Part 330 : Day 75
Special Edition of the story by Shelley
The gentle lilt of the Butterfly Rogue woke Mia as she lay face down on the plush carpet of the living area. Slowly her eyes opened with the changing blues and greens emitted from the television set playing scenes of "Black Hawk Down" for the fifth straight time that evening. Mia didn’t remember falling asleep, just the feel of John sitting behind her rubbing her feet while everyone was talking after yet another fried shark dinner. Sun and Marita had become quite the little gourmet chef with their menial supplies. Mia’s jean jacket was draped over her shoulders to keep her warm and she slipped her arms through the sleeves while sitting upright. Glancing around the darkened room, she thought everyone was asleep, but the room was a little too crowded for her taste.
She quietly stood and tip toed across the room to turn the movie off. Nearing the DVD player, she couldn’t find the stop button before hearing a small whisper behind her, "More soldiers please."
Before she even turned around she knew that Alexander voice had beckoned her to leave the movie playing. Mia turned and ran her hand over Alexander’s floppy mess of a hair as she left the room. He was on the verge of passing out, so it was another moment when she played den mother to her friends.
In the free oceanic air, Mia leaned against the railing breathing in deeply. She fished in her pants pocket for a rubber band and used both hands to pull her hair back into a ponytail. Several Rogue crew were soundly sleeping under the night sky beside her, so Mia crawled up to the bow of the boat and sat crossed legged leaning her arms over the railing. For a moment, she wished the boat was cruising along so she would have felt like Rose from "Titanitc" but laughed away the thought, remembering how much she hated that movie. "What are you giggling at, missy?"
Mia turned to see Shanna crawling over towards her, wrapped in a sleeping bag. "Are you that cold Shanna?" teased Mia as she tugged the sleeping bag to envelope herself as well.
"Yes! This breeze at night is horrible! At least now we can cuddle," Shanna smiled at her friend as they leaned in close for warmth.
Back home in the States, the girls would have been in well into Autumn, but here in the Southern Hemisphere Spring was just beginning, full of evening briskness. Mia and Shanna both stared blankly into the dark sea trapped in their own thoughts. "I’m so thankful that you missed your Walkabout." Shanna almost whispered after a bit.
Mia looked over at her friend, realizing the compliment behind that statement. Shanna was thanking her for opening her heart and mind. Shanna’s whole life had been about finding acceptance, mostly with her father, but also with friends. Mia always had the strange sensation Shanna never felt truly accepted until her time on this island. Brendon, Seth and the whole group had grown to love everything about the bubbly red head, including her unorthodox sexual behavior. Mia knew that Shanna needed friends like she had found on this island. "Are you dreading heading back to the real world, Shanna?" Mia asked.
Looking down, Shanna did not answer Mia. But her nonverbal communication confirmed
everything to Mia.
"Shanna, don’t worry about your father. You have all of us now; fate brought us all together."
"Just like fate will never let the Sox win the series," Shanna quickly piped up.
"What on Earth? Shanna, I didn’t know you followed baseball?" Mia laughed as she leaned in closer to Shanna, understanding Shanna’s desire to change the subject.
"Oh, I don’t follow baseball," Shanna giggled as she proceeded. "I just overheard Sawyer saying that line once. I thought it had pizzazz and I couldn’t wait to use it myself! I don’t even know what it means!"
The girls looked at each other and busted out laughing at Shanna’s quirkiness. Remembering it was the middle of the night; they both covered their mouths to soften their laughter. Ana-Lucia made a half attempt a angry moan as she turned over on her side.
"Shanna, you are a strange duck sometimes. " Mia giggled, "Let me explain it, the Red Sox won the World Series back before my grandma was born. A couple years later, the owner traded the great Babe Ruth – you’ve heard of him, right?"
Shanna crinkled her nose and shook her head no. "I know the candy bar, is that what you are talking about?" she shrugged her shoulders.
