Lils: AHH! WE ARE BACK AND UPDATING! NO WE ARE STILL ALIVE! But notice. There are only three reviews for the last chapter. Thank you to those people, and I know I haven't updated in forever because I just got over being grounded for like, two weeks…and plus all the days I didn't have time…but come on! Please review!

Luthien and Tari Oronar: Thanks a whole bunch!

Charlielover28: Don't be shy! Thanks for the comment; it's really great you decided to review! Now if we could get those other turtles out of their shells…

Give-in-to-love: Uhh…Boone a negative blood…erm…I dunno. Thanks for the review!

Chapter eleven: Love and Tragedy

Vaughn struggled through a dream, half awake, half asleep. He could feel his head on the cool, hard rock of the waterfall, but then again the waterfall spinning, thick blue liquid pouring down the edges. The water poured faster, the sound rushing into his ears. Faster and louder until…

He sat up, suddenly fully awake. At first he wasn't sure where he was, but then it all came back to him. The helicopter crash, the Fake Agents, and then…Sydney. He pulled himself to his feet, frowning as his head throbbed and spun. He put his arms out on the rock slab Sydney was lying asleep on, and closed his eyes, hoping that when he opened them, she would be looking up at him.

He got the shock of his life when she was.

"Sydney's awake!"

"The agent's back!"

"DUDE! That rocks!"

Jack strode into the makeshift hospital, seeing Vaughn and Kate both crying in joy.

Vaughn spun in circles, breaking away from Kate and putting his hand to his forehead, completely overwhelmed. He stared down at Sydney, who was now looking around in a muddled confusion, and decided he could not contain himself. He grabbed her hands and pulled her into his chest, crying openly and spouting off everything that had been locked up inside him.

"I was so scared! Syd, I swear, I didn't mean – with Lauren – I almost died when I thought you were dead! And now…Syd…are you okay? Syd, can you hear me?"

Vaughn pulled out of the hug, holding her back at arm's length. For a horrifying second, he thought he recognized the look on her face. "Syd, do you remember?" He felt his stomach plummet, feeling a sudden urge to throw up the fish he had eaten for breakfast. "Syd…"

And then – Vaughn decided through God's grace – Sydney smiled weakly, tears leaking from her eyes. She jumped forward, back into his arms and whispered, "What a dream."

Vaughn laughed and cried and laughed some more, Sydney laughing and crying along with him. When his eyes finally cleared of tears and Jack was allowed to step in to check on Sydney, Vaughn gravitated to the front of the crowd that had gathered around the caves, stepping beside Kate, who was biting her curved finger, tears spilling silently down her face.

"I'm happy for you," she said. Vaughn beamed. Never had he felt so relieved. Hurley gave him a pat on the back that nearly sent him sprawling, and he came up laughing. He watched beside Kate as Jack preformed a check up on Sydney, looking into her eyes and testing her reflexes. When she was finally permissible to try her legs, he ran over to help steady her.

"How long was I out?" she asked as she took her first wobbling step, nearly falling over. Vaughn grabbed her elbows to keep her up, grunting and cracking up again. He had never been so out of control with his emotions, and he wasn't about to regain control anytime soon.

"I don't know…" he admitted, then shrugged. "A long time."

Syd's expression was rigid with concentration as she studied her walk, getting it down after a few minutes. "I…remember…Nadia and Weiss," she said slowly, tearing up again. "There's something you should know about them, Vaughn, they're not – "

"The real Weiss and Nadia? We know."

Vaughn led Sydney over to the waterfall where they could sit down. After a few moments of just looking into each other's eyes – Vaughn realized how much he had missed seeing her eyes – before Syd took a deep breath and asked, "What's happened since I've been asleep?"

Just as Vaughn was opening his mouth to speak, Jack came into the area, looking concerned about something.

"Sydney, I really think you should be getting some rest," he advised.

"Why?" Sydney retorted. "I've been asleep this whole time."

Jack, knowing already that it was useless to argue with her, just smiled.

