These Past Unpleasantries

Author: Elizabeth5

Disclaimer: I own neither the characters nor the show. Sadly.

Author's Note: I love my reviewers! :)

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Kate awoke with a start, a heavy sense of foreboding resting in the pit of her stomach. It took her a moment to remember why she was sleeping underneath the plane wing, and a moment longer to realize that it was no longer raining and the crowd had dispersed. She rose to her feet, searching intently for any sign of Jack, Sawyer, or Bill.

Finally, she spotted Jack sitting on a rock, staring out at the ocean. She ran toward him, her heart beating painfully in her chest. "Where are they?" she demanded.

Jack didn't even look over at her. "They left about twenty minutes ago, Kate. I have no idea where they are by now."

She stared at him, barely able to comprehend the words. "How could you?" she spat finally. "How could you do this, Jack? I trusted you!"

"It had to be done." He looked over at her finally, his face full of compassion. "I'm sorry Kate, really. But there was no other way."

She met his gaze coldly. "If anything happens to him, I'll hate you forever." With that said, she turned and plunged into the jungle, well aware that Jack was still watching her.

Once she was outside of his view, sufficiently lost among the trees of the jungle, she stopped, leaning against one of the tree trunks to collect herself. She had no idea where Sawyer would have gone or what was happening at that moment. Tears of frustration and terror began to pool in her eyes.

"Sawyer," she whispered aloud, "where are you?"

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About fifteen minutes into the hike, Sawyer stopped, folding his arms. Bill continued on for a few steps and finally noticed the other man was no longer beside him. "What's the matter, little brother?" he inquired, breathing heavily. "You aren't getting tired already, are you?"

Sawyer spread out his hands. "I'm tired of the games, Bill. Let's do this thing, right now."

Bill nodded, taking a few steps toward him. When he was about a foot away, he made as though to come after Sawyer. Sawyer moved back instinctively but Bill merely laughed. "Relax, Thatcher. I'm not here to kill you."

"You're not?" Sawyer returned skeptically.

"That was the plan, at first," Bill admitted, "but you know me, Thatcher. Go for the pain first, then the kill. Certain circumstances have given me a much better idea."

Sawyer kept his face blank. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Kate," Bill said simply, "or should I say Freckles?" He laughed, brushing an insect from his shirt. "She's hot, Sawyer. Leave it to a guy like you to end up stranded on a desert island with a fox like that. But you've always had great survival instincts."

He needed to change the subject, and quick. "How did you find me, Bill?"

Bill shrugged. "Honestly, I don't really know. We heard your plane went down and I decided I'd check things out for myself, make sure it was true. Funny thing was, one night as we went to bed on the boat we were in one spot, and the next morning we were about seven hundred miles off course. Just like that. No explanation. It was like magic. Then the boat sank and...here I am. In the flesh. Lucky break if you ask me."

"Don't know that you'll hold that opinion too long," Sawyer warned.

Bill laughed at this. "You think you're gonna take me, Thatcher? I'd like to see you try."

"Maybe I will, maybe I won't." Sawyer shrugged nonchalantly. "But I'm willing to bet at least one person on this island can. And even if they don't, this jungle'll take you out eventually. You were right, Bill. There's something magic about this place. And not all of it's good."

A moment passed as Bill pondered this. "You're trying to scare me," he said finally.

Sawyer shrugged. "Believe me or not. But I don't suggest being out in the open at night."

They squared off for a moment. Bill laughed to ease the tension. "Well, looks like we're stuck here together. Who knows? Maybe we can even learn to live in peace. I mean, everyone thinks we're brothers after all. Maybe we should live like brothers." He met Sawyer's gaze meaningfully. "I mean, we shared everything like brothers before. Maybe it's time we started sharing again."

"What do you mean?" Sawyer was almost afraid to ask.

"What do you think I mean?" Bill returned, smiling. "Freckles. She really is something, Thatcher. Definitely my type. I'll bet she puts up a good fight. She's probably a squirmer. But as soon as you get her underneath you, her hands tied behind her back, she's one wild ride, I guarantee it– "

And there was the motivation he needed. Sawyer closed his hand over the handle of the knife on his back pocket, ready to plunge it into Bill's gut. But as he began to withdraw the blade, Sawyer hesitated. He'd done some horrible things in his life, but never murder. Could he really bring himself to take a human life?

