Author's Note: Another chapter for you guys! I don't think I'm alone in saying that this is one missing scene from the series that I've always been dying to see. Yep it's time for "See Ya". Sometime between Jackson announcing he was going with Eric and Abby and the next morning Melissa decides to go with them. Surely Jackson must have had something to do with that decision, right? This is my take on one of the many theories floating around in my head about how that conversation could have happened. Anyway, as always reviews mean a lot to me. I made a joke on tumblr recently about how it was hard to find Flight 29 Down fics that I really loved and then thought I actually include my own in that! I always feel like I can't get them in character properly when I'm making them do and say things the show never let us see lol. I hope you guys enjoy this anyway! Also this is a reminder that there's a Jackson point of view fanmix of music for download on my profile page. Please send me ideas for other scenes to try!

A special thank you to Bullfrommars who left me a lovely review that I couldn't reply to in any other way. : )

Baggage

"I'm going with Eric and Abby," His declaration hung in the air like a poisonous gas, choking the air out of everyone within hearing distance, everyone but Eric who had seen it coming and Abby who had goaded him into it.

He didn't want to look at anyone, any of his fellow castaways, any of his…well, almost friends, not when he knew disappointment and betrayal is what he'd see staring back at him. The problem was he didn't exactly want to look away either. If he couldn't meet people's eyes that meant he was unsure of his decision and he wanted to project confidence, even if he didn't feel it.

The silence stretched and an eerie stillness settled over the camp. It was never quiet here, not really. Jackson was used to sleeping through car horns, the neighbor's TV blasting at three in the morning, even random gunshots breaking out in his neighborhood but here it was a whole different ballgame. Insects that got together in groups and made strange clicking sounds, birds that seemed to keep no discernable schedule, and the relentless pounding of the waves all made up a new and sometimes deafening soundtrack to Jackson's life. However even these ambient noises seemed to sense the shift and settled down to a gentle murmur, offering no relief from the silent standoff occupying camp.

Daley was the first to move, shaking her head and walking quickly away down the beach. Daley's departure seemed to snap everyone else out of whatever trance he'd put them in with his confession and suddenly they were all moving. Nathan gave him one last grim look before taking off after Daley. Abby, seemingly unconcerned, sat down by the fire and unwrapped the makeshift bandage from her arm to examine her healing cut. As Abby was sitting down, Taylor was springing to her feet though once she stood she seemed uncertain of where to go. Eric in a move showing just how unsettled he was under his cool exterior actually mumbled something about hauling water and stalked off.

Lex leaned forward from where he'd been standing against one of the shelter supports and snatched a piece of driftwood from the ground and hurled it at the plane. It bounced off with a hollow bang and Lex watched it fall back to the sand before meeting Jackson's eyes.

"This is wrong," He said, for once sounding like the little kid that he truly was. He turned and disappeared into the plane.

"He's right," Taylor sniffed softly, clutching her folded arms, a shell of the confident girl she usually was. "We all need to stay together."

"We're not all together," Abby snapped, glancing up at the blonde who she'd shocked into silence. "We haven't been since day one. I for one want to find the others."

Taylor's whole body seemed to sag under Abby's words, whether it was because she had realized Abby was right or because she had realized there was no changing their minds Jackson didn't know. She shot him one tear filled glance that he met as steadily as he could before she went in to the plane after Lex.

"They're so clueless," Abby stated, re-wrapping the bandage around her arm and yanking it hard enough that Jackson thought she might be cutting off circulation. "Playing house won't get us rescued."

"Yeah, well, sending people off to explore the island hasn't gotten us rescued so far either," Jackson said coldly, feeling, despite his earlier role in their distress, incredibly protective of the people he'd been living with for the past month.

For a moment Abby looked as though he'd slapped her, and Jackson felt a strange satisfaction in having been able to break through her wall that he hadn't seen slip since she walked back in to camp. He felt a little guilty for calling out the others for having gone off pointlessly when he didn't even know if they were still alive. Jackson felt his mind almost physically wrench itself away from that thought. They had to be alive, the alternative was just too…well, they just had to be alive.