"In that case, here's option two: Join us at the beach – there's still some boar from last night."

Sydney and Vaughn looked at each other, and Sydney giggled, giving him a kiss, which he returned, feeling whole again. Jack smiled and looked at his feet. "Right," he said, "just come on down when you're ready."

"Okay, but that might be a while," Sydney replied, leaning her head against Vaughn's shoulder and giving the doctor a wink, sending him off muttering to himself something about, "Agents…"

It was dim in the jungle, a sort of pale green light falling around Kate's shoulders as she walked along the roughly trodden path, the caves behind her. She had barely set out, walking slowly on purpose as to allow Jack to catch up with her if he wanted before she was stopped.

"Is it true?"

"Is what true?"

"Is Agent Bristow really awake?"

Kate stopped her trek to the beach, shifting the pack on her shoulder and fixing Sark with a steady gaze. Her face showed no emotion, but her eyes were burning fiercely. She fought with herself over the urge to slug him in the face, but knew that would be wrong because, after all, he had already told everyone how he had helped in saving Claire and Carter, which made her sick.

"I know why you went after them," she hissed.

"So she is – "

"That's not what I'm talking about and you know it," Kate snarled. "You thought you'd get the others off your back by playing the hero, but it won't work on me."

Sark met her eyes with the same cool defiance he had always managed to uphold when facing her, even when she had a gun to his face – which she had at one time – he still managed to stare her down. Maybe he thought she didn't have the guts to pull the trigger.

"Next time it'll be different," she said softly. Sark seemed to know what she was thinking.

"There won't be a next time, Agent Austen," he said, and turned his back on her, following the others to the beach. Kate felt her face turn red, clenching her fists. She was so enraged she didn't notice Sawyer as he came up behind her, giving her a bump on the shoulder as he lumbered pass. Then he turned around and smiled.

"Pick up the pace, Freckles, or get outta the middle of the road."

"Don't try me Sawyer I am not in the mood."

"Well, Freckles, what mood are you in, then?"

Kate narrowed her eyes, and walked on.

"Aw, c'mon, Freckles, don't be like that!"

"I'll be however I feel like being," Kate snapped, not even bothering to turn back. After a moment, she realized that Sawyer had turned back, grumbling something about PMS, which made Kate's mood even fouler.

Melanie bit her thumbnail as she stood on the shoreline, letting the salty water flow over her small feet. Ana-Lucia had said, get what you want. But what did she want? To just be friends with Carter, now that she knew that he…liked her? Or move on to something more?

She closed her eyes, wondering what to do. And then it hit her. Hazel eyes determined, she strode over to Carter.

She stopped in front of him, and placed her hands on her hips.

"I want to know," she said.

Carter, who had been trying to patch up the toe of his shoe with some cloth, looked up, squinting in the sunlight.

"What?"

"I want to know…" She bit her lip. "I want to know what you think."

"About what?"

"About everything!" Melanie dug her toe into the sand. "About this island…and…about me." She said the last bit softly, blushing.

Carter was silent for a moment. "Mel…I…"

He looked flustered, like he didn't know how to say what he wanted to. He stammered for a moment in a very un-Carter-like manner, and then sighed. "Mel, I…I…"

At that moment, an uprising of commotion drew the two kid's attention to the edge of the beach. Carter gave Melanie a pained look, got up, and said, "I'm gonna go check it out," leaving Melanie standing with tears in her eyes. She crossed her arms, and stared angrily out at the ocean for a time before she had compressed her emotions and felt sure enough to walk over and see what was going on. As it turned out, she was lucky she did. She hadn't seen so many people smiling and happy since…well…ever on the island.

"What's going on?" she asked the nearest happy person, which just happened to be the little kid's dad – the kid's name was Walter…but everyone just called him Walt – Michael. Michael turned to her, and announced that the agent woman was awake. Melanie managed a subdued smile, not sure what this news meant, or if she should be so happy for the agent guy Vaughn. She saw him walk out of the forest with Sydney leaning on him, smiling, and thought, "That could be me and Carter," if only Carter would open up to her.

