LOST: Rp4

Day 2 post Aljirah

Zoe returned after a long day at the Hydra, and it had been a great effort to pretend to not know some things about being a vet, although, surprisingly, she had learnt new things. She had done a good job of keeping all the animals calm, assuring them they would be safe, although it was troubling concealing her gift from Dr Marvin Candle, of he knew... well, she was unsure what would happen, it was too much of a risk. She was greatful however, at how she had cleverly thought to make up some various fake documents. She was sure glad not to be stuck doing janitor work, mechanics or chef.

Zoe was hanging with Hurley, feeding Charlie when she heard it. Something fast approaching through the village and then a sudden crash and an engulfment of flames. Zoe stood up quickly, bolting to the window, Charlie Jr clutched tightly in her hands. She gasped in horror as she saw one of the dharma vans had crashed into one of their houses, and it was burning. She ran with Hurley outside and watched in distraught as people began to get to work to organise water to put it out. She felt guilty not being able to contribute, but she couldn't put Charlie down. She watched as Sawyer shouted frantic orders.

Zoe then spotted a girl with a baby and she ran over to her.

"Would you mind looking after another one for a moment? I should help - and your baby appears more new born. Charlie is easy. He's even falling asleep. I just have to help put that fire out." Zoe spluttered. To her surprise, Amy agreed. Zoe didn't know her name, or the baby's, but she made a note to findo out later to thank her. She then ran and grabbed a bucket and began filling it with water and started throwing it over the fire. As everyone continued up to their best efforts, another Dharma van entered the barracks, but slowed to a sudden halt. Jin jumped out and fiddles with the back door and opened it, revealing a hurt young Ben in his arms. Juliet and Zoe were snapped up to attention and ran over straight away to help.

"What happened?" Juliet demmanded as they burst into a clinic.

"He was shot. By Sayid." Jin explained in a low voice in case someone would hear as they placed Ben on a table.

"This injury is way out of my league to handle." Juliet spoke definately. "Zoe, what can you do?"

"Me? Hey, I do animals - not humans." She paniced, going white.

"You must have some knowledge on what we could do. Could you at least try?" Juliet asked desperately.

"Jack is who you need for this. I saw him outside helping with the fire. I'll go ask him for help. He's the surgeon, he'll no what to do!" Zoe protested, and ran out the emergancy room before Juliet could reply. Zoe managed to locate Jack right away.

"JACK! I need your help!" She pleaded. Jack snapped to attention as he listened to what he had to say.


"What do you mean you won't help?" Zoe exploded.

"Have you forgotten everything he's done to you?" Jack snapped.

"Technically, that hasn't happened yet." Zoe pointed out.

"Nothing to say it won't though." Jack retorted.

"He's just a boy!" Zoe protested. "You can't just let him die, Jack! He needs YOUR help."

"I've helped him once. I'm not doing it again." Jack responded stubbornly.

"Jack! Come on! He's just a child. Will you really let a child die when you have a duty, as a doctor, to help him?" Zoe continued.

"He is the one responsible for killing Charlie. Or have you forgotten that?" Jack retorted coldy. Zoe stared at Jack in disbelief at the nerve, before she slapped him hard across the face, the hardest slap she had ever given anyone.

"How. Dare. You." She breathed with rage on each word. Jack cluched his increasingly reddening, and most likely to bruise cheek and watched as Zoe turned on her heel back to the emergancy room.

"Where's Jack?" Juliet asked immediately as Zoe returned.

"He's not coming." Zoe spoke quietly, the anger clear in her tone.

"What? Why?" Juliet asked.

"Because it's Ben." Zoe spat in disgust. "I'll never forgive him for this. We can't do this alone, if we even try to attempt this, we are going to need Chase and Jo. They are our only hope."

"I'm on it." Juliet promised and exited while Zoe did what she could to stable Ben. Zoe noticed it was light outside, last night had turned rapidly to day. Zoe had now been on this island for three days.


Day 3 - Post Aljirah

Chase was now with Zoe, helping her with Ben as much as possible as Juliet was locating Jo. Jo burst into the clinic frantically, Juliet close behind. Chase stood on the far side of the room, dressed in surgical scrubs, arguing with Roger and trying to keep him from interfering. Zoe stood by Ben's side, checking his pulse. She glanced up when Jo arrived.

"His pulse is extremely weak," Zoe informed her, "and fading rapidly."

Jo nodded and took a detour towards the sink to wash up. "Keep applying pressure on the wound. We have to prep him for surgery."

Zoe hesitated slightly, unnerved by the situation. "I don't really belong here, Jo. I'm a vet, remember? I don't operate on people. I can't save him!"

Jo shook her head in sharp disagreement. "No, you're wrong. Ben needs you, and we need you. Like it or not, you're part of the team, okay?" Jo smiled at Zoe, realizing how happy she was to have her friend back in her life.

Zoe smiled back and took a deep breath. "Okay."

Chase finally succeeded in pushing Roger out the door and promptly reappeared at Ben's bedside. Together, Jo, Chase, Zoe and Juliet prepared for the delicate operation.



"We need more gauze here," Jo directed Zoe. "If we can't stop the hemorrhaging we're going to have to pack the entire tract."

Zoe complied. "I'm on it."

"I'll be back," Jo declared, then stepped outside the operation room for some fresh air. Zoe felt her heart race faster. She had never been so nervous in her life. This was why she didn't do humans. Especially not children. But what choice did she have? With Jack being a selfish prick. Jo seemed to have left for a significant amount of time, no doubt to try and convince Jack herself, but Zoe knew he was far too stubborn.

"Juliet, we're not going to be able to save him." She sighed, finally voicing what everyone else was thinking. "But we do have one final option. And you know what that is."



