Title: The Storm

Summary: SANA. Sequel to 'Aftermath'. Some things just aren't meant to be... Sawyer and Ana aren't one of them.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.

Author Notes: Finally, an ending to all this damn angst! Don't get me wrong, angst is good in small doses... But it's been too sad on the island. So much so that the sadness has gone and made it storm! So in this chapter Kate isn't depicted as such a bitch, well she is a bitch, but I tried to lay off the Kate bashing cos I can get pretty carried away and that would be bad, since I am here to fulfil all your Sana needs. There are a few snide comments here and there, but she isn't doing anything overly terrible this time. In fact, she's helping... Which is terribly OOC...

But I shall stop rambling about Kate Austen and move onto the two we all know and love, Sawyer and Ana. There is a lot of cutting between the two of them in the beginning/middle. It didn't work as well as it could have, and if I was bothered I would rewrite the whole thing... But I'm too happy with the ending so just bear with it, ok?

The Desmond business doesn't feel like it's reached its end yet, so he'll probably come back sooner or later. Or maybe next story... But anyways...

In this story, we go back to the beginning. Back to the very beginning. There is some fighting, some crying, some rain and thunder and lightning and some price locations, so how about we get on with it eh? Also, just for your information, I happened to have the song Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls firmly implanted in my head, and I think it is a good song and shows the whole Sawyer and Ana relationship through this debacle.

Welcome back to... The Island. (Dun, dun, dunnnn)

Lightning lit up the island, the distant rumble of thunder causing people to shudder in their respective shelters. It was starting to rain - turning the previously dry storm, wet - and people were scurrying around trying to gather up their possessions and get into their shelters before it started to pour. Jack watched from inside the cave as people rushed around and felt his stomach sink, not just from the sense of impending doom, but from the previous conversation (or argument) he'd had with Kate. He held his head in his hands and tried to push the memories to the back of his head.

On another part of the island, Ana was trying to find her way. She had spent a good deal of the hours after the 'Talk' wandering around aimlessly, feeling like she had lost herself. Her brain felt like it had melted into mush and her head spun. Thoughts, memories and regrets whirled around in her mind and she couldn't stop them. She felt like she was standing on the edge of a crevasse and she was barely keeping her balance.

The beginnings of the rain hit her face, raindrops slowly making their way down her cheeks that still showed the tracks of her previously shed tears. She felt the raindrops fall down and raised her face to the rain, revelling in the feel of the water on her skin. The humidity was high, making the rain a welcome release, and the air seemed to crackle around her.

She stood in the rain for an undetermined period of time. It felt good, not to have to think, just to feel. But too soon she snapped out of it, and all that was left was the fact that she was standing in the rain, shivering. So she left the beach in search of her shelter, giving in to the fact that she would have to, sooner or later, return back to the real world.

When she entered the shelter it didn't get any better. All of Sawyer's belongings were gone. The only things that had been left behind were the blankets, pillows, book pile (minus a few books) and...

His shirt. The one that she always wore to sleep, when they did sleep that is. On the rare occasions that they felt the need to wear clothes. She sank to the ground, holding the shirt to her closely and breathing in the smell of Sawyer, feeling a pang ring through her as she did so. She felt tears start to prick at the back of her eyelids again and swallowed hard.

Her heart ached in her chest and she felt physically sick, curling up into a foetal position and hugging the shirt close to her, breathing in deep. She sobbed, her whole body wracked with pain as she did so and the tears were being absorbed by the shirt. She heard the thunder in the distance and felt the ground shake slightly and it made her curl up even tighter, her hair standing on end.

There was a soft cough and muffled knock behind her and she turned to see Desmond standing in the doorway. Her stomach sank as she saw him, thinking that things couldn't possibly get worse.

"Can I come in?" He asked and Ana nodded, although it was a little hard to see. He stepped inside, his hair slightly bedraggled from the rain that was starting to pour down outside. He ran his hand through the aforementioned hair and sighed.

"I need to talk to you." He said and Ana nodded again, her mouth and nose covered by the shirt, making her look a little strange.

"It's about that kiss..." That got Ana's attention. She sat up suddenly and stared at him with wide eyes. He held up his hand, knowing what she wanted to say and wanting to say his bit first, "I want you to know that I know it didn't mean anything. It was your way of getting back at Sawyer. I get it. But I need to get it off my conscience."

"The woman you left behind." Ana said, her voice slightly muffled by the shirt, and he nodded.

"Penny. I love her, and that kiss..." This time Ana was the one who stopped him with the look in her eyes.

"Was a mistake." She finished and he nodded.

"It shouldn't have happened." He backed her up and she nodded. Then he went on, "But I was just wondering... Why did it? With me, I mean." He asked and Ana shrugged, not really wanting to disclose the reason behind her 'choosing' the Scotsman. He saw this and decided that he wouldn't push it and so, just nodded, and went to leave.

