TEN MINUTES IN HEAVEN
It was all over. There was no more life. Hurley wished he were dead.
"It'll be okay, Hurley," Kate said, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"You'll move on," Claire assured him, clutching his hand.
"You're strong, Hurley, you'll get over this," Jack said.
"We're here for you, man," said Mike.
"This is your fate, Hugo," Locke said. Hurley burst into tears.
"I just can't believe she's gone," he sobbed, throwing himself onto the shallow grave, clutching at the wooden cross. "It's not fair!"
"Life ain't fair, bucko," said Sawyer. Kate glared at him. The conman shrugged his shoulders, feigning nonchalance. "Well, it ain't."
Hurley pulled himself to his knees, red-rimmed eyes glaring across the loose circle. "It's your fault!" he yelled. "You killed her!"
"Oops," Sawyer grinned. Hurley launched himself at the redneck, who smoothly slipped away. "Sorry, chico, don't fall for the same trick twice," he said. Hurley continued to howl.
"What' wrong?" a female voice burst out, and Hurley glanced up to see who it was. Libby sat down beside him, grabbing his shoulders and holding him tightly. "Hurley, what is it?"
"H-h-h-he killed her," he finally managed to get out between sobs.
"Killed who?" she asked.
"My fish!" Hurley said. He seemed to recognize how ridiculous that sounded, because his sobs began to subside, and the shuddering calmed down. "I loved her," he said.
"Look, Hurley," Jack tried to sound consoling. He knew that his bedside manner was never the best, but he had to keep trying, he supposed. "We're running low on meds, but if you'd like, I could probably spare a sedative. . ."
But that just set the man to screaming again. Jack sighed.
"Is there anything we can do to make you feel better?" Libby asked. Her words sounded strangely forced, as though they were scripted. Jack figured that it was probably because she was a psychiatrist, this sort of thing must be natural for her.
"Well. . ." Hurley sniffled a little, and attempted to smile bravely through a fresh onslaught of tears.
"I do like to play games. . ."
"Hell no!" Sawyer threw his cigarette to the sand, not even realizing that it was his last one. "No, no, no, no, no!"
"Sawyer. . ." Jack said warningly, glancing significantly toward Hurley. But Sawyer was beyond caring.
"Do you remember what happened last time, doc?" Sawyer snarled, walking over to Jack in three long strides. He poked the other man in the chest. "We made out. Remember now?"
Jack squeezed his eyes shut. He didn't want to talk about it.
"You bit me!" Sawyer exclaimed, as if that made it even worse.
"We have to calm him down," Jack ground out between his teeth. He didn't want this any more than the other man, but the simple fact was that the island couldn't handle anybody else going insane. Charlie and Locke were enough for the moment.
"You calm him down, Jackass," Sawyer said, spinning on his heel and hurrying away. "I ain't having no part in it!"
Hurley began to scream again as the redneck walked away. With each step the sobs became louder.
"Somebody do something!" Claire yelled.
Jack hated it, but there was only one person who could remedy the situation. He turned to talk to Kate, but she nodded to him before he even had the chance to say her name.
"I'm on it!" she said, and began jogging down the beach. Not that she really knew how she would get the enraged Sawyer to come back. Nor did she understand why Sawyer's presence was so important to Hurley. True, they had seemed to be becoming friends lately, but after such a traumatic loss, she would have thought that Sawyer would be the last man that any person wanted to see.
"Sawyer," she said finally, grabbing his arm. He spun around so quickly that Kate lost her footing, and sprawled on the ground. She looked up at his angry face. His chest was rising and falling rapidly as he breathed. He looked beautiful.
"You have to come back, Sawyer," she said meekly.
"Why the hell would I do that?" he asked. "Freckles, there ain't no one wants me there."
"Hurley does," she said, and then so lowly she knew he'd only just be able to hear her, "I do."
"Whatever," he said, but he reached down an arm to help her up. "You made your choice, Kate."
She winced when he said her name. "Sawyer," she protested. She had to make him understand. But he shrugged off her arm and kept walking away.
"Was that really necessary?" Libby said. Hurley felt slightly saddened by the reprimanding tone in her voice, but he was sure enough of his convictions not to be overly concerned.
"It was the only way," he said firmly. "Jack wasn't coming down for any more emergencies."
"I know," Libby agreed. "But still. A fish? A fish that Jin caught in a neck?"
"Yeah, well," Hurley bristled a little. "It worked, didn't it?"
Libby sighed. "Yes, it worked." She jerked her head toward the circle of survivors, currently looking anxiously toward the man who, minutes earlier, had been bawling his eyes out. "Shouldn't we be getting back to them?"
