The Last Goodbye

Chapter Five

Disclaimer: "Good Riddance" belongs to Green Day. Lyrics by Billy Joe and courtesy of sun faded around Sawyer as he leaned against the exterior of his truck he had driven to Florida. It looked out of place amongst the SUVs and Mercedes that sat around the hotel parking lot, but Sawyer could care less as he lit up a cigaret out of craving and boredom. Glancing at his watch, Sawyer saw that Carrie was taking longer than she had promised. After dinner they were going to a movie, and though Carrie didn't actually say it, Sawyer had a hunch that it was so he could have time to think over going with her. A car whizzed behind him, sending shivers up Sawyer's spine, and he suddenly got the feeling that things weren't right. He glanced up at the window of their hotel room, and the errie silence sent him running into the building.

The caves seemed less than welcoming when Sawyer entered them. Shannon was in the exact same place she had been before Kate had dragged him off, which seemed like ages ago. He didn't know what it was, but as soon as he entered, Shannon left, and it didn't dawn on him that maybe it was because it had stopped raining until he reached Sawyer's cave.

Jack wasn't present, and his patient was sleeping. Sawyer saw that Jack had left some water for the patient, and a bottle of what he assumed to be pain medicine. Leaning against the cave wall, staring at the man who looked so innocent, though was so guilty, Sawyer didn't hear Kate sneak up behind him. He knew that nothing would be done while Sawyer was sleeping, and he wasn't even sure if he could bring himself to do anything even if the old man was awake. With this decision(that he was quite proud of) Sawyer made up his mind.

His letter had remained in his pocket since returning to camp with Kate. Now Sawyer took it out, and walked over to the suitcase Jack had set the water and meds on. Sawyer could feel Kate's eyes boring into his back as he went, but never stopped until he reached the stand, and placed the letter on it. He stared at what he had done, and then turned around, making a long and slow trip back to Kate. She placed a hand on his shoulder, preventing him from going any further.

"I'm fine," he lied, and shrugged off Kate, walking back to the beach.

(Space)

Boone threw his backpack over his shoulder as he climbed out of the hatch, taking note of the humid air. Locke had left about a half an hour later, but Boone had hung back to shut down the system. Since blowing up the hatch, covering up the hole seemed to be enough for the two, since no one came out here anyway. Even Jack hadn't bothered to come back to the hatch. Sometimes in the middle of the night, Boone knew Sayid came by, though he couldn't exactly do anything with the computer. For some reason beyond Boone, he himself was the only one who could operate it.

The path back to the beach was a winding one, full of turns and missteps that could send you sprawling. Trees broke line from the sunlight, giving the path a cool shade as Boone started his trip back.

"Hey Shannon," Boone said, walking by his stepsister.

He stopped, realizing what he had said. Boone took another look at Shannon, just to make sure he wasn't seeing things. He wasn't. Shannon was leaning against a tree casually, with her arms crossed.

"A little far for you, huh?" Boone smirked.

Shannon's response was a hand on his shoulder, spinning him around to face her.

"We need to talk," she pulled him into a side trail, a back trail to the caves as Boone would later find out.

Boone didn't protest as Shannon led him further into the jungle, though he could make a good bet that she had no clue where she was going.

"Why didn't you tell me you were still seeing things?" She demanded.

"Because I didn't want you to think I'm going crazy," Boone replied, failing at trying to hide his surprise, "how'd you know about that anyway?"

"Long story," Shannon muttered, hoping that Boone wouldn't hear her, "and you're already crazy."

He did. Grabbing her arm, he spun her around to face him.

"What's going on?" He said through gritted teeth.

"That's what I wanted to know."

She stared at him intensively, forcing him to talk.

"It's no big deal," Boone said in the same agitated tone, "just stay out of my life."

"Boone-" Shannon tried to grab for his hand as he turned to walk away.

Boone swirled back around, jabbing his finger towards her accusingly.

