Kali looked back as they flew away from the island she had called her home for the last few months, her vision clouded with tears. Sawyer kept his arms tight around her, his hand brushing through her hair gently, whispering soothing words in her ear. It didn't help. Nothing would. Her brother was dead. The only family she had left. He knew she couldn't leave the island, but he had still given his life for the helicopter to lift off.
"He saved us" Juliet mumbled from behind her, as Kali's eyes flickered to her, finding the blonde wiping at her bloodshot eyes.
"I should have stayed with him" Kali cried, clutching onto Sawyer's strong arm that was wrapped around her.
"Hey, you heard what Ken said. He wanted you to live. He wanted you to leave the island" Sawyer insisted, as Kali choked back a laugh.
She looked down at the waves below them, wondering how far she would get before her time ran out. Her eyes snapped to the gun that Kate had pushed into the waistband of her jeans, a plan forming in her mind. After everything she had been through, she deserved a quick death, didn't she?
"Kali. I'm so sorry" Jack murmured, as she felt him place his hand on her shoulder.
"It shouldn't have ended like this" Kali sighed, pulling away from Sawyer's embrace.
"What do you mean?" Sawyer frowned.
"I had to make sure you got out..." Kali trailed off, as she felt something dripping down her cheek.
Sawyer's eyes went wide as a wound suddenly appeared on Kali's forehead, beginning to gush with blood. His eyes flickered down to find blood beginning to soak through her shirt, as panic coursed from him when he realised what was happening.
"You need to take the cure. Now, Kali! We're too far from the island" Sawyer exclaimed, as she shook her head.
"There is no cure" Kali admitted, as pain ripped through her.
All the injuries she had ever sustained on the island were reappearing. Her time was up. The look of horror on Sawyer's face was enough to have her heart breaking in two, as he leaned forward to cup her cheek.
"No. No, don't you dare say it" Sawyer pleaded, watching as blood began to coat Kali's lips.
"I had to save you" Kali replied, reaching up to touch his face, her eyes welling with tears.
"We...we have to go back. Go back!" Sawyer shouted to Sayid, who looked at Jack.
"Turn this fucking helicopter around!" Sawyer yelled, as Jack shook his head slowly, a devastated expression on his face.
"You know we can't. Dammit, Kali. Why didn't you tell us?" Jack pushed, as she gave him a sad smile.
"Would you have...have got on this helicopter otherwise?" She pointed out, as she felt her lungs beginning to burn.
"I'm not just gonna' sit back and watch you die. I won't do it!" Sawyer exclaimed, as she caressed his cheek.
"It's okay. This is what I want. I need you safe. That's all I want" Kali told him, before leaning forward to press her lips against his.
She put everything she had left into the kiss, all the love and devotion she could possibly muster. She wanted Sawyer to at least have that memory left. As she pulled away, she felt something warm dripping down her neck, and looked down to find where her neck had been sliced open weeks ago was slowly reopening. She didn't have long left now.
"I just want you to go home" Kali explained, watching as a tear rolled down Sawyer's cheek.
He then reached down to take her hands in his, a look of realisation dawning on his face. And then he did something she hadn't expected. He smiled. A genuine smile he only ever gave to her.
"I am. You're my home, blue eyes" Sawyer mumbled, as Kali opened her mouth to argue.
She was stopped as Sawyer reached out to place his fingers over her lips, leaning forward to press his forehead to hers, before whispering the one thing he had wanted to say for months. What he had always been too scared to say.
"I love you" Sawyer whispered, kissing her once more, feeling how a smile grew on her lips.
"So, don't you dare leave me now. You still have a lot more life to live. And I'm gonna' be right beside you every step of the way" Sawyer told her, gripping onto her hand before turning around to look out at the waves below.
It took Kali a few moments to realise what his plan was, as she started to shake her head vehemently, the gash on her neck now so large she didn't trust herself to talk. Sawyer was supposed to leave the island. That's what she had been fighting for every day.
"There's nothing out there for me anymore. Not when you're here" Sawyer explained, squeezing her hand.
"Sawyer, are you sure you want to do this?" Kate questioned, as he turned back to his friends.
"Yeah. I am" Sawyer said, with a smile as he and Kali moved closer to the edge of the helicopter.
"But you can't just...we were all supposed to leave together" Hurley cried.
