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Peja's Wonderful World of Makebelieve Import
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Published:
2020-11-04
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2005-01-17
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7,231
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2/2
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14
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Lady Slipper

Summary:

Disclaimer: Damon Lindelhoff and JJ Abrams own these characters; I'm just borrowing them.
Summary: Two of the island 'elders' feel the spark of friendship, maybe more?
Rating: PG
Couples: Rose/Locke
Spoilers: Takes place before RAISED BY ANOTHER (01X10)
Feedback: Yes, please.
Author Notes: This is just a flight of fancy; I don't know what's gonna happen and I thought these two would be a cool pair. Except there's that pesky Bernard (aka Mr. Rose.) ;)

Chapter 1: Part 1

Chapter Text

Lady Slipper
by Karen Williams

 

It was another hot day. Rose sighed to herself. Maybe I'll find them today.

*

Locke had rolled out, ate a couple of bananas and some dried boar meat he'd kept out of easy animal reach. The piece of hide he was curing was doing nicely, especially with the helpfully hot climate. The former cube jockey reached for another piece of hide; Locke always had something to do now, and he intended to do as much as he could. Locke also gathered up a couple of shoes he'd found: one, a child's tennis shoe, for sand, and there was a house shoe that was used for holding the leaves he was using in his work. Lastly, he made sure he had some of his knives.

*

Rose walked around the beach. She didn't know why, exactly, but she couldn't make herself more involved with the others. I should be grieving- wailing and gnashing my teeth, rending my clothes- or I should be helping the others more. A voice in her mind came back, Maybe you are grieving. With a sigh, Rose changed the path her thoughts were taking her;she'd worn down that trail as much as the trail to the caves was being worn.

I'm surrounded by children, she thought idly, and children with children, her eyes lighting on Claire tossing a frisbee back to Walt and Vincent. As she turned to walk to what she thought of as her spot, Rose ran into...

"I'm sorry, ma'am; my fault."

It was the tall man who hunted, that Locke guy. Rose looked up, a bit embarrassed. "No, sir, it was mine. Apparently I've forgotten to look where I'm going." The soft chuckle at herself echoed in Locke's mind. "Oh, I do have something to ask, if you don't mind." Curious, Locke nodded for her to continue.

"I'm looking for some slippers- Bernard, my husband,"there was a pause for a second" he gave some as a present on the trip we took.

My feet always get cold," she said, as way of explaination.

"Even here?" Locke asked, a bit amused by her tale.

Rose grinned. " Well, only at night; my feet are almost ice cubes when I wake up."

Remembering how frustrating foot care had so recently been, John sumpathized. "I'll keep an eye out for them...?"

"Rose, sorry," she held her hand out for a shake. John returned the shake; Rose's hands still felt pretty soft- like the hand lotion she probably used to to keep them that way.

"Don't be; I'm John. Apparently, we are the designated 'old folk'."

"I hear that." There was a slightly awkward pause.

"I'm keeping you from something; nice to meet you John." And she hurried on.

Locke, unsure how to take that, found his curing spot.

*

Sitting near the ocean was a peace thing. Rose enjoyed the sounds of the island. Except that monster thing, or monsters, she thought. Those conclusion-jumping kids- this was an island, there were bound to be more than one animal on it. The rumor of the polar bear made her smile and think seriously about what was going on. Obviously, life was going on here before we came; we need to just be careful in how we move on. This isn't the KOA. That sweet Jack was able to find the water in the caves. Mr. Locke was able to hunt the boar, and from the looks of it, he knows how to handle more than the butchering of the meat. It was the loss of her husband that kept her thoughtin a loop though. After a couple of decades with someone, you miss them when they aren't around. Even for a minute.

*

Locke was working on the hide when he reached for the house shoe with his leaves. It was a big shoe with the sides made to look like it was a high heeled shoe. Locke wondered for a moment, then looked around.

"Ethan? Can I borrow you for a moment?" The lanky man ambled over with logs he'd chopped for the signal fire. "Can you watch this? I just don't want it to blow away or anything, alright?"

