Part 304: Ready Steady

The waves washed against the shore so many times as they had done before. A slight wind blew in from the North. McKay sat down on the beach with Tony and John. The three friends sat there in silence, mostly thinking to themselves. They were amazed at how far they had come in such a short amount of time. They started out as three strangers and became the best of friends. They also knew, without having to say it, that they would remain friends. “We’ve covered a lot of ground, haven’t we?” asked McKay.

“I was just thinking the same thing.” John smirked.

“I wonder what our lives would have been like if we hadn’t crashed.” Tony mentioned.

“That’s easy,” McKay sighed, “You would have gone back to America and been lonely in your job as a doctor. John would have continued on, being a part of Ramon’s entourage and I would have probably killed myself stuck out in the middle of the Australian Outback.”

“Then I guess . . .crashing was a good thing.” John chuckled.

“You think you would have ever met Mia otherwise?” Tony smiled.

“Nope,” the archer sighed, “I never would have met a woman like her.”

“We joke about Fate and destiny but . . .I can’t help but think it’s real,” McKay said, rubbing his stubbled head,” I mean, everything we’ve done on this Island, everything we’ve seen . . .I never would have met Taylor. Hell, we were all . . .lonely in some way. And yet we all found women that we know we’ll spend the rest of our lives with.”

“Kinda makes you believe in God, eh?” the blind doctor grinned.

“My faith is stronger, let me tell you.” John laughed.

The three friends laughed at the irony of their lives and how a plane crash changed that course for the better. Soon they would be embarking on another adventure. What dangers would the sea hold; what mysteries? Some of them were scare, some of them were excited and a few were both. They couldn’t wait to get out into it.


“Seth?” Charlie said, shaking him.

“Hmm?” he said, from his morphine induced slumber.

“They are gonna be putting you on the boat soon, and I wanted to make sure I said goodbye.” The musician said.

“No,” Seth grunted.

“Huh?” Charlie grinned, “What do you mean, No?”

“Not goodbye . . . .never goodbye . . .see you later . .I will . . .see you later.” Seth said, with one eyelid open.

“All right. See you later then.”

“Claire?” Seth said, trying to move.

“I’m here, Seth,” she said, kneeling down; touching his arm.

“You take care . . .of this loser, while I am gone?” he struggled to point at Charlie.

Claire giggled and leaned down, kissing his forehead. “I promise.” She smiled.

“Good . .you . . .good people.” Seth drifted back into sleep.

“I wonder if he will even remember this by tomorrow.” Charlie laughed.

Charlie and Claire got up and began to walk away, getting ready to pack for their journey tomorrow. Jack finally arrived with Hurley at the area where he collected the wounded. “Okay, grab the feet area of the blanket and lift up gently.” He said, kneeling down to grab the blanket underneath Kellye.

The girl soldier then opened her eyes slowly as she realized she was being carried away. She saw Hurley holding the blanket next to her legs while above her was Jack. After a few seconds, she felt the splash of waves caress her back under the blanket. “Jack?” she whispered, “What’s going on?”

“Your ship has sailed, Kellye,” Jack grinned, “We are getting you on the boat.”

“We leaving already?” she struggled to talk.

“No, but I see no reason for you and the other wounded not to enjoy the comfort of the bed.”

“Oh, thanks, Jack,” she grinned, “You’re such a nice man.”

“Dude, how much morphine did you give her?” Hurley asked.

“She suffered head trauma, Hurley. I gave her as much morphine as she needed.”

The two friends then placed her on the boat. Hurley grunted as he climbed on; his first steps on the Butterfly Rogue. He looked around to the back of the boat, noticing the three mounted chairs for fishing and the picnic tables mounted to the back walls of the cabin. Jack then motioned for them to pick up Kellye again. They then slowly began to carry her down stairs to the lower cabin. As they stepped into the living area, Hurley saw the entertainment center, couch and a recliner. “Whoa, dude,” he grinned, “Dibs on the couch for me and Joscelyn.”

Jack just laughed as they finally made it to the bedroom area. They slowly walked around and then gently set Kellye down on the left side of the bed. She smiled as Jack situated her head for her. “Mmmm.” She grinned, “Comfy pillows.”

“That should help your head a little bit more,” Jack said, checking her bandages one last time.

