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Post by benlinusisagoodguy on Feb 14, 2008 12:13:08 GMT -4
Ben went out for a walk. Sophie thought she leave him be as he was feeling low. Although she wonder if he was down because of Mel? or for Bella?
Molly had fallen to sleep and Sophie decided to grab one of Ben's book from his big collection he had in his shevles. She decided to go for a small book at first as she wasn't really a reader. Pulling it from one of the shelfs. Something slipped and fell on the floor. She placed the book to the side, and picked up what looked like a file. Opening it she realised it was about her. Everything about her. Her whole life, before the island and till now. She quickly glanced through it flicking through page after page of material about her. Until she heard the front door go. She quickly grabbed the book placed it back. Grabbed the files and quickly hid them under the matress in the bedroom. She heard Ben coming so went out the room, as he was in the hallway.
"Hey did the fresh air do some good?" she asked as she hugged him.
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Post by tigerlily on Feb 14, 2008 12:25:48 GMT -4
Emma struggled to get back on her horse, and realized that with her bad leg she just couldn't do it without Desmond's help. Ever the gentleman, he held her as she swung her bad leg over the horse. She looked down at him, and her cheeks flushed. "Desmond, I'm so sorry I slapped you. I don't know what I was thinking!"
"It's okay, love. I chose the wrong moment. You've been through so much today." His eyes were full of sadness, but he understood. Her thoughts solely centered on Jack at the moment.
"I do love you, Des." she couldn't hold the tears back anymore. "But I just don't know what to do about it. I just need some time."
Desmond nodded. "I'll always be here for you." He handed her the bottle of Dharma wine to take with her. "I'll lead you back to the village." Desmond got on his horse and they trotted away.
Neither of them had any clue that Juliet had followed them and was watching this scene from behind a nearby tree with a mischievous smirk on her face.
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Post by melissaq9 on Feb 14, 2008 16:35:43 GMT -4
"I'm going to untie you before we get to the beach. We don't want the survivors to panic. Will you behave?" Christian asked.
Mel could only glare at him, she was so angry. Mel looked to the shoreline intently as Christian cut the ropes from her wrists. Finally she found who she was looking for.
Christian helped Mel out of the raft when they reached the beach. The survivors looked at her oddly, wondering why she had come back and who she was with.
Mel didn't pay them any mind, she picked her target out of the crowd, pushed Christian away and ran.
She crashed into Sayid but he was able to keep the both of them standing. She threw her arms around him so Christian would think she was simply hugging him.
She began to whisper frantically in his ear, "They are liars, Sayid. They never planned to take anyone away from the island."
Sayid pulled back and looked her in the eyes. He nodded when he was satisfied she was telling the truth.
"If you want on that boat, you're going to have to take it. Both of my children are on there. Please, keep them safe."
"What about you?" he asked and Mel was surprised that this man, who once wanted nothing more than to torture her, was worried about her.
"It seems the island had other plans for me. But I will be back. I hope."
Sayid nodded, "Thank you for telling me."
"They deserve to go home if they want to." Mel said as she nodded towards the group.
The whole exchange had lasted only seconds. Suddenly Mel felt herself roughly pulled back by Christian.
"Darling, if you continue to embrace other men I might become jealous." he taunted.
"I do wish you would stop calling me darling." Mel retorted as she let him pull her into the jungle.
"But that is what you are to me. How could I call you anything else?"
Mel rolled her eyes, "If you take me back to the village, Ben will just help me escape you."
"Silly girl, why would we go back to the village?"
Mel instantly knew what he meant, "I don't want to go there."
"That is too bad darling. Jacob wants to see you."
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Post by tigerlily on Feb 14, 2008 19:44:29 GMT -4
Emma and Desmond returned to the village with their horses.
"There's a stable at the north end of the village," Desmond said. "I'll get them settled there, and you can ride as often as you like."
"Desmond, thank you. For everything." Emma hesitated, then looked up at him with uncertainty. "Do you think, maybe...I should stay somewhere else?"
"I want to look after you, Emma. I won't - "
Emma interrupted him. "I know, Des. I just don't quite trust myself around you." She smiled shyly at him. "You should take it as a compliment."
Desmond smiled back. "Aye, I do. But I still want to look after you, Emma. Until Jack gets back. I'd feel much better knowing you're safe. You can have my guest bed, and I'll be the perfect gentleman."
