Disclaimer: I do not own Lost or any of the characters in it.
Notes: Thanks for all the encouragement! I'm sorry that its been so long since the last update, life just gets in the way sometimes. I know this chapter is short, but the next one will be a longer one.
Summary: Sawyer and Kate learn of a new threat and Sawyer must make a decision.
"Rhett and Scarlett: In Love and War"
He stumbled back to his shelter, sweat dripping from his hair and soaking through his shirt. He was spending more and more time putting together the raft that would carry him away from the island. It was near finished and there was talk that it would be launched within a day or two. Sawyer had taken this all in stride, since everyone had been saying the same thing for a week and a half now. In a way, it wasn't real for him yet. In a way, this craft that he was helping to build every day was just something that would never really come to be, just a way to keep them all occupied for awhile.
Part of him wished that this was true. This was the part of him that had started sleeping next to Freckles every night, the part that had begun to socialize more with the rest of the group just because she'd asked him too, the part that smiled whenever she smiled at him in just the right way.
As he neared his shelter he was happy to see that Kate was there waiting for him. Well, maybe she was just snooping through his stuff as usual but he liked to think that she came there just for him. When she saw him approaching she smiled and stood up to meet him. He put on his cocky grin, the one that everyone seemed to hate but her, and walked quicker to get there.
"Hey." She smiled, hands on her hips. Yea, she'd been snooping. He knew the look of guilt that was showing on her face, he'd seen it plenty of times before.
"Hey there Freckles." He stopped when he got there and took off his shirt. But he didn't just take off his shirt. He had to make a show of it, slowly lifting it off of his body and pulling it over his head. When it was finally off he tossed it down in the sand and pushed his hair back sensually. When he looked back at her she was smiling and shaking her head.
"Not bad." She said with sarcasm. He stepped forward until he was right in front of her.
"That all you got to say?" He put his hands on her hips and moved his fingers to the ticklish place on her stomach. She giggled and tried to move away but he playfully held her in place until she was kicking the air trying to get away from him.
"Sawyer!" She screamed out.
"Sawyer what?" He prompted her. By now he was swinging her in the air. She continued to giggle.
"Sawyer stop!" She screamed again. He knew she'd never give in. She was too stubborn. Finally he put her down and in the same motion pulled her down into the sand with him. She continued to giggle and situate herself in the sand until she was on her back. He laid on his side and leaned his head on his hand, looking down at her. She looked up at him with bright hazel eyes and smiled. Damn if this girl didn't make him into such a sap.
"Kate?" Said a voice that was neither of theirs. He watched Kate's eyes shift upwards and he turned his head in time to see the good old doctor standing over them. He knew this made Kate uncomfortable. Since they both lived on the beach very few people had caught on to their little romance. Sawyer thought it was probably better that way. But it seemed that their little romp just then had stirred up some attention, mainly the doc's.
"Well hey there Doc. Long time no see." Sawyer smirked at him. He had to admit that he really didn't like the guy. It was just these types of guys that always put Sawyer in his place, or at least where they thought his place was. They could never seem to just leave him be. They always wanted to save people from him and this irritated the hell out of him.
Of course the doc seemed concerned as usual. The guy never smiled, at least not that Sawyer had seen.
"Everything ok here Kate?" The doc ignored him and turned his attention to Kate. She quickly moved to a sitting position and wiped the sand off of herself.
"Everything's fine Jack." She replied. She glanced over at Sawyer and he rolled his eyes at her. She smiled which gave him permission to speak his mind a bit.
"Don't worry Doc, just a little playful banter between friends." He emphasized the word so as to irritate the man. By the look on Jack's face he knew the truth, and Sawyer intended to brag about his victory as much as possible. "So seein' as there's no life savin' needed here maybe you outta make your way back up to the caves to play hero."
He looked over at Kate, who was currently shaking her head in annoyance. He knew she hated when he fought with the doc, especially when it was over her. Sawyer just couldn't help himself, for once he'd gotten the girl and he wasn't going to keep it to himself if he didn't have to.
"Yea Sawyer, listen some of the others are just wondering how much longer it'll be before the raft gets launched. Has Michael said anything to you about it?" It clearly pained Jack to make any sort of civilized conversation with Sawyer. Sawyer smiled.
"Oh you know the skipper, he wants off this island bad. I'd imagine as soon as that boat is sea ready we'll be off and out of your hair." He paused and looked over at Kate. She was looking down at the sand and lacing her fingers through it. He knew the topic of the raft always made her shut down a bit. She didn't want him to go and she didn't want to be rescued.
