Chapter One
Kate was sitting on the sand, watching the waves of the sea come and go, come and go… Endlessly. She was trying hard not to look sad, but sometimes, when nobody was watching, she allowed herself to feel that way. She was totally alone under the starless sky, feeling the cold breeze blow her curly and messy hair. She didn't mind. It felt great to feel the wind touching her skin, and though she was almost freezing there, she didn't feel like putting some clothes on. It was her own way of punishing herself. Ever since she was a kid, whenever she felt she had done something wrong, she never apologized. She only stood in the cold, shivering, until her mother would come and drag her back into the house, despite all her struggling to stay out. Obviously, things were no longer like that. She was in a damn island, not in Iowa. And she was no longer a scared kid. Now she was a grown-up woman, but she knew, deep down, that her way of dealing with things would never change. Her body could grow up, but she was still as stubborn as she was when a kid.
"Trying to catch a cold?" Kate looked up. Jack was standing there, looking down at her.
"Hello yourself." Kate said, turning her head to look at the sea again. She did her best to hide the expression of sadness that was haunting her face before.
"Is something wrong, Kate? Why are you here, in the cold, wearing nothing but this t-shirt?" Jack said while sitting down next to her. "You know, at night it gets colder… You shouldn't be here. Why don't you go near the fire with everyone else?"
Kate turned her head around to stare at the sea again. Then, she suddenly got up and looked down at Jack. "You know, you're right. I shouldn't be here." And with that, she turned around, walking towards the tent. She grabbed her backpack, checked if everything was inside, grabbed a coat, and started walking out of the tent, towards the jungle.
"Hey! Where you going?" Jack ran towards her, holding her arm carefully. "It's already dark. You, better than anyone, should know that it's not the best time to get in the jungle. It's dangerous… And besides, the helicopter may come back soon. You know…" He paused for a little, thinking of what to say. "They're not gonna wait for anybody else." Jack let go of her arm and looked at her, hoping she would reconsider what she was about to do. He knew, deep down, what she was going to do. And, although he knew that if she really wanted to go, he wouldn't be able to stop her, he would, at least, try.
"I know. I'm sorry." She gave him a meaningful look and turned around, walking towards the jungle again.
"It's him, isn't it? Sawyer." He said, trying to hide his feelings towards this. He was already over that, he thought. Yet, he still felt his blood rush whenever he thought about what he had seen that time. Kate and Sawyer, holding each other, naked in that bloody cage. "I thought you had already made your choice. You came back just to leave again? Why can't you make up your mind for once, Kate? "
She finally turned around, looking directly into his eyes. He knew what was coming. He knew what she was going to say, what she was going to do, like he had her all figured out. She was so beautiful… Standing there in front of him, her hair being blown towards his face by the window. Even in that island, with no shampoo, no perfumes, she still smelled so good. He thought he could lose himself in her hair. And her eyes… Beautiful green. Her freckles… When he thought about them, he damned himself. It remembered him about Sawyer. About the stupid nickname Sawyer gave her. Freckles.
"I'm sorry, Jack. This isn't my place to stay. I hav…" She abruptly stopped speaking. She felt her legs trembling, like they couldn't stand her own body. She glanced around. Everything was moving too fast… She looked at Jack again, slowly closing her eyes… She felt her body coming down, but before she lost conscious, she felt Jack holding her, stopping her from hitting the ground.
Kate opened her eyes. She glanced around, still feeling her head ache a bit. She was in her tent, lying on the floor, wrapped in a blanket. It was no longer night. The sunlight was lying directly over her face. It was probably what had wakened her up. She was about to get up, when she heard a familiar woman voice.
"You should remain still for a little longer. If you get up too fast, you may get dizzy and pass out again."
Kate followed the voice with her eyes. It was Juliet. She hardened her face a bit. "Thanks for the advice, but I have some stuff to do." She wasn't any pleased to see Juliet, and not even trying to hide that.
"Yea, I know you probably do, by the way you tried to run into the jungle so much last night… By the way." She paused, trying to sound casual. "When was the last time you menstruated?"
Kate felt blood rush to her cheeks, feeling a little embarrassed, but quickly hiding it. "I'm sorry, but is that of your concern?"
