This story is dedicated to my daughter Laura, who kept saying how cute Ben and Annie were in The Man Behind the Curtain, and inspired me to write this flashback.
The swing wouldn’t let her fly any higher. She tried pumping her legs harder, but knew this was as high as she could fly for now. At fifteen, she really was much too old to be swinging like a clock’s pendulum on steroids. But he was late, as usual, so now was her time to fly.
They always met here whether it was a scheduled or spontaneous date. One could say the swing set had become their special place. She gave him his birthday present on that swing set that first year he came to the island. Several months later, Ben reciprocated. The swing set had heard all their childhood secrets and had watched them share their first kiss; it was their special place.
She put her legs straight out and lay back as far as she could while still holding on, and let the wind whip through her long brown hair. As she came to a stop, she sat up ready to do it all over again; but saw him coming down the incline toward her. Wearing his white Dharma polo and khaki’s, his brown bag over his shoulder; Ben wasn’t a traditionally handsome young man. But she knew from the first time she met him and gave him an Apollo bar; they had a connection which superseded appearances and went directly to their souls.
Too late, she now worried about how messed up her hair had gotten while swinging. She tried to tame it as he approached. Neither said anything as he sat on the swing. A cursory glance around assured they were alone and they stole a quick kiss.
“You were visiting with Richard again?” Annie whispered, even though no one was around to hear.
“Yes.” Ben took his brown bag off his shoulder and started rummaging through it. He pulled out an Apollo bar. Holding it up for Annie to see, he asked, “Would you like to share?”
Annie was in awe. “Where did you get one of those? My Mom said the commissary was out til the next supply drop.”
“When your Dad runs supplies to other stations, there is usually opportunity to acquire items I may need in the future.” Looking triumphant, Ben broke the candy bar into two pieces, handing her the noticeably larger piece.
“Thank you, Ben. You really know how to make a girl feel special.” Annie watched Ben blush and smile the certain way he did whenever she teased him. They savored the chocolate nutty confection in a companionable silence.
“Are you guys still trying to figure out a way for Dharma and the hostiles to be able to live peacefully together?” Annie asked after licking her fingers clean.
“That’s what we are working toward, Annie. I’ve told you, Richard thinks I could be the person to take care of the issues between the two groups. But the time isn’t right now. Richard assures me, I will know when the time is right.”
“I’m so proud of you, Ben. I know you’ll be able to solve the differences.” Annie took Ben’s hand. “By the way, we have to read chapters one through five in Watership Down. I covered for you with Olivia. She asked where you were after lunch and I told her, you know, your father.”
“Well, at least he is good for an excuse to get out of class.” Ben hung his head; but recovered swiftly, giving Annie a quick small smile.
She hooked her ankle around his and bumped their swings together. It was a diversionary tactic; Annie knew she needed those when Ben’s father came up in conversation. Everyone in the compound knew his father was a drunk; but Annie sensed it went much deeper than being a drunk as far as Ben was concerned. When the time was right, Annie was confident Ben would tell her everything.
Ben bumped his swing back and Annie bumped hers a little harder. Ben changed tactics and launched a full on attack of tickling. Soon Ben’s father was forgotten amidst all the laughter.
A dark haired boy and girl were having a contest to see who could swing higher.
Annie watched the children from the door of their home. How long had it been since she and Ben had visited their special place? It felt like years. Ben came up behind Annie, pulled her long brown hair aside, and nuzzled that sensitive spot right behind her ear; Ben knew all her weaknesses.
“I’ve got to catch the ferry; my shift is starting over at the Hydra station soon.”
“So what are you doing standing here looking out the door?” Ben put his arms around her.
“Reminiscing.” Annie paused and sighed. “You’ll feed and water Scarlett and Rhett and give them some time to hop around the backyard while I am at work?” It was a question and a statement.
“Yes, dear. Every day.”
Annie turned in Ben’s arms to face him. “I’m tired of leaving you for days at a time and going to work at the Hydra Station. Let’s start our family so I can stay here, with you and our baby.” Annie absentmindedly played with Ben’s collar.
Ben kissed her on the forehead. “We need to wait til the time is right, Annie. We’ve been over this before.” Ben gave her that small quick smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes; that smile she’d seen many times before; that smile that meant this conversation was over.
“I am not ready to end this discussion, Benjamin Linus. Maybe I think the time is right. Doesn’t that count for anything?”
“You do appreciate that I understand how things work on this island. I want for you to change your attitude…”
“My attitude?” Annie interrupted, hand on her hip.
“Okay…not your attitude…your, uh, perspective. Your work at the Hydra is important. Everyone says you have a special ability with the animals. The animals don’t respond to anyone as well as they do to you. And we will have a family in time. I promise.” Ben was holding her by the shoulders, trying to read her face.
Annie sighed and gave him a half hearted smile. “This discussion will be continued in a few days when I come home.”
“Good.” Ben nodded quickly. “Now, where is your bag? I’ll walk you to the ferry.”
“I’ll get it. There are a few things I need to take care of. I’ll be right out.” The drab olive green Dharma duffel bag sat on their bed. She unzipped the front pocket and rummaged around finding her Dharma birth control pills. Popping out the next three pills, she took them into the bathroom and flushed them down the toilet.
“That ends that discussion.” Annie thought to herself while putting the container back in her duffel bag. She threw the bag over her shoulder and headed to the front door.
“Ready to go?” Ben took the bag from her.
“Yep.” Annie smiled at Ben. She was ready to go; and she even had a new perspective to take with her.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Point of View
This is the second part to my earlier fan fiction, I'll Be There. I want to dedicate this story to my daughter Laura, and my online friend nana1218 (get better soon!) who miss Charlie almost as much as Claire and Hurley.
The balmy tropical breeze whispered to the playful sapphire waves. The luminous yellow sun watched those waves tease a helpless piece of driftwood; pushing it toward the shore, only to pull it back out to sea again. Libby snuggled in closer to Hurley and put her arm around his back. Aaron was content, curled up on Hurley’s chest, while Libby idly stroked Aaron’s downy hair. Hurley sighed; Libby was so pretty doing something as simple as rubbing a baby’s head. Did she ever have any children of her own? Maybe he should ask her. No, don’t spoil this perfect moment.
WHAAAA! Come on Hurley, wake up. Your dream is over. Don’t look confused. We took a nice nap, but now I need something to eat and some dry nappies. That’s right, get up. Are we going back to see my mom? She’ll know what I need.
Look, there goes Vincent running in front of us. I like Vincent; sometimes he tells me secrets about this place where we live and the people we live with.
Okay, Hurley, Mom is right over there in our tent. Uh oh, she still looks sad. I wish she’d be happy again. She has been sad a lot since Charlie left. I miss him too.
“Here’s your little dude. He just woke up crying. We were taking a nap, but I guess he’s had enough sleep and needs a snack.” Hurley handed Aaron to Claire. “Oh…you have Charlie’s ring. Are you… you know…okay?”
Claire shifted Aaron on her lap, held up the ring, and sighed. “I like having it with me. It makes me feel better, like part of him is still here. Is that weird?”
“Nah, I’m glad he left it for you and Aaron.” Hurley turned to leave but paused. “Hey, would you want me to bring some dinner tonight?”
Claire smiled, brushing the hair out of her eyes. “Yes, that would be really nice.”
“Okay.” Hurley leaned forward and poked Aaron in the belly. “I’ll bring some oatmeal for my favorite little dude, too.”
Yuck, do not do that. No oatmeal.
Aaron started fussing. Hurley shrugged his shoulders while grinning at Claire and left.
And why does he always call me little dude, not that I liked turnip head any better.
Mom, where’s Charlie’s ring? I remember seeing it on his finger. It was shiny and I wanted to taste it. But then he’d sing me a song or make a funny face and I’d forget about it.
Whew! Thanks for changing me and feeding me. I feel much better.
Oo, Oo, Oo, are we going for a walk? Yay! I love looking at all the colors and shapes of this camp. Hey, look, there’s Hurley. Big Dude, what are you doing sneaking into Sawyer’s tent? I see you, Hurley. Mom, look. Hurley’s sneaking into Sawyer’s tent. Sawyer won’t like that.
Uh oh, it’s those new people. I don’t know if I like them. Just keep walking Mom.
Claire walked past two of the rescuers; they paused in their conversation and looked at Claire and Aaron. Noticing they were watching her, Claire approached them, offered her hand, and said, “Hi, I’m Claire Littleton and this is my baby, Aaron.”
The average sized, dark haired man shook her hand. “Hi, I’m Daniel and this is my friend Miles. We were just saying we hope we can repair at least one helicopter; so you and Aaron can be one of the first ones we take to the freighter.”
Claire smiled, “That will be great. It’s too bad about the helicopters crashing like that. You think you’ll be able to fix the one then?”
“Yeah, we think so. We’re going to the other’s compound tomorrow to see if there is anything there that could help with the repairs.” Pointing toward Aaron’s head, Daniel asked, “How’s the baby?”
Claire kissed Aaron just above the almost healed cut he had received from the falling helicopter debris a few days earlier. “Oh, you know how babies are. They heal quickly.” Aaron started fussing.
Let’s go Mom, I don’t like the way they smile at me; it makes my tummy hurt. Say goodbye Mom, weren’t we going to see Sun and Jin? I like them much better. Oh good, this is the way to Sun and Jin’s tent. Jin doesn’t talk the same as everyone else, but that’s okay. When I come to visit, he pulls out this lovely shiny watch. He lets me hold it and shake it and suck on it. Look, here we are. Hey Jin, where’s that watch? Mom is sitting down and talking with Sun. Boring. I want the watch. Alright, I’ll try to be patient.
Hey, here comes Vincent. Any new secrets, Vincent?
Vincent, you silly doggy, you already told me that one. “They aren’t strangers. They are good people.” I thought and thought about that secret, Vincent. I think you are talking about Juliet. Right? Don’t you have anything new to tell me?
“The secrets we kept and the lies we told will be said by an important person.” That makes no sense whatsoever, Vincent. My head will hurt too much if I try to figure out what that is supposed to mean.
I do trust you Vincent, but I will be walking by the time I figure that out.
Wow. “Everyone pays the price now.” That’s something new. I don’t know if I like that; it sounds sort of scary.
I know you don’t want to scare me. Would you mind singing me that song?
I like that song so much. Can I sing it with you this time? La mer Qu’on voit danser le long des golfes clairs A des reflets d’argent La mer…
Thanks for singing with me and listening to me, but I am tired now. Nighty night.
Claire brought her sleepy Aaron back to his crib after the visit with Sun. Hurley would be over with dinner soon. When she walked past the kitchen, he was busy stirring something in a pot over the fire. While tending to a few chores to pass the time, she accidently knocked Charlie’s ring into the sand. Even though she found it quickly, the thought of losing it scared her.
“I brought fish, Dharma risotto, fruit, and some ripe banana and oatmeal for my favorite little dude, just like I promised.”
Claire was changing a squirmy Aaron. “Sounds delicious, doesn’t it Aaron?” Claire finished with the nappy and kissed Aaron’s belly. The little group enjoyed their dinner and spending time together. When they were finished eating, Claire gathered the plates. Hurley reached over to take them but before she let go she asked, “When I was talking to Sun today, she told me that Jin was going to the other’s compound with Daniel and Miles’ group. Sun thought she heard you were going too. Is that true?”
With the plates still between them, Hurley hung his head, not able to make eye contact. “Yeah.”
Claire grabbed the plates, marched over to the tray, put them in noisily, and stood motionless with her back toward Hurley.
“Oh, come on Claire. Don’t be mad…This is something I got to do.”
Claire remained, her back toward Hurley, for a few minutes. Hurley just waited, not really knowing what else to do. Finally, Claire turned toward Hurley, arms folded across her chest, “Fine then. Go.”
“Uh uh. We aren’t going to end the conversation like this. Go get Charlie’s ring.”
Claire stood her ground.
“Please.” Hurley added.
Claire hesitated, then marched past Hurley, picked up Aaron, went into the tent, brought back the ring and held it out for Hurley.
“Thanks. Now turn around again. Please.” Claire started to say something but stopped and turned with Aaron on her hip. Hurley took out a chain he had “borrowed” from Sawyer’s stash earlier, and put Charlie’s ring on it.
