Thank you for reviewing! Yes, that is the real Claire. I still thinks she's creepy, but maybe not as creepy as season 6 Claire in the series. And about the island mysteries: I'll include some of them but definitely not all (that would make this fic impossibly long!). In this chapter: the Man in Black returns ;)

The remaining members of Oceanic Six had gathered by the shore, together with Claire. Kate had confessed that she'd taken Aaron with her on the chopper. First, Claire seemed to have been relieved. Her son was alive and healthy and, most importantly, off the island. But when Kate had shared the entire story, of herself raising Aaron (partly with Jack) and lying about his identity, Claire's relief had turned into anger. Who did Kate think she was, making decisions like that. The least she could have done was tell Aaron about his real mother. That would have been the very least she could have done: not to keep secrets from the boy. Claire had screamed and Kate had cried. Jack had tried to intervene and sooth things. "What do you think would have happened if we had told people who Aaron really was? He would have ended up in foster care. You would never have been able to get him back." Sun had intervened and suggested that everyone who left the island would sit down together and tell Claire the entire story. They were all part of the lie, after all. So they had gathered by the water: Sun, Hurley, Jack, Kate and Claire. Frank stayed away. He had left with them, but wasn't in any way linked to their story. Since coming back from Hydra, he tried to not get involved in discussions too much. For now, he felt most comfortable just doing the basics, making sure the camp was up and running.

"The girl's messed up man." Miles said. He had joined his old friends who were watching the little group meeting from a distance.

"She's probably been through a lot." Jin replied, defending Claire. "It's hard to be away from your child."

No one knew what to say to that. Jin had stopped talking about the possibility of seeing his daughter a while back. It was like he had given up on the idea. Even Sun coming back had a sad note to it now, since it meant that Ji Yeon was without both her parents. And that she was probably in the care of Sun's parents. Jin couldn't stand to think about his creepy mean father in law being with his daughter.

It was obvious that at one point they would have to go look up Richard again. But timing had to be right and it didn't seem wise to go there without first trying to figure out Claire. Besides, there was also the risk of annoying Richard. The guy didn't like to be bothered too much, especially not with critical questions. Things needed to be dealt with calmly and with a proper plan.

Juliet, Sawyer, Miles and Jin had been going over all the meetings they'd had with Richard over the past three (or six) years. Juliet also threw in whatever she remembered from Ben's stories. Ben had never been explicit about who or what Jacob was. She had asked him about it once. Ben had laughed at her and answered with the same exact line that Claire had used: Jacob was the leader of the island.

One particular Richard story became subject of their analysis. Miles remembered a conversation he and James had had with Horace about a year and a half into their Dharma days. Three ships had been notified on the horizon east of the island and Richard had approached Horace to discuss the issue. There had been mutual suspicion: both men thought that the ships somehow were there at hand of the other. But, as they talked, they realized that it was in both their interests to keep the island's existence and location a secret. To the DI, the island presented unique research opportunities that they wanted to keep to themselves.

Richard had kept his motives for wanting to keep other people out more private and only shared that he and his people wanted to live peaceful lives. "If the time for others to come to the island has arrived, I will know." Those had been Richard's words. Horace had worried about that statement, but Richard had assured him that he had no intention of violating their truce. When Horace had asked him what they could do to prevent the ships from actually coming to the island, Richard had simply replied with "Don't worry. Jacob will take care of it." Horace, in all his naivety, thought that Richard was probably referring to some religious figure. Who knows what type of worshipping went on in the jungle? So he never bothered to ask more about it. And the ships disappeared without ever reaching the island.

Who the hell is Jacob?

The more they talked, the further they seemed to move away from any possible answer. They just had to accept that they didn't know. And that the only man who probably did know was a 9 hour hike away from their camp. They had to give up trying to find possible explanations for the Jacob mystery for now. And they hadn't even started discussing that other mystery: Jacob's so-called brother (Sawyer still thought that was probably a twist in Claire's head, especially the part about the black smoke). That thing had not showed his face ever since they arrived at the beach. And no one wanted to tempt fate by discussing it openly.

