Claire's reappearance is almost as unsettling as her disappearance. Or at least the fact that she doesn't remember anything. Kate can tell that Charlie's the most effected by this, but everyone's in shock. Some people respond to it by trying to avoid Claire. Even avoid looking at her in case they happen to run into her. Kate falls somewhere in the middle of the two extremes.
She had missed Claire's arrival because Sawyer had still been keeping her inside. Claire must have arrived during the night on the afternoon that Jack had cleared Kate for walking. Or maybe it was the day before. Either way, Kate wasn't there and she now feels very much out of the loop.
The problem with being crippled and stuck in one place, she realizes, is how much news gets passed by you. She had heard things when she was active in the community of survivors, because she was around people who talked. This was part of the reason Kate always wanted to go on dangerous trips. It's always better to be in the know. Because on this island, what you don't know can kill you.
Except, no one had bothered to tell her the latest news over the last week. Sawyer was an outcast, by his own choice, and had spent a lot of the time with her. Which Kate had enjoyed in its own way—it kept her from brooding too much—but now she realizes that Sawyer not being there meant he wouldn't know what was going on.
The one thing he had told her was that Michael was starting to build a raft so he could take his son off the island.
"He was kind of vague about whether anyone else could go besides the two of them," Sawyer told Kate.
Part of Kate wants to be on that raft when it leaves the island. If they're successful in sailing to any place with a human civilization, she wants to create a new identity before anyone knows she's Kate Austin, the fugitive. Another part of Kate thinks that Michael might not be able to build anything with what remains of their supplies. That setting sail is essentially suicide.
Sawyer seems to feel the same way. He's looking for more information, though, and not telling Kate everything.
Or maybe she's being paranoid.
Either way, Claire's appearance is a shock because not only is she still pregnant, the possibility of other people existing has gone from distant to nearly fact. The fact that they kidnapped Claire means they're a danger to everyone else.
Which means that everyone else on the island has to find a way to leave the island.
Or, at least, not give the other people cause to harm them.
But what had Claire done? She had been harmless. Maybe they wanted her baby.
They hadn't gotten it, so Claire might be in more danger now.
The whole amnesia thing is becoming annoying.
Kate's sitting quietly around Hurley, Locke, and Jack. They're eating fruit and discussing the recent turn of events and what this means. Jack insists that Claire's still healthy but the baby's going to be born any day now. In other words, she can't be left alone and cannot be made to know what's going on.
"We need to keep her safe until she delivers," Jack's insisting through bites of mango.
"And what if they're just waiting until she delivers before striking back?" Locke argues. "They may want to lure us into feeling a false sense of confidence. This could all be part of the plan."
The conversation continues like this for awhile, with no one coming to any definite conclusions and no course of action being decided. Kate stands up once she's finished her fruit, walking over to one of the water holes to clean the plate.
Jack realizes she's there just as she's about to leave.
"You doing okay?" he asks.
Kate nods. "Fine."
"Do you have any thoughts on this?"
Plenty. But Jack and Locke have already voiced them, and she's beginning to feel like a third wheel in the group. She knows this is mostly because of Sawyer. Jack and Locke don't see him as a threat, exactly, more like an inconvenience. Spending time with him makes her seem less loyal to the rest of the group. Like she's become a parasite and is plotting to steal their clothes and other belongings once their backs are turned.
Not that they say this to her face.
But the feeling is still there.
"Not at the moment."
"Yeah well…" Jack trails off. "Let me know if you do, okay?" There's a pause. "Good thing we have those guns."
Kate smiles slightly. A very good thing.
Sawyer helps Kate cut wood and haul it back to camp. It's one of the first productive things he's done since arriving, and people give him odd looks. There's talk, of course. Sawyer can imagine what they're saying.
"Good for Kate. Looks like she tamed him."
"It's about time Sawyer started pulling his weight around here."
"Guess he's not such a loner after all."
Whatever. He's not doing it for them. Hell, he's not even doing it for Kate. It's just that Kate's busy helping out around camp, and if he wants to spend time with her, he's going to have to be around her when she works.
Of course, if Sawyer's watching her while she's working, he feels like he ought to help out. Get the job done faster. Show Kate he can cut logs twice as fast as she can. Pick twice as much fruit.