"Don't worry about us, Hugo. We'll be alright. We always are" Sawyer murmured, as he wrapped his arm around Kali's back and helped her push her legs over the edge.
Kali sucked in a panicked breath as she looked down at the water below, not sure if she would even make the jump. But as she felt Sawyer squeeze her again, somehow she knew it would be okay.
"T-together?" Kali announced, as Sawyer pulled her hand toward him, pressing a kiss to her fingers.
"Together" He nodded.
In the next second, the pair were falling out of the helicopter, hurtling toward the water below, gripping onto each other for dear life. Sawyer never let go of her hand, not even as the waves hit him them, sending the pair twisting through the water. He pulled them both to the surface, holding her shaking body close to him. Sawyer glanced up to see the helicopter flying away and with it his one chance of ever leaving the island. But it didn't matter. Not anymore.
"Come on, blue eyes. Let's go home" Sawyer said, wrapping his arm around Kali's waist, who was barely conscious and began to swim back to the shore.
Desmond was all but hysterical as he watched the helicopter land on the freighter and his friends piled out, tear tracks marking their faces. He began to tell them about the bomb on the boat, how Michael and Jin were doing their best to stop it from going off but none of the group seemed to care. Kate was hunched over, looking as if she was going to be sick. Hurley was still sitting in the helicopter, sobbing into his hands. And Juliet...she looked like a part of her died.
"What happened?" Desmond asked Jack, who ran a hand over his face.
"Kali and Sawyer...they jumped out. They couldn't come with us" Jack mumbled, his voice thick with emotion.
"She told him there was no cure?" Desmond realised, as Jack gave him a look of disbelief.
"You knew?!" Jack shouted, his jaw clenched.
"Her brother told...where is he? Where's Ken?" Desmond questioned, his eyes darting around.
"He's dead. Ken's dead" Juliet announced, in a defeated tone.
"Oh, God. No, no, he wasn't supposed to..." Desmond trailed off, his mind racing at what they could mean for them all.
"We need to leave, Jack" Sayid called, from inside the cockpit.
"We can't just leave Kali. I can't...there has to be a way..." Desmond stuttered as Jack reached out to place a hand on his shoulder.
"Desmond. She's gone" Jack sighed, as Desmond felt his chest tighten, as he shook his head.
Juliet's knees began to buckle as the realisation slowly hit her. Ken was dead. He had died saving her. He had told her he loved her. And she had just left him. Her hand flew to her mouth to muffle the cry that left her lips, as she scrunched her eyes shut. The guilt was threatening to overwhelm her when she spotted Sun edging toward the cabin doors of the boat, Aaron still swaddled in her arms.
"Sun! Where are you going?" Juliet called out to her.
"Jin's still below with Michael" Sun replied.
"There's no time. We have to go" Kate insisted, grabbing onto Sun's arm.
"I won't leave him!" Sun cried.
"Okay. Get the baby on the chopper and I'll get Jin, alright?" Kate told her, all but pushing Sun back toward the helicopter.
"Hey. I've got this" Juliet muttered, as she began to walk toward the cabin doors.
"Juliet, you can't—" Kate started, but Juliet was quick to cut her off.
"I've already lost three people today. I'm not gonna' let there be a fourth" Juliet snapped, as Kate reluctantly rushed back toward the chopper.
She hadn't got very far when a familiar voice called out to her, stopping her in her tracks. Juliet turned around slowly, her heart pounding painfully in her chest as her eyes connected with a dead man. A gasp escaped her lips as she found Ken standing by the boat edge, holding his hand out to her, a pleading look on his face.
"It's not your time, Jules. Jump" Ken called out to her, as Juliet stepped forward.
"Ken?" She sobbed, reaching out for him.
"Jump!" He insisted, as a gust of wind almost sent her falling over.
She turned to see the helicopter taking off...without her. She opened her mouth to question whatever it was that had called out to her but found there was only an empty space where Ken had just been. She looked to the cabin doors, praying that Jin would burst through them. But he never did.
It was mad.
Ken was dead, how could he talk to her? How could he be on the boat? Still, there was something inside her that urged her to listen. She rushed over to the edge of the boat, looking down at the waves below lapping at the hull. Grabbing an orange lifejacket, she placed it over her head, looking up at the chopper one last time, seeing it high in the sky now. Sucking in a deep breath, she plunged into the water below and hoped she had done the right thing.
