Illusions of the island *A LOST fanfic*

Chapter 22: The empty space next to me

When Juliet woke up, the other side of the bed was cold. She wasn't sure if it was from a bad nightmare she was having or the sound of a seagull just outside her tent. Her eyes wandered to the empty space next to her. James sometimes was an early riser and went fishing with Jin. But that didn't explain why Cara wasn't there. She felt sick to her stomach, knots beginning to form. Taking a breath, she rose to her feet and stepped outside her tent. She spotted Kate a few tents down sitting in the sand and bouncing Megan on her left knee. She smiled and waved at Juliet.

"Morning Juliet. Would you like to join us for some breakfast?"

Shaking her head, she stomped towards her as Jack sat down next to Kate and handed her a papaya.

"Maybe later. Have either of you seen Cara? Did James take her with him when he went fishing with Jin?"

Jack furrowed his eyebrows at Juliet and shook his head no.

"Jin and Sawyer left about an hour ago, but Cara wasn't with them. Let's just take this one step at a time Juliet. When was the last time you saw her?"

Chewing on her bottom lip, she stared at Jack and then her eyes wandered to the rolling waves just a few hundred feet behind her.

"She was asleep next to me in our tent and then I woke up and she was just gone. Oh my god Jack, do you think she could've wandered off towards the water?"

She felt the breath leave her lungs and she lowered herself into the sand next to Kate. She couldn't just sit here and do nothing though. Pushing the dizziness she was feeling aside, she pushed herself to her feet and followed Jack a few feet towards the water. Her heart clenched when Jack surfaced and there was nothing in his arms. It was almost twenty minutes later when he came back onshore and frowned at her.

"She's not out there Juliet. If she did go out there, the current would've carried her away. She has to be on the island somewhere."

She felt her knees become weak, but she managed to hold herself up and walk towards the tree line.

"What about the jungle? She could've wandered in there."

Jack looked at Juliet warily and nodded making his way through the bushes and into the thick jungle. She followed, nearly holding her breath as she did so. We were a few hundred feet into the jungle when a voice sounded behind her.

"Hello Juliet."

Turning on her heel, her eyes widened and she stared right into Ben's eyes.

"Where the hell is my daughter Ben? Tell me!"

Ben smirked at her and took a step forward.

"Don't worry Juliet, Cara is perfectly safe. I'm sure you would like to see her again. Wouldn't you? But first, you have to do something for me."

She narrowed her eyes at Ben and folded her arms over my chest.

"What might that be Ben? Bargaining with you is never good odds. I always lose."

She could see the strange look in Ben's eyes.

"Come back to the barracks and stay with me. You can have your next child in the infirmary and everything will be taken care of. I promise it will be very comfortable for you. Once the child is born you will be free to leave the island. The only thing is, you'll have to leave her with me. You and Cara are free to leave though."

She narrowed her eyes even further and set her jaw.

"I'm sorry you lost Alex, Ben, but I am not leaving any child of mine with you. Hypothetical or not. Bring me my daughter. NOW!"

Ben sat and watched Juliet unflinchingly. His expression in a thin grim line on his face.

"Your serum works Juliet. You've proven it with Kate and yourself."

She balled her fists, she was ready to hit him.

"Who said anything about me having another child just so you could replace Alex?"

Ben smirked once more at her and got a step closer.

"Besides, who said anything about me being this child's father? That's all you and James."

She gave Ben a disgusted look.

"You're sick Ben. If we were back on the mainland, you'd be locked up in the nut house. I'm not kidding. Now bring me my daughter."

Ben looked bored and indifferent to her begging.

"You take care of three more women and you can have Cara back."

She lost her nerve and got close enough to slap him. Breathing heavily, Juliet took three steps back and glared at Ben. Ben held his stinging cheek and shook his head.

"I wish it wouldn't have had to come to this Juliet. But you've given me no choice. You help me and all this will go away. You can Cara can be together again."

She really didn't have a choice, it was either go with Ben, or she'd never see her baby again. Jack grabbed for her hand.

"We can find another way to do this Juliet. You don't have to go with him."

Tears nearly flooding down her cheeks, she shook her head no at Jack.

"You don't understand Jack; I don't have any other choice. I'll never see my baby again if I don't go with him."

Jack stood steadfast and the grip on her wrist grew tighter.

"I think I know a little something about this. Remember? It happened to Megan too."

She frowned and finally let the tears go.

"I have to Jack. She needs me. It's the only way."

Ben wasn't about to ruin Juliet's life by taking Cara away.

To Be Continued...

Chapter Management