A Bend In the Road

Chapter Five

Author's Note: Sorry about Kate's horrible real name. I suck at names.

"Go back to the caves," Jack instructed to Kate as he stood up, heading towards the uproar that had immediately started after the plane had landed.

"What?" Kate said. "No, I won't!"

"Kate!" Jack said, more loudly and forcefully then he meant to, spinning around and facing her. "You have to go back to the caves. Stay there, and don't come out until I come and get you."

He choked on every word, leaving Kate to stare at him in disbelief.

"What, do you think you'll be able to sneak me on the plane?" She exclaimed. "We both knew that someday this would happen-"

"I'm not letting it happen," Jack said confidently, "just- go."

Picking up his pace, Jack gave a fair distance between him and Kate as he moved towards the beach camp, where he could already see a crowd of people standing around a huge jet liner. Sayid and Boone were rushing out of the jungle just as he reached Michael, who was trying to explain things to the pilot.

"No!" Michael was saying. "We are the survivors of flight 815! We've been here for two months!"

"Um..hi," Jack greeted, stepping in for Michael, shaking hands with the pilot. "I'm Jack-"

"Shepard?" The pilot finished for him, reading from a small book he was holding. "Lives in LA. Spinal surgeon. On the plane to bring your father back to Sydney, am I corrected?"

Jack's head went in a spin as he wondered just how much the authorities knew about the flight.

"My father's dead but, yeah..that's me," Jack said finally, "look, what's going on? Are we getting out of here? Because there are still some more castaways-"

"More?" The pilot said, eyebrow raised.

Jack sighed. So maybe they didn't know that much.

"I'm going to go find Walt," Michael whispered to Jack, giving him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder before taking off.

"Exactly how many survivors were there?" The pilot's eyes narrowed.

"Were?" Jack said, thinking back. "Forty-eight. Now.."

He thought back through everything that had happened- the marshall, the guy with the leg, Steve- Scott- whatever his name was, and then finding out the pilot was alive.

"Forty-six," Jack calculated, "..I think."

"Good," the pilot said, closing the notebook, "we'll get some names, check for injuries, check locations, and try to get everybody out by nightfall."

Since it was nearly five o'clock, Jack knew that was pushing it, but didn't say anything. The pilot was about to speak up again, when he heard a voice approach him from behind.

"Jack!" Kate cried. "What's going-" she stopped when she spotted two police men coming up to her, "-on," she finished in a whisper.

"Kate?" Jack said as Kate's voice faltered, realizing her mistake.

"Allison Ryan?" A cop asked.

Kate grimaced. She hated her name.

"Who?" Jack asked, looking from Kate to the pilot.

"Hey, I couldn't find Walt," Michael said, coming back, and stopping as Kate quickly looked down. "What's going on?"

"Allison Ryan," the cop finish, jerking Kate's arm around, and pulling out a pair of handcuffs, "you're under arrest."

"What?" Michael cried, clueless.

Jack wanted to fight back. He really did. All he wanted right now was to give the cop in front of him a good punch, and take off with Kate, deep into the island, where no one could ever disturb them again. But he couldn't move. All he could do was stare at Kate- Allison- whatever her name was- and know that she had lied to him again.

"You're under arrest," the cop repeated, "for armed robbery and the murder of five men."

"What?" Was all Michael could say, turning to Jack. "Did you know about this?"

Jack didn't answer him. The scene was getting all to much. Just knowing that Kate was willing to lie to him for so long..he couldn't stand being there any more. Meeting Kate's eyes one last time, Jack turned.

"Jack!" Kate called desperately as Jack turned, blocking out the voices naming Kate's rights.

He didn't say anything. Heading to the caves as the crowd stared, confused, at the entire scene, Jack knew that rescue was the last thing he was worried about right now.

(Space)

Shannon watched as Sayid began packing some things of his interest, including the French maps and notes. Who knew? Maybe he was planning on taking them to some history professor and getting them analyzed properly. She had overheard Sayid telling Jack what had happened with the French woman, but other than that, she hadn't heard from him. He had gone out of his way to ignore her, and she didn't like it one bit. And now that rescue had miraculously come, she knew that this may be her last chance. Ever.

"Sayid?" Shannon asked.

Though she spoke quietly, Sayid still jumped, but in the end, turned, and faced her calmly.