"I can't believe I'm doing this....I can't believe I'm doing this..." Zoe whispered to herself as she rode in the back, watching over Ben as Kate drove the dharma van to the boarder of Dharma territory, at the sonar fence. She helped Kate gingerly get Ben out the back and coded in the code to turn the sona off, just as another Dharma van pulled up. The stopped momentarily in a pause of panic. Sawyer got out the van. Ben was wheezing loudly, fighting for his life. Zoe felt tears streaking down his face.

"I know you gotta stop me...but I can't just let that kid die." Kate told Sawyer flatly.

"Damn it, Freckles. I ain't here to stop you. I'm here to help you." Sawyer sighed as he caught up with them and walked with them into the jungle.



Zoe was trembling when they returned to the bacrracks.

"Kate, Zoe, I need you to find Juliet, Jo and Chase to see if anyone has noticed Little Ben's little dissappearing act while we were gone. I've got to make sure those tapes have been taken care of and I'll meet you all back at my house, ok?" Sawyer explained in hushed voice as he clambered out the van. Zoe nodded in response, and Kate grabbed her hand to hekp her out and they headed straight for Juliet's, hoping they wouldn't have to hunt everyone down so they only had to explain once what had happened.

Post-Ajira Day 4

"Well, since the world is going to hell anyway, why not go with it?" Chase remarked suggestively, then pounced on Jo playfully and crushed his mouth to hers.

Jo giggled and batted him away. "Not right now, Chase!" She untangled herself from him and got up from the couch. "We need to go!"

Chase grumbled, but followed her obligingly to the door. "You owe me, then," he breathed into her hair as he kissed her neck tenderly.

As they walked into Juliet and Sawyer's house Jo was surprised to see that everybody had gathered - Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Juliet, Jin, Zoe, Hurley, Miles and Daniel.

Jo shrieked excitedly when she saw Daniel and threw her arms around him. "You came back!" She hugged him hard. He had left them not long after they had been incorporated into the Dharma Initiative, and she hadn't seen or heard from him since.

Daniel laughed goodnaturedly and hugged her back. "I'm back, but I'm afraid it's for a very serious reason." Jo pulled away from him and scanned his face worriedly. "What's going on?"

"Catch them up," Sawyer motioned to Hurley. Hurley opened a closet door and Jo spotted Phil inside, bound and gagged and completely unconscious. Jo drew in her breath sharply. "Oh my God, it really is over," she realized, and sank into the couch in shock.

Daniel proceeded to address the entire group. "What I came to do is of critical importance to everyone in this room. Does anyone know where I can find the Hostiles?"

Zoe spoke up as she shifted Charlie to her other hip. He was fast asleep and completely unaware of the chaos about to surround him. "Why do you need to know that, Daniel?"

Daniel sighed and turned to face Zoe. "Because one of them is my mother. And she is the only person on this island who can get us back to where we belong."

As Faraday explained his idea, a heated argument erupted between Jack and Sawyer. Sawyer wanted to lead the group to the beach to escape the consequences from the Dharma folks, but Jack insisted they find the Hostiles with Faraday. Jin and Hurley complicated matters by insisting on staying at the Barracks.

Jo sided with Sawyer. Jack tried to convince her otherwise, but she refused to listen. She wanted desperately to believe Faraday, but he sounded more than a little crazy, and Jack was beginning to sound rather crazy himself. She watched sadly as Jack, Kate, Daniel and Miles left the house. Suddenly a feeling of finality overwhelmed her and took her breath away. She turned to Chase, clearly distressed. "I need to say goodbye," she whispered to him. "I have this feeling that...we won't see them again." Chase knew she meant Jack. He nodded in understanding.

"Meet me back at the house," he said. "Don't linger; we don't know how much longer our friend Phil will be out."

Jo kissed Chase on the lips. "I'll be there," she promised. She jumped up and ran out the door to catch up with Jack, Kate and Miles.

They were already at the motor pool, raiding the gun safe. Jo called out to Jack and swiftly ran up to him. When she reached him she suddenly found herself speechless. It took her a moment to gather her thoughts.

Jack looked at her hopefully. "You changed your mind?"

Jo shook her head. "No. I came to say goodbye. This isn't going to end well, Jack, and we..." she was interrupted by the arrival of Radzinsky.

"What's going on here?" He addressed Faraday. "Aren't you one of the physicists off the sub? You're supposed to be out at the Swan site."

Faraday spoke slowly, searching for the right words to calm Radzinsky. "Right. Uh, there was--there was an accident at the Orchid station. Dr. Chang asked us to help."

Radzinsky yelled to his two colleagues behind him. "He's got a gun." They immediately pulled their own guns out and aimed them at the group before them. Jack stood protectively in front of Jo. The game was clearly up.

"I just left Dr. Chang. He's at home with his wife and baby," Radzinsky responded. "You're lying. Now drop the guns and get down on the ground!"

Faraday continued to speak calmly. "Hey. Listen to me. Listen. You really do not understand what's happening here. You have no idea. We have no time. We have to leave. All right? So we're just gonna leave. Okay? Nobody's--no..."

Jo screamed as a bullet grazed Faraday's neck. Kate urged them to run for a nearby jeep as more gunfire erupted around them. Thinking quickly, Jack fired at a fuel tank and they ran for the Jeep as it exploded. They just made it.

"Sound the alarm!" Radzinsky yelled as they drove away at top speed.

Jo tended to Faraday's wound in the back of the Jeep, grateful to discover it was only a surface wound. "You're going to be okay," Jo reassured him.

He smiled weakly at her. "Jo, I'm sorry you're involved, I didn't..."

"It's too late," she shrugged. "I'm in it with you now."

