Sorry this chapter took longer than the other two—I went to my friend's lake house for a few days. But here it is. I hope you like it. It's kind of like my idea about why most of the people are there, and what they have in common, but it's not a spoiler, because it's all made up.
Disclaimer: I don't own Lost. Or the 815 passengers. Just my ship survivors.
Chapter One: Psychic
The Expedition Survivors' Shelter
"Aha."
Ellie's eyes darted up when she found Charlie in the Expedition survivors' tent, looking through her suitcase.
"How long have you been standing there?" she demanded.
He shrugged. "Not that long."
"So what was the 'aha' for?" she asked, trying to ignore how cute his little pug nose was. She knew Jake would be here any minute, and she didn't really want the two boys to collide.
Charlie beamed, holding up a shirt of hers. She sighed. Written across the shirt, in big white letters, was the word DRIVESHAFT.
"You do like us, don't you?" he asked, smirking.
"That was a hand-me-down from my sister," Ellie said. It was true, but she didn't mention that she had begged Allison for it from the day she bought it.
"You like us," he teased insistently. Ellie couldn't help but feel a small smile trickle onto her face, and she realized that it had probably been months since she had last smiled. No one in her life knew how to make her smile—nor did they care, for that matter, besides possibly Allison.
"Liked you," she corrected. "Until your brother had a baby and you stopped touring and recording."
Charlie looked a little disappointed at the memory, but he was much more excited that she knew so much about them. "Finally," he sighed, "a fan. The only others who knew about me were John—and I don't really care about him; he's a bloody lunatic—and some friend of Kate's. But not Kate. So really, you're the only one."
Just as Ellie's smile was widening, Jake walked in, and it completely left her face.
"Hey, buddy, could you do us all a favor and take your sorry ass outta here?" Jake sneered, not bothering to give Charlie a second glance.
Charlie raised his eyebrows. "Whoa," he said in surprise. "That was unexpected. Do I know you?"
"My name," Jake snarled, "is Jake. Now could you leave?"
"Um." Charlie didn't looked scared. He just looked confused. "Do you know me? And why do you hate me?"
"Yeah, you're that washed up pop star," Jake said. "And I know that if Ellie listens to your music, it sucks. So get out."
Charlie, like Ellie, couldn't stand it when people insulted his music taste. But Charlie, unlike Ellie, wasn't going to stand around and try to spite people.
"Excuse me," Charlie said, "but what are you doing, degrading your girlfriend's music taste?" Charlie was assuming they were a couple from how close they had been in the lockdown room.
"Don't ever tell me how to treat her," Jake commanded hotly.
Charlie just stared at him, completely mortified by what an awful person he was, when Eko walked into the shelter.
"Charlie," he said, "have you given up on the church? You haven't worked on it in days, and some of the Expedition survivors are talking about wanting a place to properly pray."
Charlie glared at him. "So you finish it," he suggested. He had basically saved Eko's life, but he was still mad at the priest.
Eko looked uncertain. "I suppose my time with Locke has ended," he admitted. He was still completely furious at John Locke for everything he had done.
Charlie nodded. "Luckily," he snorted.
"So why don't you go help the Father build his church?" Jake suggested to Charlie.
Charlie glared at him, gave one final smile to Ellie, and left.
The Church
"Hey," Claire shouted up at Charlie, who was nailing in some wood blocks to the roof of his church. "You're going to break your neck!"
So now you talk to me, Charlie thought to himself, but he was more glad than mad. He still couldn't stop having feelings for Claire. There was just something angelic about her that he couldn't explain, and it attracted him to her. "I'll be fine," he shouted back with a reassuring smile.
Far off in the distance, Charlie could see Jake walking out of the shelter with Jack, probably offering to help do some work. The football star probably didn't want to get out of shape for the next game, Charlie mused darkly. A few minutes later, Ellie crept out of the shelter. Charlie felt confused. Why did she stay with Jake when she was so scared of him? No, scared wasn't the right word…he couldn't think of it. She just didn't mind the way he treated her. Charlie couldn't believe it.
He chatted amiably with Claire, still wondering if she was mad at him from their last fight, until Ellie walked over to them.
"Hey," Ellie greeted Claire with a light, almost invisible smile. "I'm Ellie."
