Once upon a time there lived a princess who was held captive by an evil wizard, and she waited for her handsome prince to come rescue her. Only Claire wasn't really a princess. And she didn't believe in fairy tales.
Jack hadn't come back for her. He'd come back to assuage his own guilt, which she was just a small part of. But coming back had made him the leader again, even if he was less qualified than ever before. So he volunteered to go look for her in order to get away from all those people, especially Kate and Juliet, who looked at him like he held all the answers.
The last person he'd expected to come with him was Sawyer. He figured that Sawyer held his own guilt for letting Claire wander off, and that's why he'd come. They didn't speak at all the first day of traveling, and Jack guessed it was better that way.
Sawyer spoke after they'd made camp for the night. "Locke said she was in Jacob's cabin. Ben said that the cabin moves. Neither of us has ever seen the damn thing. So how the hell are we gonna find her?"
"We'll find her." Jack said with more confidence than he felt.
"Okay, Doc." Sawyer said with his usual sarcasm, and he lay down to go to sleep.
Jack sat up for a few more minutes. "Why did you come?" he asked Sawyer, not sure if he hoped that the other man was asleep or not. "Why didn't you stay behind with Kate?"
There was only silence, and Jack didn't know whether or not to be relieved, and then Sawyer answered. "'Cause I'd rather be out here in the jungle with you than back on the beach with Freckles. 'Cause I always had a thing for Mamacita." He paused, and then added, "'Cause I missed you more than I should have."
Jack contemplated for a moment, then decided to fuck it all and said, "I was jealous that you kissed Kate and not me."
After that there was no more contemplation, not with Sawyer's mouth on his and their hands fumbling with their clothes.
In the morning, they both ate and dressed silently, not sure what to do or say. As they started out again, Jack said, "She's my sister. Actually, my half-sister. Claire. I didn't know until after, but..."
Sawyer only response was a cocky smile. "Always knew there was some reason why I found you both maddeningly attractive."
After a response like that, how could Jack not kiss him?
After two days of searching (and fucking), they found it. Or what they assumed was it. How many cabins could there be?
It didn't look like an impenetrable fortress, but they cocked their guns anyway, and Sawyer kicked in the door.
They were the most beautiful sight she'd ever seen, after three years with just Jacob (sometimes as her father) for company. At that moment, her brother and Sawyer were better than a truckload of handsome princes. Sawyer moved first, and she was in his arms, their mouths pressed together, before she could even register the motion.
"Been wanting to do that since the day I met you," he said as he pulled away. "Good to see you, Mamacita."
That struck a chord. "Aaron? Did Kate bring him back?"
If Sawyer was curious about how she knew her son was with Kate, he didn't question her. "Yeah, they're at the beach with the others."
"No, no, she shouldn't have. I told her not to--"
Sawyer only held her tighter as she tried to get free. "Mam--Claire. He's okay. You'll see him when we get back. I swear, he's fine."
She sagged into his arms then, and Jack tried to beat a hasty retreat. It had been fun, with Sawyer, but they'd found Claire, and Sawyer had said he'd always liked her, so Jack would just leave them to it.
Claire must have seen him though, because she let go of Sawyer and looked between them, and then up at Sawyer, who looked torn. She took it all in, and then she walked up to Jack, took his face in her hands, and kissed him, hard. They held it for a second, then she pulled away.
"We both need him," she said to Jack. "And he needs both of us." Then she took his hand with one of her own, and one of Sawyer's with her other and led them both out of he cabin.
So the princess was rescued from the fortress by two handsome princes, and they lived happily ever after (Not really. But they didn't get much sleep at all that night, which was both happy and after.).