Title: My Girl
Summary: SANA. Sequel to 'Music'. Ana realised that if anyone else had called her 'my girl' she would have probably kicked their ass so hard they wouldn't have been able to sit down for a week, but when Sawyer said it... It felt right.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.
Author Notes: Numero cinco. As a celebratory thing, it's extra long. With much happy happy things, some not so happy things, good sized heap of jealousy, less thinking and more lovin'. Have fun reading as always...
The tension on the island was about ready to come to a boil, and everyone could feel it. Every time anyone interacted the tension was palpable, especially if one of them was Jack. Everyone was ready and willing to go to war, but Jack was the one who was trying to put it on delay until they knew more about the Others and their motives. If he hadn't been their unofficial leader for so long, everyone would have already rebelled against him, but they respected him enough to not put any action behind their protests.
Ana Lucia wasn't really affected by it, but she told Jack that when he needed her, he knew where to find her. Sawyer had been with her when she'd done it and Jack's gaze and drifted to him and he looked at him expectantly, obviously expecting the same of him, but instead Sawyer had just stayed silent and smirked back at Jack. To this Jack rolled his eyes and left, obviously he hadn't expected it that much.
When Ana asked Sawyer later on why he hadn't said the same thing he'd just shrugged and said that Jack didn't need his offer to know that he would jump at the chance of inflicting pain. Ana deciphered this as a pride issue that was one of those macho things, you know the one. So she just copied the doctor's earlier response, rolling her eyes and moving on.
Ana watched Sawyer sleep, his chest rising and falling, the mischievous grin cross his face every so often, the quiet mumblings under his breath. It hadn't been the first time, whenever she couldn't sleep she watched the Southerner who went out like a light from the moment his head hit the pillow. Sometimes she would watch him until the dawn sun peered over the horizon, when she would finally settle down next to him and surrender to sleep.
Unbeknownst to her this was about the time he woke up and started to watch her as she tossed and turned in her fitful sleep. She had nightmares almost every night (or morning, as it were). But when he began to stroke her hair with his hand, she was comforted and able to fall into proper sleep, the ever constant frown disappearing and her expression becoming one of peace.
He stayed like that, stroking her hair gently, until she woke up a few hours later and then they lay there silently, facing each other. A few quips were traded, some insults concerning snoring (which were false) were made, but mostly they were quiet.
It was the silent connection that they had which made their relationship stronger than most people thought it was when they observed from the outside. To some, their constant bickering and the banter that never seemed to stop passing between them meant that they really were only fuck buddies. But when no one else was around, the insults slowed to an almost complete stop, and the quiet took over.
They weren't one for talking seriously usually, that was saved for the special occasions. Today was one of those occasions. The day had started off normally enough, in comfortable silence which continued till they went outside to sit in the sun, Sawyer reading his book and Ana thinking about the many things that she seemed to have bouncing around in her head. Then Jack decided to take Ana up on her offer.
"Hey Ana." Ana cracked an eye open, not unlike not so long ago when Sawyer had tried to make conversation which had quickly turned into an argument which had turned into something else completely. She looked Jack up and down, trying to look for a sign as to why the doctor was standing in her sun, but finding none she just nodded at him.
"Jack." She replied, and with a quick glance to the side she saw that Sawyer hadn't even looked up from his book. Apparently he was in his 'let's ignore Jack' phase of mind, some other macho thing that he had going.
"You said I could come to you if I ever needed a hand." He said, his expression showing that he clearly wished that he didn't need to come to her for help. Ana wasn't sure whether this was because he wished that they didn't have to go into a war blind, or that he didn't want to put anyone else at risk, or just that he didn't feel comfortable asking her for help. In the end she just put it down to all three.
"We suiting up?" She asked and saw Sayid standing in the background, hanging back as if he didn't want to come any closer to her unless absolutely necessary. Feeling a pang as the guilt from the mistake which had cost her the respect of her fellow survivors (not that that had bothered her as much as the fact that she'd shot an innocent person) flooded back into her system, she quickly shook it off as she transferred her gaze back to the man standing in front of her. He nodded, clearly not loving it, and she nodded in return.
Then Jack's eyes went over to Sawyer and they went from non threatening to piercing. Sawyer, however, continued to ignore him even though Ana knew that Sawyer could tell that Jack was shooting him daggers. Sawyer licked his thumb and turned the page, and that was when he chose to speak, still not acknowledging Jack fully because not did he once look up at him.
"I'm not showing you where the guns are, Doc." He said, eyes trained on the page in front of him. Jack sighed in annoyance and ran his hand over his short hair.