"Sure, no problem. Where're you goin'?"

"I have to return something. I'll be right back." Ethan shrugged his okay.

*

Holding the ring, his ring, Rose was replaying what happened before everything ....

"Hello?" Locke called out. Locke saw the hope and regret in her expression. He hated to intrude on this lady's grief. Rose's face turned and looked as if she were waking up.

"Mr. Locke; nice to see you." The smile was almost automatic, but Locke saw it throughout her face- the lady meant it.

"John, please; we're going to be neighbors for a bit, it seems. No need to stay so formal."

"Then call me Rose; 'ma'am' makes me feel old." There was a nice smile from both at that.

"I came by because I thought I might have something for you."

John thought he saw her eyes brighten. He held up the house shoe. "I believe this is yours." He walked up and presented it, bowing to her.

He heard the chuckle and straightened. Rose was smiling.

"Those look nice, but that's not what I'm looking for."

John was at a loss and it showed on his face. "Why did you think that was mine, I'm curious now. Unless you have a Prince Charming fixation I should be worried about."

The mild joke didn't sting, which surprised John. He'd been the butt of too many jokes the last handful of years. Some really nasty concerning his love life, what there was of one. Rose didn't know him, Locke reminded himself.

"Well, you seem like a classy lady; I figured your husband might too. That and you didn't tell me what the shoes looked like," he teased back.

"Lovely, I am going senile," she sighed, grinning. "My husband picked up a set of gator slippers. I was grumbling about something. Next thing I know, he's showing me this pair of horrible crocodile slippers! Snouts on the front and a tail coming...." Rose drifted off, tearing up some as well. "You must think-"

"No." Rose heard a note of understanding and was grateful. She dabbed at the tears waiting to fall. She felt the softly calloused hands around hers. She found the understanding tone in his eyes- those lovely eyes with the Harlequinesque scars. Rose realized, also, that he had kneeled close to her. There was a beat and John went on,"If you'd like, you can keep this one-"

"So you can gift me with the other and whisk me away from all of this?" Rose teased, motioning with her arms the idyllic sandy beach, gem-like ocean, and verdant tropical forest.

"Touche, but if your feet are staying cold-"

"John? I thank you for your sweet gesture, but I'll be okay." At his hesitant look she replied," How 'bout I raincheck the
slippers? If my feet don't acclimate soon?"

Locke couldn't remember the last time a woman looked at him without pity. Outside of work, anyways, he thought. He conceded.

"John, I thank you; most of these people have probably forgotten what I asked. Most people have let me just sit. Thank you."

"My pleasure Rose." Then it was Locke's turn to hurry off.

*

"Is she okay? I saw you kneel by her," asked Ethan when Locke returned. Surprised some by the question, Locke stopped putting the leaves in the slipper.

"She's as okay as you can be after losing her husband," Locke said. Ethan gave him a look; okay, that came out a bit more
defensive than I meant.

"Does she need-"

"I'd've said if the lady needed anyone's help, Ethan."

"Alright. Sorry." Ethan gathered his firewood silently.

"Ethan, I'm sorry; I didn't mean to sound so....harsh. Being alone is hard to do with this group, so I don't want folks to just barge over there for no reason."

"Okay." Ethan seemed satisfied. "Later, man."

"Later." They planned to go out closer to supper and look for more boars,at the least. Need to get crackin' on this hide then....

*

Rose found herself wondering about John's hands. They were obviously callused because of the hunting and working he'd been doing for the last week, yet there was a gentleness, not just a physical softness to his hands. She smelled the plant sap after he had left. The leaves she saw earlier looked like aloe leaves. That would explain it, she mused. Still, that scar is a bit....sexy.

That voice in her head squawked, Sexy!?! The hell are you talkin' about? Rose answered herself with a In all my years, I loved my husband, but I'm not blind to a nice-lookin' man.

Rose wished she felt more...energetic. When she tried to get enthused about helping someone with something, like that sweet Claire girl, she couldn't muster actually helping. It's not like me, Lord forgive me, but I just can't ...help.

