They walked for a long time in silence, the only sound the crackling of the torch and the chattering of Lisa's teeth. She was strangely so cold, rubbing her arms through her jacket to keep warm. Hurley was walking beside her, watching Ben and Locke ahead of them.

"So… why'd you really come?" he asked.

Lisa looked over at him, tucking her arms close to her body. The wind blew her hair into her eyes as she spoke.

"It's what my father would've wanted," she told him, zipping up the jacket.

Hurley gave her a strange look. Lisa sighed. She continued on, stomping through the jungle, stepping in Ben's boot prints as she went. It took her mind off of all that had happened, at least for a moment. Right. Left. Right. Left. Right. Ben's prints were bigger than hers; their tracks clashed in the dirt- her diamond-shaped patterns against his horizontal lines and ridges.

She continued stepping in his prints until Hurley asked what she was doing. Ben looked at her briefly, frowning. Lisa avoided his eyes, looking slightly embarrassed. When he turned back around, she relaxed.

For some reason, she found herself feeling so bad for him, this man who had continuously lied to her since they'd met; a man who had kidnapped her friends, sent people to try and kill them, and shot one of the freighter people on sight without a glimmer of hesitation.

Shouldn't he be worthy of her hatred? Did he even have the right to have her sympathy?

But he had lost his daughter, the only person in his life he truly loved…just as she had lost her father. And what had William seen in this man to have stood smiling with him in a picture, as if they were brothers?

Lisa let out a shaky sigh, moving to fall into step beside Ben. It was slightly warmer due to the proximity of the torch, even though Locke stalked on just ahead.

"Should I tell him he's going the wrong way?" Lisa whispered.

Ben actually smiled, although the moment passed very quickly. He seemed to enjoy being reminded of John's failure, however. He shook his head.

"Let him think he's right for awhile," Ben replied.

Lisa found her smile to be just as brief as his; she didn't really like making the gesture, almost as if it was too difficult. But she was strangely happy to see she had made him smile; perhaps she had taken his mind off of troubled thoughts, no matter how short-lived.

They traveled for a few more minutes until Locke stopped them amidst a small half-circle of logs. The trees were vine-tangled and tall grass surrounded them.

"This should be a good place to stay for tonight," he explained, sticking the torch in the dirt.

Hurley agreed, chucking his backpack to the ground, leaning against one of the logs with a grunt. Lisa shrugged off her own pack and sat cross-legged beside him, leaning back in the same fashion. She folded her hands in her lap, watching as Ben sat down on the opposite side. Locke built a fire, clearing the area of leaves.

"How do you know about that creepy cabin?" Hurley asked her in a low voice.

Lisa sighed, hugging her knees. "When Jack, Kate and Sawyer were taken, Ben let me go instead of kidnapping me, too. So, I ran back to the beach…on the way there I got lost, and I found a cabin." She shook her head, raking her fingers through her hair. "There was a guy sitting on the porch in a rocking chair- he said his name was Jacob, and asked me who I was," Lisa glanced back at Hurley, her eyes wide. "I ran away. He scared the hell out of me."

She shivered uncontrollably and Hurley nodded.

"My thoughts exactly," he said.

The fire was a welcome relief for Lisa, who held her fingers out toward the flames. She laid her head on her shoulder, arms balanced over her knees. She stared at the fire, the warm glow reflecting off of the group. Shadows lengthened and shorted from the light as the wind rustled the trees.

"They won't find us, right?" Lisa asked, quietly.

Locke spoke. "No- at least one of their own is wounded; we have a good start ahead of them."

Lisa nodded silently. It was good to hear, at least.

The jungle had darkened considerably; blackness seemed to surround them, and the chattering of wildlife was at its loudest. Lisa sighed, tucking her arms around her. The jacket still smelled faintly of Charlie's cologne, which was greatly comforting. She tried to smile at the memory but once again found it too difficult.

"How come you can see it?" Hurley suddenly asked.

"You're inquisitive tonight."

She noticed he was genuinely interested and sighed. Lisa thought for a moment.

"Because I was born here," she finally said, "Good night, Hurley."

She turned away from him, pulling the hood up to cover her head. She closed her eyes and tried to dream.

………………….