Day 4 Continued

Once inside the Hostiles' camp, the leader - her name was Eloise, Jo learned, which jogged her memory of their encounter with the 1950s Hostiles - allowed Jo to be untied so she could tend to Jack's bleeding wounds. Jo held his face tenderly as she dabbed at his cuts. The very act of doing so brought back a flood of loving feelings towards him. Her eyes met his and she smiled wistfully, wishing everything had been different, wishing that she and Jack had never gotten on that ill-fated Oceanic flight. She blamed Christian for everything - he was the reason they were on that flight.

She looked on in amazement as Jack persuaded Eloise to take them to Jughead, using Faraday's notebook to convince her. Before too long she, Jack and Kate prepared to leave the camp under the direction of Eloise, Richard and Erik.

"Wait!" Jo commanded, and the troupe halted in their steps, waiting for her to say more. She turned back towards the camp and returned to Daniel's lifeless body, which had been left where he fell. His unseeing eyes remained open. Tears coursed down Jo's face as she knelt by him and closed his eyes. "Goodbye Dan," she whispered as she leaned over and kissed him delicately on the forehead as the Hostiles watched in silence.

When she returned to the group Jack held out his hand to her and, without a word, she grasped it in her own. They clung to each other as they followed Richard and Eloise, with Kate and Erik behind.

They reached the tunnels, and Eloise told them to prepare for a lengthy swim.

Kate surprised them all when she spoke up. "I'm not going. I'm gonna go back and find everyone else. I...I can't go any further with you, Jack. Not this time."

Erik pulled his gun out of its holster. "You're not going anywhere," he declared. "We're not in the habit of telling our secrets to strangers, then just letting them saunter off." He pointed his gun at Kate.

Unfazed, Kate began to walk away. A gunshot startled them all, then a second. Jo closed her eyes and prepared for the worst. When she opened them she saw Erik on the ground, bleeding from two bullet wounds, and Sayid had unexpectedly emerged from the foliage.

They filled Sayid in on their plans while Eloise and Richard consulted each other several yards away. Kate remained intent on leaving, and Jo was beginning to think that Kate was the only one making any sense.

Jack continued to argue with her. "The three of us disappeared off that plane and ended up here, ended up now, because this is our chance to change things."

"And if you're wrong, then everyone on the Island dies. Do you understand that?" Kate responded.

Jack was adamant. "I'm not wrong, Kate. This is it. This is why we're here. This is our destiny."

"Jack, maybe there's another way..." Jo began, trying to reason with him. She had never been completely sold on this mission. Jack had caught her in a weak moment when he brought up Boone and the possibility of negating his death, but she was beginning to think that changing things was impossible.

"What if Faraday was wrong?" she asked him. "What if this doesn't work? What if he died for nothing?"

Jack refused to acknowledge this possibility. In the end, Kate left them. Jo watched as Richard, Jack and Eloise dove into the water and disappeared into the tunnel, leaving Jo and Sayid alone. They looked at each other, both feeling dreadfully unsure of the outcome of this mess.

"Will I see you on the other side?" Sayid asked her, preparing to dive.

"I don't know," she admitted, feeling completely torn. She thought about Chase. She had to get to him somehow, get him off the island somehow before they did anything with this hydrogen bomb. "Go, Sayid. Don't wait for me."

Sayid nodded solemnly and took a deep breath before sinking underwater.

Jo stood indecisively for a few moments. She thought about everything that had happened the past three years. Jack had been miserable, but she...she and Chase had found happiness together. Eventually, that is. She also remembered all the unnecessary pain and death before that happened. Charlie, Mr. Eko, Libby and Ana Lucia, Charlotte, Daniel, Boone...

She sighed heavily. Somehow, everything always came back to Boone. She imagined him cruising into LAX, putting that exhausting trip to Australia behind him. She imagined herself standing beside him in the baggage claim as he fought with Shannon, catching his eye and smiling flirtily. And then, without ever realizing they had known each other, they would go their separate ways. He would continue to rescue Shannon whenever she summoned him, blissfully unaware of this other possible ending.

And Jo would start a new life with Jack, one that Kate could never possibly intrude on because she would never have met Jack. They would be free to be together at last. It was this scenario that convinced her. Before she realized what she was doing she had drawn a deep breath and plunged into the cool water.

The tunnel seemed to stretch before her endlessly, and she began to fill dizzy. Just when she felt couldn't hold her breath a second longer she saw light. A figure held a lit torch aloft above the water.

She broke the surface with a loud gasp and drank in the oxygen, her lungs burning and her head swimming. The next thing she knew Jack and Sayid had each caught her by an arm and were pulling her out of the water into the crumbling tunnel.

"I'm okay," she gasped as her head cleared. Jack and Sayid continued to grasp her firmly.

"I didn't think you were coming," Jack admitted, then smiled gratefully.

"I didn't think I was either," Jo responded with all honesty. "But I couldn't let you do this alone, Jack. I told Daniel we're in this together. It's too late to turn back now."

Richard motioned impatiently for them to follow him through the tunnel. They followed obediently, their clothes dripping. He led them through the labyrinthine halls to Jughead.

Day 4 (continued)

Jo sat with Jack and Richard while Sayid worked on pulling the plutonium core out of the hydrogen bomb. Richard asked Jack all sorts of questions about John Locke, and Jack responded with a certainty that surprised Jo.

"If I were you, I wouldn't give up on him."

Sayid interrupted them. "Time is short, let's go."

Richard knocked a hole in a wall that opened onto a Dharma house, the only way to get out of the tunnels with the bomb. Eloise prepared to go first, but Richard unexpectedly knocked her out first.

"What the hell are you doing?" Jack asked.

Richard pointed his gun at Jack. "I'm protecting our leader. Get back. She's gonna be angry when she wakes up, but that's a lot better than being dead. She ordered me to help you, we helped you, now you're on your own. I'm taking her out the way we came in."

Jack nodded, and stepped through the hole in the wall, followed by Sayid.

