A/N: Greetings, all. I know, I know—I'm sorry just doesn't cover it at this point. I'm afraid I've had horrible typer's block; most of this has been written out for the last month, I just haven't been able to make myself sit down and type it out.
IMPORTANT CHAPTER INFORMATION! Okay, so it's not that important, but I just wanted to let you know that this chapter and the next are sorta going to be Fiona's "episode"; you'll be getting a lot of her backstory and other background information. So pay attention, or you might miss something important.
Just so you know, when I wrote Ian in the flashback, I always pictured him as Sean Bean. He does good bad guys so well, and I love his accent. So…yeah.
Wow! What a response from the last chapter! Glad to see I'm finally able to coax a few reviews out of ya'll. Granted, it's still kinda depressing to see over 100 hits and only 7 reviews, but I'm trying not to take it personally.
Yay to all of our new reviewers!
Krisinmtka: Many thanks for the compliments. I'm not sure if the writers ever thought about this possibility—maybe they should just pay me and add me to the staff! Hehehe…your wish is granted; more Fiona and Danielle stuff in this chapter and the next. I'm glad you like Fiona's character—I've always thought that it's cool when someone with a disability doesn't let it stop them. Hey, you stole my line! (I always end my reviews with 'Keep up the great work') That's okay though—as long as you keep reviewing, you can use any quote you'd like. Enjoy!
SGCFan4ever: So glad that you like! Hehe…I wish that I knew French too, cause Elemertary French is kicking my butt. The secret: online translators. You type in one thing, and it tells you what it means. Anywho, hope you like this next part. Keep reviewing, and btw, what does SGC stand for?
Sweetypie15: You know, you're reviews always make me happy cause I feel like I've made someone really excited. Here's your update; sorry if it took awhile. But I think you'll find that it was worth the wait.
Naxa: I do pride myself on being original snickers Glad you liked the twist, cause there's gonna be a lot more where that came from. Buckle up kid, cause we're really taking off now!
Richard Starkey: Glad you like. Question: what's up with your pen name?
Phoenix-Talon: Oh, my wonderful Phoenix! So sorry that my updates have taken so long. I swear I'm gonna try to get the first chapter of my new Lost fic up soon. But with this semester wrapping up soon, I gotta make sure that work gets done first. Grrrr…stupid college. Hehe, I never thought that anyone would make that jump, but I guess in hindsight it's totally possible to read it that way. I think you're gonna like this next part—lots of background and stuff. And I do love your sequel so far (though the second season is killing me with the suspince—lets get on with it people! I feel like we've been stuck in a rut since the season opened). Although I must say, in regards to your story, you're killing me to, what with the one-liners and limited descriptions. Flesh it out a little, babe! Maybe it's just cause I'm a stickler for detail, but whatever, I'm rambling again, and I just realized that criticism, while a good thing, is not good when you want someone to leave you reviews. So I'm going to back away slowly and hope that your awesome loyalty will keep you from getting angry with me.
Okay, so enough of my absent-minded thank-you notes. Enjoy the show peoples!
Chapter 11: Of All Things Past and Present
A tall redheaded man stood in his kitchen talking on the phone. His daughter sat in the floor of the dining room just outside the kitchen, coloring in her coloring book. Her father's voice carried into the room through the open pathway with ease, allowing the six year old to overhear the conversation.
"Yes, Robert, I know it would be an amazing opportunity. I…yes, I know Robert, but I only went on sabbatical two months ago. It's too soon…besides, Fiona starts school in a few weeks, and I want her to have the chance to go to a real school before we head out again. ---Yes, I could, but I don't think Fiona would like being cooped up on a boat for so long, and I don't want to leave them here and go by myself…well, you'll understand one day, my friend. At the rate you and Danielle are going…" The man let out a laugh as the conversation took a turn to more easy-going. "Well, I suppose that's true. But hey, you owe me that drink when you get back, yeah? Alright, well, give Danielle our love. We'll see you when you get back…yeah, goodbye, Robert." The man hung up the phone, shaking his head and laughing as he entered the dining room.
"What did Robert want?" His wife asked as she entered from the living room. He turned and looked at her as he knelt next to his daughter.
"Oh, he wanted us to come on some boating expedition he and Danielle are planning. Something about observing the culture of fishermen and their interactions with small islands in the Pacific."
"Sounds fascinating," the woman answered. Then she narrowed her gaze at her husband. "What did you tell him?"
"That I'd only had two months on sabbatical and that Fiona wouldn't like being cooped up on a boat for so long. Besides, I have more important things to worry about for the next ten months," he answered as he maneuvered down to the floor. "Now, what have we got here, love?" he asked, picking up his daughter's drawing from the floor.
