Happy Anniversary Part 3

crash landing . . . . .

Tony stared out into the window. He didn’t feel like looking at everybody else. The thoughts of getting back to his practice were supposed to be on his mind but all he could think about was his ex-wife. What an idiot he had been. Whatever made him think he could return home with her? The doctor finished off his Coke and let the ice settle in the glass. Then a soft hand touched his shoulder. Tony turned his head to look at the Latina stewardess that was assigned his section. Her name tag read Marita. “Would you like another one, sir?” she asked him.

“Yes, that would be fine.” The doctor smiled slightly.

She took his empty glass and proceeded toward the back compartment station. She placed the glass in the tray and proceeded to make him another one. Her friend Cindy the stewardess then came back. “Dear God in heaven,” she moaned, “That fat guy has asked for yet another drink!”

“Which one?” Marita peeked over.

“That one. The one sitting next to the handsome Australian.”

“Oh, god, yeah, I know. He reeks from even here.”

Then Yolanda came back and nearly threw a glass into the tray. She rubbed her forehead, taking a deep breath. “Landa, what’s wrong?” Cindy asked.

“That . ..BITCH . ..” the black woman tried to calm down, “I got her drink wrong and she call me incompendent for it. I thought . . .I thought the snobby people were all supposed to be in first class!”

“Which one is this lady?” Marita peeked again.

“The manifest said her name is Natasha Simmons.” Yolanda moaned when he proceeded to fix the drink again.

“What does she do?”

“According to that cellphone she keeps barking on, she’s some kind of broker out of Chicago,” after the black stewardess had finished fixing the drink, she gently spit into it.

“LANDA!” Cindy gasped, covering her mouth from her giggling.

“Let’s see how she like a taste a’home.” She smiled, stirring it up and walking to hand it to her.

“You are so bad,” Marita whispered with a grin as she walked to give Tony his coke.

As the stewardesses started to walk forward, Eddie jolted past them. He wanted to get away from his parents. All they did was argue and he couldn’t handle it anymore. He was about to duck into the bathroom but some old black guy beat him to it. The boy then twisted and bumped into the counter of the stewardess station. In doing so, his momentum opened up one of the cabinet doors below. He quickly opened it and crawled inside, shutting the door. Eddie wrapped his arms around his knees, then rocked back and forth. He didn’t want his parents to find him. He wanted the arguing to end.

Chance gently rested against his seat, with his arm around his wife Arizona. The couple were enjoying their trip to Australia and got to ride some horses in the Outback. It was a little bit hotter than what they were used to in Texas but it was a pleasant trip none the less. Especially since they got to see the Ranch where Quigley Down Under was filmed. “It was Alan Rickman’s best movie.” Arizona whispered.

“As much as I am a Western fan, Ari,” Chance smirked, “I beg to differ. Alan Rickman’s best movie was Diehard.”

“You always go for the Bruce Willis movies.” She cooed at her husband.

“Yippe Kai-Yay, mother fu-“

Arizona quickly put her index finger over her husband’s mouth. “Language,” she giggled.

Chance smiled and kissed her finger. He loved his wife and loved her even more that they had so many things in common; westerns, guns, action movies. The gunslinger had hoped it was God that delivered Arizona too him; it was the only logical reason of how he found her. The blonde man then noticed the red-headed woman at the end of the row of their seats was looking concerned. “Eddie should have been back by now,” she mentioned, “I am going to go look for him.”

“Fine, whatever,” her husband said, as he pecked away on his keyboard.

Barbara got up and scooted past her husband to go find her little son. Chance sighed; vowing that he would never act like that. He would put his children first above everything; unlike his own father. Barbara proceeded to walk toward the back of the plane. As she did, a man shoved past her in a hurry. “Excuse me.” Charlie said in passing.

“Guess he had to go.” A black woman mentioned.

Barbara continued to walk toward the back. She then stopped and was about to ask a man if he had seen a small boy come through there. However, the old man reeked of cigarette smoke and had a bad feel about him. She decided to keep walking toward the very back. As she reached the back of the plane, she moved past a blonde teenager who made her way into the bathroom. Barbara looked around and didn’t see Eddie anywhere. She leaned over to a young girl with curly amber hair. “Excuse me.” She replied, “Did you see a small boy come through here?”

“No, ma’am, I didn’t.” Kellye answered.


Tony jolted awake as the plane shook slightly. He looked around and didn’t see anything wrong. Then the FASTEN SEATBELTS light started to flash on. Tony immediately put on his seatbelt. Then something flashed outside the window. The doctor blinked at the window. He was almost certain he saw a flash of gray zoom by the wing.

Shanna squeaked at the jolting of the plane. Seth immediately put on his seatbelt and then tapped her wrist to remind her to do it. Mia quickly put on her seatbelt and took her friend’s hand. The redhead admitted she was scared but hopefully it would be nothing. Brendon slowly put on his seatbelt, fearing he heard some strange noise outside.

Barbara then started to walk back after the turbulence of the plane. Then all of a sudden, a massive jolt struck the plane from underneath, sending the woman toward the ceiling. Barbara grunted as her head was slammed in the ceiling above her. Kellye saw her as she landed near her. Something was terribly wrong as the plane began to rattle uncontrollably. The girl soldier quickly reached down and grabbed her, hoisting her into Jenny’s seat. “OH, MY GOD!!!” Clay screamed, “OH, MY GOD!!! WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE-“

The girl soldier then slammed her elbow into his face, knocking him out. The plane jolted again, sending screams of panic and fear throughout the plane. Then the oxygen masks exploded from the ceiling above. Kellye immediately grabbed hers and placed it on. She then shoved one over Clay’s face and then another over Barbara’s. She was a soldier and she was taught not to panic. She only hoped that the nice teenager by her side had found a seat elsewhere. Last she saw she went into the bathroom and never came out.

The plane was rocking incredibly. People were screaming and yelling, while luggage flew out of the overhead compartments, landing on people. Charlie scrambled to get into a nearby seat. Chance held onto his wife as the rocking continued to happen. Hal wasn’t sure what was happening but Dutch was doing his best not to wet his pants. Back in the tail section, Tony tried to take easy labored breaths and not let his brain be flooded by the oxygen. Outside the window, the gray shape zoomed by once again. The doctor was certain he wasn’t hallucinating.

Then the glass exploded in his face as the plane tore apart.

Tony screamed as his blood spit into the air. The pain of the glass in his eye was incredible. He didn’t even get the chance to see that the two people sitting next to him where sucked out into the air. Shanna was screaming her head off. Seth was in complete shock; absolutely certain he was going to die. Mia didn’t scream at all. The sight of the other half of the plane leaving them as they fell made her speechless.

Then the tail section hit a spiral. Debris and people can to fly out of the fuselage section they were holding and a smaller section tore again, flying away. John closed his eyes, not wanting to see his death coming. The gravity forces ripped into the place as the tail section spiraled down. The archer then felt a scrape on his hand and he opened his eyes just in time to see Ramon fly away. John held out his hand in some vain effort to grab him but he never had a chance. The archer stared in horror as Ramon disappeared from view.

Eddie screamed as he exploded out of the cabinet. He tried to grab onto someone and when he did, it wound up being someone’s leg. Seth reached down and tried to grab the boy but the g-forces barely were able to make him hold on himself. Eddie tried to reach up for him and struggled against the surge of wind. Then another breakage happened. The tail section has split in half. The back part starting to purge away, dumping cargo as it went. The moment the split happened, Eddie lost his grip and flew into the wind. Seth screamed in defiance, of not being able to grab the boy. No one, especially a child, deserved to die like that. Yolanda tried to hold onto her seat, then stared in horror as both Cindy and Marita where thrown from their sections as their seats ripped off in mid-descent. It was enough of a horrific sight to make the black stewardess pass out.

Mia stared to feel the wind remove her consciousness. She and her four new friends were about to die. She hoped that she would see her father and grandmother again. It was the only comfort she had until she felt her seat give way. She could hear Shanna screaming as all four of them plummeted out of the plane. Mia didn’t know what was happening. One moment she felt weightless, then she was bathed in darkness for a few minutes, then the next thing she knew she was fighting for air as she entered the water.

Their seats flipped around as they fell into the ocean. Mia fought to get her seatbelt off and then was shocked they landed on the ocean floor so quickly. That meant they were in the shallows!!! Mia released her seatbelt and began to float up. Brendon and Seth were right with her. The bookstore worker then motioned to them and pointed down. Poor Shanna was stuck, struggling to get her belt off. All three then swam down toward her. Mia and Seth grabbed her hands as Brendon ripped the belt off. The redhead held onto her friends as they started to swim to the top.

They all four burst out of the water, gasping for air. Mia looked around and saw an Island in sight. She started to swim toward it with Brendon in tow. Seth held onto Shanna as she coughed to get the water out. The four friends continued to swim toward the beach. When they caught their footing, they started to walk toward the sand; occasionally slammed by the waves of the ocean. Mia got toward the sand and collapsed. Brendon walked up toward her and sat down, gasping for air. Seth fell down on his knees, still holding onto Shanna. The red head took deep breathes for about three second and then started wailing; crying heavily and holding onto Seth. The bookstore worker didn’t know what else to do; truth was, he felt like crying himself.

Mia turned around and stared into the jungle. Brendon took another deep breath, and then pulled out his necklace. The jade Buddha stared back up at him and he gently kissed it, happy to be alive. The Lakota girl then stood up, completely soaked. There was no other sign of anybody else but them. “Where is the rest of the plane?” she demanded in disbelief.

Then a massive crashing sound erupted behind them. A small chuck of the plane had landed on the trees, making them all buckle. As the trees bent downward, they offered a sliding spiral for the part of the plane to soft land on the sand. Shanna had screamed just seeing it. Seth stood up and looked at the plane, wondering how many people were dead in there. However, their were none. Calhoon immediately stumbled out and vomited. McKay’s seat collapsed and finally snapped out of it; ripping off his seatbelt and oxygen mask. Within seconds, both Taylor and Mandy ran out of the plan screaming and heading directly toward the woods. “Understandable reaction,” Mia said, watching them disappear.

“I hope they come back,” Seth mentioned.

The Lakota girl then turned around and then saw more people coming out of the ocean. She wiped her wet hair from her forehead and whispered, “How . .did we survive that?” she asked.


Mia would never receive her answer but the answer was at the other end of the beach. The creature of black smoke looked at them as they gathered from the water. It managed to save the four young ones as they felt from their metal flying craft. Monoxide looked down at Eddie who he saved not four minutes ago. His blue eyes echoed a hint a sadness as he looked down on his limp body. Eddie was not moving. His heart beat was incredibly faint. Monoxide wanted to help him but he already knew the humans were fragile. It could detect more humans were coming from the water. Monoxide quickly flew out of sight and into the woods.

It already knew humans knew how to fix other humans.