Sawyer pushed back against the waves, despite how his arms and lungs burnt, focusing on the unconscious girl in his arms. He was so close to the shore. Just a little further, he thought to himself. He made the mistake of looking down at Kali, how pale she had begun, her lips turned a dark blue colour. Panic coursed through him, pushing him to swim quicker, to kick his legs harder. The most they made it to the beach, he was pushing her onto the sand, but she didn't stir. She wasn't moving at all. Sawyer reached up to press his fingers to her neck, desperately trying to feel for a pulse but there was nothing there. Placing his head on her chest, he tried to listen for her heartbeat, to feel the rise and fall of her chest, but again...nothing.
"You do not give up, you hear me?" Sawyer exclaimed, as he interlocked his fingers and began pressing down on her chest.
"You fight, Kali. You fight for us" Sawyer insisted, as he continued the chest compressions as best as his aching arms could bear.
He then leant down to tilt her head back, opening her airway, before pressing his lips to hers, breathing air into her lungs. He pulled back to suck in another breath, unsure if it was water or his own tears coating his cheeks.
"Come back to me, blue eyes" Sawyer prayed, before leaning down to breathe into her lungs once more.
A choking sound had him letting out a sigh of relief, as he pulled back to see Kali spitting out water, rolling onto her side. Sawyer's arms wrapped around her, pulling her into his arms as she shivered against him. But she was alive. They were both still alive.
"You scared the hell out of me" Sawyer mumbled, resting his chin on top of her head.
"S-sorry" Kali stuttered, pressing her face up against his chest.
"God, your freezing" Sawyer sighed, as he pulled off her wet shirt, leaving her in a blood-stained tank top.
He then stripped off his own shirt, which was soaked through, knowing it would only lead to them both getting hypothermia if he left them all. He felt Kali's eyes on him a moment later, a grin on her face despite her shaking violently.
"What?" He questioned, with a tilt of his head.
"You said...you loved me" Kali answered, as a smile tugged at Sawyer's own lips.
"Yeah, well...it was about damn time I admitted it, right?" Sawyer shrugged, as Kali leaned forward to press her cold lips against his.
"I love you too" She murmured against his lips, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.
"You know almost dying doesn't get you out of lying to me for months" Sawyer grumbled, but circled his arms around her waist, nonetheless.
"You'll forgive me. You do love me, after all" Kali teased, making Sawyer laugh, holding her a little tighter.
A strange sound suddenly started echoing all around them, before a light brighter than the sun all but blinded them. Kali closed her eyes, pressing her face into Sawyer's chest as the light got brighter and brighter...until it faded into nothing. She was breathing heavily as she pulled away to find nothing had changed. It felt as if a nuclear bomb had gone off right beside them, but the water still lapped at the shoreline, the trees still blew in the wind, and Sawyer was still holding onto her.
"What the fuck was that?" Kali gaped.
"I think we've got bigger problems than that...where the hell has the boat gone?" Sawyer questioned, ushering to where had seen the freighter in the distance not long before.
He opted not to tell Kali that he had heard an explosion in the distance whilst they had been swimming back to shore, of the cloud of smoke he had seen close to where their chopper had landed. She had already had enough awful things happen to her today, without worrying whether her friends were now dead too.
"Uh, James. I might be hallucinating...but isn't that Juliet?" Kali exclaimed, pointing to where they spotted a familiar blonde swimming toward them, an orange lifejacket wrapped around her.
"Juliet! Over here!" Sawyer called out to her, watching as her head snapped up.
He then rushed over to her, seeing how exhausted she was and helped pull her to shore, where she collapsed against the sand. Sawyer frowned as he realised she was mumbling something under her breath over and over again. Kali stumbled closer, trying to listen to what the blonde was saying.
"I saw him...I saw him..." Juliet stuttered.
"Saw who?" Kali asked, as Juliet's blue eyes shot open.
"Ken. I saw your brother" Juliet told her.