"I'm waiting for Sawyer," Hurley insisted. Libby smiled and shook her head, jerked a thumb towards Kate, who was walking back alone, looking more than a little perturbed. She sat down next to Jack, and shook away whatever question he was asking her.
"I don't think he's coming," Libby said. Hurley sighed. The games were never as good without Sawyer.
"So, what will we be playing today?" Jack asked in a forlorn and resigned voice. He sounded as though he'd rather be back in the hatch, sorting out medicines.
"Today. . ." Hurley announced slowly. "We'll be playing Ten Minutes in Heaven!" He waited expectantly for cheers. Everybody looked frightened, instead. Hurley held out his hand. "My lovely assistant, Libby. . .the bottle!" Libby wore a very amused expression on her face as she handed Hurley an old bottle.
"Hurley," Jack said slowly. "Maybe we should play a different game."
Kate glanced back down the beach, toward where Sawyer had departed. Her features hardened. "No," she said. "I think it's a good idea. Let's play."
"Kate. . ." Jack said slowly. He knew what she was thinking, and she also knew that she didn't really want to play. This was revenge sex for her, only. . .minus the sex. Jack thought.
"Well, since Kate wants to play so much, she can go first," Hurley said enthusiastically. The truth was, though the game was his idea, he wasn't so sure that he wanted to go. At all, really. Unless he could somehow rig the game.
Kate set her jaw, looking for all the world as though this were the most unpleasant thing she had been forced to do in her entire life. She leaned forward and spun the bottle. The eyes of all the survivors were on it as it slowly made its circle. Landing, finally, on . . .
"Score!" Scott yelled, leaping to his feet and pumping his fist in the air. "Steve's gonna score tonight!"
"Dude, you're Scott," Hurley said. "Steve's dead."
"Oh yeah," Scott seemed confused for a minute, then shrugged his shoulders and held out his hand to Kate. "Come on, my beautiful and luscious lady, Scott knows just how to make you feel good."
Several of the women giggled a bit at that, and even Kate smiled, extending her hand and allowing him to pull her up. Jack's eyes followed the two as they disappeared into the brush.
A minute passed. Two.
"Well, this is a terribly exciting game, isn't it?" Charlie asked brightly. Libby laughed.
"Maybe we should have a few people go at once," she suggested. "There are thirty of us. We don't have to go one by one."
"Good point," Hurley said. "Um. . .Charlie, you were the first to complain, you can spin." Charlie laughed.
"All right," He looked longingly at Claire for a moment, before leaning over and spinning the bottle. "Come on, baby, come on. . ." he chanted. But no luck, for the bottle landed pointing to Hurley.
"Um, dude, I think that means you can spin again," Hurley said dubiously. Charlie was just staring at the bottle.
"Nuh-uh," Jack interjected, one of his rare smiles plastered across his face. "If Sawyer had to kiss me last night, then you two need to spend ten minutes in heaven together."
"Blimey," Charlie said, and gulped. Hurley turned to look at Libby, panic written across his face, but she just laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "Well," said Charlie. "I guess we might as well get this over with."
Hurley and Charlie didn't grab hands as they headed into the jungle. Hurley felt a little uncomfortable, when all of a sudden it hit him. They were going to be alone in the jungle. Nobody would see them. So they didn't actually have to do anything. With a whoot of joy, he turned around and grabbed Charlie up in a massive bear hug.
"Hurley, I don't. . .I'm honored, really, it's just Claire. . ." Charlie said in a flustered way. Hurley laughed.
"No, dude. We're alone." Charlie looked blank. "In the jungle. No one can see us."
"Oh. . ." understanding dawned on Charlie's face. "I get it. So. . .what do we do?"
Hurley shrugged his shoulders. "Walk around, I guess."
So they did just that. It was an interesting, walk, actually. First they walked in on Steve and Kate. Or rather, they walked in on Kate and Steve's comatose body. The poor man lay on the jungle floor, a suspicious red mark on his forehead. Kate smiled and waved when she saw them.
"But. . .what. . ." Charlie couldn't seem to get the words out. Kate just shrugged her shoulders.
"I guess we just had different ideas of what heaven must be like," she said smugly. Confused and a little disturbed, the two men continued their way through the jungle.
After another 2.5 minutes (making it a total of 7.25 minutes. . .Hurley was keeping very careful track) they wandered in on what seemed to be a bored Sawyer. A very, very bored Sawyer. He was very slowly flipping his lighter on and off, staring cross-eyed at the flame.
"Sawyer!" Hurley exclaimed joyously. The man looked up from his lighter, a laughing smirk on his face.