“Now close your eyes.” Hurley was right behind Claire. She felt him move behind her, his large hands brushing her hair to one side, and then placing a chain around her neck.
“What?” Claire opened her eyes and saw the ring on the chain. She bit her lower lip and fingered the ring with her free hand.
Hurley moved to her side and took Aaron from her. “Now Charlie can always be with you.”
Claire was quiet for several moments. “Sorry…Thank you. This is so sweet. I just…”
“It’s cool, Claire. I understand.”
“Where did you find this chain?” Claire was still admiring the thoughtful gift.
Hurley chuckled. “Ask me no questions, and I’ll tell you no lies.”
Just then, Daniel and Miles walked past. They waved at Hurley and Claire. Daniel called, “Hey, Hurley, we’re leaving a half hour after dawn, you still coming?”
“I’ll be there.” Hurley waved back.
Hurley and Claire watched them walk to the community fire. When they were out of earshot, Claire asked in a low voice, “What do you think about them? Do you think they are keeping secrets or telling us lies?”
Hurley shook his head. “I don’t know what to think. We all have secrets we kept and lies we told before we crashed on this island. Are they any different from the rest of us? I wish I knew.” Hurley shrugged his shoulders. “Half the camp thinks we should trust them and half don’t. I was hoping to get some answers by going with them tomorrow.”
Claire moved in closer to Hurley’s side. They were both watching Daniel and Miles interact with a group around the community fire. Putting her small hand on Hurley’s shoulder, Claire looked up at Hurley. “I still don’t like you going with them, just...please promise me you’ll be careful.”
Hurley returned the look, “I promise.”
Neither noticed Aaron, bouncing happily on Hurley’s hip.
Hey, Vincent, where are you? I think I figured out one of those secrets.
The balmy tropical breeze whispered to the playful sapphire waves. The luminous yellow sun watched those waves tease a helpless piece of driftwood; pushing it toward the shore, only to pull it back out to sea again. Libby snuggled in closer to Hurley and put her arm around his back. Aaron was content, curled up on Hurley’s chest, while Libby idly stroked Aaron’s downy hair. Hurley sighed; Libby was so pretty doing something as simple as rubbing a baby’s head. Did she ever have any children of her own? Maybe he should ask her. No, don’t spoil this perfect moment.
WHAAAA! Come on Hurley, wake up. Your dream is over. Don’t look confused. We took a nice nap, but now I need something to eat and some dry nappies. That’s right, get up. Are we going back to see my mom? She’ll know what I need.
Look, there goes Vincent running in front of us. I like Vincent; sometimes he tells me secrets about this place where we live and the people we live with.
Okay, Hurley, Mom is right over there in our tent. Uh oh, she still looks sad. I wish she’d be happy again. She has been sad a lot since Charlie left. I miss him too.
“Here’s your little dude. He just woke up crying. We were taking a nap, but I guess he’s had enough sleep and needs a snack.” Hurley handed Aaron to Claire. “Oh…you have Charlie’s ring. Are you… you know…okay?”
Claire shifted Aaron on her lap, held up the ring, and sighed. “I like having it with me. It makes me feel better, like part of him is still here. Is that weird?”
“Nah, I’m glad he left it for you and Aaron.” Hurley turned to leave but paused. “Hey, would you want me to bring some dinner tonight?”
Claire smiled, brushing the hair out of her eyes. “Yes, that would be really nice.”
“Okay.” Hurley leaned forward and poked Aaron in the belly. “I’ll bring some oatmeal for my favorite little dude, too.”
Yuck, do not do that. No oatmeal.
Aaron started fussing. Hurley shrugged his shoulders while grinning at Claire and left.
And why does he always call me little dude, not that I liked turnip head any better.
Mom, where’s Charlie’s ring? I remember seeing it on his finger. It was shiny and I wanted to taste it. But then he’d sing me a song or make a funny face and I’d forget about it.
Whew! Thanks for changing me and feeding me. I feel much better.
Oo, Oo, Oo, are we going for a walk? Yay! I love looking at all the colors and shapes of this camp. Hey, look, there’s Hurley. Big Dude, what are you doing sneaking into Sawyer’s tent? I see you, Hurley. Mom, look. Hurley’s sneaking into Sawyer’s tent. Sawyer won’t like that.
Uh oh, it’s those new people. I don’t know if I like them. Just keep walking Mom.
Claire walked past two of the rescuers; they paused in their conversation and looked at Claire and Aaron. Noticing they were watching her, Claire approached them, offered her hand, and said, “Hi, I’m Claire Littleton and this is my baby, Aaron.”
The average sized, dark haired man shook her hand. “Hi, I’m Daniel and this is my friend Miles. We were just saying we hope we can repair at least one helicopter; so you and Aaron can be one of the first ones we take to the freighter.”
Claire smiled, “That will be great. It’s too bad about the helicopters crashing like that. You think you’ll be able to fix the one then?”
“Yeah, we think so. We’re going to the other’s compound tomorrow to see if there is anything there that could help with the repairs.” Pointing toward Aaron’s head, Daniel asked, “How’s the baby?”
Claire kissed Aaron just above the almost healed cut he had received from the falling helicopter debris a few days earlier. “Oh, you know how babies are. They heal quickly.” Aaron started fussing.
Let’s go Mom, I don’t like the way they smile at me; it makes my tummy hurt. Say goodbye Mom, weren’t we going to see Sun and Jin? I like them much better. Oh good, this is the way to Sun and Jin’s tent. Jin doesn’t talk the same as everyone else, but that’s okay. When I come to visit, he pulls out this lovely shiny watch. He lets me hold it and shake it and suck on it. Look, here we are. Hey Jin, where’s that watch? Mom is sitting down and talking with Sun. Boring. I want the watch. Alright, I’ll try to be patient.
Hey, here comes Vincent. Any new secrets, Vincent?
Vincent, you silly doggy, you already told me that one. “They aren’t strangers. They are good people.” I thought and thought about that secret, Vincent. I think you are talking about Juliet. Right? Don’t you have anything new to tell me?
“The secrets we kept and the lies we told will be said by an important person.” That makes no sense whatsoever, Vincent. My head will hurt too much if I try to figure out what that is supposed to mean.
I do trust you Vincent, but I will be walking by the time I figure that out.
Wow. “Everyone pays the price now.” That’s something new. I don’t know if I like that; it sounds sort of scary.
I know you don’t want to scare me. Would you mind singing me that song?
I like that song so much. Can I sing it with you this time? La mer Qu’on voit danser le long des golfes clairs A des reflets d’argent La mer…
Thanks for singing with me and listening to me, but I am tired now. Nighty night.
Claire brought her sleepy Aaron back to his crib after the visit with Sun. Hurley would be over with dinner soon. When she walked past the kitchen, he was busy stirring something in a pot over the fire. While tending to a few chores to pass the time, she accidently knocked Charlie’s ring into the sand. Even though she found it quickly, the thought of losing it scared her.
“I brought fish, Dharma risotto, fruit, and some ripe banana and oatmeal for my favorite little dude, just like I promised.”
Claire was changing a squirmy Aaron. “Sounds delicious, doesn’t it Aaron?” Claire finished with the nappy and kissed Aaron’s belly. The little group enjoyed their dinner and spending time together. When they were finished eating, Claire gathered the plates. Hurley reached over to take them but before she let go she asked, “When I was talking to Sun today, she told me that Jin was going to the other’s compound with Daniel and Miles’ group. Sun thought she heard you were going too. Is that true?”
With the plates still between them, Hurley hung his head, not able to make eye contact. “Yeah.”
Claire grabbed the plates, marched over to the tray, put them in noisily, and stood motionless with her back toward Hurley.
“Oh, come on Claire. Don’t be mad…This is something I got to do.”
Claire remained, her back toward Hurley, for a few minutes. Hurley just waited, not really knowing what else to do. Finally, Claire turned toward Hurley, arms folded across her chest, “Fine then. Go.”
“Uh uh. We aren’t going to end the conversation like this. Go get Charlie’s ring.”
Claire stood her ground.
“Please.” Hurley added.
Claire hesitated, then marched past Hurley, picked up Aaron, went into the tent, brought back the ring and held it out for Hurley.
“Thanks. Now turn around again. Please.” Claire started to say something but stopped and turned with Aaron on her hip. Hurley took out a chain he had “borrowed” from Sawyer’s stash earlier, and put Charlie’s ring on it.
“Now close your eyes.” Hurley was right behind Claire. She felt him move behind her, his large hands brushing her hair to one side, and then placing a chain around her neck.
“What?” Claire opened her eyes and saw the ring on the chain. She bit her lower lip and fingered the ring with her free hand.
Hurley moved to her side and took Aaron from her. “Now Charlie can always be with you.”
Claire was quiet for several moments. “Sorry…Thank you. This is so sweet. I just…”
“It’s cool, Claire. I understand.”
“Where did you find this chain?” Claire was still admiring the thoughtful gift.
Hurley chuckled. “Ask me no questions, and I’ll tell you no lies.”
Just then, Daniel and Miles walked past. They waved at Hurley and Claire. Daniel called, “Hey, Hurley, we’re leaving a half hour after dawn, you still coming?”
“I’ll be there.” Hurley waved back.
Hurley and Claire watched them walk to the community fire. When they were out of earshot, Claire asked in a low voice, “What do you think about them? Do you think they are keeping secrets or telling us lies?”
Hurley shook his head. “I don’t know what to think. We all have secrets we kept and lies we told before we crashed on this island. Are they any different from the rest of us? I wish I knew.” Hurley shrugged his shoulders. “Half the camp thinks we should trust them and half don’t. I was hoping to get some answers by going with them tomorrow.”
Claire moved in closer to Hurley’s side. They were both watching Daniel and Miles interact with a group around the community fire. Putting her small hand on Hurley’s shoulder, Claire looked up at Hurley. “I still don’t like you going with them, just...please promise me you’ll be careful.”
Hurley returned the look, “I promise.”
Neither noticed Aaron, bouncing happily on Hurley’s hip.
Hey, Vincent, where are you? I think I figured out one of those secrets.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Old Habits
This story is set after DOC and my fan fiction, All You Got To Do Is Ask, about day 90, late afternoon to evening, ending at the beginning of The Brig.
Kate walked back to camp, unconsciously hugging her water bottle and grinning. The dark purple tank top, that’s what she’d wear to go swimming with Sawyer. Back at her tent, she quickly changed and found a couple towels which she put in her backpack. Knowing she still had a couple minutes before Sawyer got there, she ran over to Sun’s tent and peeked in; Sun was napping. She looked around camp but didn’t see Jin or any of his “camping buddies” roaming around. Returning to her tent she waited, feeling slightly giddy and almost nervous. Had Sawyer asked her on a date?
“You ready to go, Freckles?” Sawyer’s voice startled Kate.
She jumped up and grabbed her backpack. “Never been more ready.” She popped out of her tent. “Where are we going?”
“Taster’s choice, you decide, the waterfall or Sayid’s beach, about three kilometers down.” Sawyer nodded his head to the left.
“Let’s go to Sayid’s beach.”
Sawyer smiled. “Sayid’s beach it is.” They chatted about nothing and everything on their way to the beach; the first food they would eat when they got rescued, their favorite color, the name of the first person they kissed. When they reached the beach, Sawyer dropped his backpack and announced, “Last one in the water’s a rotten egg.” Sawyer kicked his boots off and threw his tee shirt behind him, splashing into the surf with his blue jeans still on.
There was a lot of teasing and laughter that sunny afternoon in the sapphire blue water. The bulk of which was spent with Sawyer giving Kate tips on how to improve her body surfing technique. Tired out after riding countless waves, they returned to their backpacks. Kate offered Sawyer one of her towels. Drying off, Sawyer made Kate turn around and promise not to watch while he changed into dry jeans. Kate wrinkled up her nose, giggled, and made sure to take a peek after quickly changing into a dry top. With great flourish, Sawyer produced a blanket, mango, and Dharma nutribar. “Wanna share?”
“Is that dinner?” Kate sounded let down.
“Nah, just a snack. We’ll have dinner back at camp.” Sawyer attempted to spread the blanket and dropped the food. “Son of a bitch“ Sawyer muttered. “Don’t just stand there lazy bones; help me spread out the blanket.”
