[Nikki runs frantically through the jungle. She grabs something out of her bag, and buries it in the dirt quickly, before getting up shakily to resume running.]

[FLASHBACK]

[Nikki steps down the stairs in a strip club, wearing a white jacket and hat.]

ANNOUNCER: And now, dancing on stage three, the pride of Saint Paul, Corvette!

[Nikki pole dances, stripping off her jacket. She notices a man in a suit enter a back room. She follows him into the room, entering to find the man opening a case full of money, and another man in a purple hat facing CCTV feeds.]

NIKKI: No! That's the money for the orphanage. That means, Mr. LaShade, you're the Cobra.

BILLY DEE: Sorry, baby, it's just business.

NIKKI: All this time it was you.

BILLY DEE: Pretty and smart. What a shame.

[He looks to the other man, who att*cks Nikki. She kicks the g*n out of his hand and karate chops him in the neck.]

NIKKI: Razzle-dazzle! Ha!

[She bends down and grabs the g*n, but "LaShade" pulls out another g*n and sh**t her three times. She collapses. He gets up and sh**t her again. Two other strippers enter and see Nikki's body.]

BILLY DEE: Autumn, Crystal, bad news. Corvette was working for the Cobra. But fear not: he will pay.

ZUKERMAN: And, cut!

[A man with a clipboard signals the scene's end. Production crew rush around. Nikki lifts herself up.]

BILLY DEE: Oh, let me give you a hand. [helps Nikki up]

NIKKI: Oh, thank you. Billy Dee, it was so great working with you.

BILLY DEE: Oh, no, the pleasure's all mine; thank you so much.

NIKKI: You're sweet.

BILLY DEE: Take care.

NIKKI: You too.

[Nikki heads over to meet the director, Howard L. Zukerman.]

ZUKERMAN: Alright, that's a series wrap for Corvette! Let's hear it for Nikki!

[Most of the production crew clap and whistle.]

NIKKI: Thank you.

ZUKERMAN: Brilliant, Nikki. As always. You know, you don't need to die. We can bring you back next season.

NIKKI: [laughs] How?

ZUKERMAN: Well, let's say that, uh, Corvette was wearing a b*llet-proof vest?

[Nikki pulls away her jacket to remind Zukerman that she is wearing nothing but a bikini underneath.]

ZUKERMAN: b*llet-proof breast!

NIKKI: [covering back up] Look, I'm just a guest star, and we all know what happens to guest stars.

ZUKERMAN: Now that your work's done here, I suppose you'll be leaving Sydney and heading back to LA.

[They step off-set to look at Sydney Harbour.]

NIKKI: No, I'm not leaving Sydney. I love you.

ZUKERMAN: I love you too.

[They smile and kiss. End flashback.]

[Cut to the Island. Hurley and Sawyer are playing table tennis. Hurley wins the point.]

SAWYER: Son of a bitch! Alright, come on, let's go one more.

HURLEY: You said best out of five.

SAWYER: Well, now we're going best of seven.

[Suddenly someone approaches from the jungle. It's Nikki, who stumbles onto the beach looking dazed.]

SAWYER: Ah.

HURLEY: Uh, you OK?

[Nikki falls to the ground, struggling to breathe. Hurley rushes over, and Sawyer follows.]

HURLEY: What happened?

NIKKI: [struggling for breath] Pa... lies...

SAWYER: The hell's she saying?!

HURLEY: I dunno.

SAWYER: Let's get her some water! Get help!

[Sawyer gets up and moves toward the jungle, peering through the trees to see where Nikki came from. As Hurley watches, Nikki stops moving. Sawyer turns around and sees Hurley sitting there.]

SAWYER: What are you doing?! Get moving!

HURLEY: Dude... Nikki's d*ad.

SAWYER: ... Who the hell's Nikki?

[FLASHBACK]

[84 days ago, Nikki sits in Zukerman's house eating breakfast with him.]

NIKKI: Mmm. Howie, the frittata is amazing.

ZUKERMAN: Hm hm! My new chef; he's fantastic. Paulo, come in here.

PAULO: [walking in with a bread basket] Yes, sir?