Part of Emma wished he wouldn't be a gentleman at all, but she had probably ruined her chances with him anyway. "You always want to protect everyone. That's what you did for Mel, too, isn't it?" That familiar stab of jealousy shook Emma slightly. She put her hand on his arm. "I'm sorry, Des. I've got no right to be jealous after I viciously slapped you. I honestly don't know what I'm doing anymore."
"It's all right. I can't say I'm not confused by you, but I do understand you're feeling conflicted. And if what you have with Jack is real, then I certainly won't be the one to destroy it."
Emma's eyes brightened. Desmond had forgiven her.
"Desmond, I'm curious about something. Why didn't you try to get on that boat? This might have been your chance to leave the island, and find Penny at last. Isn't that what you always wanted?"
Desmond shook his head. "It is, but the time isn't right. I have to look out for you now."
I don't deserve you, Des, Emma thought to herself. She thought she must be crazy. She knew it was only a matter of time before she would have to give in to her unquenchable attraction to Des. Where's Jack, and how long will he be gone? Most of all, was he thinking about her as much as she thought about him?
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Post by melissaq9 on Feb 15, 2008 12:26:18 GMT -4
Sayid watched as Mel was drug off into the jungle by Christian. Once they were gone he turned to the group of people with him.
"Mel just informed me that the people from the boat lied to us. They had no intention of providing rescue."
"What are we going to do?" asked a panicked voice.
Sayid looked darkly over the water to where the boat was anchored. "We're going to take their boat."
***************************************************
Jack paced the tiny room below deck. Before his father had left with Mel, Cameron had locked him in the room. He felt like he was back in the Hydra, a prisoner once more.
Finally the door opened and Cameron stepped in. "Come on." he said, "I have someone you might want to see."
Jack followed Cameron above deck. Once there he saw a man standing at the rail, looking out over the ocean. He turned as Jack approached.
"Hey Jack." he said.
Jack pulled his fist back and punched the man in the face, "Hi Michael."
***************************************************
Christian stopped Mel in front of the familiar dark cabin.
"This isn't where the cabin was before." she said.
"You're right about that Mel." Christian smirked.
"Do you still care about me at all?" Mel asked.
Christian was taken back by her question, "Why do you ask?"
"Because you keep calling me darling but you want me to go into the cabin. The last time I went in there I was told to kill someone."
Christian pondered her for a moment. He then walked swiftly to her side, tipped up her chin with his finger and kissed her. Despite her anger towards him, Mel leaned into his kiss. It brought back the memories of when she had fallen in love with him long ago.
Christian was the one to break away. He touched his forehead to hers and gazed into her eyes, "How could you have any doubt of my feelings?"
Mel shook her head. This man might be more difficult to hate than Ben.
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Post by tigerlily on Feb 15, 2008 13:20:02 GMT -4
Emma wandered into the jungle with her newly named favorite horse, Mr. Darcy. She remembered exactly where she and Jack had hidden Ben's metal briefcase full of the island's secrets, and her photographic memory was usually spot on. But it was nowhere to be found.
She panicked. Ben had been very angry about this briefcase, and returning it to him was the only way to ensure a truce between them. Where had it gone? Had somebody found it? She thought Jack had hidden it well, but they had been in such a rush to get to Desmond that he may have been too careless.
Emma paled. Ben was unpredictable, and occasionally very violent - what would he do when he found out it was missing?
Emma took Mr. Darcy by the reins and marched back towards the village, determined to get some answers. She knew exactly where her next stop would be; she headed straight for Juliet's house.
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Post by melissaq9 on Feb 15, 2008 14:20:14 GMT -4
Sayid took a deep breath and dove under the water. He had swam out to the boat, instead of using the raft. He didn't want to alert anyone to his presence.
When he came back up for air he had arrived. He looked up at the hull of the boat. He wouldn't be able to board that way. He swam around until he found a ladder attached to the side. He climbed up it quickly and pulled out his gun before he had reached the top.
He was surprised to find the deck virtually empty. He stole quickly to the front where he found a familar face, Jack. He was talking to someone equally familiar, Michael.
Sayid raised his gun, "What is he doing here?" he asked, coming out of the shadows.
Michael raised his arms, "Hey now man, don't do anything stupid."
"You mean like killing an inncoent person?" Sayid mocked.
"What is going on Sayid?" Jack asked.
"I saw Mel come back on the raft, we all did. She told me the truth about the people from this boat."
