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Jack brought his dirt covered hand to his forehead after letting go of his grasp on the makeshift shovel he had earlier created. Taking deep breath in, he used the back of his wrist to wipe the excess sweat beading off of him.
"Alright." The doctor said slowly, glancing down at the hole he had dug, "There she is."
They simultaneously looked down at the battered body of the woman they had come to know as Juliet and cringed. Hurley contemplated why the best thing to ever happen to Sawyer was ripped away from him in such a gruesome manner - no way did the blonde deserve this. He took a moment to mourn her loss while the same sentence continuously ran through Jack's mind: I did this to her.
"May I ask what you two think you're doing?"
The men turned to see Ben walking towards them and Jack observed, "This has nothing to do with you."
Ben turned towards Hugo and licked his lips before deadpanning, "Only a few hours into your new leadership role and you're already leaving your secondhand man in the dark." He paused, "Not that I can say I blame you."
"We're trying to save Juliet." Hurley blurted out, despite Jack's protest, reasoning that there was no harm in telling the man - he would find out eventually anyway.
"Juliet...?" He repeated slowly, his mouth becoming dry as he spoke her name.
"Yeah, she died but we're gonna try to bring her back to life." He explained, "Sounds crazy, I know. But it worked with Jack."
Ben took a moment to stare down at the body of the woman he loved. Tears threatened to leave his eyes but he fought past them, in hopes that she would, in fact, be brought back to life. However, he made sure to tell Jack, "If your plan doesn't work out, don't blame Hugo. He doesn't yet understand the full extent of his powers."
Jack paused, thinking back to the day Juliet had first brought him a sandwich, then to when he decided to bring her back to their camp, then the day she helped everyone board the freighter- until all he could see was the vision of Sawyer dragging the love of his life's limp body out of the station.
"It'll work." He answered after a moment of thought, it has to.
Jack nodded in Hurley's direction, signaling for him to do what they came to do. Hurley took in a deep breath as he looked down at Juliet, "Here goes nothing."
He then brought his beefy hand to grip her shoulder and her eyes opened with a jolt. She looked around, clearly confused, and immediately tears began to fall from her eyes.
"What's going on? I was just - I..." She trailed off as she caught sight of the doctor, "Jack?"
"Juliet. Are you alright?" He asked in concern, rushing to her side and helping her to her feet. He frowned as he examined the many deep cuts and bruises scattered over her body but relished in the thought that if she was anything like him, she didn't feel any pain and was simply confused.
"I - I feel fine." She uttered as she brought her hand to her forehead and blinked in confusion, "But how I am..." She trailed off, "How?"
"I kinda brought you back." Hurley shrugged as he began to explain everything - or as much as he actually knew - to her.
Jack heard the words coming out of the man's mouth but didn't pay any attention, he was all too focused on the blonde in front of him. His eyes began to fill with tears as he thought back to just why she had the visible wounds and chain marks that scarred her pale, petite body.
"I'm sorry..." He blurted out, not realizing Hurley was still in the midst of talking. She froze upon hearing his words and sheer sadness overtook her features.
She shook her head slowly and admitted, "It's not your fault, Jack."
"Yes, it - "
"No, it's not." She repeated sternly, "I was mad. I stormed into the jungle and James, he..." Her eyes suddenly widened and darted around the area frantically, "Jack, where's James?"
"LaFleur, let's go grab some chow." Miles stated, motioning his head towards the door. When James made no effort to move, he raised his eyebrows and urged, "Come on, I'm starving."
They reached a nearby restaurant only a few minutes later - nothing too fancy, but after being stranded on an island for three years it seemed like paradise - and swiftly placed their order. When the food arrived they both looked down at their plates with curiosity; anything without a dharma label seemed so foreign.
"So what do you think about Vegas?" Miles asked as he grabbed a handful of fries and shoved them into his mouth.
"Vegas?" James repeated, raising an eyebrow in skepticism.
Miles nodded, "Drinking, gambling, all you can eat buffets - what more could you ask for?" He took a bite of his burger, "I was thinking we head down there and have some fun. So what do you say?"
"Have fun makin' a fool a' yerself. Ya' don't handle yer liquor well." He reminded him, "'Member that night you smuggled all those packs a' beer from the cafeteria into yer house?"
Miles chuckled, "Me and Jin got so wasted and snuck into your house. And when we broke in, we saw you and Jules making out on the couch. You were ready to kick my ass but she stopped you." He paused and looked down at his plate, "Never thanked her for that. Probably should of, huh?"
James didn't respond and after a moment, Miles continued softly, "You know, man, I miss her too. She was a smart chick...funny too. Not to mention hot."