Marita slowly opened her eyes, feeling her face rest in the sand. Her head was aching something fierce. She slowly reached up and removed the remains of the oxygen mask. It hurt to move. She then un-buckled her seatbelt and slid forward into the sand. It felt incredibly difficult to walk. However, she knew she had to make sure everybody else was okay. She took one step forward, seeing how one of her high heels was missing. She paused at a nearby bamboo tree and took it off. In the far distance of smoldering wreckage were other survivors. The stewardess continued to walk forward, feeling every so dizzy. It was a good thing that she felt the need to be with her fellow survivors. Had she turned around and saw the unconscious creature that saved her life by happenstance; her world belief might have been shattered beyond repair.

The Polliwog slowly opened it’s eyes and shook it’s head. It looked at the thing that landed on it cranium. It leaned it’s large snout toward the seat and smelled of it. Where did it come from? The creature then heard a commotion down the beach. It looked up with it’s soft eyes, seeing the female human walking toward him. Humans! More humans had arrived! Where they the mean kinds like the humans with the lightning weapons? Or where they like the kind ones that left it hear, which his friends the metal one and the one made of smoke? The Polliwog didn’t know.

But it would be watching.


Raven paused when he heard the thunder. It wasn’t like any thunder he had heard before of the approaching storms on his exile at the island. The Masked man looked up and saw the speeding shape of MOLE zooming down from the sky. The warrior had not known the giant metal creature could even fly, let alone what would take it into the air. Raven looked up again and gasped at the sight of plane debris and bodies falling from the sky. The shape of a man then began to fly toward him. The masked warrior reacted in the only way he knew how.

He quickly threw down the fruit he had been collecting for Eko and then leaped into the air. Raven and the stranger collided in mid-air as he caught him. His hollow bones allowed him to easily float back down. Raven held the man in his arms and gently sat him down on the ground. When the Jaeger Unit had caught the man, he felt the man’s skin break open. It was a small cut but he would live. Why were they here? Did MOLE really bring the plane down?

The man then started to moan awake. Raven knew that seeing him would only bring about more shock. He quickly leaped into the high trees above. The masked man landed on the branches and turned around, observing the man. The human slowly coughed himself awake. He seemed to have a strength about him that forced him to understand his situation. Raven even marveled at the cream-colored dog that came out of no-where to look at the stranger then disappeared into the wilderness. The human struggled to stand up but stand up he did. He fought to regain his senses and for a brief second, looked at a small bottle of a clear liquid he pulled from his jacket pocket. After that, he then started to run toward the beach. He pushed past the bamboo trees to get to his fellow survivors. Raven stared at him in the distance as he ran toward his fellow humans. He didn’t know what their arrival meant but it could be something very important.


After running for what felt like an eternity, Jack finally made it to the beach. He didn’t immediately see anybody but it only took a few seconds to hear the tearing of metal combined with the screams of various people. The doctor winced at the pain in his side but ran to help the people that he could. He was running so hard and fast he didn’t noticed the body he immediately tripped over. Luckily the kick the man’s head was enough to wake him up and Jack was thankful he was alive. “OW, GOD!!” Hal rubbed his head, “WHAT . . .what happened?”

“I’m sorry,” Jack told him, “Are you okay? Is anything broken?”

“No . .I’m good,” the cop forced himself to stand up.

Jack then turned when he heard someone screaming. There was a man pinned under a piece of wreckage. “HEY!!” he touched him on the arm, “COME WITH ME!!”

Hal didn’t have time to think; only react. He got on his knees, then his feet and chased after Jack. The two men then came to the poor man, screaming that his leg was ruptured. “YOU!!” Jack started bringing men over, including a bald older man, “ COME HERE!! GIVE US A HAND!!!”

Locke ran over and joined Hal by the piece of metal. Jack reached down and grabbed the man’s hands. “On the count of three.” He told them, “one . . .two . . .THREE!!!”

Hal screamed as he and the two strangers lifted up the metal. Jack then pulled the man out and immediately started to rip off the pants leg of the man. Within seconds, he was turning his tie into a tourniquet. Then he paused when he heard a woman screaming. He then hoisted the man up toward Hal and Locke. “GET HIM OUT OF HERE!!!” Jack screamed, “Get him out of here! Get him away from the engine!!”

Jack ran off to help whoever was screaming. Hal hoisted up the man on one arm and Locke had the other. “You got him?” the cop asked.

“Yeah,” Locke replied, “Let’s move!”

“Oh, God, my leg!” the stranger cried.

“Hang on, man!” Hal assured him, “We’re going to get you out of here!”

Locke and Hal started to immediately run together as they held onto the wounded man. The cop grunted as he continued to maneuver within the sand. Then all of a sudden, the bald man with him stopped, tugging on both of them. “HEY!!!” he screamed to someone.

Hal turned and gasped. Some poor guy was near the turbine!!! “GET AWAY FROM THAT!!!” Locke screamed toward him.

The man screamed back, saying he could not hear him. The cop already knew it was too late. “FREAKING MOVE!!!” he started to pull them both.

The poor man was then sucked into the turbine, causing an explosion. Locke, Hal and the stranger collapsed in the sand as a spray of fire and metal exploded behind them. The cop quickly shook it off and got the man back on his feet. Locke quickly followed with him as they ran as hard as they could toward the sand dunes next to the bushes. The trio quickly collapsed, making the stranger wince at the wound on his leg. Hal twisted around, seeing if he anybody else needed help. Then to his amazement, the kind boy he sat next to was still in his seat at the fuselage. “IAN!!!” Hal quickly got to his feet and ran toward him.

“ARRRIIIIII!!!” Someone screamed next to him.

Hal briefly saw a man similar to him in age with a blonde buzzcut running toward a brunette laying in the sand. “ARI!!” Chance called her.

The Texan got on his knees and quickly checked on his wife. The brunette was limp as he husband gently started to pat her on the cheek. “Oh, God, baby, please wake up!” he cried.

The woman then moaned. Chance nearly broke down, over that he thought for a few second he had lost the only person he cared about. He held her close, crying over her safety. Hal ran up toward Dutch and immediately started to pull his seatbelt off. After he took off his oxygen mask, he gently shook his shoulders. “Ian?” he coughed, “Ian can you hear me?”

“Please, grandma, I did my chores, I want to go surf.” He muttered with his eyes closed.

“Huh?” the cop gasped.

Before he could bring the young man out of it, the sound of the buckling wing nearby caught his attention. “HEYYY!!!” Hal screamed to Chance.

The Texan looked at him quickly. “THAT WING IS GOING TO COLLAPSE!!!” Hal pointed out.

Chance looked up and saw the wing; creaking, cracking and spewing jet fuel all over the sand. He didn’t think twice; he immediately grabbed Arizona and threw him over his shoulder. Hal quickly grabbed Dutch by the arm and threw him over his shoulder, grabbing him in a fireman’s cradle. By happenstance, the two men then proceeded to run in the same direction away from the plane. Within seconds they were joined by the business suit, the pregnant woman and the large man running away as well. All them collapsed as the wing struck the ground and exploded. Hal grunted a piece of hot metal flew past his head missing it by inches.

Jack then leaned up and saw the wreckage burning in the sand. He then twisted over and checked on Claire. “You okay?” he asked her.

“Yeah,” she winced, feeling of her stomach.

Jack then pointed to Hurley. “You! Stay with her!”

“Dude, I’m not going anywhere.” The large man laughed slightly.

Jack then turned and noticed the other four people near them. He then immediately checked on Arizona. “How is she?” he asked Chance.

“I don’t know,” he sniffed, “She’s in and out of consciousness.”

“She’s probably got a concussion. Stay with her and keep talking to her.”

Jack then immediately walked over to Hal. “Hey, you okay, man?” he said, patting him on the shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” the cop told him, “Go help everybody else. I’ll watch over them.”

“Thanks,” the doctor told him as he ran off.

Claire moaned as he massaged her pregnant belly. Hurley slowly sat up, rubbing the sand off his face. Arizona slowly started to become awake. Chance smiled down on her as she rested in his lap. He looked over toward the other man who hauled the young blonde man away from the plane. “Thank you,” he smiled, “For warning me about the wing.”

“No problem,” the cop smirked.

“What’s your name?”

“Hal Mancuso.”

“Chance Spartan.”

“Whoa,” Hurley rubbed his eyes, “Cool name, dude.”

“Thanks,” the Texan laughed, “What’s your name?”

“Hurley.” He said, waving toward him.

“Miss, you okay?” Hal asked the pregnant Australian.

“The pain is starting to slowly move away,” she smiled,” And I’m Claire by the way.”

Dutch then slowly raised his head from the sand. He looked around at all the scattered people and the flaming wreckage. “What did I miss?” he grunted.


The evening was slowly coming upon them. The sun had started it’s descent toward the horizon. Hal was walking the beach with Dutch. The surfer and the cop stayed together as they continued on toward the majority of the wreckage where everybody was. Hal stopped when he noticed a large bonfire near the edge of the beach. Two men were sitting around it. “Signal fire?” Hal asked them.

The middle easterner looked up at him. “Yes,” he replied.

“Good job,” the cop praised him.

“Thank you, my friend,” Sayid replied, “I only hope it’s big enough for them to see.”

“You think somebody is coming, Hal?” Dutch asked his new friend.

“I don’t know, kid,” the older man told him, “I hope so.”

“Hey, Hal!” Hurley called to them, “Dutch!”

“Dude!” the surfer replied toward the large man.

“Here ya go,” he said, handing them the plates of cold airplane sealed food.

“Oh, thank you.” The cop said, taking his share.

“Where is the guy with the cool name and his wife?” the large man replied, “I wanted to make sure they got something to eat.”

“Oh, Chance?” the surfer turned and pointed, “He’s down that way.”

“Thanks, dude.”

“No problem, dude.”

“It’s nice to see you two are apart of the same tribe.” Hal smirked as he continued walking.

Hal continued walking, munching on the food as he did. He then noticed the kind man he met earlier in the day, talking to a brunette. “Hey, man,” he tapped him on the shoulder.

“Oh, hey!” Jack smiled, “It’s good to see you. You all right?”

“Yeah, just peachy,” Hal shook his hand, “I’m Hal by the way.”

“Nice to meet you,” the doctor pointed, “Who is your friend?”

“I’m Ian Dutchman but everybody calls me, Dutch,” the surfer shook his hand.

“What are you two talking about?” Hal said, as he sat down.

“My new friend and I were talking about the crash,” Jack said, as he held up a leaf that he tore to resemble an airplane, “We must have been at about 40,000 feet when it happened. Hit an air pocket. Dropped, maybe, 200 feet. The turbulence was . . . . I blacked out.”

“I didn’t,” the brunette whispered, “I didn't. I saw the whole thing. I knew that the tail was gone, but I couldn't bring myself to look back. There was a group of four kids . . .they were laughing and cutting up . . . .I hope they are all right. . . . And then the . . . the front of the plane broke off.”