"Goodbye Richard," Jo said in a grim voice before stepping into the basement of the Dharma house she recognized as Horace's. Sayid donned Horace's Dharma jumpsuit and they prepared to walk out of the house casually, hiding in plain sight and hoping for the best.

"Wait a minute!" Jo called out, then dove for the phone in the living room. She dialed Chase's office number, praying that he hadn't yet left for the beach. She was relieved to hear his voice on the other end.

"Jo!" he exclaimed. "Where are you?"

" I'm with Jack and Sayid. We have very little time. I need you to pick us up in a van and get us out of here."

Chase agreed. "I'm leaving right now." Jo hung up the phone and faced Jack and Sayid. "Okay, let's do this."

They walked out of Horace's house, their eyes focused on the ground in front of them, walking as quickly as possible. Chaos surrounded them; the Dharma people seemed to be preparing for an all-out war. The three of them managed to escape detection, carefully avoiding Phil when they spotted him, until Roger Linus caught sight of Sayid.

"Hey! HEY!" He cocked his rifle and aimed it at Sayid. "You're the son of a bitch who shot my kid!"

Roger fired and Sayid fell to the ground, blood pouring from the bullet wound in his abdomen. Jack promptly fired at Roger and a massive gunfight erupted. Jo threw Sayid's arm around her neck and pulled him behind a house for shelter from the gunfire. Jack joined them and they prepared to run with Sayid between them when a Dharma van pulled up and the door flew open. Hurley was driving, and Chase, Miles and Jin were inside.

"Get in!" Jin yelled.

Jack and Jo hurriedly placed Sayid inside and jumped in. Hurley floored the gas and took off as further gunfire shattered the rear windshield.

Chase pulled Jo close to him and kissed her, wetting her hair with grateful tears. "You scared the hell out of me, Jo. You just disappeared!"

"I know, it's a long story, I'll tell you everything," she promised, kissing him back while Jack looked away uncomfortably.

"Where are we going?" Hurley asked.

"The Swan site. Head to the Swan," Jack replied.

Hurley looked confused. "Why do you want to go there? If Sayid's shot, shouldn't we--"

Jack was getting very impatient. "Hurley, if you want to save Sayid, take us to the Swan."

Hurley conceded. "The Swan it is."

Chase, Jo and Jack immediately went to work to stop Sayid's bleeding.

"You can't stop the bleeding," Sayid informed them. He was giving up.

"We're the doctors, let us decide," Jo responded sternly, but she realized he probably wouldn't make it through the day.

Sayid continued. "I need to modify the bomb. I can make it so it detonates on impact. Jack, we need to be there at the moment of the Incident, or all this will be for nothing."

Hurley slammed on the breaks suddenly, throwing his passengers all over the van.

"Why the hell are we stopping?" Jack yelled.

Hurley pointed straight ahead, where Kate, Juliet and Sawyer stood blocking the path to the Swan. Jack hopped out of the van to meet them, his face growing red with anger and confusion.

"What's going on, Kate?"

Sawyer spoke up instead. "Doc, we gotta talk."

"You wanna talk? Then get in the van. We don't have time..."

"I ain't gettin' in the van. I need five minutes, that's all. I'll say what I gotta say, and then you can do whatever the hell you want to. But you're gonna listen. You owe me that much, Jack."

"Five minutes," Jack declared, then followed Sawyer into the jungle.

Jo returned her attention to Sayid, and spoke to Chase in a hushed voice while they worked.

"Jack's plan is pretty crazy. Do you think it'll work?"

Chase shrugged. "I don't know, but I always trusted Faraday, so if this is what he wanted..." His voice trailed off.

"Chase, if this works, if the past three years are simply erased, do you know what that means? You and I...we won't be together." Chase met her eyes, and nodded grimly. Jo continued. "If Oceanic 815 never crashes, Jack and I will land in LAX and go on with our lives. You will still be on the island, working for Ben, and we won't ever...we'll lose everything..." Tears stung Jo's eyes and her hands began to shake. Chase reached for her hand and gently pulled her outside of the van for a moment.

"You have to see this through, Jo. I've thought about everything we're going to lose, but think about what else will happen. Sayid will be alive, Sun and Jin will be together, all the people you lost on the island, they're all going to be alive!"

"You're willing to make that sacrifice for people you never knew?" Jo asked, bewildered.

Chase shook his head. "Not really, no. But Jack is going to go through with this no matter what, that's clear. And when he does, you should be with him. You started this journey together, it only seems natural that you end it together. You and Jack..." Chase avoided Jo's eyes for a moment. "You were always supposed to be together, Jo."

"You don't know what you're talking about..." Jo protested.

"Yes I do," Chase interrupted her. "I don't know whether I believe in fate or destiny or whatever Jack has in his head at the moment, but I do believe that things went very, very wrong for you and me before the crash ever happened. We were happy here, but that's all over now. It was supposed to end, Jo. We were very lucky to have these three years."

"Now you sound like Juliet," Jo remarked sadly. Chase smiled and kissed her forehead softly.

"I'll always love you, Jo. Believe that."

Jack returned to the Dharma van at that moment, his face bloodied from fighting with Sawyer.

"What happened?" Jo asked as she reached into the van for the first aid kit.

"Sawyer happened. We have to move, we're running out of time."

Jo glanced at Chase, then back to Jack. "I'm going with you," she declared.

"Chase, you'll stay with Sayid?" Jack asked, and Chase nodded in agreement. "Okay, let's move."

Jo flung her arms around Chase and kissed him, unsure of what might happen and desperate to remember the feel of his arms around her. Jack gave them a quiet moment together.

"I'm going to find you," Jo swore to him. "If this works and Oceanic 815 pulls into LAX just like nothing ever happened, I am going to find this island and I am going to come back for you. Believe it." She kissed him one last time and broke away, walking towards the Swan construction site with Jack, not allowing herself to look back.

