The book was actually very good; no wonder Sawyer had been so engrossed in it. Granted, the thing had ruined his eyesight but surely it wasn't the books fault. As Kate turned a page, she heard him yell from somewhere inside the jungle - he was obviously close, she wouldn't have heard it otherwise.

Nobody else seemed to be rushing to his rescue, so she guessed it was her cue. "Mmm" she groaned, stretching her back as she stood up from the place on Sawyer's bed.

She pushed aside a few branches and there he was, lying in a puddle of wet mud. He noticed her presence straight away.

"Go ahead and take your own damn sweet time, freckles" he called, not even bothering to look at her.

"Sawyer?" Kate said, an amused smile evident in her voice "What are you doing?"

"Taking a mud bath" he said sarcastically "What the hell do you think? That thing attacked me. Again, might I add"

Kate smirked "The boar? Are you serious?"

"Of course I'm serious. I think it broke my damn foot" he tried to shift his leg and gasped in pain "Son of a bitch!"

The thought of having to stand in the mud to help him up wasn't something Kate really wanted to do, but she couldn't leave him there for much longer. It was hard to stifle back the waves of laughter. She didn't feel much sympathy for him.

"Can you get up?" she asked, hoping that he would say "yes".

No such luck.

"Of course, sweetheart. I'm just lying here 'cause it's comfortable." Sarcasm; just what he does best.

"Really?" she tested, knowing the answer.

Sawyer rolled his eyes and then allowed them to meet hers "No, Freckles. I can't get up. Fancy giving me a hand?"

-

"Ow!"

Kate managed to knock agaisnt his injured leg as she helped him to his feet. He fell to the ground again, luckily just short of the mud.

"I'm sorry" she said, biting her lip "Do you want me to have a look at your foot?"

"Been learning a few tricks from the Doc?" Sawyer questioned, bracing his arms behind his head "You'll be fully qualified in no time"

"You're an asshole, Sawyer" Kate sighed, her hands going towards the boot on his right leg.

He flinced and drew the limb back, a hiss of pain escaping his lips "Just leave it"

"Sure, I'll just leave you too - shall I?"

"Go ahead" he said with a slight smile.

Kate stood up and waved "See you later then"

-----

She had left him about 20 minutes ago and he hadn't made a sound or an appearance since. She was determined not to feel guilty.

-----

He didn't think Kate had been serious about leaving him. His leg was throbbing intensely and he couldn't remain upright for longer than a minute at one time. He had managed to hop/stagger about 10 metres, but he really needed some help. With an exasperated sigh, he opened his lungs and yelled "KATE!"

She appeared moments later. Without saying anything, she wrapped an arm around his waist and allowed him to lean on her.

"How are you feeling?" She asked after they started moving.
"I need to lie down" Sawyer admitted, wincing as he jarred his foot "Damn it, that boar is so disrespectful"

Kate laughed.

"No, I'm serious! I spared his life yesterday and this is how the thing repays me. Next time I see it - it's going down" His voice had an edge of determination.

-----

"I'll go get Jack..." Kate suggested as she helped Sawyer to lie down and pull his injured foot up.

He nodded "That's probably a good idea" A smile spread across his face as she leant down and gently planted a kiss on his forehead.

"Don't go anywhere, Cowboy"

-----

Kate ran to the caves, narrowly avoiding falling over. When she reached them, she immediately saw Jack.

"Jack!" she yelled "Sawyer's hurt"

He looked up "What?"

"Yeah, he was attacked"

"Attacked? By who?"

Kate smiled "I think you mean what. Do you remember that boar?"

----

I wrote this a while back, just something to occupy my time - though it only took about five minutes. It's the result of my twisted mind.