Part 306: Parting is such Sweet Sorrow

The departure had begun, for both parties.

Joscelyn was hugging Jilly, as they both shared small tears together. The deaf girl made Hurley promise to take care of her. The Large man laughed as he said it was a given. Barbara kissed the timid girl on the cheek, as they got ready to leave.

Tony held onto Eddie, as the young boy cried in his arms. The blind doctor promised him that he would be safe and that he would return for him. When he let the boy down, he embraced the Latina stewardess he regarded as his temporary mother. Marita kissed him on the cheek and hugged him close, not wanting to let him go. When it was over, Barbara bid farewell to the two people who looked after her son.

McKay held up the bags for his ladies that he was bringing with him. Mandy held onto Shannon as the tall blonde wept on her shoulder. She promised her that she would see her again and she would relish having her in life. “I wish . . .I wish Boone didn’t die,” Shannon cried.

“We can’t change the past, Shannon,” Mandy said, parting from her, “But hey, I expect his sister to spoil his child.”

“You betcha,” She smiled, wiping her tear.

“We almost ready?” Tony asked McKay.

“Almost,” the Australian pointed, “Alexander has to say goodbye to his sisters.”

Up at the top of the beach, near the treeline; the blonde wild boy was hugging his sisters at the same time. Flower wept in his arms and Andra cried as well. Alexander promised they would be together again in the New World, as he called it. As he parted, Flowered to wipe her tears away. Then she saw Shanna smiling at her. The young wild girl hugged the redhead who cared for her. Shanna then kissed her and promised her they would see each other again. Sayid then walked past them, holding the equipment he wanted to give to the others. “McKay!” he called.

“Yeah, Sayid,” he looked to him.

“Here are the radios we salvaged from the bodies of the Butterfly Rogue,” He said, holding him one, “The good news, for once, the batteries are good. But I don’t know what the range is.”

“How long should we try them?” McKay said, taking one.

“Try them once every fine hours. Shall we synchronize?” Sayid held up his digital watch.

McKay and the Iraqi matched up their and within a few seconds, synchronized their watches. “Superb,” Sayid smiled, “Our next contact will be at 1 o’clock, until you are out of range.”

“You take care, Sayid,” Tony then embraced him, “I still owe you a drink for saving my life back in the Gulf War.”

“And I will collect, my friend. May God watch over you.”

Marita then came up to Tony, holding their bags. Before she could say anything, Jack came up them, holding a garment bag. “Marita, you will be Tony’s nurse?” Jack asked.

“She’s qualified.” The blind doctor joked.

“What’s that stuff, Jack?” she pointed.

Jack handed her the bag, allowing her to place it on her shoulders. “ It’s morphine and clean needles for twenty days,” he said, “Plus various aspirins, ibuprofen, and motion sickness pills that I could find.”

“Oh, thank God, for motion sickness,” McKay laughed, “Something tells me we’re going to need it.”

“Good luck, you guys,” Jack said, then taking Tony’s hand.

The blind doctor returned the gesture of friendship. “To us all,” he said, shaking his hand.


John stood on the edge of the boat, while the survivors loaded up the supplies that they had stored for them in three coolers. Various fruits, dried meat and fish they had collected the previous day before. Micheal was nearby but he only came to say goodbye to Jin and Sun. The Korean couple thanked him for his generous gesture to allow Sun to stay with her husband. Jin told him something and bowed before him. “He said, thank you for everything.” Sun translated.

“Tell him, I look forward to seeing him again,” Micheal embraced him again.

Jin patted him on the back, then took his wife’s hand as they stepped onto the boat. John held up his hand to help them on. The Korean couple slowly climbed aboard, flooded with a mixture of smiles and laughter. “Welcome aboard, “John chuckled.

“John, where are we supposed to sit?” Sun asked.

“Wherever,” John laughed.