After a while, the group surrounding the agents ebbed away as people went out to nibble on their lunch – left over boar. Melanie decided she wasn't very hungry and sought out to find someone to talk to, finally running into Charlie.

"Hey," he said, happy to see her.

"Hey."

"Uh-oh."

"Uh-oh what?"

"Somebody's not very happy."

Melanie turned red. "How do you know?" she asked.

"Come on, I know that face. What's bugging you?"

Melanie was just about to tell him about her attempted talk with Carter, but Claire just happened to find her way over, and sat next to Charlie. The two of them promptly entered a conversation.

Melanie sighed, glancing around, and noticing that almost everyone had been paired. Shannon and Sayid, Charlie and Claire, Sun and Jin…and even Walt had his dog. Melanie was just thinking that she was the only one who didn't have a sure somebody when she saw Kate stomp by, looking close to tears.

Out of curiosity, she followed Kate to a secluded cove of the island, and held back as Kate knelt by the water and wiped her eyes.

"Kate?" she said quietly.

Kate stiffened and looked back at her, eyes hard at first, but then she smiled as she realized who it was.

"Melanie…what…what are you doing out here?"

Melanie shrugged.

"I was just…thought I'd follow you. I dunno. Sorry, I'll leave – "

"No, that's okay. Come sit by me." Kate patted the sand. Melanie smiled and took a seat. They were quiet for a long time it seemed, just watching the waves.

"What's wrong?" Melanie asked finally. Kate took a long time to answer, but that was okay. It felt normal, like everything in the cove went slower, even time, even the breeze. It was quiet, so quiet it was as if you could hear the trees of the forest behind them growing.

"Men," Kate answered at last, with a small smile.

"Oh?"

"Yeah…it's…hard to be a woman out here, isn't it?"

"Yeah…" Melanie laughed. She hadn't talked about things like this with anyone but Ana-Lucia, and talking to Kate felt different and refreshing. "Is it Sark?"

Kate's features tightened and she nodded silently. "Do you know why they came?" Melanie was referring to the agents. Again, Kate nodded, but it seemed as though she refused to talk about that, so Melanie changed the subject. "And…and Sawyer?"

"Oh don't get me started on Sawyer," Kate groaned.

"I know what you mean. He seems positively boorish."

"Does he?" Kate sounded interested.

"Yeah…"

"How so? Because he's different?"

"I…" Melanie was stumped. "Do you know something about him?"

"I do."

That got Melanie thinking, but before she could say anything, Kate started talking again. "He's only like that because of something he did in the past. A mistake that changed his whole life…that separated him from everyone he had loved…he became the person he hated."

Melanie stared at Kate, who turned and looked her in the eyes. "Just like I did."

Meanwhile, everyone else was at the beach, talking and laughing. A relieved air surrounded them, and everyone was happy. Except, of course, for Sawyer, Sark, and Carter.

Carter was remembering a television show that Melanie had loved before the crash—probably because she looked almost exactly like the main girl. What was the name of it? Oh, right, Instant Star. The main girl, Jude, was funny and quick witted and talented, and her dorky best friend, Jamie, was totally in love with her. But Jude was too oblivious to realize it. And Jamie denied it.

With a bitter thought, Carter thought about how much the show was like his life. Melanie was the beautiful, talented girl that was under appreciated by most, and Carter was the loser best friend that no one ever, ever thought about. And the competition was a has-been guy from a band that died a long, long time ago. Joy. Carter sighed.

He knew he should just come out with it. But he didn't know how. Didn't know whom to ask. No one really knew Melanie here; no one knew how she would react. No. One person did. But that was crazy. Carter refused to do it.

With a bitter sigh, Carter came to the conclusion that it was the only way.

He swallowed his pride and started the search for Charlie.

