Chapter 13

They took their time; the noon sun was hot and there wasn't much of a breeze. Kate was amazed at how easy it was to be with him. Sawyer had always been the one person on the island she didn't have to hide herself from, but there had always had an edge to them; a friction. The electricity was still there, and the desire, and the tension and the challenge; but it had shifted, like some great huge obstacle had been overcome, and now they could just relax and enjoy being with each other.

They were walking in the general direction that Eko had pointed out, but they were so lost in each other they didn't even notice the jungle passing them by. There were countless reasons to touch; their fingers brushed and entwined and drifted idly apart then brushed and entwined again. They talked about everything and nothing; even their pasts were not completely taboo, though by an unspoken agreement they avoided the deep dark valleys in their hearts, preferring to dwell for now in the sunny plains. Sawyer told Kate about one of his cons that went horribly wrong; romancing a woman whose husband owned a construction company, he was dismayed to find that her "husband" was actually a gigantic lesbian with arms like hams and a face to match. When he refused to 'take care' of them both, she nearly beat him to death and he had escaped with only his pants and his money; pride and dignity had been left far behind. Kate laughed so hard she had to sit down in the middle of the trail to catch her breath.

"It ain't that funny, Freckles," he said, looking a litle hurt. He didn't really care; he loved to see her laughing. "Your turn."

Her smile faded. "I don't have anything to tell."

Sawyer eyed her skeptically. "Come on, now Freckles. I know there is some kinda secret you can tell me about yourself." She still didn't answer and he rolled his eyes. "Fine. See if I ever tell you about the garden party and the three dobermans." Grinning he leaned forward and whispered,"Now that one is funny."

She looked him steadily in the eyes and sighed. "Okay, you win." She paused. "My birthday is June 13." He gave her a disgusted look. "Okay, okay," she held up her hands placatingly and sighed again, drawing her knees up under her chin. "I was... seeing this guy, and I talked him into helping me rob a bank. In New Mexico." She glanced up at Sawyer, who was watching her, grinning. She looked back down at her knees. "He outed me," she put particular emphasis on those words, shooting a glance at Sawyer; he just smiled blandly. She continued. "He outed me to the bank manager then threatened to kill him, so I..I shot him in the leg. And left." She glanced back up at him, kind of scared; she had never told anyone this before and she was conveniently leaving out the plane. He was staring at her with something like admiration, but there was something else there also. She melted into a smile. He held his hand out to her and she took it, letting him pull her up against him.

He held her close, breathing in the musky, sweaty scent of her. "Sweetcheeks," he murmured against her hair, "I think that kinda turned me on." She burst out laughing and pushed him away; he looked wounded. "What?"

"You're disturbed, Sawyer, really." She was still laughing though, and he suddenly wanted her, right there, right then. He touched her cheek, gently, and she met his eyes, her laughter dying in her throat. Still gazing intently at her, he let his finger slide down to the hollow of her throat, and she swallowed hard, a little frightened by the intensity of his stare. His eyes were blazing; she was the moth, drawn into them, into him. He touched his lips to hers and it burned like fire; she opened her mouth to his insistent tongue and it was like lava flowing through her. Sawyer slowly backed her up against a tree, all ten fingers working frantically on the button of her jeans; and she shed them quickly, her fingers getting his pants undone and removed. He lifted her against the tree trunk with his good arm and she wrapped her legs around him, holding onto his neck as he leaned into her, groaning softly. They stood that way for a second, then he moved slowly, and gently; then faster... then faster; Kate threw her head back, crying out and they shuddered together, Sawyer sagging lightly against her, his knees weak and shaky.

They dressed quietly, grinning at each other. "I guess we'd better get going," Kate finally said, bending to pick up her pack. As she bent down, she noticed something a few feet away from the tree where they had just been. "What is that?" she asked, to no one in particular, and she went over to it, carefully. "It's a backpack." She glanced quickly around, as if expecting to see the owner watching them.

Sawyer was looking around too. He hoped the owner wasn't around; his stash had become a little depleted, and he was always lookin' for new stuff. He glanced up into the tree and grimaced. "Kate," he said, and pointed up into the branches.

She followed his hand and gasped- there was a body lodged in the branches. She looked at the trunk where she and Sawyer had just been, then looked back up at the body that had been perched directly above them. "Oh, gross," she muttered to herself, resolving to always check around for dead bodies before she and Sawyer had sex.

"Where the hell are you goin'?" he asked, as she hoisted herself up into the tree and started scampering up the branches. Following her with his eyes he was captivated by the view above him, and didn't hear her answer.

The body was somewhat fresh, flies still buzzed busily around it, alighting in the shredded skin and open eyes and mouth. Kate tried not to gag as the stench hit her- how could they not have smelled this before? She held her breath and looked over at the mangled corpse, then she let out a yelp.