"Claire," Claire replied with a wide smile. She shook Ellie's hand. "It's a pleasure."
Ellie nodded. "So what were you doing when your plane crashed?"
Charlie was surprised at how bold she was. He had been around Claire for about two months now, and he'd never asked her that. They kept their talks leashed.
"I was traveling to talk to an interested couple," Claire explained. Ellie looked confused, so Claire clarified, "About adopting Aaron." She gestured to the baby she was cradling. Charlie knew this part. Claire had been planning on putting her baby up for adoption.
"Oh." Ellie nodded. "You were pregnant when you were on the plane?"
Claire nodded.
"So you had your baby on the island?" Ellie asked in surprise.
Claire nodded again. "You know Kate, the one with the dark curly hair?" When Ellie nodded, Claire explained, "She delivered my baby. And Charlie helped."
"What about Jack?" Ellie asked, not responding to the Charlie part. She didn't want to know if Charlie and Claire were some kind of Adam-and-Eve of the island. "Isn't he a doctor?"
Charlie frowned, knowing that Claire wouldn't respond. "He was busy," he explained. "With someone who got hurt."
"Who?" Ellie asked interestedly.
Charlie glanced at Eko, but he hadn't been there. "Uh. Boon," Charlie said. "He's kind of…dead."
Ellie took a step back. "People died on this island?"
"We haven't told you guys everything yet," Claire explained to Ellie. "But yes, quite a few have. Boon has, Shannon has…all that stuff with Charlie and me…and Walt has been kidnapped."
Ellie's heart began racing. "You mean by the Others?" she asked. She had forgotten about her last conversation with Charlie, where she learned that he and Claire had been kidnapped. Now it was all coming back to her.
Charlie shook his head. "No, Boon didn't die because of the Others. There was a plane, and he was in it when it crashed. It was a small plane."
"A drug-smuggling plane," Eko explained, wiping sweat off his forehead. "My brother and I sent it out to get rid of drugs in my country."
"Everything about this island is weird," Claire explained. "Just…weird."
"You're telling me," Ellie snorted. "Why would someone fly in their eighth month?"
"I told you," Claire said, "I was interviewing a family."
"There are plenty in Australia," Ellie said. "Why did you have to go to LA?"
Claire sighed. "Okay, I kind of got the creeps from this psychic."
Charlie nodded eagerly. "This is going to be the most bloody wicked story you've ever heard," he told Ellie with a wide smile.
Claire looked at him cluelessly. "What? How do you know about it?"
"You told me!" Charlie said immediately. Ellie laughed to herself.
"I didn't tell anyone!" Claire argued.
"Oh." Charlie sighed. "That was before you lost your memory." He turned to Ellie and said, "Long story." Then he turned back to Claire. "But I thought Libby got your memory back."
When he mentioned Libby, Mr. Eko outlined his head and shoulders as respect for the dead. Ellie held back her snorts.
"Not all of it," Claire said.
Charlie shrugged. "Well, you told me all about it. And as I was saying, this is a bloody wicked story."
Claire rolled her eyes, and Ellie didn't know how to respond. She had always been an atheist, which was why she found this church thing pointless, but she'd never thought about psychics. Could they really be real? By this point, it seemed like anything could.
"Anyway, during the reading, the psychic told me-"
"Wait," Mr. Eko interrupted. "What is this psychic's name?"
"He didn't say," Claire said, "come to think of it. But he lived in a pretty nice house back in Australia, and he was older, balding…always counted his money?"
Eko frowned. "Claire, I once encountered an acclaimed 'psychic' in my line of work who sounds quite like yours, and he too was suspicious."
Claire nodded eagerly. "Really? What did he say?"
"There was a girl whose mother claimed she 'came back from the dead,'" Eko explained, shuddering at the memory. "The whole thing was bizarre, but in the end the psychic was practically defending himself, claiming that he wasn't psychic and he didn't know what was going on. But, as an onlooker, it seemed like he was very, very much a psychic."
Ellie found the whole thing almost funny, but Claire was turning more pale than usual, and even Charlie looked very questioning.
So again, Ellie wondered the same thing: Just how unusual was this island?
The Hatch
"Hey," Kate greeted airily when coming into the hatch. Jack was leaning against a wall in a bored manner, staring icily at the computer. She could tell he was very sick of pushing the button.