ZUKERMAN: Paulo, my boy, you have a new fan. I'd like you to meet Nikki.

NIKKI: The food is amazing.

PAULO: You're too kind. The secret is the shaved truffles. Luckily for you, they are in season.

NIKKI: [in a mock whisper] You know, you should ask for a raise.

[Paulo chuckles, and Nikki bursts into laughter.]

PAULO: Excuse me. [walks away]

ZUKERMAN: He just came to Sydney. Heard I was hiring, and showed up at my office every day until I gave him the job. Apparently, back home, he's the, um, "Wolfgang Puck of Brazil".

NIKKI: Wow.

ZUKERMAN: [grabs the bread basket] Here. Try one of these home-made rolls. [Nikki laughs] Please, please do.

[Nikki takes a slice, revealing a diamond bracelet underneath.]

NIKKI: Oh, it's... beautiful. Howie, you shouldn't have!

ZUKERMAN: [laughs as Nikki puts the bracelet on] I realize, of course, it's not a ring. Not yet. But, uh, when my wife--

[Nikki looks up from admiring the bracelet as Zukerman abruptly stops. Zukerman suddenly starts to choke and grab his chest.]

NIKKI: [standing up, urgently] Paulo..! Paulo!

[Paulo hurries in. Both stand over Zukerman as he moans, then stops moving. Paulo checks his pulse.]

PAULO: He's gone.

[Nikki moves to touch him softly, but instead pulls open his shirt and grabs a key on a necklace he's wearing. She snaps the necklace off of Zukerman.]

NIKKI: [scornfully] I would have loved it if you could have figured out a way where I didn't have to eat the same food as him.

[They move to a walk-in closet and find a safe.]

PAULO: So nobody else knows about this thing?

NIKKI: Everything in here is way off the books.

[Nikki puts the key in the safe and starts to open it. Paulo pulls out a cigarette and prepares to light up, but Nikki grabs it out of his mouth.]

PAULO: What?

NIKKI: Ashes are evidence, Paulo. We poisoned him; let's not poison ourselves.

[Paulo reluctantly snaps his lighter shut. Nikki opens the safe and pulls out a Matryoshka doll. She opens three layers of dolls to get to the core. Nikki and Paulo smile down at it.]

NIKKI: Razzle-frickin'-dazzle.

[Cut to Nikki's body lying on the beach, as the survivors assess the situation.]

CHARLIE: What happened?

HURLEY: We dunno. She's got no g*n wound, no Kn*fe wound, no polar bear bite, nothing.

SUN: Maybe it was something she ate.

CHARLIE: Maybe she was poisoned.

SUN: We should check the food supply to see if anyone else is sick.

CHARLIE: [checking Nikki's limp hands] She's got g*n. Under her fingernails. [to Sawyer] Where'd you find her?

SAWYER: Right here. She stumbled out of the jungle, face-planted, said something like "plywood", and... and, sayonara.

HURLEY: Actually, I think she said "power lines".

SAWYER: Well, who the hell knows what she said; she was five seconds from dying. Probably seeing a light at the end of the tunnel--

HURLEY: [interrupts Sawyer with a shout] "Paulo lies"! That's what she said! "Paulo lies", not "power lines". "Paulo lies".

SAWYER: Who the hell's Paulo?

HURLEY: Paulo's her... husband, or her.. boyfriend, or... whatever. They lived down the beach.

SAWYER: Well, where the hell is he? 'Cause if he lies, that might be a good place to start.

[FLASHBACK]

[80 days ago. Paulo looks at a newspaper article on Howey's death as he and Nikki sit in Sydney Airport]

PAULO: English ex-pat, Howard L. Zuckerman, the creative force behind such h*t shows as Exposé, Strike Team Alpha and Dr. Kincaid Esquire, was found d*ad in his palatial Sydney estate from heart failure.

[Both laugh, and Paulo kisses Nikki]

NIKKI: Are you chewing gum?

[Paulo opens his bag, inside is the Matryoshka doll. He pulls out a pack of nicotine gum]

PAULO: Nicotine gum. I quit.

[They pick up champagne glasses]

PAULO: A toast. To our new life together.

NIKKI: Cheers.

