Part 278: Wishfuls

Aaron continued to cry and the more Clay rocked him, the more he seemed to hate it. The tall man grunted, as he shifted the baby over and over. “C’mon, puss ball,” he whispered, “Could you shut up for five minutes?”

“Hey,” Claire said, as she came in from the woods.

“Oh, hey,” Clay replied, putting his best smile forwards,” Did you enjoy your walk?”

“Yeah, I had a chance to get my brain centered. He still won’t sleep?”

“Fraid not, I’ve tried every trick I know.” He shifted Aaron back over.

“You hold babies a lot?”

“Not that often,” he chuckled.

“Well, thanks for trying,” she said, holding out her arms.

“My pleasure,” he said, depositing the baby back in her arms.

Claire shifted Aaron around and tried to jiggle him up and down but it wasn’t working. Clay stood up, massaging his forehead. The baby’s constant wailing was giving him a headache. But he was alone with Claire and he didn’t know whenever he was going to get the next opportunity to talk with her. “You ever been to L.A., Claire?” he asked.

“Actually, that was where I was headed.” She smiled, “It’s a strange story, I’d love to tell you about sometime.”

“I’d love to hear it. You were gonna live in L.A.?”

“I guess. I really don’t have anything left in Australia to call it home anymore.”

“Well, if you need a place to stay, I have plenty of room.”

“What, in your ten bedroom mansion?” Claire joked.

“Twenty actually.” Clay smirked.

“Whoa,” the young woman was a little thrown back.

“Whadda say? I could show you around Los Angeles and give you a feel for the place. I got plenty of room so you could stay as along as you like.”

“I . .uh . . .” Claire then spotted a familiar person down the beach, “CHARLIE!!!”

Claire immediately walked past Clay toward the musician. Charlie had just been walking, until Claire called his name and made him stop. Clay looked at the short man briefly. Their look that they gave one another could have had the power to kill at some point. Charlie broke off his gaze as the blonde woman and her baby finally reached him. “Where have you been?” she asked.

“Walking.” Charlie replied, “I am allowed to do that, aren’t I?”

“Charlie, I’ve been worried sick about you. You haven’t been coming by to sleep in your tent for the past day and a half.”

“I’m fine, Claire,” the musician sighed, “ And I can see you are fine too. So I will be on my way.”

“Charlie, please can you hold Aaron?” the young woman asked of him.

Charlie looked at the baby. Aaron was crying, still flinging his arms slightly. The musician ran his fingers through hair, sighing. He then held out his arms and allowed Claire to give him the baby. Charlie immediately started to whistle softly and rock the baby gently. Within seconds, Aaron finally calmed down, staring at the young musician. It couldn’t be helped but to bring a smile to Claire’s face. “I knew it,” she grinned, stroking her child’s soft hair, “He missed you.”

Charlie’s lips finally curled into the first smile in a day. “I missed him too.” He admitted.

Claire turned around to look back at Clay. The tall man had left their camp. She sighed, turning back around. Charlie could tell what she was looking for. “I’ll take care of Aaron,” he whispered, “If you . .uh . . .want to go talk to Clay?”

“No,” she smiled, “I’ll stay here.”

Charlie felt himself beaming. He was going to be the gentleman and allowed Claire to talk to Clay if she wanted. But she was happy staying with him and Aaron. And the musician couldn’t have been more pleased.


Kellye gently munched on some cashews as she stared into the ocean and its constant waves. Joscelyn stood behind her, humming a tune while she braided her hair into a pony tail. The young London native enjoyed her friendship with Kellye. Even as they crashed, the girl soldier looked out for her. Joscelyn respected the strength that Kellye had, cause it was something she lacked; and probably could not have created for herself in such an intense situation as the kidnapping they went though. Kellye munched on another handful of cashew and looked at the jar between her legs. “We’re almost out.” She mentioned.

“I’ll run down to the corner Outpost,” Joscelyn joked.

Kellye giggled and continued staring out into the ocean. “I hate this channel. It’s the same damn thing.” She smiled.

“So change it.” Her friend giggled.

Kellye held up a make-believe remote control and pointed it toward the ocean, flipping her switch. She continued it, making Joscelyn laugh. She then paused and gasped playfully. “Oh, Thank God,” she giggled, “At least this channel has swells and white foam to go with the ocean. If we leave it here long enough, maybe we will see some seaweed!!”

Joscelyn finally stopped making Kellye’s pony tail and laughed out loud. The girl soldier giggled, continuing to eat her cashews. “It’s good to hear you laugh, Joe,” her friend said, “For a while, I wasn’t sure you knew how.”

“I had forgotten, I admit it.” She smiled, finishing up her pony tail.

“I noticed Hurley makes you smile.”

Joscelyn sat down, next to her a friend. “Yeah,” she blushed, “he does.”

“He’s a nice guy, I can tell. I am sure he’ll take real good care of you.”