"Stay out," he warned, and started back down the path, leaving Shannon alone.

(Space)

Jack sighed as he entered the caves that Mr. Sawyer(as he had begun to secretly refer to him as, to avoid confusion). He was now remembering why he chose surgery as his field: the endless stream of patients, and taking care of them. Mr. Sawyer's case called for constant attention to keep him from going unconscious again because truthfully if he did, Jack wasn't sure that he would wake up at. Jack himself had only gotten a full two hours of sleep in the past week, and his facial expression showed his exhaustion.

Reaching the makeshift table of suitcases Jack had moved beside Mr. Sawyer's cot, he noticed that someone had already refilled the water bottle he had placed there earlier, and something else was there as well: a letter. Face scrunched in confusion and curiosity, Jack picked up the letter, and recognized it immediately as Sawyer's. Thinking maybe someone dropped it or left it, Jack picked it up, finding it in his best interest to keep it as far away from who it really belonged to as possible. But then, why would the letter be here in the first place, unless Kate told Sawyer?

"You know what that's about?"

Jack nearly jumped out of his skin, dropping the letter in the process. He scrambled to pick the letter up, and took a good look at the man who he had only spoken with once before. Mr. Sawyer was definitely older than Locke, and was now looking around the caves, observing where he was.

"Um.." Jack figured if this guy was anything like Locke, he would've already known Jack was lying before he spoke. "Yeah. Long story, I guess."

Why did he have to be stuck in this situation? He was sure that Kate would be able to handle it and hell, at least Sawyer himself would have something to say to the guy.

"I don't remember it."

Jack looked at Mr. Sawyer, slightly surprised.

"Not a damn thing," he continued, "whatever it was I did to that kid. He had a helluva way with words."

Jack couldn't help but to chuckle. He was sure that any of Sawyer's old English teachers would beg to differ.

"Let me talk to him," Jack said, mentally kicking himself.

He was insane. What was he setting himself up for?

"Probably ruined his whole damn life," Mr. Sawyer muttered, acting as though he had never heard Jack, "I'm probably the reason he was stuck on the island."

Now that was something Jack had never thought about. What would a guy like Sawyer be doing in Australia? Better yet, why was he going to LA? Sawyer seemed, to him, like the type who would hate the city life.

"Look, if you want I can get someone to talk to you," Jack desperately wanted out of this situation, "but someone just sprained their ankle at the beach, and I've got to go take care of that."

He felt bad about lying to the guy, especially in Mr. Sawyer's condition. Jack knew it was out of character for him, and he'd never hear the end of it from Kate, but what would anyone else done? He would've loved to help both Sawyer's out, but he had the feeling that both didn't really want it.

"Hey," Mr. Sawyer said before Jack could turn and leave, "we just crashed here, right? So how is it that you've got this place fixed up?"

Jack searched for an answer, and decided the truth was best. He sighed.

"We've been here for three months," Jack told him, "and um..we just found you."

"What?" Mr. Sawyer said. "No one came and looked for me?"

He could've been a relative of Sawyer's. Their dialogue was similar, and they even had the same southern accent.

"We thought all of you were dead," Jack said truthfully, "from the tail section."

"We thought the same," Mr. Sawyer admitted.

Jack looked at him, wondering if he had heard right.

"We?"

Mr. Sawyer wasn't even paying attention to Jack, so Jack convinced himself that he had imagined the entire conversation. He cursed himself for allowing his mind to trail, and decided that that night, he'd make sure he'd get at least five hours asleep. Okay, maybe just four. Deciding that Mr. Sawyer would be okay for at least another few hours, Jack turned and left the caves.

He was just outside the exit when he first heard the gunshot. Sayid, who sat nearby, reading some sort of journal, heard the shot as well, and followed Jack back into the caves. They stopped at the sight they saw: Mr. Sawyer's head was tilted in an inhuman position, and a handgun dangled beside him, just off the tip of his finger. Blood poured from double wounds to the head, and Jack knew before stepping any closer that the man was dead.

