Hey all, This is a new story I thought of in the very last minutes of the season finale. Then I thought and thought some more, and got over that fear of the vibrant blank page staring at me and got my ass to work. It's set in the scary Hobo-Jack facial hair future, which I'm estimating is four year since the island. I don't know why four, it's just a good, composite number. Oh and it's a Sawyer/Kate/Jack thing. Gasps all around I know! This is a WIP and I will do my darnest to update appropriately. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: It's been three years and I still don't own them. They are merely factual monkies created to amuse me. so DANCE MONKEY DANCE!

New Life

Chapter 1

Shifted

The sheet fluttered above her head as she threw it across the king-sized bed. It floated through the air, wavering like a leaf falling off an Elm tree in early autumn, then landed with few wrinkles and when she leaned forward to straighten them out a wisp of hair fell across her face.

Since she was a child, she had always been stubborn when it came to making her bed. Being an army brat meant that the sheets had to be tight enough to make a penny bounce. Smoothing the last one, she tucked the hair back in place and moved the comforter to the end of the bed.

Los Angeles had been unusually hot for the time of year. Global warming was becoming a large political issue in the last four years; perhaps the next President would do a better job.

A humid breeze blew through the open balcony door as she left the room. Below the hustle and bustle of the city life could be heard, but it dulled by the time it reached their bedroom on the twelfth floor.

From the balcony, the beach could be seen, something she demanded to have. After sleeping on sand and bathing in salt water for so long, having it suddenly torn from her life was a shock. Since they couldn't afford a swanky beach house, this was the next alternative.

The apartment wasn't luxurious, it didn't have multiple levels, opulent two story windows or even more than one bedroom, but it was home. It was the first apartment they looked at when they got off the island, the rent wasn't high and they weren't making much, it was a perfect match.

The kitchen, dining and living room were all slammed together to create one moderate sized room. There was enough room for a small table equipped with four almost comfy chairs, a sofa, a television and a stereo.

An egg timer clanged as foul smelling smoke began to billow from the oven. Eyes widening, she ran down the small hallway and shoved on oven mitts while simultaneously waving the black smoke away from her face.

She hated meatloaf. She would almost go as far as saying she despised it. But low and behold it happened to be his favorite meal. So she ended up cooking it at least once a week, because she was the homemaker who happened to be an ex-con and couldn't get a job if her life depended on it.

The door to the apartment opened and a briefcase was dropped to the ground, "What the hell are you doing?" he shouted while running over to the counter to help her fan the smoke away.

An honest smile broke through her coughs; "I burnt the meatloaf again," Kate placed the still smoldering hunk of meat on the counter and turned to him.

"If you didn't want to cook it, you could've just said so," Sawyer's eyebrows furrowed as he stared at the ruined dinner.

Placing her arms on her hips defensively she spoke, "I wanted to cook it."

"Freckles, this is the third time in the last two weeks that you've burned up the damn meatloaf," Sawyer picked up the cooling pan, and emptied it over the garbage, "I know you don't like it, but we ain't got the money to throw around."

"I really didn't mean to burn it," she reiterated as she skulked up next to him, "The egg timer must be off, or the oven's broken again."

He scowled as he placed the pan into the sink, "It doesn't matter anyways, I just came home to change."

Kate's smile vanished as she moved towards him and held the sleeves of his dress shirt, "You're working late again? But you said you'd never work late Wednesday's so that we would always have one day a week together."

His face looked authentically hurt, "It's double overtime Kate, the bills are stacking up and there ain't nothing you can do about it," he reminded as he moved past her and loosened his tie.

She followed him down the narrow hallway that led to the bedroom, "it's not my fault that I still had to do time in jail when we got back. That my prison record was publicized and yours was forgotten." She stood in the doorway and watched as he unbuttoned his dress shirt.

He sighed with irritation and turned away from her to rifle through one of the drawers of their worn dresser. Finding an acceptable shirt, he pulled it on. "I didn't mean it like that. I mean if we ever want to move out of here into a bigger place, you know, move up, first we gotta take care of the debts we already owe."

A rueful smile touched the edge of her lips as she nodded, "It's just--" her voice cracked as she found tears growing in her eyes.

"Hey, hey," he spoke as he moved towards her and wrapped his arms around her, "Don't worry about it Freckles. Everything's gonna be fine."

She nodded her head against his chest, "I know." She paused to bat at the tears clinging to her eyelashes, "It's just sometimes things are so complicated."

He moved her hair away from her reddened face, "It ain't exactly like picking bananas on the beach."

"It takes some getting used to," she pulled away from him, allowing him to move into the grand room once again and retrieve his briefcase. She knew he didn't want to go back to work, Sawyer hated it at the office, but it was the first stable job he was able to obtain.

His hand lingered on the doorknob, like he was debating whether or not to go. A sigh that sounded more like a growl escaped him, "On Friday I get off at five. Why don't we go out?"

Kate's eyes darted away from him to the sullen pan that lay in the kitchen sink, "We can't afford it," her voice squeaked.

He smiled with regret, "We can afford to go out sometimes."

She met his smile, "Friday night then," she agreed and gave him a kiss on the cheek goodbye, "I'll leave some dinner for you in the oven."

"Just," he wrapped an arm around her lower back and kissed the crown of her head, "Don't turn it on."

While slapping him playfully in the arm, she opened the front door, "I think you should be going now."

He grinned at her, and began to match his trek down the commercial hallway. Kate watched him from the ajar door until he had rounded the corner to take the elevators. Then her grin disappeared.

Since the island things hadn't changed much, they just shifted. Different things happened in a day, but it was still a routine. She would get up with Sawyer at seven in the morning, they would have breakfast together, then he would leave for work. She would tidy up the apartment, depending on which day of the week it was, she would either go on errands, or do laundry and then start supper.

Sawyer had been working late recently. Almost five days a week and she didn't remember the last time he had a day off. She agreed with him, she wanted to get out of debt, get a bigger place, get married, start a family, but did they have to do it so quickly? It seemed like only yesterday they were reinitiated back into civilization.

Falling back on the routine she had reserved for when Sawyer worked late, she shut the door stiffly behind her, and made a direct route for the phone.

Picking up the receiver, she dialed his number. She didn't need to look, it was memorized, burned into the back of her brain, she could probably recite it while she slept. On the other end of the phone, ringing could be heard. After five, she assumed he wasn't home, and moved to hang the phone up, but he picked up at the last second.

"Hey," she greeted, her voice sounding higher than usual. Every time she phoned him, butterflies built up in her stomach and she felt like everyone was watching her. If Sawyer found out she'd even phoned him, he'd be furious.

"Are you doing anything tonight?" Like she had to ask. He used to work a lot, but a recent outburst had granted him some time off. "Sawyer's at work, I thought we could meet up. Okay, I'll see you at the airport."

Kate hung up the phone and grabbed her purse from one of the kitchen chairs. She paused to give herself a look over in the mirror, check to see if her makeup was still appropriate, and her hair was still brushed. It wouldn't matter to Jack, but she did it out of habit anyways.

Walking to the window she glanced down to see if Sawyer's car was still in the parking lot. When she saw his allotted space empty, she grabbed her keys from the counter and headed for the door for her rendezvous.

Things hadn't changed much since the island, just shifted.

End of chapter one! So tell me what you thought? Was is good? Were you intrigued? Do you want me to write more? Because I want to! Or did you hate it? Or just aspects of it. Please review and give me a piece of your mind! BRAINS! Because I just gave you a piece of mine!