WHATEVER HAPPENED, HAPPENED

Or, What Happened to Aaron and Ben

[Originally Aired April 1, 2009]

Kate visits Cassidy and tells her that Sawyer is still alive and on the island. She hands her a wad of cash and says Sawyer wanted his daughter to be cared for. While Kate revels in Sawyer's self-sacrifice, Cassidy calls him a coward, saying he was unable to face the real world, choosing instead to hide on the island. Back in 1977, Jin wakes up and finds Baby Ben bleeding but not dead. He takes him back to the barracks. Juliet tries to save Baby Ben but isn't having much luck. In one of the bungalows, Hurley and Miles discus Back to the Future and time travel. "We came back in time to the island and changed stuff. So if little Ben dies, he'll never grow up to be big Ben, who's the one who made us come back here in the first place. Which means we can't be here. And therefore, dude, we don't exist." Miles calls him an idiot and says Baby Ben can't die, because he didn't die originally. "This is really confusing." Kate asks Jack to help save Baby Ben, but Jack says no. "I've already done this once. I've already saved Benjamin Linus, and I did it for you, Kate. I don't need to do it again." Juliet gets Baby Ben stabilized, but can't get the bleeding stopped. She thinks the Other can save him though. She tells Kate to bring around a van and they'll load him up and take him into the jungle. When the coast is clear, they load Baby Ben into a van and Kate drives to the sonar fence. Then Sawyer pulls up. He doesn't stop her. He helps her carry the boy into the jungle saying "No matter what he's going to grow up to be, it's wrong to let a kid die." Back in the future, or present, are whenever it is, Kate and Aaron leave the marina. (And how many time are we going to see this scene?) On the way home Aaron asks for a juice box. Kate stops at a supermarket and while walking down the aisle, her phone rings. It's Jack. She doesn't answer. When she looks around, Aaron is gone. Uh oh. Kate panics, but eventually finds Aaron with a stranger. So she goes and visits Claire's mom and tell her the truth. The boy is her grandson and she needs to look after him. Kate says she is going back to the island to find her daughter. In the jungle, Kate and Sawyer are captured by the Others. Sawyer demands to see Alpert. When they do, Alpert asks if the boy is Ben. They ask him to save Baby Ben's life. " If I take him, he's not ever gonna be the same again. What I mean is that, he'll forget this ever happened, and that his innocence will be gone. He will always be one of us." Alpert then carries baby Ben to the Temple. Cut to the makeshift infirmary on the Hydra island. Ben stirs awake. Locke sits nearby. He smiles at Ben and says "Welcome back to the land of the living."