Disclaimer: I do not own Lost or any of the characters in it.

Notes: Sorry about the lack of updates! Work has kept me mighty busy lately. I promise I'll update more often!

Summary: Takes place during "Born To Run". Will the raft come between Sawyer and Kate?

"Rhett, Scarlett, and the Raft Between Them"

They had found a spot deep in the jungle, far away from where anyone would come to look for them. It was their place to get away from the other survivors, it was their place to be alone both with themselves and with each other. Since the last fight, they had grown closer then either of them could imagine. Sawyer found himself thinking about Kate more and more often. He found that he would go and look for her when she wasn't around, and that she would do the same for him. They seemed to have a constant need to know where the other was at all times, a need to be near each other. Sawyer was surprised to find that he was almost a slave to this need. As much as he hated all that sentimental crap, he found that his cravings to be near Freckles were too strong to resist. As much as he wanted to smack himself every time he kissed her in that extra gentle way, he found that this was the type of kiss that Kate brought out of him. It was a sweet kiss, gentle and dare he say loving?

Sawyer was in their special spot now, waiting for Kate to show up or not. They never really made plans to meet, either they did or they didn't. But they always knew where to find one another if they wanted to. Lately Sawyer had found himself getting more and more involved with the building of the raft. He wasn't exactly sure why he was so interested in being a part of it. Hell, he'd never been one for group activity or that all for one, one for all nonsense. Sawyer had always been a loner. But all of his instincts told him that this raft idea wasn't a bad one at that, that it might actually be their ticket off of that damn island. Sawyer wanted to make sure that his intentions were clear when it came to his ticket.

Sawyer looked down at his watch and sighed. She wasn't going to show up today. This wasn't unusual, but something told him that her reasons for not coming were not good ones. Sawyer stood up and headed back towards the beach. He found himself slightly pissy. This wasn't an unusual state for him of course, but today it was for the simple reason that he could sense that something was off. This made him walk quicker towards the beach. Sawyer despised drama and avoided it at all costs, but he always figured that if it was inevitable then it was best to get it done with so he could move on.

Back at the beach, he saw Jackie Chan working on the raft. The man was like a machine. He never took a break. Sawyer just found it funny most days. Sawyer went up to him and leaned against the base of the raft. The Asian man looked at him in annoyance. Sawyer smirked.

"Hey there Jackie Chan. You seen the boss man around lately?" Sawyer fiddled with a twig he had found in his pocket. His James Dean like stance against the raft didn't go unnoticed by Jin. When there was nothing but some Korean nonsense as an answer, Sawyer continued. "Yea yea I'm sure that means something real special there but I'm talking about the guy who's in charge of this boat." Sawyer was running out of charades and was getting more and more irritated. He paused and gestured to his wrist. "The guy who took your watch…" This seemed to spark something in Jin and he pointed over towards the other side of the beach. Sawyer followed his gesture and noticed not only the one he was looking for, but also Kate.

"Well well…what the hell does she have to talk to our skipper about?" Sawyer wondered out loud. Jin just shrugged, causing Sawyer to cast him a suspicious glance, and went back to his work. Sawyer dropped the twig he had been playing with and strode confidently up to where the two were talking. The closer he got, the more he realized that it was not necessarily a friendly conversation.

"Hey there campers. Why the long faces?" Sawyer grinned and intruded on their conversation. The skipper gave him a suspicious glare and then walked away. Kate remained next to him however. "Somethin' I said?" He cocked his head for emphasis.

Kate smiled, but something was off about her. "No, something I said." She replied and began heading the opposite direction of the raft. Sawyer followed her of course.

"Care to share the cliffs notes with my darlin? I always like a good spat." He had not caught up to her and was walking by her side. She didn't look at him though, just straight ahead.

"It's nothing for you to worry about Sawyer, really." Sawyer was put off by this comment. He hated when she was evasive with him.

"Didn't say I was worryin' sweetheart." He replied with a grin. "But seems to me that you've got a good brood going there. I'm sure you have your reasons, but considering you know all of my dirty secrets and I don't know jack about yours I think its only fair…" He stopped when she made a swift turn towards him. She was upset.

"Sawyer, why are you going on that raft?" It was direct and the point. Her words were filled with something else mixed with anger. He was taken aback by the question. They hadn't even talked about his going on the raft. He had assumed that she didn't even know about it.