Yes. For her, he could.

Just as Sawyer was about to pull out the knife, he heard footsteps approaching and turned in time to see Kate breaking through the foliage, out of breath and clearly in a frenzy. She looked back and forth between Sawyer and Bill then gave a sigh of relief.

"I told you I would come along," she reminded Sawyer, her tone accusatory, "why didn't you wait for me?"

If Sawyer hadn't been so pissed off, he might have been touched by Kate's heartfelt attempts to save him. As it was, he couldn't help but rage at her silently. He was doing this for her— to protect her— and she kept getting in the way.

"Sorry, sweetheart," Bill said smoothly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, "you just looked so peaceful sleeping there that we didn't want to wake you." He leaned in closer to her. "What were you dreamin' about anyway, darlin'? Anything interesting?"

Kate tried to pull back but Bill's grip was too strong. Impulsively, Sawyer reached forward and took her wrist, pulling her to him. Kate clung to him gratefully.

"I need a word alone with Freckles here," said Sawyer calmly, "think you can find your way back, Bill?"

Bill smiled at him, goading him silently. "Yeah, sure, brother. Take your time." He turned and headed back in the direction Kate had just come from.

When Sawyer was sure Bill was gone, he turned to Kate. "Freckles, you are really starting to try my patience."

Kate pulled away from him, folding her arms. "Better to have you angry than dead."

Sawyer leaned in so that his face was only inches away. "I don't think you understand what's going on here. This isn't a game. Now let me handle my business."

"And what if you get hurt?" Kate demanded. "What if he kills you, Sawyer?"

Sawyer tilted his head to the side, studying her. "Why, Freckles, I do believe you care about me."

She took in a sharp breath, steadying herself. "Of course I care about you! Do you think I would stand by and let any of my friends be killed?"

Sawyer moved in half a centimeter closer. "Is that what we are, Freckles? Friends?"

The question had clearly thrown her off guard. She took a step back. "We're friends, Sawyer. You know that."

He shook his head. "I don't think so. You're friends with Charlie, Freckles. You're friends with Claire, and Boone, and Hurley. We're not friends."

It might have been his imagination, but it seemed as though she was trembling ever so slightly. "Well, since you seem to know all the answers," she challenged, "then what are we?"

Sawyer's response was to kiss her.

They'd kissed once before, when Sawyer was being tortured by Sayid and Jack, but it hadn't beendiscussed since then out of an unspoken mutual agreement between the two. Still, that hadn't kept Sawyer from thinking about it, dreaming about it. It had started out as just another way to get under Kate' skin, but instead the reverse had happened; from that point on, he'd found that he was losing himself to her. She was taking hold over him, and he was letting her.

But that was nothing in comparison to this. This was a no holds barred, pure bliss, hands tangled in clothing and hair kind of kiss. Sawyer knew that he should be concentrating on how to get Kate out of the way so he could take care of Bill, but he found that the only conscious impulse he could follow was to get closer to her and intensify their already heated kiss.

By the time they broke apart, both were flushed and breathing heavily. Undaunted by this, Sawyer moved in for a second round, but Kate held up a hand, stopping him. "Wait," she instructed, "wait."

Sawyer stepped back, running a hand through his hair and taking a moment to compose himself. "Right," he said curtly, "sorry." Not wanting her to see how much she had affected him, he offered a sneering sort of smile. "Don't worry, Freckles. I won't be spreadin' any rumors. What happens in the jungle stays in the jungle."

A look of surprise crossed Kate's face, and then she looked away. "Okay. Thanks." She was silent for a moment, and then started, "Sawyer, I-- "

But he didn't want to hear it. He didn't want to hear that she could never care for him because her heart belonged to the doc. He knew he was the odd man out in this situation, that they were bound to end up happily ever after and he was the one who was doomed to be bitter and alone. But he didn't have to hear it.