She responds to the competition with her own. Freckles is constantly pushing herself. Sawyer's concerned that she's going to hurt her back again, but she doesn't. She does have a nice, woodsy smell at the end of the day, and sleeps more soundly than before. She doesn't get nightmares, or at least, not ones that wake Sawyer up from his sleep.
At least Kate doesn't snore as much now.
This isn't to say all they do is work and sleep. Kate's been trying to talk to Claire, help her remember whatever happened to her in the jungle. Make sure she's fairly comfortable before she delivers. Jack examines her fairly regularly, but there's not much wrong with her physically.
Just mentally.
Maybe the island's responsible for insanity. Sayid had told them about this crazy French chick who'd been on the island for at least sixteen years.
Anyone stuck in one place for that long would go crazy, in Sawyer's opinion. But if Claire was going insane, it seemed a little premature. After all, they've only been on the island for a month. Surely the French chick lasted longer than that before she started hearing voices?
There are other problems, too. Locke had told everyone that winter was approaching. Winter on a tropical island isn't the same as winter as Sawyer knows it. Or Kate. There's little to no chance of snow. The temperatures will drop, but not lower than forty degrees. Really, winter just means more rain.
Lots and lots of rain.
So people aren't as likely to go sunbathing, and anyone with sense will want to stay in their shelter or near the caves. Keeping the fires going will be more difficult because the rain's going to make their logs much harder to light. Kate says that John and Locke are talking about finding a place to keep their log stash so this doesn't happen. But it's not like they have that many. Everyone seems to use whatever they have just to stay alive on the island.
There's also been talk about building a raft. Michael's the one who started the talk, saying the island's a dangerous place and he has to get his son out of there and if they don't act now they'll just adapt to the island and become islanders.
Or something like that.
So far, it hasn't progressed much beyond talk. Michael's done a little work, but whatever he's made so far resembles a pile of logs and bamboo more than a raft. The logs aren't even pulled together. Still, Sawyer figures it's worth investigating. Depending on how many people Michael can fit, maybe he and Kate can hitch a ride. Some of the stuff in Sawyer's stash has to help put a boat together.
He hasn't talked to Kate about it. She enjoys being on the island. Whatever she did back in Australia, she's still wanted by the authorities. Sawyer can't imagine it being anything too big—maybe theft or selling fake IDs—but it's enough to bother her. Just hearing about the raft gets her all quiet. Sawyer can not figure this woman out.
It's dark now, and he can see Kate sitting on the beach, staring at the ocean. The tide's coming in pretty strong. They might have to move Kate's tent. His is a little further back.
Sawyer takes a seat next to her, careful to sit on one of the rocks and not in the wet sand. Kate doesn't turn around, but Sawyer sees her eyes flicker towards him.
"Hey, Freckles."
Kate smiles. "Hi Sawyer."
"Mind if I sit here?"
Kate shakes her head and turns her gaze back to the beach. She's not exactly chatty in the best of circumstances, but this is quiet even for her.
She's wearing one of her sleeveless shirts. A dark brown one. The top part of her hair is pulled back from her face in some kind of messy knot, but the bottom's loose. Sawyer likes it this way, but can't find the words to tell her.
His hand brushes her shoulder and she feels ice cold.
"Hell, Freckles, ain't you freezing?"
Kate turns to him, surprise in her face. "I guess I hadn't noticed," she says with a half laugh.
Sawyer rolls his eyes. "C'mon, let's get you back inside your tent. I'll get you warmed up." Kate snorts and Sawyer quickly adds, "I meant with blankets!"
Kate doesn't move. "I don't feel like going in yet."
Sawyer sighs. "Fine. Just don't blame me when you have a one hundred and ten degree fever."
It's Kate's turn to roll her eyes. "Wouldn't I be dead if I was that hot?"
"I don't know, ask the doc. I didn't go to med school." Sawyer starts to get up. "I'll be in the tent when you're ready to come in." Kate doesn't protest out loud, and Sawyer finds he wishes she would. He sits back down. "Okay, five minutes."
"You got a watch?" Kate retorts.
He pulls her into his arms, more roughly than he had intended.
"Hey!" Kate complains, trying to get up.
Sawyer grabs her shoulders, more gentle this time. "Freckles, come one."
A couple of weeks ago, Kate would have slapped him, but she recognizes that Sawyer's intentions were good. Well, good enough. She settles into his lap, leaning her head against his shirt. He smells good.
Not that she'd tell him that.
