In the End

Chapter Twenty-Three

Reminder: For those of you who don't remember(and I'm not offended if you don't), Boone crashed into that car with Locke's family in it and all when he was eighteen. Well, in my story he did, at least. Also, in my story, the sickness in my story can be detected by red dots on the skin, and the scene Jack's remembering is from "Request", back when Sawyer went all wack and..beat him up like that, to put it mildly.

Disclaimer: "Green Eyes" is a beautiful song that belongs to Coldplay.

Chapter Twenty-Three: Hangovers

The crashing waves sounded as though they were engulfing him, snapping at his ears and washing away ever so slowly, lingering on the shores until the last possible moment. But when Jack felt beside him, he realized that he was still on dry land, but not the smooth, cave floors that he was used to. He was laying in sand, and it took him a moment to remember why: the kidnapping the day before, Sawyer 'dying', spending the night at the beach, and drinking god knew how much alcohol he managed to steal from Sawyer that afternoon. Even through his closed eyes he knew it was morning; the sun's rays seemed unusally and painfully bright.

"Good morning," an amused voice greeeted.

His eyes refused to open when he tried, only opening the slightest after he closed them down tightly. Just as he thought, the sun was more radiate than usual, and he could barely make out the sillouhete of the person standing above him: Sayid. He was smiling, looking like he was holding back a laugh.

"Where's Kate?" Jack mumbled, assuming she wasn't there, since it was Sayid who woke him up.

The smell of liquor was heavy on his breath, and his voice was low and rasp. He tried to lift his head up, and fell back into the sand in defeat, moaning.

"In the jungle, pretending not to be sick," Sayid replied casually. He crossed his arms. "Exactly how much did you have to drink last night?"

Jack winced at the long response. He wasn't able to process it all, but he thought he heard something about how much and drinking.

"Two..three?" Jack said innocently.

Sayid laughed, and Jack glared at him. The world finally came into focused, though a tint darker. He quickly realized that he wasn't in Kate's tent, the last place he remembered being. Why hadn't he noticed this before?

"Where I'm I?" He asked groggily.

"Outside."

Looking to his left, Jack saw Kate's tent, now close, standing next to him. Around him people were starting their day, while he lay passed out in the sand. No shirt, he added to himself. What the hell happened last night? Part of him didn't want to know.

"What time is it?" Jack struggled to sit up as he talked.

"Late," was all Sayid said.

Sayid looked over Jack's head, and Jack decided it wouldn't be a good idea to try and see who was watching.

"Have a good day," Sayid said promtly, and walked away, still smiling.

Before Jack could have time to process what all he was just told, someone else greeted him.

"Good morning."

It was Kate, walking up from behind him. From the echoy sound her footsteps were making, she might as well of been the monster.

"Or good afternoon, I guess," she shrugged, "that's the good thing about being stranded on an island-" her face appeared in front of him, smiling just as bright as the sun was shinning, "no watches."

Jack let out a dry laugh, and she helped him sit up.

"Let's get you inside," Kate suggested, and pulled Jack into the tent before he could protest.

A ranchid smell welcomed him in, and Jack immediatly felt dizzy.

"What the hell is that?" He asked hoarsly.

Kate blushed.

"I got sick this morning," she said, embarrased.

"Is that why I was outside?" Jack asked hopefully.

He was hoping he didn't do something stupid, or even worse, that someone saw him do something stupid. From what he remembered, it was quite early when Jack presented Kate with his proposal: a night at the beach and some stolen drinks. Smart Jack, he thought bitterly.

"Just keep thinking that," Kate said, smiling sympathetically.

It was then he noticed Kate was holding a chipped mug in her hands.

"I couldn't find any coffee," she said jokingly, catching his eye, "but Sun made you some tea."

"She didn't have to do that," Jack said, though he gratefully took the cup from Kate.

With the first sip of the tea, a burning sensation stung at his throat. He flinched at the taste, but continued to drink more anyway.

"Oh," he said, suddenly remembering something he forgot to bring up last night, "I got you something."

"Actually," Kate said, blushing a little, "I got you something to..except I had to package it this morning, so god knows what it looks like."

Reaching behind him, Jack searched around his stuff(spit over the sand), until he found a box, which was really someone's jewlrey box.

"Here," he said, handing Kate the box.

He felt a little embarrased, like he was in some romance novel. Then again, had they been dating back home, Kate probably would've owned more diamonds and pearls than she could of dreamed of, bought simply out of nerves. Knowing his past experiences in dating, Jack probably would've bought out the store in fear of rejection from Kate. He didn't like to think of himself as that kind of guy, but it was true. Jack was jerked back to reality just in time to see Kate unlatch the box, and open it up. Inside was a blouse, simular to her orange one.

"I figured you wouldn't want to go around with a chip off your shoulder," Jack said lightly, "shoulder sleeve, anyway."

When David had ripped Kate's shirt back at the Black Rock, he felt guilty, and immediatly went to Shannon once they got back for fashion tips, mostly with sizing, which wasn't too difficult. She had been skinny enough when they crashed, but between being vegetarian and as athletic as she was, there wasn't many opertunities for her to gain weight.

"Thanks," Kate finally said, after gazing at the shirt for longer than she meant to, "oh, here."

She handed Jack a shoe box. He took it, puzzled as to what she could've gotten him. Curious, he opened it, and pushed aside some notebook paper that was stashed on top. It was a pair of shoes, good ones too, from what it looked like. Jack's lips widened into a smile.

"I had to go to Sayid," Kate confessed, "I know nothing about shoe sizes."

Jack laughed.

"I went to Shannon," he admited.

"Great minds think alike," Kate teased, "try them on."

He hadn't realized that he wasn't wearing shoes. His once white socks were now dyed a tan color, dotted with particles of sand. Untying the laces, Jack slipped on the shoes, and smiled.

"Perfect fit," he told Kate.

Kate looked pleased. Jack was glad, though he was slightly jealous, noticing that she showed no signs of being hungover. Then again, Kate was a really good actress.

"Got a present for me?"

Their heads jerked towards the opening to the tent, where Sawyer's head was peaking through, grinning with amusement. He entered the tent, despite it's cramped space.