But back at the beach, secluded from the commotion, Sawyer didn't hear a thing as he sat at his usual spot, with his head rested against a tree behind him.

Sawyer burst into the hotel room to find Carrie on the floor, surrounded by a small pool of blood that had formed near her head.

"Hell," he muttered, falling beside her to check her pulse.

He was surprised to find that she was still alive. Reaching into his pocket for his cell phone, Sawyer noticed that he wasn't alone with Carrie. Hibbs was there, standing by a far wall and watching the scene with his arms crossed, satisfied.

"What the hell did you do?" Sawyer demanded, getting to his feet.

"Mind helping me with the body?" Hibbs said casually. "Then we can grab the cash and hit the road, just like the old days."

Sawyer cursed under his breath, just loud enough for Hibbs to hear him. Charging forward, Sawyer successfully pinned Hibbs against the wall. Just as easily, Hibbs through Sawyer back.

"What's got you going soft?" Hibbs said, amused.

"I told you not to follow me," Sawyer said, heated.

He was panting heavily in uneven breaths, only inches from Carrie, who lay minutes from death.

"What're you going to do?" Hibbs said, as if making a threat.

"I'm going to turn you in," Sawyer said, making up his mind as he took out his phone.

Hibbs kicked it out of his hands, sending the phone flying across the room until finally crashing against a wall.

"You're paying for that," Sawyer muttered.

"You've got to remember," Hibbs said, "I know just enough to turn you in, for a number of things. If I remember correctly, you and jail aren't exactly the best of friends."

That shut Sawyer up.

"Fine," he agreed, "I won't turn you in, but I've got to take her to the hospital. I'll say someone attacked her. Anyone new after you lately?"

Hibbs smiled slyly, thinking the exact same thing.

In present time, was in the processes of lifting a lit cigaret to his mouth, staring deeply into the sand when he heard Jack calling his name. Standing up, Sawyer waited for Jack to reach him. Just like he had done earlier, Jack seemed unable to say anything once finally reaching Sawyer.

"Sawyer," Jack began, obviously referring to the patient, "he um..he shot himself. A few minutes ago. He's..dead."

Jack looked down to the sand. He clearly wasn't good with death. Sawyer himself was speechless. All that he had worked for, all his life, all the running, false revenge: it had all been for nothing. He was supposed to be the one to kill the man responsible for his parent's death, and it was never to be any other way.

"Did he..say anything?" Sawyer asked, forcing himself to say something. "You know, before he.."

"No," Jack lied.

Sawyer saw straight through the lie, but deep down, he knew this had to be hard for Jack as well, and after all, he had withheld Jack's father's last words, so it only seemed fair that Jack did the same. Besides, he doubted that the doctor could hold that kind of information for very long.

"So you going to uh.." Sawyer couldn't believe that tears were actually beginning to swell in his eyes.

Why would they? He should've been doing a victory dance by now. He had waited his entire life for this moment. Well..sort of.

"Do a funeral or something? He finished, blinking reptively.

Jack shrug.

"It doesn't matter," he said, not sounding too enthused, "but honestly-" Jack looked around, "I don't think I want everyone knowing about this. I think I'm just going bury him myself."

"I'll do it," Sawyer offered, surprising himself.

"No," Jack shook his head, "I've got it covered."

"Then let me help or something," Sawyer said, though at the same time thinking that the last thing he wanted to do was go near a body, "I'll ask Kate if she wants to help."

Jack chuckled.

"Yeah," he said sarcastically, "that's exactly how she wants to spend her afternoon."

Both men noticed Kate walking there way. Jack shrugged.

"It's worth a shot."

(Space)

Kate jabbed her shovel into the ground after softening the ground with the last needed patch of dirt. She had already decided that if they ever got off this island, she'd never go near a graveyard again. Taking a bottle of water out of her bag, Kate uncapped it, took a sip, and threw it to Sawyer, knowing that he probably hadn't brought any. Sawyer accepted it, staring at the ground as he took a drink.

