The lights go by in a constant stream and her eyelids droop a little lower. It seems like the lights go on forever. They've been driving for a long time now, ever since her mother came into her room and woke her, pulling her from her safe little bed and her safe little dreams.

"We need to go see your daddy." she'd said, and being too tired to care about anything, Clem hadn't argued.

Now she pipes up for the first time in hours. "Momma, where's my daddy at?" she inquires softly, twirling the button eyes on her favorite stuffed bunny.

Her mom, Cassidy, stifles a yawn. "He's probably back in California now, but I gotta talk to him."

Accepting this as a valid answer, Clementine stops listening and begins to nod off.

Cassidy, however, continues talking, not for her daughter's sake, but possibly for her own. "If he means what he said, then I think we should stay nearby so you can go see him, at least for a little while until we get the legal papers sorted out."

I mean, he barely stayed to talk about that stuff, and I can't get through to his phone, so sometimes you just have to make things work yourself. You gotta make sure people keep their promises." Cass glances back at little Clementine, who's sleeping soundly now.

When her eyes focus back on the road the first thing she sees is another pair of headlights. Everything seems to move in slow motion. She doesn't hear the sound of her own scream or the crunch of metal on metal, on rubber, on glass. It's all a blur of lights. It seems like they go on forever.


Early morning, just before sunrise. Kate wakes when she feels his weight shift on the other side of the bed. She rolls over and sees that he's sitting up, and she wonders why for only a moment before Mary's howls sound once again from the next room.

Kate sits up abruptly. "I'll get her," she assures him, "go back to sleep." She gives him a light rub on his bare back with her hand before getting up, then walks across the richly colored wood floor and pulls open the door.

Something still strikes her as strange about James' attitude upon his arrival home last night. She turns to say something to him about it, but he's lying down again with his back towards her. Kate bites her tongue and decides to tend to Mary's needs for the moment, and speak with Sawyer later.

In the still dim nursery, the teary six-month-old greets her mother with a mournful "Ma!" and outstretched arms. Mary is sitting up in her crib with a snotty nose and very unruly hair, looking utterly miserable. Kate's heart melts at the sight of her sad baby and she scoops her up instantly.

"Hey Sunshine." She coos, hugging her. She kisses the baby's round cheeks in attempt to cheer her up, but Mary just buries her head in Kate's shoulder. "Ba," she orders.

Kate rolls her eyes and smiles. The kid has a point. "Breakfast time, huh?"

Since Mary is obviously keen on a bottle and Kate decides that she's in dire need of some coffee, the two go down to the kitchen. Out of habit, Kate turns on the small tv that sits on the counter and pulls open the blinds to let in the small amount of sunshine that there is at six o'clock. She feeds the baby a bottle and some rice cereal that looks more like white paste than anything, then turns on the coffee pot.

As soon as the aroma starts wafting through the house Kate can hear movement upstairs. It always gets him in the morning. She smiles knowingly as he comes up behind her, as she stands at the counter, and wraps his arms around her. "G'morning."

Kate turns her head and caresses his stubbly cheek with her own distinctly smoother one. "Morning." she replies, pouring them each a mug of the steaming liquid.

He releases her and ruffles Mary's already messy curls as she sits in her high chair. She babbles at him and hits him with a plastic baby spoon with a proclamation of "Ma."

He glances back at Kate. "Perfect, now I'm 'Ma' too." he grabs a cereal bowl and sits at the table.

She grins at him over her mug. "She'll get the hang of it." she reassures him, handing him his own coffee. "Ooh, turn up the TV. I want to catch the weather report in case I take the baby to the park later." she adds, and he obliges.

A grim looking male reporter stands on the scene of what appears to be an accident out in the countryside. "The crash was head on, and from the look of it, one of the drivers drifted over the double line and into the oncoming traffic. However, it is not clear which driver, because of how far both vehicles drifted after colliding. Reporting live, this is Steven Coleson. Back to you in the newsroom, Barry."

Barry clears his throat. "Thank you Steven. Now, the yet unidentified driver of one car was killed on impact, but the other driver, ID'ed as Cassidy Philips has been hospitalized, and her young daughter – who was also in the crash, but sustained no life threatening injuries – has been placed with social services until a relative can be found to care for her until her mother's recuperation."

There's silence in the kitchen. Kate finally turns to James with wide eyes. "I know her. The woman in the crash."

He swallows. His mouth is dry and his heart is beating in his throat. His eyes stare blankly at the television screen. The reporters have moved on, but he can't help replaying in his head the vivid image of the twisted car.

"You and me both then, Freckles." he says hoarsely.

She shakes her head. "What do you mean?"

"I knew her," he reiterates, "cuz I conned her."

Kate closes her eyes for a moment, fighting off her anger at him, remembering things that Cassidy had told her once, about a man who had conned her, how she didn't want to make him pay, and how she was–

"The little girl in the crash was...when I last saw Cassidy she told me she was pregnant..." Her eyes find his face and search it for answers.

He looks away, but nods slightly, looking pained. "I went to see 'em while I was away. I–"

"You said it was business."

"It was, I just–"

Kate gets up from her seat, tears of anger in her eyes. "Were you ever planning on telling me that you had a child with a woman you lied to and conned? For a matter of fact, how do I know I'm not gonna end up like her?" She pauses and lets her words sink in. "How do I know that, Sawyer?"

He follows suit and stands, though he looks like he's just been hit. The two stand staring for a moment, as if both are looking down a path and wondering which way to go.

Kate breaks the eye contact and sees the baby watching them quietly. The tears spill over. She doesn't want Mary to see them fight. She doesn't want her child to know anything close to the pain that she knew growing up, even at such a young age, not fully comprehending what she is a witness to.

James hangs his head. "I made a mistake back then. I can't change it, but I went to see her to try and make things right, Freckles. I was gonna tell you. Today." There's nothing angry behind his words, only hurt and remorse, and a plea to her that his intentions are sincere.

She takes a deep breath and chokes back her tears. She wants so much to know that he's changed, and so she finally wills herself to nod and reply. "Okay. Okay, if you say you wanna make it right, I'll believe you."

He nods as well. It's what he wants, for her to believe in him. The possibility that she might not is the thing that hurts the most. James notices that the baby is squalling, so he goes over and pulls her small, complaining form out of her high chair. He hugs her close to him, seeking some comfort, even though she squirms and drools on his bare shoulder.

Kate sits and rubs a hand over her forehead, feeling vaguely sick over their argument. "What do we do now?" she asks weakly.

James glances back at the TV, as if it will have more answers. He gets none, so he goes with his gut feeling."We gotta do what's right by Clementine."


A/N: So yeah, I was gonna make this chapter longer, but that seemed like a good cutoff and whatnot (yay for compound words!). More should be coming soon! And HEY what's up with people thinking this is a oneshot!? No dudes, I'm here, I'm writing, and I'm psyched!! P.S. I apologize to any Cassidy fans! I like her too, so don't worry about her too much ;) If you ask me, I felt the writing in this chapter was slightly awk. So let me know what you think and maybe I'll edit it a little so it's smoother. Eh, I dunno. Peace out guys.