Chapter 22

It was a tense group gathered in the computer room, waiting for Kate and Sawyer. There were seven of them crammed into one room and hostility was thick in the air. Sayid glared at Ana from across the room; Locke and Eko stood a good deal away from each other, that invisible force still omnipresent, keeping them apart. Hurley lurked in the background; he already knew he wasn't going to like what was coming. Jack stood close to Ana, lending her his presence; he knew she was uncomfortable with Sayid's malicious glare, but he couldn't really blame Sayid.

Kate and Sawyer came in, Sawyer leaning heavily on Kate's shoulder; a few of them gasped at his battered body, especially when he turned and they could see his back; blood was already seeping through bandages. Jack pushed the rollaway chair out for Sawyer, holding it until Kate could help him into it; he grunted a little as he sat, then looked up to find everyone staring at him. "What the hell is everyone lookin' at?" he growled, and they all looked away- except Ana.

She was horrified. Kate was glaring at her and Sawyer finally noticed her staring. "What the hell you starin' at, Butch?" he snarled. She looked away, waves of guilt washing over her. She started to leave; she didn't want to be here, they didn't want her here. Jack caught her arm and shook his head.

"Stay, Ana." He looked into her eyes and nodded. "Okay." He let her go and looked up; Kate and Sawyer were both glaring at him. He ignored them and addressed the room. "Okay. We have a problem. They are coming for Michael. You all see what happened the last time They took one of us," he gestured at Sawyer, who looked a little flustered at everyone's eyes going to him again. Kate smiled at his discomfort and put her hand on his shoulder encouragingly; smiling, he reached up and took her hand. "So, needless to say, we can't let Them have Michael. So here is what we propose; we take a group of people into the jungle and keep on the move, look for a hiding place, something. The important thing is to keep him out of Their hands until we can figure something out. It won't be easy, it will most likely be very dangerous. But the more people that come, the better our chances." He glanced around the room, trying to gauge everyone's reactions; most of the faces he saw were encouraging, but he saw some dissention. "We'll be armed, of course, but everyone here is pretty handy with a gun," he smiled as Hurley raised his hand meekly. "Except you, Hurley. I wanted you here because I'm leaving you in charge of the button." Hurley looked immensely relieved, and nodded, putting his hand back down. "So if you want to come along, we need to plan what exactly it is we're going to do."

Everyone was quiet for a minute. Sawyer stared at Jack hard; he spoke first. "Hell, I'm with ya, Doc." He felt Kate's fingers tighten but he didn't look at her. "I owe 'em double now." Jack looked like he was going to argue; instead he just smiled.

Locke was leaning against the wall, taking in what Jack said. Funny how he had mentioned dragging them all over the jungle earlier, and now that was exactly what Jack was planning on doing. Apparently his talk with Jack had struck a deep, deep nerve. He smiled. "I'm with you, Jack. Maybe we can find some answers out there." He rubbed the back of his head, smiling at Jack's frigid glare.

Ana noted their exchange with interest. She spoke up, ignoring Kate's eyes burning a hole in her. "I'm in."

Sayid shook his head. "I don't like this plan, Jack. Why go into the lion's den again? It has never turned out well. I don't think I will go." Jack looked like he was sorry, but he nodded.

Kate shrugged, her hand still in Sawyer's. If he was going to go, she was too. Well, truthfully, she would have gone no matter what. "I'm going."

Jack nodded, and turned to Eko, who had not moved. "What about you?"

Eko studied him for a long moment, then nodded. "Yes, I will go." he glanced at Kate and Sawyer, who both smiled. He was going for them; they would need him.

Jack nodded, "Okay then. Next thing- where do we go?" He pushed his dislike of Locke aside. "Locke, you've explored more of this island than any of us, what do you think?"

Locke considered. It surprised him a little that Jack was asking him. "Well, as far as we know the Others are to the northeast of us. I haven't explored much to the southwest, but it's farthest away from Them."

Jack looked around, questioningly. Nobody said anything. "Okay." This was turning out easier than he thought. "We leave day after tomorrow; I'll ask Jin to dry some extra fish, and I'll collect any spare water bottles. Make sure you have extra clothes, especially socks. Sawyer," he turned to him, "Do you have any extra blankets in your stash?"

For a second Sawyer considered telling him to stick it, but he just grinned and nodded, "Yeah, I got three."

Kate laughed. "Two," she said, "I took one." He threw her a look of disgust, and she squeezed his fingers.

Nodding, Jack said, "Okay. I guess it's settled then." he glanced at Micahel, who had been quiet through the whole meeting. "You sure this is what you want, Michael?" he asked softly.

Michael looked around at all of them; he suddenly felt very much a part of them. He smiled, nodding. "Yeah," he said. "I think this is best."

Jack stared at him for a beat, then shrugged. "Okay then. That's that. See you all later." Everyone began trickling out, except Hurley, who was on button duty.

Kate stared at Sawyer in the rollaway chair for a second, then a wicked smile spread across her face. She laid her hand on Sawyer's shoulder and whispered, "Stay here." She went over to Hurley and whispered something to him, and he turned to look at Sawyer and nodded sagely. Kate turned and winked at Sawyer, as Hurley stood up, stretching.

