Sawyer sat at the end of the sand on the beach, partially shaded by the trees behind him. He was watching Sayid and Jack try to get information out of the Other. He knew they would eventually torture him and couldn't help but smirk knowing that this man wouldn't get a kiss.

Sawyer put his attention back on the book he was reading, The Outsiders. Rose had found it and given it to him, she was a nice lady. Sawyer was thrilled when she had it. He loved the book and had always been able to relate to the boys.

Leaves fell onto him and he brushed them off haphazardly but stopped when he heard what sounded like a giggle coming from overhead. Looking up he saw Kate lying on a tree branch above him.

"Spying on me?" He asked.

"I was here first. I like it up." She told him swinging herself down from the tree and settling in the packed sand beside him. "People never notice when I'm up there."

"You were that annoying nosy kid weren't you?" He asked smirking. "I hated kids like you."

"And what were you? A greaser?" She took the book from him looking it over. "I've never read the book, I saw the movie once though."

Sawyer rolled his eyes. "Kids these days."

"How old are you?" Kate asked.

"Old enough." Sawyer took the book back and marked his page, shutting it. "I've got things to do."

"No you don't."

Sawyer looked at her as he stood up. "Yes sweet cheeks I do."

Kate sighed annoyed herself at how easily he could be annoyed. "Fine I won't ask how old you are. But I'm 22."

Sawyer coughed. "You're lying, you are not 22."

Kate grinned a bit. "Yeah I'm 26." She stood up. "But you must be old cause that freaked you out."

"I'm not old." Sawyer protested walking off, secretly happy with the fact that she would follow him. He just needed to come up with something to do now. "Why do you care?"

Honestly Kate didn't care all that much but she'd be lying if she said she didn't get a kick out of annoying him. "45." She watched him out of the corner of her eyes, soon he'd be yelling or stomping off like a child.

"I'm not 45!" He stopped suddenly and she almost ran into him. "I'm 38 okay." He immediately regretted saying it when he saw the look of triumph on her face.

Her smiled faded and Sawyer felt his chest tighten. She was looking at something behind him dreadfully. He turned around expecting to see something awful but instead was met with Jack and Ana Lucia. They were talking and walking. Sawyer turned back around.

His movement seemed to have woken Kate up because she was now trying to cover the look of disgust on her face. "Bitch."

Sawyer wasn't stupid, it wasn't just Ana that was upsetting Kate so bad. He walked off quickly and it wasn't long before he heard her behind him.

"Sawyer! What the hell?" She was catching up to him.

Sawyer walked faster he went past Jack and Ana who looked at him questioningly. He could hear Kate's pace slow just a little when she pasted Jack and he quickened his again. He could see the caves ahead of him and he turned sharply. He didn't want to be around everyone.

"Sawyer!" He felt Kate grab his arm and he stopped turning around quickly. She looked at him in silence. She wanted to say something but it was like the words were stuck in her mouth. She parted her lips with her tongue. "Sawyer."

He looked at her fighting the urge to push her against the tree and kiss her. He could feel her grip loosen on his arm and once it dropped and she was no longer touching him he could still feel the lingering tingle of where her fingers had been.

They stayed like this for some time, or maybe it was only a few seconds. It felt like a long time to the two of them.

"Who's Wayne?" Sawyer finally asked.

Kate's expression changed and he couldn't read her at all. The only change was the almost imperceptible quickening of her breathing.

She opened her mouth slowly looking for words. "Just some guy." She said, her teeth barely parting to let sound through.

"He must have messed you up real bad." Sawyer was going for blood, the idea of her and Jack was eating at him.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"How'd you do it Kate? How did you kill him? Was it bloody?"

"I said I don't want to talk about it." Kate's fixed her eyes on him. "Unless you want to go into your past too. Why don't you tell me about the real Sawyer? At least I didn't go taking on some asshole's name and carrying around a letter."

Sawyer had gotten what he wanted but immediately regretted it. "I'm not the fugitive and you want to go into that letter?" He took off towards the caves so suddenly Kate almost jumped back. It took her a few seconds to regain her bearings but then was after him.

When she caught up to him he was going through her things. "What are you doing?" She grabbed him but he threw her off. She went to grab him again but he had stopped and pulled something out of her bag.

"Let's talk about this." He was holding up the toy plane. Kate tried to grab it but he pulled it away.

"Sawyer give me that." She put her hand out for it.

"For me it's a letter for you it's a toy plane. We're not that different Sweetheart." He was holding the plane away from him just a bit studying it.

Kate snatched the plane angrily. There weren't many other people around them but those that were had looked at them and left, finding something else to occupy their time with.

"What the hell is your problem?" Kate shoved the plane back into her bag. "You are seriously fcked up."

Sawyer knew he'd gone to far but he also knew that it was to late to go back. He was unconsciously balling the letter up in his hand.

"You aren't the only person in the world with problems Sawyer!" Kate ran her hand through her hair and leaned up against the wall.

