Honolulu, Hawaii
I couldn't stop my hands from shaking. All I wanted was to be back on the ground, safe. Not in the air. I didn't think being in a plane again would make me this nervous, but it does.
Jack, Sun, Sayid, Hurley, and Kate with Aaron in her lap sit around me in the tiny cargo hold of the tiny Coast Guard Plane.
"We're coming in for a landing," Karen Decker tells us. She's a representative of Oceanic Airlines and she's transporting us to Honolulu for a press conference. But first, we get to see our families. I've been waiting to see Gil and Donny since the crash, but now that it's actually happening, I feel a little nauseous. I didn't approve my father for visitation to the Air Force base they're taking us to. I don't want to see him.
"It's a military facility just west of Honolulu," Mrs. Decker says. "It's completely private. Your families are already here. Now there's a lot of press that wanna speak to you, but as far as Oceanic is concerned, you don't have to speak to any reporters."
"We'll talk to 'em," Jack says to her.
"Is that all right with all of you?" she asks us, looking around. We say nothing. I don't know if I'm ready to do this. To lie to the whole world. I've already lied to Karen Decker and my stomach is in knots.
"It's fine. We all agreed," Jack says. "We just…we just wanna get it over with."
"Okay," Mrs. Decker says. "Um, they're referring to you as the 'Oceanic Seven'. That's not the best branding as far as we're concerned, but it's catchy. We'll see you on the ground."
As Mrs. Decker walks away, Jack turns back to us six. "We all know the story. If we get any questions that we don't wanna answer, or that we can't answer, let's just keep our mouths shut. It's okay. They'll think that we're in shock."
"We are in shock, Jack," Sun says.
"Well, then this should be easy."
I feel the plane start to descend and the sound of the wheels touching relaxes my stomach. My hands are still shaking in anticipation of seeing my brothers.
Jack unbuckles his seatbelt and the rest of us follow his lead. I stand, my legs barely holding me up. This is it. Will there be cameras? Will I have to put on a brave face? I don't know if I can.
The hanger of the plane opens up and outside I see a bright light. My eyes adjust and I walk off the plane, behind Hurley. I see him raise his arms happily and let out a laugh as his pace quickens to reach his loved ones.
I break the door and look around. An old Korean couple that must be Sun's parents. A Latino couple; Hurley's family. An older woman, near the front. And over to the right…
Gil's face breaks out in a huge smile and he waves at me. Donny looks like he's trying to smile, but tears flow from his eyes. A woman with a baby bump stands next to them, looking slightly uncomfortable. I recognize her from photographs as Sonja, Gil's fiancée. Or is she his wife now?
I don't want to hold up everyone behind me, but my feet won't move as I'm overcome with emotion. "It's okay," I hear Kate say behind me and she gives me a little push.
That's all it takes and I run into Gil's arms, wrapping my own around his neck, soaking his shirt in tears. "It's okay," he says, stroking my back. "You're home now. Your home."
I open my eyes and see Donny standing there, but I can't let go of Gil. I open up and stretch out my left arm, and Donny fits his way in. Here we are. The Samuels Three. Eventually I regain my breath and break away. "We must look like idiots," I say, wiping my face.
Gil chuckles. "Tia, this is Sonja," he says, grabbing her hand and bringing her forward.
"It's nice to meet you," I say, grabbing her in a hug. Before the crash, I was not a hugger. But after everything I've gone through, human comfort is like a drug to me. It's why hugging Sawyer had become such a habit of mine.
Dammit, don't think about Sawyer or Jin or Juliet. Don't even think about those guys from the freighter. I can't handle that right now.
"So are you two married now?" I ask, eyeing the baby bump.
"Um, Tia," Gil says, patting the back of his head. Sonja looks at the ground. "We asked the Oceanic guys not to tell you this. We wanted to do it."
"What are you talking about?" I ask, noticing Donny's face fall to the ground like Sonja's did, all traces of tears gone.
"Tia, Dad um…Dad died."
My head jerks up. "What?"
"Dad thought you'd run away," Donny says. "Gran didn't know where you were and Dad had made you promise to stay in Australia, but he never actually expected you to stay. It wasn't until they released the names off of the flight manifest that we knew where you were. And Dad…he swallowed a bunch of pills. OD'ed on oxycodone."
"So he's gone?" I ask.
"Yeah, we've got a lot to talk about in that department," Gil says. "I'm sorry we had to lay this on you right before a press conference."
Oh crap, the press conference. Damn Jack for making this ruse plausible from the get-go.
"Hey, Tia," I hear Hurley call my name. I turn around and he's leading a dumpy looking woman over to me on his arm. A small man follows them, as well as Sayid. "This is my mom, Carmen."
"Aye, it is so good to meet you," she says in a thick Spanish accent, reaching up to my face and pulling it down so she can kiss my cheek.
"And this is my dad," he says, pulling the small man forward.
"David," the man says, extending a hand. I grasp it with difficulty as Carmen has started to straighten my jacket that she wrinkled.
"It's nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Reyes," I say. "These are my brothers, Donny and Gil, and Gil's fiancée Sonja. This is Hurley and Sayid," I tell my family, and both sides shake hands.
It's weird. After one hundred and eight days I pictured my past and my present completely separate. Donny and Gil were on one end and the Island was on the other. I never expected to two to merge.