“Well, they are not here on the beach. Neither is the front. We need to figure out which way we came in.”

“Why?” the brunette asked.

“Because there's a chance we could find the cockpit. If it's intact, we might be able to find a transceiver. We might be able to send out a signal, help the rescue party find us.”

“How do you know all that?” Dutch inquired.

“Took a couple flying lessons . . . wasn't for me.”

“That’s a shame,” Hal rubbed his fingers with a napkin, “ If you were, you probably could have gotten the plane down in one piece.”

“Maybe.” Jack smirked.

“I saw some smoke, just through the valley.” The young woman decided to mention,” If you're thinking about going for the cockpit, I'm going with you.”

Jack smiled at her, admiring her bravery. “I don’t even know your name.” he told her.

“Kate.” She grinned.

“Jack,” he replied.

“You really think the transceiver thingie is there, dude?” the surfer asked him.

“It should be but we won’t know till we-“

Jack was then interrupted by a loud, strange noise. He turned abruptly toward the woods as they started to shake. Trees jolted together, as something very large moved within them. The group stood up and stood together, watching it. Jack stared in disbelief not knowing what it could be. Kate was by his side, staring at the shaking trees. Chance looked over toward the group and the woods. Hal and Dutch could only stare like everybody else as the roars continued. Charlie slowly bent his eyes brows down at the ominous invisible monster.

“Terrific.” He whispered.


and the rest is history . . . . . .

Happy Anniversary Part 2

Now Boarding . . . . .


Locke rested on his wheel chair as he had done so many times before. He wanted to be one of the first people on the plane; get it over with. However, he was unsure of the holdup. The brunette gate agent then came over toward him and leaned down to look at him. “I'm sorry, sir, but the special wheelchair that we use for loading the disabled passengers,” she said, sadly,” Well, no one seems to know where it is right now. Unless we find it I'm not sure we can get you on.”

“There’s not another flight till tomorrow.” Locke pointed out.

“Yes, I'm aware of that, sir, but there's nothing I can...”

A tall black man then came over with JD on his nametag. He gently touched the brunette on the shoulder, getting her attention. “Look, I can get Michelle, we can carry him on.” He looked down toward Locke,” Would you mind if we carry you on?”

The bald man felt like screaming. He had already suffered enough indignity with the Walkabout Station and now they were going to carry him on board, showing the world how useless he was? He gently pinched the bridge of his nose. “No, that’ll be fine.” He told them.

He wanted to get this over with.



JD and Michelle slowly made their way onto the plane, shifting through the seats. Locke held onto them as they carried him toward his seat. Once they arrived, they set him down as gently as possible. He grunted and adjusted his back. “I'll get your bag, sir.” JD informed him.

“If you need anything just press the call button.” Michelle told him.

“Okay,” he whispered, “Thank you.”

The two flight attendants made their way through the seats and back to their usual duties. Locke rubbed his face, and sighed. He wanted to get home and wanted to get back toward his life. He then reached up to check the flight safety manual but his hands were too jittery; he dropped it. The plastic piece of paper flipped out and landed on the aisle a good two feet away from him. Locke grunted as he tried to grab it but couldn’t reach. He continued, refusing to feel weak. Then he stopped when he noticed a soft tanned hand pick up the safety manual for him. A young woman with an exotic beauty about her handed him the plastic flyer. “Here ya go,” Mia smiled.

“Thank you,” he said, slightly embarrassed.

“Don’t worry about it,” she said, patting him on the back as she continued toward her seat.

Locke smiled briefly. The kindness of the young girl touched in a special way. He wonder why she didn’t bother to ask him why he didn’t get up out of his seat to get the flyer?

Mia looked at the rows and rows of seat until she found her spot. She slid over and sat down, noticing she was practically near the back. She placed her bag under her seat and tucked her hands into her pockets of her jean jacket. More and more people began to file into the plane, taking their seats. A bushy haired man with a short sleeve shirt over his longer sleeve shirt came into the middle looking very mad. It would seem like he wasn’t liking being on this flight. As he sat down, another man continued to walk toward the back, dragging his luggage with him. “I can’t believe you are letting this happen,” Clay grunted over his cell-phone,” NO . . .No, listen to me, Giles. You are going to pay for not being able to handle this. And plus you are adding salt to my wounds. First class was BOOKED! I have to sit in the back with the rest of the white trash!”

Mia winced as the business man continued to the very back of the plane. As he disappeared from view, a young man came over and sat down at her row. “Moron needs to control his volume.” He mentioned.

“Tell me about it.” Mia giggled.

The young man leaned back and rubbed the back of his neck. “Fly much?” he said to Mia, making idle conversation.

“Not if I can help it.” She grinned.

“I know the feeling,” then reached over and extended his hand, “Seth Butler.”

“Mia Ray.” She smiled, shaking his hand.

“Nice to meet you, Mia,” he grinned, “It’s a long flight, so why not get acquainted.”

Mia smiled. She had just met the young man and already she liked his friendly attitude. Then within seconds, another young woman came back to the row. She was looking at her ticket and then back to the seat. She smiled brightly at Seth. “Excuse me,” she said, pointing toward the seat next to him.

“Oh,” the young bookstore worker said, moving his legs out of the way so the redhead could sit down next to him and Mia. The pale skinned girl sat down and sighed, looking at Mia. “Hello.” She smiled.

“Hello,” she replied, extending her hand,” I’m Mia.”

“Shanna.” She replied before Seth extended his hand and introduced himself as well.

The redhead looked at them with a smirk, slightly confused. “Do you two know each other?” she giggled.

“No, we just met,” Seth said, shoving his bag under his seat, “ We figured since we’re stuck on this long flight, why not get to know each other?”

“Conversation goes a long way, Shanna.” The Lakota girl smiled.

The redhead was amazed and impressed at the same time. She never expected to be sitting next to two people close to her age, and also never expected them to be so friendly. “Yes,” she agreed, “Yes, it does go a long way.”

“So,” Mia decided to start out, “Where you from?”


Charlie grunted as he continued to try and get his guitar into the side cabinet. He didn’t want to check it in, it was too precious to him considering it’s value. He continued to try and shoved it until a young black man stepped in to help him. “Let me help you with that.” Martin told him.

“Much obliged.” Charlie said, shoving the door.

“Piece a’cake.” The black man said, patting him on the back and going to walk toward his seat.

Charlie brushed his hands off his jeans and started to go find his seat as well. As he sat down, he turned and was struck nearly blind by beauty. Fashion Model Kristy Loran walked past him. When their eyes met, she offered a brief and friendly smile. Charlie smirked as he rubbed his mouth. The model continued walking toward the back to find her seat. The musician figured he might find his way back there and once she knew he was with Driveshaft, she’ll be all over him.

McKay shifted through the seats, heading toward the back. All he could keep his mind on was visiting his brother. Looking forward to enjoying some Montana scenery and getting to play with his new nephew. In the end there wasn’t anything more important than family. As he continued on, he tried to shift around some suit that had just come out of the bathroom. They accidentally pumped as he tried to get his canvas bag around him. “Sorry, mate.” McKay replied.

“Yeah, you are sorry,” Marshal Mars replied.

The Australian paused in his journey to the back of the plane. He faced the federal officer. “What did you just say?” he asked.

“I said you are sorry. You are and you whole damn country.” Mars told him to his face.

“Mate, if you are looking to get under my skin, you just succeeded.” McKay then started to move toward him.

“Hey!” a female voice interrupted him.

McKay looked down at the seat neat to the one reserved for the Marshall. A young brunette with soft green eyes looked up at him. “Ignore him,” Kate told the Australian,” He doesn’t want to be here.”

“Then we’re all happy he’s on this plane,” McKay said turning around.

“Yeah, be smart, scum bag,” Mars replied, “Walk away.”

McKay then dropped his canvas and began to walk back toward him, rolling up his sleeves. “I’ve never really been a smart man.” He sneered, anxious to beat up the suit.

“Gentlemen!” a black stewardess then said as she came over to them, “Is there a problem here?”

Mars and McKay stared each other down. They wanted to tear each other limp from limp but they also knew it would get them thrown from the flight. The marshal twisted his neck and gently button his sport goat. “No, no problem . . .Yolanda,” he said, reading her name tag,” The dummy here was just heading toward the back.”

McKay took a deep breath then turned around and picked up his canvas bag. After he flung it around over his shoulder, he turned back around one more time. “Hey, mate.” He said.

Mars looked at him.

“I may be a dummy,” McKay pointed at him, “But I know a son of a bitch when I see one.”

Kate then smiled, wincing. She was trying to keep from bursting out in laughter at McKay’s comment. The marshal just stared him down as McKay continued to go back toward the tail section. McKay grunted to himself, trying to stifle his anger. He then found his seat and flung his canvas bag in the overhead apartment. He then quickly sat down and then reeled from the alcoholic smell of the large man next to him. McKay gritted his teeth, rubbing his buzzed cut head. Could this trip get any worse?


Taylor grunted as he continued to haul her bags toward the bag. Mandy was right on her tail, with her own luggage. The blonde was mad that all of first class was booked. She hoped that she wouldn’t be stuck next to some stinky person. Luckily she had her best friend Mandy by her side to help her survive the trip. As she turned around to tug her luggage, she then bumped into the back of someone. The young man laughed and turned around. “I’m sorry. “ he laughed.

Taylor looked into his ice blue eyes and was instantly mesmerized. However, not more than Mandy was. The So-Cal blonde was certain she had seen those eyes in her dreams. “No, it’s my fault,” Taylor giggled, “I should have watched where I was going.”

“It’s quite all right. Do you need help with your bags?”

“Oh, no but maybe you can help us with something else?” Taylor replied, continuing to flirt with them.

Mandy didn’t even really noticed her best friend’s flirting. She was just lost in the young man’s eyes. “Boone!” a woman then said over near her seat, “Stop staring at those skanks and help me with my luggage!”

Boone sighed, feeling incredibly embarrassed. Mandy and Taylor both sighed, feeling definitely insulted. “Forgive my sister,” he calmly said, “she’s, uh . ..she a bitch.”

“At least you admit it,” Mandy smirked.

“So, where are you two sitting? Maybe we can have a drink later?”

“We. . .uh . .” the blonde tried to say.

Taylor then interrupted her, “We’re sitting in first class. These are . . .our grandmother’s luggage. She was forced to sit in the back cause we ran out of the room. We’ll come find you once we get her settled.”

“Oh,” Boone smiled, “Okay.”

The two blonde friends then continued on toward the back. After they got a ways from Boone, Mandy hit her friend on the arm. “I can’t believe you told him that!” she hissed.

“I know. I’m sorry,” Taylor grunted, rubbing her arm, “It was a bad judgment call. After that bitch called us skanks, I didn’t want to give her any more fuel for the fire.”

