quietly walked out of the caves, the sound of his feet shuffling against the hard ground being the only answer as Jack unfolded the first paper given to him: a death certificate. Kate's armed tightened around his, and Jack accepted it, as he stared at the paper a minute or two before remembering there was another, and he knew what it was before he opened it.

The others, along with Kate, tried to get a better look at what was a sheet from a legal pad Jack had borrowed from the hotel his father had stayed him. From behind him, Kate watched as Jack's hands shook slightly, reminding Kate of how Jack acted the last time the issue of his father came up, when Jack had nearly pounded Sawyer to the bone until Locke had come to his rescue. The only thing she could make out, was scrawny letters written by rickety hands: My father, Jack Shepard.. Jack had never finished. A sudden obscure feeling arose inside him and the next thing Jack new, he was letting out a scream of frustration as he ripped the paper in half. The castaways watched in amazement and confusion as he did, and Kate fought to keep a hold on him, and tried to stop him.

"Jack-" Kate said while desperately trying to get Jack to get a hold of himself, "Jack stop! Please-" he tried to shake her away as she kept her grip, "-stop! Jack!"

Finally breaking away, Jack through down the thousands of pieces as the survivor's looks changed from confusion to worry. For a single moment, Jack let Kate hold onto him, but then found himself breaking away, ignoring Kate's calls for him to come back as he headed towards the beach.

The lamppost flickered on and off before finally making bay in a bright, sunlight glow, dinning over the Eiffel Tower under the August Moon. Alex stared up at a guy two years older than her, a guy who stared down at her as though he wanted nothing more then to take her into his arms, and pull her into a kiss. And then he did. Alex let her arms slip around his back, his hands guiding their way through her hair as she suddenly felt much older than sixteen, and knew that she could take anything thrown her way, because right now, everything was absolutely perfect.

Screaming, Alex's head shot straight up, banging into a cold sheet of glass. The scream soon turned into a groaned, "Ow!". She rubbed her head where she hit it, and her hand then moved to her sore neck when she looked over to where her boyfriend, Adam was sitting next to her in the driver's seat of his truck, eating a subway sandwich, he gave a glance to her, then said:

"The Paris dream again?"

Nodding, Alex laid her head back against the car seat, and stared out into the half-moonlit night beyond the back lot of the drive-in they had parked in, just wishing it would stop.

Hearing the crash of falling objects, Alex looked up from where she stood along with dozens of suitcases and bags that had made home in a pile, offering clothing and toiletries to the beach camp, and anyone who would walk by. Jack was holding onto a spare piece of wreckage, trying to keep his balance from falling. Finding herself feeling sorry for the poor guy as she looked at him, Alex took in the bet(literally) and exhausted man bending over in front of her. For some reason unbeknownst to her, he looked pained, hurt, and almost on the verge of tears.

"Oh, sorry," Alex said, knowing she hadn't really done anything, "I was just- looking for something."

Jack nodded, as if she understood exactly what she meant. They both went back to their searching, though she couldn't see what Jack would want in the pile, unless someone at the caves needed a new shirt, or he was desperate for some more medicine, which seemed to be the case.

"So how have you been holding up?" Jack asked her after they searched in silenced for a while.

"You mean aside from the fact that I'm a sixteen year old girl shipwrecked along with forty something other plane crash survivors twice my age except for one little boy and his dog?" Alex said to Jack. "Or aside from the fact that everyone's to afraid to talk to me?"

"I'm talking to you," Jack pointed out, sounding a little hurt, though it could've just been mocked.

"I know," Alex said offering Jack a small smile.

She hadn't asked for a father figure, or any guidance at all, but Jack seemed ready to give it to her, something that she respected. Turning back to her searching, she looked for some kind of pair of jeans that came close to matching her size. All she had was a spaghetti string dress she was stranded with, and someone's skirt and tank top she had found in some wreckage. It didn't take a genius to tell her she wouldn't survive on an island in those clothes.

"So what do you think about this?" Jack asked.

Looking up, Alex half expected to see Jack holding up to different colored shirts, asking for her opinion, but he wasn't even looking at her.

"I mean about the recent crashes," Jack correcting, seeing her glance.

Alex didn't answer, unsure of what to say. Jack saw this, and not wanting to push her, gave his opinion instead as she casually checked the labels of a pair of faded flares that ended up being two sizes two big.

"I think they're a sign," Jack stated, "two different types of transportation passing within days, even if they have crashed, whose to say one won't?"

"Yeah," Alex said in agreement, though she didn't really agree.

"My faith is growing," Jack admitted, "fate looks good for us-"

"There's a fine line between fate and faith," Alex said suddenly before she could stop herself.

She had always felt strongly about the subject, and it had just come naturally to her.

"Oh yeah?" Jack said, interested. "Which side do you think we're on?"

"Personally," Alex said holding back from letting out a small sigh of relief when she found a pair of light blue jeans, though with holes in the knees, that were exactly her size, "I think we're standing right on it."

Taking the jeans, Alex turned, pulling her long hair back as it went flying, and Jack watched as she left, and found himself believing that they were dealing with more than your average sixteen year old.

Author's Note: So, did you like? Does it make sense..j/k! Lol! I hope it does, anyway. The scene with Sawyer and Locke is in my fic "Outlaws". Thanks so much for the reviews, and I hope you liked it again!

Sawyer: Next up on-

Fluffy: Hey! It's my turn! (shoves Sawyer out of the way)

Sawyer: (loud thud) Ow!

Fluffy: (smiles to the audience) Next up, on "Wish You Were Here":

More Alex flashbacks, skipping time, you'll find out what she does about these repeating dreams of her and her boyfriend, Adam(who will seem like the perfect couple- and maybe are) kissing in front of the Eiffel tower that have no meaning to her whatsoever. More of these little Jack/Alex chats(never turning into romance for those of you with a nasty mind!). Alex will explain her outlook on fate, Claire will make a request upon Charlie(lol- a story late), the new plane crash survivor takes an automatic grudge upon Boone, Sayid suspicion raises and lowers when he finds her out in the jungles at night, Kate learns the truth behind Sawyer's attack on Jack, who, by the way, isn't doing very well emotionally. Is that enough for ya? I'm not promising that'll all come in one chapter though..

Thanks again, and until next time..

October Sky