"What the hell's that smell?" He inquired, turning his nose up at it.

Kate rolled her eyes.

"Glad to see you two are having a good time," Sawyer said with a sly grin, "I know you stole my booze-" Kate hid a smile with a hand, "but you see, the thing is, I've got the reliver-" Sawyer held up a bottle of Asprin, dangling it in front of them, like he was trying to use it as bait for a dog. "And if I remember correctly, the headace should be kicking in right..about..now."

As if Sawyer could read his mind, his head bursted with pain, so powerful that it felt like it was hurting on the outside.

"Sawyer-" Jack said through gritted teeth, trying to hide his frustration. How had he not seen this coming? "Give that back."

Jack made a desperate grab for the medicine, like a kid trying to get his lunch money back. He had been in this situation too many times for his liking.

"Ah, ah, ah," Sawyer said, pulling the bottle back, "you're about to learn a little lesson in the fine art of stealing- don't get caught."

Jack glared at him, and Sawyer grinned.

"Have a good day, Doc!"

Sawyer stepped back out of the tent, jerking away just as Kate made a grab for him. Immediatly Jack followed him out of the tent, but Sawyer got away before he could even yell after him. He could've sworn he heard Sawyer laughed before he reached Rebecca, who was waiting for him. Her arms were crossed and she looked furious. Sawyer's face immediatly fell. Kate appeared behind Jack, and the two watched as Sawyer and Rebecca acted out an exaggerate fight, complete with wild hand waving and foot stomping. It was like they were two again..

(space)

"Don't you dare try that on me!" Rebecca said warningly, jabbing a finger towards Sawyer. "You knew exactly what you were doing!"

"Well you weren't exactly trying to stop me!" Sawyer yelled defensivly.

Rebecca looked at him increduslously. When she woke up that morning, Sawyer hadn't been there. Their campsite was messier than she it had been earlier the night before, and she knew something was wrong when she found her shirt hidden underneath Saweyer's latest novel. Then she remembered, and she was a slight bit more upset than Sawyer seemed to be. Now she was shaking her head, not sure what to say to him.

"I swear to God Sawyer if you knocked me up-" her voice was uneven, almost shaking.

"Then I guess you should be happy you don't have to worry about courts giving me your kid!" Sawyer shot back, more forceful than he meant to.

Rebecca pulled a loose strand of hair away from her face, and crossed her arms. She didn't mean for it to come out that way, and she didn't really want to start a fight.

"Just..don't let it happen again," Rebecca said with a sigh, more calmly than before.

Sawyer looked at her in disbelief. Rebecca couldn't help but to smile.

"For now," she added, "after all, you really don't want to raise a kid with that thing running around, do you? Especially when you're afraid of the jungle."

Rebecca's eyes twinkled and Sawyer scowled.

"I ain't afraid of no jungle," Sawyer protested.

"That's not what you were saying in your sleep last night," Rebecca said with a mischevious grin.

"Yeah, well-" for once, Sawyer could think of nothing to say, "what were you doin' listening to me sleep anyway? What are ya, some kind of stalker?"

"Wouldn't you.."

Before Rebecca could finish her statement, a wave of pain shot through her chest, sending her falling to the ground. Sawyer caught her before she collapsed in the sand, holding her up with a grip she never would've guessed he had. He was stronger than she thought.

"What?" He asked her urgently.

All the amusment of the conversation was suddenly gone.

"Nothing," Rebecca lied, "I'm fine, I-"

She shut her eyes tightly, trying to block out the next wave of pain.

"What?" Sawyer asked again.

"Go get Jack," Rebecca said through gritted teeth, her hand gripping Sawyer's so tightly the skin was turning red.

Sawyer glanced back behind him to where Jack had followed him out of Kate's tent. Jack was no where in sight. More than likely, the two had already gone back to the caves, a trip he'd rather not take right now, not to mention he didn't want to leave her alone.

"No," Sawyer said quickly, lowering Rebecca carefully to the ground, "I've got ya."

He grabbed his bag from the ground, and browsed through it quickly, throwing idems about as he searched for a spare shirt.

"Here," he said, finally finding one. He placed it underneath Rebecca's head, and smiled, "see? You don't need Jack."

"Sawyer!" Rebecca exclaimed frantically. "I need Jack! He's a doctor, he'd know what's wrong with me! He has-"

"The medicine?" Sawyer finished for her, dangling the Asprin above her.

Rebecca's mouth fell open.

"Sawyer, where-?"

"Stole it from Jack," Sawyer said proudly, looking at the bottle of Asprin as if he had stolen the golden ticket.

"Sawyer!" Rebecca said in disaproval. "Give that back to him!"

He looked at her, incredulous.

"Just..go!" Rebecca exclaimed, gritting her teeth in pain.

She never felt pain like it. She didn't know what was happening to her, or why, and it scared her. Sawyer looked around to find someone to watch Rebecca, but the beach was unusally empty. The only person in sight was a scrawny looking man hanging clothes on a line a few yards away, with a woman- pressumingly his wife- laid in the sand.

"Hey, you!" Sawyer yelled over to him.

The man looked over. He wore glasses, and was dressed in kaki pants, and some kind of sweater-like shirt. He looked like the science fiction geeks portayed in movies and on TV, and Sawyer would bet good money that he owned at least one Star Wars collectible.

"Yeah," the man said, jogging over.

"What's your name?" Sawyer asked him.

"Sebastian," he answered, shaking Sayid's hand.

"Sawyer," Sawyer offered hastily, "listen, she's sick. I need you to stay here and watch her while I go find Jack."

Sebastian's eyes widened behind his lenses.

"No!" He said, voice a little squeky, like a rat. "I..I can't. Isn't there someone else?"

"Do you see someone else?" Sawyer snapped.

Sebastian turned pale. Sawyer felt like he was trying to convince a teenager to go to a party instead of studying for a test.

"Fine," Sebastian sighed. He glanced back behind him towards his wife. "You'll be quick, right?"

"Like lightening," Sawyer assure. He turned back to Rebecca. "I'll be back soon."