“What if he comes looking for us?” her friend replied, “I’m going to be so embarrassed.”

“Look at the bright side, “ Taylor giggled, “His sister will probably keep him occupied the whole trip.”


Eddie slid over toward his seat and sat down. His mother was already taking her medicine that helped her sleep. Eddie’s father was typing away on his keyboard. The young boy didn’t know much about his father’s job but he was thankful he had it. It kept him from pretty much wanting anything. He only wished the arguments would go away. People continued to flock toward their seats. A nice black woman and her husband proceeded toward the back. Eddie noticed the black man taking off his ring as he was walking. The group paused for a second and then the young boy looked at a young woman with curly hair. What he noticed most was the scar on her forehead. What would cause such a pretty girl to have such a scar?

Joscelyn was waiting for the others to move. She was anxious to go and sit in her seat. Her thoughts were only on her sister Paige and her husband Derek, who she loved like a brother. They were going to have her become the nanny to their daughters Lily and newborn Connie. As long as she was around loving family, she knew she would be okay. Joscelyn then paused when she saw Eddie staring at her. The boy was fixated on her face; specifically the scar. The young woman then gently rubbed her forehead, in an attempt to hide it. She finally started moving toward the back. “It’s not polite to stare, Eddie,” his mother whispered to him.

“Sorry, mommy,” he said, opening his comic book.


Jack leaned up and placed his bags into the over-head compartments. He was having difficulty getting them to fit. Little did he know, his ex sister-in-law slowly moved behind him. Jenny paused for a second, taking a smell of the air. She thought she recognized a familiar aftershave but saw no reason to look around to see if it was who she thought it was. Besides, what would be the odds that her sister’s ex-husband would be on this flight?

Jenny made her way toward the back and then sat down in her seat next to Clay, who was still yapping on his phone. The blonde grunted, worried that she was going to have to endure this over the whole trip. Then someone tapped her on the shoulder. She looked up and saw a girl a little bit older than her, with amber curly haired. Kellye looked at Jenny then looked at Clay. The girl soldier sighed but there was certain things she was raised to do by her father and brother; like doing the right thing and telling the truth. “You’re in my seat.” She sighed.

Jenny looked at her, then at Clay. She smiled as the young woman saved her from being next to the annoying businessman all trip. Jenny slid over and Kellye sat down in her former seat. The blonde girl looked at her and then pulled out her purse. Kellye moaned softly as Clay kept screaming in her ear, over the phone. The girl soldier then noticed that the blonde girl next to her was writing on a twenty dollar bill. Jenny then motioned for Kellye to read what she had written. The girl soldier leaned over and looked at it. It read, “You could have easily taken my real seat. Thank you for your honesty. Take this and buy yourself a good dinner when you get home.”

Jenny then closed the twenty dollar bill and handed it to Kellye. She smiled as she took it, and whispered, “Thank you.”

Kellye smiled as she stuffed the money in her side pocket. She was happy about the outcome of switching seats and doing the right thing. Brian once taught her that kindness was it’s own reward. More and more she was seeing that daily.

Libby continued to match toward the back. As she did, she saw a rugged handsome man sitting next to a young man with a blonde buzzed cut. The therapist smiled at the man; then shied away; wondering what he would ever see in a thin, non-attractive woman like herself. Hal flipped through the Sports Illustrated magazine, until he was interrupted by a tapping on his arm. “Dude,” Dutch chuckled, “That lady was SO checking you out!”

“I wasn’t aware we were in high school, son,” the cop smirked.

“What’s your name, dude?”

“Hal. Hal Mancuso,” he said, shaking his hand.

“Ian Dutchman but you can call me Dutch,” the surfer smiled.

Hal smiled back. He seemed like a nice kid and the name Ian already brought back fond memories. And here he was worried he was going to be annoying the whole trip.


Jilly continued on down the aisle toward her seat in the back. She was looking forward to being back on American soil. She had been roaming for so long, she never really found a true home. She hoped being back in American would perk up her spirits about where her life was headed. It wasn’t easy living abroad and it wasn’t easy being deaf either. Sadly, it was that fact that made her accidentally pump her bag into Ramon’s chest and didn’t hear a word about it. “Hey!” Ramon stood up, “Who the hell do you think you are?”

Jilly kept walking, obviously not hearing him.

“Hey, skeeze, are you deaf?” the Spaniard screamed.

“Actually, she is.” Ana-Lucia mentioned as she was walking down the isle, “ I overhead her trying her best to communicate with the gate agent. She didn’t mean to pump you, nor ignore you.”

“But that doesn’t excuse her clumsiness.” Ramon retorted.

“Actually, it does,” the Latina giggled.

“Oh, you think this is funny, do you?” the Spanish archer moved toward her, “Do you know who I am, chica? I’ll have you and that retard thrown off this plane.”

“I wouldn’t recommend that,” she sneered, “Sometime . . .bad might happen to you.”

“Are you threatening me, punta?”

“Maybe I am . ..maricon.”

John finally came back from his trip to the bathroom and saw Ramon in yet another confrontation with a woman. “Sweet Jesus,” he muttered, “What have you done now?”

“I didn’t do anything, John” Ramon countered, “This stupid whore thinks she can talk down to me.”

“Okay, that is enough, sit down!” the American archer pushed him into his seat, then turned toward the Latina cop, “I am sorry for my friend’s rudeness.”

“If you got to apologize for him,” Ana-Lucia pushed past him, “Then he ain’t much of a friend.”

John watched her walk away. Ramon was getting on his nerves and he was growing tired to cleaning up his messes. The archer sat down at the window seat of his Spanish friend. Ramon made a fist and rested it on his hand. “Thanks a lot, Hermano,” he told him, “You are my friend. You’re supposed to take up for me.”

“Did it ever freaking occur to you that you’re not RIGHT every single time?”

“Johnny-Boy, when we get home, you and I are going to define the means of our friendship.”

“Yeah,” John moaned as he stared at out the window, “I think we will.”


Brendon smirked as he finally got on the plane. He had temporarily gotten lost but luckily he managed to make it just in time. If the large man in front of him hadn’t raised such a fuss and he heard him from down the hallway, he never would have found the proper gate. Hurley smiled as he looked back toward him. “Lucks on our side, eh, dude?” he told the Asian man.

“Yes,” Brendon smiled.

Hurley got into his seat and immediately pulled out his headphones, helping himself a nearby comic book on the seat. Brendon walked past him, following the numbers toward his seat. He stopped when he saw the three young people in the row with him. The young Native American girl, the fiery redhead and the man by her side; all laughing and cutting up. Brendon was so happy to see them. Even though he could never tell them why he was happy to see them, it was enough that he knew. “Hey, “ Shanna smiled at his arrival, “You sitting with us?”

“I am,” Brendon smiled.

“Then sit down, bud, we’re just getting to really know each other, “ Seth laughed ,”The mo-friends, the mo-better.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” the Asian said, sitting down next to Mia.

“Wow,” the Lakota girl giggled, “Four of us sitting together, relatively close in age. What are the odds?”

“It must be fate.” Brendon smiled.

Mia then introduced herself, then introduced Shanna and Seth for them. The Asian man shook their hands, happy to have met them. “Brendon Battle,” he smiled proudly.

Happy Anniversary Part 1

The story is far from ending . . .

But every great story has a begining that must be told . . . . .

Tony sighed as he stood in line. All this trip for nothing. He came down here with the sole purpose of convincing his ex-wife to come back with him. However, she had not come down here to start a new life; she had come down here to be with another man. The doctor rubbed his face, anxious to get back home. His practice would be waiting for him and it would be enough to lose himself in his job. But would the pain ever go away? “NO!” someone screamed, interrupting his thoughts.

Tony turned and looked over toward a young man talking to the ticket clerk in the next line over toward his right. He was in a business suit and looked very upset. “I want you to listen to me, okay.” Jack said, “ Because I'm asking you a favor, Crissy. I'm standing in front of you in the same suit that I'm wearing to my father's funeral and I'm asking you a favor. In 16 hours I need to land at LAX, and I need that coffin to clear customs because there's going to be a hearse waiting there. And I need that hearse to take me and that coffin to a cemetery. Why? Why, Crissy, can't I just bring him to a funeral home and make all the arrangements? Why can't I really take my time with it? Because I need it to be done. I need it to be over. I just . . . . I need to bury my father.”

“Sweet Jesus,” Tony muttered under his breath, as she stepped forward. Depressed as he was, he never realized that other people’s problems could be worse. As the line started to move forward, the doctor silently hoped the other man would be able to take his father home.


“Yeah, baby,” Ramon said over the phone as he walked along the massive hallway of Oceanic Air, “I like that color on you. You gonna wear it for me when I get home?”

John continued to follow his friend, hauling both his bags and Ramon’s. He was started to get winded, especially hauling both bow cases. Ramon made a kissing sound as he closed his cellphone. “Sheila is going to wear a purple teddy for me when I get home.” He chuckled.

“Who?” John asked.

“Sheila,” the Spaniard told him.

“Who is Sheila?”

“My girlfriend, dufus,” the Spanish archer laughed.

“What?” the American archer paused, “What the hell happen to Ana-Bella?”

“Hermano, that punta is so last week-“

Before the Spanish Olympian could finish his sentence, a young girl accidentally pumped into him. Mia paused for a second as she regained control of her suitcase. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she smiled.

“Yeah, I’m sure you are,” Ramon said, making sure nothing splashed or touched his sport coat.

“Excuse me?” she raised an eyebrow.

“Eyes front next time, little girl or maybe that’s too difficult for you.”

“JERK!” Mia said, stomping off.

John then pulled up the suitcase and stopped next to his friend. “What the hell was that all about?” he demanded.

“Stupid little girl needs to look where she’s going and not stare at the floor when she walks, “Ramon said, putting on his sunglasses.

“Ramon, I can’t believe you were rude to that girl. It was just a simple bump!”

The Spaniard laughed as he gently patted John on the cheek. “Don’t let it worry you, Hermano. Now come on, so we don’t want to miss our flight.”

John watched his friend walk away, whistling a Spanish tune. He then turned toward the girl walking in the other direction toward the bathroom area. He felt bad for her and wanted to go apologize for his friends’ abrupt behavior. The archer then took a deep sigh and started to walk toward his friend. He thought in the end, what did it matter? He would never see the young girl again.

Jack rested at the bar, lost in his thoughts. He gently rubbed his face, and stared at his drink. It was early in the day to be drinking but he really didn’t care about society rules at the moment. He noticed movement to his right and a young Latina woman sat down on the stool over by him. “Tequila and tonic with wedge of lemon.” She told the bartender.

The man with the mustache behind the bar made her drink and gave it to her. She took it and quickly gulped it down. Jack smirked slightly, not expecting the Latina to be such a heavy drinker. She gently wiped her mouth with the napkin and then looked over toward the doctor. They exchanged polite glances. “Why were you yelling?” she asked him.