[Behind them, two people arrive]

SHANNON: There's nowhere to sit. No tables, no chairs, nothing. Good call, Boone.

BOONE: Do you wanna just grab a chair from the restaurant?

SHANNON: No, forget it, let's just leave. You already screwed us out of seats in first class, why would you be able to find them here.

BOONE: [To Paulo and Nikki] Hey, can I have this chair please?

PAULO: Yeah. Be my guest.

SHANNON: Boone, let's just go!

BOONE: Thanks anyway.

[They both walk away]

SHANNON: Boone!

BOONE: I'm coming, Shannon.

SHANNON: If you quit flirting with random guys, maybe you could actually get on the plane.

NIKKI: Promise me we'll never end up like them.

PAULO: I promise.

[They kiss again]

AIRPORT PA: Paging Captain Stewart, please pick up the courtesy call Captain Stewart.

[The scene moves to the beach, but still in flashback. Its the moments following the crash. Shannon screams at the top of her lungs. Jin shouts for Sun, as Nikki appears in the background]

SHANNON: BOONE! BOONE! BOONE!

[Nikki rushes past, seeing Jack with Claire, Boone with Rose. She then sees Locke helping carry a man. Locke turns to another man near the turbine]

LOCKE: Hey, hey, get away from there! [To Nikki] Hey, get back, get down. Get away from there!

[The man is pulled into the turbine, causing it to explode. Nikki carries on walking, and sees a man lying face down]

NIKKI: Paulo! Paulo!

[She turns him over, to find it is not Paulo. It's Leslie Arzt]

ARZT: Are we alive? Did we survive? Look at me, am I OK? Am I OK?

BOONE: [Runs up to Nikki] Hey. Do you have a pen? Do you have a pen? [Runs off] Hey does anybody have a pen?!

[Nikki finally sees Paulo looking out at sea with shocked eyes]

NIKKI: Paulo. Paulo, are you OK?

PAULO: Yeah. I think so.

NIKKI: Baby look at me. Look at me.

[Paulo does so]

NIKKI: Where's the bag?

PAULO: What?

NIKKI: The bag, Paulo, where is it?

[Paulo looks shocked]

[Back in real-time, Sawyer, Hurley and Jin can be heard approaching Paulo's body in the jungle]

SAWYER: I'm telling ya, this is the trail.

HURLEY: What do you know about tracking?

SAWYER: Well I know what a footprint is.

JIN: Over here.

[They find his body]

HURLEY: Wow.

SAWYER: I'm guessing that's Paulo.

HURLEY: He's just like Nikki, no wound, nothing.

JIN: [Speaks Korean]

HURLEY: Yeah I know.

[Sawyer sees one of Paulo's shoes stuck in a tree]

HURLEY: Why are his pants undone? And why's his shoe in that tree?

SAWYER: Maybe he stepped on something.

[Sawyer looks out into the jungle as Jin opens Paulo's bag]

HURLEY: You see something? Sawyer?

SAWYER: Nothing.

[Jin uncaps Paulo's bottle of water]

SAWYER: No! Don't.

[He pours all the liquid out]

HURLEY: Dude, what are you doing?

SAWYER: Two people are d*ad, you ever think they mighta been doing.

HURLEY: That's evidence. You're messing up the crime scene.

SAWYER: Crime scene? There a forensics hatch I don't know about?

JIN: STOP! Monster.

[FLASHBACK]

[75 days ago. At night, Nikki and Paulo look through some of the unclaimed luggage]

NIKKI: How many times do I have to tell you, there's no such thing as monsters.

PAULO: Maybe it was a dinosaur.

NIKKI: Its not Jurassic Park, Paulo, its the South Pacific.

PAULO: Then what was it? You saw the trees move.

NIKKI: Would you start focusing? We've been here for six days, OK, the coastguard is gonna get here any second, and I really don't think that they're gonna take “hey, you know what, I'm looking for my script-bag” as an excuse for not getting on the rescue boat.

PAULO: OK, OK, OK.

ETHAN: Hey. You guys lose your luggage? Yeah I lost mine too. I found some other stuff though, so if you need anything, pants or, sweatshirt, I can help you find some that fit. I'm Ethan, by the way.

