Disclaimer: I gotta hurry and get ready for work, so do you really think i'd be working as a filing wench if i owned lost?

Author's note: Must hurry, must hurry. I promised i'd get it up and i HAVE! The last 500 words or so were very rushed so be kind pleeeaase :). Hmm, i wonder how you people shall react to this chapter, and now you know why i had to break it up into two parts or it might just have been as long as the bible. Must thanks my friend and beta for this chapter The Silent She-Wolf and also i must thank Steam rolled harry potter because amy has also helped me when i'm like "gaaaaaah! wtf!" lol so thanks a bunch guys!. Also thanks for all the reviews! feel free to leave amny, many more:)

Chapter Sixteen

I huff.

"You're a real…"

"-charmer?" Desmond adds quickly, and incorrectly.

"I was thinking something more along the lines of idiot."

Desmond puts on an anguished face and puts on a show of being stabbed in the chest. "Aw, now that hurts, that cuts deep."

I roll me eyes and try to hide the slight upturning of my lips. Desmond is much funnier than I had thought on our first encounter. There is something about his biting comments and sarcastic humour that seems so familiar even though I barely know the guy. Heat comes to my cheeks as I realize why Desmond seems so familiar, because his personality has a striking resemblance to a certain drawling southerner. I hope he's alright. He said something about a doctor looking at his wound so it should be fine. Please let it be fine. My evident concern for his wellbeing surprises me, and I force myself to block all thoughts of Sawyer out of my mind. "Well…lead on Indiana Jones, we don't have all night."

"Why, you got somewhere else to be, do yeh?" Desmond asks sardonically.

"Maybe," I say, raising my head haughtily. Desmond simply looks at me like I'm a three year old and continues on his merry way, no doubt getting us ever more lost in the middle of this hell hole.

Desmond pace slows down as he starts looking around for…something. "Well we should almost be there…aha! See that light, I bet you…an Apollo bar that that's where the back door is." He is pointing off to the distance where I can see a small flickering light. Okay so he was right after all.

"What's an Apollo bar?" I ask, not familiar with whatever an 'apollo bar' is.

"Chocolate," Desmond says, dragging the word out and waiting for my reaction.

My eyes widen and I lick my lips at the very sound of the word. "Mmmm. But I…I don't have anything to bet," I say sorrowfully.

"Well, the pleasure of your company is prize enough for me," Desmond says with a small smile.

I know he is joking, but I still can't stop the blush rising to me cheeks. "Oh shut up, you idiot," I say with none of the venom that I would usually spike my insults with.

Desmond's smile falters, his Adams apple rising and falling considerably as he swallows. "No, no…I-I mean it."

It was said with such earnestness that I do a double-take. "Oh…okay," I say breathlessly as I feel my face grow even hotter than it was previously.

"Umm…well we-"

I finally build up the courage to drag my eyes off the ground and look into his. "Thank you," I say, smiling slightly.

Desmond looks pleasantly surprised. "You're welcome," he says and adds quietly, "You're pretty as well."

I turn my eyes away and smile shyly thinking that it was impossible for me to blush any more. Right now I feel a rather vibrant crimson. "And you're blind…or drunk, maybe even both."

"I assure you that I am neither, not yet anyway."

My attempts to rebuke his statement are obviously failing, so I try to change the topic. "Well…you're…not bad either I suppose."

Desmond laughs and shakes his head. "You're terrible at compliments."

Now my blush is out of the unpleasant sort of embarrassment that you feel when you know you are in the wrong. Of course it doesn't mean that I'll admit It. "I'm sorry, but this is quite an awkward situation for me. I mean, I barely know you, and one second we're joking and the next you blurt out…that!"

I see a flicker of hurt on his face before it is replaced with irritation. "Well I was under the impression that you were-" he sighs, not finishing his sentence, "But I see I was wrong."

Now I feel terrible, and there is another mark on the chart of times I should've kept my fat mouth shut. "No…sorry, it's not that. I just-I'm really bad at this whole thing…guys and flirting and compliments. I'm flattered, I really am. You're a nice guy when you're not injecting me with strange medicines and tying me to unconscious men," I say smiling, hoping to get a smile in return.

