Famous Last Words

Chapter Two

Sawyer stirred awake and immediately groaned in pain as his eyes tried to open on instinct, without his approval. Finally awake, he readied himself to adjust to the light, but found himself instead staring at the ceiling of a dimmed apartment, and his eyes darted around, and just as he was about to consider kidnapping, he noticed the man sitting not far from him was the man he had prayed he'd never even have to hear of again.

"You've got to be kidding me," he said, slurred.

"You're awake," Jack said simply.

A box sat in front of Jack on an old coffee table, filled to the rim with what looked like photos and documents.

"What's that?" He asked, curious.

"Junk" Jack muttered, throwing the picture he was holding back into the box, kicking it aside as he threw Sawyer an ice pack, "for your head."

"What happened?" He said, moaning as the cool ice touched his pounding head.

"I was hoping you could tell me that," Jack said, "who were those guys?"

"Just some gang I was in trouble with," Sawyer said, "so why ain't I at a hospital or something?"

"I haven't had a pay check in three months," Jack said, "I don't even have enough to pay off the bills. Do you think I'm going to spend any spare money on you?"

"Thought the doctors were the ones making it in the world," Sawyer said, sitting up in the chair he had been sitting in, "and if your so tight on money, why do you got all this junk layin' around?"

"My mom through it in here," Jack shrugged, "guess she got tired of having it at her place."

"So she didn't take the news easily, huh?"

"What makes you think that?" Jack said, looking at him.

"'Her place'?" Sawyer quoted with a snort.

"Talk to her about that," Jack said, as he reached for the remote to turn on the small tv in front of him, "because she sure isn't talking to me.

Sawyer didn't say anything as Jack turned on the television and watched the news, and when he was about to ask what was the point of watching the news at noon, he had his question answered as Kate's mugshot popped up on the screen, and Jack let the reporter talk for a few minutes about this 'alleged criminal' before shutting the screen off abruptly, and standing up, grabbing a jacket that hung over the couch.

"Where are you going?" Sawyer demanded sitting up.

"To get her out of there," Jack said, determined, as he reached the door, throwing it opened.

"I thought you said you didn't have any money," Sawyer pointed out.

"I don't care."

(Space)

The shackles on Kate's feet clanged in nerves as she was led by one of the guards to the visitors area, a place new to Kate, who never had any visitors. So she couldn't help but to wonder who was there, but her thoughts were soothed when she saw Jack sitting in the seat on the other side of the glass window.

"You have five minutes," the guard informed her dryly, and Kate nodded as he stepped out behind the booth, where he'd be keeping a close eye on the two-way mirror.

Her hand shook as she picked up the old, fingerprint coated phone that would become her communication line to Jack.

"Hey," she greeted, and was surprised to find her voice dry and cracked.

"Hey," Jack greeted back quietly.

She managed the smallest smile as she could, and said, "So how's life treating you?"

"Well.." Jack trailed, thoughtful, "my boss thought I was over-stressed, so he offered me a weekend at his beach house on the shore."

"What did you say?" Kate said, amused, realizing how much she missed being able to talk to someone.

"I didn't," Jack said, "I think I threw up on him."

They both shared a chuckle until Kate's throat dried up again, and she had to swallow, clearing it. She then looked down in embarrassment.

"Sorry," she whispered.

"No," Jack said, shaking his head, "I'm sorry- I could've done something to stop them."

"Like what?" Kate asked with a sarcastic smile ." Blow up their plane?"

She immediately wished she hadn't said that, remembering the guard standing behind her, and the still-standing question "how did the plane crash?".

"I'm going to get you out of here," Jack said, more determined than before.

"No, Jack," Kate said, "you don't have to-"

"I do," Jack cut in, "and I want to. I am going to get you out of here. You don't deserve a place like this."

"The bail's four and a half million dollars," Kate said, "four and a half million. Where are you going to find that kind of money? Jack?"

But Jack had already zoned out, realizing the obvious solution had been right in front of him the whole time.

(Space)

Hurley's place stood in a neighborhood outside of west California, an hour and a half drive from where Jack was before at the jail house. His 2003 SUV(a birthday present from his father two years ago) was now low on gas, but Jack didn't stop as he found himself accidentally running two red lights, and he had to lie to one policeman, saying that his grandmother was having a heart attack. The guilt got him in fact that his grandmother died eight years ago. But none of that mattered now as Jack banged on Hurley's front door.

"Dude!" Hurley shouted from inside. "I'm coming. Hold on."

The screen door opened and Hurley's annoyed expression lit up in recognition.

"Jack!" He said, surprised. "Dude, come in."

He opened the front door and Jack stepped in, looking around on first instinct. The house was small, one-story with dark yellow painted walls, and one glance at the place told Jack that it was long-inhabited.

"Nice place," he commented.

"Nah," Hurley said, "it's my ma's."

