Hands Up { Charlotte, Sawyer, Ben, Alex, etc }

[Richard Alpert]

The sound of a crying baby made Richard freeze in his steps. That had to be the baby that Ethan had taken. Richard had barely caught a glimpse of the baby and Claire before they had left once again. However, the sound of the baby wouldn't stop Richard from taking precaution. He glanced at Alex and Ben before bringing his gun out, cocking it. He pushed the leaves out of the way before stepping out onto the soft sand of the beach.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the bright tint of red hair, and he spun around, gun pointed at Charlotte. Well, she had also gotten off the Island with the rest of the survivors, Richard mused silently. But Jacob hadn't mentioned her. He had mentioned Ford and the child. He heard the child in the distance, but saw nothing of Ford.

"Why don't you just go ahead and put your hands up for me for a second. We can't have you reaching for anything."

[Charlotte Lewis]

She muttered to herself slightly as she headed through the trees that lined the edge of the beach, looking throughly agitated. Of course, she had to be stuck on the fricken island with Ford, a sobbing baby, and the barbie from hell. Just great. And she was starving - craving hamburgers, which she doubted she would be getting here.

Charlotte turned sharply, surprised at the familiar sound of a gun cocking. She took a step back and instinctively reached for the gun that had been at the waistband of her pants - until she realized it wasn't there. Of course it wasn't. She folded her arms across her chest, raising an eyebrow at Richard.

"Why don't you just watch where you're pointing that thing? I'm not armed anyway." She stated.

[Richard Alpert]

"Why don't you just watch where you're pointing that thing? I'm not armed anyway."

Richard found himself smirking almost amused at the redhead as he stepped forwards to Charlotte, eyes watching her. "Yeah, with a gun maybe." he told her, running his hand across the back of her pants before patting her down. "That still doesn't mean you wont try, Charlotte."

Ben had spoke of Charlotte, how she had been put on the freighter because she was looking for a way back to the Island. To her home. Stepping back, he continued to hear the baby's cries. "Ford's with the baby, I assume?"

[Charlotte Lewis]

"Hey buddy watch where the hell you're putting your hands!" She growled, pulling away as he was patting her down. SHe had told him she wasn't armed - then again, she probably would have told him that even if she had been armed. It sucked ass not having a gun. "And how do you know my name? I don't remember introducing myself to you."

Charlotte rolled her eyes and turned to face him fully. "No - the baby's laying out on the beach in the hot sun by itself waiting for the tide to come in and carry it away." She replied sarcastically. "Of course he's will the baby. Either him or that whiny ass blonde." She broke off a nearby branch and boredly broke it into pieces, tossing them in a random direction.

"Well? Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to tell me just who you think you are?"

[Alex Linus]

Alex had been watching the whole exchange - she reminded herself mentally not to get on the bad side of the redhead, as she seemed to be a bit of a bitch. Well, that was an understatement. However, Alex had no doubts that Richard could take her down if needed.

"What's the baby doing back here?" She asked, not speaking to either one of them in particular. She reached up and brushed her hair out of her face, checking the safety on her gun. She had pulled it out when Richard and herself had first approached the woman, and still hadn't put it away - she didn't trust the redhead enough to.

So that means there's at least three back, maybe more....Alex thought to herself, wrapping herself around her thoughts slightly. Does that mean they're all coming back, or what? She glanced at Richard, waiting for him to say something else.

[Richard Alpert]

Ignoring the sarcastic comments of Charlotte, he turned his head slightly as he heard Alex speak.

"What's the baby doing back here?"

"A very good question. If I had the answer, I'd tell you." But Jacob hadn't supplied him the answer, nor did Charlotte or the Survivors know. Reminding himself that Charlotte had told him that Sawyer was with Aaron, he looked at Charlotte, smiling only slightly. "Don't think about doing anything stupid."

Moving towards the sound of the baby that was cooing loudly in the tent, he peered in, seeing Aaron in his crib. Alone. Stepping in, he moved to the crib, hearing Aaron cry slightly. He brought a hand up, lightly rubbing on Aaron's chest with a slight smile before he heard the sound of someone approaching. He didn't look away from Aaron.

"You know, you really shouldn't leave a baby unattended on the Island, Tom Sawyer. I heard they have a habit of getting taken." Realising that his words could be taken the wrong way, Richard laughed slightly. "Look, I'm not going to take him if that's what you think." He finally looked up.

"You look pretty good for someone who's head was blown off."

[James "Sawyer" Ford]

While Shannon was off sunbathing or cursing him or whatever it was she was doing, and Charlotte was wandering around the jungle, Sawyer was left watching the kid. Again. Having figured that the baby might be more easily settled in the familiar surroundings of Claire’s tent, he had settled Aaron down inside and gone off to see if his stash still remained where it was.