"And?" Jack said.
"And now, this boat is ours." Sayid answered calmly.
"Well how about that." Cameron said walking up behind Sayid and training a gun to his back. "I knew that girl wouldn't keep our secret."
"No, she confided in me before a man dragged her into the jungle."
"Put your gun down Sayid." Cameron ordered.
"I don't think so." Sayid whispered and nodded at Jack.
At once Jack charged Cameron as Sayid held Michael back. Once Jack hit Cameron he didn't stop until he had thrown him over the railing of the boat.
Sayid left Michael and looked at Cameron flailing in the water. He took aim and killed him with one shot.
"Why did you do that?" Michael exclaimed.
"You lost the right to have things explained to you when you murdered Libby and Ana-Lucia." Sayid told him and looked to Jack, "Tie him up."
***************************************************
An hour later Sayid had searched the whole boat. There were no crew left. He went back up to the deck.
"If we start loading the life rafts now, we should have them all in by tomorrow. I'm confident that I can drive this boat and we will finally get back home."
Jack shook his head, "Not me. I'm going back to the island."
"Why? Our rescue is finally here."
Jack smiled, "I've got someone I need to get back to."
"What about Mel's children? Both of them are here."
"She wouldn't want to leave without them."
"I can't wait for her Jack. You know that."
"I'll take them with me. William and Bella."
"She will finally be reunited with her son." Sayid mused.
"Yes." Jack said. "I just hope she's still alive to see him."
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Post by tigerlily on Feb 15, 2008 19:42:53 GMT -4
Emma drew a deep breath, swallowed her pride, and knocked on Juliet's door. Juliet answered and, as soon as she realized who it was, immediately tried to shut it in Emma's face. Emma stuck her foot in the doorway and cursed as Juliet slammed the door on it.
"Juliet, please! We need to talk."
"Say what you have to say right here. You're not coming in."
"Fair enough," Emma replied. "I want to say how sorry I am, about everything that's happened. I mean...with Jack."
Juliet sighed. "Things weren't going so great with Jack lately, but I never imagined...never mind. I'm done talking to you."
"Juliet, wait. Please. I've come to ask for your help."
All Emma got in response was a hate-filled glare. "I won't help you again. I treated your leg only as a favor to Desmond. You should just leave the village. Nobody knows or cares about you here, and it's your fault Jack was taken."
Emma was starting to get angry. She had tried to offer an olive branch, but she should have known it was useless. "That's not true. Desmond cares! And it wasn't my fault Jack was taken - it was Mel's fault!"
Juliet shrugged and laughed. "Then Desmond must be an idiot. As far as I'm concerned, Emma, you and Jack don't exist." Juliet slammed the door in Emma's face.
Stunned, Emma slowly ambled over to where she had tied up Mr. Darcy and led him across the village to Desmond's home. Who would help her find Ben's briefcase now? She didn't know anybody but Desmond, and had been counting on Juliet's loyalty to Jack to help her out. Emma shook her head. She had greatly misjudged the extent of Juliet's pain. Now she had to think quickly. Ben would get suspicious if she took much longer to return his secrets to him.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2008 14:53:09 GMT -4
Lauren woke up and squinted at the bright morning light shining in her eyes, blinding her momentarily. She raised her arm to her forehead and felt a bump there as slowly the events of yesterday came flooding back to her. She sat up in bed and frowned trying to remember everything. The sound of someone sighing next to her made her jump and she turned around to see John looking up at her affectionately. He reached over and put his arm around her stomach, gently pulling her back down towards him, kissing her lips softly.
“Morning.” He whispered.
Lauren smiled contentedly and rolled over to lie on his chest. A long moment passed, his hand stroking her hair, her breathing becoming shallow as she listened to his heart beating rhythmically in his chest, knowing there was nowhere else in the world she’d rather be right now.
After a while they decided to get up and dressed. Lauren walked round the house exploring, for she hadn’t had a chance to last night. She opened a small door and found a room full of canoes.
“What’s with all the canoes?” she called out to him.
She heard him laughing, and smiled to herself, shutting the door and walking back to the kitchen where John was making breakfast for them both. He motioned for her to sit at the dinner table, pulling out a chair for her to sit on. She rested her head on her arms and shut her eyes, blissfully happy.
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Post by benlinusisagoodguy on Feb 16, 2008 15:49:28 GMT -4
Richard radioed Ben in.
"Ben! Ben you there?" he asked.