Between bites of mango and nutribar, they sat enjoying each other, the warm sand, and sound of the waves. Watching the fading yellow sun start to play hide and seek with the clouds to produce the striking hues of a tropical sunset, Sawyer and Kate knew it was time to head back to camp. Kate reached for her abandoned jeans and Sawyer shook out his tee shirt.
Tom sat up in the back of his Dad’s gray Volvo sedan, his white dress shirt unbuttoned and hanging out, and his auburn hair messed up. The rented tux and tie had come off a couple hours ago after leaving the senior prom.
Tom and Katie had a fantastic senior prom. After picking up Katie in his Dad’s new Volvo, they ate dinner at a nice restaurant and went to the prom. The decorating committee did a good job of disguising the high school gym as a romantic retreat, where they could dance the night away with their friends. Deciding to skip the post prom party to spend time with each other, they ended up parking.
“Why are you sitting up, Tom?” Katie questioned, trying to adjust her gown to cover herself.
“We got to stop now Katie. Things are getting way out of hand.” Tom was trying to button his shirt.
“Wait.” Katie placed her hand over Tom’s. “I thought we wanted things to get out of hand.”
“Katie, you deserve better than the back of a car. You should have a fancy hotel in some exotic location. I want to give that to you when we get married.”
“Tom, why does it matter if we wait or not, cause we’re going to get married anyway, right?”
Tom opened the back door and stepped out into the cool spring night to finish buttoning his shirt. “It matters to me, Katie. I love you and I’m taking you home, now.”
Katie was disappointed and the ride to her house seemed especially long and quiet.
Tom walked Katie to the door of her house. “Please don’t be mad at me, Katie. I’m doing this for you. I have four years of college to finish before we can get married.”
“I’m not mad at you, Tom. I’m just disappointed. You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me. I just want you to know that.” Katie kissed Tom lovingly.
Tom reached for the doorknob, “Just trust me, Katie. It will all work out.” Tom smiled, kissed her one more time, and opened the door.
Katie stepped inside, “Thanks for tonight. Everything was beautiful.”
Tom smiled, “You’re right. Everything was beautiful, except you. You…you are exquisite.”
Katie blushed and stayed at the door to watch Tom drive away. Sighing, Katie went to turn off the TV in the living room. Wayne was asleep on the couch, several empty beer cans littered the coffee table. Passing through the kitchen, she found a note on the table from her mom; Diane was working the midnight shift at the diner and would be home around 8am. Katie climbed the stairs to her room and locked the door behind her. She changed into her pajamas and carefully hung up her prom gown. While admiring the corsage Tom gave her, she heard a thud and a curse; Wayne was awake. Katie jumped off her bed checked the lock on her door and listened. His gait sounded unsteady; Katie heard the sharp pop of another beer can opening. After what seemed like an eternity, his footsteps headed for the stairs. “Katie, you home?” Another stumble and curse, “You know how late it ish?”
“Oh God help me, he’s drunk.” Katie prayed quietly. “When is Mom getting home?” It was almost dawn.
The burnt orange sun was sinking into the midnight blue sea as Sawyer and Kate arrived back at camp. Heading directly to the kitchen to get some dinner, they found Sun who offered them some fish and rice she had cooked, hoping Jin and his buddies would be back in time for dinner. Kate thanked Sun; Sawyer got plates and forks and piled an indecent amount of fish and rice onto the plates.
“Hey, you going to eat all that?” Jack approached with two plates of his own.
“Ain’t mine to offer you. MamaSun made it and offered some to Kate and me.” Sawyer put another forkful on his plate.
“Well, Sun just said Juliet and I could have some too.” Jack countered.
“All yours.” Sawyer picked up the plates and went to Kate who was still talking with Sun. He threw a glance or two back over his shoulder at Jack.
Kate gave Sun a quick hug, “I’ll trust you know what you are doing.”
Sun replied, “I do, Kate. I believe Juliet is a good person.” Sun nodded her head at Sawyer. “Enjoy your dinner.”
“Smells good, Emeril.” Sawyer grinned at Sun.
Eating their dinner by the community fire, Sawyer watched Kate watch Juliet and Jack. Noticing Sawyer was watching her, Kate finally questioned, “What?”
“You tell me. The Doc and his favorite Other have your attention, not mine.”
“James, I just don’t trust Juliet. Now Sun is telling me she thinks Juliet is a good person.” Kate answered, pushing around the little bit of fish and rice that remained on her plate.
“You sure that’s all that’s bothering you, Freckles?” Sawyer nudged her shoulder with his.
Kate remembered standing by this same fire several months ago wanting to tell him how she felt. That night she wanted to tell him it was too dangerous for him to go on the raft; please stay, because I am worth staying for. All she had managed to say was, “Be safe, Sawyer.” But tonight, sitting by this same fire, she confided, “It really bothers me that Jack trusts Juliet too.” She looked at Sawyer to judge his reaction.
“Well, looks like we got something in common… again.” Sawyer got up and took her plate. Offering Kate his free hand, he helped her to her feet, leaned in, and whispered in her ear, “But I got something better to be bothered about right now, and it ain’t the Doc or these dishes.”
Kate smiled at him, “Your tent in five minutes?”
“You asking me, Freckles?”
Kate nodded and blushed.
“Since your asking me so nice, I’ll even go do these dishes, then…my tent…five minutes.” Sawyer kissed her; it was quick but full with the promise of the night ahead and the love they would share.
An orange-blue flame flared then settled to a slow burn as it was lowered to light the fuse. The short fuse burned quickly then pop, pop, pop.
Tom and Katie were laughing, watching the firecrackers go off in a parking lot near the community fair.
“You are too old to be playing with firecrackers.” Katie teased.
“Hey, I just want to celebrate July 4th properly.” Tom was checking the pockets of his jeans for more firecrackers. “Looks like that was it.”
“Oh, poor baby.” Katie playfully messed his hair. “Let’s grab the blanket so we can get a good spot for the fireworks.” It was starting to get dark; people began to gather in the field behind the community fair for the fireworks. They spread the blanket and sat down.
“I’m glad we have this chance to talk before the fireworks start.” Katie became serious. “You know I’m going to visit Dad tomorrow and I’m staying for two weeks, right?”
Tom nodded.
“Well, we’re going camping cause he feels bad he missed my graduation. And it’s his birthday, so I’m going to give him that scrapbook I made for him. And I’m going to ask him if I can live with him. But if he says no, I’m staying there and getting a job and my own place.”
“What?” Tom was surprised. “You can’t do that. Your home is here.”
“No, Tom, it isn’t. I can’t live here with Mom and Wayne anymore. You know how I feel about that. You’re going to college the end of next month. We’re going to be separated anyway.”
“So what does Diane think about this?” Tom questioned.
“I’m not going to tell her til I’ve already done it. Look, Tom, I’m 18 and have my high school diploma. They can’t stop me. My mind is made up.” Katie remained firm. “We’ll call each other and talk. I can come visit you at college. I’ll come back for holidays and stuff. This isn’t the end of you and me. We’re still going to get married.”
“No, this isn’t the end of us.” Tom leaned over and sealed the statement with a kiss. “I love you. It just sounds like you’re running away.”
Katie looked at Tom, sad but resolute; there wasn’t anything else to say.
(The Brig)
Even though Kate was snuggled up to Sawyer’s warm back, she was unable to fall asleep. Maybe she was overtired, maybe if she were in her own tent. Sawyer was sleeping peacefully; Kate could feel it. His arm was heavy, draped over hers, if she could just pull it out without disturbing him… She started to put on her pants.
Sawyer stirred, turning toward Kate. “Hey, where are you going?”
Kate looked over her shoulder, “I can’t sleep if I’m not in my own tent.”
Sawyer started to get up. “Fine, let’s go to your tent.”
Kate pushed her hair out of her face and rubbed her temples. “Um…It’s nothing personal. It’s…old habits…you know?”
Kate walked back to camp, unconsciously hugging her water bottle and grinning. The dark purple tank top, that’s what she’d wear to go swimming with Sawyer. Back at her tent, she quickly changed and found a couple towels which she put in her backpack. Knowing she still had a couple minutes before Sawyer got there, she ran over to Sun’s tent and peeked in; Sun was napping. She looked around camp but didn’t see Jin or any of his “camping buddies” roaming around. Returning to her tent she waited, feeling slightly giddy and almost nervous. Had Sawyer asked her on a date?
“You ready to go, Freckles?” Sawyer’s voice startled Kate.
She jumped up and grabbed her backpack. “Never been more ready.” She popped out of her tent. “Where are we going?”
“Taster’s choice, you decide, the waterfall or Sayid’s beach, about three kilometers down.” Sawyer nodded his head to the left.
“Let’s go to Sayid’s beach.”
Sawyer smiled. “Sayid’s beach it is.” They chatted about nothing and everything on their way to the beach; the first food they would eat when they got rescued, their favorite color, the name of the first person they kissed. When they reached the beach, Sawyer dropped his backpack and announced, “Last one in the water’s a rotten egg.” Sawyer kicked his boots off and threw his tee shirt behind him, splashing into the surf with his blue jeans still on.
There was a lot of teasing and laughter that sunny afternoon in the sapphire blue water. The bulk of which was spent with Sawyer giving Kate tips on how to improve her body surfing technique. Tired out after riding countless waves, they returned to their backpacks. Kate offered Sawyer one of her towels. Drying off, Sawyer made Kate turn around and promise not to watch while he changed into dry jeans. Kate wrinkled up her nose, giggled, and made sure to take a peek after quickly changing into a dry top. With great flourish, Sawyer produced a blanket, mango, and Dharma nutribar. “Wanna share?”
“Is that dinner?” Kate sounded let down.
“Nah, just a snack. We’ll have dinner back at camp.” Sawyer attempted to spread the blanket and dropped the food. “Son of a bitch“ Sawyer muttered. “Don’t just stand there lazy bones; help me spread out the blanket.”
Between bites of mango and nutribar, they sat enjoying each other, the warm sand, and sound of the waves. Watching the fading yellow sun start to play hide and seek with the clouds to produce the striking hues of a tropical sunset, Sawyer and Kate knew it was time to head back to camp. Kate reached for her abandoned jeans and Sawyer shook out his tee shirt.
Tom sat up in the back of his Dad’s gray Volvo sedan, his white dress shirt unbuttoned and hanging out, and his auburn hair messed up. The rented tux and tie had come off a couple hours ago after leaving the senior prom.
Tom and Katie had a fantastic senior prom. After picking up Katie in his Dad’s new Volvo, they ate dinner at a nice restaurant and went to the prom. The decorating committee did a good job of disguising the high school gym as a romantic retreat, where they could dance the night away with their friends. Deciding to skip the post prom party to spend time with each other, they ended up parking.
“Why are you sitting up, Tom?” Katie questioned, trying to adjust her gown to cover herself.
“We got to stop now Katie. Things are getting way out of hand.” Tom was trying to button his shirt.
“Wait.” Katie placed her hand over Tom’s. “I thought we wanted things to get out of hand.”
“Katie, you deserve better than the back of a car. You should have a fancy hotel in some exotic location. I want to give that to you when we get married.”
“Tom, why does it matter if we wait or not, cause we’re going to get married anyway, right?”
Tom opened the back door and stepped out into the cool spring night to finish buttoning his shirt. “It matters to me, Katie. I love you and I’m taking you home, now.”
Katie was disappointed and the ride to her house seemed especially long and quiet.
Tom walked Katie to the door of her house. “Please don’t be mad at me, Katie. I’m doing this for you. I have four years of college to finish before we can get married.”
“I’m not mad at you, Tom. I’m just disappointed. You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me. I just want you to know that.” Katie kissed Tom lovingly.
Tom reached for the doorknob, “Just trust me, Katie. It will all work out.” Tom smiled, kissed her one more time, and opened the door.
Katie stepped inside, “Thanks for tonight. Everything was beautiful.”
Tom smiled, “You’re right. Everything was beautiful, except you. You…you are exquisite.”
