"I should have listened to Kate," Sawyer said as he and Richard made their way into the jungle.

"About not coming back to the island?"

"We haven't even been back ten minutes and already I'm heading into the jungle with a gun."

Richard laughed softly. "Just like we never left."

"We're probably worried for nothing. I'm sure they're fine."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

Sawyer glanced over. "I guess there's a first time for everything."

"I'm sorry?"

"Going into the jungle and discovering that there's nothing to worry about."

"You're right, that would be a first."

"At least we don't have to worry about old Smokey."

"No; no, I suppose that's one thing we don't need to worry about."

"So what are you worried about?"

"Hmm?"

Sawyer stopped walking and Richard did the same. "You're worried about something, and it's not the smoke monster so what is it?"

"I don't know. I just...I can't explain it, but the monster wasn't the only thing to be worried about on this island."

"But all the other things you had to be worried about are gone now, right?"

He gave Sawyer a tight smile. "You're right. There's no threat left on the island but there's still the chance of them getting injured, or of us getting injured for that matter, so we should still be careful."

"Right."

They walked on for a way before the sound of something moving through the jungle towards them made both men freeze.

"You think there's still polar bears on this island?"

"I...I doubt it, James. Come on, let's get in the trees." He grabbed Sawyer's arm and drug him into a grove of bamboo trees, hoping that whatever it was would go right past them without noticing.

Richard closed his eyes; whatever it was, if he was going to die he didn't really want to see it coming. As the rustling and stomping got closer, he realized there was also the sound of someone breathing heavy. Cautiously he opened his eyes just as Sawyer walked into the clearing.

"Hugo?"

"Can you see him?"

"No, but I'm sure it's him that we heard. Hugo!"

"Over here, dude," came Hurley's familiar voice.

They found him in a matter of seconds. "Hugo, what were you doing out here? And where's Ben?"

"I was looking for Ben, and I found him but..." He paused to try and catch his breath, then continued speaking. "He was checking the trap for boars and he kinda...umm...got himself caught in the trap instead."

"Of course he did." Sawyer smirked and shook his head. "Point the way and we'll go rescue him."

"Is he ok?" Richard asked.

"I'm not really sure. He says he is but I couldn't see him and it's a pretty deep hole."

"Hole?"

"Yeah, we covered up a pit with leaves and stuff so when the boar ran over it, it would drop in. Only Ben must have walked over it for some reason and-"

"Let's just get to him and see how he is," Richard said.

"Come on, I'll take you to him."

It took them fifteen minutes to get to where the trap was. "Ben, are you hurt?"

"Richard?"

"Yes, it's Richard. Are you okay?"

There was a long pause before Ben's voice replied. "Just get me out of here. Please."

"Don't worry Ben, we'll get you out."

"James?"

"Yeah, it's me. Just...just hang in there, ok? I'm going to find some vines long enough for us to reach you."

"You're not going to use them to hang me, are you?"

Sawyer shook his head and chuckled. "Nope. I'm gonna use you as bait so we can catch a boar for dinner." He turned to Richard and spoke low so his voice wouldn't carry. "I'm going to get some vines, you talk to him and try to find out if he's hurt or not."

"All right. Thank you."

"I may be the biggest asshole on this island, but he's scared and I ain't gonna make matters worse by giving him a hard time about it. Not until after we haul him out of there, anyway."

Richard nodded and when Sawyer moved past him, he knelt down at the edge of the pit. "Ben, I need to know how you're doing. Are you in any pain?" When there was no answer he got worried. "Ben?"

"So you really came back. I admit, I didn't think Hugo would be successful."

"We can talk about that later. Now are you hurt?"

"I can't feel my leg. I think it's broken."

He looked to Hurley. "He's not going to be able to climb up so when Sawyer gets back, I'm going down there. You and Sawyer should be able to pull Ben up."

The sound of squealing and hoofs made them both look back in the direction of the noise. "No, please..." Hurley said.

"What's going on up there?" Ben's worried voice came out of the pit.

Richard leaned back over the edge of the pit. "We're going to get you out of there and everything will be fine. Just...try not to worry, all right?"

