Author's Note: I'm making a small layout change, to make things easier to read. Hope's dreams will now be written in italics, so they cab be differentiated from the rest of the story. I hope this makes things clearer. I hope you enjoy this chapter, please review to let me know what you think. Gitania

Memories of Hope

Chapter 9: Portrait of a Lady

"Seriously!" Hope laughed along at Sun's story as the three women knelt, digging in the dirt to soften it for planting seeds. "I never would have thought that about Jin!"

Kate smiled, happy to hear some real joy in her friend's voice. Initially it had been a shock for Hope to hear Sun speak English, but after a relatively speedy adjustment the three women were able to spend the rest of the afternoon in comfortable conversation.

Kate rose to her feet and dusted herself off. "I should be getting back," she said, "the sun's starting to go down and we're going to need more wood for the fire on the beach."

"Do you want me to go with you?" Hope asked.

"No, you stay here with Sun and see if anything comes to you. I'll find someone at the caves to help me out."

"Okay. Well, we'll be seeing you, okay? We should get back before it gets much later anyway." Hope stood and hugged her friend, whispering a quiet thankyou in her ear.

Kate smiled, waved quickly to Sun, and left the garden.

"Do you think she knows how the Doctor feels about her?" Sun asked quietly as Kate disappeared into the trees.

Hope knelt back down to continue digging through the soil with her hands. "I think so. But I don't really think she's open to getting attached, you know?"

Sun smiled and nodded. She never spoke much, and Hope supposed she had become used to being quiet around the others.

"How are you feeling now?" Sun asked. She had been worried after Kate told her the story of Hope's dreams, and was even more concerned to learn that she was inadvertently playing a pivotal role.

"Much better, thanks." Hope smiled, getting a familiar feeling of déjà vu from gardening with Sun. "I've been speaking with Locke, and we may have a plan for figuring out my dream. I'd do almost anything for a good night's sleep by now."

Sun's sad smile struck a chord, and Hope found her eyes filling with tears.

"I'm sorry," she sniffed, wiping at her eyes, "I don't know what it is about you. It's hard to explain… I'm just really tired, I guess. Sorry."

Sun patted Hope's hand through layers of dirt, and the women stood to head back to the caves before dark.

"Hungry?" Hope asked.

"I am not sure if the way we are eating is healthy for us." Sun worried.

"I think we're doing okay." Hope said, as they started along the path. "Doctor Jack would be the first one to tell us if we're going wrong, and besides, we don't have too many options."

They had walked a little way before Hope remembered, "Walt and I caught a fish today – finally! With any luck we've figured out a successful way of fishing, so we can catch more and teach others how to do it. We'll be rolling in fish within a few days!" she said confidently.

Sun looked encouraged, but stayed silent as they neared the caves. Just before they came into sight, Hope stopped walking and turned to Sun.

"Sun," she started, "Thankyou for today – for spending time with me. I really think this is going to help me to get things figured out."

Sun smiled her soft smile, and quickly squeezed Hope's hand before finishing their journey home to the caves.

That night, with the taste of Walt's fish still in her mouth, Hope looked for a comfortable place to sleep. She lay in the dark, listening to the soft conversation of her companions, and smiling as Sun and Jin lay down together close by.

Thinking quickly of Locke, Hope began her silent chant in hopes that she could begin her lucid dreaming as soon as possible. 'As I dream I will realise I am dreaming. As I dream I will realise I am dreaming...'

The familiar living room crossed Hope's mind, and she was immediately alert.

'I'm dreaming.' she thought. 'I'm inside my dream.'

She watched the bullet cross the room, and tried to focus on the wall of photographs, searching for clues to her past. The blurred shapes were slowly becoming sharper, but she soon realised that the bullet was moving too fast. It would hit its target before she would be able to see the photographs clearly.

Hope turned her head to follow the bullet as it hit, watching a tear run down Sun's cheek as she fell to the floor. She smiled her sad smile one last time as her eyes closed, and the sound of the gunshot filled Hope's mind.

Hope's eyes opened and immediately filled with tears, as the image of Sun's sad smile circled in her mind. It was still late at night, and she cried softly as she lay in the dark, feeling strangely lonely. A small hand reached out and slowly stroked her wrist, just beneath the dark letters of her tattoo, causing Hope to look up at her comforter.

Sun sat quietly beside her, leaving Jin asleep nearby, smiling her familiar sad smile. Hope lifted her head into Sun's lap, and felt consoling hands run through her hair as she cried for her losses. It was in that moment of paternal comfort that Hope realised the depth of her loneliness.

Through tear-filled eyes she looked up at Sun… a perfect portrait of her mother.