Quickie:

SassyLostie - People have plagarized from me too. But I let them have it when I found out. Don't wanna try and pull that stuff with me. Wowza! Weird...We must share a brain or something. Or maybe it's all a secret plot of Dharma's. Hmm. Oh of course the kitty stays!
bonboni - Yes, they're finally heading home. When did I hint he'd come back? Where would you get such a thought? Don't look at me like I'm crazy! twitch Hehe sorry. I'm in a good mood today and when I'm in a good mood I spaz.

All right. First off, I just want to give you all a heads up that I'm going to cut back on the posting of chapters. Don't start crying yet. It's only one day. I'm whizzing right through this story and before you know it, it'll be over! So what I'm going to do instead is post a chapter every other day. (Unless I'm feeling especially generous.) Plus, this will give some other dedicated readers time to catch up.

Secondly...about this chapter. Hmm, actually no I have no words for it. Except that it's kind of on the short side. But you can all deal with it, yes? Enjoy!

Chapter 37

They arrived home, within a two hour ride. While Sawyer stayed behind to pay the trucker - and most likely advise him on the conditions of his truck - Kate went inside to free Mackenzie from the prison of her bag. She went into the kitchen and placed her bag on the table. She began unzipping it and pulled Mackenzie out, holding him in her arms. He meowed, clawing at her shirt.

Sawyer, unfortunately, picked this moment to walk into the kitchen. Kate felt his presence and turned around, trying to appear innocent – a hard task when faced with Sawyer's infamous death glare.

"What the hell is that?"

She looked down at Mackenzie, then back up at Sawyer, innocently. "It's a cat."

"I know it's a cat! What the hell is it doin' here!?"

She frowned, slightly. "I couldn't leave him there, Sawyer. All alone. With no food…"

"Yeah you could! All you had to do was drop him outside and leave!"

"No, I couldn't! He didn't deserve to just be left there! The people he loved left him there, out in the cold. Don't you think he deserves another chance?" she said, staring at him with a desperate look in her eyes.

"It's a cat!"

"He's a living thing!"

"I don't care!"

"Well you should!"

"And why should I?"

"Because he loves you!" she blurted out before she could stop herself.

He stared at her, and she stared back, realizing what she'd just said. She looked down, trying to think of something to say to fix what had just happened, but drew a blank. She turned away, petting Mackenzie again. Sawyer finally let his guard down.

"Fine," he said, in a quiet repressed voice. "He stays. But no funny business, or else he'll go."

"Okay," she said quietly, still not turning around.

He left the room and she heard his steps upstairs. Creaking pipes told her that he turned the water on, to take a shower. She sat on a chair, Mackenzie still in her arms, mentally scolding herself. Great, she thought. Now she was speaking through the cat.

She wondered why suddenly her past came back to haunt her, yet again. Her imprisonment was over and done with. And what had happened during it was in the past. She should have been forgetting it by now. She wondered why it suddenly struck her again, out of nowhere. Being left alone in that prison cell away from Sawyer was the most painful thing she'd experienced thusfar. It wasn't something she thought about often if she could help it. But it still hurt.

Don't linger on the past, she told herself. You're here with him now, aren't you? She sighed and let Mackenzie down to explore the house. While he ran into the living room carefully examining it, she slid out the sliding door and sat on the swing for a little while.

In about twenty minutes, Sawyer came down the stairs, half-dressed, and his hair hanging damply in his face. He spotted Mackenzie sitting on the couch licking his paw, and glared at him. Damn cat, he thought to himself. He went into the kitchen and immediately spotted Kate on the swing outside. He was faced with two options: he could leave her alone, give her space; or he could go outside and…do what? he wondered. Maybe he'd just leave her alone. But then…what if she was waiting out there for him? Maybe she wanted him to go out there. He sighed. Why did women have to be so damn complicated? He finally opened the sliding door, neglecting to close it behind him, and stepped out. She didn't even spare him a glance.

"Mind if I sit down?"

"Your house," she said, flatly.

"When did this become my house?" he said, taking a seat beside her causing the swing to rock back slightly. "Last I checked it was the two of us livin' here."

She finally looked at him. "Well it's not like I own it or – "

"But you been livin' in it for some time, now. Ain't that enough to at least call it home?"

She looked away out to the woods again. "I guess it's just awkward for me. I haven't been able to stay anywhere long enough to call it home in a long time. And even now that I have it, I guess I just can't help feeling like I'll still have to run."

"But you don't."

"I know."

"Then why the hell would you say somethin' like that?"

"I don't know," she said quietly. "It's just a feeling."

Mackenzie crept out of the house, observing the world around him. He spotted Kate and jumped in her lap. She looked down and began to pet him. Sawyer grunted.

"Well if you still feel like you gotta run away then you'd better do it now. 'Cause if you're just plannin' to wait until I won't notice – "

She forced her eyes closed. "I'm not going to run, Sawyer."

He didn't say anything, only exhaled.

"It's been really hard on me. Running for so long, having nowhere to stay and nowhere to call home. My whole life I've been afraid." She paused and they were silent. "And now that I have a home… I have somewhere I know I'm safe," she shook her head. "And I don't want to lose it. But that feeling, like I always have to run, like I'll never be safe – even though I know I am - " she shook her head. "It's not going to go away. Not for a long time."

"So you're sayin' you'll still wanna run for a long time then?"

"No," she rolled her eyes. "But…" she hesitated.

"You ain't gonna feel safe enough," he finished for her.

She looked down. "Yeah. At least...not yet."

There was a long awkward silence between them. They both could feel the uneasy aura and the tension in the air.

"So what do you wanna do for lunch?" he said, finally.