"Yes whats wrong?" Ben moped as he picked the walkie to reply.
"I think theres something you should come and check out. Mel shes returned to the island."
"What? When?" he asked surprised his face lighting up.
"Just now and theres something else Ben....." Sophie came over as she heard Mel hadn't gone. "Christians with her!"
Ben stood there for moment then anger fumed through his body as he charged out the house.
"Ben where are you going?" Sophie screamed.
....................
Sophie went back to the bedroom and grabbed her file while he was out of the way. Sophie flicked through as she read things Ben had written in. Different little notes spread across different pages that ben had scribbled on.
"Has no ideas of her powers."
"She can hear Jacob!"
"She collapsed she knew mel was in danger"
"Gave birth to Molly and still alive! Does Molly have them too?"
"They coming for her! And i have to stop them!"
Sophie couldn't read more. It was terrifying for her. Knowing Ben knew so much about her no wonder she fell for him so easily. All this stuff about the powers freaked her out. What did Ben mean? What was he on about. She slammed the file shut and placed back where it came from. She needed answers from him!
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Post by melissaq9 on Feb 16, 2008 16:07:40 GMT -4
"Going back to the village is a bad idea Christian." Mel warned.
"Reagardless, we are going." he said.
Mel thought back on the last three hours. They had arrived at Jacob's cabin and Christian had forced her in, knowing that she didn't want to be there.
Mel shuddered at the things she had heard in the cabin. Things that meant horrible tidings for the island. She'd cried, she'd screamed, but in the end both Christian and Jacob had gotten their way.
And now they were headed for the village and very close. Mel dreaded what would happened once they arrived at the place she never thought she would see again.
"Come on, darling cheer up. You should be happy."
"I have nothing to be happy about."
"Most woman are delighted when they get married."
Mel glared at him, "You forced me to marry you in that damned cabin. I don't even believe that it is real. What gives Jacob the power to do such a thing?"
"Because he is Jacob. And trust me darling, we are married."
"You're what?"
Mel turned at the familar voice and saw Ben, standing there with a shocked look on his face.
"Ben!" she cried and threw herself at him, hugging him tightly.
Christian pulled her away from him. "Darling, you're my wife now. Please stop throwing yourself at other men."
"You married him?" Ben asked and Mel could see the deep hurt in his eyes.
"I didn't want to Ben. They forced me."
"Who forced you."
Mel looked down, "Jacob did."
****************************************************
Mel, Christian and Ben entered the village silently. Not one of them had talked the whole trip. Mel saw Sophie storm up to Ben as he neared his house. Christian dragged her the other way, to her own.
***************************************************
Mel looked over at Christian who was sleeping soundly. She carefully got out of the bed and pulled a robe on. She sole out of the house and ran across the courtyard.
She knocked quietly on Ben's door.
He answered it moments later. It was obvious he hadn't been sleeping.
"I need to tell you something. It's very important." she whispered.
He looked like he didn't want to ler her in, but finally he opened the door fully. She hurried inside and turned back to him as he shut the door.
"Ben, I'm so sorry. They really did force me to marry him. They said they would hurt William and Bella if I didn't."
Ben nodded, "I know Mel. I believe you."
"You do?" Mel said and she hugged him. "You know I would never marry anyone but you."
Ben smiled sadly, "I know."
"But that's not why I'm here. Ben, I heard what they have planned. You have to leave the island."
"I can't leave!" he exclaimed."
"You must! I know you have a way, you have to."
Ben thought for a moment then pulled her towards a book case in the living room. He pulled on it and it moved, revealing a door. He pulled her down the stairs.
"No one knows about this place. No one can ever know." He said as he turned the lights on.
Mel looked around and saw the suitcases and passports lying about.
"Good. This means you can leave."
"I'm not going anywhere Mel. I would never leave. Sophie and Molly, or you."
"Then take them with you."
"Why is it so important that I leave?"
Mel looked away as tears came to her eyes, "I love you too much to see you get hurt."
Ben took both of her hands and kissed them, "And why would I get hurt?"
Mel stared into Ben's eyes, "Because Christian is going to kill you."
