Title: Eyes Open
Author: LOST-Annie
Rating: PG-13ish
Length: 11 Chapters
CHAPTER ONE: YOU'RE ALL I HAVE
Sawyer sat very still in his bear-cage cell. The chaos of the last week was putting an enormous strain on him. He was now convinced that he could survive, but he wanted to see Kate for real before the lions took their share and left the whole group scattered and angry. He was fairly certain that if given a chance, the others would divide the entire group, pitting them against one another.
As a matter of fact, he had a feeling that's where things were heading even at that very moment, as he sat with his back against the concrete wall eating half of a fish biscuit, watching Kate sit quietly in the cage across from him, gazing into the trees, her half of the fish biscuit sitting uneaten in her lap, that the others were tricking the rest of the group and trapping them and capturing them and maybe even killing them.
It was disturbing and frustrating, as was the fact that Kate was sitting there without speaking to him or even looking at him. He knew that she was probably thinking about Jack. She had a right to, he supposed, but it still pissed him off beyond belief.
He wanted a chance to hold on to the island, to Kate. It was becoming increasingly clear that she was all that he had left. The thought made him feel weak, but he knew that bravery was required here, and he felt that with Kate's help, he could be courageous. He hoped that what he had done earlier that day had seemed courageous to her. He had blown off the kiss as a tactic to find out how strong the others were, but in reality, he had just lost his self-control for a moment.
She had been working and on the verge of breaking, he could tell by the look on her face. She was scared beyond imagination and so was he. But looking at her in that damn dress, trying so hard not to let the hard work catch up with her, trying not to let her fatigue show, he couldn't help himself. She was sacrificing her health and for what? For him? For the others? For the rest of the survivors? For Jack? She had a way about her movements, a certain sadness, that turned him on. He couldn't deny that there was an attraction there.
Kate was cinematic and razor sharp, her bite much worse than bark would let on. She was a welcome arrow through the heart, and when he kissed her, it felt like he was home, like the electric shocks were totally worth it, even against his sore, aching bones. He wanted her to give him something to hold onto so that he wouldn't lose himself completely what with the others keeping them in cages and forcing them to do busy work.
There was a darkness deep in her, a frightening magic Sawyer clung to. He was all alone in the world without Kate. She was his rock, his strength that he could draw upon at any given moment. If she was threatened, he felt obligated to step in and fight for her, even when the odds were against him. Even when she begged him not to. That was another reason he had kissed her that day. She was so close to being broken that he felt it was his duty to step in, to try to save her. He wasn't a hero. Far from it in fact, but maybe he loved her, and people did crazy things when they were in love.