Kellye drifted off right to sleep, as Jack patted Hurley on the back. “One down, two to go.” He laughed.



Kate slowly opened her eyes as she realized someone was holding her. Sawyer looked down, grinning at her. “Enjoy the ride, Freckles,” he said, stepping in the water, “Something tells me it’s the only one I’ll ever give you.”

“You know how to make a girl feel loved, Sawyer.” She smiled, leaning on his shoulder as he carried her like a baby.

The southern man stepped onto the ladder at the back of the boat and stepped onto the boat. Kate grinned, as he struggled a bit; proving every step that he wasn’t going to drop her. “You’ve always been good to me,” she grinned, “In your own special way.”

“Yeah, in my own special way,” she smiled as he worked his way back down to the boat.

“Sawyer, you and I need to talk.” Kate mentioned.

“We will, Freckles. It’s a long trip to nowhere. I’m sure you and me will have plenty of time to talk.”

“You promise?” Kate said, trying to stay awake.

“Hey, I’m a southerner, baby doll,” he said, walking down the stairs, “When I make a promise, I keep it.”

“Thank you, Sawyer,” she said, drifting back into sleep, “I . .love you.”

Sawyer then paused and looked at her. “You mean that?” he asked.

Kate snored a tiny bit. Sawyer then sighed and continued carrying her toward the bedroom. Jack and Hurley were just exiting the room as he entered. “Okay, great, Sawyer,” Jack motioned, “Bring her in here.”

Hurley moved out of the way as the redneck stepped in, carrying her toward the bed. He then gently placed her down on the right side of the bed. Kate moaned as she gently laid off her side, not to press against her collarbone. Sawyer stood up, massaging his arm as Jack kneeled down to check on her bandage. “Jack.” The redneck whispered.

“Yeah?” he said, turning around.

“Is she . . . .gonna be all right?”

Jack turned back to her and then opened up one of her eyelids. Kate’s eye was rolled nearly all the way up, as she was in deep slumber. The doctor stood up, putting his pen light back in his shirt pocket. “Yeah,” he smiled, “She’s gonna be just fine.”

Sawyer breathed a sigh of relief as the walked out of the bedroom. The southern man then looked at Hurley who was making himself comfortable on the couch. “You enjoying yourself, lard ass?” the redneck asked.

“Oh, yeah,” he said, patting the sofa, “I am going to enjoy our boat ride on this thing.”

“What makes you say that?”

“I called dibs on the couch.”

Sawyer’s eyes went wild. “You . .called . ..dibs?” he said, then turning to Jack to play mediator.

The doctor just shrugged his shoulders. “He called dibs,” he replied, as if it was an open and shut case.

“I don’t believe .. .well, then I call DIBS on the recliner.” Sawyer kicked it as he walked out.

“That’s only fair.” Jack laughed as he followed him up.


The two men arrived back the beach to retrieve Seth. The wounded singer was sipping on some juice provided by his two “adoptive” sisters Shanna and Mia. He sighed, as he rubbed his face. “My turn?” he asked Jack.

“Yeah, Seth, come on,” Jack said taking one arm and Sawyer taking the other arm.

“You be gentle with him, Sawyer,” Shanna said, helping them to hoist him up.

Sawyer just smirked as he had one of Seth’s arms over his shoulders and Jack had the others arm. The two men began to lead him toward the boat, walking through the water. The redneck then blinked when he realized something. “Hey, Jack,” Sawyer said, “Where is Seth gonna be if Hurley has taken the couch?”

“He’s wounded, Sawyer,” Jack said, “He’s going in the bed.”

Sawyer then stopped both men as they were standing in the water. “You’re putting him in the bed . . .with KATE?” he gasped.

“He’s wounded,” Jack reminded him.

“His penis ain’t!” the redneck grunted.

“Oh, come on, Sawyer, don’t be so juvenile,” Jack said, forcing them to walk toward the beach, “It’s not he’s going to spoon her in the middle of the night.”

“Yeah, not much,” Seth giggled.

Sawyer forced them to stop yet again. Sawyer looked down to the young man who was facing the ocean, giggling like a mad man. “Jack, you heard him.” The redneck grunted.

“That’s the morphine talking,” Jack pointed out.

“No, it ain’t,” Seth giggled.