Carrie stood with Rene, Sun and Frank, looking on with concern as Richard argued with Illana and Bram.

"Who are they?" Sun asked.

"I don't know," Frank replied, worried. "Other than the fact that I know they were on the Ajira flight with us, all I know is they knocked me out and dragged my ass to some cabin, which they promptly burned, then... brought me here along with the dead guy in the box. They say they're the good guys."

Sun was quiet, and Carrie and Rene shared worried glances.

"I'm not buying it either," Frank continued.

Concerned, Carrie went over to Richard, who was still arguing with Illana and Bram. Bram went to go to the statue, but Richard stopped him. "Listen to me. Hey! Listen to me, and listen carefully. No one goes in there unless Jacob invites them in." He protested.

"Richard, That's why we're here," Illana told him. "Because Jacob invited us."

"Asking me what's in the shadow of the damn statue doesn't mean you're in charge!" Richard yelled.

"Then who is?"

"Richard, calm down," Carrie interrupted. "You don't need to-" she stopped and stared over Richard's shoulder. Noticing what she'd done, Richard looked around too, and saw Ben climbing down the rocks, favouring his left arm.

"Ben!" Richard called, going over to him. Carrie, Bram and Illana followed. "What happened in there?" He asked.

Ben glanced at Carrie, then looked back at Richard. "Everything's fine. John wants to speak to you," he said.

"Is Jacob alright?" Illana asked urgently.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Ben asked, rather rudely.

"Answer her question, Ben," Richard told him, agitated.

"Of course Jacob's alright," Ben said. Carrie knew better than to sigh with relief. Ben wasn't entirely trustworthy. "They're both together inside. John just wants to talk to you."

"John wants to talk to me?" Richard asked, angry that Ben had been fooled.

"That's right," Ben confirmed, confused about Richard's anger.

This angered Richard even further. He grabbed Ben's arm and began pulling him to the side.

"Richard-" Carrie began, but he kept tugging Ben.

"Well, I'm happy to talk to John," Richard said sarcastically, "but before I do, you should talk to him first!" With that, he threw Ben on the floor, next to Locke's corpse.

Carrie's concern grew. She hadn't seen Richard this angry before. She glanced at Illana and Bram beside her as Richard crouched down and spoke to Ben.

"Do you know what's going on?" Carrie asked, addressing both Illana and Bram.

Illana considered Carrie. "Who are you?" She asked with curiosity.

Carrie opened her mouth to reply, but Bram interrupted. "Never mind that," he said, going over to where Richard and Ben were talking. He grabbed Ben and pulled him over to the rocks. "We're going in. And he's coming with us."

Carrie glanced at Richard, Illana and Ben in turn. She pulled her gun out of her pocket. "I'm going too," she said.

"What?" Richard asked incredulously, going over to her. "Carrie, you can't. You might not come out again."

Carrie glanced at Ben, standing with Bram, looking beaten. She looked back at Richard. "This lot don't exactly have Ben's best interests at heart," she said. "I can protect him."

Ben said nothing. He just looked at Carrie rather guiltily.

Richard sighed. "Okay, fine." He turned to Bram. "Look after her," he told him. "Whatever happens, just make sure she's safe."



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Carrie crept down the corridor, behind Bram. They stopped out of sight as Ben turned and went into a sideroom.

"Where's Richard?"

Carrie's heart skipped a beat as she heard the fake Locke's voice. She couldn't quite believe it.

"He's not coming," Ben replied. Bram and Carrie looked at each other. She nodded, and they slyly entered the room, followed by three of Bram's group.

"Then who's that behind you?" Fake Locke's voice came again. Bram moved to the side slightly, and Carrie literally felt her heart stop for a few moments as she saw the fake Locke sitting in a chair.

"Where's Jacob?" Bram asked as he, Carrie and his men entered the room fully.

"Jacob's dead," fake Locke replied casually. Shocked and angry, and Carrie not caring if he was lying or not, the five of them cocked their guns and pointed them at the fake Locke. Carrie felt she stood out like a sore thumb - not only was she the only female, but they all had rifles, she only had a pistol, and the fake Locke didn't know the others. He knew her. He knew her weaknesses.

"Who are you?" Bram asked challengingly.

"Don't worry about me," fake Locke replied casually, standing up. "Let's talk about you. I'm assuming that you are, what, Jacob's bodyguard? I bet you came all the way to this Island to protect him?" No one relaxed or put their gun down. "Well, I have good news," the fake Locke continued, just as casually as before. "Jacob burned up, right there in that fire. Therefore there's nothing left for you to protect," he shrugged. "You can go. You're free." He looked at Carrie. "Carrie, I'm sure Richard is anxious for you to get back."

Bram practically exploded with anger. He channelled his anger into his trigger finger, and shot the fake Locke squarely in the chest. Carrie saw, out of the corner of his eye, Ben duck out of the way.

"Kill him!" One of the men hollered as fake Locke dodged out of the way. "Spread out, kill him!" They all looked around, confused. The fake Locke had vanished.

"Where is he?" Bram asked.

Carrie stood almost in the centre of the room, her gun outstretched in front of her, circling the room. "Come on!" She yelled. "Come out, come out, wherever you are! Face us like a man, you coward!"

Carrie looked at Ben, who was still hiding. She didn't notice Bram pick something up off the floor. Ben looked up, and for a moment he caught eye contact with her. Then she realized why Ben had looked up - a familiar mechanical noise was coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. She, Bram and his men looked around and pointed their guns at the entrance, where the noise was beginnig to centre at. Carrie's heart was pounding, her breathing heavy, her fear peaked. Then the smoke monster emerged through the entrance, thundering within as if it were a storm cloud.

"Oh, sweet baby Jesus," Carrie whispered.

