Plans
Plans
Rating: R
Timeline: Season 3
Word count: 1,108
Characters: Jack Shephard, Juliet Burke, Benjamin Linus.
Warning: Sex, adult themes, flashback-y. Spoilers for episode 3x16, “One of Us”. Speculative fic.
Disclaimer: This is a fictional, nonprofit work for entertainment purpose only. The copyright in the TV show LOST and its components is owned by "American Broadcast Companies, Inc.", which reserves all rights therein.
Author’s Note: This is not a work in progress.
Jack seeks her in the night, after making sure all the camp is asleep. She's not in her tent; he finds her sitting by the shoreline, gaze lost in the horizon. He sits by her side without a greeting, without a sound.
Ben's wheelchair makes a squeaking noise, now. It’s insignificant, but it reverberates inside Jack’s throbbing head. He brings his hands to his temples. The sound reminds him of a snake, he decides.
“I’m sorry about the tranquilizers, Jack. You needed them.” He doesn’t remember being brought back to this house, nor being laid down on the couch. With some effort, he glances at the window. It’s early morning.
“You ok?”, he asks, not looking at her.
“Yeah”, she answers. “I just...”
“I know”, he tells her back and their eyes meet. It makes her worried, but he can’t see it in the dark.
Ben takes his chair to the couch. He’s close enough for Jack to reach his neck, squish it till no more air comes in or out. Maybe grab his skull and turn it backwards with a swift movement. But he’s too tired. His mind is fast, his body is not. He feels suddenly humiliated.
“You... told him? Locke”, Jack manages to work his voice out. “You told him to do that.”
Ben shakes his head and smiles that little smile Jack hates so much. “I didn’t have to.”
“But you’re glad to keep me around.”
The smaller man seems to ponder for a second. “It’s not as much about you, Jack, as it is about Juliet.”
They look at each other in silence, both wanting the same thing for different reasons. It’s Jack who acts first, caressing the back of her hand, then her face, then pulling a stray lock of blonde hair behind her ear.
“You’re beautiful”, he whispers.
Juliet closes her eyes and gets closer. His hands slid down her body, his lips catch hers. It’s easier than he thought.
“Do you know why we want her to stay with us, Jack?”
He doesn’t answer.
“For the same reason we wanted Claire, and Walt”, he says in his book-seller tone, “We can’t have our own children.”
Jack chuckles humourlessly. “Then you kidnap someone else’s. Sounds very reasonable.”
“Have you ever seen a pregnancy go wrong, Jack? You might have, in medical school.” Ben doesn’t raise his voice. He rarely does. He rarely needs to. “On the last months, the mother’s immune system turns against the baby and kills it. There’s infection. There are complications. The mother dies too. Ever wondered why there are more men than women among us?”
It doesn’t affect Jack. He doesn’t care about these people.
“Imagine what you would feel if Sun died in front of you like this.”
Their clothes are damp with salted water. What needs to come off, comes off. They are anxious - there is no time for seduction. Let anyone see them, hear them. Aaron is asleep and no one else is innocent.
“Juliet is our only hope”, Ben continues. “She’s pretty much a genius in her area. A candidate for a Nobel, I’d say”, he raises his eyebrows. “However, she wasn’t able to improve our situation much in these last three years.”
Jack wants to tell him to give up and die. He stays quiet.
“First she said she didn’t have enough equipment. We gave her that. Then it was lack of information. We gave her all she needed to know. Then she needed a control sample. We found Claire.” He seems almost disappointed, his elbows resting on the chair’s arms.
“I thought the promise to go home could be a good enough motivator for her. Now I guess I was wrong”, Ben concludes.
He’s inside her and she’s tight and warm and the sand doesn’t get in the way. She makes a little sound, circles him with her long legs, forces her hips up to feel him buried all the way in. He moves fast, his breath on her neck, his hand squeezing her thigh. He makes it last until she’s done, then comes hard into her (how long has it been to him? Four months? Five?). His arm gives up and his body falls spent over hers.
It’s surreally perfect, in a way that frightens them both.
