A Bend In the Road
Chapter Seven
Author's Note: For sake of confusion, to those who don't know, I kept Boone's mom's name Rutherford.
Charlie had never been so relieved and so nervous at the same time in his life. It was hard to imagine that only a day ago, he thought he'd be stuck on an island forever. But now as his mind tuned into to the beats of a heart monitor, he knew his life was changed forever, and there was nothing he could do about it. Nor was there nothing he wanted to do about it. After Claire had given birth to a son, who she decided to name John(she said one Alex was enough for the group), he offered to fly back to Australia with her to help her settle in. They agreed to first take the plane arranged for the group back to LA to meet his brother and the family, and then take a flight back to Australia. They both had to laugh about how ironic the situation was.
"So what's the first thing you're going to do when you get home?" Sayid asked, starling Charlie.
He had completely forgotten that there were others in the room, but he was saved when he realized the question wasn't directed towards him. Sayid, Shannon, Boone, and Hurley had all stayed at the hospital to help Charlie with Claire, or rather, to calm Charlie down. Now they were all seated in Claire's room, waiting for her to wake back up.
"I don't know about you guys," Hurley said, "but I'm going to watch tv."
Boone tried to pretend like it didn't bother him when Shannon settled herself against Sayid's arm, which was around her shoulders.
"I don't think I'll remember how to work a tv," Boone said, staring at the floor to keep from glaring at Shannon.
Charlie felt all eyes go on him.
"I don't even own a tv," Charlie admitted when there was no way out of it.
He looked up, cursing the tension, and without meaning to, spotted Jack walking carelessly down the hallway, rubbing the back of his stiff neck.
"Hey guys," Charlie said, finally letting go of Claire's hand and standing up, "I'm going to go out for some air."
"See you later," Hurley said as Charlie pulled opened the door.
"Hey! Jack!" Charlie called, running after Jack, who was trying to get to the exit.
But Jack still stopped and turned, letting Charlie catch up with him.
"Listen," Charlie said, scratching his neck where a bug had bit him earlier, "after Claire wakes up-"
"Oh yeah, I heard about that," Jack said, his voice dryer than normal, "sorry I wasn't able to come-"
"Nah, nah that's okay, I understand," Charlie said, though he knew Jack had most likely been to depressed to see a birth, "anyway, the baby's fine, and after Claire wakes up, Hurley was going to take some of us to this all you can eat bar a few blocks from here before we hit the hotels. You wanna come?"
"Actually," Jack said, clearing his throat, "I'm- uh- leaving early. I want to get back to work as soon as possible so I don't risk losing the job, and the whole thing with my mom-"
"Oh, right," Charlie said, even though he had no clue what Jack was talking about.
"So..I guess I'll be going then," Jack said quietly, "um..I'll give you a call sometime. Keep in touch, you know?"
"Right," Charlie nodded, "who knows, maybe my brother will pity me and get the band bad together. You'll have to come see us sometime.
"Yeah," Jack nodded, "yeah, I will."
When Jack didn't say anything else, Charlie reached into his pocket, taking out some money.
"What's that?" Jack asked curiously as Charlie recounted it.
"Fifteen dollars," Charlie said, "it was all I could find in the wreckage. Take it."
He shoved the money into Jack's hands, and forced him to take it.
"What's this for?"
"Just a small thank you," Charlie said, "you know, sneaking out on us and all, you aren't going to be taking the credit you deserve. And anyway, it's a long flight back to La. Get you something to eat."
"I'm not going to eat off of dead people's money," Jack said, thinking of how disturbing that was.
He was one of those people who would look at an item and say: I wonder if the owner had a family. Kids. A job.
"Who said the person was dead?" Charlie said with a small chuckle.
He slapped Jack on the shoulder.
"Take care of yourself, man," Charlie said.
"Yeah, you too," Jack said, and finally pocketed the money before walking out of the hospital, throwing open the door and welcoming himself into the cool night air.
