Title: In Ruins

Summary: Post-Finale, Suliet/Skate/Jate; "Everything disappeared in a flash, much like those he felt as they skipped from time to time, past to present; bleeding noses, bleeding hearts."

Author's Note: 13. That's how many reviews I got on the last chapter. 57. That's how many people have alerts on this story. Haha. C'mon, if you're busy (which I understand), just leave one word: good or bad. I'm busy, too – I work, go to class, and give you updates. Am I making you feel guilty yet? GOOD! Speaking of busy, this chapter is a little shorter than usual, but hopefully you guys will still enjoy it! The story is coming to an end, slowly but surely, and I'm sure you all wanna know what happens at the end, right? Then leave me nice reviews. :)

Enjoy,
Sara

*

Something inside this heart has died
You're in ruins.

[12]

Sawyer looked at Cassidy, who looked disinterestedly between Kate and him. He'd come to talk to Cassidy, to try to work things out (what things? He didn't know), but here was Kate. He cleared his throat loudly. "Cass, can you give us a minute?"

Cassidy opened her mouth, likely for some biting reply, but Sawyer grabbed Kate by the arm and pulled her into the kitchen area before Cassidy could say anything. Clementine stared after them.

Kate still hadn't found her voice and only stared at him blankly.

"What are you doing here? You knew Cassidy? Before you came back? And don't play dumb with me, you knew Clementine was my kid. You didn't think I'd come lookin' for her?"

Kate shook her head. "Cassidy – she helped me – before. Yes, I knew her." She looked up at him with those big green eyes, and he felt a pang of sympathy. He couldn't explain it, but even after all this, that freckled face still caused a dull ache somewhere in his heart.

"Keep going," he demanded.

"She – she was trying to con some people, when I was trying to see my mother and – I helped her, she helped me. I didn't know, then, that you and she were – She was pregnant, and I didn't know that –"

"But you know now," Sawyer said.

Kate was scared, he could tell that much. Her eyes darted from wall to wall, fell on Cassidy's circa 1970 fridge, and then flashed back to his face. "Did anyone – did anyone follow you? Know where you were going?"

"Maybe you should've thought of that before you high-tailed it outta there and came to play Auntie with my kid." Sawyer tried to fight back the emotions he felt for her. These emotions weren't the same as before, nothing like before, when their relationship was fueled by revenge, and lust, and fear. Still, he could feel himself loosing stride, letting her win.

"Sawyer," she said softly, "Really."

He felt his shoulders drop and all the fight leave him. "No, I didn't see nobody. Only Jack and Juliet know where I am."

Her eyes widened and then softened. "You just said Juliet," she said.

He smiled slightly. He got to mention her name, like it was nothing. Because she was back, and she remembered. "She's alive, Kate, and she remembers."

Kate's face exploded into a smile, and she threw her arms around him in a quick hug. He hurriedly murmured the rest of the story to her – how that she'd got him put in prison, but Juliet had bailed him out (wasn't that how it happened last time, too?), and he told her about Juliet's current situation.

"I told you so," Kate teased, but her face still didn't look quite right.

"How long you gonna run, Freckles?"

She shrugged, hopelessly. "As long as I can."

-

Cassidy sat in an armchair in the living room, chin cupped in her hand. It was obvious from the expression on her face that she didn't buy anything he was saying.

"Listen, Cass, I've changed," he said.

She only nodded.

Kate had taken Clementine upstairs to play, finally giving Sawyer a chance to talk to Cassidy. He'd explained that he and Kate had met in the past, and he explained that he also knew Kate was on the run. Cassidy had accepted this with a certain amount of apathy and said of course he knew she was on the run; she was all over the TV. He didn't argue.

"I don't con anymore. I – that's all behind me. I'm not trying to con you, I just want a chance – a chance to…be a father, I guess."

Cassidy nodded again. "It's not that I don't think you changed," she said, "Okay, I don't think you've changed, but regardless, I guess you think you have. You may think it, but that doesn't mean it's true. Some people don't change."

"And who said I was one of 'em?"

