Chapter 53
Locke glanced up as they all straggled in; taking in their appearance he grinned. "Looks like you had a rough hike."
Jack glared at him. "Why didn't you wait for us, Locke?"
Locke glanced back to the book he was looking through; he smiled and rubbed his forehead. "I wasn't aware that those were my orders, Jack." It had been so peaceful without him. "There's a shower down the hall to the right." He directed that to Kate and Ana, who both looked bedraggled, dirty and miserable.
For an instant Sawyer thouhgt they would come to blows over the shower; they both moved towards the hallway at the same time and then stopped, glaring at each other. Sawyer put his hand on Kate and said, quietly, "Let her go first, Freckles. You and me can take our time later."
His breath in her ear and his hand on her arm made her mad with desire; she could feel him slicking against her with hot water running over them and she shivered, closing her eyes and savoring the vision. Sighing, she gave in. "Okay." Ana smirked as she stepped back and just to get even, she touched Jack on the arm and whispered, "I'm gonna shower. You could use one, too." It was an invitation and Jack wanted to take her up on it. He smiled and nodded, and Ana disappeared into the hall.
Kate was looking disgusted and Sawyer didn't get angry; he felt a little sick himself. "Come on, Freckles," he said, lets go check this place out." He took her hand and they went back into the hall too.
Jack stared at Locke for a minute, then said, "Did you find anything?" The hostility was there but muted; John had to admire Jack's willpower if nothing else.
Locke set down the book and pulled the map from his pocket. "Yeah. Check it out." He handed it to Jack, who opened it and gazed in amazement. "Found it in a book." He held it up for Jack to read.
"Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?" Jack shook his head. "Never read it."
Locke smiled. "Me either. But you can't judge a book by its cover." He gestured to the map. "Two more hatches? And if the red area here," he pointed to the Zoo, "is the Zoology Center, then what are these?" He motioned to the two other shaded areas.
Jack shook his head, then looked around at the TVs and computers. His eyes fell on the timer and he groaned. "Not another doomsday computer?"
Locke shook his head, smiling, "No, Jack, that is one controlled by us, our hatch." He chuckled at Jack's look of relief.
"So what is all of this stuff? The TVs?"
"Some kind of surveillance set up. These are all of the ocean from different points on the island."
"What are they watching the ocean for?" As he said it the shrieking alarm went off, and Locke grinned.
"You're about to find out." He led Jack to the lone television, which had flickered on and was showing a large battleship of some sort on the horizon.
Jack was dumbfounded; he said, "Where is that, Locke? Where on the island?" The automated voice cut him off with the usual recording. "Incoming detected. Scanning." Jack stared around in confusion, then watched the ship steam away as the voice called out, "Military ship. Not valid target. Tesseract disabled." This time there was no option offered to override it.
Shaking his head, Locke said, "That was a new one." He glanced up at Jack, unsure if he should fill him completely in. He sighed. "The last one, about five or six hours ago, looked like a fishing boat. A black cloud rolled out over the water and covered it up, and then it was gone. Boat, cloud, everything. Vanished."
Jack shook his head in disbelief again. "What the hell is this place, John?"
Locke smiled. 'I don't know, Jack. But I would bet that one of those hatches in the mountains is like this one, only instead of watching the water it watches the sky." He smiled. "A security system."
Jack sighed. "So, should we check it out? Or try one of the red areas?"
Locke shrugged. "I think that's a decision that should be made by everyone, don't you? There are four beds, everyone get some sleep and we'll talk about it in the morning." He grinned, nodding at the banks of flourescent lights. "Or whatever feels like morning." He tapped his forehead. "Oh, yeah, there is a door down the left-hand hall that has an electronic security lock on it. Do you have the badge from the drains?"
Jack grimaced. "No, Sawyer does. Good luck getting it from him." He sighed and pushed open the sagging door. "Good night."
Locke grinned. "Sleep tight." Jack heard him chuckle as he exited the room.
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Kate and Sawyer went down the left-hand hall after leaving the surveillance room; Locke had said the showers were on the right and they didn't want to be anywhere near there. They found the one door at the end of the hall and Sawyer frowned at the lock. "Damn."
Kate giggled. "You have the badge, dummy. Swipe it."
He pulled it out of his pack and looked at it, hating the feel of holding something that had anything to do with Him. Holding it with distaste he swiped it through gingerly; the red light flicked on, then the yellow; Kate leaned over to read the display and she smiled, surprised.
Sawyer craned over her to read it and his eyes narrowed. "What the hell? Who is Charles Wallace?" He turned the badge over in his hands and his eyes widedned. The picture was clear and the name perfectly visible; some dweeby guy with glasses and red hair.
They exchanged glances and Kate sighed and shrugged. The green light flicked on and she smiled at Sawyer, waiting for him to open the door. "A southern gentleman opens the door for a lady."