"Easy for you to say," came the grumbled response.

The boar – or whatever it was – seemed to move away from them."I'm gonna see if Sawyer needs any help." Hurley took off, stopped to pat Richard on the back before continuing on in the direction Sawyer had gone.

"So you want to tell me what happened?"

"If you mean how did I end up down here, I would think that's fairly obvious. I wasn't paying attention, forgot where I was and stepped in my own trap."

"I've known you for over 30 years, Ben." Silence. So Richard tried again. "I thought we were friends."

After a few moments Ben replied. "I thought we were too."

The awkward silence was broken a minute later by Hurley and Sawyer returning. "These vines should be long enough; me and Hugo are gonna braid them together so it will be strong enough. We'll be over there where we can sit and work. Shouldn't take us long." He gestured to an area where he and Hurley could sit on some large logs. It would also be far enough away to allow Ben and Richard to continue talking in private.

"What's going on?"

"James and Hugo went to braid the vines together."

"Oh." The silence wasn't quite so awkward this time. "I'm very sorry Richard."

"Oh?" The statement caught him by surprise and he wasn't quite sure how to respond.

"You confided in me that you thought Locke was going to be a problem...and I should have told you what had happened before we joined up with you at the camp. I should have told you when Locke said that he was going to kill Jacob."

"So what did happen Ben? You never did tell me why you went along with everything he said."

"I..went back to the temple to be judged."

Richard frowned, confused. "You went to the temple? But-"

"There are a lot of things that I never told you over the years, Richard. Things which, in hindsight, I should have told you about but...I guess I never quite learned to trust anyone, including you."

"Thanks," Hurley said as he sat down on a lot opposite Sawyer and braided the vines while Sawyer held them.

"Thanks for what?"

"You know, coming to find us and being nice to Ben and all."

Sawyer made a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sigh. "Ain't much fun to be mean to Yoda when he's down in a damn hole and I can't see him, now is it?"

"Whatever dude. I know you have feelings for Ben."

"Excuse me?" Sawyer raised an eyebrow and glared at Hurley.

"You carried Ben to the Others so Richard would take him and heal him. If you were the heartless bastard you still at times pretend to be, you would have let him die." Hurley closed one eye as though there was a glare from something. "It's ok, I won't tell anyone else."

"Gee, thanks."

They finished braiding the vine and Hurley pointed to a large tree not far from the hole Ben was in. "We should tie one end around that so we don't have to worry about the rope slipping."

Sawyer stood up and went over to it with Hurley. "You're right, I think this should work."

Richard turned away from the hole at the sound of Sawyer's voice and saw that he and Hurley were tying one end of their vine rope around a nearby tree.

"So do you think it's going to work?" came a voice from inside the hole.

"It's going to work, Ben, and we'll have you out of there in no time."

"And then what?"

"Then I'll see what your injuries are and we can go from there."

"That's not what I meant, Richard. Where do things stand between you and I?"

He smiled. "We are friends, Ben. We are going to sit and talk about everything – and I do mean everything – but I promise you, we are still friends."

"Thank you, that does mean a lot."

"You ready?" Sawyer asked, bringing one end of the rope over to Richard.

"Yeah, I'm ready." He tied it around his waist with Sawyer's help, and then Sawyer and Hurley slowly lowered Richard down into the hole.

It was a relief when he finally felt solid ground beneath his feet, and he quickly undid the rope and squinted in the dark to see Ben. "Damn."

"I look that bad?"

"I don't know, I can't see much of anything." He carefully lowered himself so he was kneeling beside Ben's prone form.

"I'm glad it was you that came down."

Richard smiled though he was sure Ben wouldn't be able to see it. "Which leg can't you feel?"

"My right one."

Luckily, that was the leg closest to Richard and he began running his hands down the limb, feeling for any indication that it was broken. The sound of Ben's sharp intake of breath, followed by a barely audible whimper when he got to just below the knee, told him that he had found the injury. "Sorry. I'm going to need something to splint that leg before we try to get you out of here." He squeezed Ben's shoulder before standing up and calling to the men still up above. "I need some strong branches about three feet long and some more vines so I can splint his leg."

