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And now for something a little different...
Chapter 2.
Desmond sat watching the scene in front of him. He wasn't eavesdropping, exactly. But when he'd passed their tent that morning, he'd heard Kate say she was pregnant. Judging by their behaviour since then, this wasn't the best of news.
As he was pondering this, things around him started to shift. Time slowed down, then sped up again very suddenly. The smell of the ocean disappeared for a second, and when it came back it was slightly altered. There was a loud rushing sound, followed by a faint popping. Then silence. His vision blurred, and when it cleared he found himself staring at a blank, empty beach. He quickly figured out that this was sometime in the future, but he had no idea when.
He was behind a tree, and he decided to stay there for a bit. For some reason, he felt like he shouldn't be seen. He couldn't explain it, but he had the sense that whatever he was about to witness was private.
Glancing up the beach, he saw that he was not far from where the camp was set up. The blue tents were still pretty much how he remembered, though some appeared to have moved. There were also a few more wooden structures. Whatever time he was in, the people were building more permanent establishments. He was a little sad to think that more people had given up on rescue, and were preparing to live out their lives on this island.
He was broken out of his reverie by the sight a little girl running out of one of the tents. She went flying down the beach, her curly brown hair streaming out behind her. She looked to be about four years old.
She ran down the beach a bit, laughing in the way only children could. Picking a random spot, she sat down and immediately began building a sandcastle. Desmond was mesmerized by the sight of her. Here, on this island, was a little bit of hope. It was just what he needed.
"Hey, pipsqueak, thought I told you to wait?" Desmond dragged his eyes away from the girl at the sound of Sawyer's voice. He obviously hadn't changed much. Desmond wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. He was a little sick of all the nicknames.
The girl was too, apparently. "My name is Laura." She said, rolling her eyes. She looked comical in her disapproval. As Sawyer got closer, Laura stood up and put her hands on her hips. Desmond watched, laughing, as Sawyer suddenly rushed at her, scooping her up and flipping her upside down, covering her with kisses. The little girl squealed with obvious delight. Desmond wondered what Sawyer would think if he knew someone was watching this cute little act.
"Daddy, put me down!" The discovery that Sawyer was this girl's dad shocked Desmond. He wasn't sure why, though. He should have been expecting it. He knew Kate was pregnant in his time, after all. Her daughter was the spitting image of her.
He wondered where Kate was during all this. Looking around, he couldn't see her anywhere. That surge of hope he'd had evaporated. She must not have survived.
He wondered how everyone was coping. Kate had been a close friend to many people, he knew that. He couldn't imagine that many would have recovered from her death quickly. It would have sent shockwaves through the camp.
Then there was Sawyer. Kate was really the only person he was close to. Now she was gone, and he was left to raise a child on his own. Desmond couldn't imagine how difficult that must be. He seemed to be holding it together fairly well, Desmond thought. He had no idea how he was managing it.
Desmond's sadness and pity disappeared at the sight of a very much alive Kate emerging from the same tent that Sawyer and little Laura had. He'd been wrong. He'd never been so glad to be wrong before. He felt like kicking himself for jumping to conclusions.
His next thought was one of amazement as he took in the sight of the two toddlers accompanying Kate, one on her hip, the other walking slowly beside her. They were obviously twins; a boy and a girl, if their pink and blue outfits were anything to go by. Desmond stared at them, trying to work out who these two resembled most. The boy looked like Kate, he thought, only with straight hair. The girl was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed angel. She'd inherited her mother's curls, but everything else was Sawyer. All three of the children had dimples, he noticed.
Sawyer called out to Kate at that moment, grinning, to bring the 'midgets' over. Desmond shook his head at the nickname, but couldn't help but smile at the obvious affection behind it. It was very clear that those kids meant the world to Sawyer.
Laura didn't seem to see it that way. When she saw Kate roll her eyes at the nickname (it was obviously a common term of Sawyer's for his youngest children), she sternly told her father not to call the twins midgets; that their names were Molly and Thomas. Although Sawyer looked slightly abashed at being told off by his four year old, Desmond couldn't help but notice that both he and Kate were struggling not to laugh at Laura's perfect imitation of her mother.
The family of five settled down on the sand together, preparing to build "the biggest sandcastle in the whole world ever!", as Laura said. Desmond watched, as they did indeed proceed to build a rather large sandcastle. There were tears from all three children at one stage, when a side of the sandcastle collapsed, half-burying Molly. Laura seemed more concerned that all her work had been for nothing than she was for her sister's safety, and it appeared to Desmond that Thomas was just crying so as not to be left out of all the attention. They were all quickly calmed down when Sawyer mentioned a secret waterfall, however (Desmond had no idea what that was about), and they went back to their task.
All looked perfectly content, and Desmond rejoiced in the sight of them. It seemed that all of their present day worries would be for nothing. Everything was right for them. Their lives were perfect. It wasn't often that Desmond got to foresee a sight like this.
Desmond's vision started to blur again. He had the same sense that time was shifting as he'd had before. He was starting to get used to it by now. He assumed he was going back to his present. He couldn't wait to go and reassure Kate and Sawyer, to tell them what was to come. The scene cleared, and he thought he'd see the two of them on the beach, where he'd left them.
He was wrong. When all Desmond's senses returned to normal, he was surrounded by gunfire.
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