He heard Rebecca mutter a weak 'Be careful' before running off. It didn't even occur to him until he was in the jungle that he should've sent someone else for Jack instead. Pushing those thoughts aside, Sawyer hurried into the caves, knocking over someone in the process. Sawyer muttered a quick apology, and scanned the caves for Jack. At last he spotted him with Kate by the waterfall. Jack was sitting on the ground, resting his head in his arms. Kate was laughing above him, trying to convince him to get up.

"Rise and shine, Doc," Sawyer said, aproaching them, "got a house call for ya. Rebecca's sick."

Jack looked up to Sawyer from where he was sitting.

"What's wrong with her?" He asked as Kate helped him stand up.

"I don't know.."

Jack grabbed his bag and followed Sawyer out as he told him what happened, Kate following close behind. Once they reached the beach, they found themselves running to Rebecca, who was laying on the beach alone.

"You left her alone?" Jack exclaimed, disgusted.

"No!" Sawyer yelled back harshly.

He looked around the beach, eyes flashing in anger, and his fist curled when he saw Sebastian sitting with his wife in the sand. Storming over, Sawyer pulled back a fist, but instead of using he, he kicked Sebastian in the shoulder, sending him rolling in the sand. His wife screamed as his head emerged, spitting out particles of sand while trying to catch his breath, recovering from shock. Sawyer dug his shoe into Sebastian's chest, ignoring the woman beside him wimpering, nearly in tears.

"Don't hurt him!" She pleaded. "Please!"

The woman's desperate pleads almost stopped him. He was surprised at how much she cared for the guy. He didn't know why, but part of him didn't suspect it. But then he thought of Rebecca laying there alone in the sun, sick, not knowing what was happening..

"Sawyer!"

Sawyer's fist stopped in mid air at the sound of Kate's voice. Turning, he freed Sebastian, who's wife immediatly scrambled to his side. Jack was beside Rebecca in the sand, his hand on her forehead. A slight twinge of jealousy arroused within him, but Sawyer let it go, reminding himself that Jack was trying to help her. He'd be with her again soon enough. Sawyer glanced back down to Sebastian on the ground, still furious with him for leaving Rebecca like that, and then glanced back to where Kate was watching him worriedly. Letting out a sigh of frustration, he ran back over to Jack and Kate, who both eyed him curiously.

"He was supposed to be watching her," Sawyer explained bitterly.

"Well," Jack said, placing his hands on his knees, "someone will have to. She's just having some chest pains-" both Sawyer and Kate's eyes narrowed at 'just', "but they can be serious, and out here, I can't know for sure if these are chest pains, or something more serious."

"Somethin' serious like what?" Sawyer inquired.

It was the first time either Kate or Jack had ever seen Sawyer worried- really worried. Scared. Jack let out a sigh before answering, knowing it wasn't anything Sawyer would want to hear.

"Like a heart-attack," Jack replied quietly.

For a moment no one spoke. Kate was glancing from Jack to Sawyer, not sure what to say or who to say it to. Sawyer stared at Jack for the longest time. He had dozens of insults ready, words of denial, anger, but he kept his mouth shut. Below them, Rebecca let out a sudden gasp of breath before returning to her previous slow intakes of breath.

"Great," Sawyer grumbled irritably, "the one good thing that happens to me and it dies."

"She is not going to die," Jack said quickly, sternly, looking Sawyer in the eye.

The determination in his voice caught Kate off-guard, and Sawyer noticed it too. A moment of awkward tension passed by before Kate cleared her throat, breaking the silence.

"What do we need to do?" Kate asked, glancing towards Sawyer at 'we'.

Jack stared blankly at the ground for a moment, as if reviewing something in his head.

"How long was she in pain?" Jack asked Sawyer, looking up.

Sawyer blinked.

"What?"

"How long was her chest hurting?" Jack repeated, growing impacient.

"Uh.." Sawyer began, thinking quickly, "must've been a minute before I left..then..I don't know! Four eyes over there was supposed to be watching her!"

Jack sighed again, putting his hands on his hips as he looked back down to the ground.

"Is there anything else?" Jack asked him. "Anything at all you're not telling me? Something she might've said or mentioned to you? Anything unusal?"

Sawyer thought hard, trying to remember. He considered telling Jack about what happened the night before, but then decided against it. What could that possibly have to do with Rebecca's chest pains? And like it was any of Jack's buisness anyway.

"No," Sawyer insitesd. But Jack still stared at him. Somehow, Sawyer knew that Jack knew he was lying. His eyes possesed that fatherly way of being able to see through every disguse, every fib, and Sawyer loathed it. "Fine. She was worried about getting pregnant because..well..you know."

Kate blushed, and turned away, but Jack didn't seem as bothered.

"But you two haven't been together long enough," Jack pointed out.

Sawyer shrugged.

"Women."

The three of them looked down to Rebecca, who was out cold on the ground. Yet she still looked peaceful, somehow, as she slept.

"Hopefully the symptoms will die down while she's out," Jack said over the silence, "but the pain may return later. You have to be careful. Don't let her do anything too extreme. Try and keep her off her feet, if you can. Come to get me in an hour or two, but less if she doesn't wake up, or looks to be in pain- Sawyer!"

Sawyer snaped out of his gaze. Secretly, he was terrified. What if this really was his fault? What if she wasn't okay.

"Are you getting this?" Jack finished.

"Yeah," Sawyer lied.

He only heard half of what Jack was saying, but he figured it was along the lines of don't let her jump up and run marathons.

"I can stay here with her, if you want," Jack offered.

"Nah," said Sawyer, though he knew he'd eventually would probably need Jack's help, "I got it. Hope you ain't expectin' a referance though."

Jack chuckled.

"I'm guessing this is the part where you sneak out of the back without paying," he said.

"You bet," Sawyer said lightly, making an attempt to keep his spirits up.

They shook hands, and Jack and Kate parted, leaving Sawyer alone with Rebecca. He noticed Jack left a bottle of fresh, cold water on the ground next to Rebecca, and put it in his bag to keep cool. Suddenly he felt very alone. Letting out a sigh, Sawyer regretted telling Jack and Kate go. Even as he glanced around the beach, Sawyer couldn't even find anyone who could help him move Rebecca into the shade. Sabestian and his wife had fled. He let out another sigh, and looked back down to Rebecca. She was definetly his responsibility now.