"I do. I've seen you. Don't think I'm going to let you con me again, Sawyer, because I'm not. I'm not letting you hurt me or my daughter again. If you want the money you gave her, you can have it. You can have it as long as you stay away." Cassidy's stare was icy cool, and her voice was equally so.

"You don't understand – "

Cassidy stood. "You're right. I don't. But we're not getting anywhere with this conversation, and I'd like you to leave." Cassidy paused, a slight smile appearing on her lips. "Before my husband gets home."

"Your husband?"

"That's right. You've come barking of the wrong tree." She raised her hand, and he could see the little gold band reflect the room's light.

"Listen, Cassidy. I didn't come here to try to get you back, or to fight you for custody. I just – I wanted to give that little girl a father." Reluctantly, he mirrored her actions and stood up.

Cassidy nodded. "We appreciate the offer, but Clementine already has a father." She crossed the room and held open the door for him. "I'll tell Kate you said good-bye," Cassidy said sarcastically – she assumed that Kate had been just another one of his cons.

He fled without another word, but vowed that this wouldn't be the last time he saw that little blonde mop top.

*

Who was James? The name sparked some kind of memory within her, but her head was so fuzzy that she couldn't remember what relation he held to her. Groggily, she turned her face toward Ben, who was staring at the now-dark cell phone screen. She was slightly confused about why he was there, but memories flooded back into her mind. "You drugged me," she assessed.

"Answer my question."

"I don't know," she said softly.

"How convenient," he said. "He must not have wanted to talk." Ben pulled her up by the arm and propped her against an armchair. She could feel her head clearing. Looking around, she was not all too surprised to see that she was no longer in her house. Instead, she seemed to be in a small, shabby hotel room.

"Where am I?" The drug wasn't very strong, or otherwise she'd already slept most of it off.

"Not far," he replied cryptically. "Not the island."

With that statement, her mind opened up and suddenly she remembered everything again. Without thinking, she murmured, "James…"

"Excuse me?" Ben asked, crouching before her.

Juliet shook her head and looked at him. "Doesn't ring a bell," she said. To her surprise, her voice was stronger than she expected.

He smiled, his thin lips meeting. She was close enough to see they were chapped. He ran his tongue over them.

"Ben?" She asked.

He tilted his head to one side. "Yes, Juli—"

Half-way through her name, she slammed her head forward, meeting his in a painful collision. Her head was already fuzzy enough, but he fell backward, clutching his forehead. Her cell phone fell from his hands and hit the ratty carpet with a dull thud. She climbed to her feet and nearly smiled at how foolish Ben had been – he hadn't even tied her hands. He was struggling to get to his knees, but she pushed him backward, pinning one of his arms under her knees.

"I'm not going back there," she said and gave him an elbow to the temple, which knocked him out cold. She grabbed her cell phone and shoved it into the pocket of her jeans, still rumpled and now sticking awkwardly to her legs. She stood, pausing a moment to let her head clear. On the nightstand, Ben's pistol and holster lay unused. He obviously thought he wouldn't need it.

She looked back at the man and pulled the gun from the holster. She leveled it at his body, but she couldn't pull the trigger. She couldn't even remove the safety. Ben deserved to die, but she didn't want it on her conscience. She had already been the cause of so many deaths, had already taken so many lives (but it was all erased now, right?). She lowered the gun with a sigh.

Looking around the room, she saw her purse sitting near the bed. How considerate of him to bring it with him. She grabbed it up and pushed the gun down into it. She obviously wasn't going to used it, but she wasn't leaving it with Ben.

On the hotel stationary pad, she scrawled a message. If I see you again, you won't walk away alive. She swallowed harshly, dropped the pen, and left the room.

She guessed she was changing history.

-

"Hello?" It was so confronting to hear his voice at the other end of the line.

"James," she took a deep breath, "Ben – Ben was here. He killed Edmund."

The line was silent for a moment, and then, "Son of a bitch."

"Listen, you don't have to – "

"I'm on the next flight." The line went dead, just like that.

She realized that he wasn't going to let her talk him out of it.