Even though deep down inside Alice knew Richard's words to be true, she wasn't in any hurry to find Jack. She truly considered letting go of her husband just so she could keep her sanity, so she could help herself. She'd used to believe that true love could conquer anything, but as she'd started growing up, she realized how wrong she was. There was actually so much more to it than she could ever imagine. Was she really that strong to keep on fighting? Could she do it? What if in the end she'd end up hurt even more? What if her unborn child would get hurt? Then again, she couldn't really raise it alone, could she? Could she really be such a bitch to keep her baby from its father? No, that was out of the question. She considered herself a good person, but recently her reckless behavior started reminding her of her sister, Annie. Kissing a man who wasn't her husband, considering leaving Jack behind. Such thoughts would have never crossed her mind before. She was actually scared that she'd changed so much. Only Jack had changed, too. She guessed it wouldn't be truly living if people didn't, but it also didn't change the fact that sometimes she just wanted to stop and go back. Apparently, everyone did at some point in their lives. Alice wasn't that lonely and scared girl she'd used to be anymore. Right now, despite everything that could go wrong in her life, she would never consider taking her own life. And she had in the past. So many times. She nearly laughed at the romantic person she'd been then when she remembered Jack kissing her for the first time and making her want to go on living. That was the turning point in her life and she suspected she was facing another right now.
She heard some rustling in the bushes behind her, so she quickly wiped the tears that already managed to flow down her cheeks. She was startled to see that the man who just emerged from the jungle wasn't Richard. She stood up and made a few steps backwards since she didn't know the newcomer, but she actually felt like she'd seen him somewhere before. He was blonde and older than she was. Also, there was something in his eyes that caused her to trust him immediately, that caused her to stay and not to run away. He made a similar impression on her that Richard had when she'd met him.
"Hello, Alice," the man said in a nice, melodious tone.
"Who are you?" she asked, not sure whether she should trust her guts and stay in order to talk to him. Then again, her sixth sense never let her down on this island.
"My name is Jacob," the man said and she actually opened her mouth in surprise. Once he
introduced himself, she finally remembered where she'd seen him.
"I know you," she said. "I met you on the airport. You... you saved my life."
"I'm glad I did," he confirmed with a nod.
"But... you're dead. How are you here right now?"
"I came here to apologize, Alice."
"Apologize for what?" This conversation was only getting crazier and crazier, Alice decided.
"You deserve to know the truth."
"The truth about what?" she prompted, really tired of asking all those questions. Couldn't he just tell her already?
"You deserve to know that it's because of me that you and Jack have problems. I always saw him as the best candidate to replace me, Alice. He has what it takes. Only you're pregnant now and this changes everything."
"Wait... were you...?" she stopped, thinking that it couldn't be the truth, but still... If Jacob was the one to gift people, why wouldn't he stop the island from giving something to her? From healing her? "It's because of you that the island didn't heal me the first time around, isn't it? You didn't want Jack to become a father. You didn't want him to have this responsibility because you wanted him to replace you?!" she raised her voice because it actually made too much sense. It had to be the truth. "And now that you're dead, I'm pregnant?!"
"You are pregnant because this baby was conceived in 1977 in the Dharma village," Jacob explained calmly. "And some things are beyond even my control. The island healed you there."
"You son of a bitch!"
"As I said, I am sorry, Alice. For my defense, I can only say that the safety of this island is the
most important. Even more important than your personal happiness."
"Yeah, because who's actually happy here, right?" Alice snorted. "People are healed, but
happiness... no, not so much. Women can't even give birth here without dying."
"That wasn't my fault," Jacob informed. "And as I said, some things are beyond even my control. Just like now The Man in Black is."
"So my unborn baby destroyed your plans?"
"Nothing is more important than family, you have to know that. I come to you now to tell you the truth so you could fight for yours. The reason Jack abandoned you is my own manipulation and nothing else. Deep in his heart, he still wants only you, you are on the first place and now it has to stay that way, but you have to understand that it's his choice. Just because I came to you with this, doesn't mean that he's automatically out of the woods. If he wants to take care of this place, I can't stop him. I just wanted to give you an even chance to win your family back."