NIKKI: Hi, I'm Nikki, and this is Paulo.

ETHAN: Nikki.

PAULO: Hi.

ETHAN: Paulo.

NIKKI: And you are so sweet Ethan, but actually we're not looking for clothes. Yeah, see Paulo here lost his nicotine gum.

ETHAN: Ouch. You might have more luck looking inland.

PAULO: In the jungle?

ETHAN: The plane split apart when it was over the Island [Possibly says “Islands”], so some of the stuff might have rained down in there.

[Commotion can be heard, and Arzt runs past]

ARZT: Boone. Boone took the water.

[Many survivors chatter]

KATE: What is going on?

BOONE: Someone had to take responsibility for it, it would have never lef...

[The group start to fight, Sayid holds back Charlie]

JACK: Leave him alone! Its been six days, we're all still waiting for someone to come. We have to stop waiting. We need to start figuring things out. Now I found water. Fresh water up in the valley. I'll take in a group at first light. If you don't wanna come, then find another way to contribute. Because every man for himself is not gonna work. But if we can't live together, we're gonna die alone.

[Back in real-time, the group have brought Paulo's body back to the beach to keep it with Nikki]

HURLEY: I'm with Jin. Its the Monster.

SAWYER: Yeah because that makes the most sense.

HURLEY: It does. Locke said when Eko died, his last words were you're next. And Nikki and Paulo were with them. He was talking about them.

SAWYER: He wasn't saying you're next about them, he was saying you're next as in, you're all next.

HURLEY: Yeah that's not really better.

SAWYER: Alright, so here's how I see it. We wanna know what happened, we gotta find out whatever we can about these jabronis.

JIN: Jabronis?

SAWYER: Nina and Pablo.

HURLEY: Dude, show some respect. You know their names, its Nikki and Paulo.

SAWYER: Whatever, Hugo. Where's their tent? And we better get some shovels.

[FLASHBACK]

[57 days ago. Nikki wanders the beach and goes to Arzt's tent, where he is examing bottles with insects inside them]

NIKKI: Hey Doctor Arzt.

ARZT: Oh hi.

NIKKI: You're a scientist, right?

ARZT: And an educator, yes.

NIKKI: What are you doing with all this stuff?

ARZT: Oh, erm well, since we've been on here, I've discovered twenty new species, I'm gonna be the next Charles Darwin.

[Nikki picks up a glass]

ARZT: Ah, ah, that is a Latrodectus regina. Very dangerous. They call her the medusa spider. Her pheromones are very strong, one whiff and every male of the species would be here in seconds. Not unlike you I guess.

NIKKI: So, you're probably too busy to help me then.

ARZT: No, no, not at all, I'm fine, er, I can help you, what can I do ya for?

NIKKI: Well I'm trying to find my luggage, and since the plane broke apart over the jungle, I was wondering if you knew about trajectories and stuff.

ARZT: [Laughs] Do I, do I know about trajectories? Allow me to draw you a map, Madam.

[Nikki looks to see Paulo watching her. Later, they trek through the jungle together carrying the map]

PAULO: Are you sure we should be listening to a High School Science teacher?

NIKKI: Junior High, and yes. What's your problem with Leslie anyway?

PAULO: Leslie?

NIKKI: Oh ho, you're jealous!

PAULO: Of him? Ha, never.

NIKKI: Yeah his spiders turn me on so much, I had to sleep with him to get the map.

PAULO: I wouldn't be surprised. You slept with Zuckerman.

[Nikki stops walking]

NIKKI: I did that for us.

[She continues walking]

PAULO: OK I'm sorry, I just, I don't trust that guy. We should have gone to Ethan, he would have helped.

NIKKI: Paulo, look.

[They both look up to see the smugglers' plane dangling over the cliff edge, caught in the vines]

PAULO: Another plane. Looks like its been here a while.

NIKKI: Go up there, maybe there's a radio or...

PAULO: Are you insane? If I go up there that thing's gonna happen.

NIKKI: You're not gonna fall.

PAULO: What? You want me to die? [Pause] Come on. Let's keep going.

[They carry on, walking over soil]

NIKKI: What's that?