People seemed to hear about her situation and left her, mostly, to herself. Rose was alternately relieved and depressed about that.

Some of the girls would make sure she had water, Jack would check in on her to see if she was adjusting some, and sometimes that goofy dog Vincent would wander over. Rose smiled remembering the first time she officially met Walt.

*

Vincent had wandered over and dropped a nasty ball in her lap!

"Well, what do you expect me to do, fella?" Rose asked as she softly stroked the Lab's soft coat. Vincent looked at her
plaintively. "Where's your boy, huh?" Almost as if he understood, Vincent swung his head down the shore. Sure enough, there was the dog's master playing backgammon with that tall man. Instinctive feelings of protectiveness surged in Rose, much to her surprise. The boy's daddy must be around close, she reasoned away. Then, not long after, Walt came over.

"Sorry if he's buggin' you, ma'am. Vincent!" Walt rolled his eyes as the dog chose that moment to bite and lick at himself.

Rose grinned. "He's not bothering me, hon. You can call me Rose, or Miss Rose if your dad wants you to be a bit more formal."

"I'm Walt and that's Vincent. My father is Michael. He went hunting with Mr. Locke once." Walt pointed to the man still sitting at the game board. Each saw Walt gesture and waved politely at each other. "Better go back."

"Okay; nice to meet you Walt, and Vincent." She smiled and patted the dog once more then the two were gone.

*

Rose wondered about Locke. Why would he play backgammon with a boy? Hope it works,she added. If what she had heard was right- and she laughed at herself about that- Walt had lost his momma shortly before the plane ride. One of Rose's growing list of Things To Do was to be available to Walt, he'd need extra attention with no mom to keep an eye out on him. Every growing boy needs his momma.

They're little devils as is, they need someone to keep them civilized.

*

Locke and Ethan were bringing in a young boar, but also some squirrels and hares.

"May I have the hides again? I have a project, something a bit practical though. Still, I want it to be a surprise."

Ethan looked surprised. "Kate?" Locke wondered when the brunette became the default answer to things.

"No; it's a surprise, so I'd rather not say."

"Claire?"

"What did I just say?"

"Can you tell me what you're makin'? I can keep a secret."

It was almost defensive, but there was something a bit off. Locke missed the tone, or at least seemed to miss it.

"I'm making some slippers. The boar hide for the outer edge, the hare for the inside." There was a pause. "If you're okay with that. If someone's asked you for the fur or hides...."

"No, no; you can use them. No one asks me for anything. Least not yet."

Locke was thinking of how to utilize the hides best and just nodded.

*

Walt was wandering around the next day.He stopped at Locke's curing spot. "What're those?"

"Skins. We ate their meat last night." John turned over the hide he was working on, always eager to explain. " Ethan and I found a few squirrels." He pointed out the bushy tail. "We also found a few hares." At Walt's slightly unsure look, John added," wild rabbits."

He grinned and asked," Did they taste like chicken?"

Walt rolled his eyes at the joke. "Can I have one of those?' The boy was eyeing the small pelt.

John mulled that over. Michael was working to build a relationship with Walt and I don't really want to undermine that, but he doesn't trust me with Walt....

"Let me see if anyone else is going to use it for something, first, okay? I'm working on a couple of projects myself; ask your dad about it. It'll be something else for you to take care of, like Vincent." Walt hated asking Michael for everything and sighed. Looking around for a bit, Walt looked back to Locke.

"Why is Miss Rose off by herself a lot?"

John was surprised by the question's source.

"Her husband was-"

"I heard about that; why isn't she with alla us? We had lots of people stay around us after Mom died," Walt interrupted, stroking the Lab's head absently.

"Sometimes it's okay to be alone to deal with someone dying. Too many people can make you feel like you aren't sad or happy enough for the folks around you. Folks grieve in different ways and at different ....rates of time. Rose is being looked after, don't worry."

"Jack." John grinned and nodded.