“Hmm?” Jack said to her.

“The girl, the check-in counter? You were yelling at her.”

“I'm sorry, do I know you?” the doctor raised an eyebrow.

“I'm on your flight. LA?” she replied, holding up her ticket, “ So your dad died, huh?”

“I thought you didn't hear what I was yelling about.”

“I was being polite.”

Jack smiled; already respecting her for her kindness. “Yeah, my dad died,” he finally confessed.

“How?”

“Heart attack.”

“Not a drinker, huh?” she said, noticing his hardly touched glass.

“No,” he confessed again.

The woman saw the subject was depressing him so she decided to change it to something more interesting. “So,” she smiled, “No ring because you're single or because you don't like wearing one?”

Jack smirked again. “You asking me if I'm married?” he smiled.

“Are you married?” she smiled back.

“No. No, not any more.” He said, then motioned to the bartender, “Can we get another tequila and tonic, please?”

“I didn’t think you were listening.” She giggled.

“So, what’s your name?” he finally asked.

“Ana-Lucia.” She said, shaking his hand.

“So, tell me, Ana-Lucia, what are you doing drinking tequila and tonics at ten to noon?”

“I hate flying. And they stuck me all the way in the back of the plane where the wheels come down right under your damn feet. So where are you sitting?”

Jack held up his ticket, “23B.” he told her.

“42F. Wanna trade?”

Before Jack could any anything, her phone went off. She gently un-clicked in her cellphone and answered it. “Hey, .. yeah. I'm in Sydney. . . . . Hold on.” She looked back toward him, “Uh . Sorry . .”

“Jack,” he finally introduced himself.

“Jack, I've got to talk. We'll have the next drink on the plane, okay?”

“42f,” he reminded her.

“42F, right,” she said, as she started to walk away, then turned back, “Oh, Jack?”

He turned toward his new friend.

“The worse part is over,” she confessed, as she started to walk away.

Jack shook his head. He could hear her talking on the phone as she slowly walked out of the bar. He overheard he telling someone that she was looking for a man called Embry but didn’t find him. The doctor’s thoughts were interrupted by a loud burp. He turned toward his left and saw a very large man at the bar, drinking heavily. He could tell by the abundance of glasses around him. Henry Poteet looked over at Jack as started to pile bills onto the counter to pay for his drink. “She’s wrong, you know?” the fat man commented, “It can always get worse.”

“Gee thanks,” Jack replied as the large man left the bar.

Down by the cafeteria, Jin was reading his news paper. He had just gotten through buying his tickets, despite the poor man yelling to the gate agent. His wife Sun then come back over with the tray and food. Jin looked up at her selections. “What took so long?” he asked in his native Korean language.

“I'm really hungry now.” Sun told him,” There were a lot of people in line. There really wasn't much to choose from, so I just got some simple things for us.”

The woman then placed a napkin in Jin’s lap. She then started to cut the sandwich in half for them. At a nearby table, an amber haired woman named Gina shook her head at the display. “If you ever catch me doing anything like that for you, shoot me.” She told her husband Jeff sitting next to her.

“Don't knock it.” Her husband told her, “Their divorce rate's 20 times lower than ours.”

Sun overheard them but said nothing. After she sliced the sandwich in half, she tried to hand it to Jin but accidentally spilled his drink into his lap. The Korean man jumped up, and yelled in disgust. Sun tried to get another napkin to help clean him off. “Sun, please,” Jin stopped her, speaking in her own language, “ Where . .where is the bathroom?”

Sun pointed toward the right and the man turned, walking toward. She sat back down and tried to dab up the rest of the liquid from the table. “My god, it's Memoirs of a Geisha come to life.” Gina then said.

“Volume.” Jeff reminded her.

Sun was feeling mortified from what they were saying. Gina just shrugged her husband’s warning. “Relax, they don't speak English.” She told him.

“But some of us do,” Brendon mentioned behind her.

Gina shockingly turned and saw the young Asian man looking at her. He calmly sipped on his bottle and crunched his sandwich wrapper with his other hand. The woman then turned around and gave her husband the evil eye of why she didn’t warn her about the man sitting next to her. He raised an eyebrow, informing her HE DID. Brendon threw his wrapper and bottled water into the trash. He then walked over to Sun and bowed toward her. “Ignore their insults,” he spoke in Korean.

Sun’s eyes lit up, cause she saw how Brendon took up for her. “You . .are Korean?” she smiled in her native tongue.

“No, I’m Japanese.” He smiled, “My best friend in college was Korean. We taught each other our home language.”

“Thank you for taking up for us.”

“No one deserves to be spoken down to,” Brendon bowed again, “Enjoy your flight.”

“Goodbye.” Sun smiled as the young Asian man walked away.

She smiled, thinking the world might be a better place, now that she knew people like him existed. Even through ridicule from ignorant people, kindness could still be found. She hoped that she would seem him in flight, introduce him to her husband and tell him what he did.

Jin continues to try himself off, taking care of most of it, in the bathroom. Then a man in a Hawaiian shirt comes up and proceeds to wash his hands briefly. After he was done, he checked the paper towel dispenser but the lock wouldn’t move. He then slowly turned to Jin. “Excuse me,” he motioned, “could you hand me a paper towel there, bud? A paper towel . . . this one's broken.”

Jin smiled politely and bowed, pointing to his mouth. “OH!” the man said, “You don’t speak English. Sorry.”

The Hawaiian Shirt walked over to the paper towel dispenser and pulled one out. “Here is a paper towel,” he said . . ..in Korean.

“What?” Jin asked in his native language, assuming this man didn’t speak Korean.

“I work for Mr. Paik. Your father-in-law, . . . .and employer.” The stranger said coldly.

Jin turned to face him, filled with rage. “You've been following me?” he hissed.

“Yes. I know you're planning to run away. But you're going to take that watch to Mr. Paik's friend in California.” He warned.

Jin stared at him, feeling hatred and defeat. “ You do anything else . . .anything . .you will lose her.” Hawaiian Shirt warned, “You are not free. You never have been, and you never will be.”

The man’s eyes then flickered he was looking past Jin. The Korean man then turned around and saw Hal Mancuso looking at them both from behind a stall door. The cop stared at the man in the Hawaiian shirt for a few seconds and it was the stare that made the man quickly leave the restroom. Jin paused, not knowing what to do. Hal walked over past him toward the sink and proceed to wash his hands. After he was done, he picked out some paper towels and started to dry his hands. “I don’t speak your language,” he told Jin, “But I understand tone. If that guy tries anything you let me know.”

Jin looked at him confused. Hal then stopped and reached into his back pocket. The cop then showed the Korean man his badge. He pointed toward the badge, then he pointed toward where Hawaiian Shirt went, then he pointed to Jin and then back to himself. The Korean man felt that he was indeed offering his help. He calmly bowed toward Hal. The cop shook his head and then quietly left the restroom. Jin finally started to dry his hands. He knew the officer offered his head but how could he? Even in Australia he could not escape his father-in-law.

Seth finished writing in his journal and closed it up. He took one more look at his photo of him and Tanya. He smiled at her picture, gently rubbing his thumb across her face. It was a shame she was scared of flying but he didn’t want to force her to come. The moment she saw the waves in this country, she’ll be surfing till the cows come home. Seth then checked his watch and saw that it was time to start heading toward his flight home. He grabbed his bag and hoisted it up, as he proceeded to walk toward the escalator. A young couple then got in front of him, heading up the escalator at the same time. Seth’s eyes fell on the blonde’s beautiful legs, which wasn’t hard to not look at them. “You can try again with the gate agent.” Shannon mentioned.

“Would you let it go?” Boone informed her.

“Excuse me for not being pathetic enough to not want to sit next to some crying baby for the next 15 hours.” She hissed back.

Seth raised an eyebrow at her complaining. “Oh god, you can be a bitch.” Her blue eyed companion grunted.

“Oh, you want to play?” Shannon warned, “I can get you thrown off this flight.”

“Yeah, how are you going to do that?”

“I can do whatever I want. I could tell them-“

“Tell them what?” Boone didn’t back down, “Who's going to believe you? You're not even capable of-“

“You have no idea what I'm capable of.” She hissed at him.

When they reached the top of the escalator, the tall blonde immediately walked over to one of the airport cops that patrol the area. “Excuse me, sir?” she said, getting his attention.

“Yes, ma’am?” the cop said.

“Uh . . .some Arab guy just left his bags in the chairs downstairs and then just walked away.”

“Could you describe him please?”

“He’s an Arab,” she said, obviously, then pointed down below, “He went towards the shops.”

The cop then walked over toward the other escalator, pushing pass Seth. Shannon walked over to Boone with a smug look on her face. “How’s that?” she grinned.

Boone took a deep sigh as she walked away, toward the gate area. Seth was amazed; witnessing the whole thing. He shifted up his bag and started to walk past the blue eyed young man. “You want my advice?” Seth said in passing,” Dump her.”

Boone smirked at his comments. He began to follow Shannon and by happenstance, Seth at the same time. Dump Shannon? He wished it was that easy.

Part 359: The Birth of . . . . .

July 13th, 2005

Mandy cried from the pain that her baby was giving her. She had been in labor for the past four hours and four hours was enough. She knew the baby was ready to come in the world and she was looking forward to playing mother to her and Boone’s child. How she wished he was here with her to share the joy. However, she was still thankful to be with her family that she did have. Taylor gently rubbed her forehead with the cold rag to help ease the pain in some way. “I want this over.” She muttered.

“Sooner or later, darlin, “ McKay said, standing by, “It will be.”

“McKay . .where . . .where is Alexander?” she mumbled.

“He’s outside on the balcony, Mandy,” Taylor smiled, “Standing guard.”

“Standing . . .what? What is he doing?”

“Don’t you remember his vow on the Island, Mandy?” the Australian smiled, “He vowed for you sake and to honor Boone, he would protect the baby at all costs.”

“He thinks that the Liberation will come to take the baby away, like they did to his tribal sisters back on the Island,” Taylor said, dabbing more water into the rag, “ Even thought they won’t, we decided to let him do what he feels he most. So he stays out of the way of the doctors.”

“Okay,” Mandy said, drifting in and out of consciousness, “ He’s . .such a good . .boy . .I love him.”

“We all do,” McKay smiled.

The Australian wondered if Mandy meant a little more than that. Even though they had all been living under the same roof for the past 7 months, had Mandy grown to love Alexander like she did Boone in their brief time together? He didn’t know; but it wasn’t no mystery how the lost boy felt about Mandy. McKay strolled over to the balcony and opened it up, seeing the young man perched on the railing of the balcony. Any normal human would have fallen off but Alexander’s enhanced agility allowed him to do things most normal humans couldn’t. “Any sign yet, boy?” McKay asked him.