Sun giggled too as she took her husband’s hand and quickly ran off to a part of the boat that hadn’t been claimed yet. John then help up Adam as he climbed on with his one briefcase. The older man walked over to one of the picnic table to rest. The archer then turned and saw Mia bidding her final farewell to Locke. The bald man held onto the girl as she tried to suppressed her tears. As they parted, he gently pushed her hair out of her eyes as he smiled his warm smiled that she loved so much. “Be safe.” He whispered.

“You too.” She said, leaning up and kissing his cheek.

As she turned around, Shanna walked past her; holding the straps of her backpack. The redhead held out her hand and Mia took it. The two friends began their walk toward the boat. They didn’t want to leave anybody behind but in the end, they knew they would all see each other again. John waited for them and then helped his love onto the boat with Shanna. She kissed him on the cheek then walked down to the lower cabin to check on Seth, as her redheaded friend followed her.

John then helped McKay with his bags for his girls. The Australian then turned around and helped his blind friend up to the boat. Marita soon followed. The Latina stewardess turned around and looked to the beach. Yolanda was standing with Walt, waving to them. The stewardess blew her friend a kiss as she waved goodbye. They both survived the crash among their other co-workers. Their bond, they knew, could never be broken. “We all on board?” Tony asked.

“Not quite yet,” John said, “We should be underway in a few minutes.”

John then helped Joscelyn aboard and Hurley climbed in after her. The large man motioned for her to follow him down to the lower cabin. Hurley walked down to the stairs where everybody was finding their spots to be. Joscelyn then looked and giggled when she saw the dark green couch and somebody had taped up a piece of paper that read RESERVED FOR HURLEY AND JOE. “I made sure to get us first class seat.” He laughed.

Joscelyn smiled as she watched him find his corner of the couch. She gently sat down on the other side. She then looked over to her left and saw a recliner. Joscelyn raised an eyebrow when she saw that it had it’s own little piece of paper and it said RESERVED FOR SAWYER. “I can’t believe this.” She laughed, pointing to it.

“Do you mind sitting between him and me?” Hurley said, putting his bag to the side.

“No, not at all,” Joscelyn then looked at the massive entertainment center in front of her, “ Has anybody checked that out yet?”

“Not yet,” the large man replied.

Joscelyn moved past all the other people migrating into the living room area. She pushed open the sliding doors to the huge entertainment center to reveal a large flat screen TV. “No way.” Hurley whispered.

Joscelyn then looked at the side and found a small grouping of DVD cases. She picked them up and sorted them out. “We got movies too?” the large man gasped.

“Yeah, Spiderman 2, Black Hawk Down, The Chronicles of Riddick, Rushmore and Episode II; Attack of the Clones.” She rattled them all off.

“Oh, man, I have missed movies so bad,” the large man stood next to her, “You seen any of those, Joe?”

“I’ve seen Spiderman 2 but none of these others,” she grinned, “Are they any good?”

“We’re gonna find out.” Hurley smiled.

Then Hurley heard a tapping sound against the TV. He turned to see the young wild boy standing near him, tapping on the flatscreen. “What is . . .shiny box?” Alexander asked.

Hurley put his arm around him. “That, Alexander, “ he smiled, “Is your Education.”

The Island boy looked at him and then back to the TV, curious what he meant.


Back at the beach, the majority of the people were getting ready to go. Jack hoisted up the last of his gear that he was able to carry. As he turned, he saw Sawyer walking toward him with just one backpack and one knapsack. “That’s all you’re carrying?” he laughed.

“I saw no reason to carry my trade-ables.” The redneck joked, “Just loaded up on smokes and booze.”

“At least you never worry about the luxuries, Sawyer. Mind if we raid the rest?”

“Help yourself, doc,” he pointed, “I am having a fire sale.”

“Funny,” Jack said moving past him and then stopped to turn to face him, “Sawyer?”

“I ain’t one for mushy goodbyes, Doc,” the southern man grinned.