"Hey," Jack finally replied, looking up at her. "What's up?"
Kate frowned. "I don't know. Just disappointment, mostly. It's already the second day, and no one's come. I don't want to be using the new survivors, but honestly, didn't you kind of think there was hope when they crashed here?"
Jack nodded. "Yeah. At least, I hoped there was hope. But this is the island, and something's telling me we're going to spend at least a few years here."
Kate shuddered at the thought, but she didn't look completely upset about it.
"That doesn't seem to disappoint you," Jack observed. "Might it be because of your wild past?"
"Oh, yeah, Freckles has a great past." Sawyer smirked at them as he walked into the room. "Breakin' the law, killin' people. She was quite the rebel."
Kate rolled her eyes. "Hey, Sawyer," she said.
He nodded in response.
"Anyway," Kate said to Jack, "I just don't have much to go back to. I feel like the people on the island are the only important people in my life."
Jack nodded. "There's something else we all have in common. The survivors, I mean. We all seem to have pretty pathetic lives. I mean, no one back home cares about us."
"Really?" Kate asked interestedly. "I hadn't noticed."
"Judging from what I've heard about everyone, it is," Jack said. He turned to Sawyer. "You didn't have anyone, did you?"
Sawyer shook his head. "Mom's dead, Dad's dead, no siblings, no wife." He said it coldly, without much feeling, and Kate felt her heart go out to him.
"See?" Jack said. "My mom passed away a while ago." He said this with regret that Sawyer hadn't, but not in a grieving way. "My dad died just before the crash. And I just finished all the divorce settlements."
Kate shrugged. "Maybe that's true. My mom's dead…dad's dead…stepdad's dead." She said this more coldly, but with dead fierce when she said "stepdad." "Never was engaged. No siblings."
Jack nodded, looking like he was getting onto something. "Yeah. And Charlie? No one, except maybe the brother, but I don't think he cares much. He has his own life. I think Claire's dad is dead, and Charlie told me her mom basically disowned her. And Aaron's father left them. Eko's brother is dead, and I don't think he has very caring parents (if any)."
"That is all pretty weird," Kate admitted. "Jin's dad was a poor farmer who couldn't afford to search for us, and Sun's dad was filthy rich, but he didn't care about her at all. Sayid didn't have a family or a wife, besides a lover, but she didn't know where he was."
Sawyer grinned. "Muhammad had a lover?" he joked.
Kate rolled her soft green eyes, but Jack nodded eagerly.
"None of us have anyone to look for us," he said. "Michael and Walt are all they've got. Same with Rose and Bernard. Do you really think it's all coincidence? Or do you think we were chosen to come to the island, but to keep it a secret?"
"But what about the newcomers?" Kate objected. "I mean, they have families. I talked to Jenny, and she said her parents had been in the middle of planning her wedding with Andrew, even though apparently he hadn't actually proposed yet. And Andrew had parents who were looking forward to it, too."
Jack nodded. "That's true. Jake helped me with work earlier, and he told me that his dad was the one who got him into the whole football thing. And he was talking about how that redheaded girl, Ellie, was his girlfriend, and how neither of his country-club-type parents approved."
Kate rolled her eyes. "Rich types," she muttered.
Sawyer clicked his tongue. "Stop stereotyping, girlie. Not long before you call me a redneck."
"Redneck," Kate snapped. She couldn't resist. Sawyer grinned.
"Anyway," Jack said in an annoyed voice, "they do have families. So why would the island want them?"
"Whoa." Sawyer shook his head. "Hold up. The island doesn't want. Don't tell me you've joined John's little island cult."
Jack sighed. "Sawyer, I'm done with the whole man-of-science thing. I'm not a man of faith, but I believe what I observe, and that's that there's something really weird about this island. I'm going to use phrases like 'the island wants,' and if you don't like it, you can leave."
Sawyer clicked his tongue again. "Testy," he said with a shake of his gold head. Kate laughed.
"Anyway," Jack said, "I just don't see how they fit in here."
"Maybe," Kate suggested, "the island didn't want an exploring troupe to map it out. So it took the ship in because of panic."
Jack nodded. "That's good. So it wanted us, but it accepted them because otherwise they'd get away."
Sawyer groaned, but Kate continued. "Yeah. It took the risk of being found over the certainty of being found."