(space)

The static never faded away. They tried to type a response, but the letters didn't even appear on the screen.

"You still remember the code?" Locke asked Boone.

Boone nodded, and began typing it in, but after reaching the fourth number, he froze.

"Except for the last two numbers," he confessed.

Locke looked down at him coldly.

"Just a minute ago you said you-"

"I know!" Boone exclaimed, and then looked back to the screen. "I forgot."

Sighing, Boone stretched his mind, trying to remember the numbers. Just a minute ago they were repeating in his head, over and over again, a voice that wouldn't go away. And then they just disapeared. His mind went blank.

"Sorry," he muttered, half hoping Locke didn't hear.

Locke didn't say anything. He just crossed his arms, and stared at the screen. But Callum had plenty to say.

"Well you better remember them, mate," Callum said, right behind Boone. It sounded like he was speaking directly into his ear. "I'm sure you remember the deaths. None of this will stop. It will never stop."

Boone slammed his palm down on the table, creating a loud echo throughout the room.

"I need some air," he annonuced, blurting out the first excuse to leave that he could think of.

"You have to fix this!" Locke called after him as he prepared to leave.

"Yeah, well if I start turning pale again, Shannon will start asking questions," Boone said truthfully. It would happen.

He hurried out of the hatch, ignoring Locke's shouting from behind him, and climbed over the wreckage that once helped control the island. The last few steps of the ladder were broken off, so it was harder than normal to climb them, and he was nearly out of breath by the time he reached the forest floor. Sighing in relief, Boone looked around the jungle, wondering where to go. He thought of Shannon at the beach, with Sayid. They could use Sayid's help, Boone realized. Sayid knew about computers, right? And he'd also get to see Shannon. He'd be killing two birds with one stone, as the saying went, so he headed off towards the beach.

In his mind Boone went through all of what Callum told him, everything about the hatch, the island, and the more he thought about it, the more angry he became. People knew they were here. They watched them, like they were little labrats. They watched as people died, as they suffered. They just sat back, and watched. It disgusted him. But the worse part was, Boone was turning into one of these people. In a crazy way, he felt like he was working for the island, like he was some kind of disciple for the hatch. He kew things others didn't, and instead of using what he knew to their advantage, he just went right along with it.

"Shannon's not at the beach."

Boone stopped, realizing he walked right passed Sayid on the path.

"Oh," he said, a little disapointed. Not only was she not there, but Sayid was here, which meant his time away from the hatch wouldn't last long. He was running out of excuses. "Actually, I was looking for you too."

Sayid's eyes narrowed in interest, but he didn't interrupt as he followed Boone to the hatch, listening to what Callum told him and Locke.

"That's impossible," Sayid finally said when the reached the hatch. He stopped before climbing down. "It's insane."

"I know," Boone said, "but it's happening, and we have to fix it."

""We'?" Sayid repeated.

"You're still in this, right?" Boone said, maybe too desperatly. Sayid would hopefully be the only person down there willing to stop Locke from killing him.

Sayid studied him, comtemplating what he was about to do.

"All right," Sayid agreed, "but there's one thing: Sawyer knows."

"I know that," Boone said blankly.

"No," Sayid said, "Sawyer knows the code."

"What?" Boone exclaimed. "That's great! Where is he?"

"He doesn't remember it," Sayid went on, ignoring Boone, "this man came up to him maybe a week ago, and gave it to him. But then he shot himself."

Boone couldn't believe it. This was just his luck.

"Now Sawyer doesn't remember where he put it," Sayid finished.

He almost sounded amused at Sawyer's mistake. Boone wasn't. Furious, he kicked at a patch of dirt, sending it falling into the hatch, and watched until he heard the last clump hit the ground.

"I'm sure will figure something out," Sayid said assuringly, and began to lower himself into the hatch.

Once they reached the bottom, Boone found himself wishing he hadn't brought Sayid along. Who knew how Locke would react, once the three of them were together. But before he knew it, they were in the main room of the hatch, and Locke and Callum were staring at them. Sayid nodded to Callum in recognition, but didn't say a word to Locke. Boone noticed right away that the computer screen was now black.

"What happened?" He asked, aproaching Locke.

"The screen just went blank," Locke explained, "we don't know."

Sayid followed closely behind Boone, and studied the computer for a good long time before disapearing underneath the desk. Locke, Boone, and Callum listened as Sayid moved some of the wires around, and then let out a dry laugh. He appeared out from under the table, holding a thick, black wire.

"The plug was pulled," Sayid said, tossing the cord onto the table, "common problem, actually."

"Looks like we don't need to hire a technician after all," Boone joked lightly.

Locke didn't find it amusing.

"So you'll be able to fix it?" He asked. It wasn't clear who he was addressing.

"Sure," Boone said, answering for Sayid, "God forbid you explain something to him."

"I know the story," Sayid said dryly, glancing towards Boone.

"Of course he does," Locke said to himself, turning back to the computer.

"What was that?" Boone said, rounding on Locke.

"Well God forbid you don't gossip everytime you figure something out," Locke said coldly.

"I wasn't gossiping," Boone said defensivly, "he deserved to know! I wasn't going to bring him down here and not tell him why! Unlike you, I think other people deserve to know what's going on."

"And what then?" Locke's voice was slowly getting louder, angrier. "We tell them that we've been down here since the beginning, watching them, reading their minds? Or maybe we'll tell them that others have be down here doing that since before we came here."

"Crashed here," Boone corrected, "we crashed here, John. We didn't come to be here. Someone didn't place us here. Our plane crashed here. I don't know about you, but when I was asked where do I find myself in ten years, I didn't say stranded on an island!"

"Probably because you were thinking of prison!" Locke shot back.

"If you two would rather argue," Sayid interrupted, "I could leave."

Callum, on the other hand, seemed interested in their argument, and neither agreed nor disagreed with Sayid.

"He's the one with the problem!" Boone exclaimed, waving a hand towards Locke. "He's the reason all of this happened in the first place. God he's like the disturber of the island's peace or something!"

"No one's blaming anyone," Sayid pointed out.

"Let me tell you something about Boone," Locke said harshly to Sayid, "he's lucky I even offered to forgive him. Trust is a fragile thing, and I'm not sure he understands that."