[Paulo looks to see hatch doors poorly covered in dirt. They uncover it and try the doors]

PAULO: OK, let's do it.

[They pull the doors open to reveal a deep drop and a ladder by the side]

PAULO: Let's check it out.

NIKKI: Wow. So our carry-on bag fell from the sky, opened a manhole, crawled inside and closed the doors behind itself? You don't wanna climb up to a plane, but now you wanna climb down a ladder into a dark tunnel. I don't think so.

[Nikki shuts one of the doors and walks off]

[In real-time, Sawyer rummages through Nikki and Paulo's tent as Hurley watches]

HURLEY: Hey man, be careful.

SAWYER: Why, they don't live here any more.

CHARLIE: So Sun checked the food. They were eating the same as us and no-one else is sick. Could be a virus?

HURLEY: Dude, Monster. [Looks over] Creepy, they collected bugs.

CHARLIE: Ah, I think these were Arzt's. Collected all kinds of creepy crawlies before he, exploded.

HURLEY: They must have been friends.

[Charlie pulls out a script-book]

CHARLIE: Exposé.

HURLEY: Did you just say Exposé?

CHARLIE: Yeah.

SAWYER: What the hell's Exposé?

HURLEY: Only of the most awesome hour of television ever. It's like Baywatch only better. Its about Autumn and Crystal, two strippers that solve crimes with the help of their swarve smooth-talking club owner, Mr. LaShade.

SAWYER: How'd I miss that one?

HURLEY: Check it out, look at the cast list, Nikki Fernandez. That's gotta be why she was in Australia. This must have been her big break.

CHARLIE: Well it certainly sounds like it.

HURLEY: No way. Mr. LaShade was the Cobra?

CHARLIE: Is that supposed to mean something?

HURLEY: Dude the Cobra's this big bad guy. His identity's been shrouded in mystery for four seasons.

[Sawyer finds a walkie in Paulo's luggage, and turns it on]

HURLEY: They had a walkie talkie?

SAWYER: Every damn one of those bastards on the other side of the Island had one exactly like this hanging from their belts.

CHARLIE: So how did Nikki and Paulo get one?

SAWYER: I'll tell ya how. They were working with the Others.

[FLASHBACK]

[48 days ago. Shannon and Arzt stand arguing with Kate as Paulo and Nikki approaches]

SHANNON: What gives you the right?

KATE: You have to understand, we thought it was best for everybody.

ARZT: I'm sorry, you my mother? Cause she knows what's best for me, other than that, I decide.

NIKKI: Hey, what's going on?

SHANNON: Kate and her two boyfriends found a case of g*n that fell out of the plane, but they decided they didn't really need to tell the camp.

KATE: Look. The case is locked. The key is around Jack's neck, alright, I promise you they're safe.

ARZT: You're all out of control. The pigs are walking. [Shouts] Huh, the pigs are walking!

[Both Shannon and Arzt leave]

NIKKI: So, where did you say you found that case?

[At the waterfall, Nikki and Paulo stand discussing]

NIKKI: Its just water, Paulo, stop being such a wuss, and dive in.

PAULO: Why me?

NIKKI: Well as you had no trouble reminding me, I slept with Howey Zuckerman. So the least you could do is go for a swim, and Kate said they found the case on the bottom.

PAULO: Lemme ask you something.

NIKKI: What?

PAULO: If you didn't need me to find that bag, would we still be together?

NIKKI: That bag is worth eight million dollars. Just dive in, Paulo.

[Paulo does so, and finds the bag between some rocks. He resurfaces]

NIKKI: Well?

PAULO: Nothing.

NIKKI: There's nothing down there?

PAULO: Just d*ad bodies.

[Nikki leaves, and Paulo goes underwater once more]

[In real-time, the survivors stand over Nikki and Paulo's bodies]

HURLEY: OK so they had a walkie talkie. You think they were working with the Others, like how?

SAWYER: Like Michael.

CHARLIE: If that's the case, when why'd they k*ll Nikki and Paulo?

SAWYER: Who knows why those people do anything. What matters is they could be out there right now waiting to get us.

HURLEY: I dunno dude. I was with the Others like two weeks ago, they're on a total other side of the Island.