"And others," he added, to be fair. "You're lucky, Walt." At the confusion, John added, "You have someone with you here. Someones." He glanced, smiling, at Vincent. The dog arfed. "Your dad is doing some cool things- because of you." Walt rolled his eyes again, so John stopped. "Still, you need to make a deal with your dad about the skin."

A very put-upon 'okay' was given. John grinned inwardly.

*

Vincent got loose again. The happy-seeming dog dropped the nasty ball at Rose's feet.

Grinning, she shook her head and said," Well, at least youre polite." Michael reached Rose before Walt.

"I'm so sorry, ma'am-"

"Just Rose; 'ma'am' makes me feel old," she interrupted with a smile. "Vincent just checks on me like the others is all. Huh, boy, you checkin' on me?" A big sloppy lick answered her.

"Vincent! Get off the lady!"

"Vincent!" yelled Walt. The dog turned and sat near Rose. The look reminded Michael of himself when he was a kid. After his mom caught him doing something. Walt walked over and picked up the ball.

Stroking Vincent's neck, Rose looked at Walt. "He didn't drop it in my lap this time; you must be teaching him well." Walt saw the warm smile and remembered what Locke had said.

"You want to play with him?"

"That's sweet, Walt, but no. Not today at least."

Michael looked between the lady and his son, feeling- as he so often did lately- left out of the loop. "He hasn't been bothering you, has he, ma-Rose?"

"Oh no; he's been fine. Vincent introduced us the other day."

Walt remembered something he saw in the hospital when his mom was in there. "Miss Rose? Would you like me to bring Vincent by for you to play catch or whatever?" Michael was surprised.

"Oh, thank you, honey; that is a very generous offer. How about I ask you if I feel up to it sometime? I think Vincent like running around more than I do right now." Vincent placed his head on his front paws with a sad snuffle. Rose looked over. " You flatterer."

She ruffled his ears.

The guys all left Rose shortly.

*

"It's either a banana or a big palm frond."

"Oh."

"I figured I'd try for presentation tonight." John smiled, and Rose found herself smiling in return." The meats have fats drip off them, so I was trying to -"

"Bring a little civilization to me?" Rose's eyebrow quirked, wondering whether she should be flattered if he tried to deny his nice action. John studied her eyes.

"Is it so wrong if I am?"

"For all you know, I am a farmer. A policewoman. Even a park ranger." Rose saw a slight nod as she took a careful first bite. "Mmmm, thank you John. This is nice."

"Filet mignon is nice. This," he pointed to her meat and back to the cook fire," is survival."

"Yes; thank you again."

John hesitated, to Rose's surprise. "May I eat with you tonight, Rose?"

Rose was more surprised. "That would be fine." John heard the curiosity in her voice, but decided to let her ask. He had picked up something while attending classes and lectures and reading those hunting books.

*

"...and that's when he said, 'that's the nun of your business."

Rose snorted and laughed, as did John.

"Linkletter had it right huh?" Locke stated as his laugh died down.

"Poor boy; he tries so hard at the jokes, but he's just so right for other things."

"What does he do?"

"Last I heard, from his mother, was that he was a pizza deliveryman part-time so he can do stand-up at night. It's been a couple of years since I saw her; Bernard and I found a smaller place closer to his job about then. She feels better in the neighborhood and doesn't like to drive much."

Locke asked, "What do you and Bernard farm in the city?"

"We don-" Rose smiled when she realized. "Now John, since we may be stuck here for a bit, I'd prefer to not... discuss that. As I told Jack, if we survived maybe another section had survivors and they are doing the same thing we are." Rose held Bernard's wedding band like prayer beads and fell silent.

"I'm sorry," John apologized. It came out in a near whisper.

"Why did you want to sit with me?" Dark eyes turned and held his.

He heard the tone that women past a certain age attain, a tone of command and pleading at the same moment. It was more and yet, John couldn't quite decipher that tone. I imagine it's like figuring out what's in a perfume's chemistry, Locke thought to himself.

" I was tired of sitting with the usual crowd. They are nice, but...." Rose smiled.