"Really, did your dad lock you up in that pharmacy? Okay, he was like the greatest player of that time. Well, he was traded to New York. Since then, the Yankees have been one of the best teams and the Red Sox haven’t won a World Series since. The Curse of the Bambino. Fate won’t let them win. There you go! Now you can go home and impress some boy, or girl, that you
know why the Sox won’t ever win a Series!"
"Mia, are you sure you are a girl?" Shanna giggled.
"Yes! I just dated this baseball freak a couple years ago. I swear, you could ask him who played third base for, like, um, the Royals in 1985 and he would know. Man, I’m glad John isn’t like that!"
"Mia! Stop making me laugh! I’m too tired," Shanna whispered after she stopped laughing due to her yawn,"I’m going back to bed, hun, it’s late."
Shanna leaned her head against Mia before crawling aft towards the others. The bow of the ship seemed lonely for a second after Shanna crawled away, but for some reason Mia wasn’t tired. The water splashing on the side of the boat mesmerized Mia as she continued to stare at it for what seemed like hours. A breeze tussled her ponytail and she pulled her jacket in tighter. She heard movement behind her, but thought someone was shifting their sleeping positions. Then she felt warm arms pull tight around her and a soft kiss on the back of her neck. Mia instinctively leaned back into the comfort of John’s warm body and sighed softly. "What were you and Shanna laughing about?" John spoke softly not to wake anyone, but he was so close to Mia’s ear that he was arousing her a little.
"You," she turned and tenderly kissed the man she had fallen deeply in love with.
A mere thirty minutes ago she was analyzing Shanna for not wanting to go home and now the tables were turned; John was seeing Mia’s vulnerabilities. John pushed his hands deep into the pockets of Mia’s jacket for warmth as he pulled her closer, gently kissing her ear. "I’ll always be here for you Mia, you will never have to be alone again." He told her.
Mia now understood why she couldn’t sleep. She needed to say goodbye to island life and accept her new life with her friends in the real world. Why else would the three of them suddenly not be able to sleep in the middle of the night? "Do you know what time it is?" she whispered softly to stop John.
She had to get him to stop kissing her ear somehow!
John looked to the sky and Mia could tell he was processing thoughts. "I would guesstimate around 3am."He blinked.
Mia laughed at the absurdity that John could tell the time by simply looking at the stars! But when she turned her head to mock him, she found him still staring at the stars above. He grabbed her hand and together they pointed almost straight up. "In late fall Castor and Pollox, Pollox is the brighter one, are almost straight up in the middle of the night. They approach the
Eastern skyline the nearer we get to morning." he said, with a slight whisp of cold air echoing into the night.
Mia was shocked that after all this time she could find out something this fascinating about John. It made her wonder how much more she would have to learn about Mr. Riggs, and how she simply couldn’t wait until she could learn everything about him. John was staring back into Mia’s eyes and seemed able to read her thoughts. "You’ll learn every detail about me, trust me Mia, you will." He jammed his cold hands back into her pockets and pulled her back against him.
He knew that he had found the most amazing woman in the world. He closed his eyes
against her hair, smelling sweet of salt. Inside her right jean pocket his fingers wrapped around a small piece of cold metal. He pulled it out and held it up to examine it in the soft moonlight."Oh! I had forgotten about that!" Mia gasped, "Locke gave it to me before we left the Island and asked I throw it overboard a couple days out to sea. Just in case the Liberation can still track us."
As Mia finished her explanation, John gently tossed it out to sea where the darkness closed in around it. "Now we are free of the Liberation forever," John whispered.
"We better be," Mia scoffed, "Buncha freaks, the lot of them."
"Don't get your self worked up, Honey," the archer chuckled, "Locke said they wouldn't come for us and I believe him."
Mia massaged the back of her head against John's shoulder. The thought of Locke made her miss his company; his wisdom, his compassion. He was so much like her father, she never realized it until he was gone. "John, tell me I will see Locke again." she whispered.
"You will, darlin. You will."
Hearing John say it, gave it more of a promise feel to it. Like if he said it, she knew it would happen. Mia pulled his arms closer around her as she stared off into the infinite horizon of the ocean. The moonlight crested against the water, as a scuddle of fish jumped around in the bright moonlight.
