UPDATE- Sorry, guys… things have been a little crazy lately. My great uncle's dying because his kidneys are failing and he's refusing dialysis, it's my Easter today, and a few thousand other things that I'm sure you don't want to hear. On a better note, this fanfiction's almost done- there's this chapter and another, then the new one comes out!! So, enjoy! Read and review, please!

She hasn't been able to remember anything since she woke up. It's been four hours, and she's sitting quietly by the water, staring at her hands. Jack's tried everything- he told her about the crash, and about him, and about the rest of us and then he gave up. Juliet is trying to help him, now, because he's sure there's no hope for Kate, which is making him go a little crazy.

It's up to me, now, I think to myself. I take a few steps in her direction before she hears me, and then I stop as she glares at me. "Hey, Freckles." She stares at me as if she's trying to figure out who I am, and then she says; "You're the nickname guy, right? Sawyer?" I nod, and take this as an invitation to sit beside her. She is silent for a moment, her hair coming loose in strands from her bun as the salty wind buffets our bodies. Then she says, quietly, "Jack's given up on me, huh?" I nod again, since I don't really want to say it out loud, and she continues, watching my with those intense green eyes. To me she looks like a farmiliar stranger. "I want you to tell me everything, Sawyer." Even the way she says my name is different. I know Jack hasn't told her about us, because if he can help it, she never will.

I look down at my feet. "He stopped when the three of us and the…. Fat guy…. Were captured by those other people." I smile inwardly. " Yeah. The guy who was in charge of you when they put the two of us in cages, his name- " she interrupts me. " Us? In cages?" I nod, and continue, "His name was Tom," and she looks curious. " I… I think I remember that. Tom. Keep talking about Tom." I glance at her, trying to disguise the hope that she does, in fact, remember. And that if I keep talking, she'll remember the night our lives changed.

"Well…" I say, "I called him Mr. Friendly," this doesn't seem to help, so I launch into a description. "He was tall-ish, maybe an inch taller than me. He had brown eyes, and-" She interrupts me again, but this time she says it louder. "Tom! Oh! Oh, Tom… oh no. I killed him." I stare at her. "No, Kate, Hurley killed him with the car-" She interrupts again. I'm starting to panic. "The car! Oh! The tape, and the box, and the plane…" She's really not making any sense, and she looks like she's talking to herself. Then she glances up and catches my eyes, and she goes pale. "Who are you?"

Swallowing a lump in my throat, I reply, "Kate, it's me. Sawyer." She doesn't seem to understand, and I feel tears stinging at my eyes. I can't cry. She's never seen me cry, and it's not going to happen now. Instead, I sound desperate when I say, "Baby, it's me. James. It's me…" She seems to register this, and then a tear rolls down her cheek. It's as if I can see the memories rushing back to her, and I know she's scared, but I can't make myself move.

"James," she says. "Oh, James…" and she melts into my arms, sobbing loudly.
I hold her, her arms wrapped around my neck, her tears soaking my shirt.

"James, " she says, her voice uneven, "I missed you so much."
I push her away a little so I can see her face, and I realize she's back. Kate. The real Kate, the one I fell in love with in the first place. The way she says my name makes it sound like she's saying the name of an angel, and in a way, I am her angel. Her guardian angel.

I pull her into a short, soft kiss, and when we pull away, I say, "I missed you too, Freckes."

As the sun sets on the island, somewhere, the sun is coming up at home. And for the first time, all I want is for her to get there. To get safe; to get home. So Ihold her, as she falls asleep against me, understanding that I am the only one that knows her completely, and taking that responsibility happily.