2: BACK TO CIVILISATION
Jack heaved his and Kate's (and Sawyer's, to his disapproval) luggage from the above rack. When he turned to her, her was face was no longer pale, but tear-stained. Jack squeezed her hand, and she gave him a small, meagre smile. She slung her bag onto her back and tried to push all of her emotions to the bottom of her stomach.
"Well, Freckles, Doc, this is goodbye. Don't cry for me."
"No chance of that, Sawyer." Jack answered playfully. Sawyer smiled and shook Jack's and Kate's hands in turn.
"BLOODY HELL!" Jack, Kate and Sawyer spun round to see Charlie's nose pressed up against a window staring in horror at the sight before him. Everyone who could fit ran to the nearest window on the left side of the plane. They all immediately saw what caused Charlie's loud exclamation.
Hundreds, even thousands, of reporters were awaiting their arrival eagerly. Cameras were flashing and pens were scribbling so fast you could almost see the smoke coming off the paper. Many others could be seen inside the terminal, obviously not wanting to catch the cold.
"Once we get out there, it's going to be crazy!" Jack said, with a hint of excitement in his voice, Kate noted. She nodded, and almost laughed at his and Sawyer's excitement. However hard she tried, she couldn't join in, or feel the same as the two jumpy men in front of her.
What Kate didn't know was that Jack wasn't looking forward to being back. He didn't want to be. Coming back to civilisation, however, had been an opportunity too big to pass up, and he would have been alone (well, the monster and French woman had remained). Nevertheless, because Kate was clearly very upset, and terrified by the situation, Jack felt that it was his duty to lighten the atmosphere, thus hopefully lifting her mood. Maybe if he acted like he looking forward to all the things he was listing with Sawyer, then Kate would realise that going 'home' wouldn't be so bad after all. Of course, Kate wouldn't be able to take advantage of all these things until she got out of prison, so Jack had to be very careful not to cause her to become more depressed. He, Kate and Sawyer, now heavily laden with luggage, approached the exit of the plane.
Shannon had such mixed emotions, being back was incredibly exciting and wonderful, however, seeing her step-mother again was enough to make her fly the plane back to the island herself. While Sayid kept reassuring her that what she was feeling was normal, she still felt as if she had suddenly become very complex and confusing since the island, and didn't like it. However, Sayid reminded her that she had matured a lot since the crash, and that she would be fine. She couldn't believe it though. It wasn't that she couldn't trust Sayid, she did, with all her heart, it was simply that she couldn't see how she would be 'fine'. It was now that she finally expressed in words something else that had been scaring her since the rescue.
"Sayid…will I ever see you again?" Shannon's voice had been so timid and worried that he turned to her and gave her a sympathetic, and, he hoped, loving smile.
"Yes, Shannon. That is certain. As it says on the back of Nadia's photograph, 'I will see you in the next life if not in this one'." Shannon nodded half-heartedly, and replied,
"That's not comforting. I want, I need, to see you in this life. I have no one to go back for, no one I care about anyway, not now Boone's…gone. My dad is dead, and I'm not exactly on what you could call speaking terms with my step-mother." Shannon swallowed. Sayid stroked her hair, and whispered,
"We will see each other again, soon. I promise." At this, Shannon smiled weakly and began pulling her bags dangerously out of the luggage rack.
"Careful there, Sticks. Or we'll have another death on the plane!" Sawyer laughed. Shannon and Sayid glared at him.
"Know when it is best to speak, and when it is best to not, Sawyer." Sayid spoke warningly. Sawyer grinned and went back to looking out the window with Kate and Jack. Sayid noticed that Sawyer did have a point and attempted to calm Shannon down and help her with her bags.
Charlie licked his lips and stuffed the half-empty (or half-full, as Claire kept reminding him) peanut butter jar into his worn out bag.
"Gorgeous." Claire laughed, and handed Aaron to Hurley.
"Whoa, dude, what are ya doing?" Claire smiled and began trying to heave down her luggage.
"Hey, hey!" Charlie ran to Claire's side and grabbed the bag off her. "Let me do that." Claire had learnt that it's best not to argue with Charlie in situations like this; you will not win. She contented herself with watching him as he almost fell over with the weight of one of her bags.
"What are you carrying in here?" Charlie asked, exasperated. Claire giggled.
"That's all of it. Thanks, Charlie."
"You're welcome." They smiled at each other.
"Dude, if you're not unloading, can you take him back?" Hurley was holding Aaron at arms length, not really sure what to do with him. Claire took Aaron in her arms, and wondered what life would be like from now on. No monsters, no island, no Ethan…back to normal. The way life used to be. Without the island. Without Charlie. She gazed at her bags and out the window. She couldn't believe that she was back, with a baby, no less. She needed to get him to a doctor as soon as possible. Aaron could have caught anything out there. She needed to record his birth, get a job… there was so much to do! She took a deep breath, and proceeded to follow Charlie and Hurley to the front of the plane.
Buildings. Machines. Money. Real food. People…so many people. These were just a few of the things on John Locke's mind as he gazed out of the miniscule plane window. The island…that is where he was to fulfil his destiny, he was sure of it. Then why did he not remain on the island, like Danielle did? He seemed to have got wrapped up in the excitement of seeing a rescue plane that he forgot that he had no good reason for him to leave. He had everything he needed to survive on the island. It had so many secrets that he needed to uncover, like the hatch, the monster, the polar bears… He sighed and followed suit by heading towards the entrance to the plane.
Walt and Michael were possibly two of the most eager survivors on the plane, yet they were keeping their emotions contained. Walt petted his dog, Vincent, gently, and anticipated the return to civilisation. Michael remembered how hard it had been to convince the pilots and stewardesses to let Vincent ride with them. He had assured them that all the survivors were accustomed to Vincent and were perfectly fine with it.
"Dad!" Walt squealed. "We're going back!"
"Yes, son. We are." Michael beamed and hoisted Vincent and Walt (along with their luggage) to the front of the plane.
Sun and Jin didn't say a word to each other as they prepared to leave the plane. They each knew what the other was thinking, and feeling, so speaking was not necessary. They were both excited, of course, but in an orderly fashion, unlike some of the passengers before them.
Jin had concerns about returning to the 'other world'. Money would be a problem. Sun would most certainly not wish him to return to his former job of working for her father, and neither would he, as they were now closer than they ever had been since their wedding. They contented themselves, as always, with silence, and a friendly smile, sometimes the gentle brush of fingers on each other's hands. Everything would be alright, as long as they were together. They had gone through mortal peril, and come out of it. Together. Their marriage could face anything that life threw at them. They would be waiting, and standing strong.
As they waited to leave the plane, Kate was still afraid. Jack leant over to her, and whispered,
"Remember; only let the fear in for five seconds." Kate grinned, and they began counting in unison.
"1…2…3…4…5." Kate took a deep breath, and some of the colour returned to her cheeks.
"Better?" Jack enquired.
"Of course." This reply had sounded a lot more like Kate than the voice Jack had heard for the past few hours.