RP3 Part Two "One Year Later"

Sophie ran towards the jungle not knowing where she was really going, she bumped into John,

"John! Richard he's in..."

"I know! C'mon follow me." he said taking Sophies hand and pulling her with him.

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John stopped running when they found Richard on the ground seeing the blood around him. Sophie ran other and fell on to her knees beside him. "Richard!" she said breathless. His hand grabbed Sophies and squeezed it. Sophie looked in his eyes and then propped his head up on her leg. "Stay with me Richard." she whispered. As he breathing started to slow. John ripped richards arm sleeve off and tried using it to stop the bleeding. "You can't go....Thomas needs you" Sophie whispered.

"Ben... Ben will show him the way." Richard mumbled squeezing Sophies hand he looked at her for one last time.

"I always loved you Sophie." That was it he was gone he stopped breathing. Sophie cried as she looked up to John.

"This is not suppose to happen." John mumbled.

Sophie closed his eyelids and the kissed his lips to say her goodbye. When this glow surround her body and his. John took a step back, as this orange glow burst through the jungle. Richards eyes reopened and placed his hand against Sophies faced as he kissed her back. His whole body was healing. Sophie was helping him. Just like she done with Ben and John in the past. But this time it was different. Something was happening between them.

Sophie pulled away, as she gasped for air. Like everything was sapped out of her. Her eyes fluttered as she collapsed. But john quickly caught her in time.

Ben was still with Mel, as they both saw the bright light in the distance.

"What was that?" Mel asked.

Ben didn't reply but he knew exactly what had just happened.

"Sophie" John tapped her cheeks trying to get a response. "Sophie!" he repeated. Richard sat up as he looked over, suddenly her chest started to rise up and down. She was breathing. Her eyes opened up and looked up to John. "She's ok!" John smiled. Richard was relieved, but realised what he said to her and what they just did. That spark/connection had been regnited again.

Mel sank to the ground as blood flowed from the gunshot wound on her shoulder. The bullet had gone all the way through and the pain was incredible. She fell onto her back and stared up at the sky. Suddenly Ben appeared above her. He knelt quickly by her side.

"I'm sorry." he whispered as his hand smoothed her hair from her face. "I'm so sorry."

Mel watched as the tears formed in his eyes and trailed slowly down his cheeks. It felt like it took and lifetime for them to travel their path.

Still in unable to believe that Ben had actually shot her, when he had known she was pregnant, Mel couldn't form words. She searched for Ben's free hand and squeezed it, begging him to stay with her.

Ben shook his head, "I can't, I can't." He bent down and kissed her swiftly on the lips and lingered there as if he himself was unable to let go. Finally he pulled away and stood. With one last look at her he turned and walked away leaving Mel alone in the jungle to bleed to death.

Mel tried to call out for someone, anyone but she couldn't. At the edge of her consciousness she felt a familiar sensation. She was about to time travel again and somehow she knew that when she returned to the island it would be for the last time.

She gathered all her strength and filled her lungs up with air. Just as she felt herself slipping she called the one man, the only man really, who could save her. "Martin!!!!!!!" she cried into the still jungle. But she was gone before she could see if it did any good.

Keamy heard Mel scream and without thinking turned and ran in the direction her voice had come from. He ignored the pain in his side from where Ben had shot him, his only thought was to find Mel.

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When Mel opened her eyes the first thing she noticed was that the pain was gone. She looked down and that two things were different. She no longer had a gun shot wound and she wasn't pregnant.

'Then that's it.' she said to herself. 'I'm in the past. I have to find Martin.'

A quick look around told her she was on her old college campus. If she wanted to make it back to where she grew up she would have to hurry.

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Keamy crashed through the jungle. He didn't care if he was making a lot of noise that would attract unwelcome people. He had heard the complete anguish in Mel's voice when she had screamed for him. He wasn't going to let her suffer anymore.

When he finally did find her he stopped in his tracks. He stood at the edge of a small clearing. His dear Mel's body sprawled in the center. She had been shot and there was blood everywhere. Her hand had fallen protectivley over her stomach, she wasn't moving.

"Mel!" he cried as he rushed to her side and fell to his knees. He reached down to feel for a pulse and found it was so faint he could barely feel it.

"No! Babe you can't die! Come back Mel, come back!" he yelled at her as he gathered her in his arms and cradled her close. "Come back." he whispered fiercely.

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Mel slammed on the brakes in front of her old house. Seeing is again brought back so many memories it was hard to block them out. She climbed out of the car and ran to the house next to hers. She banged loudly on the door. "Martin!" she yelled.

No one answered so she repeated her previous action, "Martin, please come to the door Martin!"

Mel gave a cry of relief when he opened the door. The outside light showed him not as she knew him but as a young man again, which he really was.

"What do you want?" he asked gruffly.

Now that Mel had found him she wasn't sure what to say to him.

"Well?" he spat.

"I'm sorry Martin."

"What, your new boyfriend get tired of you already? Or did the doctor see what a horrible person you are as well?"

Mel flinched at his hurtful words but she also saw the hurt inside of him. "Martin, "I'm sorry I left you, turned away from you. It was a mistake, maybe the biggest one I'll ever make. You are a wonderful man and I never should have treated you that way."

Martin shifted his weight to lean against the doorframe, "So, you think that changes anything? Did you think you could come here and say some nice words and everything would be back to normal?"

Mel shook her head, "No, I know things can never go back to how they were. But I have an idea of how they will become."