"Lardass!" he said in an almost affectionate term.
"Dude, you've got to play with us," Hurley pleaded. "Charlie and I got stuck together."
"I told y'all I don't play games," Sawyer said, and returned to his intense contemplation of his lighter.
"If you don't mind my saying so mate," Charlie began. Sawyer interrupted him with a "I do," and Charlie, ignoring the clue, continued "you don't seem to have anything better to do."
"We're playing Ten Minutes in Heaven," Hurley said. Sawyer's features brightened up.
"Oh yeah?" he asked, a little too casually. "Who's playing?"
"You know, the usual dudes," Hurley said slyly. "Jack, Sun, Jin, Charlie and me, Claire, Kate. . ."
"Kate picked Steve to begin with—" Charlie said, but Hurley quickly clapped a hand over the man's mouth.
"You should come play," Hurley wheedled.
"Well," Sawyer said, trying to sound reluctant. "I never was a man to turn down some action."
Hurley noted that the conversation had taken 2 minutes, and that they should be heading back. More or less happily, the trio returned to the group.
Hurley's eyes sought through the crowd, looking for a very specific woman. . .who seemed to be specifically missing.
"Libby and Jin are out right now," Kate said. Hurley let out a sigh of relief. Just Jin. Nothing bad could happen there. "So I don't think you have to—" her voice cut off as she saw the third figure walk into the area. Her eyes lit up. "Sawyer, I thought you didn't want to play!"
"Well," Sawyer said, grinning at Claire and Ana-Lucia. "I couldn't deprive the lovely ladies of the chance to really see what Heaven is like." The two girls giggled a little, and Claire shot daggers at Sawyer's back.
"So who's turn is it?" Hurley asked.
"Mine," said Mr. Eko. Everyone turned in surprise to the big man. No one had really expected him to play. Yet here he was. He reached out and spun the bottle. Everyone watched in baited anticipation. It slowed as it neared Charlie, who winced, nearly stopped at Ana, who looked speculative, and finally ended, trembling, facing Locke. His face lit up. Mr. Eko looked vaguely worried.
"Thomas," said Locke, extending a hand.
"My name isn't Thomas," said Mr. Eko, standing on his own.
"Phillip, then," Locke continued trying to guess names as they headed into the jungle.
"Dude. . .that was so weird. . ." Hurley shook his head.
"All right, my turn," said Sawyer, and before anyone had the chance to protest that he had only just started, he leaned forward and spun the bottle himself.
Jack stared at the result in disbelief. "Not again!" he gasped. Sawyer rolled his eyes. Kate, however, clearly had over ideas, and she leaned into the circle, and blew on the neck of the bottle, just enough so that it landed on her.
"Kate?" Jack asked. Kate turned and smiled at him, laying a hand gently over his own, and squeezing it, before standing up. Sawyer glared at her, but followed her into the jungle.
"What the hell is this, Freckles?" he growled. "You made your choice. Can't have your doctor and conman, too."
"Sawyer," Kate smiled, and paused, looking away for a moment to gather her thoughts before returning to look at him. "I didn't choose."
"You didn't. . ."
"I forfeit," she said. Sawyer kicked the ground angrily and looked away.
"Can't just do that, Freckles. There's a penalty."
"I know," Kate said, and when he turned to look at her, she gently cupped his chin in her hands, leaned forward and kissed him.
When they finally broke apart (if Hurley had been there he would have timed it as 6.25 minutes) Sawyer stared at the woman with disbelief in his eyes.
"What. . .so, is that your choice, then?"
Kate laughed, and shook her head. "Nope, now I don't have to choose!"
Hurley stared into the fire in utter dejection. Yet again, another Game Night, another failure. He had played for almost seven hours, been sent into the jungle with Charlie (three times), Sun, Claire, a newly conscious Steve, and Ana. But not once with Libby. (For that matter, he'd only gotten two kisses—from Sun and Claire, both on the cheek.)
"Hey Hurley," Libby said, sitting down next to him.
"Hey," he said.
"That was a fun game night, wasn't it?" she asked. Hurley turned to look at her. She was positively glowing. Probably, he thought, because she had just returned from a session with Bernard (in retrospect that didn't make sense, but it did at the time.)
"Whatever," he said, and poked at the fire. But a female hand on his arm made him turn back around.
"You know," Libby said with a shy smile. "I know the bottle didn't land on us, but we can still have our ten minutes in heaven."
"Really?" Hurley asked in wonder. Libby laughed.
"Really. And if we want, we can even make it a little longer."
Hurley decided that the third one was definitely the best of the Craphole Island Game Nights.