Returning only a few minutes later with a handful of random magazines, his heart pounded loudly in his ears when he realised the baby was no longer alone. Was someone else back? But hearing the voice, no recognition dawned. Stepping into the tent, Sawyer clenched his hands into fists, ready to pummel the stranger.

“Don’t call me that,” he growled, images of the bastard who had ruined his life coming to mind. If he really thought about it he could still hear that asshole taking his last breath, the body going slack as he strangled the life out of him... “Get away from tha kid.”

How did this guy know that name? How did he know about the children that went missing on this island? And how did he know that Sawyer had supposedly been shot and killed back in L.A.?

“Who are you?”

[Richard Alpert]

"My name's Richard, James. Richard Alpert."

Richard stepped back from the crib slightly, watching Sawyer silently, as if contemplating something. "Do you think it's strange, James? Being the first one back here with the baby? You didn't want to go in the first place, did you, James? I'll admit, I was a bit surprised. I always had thought that your leader, Shephard, was it? He'd be the one that wanted to stay. But then I thought about it. A man with no future back there in the world...a promising future here. You've already proved that you're able to live here without question." Killing the Cooper fellow when John was unable to...yes, he had proven to Richard and to the Island that he was able to stay. "But then again, I knew you were able to do it. Even if you hadn't had a history with the Cooper man. If he pushed you enough..."

But there were other times for that. Richard watched Sawyer surely for a moment, and then spoke.

"Do you remember anything before waking on the Island, James?"

[James "Sawyer" Ford]

Glaring daggers at the man that introduced himself as Richard Alpert, Sawyer cast a quick, protective glance at Aaron in the crib. The baby was sucking on his fist and gurgling, perfectly fine. He then focused his attention solely on Alpert.

Boy, that man talked a lot but Sawyer hung on every word. Everything this man knew, it was made perfectly obvious who he was. It was the mention of Cooper, though, that finally snapped the southerner into action. Acting swiftly, he grabbed Alpert by the front of his shirt, turning them around to place himself between the stranger and Aaron. Keeping his hold on Alpert’s shirt, Sawyer kept him close, eyes boring into his.

“Don’t mention his name ta me,” he growled, clenching his jaw. “You’re one’a them. What are ya doin’ here?”

But his anger ebbed slightly as it seemed the answers he was starting to think he’d never get were suddenly dangled right under his nose.

“You know why I’m here, don’t ya?”

[Richard Alpert]

Richard almost laughed as Sawyer grabbed his shirt, spinning him around between himself and the baby. He heard the southerner growl out not to mention Cooper's name, and he held up his hands slightly. "Fine, fine." Richard said calmly, though Sawyer's accusation that he was 'one of them' sent an almost annoyed scoff across his lips. "You know, I love how you people throw that word around. 'Them', 'They', 'the Others', 'the Hostiles'. You say it like you think it means something, when in reality...it's just a word."

However, he could slowly see the realization that dawned in Sawyer's eyes, and he felt himself nod slightly. "I think you know why you're here, too, James. Now, granted, the Island...well, it wasn't exactly pleased that you decided to leave. That any of you decided to leave. But I think it made it's point, don't you?"

He paused, and then spoke once more. "Right now...I can tell you that back there, they're having a funeral for you. More for the baby, of course, but for you, too. And soon...one by one, they're going to realise that leaving this Island was a tragic mistake. One that they're going to pay for in spades." He glanced down at Sawyer's hand on his shirt, and then back up to the man.

"Now let go of my shirt before I make you."

[James "Sawyer" Ford]

Seemed he’d hit a nerve. Maybe all those terms meant nothing to Alpert, but they had meant something to the survivors of Oceanic flight 815. ‘They’, ‘Them’, ‘The Others’... they had been this mysterious, dangerous clan. People that had not been on the flight; people who had lived here much longer, and who had abducted, tortured and killed the survivors.

They had been the enemy.

Unfortunately, it seemed that They were also the only clue as to what exactly was going on here.

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

“Not all’a us decided ta leave,” he said, though the venom had left his voice. He was still wary of this man, and unsure whether he could trust anything he was being told, but he needed to hear it, hear something, hear anything that might explain what was going on here.

The thought of his own funeral, though, was something he hadn’t wanted to hear. Of course it was more for the child. Who would even go to his funeral? But even as that thought crossed his mind, he knew who would be there. They had all lived together on this Island for three months, and maybe they hadn’t all gotten along, but they now shared a bond that nobody else could break anymore than they could understand it. They would all be there, he knew it. He could just picture Jack leading the eulogy with some self-righteous words, or maybe Hurley saying a few things before just giving up.

Then he thought of Kate, and his heart ached as his expression unknowingly softened. Brought back to reality when Alpert spoke again, Sawyer wanted to shoot off some snide remark, but there was something in the other man’s eyes that convinced the southerner that he did not make idle threats.

