Disclaimer: I do not own Lost or any of the characters in it.
Notes: This story coincides with the episode "Do No Harm". No major plot changes have taken place, just some small details have been changed.
Summary: Sawyer delivers Shannon to her brother, and takes part in another special delivery along the way.
"Rhett and Scarlett Play Doctor"
Fifteen minutes later they were back at the caves, and Sawyer found himself in the middle of a bloodbath. The rich chick was freaking out, and the Doc was having a hard time keeping her at bay. It was the Arab guy that finally managed to get her calm enough to speak to her brother, and even then she could barely stop crying long enough to utter two words.
Sawyer stood in the background for a bit. He was unsure as to what to do next. The sight of all the blood and guts was getting to him, although he didn't usually fancy himself to have such a weak stomach. All he could think was 'What the hell is Doc doin to that guy?" Blood covered everything and everybody in the vicinity of Big Brother and the poor guy seemed to be suffering. At one point it seemed he was building some sort of guillotine type contraption. Sawyer shook his head and looked away.
Dear God, what a mess.
Sawyer thought about the Marshall. That man had been in pain. He had been in so much pain that his cries echoed across the damn beach. He needed to be put out of his misery. Which is what Sawyer had planned to do, it was his thing he figured. Doc can save the people and he can kill them when they can't be saved. Hell, at least they wouldn't be competing for business. But then he'd messed that up too. Just like he messed up a lot of things in his life. He could never seem to get it right, no matter how much he wanted it. He could never take down his walls, even for a moment.
But, actually he had. That day. With Freckles. The thought seemed to stun him back into life.
Where was Freckles? He searched around the area and didn't notice her anywhere. He would have thought she'd be right next to the Doc, helping him in his noble deed. But she was no where. Much to his surprise, he became worried about her. He never worried about anybody, unless it was himself of course. His stride became more purposeful, more panicked. Where was Freckles?
He decided to head into the woods towards his camp. Maybe she was there. Maybe she had fallen and hurt herself on her way here or back to where she came from. Maybe no one had found her yet. These thoughts plagued his mind and suddenly he remembered why he hated caring about someone so goddamn much.
Suddenly he froze. There was screaming. Someone was screaming, a woman. It was a woman's scream.
"Kate!" He shouted and headed towards the frightening sound. Whoever it was sounded like they were in an enormous amount of pain. What was wrong with her? Had somebody hurt her? He would kill them!
He found an entrance to clearing and raced through it so fast that he could barely stop when he saw Kate standing in it. He stumbled and nearly fell on his face.
"Kate? You ok? Why were you screaming?" He said all at once, not noticing the pregnant girl lying on the ground next to them. He grabbed her shoulders and seemed to be looking her over protectively.
"I'm fine Sawyer. I wasn't screaming." She looked him in the eyes for a moment and her gaze reassured him. She was concerned about something, but she was ok. "It was Claire. She's having the baby."
Sawyer looked down and noticed the pregnant girl lying there, legs spread wide open. He instinctively turned his head in respect to her privacy. "Goddamn woman! You scared the shit out of me!" He decided that this would be a great time to shout at Kate for making him feel so…unlike himself.
"Sawyer…" She began. Their eyes met and she was smiling at him. He felt a smile dangerously close to his own face as well. Damn her and her smile. "I don't think this is the best time to start screaming at each other." She gestured back to the girl on the ground.
"Yes….please…" The girl panted in between contractions. "…need…help."
"Claire!" They heard a voice shouting in the distance and some thrashing around in the trees nearby. Suddenly, the rock star appeared in the clearing and immediately went to the girls side. "Are you ok Claire?" He said in his preppy British accent.
"She's fine Charlie." Kate said, and knelt down next to her. She appeared to be composed and calm, but Sawyer knew better. She was terrified and didn't know a damn thing about birthing babies. He recognized the fear, way deep in her eyes. "I just need you to hold her hand so she can have this baby ok?"
Sawyer smiled automatically at her words and the way that she was able to calm them both down so quickly. He was amazed by her. He had to admit.
"Need me to boil some water or something Freckles?" He budded in. It was less of a question and more of a confirmation that he planned to see this through to the end, right by her side. She looked up at him and smiled.
"No Sawyer. But do you still have that watch?" He looked down at his wrist and confirmed that, yes, he did indeed still have the watch on. He'd found it on one of the dead bodies at the waterfall. No one really knew the whole story behind it except for Freckles.
"Yes maam." He replied. She smirked at the gesture of mock politeness.
"I need you to time the contractions. From the time they start to the time they stop. Got it?" She nodded, hoping he understood. As much as Sawyer wanted to understand, he had to wonder about something.