"I," Desmond paused as he heard Ana speak, and turned to face her. She looked up at him, removing the shirt from her mouth but still holding it to her, "You were the first person I could talk to."

There was silence as they looked at each other and wondered how they had managed to get tangled up in this mess.

----

On another part of the island Kate was sitting in her own shelter, head in hands and feeling like she had screwed everything up (which, let's face it, is true). Lightning lit up her surroundings suddenly and she looked up in shock to see a figure in the doorway, the silhouette outlined by the flash. Her heart jumped and she felt hope creep in, only to have it crushed again moments later.

"Jack?" She asked, tears still making their way down her face.

"Not quite." The figure stepped forward so that the small candle she had lit showed his face. Sawyer. He was shivering from wandering around in the rain, apparently that wasn't the best thing to do while only wearing a shirt and jeans. He had a worn-looking backpack on his shoulders, probably stolen from Jack, that now held his possessions. Kate's eyes widened and she took the nearest blanket and went over to him, wrapping it around his shoulders.

"Sit down." She said and guided him to a seat. She helped him take off the backpack and he wrapped the blanket around himself tighter, shivering. He looked up at Kate and she just looked back down at him, blinking disbelievingly at the fact that he was sitting in front of her.

"What are you doing here, Sawyer?" She asked, sounding like she was disappointed in him for coming. He scoffed at this, which sounded strange since he was shivering so hard that his teeth were chattering.

"I needed to..." He swallowed and tried to speak properly, without shivering as much, "I needed to get out." He finally finished and Kate continued to look at him disbelievingly (it was her favourite emotion when it came to Sawyer). Maybe her brain couldn't comprehend someone not wanting her (AN: ouch that was low, even for me).

"You needed to get out... Into the pouring rain?" She asked skeptically. He did something that would have looked more like a shrug if he wasn't shivering so hard. The way he was at the moment, made it look like he was having a seizure.

"Seemed fitting." He responded and she just shook her head at him.

"This is about Ana, isn't it?" She finally asked and he looked up at her, sadness clear on his face.

"Isn't everything?" He asked and her eyebrows went up, clearly that wasn't her point of view but she didn't say anything.

----

"So..." They were now both sitting cross legged on the floor, Ana cradling the shirt and Desmond looking awkward as he tried to start up the conversation with the forlorn Latina.

"Did you talk to him?" Desmond finally asked and she didn't respond for a moment. She fingered the shirt gently, as if wanting to commit every stitch to memory.

"Yes." She finally said and felt her heart constrict as she retold the next part, "He wants space. Time to think." Desmond pulled a sympathetic face and Ana grimaced in response to the face. She never wanted to be the subject of someone's pity, and if she wasn't feeling so off she would have called him up on it. However, in her current state she just let it be.

"I'm sorry." He said and she just shook her head.

"He moved out too." She said, looking around the shelter that now seemed so empty. Desmond followed her line of sight and realised that they had lived together before. He felt a pang as he realised just how close they had been, and wished even more that that kiss had never happened.

"Do you know where he went?" He asked gently and she shook her head, no. Then her mind went onto that topic and her eyes widened as possibilities went through her mind.

----

"You need to warm up." Kate said as she vigorously started to rub the blanket against Sawyer's arms and back.

"I can think of something else to warm me up." He muttered under his breath and Kate paused, to withdraw and stare at him. His eyes were half closed, his shivering had gone down to spasms every second or so, but his lips were still slightly blue.

"I guess that would be Ana too." Kate responded, rolling her eyes. Sawyer opened his eyes fully and looked up at her.

"She ain't the only one with body heat 'round here Freckles." Their faces were centimetres apart and Sawyer could feel Kate's breathe on his face and he saw the slight tinge that her cheeks took on. They stayed, frozen, for several moments, each daring the other to move. They both subconsciously drew closer and Kate's eyes began to close.

"I know what you're doing." She whispered and this caused Sawyer to withdraw suddenly, the moment over.

"And what exactly would that be, Freckles?" Sawyer asked, his eyes saying 'Don't go there'. But she did.

"You're trying to forget her." Kate had a rare moment of wisdom and it caused Sawyer's face to contort into a scowl.

"This isn't about her." He retorted and Kate rolled her eyes.

"Weren't you the one who said that everything was about her?" She asked and his jaw set, his body language showing that he was withdrawing into himself from the conversation. Kate saw this and sighed, taking a step back and crossing her arms across her chest.

"This isn't how it's meant to be." He said quietly and that was one thing that Kate did agree with him on.

----

"What are you looking for?" Desmond followed Ana as she rushed around the shelter, trying to figure out why she was rushing around like a psychotic shopper at a half price sale. She ignored him, continuing to look around for whatever she was looking for.

