Not Going Back
Run. They never stopped doing that.
They had been rescued five months ago. Helicopters had pick them up at the beach, and a plane brought everybody to L.A.
It all happened so fast considering the long and slow months spent there. There has been excitement, but not for everyone.
Kate had been put under escort as soon as the first marshal landed on the beach.
Sawyer had looked at her from a distance while the marshals watched her on the plane. He tried to talk to her, but they didn't allowed it.
She just stared ahead, like transfixed, her eyes not really fixed on anything. It had broke him inside to see her like that. He had promised to protect her, from everything, and now he couldn't even touch her, talk to her.
He would have done everything to see her smile again.
When the plane landed he watched two feds escort her to a car parked outside, and he didn't think, he just acted. He knew it was now or never.
He went closer, asking to talk to her, but just before they shoved her inside the car Sawyer grabbed the gun from the one closer to him, and shoot the other one that was grabbing Kate.
Then they had run, together.
The event of the plane crash made them more famous and so made it more difficult to hide with their pictures showed on TV 24/7, but they managed to stay in small cities and disguised themselves pretty well.
"Mornin' sunshine" Sawyer smile greeted Kate as she woke up in the little motel room.
She stirred in the bed and smiled.
Outside it was a strangely clouded day for L.A. and the wind was blowing hard, shaking the windows of their room.
He took her in his arms, caressing her bare shoulders and they stayed like that for some time, just enjoying the contact with each others.
"We should get going, Sawyer" she whispered softly on his chest.
"Yeah, we will" he said grinning. With that he turned around, laying on his back and bringing Kate on top of him "we will" he repeated kissing her.
She laughed and, playing with a lock of his hair, kissed him back.
Several hours later they were getting dressed and prepared to leave the motel.
While Sawyer packed the stolen car they got, Kate went to pay the motel man and went to check the box office for any mail. Off course it wasn't at her real name, but she needed to give an address sometime, to get stuff.
She threw away the few pamphlets and put a letter in her pocket.
"Let's go" she told Sawyer getting into the car.
They traveled for about an hour lightly chatting and kissing every once in a while like a regular couple would do.
Sawyer stopped the car in front of a store. Kate looked at him questioning.
"I'm gonna buy some water, forgot the bottle at the motel. And we're runnin' out of gas" he explained. "get ya anything?" he asked
She thought for a moment and then came out of the car "I'm coming with you, need to use the bathroom".
They both entered the store and, while waiting for her, Sawyer scanned the shelves for something to eat.
"Uh, chocolate" she said coming up right behind him and putting her arms around his shoulders "would you get me some?"
"Chocolate uh, yer greedy like a little child!" he chuckled
She looked at him with puppy eyes and he couldn't resist her.
"Ok, ok, but all ya get is just a couple bars. Yer eating too much of it lately, ya know that Freckles?" he joked.
"Love ya" she kissed him playfully
"Yeah, I know" he replayed grinning, going to the counter to pay for their stuff.
The man there packed the food nervously, and the two started to exit the store, when they saw it: a police car a couple of block away!
They looked at each other petrified for a moment, then Sawyer grabbed Kate's hand and pulled her inside the car.
They both knew they couldn't get caught, or this time it would be forever. The jury wouldn't have second thoughts, and they would be sentenced to death, or, if they were lucky, life imprisonment. She was a fugitive and had killed before, and he killed a federal officer!
Sawyer stepped on the gas pedal and drove away at full speed.
He kept his eyes on the road in front of him while Kate held tightly on his hand.
They had never been so scared before.
If it was just him he would have done something: he would try and shoot them off if he still had a gun, or even turn the car toward them and take down as many officers as he could, but he had Kate life in his hands too, and he couldn't ask her that.
Nothing bad should ever happen to her.
The sirens grew closer and closer and they could see three police cars just a few feet away.