"Great." Jack said, scorn in his voice. "I'll let everyone know." He moved to take off down the beach. Sawyer turned back to Kate. She was lost in her own thoughts now. On instinct he reached out and pushed a curl away from her eyes. This woke her up and she looked up at him. She smiled, but it was a sad smile. He smiled back in the same manner. There was nothing else to talk about really. They'd said it all. Neither of them wanted to be separated, but they had no choice in the matter. Now they were just trying to make the best of the time they had together on the island.
Breaking the sorrowful mood, Sawyer leaned forward and kissed Kate deeply on the lips. She was hesitant at first, being that there were a lot of people around them, but soon gave into the impulse and kissed him back. Their kiss lasted minutes and when it ended he made sure his lips barely left hers.
"I'm gonna go take a shower." He smirked. This was not an announcement but rather an invitation. She understood immediately and nodded just barely enough to be noticeable.
He stood up and leaned his arm down to help her up. She took it and wiped her backside off as best she could. Sawyer admired her assets as she did so, earning an eye roll from Kate. He was about to turn and head off towards the waterfall when he noticed something different in Kate's eyes. The usual playfulness was gone and she was worried, frightened even. She was looking not at him but behind him.
"Freckles?" He asked, worried. She didn't respond, she just continued to look behind him. Slowly and hesitantly he turned around.
There, in the middle of their beach and their camp, was who he presumed was the infamous French woman. "Ah hell." Without another word he reached behind him and held out his hand, which Kate took immediately. They just stood there at first, frozen as to what to do next. He wasn't sure what kind of danger this woman posed to them, but he knew that he didn't like her being here at all. They watched as Sayid was the first to approach her. Sawyer had heard that the two had some sort of torture bond or whatever. He figured the Iraqi knew what he was doing in approaching her.
Slowly, hesitantly, the rest of the group approached her. Sawyer followed, pulling Kate along behind him. He kept his hand tightly gripped on hers, vowing to protect the one thing that mattered to him on this damn island.
The woman spoke for what seemed like forever. They all huddled around her, listening to her story. She spoke about how she'd gotten stranded here and how the rest of her team had gotten sick and died. Through it all Sawyer kept quiet, unlike his usual self. He still didn't know what to think of this woman and he didn't know what her intentions were for them. He did know that she was talking about a lot of pain and a lot of death, something he wasn't prepared to mess with. And then there were her last words, the words that echoed in his ears like the gunshots he'd heard when he was eight years old.
You have only three choices. Run. Hide. Or Die.
And that was it. Sayid stayed with her while the rest of the group dispersed. Sawyer looked over at Kate, who was trying her best to keep pretending not to be afraid. She had let go of his hand but he'd made sure she hadn't moved from her place behind him.
"Come on." He said simply, taking one last look at the French woman. He started towards the shelter. Somehow it felt like the place to go.
"No." Kate replied. She wasn't complying this time. He turned and gave her a look of exasperation.
"Freckles…" He began, but she interrupted him.
"I'm gonna go find out what's going on." She laced her fingers through his for a moment, giving him a look of apology, and headed on down the beach.
"Dammit Freckles!" He said loudly, but not directed at her. Of course she had to go find out all the facts, that was just how she was. He should know that by now. He also knew that she was going straight to the doc to get the information. This made his blood boil. Even with this knowledge, though, he couldn't bring himself to be angry with her. He was too damn pissed at the French woman right now. He was pissed at the doc and the Iraqi and these people who were supposedly going to come and kill them all.
Sawyer went back to his shelter and pulled out his knapsack. He fished through it and was satisfied when he felt the feeling of cold steel in his hands. His gun. He'd taken it back when they'd first landed here, knowing that eventually it would come in handy. He opened the bullet chamber and counted the bullets. There were three left.
He sighed and shook his head. That would have to be enough then. Kate was the priority here.
"Hey Sawyer!" It was the skipper. Sawyer dropped the gun back in the bag unnoticed. "You coming on the raft or what?"
"Ain't you heard about our impending doom captain?" Sawyer said with sarcasm. Michael shielded his eyes from the sun and looked down at Sawyer, not at all intimidated by his words.
"Doesn't change anything. We can finish the raft in an hour. Then we launch, with or without you."
Michael walked away, leaving Sawyer to curse the world and everything in it except for one person.