The monster began attacking Bram's men. They tried shooting at it, but it was fruitless. In one go, the monster grabbed two of them and threw them against the wall, while one shot at it.

"Bullets won't work!" Carrie yelled. But it was too late - the monster grabbed him and threw him at the ceiling, then grabbed the remaining man and threw him too.

"CARRIE!" Bram yelled, as he saw the monster preparing to go for her next. He grabbed her and pulled her towards him, the monster narrowly missing her. Instead it went for the last man it attacked, who was still holding on to life. "Stay with me," Bram told her. She nodded. He began circling them both with ash from a bag he'd got from somewhere. He completed the circle, and stood up again. They stood together in the circle of ash, making sure to stay within its borders. The monster came towards them, but seemed unable to get past the barrier of ash. It moved, as if it were actually looking at the circle. Angry, it forced itself against the wall, smashing rocks down. Bram was hit by a rock and stumbled out of the circle, but Carrie didn't.

"BRAM!" She yelled, as the monster grabbed him and threw him against something that looked like a loom, before grabbing him and throwing him upwards. Tears filled her eyes as she saw him with a large chunk of wood in his chest. He was dead.

The monster went back to the circle of ash, and looked at Carrie. She looked at it. She didn't know what it was that she saw in that storm cloud, but somehow she knew that the fake Locke was the monster in human form. She saw a glimpse into what - into who - it was. And the monster, in turn, seemed to look into her and see what she was. She could almost feel it rooting around in her mind, seeing everything that she was, everything that she knew, everything she wanted, loved and needed. Slowly, almost remorsefully, it retreated and vanished out of the room.

As Ben emerged from his hiding place, Carrie rushed out of the circle and over to Bram's corpse. "Oh my God," she whispered, tears in her eyes. She'd only met him an hour ago, but all the same, his death hurt her. She felt like she'd known him for years. Gently, she closed his eyes, partly because she could still see the expression in his eyes. The last trace of fear was etched on his face, of realization that he had been beat.

"Carrie."

Carrie jumped. She hadn't realized Ben was beside her.

"He's gone," he said gently. She hadn't seen this side of him before. "Let's go."

Carrie nodded, and wiped the last few tears from her eyes. They made their way to leave, but just as they reached the archway, Ben stopped. Carrie stopped too, taking a moment to realize there were footsteps behind them. She turned around quickly, Ben more slowly. The fake Locke was standing there, a look of pride on his face.

"I'm sorry you had to see me like that," he said.

Ben and Carrie did nothing. They just stood and stared at him.



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Carrie and Ben sat on a rock, watching as the fake Locke moved the bodies. Ben sat upright, in a rather tight position. Carrie, on the other hand, was leaning forwards, her elbows on her knees and her face in her hands. She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to comprehend it all.

After a few minutes, Ben spoke. "What are you?" He asked darkly.

Fake Locke looked at Ben, seeming rather hurt and confused. "I'm not a what, Ben, I'm a who."

"You're the monster?"

"Let's not resort to name-calling," he replied. Carrie smiled slightly. He kicked the wood out of Bram's chest, and began dragging his body too. Carrie started, but Ben spoke before she could speak out against fake Locke's handling of Bram's corpse.

"You used me," Ben said, as it dawned on him. Fake Locke looked up. "You couldn't kill him yourself... so you made me do it."

"I didn't make you do anything," fake Locke replied, walking towards them. He stood against a pillar, only feet away from them. "You should know," he began. "He was very confused when you killed him."

"Yeah, like Jacob was ever confused," Carrie scoffed.

"I'm not talking about Jacob," fake Locke shook it off. "I'm talking about John Locke." Carrie looked at Ben. She had had no idea Ben had killed him. "Do you want to know what he was thinking as you choked the life out of him, Benjamin? What the last thought that ran through his head was?" The fake Locke glanced at Carrie briefly, then back at Ben. "'I don't understand.' Isn't that just the saddest thing you ever heard?"

Carrie glanced at Ben. He looked so shocked, so remorseful.

"But it's fitting in a way," fake Locke continued. He sat down. Carrie's eyes followed him as he did so, but Ben kept staring into space. "Because when John first came to the Island, he was a very sad man. A victim. Shouting at the world for being told what he couldn't do, even though they were right." Slowly, Ben's eyes moved towards the fake Locke. "He was weak. And... pathetic, and irreprably broken. But," he pressed on, leaning forwards, "despite all that, there was something admirable about him. He was the only one of them who didn't wanna leave. The only one who realized how pitiful the life he left behind actually was." The fake Locke leant back again.

There was a pause as fake Locke finished his story. Eventually, Carrie broke the silence. "What do you want?" She asked.

"Well, that's the great irony here, Carrie, because... I want the one thing John Locke didn't," he replied, looking at her now and not Ben. The two looked at him, waiting for his answer. "I want to go home."

Carrie and Ben glanced at each other. Carrie suddenly wanted to get out of there, as if the place were on fire. She felt like if she stayed any longer, the fake Locke might pull her into something she didn't want to be a part of.

"I'm going," she said, standing up.

The fake Locke looked at her, surprised. "What, already? But we've only just started," he smirked.

Carrie nodded. "Yeah," she agreed. "I know. And that's why I'm going. I'm not having any part of this." She shared a meaningful look with Ben, before going to leave. She stopped at Bram's body. "Bye, Bram," she whispered, before finally making her exit.

Outside the statue, she saw Richard with his back towards the statue, talking to Rene rather urgently. Rene stopped, smiled with relief, and indicated Carrie. Richard turned around, and Carrie saw him sigh a sigh of relief as she ran up to him.

"Carrie," he smiled as she hugged him. "I thought I'd lost you, what took you so long?"

"I'll explain later," she said, releasing the embrace and turning to look at Illana. She knew she had to break the news to her. "Gimme a minute."

She ran over to Illana. "Illana," she said. "I have to tell you something."