He found him, and by grace, he was sitting alone. If Claire had been there he probably would have high-tailed it before anyone saw him…but thankfully, no one was there. Charlie looked up at him, and waved a hand in a cautious greeting. "O'ye," he said.

"Melanie's not around…is she?"

"Uh…" Charlie looked around as if he had lost someone. "She was here a while ago…"

"That's okay," said Carter, and sat down across from Charlie, legs crossed.

"So, what's your troubles, young grasshopper?"

Carter laughed. He was so nervous it just came spilling out, and he felt like an idiot afterward. Charlie, however, smiled politely and waited for the nervous laugh to go by, leaving Carter gasping.

"Troubles?" he wheezed crossly. "Ah…girls."

Charlie nodded. "Not my best field…" he muttered with a little wink. "Is it Melanie?"

"Mmm."

"Well, chap, what if I told you I have no idea how to help you?"

Carter's eyes widened, shocked.

"What? How can – "

"The last time I tried to get along with a girl I ended up ruining my life…and hers…and chucking in a copier machine." Charlie laughed sadly while Carter grimaced. "And you know what else, mate? No one else knows how to help you, either. We're all on our own, here, because you know what? Girls think we're the cause for all their problems."

"Oh…" Carter hadn't been expecting such an answer. Charlie laughed, clapped him on the shoulder, and stood up, brushing the sand off his pants.

"Don't fret, mate. You'll figure it out. Sooner or later. But hopefully sooner, eh? But…then again…we might have all the time in the world on this island."

"Alright…" Carter said just to make him stop rambling. "Thanks, Charlie."

"Don't mention it."

"Where…where are you going?"

Charlie stopped and squinted in the sun. "You know, I really don't know," he said before walking off, humming a song to himself. Carter picked up a handful of sand and let it blow out of his fingers toward the forest. Just looking at the jungle made him shiver with unease, but it also captivated him, almost like it was pulling him in.

Sark knew it was bad. Having Sydney back was going to be…a challenge. He knew she did not trust him one bit and would never fall for his attempts to win the others' trust.

But he knew he couldn't just disappear again. He had to stick with the group and play off their weaknesses. The thing he noticed was the survivors had a system, almost like a social pyramid where certain people had certain jobs.

At the top, he noted, were the ones important to overall survival. The doctor was probably at the top of the list, along with the hunter, Locke, who although had power by fear, didn't seem to have much trust. And Sawyer, who had the guns. And also the Agents.

Then there was middle class. The hard-workers and the "in" group. Kate, Sayid, Michael, Jin, and even Hurley were a part of this group. They went on all the little explorations and took charge in tough situations.

The bottom section of the pyramid was a little more complicated. It contained the red-shirts, whom he didn't care about, but also the weak, like the children. They had no power, but were highly protected.

Looking back on his pyramid, Sark decided it would be most effective to upturn the order of things by causing a revolt against the higher levels of authority. He had seen it done before, and had an idea how to cause pandemonium.

He couldn't help but smile smugly to himself as he stashed the precious bottles of water and a few choice shelter items in plain view of Jack's workstation at the "hospital". When he was finished, he made his way back to the beach, where the sun was setting, only to be stopped roughly by Sawyer as he passed.

"Wonderin' where you went off to."

Sark kept his gaze level, determined not to make the southern man more suspicious. "What were you doin' back here, huh? Cuz I'm mighty curious to find out."

"Well, you know what they say," Sark said light and conversationally. "Curiosity…though tempting, usually gets one killed."

"Am I supposed to take that as a threat?"

"Perhaps you should, or perhaps I should be wondering what are doing out here? I heard from a few on the beach that you have quite the stash of stolen – "

"Don't go runnin' your mouth about things you don't understand, son," Sawyer warned. "I was just followin' you to make sure you don't cause anymore trouble."

"Well I just wanted to make it clear that you don't have to worry about me, Mr. Sawyer."

Sark walked past him, onto the beaten path back to the beach, a satisfied smile on his face while Sawyer stared after him, confused and angry.

