These Past Unpleasantries

Author: Elizabeth5

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

Author's Note: I have received some very, very sweet reviews. Thanks for all the support.

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Sawyer sat facing the ocean, a knife in his hands, his fingers slowly tracing over the blade. The beach was silent, serene. To an outside observer, Sawyer probably very much appeared to match the tranquil setting.

But inside his was raging.

An image kept popping into his mind, of Kate sobbing because of what Bill had done to her. She wouldn't discuss the details of it, but Sawyer could very well imagine. A darkness blacker than anything he had ever known was settling in his chest, and it would only be alleviated when he took his revenge.

Sawyer had known hate before. He had spent his entire life trying to find the man who was responsible for the deaths of his parents. He had thought that there was no deeper level of hatred that he could reach than this.

But that was a shallow grudge in comparison to what he was feeling now. Logically, he could reason that his parents had been at least partially responsible for what had happened to him. His mother hadn't been forced to sleep with the confidence man; his father hadn't been forced to kill her and then take his own life. But Kate had done nothing to deserve what happened to her. Bill had hurt her to compensate for something that Sawyer had done; he had made Sawyer responsible for hurting Kate by extension.

What frightened him the most, though, was that he knew Bill wouldn't let it go at that. He wouldn't call it even because he'd groped Kate and scared her a little. He, too, was looking for revenge, and his appetite wouldn't be satiated until Kate was dead. Sawyer couldn't let that happen. He wouldn't.

Sayid approached, his face characteristically unreadable. He met Sawyer's gaze. "Bill just went into the jungle," he informed him, "he was headed south."

"All right." Sawyer rose to his feet.

"Jack and I will watch the perimeter of the forest to make certain he doesn't try to sneak back in," Sayid continued, and added, "Hurley will watch Kate."

"Sounds like a plan, Aladin." Sawyer returned, although there was no real malice in his words. Funny thing was, he was actually starting to like Sayid, and even Jack, though he probably wouldn't be alive long enough for it to matter.
He started for the jungle then hesitated. "Sayid, if I don't…" But he couldn't finish the rest.

Sayid's dark eyes were full of understanding."I will finish it for you," he said, "she will be safe."

Sawyer nodded, unable to say much more. Taking his cue, Sayid headed off to man his position at the perimeter of the jungle. Sawyer would follow behind momentarily. But first there was one last thing he had to take care of.

As he approached the tent where Kate was being guarded, he could hear heated voices coming from inside. "…absolutely ridiculous! I'm not some damsel that everyone has to protect."

Sawyer smiled to himself. Kate.

Another, deeper voice met her in response. "I know you can take care of yourself," said Hurley, ever the diplomat, "I'm just taking orders."

Sawyer chose this moment to step into the tent, smiling with a carelessness that he didn't quite feel. "Well, I'm going out, Freckles. Anything you want me to pick up for you while I'm gone?"

"Sawyer!" She hurried over to him. "You can't go out there after him."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I can't?"

Kate met his gaze imploringly. "He's gone now. Maybe he'll leave us alone."

Sawyer's grin faltered. "I'd like to believe that, Freckles. Really, I would. But this guy's been trailin' me for four years. It's time to put an end to it."

"Sawyer…" He could see the desperation in her eyes, hear it in her voice. "If you go in there, you might not come back."

He forced a smile, for her sake. " 'Course I will. You think this is the first time someone's been out for my blood? I always come out on top." He winked at her roguishly. "Just remember that for later."

She forced a smile in return, but he could tell he wasn't convinced. With a sigh, Sawyer glanced up at the sky. It was almost sunset. He'd have to move quickly.

"Well, Freckles," he said, looking into her eyes for what might be the last time, "It's been fun." There was so much more he wanted to say, so much more he wanted to do, but damn if it wasn't hard to break down those walls he'd been building up for so many years. Instead he merely smiled at her.

As he turned to go, Kate grabbed him abruptly and kissed him. It was such an unexpected thing that Sawyer fell back a step but quickly recovered and wrapped an arm around her firmly. Sawyer knew that Hurley was watching them, and probably with a look of shock on his face, but he couldn't care. One last kiss. It was poetic, in a way.

Kate pulled back finally and leaned in closer to him, so that her lips were almost touching his ear. "Don't go," she murmured, "stay here, with me."