Katie blushed and stayed at the door to watch Tom drive away. Sighing, Katie went to turn off the TV in the living room. Wayne was asleep on the couch, several empty beer cans littered the coffee table. Passing through the kitchen, she found a note on the table from her mom; Diane was working the midnight shift at the diner and would be home around 8am. Katie climbed the stairs to her room and locked the door behind her. She changed into her pajamas and carefully hung up her prom gown. While admiring the corsage Tom gave her, she heard a thud and a curse; Wayne was awake. Katie jumped off her bed checked the lock on her door and listened. His gait sounded unsteady; Katie heard the sharp pop of another beer can opening. After what seemed like an eternity, his footsteps headed for the stairs. “Katie, you home?” Another stumble and curse, “You know how late it ish?”
“Oh God help me, he’s drunk.” Katie prayed quietly. “When is Mom getting home?” It was almost dawn.
The burnt orange sun was sinking into the midnight blue sea as Sawyer and Kate arrived back at camp. Heading directly to the kitchen to get some dinner, they found Sun who offered them some fish and rice she had cooked, hoping Jin and his buddies would be back in time for dinner. Kate thanked Sun; Sawyer got plates and forks and piled an indecent amount of fish and rice onto the plates.
“Hey, you going to eat all that?” Jack approached with two plates of his own.
“Ain’t mine to offer you. MamaSun made it and offered some to Kate and me.” Sawyer put another forkful on his plate.
“Well, Sun just said Juliet and I could have some too.” Jack countered.
“All yours.” Sawyer picked up the plates and went to Kate who was still talking with Sun. He threw a glance or two back over his shoulder at Jack.
Kate gave Sun a quick hug, “I’ll trust you know what you are doing.”
Sun replied, “I do, Kate. I believe Juliet is a good person.” Sun nodded her head at Sawyer. “Enjoy your dinner.”
“Smells good, Emeril.” Sawyer grinned at Sun.
Eating their dinner by the community fire, Sawyer watched Kate watch Juliet and Jack. Noticing Sawyer was watching her, Kate finally questioned, “What?”
“You tell me. The Doc and his favorite Other have your attention, not mine.”
“James, I just don’t trust Juliet. Now Sun is telling me she thinks Juliet is a good person.” Kate answered, pushing around the little bit of fish and rice that remained on her plate.
“You sure that’s all that’s bothering you, Freckles?” Sawyer nudged her shoulder with his.
Kate remembered standing by this same fire several months ago wanting to tell him how she felt. That night she wanted to tell him it was too dangerous for him to go on the raft; please stay, because I am worth staying for. All she had managed to say was, “Be safe, Sawyer.” But tonight, sitting by this same fire, she confided, “It really bothers me that Jack trusts Juliet too.” She looked at Sawyer to judge his reaction.
“Well, looks like we got something in common… again.” Sawyer got up and took her plate. Offering Kate his free hand, he helped her to her feet, leaned in, and whispered in her ear, “But I got something better to be bothered about right now, and it ain’t the Doc or these dishes.”
Kate smiled at him, “Your tent in five minutes?”
“You asking me, Freckles?”
Kate nodded and blushed.
“Since your asking me so nice, I’ll even go do these dishes, then…my tent…five minutes.” Sawyer kissed her; it was quick but full with the promise of the night ahead and the love they would share.
An orange-blue flame flared then settled to a slow burn as it was lowered to light the fuse. The short fuse burned quickly then pop, pop, pop.
Tom and Katie were laughing, watching the firecrackers go off in a parking lot near the community fair.
“You are too old to be playing with firecrackers.” Katie teased.
“Hey, I just want to celebrate July 4th properly.” Tom was checking the pockets of his jeans for more firecrackers. “Looks like that was it.”
“Oh, poor baby.” Katie playfully messed his hair. “Let’s grab the blanket so we can get a good spot for the fireworks.” It was starting to get dark; people began to gather in the field behind the community fair for the fireworks. They spread the blanket and sat down.
“I’m glad we have this chance to talk before the fireworks start.” Katie became serious. “You know I’m going to visit Dad tomorrow and I’m staying for two weeks, right?”
Tom nodded.
“Well, we’re going camping cause he feels bad he missed my graduation. And it’s his birthday, so I’m going to give him that scrapbook I made for him. And I’m going to ask him if I can live with him. But if he says no, I’m staying there and getting a job and my own place.”
“What?” Tom was surprised. “You can’t do that. Your home is here.”
“No, Tom, it isn’t. I can’t live here with Mom and Wayne anymore. You know how I feel about that. You’re going to college the end of next month. We’re going to be separated anyway.”
“So what does Diane think about this?” Tom questioned.
“I’m not going to tell her til I’ve already done it. Look, Tom, I’m 18 and have my high school diploma. They can’t stop me. My mind is made up.” Katie remained firm. “We’ll call each other and talk. I can come visit you at college. I’ll come back for holidays and stuff. This isn’t the end of you and me. We’re still going to get married.”
“No, this isn’t the end of us.” Tom leaned over and sealed the statement with a kiss. “I love you. It just sounds like you’re running away.”
Katie looked at Tom, sad but resolute; there wasn’t anything else to say.
(The Brig)
Even though Kate was snuggled up to Sawyer’s warm back, she was unable to fall asleep. Maybe she was overtired, maybe if she were in her own tent. Sawyer was sleeping peacefully; Kate could feel it. His arm was heavy, draped over hers, if she could just pull it out without disturbing him… She started to put on her pants.
Sawyer stirred, turning toward Kate. “Hey, where are you going?”
Kate looked over her shoulder, “I can’t sleep if I’m not in my own tent.”
Sawyer started to get up. “Fine, let’s go to your tent.”
Kate pushed her hair out of her face and rubbed her temples. “Um…It’s nothing personal. It’s…old habits…you know?”
Thursday, October 18, 2007
All You Got To Do Is Ask
This story is set after DOC, about day 90, early afternoon before The Brig
Kate watched Jack and Juliet talking outside Juliet’s tent. After spending a couple hours with a distraught Sun, Kate felt she needed to let Jack know what was going on.
Juliet saw Kate approaching. “Listen Jack, I’m going over to the kitchen to get some supplies.”
“No, Juliet,” Jack put his hand on her arm as she turned to get her backpack. “Anything Kate wants to say to me, she can say it in front of both of us.”
Juliet smiled at Jack. “Really Jack, we need supplies. We have places to go and things to discuss. We’ll be on our way faster if I go.” She gave Jack’s hand a squeeze after removing it from her arm, turned, and picked up her backpack. She smiled at Kate, nodded her head, and went to the kitchen.
Jack took a drink from his water bottle and offered it to Kate.
Kate shook her head, “No thanks,” and watched as Juliet walked away.
Jack looked at Kate expectantly. “You need something?”
“Yeah, I’m glad she left.” Kate nodded toward Juliet, who was almost to the kitchen. “You know no one trusts her.”
“What do you want, Kate?” Jack asked, sounding slightly hassled.
“What did you say to Sun the other morning in her garden?” Kate forged onward, sounding slightly hassled also.
“Just asked her some questions about her pregnancy.” Jack replied putting his water bottle into his backpack.
“Well, whatever you said to her made her approach Juliet and ask her about pregnant women and the island.” Kate replied.
Jack raised his eyebrows. “Oh?” Jack looked toward the kitchen where Juliet was putting some bananas into her backpack.
Kate glanced over too and added, “Yeah, and Juliet told her they die. I just came from Sun’s tent. She’s really upset, she said she couldn’t sleep last night, and Jin isn’t even around.”
Interested by this new information, Jack looked back at Kate, “Where’s Jin?”
“He’s off on a camping trip with Desmond, Hurley, and Charlie. But that isn’t important, Jack. I need to know what we are going to do about Sun.” Kate demanded.
“We aren’t going to do anything. Stop worrying. It will work itself out.” Jack answered.
“Come on, Jack…How?” Kate was aggravated now.
“Look, Kate, you’re always asking me questions. You just need to trust me. It will work itself out.” Jack swung his backpack over his shoulder. “I need to go.” He nodded toward Juliet, “She’ll be wondering where I am.” Jack walked off toward Juliet.
“Right, go off with her. That will help Sun.” Kate fumed.
Five year old Katie was at the park with her daddy. She was climbing up the slide for the umpteenth time when she saw an ice cream man. “Daddy, look, the ice cream man. Let’s get some ice cream.”
“Good idea, Katie,” Sam replied. “We can sit on the bench and talk while we eat it.”
Katie slid down the sliding board one last time and ran over to the ice cream man. Sam caught up, smiling at his daughter who was jumping up and down saying, “I want a fudge bar. I want a fudge bar.”
“Can you say ‘Please’ to the man?” Sam asked.
Katie turned, brown pigtails still bouncing, and asked politely, “May I please have a fudge bar?”
The ice cream man looked at Sam who nodded and said, “Make it two, please.”
Katie took her fudge bar and ran to the bench to eat it. Sam paid the ice cream man and went to sit by Katie.
“Daddy, did you know my friend, Tommy, got a kitten? It’s all black, except for some white on its feet. The kitty looks like its wearing white socks, so Tommy named him Socks. Isn’t that a funny name?” Katie told him some more about Tommy’s new kitten, but Sam didn’t really hear, knowing he was going to break his little girl’s heart.
When Katie was finished eating her fudge bar, and telling stories about Tommy and Socks, Sam said, “Katie, you’re a big five year old girl now. I have something important I need to tell you.”
“Yes, Daddy?” Katie was swinging her feet; they didn’t quite reach the ground.
“Your Mom and I aren’t going to be able to live together anymore.”
“What?” Katie was very confused.
“Your Mom and I aren’t going to be able to live together any more. We both love you very much, and we are going to take care of you. If you ever need anything from me, all you have to do is ask. But I have to live in another house.” Sam sadly informed her.
“But…but…I won’t live with you?” Katie didn’t understand.
“No.” Sam replied calmly. “You’ll live with your Mom. But you can come and visit me. We’ll go camping in the woods on the weekends you visit.”
Katie started crying.
Sam got a tissue out and wiped the tears off her freckled cheeks. “Look, sweetheart. I know you have a lot of questions. You just need to trust me. It will all work itself out.”
Kate watched Jack go to Juliet and they headed off into the jungle together. “Hmm…Maybe he’ll wonder where I am.” Kate mumbled sarcastically under her breath. Kate surveyed the camp. Sawyer wasn’t outside his tent, maybe he was in it. Making her way over to his tent, she peeked inside; no Sawyer. Next stop was Sun’s tent, where she found Sun settling down for a nap. Heading further down the beach, she heard the familiar sound of wood being chopped.
“Hey, James, you look hot.” As soon as it came out of her mouth, Kate realized the double meaning.
Sawyer stopped chopping, slowly turned, a big grin on his face. “Well, well…and you’re here, because…?”
“Want some water?” Kate got her water bottle out and came over to Sawyer.
“Is that all your offering?” Sawyer teased as he leaned in to take the bottle.
But Kate held on to the bottle, their eyes met and then their lips. Sawyer took control of the kiss, making demands with his tongue and lips. Eagerly, Kate responded while pulling the hem of his blue tee shirt out of his jeans. Removing the tee shirt broke off the kiss. They parted for a second, catching their breaths. Kate ran her hands slowly up Sawyer’s tight abs to his shoulders. Sawyer touched his forehead to hers and whispered in his low, sexy voice, “So, the mix tape got you to reconsider a little afternoon delight?”
Kate froze, dropped her arms and started to back away from Sawyer. The mix tape… “You ain’t got to use me, Freckles, all you got to do is ask” came back to her. What was she doing here with Sawyer?
Sam was tired after putting in a long day of work for the Army. The last thing he expected to see pulling up to his military housing unit was 15 year old Katie, sitting on the front door step with her backpack. As Sam got out of the car, Katie met him with a big bear hug.
“I miss you so much, Daddy.” Katie said, hugging Sam hard.
“This is unexpected Katie. I thought you weren’t coming to visit for two more weeks.” Sam said, returning the hug and patting her on the back.
Katie wouldn’t let go of Sam. “Daddy, when you and Mom got divorced, you always said if I needed anything, to just ask. Right? Well, I need to come live with you now.”
Sam took Katie’s arms and put them by her side. “We’ll discuss this inside. Do Diane and Wayne know you are here?”