If there had been any doubt in Fiona's mind after her conversation with Sayid, it was gone by the next morning. After the majority of the people in the caves were up and about, the young woman carefully went through her things, packing them into her bag snugly. Grabbing a couple of extra water bottles, she filled them in the stream and added them to her bag.
"Yo, Kung Fu chick," Hurley's call halted Fiona as she hoisted the bookbag onto her shoulders. "Whatcha doing?"
Fiona straightened and faced Hurley. "I'm going for a hike," she answered coolly. Hurley looked around somewhat nervously, not really wanting to be the one to point out the craziness of her idea.
"Uh…you really think you oughtta be doing that? I mean, with the pregnant woman missing and the crazy guy out there…you sure you should be wandering around in the Jungle of Doom by yourself?"
The young woman cocked an eyebrow and crossed her arms across her chest. "I'm sure that I am quite capable of taking care of myself, thank you," she answered with resolve. Hurley stared at her for a moment, then shrugged, deciding that it wasn't worth the risk of her wrath.
"Okay. Whatever. Have fun," he said, turning and going back to whatever he had been fooling with before the confrontation. With a curt nod, Fiona took her pack with her to her corner of the caves and rolled up her mat, attaching it to her pack with a couple of straps. Tightening the straps of her pack around her shoulders, she headed out, quietly slipping from the caves.
Once into the open jungle, Fiona took a deep breath and smiled, somewhat surprised by how comfortable she was in the open wilderness. It had been a long time since she had been out in a jungle. She then realized that she'd yet to be alone this deep into the jungle. The few other times she had dared to venture out alone, the blind woman had always been at least within shouting distance of the beach.
Cutting a careful course away from the usual trail to the beach, Fiona made her way in the general direction of the ocean. She set her course cautiously—she wanted to end up far enough down the beach to avoid people and questions, but she had to be careful not to cut across so deeply that she overshot the cable that Sayid had found.
Fiona tapped her cane on the ground steadily and soon developed a comfortable pace. Humming softly, she allowed her natural good sense of direction to guide her as she kept track of her progress. About half an hour later, Fiona felt sand crunch under her feet and the sun open onto her face as she stepped out from under the jungle canopy. She hesitated slightly as she stepped out onto the beach, listening carefully. Once she was satisfied that only the sound of the ocean and no sound of people met her ears, the blind woman stepped out boldly and continued her trek down the beach.
A short break and two hours later, Fiona felt her cane snag something in the sand. Bending down, she ran her fingers through the sand until she found what felt like Sayid's cable. She picked it up in her right hand and straightened, handing onto the cable and transferring her cane to her left. Ever mindful of the booby traps she'd heard Sayid describe to Jack, the young woman slowly approached the jungle.
It wasn't long before a sound caused Fiona to freeze in her tracks and drop the cable. Footsteps, from somewhere off to her right, moving behind her. The softness of the steps as the person attempted, and came very close to being, completely silent did not escape the woman. Taking a few cautious steps forward, the sound of a gun cocking caused her to freeze again.
"You are not welcome here," said a harsh French accent. "What do you want?" Fiona slowly dropped her cane to the ground and raised her hands in the air, her back still to the voice. The voice that had confirmed every suspicion she'd had for the past day.
"Dr. Danielle Rousseau," she called in a clear voice. The woman behind her froze, confusion and suspicion lighting into her eyes.
"You…know who I am?" the older woman asked. Fiona smiled sadly, still not moving.
"A long time ago, you were very good friends with a Dr. Seamus Harper and Emile Castilleau. You even attended their daughter's christening."
Danielle's eyes widened. "How do you know that?" she asked quietly. Fiona slowly turned around, hands still raised in the air.
"Cet a été un temps très long, Mme. Danielle (1)," she said softly. Danielle gasped audibly as she lowered her gun and took a step forward.
"Fiona?" she breathed. The blind woman smiled and finally lowered her hands. "How?"
"The plane crash," Fiona answered. "The man that you met, Sayid…he came back to our camp and told us about you. I had to come and find if it was really you."
By this point Danielle had crossed the space between them and stood directly in front of the younger woman, staring into her milky eyes in amazement. "I don't understand…" she said quietly, almost most to herself than Fiona. Abruptly, as though a switch had been thrown, Danielle snapped to attention and glanced around the surrounding area in a paranoid manner.
"Do you come alone?" she asked sharply. Fiona nodded, her brow crinkling in confusion. As she opened her mouth to speak, the older woman cut her off by grabbing her arm.
"Come, we mustn't stay here," Danielle ordered. Fiona barely had time to grab her cane from the jungle floor before Danielle began to lead her away briskly.
(1): "It's been a long time, Ms. Danielle."