“You heard of Goodwin, didn’t you, Jack?” He doesn’t sound angry. Or sad. He’s his usual self. “The man that your friend Ana-Lucia killed.”
“Yeah”, Jack answers, in hopes that if he cooperates Ben might just leave him alone.
“Yes, I guessed you’d know about him.” He sighs, sounding nonchalant. “But I’m quite sure you don’t know that Juliet stopped taking the pill when she found out he was dead.”
“Do you trust me, Jack?”, she whispers, her fingertips running softly against the hair on his nape.
He looks into her eyes and there is no room for doubt in his voice when he answers, “Yes. I trust you.”
He thought it would make her smile. She frowns.
His body is slow, his mind is not. With some effort, Jack rises into a sitting position.
“She never had children, Jack. Just like you.” He talks as a happy boy who just finished a puzzle. “What a perfect motivator that would be.”
There is a long silence.
“Do you think I’d step that low to get out of here?”
Ben smiles.
“Wouldn’t you?”
“I wasn’t left behind”, she confesses, and it’s so soft she might as well have said ‘I love you’. Jack glares at her, doing his best to look disgusted. He sits up, looks away.
“It was Ben’s plan for me. If I don’t bring Sun back with me in four days, they’ll attack the camp”, Juliet says. “I’m sorry.”
Somehow, while she explained herself, he started to grow tired of playing dumb. “Why”, he interjects vaguely. He knows the answer; he’s not angry, nor sad.
Jack suspects he knows the answer. He asks, anyway. “And why do you think I’m going to do as you’re saying, Ben? After everything, after the sub, why do you think I’m going to believe you?”
“Because you know that if you don’t, you’ll never go home.”
Juliet sighs. “Because I know that if I don’t, I’ll never go home.”
He looks at her - he really, sincerely looks at her. And he laughs.
She cowers, pulling her clothes to cover what’s exposed of her body. She fears he’s going to snap at her when the laughter dies.
But he doesn’t; Jack simply states “Ben had a plan for me as well”. Noticing she doesn’t understand, he pulls back his jeans, mumbles “I’m sorry too”, and leaves.
Rating: R
Timeline: Season 3
Word count: 1,108
Characters: Jack Shephard, Juliet Burke, Benjamin Linus.
Warning: Sex, adult themes, flashback-y. Spoilers for episode 3x16, “One of Us”. Speculative fic.
Disclaimer: This is a fictional, nonprofit work for entertainment purpose only. The copyright in the TV show LOST and its components is owned by "American Broadcast Companies, Inc.", which reserves all rights therein.
Author’s Note: This is not a work in progress.
Jack seeks her in the night, after making sure all the camp is asleep. She's not in her tent; he finds her sitting by the shoreline, gaze lost in the horizon. He sits by her side without a greeting, without a sound.
Ben's wheelchair makes a squeaking noise, now. It’s insignificant, but it reverberates inside Jack’s throbbing head. He brings his hands to his temples. The sound reminds him of a snake, he decides.
“I’m sorry about the tranquilizers, Jack. You needed them.” He doesn’t remember being brought back to this house, nor being laid down on the couch. With some effort, he glances at the window. It’s early morning.
“You ok?”, he asks, not looking at her.
“Yeah”, she answers. “I just...”
“I know”, he tells her back and their eyes meet. It makes her worried, but he can’t see it in the dark.
Ben takes his chair to the couch. He’s close enough for Jack to reach his neck, squish it till no more air comes in or out. Maybe grab his skull and turn it backwards with a swift movement. But he’s too tired. His mind is fast, his body is not. He feels suddenly humiliated.
“You... told him? Locke”, Jack manages to work his voice out. “You told him to do that.”
Ben shakes his head and smiles that little smile Jack hates so much. “I didn’t have to.”
“But you’re glad to keep me around.”
The smaller man seems to ponder for a second. “It’s not as much about you, Jack, as it is about Juliet.”
They look at each other in silence, both wanting the same thing for different reasons. It’s Jack who acts first, caressing the back of her hand, then her face, then pulling a stray lock of blonde hair behind her ear.
“You’re beautiful”, he whispers.