Kali clutched at her stomach, trying to focus on putting one foot in front of the other, and not on the wounds that covered her that were still bleeding. Her thin tank top was still wet, causing her to shiver, the cold seeping deep into her skin. She didn't want to let on how bad her injuries were, not when there was so much at stake. Somehow the camp on the beach had disappeared and according to newcomer Daniel Faraday, it was because the camp hadn't been built yet. Kali wasn't sure what it all meant, but she knew it wasn't good.
"Excuse me. I really need you to pick up the pace. We need to make it to the hatch to find out when we are. Okay? Thanks" Daniel called back to her, making Kali scoff.
"Yes, Sir" She retorted, her tone full of sarcasm.
"First things first. Give me your shirt" Sawyer exclaimed, as Daniel turned back to him.
"My shirt?" Daniel questioned.
"My girlfriend's cold. So...give me your damn shirt" Sawyer insisted, as Daniel shook his head.
"I really think we have far more pressing matters than me giving you a shirt. How about we just keep moving—" Daniel argued but was cut off as Sawyer slapped his face, causing the other man to stumble back a pace.
"Oi! What in bloody hell do you think you're doing?" Charlotte cried, rushing forward to push herself between the two men.
"Shut it, Ginger. Shirt...now" Sawyer muttered, holding his hand out expectantly.
"I think what James is trying to say is Kali's already injured, we don't need her getting hypothermia too" Juliet interjected, as Daniel sighed, but reluctantly began to pull off his shirt.
"You got some sense knocked into you now, blondie? Not seeing ghosts anymore?" Sawyer hissed, careful to keep his voice quiet.
He assumed Juliet was in the middle of some sort of mental breakdown, having been ranting earlier about seeing Kali's dead brother on the boat. It was the last thing he wanted Kali to hear about.
"I know what I saw. I'm not crazy" Juliet huffed, crossing her arms.
"I ain't calling you crazy. But I don't need you giving Kali force hope either" Sawyer retorted, his eyes flickering over to his girlfriend to see Faraday handing her his white shirt.
"I'll have the tie too" Kali stated, as Daniel rolled his eyes but handed her his black tie, regardless.
"Now talk" Sawyer said to Daniel, who was rubbing at his arms, looking a little embarrassed at being shirtless.
"The Island...think of the Island like a record spinning on a turntable, only now, that record is skipping. Whatever Ben Linus did down at the Orchid station...I think...it may have dislodged us" Daniel theorised, as Miles took a step forward.
"Dislodged us from what?" Miles frowned.
"Time" Daniel answered, as Kali threw her hands up in exasperation.
"As if our lives couldn't get any more fucking insane. So, what are you saying? The island is moving through time?" Kali gaped.
Yeah, either the Island is, or we are. And it's just as likely that we're moving, your people and us. And everyone in your group—you're all accounted for, right?" Daniel inquired, as Sawyer let out a long sigh.
"Not everyone. Locke" Sawyer announced, as Kali ran a hand through her hair.
"Should we have split up from everyone at the beach then? Theoretically, couldn't we all end up being thrown into different times?" Kali pushed.
"Let's hope not. C'mon, we need to get to this hatch" Daniel retorted, ushering them forward.
"Give us a couple minutes. Kali needs to rest" Sawyer told him, as he grabbed her hand and began to pull her out of the clearing.
"You've got two minutes" Daniel called out, as Sawyer raised his middle finger up behind him.
"Making friends, hmm?" Kali said, in a teasing tone as Sawyer walked them out a bit further before stopping behind a tree.
"I don't need friends" Sawyer scoffed.
"That's what you used to say before you met me. Look how wrong you were" Kali grinned, as Sawyer huffed out a laugh.
"C'mon, we need to get that off" Sawyer told her, as he pulled at the hem of her tank top.
"Trying to get me naked, Mr Ford?" She flirted, as Sawyer's lips pulled into a smirk before he pulled the shirt off her.
Whatever his reply was going to be died in his mouth when he saw the dozens of injuries scattered over her chest and abdomen. Stab wounds, bullet holes and more bruises and cuts than he could count littered her skin. He was amazed that she was still upright. They seemed to have mostly stopped bleeding, but Sawyer could only imagine how much it must have hurt.
"Kali. This doesn't look good. Why the hell didn't you say anything?" He insisted, his tone suddenly serious.
"Because I didn't want you to worry. It's fine. Remember, this island's never gonna' let me die?" She muttered, taking Daniel's shirt from his hands and began pulling it over her arms.