Sawyer was baited, despite himself. "What about the doc?" he inquired.

Kate shook her head. "He doesn't matter. He's not the one I… Stay. Please."

It was her last ditch effort, and it was a good one. Still, Sawyer found himself disengaging from her and stepping back, a regretful smile on his face. "It would have been nice," he said, then turned and walked away.

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It was about fifteen minutes later that Kate emerged from the tent, glancing over her shoulder to make certain that no one had seen. Satisfied, she hurried toward the jungle, quickly submerging herself in the trees.

She had to find Sawyer. He was in serious danger— she could feel it. He wouldn't come out on top. Not this time.

Suddenly, there was a rustling behind her and then someone had grabbed her roughly around the waist and thrown her against the trunk of a tree. She gasped out in pain, her eyes settling on her attacker.

"Jack?" she inquired, stunned.

Jack looked up at her in surprise, his mind taking a moment to register that it was her. "Kate? What are you doing out here— I thought you were with Hurley?"

She avoided his gaze. "He's, uh…a little preoccupied right now."

Jack's eyes narrowed. "What did you do to him?"

Shrugging, Kate moved away from him. "You know. Knocked him out, tied him up. Nothing he won't recover from in an hour or so."

"Kate." Jack shook his head. "You can't be out here. Sawyer, Sayid, and I are handling this."

"You don't understand!" Kate insisted. "Sawyer's in trouble. He needs my help."

"Then let one of us go," Jack insisted. "You don't always have to go to his rescue."

Kate pushed past him. "Jack, let me go-- "

He grabbed her arm, and there was a desperation in his eyes that she'd never seen before. "Is it because you have feelings for him, Kate? Are you in love with him?"

Kate took a step back, stunned. "I can't believe this," she murmured, "you won't let me help him because you're jealous?"

Jack met her gaze sharply. "That's not what this is about," he insisted. "The jungle is too dangerous right now, Kate, especially for you."

"We don't have time for personal vendettas," Kate reminded him, "Sawyer could be dying right now."

"You didn't answer my question," Jack returned. "Are you in love with him?"

Kate took a step back. "I don't have time for this." She looked down at the ground, unable to meet his gaze. "Sorry about this, Jack."

Before Jack could respond, she had grabbed a fallen tree limb and clubbed him over the head, hard. Jack let out a little moan before slipping to the ground.

Kate leaned down to make certain he wasn't bleeding too heavily, then straightened determinedly.

It was time to find Sawyer.

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It seemed he'd been searching for hours though it couldn't have been more than forty-five minutes. Sawyer walked through the jungle guardedly, his eyes trained on the foliage around him. His senses were on full alert, braced for any sort of attack. Twice, he'd almost tackled a bird. Still, there was no Bill in sight.

Suddenly, there was a roar and then a blur of movement rushed toward him, tackling him to the ground. Bill got in three good punches before Sawyer kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying backward. The two men hurriedly scrambled to their feet, facing off with one another.

"Well, brother," Bill said, smiling through his pain, "looks like we're back in the jungle again. Right where we belong, eh?"

"This has been a long time coming," Sawyer agreed.

Bill spread his hands, laughing. "So now you're gonna kill me, huh? Is this about your little girlfriend? 'Cuz I didn't touch her…much. Don't worry, though. I will."

Sawyer glared at the other man. "Not on my life," he vowed.

Bill tilted his head to the side, studying him. "You know," he said, "I don't think you can really do it. I don't think you can kill me."

"Try me," Sawyer growled.

"You ever taken a human life before?" Bill challenged. "It's messy. But you remember that. And it sure does haunt you. I can still hear my sweet Carla calling out to me, begging for me to stop. But then, you remember that, too, don't you Thatcher?"

Sawyer remained silent.

Bill took another step forward, his hands held helplessly to his sides. "Come on, Thatcher. Let's see if you're man enough. Do it if you're gonna. Kill me."

In a flash, the knife was out of Sawyer's pocket. He plunged it into Bill's stomach, hearing the satisfying thunk as it hit flesh. Bill stared at him in open surprise, trying to formulate words, but there was too much blood running from his mouth. He fell down to the ground and didn't move.

Trembling, Sawyer reached down and felt Bill's neck. No pulse. He knew he should take the knife and give it back to Locke, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. The thought of pulling it from the corpse…

It had to be done, he told himself. It had to be done.

