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A/N: Last installment in my Sana Tribute Three-shot. Bear with me as the episodes leading up to 'Two for the Road' haven't been shown here in Australia yet. I might revise this last chapter once it arrives.

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C is for Caring

Sawyer watched Ana from the corner of his eye.

He'd made the conscious decision that he wasn't going to give her a gun. He didn't want her going off into the forest and getting herself killed.

She meant more than that.

'She's not like you.'

Sawyer turned to find Kate watching him, with an enigmatic look on that pretty face which had captured his breath whenever he saw her.

But this time, all he was thinking about were there words she'd just uttered under her breath.

'What are you talking about?'

'You're about as different as any two people can get. She's a cop and you're a conman-- it would've made Romeo and Juliet proud.'

'I hardly think we're star-crossed lovers,' Sawyer put emphasis on the word that he knew would make Kate blush.

'You know what--?'

'What is it Freckles? I mean, you've obviously thought out whatever you wanted to say to me,' he drawled.

Kate's eyes fired up.

'Forget it,' she said, disgruntled and walked off.

Sawyer watched her backside appreciatively as she left, but felt no sense of loss as he normally did when she walked away.

He turned back his attention to Ana.

She was staring at him, obviously having caught parts of the conversation, but instead of glaring at him and such, she gave him a sympathetic smile.

Sawyer laughed out loud.

Only one woman would be able to stand there and be all cool and controlled about what had just happened.

God, he loved her.

---

He wasn't going to give her a gun, dammit.

Ana continued grabbing firewood as she needed to keep her hands busy or else she would punch a tree and break her hand or something.

But she knew time was ticking.

She knew that she had to get to those kids.

With every day that passed, her conscience incessantly disturbed her, demanding whether she was a woman of her word.

Her mother had raised her to always keep her word.

All that morality shit.

'Shit!'

She let out a frustrated yelp when a leech that she hadn't seen resting on a log she'd picked up, bit her.

She shook her hand violently but it wouldn't drop, she had to grab it with her free hand and flung it into the forest.

'AAAAAH!' she yelled as two hands grabbed her from behind.

'Relax princess,' a familiar voice said carefully, lips against her ear and hands running up and down her bare arms, 'your prince is here to save you.'

Ana shrugged out of his hold.

'Since when did the cowboy become a prince?'

He shrugged gracefully. Somedays Ana found herself musing that maybe in another life, Sawyer had been born a cat, the way he stretched so languidly and made every movement of his strong body seem so fluid…

She shook her head.

'What do you want Sawyer?'

'What happened to boss-man?'

'I don't feel particularly employee-like today,' she snapped, 'so just tell me what you want so you can get out of here.'

'What happened to sugar and spice?'

'Everything nice went out the moment I realised you werent going to give me a gun.'

He laughed.

She didn't. She would have lunged for him to punch him, but she knew that he would just catch her and pull her against his body-- and she was frankly, not ready for that.

Not by a longshot.

---

'Oi Ana.'

She stirred, funny, it felt like someone was calling her.

'Ana-Banana-from-Copacabana…'

She grimaced in her sleep, it wasn't turning out to be such a good dream.

'Wake up or I'll have to kiss you…'

She smiled, that's more she liked it. A girl could use a bit of romance in her life once and awhile.

'You leave me no choice, princess.'

Woo hoo.

The feel of lips against hers were so life-like. This was definitely one of her more realistic dreams yet. In fact, her hand snaked out from under her blanket to cup her prince's neck as he deepened the kiss.

When he bit lightly on her lip, she woke.

'OM---'

Sawyer's hand clasped over her mouth the moment she pushed away and he nudged her back down on the ground where'd she'd bolted upright.

'Shh… just me sweetheart.'

She tried to bite his hand, but all she got was his palm.

'Now if you promise to be a good girl, I'll let you go--' his eyes stared into hers alluringly.

She nodded rapidly, having him in such close quarters was making her go mad. The sooner he got what he wanted, the sooner she could get rid of him.

'Very well then,' he released her.

'What do you want?' she whispered.

'Can't I just come for a visit?'

'Not in the middle of the night-- no.'

'Cant you think of a reason why I would come and visit?'

Ana racked her brains. What?

---

Sawyer let out a frustrated growl as Ana looked up at him, disorientated from sleep and looking more confused than he'd ever seen her.

He'd had the art of seduction down perfect since he was seventeen-- and yet here was this girl who managed to frustrate and excite him all at once-- who had no clue about what he felt.

'Ana… methinks you're being purposefully difficult,' he warned her.

'Sawyer seriously--'

Funny, she didn't look like she was teasing him.

'Are you really telling me that you have no idea how I feel?' he demanded.

'About what?'

'About what?' he repeated, dumbstruck, 'about you.'

'What do you feel about me?'

He paused.

She waited patiently.

It was quite ironic that she chose now to start becoming patient.

'I… care… for you.'

'Oh really? Sawyer-- what do you want?'

'You don't believe me?' he asked incredelously.

'Why should I? We've been tiptoeing each other since we met. I thought you just liked to antagonise me-- a weird sort of friendship you know. You certainly havent been acting caring around me,' Ana ranted.

'I didn't give you a gun.'

'I thought that was because you're just a pain in the ass,' she snapped.

'I don't want you to die.'

---

The quiet admission was there.

And it was probably the only thing that Sawyer could have said that night that would have convinced Ana-Lucia that he really did care for her.

She watched as his eyes watched her, anticipating her reply.

She reached over and pulled out the diary he'd given her and threw it onto his lap, 'open it to page fourteen.'

He didn't argue with her (for once).

He is so bloody annoying.

But I cant stop thinking about him.

Why cant I stop caring about him…

Wanting him…

'Everything on that page is true,' she admitted painfully.

'You got a pen on you?'

She reached for the pen and passed it to him and he scribbled something down before throwing the book back to her.

It took her a few moments to find the page.

You don't have to stop…

I'm yours.

And just barely registering that he'd signed it with his signature, the diary and everything else was forgotten when once again, Sawyer touched his lips to hers.

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A/N: That's the end of that. Twas fun wasn't it? While it lasted. I kind of left it at a spot before 'Two for the Road' just to stop at a happy ending. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this. Lol. Woo hoo-- I just finished my first LOST fic! Love Kei

Also like to say a massive thank you to the reviewers so far, who received this fic without flaming me. Yehay!