Desmond smiles rather reluctantly. "I can't say I'm proud of those things, and I'm sorry about that, it was all a bit of a misunderstanding…But anyway, do we have a deal?"

I'm glad for the change of topic, perhaps my face can go back to its normal colour now. "…Sure."

Desmond sticks out his hand, and I do in return. It shocks me when instead of shaking it, he raises it to his lips and kisses it. I feel the stubble of his face tickle the back of my hand and try desperately not to giggle. I'm now blushing to the very tips of my toes. "What happened to the old fashioned hand shake?"

Desmond is now the one to look shy, but only for a moment. "Sorry, I was trying to be roguish and charismatic," he explains, and I can't help but laugh. Desmond now looks slightly affronted again.

I can't stop laughing at the comical look on his face, and I realize that I am actually happy. I link my arm in his and we continue walking towards the flickering light. "Well c'mon my charming friend; let's see who wins this bet."

As we approach the light my smile falters as an uneasy feeling settles in the pit of my stomach. I would've tripped over something on the ground if not for the arm linked with Desmond's. I stop to take a look at the large object. I squint and try to read the word on what appears to be a massive piece of metal. A tiny gasp escapes my lips as I read the word 'quarantine' printed in red letters. Desmond doesn't notice and pulls me by the hand, obviously eager to get inside this 'hatch' of his. "Desmond…are you sure it's okay to go down there, it says quarantine on that metal thing," I say uneasily.

"Morgan, that was on the inside of the hatch," Desmond says, and it takes me a while to understand; If it says quarantine on the inside, it was saying it's dangerous on the outside. I involuntarily shiver at the implications of his words. Only then do I notice that we have stopped and that Desmond is crouching over a large square hole in the ground. I slowly edge closer and I squint my eyes as I look down into infinite darkness. "Holy…crap, what is that?"

Desmond doesn't seem fazed at all. "Oh…right, so that's what it looks like from the other end then," he says lightly.

My eyes are slowly readjusting and I can make out a ladder that is broken off a few meters down, a lot of bloody good that will do us. "Desmond, there's a little problem. The ladder stops four feet down!" I hiss, trying to remain composed and not just run back to my little secluded place on the beach.

"Well the other ones came in this way, so I'm sure two intelligent people such as ourselves can manage to do it," he says calmly. His obvious composure in this situation is only making me more anxious.

I laugh nervously. "Please tell me you're joking."

Desmond just shrugs. "'fraid not."

"Well…how far down does it go?"

Desmond smiles at my obvious fear. "Very…very, very far down."

I gulp. "Well how about you go down, then open the door for me on the other side," I suggest hopefully with a smile I hope he finds charming.

"Oh right, like you can hold my weight while I go down there?" he says, scoffing slightly.

I sniff and cross my arms. "I could, I am surprisingly strong…okay I couldn't. So shoot me if I'm not to keen on being thrown down some shaft in the ground!"

Desmond laughs. "I would hardly be throwing you, more of a wee push."

I roll my eyes. "Oh ha ha, it seems we have a comedian on the island," I say clapping slowly.

"Oh c'mon do yeh wanna get in there or not? Or are yeh chicken?" he asks with his little grin and a raised eyebrow…such a Sawyer thing to do.

I know what he is trying to do, he is trying to bait me. And it worked. "I am not chicken, I just don't have a death wish," I snap at him.

"Oh ok, so you're chicken then?" oh god he's doing that thing again, that 'I'm a stubborn ass and I know I'm going to win' thing.

"That's it! Okay, give me the rope. I'm going down."

Desmond seems slightly taken aback that I actually agreed. "You don't have to go first, I can just tie the rope to a tree trunk or-"

"No no no, I'll go," I insist. Ha! Now you feel bad, and if I hurt myself you'll blame yourself. Sometimes it pays to play up the frailty thing but I can't play it for too long without wanting to gag.

Desmond reluctantly hands me the rope , tied at one end like a noose. "Right well, here's a torch. And if I'm going to fast just…"

"Yell at you to stop, tell you I'm not ready yet and that I wanna take it slow?" I smirk, seeing the surprised look on his face.

"Are we still talking about the same thing?" Says Desmond with a raised eyebrow and a rather shy smile.