SUN: Then who dragged me into the jungle. The Others came into our camp, they grabbed me, put a bag over my head. And if I hadn't gotten away, they would have k*lled me.

SAWYER: Look y'all stay here. [Pulls out a g*n] Lemme see if I can see any sign of em. I'll do a perimeter sweep.

HURLEY: Where'd you get the g*n?

SAWYER: Got it off one of them.

HURLEY: And when were you gonna let us know?

SAWYER: I guess right now.

[Sawyer leaves]

HURLEY: What exactly is a perimeter sweep?

CHARLIE: [Shakes his head] Hey shouldn't we cover them up?

SUN: Yes, of course.

[FLASHBACK]

[At night, Paulo sits on the beach and takes some nicotine gum. He then brings out the Matryoshka doll from his bag and begins to bury it in the sand]

LOCKE: Nice night.

[Paulo is caught by surprise and hides the doll]

LOCKE: What you doing?

PAULO: Nothing.

LOCKE: It looks like you're digging a hole. Every man's entitled to his secrets Paulo, but can I give ya a piece of advice?

PAULO: Please John.

LOCKE: You should put the shovel away and save yourself some trouble.

PAULO: Why is that?

LOCKE: Things don't stay buried on this Island. The beach is eroding. Winter's coming, high tide. Whatever it is you're hiding, make sure you pick a spot that won't wash away. See you back at camp.

[Paulo looks at the doll, thinking]

[Some time later, Paulo enters the Pearl station with a flashlight and investigates. He finds a toilet, and hides the Matryoshka doll in the plumbing behind it. Before he can leave, he hears voices and hides]

BEN: Who left this open?

JULIET: Tom was down here a couple of days ago.

BEN: Have him cover it up with the plane.

[Ben and Juliet enter the main room and turn the monitor to show the Swan station, with Jack in sh*t]

JULIET: That him? Shephard?

BEN: Yes.

JULIET: He's cute. Why are we doing this? Shephard will never agree to do the surgery.

BEN: No, I can convince him to do it.

JULIET: How?

BEN: Same way I get anybody to do anything. I find out what he's emotionally invested in, and I exploit it.

JULIET: So, what? We just grab all three of them, Ford and Austen too?

BEN: No they need to come to us.

JULIET: And how do we make that happen?

BEN: Michael, of course.

JULIET: Are we done here? This place gives me the creeps.

[Ben turns off the monitor and they leave, shutting off the lights too. Paulo creeps out of his hiding place, and finds a walkie on the table]

[In real-time, Hurley rushes over to the food tent]

HURLEY: Hey! Desmond! You hear about what happened to Nikki and Paulo?

DESMOND: Aye. Tragic.

HURLEY: So, do you know anything?

DESMOND: How d' you mean?

HURLEY: Can you, you know use your psychic powers?

DESMOND: Doesn't work like that. I only see flashes.

HURLEY: No offence dude but, as far as superpowers go, yours is kinda lame. Thanks anyway.

DESMOND: I do know that she was with your mate this morning.

HURLEY: My mate?

DESMOND: I saw her with your boy Sawyer. The d*ad girl, Nikki.

HURLEY: He said he didn't know her.

DESMOND: Then why was she yelling at him?

HURLEY: Yelling?

DESMOND: Aye.

HURLEY: At Sawyer, this morning?

DESMOND: Right before she died.

[Further down the beach, where Paulo and Nikki bodies are lying, Vincent pulls away the blankets covering them]

HURLEY: Vincent! Dude!

CHARLIE: So he saw Sawyer and Nikki fighting. That doesn't prove anything.

HURLEY: Look at the facts, and ask yourself. Why is Sawyer so g*n-ho about investigating this? What's in it for him? He pretended he didn't know their names, but then he was fighting with Nikki.

SUN: Sawyer's not a m*rder. He went all the way across the Island to help Michael. It is the Others, I know what they can do.

HURLEY: OK, you know what, I'll go get Desmond, he'll tell you exactly what he saw.

[Hurley leaves]

CHARLIE: Sun. It was me.

SUN: What?