Katie gave her dad a disgusted look. “Like they’ll be wondering where I am.” Katie sneered and rolled her eyes. She followed Sam inside.
After calling Diane to inform her of Katie’s whereabouts, they made a quick dinner of sandwiches, chips, and lemonade, and then sat down at the table to talk.
“Daddy, I hate Wayne. He isn’t my real father. Mom doesn’t understand me or listen to me at all. I don’t want to live with them any more. I can’t live with them any more. I want to stay here with you.” Katie stated her case.
Sam sighed, “Honey, you need to live with your Mom and Wayne.”
“Please, Daddy, I’m asking you. Let me come live with you. I promise I won’t be any trouble.” pleaded Katie.
“Katie,” Sam reached across the table and held his daughter’s hand. “I am going back overseas for another tour of duty and I’ll be gone at least 13 months. I leave in six weeks. I was going to tell you on your next visit, but you need to know this now.”
Katie looked down at her half eaten sandwich, removed her hand from her dad’s hand, and crossed her arms in front of her. She felt like she had been sentenced to prison for the rest of her life.
“What’s wrong, Freckles?” Sawyer was startled by Kate’s reaction.
“James, I’m so sorry.” Kate saw Sawyer’s confusion which seemed to mirror her own. What am I doing here? I don’t want to hurt him again. “I saw Jack and Juliet going off together…” Kate confessed, having difficulty making eye contact with Sawyer. “But it’s not like that…honest…” Kate quickly added, looking right at him when she said the word honest.
Sawyer was watching her intently the whole time. He took a tentative step toward her.
Kate had been backing up, but turned to go. After everything we’ve been through, he’s never let me down. He doesn’t deserve this. Picking up her backpack, she hesitated and turned back for a moment. “I’m just really sorry.” Kate headed off down the beach.
“Freckles… wait,” Sawyer started after her. “Your water bottle…”
Kate, looking puzzled and sad, stopped and turned to face Sawyer.
“Look, go back to camp, get on an outfit to swim in, and we’ll take a dip and have some dinner. Okay?” Sawyer suggested gently.
Kate’s bewildered expression changed to hopeful with a small grin forming.
“I’ll pick you up at your tent in about 30 minutes.” Sawyer gave Kate his winning smile.
“Thanks, James.” Kate was feeling almost shy. “And if I want anything, all I got to do is ask?”
“Sure.” Sawyer held his arms out with Kate’s water bottle still in his hand. “Want to give it a try?” He shook the water bottle a little, and looked surprised to see it in his hand. His smile turned mischievous and his eyes were twinkling.
“May I have my water bottle James?” Kate took his cue, as she tucked her hair behind her ear.
“Catch.” Sawyer tossed her the water bottle and winked at her. “All you got to do is ask.”
Kate watched Jack and Juliet talking outside Juliet’s tent. After spending a couple hours with a distraught Sun, Kate felt she needed to let Jack know what was going on.
Juliet saw Kate approaching. “Listen Jack, I’m going over to the kitchen to get some supplies.”
“No, Juliet,” Jack put his hand on her arm as she turned to get her backpack. “Anything Kate wants to say to me, she can say it in front of both of us.”
Juliet smiled at Jack. “Really Jack, we need supplies. We have places to go and things to discuss. We’ll be on our way faster if I go.” She gave Jack’s hand a squeeze after removing it from her arm, turned, and picked up her backpack. She smiled at Kate, nodded her head, and went to the kitchen.
Jack took a drink from his water bottle and offered it to Kate.
Kate shook her head, “No thanks,” and watched as Juliet walked away.
Jack looked at Kate expectantly. “You need something?”
“Yeah, I’m glad she left.” Kate nodded toward Juliet, who was almost to the kitchen. “You know no one trusts her.”
“What do you want, Kate?” Jack asked, sounding slightly hassled.
“What did you say to Sun the other morning in her garden?” Kate forged onward, sounding slightly hassled also.
“Just asked her some questions about her pregnancy.” Jack replied putting his water bottle into his backpack.
“Well, whatever you said to her made her approach Juliet and ask her about pregnant women and the island.” Kate replied.
Jack raised his eyebrows. “Oh?” Jack looked toward the kitchen where Juliet was putting some bananas into her backpack.
Kate glanced over too and added, “Yeah, and Juliet told her they die. I just came from Sun’s tent. She’s really upset, she said she couldn’t sleep last night, and Jin isn’t even around.”
Interested by this new information, Jack looked back at Kate, “Where’s Jin?”
“He’s off on a camping trip with Desmond, Hurley, and Charlie. But that isn’t important, Jack. I need to know what we are going to do about Sun.” Kate demanded.
“We aren’t going to do anything. Stop worrying. It will work itself out.” Jack answered.
“Come on, Jack…How?” Kate was aggravated now.
“Look, Kate, you’re always asking me questions. You just need to trust me. It will work itself out.” Jack swung his backpack over his shoulder. “I need to go.” He nodded toward Juliet, “She’ll be wondering where I am.” Jack walked off toward Juliet.
“Right, go off with her. That will help Sun.” Kate fumed.
Five year old Katie was at the park with her daddy. She was climbing up the slide for the umpteenth time when she saw an ice cream man. “Daddy, look, the ice cream man. Let’s get some ice cream.”
“Good idea, Katie,” Sam replied. “We can sit on the bench and talk while we eat it.”
Katie slid down the sliding board one last time and ran over to the ice cream man. Sam caught up, smiling at his daughter who was jumping up and down saying, “I want a fudge bar. I want a fudge bar.”
“Can you say ‘Please’ to the man?” Sam asked.
Katie turned, brown pigtails still bouncing, and asked politely, “May I please have a fudge bar?”
The ice cream man looked at Sam who nodded and said, “Make it two, please.”
Katie took her fudge bar and ran to the bench to eat it. Sam paid the ice cream man and went to sit by Katie.
“Daddy, did you know my friend, Tommy, got a kitten? It’s all black, except for some white on its feet. The kitty looks like its wearing white socks, so Tommy named him Socks. Isn’t that a funny name?” Katie told him some more about Tommy’s new kitten, but Sam didn’t really hear, knowing he was going to break his little girl’s heart.
When Katie was finished eating her fudge bar, and telling stories about Tommy and Socks, Sam said, “Katie, you’re a big five year old girl now. I have something important I need to tell you.”
“Yes, Daddy?” Katie was swinging her feet; they didn’t quite reach the ground.
“Your Mom and I aren’t going to be able to live together anymore.”
“What?” Katie was very confused.
“Your Mom and I aren’t going to be able to live together any more. We both love you very much, and we are going to take care of you. If you ever need anything from me, all you have to do is ask. But I have to live in another house.” Sam sadly informed her.
“But…but…I won’t live with you?” Katie didn’t understand.
“No.” Sam replied calmly. “You’ll live with your Mom. But you can come and visit me. We’ll go camping in the woods on the weekends you visit.”
Katie started crying.
Sam got a tissue out and wiped the tears off her freckled cheeks. “Look, sweetheart. I know you have a lot of questions. You just need to trust me. It will all work itself out.”
Kate watched Jack go to Juliet and they headed off into the jungle together. “Hmm…Maybe he’ll wonder where I am.” Kate mumbled sarcastically under her breath. Kate surveyed the camp. Sawyer wasn’t outside his tent, maybe he was in it. Making her way over to his tent, she peeked inside; no Sawyer. Next stop was Sun’s tent, where she found Sun settling down for a nap. Heading further down the beach, she heard the familiar sound of wood being chopped.
“Hey, James, you look hot.” As soon as it came out of her mouth, Kate realized the double meaning.
Sawyer stopped chopping, slowly turned, a big grin on his face. “Well, well…and you’re here, because…?”
“Want some water?” Kate got her water bottle out and came over to Sawyer.
“Is that all your offering?” Sawyer teased as he leaned in to take the bottle.
But Kate held on to the bottle, their eyes met and then their lips. Sawyer took control of the kiss, making demands with his tongue and lips. Eagerly, Kate responded while pulling the hem of his blue tee shirt out of his jeans. Removing the tee shirt broke off the kiss. They parted for a second, catching their breaths. Kate ran her hands slowly up Sawyer’s tight abs to his shoulders. Sawyer touched his forehead to hers and whispered in his low, sexy voice, “So, the mix tape got you to reconsider a little afternoon delight?”
Kate froze, dropped her arms and started to back away from Sawyer. The mix tape… “You ain’t got to use me, Freckles, all you got to do is ask” came back to her. What was she doing here with Sawyer?
Sam was tired after putting in a long day of work for the Army. The last thing he expected to see pulling up to his military housing unit was 15 year old Katie, sitting on the front door step with her backpack. As Sam got out of the car, Katie met him with a big bear hug.
“I miss you so much, Daddy.” Katie said, hugging Sam hard.
“This is unexpected Katie. I thought you weren’t coming to visit for two more weeks.” Sam said, returning the hug and patting her on the back.
Katie wouldn’t let go of Sam. “Daddy, when you and Mom got divorced, you always said if I needed anything, to just ask. Right? Well, I need to come live with you now.”
Sam took Katie’s arms and put them by her side. “We’ll discuss this inside. Do Diane and Wayne know you are here?”
Katie gave her dad a disgusted look. “Like they’ll be wondering where I am.” Katie sneered and rolled her eyes. She followed Sam inside.
After calling Diane to inform her of Katie’s whereabouts, they made a quick dinner of sandwiches, chips, and lemonade, and then sat down at the table to talk.
“Daddy, I hate Wayne. He isn’t my real father. Mom doesn’t understand me or listen to me at all. I don’t want to live with them any more. I can’t live with them any more. I want to stay here with you.” Katie stated her case.
Sam sighed, “Honey, you need to live with your Mom and Wayne.”
“Please, Daddy, I’m asking you. Let me come live with you. I promise I won’t be any trouble.” pleaded Katie.
“Katie,” Sam reached across the table and held his daughter’s hand. “I am going back overseas for another tour of duty and I’ll be gone at least 13 months. I leave in six weeks. I was going to tell you on your next visit, but you need to know this now.”
Katie looked down at her half eaten sandwich, removed her hand from her dad’s hand, and crossed her arms in front of her. She felt like she had been sentenced to prison for the rest of her life.
“What’s wrong, Freckles?” Sawyer was startled by Kate’s reaction.
“James, I’m so sorry.” Kate saw Sawyer’s confusion which seemed to mirror her own. What am I doing here? I don’t want to hurt him again. “I saw Jack and Juliet going off together…” Kate confessed, having difficulty making eye contact with Sawyer. “But it’s not like that…honest…” Kate quickly added, looking right at him when she said the word honest.
Sawyer was watching her intently the whole time. He took a tentative step toward her.
Kate had been backing up, but turned to go. After everything we’ve been through, he’s never let me down. He doesn’t deserve this. Picking up her backpack, she hesitated and turned back for a moment. “I’m just really sorry.” Kate headed off down the beach.
“Freckles… wait,” Sawyer started after her. “Your water bottle…”
Kate, looking puzzled and sad, stopped and turned to face Sawyer.
“Look, go back to camp, get on an outfit to swim in, and we’ll take a dip and have some dinner. Okay?” Sawyer suggested gently.
Kate’s bewildered expression changed to hopeful with a small grin forming.
“I’ll pick you up at your tent in about 30 minutes.” Sawyer gave Kate his winning smile.
“Thanks, James.” Kate was feeling almost shy. “And if I want anything, all I got to do is ask?”
“Sure.” Sawyer held his arms out with Kate’s water bottle still in his hand. “Want to give it a try?” He shook the water bottle a little, and looked surprised to see it in his hand. His smile turned mischievous and his eyes were twinkling.
“May I have my water bottle James?” Kate took his cue, as she tucked her hair behind her ear.
“Catch.” Sawyer tossed her the water bottle and winked at her. “All you got to do is ask.”
Monday, September 24, 2007
I'll Be There
I’ll be There
End of Season 3
Sawyer, Juliet, Hurley, Desmond, Sayid, Jin, and Bernard, the beach party, had just been reunited with the group at the radio tower. The beach party shared Charlie’s message, “Not Penny’s Boat” and the fact he died, with the radio tower group. Claire took the news of Charlie’s death the hardest. No one really knew how to process any of the information; but Sawyer, Desmond and Sayid were skeptical over who the “rescuers” really were. The rescuer’s helicopters were overhead readying to land when BOOM! The radio tower blew up, crashing one of the helicopters. The other one landed roughly, seemingly damaged at that time. Mass confusion broke out.