"So young, " she finished. Rose sighed. "I think that they are good for me, ultimately, but right now..."

"Tire you out?"

She was grinning sheepishly. "For now."

"Don't apologize; folks around here understand, mostly. We just are...concerned." The eyebrow quirked again and her full grin was displayed as well. John felt his cheeks flush. He couldn't believe that could ever happen again.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say that was a blush, John." There was a beat and Rose continued,"You are pretty sunburned though, so I could be wrong."

John wondered how Bernard dealt with such a funny, flirty wife for so long.

"John?" came the unexpectedly soft, but solid request.

"Yes?"

"Would you sit with me for a while more?" There was a slight pause. "I know you have things to do and thi-"

"Rose." She heard the tone men get after a certain amount of living; it was reassuring, but no-nonsense.

"I'll stay."

They talked a bit more; talk turned to common likes and polite beginnings of future debates. After a bit the stars seemed brighter. The two walked a little ways to the shore, sat, and they tried to find familiar constellations.

*

Jack noticed the two off and on all night. Kate saw him staring at the older couple as they star-gazed.

"That's Rose, isn't it?" Kate's tone was cautiously happy for the older woman. Kate understood loss, but was thankful that she didn't understand a hurt that deep.

"yeah," Jack muttered.

"It's good that she's been talking to someone and laughing, right?" Kate was tired of the mixed messages Jack sent out about nearly everything. There were times the good doctor seemed quite the petty child.

"yeah," Jack muttered again, turning away from the two older survivors watching the sky.

"You don't trust her with him; that's it, isn't it?" Kate said.

There was equal parts disbelief and humor in her accusation.

"Jeez, Jack; Locke is the only other man here that...there aren't-" She stopped herself.

"Go on, Kate, please. About how they're the only 'old people' on the island, maybe?"

"I didn't mean that," Kate whispered through a gritted smile.

Jack Looked back to where Rose and Locke were. Locke was pointing at something and Rose was trying to follow his hand. Jack sighed.

"Don't tell me," Kate preempted. "You promised her you'd take care of her?" Kate was disbelieving the silence that greeted her guess.

She shook her head. "Jack."

*

John was walking Rose back to where she slept.

"Thank you for this evening. It was nice." Rose remembered that she had the leaf still. "I only need three more and I can start to have company over."

John grinned. " I can keep an eye out for actual banana leaves, if you'd like."

"John, that sort of thing will have people talking."

"You care because? " John didn't give her a chance to answer." You have done nothing improper. This isn't the medieval times where you weren't allowed to do anything unless your children okayed it. You can grieve and live, Rose. No one gets to tell you when you can do either, not even me." John's voice softened. "I just want to remind you of that." As he spoke, so surprisingly passionate, John found Rose's hands and held them gently.

So surprised by the declaration and the physical contact, as much as by the stress of the trauma of the crash, Rose started to sob. Little hiccupy ones at first, which only slightly surprised Locke. It was her shy embrace and deep sobs that caught him off-guard. He held her against his chest, arms around her as if protecting Rose from folks who might disapprove of the scene. He slightly rocked her, and whispered comfort to her.

*

Sun, making her way back to Jin, noticed the pair. Rose, the woman, was obviously in distress. Sun had heard about the older woman losing her spouse. After a moment of reflection, Sun realized she was intruding on a private moment and left the elders to themselves.

*

After Sun left unnoticed, there was a rustling not too far away in the underbrush. Remembering the way the boars introduced themselves, Locke placed a finger over Rose's lips. She was trying to be silent anyway, but sobs still shuddered through her.

As Locke pulled a thick, curved-at-the-tip knife, Rose looked concerned. Locke silently looked back at Rose. He showed her the knife was held in such a way as to be ready if needed. Which I hope I don't, he thought.

Locke pulled a mini-flashlight and shone it into where he thought the sounds came from. Let me see an eye, ya ugly bastards.

There was an eye alright. The eye of a man glinted in the glare.

Locke heard Rose gasp.

"Bernard?!"

 

end part 1