Chapter 12: Time Flies

"Cooper? You have to wake up! Come on, honey, wake up; please!"

Angered at the noise interrupting her sleep, Cooper stirred wondering why Juliet was so aggravated with her. "Hm?" She groaned, turning in her bed, wondering when her mattress had become so hard... and dirty... and why did it smell like mud?

"Cooper? Come on."

Why is Jack in my bedroom, Cooper thought. "Wha...?"

"Cooper; you collapsed again, please wake up,"

Juliet sounded like she was crying. Worried; Cooper forced her eyes open, realizing they were very, very heavy. She had no idea where she was; definitely still on the island but nowhere near the radio tower; the trees had thinned out when they were getting close; that's what Danielle said... with a stab of fear, Cooper realized that was the last thing she remembered... walking that path just behind Claire. The sun had been beating down on them at the time; now it was afternoon, at the least, and there were heavy rain clouds sitting in the sky.

"Juliet?" Cooper couldn't believe the voice that came from her mouth was her own. She sounded so weak; like a child.

"It's ok, you're awake now," Juliet's voice was rushed as she shifted closer to her friend, applying a damp cloth to her forehead. "Everything's gonna be okay."

Now more aware of her surroundings, Cooper could see Jack on her right side and Juliet fussing over her left shoulder. "What... happened? Rescue?"

Juliet nodded, but her smile was tense. "They arrived, their chopper got disoriented in the storm; but the pilot landed it safely."

"So... we can go home?" Cooper wished her voice had some hope in it; but it just sounded tired.

"Soon," Juliet said. "You've been unconscious for two days."

Cooper would've sat bolt upright if her muscles and limbs didn't feel like jelly. Two days! Her brain was racing so fast it gave her a headache. I've been unconscious for two freaking days!

"A lot of things have happened," Jack said gravely.

Cooper didn't really understand him. "Rescue's here... how can things be bad?" She reached out to Juliet who helped her sit up. She glanced around the camp and noticed how few people were milling around, namely missing to Cooper were Claire and her son, Hurley, Sawyer and Locke. It seemed as though at a third of the survivors were gone. "Where is everyone?"

Juliet was the one to explain everything to Cooper. Charlie's death after managing to successfully get the signal out, the freighter responding to Jack's distress call, Hurley addressing the group and telling them about Charlie's final act; to warn them that the boat did not contain the people they expected, Penny's people; Desmond's former girlfriend who was desperately searching for him. And after Hurley's speech, the survivors separated.

Locke lead a group to the Barracks, Cooper and Juliet's former home, while Jack put his faith, and that of those who sided with him, in the rescuers. Whether they were who they said or not; they had a boat. They were a way out.

Since she was unconscious for this whole ordeal, Juliet had made Cooper's decisions for her, and that was to get her friend off the island. The freighter was the way. Thankfully, Sun, also pregnant, and Jin decided to stay with Jack as well. Also thankfully, Sun wasn't showing symptoms yet other than mild morning sickness while Cooper was dealing with her body's harsh reaction to her own, unborn baby.

"How did I get here?" Cooper pushed back against something hard behind her, a thick tree trunk, and took the water bottle Jack offered her. Her vision was a little blurry; but she was sure she was imagining the chopper sitting just ahead of her in a clearing. "Is that what I think it is or are the hallucinations setting in?"

Jack chuckled. "Yeah; it's real. Sayid's going to fly back to the freighter with Desmond to check things out... and, ah, I carried you here."

"Carried me?" Cooper repeated.

"Yes, for almost two full days." Juliet said. "I thought... you were..." She stopped herself speaking; tears flushing back to her eyes.

"I'm not gonna die, Jules," Cooper assured her. "It'll take more than a poisonous island to get rid of me."

Juliet smiled and wiped her eyes with the edge of her thumbs. "I'll get you some water," She said, taking Jack's half-empty water bottle and heading towards the chopper.

"You did it," Cooper said tiredly, her eyes turning to Jack. "You got us rescued," She almost burst into tears she was so happy. He had done what she and Juliet had been trying for years to do; found a way to go home. "Thank you so much; Jack."

"Thank me when you're holding your baby." Jack said with a wistful glint in his eye.

Cooper could only smile back. "I'll hold you to that." She winked.

"You survived a plane crash and being cooped up on this island for five years," Jack said with a somewhat amazed shake of his head. "You don't deserve to stay here."

"None of us deserve this." Cooper replied. "All of us should be able to live the life we want."

"You're going to be a great mum, with that attitude," Jack said, gently nudging her in the calf with his knee.

"I hope so."

xxx