As the radio tower blew up, the percussion from the blast knocked several people to the ground. Pieces of debris from the tower were falling; one piece hit Aaron and Claire. Within seconds, Claire’s world went from black, with the news of Charlie’s death, to a shattered red, as blood covered her baby’s head and her arm. She heard Sayid calling Jack. Someone was screaming, “My baby”. Was that Juliet and Hurley running toward her?
Hurley had been knocked to his knees by the blast. Nearby Juliet fell flat. Hurley was helping Juliet up when Sayid started calling for Jack. Hurley and Juliet looked at each other and without saying a word, both headed over to Claire and Aaron. Sayid gladly handed over Claire and Aaron’s care to Juliet and proceeded over to help out at the downed helicopters.
“Let me check out Aaron. I think you are injured too.” Was Juliet speaking to Claire? The screaming and crying was so loud, Claire was having difficulty focusing on what Juliet was saying.
Juliet found a large cut on the baby’s head and Claire’s left arm also had a large bleeding gash. Juliet looked at Hurley who was standing by helplessly muttering, “I’m not going to faint. I’m not going to faint.” “Claire, let me have Aaron for just a minute so I can bandage him up and check him out.” Juliet spoke calmly while looking at Hurley, saying “Help me” with her eyes. Hurley took the cue and moved in to assist. “Come on Claire, let Juliet have the baby.” Hurley said out loud; all the while thinking to himself, “I’m not going to faint. I’m not going to faint.”
Juliet placed a cloth on the gash on Claire’s arm and put Claire’s hand on it to help hold the cloth in position. Claire turned and Hurley was right there. Leaning into him, bloody arm and all, Claire rested her cheek against Hurley’s chest and watched Juliet care for Aaron while whimpering, “My baby, my baby….”
Hurley just stood there at first, more worried about fainting, than the fact that Claire was leaning against him needing support and comfort. Hesitating at first, Hurley put his arm around Claire and gently patted her back. He turned his head away from all the blood, knowing Aaron would be fine in Juliet’s care.
Taking a few deep breaths made him feel better and he responded, “Aaron will be fine. Everything’s going to be okay.”
Claire felt Hurley’s chest move under her cheek, his voice was soothing, Aaron was quiet now. The pieces of Claire’s shattered world came back together. Juliet had bandaged Aaron’s head and was checking out his little arms, legs, eyes and ears. Juliet smiled at Claire and said, “I think he’s going to be just fine.” She brought him over to Claire. Giving Juliet a questioning look, Claire leaned over and kissed Aaron’s bandaged head. The baby was still fretting a bit. “Hurley, would you mind watching Aaron?” Juliet asked as she handed the baby to Hurley. “Come on Claire, you need that arm bandaged up. I need some supplies from Jack’s bag. Come with me, it will be quicker that way.” Juliet took Claire’s good arm and led her away. Obediently, Claire followed but looked back to see Hurley holding a fussy Aaron like Juliet had just handed him a fish Jin had caught.
“Hey little dude, you want your Mommy. Believe me, I get it. But you’re stuck with me till she gets her arm taken care of, so…….Let’s make the best of it.” He put Aaron in the crook of his arm. “Let’s go for a walk around here and try to stay out of trouble.” Aaron was still fussing. “And if you don’t stop that fussing, I’ll have to sing some James Brown to you dude……….”
Claire came back with her arm bandaged. “Thanks for watching Aaron.” She took the fussy baby from Hurley. Biting her lower lip and looking down, Claire apologized, “and……sorry I was so much trouble earlier………I sorta just lost it.”
“Forget it. I’m glad I didn’t faint.” Hurley smiled, put his hand on her shoulder, and gave it a squeeze. “We’ll make it through this.” Picking up his backpack, he went to see how he could help out over at the helicopters.
“Are you a hungry boy?” Claire cooed to Aaron, as she settled down to feed him. She had told Rose she was going to a secluded spot behind a couple of trees to nurse Aaron. It was good to be away from everyone and spend this time bonding with her precious son; although, with the quiet came thoughts of Charlie and how different and lonely it would be on the island without his quick smile and easy going laugh. Claire took this brief, still interlude to begin grieving for him.
The sound of footsteps approaching brought Claire out of her thoughts. Figuring it was Rose, she let Aaron continue his meal. “Hey, the group has decided to head……back………..to……..” Hurley stopped in his tracks, his jaw dropped; he quickly turned away. “Dude……….I’m sorry….I saw…..”
Claire couldn’t help smiling as she covered up and put Aaron over her shoulder. “I was just feeding the baby.” She stood up and approached Hurley’s back. “It’s …”
Hurley startled, not realizing she was right behind him; he put his hand up to cover his eyes.
“Aaron’s done eating. It’s okay to turn around.” Claire smiled charmed by his akward politeness.
“Everything’s …….covered?” Hurley questioned.
“Yes, Hurley.” Claire was still grinning and rolled her eyes.
Hurley put his hand down and slowly turned, peeking to see if the coast was clear. Obviously extremely embarrassed, Hurley was having trouble making eye contact. “Uh…..the group decided to head back to the beach with the rescue party. We are leaving in like 15 minutes. I wanted to see how I could help you.”
“Thanks Hurley, I’ll grab my backpack and you could help me carry Aaron some of the time.” Claire started back to the group.
“Yeah……uh……sure. Oh, I have some extra water for you.” Hurley added as they headed to get her backpack. Claire smiled at Hurley. It was bittersweet remembering how Charlie used to bring her water before Aaron was born.
The trip back to the beach was uneventful. Hurley and Claire hiked companionably together, mostly quiet in their own thoughts, switching Aaron back and forth between them.
Dark was quickly approaching as they got back to the beach. Hurley walked Claire to her tent. As Claire settled a sleeping Aaron in his cradle, she felt something hard and pulled Charlie’s Driveshaft ring from the covers. Without thinking, she turned with it in her hand to show Charlie what she had found and then remembered he wasn’t there.
“What’s that?” Hurley moved in to see. Claire just stood there, hand out, her eyes filling with tears. Seeing Charlie’s ring, Hurley understood that there were no words for the raw, deep grief they both felt at that moment. Reaching for each other, Claire put her arm around Hurley’s neck, buried her face in his chest and sobbed. Hurley just held her until her tears ran out, neither of them knew how late into the night that was.
The sun rose the next morning, everyone ate breakfast, chores needed to be done. Island life continued only now there were the “rescuers” in the camp. Hurley came to help Claire with the baby, taking Aaron for walks down the beach with Vincent tagging along. They started having meals together; Hurley could even coax Aaron into eating all his oatmeal or mashed fruit. Changing nappies remained Claire’s job though, Hurley knew his limits. After a few days there was talk around camp of everyone moving to Othersville.
One evening, while Sun and Jin were watching Aaron, Claire walked down the beach to a secluded area, sat down, and watched the sun setting over the ocean.
I can’t believe you aren’t coming back. I wanted you to always be here for me and hoped I could count on you. I told you I wouldn’t give up on you. But I never said thank you for being there for me . I am so sorry. You were here for me, you kept coming back but now, you can’t.
I never told you this, but all I ever wanted from my Mom was for her to be there for me. I never thought she was because we were so different. She wanted things for me that I didn’t care about. When I was 17, there was a car accident and she was hurt real bad and ended up in a coma. After I lost my Mom, I realized too late how she had been there for me. I spent my next birthday alone at her bedside. Couldn’t even light the candle on the cupcake I bought because of all the medical equipment. I made this birthday wish four years ago. If anyone was ever there for me, you know, someone I could count on. I promised that I’d thank them and let them know how much I appreciated them. It was too late to tell my Mom. And now I messed up again; I never told you. Thank you Charlie.
Claire was sitting on the beach, hugging her knees, when she saw Hurley coming. He sat down next to her. For a few minutes they just watched the sun sink into the ocean in a companionable silence. Hurley nudged her shoulder with his shoulder. “You okay?”
Claire tucked her hair behind her ear and turned to look at Hurley, “No, but I will be. Had some things I needed to work out.”
Hurley raised his eyebrows, then smiled. “Sun says the little dude needs his mom.” Hurley leaned forward to get up.
“Wait.” Claire put her hand on his arm. She moved her hand to his cheek, closed her eyes, leaned in, and kissed him, a soft, warm caress on the lips. Hurley responded, giving back what she had sweetly offered. When they broke apart, Claire bit her lower lip, looked down and said, “Thanks, Hurley.”
“Uh, shouldn’t I be thanking you?” Hurley was searching her face.
“No.” Claire looked up, their eyes meeting. “Thank you for being there for me. I’m so glad I can count on you.”
Hurley got up and offered Claire his hand. They walked back to camp, hand in hand, not needing any words; the sound of the surf was enough.
End of Season 3
Sawyer, Juliet, Hurley, Desmond, Sayid, Jin, and Bernard, the beach party, had just been reunited with the group at the radio tower. The beach party shared Charlie’s message, “Not Penny’s Boat” and the fact he died, with the radio tower group. Claire took the news of Charlie’s death the hardest. No one really knew how to process any of the information; but Sawyer, Desmond and Sayid were skeptical over who the “rescuers” really were. The rescuer’s helicopters were overhead readying to land when BOOM! The radio tower blew up, crashing one of the helicopters. The other one landed roughly, seemingly damaged at that time. Mass confusion broke out.
As the radio tower blew up, the percussion from the blast knocked several people to the ground. Pieces of debris from the tower were falling; one piece hit Aaron and Claire. Within seconds, Claire’s world went from black, with the news of Charlie’s death, to a shattered red, as blood covered her baby’s head and her arm. She heard Sayid calling Jack. Someone was screaming, “My baby”. Was that Juliet and Hurley running toward her?
Hurley had been knocked to his knees by the blast. Nearby Juliet fell flat. Hurley was helping Juliet up when Sayid started calling for Jack. Hurley and Juliet looked at each other and without saying a word, both headed over to Claire and Aaron. Sayid gladly handed over Claire and Aaron’s care to Juliet and proceeded over to help out at the downed helicopters.
“Let me check out Aaron. I think you are injured too.” Was Juliet speaking to Claire? The screaming and crying was so loud, Claire was having difficulty focusing on what Juliet was saying.
Juliet found a large cut on the baby’s head and Claire’s left arm also had a large bleeding gash. Juliet looked at Hurley who was standing by helplessly muttering, “I’m not going to faint. I’m not going to faint.” “Claire, let me have Aaron for just a minute so I can bandage him up and check him out.” Juliet spoke calmly while looking at Hurley, saying “Help me” with her eyes. Hurley took the cue and moved in to assist. “Come on Claire, let Juliet have the baby.” Hurley said out loud; all the while thinking to himself, “I’m not going to faint. I’m not going to faint.”
Juliet placed a cloth on the gash on Claire’s arm and put Claire’s hand on it to help hold the cloth in position. Claire turned and Hurley was right there. Leaning into him, bloody arm and all, Claire rested her cheek against Hurley’s chest and watched Juliet care for Aaron while whimpering, “My baby, my baby….”
Hurley just stood there at first, more worried about fainting, than the fact that Claire was leaning against him needing support and comfort. Hesitating at first, Hurley put his arm around Claire and gently patted her back. He turned his head away from all the blood, knowing Aaron would be fine in Juliet’s care.
Taking a few deep breaths made him feel better and he responded, “Aaron will be fine. Everything’s going to be okay.”
Claire felt Hurley’s chest move under her cheek, his voice was soothing, Aaron was quiet now. The pieces of Claire’s shattered world came back together. Juliet had bandaged Aaron’s head and was checking out his little arms, legs, eyes and ears. Juliet smiled at Claire and said, “I think he’s going to be just fine.” She brought him over to Claire. Giving Juliet a questioning look, Claire leaned over and kissed Aaron’s bandaged head. The baby was still fretting a bit. “Hurley, would you mind watching Aaron?” Juliet asked as she handed the baby to Hurley. “Come on Claire, you need that arm bandaged up. I need some supplies from Jack’s bag. Come with me, it will be quicker that way.” Juliet took Claire’s good arm and led her away. Obediently, Claire followed but looked back to see Hurley holding a fussy Aaron like Juliet had just handed him a fish Jin had caught.
