Title: Promises Kept

Rating: T/Pg13

Summary: After recovering from her recent gunshot wound, Ana sets off to fulfill a few

promises she made. Sana-centric (Spoilers for TFTR and some parts of S3)

Warnings: Some language, general Anti-Kate content

Status: WIP

Authors Note: I do not own Lost; if I did S3 would be LVS! I make no profit, unless you count

personal enjoyment as profitable, from writing this fic.

Chapter 4

According to Plan

It was amazing how long a minute felt when you were incapable of doing anything. Each individual second seems an eternity when all you have for entertainment is the acute study of green foliage just outside your bars. Of course there was always idle chit chat that could be exchanged, but when your neighbor was Kate, it was best to be silent. What you said to her could always come back to bite you, and then kick you while you were down.

Sawyer looked over to the brunette; she was antsy, fidgeting as usual. She had an escape route planned; otherwise she wouldn't seem so anxious. The con man shook his head; she had no appreciation for patience.

Sometimes waiting was the only way to get what you really wanted. With that thought Sawyer's lips tilted in a crooked grin, good things certainly did come to those who waited.

The sunlight was starting to fade and Sawyer quit twiddling his thumbs to sit up. He looked to Kate, who had mimicked him.

The shadows lengthened all around and the two captives waited, it wouldn't be long now.

.oO0Oo.

The key was speed, the group moved as quickly as possible in the darkness. They were nearing the edge of the compound, lights from the buildings could be seen through the dense forest. Ana was in the lead as they slipped into the shadow of an outlying building, Sayid brought up the rear, hauling with him a struggling prisoner-bound and gagged.

Eko peered around the corner checking for guards, none were present. It seemed the "others" were comfortable on their private island.

Eko motioned to Ana and she went out first, walking close to the buildings, she stole quietly along the path. She stopped dead when she heard the merest whisper of a sound. She flattened her figure against the side of the concrete structure, pulling her gun from her waistband and releasing the safety in a smooth motion. She eased closer to the corner of the building, moving toward the low sound. She glanced around the corner quickly and couldn't discern anything in the faded yellow light emitted from a worn light-pole.

Eko and Michael were beside her as she turned the corner and moved into the dim area. She swung around sharply when a hand seemed to materialize off to the side.

"Took yah long enough, thought I was gonna die of old age before yah'll got here."

Even though she could see nothing but his hand, she glared at where she figured his head to be.

"Better hurry up Rambina, there's probably a welcoming party on the way." Eko turned to the cage opposite the one Sawyer was in, to see Kate setting her feet on the dirt. Ana noticed the brunette's arrival and her respect for the woman increased.

Michael looked to Ana expectantly and she waved him off with a nod, he disappeared into the dark just as Eko smashed open the padlock on sawyer's cage. The blonde stepped out of the dark confine and grabbed Ana about the waist. His lips met hers before she could react, but that luck wasn't lasting. She shoved him off and wiped at her mouth furiously.

"What the hell!?"

"You taste like mangoes." Sawyer smacked his lips as if to emphasize his statement.

"Yeah, well you taste like sh!t." The blonde's laughter could be heard as she stormed off. Eko shook his head as he handed a gun to each of the recently freed captives.

"You must have a death wish, my friend." Sawyer fell into step behind the large man and chuckled.

.oO0Oo.

Setting in a wooden rocking chair on the front porch listening to the protests of the porch-boards with each rock; a woman ran her hands in circles over her enlarged abdomen. She smiled in contentment looking down at her golden-haired daughter playing at her feet. The little girl, as if sensing her mother's thoughts, lifted her head.

Her mother motioned for her to come near, and the girl stepped forward. Round eyes examined her mother's growing stomach.

"Mama?" The woman stopped her rocking as a small hand rested on the hard roundness of her stomach.

"Hmm?" The little girl tilted her head to the side.

"Is the baby going to be here in time for Christmas?" The woman smiled her eyes twinkling with humor.

"Honey, its July. He'll be here long before Christmas." The small blonde girl peered up at her mother.