"Then why are the Others there? And why was the Black Rock there?" Jack asked.
"The Black Rock was probably a search party, too," Kate said. "Or maybe they weren't, but they had mapping equipment with them. So the island wanted to make sure they didn't declare that it was there. And the Others…well, I think the island chose them. Either that, or they are the mind of the island."
Sawyer shook his head. "Not you too, Freckles."
"But how did it get us here?" Kate asked, ignoring Sawyer again. "I mean, how did the Others get us here, if that were the case?"
Jack shook his head. "I'm not following you."
"I know they made the plane crash. Maybe that has something to do with the magnetic field, who knows? But how did they get us on the planes in the first place? I don't think they're that capable."
As Sawyer swore about crazy freckled rebels and obsessive-compulsive spinal surgeons, Jack considered Kate's statement. "Maybe through connections? They could've somehow hired people who were, I don't know, different. But out in the real world."
Kate grinned. "What, like psychics? Do you really believe in them?"
The Church
"So what, are you guys seriously saying the psychic was in cahoots with the island?"
Charlie noticed that all the girls he'd ever had feelings for also contradicted at least some of the things he had opinions on. He wondered if there was something wrong with him—perhaps his girl radar was wrong? If he had girl radar. He wasn't sure.
"Don't say it like that," Claire objected to Ellie. "You know you're considering it."
Ellie didn't mention the fact that this was completely true.
"I'm not sure how important it all is," Eko admitted. "It's just strange that the same psychic made both of us go to Los Angeles. Do you think he had anything do with anyone else?"
Charlie shrugged. "If he sent my brother to Australia…"
"That's actually possible," Ellie blurted out without thinking. When she was around Charlie, she always seemed to just speak her mind. It almost scared her. "I mean, a lot of musicians believe in spiritual stuff. Your brother probably did—he probably called a psychic and asked him what to do about being a dad and all."
"How do you know all of that?" Claire asked interestedly.
Ellie shrugged. "Google."
Charlie felt another grin spreading.
"So perhaps the psychic was involved in all of our reasons for flying to LA and being in Sydney," Eko said. "And he was somehow in contact with the island?"
Claire nodded. "It's possible. I'll go pitch the idea to Jack and Kate." She walked over to Sun, gave Aaron to her for now, and left for the hatch.
Charlie and Eko kept building the church as Claire left to find Jack and Kate. Ellie watched Charlie work a minute before leaving. Despite her wash of feelings for Charlie, Ellie kept putting up with Jake, because he was her boyfriend. And it was about more than spiting people now. It was about loyalty, and despite their differences and troubles, Jake had managed to stay somewhat loyal to her.
Near the Hatch
Jake was searching for the top of the hatch when he heard the snapping of some twigs behind him. He wasn't sure if he believed all the crap the survivors were feeding him, but he still felt his pulse going a little faster when he heard it. He slowly turned around, his piercing eyes darting around.
"Hey," came a sweet voice to him from the snapped twig. He relaxed when he saw a very gorgeous girl walking over to him. She had long, curly blond hair, and she walked up to him with a wide smile. He recalled her as the one with the baby, but she didn't have him with her.
"I'm Claire," she added with an angelic smile. "Are you from the Expedition?"
He nodded slowly. "Uh, yeah, I'm Jake." He couldn't believe it. He was never speechless around girls. Until Ellie, no one had even known he could commit. And he hadn't exactly committed himself very well with her.
"Are you here to talk to Jack?" she asked, lowering herself into the hatch. He let her take his hand as she steadied herself before beginning her climb down the ladder.
He nodded, letting her get down a bit before following. "Yeah, I've been helping him with some cleaning and stuff. He's the sanest guy of the 815 survivors, if you ask me."
Claire laughed. "You could say that."
"So why are you here?" Jake called down to her.
"Long story," she shouted back. "It has to do with a psychic. Do you believe in that stuff?"
He sighed. "Before? No. My parents were—are—devout Christians, and I pretty much went with the flow, so I didn't believe in stuff like that."
"But now?" Claire asked with a grin.
"Obviously, I think almost anything is possible. But I still have my doubts." He listened as Claire jumped to the floor before getting off the ladder.
"Hey, angel," Sawyer greeted Claire in the foyer of the hatch. "Who's your friend?"