"Hate to break it to ya mates," Callum said, deciding it was time for him to cut in. "But I don't think either of the two of ya understand what's going on. That thing's still out there. What are you going to do about it?"

Locke and Boone glared at each other, but each heard what Callum said. Boone was still furious, he didn't think Locke understood anything at all, but he knew Callum was right. At last he took a step back, letting out a breath of air he hadn't realized he was holding.

"Good," Sayid said, "I'm not going to be your refere."

"You're not going to make us shake hands, are you?" Boone shot, but Sayid's glare silenced him.

"Someone's going to have to tell Shannon where we are," Sayid said after an uncomfortable silence passed.

"I'll go," Boone volunteered quickly.

Locke shook his head, and turned back to the computer, but didn't protest.

"All right," Sayid agreed, though Boone could tell he'd rather go.

Really, any of them would've taken any excuse available to leave. The hatch felt like the darkest place on the island, and not because it really was the dimmest. There was an eerie feeling about it, one that seemed to leave you whenever you reached the surface, and because of this, Boone was very grateful when he got back to the top.

(space)

"How's Rebecca?" Kate asked as she walked up behind Sawyer, who was sitting on the shore alone. A cigaret hung from his mouth, a lighter was on the ground beside him, and a new cigaret pack was hanging out of his back pocket.

"What do you think?" Sawyer muttered dully.

Kate smiled a little as she sat down beside him.

"What're you doin' here anyway?" He asked.

"You never came to get Jack," Kate explained, "you weren't there, so I came looking for you."

"Sun told me she'd take care of it," Sawyer said, though he didn't seem to pleased about it, "guess no one thinks I can do anything around here."

"That's not true," Kate protested, maybe a little too quickly.

"Yeah, well.." Sawyer trailed off, taking in a long drag out of the cigaret, "what did Jack say?"

"I don't know," Kate looked down, thinking that she should've found out, "he seemed pretty calm about it, though."

"Quite a catch you made there, Freckles," Sawyer commented lightly.

Kate smiled sadly at her old nickname.

"What?" Sawyer snorted. "You and Jacko don't have cute pet names yet? Kitten and Muffin?"

Kate let out a laugh.

"Those are girl nicknames," she pointed out.

Sawyer grinned.

"I know."

Shaking her head, Kate looked out to the sea, where Sawyer was staring. She wasn't used to finding him out here, then again, she was used to talking to him. In fact, in a strange way, Kate missed him.

"You doing okay, Sawyer?" She asked him, clearing her throat.

"Yeah," Sawyer said sarcastically, "ain't every day I get to kill the man that I saw kill himself in front of me."

Kate didn't respond right away. Sawyer hadn't said anything before about David being the one that gave them the code that night, or threw himself into the ocean before finally shooting himself. She had wondered if he even remembered.

"Yeah," Kate replied quietly, "no wonder he was so worried about being alive."

It didn't make sense, but what did anymore? She glanced over to him, and watched as he continued smoking the cigaret.

"Those'll kill you, you know," Kate said.

"Better watch out, Freckles," Sawyer said, his words slurred, "Jack's becoming a bad influence on you."

"Yeah, well you can't die yet," Kate said, "we haven't figured out what dance we're going to do at your funeral."

"Says the woman crying her eyes out yesterday," Sawyer shot back, glancing towards her. Kate looked down, and Sawyer immediatly felt bad about what he said. "You know you'll miss me."

"Yeah," Kate agreed playfully. She coughed when wind blew a puff of smoke towards them. "But I won't miss that smell. Seriously Sawyer, I thought you quit. Those things could really kill you."

"I know that."

This time, Sawyer wasn't fooling around. He didn't look at all regretful, in fact, he looked dead serious, like he understood exactly what he said.

"You're not really thinking about-"

"Hell Freckles, don't you think I would've done away with it all ages ago?" Sawyer cut in.

Kate let out a small sigh of relief.

"I don't think you have anything to worry about, anyway," Kate said truthfully, "you've had to many close calls. Nothing's going to happen to you."

"Glad you feel that way," Sawyer replied sarcastically, "'cause I've got some scars under my fingernails and a bullet hole that'll beg to differ."

Kate let out another dry laugh, and watched him smoke a little longer. Then she remembered the pack in his pockets.

"Can I have one?" She asked queitly.

Sawyer glanced at her in surprise.

"These things'll kill ya, you know," Sawyer echoed.

"I know," Kate replied, just as softly as he had before.

Sawyer hesitated, but pulled the pack out of his pockets anyway, and threw it at her.

"Knock yourself out," he said, offering her the lighter.

She let him light one up for her, and watched the flame as it slowly died out. Sawyer raised an eyebrow.

"You ever smoke before?" He inquired.

"Yeah," Kate said, and then stopped, "in college."

"Which means never, right?" Sawyer pointed out.

Kate blushed.

"One time I picked up the habit to impress this guy," Kate admited; the light was almost gone.

"Really?" Sawyer said, impressed. "Wouldn't of taken you as the type."

"Got five hundred bucks and a bus ticket to Paris from him too," Kate added, "back when I lived in Europe for awhile. She finally brought the cigaret to her mouth, and winced as she felt the heat from it.

"How long's a while?" Sawyer asked.

"'bout a year," Kate recalled.

She drew in a long drag from the cigaret, and coughed as soon as she felt the sensation from it take its toll. Sawyer chuckled.

"Doc know you smoke?" He asked.

Kate shook her head as she tried to catch her breath.

"So did you like Paris?" Sawyer actually sounded interested.

"Hated it," Kate replied.

"Always hated other countries myself," Sawyer agreed, "any place where you can't find a perfectly good cheeseburger sitting in a garbage can just isn't home for me."

Kate laughed at the joke, but she wondered if Sawyer realized what he said. Did he think of the island as 'home'. She did. It was the only place she could ever remember staying for more than a few months at a time that she liked, that she felt safe in, where she was loved. Truly loved. Since Tom died, she hadn't felt like this in forever. Just safe. Wanted- and in a good way. It was a feeling that she felt most people took advantage of.

"You afraid of dyin', Freckles?"

