Chapter Two

Sawyer stretched his sleep-stiffen limbs, limited by the handcuffs and leg chains.

"Good morning Freckles," he said through a stifled yawn.

"Morning," Kate replied, not showing much enthusiasm for Sawyer's waking.

Kate watched Sawyer for a few more seconds before she returned to her post of gazing out of the bus window.

Sawyer kept his attention on Kate for a little longer. The Kate that sat in front of him could not possibly be the Kate he knew on the island. Kate from the island was strong and confident, a leader among them. Now she seemed frail and weak, with no fight left in her. Sawyer imagined that a gust of wind just might break her in two.

Most of Kate's misery, Sawyer knew, didn't stem from her capture, but the way the other survivors acted when she was led away. The shocked and disbelieving faces were crueler than his jokes and behaviors on the island. The emotion present on her face indicated how betrayed she felt. Sawyer couldn't help but sympathizing with her. She was an outsider again, with no one else in the world she could rely on. Just as Sawyer had always been.

After Kate's form disappeared through the double doors a bubbling rage started to boil in Sawyer. How could the others treat her like that? Hell, most of them knew she was a fugitive either from the mug shot they found on the marshal or Sawyer's own exposing of her fake IDs before he left on the raft. Why were they so bewildered by her arrest?

Fortunately for the other survivors, Sawyer didn't have the time to take out his anger on them. Not even an hour after Kate's departure, Sawyer was in custody also. He went willingly, not surprised one bit. The only surprise was when the first officers went after Kate instead of him.

That led Sawyer up to this point. Kate was being transported back to Iowa, while Sawyer was heading south to Louisiana both to face their crimes. Taking this long journey in this damn uncomfortable bus with only Kate, the guard and driver to keep him company. And what boring company they were! Sawyer thought inwardly.

Sawyer's attention then returned to Kate and the resignation that showed in her form. He would have never thought that Kate would give up her freedom so easily. He guessed her time on the island had changed her as much as it did him. Seeing her this way pained Sawyer terribly and it was then that he made up his mind what he had to do. There was no way around it. He had to get Kate out of here.