These Past Unpleasantries

Author: Elizabeth5

Disclaimer: Neither the show nor the characters belong to me. Sadly.

Author's Note: I love readers that keep me on my toes. :) Thanks for all the reviews and keep on reviewin'!

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True to her word, Kate kept a watch over Bill the entire night. He was the model patient, never stirring from his makeshift bed. A couple of times, Kate almost nodded off, but pure willpower kept her going. Not only was she afraid of what Bill might to do Sawyer if she wasn't watching, but she was afraid of what Sawyer might do to Bill. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that their past together wasn't altogether pleasant, and she didn't know what lengths Sawyer might go to in order to hide his secrets.

Morning came without incident, and Kate stretched, walking out of the tent. She was surprised to see Jack dozing just outside, looking uncomfortable in a sitting position. He stirred as she approached. "Kate, hey. Is it morning?"

"Yeah." She pursed her lips, studying him. "What are you doing here, Jack?"

"I wanted to make sure you'd be all right," he confessed. "You're right about that guy, Kate. There's something off about him."

She glanced inside the tent, making certain Bill was still asleep, then looked back to Jack. "I don't think we should give him too much time alone. Especially not with Sawyer." She rubbed at her eyes. "I need to get some sleep, but maybe you can watch him for a while and then I can take the next shift...?"

Jack frowned at her. "I don't think that's such a good idea, Kate. Bill could be dangerous. You shouldn't get in the middle."

"So we should just let him go after Sawyer?" Kate didn't bother to hide the anger from her voice. "If you think I'm agreeing to that then you're seriously mistaken– "

"No, of course not." Jack interrupted. "I only meant...you should lay low. Let Sayid and me handle this."

She folded her arms. "Because you and Sayid have handled things with Sawyer so well before."

Jack let out a rush of air. "You know, if I didn't know better, Kate, I'd say you were emotionally invested in this." He watched for her reaction.

Kate shifted uncomfortably. "Of course I'm emotionally invested. Sawyer's my friend, Jack, and he's part of this group."

"Is that all?" he challenged.

Bill appeared at the head of the tent, rubbing his eyes and smiling at them. "Morning. I'm not interrupting something, am I?"

"We were just finishing," Kate informed him. She glanced briefly at Jack before returning her gaze to the stranger. "I'm gonna get some sleep, but maybe Jack can show you around camp and introduce you to some people."

Bill smiled. "Sure. Sounds great. Then maybe I can catch up with Danny."

Not if I have anything to do with it, Kate vowed.

She would leave things to Jack, for now. But as soon as she got some sleep, she was making it her personal mission not to let Bill out of sight.

Kate had almost made it to her bedroll when she saw a familiar figure coming up over the hill from the jungle. Sawyer. She turned, making her way toward him. "Sawyer, wait!"

He stopped, regarding her with an impassive face. "What is it, Kate?"

She stopped in her tracks. "Kate?" She'd never heard him call her anything but Freckles. "Sawyer, what is going on? Why have you been avoiding me?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sawyer said, continuing down toward the beach.

"Sawyer!" She called after him. He didn't stop. "Sawyer!" she tried again. When he still didn't acknowledge her, she attempted, "Thatcher!"

Sawyer tensed and turned slowly to regard her. "I'm really not in the mood right now."

She hurried across the sand, closing the distance between them. "Is that your real name? Daniel Thatcher?"

"I don't see that it's any of your business," he returned coldly. "Now if you'll excuse me…"

Kate followed after him. "If you think I ratted you out to Bill, you're wrong. He asked me some questions about you but I changed the subject. I know he's not your brother, Sawyer. He's dangerous and I'm not going to let him do anything to you– "

He whirled on her, eyes blazing. "Stay out of it! Just stay out of it!"

She took a step back, stunned by his response. "Sawyer, I'm trying to help you–"

"I don't want your help, all right!" Sawyer snapped. "Just stay out of it! We're not friends, we're not gonna be friends, so just back off!"

"What's going on over here?" Kate turned to see Jack and Bill approaching. Bill looked back and forth between them, openly curious. Kate glanced over at Sawyer in time to see him take a step away from her.

"Nothin'." Sawyer folded his arms. "We were just talking about the water supply, that's all." He met Bill's gaze evenly. "So, ready to catch up, big brother?" He offered a cold smile. "Why don't we go on a hike or something."

"Sounds good to me," Bill said.

They started toward the woods. Kate went after them, driven by pure desperation. She sensed that if Sawyer entered those woods with Bill, he would never come back. "I'm coming, too!"

Sawyer turned to her, his face darkening. "Dammit, Freckles, just stay out of it!"

The words hung in the air for a moment. Bill turned to Kate, an ugly sort of smile on his face. "Freckles?"

"Kate," Sawyer corrected quickly, "I meant Kate."

But Bill continued to smile, his gaze fixed firmly on Kate, a look of triumph in his eyes.