The question caught her off guard, breaking her from her thoughts. She looked at Sawyer, surprised.

"It's just that you've only taken one drag out of that cigaret," Sawyer went one, "and I've already had three today-" he shrugged, "just pointin' that out."

He winked at her.

"Well that's the difference between you and me," Kate said, meeting his eyes, "I haven't had many close calls."

Sawyer studied her for a moment before repeating his question.

"You afraid of dyin'?"

Kate looked back out to sea, thinking of the few times on the island she did almost die. After the raft, she remembered, when Jack had to save her. He tried to save her even after she left him, even when he didn't think he could. Then she remembered the times she felt like dying, like the first time she was kidnapped by Ethan, and then David. If Jack hadn't been there..

"I'm afraid of what I'll leave behind," Kate replied, realizing Sawyer was still watching her. He studied her for a moment longer before clearing his throat.

"I'm gonna go check on Rebecca," Sawyer said, putting out the cigaret in the sand.

Kate looked at the burnt stub, and wanted to say something about it not being good for the enviroment, but didn't. She knew Sawyer just wasn't that kind of guy. She could never change him, change anything about him. Rebecca brought a greater change in Sawyer than she ever did, and Kate felt slightly resentful for it.

"See ya around," Sawyer said, getting to his feet.

"You too," Kate said quietly to herself as he walked off, leaving her alone.

(space)

Later that day, Kate caught Jack in his caves, looking through his med cart.

"How's the hangover?" She asked, grinning as she leaned against the entrance.

He glanced behind him to her, and smiled.

"Well, it's living up to its name," Jack said, "some Asprin might help, but I'm not complaining.

"Sure," Kate laughed, walking up to him, "well here-"

She tilted his head slightly, and kissed his forehead. Kate smiled as she pulled back.

"Treatments don't have to be that complicated," Kate teased, and gave him a smile. Jack returned it, for a moment they just stood there, as if that were their one break in the day, and they were taking in every ounce of time. At last Jack took the first step back, clearing his throat.

"I was actually looking for something for Rebecca," he explained. Suddenly he stopped, and turned back to Kate, crinkling his nose. "Have you been smoking?"

Kate's smile weakened a little, and she looked down to the ground in shame.

"It was barely one," she admited, "honestly."

"I guess I don't need to give you the 'smoking is bad' lecture, huh?" Jack said sympathetically.

"That'd be nice," Kate said quetly.

Jack smiled at her.

"Don't worry," he said, "I'm not going to ground you or anything."

"Good," Kate said, pulling Jack towards her. She kissed him, and he winced at the smell. "Too bad we ran out of toothpaste, huh?"

"Yeah, well seriously, do something about that smell," Jack said.

"Don't worry," she promised, "it'll be gone."

Jack nodded in aproval.

"Where'd you get the smokes anyway?" He wanted to know.

"Sawyer," Kate replied honestly.

"I thought he quit," Jack pointed out, looking up at her.

Kate looked to the ground. There was something that Kate was wanting to ask Jack, something Sawyer asked her. So instead of replying, she said:

"Are you afraid of dying, Jack?"

Jack looked taken aback by the question, just as she had been earlier. He looked down to the ground, and she knew that he was honestly thinking about it. At last he looked up.

"I'm afraid of what I'll leave behind," Jack said, meeting Kate's eyes.

Kate couldn't help but to smile, and she looked down when she realized she was blushing again. She couldn't believe that she and Jack had the same answer. It was almost flattering.

"Something wrong?" Jack asked her after a moment of silence passed.

"No," Kate said quickly, shaking her head, "it's fine. Actually, I was wondering if I could turn in early."

"It's a little early," Jack laughed. He was right, the sun was still out and bright. It couldn't of been later than one.

"Well," Kate said, "when you spend the night drinking.."

Jack laughed again.

"Go ahead," he said, and waved towards the cot, usually reserved for patients, mostly because it was too small for both Jack and Kate, "use the bed."

"Aren't you going to bring Rebecca up here?" Kate asked.

"It might not be a good idea to risk carrying her the distance up here," Jack pointed out, "and she doesn't need to be walking."

Kate nodded.

"Right," she agreed, though she didn't exactly know what he was talking about.

"I guess I'll leave it to you then," Jack said, and kissed Kate again.

(space)

"Hey Doc, catch!"

Jack turned around just in time to catch the bottle of medicine Sawyer threw at him.

"Figured I put ya through enough torture," Sawyer said with a mischeivous grin.

"Thanks," Jack said, gratefully taking the medcine. He downed two Asprin dry, not even bothering to find water. "So you got Kate to smoke."

"Hey," Sawyer said, throwing his hands up, "she was the one who asked."

"Sure," Jack teased, and laughed it off, "how's Rebecca?"

"Good," Sawyer said, "she's asleep. Is that a good thing?"

"Yeah," Jack assured him. He knew Sawyer was skeptical about being able to take care of Rebecca. "She'll be fine."

"Yeah," Sawyer said, "but you have to say that, right?"

"No, seriously," Jack said, "she'll be okay. Just watch her."

Sawyer was quiet for a moment before he nodded.

"Thanks," he said, and shook Jack's hand.

Jack glanced down as he shook his hand, but he caught a glimpse of something about Sawyer that he never noticed before. Tiny, dafed, red circles dotted Sawyer's forearm, hardly noticeable unless you knew what you were looking at, and Jack did. They were the same dots Locke and Boone had when they were "sick", and the same ones Sayid said Kyle had on his leg. The mark of the sickness. Then he remembered.

It was the only clear memory Jack had of that night, aside from kissing Kate for the first time. He was tied up in the jungle, and someone was rambling on in front of him. At this point, Jack couldn't understand what was being said to him, but he knew it was Sawyer talking. At this point, he didn't even try to free himself His head pounded so hard it bobbing against his chest for support, and he could smell blood nearby. He tried to open his eyes, but something told him he didn't want to see whatever there was to see.

He didn't understand. Why the hell was Sawyer doing this? What was he thinkig? Once again he tried opening his eyes, just because it was too painful to leave them closed. They opened, but just enough so that he could see Sawyer's hand coming down towards him, and all he could do was sit there and prepare himself for the blow. But just before it hit him, Jack noticed something off: Sawyer's forearm was covered with dots, thick like the color of blood.