“No sigh of Liberation,” Alexander looked at him, “You sure hallway is safe?”

“Don’t worry about.” The Australian replied, “If they were coming through the hallway, then they’d have to past the guys in the waiting room and you know they won’t let them near her.”

“Yes,” the lost boy agreed, “You are right. Good thinking, Uncle McKay.”

“I try,” he smirked as he closed the door to the balcony.

As McKay entered, the door to the room opened and in stepped their favorite, not to mention personal doctor. “How is she?” Jack asked.

“She’s still in pain,” Taylor mentioned.

“Oh, God, Jack, make it stop.” The blonde cried.

“It’s to be expected, Mandy,” he assured her, patting her knee, “You should be getting closer. So let’s take a look, shall we?”

Jack scooted the stool toward her and gently raised her legs. Taylor rubbed her forehead as she continued to cry from the pain. McKay looked at her, hoping that it would all be over soon. The doctor then gently let the blanket down and smiled. “Good news,” he smirked, “She’s ready.”

“She’s . . .she’s ready?” gasped McKay.

“Yeah, her dilation is at the perfect diameter. I’ll get the nurses to come get her and we’ll induce labor.”

“She’s ready?” the Australian repeated.

Taylor quickly grabbed his wrist. “Honey, don’t faint.” She giggled.

“Mandy, do you want McKay or Taylor to come with you in the OR?” Jack asked.

“Both,” she cried, “I want . .both of them.”

“Uh . .Mandy we usually only let one come in there with you, so who-“

“BLOW IT OUT YOUR ASS, JACK!!!” Mandy screamed at the top of her lungs, “Either they both come with me or this baby isn’t coming!!!!”

Jack stared at her flabbergasted for a second, then tried to refrain from laughing. He took no offense, it wasn’t the first patient that screamed at him. But Mandy was more than that; she was a friend and they even called him their to make sure the birth would go according to plan. He looked at the married couple and they seemed to have grins of their own. “I’ll . .uh . .make sure they bring gowns for you both.” He smiled.

“Thank you, Jack,” Taylor slightly giggled.

“It’s not . . funny . .you . .bitch,” she cried.

“Okay, now I know she is doped up.” Her best friend smiled.

“All right, “ Jack clapped his hands, “Let me call the nurses and get the baby into the world.”



Out in the waiting room, the majority of the survivors were gathered as friends and supporters to Mandy. Tony and Marita were there, as were John and Mia. Barbara was there with Jilly and Eddie came along too; if only to see Tony and Marita again. He was having fun telling them about his 11th birthday. Tony teased him, saying he’ll be a grown man before they know it.

Shanna was hanging with Tanya, as they had become good friends in the past month. Mia was hanging out in the couch with them, pointing to John’s appearance in Men’s Health Magazine. The archer smirked, knowing full well they were talking about him. John then laughed as little Aaron came over, grabbing his leg. “Hey, buddy!” John laughed as he picked him up.

Claire was talking with Barbara so it was fun to see her son knowing who the fellow survivors were. Mia also enjoyed watching John play with the young baby, as she longed to see him doing it with their own children. The Lakota girl then went back to her conversation with Tanya and Shanna, like the others; awaiting the arrival of Mandy’s baby.


Outside on a bench sat Hurley, Seth and Charlie. The three friends were staring blankly at the flowerbed before them. The large man gently leaned up and sipped on his Lipton Tea. Charlie moaned slightly; rubbing his face from being there all morning. Seth sighed, scratching his the side of his forehead. “You’re absolutely wrong, you know that?” Seth mentioned.

“You are such a sodding git sometimes, you know that?” Charlie immediately retorted.

“Uh . .dude . .the more I think about it, the more I think he’s right.” Hurley mentioned.

“Oh, great, now Hurley turns on me.” The musician buried his face in his hand.

“Charlie, look at it,” Seth leaned forward, “The monster is coated in METAL. There is no way he could survive a knock down, drag out brawl if he is hitting freaking metal!”

“But that’s just it! He won’t give up. He’ll use buildings or trees or rocks. Rocks can hurt metal, Seth!”

“Then why does Rock beat Scissors?” Seth pointed, raising his eyebrows.

“Scissors?” Charlie winced, shaking his head, “Where did . . .What do scissors have do with . . . .wait, what are we talking about now?”

“Oh, Dear God in heaven,” John mentioned behind them.

The trio looked toward the doorway that led into the building just outside of the area where they were sitting. The archer was looking at them with a slightly disapproving glare; not to mention an annoyed stare too. “What the hell is it about this time?” John asked, “Monthra Versus Voltron? Mighty Mouse Versus Underdog? What is it this time??”

The three friends shied away from John’s menacing glare. Hurley sipped his tea and looked elsewhere. Charlie just continued to stare at the ground, scuffing his feet on the concrete walkway. Seth finally sighed and looked up at the archer. “Uh . . .Kong and uh . .MechaKong.” the singer finally confessed.

“Oh . .that’s . .just great,” John sighed, “Well, Trio Dorkos, I just wanted to let you know Mandy has done into the delivery room.”

“She’s having the baby?” Charlie gasped.

“Technically, she’s been HAVING the baby all morning. He/She is about to come into the world, in probably the next ten minutes.”

“Thanks, John,” Seth said, standing up with the others.

“No problem,” the Archer was about to go back into the building but stopped.

Seth stood there, holding the door; wondering why John wasn’t moving. “What?” he asked.

“There was . . .a MechaKong?” John asked, confused.


-----------------------------,

Mandy screamed at the top of her lungs, as she continued to push. Taylor held onto her right hand while McKay held onto her left hand. The Australian winced in pain, as he realized she was crushing his hand. All the rumors he had heard that mothers have increased adrenaline during child birth were true. Jack continued to stay with her, surrounded by nurses. “Keep pushing, Mandy!” he told her, “I can see the head of the baby, you are almost there!”

“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!” she screamed.

Mandy gasped for air, after he last push. She could hear the nurses and Jack talking but they all of a sudden became mumbled. Even Taylor and McKay were not making clear noises. The blonde then looked into the distance of the delivery room, and gasped.

Boone was smiling at her from the corner.

He was just standing there, smiling her. He had his usual confident swagger about him, with his hand tucked inside his khacki pants. Mandy looked at him and then smiled; feeling all the pain go away. She loved him so much and missed him even more. Boone stared at her and then stared at something else. He chuckled slightly as tears started to form in his eyes. He then looked back toward her and whispered the words, “I’ll always love you.”

A nurse walked past her field of vision and Boone disappeared. Then the sound of the delivery room flooded her ears yet again. McKay and Taylor were laughing. The older Australian leaned his head on hers, crying from joy. “McKay?” she coughed, “What’s happening? The pain . .is gone.”

“Mandy, we have the baby,” Jack laughed, as he held up the newborn.


John, Mia, Shanna, Tony and Marita waited in the hallway. They knew Mandy went into the delivery room about 15 minutes. No one yet but they knew someone would come out eventually. Then at the far end of the hallway, John saw movement. He looked up into the distance and saw McKay slowly walking out of the double doors. He had on the typical doctor gown for someone going into the delivery room. Even Tony was able to detect his presence. The two friends immediately began to walk down the hallway to meet him, followed by their wives and friends. McKay saw them and he looked exhausted. John and Tony met up with him, and the Australian leaned on them for support; laughing and slightly crying at the same time. “McKay, what news?” Tony asked his friend.

McKay gripped onto their shirts as he took a deep breath. “It’s a girl,” he laughed.

The group then laughed and cheered; not expecting to have a girl brought into the world. Tony and John laughed, hugging their friend at the same time. Marita giggled and kissed him on the cheek, telling him he’s going to have his hands full with Taylor, Mandy and the new little female addition. Mia even joked that McKay will have screen her boyfriends when she gets older. “Oh, please, God,” he laughed, “I can’t think of that right now.”


The group gathered at the viewing area where they placed the babies. The little was getting cleaned and checked by the nurses in the distance. The group smiled and laughed as they watched the newest addition to their large family. Then Tony turned after he could smell a certain type of cologne. Jack came out in his normal scrubs and smiled at everybody. Hurley was the first to greet him with a bear hug. Joscelyn giggled at the sight of it. John shook his hand and so did Tony.

Another successful birth with them.


Later that evening, Mandy was in her room. She was sleeping off the rest of the day. She slowly looked toward her right to the small crib and saw Alexander standing over her daughter. The lost boy was looking down on the sleeping child, gently crying. “Alex,” Mandy whispered.

The young man turned around and looked at her. He walked over to and kneeled down. He gently took her hand, kissing it. “She’s beautiful,” he smiled, “As are you.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere.” She grinned.

Then the door to the room slowly opened. Shannon and Sayid slowly walked into the room, quietly as possible. The Iraqi looked toward his right as and saw McKay and Taylor past out on the couch in the room. The middle easterner quietly chuckled when he saw that McKay had a bag of ice over his hand. The Australian then slowly opened his eyes and smiled. “Sayid,” he grinned, happy to see his friend.

“Did I not warn you to give her your weaker hand?” he smiled, shaking his other hand.

Shannon smiled and then looked over toward Mandy. The blonde then raised up as she heard voices. When the former pregnant woman saw her dear friend, her eyes lit up and she smiled brightly. “Auntie Shannon,” she giggled.

“Mandy,” the tall blonde crossed the room toward her, placing the teddy bear on the side, “I’m so sorry I didn’t make it hear in time.”

“Shhhhh,” she said, taking her friend’s hand, “What are you talking about? You arrived just in time.”

“But . . I should have been hear during the birth. You deserved that.”

“Shhhh. You’re here and that’s enough.”

Shannon wiped her tears, happy Mandy wasn’t upset that she didn’t make it for the birthing. She leaned down and kissed her tear friend on the forehead. “So, where is he?” she asked.

Mandy giggled. “SHE . . .is over there.” She pointed to the crib.

“She?” Shannon gasped.

The tall blonde walked over to the crib, meeting Sayid along the way. The couple stared down at Mandy and Boone’s child. The baby was fast asleep, wrapped in her pink blanket. Shannon immediately started to cry. Sayid smiled, putting his arm around her and pulling her close. “She’s beautiful.” Shannon wept.

“What is her name?” Sayid asked Alexander.

“Bridget,” he smiled, “Bridget Carlyle.”

Shannon stopped crying and sniffed. “Carlyle?” she gasped, looking at Mandy.

The blonde smiled. “We’re always going to see Boone in her,” she grinned, “Why not give her the honor of his last name?”

“Oh, Mandy,” the tall blonde said, overcome with joy.

The small family stood together huddled in the darkness of the room late at night; watching down over Bridget, the newest member of their make-shift. Even though they were barely related by blood, it was a family to them none-the-less.

And the future was already looking brighter.