"Guess this is pretty wild, huh?" Shannon said lightly. "I mean, yesterday I was thinking we'd be here for ten years, and now, it looks like I'll be back home tomorrow-"

Wherever that is, she couldn't help but to think. Because it certainty wasn't back in Australia with Brian, and it wasn't back in LA with Boone, and she was twenty-two. No way was she going to go crawling back home with mom. She realized then that Sayid wasn't answering her, only offering a small smile.

"Look," Shannon said, shaking herself out of it, "they say that after this, when we go back home, that none of this will mean anything, that it'll just become another memory."

She took a step closer to Sayid, putting only inches between them.

"But I want this to mean something," Shannon said softly, and this time, Sayid took her hand.

"And so do I," he agreed quietly.

He was considering kissing her when they were both cut off by nearby voices. Looking over, they saw Locke and Boone exchanging pats on the shoulder.

"I guess our relationship wasn't the only one on rocks," Sayid joked, watching Locke and Boone talk.

(Space)

"So do you think this is real?" Boone was saying. "I mean, I'm not going to wake up in a few hours, growing at four in the morning?"

Locke chuckled.

"No, I think this is as real as it gets," he said, coughing on some of the fumes from the plane's engine.

"So what do you think's going to happen to me?" Boone said, wondering himself. "I'm I going to wake up and find you trying to sneak into my apartment with one of those guns?"

Locke laughed again.

"No," he said truthfully, "I think you're going to be fine."

Boone didn't say anything. He didn't agree. For eight years he had been able to live with everything- just forget it. Well, it would always be there, but it was always just another memory. But now, now that he was forced to face it, he knew it'd be therapy and drugs all over again- well, maybe not the second part. Not if he could help it.

"Are you planning on going back to school?"

"What?" Boone said, startled.

He had never considered it. He couldn't- could he?"

"I don't know," Boone said, "I mean, there's not really much I can do."

"That's not true," Locke said, "what have you been doing out here for almost two months?"

Boone looked at him, wandering what that was supposed to mean.

"Digging up some old hatch?"

"That's one thing," Locke nodded, "that could be engineering. Construction. You could also consider wildlife-"

"I am not going to spend my life classifying birds," Boone snorted, "I mean, that might be all fun and games for you, but-"

"What would you have done if we had been stuck here for longer?" Locke pointed out.

"Not classify birds," Boone said, even more confused not.

"Probably not," Locke admitted finally.

"Really," Boone continued, "what do you think is going to happen to me- us? All of us?"

"I think we're going to be fine," Locke said, "what matters is what you think."

"Now you sound like my therapist," Boone muttered.

Locke raised an eyebrow.

"Old therapist," Boone corrected quickly, "a few years back I had this over-worried, concerned girl friend and..yeah..that didn't work out to well."

The crowd on the beach stirred up again, and both men looked over to see that some of the castaways were starting to load luggage onto the plane.

"Just promise me one thing," Locke said.

"What?"

"That you'll go back to school, and try and get your life back on track," Locke said, "and you're off the hook."

"That's all?" Boone said, remembering the murderous tone Locke took on the last time they had a similar conversation.

"And I'm an old man," Locke said, "I own this small house west of LA, along the coast. Big yard."

"Don't worry," Boone laughed, "give me a call and I'll come over."

"And who knows," Locke shrugged, "maybe after you graduate we can come back out here and investigate that hatch a little bit more."

Boone stared at him.

"Are you serious?"

Locke smiled.

"No."

"Hey! Bonehead!" Shannon called and Boone groaned at his nickname, which amused Locke. "You coming or not?"

Boone turned to where Shannon was waiting impatiently for him with Sayid.

"See you around," Boone said to Locke, who nodded as he left.

Author's Note: Okay, cheesy ending, but I really wanted to resolve the Locke/Boone thing. I just love that plot soooo much! (Hugs Boone tightly)

Boone: Help!

He's not going anywhere..in fact, I may just restart the series second season to include him and his evil plots.

In the last island chapter:

The survivors leave the island in tune to the Beatle's song "Two of Us". But before that, Sayid makes an offer to Sawyer(nowhere to add that in this chapter..well, I didn't want to..yes I did..I sound like Jack now..never mind..).

At the hospital in some foreign country that I don't know:

Claire gives birth, but Jack doesn't deliver. In fact, Jack tries to sneak back home. He doesn't get far, of course, and convinces Charlie that he'll be okay(the liar!) and escapes to LA.

And at the airport:

Reunions all around! Claire meets Charlie's family, Danielle and her brother reunite for the first time, and Sayid gets to meet Shannon's mom! Fun for everyone!

Okay, so maybe I reveal a little too much..oh well..

Thanks for the reviews! You guys are great!

October Sky