“Hey little dude, you want your Mommy. Believe me, I get it. But you’re stuck with me till she gets her arm taken care of, so…….Let’s make the best of it.” He put Aaron in the crook of his arm. “Let’s go for a walk around here and try to stay out of trouble.” Aaron was still fussing. “And if you don’t stop that fussing, I’ll have to sing some James Brown to you dude……….”
Claire came back with her arm bandaged. “Thanks for watching Aaron.” She took the fussy baby from Hurley. Biting her lower lip and looking down, Claire apologized, “and……sorry I was so much trouble earlier………I sorta just lost it.”
“Forget it. I’m glad I didn’t faint.” Hurley smiled, put his hand on her shoulder, and gave it a squeeze. “We’ll make it through this.” Picking up his backpack, he went to see how he could help out over at the helicopters.
“Are you a hungry boy?” Claire cooed to Aaron, as she settled down to feed him. She had told Rose she was going to a secluded spot behind a couple of trees to nurse Aaron. It was good to be away from everyone and spend this time bonding with her precious son; although, with the quiet came thoughts of Charlie and how different and lonely it would be on the island without his quick smile and easy going laugh. Claire took this brief, still interlude to begin grieving for him.
The sound of footsteps approaching brought Claire out of her thoughts. Figuring it was Rose, she let Aaron continue his meal. “Hey, the group has decided to head……back………..to……..” Hurley stopped in his tracks, his jaw dropped; he quickly turned away. “Dude……….I’m sorry….I saw…..”
Claire couldn’t help smiling as she covered up and put Aaron over her shoulder. “I was just feeding the baby.” She stood up and approached Hurley’s back. “It’s …”
Hurley startled, not realizing she was right behind him; he put his hand up to cover his eyes.
“Aaron’s done eating. It’s okay to turn around.” Claire smiled charmed by his akward politeness.
“Everything’s …….covered?” Hurley questioned.
“Yes, Hurley.” Claire was still grinning and rolled her eyes.
Hurley put his hand down and slowly turned, peeking to see if the coast was clear. Obviously extremely embarrassed, Hurley was having trouble making eye contact. “Uh…..the group decided to head back to the beach with the rescue party. We are leaving in like 15 minutes. I wanted to see how I could help you.”
“Thanks Hurley, I’ll grab my backpack and you could help me carry Aaron some of the time.” Claire started back to the group.
“Yeah……uh……sure. Oh, I have some extra water for you.” Hurley added as they headed to get her backpack. Claire smiled at Hurley. It was bittersweet remembering how Charlie used to bring her water before Aaron was born.
The trip back to the beach was uneventful. Hurley and Claire hiked companionably together, mostly quiet in their own thoughts, switching Aaron back and forth between them.
Dark was quickly approaching as they got back to the beach. Hurley walked Claire to her tent. As Claire settled a sleeping Aaron in his cradle, she felt something hard and pulled Charlie’s Driveshaft ring from the covers. Without thinking, she turned with it in her hand to show Charlie what she had found and then remembered he wasn’t there.
“What’s that?” Hurley moved in to see. Claire just stood there, hand out, her eyes filling with tears. Seeing Charlie’s ring, Hurley understood that there were no words for the raw, deep grief they both felt at that moment. Reaching for each other, Claire put her arm around Hurley’s neck, buried her face in his chest and sobbed. Hurley just held her until her tears ran out, neither of them knew how late into the night that was.
The sun rose the next morning, everyone ate breakfast, chores needed to be done. Island life continued only now there were the “rescuers” in the camp. Hurley came to help Claire with the baby, taking Aaron for walks down the beach with Vincent tagging along. They started having meals together; Hurley could even coax Aaron into eating all his oatmeal or mashed fruit. Changing nappies remained Claire’s job though, Hurley knew his limits. After a few days there was talk around camp of everyone moving to Othersville.
One evening, while Sun and Jin were watching Aaron, Claire walked down the beach to a secluded area, sat down, and watched the sun setting over the ocean.
I can’t believe you aren’t coming back. I wanted you to always be here for me and hoped I could count on you. I told you I wouldn’t give up on you. But I never said thank you for being there for me . I am so sorry. You were here for me, you kept coming back but now, you can’t.
I never told you this, but all I ever wanted from my Mom was for her to be there for me. I never thought she was because we were so different. She wanted things for me that I didn’t care about. When I was 17, there was a car accident and she was hurt real bad and ended up in a coma. After I lost my Mom, I realized too late how she had been there for me. I spent my next birthday alone at her bedside. Couldn’t even light the candle on the cupcake I bought because of all the medical equipment. I made this birthday wish four years ago. If anyone was ever there for me, you know, someone I could count on. I promised that I’d thank them and let them know how much I appreciated them. It was too late to tell my Mom. And now I messed up again; I never told you. Thank you Charlie.
Claire was sitting on the beach, hugging her knees, when she saw Hurley coming. He sat down next to her. For a few minutes they just watched the sun sink into the ocean in a companionable silence. Hurley nudged her shoulder with his shoulder. “You okay?”
Claire tucked her hair behind her ear and turned to look at Hurley, “No, but I will be. Had some things I needed to work out.”
Hurley raised his eyebrows, then smiled. “Sun says the little dude needs his mom.” Hurley leaned forward to get up.
“Wait.” Claire put her hand on his arm. She moved her hand to his cheek, closed her eyes, leaned in, and kissed him, a soft, warm caress on the lips. Hurley responded, giving back what she had sweetly offered. When they broke apart, Claire bit her lower lip, looked down and said, “Thanks, Hurley.”
“Uh, shouldn’t I be thanking you?” Hurley was searching her face.
“No.” Claire looked up, their eyes meeting. “Thank you for being there for me. I’m so glad I can count on you.”
Hurley got up and offered Claire his hand. They walked back to camp, hand in hand, not needing any words; the sound of the surf was enough.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Snow Globe
End of Season 3. Sawyer, Juliet, Hurley, Desmond, Sayid, Jin, and Bernard, the beach party, had just been reunited with the group at the radio tower. The beach party shared Charlie’s message, “Not Penny’s Boat” and the fact he died, with the radio tower group. No one really knew how to process any of the information; but Sawyer, Desmond and Sayid were skeptical over who the “rescuers” really were. The rescuer’s helicopters were overhead readying to land when BOOM! The radio tower blew up, crashing one of the helicopters. The other one landed roughly, seemingly damaged at that time. Mass confusion broke out.
As the radio tower blew, the percussion from the blast knocked Kate to the ground. Sawyer saw her going down as he was staggering into Desmond trying to stay upright. The heat from the blast diverted Sawyer’s attention away from Kate for only a second as he assessed any danger the falling debris may have caused. Fairly sure they were a safe distance he made his way over to Kate to help her to her feet.
“Kate, you okay?” Sawyer asked bending down to touch her lightly on the shoulder. He couldn’t see her face. Kate didn’t move.
“Kate!” Sawyer shook her shoulder. Kate started to move, pushing herself up on her elbows.
“Are you okay, Kate?” Sawyer asked again.
“Yes James, I’m fine.” Kate answered, shaking her head getting to her feet. Sawyer looked around to see if anyone else needed help and noticed Locke over at the tree cutting Ben loose. Rousseau, Alex, and Karl were together but didn’t seem to notice Locke and Ben heading into the jungle. Frantically, Sawyer looked around for Sayid. But Sayid was helping Claire and Aaron. The baby was screaming and bloodied, Claire had blood on her too. Sayid was calling for Jack. The Doc had run over to the crashed and burning debris of the helicopters from which some “commando” types had emerged. Locke and Ben were getting away. Sawyer grabbed his backpack and took off after them; Locke had some explaining to do.
Kate was on her feet, brushing herself off. Looking around, she couldn’t believe what was happening. Juliet was tending to Claire and Aaron. Sun, Jin, Rose, and Bernard were together in a group. No one seemed to know what to do. Kate noticed Sawyer making his way into the jungle, seeming as if he was following someone. Where was he off to? Determined he wasn’t leaving her again until they could have a talk, Kate grabbed her backpack and took off after Sawyer.
“Son of a bitch.” Sawyer muttered, kicking at the ground cover.
Standing a couple feet behind Sawyer, Kate was smiling remembering his previous attempts at tracking boar. “What are you looking for James?”
“Son of a bitch!” Sawyer flinched, surprised by Kate’s presence. “Why aren’t you back with the group?” Sawyer questioned annoyed.
“I could ask you the same thing James.” Kate threw right back at him.
Sawyer shook his head, shifting his weight. “It’s too dangerous out here. Go back to the group.” Sawyer turned and walked further into the jungle.
“Don’t tell me what to do. It wasn’t exactly safe back at the radio tower either. What are you doing out here?” Kate was jogging after him, trying to catch up.
Sawyer stopped abruptly and stalked back toward an approaching Kate. “Alright Nosy Nellie, if you have to know, Locke grabbed Ben and they came this way. Thought I’d like to ask Locke why he is Ben’s buddy now and why he is still on his blow up the island tour.”
“Really?” Kate was surprised Locke had helped Ben escape. “I guess Locke has also managed to keep us on the island a little longer too.” Kate looked around to see if she could pick up the trail. “Looks like they went this way.”
Sawyer shrugged his shoulders, scowled at Kate, and followed after her.
They tracked for a while but didn’t see Locke or Ben, although Kate was reasonably sure they were still on their trail. It was starting to get dark, Sawyer seemed increasingly on edge, and the jungle seemed familiar. Kate slowed and stopped, hearing the rush of water. “Do you hear that?” As Kate asked, she recognized the sound and started grinning thinking of their earlier visit here. They stepped into the clearing and saw the waterfall.
Sawyer dropped his backpack to the ground and approached Kate. “You did this on purpose.” Sawyer angrily accused.
Kate snapped out of her thoughts. “I did what on purpose?”
“You weren’t tracking Locke or Ben. You brought us here on purpose.” Sawyer was pacing, looking between Kate and the waterfall.
“Why would I do that? Their trail came this way.” Kate said pointing behind her.
“Right.” Sawyer snapped, snatching his backpack off the ground.
“It’s as good as any place to make camp for the night. Plenty of fresh water and we can make a fire over there.” Kate pointed out. She put her backpack down in the clearing.
“Well, don’t just stand there.” Sawyer grumbled. “Help me gather some firewood.”
They both gathered wood in silence. Kate wanted to say something to Sawyer, but he was so moody and silent. She didn’t know how to reach out to him. The wood was piled and Sawyer started the fire.
“Hey, Sawyer, give me your water bottle. I’ll fill it for you.” Kate offered. Sawyer looked up from his task. His gaze was intense and focused on her.
Pointing to his backpack, he grunted, “There.” and went back to tending the fire.
Kate found his bottle and went to the water’s edge, over by the waterfall and gathered the cool, refreshing water in their bottles. She poured some out and splashed her face and poured a little more over the back of her neck. Feeling refreshed, Kate returned to the fireside, handed Sawyer his bottle, and sat down. Sawyer was digging through his backpack and offered her a Dharma nutri-bar. Kate thanked him and they ate in uncomfortable silence. After Kate finished the bar and took a drink, she decided to break the silence. “James, we need to talk.”
“Talk’s overrated.” Sawyer sniped back.
“Both of us are going to have to face up to the possible consequences of what we’ve done.” Kate said quietly, not quite able to make eye contact.
Sawyer leaned in, looking directly at Kate. “What’s done is done. We can’t undo it. Now we got to hope for the best and not do anything stupid.” Sawyer got up and turned away, feeling like he needed to move.
“Don’t walk away from me again, James.” Kate was on her feet right behind Sawyer.
Sawyer spun around, grabbed her shoulders, and barked, “I’m no good for you Kate. Don’t waste your time with me.”
“But what about the cages…..and the mix tape…….and the last couple days back at the beach before all this? I thought we had something special.” Kate felt the tears starting but refused to cry.