Claire seemed to calm down over the next couple of days as everyone settled back into their routine again. She spent a lot of time by herself, staring at the ocean. But she would always join them for meals and – with Sun and Kate's help – had fixed her old tent. They had removed the remains of Aaron's crib and had found Charlie's ring while doing so. Claire always carried that ring with her now, rubbing it between her fingers every once in a while.

She still didn't say much about her three years on the island but she did share some hunting skills that didn't require guns. It didn't go unnoticed to anyone that Claire would probably be able to survive on her own in the jungle just fine. She was precise, had a good eye, and incredible patience. She taught them how to improvise rabbit traps and she spent a lot of time with Jin in the jungle showing him how to locate the rabbits, how to identify tracks and how to build different types of traps.

She also went on beach walks with Hurley, talking about Charlie, sharing memories. Claire told him that she'd wished Charlie had been Aaron's father. When Hurley looked at her, saying that he kind of was Aaron's father for a while, she abruptly stopped the conversation and excused herself, saying that she had another hunting appointment with Jin. She mentioned Richard a couple of times during diner, but always in a very neutral way. It wasn't clear to anyone what she really thought of him or if she trusted him.

She seemed to have accepted the ways of the island and its people. One night, when Claire had gone to bed early, Hurley said that he felt like Claire had simply given up. And they all thought 'Is that what three years of living in the jungle does to people?'

Juliet volunteered to go on one of Claire's hunting trips. She wanted to spend more time with Claire and maybe get her to talk some more. Sawyer also joined, and the four of them (Jin came, as usual) started off early on Claire's fourth day back at camp. The sun was still below the horizon but its light was already strong enough to guide them.

They walked inlands for a good hour to an area where Jin and Claire had placed some traps. It was very humid, and the trees were overgrown with moss and other plants. As they started walking slightly uphill, they noticed rabbit holes and various animal tracks. Apparently, this spot was popular among wildlife.

Claire and Jin checked their traps. Most were still empty, but three of them had trapped a screaming, suffering rabbit. Claire released the rabbits and Jin skillfully broke their necks. James was slightly amused when Juliet looked away while Jin killed the animals.

"C'mon Blondie, you've seen far worse."

"I know. But I used to have a rabbit when I was a kid. I like rabbits. They're sweet."

He chuckled. "You've been eating dead rabbit for two days now, you do realize that right?"

"Very funny." She looked at the rabbits, then at Sawyer, and then back at the lifeless animals at Jin's feet. "A dead, skinned, roasted rabbit is not the same as a living rabbit."

"You prefer dead, roasted creatures over living ones huh? Some might call that morbid Blondie." She looked at Sawyer: Oh just shut up. He grinned at that. Jin bent his knees to pick up the rabbits and placed them in his bag while trying to hide a smile.

Claire prepared the traps again and they moved onwards, this time focusing on the larger animal tracks around.

"How are you feeling Claire?" Juliet tried. She was walking right behind Claire and so far they hadn't really spoken much, apart from hunting talk.

Claire glanced back at her without stopping. "I'm fine." A short and polite answer.

"I'm sorry you got stuck here by yourself. That must have been hard." Juliet tried again.

"Don't feel guilty. I was protected." Claire answered this time.

"From what? By who?" What is she talking about?

Before Claire could answer, Juliet heard it: that awful familiar sound: the whispers. She froze for a second; then quickly turned her head around, trying to determine where it was. The whispers came from her left, then it was in front of her, and then all around. Adrenaline kicked in and she felt her heart race. She looked over at Sawyer and Jin who had stopped walking a couple of meters away. Both men were slowly turning around in circles, scanning the environment. Jin had his knife in his right hand.

The whispers became louder to the point where the sound hurt their ears. Then the noise suddenly faded. "Let's go back." Jin said quietly. He started walking, his knife still firmly in his hands. He passed Juliet and Claire. They all followed Jin without saying a word.