Just as quickly as it had dropped Abby's mask of calculated indifference was firmly back in place.

"Speaking of playing house," Abby picked up a piece of firewood and tossed it on to the fire throwing up a shower of sparks. "You should probably go say goodbye to your little girlfriend, she seemed pretty upset."

Jackson felt his body freeze in panic as his mind went a million miles a minute. There was no question who Abby meant. She'd seen Melissa's feelings for him well enough the last time she came back to camp.

Melissa.

Where was she? She was the only one he hadn't seen leave. She must have left so quickly and quietly that he missed it. How could he have missed it? Guilt washed over him and a sick, worried feeling settled in his stomach.

"Where did she go?" He demanded, his voice hard and impatient.

Abby nodded towards the jungle and Jackson was already on the move in that direction before she'd finished the gesture.

"Lose the baggage, Jackson," She called after him, sounding more resigned and sad than arrogant. "This is about survival."

Jackson didn't look back.

The thing was he knew exactly what she meant. Back when Abby had been just a nice, rich girl who never had to worry about anything, Jackson had been a guy who lived by a motto not dissimilar to the one Abby had just shouted at him. Lose the baggage. Think about survival.

His mom, all those foster parents, his so-called former friends, everyone he'd ever invested anything in had eventually made his life harder, made it harder to get by. It wasn't until he'd adopted the attitude that it was every man for himself that he'd finally started to live a less complicated, if lonely life. He hadn't been in jail, dead or getting his ass kicked daily though, so what was a little loneliness in the grand scheme of things? Survival. He had been all about survival. Then he had slipped up, went looking for his old friends, and now he probably had a juvie cell waiting for him when he got back. Baggage.

He got what Abby was saying. It was just putting it into practice at the moment that was proving to be impossible. Because when it came right down to it, Jackson could accept Abby's principle but he couldn't accept one thing: Melissa Wu was not baggage.

Jackson crashed through the jungle not sure exactly where he was going but having a vague notion that he was heading in the right direction. He didn't think Melissa would have gone too far, ever since the incident with her tape and the loudspeaker she'd avoided any solo trips more than a few hundred yards from camp. After ending up going over a cliff on her last such outing she was probably always going to be nervous to be alone in unknown territory.

"And you're not leaving her alone in unknown territory tomorrow?"

Jackson shook his head as though he could physically shake out the stray thought that rang all too true.

He had to get out of here, had to see what else was on this island for himself, had to find the others, had to find something that said this wasn't going to be the rest of his life. In some ways he was still in no hurry to get rescued. The uncertainty of what awaited him after they made it home made the relative security of their life on the island appealing on some days. And then there were some days when he woke up and felt as though someone was sitting on his chest, and the ocean in front of their camp and the jungle behind it felt as much like bars blocking in a cell, as any concrete room in juvie would have.

This couldn't be it. Not forever.

He tried to picture Eric in his twenties, Daley in her thirties, God forbid Nathan in his forties. Would they grow old here, or more likely die young from some disease, or accident, or from going mad and murdering each other?

Jackson was so lost in his thoughts he hadn't noticed where he was going but when he stumbled in to the little clearing where he and Melissa had spoken about their relationship or lack thereof only yesterday he knew his subconscious had known what it was doing.

Melissa was there, slumped over on the same log she'd been sitting on yesterday when he'd arrived to tell her he liked her, but Taylor too…maybe, and she gave him security, but he couldn't be with her here, and wasn't sure about when they got home, and let's just get rescued ok…

Jackson realized looking back that the whole conversation had been a mess and he was surprised she had let him get away with his train wreck of an apology attempt. He'd known the way he was treating Melissa wasn't fair, clinging to how safe and just plain good she made him feel but also making it clear that no amount of moments shared between them was any kind of guarantee that he'd feel the same the next minute.

He always wanted to say the exact right thing to Melissa, the way she always seemed to find the right thing to say to him, even if he didn't realize how right she'd been until later. The problem was, he wasn't Melissa Wu, good person, amazing friend, and all around ray of sunlight in an otherwise dreary situation. He was Cody Jackson, perennial screw up, emotionally guarded, man of few words. He never knew the right thing to say to Melissa and now was no exception.