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Post by tigerlily on Feb 16, 2008 16:07:58 GMT -4
From a distance, Emma spotted a lone figure entering the village carrying a baby in his arms and a toddler fastened to his back. She pulled her binoculars out of her backpack and gasped. It was Jack! She put her hands on Mr. Darcy to steady herself, then promptly dumped her backpack on the ground, dropped the horse’s reins, and ran to meet him as fast as her minor limp would allow. Jack had returned! Emma was flooded with relief that she had resisted Desmond. As difficult as that had been for her, it would’ve ruined this happy reunion.
Jack grinned when he saw her flying towards him. She cried as she kissed him and never wanted to stop. Eventually, she pulled away, and was full of questions.
“How did you get back so quickly?”
“I never actually left the island. It’s a long story, but I’ll tell you everything.”
Emma took a step back and eyed him suspiciously. “Whose babies are these, Jack?”
“They’re Mel’s,” he responded, gently handing Bella to Emma.
Emma stiffened. “Mel threw me to Cameron’s men, Jack. She would have let them kill me.”
“I know. But her children shouldn’t be punished for it. I don’t even know if she’s alive at the moment, and I owe it to her to watch her children until we know for sure.” Jack caressed her cheek lovingly. “It’s just for now.
Emma couldn’t help but smile at Bella. She really was a beautiful baby. Her gaze returned to Jack’s face. He looked weary, but happy.
******
Emma brought Jack to Desmond’s home for some food and rest. When they got there, they found that Desmond had nearly polished off the entire bottle of McCutcheon’s by himself, and was sprawled on the floor.
Desmond tried to stand up when he saw Jack and apologized profusely when he was unable to. Emma groaned. Desmond was having some trouble re-adjusting to life in the village after his experience in the Orchid, and simply hadn’t been himself. She realized that the moment he kissed her on the beach.
Jack eyed Desmond curiously, then turned to Emma. “You and Des didn’t…” he trailed off without finishing his sentence. Emma shook her head.
“She wouldn’t have me Jack,” Desmond answered for her. “She was a good girl.” He took the last swig of Scotch from the bottle.
Jack grinned and pulled Emma close to him, obviously relieved.
*****
Jack and Emma chose an uninhabited but furnished house on the edge of the village to settle into. Emma put Mel’s children into the master bed and left them to sleep. She joined Jack in the living room.
“Jack, I don’t understand how your father is involved in this whole mess.” Emma sat next to him on the couch and handed him a glass of Dharma wine.
Jack shrugged. “I don’t understand any of it either. He took Mel back to the island, so he’s still here somewhere. As soon as we find him, we’ll get some answers. But I had to come back for you first.”
Emma smiled, but looked worried. “I have to confess; when I was with Desmond I was…” Emma paused, searching for the right word. “…tempted, you know. I still have feelings for him, and I didn’t know how long you would be gone. But my feelings for you were stronger, Jack.”
“I’m grateful for that,” he replied.
“You should know that Juliet is going to be a problem as well.”
Jack nodded. “I suspected it wouldn’t be easy. But right now, all that matters is the two of us.” He placed his glass of wine on the coffee table and pulled Emma close for a long, lingering kiss.
“Don’t leave me again, Jack.” Emma murmured into his ear.
“Never again,” he replied. She melted into his body and they spent the rest of the night in sensual bliss.
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Post by benlinusisagoodguy on Feb 16, 2008 16:47:22 GMT -4
"Whats going on?" Asked Sophie as she found mel and ben in the secret room. Ben looked across to Mel and nodded "Ok i'll do it." He went over to Sophie. "Hunny pack things now, and stuff for Molly. We're leaving."
"Leaving? Leaving where?"
"No question now we have no time. Just do it please."
Sophie frightened nodded to Ben and went off to there bedroom to pack things.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2008 22:06:49 GMT -4
“So tell me Lauren” asked John, as he finished his breakfast and leaned back in his chair, “were you really here to rescue us?”
Lauren sighed. “I told you this before, yes. As far as I am aware that was why we were here” She looked him in the eyes and, deciding she could trust him, took a deep breath and began to tell him her story.
“I’d just been made redundant at the company I worked for. I couldn’t keep up with my rent payments and was in danger of being evicted from my flat anyday. Things were getting desperate, and I –I-”
Her voice broke as her memories came flooding back. She swallowed and John reached over and took her hand in his and squeezed in gently. She looked down at her hands and continued.