Kate moved through the jungle cautiously, keeping a careful eye on the trees around her, as well as trying to listen for any approaching danger. The bag at her waist had a variety of small fruits in it, and she scoured the surrounding trees for any that she might have missed. As she was searching the canopy, an out-of-place object caught her eye. A black duffel bag hung from the branches of a tall tree just off to her left.
Setting her bag of fruit on the ground, Kate studied the tree for a moment, picking out optimum handholds and making sure she could get to the bag. Finally she started climbing the tree, pulling herself up and up and up. Once she reached the bag, she pulled it over her shoulders to rest against her back, and started back down. Just as she did, the sounds of someone moving on the jungle floor below her caught her ears. Kate froze, clutching the tree, almost as though trying to blend in with the bark itself. It wasn't until she heard the familiar twang of a cocky Southern accent that she let herself relax and continue her decent.
"Ya know, people keep finding you up in trees all the time, they're gonna start thinking you've got some kind of wild tree fetish." Kate rolled her eyes as she jumped the last distance between the tree and the ground, landing just in front of Sawyer.
"Sawyer," she greeted sarcastically, as she picked up her bag of fruit.
"So what were you doing up there anyway, Freckles? Scoutin' for natives?"
Kate rolled her eyes again lifted the duffel bag from around her chest and placed it on the ground between them, kneeling down to unzip it. There was no name tag on the bag, just a weird red airline tag, and her curiosity was getting the best of her. "I found this up in the tree. It must've fallen out of the plane," she answered. Sawyer knelt down as well as Kate pulled open the bag. The first things that caught their attention were three thick books, though the bag also contained other odds and ends.
"Well look at that," Sawyer said, pulling out one of the books. "Just as I was startin' to run out of good readin' material." As he opened the book, his pleasure turned to confusion as he flipped through the pages.
"What the hell…" he started. Kate looked up and followed his gaze to the book. "There ain't nothing in here but bumps and dots."
Kate leaned in for a closer look. "It's Braille," she answered. Looking back at the bag, she added, "These must be Fiona's."
"Huh," Sawyer said. He looked down at the book in his hands before handing it to Kate. With one finger, he lifted the edge of the unzipped bag and peaked into it. "Sights got anything else in there other than books no one can read?"
Kate scoffed slightly. Looking under the books, she noticed several other things—a smaller, thinner book whose cover revealed it to be a Braille reader, a small pack of feminine products, a set of knitting needles and a ball of yarn, a photo album, and a few video tapes. Kate placed the book in the bag and zipped it up before Sawyer could get it in his head to steal anything. She was certain that Fiona would be very pleased to get these things back.
The two stood as Kate placed the bags back on her shoulders. "You sure you can get those back to the caves alright?" Sawyer asked, gesturing to the bags. Kate eyed him suspiciously.
"Yeah. Why?"
Sawyer raised his hands in an innocent gesture. "Just checkin', that's all."
Kate narrowed her gaze at him. "You weren't interested in taking any of this stuff?"
The Southern man feigned a hurt expression. "Freckles, you really think I would steal from a blind woman?"
Now Kate smirked as she realized the real reason for Sawyer's disinterest. "Yeah." She started to move off into the jungle. "You just know that this one can kick your ass."
Fiona was relieved when Danielle finally reached a location where she felt safe. The French woman left Fiona standing in one spot, warning her not to move. Fiona presumed that she was disabling the traps that were set up around her shelter. A few moments later, the blind woman heard the sound of a trapdoor springing open just before Danielle came and gently placed her hands on Fiona's, which were resting on the top on her cane. Danielle hesitated, unsure of how to do what needed to be done.
With one hand on Fiona's, Danielle walked the younger woman forward a few paces, before halting her again. "You're going to have to climb down a ladder," she said slowly. "Can you do that?"
Fiona nodded. "I just need you to show me where it is." Danielle took Fiona's hand again and guided here to the top of the ladder.
"Here," she said. Fiona ran her fingers over the first rungs of the ladder and nodded.
"Alright then." Just as Fiona started to lower herself onto the ladder, Danielle stopped her.
"Wait!" Fiona froze and lifted her head to "look" at the older woman. "Perhaps I should go first."
Fiona shrugged and climbed off of the ladder, allowing Danielle to move past her and start down the ladder. She gave the older woman a few moments before starting down into the rabbit hole herself.
"Oh come on now, Brian, you must know somebody. I can't very well go out alone, can I?" The blond man in his early thirties sat down in the chair across from Brian McCoy's desk.
"Ian, it's not my fault that you can't get a date. I'm your lawyer, not a singles service," Brian McCoy sighed. Ian McMillan looked up at him pointedly.