CHARLIE: It was me who took you, not the Others. I wasn't myself. After Locke h*t me. After he humiliated me. Sawyer told me I could get even by helping him steal the g*n, we just made it look like, the Others. I didn't mean to hurt you.

[Sun walks away with a tear in her eye]

CHARLIE: [Mutters] I'm sorry.

[FLASHBACK]

[9 days ago. Locke, Sayid and Desmond approach a group of survivors, including Nikki and Paulo]

LOCKE: Hey everybody. We're heading out to the Pearl station, there's a computer there that might help us find our people. Anybody wanna come along?

NIKKI: [Raises her hand] I'll go.

LOCKE: Great.

PAULO: What?

LOCKE: Anybody else wanna come, meet us at the tree-line in ten minutes, and bring water.

PAULO: You're not serious.

NIKKI: What? You always whine about not being included. Now's our chance.

[Inside the Pearl, the group try to fix the monitors. Meanwhile, Paulo sneaks into the side room to retrieve the doll]

NIKKI: Hey guys. What are these other TVs for?

LOCKE: Sorry?

NIKKI: All these TVs. This guy says that there's six stations, [Inaudible]

[The Pearl Orientation video is replayed with Nikki pointing out the pluralized form “projects”. Paulo gets the doll, and flushes the toilet before entering the main room. The rest of them turn from the sound of the toilet]

PAULO: The, toilet still works.

[The group shrug off the interruption]

[Back in real-time, the survivors are busy digging Nikki and Paulo's graves. Sawyer approaches]

HURLEY: Give me the g*n.

SAWYER: The hell you talking about?

HURLEY: Give it to me.

[Sawyer pulls out the clip]

SAWYER: Ain't even loaded.

HURLEY: Then how are you sweeping the perimeter. Quit lying dude. Desmond saw you fighting with Nikki this morning.

SAWYER: Oh I see what this is. Villagers have got themselves some torches.

HURLEY: Did you k*ll them?

SAWYER: No. No I didn't k*ll them. Yeah, me and Nikki went at it this morning. Cause she wanted a g*n.

HURLEY: Why didn't you tell us this before?

SAWYER: Cause of the dirt under her nails.

HURLEY: What?

SAWYER: She was digging. And when we found him I saw a fresh mound of dirt. She was burying something. And if you take the time to dig a hole right before you die, then what your hiding's probably pretty damn good.

SUN: So what was it? What did she hide?

[Sawyer throws Sun a pouch. She sprinkles out the contents onto her hand. Diamonds]

SAWYER: Go ahead, take em. Cause whatever happened to those two I had nothing to do with it.

[Sawyer walks away]

[FLASHBACK]

[12 hours ago. Nikki sits on the beach, and Paulo joins her]

NIKKI: Did you know Thanksgiving was two weeks ago?

[Paulo shakes his head]

NIKKI: We missed it, Paulo, just like we're gonna miss everything.

PAULO: They're going to find us. We'll get rescued. You'll see.

NIKKI: [Laughs] OK where did this sudden burst of optimism come from?

PAULO: I dunno I guess, its how we look at things. Like the bag. I mean, maybe not finding it was good for us.

NIKKI: How do you figure that?

PAULO: Look what it did. It might have torn us apart.

NIKKI: Yeah.

[They both smile]

PAULO: Wait here. I'm gonna get us some breakfast.

NIKKI: [Smiles] OK.

[They kiss briefly. As Paulo leaves, Nikki notices something on the sand. Nicotine gum, which was in the same bag as the doll. Nikki goes to see Sawyer]

NIKKI: OK, I know you have them. Give me a g*n.

SAWYER: I don't have the g*n. A-team took em all.

NIKKI: Right, except for the ones you kept for yourself.

SAWYER: Even if I had a g*n I wouldn't give it to you. Judging by the f*re you're breathing, I got a feeling no good would come of it.

NIKKI: Sawyer, give me a g*n.

[Across the beach, Desmond notices the two arguing]

SAWYER: I got a better idea sister. How about you go stick your head in the ocean and cool yourself off.

NIKKI: Thanks for nothing.

[She leaves. Sawyer shouts after her]

SAWYER: And who the hell are you?!