“Jacccckkk.” Sawyer hissed.

“Seth, shut up,” he said, stepping onto the boat, “He’s not going to do anything anyway.”

“It’s not Sawyer’s fault, you know,” Seth giggled as he climbed on the boat, “He’s not like me. He’s not a Modern Lover.”

“A . .a what?” Sawyer scoffed as he help the wounded man up.

“A Modern Lover,” the singer said, as he allowed the men to help him walk, “It’s all about . .supplying electric oxygen to all my ladies, you know?”

Jack laughed at Seth’s morphine induced ranting.

“I got this little move, it’s a nerve control technique that produces the scally-hop to the applejack.”

“Are you serious?” Sawyer said, as they started to walk down to the cabin below.

“I can’t wait to deliver my brain bath of love to my dream Miss America.” He giggled.

“Okay, Jack, Now I believe you that it’s the morphine talking.” The redneck said as they got the bedroom entrance.

The three men paused for a second, seeing the large bed in front of them, with Kellye on one side and Kate on the other. Sawyer looked around and then back to Jack. “Do we honestly have to put him in the middle?” the redneck asked.

“Seth, you gonna behave?” Jack shook him.

“Sure, dad, whatever,” he said, almost passing out.

“Oh, man, this is not a good idea.” Sawyer said, shifting the young man into the middle of the bed.

When Seth’s head hit the pillow, it was fast asleep. Jack slowly got a blanket and covered all three of them with it. Sawyer just sighed as he left the room. As Jack followed him, he patted him on the back. “Look at it this way, “the doctor patted him on the back, “Since you got dibs for the recliner, if you hear anything unusual, you’ll be able to intrude at a moment’s notice.”

Sawyer paused. “Intrude on what?” he coughed.

“Their private time.” Jack snickered.

“BOY, you better be glad you ain’t gonna be trapped on this boat with me!” he said, as he followed him out of the cabin.


Locke examined the journal over and over. He then felt an indention at the back of the cover. He then took his knife and carved into the book. He then slowly pulled out a small disk that looked like it had computer hardware on it, connected to an wire that represented a antennae. The bald man then noticed that Mia was staring at him, two feet away. “Burst Transmitter,” he said, “It’s a tracking device. This is what they used to find the beach.”

“Students of History,” Mia said, sitting next to him, “They save the Journal incase the Colonel is dead.”

“I drew the same conclusion.” He said, tucking the book away in his back pack.

He then gave the bug to Mia. “When you get about two days out of the Island, throw that overboard.” Locke told her, “I don’t know if it’s still capable of being tracked but you never can be to sure.”

“I will,” she said, putting it in her pocket.

“You reviewed Shanna’s notes yet?”

“I have,” Mia said, pulling the pad, “I was especially interested in the part about the Red and Black Project. It almost makes me feel sorry for Cedric.”

“Almost?” Locke smiled.

“Almost,” Mia sighed.

Locke fiddled with his knife and looked up into the distance. “I’ve been thinking . .about that day we lost Boone,” he whispered.

“That wasn’t your fault.” She said, putting her hand on his.

“There was a possibility I would lose you both. But I lost Boone. He was too brave. I only hope he’s happy, wherever he is.”

“He is.” Mia said.

“I had a dream before that happened. Your grandmother visited me.” Locke looked at her.

Mia blinked. “I remember. But you said, you just saw me, you didn’t see my granny.”

“But I did. I didn’t know how to react at the time. She said that you would choose your own outcome. I had to have faith that you wouldn’t die . . .when you climbed up those trees after Boone. And here you are.”

Mia smiled at the older man. He looked out at the distance then at the ground. “You talk about your granny all the time but what about . . .your dad?” he asked.

“He’s gone,” she whispered, “He’s with granny now.”

“You. . .uh . ..need one?”

“Need what?”

“A dad.” He whispered.

Mia started to get teary eyed. She reached over and hugged him. Locke put his arm around her, kissing her on the head. “I wouldn’t mind.” She sniffed.

Down on the beach, John was getting his gear ready. He looked up to the treeline, seeing Locke and Mia hugging. He smiled at the display of affection, like father to a daughter. Locke may have considered staying on the Island but at that moment, the archer was certain he would come back with them when the time came.

Because he truly did have something to come back for.