Disclaimer: I do not and never will own Lost… unless J.J. Abrams wants to hand it over to me as a birthday present… Thanks for the reviews!
Chapter 3: Something in Common
"You look like you could use a break."
Kate shaded her eyes and looked up from the basket of laundry she was hanging up.
"Well, if you and your brother would quit getting your clothes so dirty I would already be sitting under a palm tree catching up on my reading.
James laughed and leaned down to help his mother, "You can thank Hunter for that. He and Jake were wresting in the mud the other day. "
Kate rolled her eyes, " And what were they fighting about this time?"
"Nothing. Josh bet Jake that he couldn't take Hunter in a fight."
"Who won?"
"No one. They got tired and went to go pick on Walt."
"What'd they do to him?"
James shrugged, "I dunno but I heard Jack yelling at them later. Something about coconuts and shoelaces."
"I don't want to know."
"Me neither."
The two were quiet for a moment while they finished up the laundry. James bent down to pick up the basket and they walked back over to their shelter.
"How did your lesson with Jack go today?"
"Okay." James shrugged, " He quizzed me on the different parts of the body. I didn't do so well."
Kate smiled, "Have you been studying?"
" I guess. I just haven't been that into it lately."
" I thought you wanted to work with Jack. You're the one that asked him to start training you."
"Yeah, I know. I've just been preoccupied."
"With what?"
"Nothing." James mumbled the word and looked out towards the water. Kate watched the way that he chewed on his lower lip. She smiled.
"And does this nothing have to do with a certain girl?"
James's shoulder's sagged, "Is it that obvious?"
"Call it mother's intuition."
"Well, it doesn't matter anyway."
"Why? Why wouldn't it matter?"
"She could never like me. Not the way that I care about her."
Kate stared at him sympathetically and reached over to brush some of his shaggy blond hair out of his face, " You don't know that."
James threw his hands up in the air and started to walk away, "Everyone knows that mom. Even you. Don't look at me like you feel sorry for me. I'm sick of it!"
"James!" Kate called after him and watched in helplessness as he ignored her and headed into the forest."
Dropping her head into her hands she sighed turned back towards her small hut. She had no idea how to help her son. When he was younger she could at least comfort him if he fell down and hurt himself. She would hold him close to her and whisper soothing words. But he was eighteen now and this was something that was beyond her. Besides, she had never been very good at relationships herself. For the millionth time since his death Kate wished that Sawyer was around to help his son.
Not that he was any kind of relationship expert himself. Which was probably why they worked so well together in those five years. Both had been irreversibly screwed up in the game of love and life. Somehow together, they had managed to make a new start.
Kate settled herself down in the shade of her hut and closed her eyes. She could still remember the first time, or rather, the second time that she had kissed him.
She was tired of the crying. Tired of the sobs drifting down the beach into her shelter no matter how hard she tried to block it out. Tired of the choking wheezing cough and the sound of Jack's voice trying to sooth and comfort. She couldn't listen to it anymore. She couldn't take it.
Her own tears slid quietly down her cheeks as she made her way through the trees, deeper and deeper into the forest, away from those noises. It echoed in her ears though and she couldn't stop it. It ran through her mind over and over again like a broken record.
The scream. That lifeless face. The choking sobs.
Kate stopped for a moment and tried to catch her breath. She hadn't realized how fast she was walking. But she needed to get away.
There was a fallen tree blocking her path and she sat down on it, pulling her knees up to her chin. Closing her eyes she tried to bring up some memory of her childhood. Some happy peaceful time before plane crashes and island monsters and dead bodies.
Her eyes shot open when she heard the sound of leaves crunching behind her. She waited for a minute and then swung around, throwing her arm out at full force. She made contact with something hard.
"Son of a bitch!" Sawyer grimaced and looked down at his arm. "What the hell was that for?"
Kate turned back around, trying to wipe away the tears from her cheeks. He couldn't see her being weak. Never let them see you cry. First rule of thumb.
"Maybe you shouldn't sneak around like that."
"Why the hell are you all the way out her?" He walked around the tree so that he was facing her.
"Why the hell are you all the way out here?"
"Making sure you didn't get eaten by a polar bear."
Kate rolled her eyes at his sarcastic tone and stood up, brushing off her pants. "Don't bother. I don't need a protector."
"Well, call me crazy little darlin' but it seems that every time someone heads out into this forest they wind up tortured by some crazy French woman, kidnapped, attacked by a polar bear…"
"I already know what can happen out here Sawyer!" Kate swung around, her eyes full of fire.
He wasn't done yet though, "…or dead!"
Kate pushed against him, the palms of her hands against his chest, "Shut up! We all know what can happen! Joanna, Scott, the pilot… Boone. We know what can happen! I don't need you to make a list. And I don't need you to protect me."
Sawyer just laughed and grabbed her forearms, locking her close to his body. He looked down at her face, noting the puffiness of her eyes.
" Well well, if I didn't know any better I would say you had a little crush on our little Davy Crocket, thought he could go out into the woods and fight a monster. You seem awful upset about the death of someone you barely know. Of course, I always thought it would be the Doc. Even put a bet into the pool everyone has going.
Kate struggled against him and he let go of her arms. She reached out a slapped him across the face, "You asshole. Go to hell."
Sawyer rubbed the sore spot on his face, "I don't mean to correct you sweetheart but I think we're already there." He stepped forward and grabbed her again. "And then again, there are ways to make even hell a little bit better." He leaned down and brought his lips to hers, pulling her against him forcefully.
She pushed against him. Her mind screaming at him to let her go. But the words never came and she found her lips responding, her mouth parting, letting his tongue brush against her teeth. The kiss deepened and she slid her hands up his chest, cupping his face and moving around to tangle in his hair. He growled deep in his throat and her body responded, pressing deeper into his.
They pulled away from each other to catch their breath and Kate leaned her head into his chest.
"I guess we really do have a lot in common."
"Well, you see. When you stop beating the crap out of someone long enough to give them a little kiss, you really can learn a lot."
Kate laughed and looked up, "You're still an asshole."
Sawyer grinned, his dimples deepening. Kate titled her head up, capturing his lips in another kiss.
"Am I interrupting something?"
Kate's eyes flew open and she saw Jack standing in the doorway of her hut. He smiled.
" You looked like you were having a good dream."
She shook her head and stood up, " I was just thinking."
" About what?"
Kate shrugged, " Nothing much… just umm…laundry."
"What?"
"Laundry. I have to go get the laundry." She walked past him into the open air and then turned around. He stared back at her quizzically, rubbing his hands through this graying hair.
"You want to help?"
He grinned and picked up the basket that lay at her feet.
"I'd love to."
They walked down the beach together.
"So I heard Hunter was causing a little bit of trouble yesterday."
Jack snorted, " Kate, your son manages to get into a little bit of trouble every single day."
"It's a gift of his."
"From his father." Jack smiled.
" Yes it is. I guess trouble making is hereditary."
"You could probably make a case study out of it, yeah."
Kate laughed.
Please read and review. I appreciate everyone who has already done so. I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible.