"Don't worry about it," he said briskly. "Come on. Let's get back to camp. We don't want Bill to stray too far…"

They walked back in silence, keeping a careful distance between them. By the time they made it back to the beach, Bill had a group around him and was apparently regaling them with some outrageously funny story. Sawyer watched him for a moment before he realized that someone, in turn, was watching him. Slowly, he turned to see Locke seated under a palm tree about twenty yards away, his gaze tracked steadfastly on him. As Sawyer met his gaze, he felt a chill run through him. Don't be afraid to use it, Locke had said, referring to the knife he had given Sawyer, or you'll regret it.

But it wasn't too late, Sawyer reasoned with himself. He'd find a chance to put Bill out of commission. And he wouldn't hesitate then.

"Kate, Sawyer!"

Sawyer turned to see Jack jogging up to them. "What happened out there?"

Kate met Jack's gaze coldly. "Like it matters to you."

Jack looked to her imploringly. "Kate…"

"I'm going to take a swim," Kate interrupted, pushing past Jack. She paused in front of Sawyer, briefly meeting his gaze. "Don't do anything while I'm gone," she said quietly, "Please."

With that said, she was gone. Jack turned to Sawyer, his dark eyes bitter. "Well, I hope you're happy. Not only did you not take care of our problem, but now Kate's probably never going to trust me again."

Sawyer rolled his eyes. "You're right, doc. You've got all the problems. I don't know how you cope." He wanted to leave it at that and let the doc stew for a little bit, but suddenly there was this damn conscience nagging him. For some reason, it sounded oddly like Kate.

With a resolved sigh, Sawyer added, "Aw, don't worry about her. I'll explain what happened, let her know you were just keepin' a promise."

Jack blinked at him in surprise, then offered him an expression that was almost friendly. "All right. Thanks."

"Don't get all Full House on me," Sawyer returned uncomfortably. He glanced around making sure no one was within hearing range. "Besides, we still have a problem to take care of."

Jack nodded in agreement. "We'll have to work something new out. Even if Kate forgives me, she still isn't going to trust me for a while."

They both sat stewing over it for a moment. Jack cleared his throat. "Maybe we could talk to Locke, get him to take care of Bill for us-- "

"No." Sawyer said firmly. "That part I handle myself." There was a long moment of silence, during which Jack studied him curiously. Sawyer rolled his eyes. "You got something you wanna ask me, Doc?"

Jack took the bait. "What happened between you and Bill?"

"Wrong question," Sawyer returned easily, "but if you want to know my favorite color, it's green."

Jack shook his head. "Do you ever get tired of being a jerk?"

Sawyer merely laughed. "Now you're starting to sound like Freckles."

At the mention of her name, he tensed, realizing that she was nowhere in sight, and-- more disturbingly-- that Bill wasn't either. Half-panicked, Sawyer pushed past Jack, searching desperately for any sign of Kate. "Where is she?"

"She said she was going swimming," Jack reminded him, searching the water. "But I don't see her anywhere."

"Dammit," Sawyer muttered, and took off running down the beach.

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Kate glanced over her shoulder, making sure no one was in sight before peeling off her outer clothes and wading into the water. It was cold against her skin, refreshingly brisk. Swimming always helped to clear her mind, make things a little more black and white.

But try as she might, she could not make sense of her current situation with Sawyer. One minute he was completely ignoring her, the next abandoning her, then he was kissing her, and then he was back to ignoring her. The man was infuriatingly complex.

Inadvertently, her mind wandered back to the kiss. That kiss. Never before had she experienced anything so completely consuming. She wasn't just attracted to Sawyer; she ached for him. The more contact she had with him, the more addicted she became. It was becoming difficult to view things logically anymore.

Jack is the right choice, she repeated the familiar mantra in her mind.

But lately, she wasn't so certain. His act of betrayal that day had stung her deeply. She suspected that there was something that had motivated him to lie to her, but the fact of the matter was that he had still lied to her. If she couldn't trust Jack then who was there to trust?

You can trust Sawyer, came a teasing little voice in her mind, one that sounded oddly Southern.

It was true that Sawyer was always honest with her— sometimes more than she wanted— but could she really trust him? Sometimes it seemed as though he genuinely cared for her, and then there were other times, like today after they kissed… Was she just another notch to be added to his belt?