[In real-time, Sawyer goes over to Nikki's body]

SAWYER: [Whispers] Thanks for nothing

[He closes her eyes and begins to dig. Sun approaches him]

SUN: Charlie told me it was your idea. To kidnap me.

SAWYER: You gonna tell Jin?

SUN: No.

SAWYER: Why not?

SUN: Because then we'd have to dig another grave.

[Sun takes Sawyer's hand and gives him back the diamonds]

SAWYER: Why are you giving me these?

SUN: Because they're worthless here.

SAWYER: See, and I thought I was going to get out of this without a lesson...

[Sun slaps Sawyer hard across the face, and walks away. Some time later, Nikki and Paulo's bodies have been replaced in the grave. A group of survivors have gathered for their funeral]

HURLEY: Nikki and Paulo. I guess we didn't really know you very well. And it appears, you k*lled each other for diamonds. But I know there are good parts to you too. You were always nice to me. And you're a member of the camp. And, er, I really loved Exposé. OK then, goodbye...

SAWYER: Wait.

[He pours the diamonds into his hands, and throws them over the bodies]

SAWYER: Rest in peace, Nikki and Paulo.

[FLASHBACK]

[8 hours ago. Nikki leads Paulo through the jungle]

PAULO: Come on. Just tell me.

NIKKI: Na-uh, its a surprise. We're almost there. OK, ready?

PAULO: Yeah.

NIKKI: I found the diamonds, Paulo.

PAULO: [A sh*t of confusion goes across his face] What? Where?

NIKKI: Right here.

[Paulo looks on the ground as Nikki frowns]

NIKKI: Give em to me.

PAULO: What're you talking about?

NIKKI: What am I talking about? [Pulls out the gum] What's this? Your nicotine gum. You wanted to stop looking for the bag cause you'd already found it. I know you have them, Paulo, so where are they?!

PAULO: Calm down, OK?

[Nikki unscrews a glass bottle with a spider inside]

PAULO: What the hell's that?

[Nikki opens the bottle and thrusts it at Paulo, causing the spider to land on his neck and bite him]

PAULO: Are you out of your mind?

NIKKI: You remember Doctor Arzt's friend. Did it bite you? Does it hurt? He told me why they call it the Medusa Spider. Wanna know why?

[Paulo begins to shake and grabs Nikki]

PAULO: What did you do?

NIKKI: Because one look from Medusa will turn anyone to stone, just like one bite from the spider will paralyze you, for about eight hours. It won't k*ll you, it'll just slow your heart rate down to the point of where even a doctor would have a hard time...

[Paulo falls to the ground]

NIKKI: ...Hearing it b*at. You won't be able to move a muscle, so I'll be able to do, all sorts of nasty things to you. And since it bit you on your neck, I'd say paralysis will happen fast. I'm guessing that you have the diamonds on you. Huh?

[Nikki searches Paulo]

NIKKI: In a shoe, maybe?

[Finding nothing, she throws the shoe away, and it catches in a tree]

NIKKI: [Pauses] I think I know where...

[She undoes Paulo's belt and zipper, and pulls out the pouch from his underwear]

NIKKI: Son of a bitch.

PAULO: I'm sorry.

NIKKI: You're only sorry cause you got caught.

PAULO: I was, afraid, of losing you. If you found the diamonds, you wouldn't need me any more.

[As Nikki looks on forgivingly, the clicking sound of the Monster can be heard. As Nikki looks around, numerous Medusa spiders approach. One crawls on Nikki's leg, and she shakes it off, but not before it bites her]

NIKKI: Ow, dammit! Oh no! No! No, no.

[She runs through the jungle, and buries the diamonds pouch in the dirt. She then arrives at the beach, finding Hurley and Sawyer]

HURLEY: Er, you OK?

[Nikki collapses face down, and is turned over by Sawyer and Hurley]

HURLEY: Hey, hey, what happened?

NIKKI: Para...lyzed.

[In real-time, Sawyer and Hurley shovel sand over the bodies and the scattered diamonds. The rest of the survivors all begin to leave. Nikki's eyes open wide as sand is poured over them. Sawyer and Hurley finish burying the pair, and walk away]
{"type": "series", "show": "Lost", "episode": "3x14 - Expos\u00e9"}