They'd only been walking back for a couple of minutes when fear kicked in again. Because there was that other, even more frightening sound: low, heavy pounding. They knew it was the Black Smoke, and they knew what it could do. "Run!" Sawyer yelled and he grabbed Juliet's hand while following Jin, who was already on the move. They ran, branches cutting their faces and arms. Jin was out of sight. Juliet looked back to see where Claire was. There was no one. Where the hell is Claire?

"James!" she panted. They were still running, her hand firmly in his. "Claire… Where's Claire?"

He looked back. "Jin!" Sawyer screamed now.

He heard the Korean's voice somewhere in front of them. The pounding sound was becoming louder. "Go to Jin." Sawyer told her. Juliet looked at him with startled eyes. I'm not leaving you. "Go to Jin, Blondie. Now!" He let go of her hand and started walking back to where they'd just ran from. Juliet wanted to follow him but she felt another hand grabbing hers, pulling her back between some trees. It was Jin. She leaned back against one of the trees, breathing heavily. Jin's hand was on her shoulder, pushing her to the tree, keeping her steady. They just stood there together. Thirty secons, one minute. The pounding sound was still all around. Suddenly there were footsteps, people walking. She turned her head and saw Claire and Sawyer approaching them. Why aren't they running? Then she noticed Claire's hand in Sawyer's. He was almost dragging her along. Why isn't she running?

Leaves and branches were flying through the air. And then it appeared: the Black Smoke, several meters high, towering over Claire and Sawyer. Claire froze. Sawyer kept pulling her hand but when she wouldn't budge he let go and started running towards Jin and Juliet, while continuously screaming "Run! Run." They didn't run however. The scene in front of them had hypnotized both Jin and Juliet. Claire was standing still, her arms hanging down, her head turned upwards to the highest point of the blackness. The smoke moved around her in quick circles and then hung still in front of her for a few seconds. It didn't move, Claire didn't move either.

Suddenly and without touching Claire, it moved onwards, to where Sawyer was. Sawyer, who was still running, looked back. A mistake, because he tripped and fell forward on his knees. The smoke reached him within seconds, picked him up from the ground and threw him back several meters. James landed hard on the ground, a sharp burning pain shot through his right arm. Somewhere far away he heard Juliet screaming. He tried to collect himself and got up. But before he was good and well back on his feet, the smoke moved in once more, picking him up and throwing him through the air again. James landed flat on his back and screamed with pain this time. His heart was racing, his head was pounding painfully. What is this thing? He looked up as it was coming for him again. James knew this might be it. His time was over. This was how that priest had died.

But the Black Smoke didn't pick him up a third time. It didn't even touch him a third time. It stopped moving right in front of James, like it had done with Claire. It hovered for a bit, and then – just as sudden as it had appeared a few minutes ago – retreated. James was still on the ground, his heart beating heavily in his chest, his entire body tingling from the two painful falls. And then it was quiet. Claire was still standing in the middle of the path, frozen like a statue. Sawyer exhaled. He heard footsteps to his left. It was Juliet, kneeling beside him, touching him, kissing him. "You ok?" He lifted himself to sitting position. "Yeah. I think so."

"Claire." That was Jin's voice. Juliet let go of James and they both looked up. Claire slowly approached them. Sawyer got to his feet, ignoring the pain, and walked up to her. The fear he'd just felt now turned into sheer anger. "What the hell was that huh? Why didn't you run? What the hell's going on Claire?"

"It can't hurt me." She answered calmly, unaffected by the raging man in front of her.

Sawyer cursed out loud. "What kinda deal with the devil have you made?"

"It's not the devil. And it can't kill you either."

"I think it just tried to kill me. What are you? Blind?"

Claire stared at him, expressionless. Creepy Other. "It was just intimidating you. But it can't kill you. If it could kill you, you wouldn't be standing here right now."

"It killed Ekko. Why the hell wouldn't it kill me?" James was pissed as hell, but Claire's words confused him. The smoke had its chance to kill him, and he was still alive.

"I already told you. You're candidates. You all are."

"He man, where is she?" Sawyer asked while walking up to Miles. He had been searching their camp for Juliet but she wasn't anywhere.

Miles, with his mouth full of mango, pointed to the far left end of the beach. "Thanks bro." Sawyer mumbled and walked off.

