AN: Not much too this chapter but I'm oddly pleased with it. It's basically just a prologue/prelude to the next chapter. I can't believe that I only have four more chapters to write of this fic. I've actually been thinking about that and I might actually have five more. Who knows? Or maybe just really long chapters...goes off to think about continuing plot

Chapter 16

"Do you want fries with that?" the woman's voice crackled over the order intercom.

Sawyer turned his head around and glanced over his shoulder at Kate. She shook her head no, loosening the soft brown tendrils of hair from her bun, letting them cascade gently around her face. The curls were in stark contrast with her wan features and dark circles lying under her eyes caused by the restless sleep of the previous two nights. But damn, he thought, she's still beautiful.

"Sir, do you want fries with that?" she said louder this time, thinking he didn't hear the first time she asked, but only succeeded in increasing the static rendering her question indiscernible but it was enough to gain Sawyer's attention.

"Uh, yeah…We'll take fries," Sawyer replied, opposite of what Kate had told him. "Ow! Freckles, what was that for?"

Kate had given Sawyer a smack on the leg for his direct behavior against what she had said.

"Sawyer, we don't have the money! It's not like I'm going to starve," Kate exclaimed in scolding hushed tones.

"Well, I beg to differ sweetheart. You really think you ain't going to be hungry in an hour with that rabbit food you ordered?"

"I'll be fine. Besides, a salad is more nutritional than the heart attack you ordered."

"I might have a heart attack, but at least I'll be full," Sawyer said, grinning ear to ear with his dimples deeply creased.

The sun was had barely begun the paint the dark violet night in shades of red and yellow when Kate and Sawyer pulled away from the gas station. Both sat silently in the car, an ominous dread and fear hanging over them. They hadn't said a word since Sawyer's frightening declaration.

Kate's mind raced with what to do. Money wasn't just something you found laying abandoned in an old attic or tossed carelessly aside in the middle of the road. There wasn't any way to get in touch with anyone else for help either. It would be too risky. And heaven knows they had already been too careless.

The only solution Kate could come to was one that she wasn't looking for. Even though her rap sheet was as long as the Mississippi, it still weighed on her shoulders when she choose to add to it. The only way out of this she could see was to steal the money.

Sawyer had known they were running low on cash ever since he had turned some bills into quarters when they went to do laundry. He had hoped that they might be able to get by but he was certain that it was just wishful thinking. He choose to keep it from Kate. She already had enough to deal with.

"So, have any ideas what to do?" Sawyer asked, not breaking but adding to the heaviness of the atmosphere.

Kate breathed deeply and let out a sigh before she turned to Sawyer. She looked up at him with remorse etched in her features.

"Sawyer, I think you know what we have to do. What else is there?" Kate expressed sorrowfully.

"Yeah," Sawyer said in a hushed whisper. "I couldn't think of anything else either. I just don't want to do it."

"It's weird, huh?" Kate said. "With all that we've done, we can still have a conscience crisis over stealing a little cash."

Sawyer chuckled softly at Kate's remark. It was pretty damn ironic that they could fret over a little crime like this with their criminal pasts. People, who would have a preconceived notion about the way they were, would wonder about their hesitation. But neither of them were hardcore criminals. They were just people who had been forced into difficult situations when they were young and their choices had continued the journey down the dark spiral staircase of their lives.

Over the many years that Wayne lived under the same roof as she, Kate had allowed herself to build an immense hatred that consumed her every thought, burning away her sense and logic while searing her sight. She had planned the entire thing. Thought and dreamed about beforehand. But afterwards she promised herself that she wouldn't let the one horrible decision she made in her life define who she was. So she struggled everyday to live her life as honestly as possible even though most of the time it was a losing battle.

Sawyer, on the other hand, choose the way he lived. But his choice stemmed from the self-loathing and anger that raged within him. His parents' deaths stained his soul with the idea that no one cared about him or ever would. And if nobody cared what happened to him, why should he bother to try to live an honest life when there was nobody to disappoint? That's the way he was before. Sawyer's experiences of the past few months had changed him. He now had someone to disappoint.

"So, uh, do you have any ideas about how exactly we're gonna go about this?" Sawyer said after a pause.

"I have some ideas," Kate responded, a smile creeping through her features.

Sawyer had parked the car in the lot of a large airport so he and Kate could eat before the night began. The airport was seemingly in the middle of nowhere but Sawyer guessed that it had been a product of one of those regional economic programs. It was positioned right off the highway and was practically the only thing at this exit except for a few cheap hotels and gas stations. He hoped that, despite its location, it would still accommodate his and Kate's needs.

The windows were rolled down and a cool summer night's breeze flowed through the openings, caressing their exposed skin. Kate sat cross-legged in the passenger seat angled toward Sawyer. Her salad was fixed on her lap but she wasn't paying any attention to it. Instead she was watching Sawyer eat, finding it quite amusing.

"You're making a mess of yourself, Sawyer," Kate scolded.