“And so anyway, I was in a bar one night, drowning my sorrows. I got talking to a stranger. This guy, I – we talked for hours. I told him about my situation and he seemed to take pity on me. He told me he had a job opportunity, and if I took it he would pay me £500,000, but I’d be away for about a year on some sort of mission. He didn’t tell me the details then. Of course, I immediately agreed to do it. That amount of money could have changed my life forever, I couldn’t turn him down, I was so desperate that I would have done anything. We arranged to meet the next day so he could tell me more about what it would entail.
“We met in an office block, hidden away from sight behind a field. He explained about you. The plane crash, and the survivors. He told me he knew you were all alive and deserted on an island. And that I would be part of a team that would sail out to the island to find and rescue you. It seemed easy to me, just to sail out and find an island, rescue you all, and in return I’d get more money than I could have ever dreamed of having. I agreed to it. He said we would embark on the mission the next morning.
“I spent the evening packing, and called my family to tell them I’d be gone for a while. I had been sworn to secrecy about the mission so I just told them I was taking a break abroad for a while. They had no idea about my money troubles, so they didn’t ask questions.
“The next morning, I met him where we agreed, and it was here that I met the other people that had been recruited for the mission.
“Cameron was in charge. He knew all about the mission. He had loads of documents and paperwork hidden in the top drawer of his desk. Directions to the island, information about, well, I don’t know, but he kept that drawer locked at all times, and guarded it closely. There were times, when I was speaking to him that I got the feeling he was going to the island for another reason than to rescue you, but I didn’t make my feelings known.
“And that was it, we arrived at the island, and you know the rest of the story.” Lauren finished and swallowed, looking up at John.
“So you just agreed to go on this ‘mission’ without hardly any information at all?” John asked, looking skeptical.
“Yes… I know. I know it doesn’t sound convincing, but you have to believe me. I wanted to get away from my life and start afresh. This would have given me the opportunity to do just that, I didn’t ask questions”
“And this man who recruited you, do you believe that it was complete chance that he found you that night, or could he have planned all along for you to come here?”
Lauren paused to think, “I… I don’t know. I guess he could have, but I’ve told you everything I know.”, she looked into John’s calm eyes, “I promise.”
“And you say he had a drawer with information about the island?”
“Yeah, well, I assume that is what it contained. Nobody saw the contents of it. You’d have to go to the boat and break into the drawer to find out.”
John leant over and kissed her cheek. “Thank you for telling me.”
Lauren smiled and returned his kiss before getting up to clear away the breakfast plates. John watched her thoughtfully, digesting everything she had told him.
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Post by melissaq9 on Feb 17, 2008 0:57:51 GMT -4
Ben and Mel heard a knock at the door. They both looked at each other with worry.
"Christian can't know I'm here." Mel whispered.
Ben nodded and went to answer the door. He sighed with relief when he saw who it was. He let Jack in the door.
"Jack?" Mel said, coming to him. "What's happened?"
"Sayid overtook the boat like you told him to. He loaded the survivors who went with him. I saw the boat leave myself. They are gone."
Mel fell down onto the couch. "Bella was on that boat. My God, I've lost her too!" she cried.
Ben knelt down next to her and put his arm around her. "It's okay Mel, she's with Sayid. I can find her."
Jack smiled, "You won't have too look far. I brought them back with me."
Both Ben and Mel looked at him bewildered.
"What? She's here?"
"Yes." Jack nodded, "I know you wouldn't want to be without them. I wasn't going to let that happen again."
Mel wrapped her arms around Jack, "Thank you so much!"
"Jack." Ben said slowly, "You said you brought them back. When you say them, who else do you mean?"
"I mean William." Jack answered easily. "He was on the boat too."
Mel stood frozen to her spot, "You found our son?"
"Yes. He's at my house right now."
"Thank you Jack. For everything. I don't know how we could ever repay you for bringing our family back together. I'm afraid I need to ask you one more favor. Could you bring them here, right now?"
"Of course." Jack said.
"Thank you." Ben said as he watched Jack leave.
Mel turned to Ben, "Is our little boy really home?" she asked him as fresh tears fell down her face.
Ben smiled and wiped her tears away, "It appears so."
Not ten minutes later Jack came through the door carrying both Bella and William.
Mel gasped at how big William had grown. She'd lost over a year of his life. She'd never get to hear his first word or see him take his first step. She smiled through her tears and ran to him, scooping him up in her arms and holding him close.
"Hello my little prince. Mommy missed you so much." she whispered into his ear.
Jack handed Bella to Ben before taking his leave to let them spend some time together.
Mel sat on the couch with William in her lap and Ben sat next to her with Bella.