“I’m not a good person, Kate. Never did a good thing in my life. You deserve better. You don’t want me.” Sawyer said sadly, letting go of her shoulders.
Stepping forward toward Sawyer, anger started to overcome the hurt. “Don’t tell me what I want.” Kate threw back at Sawyer. “I want you. I want to be with you.” She poked him in the chest. “I love you!” Kate wished that last statement had come out less forcefully.
Sawyer just stood there not knowing how to respond. Ever since he killed Cooper, all he knew was confusion and hurt where there should have been satisfaction. Here stood Kate offering acceptance and love, even if it was only for a short time, even if it was possibly stupid. James leaned in and claimed Kate’s mouth. She was soft and yielding and felt so good. Just a little longer and Sawyer thought he would stop. But Kate reached under his shirt and returned his kiss with her tongue. All thought stopped and the sparks they kindled turned into a raging fire.
It was a clear night with a light breeze; they could hear the waterfall’s serenade playing softly in the background. Their problems still needed to be addressed. Together again, they could take the next step. James was pulling the cover over Kate who was nestled into his side, smiling and content. “It’s a beautiful night. Isn’t it James?”
“Hmmmm” James murmured, kissing Kate’s ear.
“Have you ever seen so many stars? I swear you can see more here than any other place I’ve ever been.” Kate snuggled in close to James’ side.
“Since when did you become an astronomer Freckles?” James squeezed her affectionately.
“I think I could be a good astronomer actually. See that group of stars just to the left over there.” Kate was pointing to the sky making a circle with her index finger. “They are in a perfect circle and there are a couple of stars underneath the circle like a base. They look like a snow globe. All the stars in the middle are the snow swirling around inside the snow globe.” She paused, quite pleased with herself. “Yes, I am naming that constellation The Snow Globe.” In good spirits, Kate turned, kissed James, and put her arm around his warm, naked chest.
“The Snow Globe? So now you’re naming stars with me Sassafras?” It was James turn to smile as he remembered advice he once gave to Karl. “I’ve been with a lot of girls, some of them worth the trouble, some not. Every now and again there’s one …………. one that you name the dumb stars with.”
As the radio tower blew, the percussion from the blast knocked Kate to the ground. Sawyer saw her going down as he was staggering into Desmond trying to stay upright. The heat from the blast diverted Sawyer’s attention away from Kate for only a second as he assessed any danger the falling debris may have caused. Fairly sure they were a safe distance he made his way over to Kate to help her to her feet.
“Kate, you okay?” Sawyer asked bending down to touch her lightly on the shoulder. He couldn’t see her face. Kate didn’t move.
“Kate!” Sawyer shook her shoulder. Kate started to move, pushing herself up on her elbows.
“Are you okay, Kate?” Sawyer asked again.
“Yes James, I’m fine.” Kate answered, shaking her head getting to her feet. Sawyer looked around to see if anyone else needed help and noticed Locke over at the tree cutting Ben loose. Rousseau, Alex, and Karl were together but didn’t seem to notice Locke and Ben heading into the jungle. Frantically, Sawyer looked around for Sayid. But Sayid was helping Claire and Aaron. The baby was screaming and bloodied, Claire had blood on her too. Sayid was calling for Jack. The Doc had run over to the crashed and burning debris of the helicopters from which some “commando” types had emerged. Locke and Ben were getting away. Sawyer grabbed his backpack and took off after them; Locke had some explaining to do.
Kate was on her feet, brushing herself off. Looking around, she couldn’t believe what was happening. Juliet was tending to Claire and Aaron. Sun, Jin, Rose, and Bernard were together in a group. No one seemed to know what to do. Kate noticed Sawyer making his way into the jungle, seeming as if he was following someone. Where was he off to? Determined he wasn’t leaving her again until they could have a talk, Kate grabbed her backpack and took off after Sawyer.
“Son of a bitch.” Sawyer muttered, kicking at the ground cover.
Standing a couple feet behind Sawyer, Kate was smiling remembering his previous attempts at tracking boar. “What are you looking for James?”
“Son of a bitch!” Sawyer flinched, surprised by Kate’s presence. “Why aren’t you back with the group?” Sawyer questioned annoyed.
“I could ask you the same thing James.” Kate threw right back at him.
Sawyer shook his head, shifting his weight. “It’s too dangerous out here. Go back to the group.” Sawyer turned and walked further into the jungle.
“Don’t tell me what to do. It wasn’t exactly safe back at the radio tower either. What are you doing out here?” Kate was jogging after him, trying to catch up.
Sawyer stopped abruptly and stalked back toward an approaching Kate. “Alright Nosy Nellie, if you have to know, Locke grabbed Ben and they came this way. Thought I’d like to ask Locke why he is Ben’s buddy now and why he is still on his blow up the island tour.”
“Really?” Kate was surprised Locke had helped Ben escape. “I guess Locke has also managed to keep us on the island a little longer too.” Kate looked around to see if she could pick up the trail. “Looks like they went this way.”
Sawyer shrugged his shoulders, scowled at Kate, and followed after her.
They tracked for a while but didn’t see Locke or Ben, although Kate was reasonably sure they were still on their trail. It was starting to get dark, Sawyer seemed increasingly on edge, and the jungle seemed familiar. Kate slowed and stopped, hearing the rush of water. “Do you hear that?” As Kate asked, she recognized the sound and started grinning thinking of their earlier visit here. They stepped into the clearing and saw the waterfall.
Sawyer dropped his backpack to the ground and approached Kate. “You did this on purpose.” Sawyer angrily accused.
Kate snapped out of her thoughts. “I did what on purpose?”
“You weren’t tracking Locke or Ben. You brought us here on purpose.” Sawyer was pacing, looking between Kate and the waterfall.
“Why would I do that? Their trail came this way.” Kate said pointing behind her.
“Right.” Sawyer snapped, snatching his backpack off the ground.
“It’s as good as any place to make camp for the night. Plenty of fresh water and we can make a fire over there.” Kate pointed out. She put her backpack down in the clearing.
“Well, don’t just stand there.” Sawyer grumbled. “Help me gather some firewood.”
They both gathered wood in silence. Kate wanted to say something to Sawyer, but he was so moody and silent. She didn’t know how to reach out to him. The wood was piled and Sawyer started the fire.
“Hey, Sawyer, give me your water bottle. I’ll fill it for you.” Kate offered. Sawyer looked up from his task. His gaze was intense and focused on her.
Pointing to his backpack, he grunted, “There.” and went back to tending the fire.
Kate found his bottle and went to the water’s edge, over by the waterfall and gathered the cool, refreshing water in their bottles. She poured some out and splashed her face and poured a little more over the back of her neck. Feeling refreshed, Kate returned to the fireside, handed Sawyer his bottle, and sat down. Sawyer was digging through his backpack and offered her a Dharma nutri-bar. Kate thanked him and they ate in uncomfortable silence. After Kate finished the bar and took a drink, she decided to break the silence. “James, we need to talk.”
“Talk’s overrated.” Sawyer sniped back.
“Both of us are going to have to face up to the possible consequences of what we’ve done.” Kate said quietly, not quite able to make eye contact.
Sawyer leaned in, looking directly at Kate. “What’s done is done. We can’t undo it. Now we got to hope for the best and not do anything stupid.” Sawyer got up and turned away, feeling like he needed to move.
“Don’t walk away from me again, James.” Kate was on her feet right behind Sawyer.
Sawyer spun around, grabbed her shoulders, and barked, “I’m no good for you Kate. Don’t waste your time with me.”
“But what about the cages…..and the mix tape…….and the last couple days back at the beach before all this? I thought we had something special.” Kate felt the tears starting but refused to cry.
“I’m not a good person, Kate. Never did a good thing in my life. You deserve better. You don’t want me.” Sawyer said sadly, letting go of her shoulders.
Stepping forward toward Sawyer, anger started to overcome the hurt. “Don’t tell me what I want.” Kate threw back at Sawyer. “I want you. I want to be with you.” She poked him in the chest. “I love you!” Kate wished that last statement had come out less forcefully.
Sawyer just stood there not knowing how to respond. Ever since he killed Cooper, all he knew was confusion and hurt where there should have been satisfaction. Here stood Kate offering acceptance and love, even if it was only for a short time, even if it was possibly stupid. James leaned in and claimed Kate’s mouth. She was soft and yielding and felt so good. Just a little longer and Sawyer thought he would stop. But Kate reached under his shirt and returned his kiss with her tongue. All thought stopped and the sparks they kindled turned into a raging fire.
It was a clear night with a light breeze; they could hear the waterfall’s serenade playing softly in the background. Their problems still needed to be addressed. Together again, they could take the next step. James was pulling the cover over Kate who was nestled into his side, smiling and content. “It’s a beautiful night. Isn’t it James?”
“Hmmmm” James murmured, kissing Kate’s ear.
“Have you ever seen so many stars? I swear you can see more here than any other place I’ve ever been.” Kate snuggled in close to James’ side.
“Since when did you become an astronomer Freckles?” James squeezed her affectionately.
“I think I could be a good astronomer actually. See that group of stars just to the left over there.” Kate was pointing to the sky making a circle with her index finger. “They are in a perfect circle and there are a couple of stars underneath the circle like a base. They look like a snow globe. All the stars in the middle are the snow swirling around inside the snow globe.” She paused, quite pleased with herself. “Yes, I am naming that constellation The Snow Globe.” In good spirits, Kate turned, kissed James, and put her arm around his warm, naked chest.
“The Snow Globe? So now you’re naming stars with me Sassafras?” It was James turn to smile as he remembered advice he once gave to Karl. “I’ve been with a lot of girls, some of them worth the trouble, some not. Every now and again there’s one …………. one that you name the dumb stars with.”
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Brandon Van Parys
Beloved Son, American Hero
Brandon gave his life, bravely serving his country in Iraq, at the age of 20.
"Whaahh! Whaaaahhhh!"
GOD gave me a wonderful blessing today,
Soft and snugly in his fuzzy blue blanket.
GOD, Thank you for my Brandon. I need You more than ever.
"Mama - Mama"
Did you hear that? He said Mama!
Thank you Lord, for those precious, sweet words.
"Mommy, I got a boo boo!"
Few tears shed, band aid and kiss, out to play again.
Thank you Lord, it wasn't a trip to the emergency room.
"Mom, I was playing with the Nintendo first!"
Big brother, wrestling, teasing, bickering, laughing.
Lord, Please give me patience.
"Mom, What happened today?"
September 11, 2001. The world is changing and so is he.
Lord, Please give me grace.
"Mom, Can I have the car keys?"
New found freedoms and responsibilities, he's grabbed the wheel and is going.
Lord, Please keep him safe.
"Mom, It's good to see you again!"
Is that handsome, tall Marine my Brandon?
Thank you Lord, for bringing him this far. Please stay with him.
"Mom" That's not Brandon's voice.
"Mom, Brandon is home, safe in heaven with Me now."
GOD, Thank you for my Brandon. I need You now more than ever.
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways." declares the LORD. Isaiah 55:8
Brandon gave his life, bravely serving his country in Iraq, at the age of 20.
"Whaahh! Whaaaahhhh!"
GOD gave me a wonderful blessing today,
Soft and snugly in his fuzzy blue blanket.
GOD, Thank you for my Brandon. I need You more than ever.
"Mama - Mama"
Did you hear that? He said Mama!
Thank you Lord, for those precious, sweet words.
"Mommy, I got a boo boo!"
Few tears shed, band aid and kiss, out to play again.
Thank you Lord, it wasn't a trip to the emergency room.
"Mom, I was playing with the Nintendo first!"
Big brother, wrestling, teasing, bickering, laughing.
Lord, Please give me patience.
"Mom, What happened today?"
September 11, 2001. The world is changing and so is he.
Lord, Please give me grace.
"Mom, Can I have the car keys?"
New found freedoms and responsibilities, he's grabbed the wheel and is going.
Lord, Please keep him safe.
"Mom, It's good to see you again!"
Is that handsome, tall Marine my Brandon?
Thank you Lord, for bringing him this far. Please stay with him.
"Mom" That's not Brandon's voice.
"Mom, Brandon is home, safe in heaven with Me now."
GOD, Thank you for my Brandon. I need You now more than ever.
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways." declares the LORD. Isaiah 55:8
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