She grimaced as pain shot all through her body, the movement pulling on the numerous wounds on her chest. After struggling for a few moments, Sawyer brushed her hands away to begin buttoning the shirt up for her. It was far too large for her, but still, it was nice to wear something that wasn't soaking wet.
"I'm half naked in front of you. No dirty comments?" Kali teased, as he continued buttoning up her shirt.
"I'm too damn worried about you for that" Sawyer admitted, as Kali reached down to wrap Daniel's tie around her upper thigh where she was still bleeding.
"Huh. You remember this? It's the wound I got from the plane crash" Kali stated, remembering how a large shard of glass had become embedded in her thigh.
"Hugo passed out when he watched you rip that glass out. I thought it was kinda' hot" Sawyer smirked.
"And he's back" Kali snorted, as Sawyer finished buttoning up her shirt.
"You sure you can keep going?" Sawyer asked.
"Yeah. We need to stay with the rest of the group. We can't...can't lose anyone else..." Kali trailed off, blinking away the tears that grew in her eyes.
"Hey, hey. It's okay" Sawyer soothed, wrapping his strong arms around her shoulders.
"I want him back" Kali murmured into his shoulder, wiping away a stray tear that rolled down her cheek.
"I know" Sawyer sighed, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
Before they had even made it to the hatch, there had been another flash in the sky, as they were thrown into a different time. It was now pitch black, but perhaps a little warmer than it had been. Kali grew nervous at what that could mean for the people left on the beach. How far back could they end up?
"Over here!" Juliet called out to them, as the group rushed forward to find a large pit in the earth where the hatch had once been.
"Blown up, just like we left it" Juliet mumbled, as Faraday ran a hand over his face.
"Okay. So when we are now...it's now after you and your people crashed on the Island" Daniel theorised.
"You sayin' our camp is back on the beach again?" Sawyer gaped.
"It's possible, yeah" Daniel nodded, as Sawyer reached down to take Kali's hand in his own.
"Good. I'm going back" Sawyer exclaimed.
"We don't know when the next flash is coming. By the time you get back to the beach, the camp could be gone again" Daniel explained, as a realisation suddenly hit Kali.
"What if it hasn't? Hell, what if the helicopter hasn't even taken off yet? I could warn my brother, I could stop him from coming with us!" Kali insisted, with a hopeful look in her eye.
"That's not the way it works. You cannot change anything. You can't. Even if you tried to, it wouldn't work" Daniel told her.
"Why not?" Sawyer frowned.
"Time—it's like a street, all right? We can move forward on that street, we can move in reverse, but we cannot ever create a new street. If we try to do anything different, we will fail every time. Whatever happened, happened" Daniel explained, as Kali shook her head, vehemently.
"I don't give a shit! Even if there is the smallest chance I could save my brother, I'm gonna' take it!" Kali shouted.
"How do you know so much about this, anyway?" Sawyer pushed, as Faraday pulled his backpack off his shoulder, bringing out a leather journal.
"I know about this because...I've spent my entire adult life studying space-time. I know all this because this journal contains everything I've ever learned about the DHARMA Initiative. This is why I'm here. I know what's happening" Daniel went on.
"Then you should be able to..." Kali trailed off, hearing a high-pitched ringing echoing through the jungle.
The bright light in the sky began to blind them yet again, as Kali's head pounded, causing her to reach out for Sawyer's arm, scared of losing him. When she opened her eyes again, she found it was daytime, as birds chirped all around them.
"Son of a bitch" Sawyer sighed, his eyes surveying their new surroundings.
Juliet was the first to realise the gaping hole in the ground had now disappeared, replaced by some foliage bushes. She crouched down to brush away some earth with her hands to reveal the metal at the top of the hatch, knocking her palm against the object.
"The hatch—it's back. I guess you haven't found it yet" Juliet exclaimed, as Kali was turning around and rushing in the other direction before anyone could stop her.
"Hey! Where you goin'?" Miles called after her.
"Back door. Desmond will still be in the hatch. We can get supplies, maybe even give him a warning" Kali explained, as Sawyer rushed forward to catch up with her.
"Kali, wait. This is not a good idea" Daniel called out to her.
"Look, I know what you're gonna' say. The butterfly effect and everything. I've seen all those movies on time travel. I know the risks" Kali muttered, stumbling through the brush.