The gentle lilt of the Butterfly Rogue woke Mia as she lay face down on the plush carpet of the living area. Slowly her eyes opened with the changing blues and greens emitted from the television set playing scenes of "Black Hawk Down" for the fifth straight time that evening. Mia didn’t remember falling asleep, just the feel of John sitting behind her rubbing her feet while everyone was talking after yet another fried shark dinner. Sun and Marita had become quite the little gourmet chef with their menial supplies. Mia’s jean jacket was draped over her shoulders to keep her warm and she slipped her arms through the sleeves while sitting upright. Glancing around the darkened room, she thought everyone was asleep, but the room was a little too crowded for her taste.
She quietly stood and tip toed across the room to turn the movie off. Nearing the DVD player, she couldn’t find the stop button before hearing a small whisper behind her, "More soldiers please."
Before she even turned around she knew that Alexander voice had beckoned her to leave the movie playing. Mia turned and ran her hand over Alexander’s floppy mess of a hair as she left the room. He was on the verge of passing out, so it was another moment when she played den mother to her friends.
In the free oceanic air, Mia leaned against the railing breathing in deeply. She fished in her pants pocket for a rubber band and used both hands to pull her hair back into a ponytail. Several Rogue crew were soundly sleeping under the night sky beside her, so Mia crawled up to the bow of the boat and sat crossed legged leaning her arms over the railing. For a moment, she wished the boat was cruising along so she would have felt like Rose from "Titanitc" but laughed away the thought, remembering how much she hated that movie. "What are you giggling at, missy?"
Mia turned to see Shanna crawling over towards her, wrapped in a sleeping bag. "Are you that cold Shanna?" teased Mia as she tugged the sleeping bag to envelope herself as well.
"Yes! This breeze at night is horrible! At least now we can cuddle," Shanna smiled at her friend as they leaned in close for warmth.
Back home in the States, the girls would have been in well into Autumn, but here in the Southern Hemisphere Spring was just beginning, full of evening briskness. Mia and Shanna both stared blankly into the dark sea trapped in their own thoughts. "I’m so thankful that you missed your Walkabout." Shanna almost whispered after a bit.
Mia looked over at her friend, realizing the compliment behind that statement. Shanna was thanking her for opening her heart and mind. Shanna’s whole life had been about finding acceptance, mostly with her father, but also with friends. Mia always had the strange sensation Shanna never felt truly accepted until her time on this island. Brendon, Seth and the whole group had grown to love everything about the bubbly red head, including her unorthodox sexual behavior. Mia knew that Shanna needed friends like she had found on this island. "Are you dreading heading back to the real world, Shanna?" Mia asked.
Looking down, Shanna did not answer Mia. But her nonverbal communication confirmed
everything to Mia.
"Shanna, don’t worry about your father. You have all of us now; fate brought us all together."
"Just like fate will never let the Sox win the series," Shanna quickly piped up.
"What on Earth? Shanna, I didn’t know you followed baseball?" Mia laughed as she leaned in closer to Shanna, understanding Shanna’s desire to change the subject.
"Oh, I don’t follow baseball," Shanna giggled as she proceeded. "I just overheard Sawyer saying that line once. I thought it had pizzazz and I couldn’t wait to use it myself! I don’t even know what it means!"
The girls looked at each other and busted out laughing at Shanna’s quirkiness. Remembering it was the middle of the night; they both covered their mouths to soften their laughter. Ana-Lucia made a half attempt a angry moan as she turned over on her side.
"Shanna, you are a strange duck sometimes. " Mia giggled, "Let me explain it, the Red Sox won the World Series back before my grandma was born. A couple years later, the owner traded the great Babe Ruth – you’ve heard of him, right?"
Shanna crinkled her nose and shook her head no. "I know the candy bar, is that what you are talking about?" she shrugged her shoulders.
"Really, did your dad lock you up in that pharmacy? Okay, he was like the greatest player of that time. Well, he was traded to New York. Since then, the Yankees have been one of the best teams and the Red Sox haven’t won a World Series since. The Curse of the Bambino. Fate won’t let them win. There you go! Now you can go home and impress some boy, or girl, that you
know why the Sox won’t ever win a Series!"