"Yeah, so I left something at the beach," he said, and he gave Sawyer a thumbs up and grinned, "I guess I'll be back later...much later." He smiled at Sawyer again before leaving the hatch.

Kate followed him, and she returned breathless a few seconds later. Sawyer was watching her warily; excitement was twitching at his stomach. She hit all of the lights in the hatch, leaving just the green glow of the computers; he was staring at her, his heart in his throat. "What are you doin', Freckles?" His voice was low, and tense; she could hear the electricity in it; his voice was shooting sparks. She held out her hand, and he took it; she drew him up, standing against her, she laid her head against his chest gently, feeling his arms go around her. She looked up to him and he kissed her, softly first, then with more fervor, his hands slipping lower, cupping her up against him; she could feel his need coming off of him in waves. He couldn't get her close enough; he wanted to pull her into him, swallow her up, possess her. She undid his jeans with shaking fingers, and pushed them down, taking his boxers with them. Tingling, shivering, he groaned as her hands slid slowly up, her lips following behind them. She stood and pointed to the chair. "Sit." He lowered himself gently back into the chair; smart girl, he thought. I must be slippin', why didn't I think of this? Kate removed her clothes swiftly, and she planted a knee on either side of his hips, leaning forward and kissing him again. His hands went up to her, caressing her as she lowered herself onto him slowly, moaning a little as she did. Neither one of them moved for a minute; the feeling was too delicious, the moment to good to change. Finally Kate shuddered a little and began moving, slowly, deliberately; she tried to speed up but Sawyer's hands gripped her waist, holding her to a steady, maddeningly slow pace. Breathing raggedly, Kate strained against his hands; he panted against her lips, struggling with her and himself. It became a contest; Kate versus Sawyer and the tension mounted until Kate thought she would die if he didn't let her go. She gripped the back of the chair behind his head, using it as leverage in her battle; she strained against his grip, gasping. Just when she couldn't take another second, he released his hold on her hips, wrapping his hands in her hair and pulling her mouth to his; she increased her pace frantically and cried out, slumping against him as he groaned and shuddered beneath her.

Kate could feel his heart beating wildly beneath her as he gasped for breath; gradually his breathing slowed. She kissed his chest, tracing her lips along one of his stitched up scars; he breathed in sharply and she glanced up at him. The intensity of his gaze thrilled her; she felt herself stirring again and she raised up, holding his eyes as she kissed him hard and with wild abandon. "Freckles," he groaned against her, "Freckles, the mind is willing..." he groaned again, this time in obvious pain, and she jumped off of him quickly, looking concerned and guilty. And a little disappointed, he noted. Meeting her eyes, the pain in his body was forgotten; she was flushed and glowing, her eyes radiating desire. He pulled her to him, hugging her tight, his face pressed against her stomach; she rested her hands on his head, her body slowly relaxing as she stroked his hair.

The alarm went off and Sawyer raised his head, annoyed. "Damn, I hate that thing."

Kate sighed and pulled herself from his grip. She entered the numbers quickly, the came back to Sawyer, offering him her hand. He looked at her for a second, then took it, allowing her to pull him up. He watched her gather their clothes and she took his hand, leading him back to the bunk room, where she switched on the light. She helped him into his boxers and then into the bunk; she climbed in next to him and curled up on his chest. "I can't go to sleep," she warned. "I had to take Hurley's shift. A small price to pay," she assured him, smiling. "But I bought us the next three hours. So..." She glanced playfully up at him, a question in her eyes.

Sawyer grinned back down at her, his heart swelling. If I died right now, he thought, I'd die happy; but for the first time I can remember, I don't want to die. He wanted to tell her, tell her he loved her, but what justice would those three little words do? They couldn't begin to encompass what he was feeling; it was so much deeper and wider than just love. So he said nothing, holding her tightly to him as the counter ticked down their time.

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Everyone was gathered at the beach to see the group off. Hurley was in charge of the button, Libby would fill in as doctor, and Sayid was there to help if anything went wrong. Jack studied them all; he was nervous about leaving the camp so undefended, but he knew They wouldn't bother with the camp as long as Micahel was with them. At least, he hoped so.

Locke said goodbye to Claire and kissed baby Aaron on the head; Jack talked to Sayid, imparting last minute instructions though he knew Sayid didn't really need them; Jin and Sun said a tearful goodbye to Michael. Jin wasn't going this time; Michael understood, he had a wife and responsibilities here. He hugged Jin, and shook his hand. Eko spoke a few words to Charlie, who had been depressed since Claire booted him. He brightened a little at Eko's words, and said goodbye to Kate as she passed. He stopped Sawyer and said goodbye to him too, though Sawyer was spared the horrified glances; his shirt covered up the worst of his bruises, and the ones on his face were fading and not quite so hideous-looking. Kate smiled and shook her head as Sawyer even said goodbye to the baby; he stuck his finger out and Kate almost laughed at the look of awe on his face when Aaron grabbed it and held on, waving his little fists.

The sun was up; it was time to go. They faced to the north; there was a point they had to round before they could head southwest. Waving one last time the group headed into the jungle, leaving a quiet camp behind.