Sawyer was still watching her from below. It looked like she was gagging, and realizing he was standing directly in the line of fire, he moved away a few steps. She yelped, and he shouted, "You okay?"

She didn't answer for a second, and he watched her with a little apprehension. Finally, she said, "Yeah, I'm okay. It's...it's Desmond."

The name didn't register for a minute. "The guy from the hatch?"

"Yeah." She was going higher in the branches. He wanted her to come down; she climbed like a monkey, but he was still worried. If she fell what could he do? Nothing. He willed her to come down.

"What are you doin'? Come down, let's go." It was the closest he could get to asking her.

She hollered down from even higher. Sawyer was starting to feel clammy dread seeping into his gut. "I'm just seeing if I can get my bearings, see where we are." She gazed out over the jungle, but nothing looked familiar. It didn't really matter, anyway, she just liked climbing. A movement caught the corner of her eye, and she screamed at Sawyer as the trees to her right started bending and cracking. "Run! It's coming!" She started to drop down through the branches as rapidly as she could.

Sawyer watched her, scared into immobility. "Hurry Kate," He screamed at her, as the mechanical grinding roars shook the ground beneath their feet. She was descending but not quickly enough. She was screaming at him to run. "Not without you, hurry!"

She was barely touching the branches as she dropped. She looked horrified as Sawyer stood, staring at her, not running. "Don't wait for me-" her hand slipped and she plummeted through the branches.

It happened in slow motion. She was yelling something at him, and her hand missed the branch she was reaching for. She fell- he couldn't move, he was frozen in horror as she tumbled. She struck a large branch and it caught her across the gut, stopping her fall and knocking the wind from her. Black spots swam in her eyes, but she willed them away and frantically looked for Sawyer while she gasped for air.

The roars were so close, he couldn't hear anything. Sawyer saw her hit the branch and he nearly fainted with relief. Kate was staring at him with terror and horror and he turned away from her to look- and it was there. The Black Cloud hovered in front of him, clanking and growling and rolling. It flashed and pulsed and he stood, tranfixed, staring into it.

Suddenly Eko was in front of him, blocking him from the Cloud. It's growls and roars grew louder, and the flashes intensified, then it compacted into a tight cylinder and flitted away into the trees.

Sound returned to the jungle. Kate was already out of the tree and halfway to him. She caught him, hard, crushing herself to him, sobbing and kissing him all over. He gripped her body to his, burying his face in her neck. She couldn't let him go; her heart had stopped and in those seconds of terror she had seriously contemplated what her life would be like without him, and it was grim and terrible. She grapsed onto him, trembling and weak, and he held her back, listening with relief as her sobs abated.

Sawyer's initial terror was subsiding, and he smiled and whispered into Kate's neck, "I think it likes you."

He felt her smile and relax imperceptibly against him. "I think it likes your cologne." He laughed, weakly, and they both reluctantly let go and stepped away from each other. Eko was standing, watching them, smiling.

Kate and Sawyer stared at him. Finally, Kate asked quietly, "What did you do? To make it go?"

Eko paused before answering, trying to word it just right. Finally he simply said, "I...told it to go." He didn't miss Sawyer's hand tightening around Kate's waist. What did it show you, Cowboy? he wondered, but didn't ask. He would know, eventually. He smiled to himself.

Sawyer and Kate were looking at each other. Finally, without breaking his gaze from her, Sawyer sighed and asked, "Okay, Buddha, I guess you're the new trail guide." He dragged his eyes away from Kate and glanced at Eko, who was smiling back. Sawyer bent and picked up his pack and Desmond's, and taking Kate's hand, he motioned for Eko to lead on.

------

Ana followed closely behind Jack, her eyes glued to his heels. She couldn't rid herself of the gargoyle, snapping at Jack's feet; but she had nearly convinced herself that it was just a dream. She sped up a little and caught him; he seemed to still be in a good mood. "So, did you forget my seat number?"

He seemed confused. "Excuse me?"

She smiled and repeated herself. "Did you forget my seat number? On the plane?" They were stepping over a particularly big deadfall, and he took her hand to help her climb over it. "I was just wondering why you never came back for that drink. Other than the plane crash, I mean." She let go of his hand.

He glanced at her, chuckling. "42F. Right over the damn wheels."

Nodding, she raised her eyebrows. "Well," she said, "I'm impressed."

He chuckled again. "You won't believe me, but I was on my way back to see you when we hit the first pocket of turbulence." He shrugged. "I sat down, buckled my belt, and the rest you know."

She closed her eyes. "Yeah." She opened them again, and smiled thoughtfully. "If you'd have come back just two minutes earlier," she mused, biting her lip, "Imagine how different things would be."