Jack's eyes widened. It took a moment to realize his hand was still oustretched. He dropped it, and looked up at Sawyer. It made so much sense now. Sawyer was the first one of them to ever fall "sick". That's why he accused Jack of crashing the plane, even when that was the most inconceivable thing. It wasn't Sawyer's fault at all. He had been under a spell, controlled by some force they still didn't know of.

"You okay?" He heard Sawyer asked.

Snapping out of it, he looked up at Sawyer.

"Yeah," he lied, "just be careful with Rebecca, okay?"

"Sure thing," Sawyer promised, and left.

Jack stared after him as he left, wondering how long Sawyer was 'sick'. He knew if probably wasn't longer than that very night, after all, Sawyer had been knocked unconsious just like Jack himself had been, but still part of him was trying to blame the sickness for some of Sawyer's other mistakes. Like the affair with Kate. Jack shok himself out of it. Don't make excuses for Sawyer, he told himself, he knew exactly what he was doing. None of that mattered now anyway. Sawyer clearly found someone, and Jack respected that. And now, now, Kate was his.

Honey you are a rock

Sebastian was on the beach, walking up to his wife, amiring her as she did. She was beautiful, no doubt about that. Standing slightly shorter than he, she had wavy sandy brown hair, and glistening dark brown eyes. At least, they used to glisten, and Sebastian missed that. He missed not being able to see her smile, hear her laugh.

"Michelle!" He greeted, smiling though he knew she wouldn't returned it.

Upon which I stand

Michelle simply lifted her head from where she lay resting in the sand. That was all she did now, sleep. But she didn't really sleep, of course. She hadn't really slept in five months. Peace would never come to her. She wouldn't let it.

"Did you talk to him?" Michelle asked. Her voice was low, almost rasp. It always was, as if she was terrified of being overheard. "Tell him why-"

And I come here to talk

"No," Sebastian said, shaking his head, "it's okay."

"He looked like he was ready to kill you!" Michelle cried.

Sebastian took her hands in his, lifing her off the ground. They met eyes for a moment, and Sebastian tried to apologize silently. It seemed to be easier that way.

I hope you understand

"Don't worry about it," Sebastian told her soothingly, rubbing his fingers against her hands. "Don't worry about anything." And then he told her the same thing he'd been telling her for months, the same thing she'd always need to hear. "Everything's okay. Nothing's going to happen. You're safe here."

And then, like always, he pulled her into a comforting embrace, holding onto her tightly. But he didn't mind taking care of her. She needed someone, especially now. She needed him. It was all his fault anyway.

That green eyes

Charlie and Claire sat on the beach. They were throwing out baby names for Claire's child, laughing at the ideas they were coming up with; 'Ringo' and 'Rumplestilskin'.

"Chandler," Charlie suggested.

Yeah the spotlight

"I hated Friends," Claire said, shaking her head.

"Then I guess Ross is out," Charlie teased. "How about Alex?"

"Do you want to answer 'why does a girl have my name'?" Claire said.

"Good point," Charlie muttered, "Bill?"

Shines upon you

Claire snorted.

"Iam not naming my child Bill," she protested.

"Why not?" Charlie said. "Bill's a perfectly good name!"

"You go through eight hours of labor and see how you feel about 'Bill'," Claire said, disgusted at the suggestion.

And how could

She couldn't actually remember going through eight hours of labor, but she figured she had to of at some point.

"How about Aaron?" Claire said suddenly, turning to Charlie.

Anybody

Their eyes met, and she could sworn she saw sparks fly at the idea. Charlie's eyes lit up.

"Aaron," Charlie said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin, "you know, Aaron could work."

"Aaron Littleton," Claire said happily, "Aaron Michael Littleton."

"Michael?" Charlie repeated.

Deny you

"Michael was my father," Claire explained quietly. She stared out to the sand in front of her, suddenly distant in memory. "He would've loved him."

Charlie watched her for a moment, wondering if it was in his place to say something.

"I'm sure he would've been proud," Charlie offered sincerely.

Claire smiled sadly.

"Yeah."

Charlie tensed at the sudden awkward moment. He could only think of one way to diminish it. He kissed her. Claire was caught off guard by the sudden kiss, but accepted it none the less, not pulling back until a few moments later.

"Yeah," Charlie said once they broke apart, smiling, "Aaron's definetly good.

I came here with a load

And it feels so much lighter

Now I met you

Sayid and Boone agreed to try and not spend so much time at the hatch that day. The computer had been completly unplugged, and until the code came back to Boone, their efforts would be usless anyway. So they parted, and Sayid immediatly headed to the beach to see Shannon. He greeted her with a smile, and kissed her when she practically threw herself onto him.

Little did Sayid know Boone had actually followed him, and now was watching as the two kissed. Jealousy flashed in his eyes, jealousy he tried to ignore. But the fact was, he would always love Shannon, even if she didn't love him..in that way, of course. He didn't like that. In fact, he hated it. And he hated it that Sayid, of all people, would step up as her next 'special friend'. But he knew that in the real would, Sayid and his step sister would have nothing in common. Really, what could they possibly stay up talking about all the time?

And honey you should know

That I could never go on without you

Green eyes

But nevertheless they were chatting away now, both all smiles. Of course, he didn't really know that much about Sayid. Maybe he really did love Shannon. Their relationship just seemed to work, even though there didn't seem to be much behind it. Not like he and Shannon. But there was nothing he could do about it now. So he stood there and watched, wondering if Shannon ever thought about him, if she ever worried that she made a mistake. He could only hope.

Honey you are the sea

Danielle found Alex on the beach, practing Charlie's guitar. She didn't recognize the tune, but she liked it.

"It sounds good," she complimented, sitting down.

"Oh," Alex said, blushing as she put the guitar away, "it's nothing."

"I thought you were a recording artist," Danielle pointed out.

Alex smiled sadly.

Upon which I float

"I was," she admited, "I wrote songs."

"Do you still?" Danielle said curiously.

"Sometimes," Alex said.

"Can I read them?" Danielle asked.

Alex snorted.

