AN: Thanks to everyone for your kind reviews. I tried to make this chapter a little lighter, but i feel a dark and scary turn of events coming. thanks again for sticking with my story. Love you guys!
Chapter 8
Sawyer left Kate's apartment with a purpose. He first stopped at a payphone, three blocks from away. Inside the booth, he took a steadying breath before dropping the coins in. He dialed the number from memory, and realized that he was suddenly nervous. It was different feeling for Sawyer. Being a conman all those years had steeled his nerves. But, his mind bounced to Kate's face fleetingly, and he quickly swatted away the memory of fear in her stubborn eyes. He had to focus. It was important for him not to open himself too much in this situation, he had to be ready for anything, just like back in the conning days.
"Too late for that Ace" he laughed to himself, remembering the way her lips felt, soft and yielding against his. He licked his lips in memory as he listened to the phone ring endlessly. Just as he was about to give up, and other end suddenly picked up.
"What." the voice proclaimed rudely.
"What." Sawyer mocked the man. "Is that how they answer the phone in Pakistan?"
There was a pause. Sawyer could hear his friend smiling. "I'm not from Pakistan Sawyer. I think you mean Iraq"
"Iraq, Iran….Your in America now, and I think I might just call in the favor you owe me for that. " he waited a beat. "Can you meet me Sayid?"
The fact that Sawyer had used his real name told Sayid that his reluctant friend was in major trouble. He agreed, and quickly scribbled down the address.
"Okay" he replied "an hour." Sayid hung up the phone.
Back at the apartment, after Kate had washed the tears from her face, she and Ana Lucia were seated across from each other in the kitchen. Ana had made herself at home, finishing her own breakfast, and leaving a leftover plate on the stovetop.
"I didn't know you cooked." Kate commented to break the silence.
"The therapist said I should do something constructive to control my anger." Ana looked at the plate of perfect pancakes, smiled a bit. "Girls got to eat."
Feeling a little more comfortable, Kate chuckled to herself.
"Try one." Ana offered. "promise they wont kill ya." She said it so seriously, Kate was a bit taken aback. Laughing at her discomfort, Ana grabbed a small plate, and piled 4 huge ones on it for Kate. Before she could object, she slathered it with butter and above Kate's protests, dumped at least a quarter bottle of syrup on top. "Your too skinny Kate. We're not on the island anymore." Ana all but shoved a fork into her hand, before she sat back down.
Kate took a sample bite. It was so dainty, Ana actually snorted. To Ana, Kate had grown into an entirely different person since the rescue. She vividly remembered seeing Kate for the first time on the island, thinking that this was one tough woman. When she had found out that this woman was a criminal being escorted back to the US, Ana had immediately decided to hold her at an arms length. She didn't need anymore drama after what she had done to Shannon in the jungle.
Sure, there had been a bit of a rivalry between them. Two tough alpha females in camp. Initially Ana was very attracted to Dr. Jack, but during the rescue, Sawyer wasn't the only person who was stabbed by the Doc's aggressive kiss by the helicopter. Ana had witnessed it from nearby and was totally shocked. The way Jack had flirted with her after they had reunited, had , at the time, given Ana a spark of hope that she wasn't ruined forever. Over the next few days, her and the doctor had flirted endlessly.
She had been foolish to over look Jack's stolen glances at Kate, but then he had kissed her. Kissed her in a way that she hadn't been kissed since before her child had been taken from her. At that moment, Ana believed in love for the first time in a very long time.
But when the black helicopters had landed on shore, Jack hadn't even sought her out. She only saw the kiss, and the guilty look Jack gave her as he brushed past her on the beach. On the way back to the States, the Doctor didn't even speak a word to her. She hated him then, and pushed all the feeling she held away, back to where they were used to hiding.
Ana shook away the quick hot stab she always got thinking about the doc, and asked Kate if she could use the shower and borrow some clothes. She hadn't had a chance to pack much before the gun buyers had burst into the apartment. She barely made it down the fire escape without being caught.
Alone in the kitchen, Kate looked at all the nice things lies had bought her. She thought of Sam Austen again, sitting in jail, and pushed away the plate of barely touched pancakes in disgust. With her shoulders hunched in sadness, she went to her closet, and got out her luggage.
Carrying a medium sized Louis Vatton overnight bag, given to her as a gift from Jack on her first trip to LA, she threw it on the bed and opened her closet. Hastily she pulled out a pair of jeans and a fitting black sweater for Ana, and unsure what she should be packing, she began to grab essentials.
Her anxiety over what to pack grew as she shuffled through her lingerie drawer. She was totally unsure of where she was going, but she was more concerned about what would happen when they got there. She knew that Sawyer would be staying in the same place, and the thought of it frightened her. It had been a very very long time since Kate had taken a lover. Although, she thought dryly, by the looks of the underwear she had, one would think she was a regular party girl.
Somehow, deep in her heart, she knew that Sawyer would eventually become her lover. Did it really matter what kind of underwear she brought? Thinking of the look in his eyes, in the bathroom the night before as she had tended to his wounds, Kate doubted very much Sawyer would even pay attention. With this thought she felt a sharp tingling that went straight through her belly.
She grabbed a couple pair of underwear randomly and threw them in her bag. Grabbing a handful more, she quickly moved to her pajama drawer. She shifted through it absently, grabbing sweats ,yoga pants, and the men's undershirts, or wife beaters, she preferred to sleep in.
Just as a slinky, rather see thru black nighty slipping through her fingers, Ana stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a thick towel.
"I think Sawyer is a red man." She remarked as Kate blushed and frantically tried to stuff it back in the drawer.
"I wasn't…." she stammered.
"It's okay, I know you got the hot's for him."
Hot's, wasn't exactly the word Kate would use to describe her feelings for Sawyer, she thought. But remained silent, and slightly mortified.
"Here, these should fit." Kate tried to change the topic as she handed Ana the clothes. Without abash, Ana dropped the towel and got dressed, leaving the room laughing out loud at her former rival. Things had changed indeed, she thought. Kate Austen was hiding somewhere inside that dainty scared little girl in that bedroom. It was time to get her back Ana decided.
Kate continued to pack. However her mind was preoccupied with thoughts of the danger she may come to face.
And now, Sawyer was back in her life. She smiled at the thought. At the way he had kissed her before he left, the way she had felt safe. She brought a hand to her lips, remembering how he had hauled her up strongly against him. She felt heat creep into her neck, and thought of his rough hands, holding her there, strong and sure of himself. Arrogant jerk.
Since their very first kiss, Kate had made the mistake of revealing exactly what his lips did to her. It was all her fault, actually that he could never take the fake hint she always tried to play on him. All he had to do was touch her and he could feel her nerves light on fire, always, ALWAYS, knowing what he was capable of.
As much as she didn't want to admit it, Sawyer, whether he knew it or not, would always have the upper hand on her. She was his.
Alarms shot thorough her brain. She was his? When did this happen? She wasn't exactly sure. But she was sure that every single day, since the rescue; everyday of her trial, every evening spent with Jack, every lonely night, she had thought of Sawyer. Every time Jack had doted gifts and outings on her, she wished it was Sawyer. Every time she laughed or cried, or was uncertain, she had, somewhere deep in her heart, wished that Sawyer was there to share in it with her.
She had almost given up on him, but then there he was, standing on the curb, with a smart remark and all dimples and sexy stubble, and her heart given itself over to….a different side.
On a sigh, she finished packing and lugged her suitcase to the living room. She paced for a moment and wondered how she was going to keep herself from sitting here wondering what he was doing, and when he would come back for her.