"What do you mean?" Martin asked.

Mel felt herself starting to slip away, she needed more time! But it didn't seem she was going to get it.

She raised her hand and laid it gently on Martin's cheek. "I love you Martin, I always have and something inside of me always will. I gave you reason to give up on me once and I regret it. We will be together again, I know it. Please don't give up on me again and I promise I won't give up on you."

Martin's hand covered her own, "Mel, babe, I never stopped, you must know that."

Mel blinked away tears, "I know." She leaned forward and kissed him softly before leaning back. She removed her hand from his cheek and turned away from him. She turned back as she had a last thought, "When my father comes to you, go with him. Come to the island."

Martin nodded though he didn't understand what she meant and Mel knew it would be years before he did.

"I love you Mel." Martin said clearly.

"I love you too Martin." she said through her tears and let the blackness take her away.

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Mel's eyes shot open and she realized she was no longer on the ground. She was being held in someone's arms.

"Come back babe, come back. Mel wake up!" she heard repeated over and over.

"Martin?" she whispered and he froze. He laid her back down so he could see her face. When he saw her eyes were open he smiled.

"Hey babe." he said squeezing her hand.

Mel reached her hand up and laid her palm on his cheek. He closed his eyes as if in memory. "You came." she whispered.

He nodded, "I had no idea what you meant until your father showed up at my door. When he told me about this place, about the island, I knew this was what you had been talking about. I couldn't say no then."

Mel smiled, "Thank you for coming for me."

Keamy kissed her, "I told you it was destiny."

Mel and Keamy's reunion was interuppted when they heard something moving in the jungle.

"It's close." Mel said still lying on the ground. The bullet wound in her shoulder making it too painful to sit up.

Keamy slowly picked up his gun from the ground next to him. He aimed it at the direction of the noise.

"Someone is out there." he whispered.

Mel nodded, knowing that whoever it was there was a good chance they meant them harm.

Keamy looked down at Mel, "If anything goes wrong, you run. Do you understand?"

Mel nodded, ignoring the pain shooting through her body and pulled herself up. She leaned in close to Keamy's ear, "I love you." she whispered.

Keamy gave a sharp jerk of his head to show her understood.

"You can't die Martin." she whispered again as she reached to the holster at his hip and withdrew his handgun. "You can't die because I'm going to have a baby."

Keamy froze and took his eyes off of the jungle to stare at her.

Mel smiled as she let her own gun follow his aim, "Your baby."

With his free hand Keamy found hers and gave it a quick squeeze, "Then we are going to live for a long, long time."

They heard the noise from the jungle again and they both whipped their heads around. If whoever walked out of those tress meant them harm, they wouldn't live long to see it through.

The moment Sayid and Emma burst through the jungle foliage Keamy fired a warning shot which whizzed right by their heads. Emma screamed in terror and Sayid quickly pushed her safely behind him, shielding her with his body. In an instant, Sayid and Keamy were locked in a face-off, guns pointed at each other's chest.

Emma spotted Mel on the ground, blood still seeping from the bullet wound in her shoulder. "Mel!" she gasped. "What happened to you?"

Mel lowered her gun. "Ben happened," she groaned, and gripped her shoulder to ease the pain.

Emma whispered intimately into Sayid's ear, and he reluctantly lowered his own weapon. "We come in peace," he announced to Keamy. He tossed his gun on the ground and raised his hands. "We are only looking for Christian Shephard."

Mel looked at Emma in surprise. Keamy kept his gun aimed squarely at Sayid and said nothing. After Ben's surprising actions, he didn't trust anybody on this island to go anywhere near Mel.

"They're all right, Martin." Mel told him. She and Emma had never really been friends, but her instincts told her that she and Sayid sincerely meant her no harm. As if to defy Keamy, Emma walked over to Mel and crouched down, inspecting her shoulder.

"We should really get Jack to take care of you." Emma said in a concerned tone.

Mel ignored her and asked the question that had sprung to mind. "Why are you looking for Christian?"

"For Jack," Emma responded. "He doesn't yet know that his father tossed me to the other side of the island. I haven't had the heart to tell him." Emma gave Keamy a puzzled look, then returned her attention to Mel. "So, where is your husband?"

Mel sighed and struggled to stand up. "I have no idea."

Keamy easily cradled Mel in his strong arms. He took the lead as they trekked back towards the village, followed by Emma, and Sayid took the rear. Sayid and Emma held their guns ready in case they met anybody unexpected; Ben might be anywhere, hoping to finish Mel off for good.

Keamy's sense of urgency kept them going at a rapid pace. They finally burst past the security pylons and into the village courtyard. Oliver and Frank were in the center, tied securely to trees. A small group had gathered to watch and wonder what to do with Widmore's men. Jack stood in front of them, talking to someone very animatedly; it looked like they were arguing. It was difficult to tell who it was from where Martin, Emma and Sayid approached.

Keamy marched up to Jack but Emma pulled him back at the last moment. "Wait," she hissed to him.

Jack heard footsteps approaching behind him and turned to see who it was. His first reaction was relief to see Emma unharmed; he then registered how badly Mel needed medical attention and moved towards Keamy at lightning speed.

The person Jack had been talking to turned around very slowly to greet the newcomers, but his reaction was very different. It was Ben, and his shock over seeing Mel barely clinging to life was obvious to everyone. This time, however, he had an audience. Emma held her breath to see what he would do next.