"Ya comfortable?" he asks, rubbing her bare arms with his hands.
Kate turns to him, smiling in reply. He grins back, and squeezes her closer. They stay like that for a few minutes. Kate's head droops and falls on the inside of his right elbow. Her hair tickles his arm and Sawyer doesn't pull it back.
"So, Freckles, what are we lookin' at?"
Kate shifts in his lap. "The stars."
Sawyer squints. There sure are a lot of them. He once read that electricity blocks them out. He can probably see thousands across the sky. Maybe planets, too. It makes him feel small. They're stuck on this deserted island, away from any kind of civilization. But the stars don't seem to care. They're too far away. The sky's so huge.
They stay outside for more than ten minutes. Sawyer pokes Kate playfully. "Time to get inside."
"Five more minutes," she mumbles.
Right after she says that, she slumps into Sawyer's lap and falls asleep. Great. Now he has to carry her back to camp.
At least it's only a few feet.
He picks her up. Kate's lighter than Sawyer would have expected. Her eyes open at the sudden movement.
"What are you doing?" she mutters, head drooping over Sawyer's shoulder.
"What does it look like, Freckles?" Sawyer replies, now shifting his weight. Kate doesn't look it, but she's surprisingly heavy.
Or maybe it's because Sawyer's tired.
They reach the tent and Kate's already asleep. Sawyer pulls aside the blankets and lays her down so she's lying on top of her original one. Sawyer momentarily debates taking off some of her clothes but decides against it.
She'd kill him.
Sawyer looks at her resting body again, reconsiders and takes off her shoes and her socks. That's harmless enough. She can't get angry at him for that.
Kate barely stirs. He puts the socks and shoes along the side of the tent, where they won't stink up the place too badly.
He pauses at the jeans. Kate's always slept in shorts, or just a shirt and undies, until now. The jeans can't be comfortable to sleep in. Still, Kate is asleep right now and Sawyer doesn't want to risk waking Kate by taking them off while she sleeps. Even if she'd probably understand, deep down.
Way deep.
But he's slept in jeans before and he never slept much as a result. Kate might be passed out now, but Sawyer's afraid she'll pay the price later.
Which means he has to wake her up.
He grabs a pair of shorts and shakes her shoulder. Gentle but persistent.
Kate rolls over on her side and groans.
"Freckles, wake up," Sawyer coaxes, shaking her again.
She turns over. Her eyes open slowly. "What do you want?" she grumbles.
"You're still dressed. Here." He hands her the shorts.
Kate rubs her eyes, now fully awake. She's in a bad mood, but a small part of her recognizes that it's nice that Sawyer cares enough to take her.
He could have just undressed her. Until two weeks ago, Kate wouldn't have put it past him.
Now, she knows better.
"Turn around," she grumbles.
Sawyer rolls his eyes but obeys. A minute later, he hears the jeans being tossed off to one side. Seconds later, she speaks.
"You can look now."
Sawyer rolls over in time to see Kate pulling her hair out of the hair band and brushing it out with her fingers. He wraps his arms around her waist and squeezes, pulling her into a hug.
Kate laughs. "Someone's frisky."
"Yeah, well. First night you ain't hurt," Sawyer replies.
Kate hugs him back before laying her head on his shirt. The hair tickles his neck. She's not tired anymore, but cuddling seems like a good idea.
Funny, she wouldn't have pictured Sawyer as the cuddling type.
Nor, really, was she. But since sex is out of the question, other things look a lot better.
"Just don't get any ideas," she warns, planting a light kiss on his lips.
"Whatever you say, Freckles." He pulls the nearest blanket up close. His fingers brush against her neck, sending Kate into peals of silent laughter. Once the blankets are tucked under their bodies, he takes hold of Kate again and holds her against his chest as though she's a life size doll. Her hair falls so that it covers at least half of Sawyer's face, but he doesn't move.
"G'night," he says in a flirty voice.
"Night, Sawyer."
Now that she's comfortable and warm, it's hard for Kate to stay awake. As usual, she wants to delay sleep in order to enjoy the feeling, but she fails. She lets out a long yawn and is asleep before she knows it. Her last thought before the familiar dreams take over is that she'll be with Sawyer tomorrow, and can enjoy his presence then.
Sawyer stays awake much longer, thinking things through as he runs his hands through Kate's hair. Until the screaming starts.