He made his way back toward the camp, stopping at a small creek to wash the blood from his hands. He'd stopped trembling by now and was practicing the stoic face he would need when he met Kate and the others again. Kate was not going to be happy. But at least she'd be alive.

"Sawyer?" He turned in surprise, wondering if he'd really heard the voice or if he was just imagining it. But there was Kate, her hair messy, her face clearly troubled. She stared at him for a long moment and then rushed to him. Sawyer braced himself for her to attack, but instead she wrapped her arms around him firmly. Taken by surprise, it took him a moment to remember to return the hug.

"I thought you were dead!" she whispered into his chest. She pulled back, and suddenly her eyes were furious. She shoved at him with little effect. "Don't you ever do that to me again!"

"Sorry Freckles," he said, and meant it, "there wasn't any way around it."

Kate took a moment to process this and then glanced around, her face clearly troubled. "Where's Bill?" She met Sawyer's gaze and a look of understanding dawned in her eyes. She looked away, pressing her eyes shut. "Oh, Sawyer."

"There wasn't any way around it," he repeated.

Kate was silent for a moment, and then she nodded. "All right." But when she looked up at him, her face was still troubled. "Why was he looking for you, Sawyer? What happened between you?"

He let out a short breath of air, wondering how much he should tell her. But if there was anyone he could trust, it was Kate. "Well," he said finally, "he was supposed to be one of the routine jobs. I slept with his wife, then I was gonna take his money." He shook his head. "But then things got real messy real fast."

"What do you mean?" Kate inquired.

"Turns out he found out about me and his wife," Sawyer explained, "but instead of confronting her, he waited until I was there."

Kate felt her mouth running dry. "And?"

Sawyer's hands began trembling. "He killed her. In front of me. And then he came after me."

Kate covered her mouth with one hand, too horrified to speak.

"I got out of there as fast as I could," Sawyer said quickly, the words tumbling out now, "I couldn't call the police because then they'd get me for all the other things I'd done. I thought maybe it would end there. But every few months he'd show up again and I'd have to do some real fancy work to get away. He'd just caught up with me in Australia when I left..."

There was a moment of silence. Kate reached out to him, taking his hand to stop the shaking. "It's over now," she said quietly. "I won't tell anyone."

But Sawyer was still trembling. "I'm not a good person, Freckles. I could have stopped that a long time ago, but I didn't. 'Cuz I was worried about myself. His wife's blood is on my hands, and anyone else he hurt. I couldn't let you be one of those people."

"Sawyer– "

"If anything had happened to you..." He shook his head. "I'm only gonna bring you trouble, Freckles. I poison everything that I touch."

He expected her to walk away from him, to drop his hand and leave. That was what any normal woman would have done. But Kate was not like any other woman.

Her lips brushed first against his forehead, then one cheek, then the other. They were sweet little butterfly kisses, innocent and soft, meant to sooth. They traveled to his nose next, and then finally rested upon his lips. The first kiss was light, sweet. Then she pressed herself against him, her mouth working urgently against his own. Amazed, Sawyer kissed her in return, his arms wrapping gratefully around her waist.

"Well, well, well. Isn't that sweet?"

Kate's grip on Sawyer tightened painfully, and they both looked up to see Bill standing in front of them, smiling. Sawyer felt a wave of horror wash over him. "That's not possible...I killed you!"

"You mean with this?" Bill looked down at the knife then reached in and pulled it out with one swift motion. "Funny thing is, I think you're right about this island, Thatcher. There's something magical here. Looks like I just can't die."

Sawyer started toward him, but Bill pulled a gun from his pocket, aiming it toward his chest. "Now, now, little brother. I was gonna do this the nice way. I thought we might even be friends. But if you want to play it this way..." His gaze went to Kate, and he smiled. "I wondered how I was going to get her away from the group without anyone noticing, but it looks like you've solved that problem for me, Thatcher. So I guess she has you to thank– "

Sawyer pushed Kate behind him. "Run!" he instructed.

But it was too late. The gun went off, cracking loudly in the empty jungle.

Sawyer felt the slam of the impact into his chest and fell to the ground, incapacitated. The last thing he was aware of before passing out was Kate screaming, and then there was darkness.

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To Be Continued...

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