Juliet closes her eyes and gets closer. His hands slid down her body, his lips catch hers. It’s easier than he thought.
“Do you know why we want her to stay with us, Jack?”
He doesn’t answer.
“For the same reason we wanted Claire, and Walt”, he says in his book-seller tone, “We can’t have our own children.”
Jack chuckles humourlessly. “Then you kidnap someone else’s. Sounds very reasonable.”
“Have you ever seen a pregnancy go wrong, Jack? You might have, in medical school.” Ben doesn’t raise his voice. He rarely does. He rarely needs to. “On the last months, the mother’s immune system turns against the baby and kills it. There’s infection. There are complications. The mother dies too. Ever wondered why there are more men than women among us?”
It doesn’t affect Jack. He doesn’t care about these people.
“Imagine what you would feel if Sun died in front of you like this.”
Their clothes are damp with salted water. What needs to come off, comes off. They are anxious - there is no time for seduction. Let anyone see them, hear them. Aaron is asleep and no one else is innocent.
“Juliet is our only hope”, Ben continues. “She’s pretty much a genius in her area. A candidate for a Nobel, I’d say”, he raises his eyebrows. “However, she wasn’t able to improve our situation much in these last three years.”
Jack wants to tell him to give up and die. He stays quiet.
“First she said she didn’t have enough equipment. We gave her that. Then it was lack of information. We gave her all she needed to know. Then she needed a control sample. We found Claire.” He seems almost disappointed, his elbows resting on the chair’s arms.
“I thought the promise to go home could be a good enough motivator for her. Now I guess I was wrong”, Ben concludes.
He’s inside her and she’s tight and warm and the sand doesn’t get in the way. She makes a little sound, circles him with her long legs, forces her hips up to feel him buried all the way in. He moves fast, his breath on her neck, his hand squeezing her thigh. He makes it last until she’s done, then comes hard into her (how long has it been to him? Four months? Five?). His arm gives up and his body falls spent over hers.
It’s surreally perfect, in a way that frightens them both.
“You heard of Goodwin, didn’t you, Jack?” He doesn’t sound angry. Or sad. He’s his usual self. “The man that your friend Ana-Lucia killed.”
“Yeah”, Jack answers, in hopes that if he cooperates Ben might just leave him alone.
“Yes, I guessed you’d know about him.” He sighs, sounding nonchalant. “But I’m quite sure you don’t know that Juliet stopped taking the pill when she found out he was dead.”
“Do you trust me, Jack?”, she whispers, her fingertips running softly against the hair on his nape.
He looks into her eyes and there is no room for doubt in his voice when he answers, “Yes. I trust you.”
He thought it would make her smile. She frowns.
His body is slow, his mind is not. With some effort, Jack rises into a sitting position.
“She never had children, Jack. Just like you.” He talks as a happy boy who just finished a puzzle. “What a perfect motivator that would be.”
There is a long silence.
“Do you think I’d step that low to get out of here?”
Ben smiles.
“Wouldn’t you?”
“I wasn’t left behind”, she confesses, and it’s so soft she might as well have said ‘I love you’. Jack glares at her, doing his best to look disgusted. He sits up, looks away.
“It was Ben’s plan for me. If I don’t bring Sun back with me in four days, they’ll attack the camp”, Juliet says. “I’m sorry.”
Somehow, while she explained herself, he started to grow tired of playing dumb. “Why”, he interjects vaguely. He knows the answer; he’s not angry, nor sad.
Jack suspects he knows the answer. He asks, anyway. “And why do you think I’m going to do as you’re saying, Ben? After everything, after the sub, why do you think I’m going to believe you?”
“Because you know that if you don’t, you’ll never go home.”
Juliet sighs. “Because I know that if I don’t, I’ll never go home.”
He looks at her - he really, sincerely looks at her. And he laughs.
She cowers, pulling her clothes to cover what’s exposed of her body. She fears he’s going to snap at her when the laughter dies.
But he doesn’t; Jack simply states “Ben had a plan for me as well”. Noticing she doesn’t understand, he pulls back his jeans, mumbles “I’m sorry too”, and leaves.