"Still living at home?" Jack said, amused.

"Nah, I bought her a place," Hurley said, "told her I'd fix this one up."

Jack noted the half-torn wallpaper and pulled up carpet.

"So how's that going?"

"Dude, I''m tellin' ya," Hurley said, sighing, "fat people weren't made for this kind of work."

At that Jack found himself laughing.

"So come on, sit down," Hurley said, and Jack took the offer exhausted, "do you want something to drink? Eat? I think ma bought out the grocery store when I got back home. Unless..do you even live around here? I hope you didn't have to drive long-"

"An hour and a half," Jack admitted, "but actually, I was wondering if you could do me a favor."

"You name it, you got it," Hurley said, "I mean, I owe you for life. Have you seen the articles? We're famous! But I just talked to Charlie and-

"Oh, how is Charlie?" Jack said, feeling guilty, having forgotten all about Charlie, Claire, and the baby.

"Good," Hurley chimed, "both of them. And the kid's great."

"Good, good," Jack nodded, "listen, I just came from the prison up north, and I just saw Kate-"

"Oh, yeah, I heard about that," Hurley said sympathetically, "dude I'm sorry. How's she taken' it?"

"Yeah- um," Jack looked down, "not that well. Hey- I was wondering if you could help me out with something."

"Sure, anything."

"Can I borrow four and a half million dollars?"

Hurley laughed hysterically, and Jack just looked at him in horror, wondering if by some crazed mistake, he had imagined Charlie telling him that Hurley had won the lottery.

"Oh dude," Hurley said, seeing Jack's face, "you're serious?"

"Yeah, I am," Jack said, standing up, "I mean, you know her. She's harmless."

"Or is she?"

"Don't talk like that," Jack said, "she deserves the second chance as much as any of us do."

"Then give it to her," Hurley said, "aren't doctors like rich and all that stuff?"

"Not after three months away from the job," Jack said, "come on, why can't you help me out?"

"Dude I have no money!" Hurley said finally.

Jack just stared at him.

"What?"

"I promised my ma I'd be able to take care of her so I had to save a lot of it, you know?" Hurley said, and Jack nodded, remembering making the same promise to his father a long time ago.

A long time ago.

"What about the rest of it?" Jack asked.

"I kind of went crazy," Hurley said, "I mean, you know, post-island shock or something. Gave a little to Claire to help out with the baby, and Michael was broke and is having a hard time getting work and-"

"No, no, it's cool," Jack said, "I understand."

"Dude, I'm sorry, really," Hurley said truthfully, "Look, I can do you in for two million, but that's all. Sorry- I'd do something if I could, really."

"I understand," Jack said again, and grew quiet, wondering what he should do now, "two's good. It's a start."

He sighed as Hurley wrote out a check, and Jack figured that this was how homeless people must feel when it came to eating dinner. He'd have to remember to stop in at the shelter when things turned around again.

"Thanks," Jack said, taking the check, "now I guess the only question is, where am I going to find two and a half million dollars?"

"Hey," Hurley said, "have you tried Boone?"

(Space)

Jack's car was now fully gassed and rested four floors beneath the concrete walked, and he counted until he found Boone's apartment- number 234. Easy enough to remember, he figured. He knocked on the door, and immediately received an answer.

"Hold on!" Boone called from inside.

The door opened to Boone, who was damp from most likely swimming, as Jack recalled Boone being a lifeguard.

"Oh, hey," Boone greeted, "what's up?"

"I was wondering if you could do me a favor," Jack said.

Boone's place was no cleaner than Hurley's, though suddenly lighter. The one thing both places had in common were that they certainly didn't look like a rich person lived in them, which Jack had to give both Hurley and Boone credit for.

"You want me to give you four and a half million dollars?" Boone repeated, just as amused as Hurley.

"You have it, right?" Jack said.

"Actually, I only have three million," Boone said, "and half of that's Shannon's."

Jack sighed.

"Look," Boone said, moving into the kitchen, knocking over a few bottles of medicine in the process.

"Don't worry, I've got it," Jack said, already bending down.

"No!" Boone said, a little too quickly. "It's cool. Just leave it."

Boone continued his journey to his refrigerator, which he opened, and took out what Jack assumed to be a beer, but was really just a bottle of water. He then realized that with Boone's past with alcohol, he probably wasn't much of a drinker, or a partygoer.

"Anyway," Boone said, sitting the water back down after taking a sip, "I owe you for life."

"As I've heard," Jack muttered under his breath.

"And after all those times you had to save my life, I guess the least I could do is pay you back," Boone said, taking a blank check out of a drawer, "I can do you in for two million."

"I thought you said half of it was Shannon's," Jack said, eyebrow raised.

"Boone?" Came a female's voice from a hallway, and both Jack and Boone turned to where a blonde stood in a Hawaiian-pattern tankini, drying her damp hair. "Oh- sorry.."