"Jack told me he said he didn't remember anything," Kate said, glancing towards Sawyer, "that guy."

"That guy," Sawyer repeated with a smirk, "Doc say anything else?"

Kate ignored his question, and got to what she really wanted to know.

"You really going on the raft?" She asked reluctantly, knowing she wouldn't like the answer.

"Why wouldn't I?" Sawyer said, glancing down to the grave they had just dug and covered, and then back up to Kate. "Looks like my lives pretty much complete. Not a thing left."

Kate looked down, biting her lip. She loved Jack, that much she knew, but this was one of those 'what if' moments.

"Fine," Kate swallowed, "I've got somewhere I've got to be during the launching, so..I guess this is goodbye."

An awkward moment passed before Kate stuck out her hand, and realizing what she was doing, Sawyer did the same. He had a firm handshake, Kate observed, and she didn't even mind the dried dirt that covered his hands.

"Good luck," Kate managed to choke out, "be careful."

"Right," Sawyer nodded.

Kate was the first to leave, and never looked back until she reached the beach.

(Space)

Jack was observing the scene in front of him with both a feeling of dread and excitement. Since the last launching, Alex had arrived, and the fact that another form of transportation had come somewhere near the island was enough to spark hope in anyone. The dread came from the gut feeling Jack had that told him that something was going to go wrong. The feeling was still there when Alex appeared in front of him.

"Hey," she said quietly.

"Looks like your mom's letting you go," looking around, Jack noticed Danielle talking to Michael and Sayid a few yards away.

"Yeah," Alex nodded, "she seemed pretty cool about it. She would've gone too, I think, but it'll already be pretty crowded."

"Yeah.."

As Jack's voice lost itself, Jack realized that he was going to miss the girl. She was definitely more enjoyable than half of the people their, and at least she knew where her head was half the time.

"I figured I'd be pretty useful," Alex continued, clearing her throat, "the whole psychic thing and all."

She tapped her head, making Jack smile.

"Did you tell Michael about that?" He asked.

"I did but he didn't believe me," Alex said, "he will though.."

Jack couldn't help but to wonder what that was supposed to mean. Had she seen something already?

"So how does our future look?" Jack asked curiously.

Alex laughed.

"I think the seeing dead people think is kind of overriding the psychic thing," Alex admitted, "but I've got a pretty good feeling about this, if that makes any difference."

"It does," Jack said truthfully.

The two stood there, unsure how to say goodbye, until Alex reached out for a handshake, which soon turned into a hug, which Jack accepted.

"Thank you," Alex whispered through tears, surprising Jack, "for everything."

"It was nothing," Jack said, pulling away, "take care of yourself, Alex."

"I will," she assured him.

Not to far away, Sayid was standing, waiting for his turn to say something. Alex gave Jack one last smile, and Jack watched as she walked up to Sayid, and shook hands with him as well.

(Space)

This had to of been one of the saddest goodbyes she had ever had. Not that she hadn't had her fair share. Losing her dad, kid brother, and boyfriend- who was really so much more- had taught her about death and passing. It had also taught Alex that no goodbye was really forever.

"Take care of my mom, okay?" Tears swelled in Alex's eyes as she shook hands with Sayid.

"I will," Sayid promised, and let go.

"Oh," she added before walking away, "and keep Shannon and Boone out of trouble. At least one of the two is up to no good."

As soon as she had touched Sayid's hand, both of their names had popped up in her head, though Alex didn't really know either of them. She saw a hint of recognition in Sayid's face, as well as confusion. She hoped that he would remember her warning.

(Space)

Kate hugged Jack as she approached him. She couldn't stand not saying goodbye one last time.

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road

Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go

Sawyer watched from the top of the raft as everyone around him say goodbye. He didn't know what to think. Even if they got rescued, how was he supposed to go back to his old life, old routines?