"I never let anyone read my songs," she explained, "it took a lot of convincing just to let Adam long enough just to get me to show it to the producers."

"He sounds like a great guy," Danielle said.

Alex's face fell as she remembered Adam. It was still hard to believe he was gone. Two months had passed since he died, but she still remembered it like yesterday. Flashbacks still haunted her dreams, and spirits still haunted her. Alex shivered.

"He was," she said quietly.

And I came here to talk

Danielle let a much needed moment of silence pass before pulling something out of her pocket: a pack of cards. Alex stared down at them when Danielle threw them into the sand.

"Do you know how to play?" She asked her daughter. "I figured it'd give us something to do."

"I know blackjack," Alex admited, "believe or not Adam had his heart set on being a blackjack dealer for about two months-" she shook her head, "it was a long two months. And I won every game."

She smiled proudly.

"Didn't he teach you?" Danielle pointed out.

"Yeah," Alex nodded, "but I'm the psycic."

I think that you should know

Alex grinned mischeviously, and picked up the deck.

"So you still wanna play?"

That green eyes

You're the one that I wanted to find

Sun hand hesitated over Jin's zipped up backpack. She hadn't touched it since they found his body. She'd been afraid to. Sun hated things that reminded her that she was gone, but she knew eventually it had to be done. So she reached in, and grabbed for the first object she felt. She pulled it out, and her heart nearly stopped: it was a picture of her and Jin, smiling. Happy. Letting out a sob, Sun realized she was really laughing. She still had the good times.

And anyone who

Tries to deny you

Must be out of their mind

Jack tiptoed into their cave, careful not to wake Kate. He inched over towards where she was sleeping on the cot, and carefully sat down on an empty space beside her.

Because I came here with a load

He began playing with her hair, running his fingers through it. It needed brushing, but he wouldn't tell her that. Kate looked beautiful, anyway.

And it feels so much lighter

Kate stirred beneath him, despite his quiteness, and her eyes fluttered open. She stared up at him, confussed.

"What are you doing?" She inquired.

Jack's ears turned red, and he immediatly dropped his hand.

Since I met you

"Just.." Jack thought quickly, "there was a bug in you hair."

"Seriously?" Kate squeeled, shooting up, brushing her hands madly through her hair.

"Kate Austen, hard core criminal, afraid of bugs," Jack teased.

"Hey," Kate said defensivly, "those bugs could be poisonous."

"Well at least you have me to save you," Jack said.

Kate laughed, and they kissed.

"Move over," Jack said, breaking them apart just as her hands began to wrap around his waist.

And honey you should know

"What?" Kate said, quizical.

"I want to lay down," Jack pouted.

Kate rolled her eyes and scooted over. There was barely enough room for Jack to halfway lay on the cot. His right leg had to dangle off the side.

"How's the hangover?" Kate asked as Jack rested his hands behind his head.

"Okay," Jack said, "Sawyer gave back the medicine."

"Aw," Kate said in a baby voice, "that's so cute."

"Shut up," Jack said, and shoved against Kate. He stared at the ceiling, and it wasn't long before his leg began to fall asleep. "This isn't working."

"No," Kate agreed next to him.

That I could never go on without you

"One of us has to move," Jack said.

Kate snorted in disbelief.

"One of us?" She repeated. "I was here first. In fact, you offered me this spot. You move."

"Or.."

Jack shoved hard against Kate, sending her falling to the ground. Kate let out a cry as she hit the ground with a thud and Jack laughed, lowering himself down next to her. He had to roll over her in order to lay down next to her, and by the time the process was complete, they were both roaring with laughter. Jack turned over as Kate kept laughing, just to watch her for a moment. She looked so happpy, despite everything that had happened the previous day, and it seemed so surreal that all this bad stuff could be happening while she was this happy. If only he could be assured that she would always be this way.

Green eyes..

Sawyer was back at his camp now. Secretly, he was grateful for the excuses to leave and offers of help. It was just too much, sitting here and waiting. Suddenly, as if she read his mind, Rebecca's eyes finally fluttered open, lids lifting up slowly.

"What happened?" She asked wearily.

"You passed out," Sawyer told her, looking down at her apologetically. He didn't want to tell her what he had to. "Jack thinks you had a heart attack."

"What?" Rebecca exclaimed hoarsley with a cough. "But..no! It didn't feel like a heart attack."

Sawyer raised an eyebrow.

"Do you know what a heart attack feels like?" He asked her.

She gazed up to the sky above them, folding her arms across her chest.

"You cold?" He asked her.

Rebecca nodded. To him, the beach was warmer than usual. Even so, he reached over, and laid a coat that was on the ground over Rebecca. She looked over at him, watching as his hands let go of the coat.

"Am I going to be okay?" She asked quietly.

She looked so afraid, it nearly killed him. Sawyer swallowed hard, and remembered what Jack said earlier. Now he understood why everyone listened to Jack, and why he was so depended upon. After all, he was the only one there who really knew what was going on.

"Yeah," Sawyer told her, putting his hand on her shoulder, "you'll be fine."

Rebecca turned away from him then, curling up slightly in the blanket. Somehow he knew she wasn't really turning away, that it was just from the cold. But it was cold. She'll be okay, he told himself, she'll be fine. He would just keep having to remember that.

Author's Note: Woah, long chapter. Thirty-one pages. Yeah, uh..didn't mean for that to be that long. Oh well. I actually really enjoyed writing this chapter. Sorry if the spacing with the song verses seemed weird, I had to make it last throughout the ending. You'll find out more about Sebastian and Michelle later, and I'm contemplating a huge twist with Rebecca. And I totally forgot to mention last chapter until I already updated(and it was too long for me to edit on the site), and thanks sooo much for putting me over 100 reviews! You guys rock, seriously! Cyber chocolate and candy for everyone!(hugs) You have no idea how relieving it is to know that other people like this series, and I'm not just going crazy. Thanks sooo much..as said and always, you guys rock!

Coming up next, on "In the end":

So just what did Jack do while he and Kate were way over their should-be drinking limit? What comes out of Alex and Danielle's card games? And what's Charlie's request of Alex? Another lighter chapter on the way, probably.

Thanks again!

Until Next time..

October Sky