Okay, once again, we can thank Toxic-beetle for this update. She makes me write. She really does keep me in line. Without her, I think I'd be hiding in a cave, fearful of keyboards.

Chapter 11:

Sawyer was crouched in the sand, making it stick to the knees of his jeans. Of course, considering the demin was already laced with the remains of dried mud that just wouldn't shift, as well as some other stains that he'd picked up from fruit juices that wouldn't leave, this didn't bother him much. He had Ella standing before him, and Claire was standing next to her, watching the interaction between Sawyer and his daughter.

Ella was watching the group that was currently heaving on backpacks filled with water, and, more interestingly, the guns. "Daddy, where are you going?" She asked in a suspicious voice.

"We're just going for a walk." He told her.

She smiled. "Can I come?"

"No." He said, shaking his head, and her face fell.

"Why?" She whined.

"'Cause it's just for grown ups." He explained to her, glancing back and seeing Sayid starting to look impatient. He didn't know why. If it bothered him that much, he could stay behind.

"I can be a grown up!" Ella insisted, tugging on his sleeve as if it was going to help her.

Sawyer sighed, shaking his head. "Sorry, Princess, but I need you to stay with Claire."

Ella looked down at the sand, and Sawyer nipped her underneath the chin with her finger, raising her face so that he could smile at her, assuring her she was in no trouble. "Will you be back for dinner?" She asked him.

"I don't know." He answered honestly. He didn't want to tell her that he'd be back if he wouldn't be. She was exactly like her mother in that way. If he said he'd be somewhere and then he wasn't, he would never hear the end of it.

"I'll eat the boar." She persuaded. At the moment, she still thought that she was eating special island bacon.

"I don't know, Princess." He said, shaking his head.

"Pwease?"

Okay, that was it. She pulled out the big guns. The puppy dog eyes. She gave Sawyer her best, well-practiced pout, and her watery eyes looked up at him pleadingly. It was this look that was to blame for the amount of stuffed animals she had back home.

Rising above the look, Sawyer sighed. "Ella, sweetheart, I'm going to be back as soon as I can. But Daddy needs you to do something very important. I need you to stay here, where it's safe, and be a very good girl for Claire, can you do that for me?"

Ella dropped the pout, and nodded her head. "Okay."

Sawyer let her give him a watery kiss on the lips, and he hugged her close. "I love you, Princess."

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"Right, let's hit the road." Sawyer announced as he came up to the group of men.

Sayid nodded, and turned to the rest of the group, which consisted of Jack, Kate and Locke. Sawyer wasn't happy about Locke coming, but he insisted. None of them were happy about Kate coming, but she was the only one who knew the way to the camp they were heading too.

"First of all, we should go through the plan again." Sayid insisted, his hands on his hips.

"Can we do it on the way?" Sawyer complained. "I've got some stuff to take care of, Mohammed."

"They might be watching us." Sayid pointed out.

"Good." Sawyer grinned falsely. "Then they'll see how pissed off I am."

"If they know we are coming, they will know we have left your daughter behind in a vulnerable camp." Sawyer stopped, whipping his head around to Sayid with fire burning behind his blue eyes. "Which is why we must be a quiet, and maintain a considerable effort of stealth at all times."

Sawyer rounded on Sayid, stepping closer to him. "You think I'd do something to put my daughter's life in danger?" He asked threateningly.

"No." Sayid said, locking Sawyer's gaze with his own, and not backing down. "I simply understand that you are a father, and I fear you would resort to rash decisions, that may cause harm to the other survivors, to ensure your child's safety."

"You got a kid, Captain Desert Storm?" Sawyer challenged.

"No, I do not." Sayid answered him.

"Then you don't understand, do you?"

Without saying another word, or casting another glance back to the beach behind him, he set off into the jungle. The others were powerless to try and stop him, so simply followed him, hoping for the best.

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The sun was just starting to set, and Ella was making sandcastles in the area of sand on the edge of Claire's shelter. Beside her was Aaron's cradle, where the baby was sleeping peacefully, and Claire was sat beside her, helping her with the sandcastle.

"Is Daddy coming yet?" Ella asked, scanning the treeline for any sight of Sawyer.

Claire followed her gaze, even though they had only been gone for two hours at the most. "I'm sure he'll be back soon." She assured, unsure of what else to say.

"He said he might not be here for dinner." Ella said simply, and Claire wasn't sure whether or not she was complaining about it, or accepting it.

"Well," She bargained. "If Daddy's not back by then, you can have dinner with me and Aaron." She suggested.

Ella nodded, and went back to her castle for a few moments. Yet not a minute had passed before she was asking questions again. "Is Kate Jack's girlfriend?" She asked.

Claire smiled softly. "Yes, she is."

Ella nodded again, trickling sand between her fingers. "I think Daddy wants her to be his girlfriend."

"Maybe so." Claire commented innocently. She wasn't going to get into the dramatics of the Sawyer-Jack-Kate love triangle with an infant.

"I don't want her to be his girlfriend." Ella shook her head, patting the sand in place.

"No?"

She shook her head another time, stubbornly. "Daddy said that I'm the only girl in his life."

Claire smiled. "If Daddy had a girlfriend, he wouldn't love you any less, Ella." She assured the girl.

"I know." She said. "He said that. I just don't want Kate to be his girlfriend." She decided, like the whole thing was her decision. Of course, judging from how Sawyer let her control their day, it probably would be.

Claire frowned. "Why not? Don't you like Kate?"

"Yeah. Kate's my friend." Ella told her with a smile. "Kate can't be Daddy's girlfriend because she was my friend first." She explained.

Of course, Sawyer had known Kate longer than Ella, but Kate had given Ella a lot of hope for finding her father on the other side of the island, so she supposed that she must understand Sawyer to have not met her until afterwards.

Claire laughed at this. "I guess you're right." She nodded.

"You can't be Daddy's girlfriend too." She decided, warning Claire. "You're my friend too."

Claire inwardly laughed at the idea. "You're my friend as well, Ella." She smiled warmly at the infant, and then shrugged her shoulders. "You never know, you might be Aaron's girlfriend when you're older."

Ella raised an eyebrow at her, and then stared at Aaron suspiciously. Then, she casually went back to her sandcastle. "As long as he doesn't break my dollies." She said in a warning tone.