“So you’re tellin’ me tha Island, a hunk’a land, is killin’ us back in tha real world and pullin’ us all back here?” he scoffed, roughly releasing Richard’s shirt. “Look, this ain’t Hotel California. We left. We went home. So why don’t ya drop all this cryptic crap and tell me what’s really goin’ on here.”

[Richard Alpert]

Well, there was some thanks, Richard thought silently as his shirt was roughly shoved away from him. Not that he wouldn't have given a second thought if Sawyer hadn't let him go. He could have easily broken his arm if he wanted to. But then, the southern man would be no use to him later on.

It almost annoyed him that he might later need Sawyer. With the snappy mouth he had on him...

"So you're tellin' me tha Island, a hunk'a land is killin' us back in tha real world and pullin' us all back here?"

"You've got a better explination?" Richard asked honestly. "The truth is, you can't explain it. Anything I say to you is going to sound like a lie because you can't explain it away. So why don't you just do me a favour and take what I say as truth."

"Look, this ain't Hotel California. We left. We went home. So why don't you drop all this cryptic crap and tell me what's really goin' on here."

"And you came back." Richard told him. "I think you should be thankful. You could be dead right now. Dead and headless. It's not a pretty thought." Richard watched the southern man silently for a moment, lightly chewing on the inside of his lip almost in thought before he opened his mouth to speak. "The Island is something were things happen. I mean, I'm sure I don't need to tell you some of the things that have happened that can't be explained. Like why suddenlly a man who was paralized from the waist-down can suddenlly walk after crashing on the Island? Or how you all survived at all? I mean, I wasn't here when the plane crashed, but from what I heard, it broke into three sections and landed in the ocean. The force alone should have killed you." He looked at Aaron before looking at Sawyer once more.

"I've been on the Island a long time, James. Longer than you'd believe if I told you. I've seen people come and go in my years. I've seen people violently fight for a twisted idea. I've seen them die painfully because they tried to take this Island for their own. The point is, is that I know this Island like the back of my hand. I know it's secrets and I know that if I told you...you wouldn't believe me. So for now, why don't you just smile and nod and accept that what I'm telling you right now is enough to get you by. Even if you don't think you understand it. You're important to this Island, James. You and the rest of the Survivors. You're all needed here."

[James "Sawyer" Ford]

Frowning as he listened to Alpert speak, Sawyer actually started to believe that this man was not here to harm them, and that he did only wish to talk. Daring to let his guard down slightly, Sawyer reached his hand into the crib, his finger instantly enveloped in Aaron’s tiny grasp

It did make sense in the fact that nothing made sense. The plane had been torn into several pieces in the sky, yet a large number of them had survived. It shouldn’t have happened. They all should have died. All of them. Not only so many of the strong, normal ones, but people like Claire, who managed to go on to give birth to a healthy baby after such a massive impact.

None of it made any sense and even though he didn’t trust this guy as far as Shannon could throw him, he had no choice but to take Alpert’s word.

“Needed for what?” he asked, turning his eyes back to Alpert, obviously still suspicious. Then realisation dawned. “Ya tellin’ me that we’re all gonna end up back here?”

[Richard Alpert]

Something dawned across Sawyer's face, and Richard felt his head tilt slightly as he watched the man's face turn a mixture of emotions as he looked at him. The man asked if Richard was saying that they needed to go back, and Richard actually smiled. It took him long enough.

"You all were never supposed to leave the Island. Do you really think this Island is going to let you go after what's happened to you?" Richard asked seriously. "Your plane fell out of the sky. They said it broke up in mid air; I don't know. I wasn't here to see it, but they said it was quite a site. You all managed to survive. A child was born on this Island; that's not something that happens here. Lives were saved. People were cured. After all of that, are you really going to stand there and tell me that you're suprised?"

A scoff escaped his lips then as he looked down at the baby. "I don't know how you came to be here; it's not my place to know things like that. But I'm sure your friends will follow suit, whether they want to or not." He paused, looking from Aaron to Sawyer. "Even the man that got you off of this Island. He's needed more than ever."

[James "Sawyer" Ford]

Sawyer barely paid any attention to what Richard was saying. All that was important was one thing: they were all coming back. Hurley, Jack, they were all coming back. She was coming back. They had ended things badly; he had pushed her away to protect her, to better her chances at trial. None of that mattered now. Soon he would see Kate again, back here on the island when none of it mattered.

Looking back at Richard, Sawyer actually started to laugh. It was funny; the one place where nothing made sense was the only place where anything made sense anymore.

“You even know what we’re needed for, Mr. Wizard? Or ya just here ta spout off some cryptic mumbo jumbo ta make it sound like ya know what you’re talkin’ about?”