"Well, don't you think it's a little too late fo..." Alice was stopped in the middle of her sentence and...
She woke up.
She was lying on a blanket Richard had given her earlier and as she sat up and looked around, she saw no one near her. There was no Jacob. Not even Richard.
She realized in that moment that she had her conversation with Jacob in a dream, but it didn't mean that it wasn't real. She was still shaken up by it. She understood that as she didn't have Hugo's ability to talk to dead people, Jacob could only come to her this way.
As much as she resented him for what he revealed to her, she was grateful for that talk, because she finally knew that Jack really hadn't been himself recently. He'd been influenced and manipulated by someone else. Was it enough for her to get him back, though? Wasn't it too late? Jack might be free from Jacob's influence, but his mind was already set on something. Or not, Alice thought, realizing that Jack might not even know that he was a candidate. Or he did already. Maybe she shouldn't have stayed away. The only thing she could do now was to go find him.
In that moment, Richard return with fresh fruit. "I brought breakfast," he said and smiled when he saw that she was awake. "Is everything all right?" She was still shaken and it didn't miss his attention.
"Jacob came to me in a dream," she just informed and all she received in return was an 'oh'. "I guess you're familiar with his tricks, then." she sighed.
"Of course I am. I've known him for one hundred and fifty years, give or take."
"I need to go to the temple," Alice decided, giving up eating.
"You can't go there."
"Why are you trying to stop me now when you were the one who wanted to go there in the first place?" she asked, taken aback.
"Because the temple isn't safe anymore. All the people there are dead," Richard informed and she felt dizzy. "I went there during the night to check. He got to them. The Man in Black got them all."
"What about Jack? And James and Kate?" Alice asked, feeling the panic raising inside of her.
"Relax. They're safe," Richard calmed her down. "I can take you to them. They're on the beach, but first you need to eat something. We don't have any meat, but you still need something in your stomach. You're..."
"Yeah, yeah, pregnant, I get that," she sighed when accepting a mango. "Thanks," she then added, feeling as though she was acting ungrateful.
Richard only smiled to her in response.
"So, what are you going to do once we're there?" she asked him.
"Honestly, Alice? I want to die."
"Wait, what?!" She was so surprised that she stopped eating.
"I want to. It's time. I want my immortality gone and maybe, just maybe with Jacob dead, it's possible."
"I hate to break it to you, but I still have my ability. I don't think his death changed anything."
"Well, we'll see. For starters, I need to get you back to your people. Ready?"
Alice really wished she could change Richard's mind and she hoped she would eventually. He deserved to be a mortal man again, but he didn't necessary have to die. Well, first things first.
Alice seemed to finally know what she wanted and she was eager to get it. She received the needed push from both Richard and Jacob. Yet, as she and her companion walked out of the jungle, she seemed to have lost that confidence. And when her eyes actually met Jack's, she simply didn't know what to do or say. She didn't know where to start working through their issues and whether she should tell him about the baby right away. She looked around and saw no Kate or James. They must've been somewhere else, she decided then, hoping they weren't with Locke. Sayid wasn't there either and she wasn't sure whether it was because he died or simply chose another way. She did see Sun, though, so walked over to her to give her a hug. Next in line was Hugo and finally, she tentatively approached Jack. She was about to say something when a woman she recognized from their Ajira flight, turned to Richard.
"He knows what we should do next. Jacob instructed him," she informed and there was silence. Alice actually suspected what that might be, but she listened nevertheless.
And then, to hers and the rest's astonishment, Richard laughed.
"You're waiting for me to tell you what to do? Seriously? I have no idea! Then, it doesn't really matter. Nothing you do will matter."
"And why is that?" Jack wanted to know.
"Because we're all dead," Richard answered. "And we're all in hell."