(Space)
"You are now exciting flight 481 to LA, please unbuckle your seat belts and exit carefully."
Sighs of relief were let out amongst the passengers, and Hurley leaned over to where Shannon and Sayid were sitting.
"You guys ready to do this?" Hurley asked, looking nervously out the window, spotting a small crowd in the airport lobby they'd be entering in just minutes.
"I don't know about you guys," Boone said from beside Hurley, unbuckling his Seattle, "but I don't think I've never been more ready for anything in my life."
Standing up, they grabbed their luggage from the overhead compartments, but Boone pulled Shannon back.
"Wait for me," she whispered to Sayid, who nodded, and went to way just before the entrance to the terminal.
She turned back to Boone and the two just stood there, staring at each other for the longest time. Finally she cleared her throat.
"What?" She asked, her voice a little shaky.
"What do you want to tell mom?" Boone asked, knowing that their mother as out there just waiting to jump on both of her kids the moment she saw them.
"Just.." Shannon thought about it, "tell her that everything's fine. We worked it out."
"You staying home this time?" Boone said, with a trace of hope in his voice.
Shannon smiled.
"I think you'll be stuck with me for a long time."
"Excuse me," a flight attendant said, "I'm sorry to disturb you, but we have to clear this flight to prepare for our second takeoff."
"Sorry," Boone said, and gave Shannon one last look, before walking out of the passageway, muttering a, "see ya" to Sayid, who nodded back.
Shannon watched him go, and then walked up to Sayid.
"What did he want?" Sayid asked curiously.
"Just to straightened some things out," Shannon took a deep breath when she finished, "so are you ready to meet my mom?"
"Are you sure she wont mind?" Sayid said, knowing how people viewed him in judgment.
Shannon laughed.
"Seriously?" She said. "I think she'll be so happy about seeing me, she won't even notice you."
Sayid gave a nervous chuckle, and then followed Shannon into the crowd.
(Space)
"Oh thank God!" Boone's mom cried, cheeks streaked with tears as she threw her arms around him.
"Mom!" Boone gasped in surprise as his lungs were nearly squeezed to bits. "Stop-"
"I thought you were dead!" His mom sobbed. "And it would be all my fault-"
"Mom, it's fine," Boone said desperately, "everything's okay. I'm fine now."
She let go of her son, and holding onto his arms, whispered, "I know."
That was when he spotted Shannon pulling Sayid their way. That was one reunion/introduction he did not want to witness.
"Mom, do you mind if I go ahead and pull the car around?"
"What?" Boone's mom said, and then shook herself out of it, taking her keys out of her purse. "Oh, sure, here, it's in the back lot."
Though they weighed no more than a few ounces, the keys landed in Boone's cupped hands like bricks. He lost his balance for a moment, until his mom caught him.
"Are you okay?" She asked worried, her hand flying up to his forehead. "You're burning up."
Boone felt his eyes moistened as he flushed a deep red in embarrassment, shading his pale face.
"Boone?" His mom asked, concerned. "Are you all right? Do you need to go to the hospital?"
Shaking his head hard, Boone snapped out of this. He could do this. He had to.
"I'm..I'm fine ma," he said, shaky, "I'm fine."
He bent forward, and gave her a kiss on the cheek, and walked out the door.
(Space)
Alex stumbled as she stepped into the airport, and looked around, hoping to get a glimpse of her uncle, whom she assumed was weighting for her. Sure enough, she found him standing near a costumer service desk, pacing the ground. Bag slung over her shoulder, she ran up to him, throwing her arms around his neck as he embraced her.
"I'm sorry," she muttered, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
"Sh.." said her uncle, as his pale hands and dirt stained fingernails held onto her head, "sh..it's okay."
They broke apart, and he studied his niece, as if thinking something was missing.
"I tried to call Adam," he said softly, "I must've tried his number a million times. His place was locked up. I thought maybe he'd know-"
"He didn't make it," Alex said, in a pained whisper.