Illana looked at her quizzically, but Carrie had no time to tell her of Bram's death, as something like a firework exploded behind them, making them turn to look. Carrie glanced at Richard. He looked scared out of his wits. Carrie heard footsteps behind her as Ben came down the rocks... followed by the fake Locke. They cocked their guns, and pointed them at the fake Locke. Illana cocked her gun further, ready to shoot him, which Richard sensed.

"Don't shoot him, don't shoot him!" He exclaimed in a panic. Illana didn't shoot, but she and Carrie kept their guns pointed at the fake Locke as he marched purposefully through the crowd of people and towards Richard.

"I'm seeing it," Carrie heard Frank say a few feet away, "but I'm still not believing it."

The fake Locke stopped as he reached Richard. "Hello, Richard," he said. Carrie worried - what was he going to do next? "It's good to see you out of those chains."

Carrie frowned, utterly confused. She had no idea what the fake Locke was talking about. But it seemed Richard did - a look of realization and utter fear spread across his face. Although she couldn't hear him, Carrie could read Richard's lips. "You," he said.

Distantly, Carrie heard fake Locke say something like, "me." With that, he attacked Richard. "RICHARD!" Carrie shouted. She dropped her gun and rushed forwards, but she felt Frank pull her back. She watched with tears in her eyes, struggling against Frank's firm grip, as the fake Locke shoved Richard roughly in the neck, pushed his face into fake Locke's own knee, and finally threw him on the ground, knocking him unconscious. "RICHARD!" Carrie shouted again. She kept screaming his name over and over again, hoping something would come of it, but knowing nothing would. "RICHARD! RICHARD!"

The fake Locke looked down at the unconscious Richard, then looked around at everybody who was gathered there. "I am very disappointed," he addressed them all in a clear, loud voice, "in all of you."

"No!" Carrie exclaimed as the fake Locke began picking Richard up. "No, leave him! Let me go, Frank! Let me go!"

"No," Frank replied calmly. "He'll kill you."

"He already had that chance, he didn't take it!" Carrie yelled, making Frank frown and the fake Locke glance at her, before walking off, Richard slung over his shoulder. "RICHARD!" Carrie screamed at the top of her lungs. "NO! RICHARD! PLEASE, LEAVE HIM!" She struggled angrily against Frank's firm grip. "LET ME GO! RICHARD!"

Alternate timeline

Carrie's eyes opened with a snap as she felt the plane jumping. She looked around, rather confused, as the plane shook. She felt a hand on hers and looked to her left and smiled as she saw a familiar soft, feminine face.

The shaking stopped. A man in his 50s came stumbling past, muttering to himself, "now I know how the laundry feels when it's in the dryer."

Carrie relaxed, but after a while a woman's voice came on the speaker. "Ladies and gentlemen, nothing to be alarmed about, but if there is a doctor on board, would you please press your call button."

Carrie looked at the woman on her left. "Think they want me?" She nodded. Carrie pressed her call button and a steward came hurrying over. "Are you a doctor, ma'am?" He asked.

"Psychological doctor," she replied. "But med school taught me more, what do you need?"

"Come with me, please, ma'am." The steward led Carrie to outside a bathroom, where she was surprised to see a familiar face.

"Jack!" She exclaimed in surprise. He turned around.

"Carrie!" He exclaimed, in just as much surprise. "Hey!"

"I think he tampered with the lock," said another steward. "It's jammed or something, I don't know."

"Leave it to me," Carrie said. She bent down and looked between the door and the doorway at the lock, then at the engaged sign, examining how it worked. It was a simple turning mechanism. "I need a thin, strong object," she said. "Like a blade. There wouldn't happen to be a knife anywhere, would there?"

"No, I'm afraid not," said the Australian stewardess who had been with Jack. "Health and safety." She paused. "Although... I think security screened a man who was carrying a pack full of knives. Said he'd been on a walkabout. Hang on, I'll go get him." The stewardess hurried down the aisles.

"Were you in Sydney, Jack?" Carrie asked as they waited for her to get back.

"Yeah," he replied. "Yeah, I was... picking up my dad's body. Heart attack," he explained when Carrie gave him a questioning look.

"Oh God," she said, "I'm sorry, Jack."

"Yeah... yeah, me too." He looked away for a moment, a sad look in his eyes. Then he looked back at her. "Why were you there?"

"I had to pick her up," Carrie shrugged, knowing Jack would know who she was referring to. "She ran off to Australia.... long story," she added as Jack raised an eyebrow.

Before either of them had time to say anything further, the stewardess returned with a case. She prompty opened it. Jack and Carrie stared at the amount that was in there, before Carrie picked up the best knife and slid it through the gap, loosening the lock and breaking the knife in the process. There was a click, and the door swung open. Jack made his way inside, and began taking the man inside's pulse and listening for his breath. "He's not breathing," Jack said, looking back at Carrie and the stewards.

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As the stewardess rushed off again, this time to get a first aid kit, Jack and Carrie brought the man out of the bathroom and lay him on the floor. Jack examined him quickly. "Carrie, I'm gonna need your help," he said, looking up at her. She nodded. Jack took a breathing assisstant and put it over the man's mouth. "I need you to hold this over his mouth, hold it there. Do not let any air escape."

"Okay." Carrie did as she was told, holding the mask down firmly as Jack began pumping the air.

"Something's blocking his air passage," he said. He took the breathing assisstant away, and stuck him fingers into the man's throat, trying to find the source. He turned to the stewardess. "I need something sharp," he said. "A razor... a pen..."

"It's regulations, there's nothing sharp," said the stewardess.

"What about the knife blade?" Carrie suggested.

"Too sharp," Jack replied. "A pen! Just a pen. I had one in my jacket, but it's gone." The stewardess searched hurriedly and thoroughly, but to no avail. "Damn it," Jack cursed. He stuck his fingers down the man's throat again, rooting around. "I got it. I got it."