She reached the 'book pile' and paused for a moment. It didn't last long, as she practically dived head first into it and started to go through it furiously. Desmond's (widened) eyes followed her as books began flying every which way, having to duck out of the firing range a few times. Eventually she got to the bottom of the pile and still came up empty handed. She harrumphed at this and sat on her haunches, looking around with narrowed eyes, as if some book had made a run for it and was now cowering in the corner.

Then she reclaimed the shirt (which also happened to be one of the torn ones) and donned it, putting it on and wrapping it tightly around herself. She stood and began to walk out, passing Desmond on the way. When she reached the doorway she paused and faced him again. She seemed to search for the right words, before finally speaking.

"Thankyou." She finally said and he nodded, speechless because he wasn't even really sure what she was thanking him for. She gave him the barest hint of a smile before promptly turning and striding out into the rain.

----

"I need to go." Sawyer said and Kate looked up at him as he stood. Her eyes were still bloodshot from her recollection of her argument with Jack and she could only nod and try and swipe away the tears. He paused, torn between trying to fix up his own relationship and helping Kate fix up hers, but she just shook her head, waving her hand and him and motioning for him to go. He smiled at this and reached out, putting his hand on her shoulder comfortingly, before turning and jogging out into the rain.

Kate watched him go, as he stood there for a second, looking around trying to get his bearings, before finally sprinting off to his left. She watched him go and felt the sudden pain of being alone, then she thought about how she could fix all that she had done.

"Need some help? I know a doctor who's good with his hands." Kate looked up at the voice and Jack stepped out of the shadows, and into her shelter. Her eyes shone with happiness at the sight of him and she opened her mouth to explain but he just shook his head, quietening her.

Then she got a mischievous look on her face and smiled at Jack with a glint in her eye.

"I have an idea."

----

Jack found Ana, sitting on the beach and staring out to sea, which was now turning and swelling as if it was auditioning to be in the movie 'The Perfect Storm'. She was sitting quite still, despite the fact that wind was whipping around her at breakneck speeds and rain and water spray was lashing at her from every direction. He stood behind her for a moment, waiting for her to acknowledge his presence, but realised that this probably wasn't the time that she would be most in touch with her surroundings.

"Ana!" He shouted, but his words were whipped away by the wind and so he tried the smarter approach. He walked up and sat next to her on the beach. She turned to him and raised an eyebrow before turning back to the sea.

"I need you to listen to me, Ana." He shouted over the wind and she turned to him, the only sign that she gave him that she was listening.

"I know where he is, and if you want..." He paused, trying to find the right words to use since Ana already looked ready to bolt at the mention of Sawyer, "If you want, I can show you."

Ana seemed to think about it, her eyes going to the ground as she considered what she was going to do.

"Should I?" She asked him and he was caught off guard by the question. He thought about it before finally answering. When he did, his voice made it easily over the wind, as it seemed to die down only to have this one sentence heard. Ana, hearing this pearl of wisdom, nodded, she knew what she had to do.

----

Sawyer stood under the big tree, wishing he had a pack of smokes now more than ever. And a shelter that was more effective than the tree he was currently camped out under. Him leaving Kate's shelter probably wasn't the best thing, weather-wise, but it was necessary. Given the situations they were both in at the moment, only bad things could come out of it. And given his current situation with Ana, and how Kate made her and Jack seem, they would both hate each other forever if they stuffed it up.

Unfortunately, the down side of this was that with no one to keep him company, it meant he was alone with his thoughts. And all he could think about was the kiss, well kisses, that had occurred. He understood why Ana did it - he knew that overwhelming need for vengeance well. But the fact that she had grabbed the closest person - that goddamn Scotsman - really annoyed him. If it had been Jack then he would have seen red sure, but after a while he would have understood, and given the fact that he'd done the same to Jack, would've come to terms with it. Eventually.

Sitting down on one of the overgrown roots he sighed and leaned back against the trunk of the tree. This new point of view let him spot a yellow-orange coloured something off to his left. He leaned closer and smirked when he realised what it was. Picking it up, he took his Swiss Army knife out of his pocket and sliced it up efficiently. He bit into the sweet flesh and smiled. He loved mangoes.

He heard someone take in a sudden breath and looked up from his mango pig-out. Ana stood there, looking like a rabbit caught in headlights. Sawyer forced himself to swallow the mouthful and offered the mango forward. He tried to smile innocently and wished that he didn't currently have mango all over his face.

"Want some?" He asked and Ana couldn't help but smile at the goofy look on his face. She shook her head and they stayed in their respective positions for a moment, staring at each other. Ana standing in the rain, her hair and clothes plastered to her skin, and Sawyer, still having the blanket around his shoulders like a robe and his long hair ruffled since he tried to dry it with his hands.

