Thanks to Evermore, Oreata, kate and jack, FanOfLOST, Cas85, hulkstillmad, a.k.a.-ashley, hulkmad, Writing Squirrel, Celtickitty89, rain1654, smilez4eva, litgal, and jackluver928for their reviews!
I am EXTREMELY sorry about the lengthy delay in the posting of this chapter. I did not abandon this story. In fact, I have been having horrible computer issues in the past week and have been unable to post anything. I finally can today, and I just put this chapter up ASAP. I'm hoping that these problems are permanently solved. I'm planning to make this story 15 chapters long, so I'm crossing my fingers that this holds out until then at least. Anyways, sorry again. I hope that you enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters.
Life and Death
"Sawyer!" Kate laughed as he playfully pinned her against the wall. "Come on, let me go!"
"Hey! If this were Jack, you wouldn't have a problem with it."
Kate blushed. "That's beside the point. Right now, I want you to move."
"And me so much better-looking than him, too. Come on, Kate. Just one kiss."
He leaned towards her as she ducked out of his arms. "You're an ass, Sawyer."
He stopped smiling for a moment. "You and I belong together Kate. How could you ever think that the good doctor and the convict would work out? He has a life here, and you're screwing it up. Think about that."
He glared at her and walked out into the bathroom, leaving her alone. She heard a soft, sweet song drifting in from the next room. It made her want to cry. Instead, she covered her ears and locked the door.
-
Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket
Never let it fade away
Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket
Save it for a rainy day…
Claire smiled softly as she sang to Lyle. She still could not get over the fact that she was a mother. Even after two whole weeks, it hadn't sunken in yet that this beautiful, sweet baby boy was hers. She placed him in his new crib, then winced as the bathroom door banged open.
"What's up, Claire? Hey, Lyle."
She turned and shushed him. "Sawyer!" she hissed. "He's trying to sleep."
"Well, sorry," he replied in a tone that suggested that he was not in the least apologetic. "How long exactly am I going to need to tiptoe around my house so I don't wake the little brat?"
"Your house!"
"Same difference. Where's Kate?"
"Having lunch with Jack, not that that's any of your business."
Sawyer chuckled. "You sure can be a real spitfire sometimes, darling. See ya!"
Claire fumed after him as he went out the front door. Normally, she didn't let Sawyer bother her, but this time he had struck a nerve. Though he had no right to call Hurley's apartment his house, Claire realized that she didn't either. Sighing, she made a mental note to discuss that with Charlie when he got home.
Charlie. Thinking of him calmed her considerably. She had been extremely surprised at his willingness to share the duties of parenting the baby. He had even mentioned maybe adopting Lyle, though she wasn't sure how serious he was. Still, though nothing official was going on between them, Claire knew that Charlie had become an inseparable part of both her life and Lyle's. In her heart, they were a real family.
-
Kate laughed happily. She had been very much enjoying her recent lunches with Jack. Two weeks ago as they lay together on the balcony watching the rain, they had discussed their relationship. Together, they decided to stay close, but not to move too quickly. In other words, they would be simply very good friends for now. Kate still hung on to the "for now" part. She knew that she would eagerly anticipate them getting closer.
However, this was good in a way. Now that all the pressure was taken off, Jack was much more relaxed. This was very good in Kate's opinion. It meant that he was able to be the sweet, charming, man that he really was.
This was such a nice experience for her that she nearly was able to forget that she was to be tried for murder in just a few short weeks. Nearly.
"Miss Bradley! Miss Bradley! A moment of your time, please!"
The smile left Kate's face as she turned to see an intent reporter thrusting a microphone at her. Behind the reporter was a man holding a camera who was rapidly zooming in on her face.
"Miss Bradley, are you guilty? Is this all a setup? Could you have really killed three men in cold blood? Miss Bradley?"
Kate took a deep breath. "Please leave me alone."
The camera swirled to face Jack and the reporter pounced on him. "What is your name? How are you associated with Miss Bradley? Do you think she's innocent?"
Jack's eyes widened. "I… Um…"
Angrily, Kate stood up and pushed the reporter aside. "We're leaving, Jack. Come on." He got up and followed her out to his car, leaving behind the check. He handed her the keys and she drove rapidly to an empty side street in the nice neighborhood. She stopped the car as her cell phone began to ring.
"Hello?"
Kate groaned as she heard the voice of her elderly lawyer, Mr. Sam Burnham. "What were you thinking, Katherine? Can you imagine the publicity? You look like an easily-angered…"
"I don't need a lecture."
"I think you do. You have to behave properly now, you must act kind and innocent and willing to talk to reporters and…"
"Look, I just can't! I cannot do that! I hate them all! Don't you see them? They follow me everywhere!" She was screaming now. "I can't get any peace! Just leave me alone!"
She slammed the phone closed and broke into tears. Jack worriedly leaned over and put his arm around her. "Kate, you didn't tell me it was that bad."
"I didn't want to bother you… You seemed so happy for once."
"What's been going on?"
"They've been following me. They wait outside Hurley's apartment; they wait outside Sam's office… They're everywhere."
"Can I help you in any way?"
"No." She drew a deep breath and waited until she could speak normally again. "There' nothing anyone can do except me." She braved a smile and gently took his arm from around her shoulders, resting it on the console. She stalled, however, in removing her hand from his.
She turned and looked up at him, struggling to keep that smile on her face. "Jack, I'm not kidding myself. They're following me because they already know the verdict of my trial. They already know the sentence. I make a good story, that's all. The sweet little innocent, happy girl who kills her lover, robs a back, and murders three others. The girl who ends up being put to death after running for years and somehow surviving a plane crash. It's sad, it's ironic, and it'll hold people's attention for maybe five minutes before they move on to something else. That's why they're following me." She forced a smile and a laugh, then looked away from him.
Jack, however, was horrified. "Kate, don't say that. You have a chance, you…"
"Jack. Don't try. It's okay. I can deal."
"It'll be hard, Kate…"
"I know. That's why I can't see you again. You have a whole life her, Jack. I'm not going to screw that up. Goodbye."
She leaned closer to softly kiss him goodbye. To her surprise, he took her in his arms and kissed her harder. For a moment, she let herself get caught up in his kiss and not think about duty or fate. Finally, against her will, she pushed him away. "Goodbye," she whispered, her breathing still ragged. She handed him the keys and hurriedly got out of the car.
He sadly watched her rushing away, knowing that this goodbye would not be the end of their story.
-
Claire looked up expectantly as the door opened and Charlie walked in. Quickly, she rose and went over to him. "Hey. I missed you." She pulled him close and kissed him, hard.
He kissed her back, then gently broke the kiss. As he spoke, he ran his hands through her long hair. "Claire, I was talking with my lawyer today…"
"Wait – you have a lawyer here?"
He laughed. "Now I do. He said that now that I'm clean and I have a steady job with good pay, I can really adopt Lyle." Claire stepped back a moment, completely shocked. A worried look came to Charlie's face. "I'm sorry. Is that a bad thing?"
Claire shook her head vehemently. "Of course not. I love you, Charlie. I think you would make an amazing father. But are you sure that you want that? I mean,you had a whole life here. Are you sure that you want to give that up." "
"I'm not an addict any longer. Claire, this is finally my chance to step up and be a strong, capable provider. I can be a good father." He paused and looked at her intently, lowering his voice to nearly a whisper. "I can be a good husband."
Claire gasped as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a gold ring with a tiny diamond on it. "Do you want to give it a go, Claire?"
Next chapter: The government gets involved. I'm going to do the next one in a pretty different format than how I usually write, but I think it will be interesting.
Please keep reviewing!