"Oh, he's Jake," Claire said easily. She'd never had any feelings for Sawyer. She'd thought it was because he was Southern, but Jake was from Georgia, and Claire certainly felt at least a few feelings flutter around when talking to Jake. He reminded her a lot of Thomas, Aaron's father, but the good qualities, not the bad ones. They were both polite, clean-cut, taken by her, and sweep-you-off-your-feet-type guys. That was probably why Claire had so many feuds with Charlie: he wasn't like that.
"Oh yeah, Jake. The doc was talking about you. You're little Ellie's big man, huh?"
Claire looked at him in surprise. He was going out with Ellie? From Claire's short experience with her, she hadn't seen Ellie as the kind of girl who'd date a quarterback Christian college senior. Then again, Ellie hadn't seemed like any normalkind of girl, anyway.
"Where's Jack?" Claire asked instead, dismissing Sawyer's earlier question.
He shrugged. "Kitchen, talking to Freckles. As usual." He said this with extreme distaste.
"Thanks," Claire said easily, and turned to Jake. True, he was taken, but she wasn't planning on doing anything with him. Claire wasn't really a go-getter, just a slight flirter. "Are you coming?"
Jake nodded, still bewildered by her strong presence, and followed her into the hatch's kitchen section. Jack was talking to Kate about some kind of connections when Claire lifted a hand in greeting.
"Hi, Claire," Kate said with a smile. She smiled more to Jake—not because she was interested in him, but because he was new, and she was a nice person. While Jake found Kate good looking, he still felt drawn to Claire.
"You must be Jake," Kate greeted Jake, offering a hand. He shook it easily.
"Not to interrupt," Claire said, "but I was talking to Eko, and there's something pretty important I wanted to tell you."
"Sure," Jack said with a nod. "What is it?"
"Well, I know you're a doctor and don't believe in psychics, but there's at least one that's real."
She said it so plainly that everyone, even Sawyer (who'd made his way back to the kitchen), was silent. Finally she continued.
"You might've had to be there, but he knew our plane was going to crash. He told me that I had to raise the baby on my own, and that I should see a family in LA about adoption. But there was no family in LA. This was it. He knew the plane would crash."
Kate sent Jack a glance that was returned with a nod. They were thinking the same thing.
"Eko knew the same psychic. We're not sure about his name, but it was the same guy. He had something to do with a little girl who came back from the dead, I think."
"Useful talent," Sawyer mused.
"Did anyone else say anything about a psychic?" Kate asked Claire.
Claire shook her head. "No, but Charlie said his brother probably called a psychic before going to the rehab clinic in Sydney. That would explain why he was in Sydney."
"So what are you telling us?" Kate asked slowly.
Claire took a deep breath. "I think," she said, "that the island wanted us, the survivors of flight 815. Those of us who end up dying will die to teach the rest of us a lesson, and it was all part of the plan. They got us on flight 815 by using the psychic I saw, and they used the magnetic field to make the plane crash. They didn't want the college students, or anyone else on the Expedition, but they didn't want to be found, either, so they brought it in to crash."
"We were just talking about why we were safe to be here for the island," Kate said. "Because no one would look for us. But Claire, you're right. That tells why the Expedition survivors have relatives and we don't. It's because they were last-minute, and we were chosen."
Jack nodded. "It sounds to me that if we had one choice as to who landed us here, it would be the psychic."
"But who would communicate with the psychic?" Claire asked.
"The Others," Jake said, catching on quickly. And for once, even Sawyer looked like he agreed.
END OF CHAPTER THREE
Thanks for the reviews, you guys! They really inspired me to keep writing. I hope you like the latest addition to my story, and keep reviewing! Tell me if you have any ideas, but I think I have the layout of my story down.
Note that this is just my IDEA of what happens. I have no idea if this is what the producers of the show have in mind.
Oh yeah, I included the characters more this time. So there was more of Kate, Jack, Sawyer, Eko, Claire, and everyone else. I'll include Jin and Sun and Michael in the next ones. Maybe Rose and Bernard, if I can. It's just hard to fit everyone. Oh yeah, Sayid too, but he's kind of fallen out since the second season started.
Thanks a ton and keep reviewing!
KISSBANGX3/AKA/COMPLETELY IN LOVE WITH CHARLIE PACE GIRL