"Ok, this is just crazy..." Jack started, but Richard simply walked away.
"Richard!" Alice called out his name and then he finally stopped, but didn't turn around to look at her.
"I got you here safely. Just let me leave now," he asked her.
"No! You should stay!" She wasn't giving up that easily and she ran to him and stood face to face with him.
"Alice, I'm going and nothing you can say or do will change my mind," he told her, looking into her eyes sadly. "But you should stay. Your place is here. That's what you're supposed to do. Just stay." After that, he left for good and Alice watched as he was getting further and further away from her. Then she finally turned back to the group, but avoided looking at Jack. She could feel his eyes set on her the whole time as he was clearly watching her and Richard. She didn't know what to say to him. Not yet, at least. And maybe a little jealously would be good for him.
"Don't worry," she suddenly heard Hugo's voice right next to her and she turned to look at the big guy. "I have a message for Richard from his wife and I'm going to deliver it right now."
"You think it'll help?"
"It can't hurt." Hugo shrugged and followed Richard.
Alice bit on her lower lip, trying to decide what to do. She was there, on the beach, so she came back to Jack, she was sending him a signal that she was ready to talk or work through their issues and she did have something important to tell him, but on the other hand, Richard was her friend. She might've not spent enough time with him in order to call him that, but it didn't change the fact that she felt as though he was. She cared about him and right now he seemed to be at a really low point in his life, just like she'd once been. She just wanted to make sure he was ok. That was why she followed Hugo, doing everything in her power to be careful enough so he wouldn't see her. He didn't notice anything, so she breathed out with relief. Then again, she shouldn't be surprised. Hugo was easy to cheat and she knew she would never get far if she wanted to track Kate or Locke.
She saw from behind bushes as Hurley was talking to Richard and her heart went out to her newest friend when she saw the raw emotions playing all over his face. Whatever Hugo told him, however he made it possible for Richard to talk to his dead wife, it stirred the man deeply. And maybe, just maybe, Alice thought with hope, it healed a part of him. How long had he been waiting for such a chance anyway? Probably from the moment he'd found his wife dead.
Once it seemed like Hugo was done, Alice came out of her hiding spot and didn't say anything when Hurley referred to her as 'dude' and asked where she came from. Richard, on the other hand, wasn't surprised at all. Maybe he was even grateful for her presence. Maybe he actually needed her in that moment.
"I'm done," he said when she finally stood right in front of him. "I really want to be done. I want to be just... gone," he confessed with pain reflected on his face. "I have feelings for you, Alice," he then suddenly confessed and she opened her mouth in surprise, but didn't say anything. She truly didn't know the right words to say. This whole situation was beyond crazy. "But I know you belong with him," Richard continued, "with Jack. And I know that nothing will ever change that because you love each other too much. You know, I came back here, to this place," he pointed the tree they were standing next to, "to get my wife's cross. I buried it right there." He raised his hand with the necklace in it. "I'm finally ready to let go of her today and of all the pain and the guilt. I discovered that I can do that because you made it possible, so I thank you for that. I know I can love again thanks to you, but right now I need to let it all go, including yourself."
"Richard, I..." she finally started, but she still didn't know what to say.
"Don't say anything. You don't have to. It's not your fault. I just... I guess I've watched over you for far too long and because of that, I grew to care about you, but I'm all right, really."
"Richard, I wish..." she then said again, but he interrupted her.
"Let's just go back to the beach."
"The beach?" she repeated after him in surprise. "About an hour ago you laughed straight into Ilana's face and then you said we were all dead. What changed your mind? Do you actually know what we should do now?"
"We are actually alive and yes, I do," he admitted with a nod. "Let's go."
She didn't ask him what that was and what changed his mind, she just walked back with him and soon enough, Hugo – who was apparently waiting in the safe distance to give them some privacy – joined them.
Once Richard strode back into the camp, he said to all the people there, "Pack up your bags.
We're leaving. We need to stop Locke from leaving the island by destroying the plane."