"You'll do whatever I pay you to do. Now come on. I want someone pretty, and not too smart. We don't want someone who can put two and two together at the drop of a hat." No sooner were the words out of Ian's mouth when there was a knock on the door.
"Mr. McCoy?" Fiona opened the door cautiously, aware that there was someone else in the room. "I have the transcripts from the Crusack case."
"Ah, Fiona, yes—come in, come in," Mr. McCoy stood behind him desk and Ian watched in interest as the blind woman used her cane to push the door open further and navigate her way into the room. She walked over to the desk and handed the folder across the desk.
"Will there be anything else, sir?" she asked.
"No, I don't think so, Fiona. Just make sure that you have those evidence files ready to be sent to the court house first thing tomorrow morning. Jenkins will be needing them," McCoy instructed. Fiona nodded. As she turned to leave, Ian stood from his chair and moved into her path.
"I don't believe we've met. I'm Ian McMillan," he said. Fiona paused uncertainly, tilting her head towards her boss's desk. It was hardly customary for clients to be concerned with their lawyer's secretaries.
"Fiona Harper," she replied after a moment. Ian took her free hand and raised it to his lips.
"Pleased to meet you, Ms. Harper," he answered. She smiled nervously as he lightly kissed her hand. She nodded to him as he released her and turned back towards the door.
"And you, sir." With that, she made a quick exit from the room. As soon as the door closed, Ian whirled around to face McCoy, whose expression clearly wanted to know what the hell his client was up too.
"Her, Brian. She's perfect. Young, pretty…I want you to make sure she's available to come to lunch with us on Thursday."
McCoy looked at Ian as though he were mad. "Fiona? Have you lost your mind, Ian? The girl's blind, man. It's not as though you'll be able to simply charm her with your looks like you do every other bimbo you take to. And I doubt she'll be overly impressed with your money either."
Ian simply laughed and clapped his hands once. "But don't you see, Brian? She's perfect! I won't have to worry about where I take her or what she overhears. What is she going to do, pick me out of a lineup?"
McCoy suddenly realized what Ian was talking about and smiled slowly. "Yes," he said slowly. Ian nodded and matched his gaze. "I'll see what I can do."
Danielle sat Fiona down at the makeshift table and began bustling around the shelter. Fiona pulled a piece of fruit from her bag as she listened to the restless sounds of the older woman. After several minutes, Danielle finished whatever task she had been occupied with and she joined Fiona at the table. The two sat in silence for many long moments, and Fiona could feel Danielle's intense gaze on her.
"Fiona…" the French woman said softly, shaking her head. She let out a harsh bark of laughter. "I still cannot believe it is you."
The blind woman smiled softly. "You look so much like your mother did at your age," Danielle continued. "Except for your hair." This caused Fiona to laugh. Her mother had had very dark brown hair, but Fiona had ended up with auburn colored locks, which Emile had blamed on Seamus's red hair. Though Fiona hadn't actually seen herself in several years, she could understand how she could have developed to favor her mother.
"Your parents…were they on the plane with you?" Danielle asked carefully. Fiona smiled sadly and lowered her head. After a moment's pause, she raised it again.
"My parents died some time ago, Danielle," she answered gently. The French woman's eyes widened and Fiona could hear her gasp.
"What? How did this happen?" she demanded. Fiona tilted her head slightly toward the ground and away from the older woman.
"It was twelve years ago. We were on our way back from an assignment in Peru. We were taking a small cargo plane to Mexico City, and there was…an accident." Fiona raised her head slightly. "That's what caused…this." She added, gesturing toward her useless eyes.
Fiona smoothed her skirt nervously as she and Brian McCoy entered the foyer of the restaurant where they were supposed to be meeting Ian. She wasn't altogether certain as to why she was here.
"Brian!" Fiona tilted her head toward the sound of Ian's voice as he crossed the room to them. He shook McCoy's hand enthusiastically before turning to Fiona. "Ms. Harper," he greeted. Fiona smiled at him politely, still uncertain of her position. McCoy had only told her that Mr. McMillan had requested her presence at their business luncheon, but he hadn't said why.
"Mr. McMillan," she responded. Ian glanced to McCoy briefly.
"You're probably wondering why I asked you to come," he said. Fiona nodded slightly, curious as to where this was going. "Well, the truth of the matter is, I wanted the pleasure of your company during lunch, and couldn't think of any other way to get you here. So I asked my friend Brian to bring you along. Do you mind?"
Fiona thought for a moment, startled and rather flattered by the man's explanation. "No, I don't suppose so," she replied.
Ian smiled. "Perfect. Shall we then?" He took Fiona's left hand and placed it in the crook of his arm, leading the way to their table.
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