Sawyer tilted his head to the side almost imperceptibly. "And you may not understand me as well as you think you do."

"You think that that man" Kate gestured angrily at the paper "screwed up your life so horribly. If we get back I'm going to prison because I killed the man who fucked up my life so bad!"

"We are alike I guess." Sawyer muttered.

"Yeah so alike! At least your mother died loving you!"

"Yeah I'm one lucky bastard!" Sawyer had shoved the letter back into his pocket. "It's to bad for you that your dad didn't kill your mom. So damn lucky. Don't give me that shit."

"He killed my baby!" Kate screamed.

Sawyer stopped. "What?" He was watching her now.

Kate stopped also and blanched. "Nothing." She said as if he would forget what she had said. She should have known it would come through at some point. "It's nothing."

Sawyer almost smiled. "No, it is something."

Kate turned to go but he grabbed her. "I guess even the best slip up." He pulled her close to him.

She was breathing hard and looking up at him, gathering her words. "You think you're so bad ass don't you. So disconnected."

"I'm not the one almost in tears."

"I'm not the one who fell in love."

"What?" He was still holding onto her arm and it was starting to hurt.

She pulled her arm away. "I said I didn't fall in love."

"You didn't?"

She could feel his breath. She was still standing close even though he was no longer holding onto her. He took a step closer and she took a step back. What seemed like forever passed between the two of them in silence. It was as if everything was waiting for an answer, even the animals were quiet.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" He asked taking a step towards her again so that she knocked into the wall.

"Move."

Sawyer took another step forward and he was pressed against her. Leaning down he whispered into her ear, causing her hair to move with his breath, "Do you think I'm stupid Freckles?"

Kate was scared even though she knew he wouldn't do anything to her. In fact she felt safer with him than she did with anyone. But right now something told her to be scared. Her instincts told her to push him and run as fast as she could until she was out of breath but something kept her glued to the spot. "No."

Sawyer felt compelled and magnetically drawn to her. He knew he was scaring her but he couldn't move. It was as if something had taken over him, the words sounded foreign to his ears and he was surprised when he heard them. "Do you love me?"

Without thinking Kate tried to take a step back but only pushed her back into the wall. Her whole body was aching and her mind was screaming to run and she couldn't. She willed her body forward but it made no difference she was still there, feeling his breath on her skin and his rough cheek up against hers. She could feel his heartbeat, or was that hers. She didn't know. Her mouth was dry and as she drew in breath it seemed to scrape against her throat. She realized he had grabbed her wrist at some point and was holding onto it.

She licked her lips but it didn't seem to make any difference and they still felt parched. "Sawyer."

"Answer me." He almost growled so softly she barely heard it. Maybe he didn't even say it, maybe it was her imagination.

"I can't." She moved her head down, but he grabbed her by the chin pushing it back up and she yelped as her head hit the wall. He dropped his hand when she made the noise as if burned but didn't move his body; she was pinned to the wall.

"You can." He pressed himself closer. He could feel her chest moving in and out and when their skin met her stuck to his, she was sweating. "Answer me Kate."

"I can't answer you!"

"You can!" He moved back a bit, not enough to let her move but she couldn't feel his body heat as strong anymore. She couldn't feel his heartbeat.

"No. I can't." She made to move.

He grabbed her wrists "Then it's a yes." And pushed her back causing her to stumble. "Isn't it."

They were in their own world, others had moved back into the area but were still staying clear of Kate's shelter and it wouldn't have mattered because the only thing in the world that mattered to the two of them was each other.

Kate was shaking her head. "I can't say it." She looked as if life hadn't taught her not to she would have been crying. She moved into him willingly. "I can't."

He dropped one wrist and pulled her closer by her waist. "I need to hear you say it." He heard that strange thing make him say. He felt like he would throw up any minute.

She felt the same. She was silently shaking her head now in almost unnoticeable movements.

He wanted to shake her, the thing tried to make him shake her but he stopped himself. It was an almost painful thing not doing it, but he felt relieved having control over something. But then he heard it again. "I need to hear you say it."

He could feel her trembling in his arms. If he had seen any other man treating her this way he would have killed them without thought. He would have wrung their neck. She looked so scared. Her hairline was drenched in sweat.

Her breathing was so hard he was scared she would faint any second. She leaned forward surprising him and causing him to grab her, he thought she would fall instead she whispered something into his hair that he couldn't understand.

"What?" He asked.

She moved back and looked at him scared. Had she said it? Had she told him she loved him? Instead of answering him she wordlessly sat onto the ground.

Sawyer leaned up against the wall. The thing had left him and he felt worn out. It felt like when you wrapped a rubber band around your wrist until your hand turned purple then you took the rubber band off. It was like blood was reentering him. The air suddenly felt cold like he had been sleeping with to many blankets and had taken them off, the cold air hitting him suddenly. He was physically and emotionally drained.

Tired.