Part 358: A new Begining

McKay sat on his bed, wondering what was taking Taylor so long. He rubbed his face, trying to hide his eagerness to make love to his new wife. He got up and paced around a bit; trying to be patient. The Australian grunted and finally coughed. “Damn it, Taylor, what is taking so long?” he called to her.

“Hold on, baby,” she said, cracking the door to the bathroom, “ I’m finally done. Now turn around.”

McKay turned around. “So, what scheme did you come up with tonight?” he smirked.

“I wanted to go ahead and get one of my fantasies out of the way.”

“You fantasies?” he raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah. We didn’t get the chance to be teenagers so I am taking care of that. You can turn around now.”

McKay slowly turned around and his jaw fell open at the sight of her. It wasn’t her wet hair nor her seductive gaze on him as she gently bit her finger, that got him aroused. Not even the sexy pose against the door.

It was her cheer leader outfit.

“Oh, God,” he whispered, “I’m in trouble.”

---------------------------------,

Mia was out on the balcony, letting the cool Nevada wind blow against her. She was wearing one of John’s shirt, and she enjoyed the smell on it. They were married. Every dream she hoped for her and the archer had come true. She wondered how long it would take for her to have children or to even find a home. The Lakota was proud to be his wife and looked forward to the new adventures with him away from the Island. “Oh, Mia?” John called within the room.

She turned around and walked back into the room. However, John was no where to be found. “John?” she asked.

“Mia, do you believe in the Here After?” he asked, as he appeared behind a corner.

“Uh . . .Yes,” she grinned brightly.

“Then you must know what I am HERE AFTER.” He said, producing a stuffed toy alligator.

“Joooohhhhnnnn,” she pointed, slowly backing away from him.

“LOOK OUT FOR THE GATOR, BABY!!!” He said, as he began to chase her.

Mia squeal in delight as she ran from her husband. John made a chomping sound as he ran after her. Mia tried to dodge him with the chair and then ran toward the bed. The archer then dropped his stuffed toy animal and then grabbed her, as they both collided on the best. The Lakota girl laughed as she playfully hit him on the chest. “YOU CHEAT!” she giggled, “You got a longer reach!”

“I told you back on the Island, baby doll,” he said, staring up at her, “I got you . .and I am not letting you go.”

Mia caught her breath and then quickly leaned down kissing him. John held onto her as he gently dragged her up toward the pillows. She continued to kiss him, as he worked to get his pants off. The Lakota then noticed the lights were still on. She then reached and knocked the lamp off the nightstand. As it landed, it pulled the cord from the wall; turning itself off.

The young couple laughed as they fell into darkness.

------------------------------------------,

Marita moaned with delight as she sat in the hot watered tub with her new husband. Tony massaged her shoulders, helping her to relax. “Oh, god, yes, Tony,” she grinned, “If you can’t get your license back, maybe you could work as a masseuse.”

“Never work, chica.” He chuckled.

“Why, Tone?” she grinned, “You got the hands of a surgeon.”

“I don’t think I could be a masseuse because the only body I would want to be touching is yours.”

“Oh, Tony,” she smiled, falling back into his arms, “You do know how to make a girl feel wanted.”

“And it’s always going to be you that I want, Marita.”

The Latina turned around and grabbed him by the neck, kissing him heavily on the mouth. The blind doctor held onto her hips, bringing her closer. He admitted to himself that he loved her the first moment he met her. He would have loved to have seen her but it didn’t matter. Saying their vows were enough.

It meant her love was real.


-------------------------------------------,

Tony gently woke up from his slumber. He turned his head toward his wife as she slept by his side. He gently reached over and touched her soft cheek. Marita moaned with a smile at his touch. The blind man smiled, loving the sight of her sleeping. He then grunted as he stood up, stark naked. He felt of his way toward the bathroom to take care of his business. When he came out, he found his underwear and jeans; putting them on. He reached over and picked up a shirt; then smirked when he realized it was Marita’s. He put it down and found the surfing shirt John bought for him earlier in the weekend. As he placed it on, he found his shoes and started to put them on; then noticed Marita was moaning away. “Tony?” she asked.

“Over here, baby,” he whispered.

“Mmmm. It’s so early,” she groaned, “Where are you going?”

“Down to the bar. I am graving a White Russian something fierce.”

“So eager to get away from me on our honey moon, eh?” she giggled.

Tony laughed at her little joke. “You need me to bring you anything?” he offered.

“No,” she said, smiling, “I have everything I want.”

Tony walked back over toward her and leaned down, kissing her. “I love you, wife,” he smiled.

“My husband,” she smiled, rubbing his cheek.

Within seconds, she had fallen asleep again. Tony stood up and walked over toward the chair, kicking his cane upward. He quickly caught it: smirking that his heightened senses were still with him. He gently slide the door-card in his back pocket and quietly left the room.

As he made his way toward the elevator, he could hear the snoring a sleeping man on one of the benches. Judging by the smell of alcohol on him, Tony understood the poor man was too drunk to make it back to his room. The blind man had a fleeting thought of back on the Island and his confrontation with Henry Poteet. He never wished the man any harm but he forced his hand. And the Polliwog had taken care of the alcoholic for him. Tony smirked; wondering how the creature was getting along without him.

Tony rode the elevator down as reached the bottom. After the elevator doors opened, the blind man walked out and turned left; he remembered John told him how to get to the bar. He walked along the rows of chairs mounted to the bar, feeling no air compression which meant most were empty. He picked one and sat down. The doctor could then hear the bartender walked up toward him. “Can I . . .help you?” he said.

“Yeah, White Russian, please,” Tony replied, pulling out his wallet.

The bartender didn’t move; Tony knew this cause he couldn’t hear his feet moving. Then he felt a change in the air around him. He understood what was happening; the bartender was waving his hand in front of his face. “Yes, I am blind,” Tony laughed.

“Oh, sorry, man,” the bar tender replied.

Tony finally heard him leave as he pulled up a ten from his wallet. It was a trick that he had leaned that blind people did; they folded the bills in a specific pattern to tell the differences between the bills. The bartender then brought the drink back toward him, setting it on the bar. “six, fifty,” he told him.

Tony slid the ten dollar bill toward him. “Keep it,” he said.

“Thanks,” the young man replied.

Tony took the cold glass and gently raised it to his lips to take a drink. Then he felt a hand stop him slowly. “Don’t drink that, man,” a voice said.

“Huh?” Tony replied, as the stranger took the glass away from him.

“Uh, excuse me,” the man said, “You want to make him a REAL White Russian, please?”

“I did,” the bartender nervously chuckled.

“No, you didn’t, man. You poured in milk, sugar and water. You made him a poor man’s milkshake. I know; I tended bar in college.”

“Dude, I was just . .it’s been a slow night.”

“Tell you,” the man said, as Tony heard him removing something from a Velcro strap in his jacket, “You make him a White Russian, and me a Kalua Mudslide, and they are both for free . . .and I WON’T tell your manager you are picking on blind people.”

“Yes, sir,” the bartender said, walking away.

Tony smirked. He wondered who the stranger was; especially to make the young bartender immediately scared. “Thank you for that,” Tony told him.

“I don’t believe in cruelty to those with handicaps.” He replied.

“Nor do I. Which is why I thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He said, shaking his hand. The stranger then paused for a second, then snapped his fingers, “Do I know you?”

Tony chuckled,” You might. I accidentally became famous last month.”

“What? Did you win the lottery?”

“No, I survived a plane crash and was marooned on a Island for two months before escaping it.” The blind man laughed.

“THAT’S IT!” the man snapped his fingers, “That’s where I know you from. I saw you on the news back in December. You and the rest of the survivors of Flight 815.”

“That would be us,” Tony smiled, “My name is Tony by the way.”

“Nick Stokes,” the man introduced himself, “Las Vegas Crime Lab.”

“Crime Lab?” the blind man, then smirked, “Ah. I get it now. No wonder you were able to put the fear of God into the bartender. You’re a cop.”

“It has it’s privileges.” Nick smiled as the glasses were placed before them.

Tony and Nick then took a sip of their drinks. The blind man smiled at the tastes of the frozen beverage; one he had been craving more than Coke. He even felt the ten dollars slid back toward his hand by the bartender. Tony smirked as he put it in his shirt pocket. “So, Tony,” Nick said, sipping his drink, “What does a blind man come to Vegas for?”

“Getting married,” he said, proudly.

“No kidding?” the cop laughed, “Congratulations.”

“Thank you. I found a lovely woman and I look forward to spending my life with her.”

“Where did you find this beauty?”

“On the Flight. She was one of the stewardesses.”

“Will wonders never cease?” Nick laughed, “What was it like on that Island, Tony?”

The blind doctor sipped his drink and turned his head toward his conversation friend. “It was thrilling,” he smiled, “It was terrifying. It was amazing. And it wound up being . ..the best bonding experience I could have ever had in my life. I walked away from that Island with a wife and friends I know I will keep for life.”

“Then it was all worth it?” the cop asked.

Tony sipped his drink and smiled. “Yes. Yes it was.” He told him.

“Then it’s all good,” Nick said, drinking his beverage, “Welcome back home, Tony.”

“Thanks, Nick,” the blind doctor smiled, “But enough about me, what about you? You said Crime Lab, so I can assume you are in forensics?”

“You betcha, “ he said, sipping his drink, “The cops may nap the bad guys but it’s our job to prove they did it. It has it’s moments and sometimes . . .It doesn;’t.”

Tony could hear the tone change in Nick’s voice. It was the tone of a man who he could tell something bad has happened to him before. Probably something bad. But the blind man decided not to get too curious about it. “Something tells me your job is not boring.” He smiled.

“No,” Nick chuckled, “Not a bit.”

“You’ll be okay, Nick. I can tell.”

“Like wise with you, Tony. It only gets better from here.”

“Yes, “ Tony smiled, “Everything is going to change.”

Tony finished his drink and then slowly got up. “Thanks for the free drink, Nick,” he said, patting him on his back.

“My pleasure, man,” the cop replied, “You need me to escort you up to your room?”

“No, I got this. But I do appreciate, “ he said, shaking his hand, “Keep doing good things and putting the bad guys away.”

“My man, that is what I do,” Nick said, proudly shaking his hand.

Tony walked away, glad to have spoken to the man. He seemed like a kind soul and he knew his intentions were good. If he ever came back to Vegas, he knew how to look up him. The blind man could tell this cop would make a good friend.

Tony waited for the elevator to open and as it did, he walked in; pressing the button to his flood. As it started to rise, he was anxious to get back to his wife. He had never felt more secure about the future, until that very moment.

Part 357: Vows

January 13th, 2005

The day started like it had been for the post two days. The group gathered in the Port of Call Buffet down at the bottom of the Gold Coast Hotel. Alexander ate large quantities like he always did. Seth mentioned he’d give anything to have his metabolism. Sayid then made every body went he reminded the young singer what it took to give Alexander that high metabolism. Seth politely declined to be experimented on.