James avoided the other man's gaze and simply stared out the window for a good amount of time, before confessing, "I'm headin' to Miami."
"Huh?" Miles scrunched his forehead, "What the hell's in Florida?"
"Rachel."
"Who's... " He trailed off as he realized just how familiar the name sounded. He knew he recognized it from somewhere and by the look on LaFleur's face it had something - or everything - to do with Juliet.
"Her sister, right?" Miles eventually recalled, the words coming out as more of a statement than a question.
James nodded ever so slightly and Miles didn't miss a beat before shrugging, "Alright." He stated, "Miami it is."
"'Scuse me?"
Miles shrugged once again, "We're partners. Where you go, I go, boss."
'I ain't yer boss no more' James almost growled out, but the words died on his tounge. He knew, as much as he hated to admit it, that he needed Miles as much as Mile needed him - their partnership was the only thing from their old life they had left.
"Jack, where is he?" Juliet repeated, her voice beginning to tremble in fear of her loves saftey, "Is he okay?"
Jack paused for a moment, unsure if he should explain everything to her so soon, if it would be too big of a shock. But he knew Juliet was a strong woman - she could handle the truth.
"There was a plane." He began with a sigh, "They got off the island a few hours ago."
She blinked, "They?"
"Sawyer, Richard, Miles, Frank, Claire..." He listed off, "And Kate."
Kate. The name echoed throughout her brain and she struggled to keep a straight face. So James was out there in the real world with his ex-flame, getting the chance to live the life she always dreamed of? She thought of what the two of them could be doing at that exact moment; laughing and joking, catching up, kissing? - No, she stopped herself. James risked his life to save her. Her, not Kate. He loved her. And now he was safe - that was all that mattered.
"Why..." She licked her lips and asked, shaking, "Why didn't you go with them?"
"I had work to do."
She nodded her head, not fully understanding but before she could question him further, a voice piped up from behind her.
"You really loved him, didn't you?" It asked, referring back to the southerner.
She turned, noticing Ben's presence for the first time. It was strange, she had to admit, seeing him as a grown man after three years of living with the innocent, child version. Her eyes met his and she was surprised to see something she hadn't ever seen in his adult form - humanity, uncertainty, tenderness even.
"Yes." She answered, her voice steady and sure, "I always will."
"Well..." He nodded, absorbing the information, "As I'm sure you're aware, I know of ways to get off this island and back to, as your friends like to call it, the 'real world'."
"I know. I begged and cried for you to let me home and you refused." She answered coldly, "Remember?"
"Unfortunately I have to say that I do." He admitted, "But my selfishness will no longer be an issue. I'm willing to do everything in my power to get you off this island - with Hugo's approval of course."
All eyes glanced over to the larger man who shrugged, "Uh, yeah dude, whatever she wants."
Juliet threw him a small smile before looking back over towards Ben, tilting her head in amazement over his sudden change of heart.
"I truly do apologize, Juliet." He stated after a moment, sensing her need for an explanation, "You wouldn't have suffered such an untimely death if I hadn't forced you to remain on this island."
'That's true." She thought to herself, 'But I wouldn't have met James either.'
'This isn't the way it's supposed to be.' Kate thought as she looked into the tiny restroom mirror clouded with dirt. She tilted her head as she viewed her reflection and saw the image of a crumbling woman stricken with fear and destined for lonliness.
"Aren't you going to look at it?" Claire chirped up, motioning to the cheap pregnancy test they had just purchased inside the dingy gasstation whose bathroom they were currently standing in.
Kate let out a deep breath and briefly closed her eyes, "I can't...You have to do it."
Claire gave a small smile and picked up the test but before looking down at it, stated, "You're lucky, you know."
Kate pushed her hair to one side as she asked slowly, "How am I lucky?"
"If you are in fact pregnant, the father of your baby is a man you adore." She explained, "Of course I love Aaron but sometimes I just wish, somehow, Charlie was his father."
There was a short pause.
"I don't know how you've done it." Kate shook her head sadly, "How you've made it through each day without Charlie. I know you really liked him."
"Loved." She corrected before letting out a sigh, "Honestly, I don't know how I've done it either. The only thing that makes it any easier is that he died a hero." She placed her hands on top of Kate's, "So did Jack."
Kate tried her hardest not to let out a sob at hearing the doctors name. Although he was constantly the only thing on her mind, hearing the word aloud was enough to tear her apart. She felt like she was crumbling more and more every second she spent away from him - she couldn't imagine it would ever got any easier.
Claire let go of her grasp on Kate's hand, "Ready to find out for sure?"
The woman reluctantly nodded and the aussie flipped the pregnancy test over to reveal the results.
"Kate." She said with a grin as their eyes met, "It looks like I'm going to have a nephew."