But then there was the way he kissed her. There was certainly nothing shallow about that.

"Penny for your thoughts."

Kate turned in surprise to see Bill standing on the shore, watching her. Instinctively, she covered herself in the water, an unpleasant chill coursing through her body at the sight of him. "What are you doing here?" she inquired, more nervously than she'd intended.

Bill merely smiled. "Thought I'd join you. Is that all right?"

Kate deliberated on this for a moment. On the one hand, the thought of being alone with Bill terrified her. But on the other, she didn't want to let him know how much he unnerved her.

The thought process turned out to be unnecessary as Bill took off his shirt and entered the water uninvited. He smiled as he waded out to her, never breaking eye contact. "I've been wanting to spend some more time with you alone," he confided, stopping about three feet from her. "Danny's been telling me so much about you."

Kate regarded him warily. "Has he?"

Bill nodded. "Oh, yeah. He says you're a pretty fiery little thing underneath that hostile exterior."

"Is that so?"

"Yep," Bill continued, "he says you're a good kisser, too. He especially likes that little panting noise you make. Says it really gets his motor running."

Kate remained silent.

"How does it go again?" Bill ventured a little bit closer. "Is it a short, shallow breath kind of thing, or do you make little moans?" He eyes her over suggestively. "I'll bet you're a moaner."

Kate drew away from him. "I'm not really comfortably with this--"

Bill continued on as though he hadn't heard her. "So this noise you make— is it only when you kiss or is it whenever you get excited?" He leered at her openly. "I'm kind of curious to find out."

Before she could move, he grabbed her and pulled her up against him. "There," he cooed, "that's better." Kate struggled against him, surprised at how strong his grip was.

"Stop it," she commanded, trying to keep her voice even.

But her attempts to get away only made Bill laugh. "Come on, sweetheart," he urged, "don't you want to stay and play for a while?"

"Kate."

They both looked up to see Sayid standing at the shore. At the cold look in his eyes, Bill released Kate and stepped away from her.

Sayid's face never changed expression. "I need your help with the transmitter," he said, "can you come?"

Trembling, Kate made her way toward Sayid, aware that Bill was watching her the entire time. When she reached the shore, Sayid bent down and grabbed her clothes with one hand, taking her elbow with the other and silently guiding her away.

When they rounded the corner, Sayid dropped her elbow and looked at her in concern. "Are you all right, Kate? Was I right to intervene?"

Kate nodded quickly, struggling to halt the trembling of her body and the tears that pooled in her eyes. "Yeah," she managed finally, "Thank you, Sayid."

Suddenly, Jack and Sawyer appeared, both looking worried. At the sight of Kate with Sayid, they relaxed visibly. "There you are," said Jack, "we were looking for you everywhere…" He stopped at the sight of tears in Kate's eyes. "What happened?"he demanded.

Kate struggled to find her voice, to reassure them she was fine, but nothing came to her. She looked away finally, blinking.

"I found her in the water," Sayid interjected. "She was with the stranger, Bill, and it appeared that he was forcing himself on her, though I'm not quite certain."

Jack looked to Kate for confirmation. "Kate?"

And suddenly it was too much. Unable to stop herself, a sob escaped Kate's throat, then another, then another as she hugged herself for warmth. It was only then that it occurred to her that she was standing in her underwear in front of three men and that she should probably be embarrassed. Continuing to cry, Kate took her clothes from Sayid's hands and half-heartedly attempted to shield herself, not knowing what else to do.

Finally, when her tears had subsided somewhat, she looked up to see Sayid and Jack communicating silently with one another, obviously trying to figure out what they should do. Reluctantly, she turned her gaze to Sawyer. Some irrational part of her mind was afraid that he would be upset with her for putting herself in harm's way or annoyed with her for crying.
Instead, she was stunned at the look on his face. It was pure and untainted rage, such as she'd never seen before. Anger practically emanated from his body; his limbs were tensed, ready for an attack.

"That's it," he said finally, his voice low and devoid of its usual pleasant casualness, "This thing ends. Tonight."

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To Be Continued...

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