"Depends, what're you talking about?" I say boldly whilst winking, liking the fact that I've made him uncomfortable this time.

Desmond just laughs and looks at me for a slightly awkward moment. "Morgan, be careful."

"What is it with you guys? You all seem to think that I can't look after myself without some big strong man to take care of me," I say whilst stepping into the noose and tightening it around my hips, but not in an entirely hostile way.

Desmond takes a step closer to me and tugs of the noose, checking that it'll hold no doubt. "I never said that, unless of course you want some big strong man to take care of you."

I ignore his chauvinistic statement, because at the present time I'm more worried about whatever the heck I'm going to do in this black hole. "Nice knowing you Desmond," I say, and before I even have time to think about what I'm doing I stand on my toes and kiss him on his unshaven cheek. I feel him tense up and pull back, slightly embarrassed with my forwardness to an almost stranger.

"What happened to the traditional handshake eh?" he asks, throwing my words back at me.

"Sorry, I was trying to be roguish and charismatic." Hmm…sounds familiar. I salute Desmond and climb down the short 'ladder'. Then I wait for his signal and I reluctantly let go and am surprised when the expected fall to my death doesn't occur.

"you alright?" he asks, his voice echoing through the tunnel.

"As right as I can be at the moment," I say in a slightly shaky voice. In what seems like an eternity I am lowered bit by bit until I see the wet grime covered floor. I land in a puddle but don't care as my shaky legs touch the ground. I am so relieved I could almost kiss the floor.

"Okay, I'm down. Now what?" I ask, and the rope is hastily pulled up again. I wait in silence and try to take a look at my surroundings but don't dare move by myself or without some sort of instructions from Desmond.

"Shh…I'm coming down too."

By the time I register the words he is already lowering himself slowly downwards. "Desmond! That's probably not the best idea," I say, watching cautiously, holding my breath.

"Well there isn't really-" as if my cynicism prompted it, the rope unties and all I hear is a surprised gasp from both Desmond and I before I am suddenly on the floor with a thud.

Now I still can't breathe but it is because I have a full grown man sprawled on top of me. "Oww…Desmond, are you okay?" I grumble, my lungs squashing with the weight of his body.

After a moment Desmond answers blearily. "Shite that hurt…oh shite, are you alright? I landed right on yeh," he says, turning on an angle that hits my directly in the ribs and looking me in the face.

"I can't really breathe…you're still on top of me," I wheeze, and only now do I realize how close our faces are.

"Oh…sorry," Desmond says in a low voice and in this awkward silence I hear what Sawyer had said about Desmond's so-called 'intentions'.

I gasp as soon as his weight shifts. "Oh please, feel free to stay if you wish. This is quite comfortable really," I laugh, and the movement causes me to wince slightly.

"You're a terrible flirt, for someone who isn't good at it," Desmond says in a strained voice, and I can no longer see his face now that he is a few feet away.

I reach over for my torch. "No, see, it was a joke…I can do jokes. Oh, you're bleeding," I say when I see his illuminated face. I reach over to take a look at the gash on his brow, blood slowly trickling down into his eye.

I tentatively turn his face towards me and he recoils as if burnt. "It's fine, really."

"Oi, let me have a look at it. Don't do the macho thing with me," I warn, my voice rising slightly as reach over again. Desmond swats my hands away.

"We don't have time right now, I'll be fine," he says, wiping his gash with his sleeve and smearing blood over his face. I sigh and move to get up, but my foot catches on the rope and I fall…onto Desmond.

"Sorry, the rope…I-I tripped," I explain lamely, avoiding his dark eyes.

"It's okay, I mean I'm sore and all but I'm not complaining," he says with a small smile, I am so close I can feel his breath on my face. I clamber off him and try to think of something witty to say but am interrupted by a loud beeping.

I turn towards the noise and notice another large metal door. I slowly walk towards it. The beeping continues. "Desmond, what's in there?" I ask hesitantly.

"We're running outta time!" Desmond hisses, running past me and pushing against the door until it slowly creaks open. I follow him numbly, unable to think or do anything.

I gasp.

There is someone already in here.

Well, please review coz i could get fired for being late for work for this lol...how's THAT for a guilt trip?