"Oh." The small hand slid away from her mother and the girl returned to her plastic blocks.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Heaving herself forward the mother leaned down to brush her daughter's smooth cheek.

"I just…I wanted the baby to be here for Christmas." Her daughter's eyes stayed focused on the lettered block in her hand.

"Why?"

"So we could be a family." The girl's wide eyes met her mother's teary ones. A string of bad boyfriends had come and gone over the last few years, the most recent one leaving her mother pregnant. For the last five years it had been just the two of them, since none of the men lasted long enough for their presence to be substantial.

"Oh, sweetheart." The pregnant lady pulled her daughter into her lap, placing a kiss on the little girl's temple.

"Mama?"

"Yes?"

"Santa gives you what you ask for in your letters right, no matter what it is?" The change of topic caught the mother's attention and she looked down at her daughter. Small hands were playing with the hem of her blue maternity shirt.

"Of course, he does." The little girl nodded as if that had affirmed her assumption and then she slid off her mother's lap and she went in the house. The woman sat there contemplating the conversation she'd just had with her daughter.

The floorboards began to squeak beneath the chair's bowed legs once more.

.oO0Oo.

Michael moved quickly down the wooden structure, trying to keep the sound of his footsteps from reverberating as he neared his destination. The sound of water filled his ears and he used the moon as a guiding light.

He pulled the handgun out of his back pocket with ease checking around for guards, he heard the low murmur of conversation and saw light shining out of a window.

Stealing himself, he hunkered down and waited for the opportune moment, preferably one that would avoid raising a commotion.

.oO0Oo.

"Sayid." The name was uttered by the group leader and the man passed his prisoner to Eko as he stepped forward.

"Where are they?" They were all gathered in the shadows in what they figured to be the center of the compound.

"He says they are in the larger structure, on one of the lower levels, but…"

"But ya don't know if he was tellin' the truth." Sawyer's words caused the Iraqi to nod in agreement. Sawyer turned to see Ana considering the information.

"You wouldn't question the truth of his statement, unless you had an idea that he could be lying. Where do you think they are?" Ana looked the man in the eyes as she asked the question. The two didn't like each other in the least, but they trusted each other.

"I think they'd be in the housing section."

"Housing section?" Blue eyes sent a questioning glance in Ana's direction.

"It's on the North side of the 'town'." Ana revealed the information absently; her head was tilted downward in thought.

"And here I thought you'd just charged in here guns a blazin', seems I was wrong."

"But why would they keep them in the housing section?" Kate interjected, looking to Sayid and Ana for explanation.

"Children complain, they're high maintenance, and they need a lot of attention. The kids couldn't get that if they were locked up in a room, and the children appear to be too valuable for them to be maltreated." Ana made the statement to the group, but it was obvious that she was asking Sayid for his opinion on the matter.

"And the familiar adults would probably be kept around to soothe the children." Eko stated this and the logic was accepted with a murmur of agreement.

"But what if we're wrong and Henry isn't lying?" Kate asked, playing the devil's advocate.

"That's the problem." Sayid looked to Ana knowing she had come to the same conclusion he'd drawn himself.

"We're going to have to split up." Ana sighed and Sayid met her gaze.

"Sayid you take Henry, Kate and Sawyer, and check the housing section. Eko and I will make a quick check of the compound." Sayid accepted the team and began to move off.

"Now hold on a minute, Lulu. I'm going with you." Sawyer had stepped in-between the cooperatives, effectively cutting off communication.

"Well, I say you're going with Sayid. So you're going with him." Ana turned to head off, but was stopped by Sawyer's hand spinning her around.

"Ana, we don't have time for this." Eko spoke in his usual smooth tones, but they did not hide the agitation in his tone.

"Whatever. We are going now." Ana looked away from Sawyer to Sayid, "We'll meet back at the boat. If things go bad, and we aren't there, leave." The dark haired man nodded in acceptance of the plan before he and his team disappeared around the building's corner.

"What? Leave?!" Sawyer looked at Ana incredulously, but she was already walking away, Eko trailing her path.

.oO0Oo.

Jin paced the deck of the ship, the dull thud of his passing, was drowned out by the sound of the ocean. The ship moved smoothly beneath him, the sway of the deck was natural and soothing.