"What, do you just expect us to go in empty handed?" Jack asked his annoyance clear as his voice became sarcastic and his face and body language became one of someone trying to hold back from attacking. Ana noted this and was quite entertained by the two, Jack at the end of his rope and Sawyer completely relaxed and reading a book.
"Never said that, Doc." He drawled, running his finger down the page as he read. Jack's face looked as if it was being strained and Ana saw that his fists were clenching and unclenching at his sides. Boy, Sawyer could rile up the doctor like nobody's business.
"Then what do you suggest, Sawyer?" He asked through clenched teeth and Ana hid her grimace behind her hand. She snuck a glance at Sayid and saw that he also had an entertained expression, apparently the Jack and Sawyer show never got old for some people on the island.
"Well, since you're dragging my girl into this, I'll give her the hardware." Sawyer made the 'suggestion' with his eyes never leaving the page. Ana realised that if anyone else had called her 'my girl' she would have probably kicked their ass so hard they wouldn't have been able to sit down for a week, but when Sawyer said it... It felt right. As corny as that sounded. Jack's eyes flickered over to Ana before going back to Sawyer. Rolling his eyes at the Southerner's stubbornness he walked away.
"We're getting ready to go in ten minutes." He called back over his should to Ana and then walked past Sayid, who fell in step with him as he did. After Jack was out of sight Sawyer finally let his eyes travel upwards and then over to Ana. He silently asked her if what he'd said was ok, or if he'd crossed the line into uncomfortable territory, but with a small smirk from Ana he knew that it was all good.
Getting up, and offering her a helping hand up, he walked back into their shelter. Lifting up the blanket that covered the floor he revealed a secret panel that showed all the guns, drugs and so much more that had been salvaged from the wreck. Ana's eyes widened slightly, she'd never known in all the time that she'd slept on top of it. Sawyer leaned down and took out several of the guns out, handing a rifle Ana and keeping the rest.
To this she raised an eyebrow and he shrugged with a boyish grin on his face.
"You really thought I was sending you out alone Chica?" He smirked and Ana rolled her eyes and snatched one of the pistols off him, tucking it into the back of her jeans. Slinging the rifle over her shoulder she looked up at the Southerner, her chin jutted out rebelliously. Sawyer just chuckled at this and leaned down to brush his lips gently against hers.
"C'mon, let's go hunting." Sawyer said, after pulling back slightly so that their foreheads were still touching. He grinned down at her and she returned it with just as much fervour. Then, for no reason in particular, Ana dropped the rifle and reached up, her hand snaking around Sawyer's neck and pulled him down into a much more passionate kiss. Their tongues duelled for dominance and Sawyer decided to drop the guns in his arms for something much more interesting, Ana. His arms wrapped around her waist and pushed her against the wall of their shelter - he wondered when he started thinking of it as their shelter - and her hands started to roam down his chest.
Still in the battle for dominance, Ana pushed Sawyer down to the ground, never breaking contact and blindly fumbled with the buttons to his shirt. When that proved a task too hard whilst she was otherwise occupied, she gave up and just ripped it apart. This caused Sawyer to withdraw from the kiss and look down at his shirt with a mildly shocked expression on his face.
"You can't keep ripping all my shirts Chica, I didn't have that many to start with." He said, still in wonder about how the Latina could reduce his shirt to a rag with a quick movement of her hands. Ana just rolled her eyes and used a finger to lift his face back up so that his eyes met hers again, instead of looking down at the torn shirt.
"Concentrate, cowboy." She taunted and the shock left Sawyer's face to be replaced with a salacious grin as he winked at her. He sat up slightly to reach her lips and brought her back down with him, so that he was lying down again. Her hands travelled down his chest, now free of clothing thanks to her impatience. Then Sawyer decided that he wanted to be the top dog, in a manner of speaking. So he shifted his weight slightly before flipping Ana onto her back.
Bending down he kissed her as he used his forearm to keep himself hovering above her body. His lips travelled across to her jaw, where he kissed and nipped his way down to her neck and she moaned as he hit all the right places. His hands went down to the hem of her tank top, fingers curling around it and he started to tug it up when...
"Sawyer do you- oh my god." Sawyer glanced behind him to see Kate standing at the opening of their shelter, mouth hanging open. Ana grunted in annoyance and squirmed under him, obviously wanting to get away because the mood had totally been ruined. Sawyer let her go apprehensively and she scrambled out from under him, standing up and pulling down her top while her hand went to her hair to try and flatten it out. Sawyer just turned around and lay on his back on the floor, looking up at Kate.
"Might wanna close your mouth before flies get in, Freckles." He drawled and she closed her mouth with an almost audible snap. Then she continued to stare at the two of them, apparently she had been the one person on the island who hadn't been informed of their current situation.