The first stop was the Chapel of Love, for Taylor and McKay. The bald Australian laughed at the placed, considering it resembled something out of the Wild West. Even the minister was dressed in typical garb for a priest in 1885. The young blonde said it would remind McKay of his home which made him laugh even more. The group took their places. They weren’t dressed in full wedding clothing , but nice relaxed clothing; as they had many stops before the day was over.

The minister said his words from the bible and then addressed the couple to exchange their vows. Taylor looked at her fiancé and smiled, holding his hand. “McKay, I honestly didn’t like you when I first met you,” she giggled, “But it took a good friend of mine to realize that you were right for me. The more I knew you, the more I loved you. I had just come out of a bad relationship so I wasn’t prepared for another man in my life. But then again, I wasn’t prepared to survive a plane crash . . .nor prepared to find a man willing to take on a wild polar bear to save my life. I knew from that point forward, you were the man for me.”

After she gave him his ring, McKay waited for the Wild West minister to tell him it was his time to give his vows. “Taylor, I was attracted to you from the moment I saw you,” the Australian whispered, “ I too, had just come out a bad relationship as well and wasn’t expecting to find you. But my good friends that I made on that Island whispered in my ear and spoke of the winds of Fate. Fate let me too you. And even though we faced hardship and the loss of friends on that Island, I don’t regret it happening. If it didn’t happen, I never would have found you. I love you, Taylor.”

The young blonde smiled as McKay placed on her engagement and wedding ring. Mandy sniffed, trying to control herself. She always cried at weddings and if she was going to attend everybody’s wedding, it was bound to be a tearful day. The minister told them to kiss each other and they didn’t hesitate. Their friends then stood up and applauded. They then took each other hand and hand, and began to walk down the aisle. Taylor laughed as she tossed her bouquet right into Mandy’s arms. The blonde playfully scorned her friend for doing it. The rest of the friends began to follow them out to the awaiting limo they rented. “One down,” John smirked, “Three to go.”


The next stop was the wedding for Mia and John. The Lakota girl had chosen a garden area wedding chapel. It was surrounded by lots of flowers and large ponds with exotic fish in them. John and Mia walked hand and hand up the stone path to the awaiting black minister. He stood within a white gazebo, awaiting their arrival. Shanna began to cry as she stood with her best friend. Tony patted John on the back as he stood by his archer friend. The black minister began his speech on the scared rite of marriage and how the bonds of marriage can never truly be broken should the couple not wish it. As Mia stared into John’s eyes and he into hers; they knew they would always be together. The minister then informed them they could exchange their vows.

Mia took the ring from Shanna and gently placed it on John’s finger. “John Riggs,” she smiled, slightly crying, “ As I grew to know you, I knew I would do many things for you. You have the heart of a warrior and you skill with the bow is proof of that. You’ve saved my life more times than I can count. When I was . . .hanging by that noose back on the Island, I wasn’t thinking about how I would die but how I felt cheated that life with you would have been denied me. Fate intervened and now we are here. I’ll be your family, John. I’ll give you children and I’ll grow old with you. I love you, my brave hero.”

John winced his fate, trying not cry at her beautiful words but it wasn’t easy. Then he saw a hand to his left holding a tissue. Tony smirked, already knowing this was going to happen. The archer chuckled slightly as he wiped his eyes and looked at his bride, ready to say his vows. “Mia Ray,” he smiled, “You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid my eyes on. I know that’s a bold thing to say but in my heart, it’s true. As I watched you on the Island, I enjoyed observing your kindness, your generous, your ability to see the good in others. Sometimes I think it slightly annoys you that you wind up being a mother figure to you friends but you excel at it. You knowledge of history and the culture of your people fascinated me as well. I didn’t just fall in love with you, Mia . . .I fell in love with your soul. I know it’s cliché but you complete me. I love you so much.”

“Oh, John,” she sniffed.

“I know pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. John Riggs,” the black minister smiled, “You may now kiss the bride.”

Mia wrapped her arms around John and kissed him. The group applauded. Shannon wiped her tears, as Sayid put his arm around her. Shanna smiled brightly as Mia and John were now man and wife. As they parted, the redhead gave her friend back her bouquet. She immediately laughed when Mia threw it back to her. Tony shook his friend’s and embraced him like a brother. The archer was happy that his blind friend and McKay could be with him on this day.

The group then left the garden area to head toward their next wedding. It was then going to be Tony and Marita’s turn.


The group arrived at the pristine church just outside the town of Vegas. It was a special Mexican church, complete with adornments and special windows of the culture. As they entered, Tony and Marita walked down the isle together. The blind man could feel the sun from the distance windows caress his face. He gently felt of the warmth on his cheek. He could tell by his bride squeezing his hand that she choose it for just that reason. Even the chimes in the distance of the church was beautiful. The couple stopped at the minister awaiting them.

The minister said his words in Spanish first and then English. The blind doctor smiled, understanding most of it and thankful it was translated. After he spoke of the union of two souls and the power that marriage has over two people, he told them it was time to say their vows. Marita then gently placed the gold band on Tony’s finger. “When we crashed on that Island, I thought I was going to die,” she said, looking at her future husband,” Even though you didn’t have your eyes, you had the skills of a healer to make sure I was okay. I will always be grateful for that, Tony. I had been a bachelorette my whole life, searching for the right man to come in my life. A very . ..good friend of mine named Yolanda . . told me I should stop searching. She said, all I had to do was wait and the right man would come to me. I had no idea how right she would be. I will enjoy spending the rest of my life with you, Tony. You are my love, now and always.”

The blind man slowly smiled as a tear slid down from behind his black glasses. He then reached into his side pocket and gently placed the engagement and wedding ring on her finger. He took a deep breath and paused; sniffing. The minister waited for a brief second then said, “Mr. Largo, you may now say your vows.”

The blind doctor said nothing. Just continued to look toward his right. Marita then got a little worried. “Tony?” she asked.

The blind doctor squeezed her hand. Then he gently reached up with his other hand and removed his glasses. Marita blinked, wondering what he was doing. The doctor then winced slightly as he tilted his head and looked at her. The Latina nearly broke down in tears, when she understood he WAS really looking at her. She sniffed, reaching up and touching his cheek. “You deserve . . .to be looked at . . .on our wedding day,” he said, straining to focus.

Marita cried a little, as he took her hand and held it close. “I know you are grateful for me helping you on the Island, Marita,” he whispered, “I am grateful I was there. I am even more thankful that you were there to save my life. Had you not found the antibiotics to help me, I would have been a goner. I would have not had the chance to love you and to be with my great friends I have now. I suppose . . .I am slightly bitter for the crash taking away my sight. However, it made me realize that you loved me for who I was. Not because of me being doctor or out of some sense of pity for my handicap, you loved me. That made me love you even more. I can’t see you . . . .but I see nothing else.”

“Tony,” she wept.

“I love you so much,” he whispered.

The minister pronounced them as husband and wife, then they could kiss each other. Tony wrapped his arms around his wife and kissed her, holding her close. Marita’s tears fell on her husband’s cheeks as she kissed him. Mia cried, holding onto John. Even the archer felt a little teary eyed and slightly jealous; he knew Tony would have a better speech than him. Then it was all done, the group applauded their friends. Marita laughed as she wiped her tears, then pulled the bouquet apart. The other girls realized it was made that way, two groups of flowers made into a large one. The Latina then turned and toss each one to Andra and Flower. They giggled as they caught them; not knowing the true significance but enjoying the act none then same.

As they were walking out of the church, Seth waved his hands toward his friends. “LET’S GO, PEEPS!!!” he screamed, “We saved the best for last!”


The group stood within the large elevator as it continued to rise. The group was snickering and whispering most of the time. The group finally knew where Seth and Tanya were having their wedding and it was mixed feelings, ranging from amusement to disbelief. Tony stayed with Marita as he shifted his head around in the elevator, after she told them where they were. “He’s not serious,” he coughed.

“He’s serious,” John sighed.

Mia reached over and touched Seth’s arm, getting his attention. “You are such a dork! You know that?” she giggled.

“Yeah, and Tanya still loves me,” he smiled, “Go figure.”

As the elevator rose up, Tanya could barely contain herself. She was giggling and slightly jumping up and down. Seth smiled at her, patting her on the hand. Mia and Shanna just smiled, shaking their heads in disbelief. As they had grown to know and like Tanya, there was one aspect about her that Seth failed to mention.

She was a Trekkie.

The elevator opened up to the bridge of the starship Enterprise, as it was constructed at The Vegas Hilton. The awaiting minister was actually dressed like the Captain of the vessel. As the group walked in, they couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the absurdity of what they were doing. However, if it wasn’t a crazy thing, then it wasn’t Seth. The young singer walked up to the captain with his bridge. Tanya was afraid of laughing during the whole ceremony. Seth even saluted the man dressed as a Klingon to his left.

Then the captain began to say a special eulogy about marriage and the fate of the cosmos can be altered by two people in love. Even though it was meant to be a beautiful speech, all Seth and Tanya did was snicker during the whole thing. The blonde had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing the whole time. The group of friends stood behind them, smiling and giggling as well. Then the time had come to say their vows. Tanya turned toward the young man she had loved for so long. “Seth,” she said, then slightly giggled, “I should have known you would do this. Thank you for allowing us to get married among the stars.”

Seth smiled brightly as he looked at her.

“But when I heard that your flight went down, I was crushed. I had lost the man who’s life made me whole. I never gave up hope; something always told me you were still alive. I even had a magical moment when I felt your touch in my heart. I knew you were still alive at that point. I just knew. You came back to me with a brightness in your heart, cause I saw what type of man you had become. A man who could cherish the friendship of complete strangers and even call them family. You left me as a great man. Now you are better than that, and I love you for it.”

Seth smiled, sniffing to draw back his tear. He gently then placed her engagement and wedding ring on her finger. He took on step closer and held her hands closer to his chest. “I thanked God I survived,” he whispered, “I thanked God for giving me my new friends and I thanked God you were still here waiting for me. You may not have been on that Island with me physically but you were with me in my heart. There wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t think of you. I even sang your favorite song in the hope you would hear me. And I know . . you did. I love you, Tanya.”

The blonde sniffed, trying her best not to cry. The couple then turned back toward the captain. “Is the word given, sir?” Seth asked.

“The word is given,” the captain smiled, “Warp speed.”

“Aye, sir,” the young singer chuckled as he kissed his bride.

The group of friends behind him applauded the marriage. Seth held her close, kissing her. He broke off laughing when the Klingon behind them cheered in screaming and lurching. The friends laughed as they had to agreed, the best wedding was saved for last. The friends then began to flock out of the room and toward the elevator.

Four weddings in one day. Others joked they only did it so they could remember their anniversaries but the truth was they did it to honor their friends. They started out as strangers and became so much more. They began a family.

And the first edition of that family would arrive in a few months.