I'm introduced to Jack's mother, Margo and I introduce Jack and Kate to Donny, Gil, and Sonja. Sonja is especially interested in Aaron. Must be the pregnancy thing. I make it to Sun last, whose parents don't really seem interested in meeting me. And she's weary of meeting my family. Ever since Jin…well, she hasn't been the same.
"Excuse me," Karen Decker says, cutting in. "We're going to need to head to the conference now. The press are getting a little edgy."
An Oceanic employee directs me into a chair that has a nametag and a glass of water in front of it, in between Sun and Hurley. Behind me is a giant screen projecting the image of the Oceanic logo. I'm extremely on edge. I look at the glass of water. I wouldn't mind a drink, but I'm afraid if I grab the glass, I might drop and break it.
Karen Decker walks up to a podium off to the side of our table and the press conference begins. "Welcome to the first interview to be conducted with the survivors of Oceanic 815. You've all been given briefing packets with information about the crash and its victims. But we will allow time for a recap before taking questions." She starts to tell our story, using the screen behind us to project maps and picture for the press to follow. "Based on the location of the wreckage, our best estimate of the crash site is...here. From there, the survivors were carried by the ocean's current to...here-an uninhabited island in the Lesser Sunda Islands known as Membata. As you've all read in your briefing books, on day one hundred and three a typhoon washed up the remnants of an Indonesian fishing boat, including basic supplies and a survival raft. On day one hundred and eight, the remaining seven survivors, including Ms. Austen's baby which she gave birth to on the island of Membata, used this raft to journey here…an island called Sumba. They then came ashore near a village called Manukangga. This photo was taken by the local fisherman who found them. Once it was discovered who they were, they were transported to Honolulu by the U.S. Coast Guard. As you can imagine, this has been an extraordinarily trying experience. They have, however, agreed to answer a few questions. So, ladies and gentlemen, the survivors of Oceanic eight-one-five."
All at once the cameras start flashing, disorienting me for a few seconds, and the reporters raise their hands and shout to get called on. Mrs. Decker chooses one and the Q&A starts.
"Dr. Shephard! Dr. Shephard! Can you tell us what it was like when the plane hit the ocean? Uh, how you survived."
"Um... It…it all happened really fast," Jack says. "I remember the impact. I remember the…the plane filling up with water. A group of us got to the emergency door, and, um... got out before it went down."
"And those of you who survived. You swam to the island?"
"No. We had, uh, cushions. We had some life jackets. We were in the water for over a day before the current took us in. By then, there was only nine of us left."
The reporters struggle to get called on again and Mrs. Decker chooses another.
"Ms. Samuels, can you tell us what happened to the other three survivors?"
Of all the questions I could have gotten, this is what I get? I take a deep breath to steady my voice before talking. "One of them, her name was Libby, I never learned her last name. She suffered internal injuries and died a few days after we made it to the island. Boone Carlyle, he was climbing a tree about four weeks in. He fell and landed badly, breaking his neck. And Charlie Pace, he drowned a few weeks before we were able to leave."
The reporters struggle again. "Considering the ordeal that you've all been through, you look pretty healthy having been on an island for more than a hundred days."
"Was that directed at me, Dude?" Hurley asks, loosening the tension.
"Well, actually, Mr. Reyes, you were worth more than one hundred and fifty million dollars at the time of your... death. How does it feel to know you're going to get all that money back?"
"I don't want it back, any of it. That money was bad luck."
A Korean reporter asks her question next and everyone struggles to translate what she says.
"She asked if my husband was one of the people who died on the island," Sun translates. "The answer is no. He never made it off the plane."
An Arabic reporter is chosen next. "Are you aware of the situation in Iraq, Mr. Jarrah? Do you have any plans to return?"
"There is nothing for me in Iraq," Sayid answers.
"And Mr. Shephard," the same reporter continues. "Now that you are home, what are your plans?"
"I haven't really thought too much about it, uh - my father died in Sydney, I was bringing him home for the funeral when the plane crashed. Even though the body is...I'd like to put him to rest."
"Ms. Austen. What was it like giving birth on the island?"
"Scary," Kate says.
"Your son-uh, Aaron? How old is he now?"
"He's just a little over 5 weeks."
"So that would've made you about six months pregnant when the U.S. Marshal service apprehended you in Australia for an outstanding murder warrant. Is that correct?"
Mrs. Decker cuts in. "Uh, I'm afraid Ms. Austen's legal issue is off the table. Next question."
"Mr. Jarrah, given the amazing circumstances surrounding the survival of you seven, is it possible there are any other survivors from the crash yet to be discovered?"
"No. Absolutely not."
"And Ms. Samuels, I know this has already been asked of Dr. Shephard, but what about you? What are your plans now that you've returned home?"
"Um, like Jack I haven't really thought about it. My brother is getting married, and I'm very much looking forward to that. And also like Jack, my father has passed." I notice Donny's jaw drop at my mentioning this. "So there will obviously be arrangements set in place now that I'm back."
A couple more fluff questions and we're lead off the stage by Mrs. Decker. I notice that my hands have stopped shaking and my breathing has steadied. I earn a wink from Hurley. I'm about to ask Sayid if he'd like to join my family and me for dinner, since he had none show up at the base, but Mrs. Decker escorts his out of the building.
Donny, Gil, and Sonja wait for me and then, I'm back on a plane with Jack, Kate, Aaron, Hurley, and their families, headed back to Los Angeles.