"Do you want something, Kate?" Ana asked, annoyed at the interruption and Kate's gaze went to her and she seemed to snap back to reality at Ana's harsh tone.
"The guns," Kate managed to croak out, her voice somewhat strained, and she swallowed before retrying, "Jack sent me to get you and the guns." At this Ana and Sawyer traded a look and they went over to the pile of abandoned weapons, Sawyer handing some to Kate, and Ana reclaiming the one that she had dropped herself, slinging it over her shoulder. As soon as Sawyer gave Kate some of the guns she walked out very quickly, desperate to get out of the awkward situation she'd created.
When she left Ana and Sawyer's eyes connected once again. Ana stepped closer to him and placed a burning kiss on his lips. Then she shifted back slightly, so their lips were still ghosting over each others.
"To be continued." She whispered softly and moved past Sawyer, out of the shelter. Sawyer shivered slightly at the feeling that she had created and hoped that the war wouldn't take all that long because he was definitely looking forward to that continuation.
When they reached the group that had been picked for the attack Jack's eyes bored into Sawyer, obviously blaming him for the late arrival. However, there wasn't any shock at his presence, obviously Jack had predicted him coming despite his apparent lack of interest in the subject. Even if it was just to look out for 'his girl' as he had put it earlier. It had grated on Jack's nerves that Sawyer was so obviously possessive of her, Jack knew that Sawyer only did it because Ana and himself seemed to have a connection. Typical Sawyer. If he was jealous he turned it around on the other person and worked to make them jealous.
He looked at Kate who blushed and looked down. Seeing this, he was definitely sure that Sawyer was the reason they were late. And he really didn't want to know exactly what Kate had found when she'd gone to get the two. Especially since it looked like they were going to have a re enactment judging by the smouldering looks that the two were sending each other. Perfect. He sighed inwardly and began his pep talk...
----
Sawyer wondered when exactly everything had gone to hell. Looking around he noticed vaguely that someone's shelter was on fire. Feeling like everything was moving in slow motion he stumbled forward, falling face first into the sand. Lifting himself up onto the arm that wasn't bent at a funny angle he started to crawl along the ground, trying to shake off the dizzy feeling that was clouding his head. Reaching a familiar body he struggled closer, forcing himself to sit up next to it.
Stroking her hair gently with his uninjured hand he whispered her name with his ragged, hoarse voice that was almost gone. He wasn't sure why it was like that, but he had a feeling that he had been yelling a lot, and he may have roared when he went into battle earlier. His eyes went down to her leg which was now mangled at a funny angle and he winced at it.
"Ana." He struggled with making it louder than a whisper, but he couldn't get it much louder. He pushed her fringe back to see a large gash on her forehead, he touched it in wonder and looked at the sticky blood that was transferred onto his fingers. Then with a dream like quality he began to shake her shoulder gently one handed.
"Ana. Ana. Ana." He said her name over and over as if it was a prayer, it sounded like one since he could only speak in a whisper. But the worry crept into his voice which made it break and it became even harsher, and hoarser, "Chica, please wake up. Ana Lu!" He leaned forward and gently kissed her forehead, and continued to say her name over and over.
"Sawyer!" He heard his name and his head snapped up, he saw Jack stagger towards him. Jack who now had a long cut down his left arm which had cut right through his shirt. Jack fell on the other side of Ana, offering his arms out to Sawyer, asking him silently to pass her over to him for him to check up on her. Sawyer did so and Jack inspected the gash on her head.
"We have to stop the bleeding." Jack said and Sawyer nodded. Taking off his (still ripped) shirt he wrapped it around Ana's forehead tightly. Jack nodded in approval at this and then bent down over Ana, trying to get her to wake up. He said her name in a voice that was louder than Sawyer's at the moment and Ana murmured quietly, still he continued to persevere.
"Ana? Ana, can you open your eyes for me? Can you do that?" He asked, in full doctor mode, and she murmured again and opened one of her eyes slightly, giving a groan as if she was a teenager not wanting to go to school. Then she groaned again, except this was more a groan of pain. She looked up at the two worried looking men and grimaced.
Then Jack's eyes went to her leg and he looked back at Sawyer.
"We have to splint this." He said and Sawyer nodded, no duh Jackie boy, "Can you get me two sticks that are about the right length?" Jack ordered Sawyer and Sawyer took off in the direction of the forest. Finding two sticks that were about the right length, and generally straight, he ran back to the beach and dropped the sticks next to Jack like a dog returning a ball.
"Hold her down." Jack said and Sawyer did so, trying to calm her by keeping eye contact with her and muttering sweet nothings into her ear. Jack made the splint ready and looked up at Ana's face, which was looking down at him as if she was bracing herself.