Before Alice managed to ask him why the hell they had to destroy the only means of transport that could actually get them off the island for good, Sun started screaming at Richard in Korean.
"Why isn't she speaking English?" Alice asked Jack, totally confused and then she realized what she just did. She spoke to him and she did it so casually as though they'd never argued. Well, maybe it was a good first step, after all.
"She hit her head and her ability to speak a foreign language is temporarily incapacitated," Jack explained mechanically, only as a doctor could.
"Oh," Alice uttered and watched Sun finishing her tirade and walking away with an actual huff. "I guess we have to convince her to go before we set off," Richard just murmured under his nose.
"So," Jack turned to Alice and she could tell he was a little nervous, "who is Richard to you, exactly?" he finally asked the nagging question.
"He's a friend," Alice answered according to the truth. She looked up into Jack's eyes and wanted to drown in them just like she'd done so many times before. She truly wanted to just tell him everything. She wanted to tell him that he was going to be a father, that she loved him and never stopped, that she wanted them to work it all out and just be together. Only she couldn't find the right words. Not yet. The timing just didn't seem to be right. She truly didn't know how to fight for their love anymore and he clearly didn't either, because soon after that, he just went over to Sun to try and convince her to go with them. Alice bit on her lip while watching him retreat and she at least comforted herself by the fact that she was ready to mend fences. They would get there eventually, she decided, with small steps, but they would.
The next day at dawn, they were all surprised as they noticed Ilana gone until actually seeing her coming out of the jungle. She reached them quickly and showed them what she had in her backpack – it was dynamite.
"I went to the Black Rock to get it. We need to go to the Hydra island and use it on the plane," she informed.
"It's not what Jacob wants!" they all heard Hugo protesting as he made his way to the woman.
"You don't know what Jacob wants! How can you?!" Ilana got angry with him. "The only thing that matters right now is stopping Locke from leaving. This way we'll be safe."
"We all heard how you're here to protect the so-called candidates, meaning us," Hurley wasn't giving up, "but I'm telling you, this is not the way!"
"Oh, no, we are going there! We are going to the Hydra island right now," Ilana was saying as she went further away to get the water bottles, "and we're going to blow up this damned plane, because we're supposed to do that!" she kept on yelling and then she put the backpack on the ground and... blew up.
They weren't standing close enough to her to get hurt, but they were close enough to be knocked down.
Alice barely recovered from the shock when supporting herself on her elbows when suddenly, there were two men getting to her from both different sides – Jack and Richard.
"Are you all right?" they both seemed to ask in the same time and then they looked at each other. Richard was abashed by his behavior and Jack was just plain hostile to him, Alice could tell.
"I'm sorry," Richard simply apologized and retreated. He still looked at Alice carefully though, making sure she wasn't hurt.
"I'm fine," she said and soon enough, Jack was gone as well.
"Great," Alice huffed under her breath. How was she supposed to reconcile with Jack if now all he saw was the rival that Richard truly was not.
"We need to go and get more dynamite!" she heard Richard saying immediately as she got to her feet.
She frowned, thinking something must've happened to her hearing because what he was implying was simply crazy.
"Richard, what are you saying?" she turned to him.
"We need to get more dynamite and blow up that plane, so Ilana didn't die in vain," he rephrased.
"Haven't it crossed your mind that her blowing up was a sign that we really shouldn't?" Jack simply asked and Alice was definitely with him on that.
"No, I'm right. You just have to trust me."
"All right," Hugo said to their surprise. "Let's do it."
"What?" Alice still argued. "What are you even talking about? Just a minute ago you were
saying..."
"Well, I changed my mind. Just trust me on this." He turned to her and she could've sworn that she saw him imperceptibly winking at her.
He must've really done it because Jack just took off right after Richard and Hurley, so she followed.