“You aren’t getting one,” Jack sighed, looking at the ground, then back to him, “Just . . .take care of her, will ya?”

Sawyer sighed, knowing full well he was talking about Kate. The redneck then extended his hand. Jack took it and they shook hands for a few seconds. “I will,” he smiled, “You take care, Jack.”

“You too, redneck,” he grinned.

Sawyer then continued on down the beach toward the boat. Up on the tree-line, Jenny embraced Kristy. The two friends who were literally worlds apart and never would have met had the crash not happened. Even then, they would both wounded and probably wouldn’t have talked to each other, unless something demanded it. “Marty would be so proud of your,” Kristy wept.

“Marty would be proud of us both,” she assured her.

“You take care out there, Jenny,” Kristy smiled, “Don’t let Sawyer push you around,”

“I can handle the hick. You be good, Kris.”

Jenny then turned to give Claire a hug. As the young girls parted, the teenager kissed little Aaron on the head. Jenny even took the time to hug Charlie, happy that he would watch over Kristy. The young blonde then picked up her bag and began to walk down the beach to join the others on the boat. She walked a few paces and saw Jack looking at her. She waved to him as she walked. The doctor then blew her a kiss. Jenny paused a few steps, then stopped and looked at him. The young teenager then threw down her bag and ran to him. Jack slowly put down his bags and walked toward her. She collided with him, embracing him. “I don’t want to leave you,” she cried.

“Get on the boat, Jenny,” he said, hugging her, “I’ll be all right.”

“No, “ she breathed, “No . .”

“Be strong, mei-mei,” the doctor looked at her, “ You help these people get to safety and call for help. We’ll be here waiting for you when you send in the troops.”

Jenny wiped her tears and hugged him. She didn’t want to let him go; not after everything they went through. Jack kissed her on the forehead as they parted from each other. “Get on the boat, Jenny,” he whispered.

Jenny kissed him on the cheek and then began to walk back to pick up her bags. She turned briefly to look at him. “It doesn’t matter that we aren’t related by blood,” she whispered, “You’re still my brother.”

Jack winced his face, trying not to cry. Only a short month ago, that young teenager was full of fire and hated his guts. Now he had reclaimed her as a sister. Locke would tell him that it was the magic of the Island, repairing the wounds between them. Honestly, the doctor didn’t care; he was just thankful he had her love again. “Go,” he whispered, as he motioned for her to leave.

Jenny picked up the bags and started to jog down the beach. When she arrived at the boat, John helped her inside. The archer then closed the door that led to the stairway from the rear. “THAT’S IT, MCKAY!!” he screamed, “We’re all on board!!!”

McKay turned on the engine and began to push the level to make the boat go. He got on the loud speaker to talk to the passengers. “Everybody relax, find an empty spot and get comfortable,” he spoke over the speaker, “It’s going to be a long ride but first stop, the Shark Tank.”

Taylor was behind him, enjoying the view from the bridge. “We’re going to that Shark Tank place first?” she asked.

“Yeah, “ McKay said, “We need to pick up a few more supplies.”



“How many?” Desmond as he stood near the bay area.

“Just shy of thirty,” McKay said.

“That’s amazing.” The stranger said.

Behind him, John, Jin and Sawyer were loading in the massive supply of sleeping bags, that the Dharma Corporation meant for the Black and Red Factions, plus the soldiers that guarded them. Since Desmond and Isabella didn’t need them, they were happy to give up some of them, and keep the rest for the people approaching. “It will be great to see some new people.” Desmond sighed, holding Isabella’s hand.

“At this way, you guys aren’t lonely,” Sawyer said, throwing the sleeping bags up to Dutch, and Karleigh.

“How many women are in this group?” Isabella asked.

“About half and half, plus two kids.”

The Spanish woman then gasped, covering her mouth. “Children?” she gulped.
“Yeah, what’s wrong?” the redneck asked.