"Do it." She said through clenched teeth and Jack hesitated and then cracked it back into place. Ana let a small noise slip out as she bit her lip so hard that it started to bleed. Sawyer braced himself against her, continuing to whisper into her ear.
"Its okay, Chica, its okay, its gonna be okay, no worries Muchacha, its gonna be okay..." Sawyer kept repeating as she blinked back the tears that had sprung into her eyes. Jack just winced as he saw the pain evident on her face. He saw the arm that Sawyer was cradling close to his body and coughed, getting Sawyer's attention.
"Are you gonna be okay?" Jack asked, nodding at Sawyer's arm. Sawyer nodded silently, thanking Jack for his concern, even if it was faked.
After Jack was satisfied that they could take care of each other, he left in search of more survivors who needed medical assistance. Sawyer looked down at her with a concerned expression on her face as she struggled to remember what happened. Then she gave up and just decided to ask Sawyer himself who looked at her as if she was on her death bed.
"What happened?" She mumbled and he frowned slightly at the question.
"You don't remember?" He asked, and she shook her head. Well, shook her head as much as she could. So Sawyer set about to explain it to her, "We were gonna attack the Others, but they decided to attack us instead." He explained and her eyes became wide.
"Oh god, is everyone-?" She trailed off and Sawyer's face became grim.
"I don't know." He answered truthfully, "Just came to myself, but we put up a good fight." He reassured her with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Her response to this was just to keep her fear, and for good reason. She wasn't exactly the prom queen around here but she did have friends, and she didn't want to have the few friends that she did have end up getting kidnapped by the Others, or to be victims of their attack. But then, that would be typical of her luck, wouldn't it?
Then her attention went to Sawyer, who looked like he was on the brink of having a stress attack from worry over Ana's condition. Ana noticed this and she smirked at him.
"Cheer up Cowboy, I'm not dying." She said and by the look on his face she could tell she'd said the wrong thing.
"I thought you had," He said quietly, whispering it into his chest. She barely caught it but when she did her eyes widened. Reaching to take his hand in hers, which made him look back up at her she smiled gently at him.
"But I didn't. I'm right here, Cowboy, and I ain't going anywhere. I promise." She said and he smiled in relief at this.
"Thank god for that," He said quietly as he looked down at the woman he had come to... Love? Like? God he didn't know, but it was more than he usually felt and that was enough for him to know that she was special.
"You'd really miss me, wouldn't you? If I died I mean." Ana asked and Sawyer looked at her with a horrified expression.
"Course I would Chica, how could you think different?" He really did look quite offended and Ana looked at him curiously at this.
"I don't know, I just... I didn't know if we were..."
"Serious?" He finished for her and the look in her eyes told him that that was exactly what she wanted to say. Sighing and running his hand through his hair he wondered what he could say to assure her that she wasn't just a fuck buddy.
"I ain't never felt like this before Ana Lu..." Sawyer started and Ana chuckled at his choice in words.
"You going to break out into song, Cowboy?" She asked and Sawyer shot her a look.
"I'm trying to be serious and all here, and you're being all..." Sawyer ran out of words as his annoyance made him grunt in frustration. Ana patted him on the hand, gesturing him to continue his previous sentence.
"Well as I was saying," He shot her a look, and she mimed zipping up her lips and throwing the key away, "You mean a lot to me, you really do. Don't know what I'd do without you."
"Okay, now you really are rhyming." Ana said, unable to keep it in any longer, sniggering. Sawyer roared in frustration.
"Fine! I like you a lot okay! Is that okay with you?" Sawyer asked, at the peak of his frustration. Ana nodded wordlessly and he continued to rant on nevertheless, "I may be falling for you, but hey if you can't stop pointing out every time I say things that rhyme..."
Ana grabbed Sawyer and pulled him down into a sudden kiss. When she released him he was in a quiet shock.
"Are you okay?" She asked, and it was probably the first time she'd asked him, really meaning it. He nodded, the shock giving way to a reassuring grin that was slightly on the dreamy side. She smiled back at him and replied, "Good. You aren't hurt are you?" She asked, studying his wound on his chest where his skin had been grazed at by a swipe from an Other's bowie knife.
He shook his head and then tilted it at her concern and he regarded her curiously. She noticed this and shrugged.
"I don't want you to be hurt, God knows I'd probably have to take care of you then and play nursemaid or some crap like that." Ana said, but Sawyer only heard the first part of the sentence, ignoring the insult that came after it.
"You don't?"
"Of course I don't want to be your nursemaid, hell knowing you you'd make me do all sorts of things..."
"No, not that I mean," Sawyer shook his head and then realised what she'd just said and his lips pulled sideways into a smirk.
"Nursemaid?"