They had returned to their camp, tired and confused. Sawyer had forced Claire to tell the rest of the group what had just happened, and what she had told them. Confusion had hit everyone when Claire informed them about their encounter with the Black Smoke. Jack had demanded an explanation, a better one than the 'candidates' version she had been feeding them. Claire couldn't give him one. Jack had cursed, something he hardly ever did.

"Are we all candidates Claire?" Kate had then asked, even though she wasn't sure what any answer would actually mean.

Claire had simply looked around, as if checking who was there, before answering: "Yes." And that was the end of the discussion. There was no point in forcing answers out of someone who was either unwilling to give them or simply didn't have them (they were still not sure which one of those options fit Claire).

Jack had examined Sawyer. Lucky for him, he hadn't broken anything. A couple of bad bruises was all the damage Jack could find. By the time Jack was done with Sawyer, Juliet had wandered off.

Sawyer walked into the direction Miles had pointed at and found her sitting about 300 meters from camp, close to the tree line. She was staring at the ocean while absently drawing little figures in the sand with her hands. Sawyer lowered himself next to her and looked at her hands and the sand beneath them.

"You know we could always ask Richard for a pen and some paper if you wanna get into drawing?"

She stopped, wiped the sand of her hands and looked at him. She tried to smile. "Why haven't we seen that thing in weeks and now that we've met Richard and Claire is here at our camp it all of a sudden shows up? Don't you think that's just…" She paused. The image of the Black Smoke right in front of James was still very fresh.

"I don't know." He answered. "But I know this: if that thing were a real man it would be a frustrated little prick with a dick the size of a peanut."

She let out a chuckle in response. "I can't believe you're making jokes about this."

"What else is there to do? We can stress all we want, it ain't helping."

"It came for you James. It sought you out!" Tears were forming in her eyes now.

He turned to her and stroked her cheek with his right hand.

"But it didn't kill me. Just some bruises, is all. Doctor Jack's personal opinion."

"Why I'm not flat down on my back from post traumatic shock is beyond me." She rubbed her eyes and sniffed.

He didn't know what to say to that. She was right. He could have died earlier today and it scared him that he wasn't more upset about it himself. Then the image of Juliet hanging down the hatch with only his left arm preventing her from falling came back to him, and he realized she must have felt that exact same fear today that he'd felt back then. He took her hand in his and rubbed it gently.

They sat like this for a while. Juliet had her eyes closed and used her left hand to wipe away a tear every once in a while. Then she turned her head to look at him. "I love you." She tried to smile.

That felt so good: to hear her say that. Even if it came with tears and a near death experience. "I love you too."

In response she put her left hand behind his neck, pulled him towards her, and kissed him. He shifted so he could meet her better and deepened the kiss. She pulled back and stared over his shoulder, squeezing her eyebrows, checking to see if anyone was around. There was no one there and she turned back to James, kissing him again, longer this time. Her hands were by his waist, tugging his shirt upwards. He let go of her to pull it over his head. He let his hands slide behind her back and then up under her shirt. He grinned and whispered between kisses "They might catch us, you know."

"I don't care."

"Since when?"

She stopped and let her hands drop. "Come." She pushed herself up and put her hand out for him to take it. As soon as he stood she turned and started walking, further away from their camp. Is she serious? She was never big on doing anything if there was a chance of them getting caught. It happened once (with Miles, but still) and she had been uncomfortable for days. He couldn't help but smile though.

After a few minutes of walking she suddenly turned and kissed him again. Deep and frantic, as a prelude to passionate open air sex. "Easy on the ribs there sweetheart" he mumbled. She continued kissing him and he pulled back to look at her. "Is this the cure for post traumatic stress?"

"It is today." Her face was softer now and he could tell the fear was disappearing.

He grinned. "Alrighty then." He lowered his mouth to kiss her again, while pushing her back until a tree blocked their way.

This was one of my longest chapters so far. I sort of have figured out by now what will happen in the remaining chapters. All that I have to do is write it down. Hope you enjoyed. Review if you want to!