Juliet looked at her with the same casual expression she had when she asked about her period before. "Yes, you're right. It's not my concern." She shrugged and turned around, walking out of the tent. Kate was still upset. What the hell did she have to do with that? And why was she asking something like that to me? Deep down, Kate knew what they were thinking. But she knew… She believed, deep down, that they were wrong. At least she wanted to. She looked at the back of Juliet with disgust. How could they believe her? She was one of them! She was probably trying to do something awful to Sun. She was planning something… Kate felt it. But she was tired of arguing with Jack about it. He wouldn't listen to her anyway. Suddenly, she felt her stomach twisting. She fought against it. No, not in front of her! She thought to herself. But it was useless. She quickly got up, trying as hard as she could to hold this back a little longer, but it was useless. She ran away from the tent, towards the brushes, and ended up throwing there, unable to stop herself from doing that. Juliet stared at her with interest while she threw up. Damn it. It couldn't be happening! When she was done, she turned around and found Juliet standing there, right behind her. She couldn't take it anymore. She had to go somewhere else. She ran back to the tent, looking for her backpack. She grabbed it and started walking into the jungle, once again.
"I put some vitamins in your backpack." Juliet said, giving her a meaningful look. "They might help you."
Kate listened to her, but pretended she didn't. It was embarrassing, and she didn't even like Juliet. How could she possibly be having this conversation with her? She kept walking, until Juliet was too far to be seen or heard.
Sawyer was lying on the bed, looking at the ceiling. Not far, he heard crying. Baby crying. Was he hallucinating? But soon he found out what it was.
"No, not this way, Hurley! Just… Just hold him like that, I'll do it myself!" Claire said, handing Aaron to Hurley. "Don't cry, Aaron! I'm almost there… I know it hurts baby!" She seemed to be talking to the baby, who also seemed to listen to her. When he heard her voice he stopped crying, but still looked a bit scared. She carefully lifted his little leg. With small nippers, she removed the thorn that was stuck in his knee. He cried again when she pulled it, but once she was done, she took him in her arms and hugged him. The baby was starting to calm down. "He was crawling on the floor, that's how he got this on his knee. You know, I think that soon he's gonna start walking soon."
"Dude, that's cool!" He said, impressed. "I mean, the way you mothers do it. Make the child stop crying. If it was me, I'd probably make him cry even more."
Claire laughed, and then both at them looked at Sawyer, who was now standing at the door, wearing nothing but boxers. Claire blushed.
"Well, well, isn't it a touchin' scene? If the kiddo was a little bigger, I'd say it's yours, Avalanche." Sawyer said, smirking at Hurley. "Though I'd be happier if you two went lookin' after your kiddo somewhere else, you know. Is it that hard to remember that someone is trying to SLEEP here? God, I didn't know I was so easy to be forgotten!" He spoke in a pissed tone. Hurley rolled his eyes, kind of used to his attitude already. "Come on, man. You shouldn't talk to her like that. I mean, I'm already used to that, but Claire's not."
Claire looked at him and turned around, a little embarrassed. "You're right, I'm sorry. I just wanted Hurley's help because Aaron was hurt. I'm leaving now." She walked towards the door. When she opened it, she stopped and stood there, surprised. Because standing there, was Kate.
Sawyer turned around, ready to go back to bed. Claire walked towards Kate, hugging her with one arm, holding Aaron with the other. "Can't believe you came back!" She said, almost in a whisper. Kate hugged her back, and spoke in a soft tone. "Neither do I…"
Kate was hugging Claire, but looking at Sawyer's back. She was glad to see him again. She'd spent almost two weeks without seeing, or hearing from him. She felt bad for that. The last time they had seen each other, they had a fight. She left without even looking back. And now, there she was, staring at his back again and feeling relieved that she got a chance to see him again.
Sawyer felt his heart beat faster when he heard Kate's voice. He slowly turned to her. He felt amazing, happy that she was back. But he obviously didn't let it show. "So, you're back already Freckles? Though you'd stay with the doc a little longer… Guess I was wrong. Glad I didn't bet it, though." He smirked. Her happiness at seeing him soon became regret. Maybe she did the wrong thing by coming back.
"I didn't come back for you, don't worry." She lied. Claire suddenly spoke, trying to be careful with her words. "What about Locke? I mean, he told you not to come back… "
Kate suddenly remembered that. She had totally forgotten she had been thrown away from there. She sighed, and looked at Claire. "Can I stay hidden in your house for a while?"
Sawyer laughed ironically and turned around, walking into his room again. "Well well well! This little reunion is really awesome, but I'm gonna try to get some sleep again, if YOU let me do it this time, without putting baby Huey here to din into my ears. Night… An' welcome back, sweet cheeks." He shut the door behind him. Smiling to himself, glad that she was back, he laid on his bed. He knew that he wouldn't get back to sleep, but he would at least pretend it.