"Sure Freckles, but, uh, how do I know when the contractions start?" There was a short pause before the pregnant girl began to scream loudly.
Kate turned to help Claire, but not before giggling. Sawyer assumed it was the expression of fear and realization on his face that caused her giggles. He once again took pride in the fact that he could make her happy even in the worst of circumstances.
So he timed the contractions, one after the other. It seemed it had been hours since this had started. Sawyer wasn't naïve, but he'd never been in a delivery room before and certainly had never helped deliver a baby before. But Freckles seemed to have complete control over the situation, even if she really didn't. However, he suspected that, since the pregnant girl had most of the work to do anyway, that pretending to have control might work just fine.
For most of the process Sawyer had tried to keep his eyes away from the pregnant girls open legs. Sawyer may have been a jackass, but he was also a gentleman. He also figured that the rock star would try to kill him if he took a peek, and he really didn't need that kind of pathetic drama at the moment. But suddenly, when things seemed to be getting more tense, he found himself looking down at the birth. In one swift push he watched the pregnant girl give birth to a baby boy.
"Holy hell!" He exclaimed, in pure disgust. "What the hell is all that…stuff?" Kate giggled and held the newborn while Charlie used the scissors Kate had found to cut the cord. She handed the baby over to Claire, who cooed over it with Charlie at her side.
Sawyer stood back and took in the scene. After securing the fact that the girl and the baby were alright, she moved over to where Sawyer stood. He turned his head in her direction.
"Now that, was disgusting." He paused. "I'm sorry Freckles, kids are great and all, but the way all that…stuff…works is just disgusting." He talked more for show then anything. He knew that she would see through him and his comments just like she always did.
She stood firm and cocked her head, curling her nose as if she'd just smelled something bad. "Yea, I think maybe you're right for once Sawyer." She took in another look at Claire and Charlie. "But, its not so bad once its all over. Its even kind of…cute." He looked over and saw a very pretty smile on her face.
"Yea…" He continued to study her face. She continued to look straight ahead, ignoring his gaze. Finally, she situated herself on the ground in a sitting position. After a moment she reached out her hand, linking her fingers with his and pulling him down next to her. They took in the moment together, and Sawyer silently shook his head as he wondered what the hell he was getting himself into here.
After the appropriate time was allotted for the sentimental moment to reach its peak, Sawyer gave another disgusting grimace.
"So, you gonna do that someday Freckles?" Their hands were still joined, but only by their two first fingers. She smiled and looked down, as if trying to hide from his stare. Sawyer knew she was anything but shy. He found the gesture adorable nonetheless, and he then mentally smacked himself for being such a pansy.
"No." She said simply, shaking her head. He was puzzled by this answer.
"No? Just no? I thought all women wanted to go through that torture." She smiled and shook her head.
"Not all women." Sawyer took a moment to think this over. He couldn't decide if he was relieved or disappointed by this answer. Although, he could truly understand what she meant. There were women who should not be mothers, and sadly, most of 'em that he'd met already had a litter of their own. But, this was Freckles, which always made things a whole lot different.
"And may I ask why not?" He asked, already knowing her answer.
"Sawyer, come on." She looked him straight in the eye. It made him squirm slightly. "Me? A mother? I can't even keep my own life together, much less give birth to another one."
He heard her answer and thought it through some more. She seemed serious all a sudden, sullen. He wanted to pull her close, but lost his confidence at the last moment.
"Well, for the record Freckles, I think you'd have some really great looking babies." He paused until her saw her smile again. "Now come on Freckles! The world needs people like us to reproduce. Hell, you've seen all those ugly people out there! We can't have them all having litters of ugly babies and passing the ugly through generations! Now I say we make a pact right here and now to spread our pretty genes to our own children and our children's children."
Now she was giggling. And he was smiling a bigger smile then he had since they'd crash landed what seemed like forever ago.
"So, whatdya say Freckles?" He held out his free hand. She looked at him with a great big smile, as if planning some notorious scheme. "Let's shake on it."
She let go of his fingers but instead of reaching for his hand she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. This wasn't a kiss of need, like last time. It was a kiss of thank you. It was a kiss of friendship and relief and romance and tenderness. It lasted longer then the other two kisses had and Sawyer couldn't believe how this one could be so much better then the last one. But it wasn't better, it was different. He could hear the two new parents giggling to the side of them, but he didn't care. He figured if he was going to give them a show, it damn well was going to be a good one. He grabbed Freckles at the back of her head and her side and pulled her into his lap, dipping her down for a deeper kiss as he did it.
Finally, as the kiss subsided, he found himself holding Freckles in his lap. They were both flushed and smiling.
She threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder.
Oh hell, he thought, no use in fighting it anymore. Damn, if he wasn't in love.