"Mia, are you sure you are a girl?" Shanna giggled.
"Yes! I just dated this baseball freak a couple years ago. I swear, you could ask him who played third base for, like, um, the Royals in 1985 and he would know. Man, I’m glad John isn’t like that!"
"Mia! Stop making me laugh! I’m too tired," Shanna whispered after she stopped laughing due to her yawn,"I’m going back to bed, hun, it’s late."
Shanna leaned her head against Mia before crawling aft towards the others. The bow of the ship seemed lonely for a second after Shanna crawled away, but for some reason Mia wasn’t tired. The water splashing on the side of the boat mesmerized Mia as she continued to stare at it for what seemed like hours. A breeze tussled her ponytail and she pulled her jacket in tighter. She heard movement behind her, but thought someone was shifting their sleeping positions. Then she felt warm arms pull tight around her and a soft kiss on the back of her neck. Mia instinctively leaned back into the comfort of John’s warm body and sighed softly. "What were you and Shanna laughing about?" John spoke softly not to wake anyone, but he was so close to Mia’s ear that he was arousing her a little.
"You," she turned and tenderly kissed the man she had fallen deeply in love with.
A mere thirty minutes ago she was analyzing Shanna for not wanting to go home and now the tables were turned; John was seeing Mia’s vulnerabilities. John pushed his hands deep into the pockets of Mia’s jacket for warmth as he pulled her closer, gently kissing her ear. "I’ll always be here for you Mia, you will never have to be alone again." He told her.
Mia now understood why she couldn’t sleep. She needed to say goodbye to island life and accept her new life with her friends in the real world. Why else would the three of them suddenly not be able to sleep in the middle of the night? "Do you know what time it is?" she whispered softly to stop John.
She had to get him to stop kissing her ear somehow!
John looked to the sky and Mia could tell he was processing thoughts. "I would guesstimate around 3am."He blinked.
Mia laughed at the absurdity that John could tell the time by simply looking at the stars! But when she turned her head to mock him, she found him still staring at the stars above. He grabbed her hand and together they pointed almost straight up. "In late fall Castor and Pollox, Pollox is the brighter one, are almost straight up in the middle of the night. They approach the
Eastern skyline the nearer we get to morning." he said, with a slight whisp of cold air echoing into the night.
Mia was shocked that after all this time she could find out something this fascinating about John. It made her wonder how much more she would have to learn about Mr. Riggs, and how she simply couldn’t wait until she could learn everything about him. John was staring back into Mia’s eyes and seemed able to read her thoughts. "You’ll learn every detail about me, trust me Mia, you will." He jammed his cold hands back into her pockets and pulled her back against him.
He knew that he had found the most amazing woman in the world. He closed his eyes
against her hair, smelling sweet of salt. Inside her right jean pocket his fingers wrapped around a small piece of cold metal. He pulled it out and held it up to examine it in the soft moonlight."Oh! I had forgotten about that!" Mia gasped, "Locke gave it to me before we left the Island and asked I throw it overboard a couple days out to sea. Just in case the Liberation can still track us."
As Mia finished her explanation, John gently tossed it out to sea where the darkness closed in around it. "Now we are free of the Liberation forever," John whispered.
"We better be," Mia scoffed, "Buncha freaks, the lot of them."
"Don't get your self worked up, Honey," the archer chuckled, "Locke said they wouldn't come for us and I believe him."
Mia massaged the back of her head against John's shoulder. The thought of Locke made her miss his company; his wisdom, his compassion. He was so much like her father, she never realized it until he was gone. "John, tell me I will see Locke again." she whispered.
"You will, darlin. You will."
Hearing John say it, gave it more of a promise feel to it. Like if he said it, she knew it would happen. Mia pulled his arms closer around her as she stared off into the infinite horizon of the ocean. The moonlight crested against the water, as a scuddle of fish jumped around in the bright moonlight.
posted by Jason | 6:50 AM
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