He contemplated the idea, but the implications were too big to get his head around. He glanced up at Locke, a dozen yards ahead of them. "Locke would say that we would all still be right here, doing the same things at the same times." he frowned. "He'd say that the game and the players don't change; just the positions that they play."

"And what do you think, Jack?"

He didn't know how to answer that. He was spared by a loud shrieking roar off in the distance. Locke stopped and they all gazed in the direction of the groaning rumble.

Jack stiffened. "Did you hear that?" Ana listened hard, straining her ears. She heard it too, someone was screaming. She looked at Jack but he was already gone, tearing through the brush. "Kate!" he called. "Kate!"

Locke yelled after him, "Jack, wait!" but he was gone. Ana glanced at Locke and they both took off after him.

He ran, shoving vines out of his way and leaping over snaky roots that threatened to trip him. What the hell was Kate doing out here? He knew it was her, without a doubt. It felt like an hour, he could hear the monster moving away, and fear struck his gut like a fist nearly doubling him over. He didn't even have the breath to call for her.

He burst into a clearing and skidded to a halt; Kate and Sawyer were standing, guns out and pointed at him, and Eko had his club cocked over his shoulder ready to swing. "Jesus, Doc," Sawyer snapped in semi-relief, dropping his gun and uncocking it. "You tryin' to make me shoot you?"

Jack noticed that Kate wouldn't look at him. She kind of ducked behind Sawyer, letting him shield her from Jack's view. "What the hell are you doing out here, Sawyer?" he panted, bent over trying to catch his breath. He ignored Kate. Two can play at that game.

"Same thing as you, Boss," Sawyer shot back. He could feel Kate lurking behind him, and while it pissed him off a little that she felt the need to hide from Jack at all, he was pleased that it was him she chose to hide behind. It made him feel needed. "Out lookin' for Batman and Robin." He sneered at Jack's glare. "Don't look so surprised, Jacko. The sleeping pills wore off fast."

They glared at each other. Sawyer felt Kate stiffen behind him when he mentioned the pills, and his hand automatically reached back for hers. She took it, grateful for the reassurance, and grateful that she couldn't see Jack's face. Sawyer could though, and he grinned wickedly to himself. He gave her fingers a loving squeeze.

Locke and Ana burst into the clearing, breathless. "Well, well," Sawyer smirked, "The gang's all here." Kate snickered behind him.

Ana went to Eko, smiling. "Hey," she said, "Good to see you."

"You too, Ana," he replied, taking her hand. "I see you have not had any luck finding Michael?" She shook her head, sadly, and Locke spoke up.

"We were on a trail when we heard you screaming." He smiled at Kate, who had edged out from behind Sawyer a little. She smiled back, tenatively. "Are you okay?" She nodded, and he gave her a genuine smile. "Good. Well, now that we are all together again, I say we get back on the trail." He looked over at Eko, and their eyes met. Locke felt physically repulsed; as if a giant hand had shoved him in the chest and was pushing him back. He held his ground, staring at Eko, whose smile had widened at Locke's shocked look. John stepped back a little and the pressure lessened. He gazed at Eko curiously.

Jack wasn't thrilled with the idea of Kate and Sawyer joining them. He glanced at Ana, who was staring at Kate suspiciously, as if she had just realized something. Kate, for her part, had noticed Ana's stare and was glaring back. She was still pissed about the drugging. She put her hand possesively on the small of Sawyer's back, claiming him to herself, and Sawyer grinned as he felt her fingers grip him through his shirt.

"Okay then," Locke said, turning back into the jungle. "Let's go." With one last perplexed look at Eko, he melted into the trees. Eko smiled again; he too had felt the push, the force repelling him from Locke. He filtered silently into the trees behind Locke.

That left the four of them. Jack glared at Sawyer and Kate, then without a word turned and disappeared behind Locke and Eko. Ana was still staring at Kate, an unpleasant smirk playing around her lips; Kate glared back, still clutching Sawyer's hand. Sawyer stood in the middle of the impasse, wishing he could reach out and knock Ana in the jaw, but instead he sneered at her and held out his arm, invitingly. "Ladies first," he said, pointing her in the direction of the jungle. She smirked and turned, flashing him a look of disgust before she marched off after Jack.

Kate and Sawyer stood alone. She came around to him and sighed, still holding his hand. She looked up and grinned weakly, brushing a strand of shaggy hair from his eyes. He leaned in and kissed her softly, thankful that he could still feel her against him, feel her fingers in his hair. She broke it off, reluctantly sighing. "I don't think this is going to be very much fun," she laughed, swinging her pack up onto her back. Sawyer grabbed Desmond's again, and his, and he flashed her a dimple-filled grin.

"Oh, I don't know, Freckles," he said mischieviously. "I think this might be some kind of fun." Winking at her, he took her hand and they disappeared into the trees together.