She tried to stifle her tears. “I can’t believe . ..Sebastian will have kids to play with,.” She wept.

Desmond embraced her, happy for their son. Sawyer began to throw up the last of the sleeping bags as Jin and John climbed on board. “They should bond fast,” the southern man chuckled, “They all got weirdness about them.”

Then Sebastian finally arrived from within the metal bunker. He came running out as fast as his little legs would let him. The little boy stopped in front of Sawyer, holding up a familiar canister. The southern man kneeled down and took the canister; recognizing it as the same one that held the cashews previously. “Thanks, partner,” he shook his hand.

Sebastian smiled and then ran over to join his family. McKay helped Sawyer onboard. “Take care of yourself, Desmond,” the Australian said.

“God speed on your journey, brother,” he waved to him, “We’ll take good care of your friends. And maybe we’ll see each other again.”

“We will, “McKay waved, “I promise.”



The Butterfly Rogue began it’s journey into the heart of the ocean. Inside the bridge area, McKay turned the column and kept an eye on the compass, as they headed north toward the shipping lanes. John rested on a counter nearby him, sipping on a soda. Marita and Tony were at the other side of the console, as she looked outward into the blue ocean. The blind doctor took off his glasses and looked out. “Yep, “ he said, “Hell of a view.”

“Oh, Tony, stop it,” the Latina playfully hit his arm.

“I got to laugh about it, honey,” he said, putting his glasses on.

McKay smirked as he then glanced over to John. The archer seemed to be lost in thought. “You okay, John?” he asked.

“Hmm?” he blinked, back to attention.

“Don’t dwell on it, John,” Tony whispered, “It wasn’t your fault. It was Clay’s.”

“I just . . .I just wish it he hadn’t that been that stupid.” The archer sighed.

“And if wishes were cows, we’d all be eating steak,” McKay said, “Let it go, John. Clay made his own bed, and now, he’s literally sleeping in it.”

“Yeah, I did save the boat,” John said, walking over and patting Tony on the shoulder, “Thanks for suggesting I baby sit the Rogue.”

“No problem,” Tony smiled.

“Oh, MY GOD!” Marita gasped, “It our beach!!”

The group looked toward the right to see the Island in their view and sure enough, it was their beach. John gazed out toward the beach and was amazed that he could see the cross for Ramon’s grave from their position. He then immediately climbed down to the ladder to get Mia and the others, so they could see the beach before they left. Tony heard him leaving, then wrapped his arm around his girlfriend. “Is the Medical Tent still up?” he asked.

“It is,” she smiled.

“Farewell, Tail Section beach,” McKay whispered, “And we thank you.”


At the back of the boat, the survivors began to gather outside to view the beach area. Mia held onto Shanna’s hand as she pointed. The grave marker for Brendon could still be seen. The redhead wiped a tear away and blew a kiss toward the area. The others gathered, and especially the ones who didn’t see it originally. Shanna pointed out for her friends where the Medical Tent was, the General Store and The Nerd Box. They all laughed at the names. Then all of a sudden the trees buckled at the shoreline of the beach. “What the hell is-“ Sawyer pointed.

The trees collapsed as they gave way to Mecha. The giant robot stopped shortly at the beach, then Monoxide flowed near him and hovered toward it’s right. The survivors realized that Raven was sitting on top of the robot. Jenny moved them out of the way and looked toward her mysterious friend. Raven stood up, looking at her. “What are they doing?” Sun asked.

Raven waved at Jenny with all his might, jumping up and down. The young teenager smiled, blowing him a kiss and waving toward him. “They’re saying goodbye.” She smiled.

Then the trees behind them shook and swayed, as a massive roar echoed through the beach area. In the bridge of the boat, Tony tilted his head as the heard the familiar roar of the Polliwog. “Goodbye, old friend,” the blind doctor whispered.

Within moments the beach began to disappear from view and the Butterfly Rogue began it’s journey to the North.