“I guess. I feel . . .safe around him.” She said, rubbing her hair.

“You got a thing for big guys?” Kellye smirked.

Joscelyn playfully pushed her. “What is that supposed to mean?” she laughed.

“Don’t get me wrong, I like Hurley but let’s face it . . .he’s no Seth or Dutch.”

“Well . . .maybe I am not interested in how he looks.” Joscelyn said, shying away again.

“Then you are a better person than me, Joe,” Kellye sipped on her bottled water.

“We all have our preferences, Kellye,” the Londoner admitted, “But with Hurley . . he’s different. He really does care about me.”

“Yeah, I don’t think he’d like about such a thing like that.”

“Well,” Joscelyn touched the back of her head, “How does the ponytail feel?”

“It’s perfect, thank you. The curls were getting my nerves.”

The two friends embraced and then parted ways. Kellye was going to go find what other snacks she could get her hands on. With the only other thing to do is watch the ocean sway and bob up and down, she figured she could get in a few more snacks that she didn’t eat while in the military. Joscelyn felt a little hungry as well. She thought she would surprise Hurley with a bundle of mangos.


John grunted as he chopped another branch up in the tree. The cropping of fruit landed hard on the ground. The archer then winced as he jumped down. He landed on his feet, then braced himself. He felt slightly dizzy. John already knew it was a sign of dehydration. He then sat down and picked up a mango, breaking it open and began to eat it’s juices. After all, he didn’t want Eddie getting onto him. John laughed at himself, remembering how the little boy was really the only one who knew to stay hydrated the whole time they were on the Island. “Hello, friend,” someone said behind him.

John turned to see a couple approaching him. He had seen them around the beach many times before but never bothered to speak with them. They seemed nice enough. The man looked like he was in his late thirties and the woman who stayed with him, seemed a bitter younger. Her jet black hair suggested an Italian heritage . . . .or Greek, John admitted he was bad at guessing such things. “Good afternoon,” the archer smiled to them.

“Could we trade some mangos off of you?” the man smiled.

John chuckled a little bit. “Sawyer does the trading, not me.” He smiled, “Help yourself.”

“Thank you so much,” the woman kneeled, gathering up some.

The man then kneeled down next to the archer, extending his hand. “Chance Spartan,” he said, introducing himself.

“John Riggs,” the archer replied.

“This is my wife, Arizona.” Chance pointed out.

“Hello, and thank you again.” She said, standing up.

“Oh, my pleasure.” John smiled, “A married couple, huh? That’s kinda cool. For a while, I thought Bernard and Rose were the only one.”

“Yeah, but hey, we’ve never talked so it’s understandable.” The slightly older man stood up, “You were from that group that landed on the other side of the Island, right?”

“You bet. I guess that kinda makes us celebrities.”

“Only on the Island,” Arizona laughed, “But we never got to thank you and the nice bald man for getting the boar for us. Thank you.”

“His name is McKay and I will say you are welcome on his behalf.”

“Well, thanks for talking with us, John. Maybe we will see you around.”

“I am sure you will,” John waved to them as the married couple left to go back to the beach.

The archer went back to eating his mango. He started chuckling to himself over the couple he had just met. “Chance and Arizona Spartan?” he smiled, “I wonder if they got married because their names are both unique.”

John continued to fishing the mango, tossing the peels aside. Then another figure emerged from the jungle bushes. Joscelyn was looking skyward, holding a stick in her hand and waving it leisurely. The archer smiled, as it seemed the day was filled with mango hunters. “Hey, Joscelyn, “he called, “Looking for Mangos?”

The young brunette paused and then laughed, grabbing her chest. “Oh, shoot,” John stood up, chuckling, “Didn’t mean to startle you.”

“No problem, John,” she laughed, “I just didn’t notice you.”

“Anyway, you looking for mangos?”

“I am actually.” She smiled.

“Well, come and help yourself. I won’t be able to carry all of them back anyway.”

“Thank you so much,” she smiled, walking over and picking up some.

“Making sure you get enough for Hurley?” John asked, converting a towel into a make shift bag.

“Yes,” she blushed.

“You and him make a good couple.” The archer stood up.

“Oh, stop it, John,” she said, blushing severely.

“No, seriously,” he smiled, as he began to walk away, “I mean, I can tell he’ll take care of you. What, with all that money he’s got.”

Joscelyn paused as she was picking up the mangos. “Money.” She said.

“Yeah, can you believe he won the lottery?” John laughed, “Crazy ass thing. I wish I had over a hundred and eighty something million dollars too. Whatever you problems were, I am sure Hurley will make them go away.”

John began to walk back toward the beach, not noticing that Joscelyn had stopped moving. She wasn’t sure what to make of what the archer said and she knew for a fact that he wasn’t joking or telling a lie for a lie’s sake. Hurley . . . .IS A MILLIONAIRE? Joscelyn felt her brain pounding, forcing her to sit for a brief moment.

How could Hurley keep something like that from her?