He looked out at the faint lights glimmering on the mass of land and wished his comrades luck, he was sure they were going to need it.

He redirected his attention to the ship, as he tightened a loose line.

.oO0Oo.

Auburn, that was the shade to describe her hair, it was tangled and sticking to her skin in tendrils about her face and neck, but the woman didn't care. She looked down to the baby in her hands, he was still red, but he was the most amazing thing she'd seen in a long while.

A nurse opened the door to her room leading in an anxious little girl, her blonde hair was pulled back in pigtails and she looked adorable. Sitting in the bed like it was her throne, the mother smiled at her daughter.

"Come meet your brother, honey." The little girl took small reluctant steps towards the tall bed. Her mother moved the bundle in her arms, so the small girl could look at him.

"This is Zack." The blonde head tilted to the side during her perusal.

"Is he always gonna be so red?" The mother laughed and shook her head.

"No, honey, all babies are that way in the beginning." Light brows drew together and the girl's expression was doubtful. She lifted her hands and looked at the brown bear in her grip--he'd been her friend for ages--he looked back at her with glassy black eyes and a crooked smile.

"Here." Small hands held the plush bear up to her mother. "For Alex's birthday." The woman's eyes filled with unshed tears as she accepted the dun bear from her baby girl.

"Are you sure?" Blue eyes were fixed on the small newborn baby wrapped tightly in the powder blue blanket.

"Yeah. Zack can have 'im." For a second, the woman could have sworn she'd seen a glimpse of someone else on the young face. The sorrow that had flashed in the brilliant blue eyes was foreign to the girl, but she'd seen that look somewhere else before. The woman leaned back holding the bear and her baby in her arms; and her mind traveled backwards in time, trying to place the inscrutable expression.

.oO0Oo.

The door to the compound was heavy, but it swung open silently on well oiled hinges. Eko stood on one side of the door as Ana eased into the passage, her police training kicking in as she hunched her shoulders and moved slowly down the hall, which ended at a set of stairs. Ana motioned with her hand for her companions to follow her, and moments later the door was closed. The lighting was dim and it barely shone from one thick cement wall to the next, and the lack of windows left the air tasting old and musty.

Ana stepped carefully down each step, but it didn't stop the echo of sound off the walls. The trio moved steadily down the winding steps; Ana in the lead, Eko and Sawyer off to her sides. The steps stopped suddenly and they were face to steel with a large door. Behind which was a long hall, lined with more heavy metal doors.

Ana moved closer to the wall as she walked toward the first door, she trained her gun on the steel door as Eko moved to open the portal. It slid open with a groan, revealing an empty room, divided by a large pane of glass. Ana lowered her weapon, and turned to the two men.

"They aren't down here." Eko looked around at the cement walls and metal doors. They all knew that there was no point checking any further, there was no way the captives would be down here.

Sawyer looked at the woman in front of him, as she planned their next move. He heard her swear softly before turning to look at them.

"We're going to the boat, we'll wait for Sayid's team." She shoved off the wall and moved back towards the stairs.

.oO0Oo.

Pressing her palms into her lower back did little to ease the ache that had settled there, but she did it anyway because something was better than nothing. Zack had finally quieted and went to sleep, which hopefully he wouldn't come out of for a few hours, and that gave her time to look over her daughter's letter to Santa.

Sinking into her plush chair she relaxed as she unfolded the paper. It was obvious that her daughter's teacher had helped her to write the letter, but it was doubtful that the teacher had read the last line. The last line was misspelled and the letters of the words went in every direction yet the sentence was legible.

Sitting there alone in the quiet darkness of her living room the woman sobbed pathetically. The last sentence said simply, "I want my dad."

.oO0Oo.

A/N: Sorry bout the wait, but it took me a while to edit it to my satisfaction. Still not sure I don't want to feed it to the bunnies…So Emma, I'm assuming she was around 5-ish when her brother was born, but from pictures I looked at I'm probably wrong. However I am the author and I will change the facts to fit my story.

Next Chapter coming as soon as inspiration strikes!