Melissa's hands were wrapped together, hanging forward as her head sagged onto her knees and she didn't notice him for a few seconds. When she did look up her eyes were red and swollen but she wasn't crying. They simply stared at each other for a moment, Jackson regaining his breath after his jog through the jungle and Melissa carefully brushing the strands of hair that had escaped from her half-ponytail out of her eyes.

Jackson scrambled to think of something to say but it was Melissa who broke the silence.

"I guess I need to find a new hiding place, huh?" Her lips stretched into an approximation of a smile but it never reached her eyes and faded quickly. "This is two days in a row."

"Mel," Jackson hated to see her putting on a brave face even more than he hated to see her cry. "I was going to tell you."

She nodded slowly and glanced away.

"I can't believe everything fell apart like that all at once," She said softly. "Things were tough, but we were doing ok yesterday you know? And now…"

"We're still doing ok," Jackson tried to reassure her even though the sentiment sounded false to him even as he said it. "We're just going to split up for a while."

Melissa looked back at him with disbelief written all over her face.

"Be serious, Jackson," She pinned him with her gaze and he felt about an inch tall under her scrutiny. "The whole thing just fractured."

She paused, began tracing a circle in the sandy dirt under feet, then continued in a flat tone.

"When were you going to tell me?" She echoed his words back to him and Jackson considered them for the first time.

"I didn't really know I was going right up until I said it," He admitted. "Abby had talked to me earlier and I thought about it, but I didn't really know…until I knew."

He sighed. He knew it was a terrible answer that probably didn't make any sense but Melissa was nodding. She always did seem to somehow hear his intentions underneath all his halting, awkward speeches.

"I guess what I meant," He told her sincerely, knowing the words were true as he spoke them. "Is that as soon as I decided I was going I wished I could have told you first."

It was true. He couldn't pinpoint why it felt wrong that she'd heard along with everyone else, he just knew it did. He wasn't sure what he would have said differently had they been alone when she found out but he wished there had been enough time to find out.

"What if you don't find anything?" She broke into his thoughts, her tone not quite accusatory but definitely demanding serious consideration. "What if one of you gets hurt?"

"We'll look after each other," He told her, answering the question he found easier first. "And, I don't know what we'll find, I just know I have to look."

Once again she seemed to accept his answer fairly readily. He was beginning to suspect that most of her questions were aimed not at getting answers for herself but at forcing him to think through his own reasons for abandoning their fledgling home.

"What about us?" Melissa finally asked, and it was like a punch to the gut for Jackson. "What we have here, it won't work without you."

Jackson could hardly believe that she was serious even though he knew she was. A month ago most of the people on this trip had treated him like an object of mild curiosity and nothing more. As time went by on the island they had veered between a fragile friendship and suspicion. When had he actually become part of the group? Was it when he became leader or when he gave it up? Was it when he made Lex a raft for his distress sign? Was it when he played his song for them on Chillopolooza or whatever Taylor had called it?

No.

He knew when it was deep down. It was when he had run away before, on his own that time, after being exposed by Eric. It was when Melissa had chased him down in the middle of a tropical storm, thrown her arms around him, and told him he was already exactly where he was supposed to be.

Now he wasn't so sure where he was supposed to be. He just knew he wished finding it didn't have to mean leaving the girl who convinced him he could.

"You guys will be fine," He told her with a small smile and a large dose of false confidence.

She shook her head before he'd even finished offering his reassurance.

"We need you, Jackson," She finally seemed to be letting some of her frustration seep through.

"No you don't," He insisted softly. "Daley's got everything under control, and you've got Nathan, and Lex will think of new ways to get things done easier, and Taylor's been trying lately. You should thank me for taking Eric off your hands by the way."

He expected to get a laugh from that one but instead she buried her face in her hands.

"Mel," He took a couple of steps forward and dropped to one knee in front of her just as he had the day before. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head, her face still covered by her hands and Jackson reached up to gently pry them away. He tugged first one hand down then the other and surprised himself as much as her by keeping them wrapped in his even once his task was finished.