"I'm sorry." Ana said, so quietly that Sawyer barely caught it. The apology reminded him of everything that he had tried to hard to forget, which caused his anger to flare. It wasn't a good reason for his temper to go off, but it was a valid one.

"I bet you are." He muttered, something which was, unfortunately, heard by Ana.

"Look, I'm trying to apologise here." Her eyes flashed and he resisted the urge to flinch.

"And I'm trying to forgive you, but it's just too hard. And it ain't meant to be. Every time I look at you, I see you kissin' the Skirt." Sawyer said, anger and pain clear in both his tone and his eyes.

"And I see you kissing Kate." Ana shot back, which made Sawyer's anger flare up again.

"I wasn't kissing her, she was kissing me!" He roared and Ana seemed slightly taken aback, either by his outburst or the fact that she didn't know that.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She finally asked, quietly, her eyes showing her disappointment.

"Cos you didn't give me a chance. You didn't want to see me, much less speak to me." Ana seemed to want to protest but Sawyer cut in ahead of her, "Or that's what I thought anyway." He sighed and ran his hands through his hair which was still slightly wet.

"I really am sorry." Ana reassured him, her eyes sad as they met his. He offered her a small smile, the most he could muster at the moment.

"I know you are."

They fell silent again and Ana looked at her feet, seemingly moving but not actually moving from the spot she was rooted to and Sawyer realised that she was waiting for him to either tell her to leave, or invite her to join him, thereby forgiving her. So he did the latter, moving across and gesturing to the, now empty, space with a flick of his head. At this Ana didn't hide the huge smile that spread across her face, making her light up in a rare moment.

She stepped out of the rain to the relatively dry tree root and sat down, shivering in Sawyer's black shirt as all the heat from the previous argument left her. Sawyer noticed this and took the blanket off his shoulders, wrapping it around Ana tightly. Of course, to do so they were brought face to face, their breath mingling with the other's in the air. And suddenly, the air wasn't only crackling with lightning, there was something else there too. Something called... Sexual tension.

Then, there was a thunderclap, shocking both of them out of their frozen state and causing them to look away suddenly, awkwardness jumping in between them. And, just like how a bolt of lighting disperses energy, it also dispersed the sexual tension. Well, not really, but it did bring them back to reality. Sawyer swallowed heavily again, and busied himself demolishing the mango, which had been cast aside earlier. Ana closed her eyes, breathing heavily and trying to steady her heartbeat which was pounding in her ears. Leaning back, she rested against the bark of the tree and tried to clear her head from all thoughts about Sawyer and his kissable lips.

Sawyer, having finished the defenceless vegetable off, and completely unaware of Ana's thoughts, looked around trying to get his bearings. Then he froze as he realised where they were.

"Whoa." He muttered to himself, causing Ana to crack an eye open to look at him questioningly. He - feeling her gaze on him - turned to face her, an expression of wonder on his face.

"Do you know where we are?" He asked and she shrugged, pulling the blanket tighter.

"Yeah Cowboy, the jungle." She patronised him - her eyes flicking to his lips once, although he didn't notice - but, instead of being defensive like normal, he just ignored her response.

"Look closer, Chica." He urged, obviously wanting her to see what he did. She rolled her eyes - which happened to sneak a peek at his lips on their way round - and then ran her eyes across the surrounding area, to shut him up. Then she noticed the pattern on one of the trees and paused. Wait a second.

"Whoa." She echoed his earlier response and he nodded in agreement. Then she looked at him in disbelief.

"This is where-?" She made a vague gesture and he nodded, salacious grin firmly in place.

"That's right, Muchacha. This is where we got down 'n dirty that first time." He wiggled his eyebrows and Ana couldn't help but chuckle at him as he grinned at her.

"Best tumble in the jungle I ever had." Ana said and Sawyer laughed. It was the first time in what seemed like forever, but it still rolled off his tongue as easily as ever. At least, with Ana around it did.

"Ditto." Sawyer responded, a blindingly white smile lighting up his face.

That was when Ana finally got up the guts to kiss him. And kiss him she did.

She was prepared for him to throw it back in her face, but he didn't. Instead his hand went to her cheek as he gently pulled her closer, his other hand resting lightly on her hip. Her hands, after a moment's hesitation, went to his neck, burying them in his hair. The blanket fell from her shoulders as she moved closer to Sawyer, her body arching against his in an effort to have as much contact as possible. God, she missed this.

When they finally separated they leaned on each other's foreheads, breathing heavily. Sawyer swallowed and grinned, letting Ana know that he was about to make a smart ass-comment. Which he did with ease.

"You planning on having a replay of that 'tumble in the jungle', Hot Lips?" He asked, his eyes twinkling mischievously.

"Shutup Sawyer." She said, grinning as she grabbed him and pulled him into a kiss.