"No it's all right," Jack said, feeling awkward, "um-"

"Carrie," Boone introduced, face flushing red in embarrassment, "this is Carrie- my-um-"

"His girlfriend," Carrie said, reaching out and shaking Jack's hand in a firm grip, "we just met. You must be Jack, right? I swear I've heard so much about that island that I could've lived there myself. Too bad for me though, could've used the two month vacation."

"You might want to rethink that before you get on any airplanes," Jack said seriously, making Carrie smile.

"I like him," Carrie said, "he's cute. You single?"

Boone cleared his throat, and tore of the check, which Carrie grabbed before Jack could take it.

"Wow," she said, "two million. And he wouldn't even by me a burger earlier."

Boone just chuckled lightly, going with it, and while thinking that the two sounded like bickering parents, Jack couldn't help but to notice that Carrie looked like she hadn't been anywhere near a burger in years.

"I'll take that," Jack said, taking the check from Carrie's hands, "and thanks. I owe you.

"Nah," Boone said, rubbing his neck nervously, "Shannon does. Trust me."

Jack looked from Boone to his girlfriend and figured he should leave before the police barged in and shot the tension down.

"Um.." Jack began.

How was he supposed to thank someone who just gave him two million dollars? So he did it the easy way.

"Thanks."

"No problem," Boone said, opening the door for Jack as he stepped out, "and..um..have a good life."

"Yeah," Jack said, "you too."

(Space)

Sawyer was bored. He was bored, and his head hurt. Actually, he was bored, and his head hurt, and his side hurt too. So naturally, he couldn't move, which was bad since he was starving, though he doubted Jack had anything to eat anyway. Or at least anything that didn't have two and a half month old mold growing over it. What he really wanted was a burger, or at least a slice of pizza, something he probably get just by calling it in phone-order, or shouting at the pizza guy parked downstairs. If he could move that was.

On a fifth try, Sawyer was finally able to sit up, and once he got there, he was actually frustrated when he realized that after all that, it didn't even hurt that much. He began to stand up but paused when he spotted Jack's box of 'junk' laying on the ground. Curiosity got the better of him, and he drug the box over to the edge of the couch, and took out the first item on top: a death certificate. He lay it down gently on the floor, and nervously glanced towards the door before he began looking through it. Most of the stuff was photos, some black and white, and all of people that he didn't recognized, but he figured, why would he? Then his hands fell on something they probably shouldn't have: a photo.

Sitting on top of a small jewelry box. And one look at the small box told Sawyer the story between Jack and the woman his arms were around in the picture. The only question left hanging in the air was how the relationship ended, and Sawyer began to get the feeling that he didn't want to know. The one odd thing about the picture was that just the thought of Jack being with another woman besides Kate didn't sound right, even to him. With that, he placed everything back into the box, and looked around until he found a couple of blank checks in a drawer in a bookcase, and grabbed a pen next to it, and began writing.

(Space)

Sighing, Jack fumbled with the lock and key until finally throwing open the door. He had only fulfilled part of his mission, and prisons didn't settle for partial credit. Where was he going to find half a million dollars?

Half of him was expecting to fine the place left a mess, or signs that Sawyer hadn't been the only one staying in the apartment while he was gone as he entered, but he was proven wrong when he found the place exactly as he had left it. Feeling there was more to the story, like why Sawyer wasn't still there, he looked around suspiciously, until he found a note, which answered all of his questions. Well, most of them anyway. He reread it after skimming, thinking he had imagined the words forming in front of him, written on a blank check he had long forgotten about:

$5000

for Kate

Author's Note: Okay. I lied. I just figured that Boone probably wouldn't have just four million stashed away, but I've had that last part planned for a while. Nice Sawyer. See, he's harmless.

Crazyhorsegirl- Lol! I don't think my brain could register those plots. Complicated..but I love your reviews! So you were partially right, sorry I had to go back on my word but it was for the greater good(hm..sound familiar?)

Next up, on "Famous Last Words":

Kate's freed from jail, but the first stop is the bank, where she and Jack get caught in a holdup, which leads to Kate going down south, in search for Sawyer.

And guess what! I'm going back to the island after this fic, and picking right where I left off, without the rescue, because I'm getting all of these ideas and must do something with them before I go insane! So, here's some I have planned..

(Currently untitled)

Just as Jack and Kate begin to embark on their new romance, Alex worries about herself as she starts having weird dreams again, and the rift between her and Danielle doesn't help. Alex-centric.

Only the Lonely OR For Those Who Wonder

Going back to when Charlie and Claire were kidnapped. Jack and Kate go out in search for the missing castaways, but many obstacles draw them away from what could be a romantic trip in the jungle(ha! What's romantic about that jungle?) including storms, and a huge waterfall that..uh..doesn't really like Jack.

Thanks for all the reviews! Glad yall came back!

October Sky