Melissa let out a huff of breath somewhere between a sigh and a hiccup and seemed to be having a hard time catching her breath. Jackson gripped her hands more tightly, and ran his thumb in a soft circle over the patch of skin it rested upon.

"We need you, Jackson," She repeated softly, her tone begging him to hear what she was saying.

"Mel, no," He told her softly but firmly. It wasn't just that he wanted her to accept that he was going. He truly believed that they would be fine without him. He wasn't the strong, solid guy she seemed to think he was.

"Are you going to make me say it?" She was staring down at their entwined hands, strands of hair blocking his view of her face.

He didn't know what she was talking about he just knew he wished she would look at him. He couldn't read her expression like this and it was driving him crazy not to be able to look into her eyes.

She didn't look up but at this distance he could hear the deep inhale she took before saying something that left him reeling.

"I need you," Her voice shook only slightly and there wasn't any doubt that he'd heard what he thought had.

A rush of emotion swept through Jackson so real that he almost believed it was a physical rush. It was clearly the best high he'd ever had, that was for sure. His whole life he'd been passed around between people who couldn't care less, people he had to depend on without actually being able to trust them. The group of rough friends he used to run with for security, the string of lousy foster parents for a roof over his head, the mayor and his pet project of giving troubled kids second chances in fancy private schools for a way to avoid juvie. He was so used to having to take what he could get from people and then running the other way as fast as he could that the idea of someone needing him was a completely foreign one.

And this wasn't just anyone, this was Melissa Wu, good person, amazing friend, and all around ray of sunshine in what he'd always found to be an otherwise dreary world.

She needed him.

He needed her too of course, had known that for sometime. He had just let her fill that need for him without allowing himself to think too deeply about where the need came from. He hadn't been able to put into words exactly what their relationship was, friendship, romance, something in between. He'd thought that his confusion was because of the stress of their situation on the island, or because Taylor had surprised him with how human she could be, but in that moment he finally knew it wasn't really any of those things. It wasn't stress, or a rival for his affections, or even the need to focus on getting rescued.

It was fear.

He needed her, but if she needed him back then that meant he could screw it up.

He needed her, she needed him, and the whole thing scared the shit out of him.

Somehow though, it didn't seem to matter in that moment. Somehow just becoming aware of the fear that had been choking him for so long managed to loosen its grip. He didn't pause to consider the implications of what he was doing just leaned forward until his forehead pressed lightly against Melissa's.

He heard a sharp inhale from her at the contact but she didn't pull away, if anything leaning against him a little more firmly.

"Come with us," He whispered, closing his eyes and gathering his courage. "Come with me."

He expected her to protest. He expected her to list all the reasons she shouldn't, couldn't go. He expected her to bring up Nathan, her best friend since Kindergarten, or her loyalty to Daley, or her concern about Lex, even her worries about Taylor.

He didn't expect her to withdraw one of her hands from where they were tangled with his and lay it softly against his cheek until he opened his eyes and met hers before uttering one word.

"Yes,"

The next day as he watched Melissa's tearful embrace with Nathan, Jackson felt a pang in his chest. He knew that as hard as it was for him to walk away from what they'd created here it was harder for her. These people who had only recently worked their way into his heart had been the playmates of her childhood, the ones who she sat with at lunch, and spent late nights talking to on the phone. They had inside jokes and shared memories and a history he couldn't compete with. He didn't want to take her away from people who probably deserved her more.

The thing was things were never that cut and dry. Melissa was her own person, an amazing person and Jackson trusted her to decide for herself where she should be and who she should be with. And for some reason he'd yet to figure out he was lucky enough to be that guy.

As they set out Jackson felt the weight of guilt and fear slipping away with each step they took further from camp. For the first time in a long time he felt as though he had not only a purpose, but a plan.

He intended to find a way off of this island. He intended to keep Melissa safe and happy in the mean time. And then he intended to prove to her that he was worth her faith in him, one day at a time for as long as she'd let him. That was a burden, baggage, that he couldn't wait to carry.