"He looks just like you Ben." she said in awe of the toddler in front of her. "He's grown so much."
Ben leaned over and kissed William's forehead. "He is defintely a Linus." he smiled.
Mel looked at Ben, the tears in his eyes matching her own, "I'm so happy. You've given me two of the most beautiful children. And now we are all finally home, together."
"It's what we've wanted. To have William safe at home. And I thank you for both of them every day."
"It's perfect." Mel cried pulling William close again.
Ben wrapped his arm around Mel and pulled her close, "If you are so happy dear, why are you crying?"
"Because I know it can't last."
"Why ever not?"
"Ben, Christian thinks that he still is in control of William and Bella. He knows that while he has them, he can in turn control me and possibly you. If he finds out that we have them, that the boat is gone, he'll go into a rage."
"We can protect them, both of us." Ben stated, not liking the desperate tone of her voice.
"We can't, Ben. No matter how hard we might try, we can't. This island is about to become a very dangerous place. More so than ever before. Jacob and Christian are planning a cleaning out of sorts. They want to sort the good from the bad once and for all. And they've chosen John Locke to help them. You know how unpredictable he is. This is no place to raise children."
Ben had paled a touch at her explanation, "I don't understand what you are saying."
Mel looked down at the peaceful faces of William and Bella, her innocent children and spoke seven words that broke her heart, "You have to take them with you."
Ben eyes widened, "Are you serious?"
Mel could hardly see through all of her tears, "Yes. It is the only way to keep them safe. I love these children more than anything Ben, and I know you do too. It would kill me to have them taken from me again, but if it means they will be safe, then that is what has to happen."
Ben was silent for a moment, thinking, "I think you're right. They will be safer off of the island with me. But I don't want to take them from you."
"You're their father, if anyone can protect them, it's you. And I trust you to do just that Ben."
Ben nodded, "I will. I give you my word that I will keep them safe."
"Thank you Ben."
A worried look came over Ben's face, "Christian will go looking for someone to blame once he finds that they are gone."
"You will be long gone by then, he'll just have to deal with it."
"Come with me, with us." Ben said suddenly.
Mel smiled, "I can't, you know that. If I leave, you can be sure he will come looking for me. Besides you'll need someone here to spy for you."
"That's a very dangerous job Mel."
"I know, but it needs to be done."
Ben nodded in agreement, "I will find a way to make this island safe again. I promise you that. I don't care how long it takes, if I have to get rid of everyone who ever heard the name DHARMA and might know how to get here. I will find a away to come back to you for good."
"I believe you." Mel smiled. "And when you do, you bring our children with you."
"Of course I will." Ben said as he stood. "I will be able to come back here, for short periods of time. I will need to check on things."
"I'll get you all of the information I can."
Just then Sophie came into the living room. "I finished packing." she said.
"Good." Ben nodded. "Sophie, will you take William and Bella into the nursery. They will be coming with us."
Sophie looked shocked first that William was there, then at Ben's statement. She was about to argue but Mel stopped her.
"Please Sophie, the sun will be up soon. You don't have much time."
"Okay." Sophie said.
Mel hugged William tight, "I know I just got you back my love, but you have to go with your daddy so you will be safe, alright?" she told him as she kissed him one last time before handing him to Sophie.
She went to Bella in Ben's arms. "Hi baby girl." she crooned. "I love you and your brother so much. I don't ever want you to forget that okay? Goodbye Bella." Mel kissed her on the forehead and watched as Sophie carried her children to the nursery and out of sight.
Mel collapsed into Ben's arms and he held her as she cried, stroking her hair.
"Will you show them the video you made, from the Hydra?" Mel asked through her tears.
"Of course." Ben agreed.
"I want them to know who I am."
"They will."
Mel pulled away from him and wiped the tears from her face. "Christian will be awake soon. You all should leave."
Ben nodded with regret. He looked at her left hand and took it. he ran his fingertips over her ring finger which held the wedding band that Christian had forced her to wear.
"One day." Ben said, his forehead touching hers, "I will come back here for good and you will never have to wear this ring again."
Mel tried to blink back her tears. Ben raised her chin and kissed her softly on the lips.
"Goodbye Mel." he whispered.
Mel took one last look at him before closing her eyes. She would try to save this image of him in her mind.
"Goodbye Ben." she said before hurrying out the front door. she knew he was watching her leave but she didn't allow herself to look back.
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