A long stream of ketchup and mustard mixed with tomato juices from his hamburger was rolling down his face and threatening to drip onto his clean white shirt. Sawyer smiled, making the mess on his face even more comical. Kate couldn't help but let out a small laugh herself.

Kate leaned forward bringing herself closer to Sawyer. She reached out and cupped his face in her left hand moving to wipe the mixture off with her thumb. Once that was accomplished, she pulled back to resume the position she was in before. But Sawyer stopped her progress. He grabbed her wrist, encompassing her small arm in his securing hand.

"Now wait just one second, sweetheart," Sawyer's voice rang out in husky tones. "That's mine and I'm not gonna let you take it."

Kate was momentarily puzzled by his remarks but before she could dispose of a question she had her answer.

Sawyer slowly drew her hand back. The blend of liquids from his hamburger still wet on her fingers. The very tips were just brushing his lips. Sawyer raised his head and looked directly at Kate, an overwhelming need and desire twinkling in his eyes. Then he gradually began to kiss her fingers, letting his lips linger near her skin longer than need be.

What was he doing? Frantic thoughts raced through Kate's mind. Her skin tingled as Sawyer's lips crept toward the tops of her fingers. Goosebumps raced up her arms as she felt the warmth of his mouth flow through her skin.

Her reason told her pull away, to fight what Sawyer was doing. She just wasn't ready for it. He had caught her off guard. Kate found this simple act exciting and thrilling. But it puzzled her how it could. It's Sawyer, that's how she thought to herself.

"Mmm… That's better, now ain't it?" Sawyer drawled as he lifted his eyes to meet hers again.

As Sawyer did so, he found something he hadn't expected to see. He had expected to see disgust and admonishment in her eyes. However he didn't. Instead he saw a need to match his own reflecting in Kate's face. The tension had always been there, he knew, to some extent on both of their parts.

Sawyer let his portion out through raw remarks and charming smiles without thought. Kate, on the other hand, didn't let her emotions show so easily. She was the kind of person to bury feelings even further down into the recesses of her heart when they threatened to well up. It was a survival instinct that had been bred into her from her years of running from the law.

Kate let her hand linger on top of Sawyer's even though he had let hers go. She found herself staring at the stark contrast between their two hands. Sawyer's was large and encompassing compared her fragile fingers and dainty palm. In a way, the difference summed up how Kate felt around Sawyer. She was beginning of him as someone who could protect her from anything and would no matter what consequences might lay in wait for him afterwards. The only time that she could let her guard down easily was when she was around him. Kate felt comfortable surrendering her well being to his care.

Before Kate even thought about what she was doing, she pulled Sawyer's hand close to her surrounding it with both hands. She took her thumbs and slowly kneaded the flesh of his palm savoring the ruggedness of it. Kate brought his hand up to her mouth and began to kiss the mountains and valleys of skin of his hand in the exact way he did hers moments before. The salty taste enticed her. She wasn't sure that she would be able to stop herself from going further.

The surprise of finding desire in Kate's eyes was reduced to nothing at this new turn. He never pictured that anything like this would ever happen between Kate and him. Sawyer inwardly smirked when he thought of how everyone else from the island would react if they ever knew. But no matter how much disbelief he held before about the potential of what was happening, nothing seemed more natural in the world than to have Kate by his side.

Kate had switched back to massaging his palm. For Sawyer it was infuriating. He couldn't hold out any longer. His need to hold her, to kiss her, to run his hands down the smooth curves of her body was insatiable at the moment. Sawyer tore his hand out of her grip moving it to around her waist bringing his other hand along with it on the opposite side.

Sawyer marveled at how she wasn't resistive when he lifted her over to the driver's seat placing her on his lap or not caring about the abandoned salad that now lay strewn in the car floor. But Sawyer barely had time to notice such things before he felt her mouth over his in a passionate kiss.

Again, he was amazed at this new, very forward Kate. So much so to the point that he took him a few second to start kissing back. Kate had placed her hands on his shoulders and was now moving them across Sawyer's back, loving the fact that she could still feel his muscles through the thick polo shirt. Sawyer still had his hands on her small hips but was slowly working his fingertips under the bottom edge of her shirt.

With an abrupt suddenness, Sawyer broke the kiss and leaned back to meet Kate's eyes squarely. They were both breathing heavily from the excitement of the kissing and lack of air over the past minute.

"Baby, you know I would love nothing more than to continue this right here, right now," Sawyer stated with a tinge of regret. "But we have some work we have to do."

Sawyer shifted his glance over Kate's shoulder through the windshield of the car where the terminals to the airport were. Kate also turned and looked behind her. She had a mind to yell at Sawyer for bringing her back to the dreaded reality they were in. Kate didn't want to think of all that could go wrong. She didn't want to think of the consequences of what they were about to do that might come back to haunt their travels later. Kate couldn't also help but wonder how they were exactly going to pull it off.