"Desmond didn't know you when he first came out of there. That means you've never met, which means you can't meet" Daniel theorised, as she twisted around to face him.
"He did" She told him, causing his forehead to wrinkle.
"What?" Daniel frowned.
"Desmond and I met before all this. Years back. He recognised me the first time we met. He'll let me in" Kali insisted, continuing to trek through the jungle.
"How do you know Desmond is even in there? Think about it. It could be anybody" Daniel pushed.
"Well, whoever it is...they're gonna' let us in" Kali grumbled, finally spotting the back door to the hatch, hidden by leaves and vines.
"Wait! Kali, wait!" Daniel cried, but she was no longer listening.
She instantly started banging her fist against the door, calling out Desmond's name in desperation. If she could get a message to him, tell him to look out for her brother, maybe she could really save him. He would still be there with her.
"It won't work" Daniel exclaimed.
"Open the damn door! Open the door!" Kali shouted, hitting the door with both her fists.
"Hey, just...just be careful" Sawyer warned, reaching out for her shoulder, worried she was going to hurt herself.
"If it didn't happen, it can't happen. You can't change the past!" Daniel stated, as Kali suddenly whipped around, grabbing Faraday by the shirt, looking as if she was about to hit him.
"My brother is dead! He's fucking dead! What...what the hell do you want me to do? Just accept that? I can't! I can't do it!" Kali screamed, shoving him away from her.
Sawyer was by her side in an instant, reaching out to her and pulling her into his arms, as tears began spilling down her cheeks. Daniel and the rest of the group looked away from the crying girl, feeling uncomfortable at witnessing her breakdown. They had all lost people. They knew all too well how it felt.
Suddenly, the door to the hatch swung open and a figure dressed in a yellow hazmat suit stepped out, holding a rifle toward the group. His face was covered with a gas mask, and any holes on the edges of his suit were taped up to prevent anything from getting in. Kali's jaw dropped open when familiar hazel eyes connected with her own bloodshot eyes, watching as Desmond's hands faltered on the gun. He blinked a few times as if he could hardly believe what he was seeing.
"I...I know you. I saw you...in the hatch..." He stuttered, lowering his gun, much to everyone's relief.
"God, you have no idea how good it is to see you, Des" Kali sighed, resisting the urge to rush forward and hug the older man.
"Who are you?" Desmond frowned, confusion etched over his face.
"Kali, we need to tell him to come back to the island—" Daniel started, but he was quickly cut off by Desmond.
"Kali? You're...you're Ken's sister. I met him, bloody years back...how the hell can you be here?" Desmond exclaimed as she took a step toward him.
"I don't have time to explain. Desmond, I need you to save my brother. I need you to stop him from going to the helicopter" Kali explained, as Daniel grabbed her arm.
"Weren't you listening? It's too late to change that. It's happened. But the future hasn't. He can still save us" Daniel argued.
"What the hell are you talking about?!" Desmond shouted, growing irate.
"I need you to listen, or people are gonna' die. Kali is gonna' die. My name is Daniel Faraday, and right now me and everyone else you left behind—we're in serious danger. You're the only person who can help us. I need you to go back to Oxford University. Go back to where we met" Daniel told him, as Kali gave him a look of disbelief.
"You've met him before?" She gaped, realising the scientist had been lying to all of them.
Dread coursed through her veins as a familiar humming sound echoed all around them, the light above them growing brighter. They were going to jump again. Was it really too late to save her brother?
"I need you to go there and find my mother. Her name is—" Daniel was cut off, as the light enveloped him.
Desmond awoke with a shout, thrashing around on his bed for a moment, before realising where he was. Penny stirred beside him, placing a hand on his sweaty shoulder when she saw the look of terror on his face. Desmond sucked in deep breaths as he tried to calm his rapidly beating heart, images flashing behind his eyes.
"I was on the Island" Desmond mumbled, in a shaky tone.
"You've been off the Island for three years now" Penny pointed out, kissing him on the shoulder, as Desmond shook his head from side to side.
"You're safe now. It was just a dream" She insisted, as Desmond shot upright in bed.
"It wasn't a dream, Pen...it was a memory" Desmond realised, with wide eyes.
"I have to save Kali" He announced.