Disclaimer: I do not own Lost or any of the characters in it. I also do not own Rhett Butler or Scarlett O'Hera.

Notes: This chapter is a bit brief. But the next one will wrap up the story a bit. I apologize for all the Jack/Sawyer banter. I couldn't help myself, I just think its fun to make them fight.

Summary: Sawyer looks for Kate and finds help along the way.

"Rhett and Ashley: Common Interests"

He walked in the jungle, quickly and with a purpose. Sawyer was furious, crashing through tree branches and shrubs as if they were made of cotton. He was determined. And he had decided that he was going to use that gun, one way or the other.

If he found her, he would kill anyone who had laid a hand on her.

If he didn't find her, he would kill anyone who had refused to look for her.

"Sawyer!" He heard someone shouting from behind. He ignored it and continued on in the same way.

"You best turn around right now Doc." He responded through his teeth. Sawyer was angry. He was even more angry then he had been on the day his parents had died. He had never thought he could be angrier then he was that day. But, then again, he had never thought he could love again either. She'd changed that and all she had asked was for him to stay with her instead of going on that damn raft! He couldn't stop blaming himself for that.

"Sawyer!" The Doc yelled again and eventually managed to catch up with him. Sawyer gave an angry sigh and continue walking. "Sawyer, I'm here to look for Kate."

He slowed down, but he didn't stop.

"You wanna look then look. But don't expect to be getting no hero credit for this one, Doc. No one gives a damn." He was slightly out of breath but he meant what he said. If this was the Doc's way of adding another medal to his collection then hell if he was gonna stop him. Hell, as long as Kate was found it didn't matter who did the finding. Sure, it would hurt his ego a bit for the Doc to find his Freckles, but at this point all that mattered to him was that she came out of this safe. As much as he hated the guy, the fact that they both cared about the same woman meant that he was the only person he could trust with keeping her safe.

"I'm doing this for Kate, Sawyer." The Doc reiterated. This was not helping Sawyers mood one bit. To have his worst enemy by his side at a time when he needed to be focused was probably the worst idea he'd ever devised. He silently cursed himself for ever requesting the doctors help in the first place.

He shook his head. "My last nerve Doc and you're getting' on it." He mumbled.

"Like it or not Sawyer we need to communicate here. Otherwise we're not going to find her." The Doc said, trying to be his rational self. Sawyer was just annoyed by this obvious fact. So he stopped, just for a second, to have a little communication with the man.

"Alright Doc. How's about we communicate right now huh? You go that way over there and I'll go this way over here. I'll see ya after I find Kate." He indicated the appropriate direction and turned to continue on his way.

"I meant communicate about what you plan to do with that gun."

He stopped in his tracks. He cocked his head and turned around to face the man.

"Is there a question in there somewhere Doc? Cause if you don't mind I'm on a little time limit here, Kate's life being at stake and all." He spoke with bitterness. Jack approached him and stopped just a foot away.

"Well I was just wondering if there was something wrong with that gun in your back pocket. Otherwise, I really don't see the reason why you need two guns." Sawyer looked down and realized that his shirt was riding up and more then just his stomach was showing. And he had it. That was it. Either this man stepped away or he was going to have to push him out of his way.

So, he decided to push him against a tree. He had caught Jack completely off guard and was able to pin him to the tree rather easily.

"Alright Doc, why don't you just fess up huh? I'm tired of playing your games." He kept a tight grip on the man while trying not to spend too much energy on him at the same time. He wanted to be looking for Kate right now, not be doing this. But it appeared that he had no choice in the matter.

"Fess up to what?" Jack replied in a whisper due to his current situation. Sawyer tightened his grip slightly and rolled his eyes.

"Now come on Doc, I know the difference between an empty shell and a bullet. Now I know what you think of me and I've made damn sure you know what I think of you, so lets just be honest here shall we? You take my bullets or what?"

Sawyer watched the mans face and saw the same thing that he had at the camp, pure confusion. He began to wonder if he had, after all, blamed the right person. It had to be the doctor, who else would steal his bullets?

"Sawyer, I have no idea what you're talking about." Jack whispered back. Sawyer looked him straight in the eye, trying to gauge whether he was telling the truth or not. Finally, he settled on the fact that a man like the Doc couldn't lie to anyone while looking in the eye. He was too good for it. He dropped his hold on the man and gave him room to breath. Jack choked a bit and then quickly regained his composure.

"If you didn't take my bullets then who in the hell did?" Sawyer asked. He felt fear scorching through him now. Somebody else had a loaded gun out there, or at least the bullets to load one with did they get their grubby hands on one.

Then they heard her scream.

Sawyer didn't say a word to the doctor or wait for him to do whatever he was planning on doin. He just took off in the direction of the scream and didn't look back.