He could try to get her out of the car at a junction and create a diversion, he thought. Most probably they'll take him down, but he wouldn't bare to live without her anyway, and it'll be worth it. He wouldn't give the feds the chance to choose in which terms they should end his life.
He'll do it himself.
He kept looking at the gas signal every two seconds. The car wouldn't go on for much longer since he hadn't had time to refill it, he had to think of something and he'd better think it fast.
But before he had time to do anything, everything happened in a flash.
Another car blocked the road and the cars behind surrounded them.
"Get out of the car" a police officer shouted.
A long silence filled the car while the only sound that could be heard outside was the scratching of the police feet on the road while they were moving around fast, surrounding them.
"Looks like this is it" Sawyer looked defeated, looking her in the eyes with a sad expression.
He had failed. He failed in doing the thing he promised her to do, protect her.
"Kate…." He started
She squeezed his hand tighter.
"When I tell you to, get out of the car" he looked at her dead serious. "go toward 'em". She would be in jail, but he'll know she'll be safe. As for him…he didn't want to be lock away and rust in a damp prison cell.
"What?" she asked confused. Then she saw him look nervously at the cars in the rear mirror and touch his side and understood what he had in mind. "No!" she cried
"Look here Freckles…" he tried to reason but she silenced him.
"No" she repeated again more firmly.
They both were silent for what seemed like hours. Then Kate broke it. "I'm with you James" her voice trembled a little even if she was trying hard to keep it steady.
"Baby…." he sighed, feeling horrible for being the one responsible for ending her life, but also kinda flattered that she would choose to follow him to such an extend. He guessed he didn't know just how much he loved her till that moment. And even more surprising, he just didn't know how much she loved him back.
"I don't wanna go to jail. They are gonna kill us anyway. I'd rather choose it myself…and I don't want to spend a single day without you Sawyer" she gave him a small reassuring smile, even if she was just as petrified as he was.
The cops outside were starting to become nervous.
"Step out of the car with yours hands in the air, now!" another cop yelled.
Sawyer and Kate looked at each other.
"Are you sure?" he asked. He wouldn't want to force her to do something she wasn't totally sure of.
Kate stubbornly shut her lips tight and nodded vigorously, letting a few tears escape her eyes. His look of guilt was killing her. She smiled and kissed him.
"Love you" he said, breaking the kiss, looking deeply into her eyes.
"Love you too" she repeated, letting another single tear fall down her cheek.
Strange, this were the same words they said to each other just a few minutes ago, and many times before that, but all of a sudden they had an all new meaning now. They felt it deeper, burning around every single letter to the point it hurt.
They opened the door of the car. Kate stepped out first, followed soon after by Sawyer. Their hands in the air.
They slowly turned around, watching the crazy display in front of them. A dozen officers were surrounding them by every side, guns in hand.
Sawyer and Kate looked at each other. She gritted her teeth and gave an imperceptible nod with her head to sign him she was ready, and then he made a quick movement, like to grab a gun in his pocket, or at least to make the cops believe he was reaching for a gun, but there was nothing more then the chocolate bar there, and he knew it.
And then Hell started.
The cops, alarmed, started shooting.
Even if he knew this was the plan all along his instinct were stronger and he moved to embrace Kate to shield her from everything.
But it was useless.
He took the first bullet, but the next one reached her too, and she closed her eyes tight not to cry out.
This was the end. Some tears slipped down her face as she knew she would never have the life and family she dreamed of.
They kept standing still for a couple of seconds more before the rain of bullets that were being shoot at them pushed them to the ground.
Sawyers held her hand and looked firmly into her eyes, her beautiful face covered with some splashes of her own blood, till he saw the last sparkle leaving them and closing forever. Her body trembled a few time, and then it relaxed and he felt her hand go limp in his.
He soon closed his eyes too and let the darkness embrace him, too.
That night, when the coroner was looking through their personal items he found a closed letter in Kate's jeans pocket.
He opened and read it; it was a test result. It was in this way that they discovered that Kate Austen was two months pregnant when she died.
FIN