Carrie and the stewardess watched on with anticipation as the man gagged and began to breathe again, as Jack pulled out a small bag of something from his throat and handed it to Carrie. She examined it. She knew from her training and experience with drug addicts that it was heroin.

"Just relax," Jack said calmly as the man regained his breathing rhythm. "Breathe." The man looked around, confused.

"Am I alive?" He asked in a British accent.

"Yeah," Jack smiled with relief, "you're alive."

The man looked from Jack to Carrie and back to Jack again. "Terrific."

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Jack and Carrie stood together at the side as the man, who had named himself as Charlie, was handcuffed for possession of illegal drugs. As Jack took a sip from his drink, Charlie spoke to them as he was taken away.

"You shoulda let that happen, man," he said. "I was supposed to die."

Jack and Carrie watched as he was escorted away.

"Don't take it personally," said the stewardess, who had also named herself, as Cindy. "Some people just don't know how to say thanks."

Jack smiled. "See you around, Carrie," he said.

"Bye bye, Jack," she smiled back, kissing him on the cheek, before he made his way back to his seat at the front of the plane, and she made her way back to her seat at the tail end of the plane.

"What happened?" Carrie was asked as she sat down.

"A man locked himself in the bathroom and tried to choke himself on a bag of heroin," she replied matter-of-factly.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Captain Norris here," came a voice over the speakerphone. "We're now making our final descent into Los Angeles International Airport. I'm happy to tell you it's a beautiful day in Los Angeles, 72 degrees, 6 miles visibility and winds out of the south west at 5 miles an hour. I'll be putting on the fasten seatbelts sign now, we'll be on the ground in just a few minutes. Thank you so much for flying Oceanic Air."

"Gonna stay put?" Carrie asked.

"Yeah," she smiled. "Yeah, I think I will."

"Good," Carrie smiled back, kissing her softly. "I love you, Ana."

Ana-Lucia smiled. "I love you too."

As the fake Locke walked off with Richard, Carrie felt horror churn up inside her stomach. She struggled and struggled, but Frank didn't let go until they were long gone. As soon as he released, Carrie set off, but was quickly pulled back again - this time by Rene.

"Are you sure you wanna do this?" She warned.

"I already lost him once," Carrie replied rather monotonously. "I'm not losing him again."

Rene nodded, understanding Carrie's anguish. "Here," she said, handing her her gun. "You might need this."

Carrie took the gun and looked at it in her hands, before tucking it in her trousers. "Thank you, Rene." She smiled slightly, before sharing a friendly embrace with her close friend.

"Be careful," Rene warned, before Carrie followed the fake Locke's path into the jungle.

Hours passed until Carrie gave in and had to come to the conclusion that the fake Locke had known she'd follow him, and had left no trail. She looked around, trying to get her bearings, soon realizing that she was near the barracks, and set off towards them.

Almost as if she knew what to do, as soon as she arrived at the barracks, Carrie made her way back to her old home that she had shared with Richard. It was dusty, and had started to smell - after all, it hadn't been used in over 3 years. But still, it shone to her - it contained 5 years of her life, 5 years of memories, 5 blissful years with Richard when everything had been okay. She'd done a lot of growing up since they'd evacuated the place, since she'd left the Island, but even so, occassionally she found herself wishing to be back in that house, before the crash.

Carrie moved further into the house, the floorboards creaking as she did so. She stopped as she heard someone else move down the corridor in the darkness. She heard a gun being raised quickly, and a rough southern male voice spoke.

"Who's there?" He called. "You better come out now, or I'm just gonna start shooting."

Carrie quickly recognized the voice. "It's okay," she said. "It's alright. I'm not here to hurt you." She reached over and switched the lights on, so she and Sawyer could see each other fully.

"You?" He frowned. "What are you doing here?"

"I might ask you the same question," Carrie replied casually, sitting on the edge of the table. "Last thing I knew you were 30 years ago."

"I asked first," Sawyer growled.

"Fair enough," Carrie shrugged. "This is my house." She looked at Sawyer coolly.

"Well, how about that," he replied.

"How about what?"

Sawyer scowled at Carrie. "This is my house too," he said menacingly.

Carrie raised her eyebrows. "It was your house," she corrected him. "But 15 years ago the DHARMA Initiative was wiped out. The Others took over, Richard moved into this one, and 7 years later I moved in with him." She jumped off the table and went over to the mantleplace, where several framed photos of her and Richard stood. "See?"

Sawyer lowered his gun slowly as he approached the
mantlepiece. Carrie was intrigued to see a look in his eyes as he examined the photographs of her and Richard.

"Why are you here?" He asked, looking at her sadly.

"I came to stock up," Carrie replied conversationally, going over to the large cupboard and opening it. She began rooting around the guns, grenades, knives and other such weapons.

"Seems a lovely vacation," Sawyer said from behind. Carrie smiled slightly. "Wanna tell me what you're stocking up for, Lara Croft?"

Carrie taped a fully loaded revolver around her calf. "Someone took something that doesn't belong to them," she told him vaguely, strapping a dagger around her other calf. "I'm going to get it back." She made sure Rene's gun was fully loaded before tucking it back in her trousers, and picked up a loaded rifle. For added insurance, she picked up a bag of ash from the back of the cupboard, which she had never known the purpose of but now did, and put it in her pocket. She turned around and shut the cupboard door, a rifle in her hand, and her other four weapons cleverly hidden.

Sawyer had gone. Carrie went to leave, but she caught sight of the basement foor, which creaked as it slowly opened by itself. She dithered about whether or not to go in, when she heard the front door opening. She knew it wasn't Sawyer - she hadn't heard him go. Quickly, Carrie slipped into the basement, shutting the door behind her.