"All right, we'll see what we can find," Sawyer called back. "I don't suppose you've got a first aid kit back in that foot?" he asked Hurley.

"Yeah, sure. If you go back to the foot and continue down the beach there's a hospital. Let me just call for an ambulance."

"Someone's become Mr. Sarcastic."

"Must be Ben rubbing off on me." Hurley rubbed his eyes for a second. "There might be some supplies back in the barracks but that's kinda far. Let's just look for some branches that will work."

"You're sure nothing else is bothering you but that leg?" Richard asked, turning his attention back to Ben as he knelt down again.

"Yes, Richard, I'm sure."

His eyes were finally adjusting to the darkness and he could see Ben a little better. "If you want to talk, Ben...about anything...I'll listen."

"You could have just tied the rope around me and had them haul me up, you know."

"The jostling just would have made the break worse. At least for now the bone hasn't come through the skin."

"So what did you want to talk about? That is why you sent Hugo and James off to find branches and more vines, isn't it?"

"You said you went to the temple to be judged. Why don't you start there?"

"I should probably start a bit further back, with when I went to my house in the village to summon the monster."

Richard was stunned by that statement. "You...how could you summon the monster? Why would you want to summon the monster?"

"I...didn't realize what it was. It's not like it ever attacked us. Before, I mean. It only went after Dharma. You certainly never mentioned it."

Richard sighed. That much was true, he had to admit. "That was just how it was with Jacob. No interference. I had to let all of you make your own choices."

"What did you know about the monster?"

"I knew from the first time I met you, when you said that you had seen your dead mother in the jungle and she spoke to you, that the monster would try to persuade you somehow. He did the same thing to me."

"Oh?"

"When I first arrived on this island he appeared to me as my dead wife."

"So that's why you said we were all dead and in hell?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry."

"Thanks."

"So how long do you think it will take them to get back?"

"I guess that depends on how far they have to go to find branches."

"I'm sorry you're stuck here with me."

"I'm not. Maybe this is the island's way of making us talk. And there are a lot of things that we should talk about, Ben."

"If that's what this is, then the island has a sick sense of humor."

Richard chuckled at that. "I suppose it does."

"I don't like this," Miles said, walking over to the door of the statue. "It's been too long. I'm going after them."

"You don't even know where they are," Kate protested.

"I know the general direction they were heading in." Turning to Frank, he said, "Get her back to the church."

"Now wait a-"

"Kate, you said yourself that you promised Claire. You and Frank get back to the church so you can go home to Aaron."

"I..."

"Just go, ok? Frank promised he would see that you got home and I promised Sawyer so unless you want him to kill us both you need to go."

Finally Kate nodded. "Just...please be careful, and find Sawyer."

"I will, but not until you and Frank head back to the church."

"We're going," Frank said, grabbing a torch. "Come on, Kate. Let's get you out of here."

"You're coming back, aren't you?" Kate asked as they began their descent down the steps and into the tunnel.

"You better believe I am. Once you are safe and sound in that church, I'm coming back here and getting all of them back home."

"Thank you."

He paused to look back at her and smile. "You're welcome."

They walked on for a while, listening to the sound of running water and the echo of their own footsteps. "Shouldn't the door be around here somewhere?"

"It has to be up ahead. I don't see how we could have missed it."

The sun seemed to have sunk lower than it was when Miles had gone into the statue. Maybe more time has gone by than I think. He headed in the direction he though Richard and Sawyer had gone in, debating whether he should start yelling for them or remain quiet.

"This is ridiculous," he said aloud as he walked towards the jungle. "There's nothing to be worried about here if the monster is dead. And now I'm having conversations with myself." He laughed aloud. "And they all said Hurley was nuts."

As he went further into the jungle the sunlight faded, filtered by the trees. "Hurley? James?" he called as he carefully stepped over a gnarled tree root. "Richard?" A rustling sound made him turn quickly and he saw someone stepping towards him.

"Hello Miles."

The sight of red hair and fair skin sent his legs into motion, instinctively going in reverse until he tripped on a vine and fell over, sprawled on his back.