"They're baaack…" Sydney said quietly, looking towards Jack. Jack's head snapped over to where Melanie and Kate came walking up, laughing and talking. He walked over to Kate.

"Hey."

"Hi," Kate replied.

Melanie giggled, then said, "Yeah, I'll leave you two alone…"

She walked off, back towards the beach.

"So, how's Sydney?" Kate asked.

"Good," Jack nodded. "For what happened to her—well, I guess that I can't say that there's no miracle medicine anymore."

He smiled warmly, which Kate couldn't help but return.

"Hey—Mel!"

Melanie stopped, looking over her shoulder to see Carter come limping over to her. She smiled awkwardly, which broke Carter's heart. Great botch job, he thought sourly.

"Mel…I wanted to talk to you…"

Mel's eyes took on a slightly hopeful, but wary glint.

Carter took a deep breath. "Melanie…we've…we've been friends for a long…for a long time…aw, screw it!"

He drew level with her and kissed her. She stiffened in shock, having not expected this. He stepped back, looking away. This was it. She would either run off screaming or slap him, either way disgusted.

"Carter?"

He glanced back at her. She had tears leaking from her eyes, but she was smiling widely, both with her mouth and her eyes. She hugged him tightly, resting her head on his shoulder. "Love you."

"TOLD YOU!" Charlie mouthed to Claire, looking triumphant.

Claire pressed a hand over her mouth to keep from letting the giggle in her throat come out. "Yeah, you did," she mouthed back. "Now let's go…they can have their privacy now…"

The two silently walked back to the caves, grinning stupidly at everyone who passed.

"Wow," said Charlie, running a hand through his hair.

"What?" Claire giggled.

"Well…I dunno, it's just sort of weird."

"It's just puppy love, Charlie," said Claire. Both were unaware that their walk had slowed almost to a stop. They were both lost in each other's eyes. And before they knew it, they had stepped together and shared a passionate moment. A light breeze picked up around them, smelling sweet and refreshing in the fading sunlight.

"Claire Littleton," said Charlie after a few long seconds, "I do believe I'm in love with you."

"Yes well, Charlie…" Claire was smiling so wide she could barely speak. She wanted only to laugh, and eventually, she couldn't hold it in anymore. Charlie held her hands and they both laughed until their sides ached and they stumbled to a comfortable spot on the beach, panting. They lay together staring at the sky for a long time before either of them spoke again.

"Do you think…that this was supposed to happen, Charlie?" Claire asked.

"What do you mean, love?"

"That to be happy…really happy…we had to be here?"

Charlie never answered her. Claire understood, grabbing a hold of his hand and falling into a deep, happy sleep.

All around the island others were doing the same. The fire had died down considerably, and it had grown a bit chilly away from the flame. Melanie told Carter she was off to the caves and to come whenever he was ready. She made her way alone down the path and found a comfortable spot on a bed of leaves to lay her head and sleep.

Only, her sleep didn't last long, or so it felt like.

A hand clamped itself over her mouth, and Melanie's eyes snapped open, pupils retracting. She saw a flash of a needle, felt a sharp pain in her forearm, and then everything went black.

She didn't feel herself being carried through the jungle. She didn't hear the soft voice whispering, "Oh, Alex, I finally have you back…my daughter…my sweet, sweet child…"

END OF CHAPTER

Jaye: Well, was that unexpected or what? ((beams)) Well, Lils said that it is MY TURN to have a conversation with one of the LOSTies! So, here we have…

Sawyer: What the 'ell am I doin' here?

Jaye: ((smiles)) HIYA SAWYER!

Sawyer: …What the 'ell am I doin' here?

Jaye: HERE'S A SAWYER, THERE'S A SAWYER!

Sawyer: ((leaves))

Jaye: AND ANOTHER LITTLE SAWYER!

Lils: You are a frickin crazy bunch o' rednecks, you know that, right? ((ducks as Jaye is no doubt about to loose her head)) REVIEW!