A/N: My second Lost fic, completely inspired by the song "Middle of Nowhere" by Hot Hot Heat. As usual, a Kate/Sawyer one-shot. Takes place before the third part of season finale...sort of during it.
Kate stood on the ledge of her life. Well, not her life, not even a ledge, just a rather narrow passage through the dense forest. She had forgotten there were others next to her watching their surroundings more than each other. Yet she had something different on her mind. A certain castaway with a Southern accent. Why was it she had him on her mind again? Why was he always showing up there? Then again, why not? He shows up everywhere else and takes all that he can. He was a thief and yet she ignored this fact. He wasn't the only one.
The girl was a thief too. She had stolen many hearts in her life. Now only one mattered. The one that always mattered. It was her fault he was dead. Which is why she had let her new catch go. The fish had to be free from the captor that would break its spirit… and its heart. He had a chance now. He could start over, like he had coming to the island.
Kate wished he wouldn't though, even as she continued further into the woods. Sawyer could get off this stupid island! But she would still be there and she could never forget every occurrence here. A part of her heart was greedy, wanting to stay on the island forever and have Sawyer with her. They could be free from the all the struggles they had back in civilization. NO matter how much Kate didn't want to admit it, she knew the day she got back to reality, she would be in jail within minutes. She wanted her freedom, here. She wanted this fantasy perfection that the island provided.
"Kate?" Jack questioned. He looked to her sympathetically, noticing her distant stares that weren't fleeting like the others'. Kate had a certain calmness to her that the others lacked, whether it was her thinking or just her natural behavior. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, fine," she spoke quietly, her words faltering, like she wasn't sure of what she was saying. Jack wanted to help her, more than anything. He was in love with her, but not obviously. Jack wasn't as outgoing about his emotions as Charlie was with Claire.
"The others went ahead. Are you sure you're okay?" Jack was prodding her with that question now. Didn't he know better? Kate would lock up even more. He'd never get anything out now.
"Yeah. I'll catch up," the emotion had drained from her voice. It was just lines now. Something monotonous to linger in the air and satisfy Jack's curiosity. The doctor continued on his journey, disappearing in the mass of trees and shrubbery. If he could disappear so easily, why couldn't she?
Though Kate was tired from the long journey to get to where she had been (almost at Danielle's infamous "Black Rock") she found the energy to sprint through the paths of the trees as if the very monsters of the island were at her feet. Maybe they were. She was completely oblivious to everything except where she was. The second she reached the shore, she could breathe again.
Nothing mattered but getting a chance to say goodbye to Sawyer. It had been the thought plaguing her mind since he told her she wouldn't get a chance to. It was too much for her now. Kate didn't want to believe she needed to see him, but she did. Why else was she trying to get to him?
An eternity seemed to pass before she began to recognize her surroundings. Her pace slowed…she was in the home stretch. But she began to wonder what she would do once she arrived at the shore. Fall over after all that sprinting? Knock the guy out? Kiss him? All the options sounded quite good to her now, especially the first one.
"Freckles?" A familiar Southern drawl greeted her from behind. She froze in place. Had she passed the shore and not even realized it? It was still woods all around her. Then why was he here?
"What do you want?" Kate murmured coldly. It was the exact opposite of how she wanted her voice to come out. What was wrong with her? There were millions of other phrases she could have used, but no, she chose the one that sounded most pissed off. Great.
"I thought you were supposed to be off with Doc and his dynamite crew, yet, here you are in my woods," he growled with a smirk on his face. Even with his sandy hair pulled into that odd ponytail and the deformed glasses, he managed to keep his attractiveness. At least to Kate, he was attractive.
"I left early. Why aren't you off on the raft? And who says this is your woods?" Her eyes met with his and they glared with the strangest mix of hatred and love. Something was going on between the two, and even they hadn't full noticed. The distance between them was only a step or two, enough to be comfortable but close enough for some tension.
"I say it's mine. You got a problem with that? I came to make sure no monsters were prowling," Sawyer snapped in reply. Kate snickered. Why was she coming out so harsh? Why couldn't things go right for her for once in her screwed up life?
"Monsters?" Kate managed a smile, stepping closer to sawyer to look him straight in the eyes. There was only one thing she could do that would make sense to her. But she couldn't do that…
"Well you don't look like no monster to me so I'm takin' off to make sure Chewy and Han haven't set sail yet," Sawyer brushed past the woman, and the mere touch sent shivers down Kate's spine. How could he do this to her?
"Sawyer," all her courage went into the words, her confidence slowly failing. Only fate could help her now, and that had never been kind. The brunette turned to face Sawyer, taking a step towards him and did what she hadn't wanted to do… she slapped him straight across the face.
The southerner's features twisted into a snarl, a hand going to nurse his bruised cheek. More than his face was injured. His pride had taken a beaten before but never had it been this bad. A woman… the very woman he was having difficulty saying goodbye to, had just slapped him.
"What was that for?" He groaned.
"For making me come back here. I was ready to let you go off this island on that stupid raft. But I can't stop think about you. I couldn't let you go off without saying goodbye," Kate answered, half-crying with each syllable. Neither Kate or Sawyer spoke. Instead, Kate found her lips attached to his, finally both understanding what had been going on. Fate had finally been kind to them, for at least that one moment on the island located in the middle of nowhere.
From behind a tree near Sawyer's neck of the woods, Jack found himself watching with sad eyes. Kate had Sawyer. They were kissing and it wasn't forced this time. The doctor wandered on his own and finally reunited with his group, knowing he couldn't bare to see any more of the two of them. He wanted Kate to be happy, even if he wasn't, and she had someone else. Locke was the first to notice Jack's return.
"Where's Kate? Weren't you supposed to get her?" the older man questioned.
The others in the group hounded him with questions, but only one answer came from Jack's smiling lips, "She's where she belongs."
A/N 2: Yeah, so that's the end. Do review. No flames please. Wow, that was short.