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Sawyer and Bill stared each other down for a moment. Bill still had that cocky smile on his face and it was taking all of Sawyer's energy not to kill him right then and there. "Why don't we take that walk now, brother," he said, his voice somehow coming out calm, "I know a nice little path in the woods."

"Sawyer, wait!" Kate intervened. "Why don't you two stay here on the beach? I'm sure we'd all like to get to know Bill a little better."

The knowing look was back in Bill's eyes. Sawyer could feel the bloodlust curdling inside of him. The man knew about his feelings for Kate. He'd tried to distance himself from her so she'd be out of danger, but the damn nickname had given him away. Freckles. Sawyer cursed himself inwardly. One slip-up and now Bill had the upper hand. He knew that Kate was his weakness. But if Bill so much as laid one finger on her...he'd kill him before he got the chance.

"Don't feel like sunbathing, Freckles," Sawyer said calmly, never letting his gaze leave Bill's face, "We're gonna take a walk in the woods, just me and my brother."

A thunderclap echoed through the air. Sawyer looked up, surprised to see the sky was overcast; he hadn't even noticed. A moment passed and then it was pouring down on them.

Kate's face flooded with relief. "You can't go out in this," she informed them. "The rain's too heavy. Come on, we have to find shelter."

"Kate's right," Jack spoke up. "Let's see if the wing's still holding up."

The four of them hurried across the beach to the plane wing, where the rest of the group had already assembled. Once underneath, Sawyer glanced over at Bill, a determination overcoming him. Some of the castaways approached Bill, questioning him about his arrival, and Sawyer took the opportunity to slip over to Locke, who was sharpening one of his knives on a stone.

"Hey, Colonel," Sawyer muttered, glancing over his shoulder to make certain Bill wasn't watching. "What do you want for that knife?"

Locke regarded him for a moment, then held out the knife to him. "It's yours, Mr. Sawyer. Free of charge."

Sawyer eyed him suspiciously. "What's the catch?"

"No catch," Locke returned, "just don't be afraid to use it when you get the chance. Or you'll regret it." His eyes left Sawyer's face. Sawyer followed his gaze to Kate, who was standing apart from the group, watching Bill carefully.

Sawyer looked back to Locke, a strange sense of foreboding overcoming him. "I won't." He hesitated, then added, "Thanks."

Slipping the knife into his back pocket, he moved to rejoin the group. A voice to his left stopped him. "What do you need the knife for, Sawyer?"

With a smirk, Sawyer turned to face Jack. "I'm thinking of whittling a bird, doc. Want me to make you one?"

"We don't need this kind of trouble, Sawyer," Jack informed him quietly.

Sawyer met his gaze evenly. "I know. That's why I'm gonna take care of it." He took in a deep breath, steeling himself. "But I'm gonna need your help."

Jack looked up, clearly taken aback. "You're asking for my help?"

"Don't get off on it or anything." Sawyer lowered his voice. "Yeah, fine, I need your help. There's no way Freckles is going to let me go off on my own with Bill. If she gets in the middle of this, she's gonna get hurt."

"If I didn't know you better," Jack returned, "I'd almost say you were concerned about her."

Sawyer wouldn't take the bait. "I need you to give us a head start. Fifteen minutes should do it, half an hour would be better. Long enough for me to get rid of our new problem."

"And why should I help you?" Jack inquired. "For all I know, this guy deserves to get his revenge on you."

"Because he won't just come after me," Sawyer said quietly.

Jack's eyes widened. "You mean...Kate?"

Sawyer looked at him meaningfully. "I have to take care of this. Now."

Jack hesitated, then nodded. "All right. As soon as the rain lets up, I'll give you the time you need. But make it clean, and keep it quiet."

"Right-o, doc." Sawyer glanced back at Bill, meeting his gaze.

He was ready.

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Kate was struggling to hang onto consciousness. After the night of watching Bill, she'd planned on catching up on sleep this morning, but circumstances had made that virtually impossible. Still, if she wanted to be able to keep up with Bill and Sawyer, she knew she'd need at least some rest.

"Hey, Kate."

She turned, offering Jack a tired smile. "Hey, Jack."

"Wild day, huh?" He turned, inspecting her. "Hey, are you okay? You look kind of tired."

Kate shrugged. "Funny side effect of getting no sleep, I guess." She yawned. "But someone has to keep an eye on Sawyer."

Jack cleared his throat. "Well, I can do that for you. Go on, get some sleep, Kate. You need to take care of yourself."

She looked at him uncertainly. "I don't know, Jack. I know you and Sawyer have never really had a love fest going on."

"I don't like him," Jack admitted, "but I like you. If you want me to do this, I will."

"Thank you, Jack." She smiled at him gratefully. "I'll be right over there in the corner. Just wake me up if the rain lets up or if Bill and Sawyer start to leave. All right?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah. Sure."

Kate hesitated, searching his face. "Promise me, Jack."

A beat, and then, "I promise, Kate."

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To Be Continued

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