She then looked at her right where Jack was just walking by and it happened that he looked at her, too. She remembered the first time around they'd been dealing with dynamite. She remembered how Jack had gone to get it, leaving her in fear for his life. And then she remembered that it was also the first time he told her he loved her. He seemed to be thinking about the same thing as she saw him flinching a little as though in pain. Then he started looking forward again, just walking next to her in silence.
Once they actually reached the Black Rock and stopped for a minute so Richard could prepare a bag for the dynamite he was going to get, Alice was only more and more confused. If they got this far, what Hugo's plan really was?
She received her answer just a second later as they all heard him screaming, "Get back! Get back!" when he was running towards them from the ship.
They didn't know how he'd gotten there before them all, but then again, no one actually paid much attention to him as no one truly believed he could do anything heroic or be faster in rescuing someone. Right now that was his advantage, but in different circumstances it would be just sad.
Jack grabbed Alice's arm and yanked her backwards and she ran with him when they heard the ship blowing up. When they finally looked at it, it was a burning mess.
"Why did you do that?!" Richard got angry with Hurley.
"It's what Jacob wants," Hugo answered him bravely. "He also told me to go talk to Locke."
"No! I don't believe you!"
"Dude, he's standing right next to me right now!"
"Really? Then ask him what the island is," Richard demanded. "He told me once. I want to hear it coming from you right now."
"I don't have to prove anything to you, Richard. You can either come with me or blow things up. Your choice, dude," Hugo said as though the first part of this was really a message relayed from Jacob.
"Jacob isn't here," Richard said in confidence, "I'm sure of it. We need to protect this place. Alice," he suddenly turned to her, "I told you what the island is. You know how important it is to keep it safe."
Alice knew that. She knew the story about the cork and she'd seen enough so far to actually believe it. Although, she didn't believe that Jacob would condone blowing the plane up just to keep them all... On second thoughts, she did believe it. Jacob seemed like a good guy, but his interest laid only in protecting the place they were in right now. It didn't really extend to anything else or even to their lives. He didn't care if they had families outside the island or were married. Without a child on the way, they were all being pushed to take his place. Even with a child on the way, she then corrected herself again as just because she was pregnant didn't mean that Jack was automatically out of the woods.
"I'm sorry, Richard," Alice found herself saying, "but I'm with Hugo on this." She might've said Hurley's nickname, but she looked at Jack in that moment to let him know that she was with him. She always was and would be no matter what.
Richard just nodded and she could see the understanding in his eyes. He never expected her to leave Jack since that would contradict everything he'd told her so far. He did think that she would back him up on protecting the island, though. Yet, that was just another thing she couldn't do with clear conscience. For her, protecting her people and getting them home was the most important.
She left Richard and went with Jack and Hugo and the rest towards the place where Locke resided. It was true that you always had a choice, but she needed to make this one in order to save her marriage.
"I didn't actually see Jacob there," Hurley confessed to Jack on their way. Alice's heart reached out to the big guy because he felt so bad for lying. "I only said that, so everyone would go with me."
"I know," Jack said to his surprise. Alice kind of knew, too, she thought.
"Then why?" Hugo asked.
"Why what?" Jack asked him.
"Why did you trust me?"
"I was so sure once, Hugo," Jack explained. "And it got Juliet killed. Maybe I'm supposed to let go."
Alice's heart grew when she heard that and then it started beating faster. It was actually all she needed from Jack. To just let go of certain things, to leave them be. Could it be possible that she would soon get her wish?
She didn't know what to say, so she decided to act instead. She leveled with Jack, now walking alongside him and she took his hand.
"Hurley, we're with you and we're trusting you. Lead," Jack said and Alice's hope only grew on hearing the word 'we'.
She was glad that she'd chosen to go with him despite the obvious danger that it carried. She felt Jack's hand gripping hers strongly, but not strong enough to hurt her; just so she could feel that he was holding her, too and that he wanted that. It was enough for now. It was all about small steps, Alice reminded herself, happy in that very moment. Maybe happy for the first time since... when? She'd come and kissed Jack that night when Sawyer told her to go and try to work things out? Probably. She knew she would be much safer with Richard, but love was never about being safe.