It was still dark when she opened her eyes again. The fire had died and Lisa frowned a she rolled to her feet. She poked at the glowing embers with a stick and a small flame reappeared, igniting the wood once more. Lisa rubbed her eyes, hearing her knees crack as she rose to her feet. She hadn't slept at all; she just didn't feel safe enough. Her gaze fell to the others around her, sleeping soundly on the jungle floor. Again, she marveled at John's ability to sleep anywhere without hesitation. Lisa made a move to head back to her spot, but she paused, noticing the strange pattern of the leaves.

Ben was missing.

She felt a small flash of panic, turning to look around for him. Where could he have gone? He couldn't have gotten far- it was pitch black aside from their little 'camp.' Her heartbeat finally returned to normal as her eyes settled on a figure a few feet away, sitting amongst the long grass. Quietly, Lisa walked up to him, burying her hands in her pockets. He turned at the sound of her footsteps.

"Couldn't sleep either?" he said.

Lisa shook her head. "Can I sit?"

"Go right ahead."

She fell down into the grass beside him, following his upturned gaze to the tops of the trees. He was staring intently up above, his eyes focused on the moon just visible through the branches. Lisa wondered what he could see that she couldn't…

"Can I ask you something?"

Ben nodded slightly, still staring up at the trees. Lisa hesitated a moment, picking at the laces of her filthy converse.

"…On the back of the picture, Dad wrote something-"

"'So you don't forget, Benjamin,'" he said.

"What did he mean by that?"

Ben sighed, a weary sigh that made Lisa wish she hadn't asked. She could tell he was thinking of what to say. He finally spoke, slowly, as if choosing his words carefully.

"William gave that picture to me the day before he left…he didn't want me to forget who I was."

Lisa frowned. Ben paused a moment, blinking. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to comb it back into place. It was matted from the sweat and curled at his temples. Ben continued.

"He wanted me to remember how we were good friends- that I actually had a friend somewhere along the way," Ben finally looked at her, studying her a moment. "You look a lot like him, you know."

"…So what prevented Dad from disappearing like the rest of DHARMA?" Lisa questioned, silently taking in his comment with secret pride.

Ben managed a smirk. "Me. I told him to leave the island, and I wasn't supposed to." He frowned slightly and his voice hardened. "Jacob wanted him to stay. But William had everything I couldn't… a wife, a daughter…" Ben shook his head, staring at his boots. "If I could have saved one person from what happened, it was him and his family."

Ben's tired blue eyes scanned her again, but he soon looked away. They fell into silence. Lisa stared up at the sky, the stars just visible through the canopy of leaves. She felt cold again, and saddened at the distant memories of her father; how she hadn't known anything about his past.

Now that it was silent, she could hear her thoughts, impossibly loud in her mind. Everything suddenly came flooding back, and all the emotions she'd pushed away thrashed through her almost painfully. She let out a small gasp, feeling the sting of tears. It felt as if she would fall apart; her knees knocked and she trembled where she sat.

"Ben…" Lisa managed to say, "I'm so sorry about Alex…I'm so- s-sorry…"

Tears slipped hurriedly down her cheeks, cutting clean spots on her face through the dirt. She wiped them away with her sleeve. Ben stared straight ahead, blinking slowly.

"She was my friend," Lisa told him in a quavering voice, "S-She was a good…person, Ben….she was a good person…"

Lisa covered her face with her hands, sniffling. She choked back a sob and leaned against him, her head on his shoulder. Ben acknowledged her there, but remained silent. He stared down at her a moment, at this young teenage girl not unlike his own, who had been stolen from him. He felt the fatherly instinct to pet her on the head, to reassure her, but he did not move.

"…Your father was a good person too, Lisa," Ben said gently, "I'm sorry you lost him. I'm sorry I wasn't able to help him-"

He broke off his sentence, biting his lip. Abruptly, he turned away. Lisa took her head from his shoulder, still wiping away tears.

"You're just like him, I've realized," Ben murmured, "You're one of the good ones, Lisa- Billy raised you right."

She smiled lightly through the sorrow, hearing Ben call him that. She studied his ragged form, his face smeared with dirt and fading bruises; his eyes dully glimmering with tears. Carefully, she reached out and placed her hand over his. She was surprised at its coldness…

"Do you remember what I told you in the Hatch; what you said I should remember?"

"…Yes," Ben answered.

"I still believe it. No matter what."

He looked at her strangely; a mixture of gratefulness and surprise she'd never seen in him before. Ben didn't say anything, but he didn't have to. Lisa squeezed his hand reassuringly, then rose to her feet and quietly walked away.

She knew he understood.