"Kate!" He shouted, trying to get her to make some noise. When she screamed again he knew exactly the direction to go in. He ran faster then he'd ever run before, and it would have been faster then that if he didn't have to keep ducking under the damn tree limbs and jumping over the bushes and logs. He could hear the doctor not too far behind him, trying his best to keep up. At that point he didn't care whether the doctor decided to join the fight or not. He was focusing on Kate's screams. They motivated, angered, and scared him all at the same time.

Kate wasn't the type who was afraid of something small. He couldn't really remember ever hearing her scream like that. So the fact that she was screaming now scared the hell out of him.

"Kate!" He shouted again. This time there was no scream that followed though. He stopped dead in his tracks, causing the doctor to crash into him and nearly knock them both off their feet. "Ouch god dammit! " He said in annoyance. He cast the doctor an exasperated look and the doctor appeared to be just as annoyed by Sawyer as Sawyer was by him.

"Shh. Listen." Sawyer really hated being shushed, especially by someone he truly despised, but he complied because he knew it was the only way he was going to find Kate. So, he shut up and listened. At first all he could hear was his own breath and the occasional rustle of a leaf. When this trend continued for another minute he was beginning get irritated. He cast the doctor a dumbfounded expression but the man continued to listen intently to nothing at all.

Then they heard it.

Sawyer looked over at the doctor to confirm that he wasn't just imagining this sound. It was clear by the doctors eyes that it indeed was a real sound and was really happening around them somewhere.

"Ah hell no!" He said in a loud angry tone and began to run in the direction of the gunshots.

"Sawyer wait!" The doctor yelled from behind. Sawyer had no plans on waiting until she was dead to find her. If those shots were taken at her, then he was going to make sure that she at least had a chance to survive.

"Sawyer!" The doctor said again.

"Those ain't no fireworks doc!" He replied to the mans silent question. As he got closer to the approximate location of the gunshots he began to hear another sound, the sound of water running. He continued to run until he could run no more. And when he finally stopped to take a breathe he found himself at the waterfall, back at the caves.

"god dammit!" He shouted and kicked the closest rock he could find. "How in the hell…" He began but couldn't even find the words to finish the sentence. The doctor came up behind him a moment later, panting and coughing.

"I tried to tell you…" He paused to take a breathe. "We were running in circles." Sawyer couldn't believe this. He couldn't believe that he had let her down, again. He had though that he was at least competent enough to walk in a straight line. In rage, he knelt down the picked up a rock. He threw it at the side of the cave and it ricocheted off and fell into the water. He continued this pattern, trying hard to get his anger out.

"Fuck you island! Fuck you!" He shouted and swung another stone against the wall. This one very nearly came back to hit Jack in the head.

"Sawyer!" Jack shouted, causing Sawyer to hold the next stone in his hand instead of throwing it like the others. He turned to see Jack, sweaty, dirty, but clearly still in control. "We need to stay calm." He said and began to walk in circles around the camp, examining their surroundings. "Now the gunshots came from the east, that way." He pointed and Sawyer followed his finger. "Kate's screams came from the south." He turned to face the south.

"What are you getting at doc?" Sawyer asked impatiently. The Doctor suddenly seemed to lose his confidence and used the back of his hand to wipe the sweat out of his eyes.

"Maybe this is a trap."

Sawyer pondered this in his mind for a moment. Then he shook his head.

"You mean somethans messin' with us?" He became suddenly defensive and walked with his chest out in anger. The doctor nodded in response to him.

"Or someone." Jack added. Sawyer felt himself getting angry again. What had she done to deserve this? What had any of them done?

"Hey you! I know you're out there! So come out and face me like a man!" He shouted. When there was no answer he gripped the rock in his hand tightly and prepared to throw it at the wall again, repeating his pattern. However, something was different about this rock. Just as he was about to swing to throw it he stopped. He felt around it with his fingers first, feeling the smooth texture and long even shape of it. It was slightly warm, like metal that sits in tropical sunlight for to long.

He brought his hand down and examined his rock.

"Kate." He said simple and almost inaudibly. Jack just barely heard him and looked up at him in question.

"What?" Jack asked and moved closer to Sawyer. When Sawyer didn't respond Jack peered down at the so-called rock.

"It's a bullet." He said, half in question. Sawyer nodded.

"Sure as hell is." He paused and smiled. "I shoulda known." Quickly he pocketed the small bullet and searched around for another one similar to it. Jack looked at him like he was insane but Sawyer just ignored him.

"What are you looking for?" Jack asked, following him around. Sawyer was still smiling, relieved at the new revelation. This meant that Kate was still alive somewhere, or at least she had been when she left him a bullet trail.

"Another one." He paused. He kicked around at some sand on the bank leading to the forest and smiled when he found another bullet exactly like the first. "Now we're talkin'!" He said loudly and laughed triumphantly and he held the second one up on display.

"Come on doc, let's go. And keep your sorry ass up this time will ya?"