They reached Locke's camp and after Hugo spoke for them all and made sure they wouldn't be harmed in any way, Jack and Alice and the rest finally came out of hiding. The first person Alice saw was John – or the thing pretending to be him – and then she spotted Kate and James. She was already on her way to hug them when she noticed someone else. Someone she hadn't seen for a very, very long time. Someone she'd thought was lost. Claire was standing right there, next to Kate. And Alice could feel Jack freezing beside her. After all, Claire was his half-sister and none of them had known that when they'd been around each other before. Locke turned to Jack, still recognizing him and not Hurley for the leader and wished to talk to him.
"Dude, so you," Hugo just said when he received Jack glanced at him.
Alice was watching worryingly as Jack and John retreated and then she remembered Claire being there, too, so she slowly made her way to James and Kate, finally hugging them. Still, she was eager to talk to the blonde since it'd been ages since she'd last seen her. Alice remembered how they'd used to be very close, but that changed once Claire had been abducted by the others and come back with no memory.
"Claire, it's so good to see you," Alice turned to the woman since she had nothing better to say, really. She discovered that she only had a fleeting memory of the blonde and only thought about her more because she turned out to be Jack's half-sister and because she was Aaron's mother. And she'd changed so much, Alice decided when taking a good look. Claire's hair was all tangled up and Alice was pretty sure there was no way she could ever comb it and would have to cut most of it anyway. Claire also seemed different somehow, changed and Alice wasn't sure it was for better.
"Hi, Alice. Good to see you, too," Claire said and gave her an awkward hug after which she disappeared in the jungle, mumbling something about having to talk to her brother. Alice watched her leave with mixed feelings.
"Yeah, that happened," James murmured. "Chick had a trip to the cuckoo's nest. She tried to kill Kate!"
"She did what?" Alice opened her eyes widely in surprise. "But..."
"She ain't worth risking your life for, that's all I'm saying."
Once Kate retreated, James discreetly took Alice aside.
"We're gonna ditch Locke," he informed.
"What?"
"I have a deal with Widmore. He has a sub and he'll take us home. We're selling Locke out. He's sending us to get a boat to sail to the other island, but once Kate and I go to get it, you, Jack, Hurley, Sun and the pilot will sneak out and meet us here." James handed her the map and showed the marked spot. "Just make sure to be there."
"What about Claire?" Alice asked.
"You've seen her. You've heard me. She ain't invited."
"She's Jack's sister," Alice tried to argue, not really knowing what to think of it all just yet.
"And Aaron's mother and do you really want her near that kid in this state? She can be mother Theresa, she ain't coming. Sayid either. He's a freaking zombie. These are my conditions. Take it or leave it, sweetheart."
Alice sighed, but then she nodded, hiding the map in her pocket.
When Jack and Locke made their way back, it was dawn already. Alice got to her husband,
wanting to talk. He wasn't particularly happy about it.
"Alice..." he started and she kind of expected a long explanation to why there were so many more important things at the moment.
"Jack, this isn't about us. Just listen..."
Soon after, just as James told Alice, Locke sent him to get the boat and he wanted Kate to go with him since she had some sailing experience. Alice knew it all to be a hoax, but they had to have a perfect deception plan and who else was best at conning if not Sawyer.
Sometime after they all left the camp and started their trek through the jungle, Alice, Jack and the people Sawyer named stayed behind until they disappeared, heading straight to the place James marked on the map.
They didn't foresee Claire following them, though and she caught them once they were about to leave on the boat. She actually aimed her gun at them. It was Kate who won her over by speaking to her about Aaron and about how she'd done what she had to do and come back to the island for one reason only – to get Claire.
Finally, they were on their merry way, getting to the other island safely. Barely had they made it out of the boat, Sun was reunited with Jin and everyone's spirit seemed to be lifted. Well, until they were actually captured by Widmore's people instead of being let go in the sub as James had it promised, that was.