So make the best of this test, and don't ask why

It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time

Walt was handing Vincent to Locke. There was no way the dog could survive out at sea, so Locke was at the top of Walt's list of candidates for a new owner.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.

I hope you had the time of your life.

Sun and Jin were saying their goodbyes privately, a good distance away from everyone else. They had made up and were at a new understanding in their relationship. The only thing that neither could really understand, deep down, was why the time to part had to come now.

So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind

Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time

Claire had passed of the idea of a 'message in the bottle' for the castaways that were staying, and Charlie gladly took up on the last minute test, and was now collecting a letter from Hurley, who seemed very protective of what he was writing.

Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial

For what it's worth it was worth all the while

Sayid nodded to Sawyer, who was now sitting on the raft, and he noticed Kate running up to him, breaking through the crowds. Jumping off the raft, he met her halfway. She pulled him into a tight hug that, to his surprise, developed into a kiss. Glancing over, he saw Jack watching them in calm jealousy, as if this had been planned.

"That was for what could have been," Kate whispered, looking into his eyes.

She then turned and left, as soon as she had come.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.

I hope you had the time of your life.

Alex and Danielle said their goodbyes last, right as the raft was being pushed out to sea. They hugged and exchanged words of good luck, and Alex was pulled on at the last minute.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.

I hope you had the time of your life.

Kate reached Jack , who stood in the back of the crowds, just as the raft left. The awed expression was still on his face. Kate laughed.

"It meant nothing," she assured him.

They watched as the rest of the castaways cheered the rafties on.

"So is he better?" Jack asked in a mock serious tone.

"What?" Kate asked, surprised.

"You know," Jack said playfully, "a better kisser than me."

"No," Kate said flatly, "and why do you care anyway?"

Jack shook his head and laughed as he turned back to the castaways that were now floating into the distance.

(Space)

Out on the raft, Alex stared back at the island she had spent the last month of her life(which seemed to her like a lifetime) on. Unlike the others, she wasn't waving or cheering, just staring vacantly as the rest of the castaways faded into the distance. She gave Michael a weak smile when he clapped her on the shoulder. He then turned back up to Sawyer, who let the sail up. The two seemed equally excited(a sudden personality change for Sawyer), leaving Alex to turn back to the island. She suddenly felt a pang of homesickness, and at the moment, she wanted nothing more than to jump off the raft, and join Vincent, who had pulled himself free of Locke's hold, on a swim back to the island.

She could pick Jack's face out of the crowd, and saw that he was smiling at something Kate had just said. The ghostly outline of Jack's father wasn't far, as well as the outline of the patient Jack had been taking care of, who had apparently shot himself. Both were smiling.

Though death and loss had taught her a lot, as they sailed away from the island, Alex felt like she was sailing away from nothing but true friendship(though some were still afraid of her).

A glistening figure caught her attention from beside her, and as she turned, she was surprised to see a ghostly figure of Adam beside her. He smiled at her, telling her with his eyes that everything would be okay; but just as she reached out to touch him, he faded away.

Taking one last look at the island Alex knew that she had just gone through the toughest experience of her life. Surely it couldn't get any worse. Back on land she would pick her life back up, and soon this would all be just another memory. But all forty-five of them knew that the experience was so much more. For example, just saying goodbye to friends they had known for at least a month had been that difficult though after all, no goodbye was forever.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.

I hope you had the time of your life.

Author's Notes: Yay for cheesy endings! I know that story wasn't much, and I can definitely see why it's only gotten eight reviews so far. I didn't particularly like writing it, and I know it was a boring read. I promise the next fic should be more interesting, as will the other future fics I have planned. The Shannon/Sayid plot will be brought up again, don't worry. Thanks to anyone who reviewed! You guys rock!

Coming up in my next fic, "Influenza":

Kate commits herself to taking care of Jack, who falls ill to a mysterious island sickness, while a crazed Locke frightens the beach-goers.

Thanks again!

Until next time..

October Sky