"What?" Arnie said, staring at her. "Wasn't he on the plane?"
God he doesn't know a thing..she thought guiltily.
"We weren't on the plane," Alex said quietly.
"I don't understand.."
"I'll explain it to you later," Alex said, "but I think there's someone you should meet..well-"
She was about to say, 'reunite with' when Danielle stepped out of the crowed, and her brother's face went into shock.
"Dan- Danielle?" He choked, as she walked cautiously forward, as if not sure if this was the right family.
Finally, they just stood there, staring at each other, until finally embracing in a hug that made Alex feel like she was in the end of some really cheesy romance movie.
(Space)
"I'm so happy to meet you," Anne Rutherford expressed, shaking Sayid's hands.
"Likewise," Sayid said, relieved that she hadn't done something stupid, like call over security.
"So," Anne said, clapping her hands together, "do you need a job? I own a wedding business, you know."
"Mom!" Shannon exclaimed, rolling her eyes and turning to Sayid. "She does that to everybody."
Sayid chuckled.
"Actually, I think I have some work waiting for me," Sayid said, and Shannon couldn't help but to wonder what 'work' meant.
"Well maybe we'll be having you over for dinner soon then," Anne offered.
"I think I'd enjoy that," Sayid smiled.
Shannon tightened her grip around Sayid's back, smiling, but her grin faded as she saw Boone, frozen by the door, unable to move. Sayid must of obviously seen him as well(she felt the grip loosen a little) but didn't say anything, and she was thankful, because she didn't want to pin that kind of worry on her mom. Finally, she watched as Boone shook his head, and she couldn't help but to wonder what he was thinking as he walked out the door into the sunlight. and across the room, Sawyer acting on similar basis, walking out without saying so much as a word to anyone.
(Space)
Outside, Boone found the car parked in parallel parked to two others. He sighed, and fumbled with the keys before putting them in. Easing himself into the drivers seat, and stared at the wheel for what seemed like hours before forcing himself to start up the engine. Little did he realize, his foot was on reverse, and the next thing he knew, his head was jerking forward as a small pop exploded from the back seat. Instead of the immediate worry that someone else was hurt, or that his mom was absolutely going to freak when she saw the car, Boone found himself laughing slightly at how ironic the situation was. Unbeknownst to him, Locke was leaning against the brick alleyway out of the airport, watching Boone, doing the same thing. Locke finally shook his head, and turned, as he began walking the long journey back to his old life.
Author's Note: I think that I am the Queen of cheesy endings. How about you? Lol. Well, THE END! Yep, END END END! NO MORE! LOL..I'l be crying about this tomorrow. I should have the sequel up soon. I just wanted to think everybody for sticking with me through this. YOU GUYS ROCK! (HUGS) I LOVE ALL OF YOU and your REVIEWS! And hope that you guys come back for the sequel!
Sequel summary:
Famous Last Words:
Life seems to be great as Jack drowns himself in debt to bail Kate out of jail, until a series of unfortunate events strikes both Jack and Sawyer who, of course, blame each other. Only problem? They're both coincidentally two dozen states away.
To look forward to(hopefully!) in the sequel:
Car chases, apartments, fires, robberies, vandalism(wow..you wouldn't really look forward to those things, would you?) fights, kidnappings, more fights, bank robberies, more fights, room mates, a visit from a certain doctor's ex, a little thing that cries and has two legs(that's not a deformed bunny! Lol!), kisses, friendship, country music, jazz records, pianos, friends and lovers, and a surprisingly seduceable Kate in a closet. Question of the day: who's she with? And if that's not enough(it better be! Lol! j/k!) here's another hint for the future: someone gets shot. But he- yes, he- is not a bad guy. And the first chapter opens up songifc with Jack(more cheesiness!) with the song "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away".
Hope to see ya there! Thanks again for the reviews!
October Sky