His lips curled into a smile and he said, "I don't know where you got the idea I was a gentleman, Freckles. Or that you were a lady, for that matter." She smacked him and he chuckled, reaching around her to open the door, making sure he was pressed as close to her as he could get.
The door swung open; as it did a horrible shrieking wail filled the hatch and Sawyer grabbed her instinctively and pulled her inside, shutting the door behind them. Kate covered her ears as they leaned against the door; it finally stopped and Kate lifted her head and gasped.
They were in a giant aquarium, a fishbowl; the entire room was made of glass windows and the sea floor stretched out in front of them. There was a couch and a bed; Kate thought she saw a bathroom too. It was still daylight outside and the sunlight rippled along the sandy bottom; the water created dappled rays of light that flickered into the aquarium.
Kate stood transfixed at it; she could see hundreds of little muticolored fish darting around in the sunlight and coral beds spotted the floor like scattered pieces of rainbows. As she watched a shark trolled slowly through the water, the sunlight dappling on his steel gray skin; she put her fingers on the glass, wanting to touch the beauty of it.
The ocean view was beautiful but Sawyer couldn't take his eyes from Kate; the ripples of sunlight danced across her dirty, sweaty skin and her muscles rippled along with them; suddenly desire gripped him and he had to touch her or he would die.
He stole up behind her, pressing himself against her as his hands stole around to her belly, then slid beneath her shirt as he kissed her neck. She moaned and leaned back against him as his hands slid higher; she panted for a minute as he caressed her, then she turned and pressed her mouth to his.
He swung her up into his arms and carried her to the bed; their dirty clothes left streaks on the bedspread, but they didn't notice, or care. Kate was tearing at his clothes, gasping against his mouth as he grazed his hand across her belly, tickling her; he grabbed her hands, stopping her from trying to frantically disrobe him and he held them, kissing her fingers. "Just be still, Kate. Wait here." He leapt up from the bed and disappeared into a room to the side, coming back he smiled at her and bent over her on the bed.
She reached up to pull him to her but he stopped her, his voice husky with desire. "Be still. Don't move."
She gave in and he began with her shoes and socks, just like at the rock; he pulled off her shoes, slowly, caressing her ankle and calf, then the sock. Same thing on the other side. He moved up to her shirt, kissing her all around it and as he lifted it up slowly he trailed kisses up her stomach, over her bra. He pulled the shirt gently over her head, then his lips moved to hers, kissing them as he dropped the tank off the side of the bed.
His hands moved to the button of her jeans, his mouth still holding hers; she groaned as he undid them, sliding them off slowly, his fingers exploring her as they traveled lower and lower, dragging her jeans off in one motion. He picked her up, still holding her lips and carried her into the other room; opening a door steam bilowed out and Kate pulled away as she heard the sound of running water. "A shower?"
Sawyer grinned. "Yeah, I think we both need one." He kicked the door shut behind them and set Kate down; she removed her panties and bra as Sawyer disrobed quickly, pulling her to him as soon as they were off. he groaned as their skin touched and Kate sighed; he felt like he was melting into her and he pushed her into the shower, kissing her hungrily as the water poured on them.
He grabbed the bar of soap he had set out and began lathering his hands as Kate watched, her eyes shining at him, her hands wandering. He put his soapy hands to her and started to wash her in lazy, teasing circles that spiralled lower and lower as she moaned and pushed against his fingers. He pulled her tightly against him as she cried out, bucking aganst his hands; he smiled and kissed her as she relaxed and he started his lazy circles again.
Panting, but smiling wickedly, she grabbed the soap and started lathering up her hands; when she started to wash him he groaned and leaned into her; her washing became a little more urgent and when he stiffened and spasmed against her she didn't stop.
He couldn't bear anymore; sweeping her up in his arms he carried her back out to he bed, throwing them both down on it soaking wet; He levered himself above her and stared into her eyes, flush and excited as their skin slicked pleasantly together. "Kate," he dropped his mouth to her ear, his warm breath tickling it as he whispered, "I love you, Kate. I love you." he pushed gently into her and her sigh was his reply; he moved slowly, wanting to savor the sensation of her as she tightened and shuddered; he kept up the slow pace with difficulty and as she strained against him he stopped, putting his finegrs to her lips. "Kate, be still. Don't move."
Keeping her against him he sat up on his knees, pulling her as she wrapped her legs around him; he sat back on his heels and held Kate around the waist as she kissed him. Rise, fall. Rise fall. He watched her body moving against him and he buried his face in her chest, as she shuddered and cried out he groaned with her and crushed her close, kissing every inch of her wet, sweat slicked skin her could reach.
The sunlight dappled them, blurring their outlines until neither could tell where one started and the other ended.