"That what this is about? You gonna miss me, Freckles?" He stood in his confident stance. She shook her head, tears in her eyes. She was biting her lip, something she always did when she was upset. All at once Sawyer wondered how he knew that.

"Does it matter if I will?" She replied, not waiting for an answer. He was beginning to lose his confidence. "Sawyer, I need to go on that raft." They were both stopped now. They were standing, facing each other, in an unpopulated area of the beach. The surf was coming up behind them and the sun was beating down intensely. After a moment, Sawyer spoke again.

"OK. Care to explain to me why that is darlin'?" He was serious this time. He felt it all the way through him. He knew that she was serious too. He knew that desperate look that was in her eyes well. He was ready to listen.

She looked back and forth, double checking that they were, in fact, alone. She shook her head and bit her lip again. "Sawyer you know that I've done some things in my past that aren't going to fly once we get of this island. You know that I was in handcuffs when the plane crashed. You know why. Don't pretend you don't." She peeked up at him through her eyelashes. He was looking intently at her. He knew what she was talking about, mainly through his own scavenging and his ability to read people. She hadn't told him crap on her own.

"Yea. You're no saint." He raised his arms out for emphasis. "Hell if I am Freckles. So what's your point here?"

She stood with her arms crossed over her chest. She looked at him with eyes that nearly made him melt. He hated when she looked at him like that. "I need that spot on the raft Sawyer. It's my only chance."

He stood back and considered this a moment. He considered what she was asking him and what he would be giving up. He looked out into the ocean, watching the waves crash against the shoreline. Out into the abyss. Who knew what was out there? Who knew what would happen to that raft and the people on it? He forced himself to look back at her. She was standing there like a lost pup. She was shivering slightly from the incoming ocean breeze. He walked slowly over to her until he was inches from her face. She seemed so alone and so cold. He reached out one hand and place it on the back of her head, gently pulling her against his chest. She didn't resist, but didn't embrace him either. They continued to stand like that as he spoke.

"I can't do that. I can't let you go on that raft." His words were a mere whisper. It pained him to even say them. Part of him felt like he was denying her the one thing she had ever asked him for. It hurt him in a way Sawyer hadn't been hurt in a very long time. He felt her tense up against him. He felt her pull away.

She pulled back, still standing close to him. She nodded, as if telling herself that this was the end. Then she looked up at him. She wasn't angry, she was hurt. It tore him apart.

"Why?" It came out in a hoarse whisper. She had tears brimming on her eyes. He just looked at her, trying to keep his emotions away. Damn if this girl didn't tear him apart from the inside out. He felt an immediate need to fix this.

He moved to touch her but she quickly pulled away from him. "You're not going to prison Kate." He said loudly and in anger. "I won't let it happen. But this isn't the way…"

"And how are you going to do that Sawyer?" She shouted back at him. It was good that they were far away from the others, thought Sawyer. This wasn't an argument to have in public. "Hell, why would you do that?"

He was at a loss for words. Truth was, he had no idea how he was going to save her. But he would save her. He would never forgive himself if he didn't. Sawyer felt himself giving in to the feelings inside of him. He recognized the feeling of need, something he hadn't let himself recognize since he was eight years old. He knew that he had to tell her why.

"Kate…" He tried to put his arms around her but she moved out of his grasp.

"No. There's no point is there? I'm a murderer Sawyer." She paused. "And I deserve whatever it is that happens to me. You're right, I deserve to go to prison. There's no point in fighting it anymore."

She had started to walk down the beach, away from him. At first he stood there, watching her walk away. He felt himself stuck to the sand under his feet. He felt himself pushing her away from him, because being with her hurt so damn much.

But hell, Sawyer was a masochist. As far as he was concerned he deserved every second of pain he got. So he ran after her. He ran until he was in front of her and she had to stop.

"Sawyer…" She began. He shut her up immediately with a kiss. It lasted a long time and it was what they both needed. It was familiar and a reminder of the better moments on the island, before they had to worry about the rest of the world. And when they finally pulled back their foreheads still touched, keeping them connected.

"Forgive me Kate, but I can't give you that spot. Because whoever is on that raft might just die out there. I will find a way to make sure that you get off this island without any problems. I know that people don't tend to trust me none, and they're probably wise in not doing so, but I'm asking you to trust me now."

She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. She moved in for another kiss, stopping only to whisper the three words Sawyer had been longing to hear from anybody for so long.

"I trust you."