Chapter 85

Sawyer knew that the lie about Kate being dead wouldn't give them much time; They would know the truth soon enough. Both of them walked slowly, wearily, through the jungle; they leaned together, taking strength from the feel of their bodies touching and the gentle sun warming their skin, and Sawyer held her close, rejoicing in the life in her, the life that he had almost snuffed out because he lost his temper. His...explosion had made Locke's knife slide across her throat, he was sure, though he kept telling himself that Locke did it on purpose. It didn't really matter anyway; she was here, next to him now, and she wouldn't blame him even if he was right. He pushed the thoughts away and concentrated on the delicious feel of her fingertips on his chest, burning him through his shirt, and the way she moved, sinuous and supple, and how her eyes shone in the sun as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

Vincent trotted ahead of them, eyeing the jungle warily; Kate watched him sniffing the air, head up, tail raised, and suddenly she loved that dog more than anything except Sawyer. He had been ever faithful and loyal since their journey began, and she thought of the all the times he had reunited them, brought them together when they refused to come together on their own. "Vincent!"

He turned and trotted to Kate, who bent and kissed him gently on the nose, and hugged his furry neck; his tail was wagging happily and he chuffed against her neck, blowing drool all over her. She laughed and wiped the slobber away, wiping it on her jeans as she straightened. Sawyer said, "What was that for?"

She looked at the happily wiggling Vincent and she shrugged. "I just love him." Vincent started barking happily, jumping in crazy circles, his tongue lolling out.

Sawyer chuckled. "He loves you, too." Raising his eyebrows he said, "Should I be worried, Freckles?"

Cocking her head at him she grinned, making his heart flutter. "Maybe. I like shaggy haired blondes." She ran her fingers through his hair, pulling it back from his face; he shivered as her hand pulled his mouth to hers, gently, savoring the way he moaned softly against her lips, his hands clutching her convulsively as the kiss deepened and sweetened; the sun brightened around them, and the birds sang harmoniously in the trees, even the insects created their own music as the world came down to Kate and James; they were the only two beings in existence, then they were one.

Sawyer finally pulled away from her and he smiled, she touched his lips and grinned back. The kiss had energized them; the chapel wasn't far, and they walked with a little more speed and spring as they came closer to the little church. They felt a connection to the place, and not just because of the baptism, though that made being there sweeter for them; it was safe there, they were the most secure they could possibly be in this crazy place. It was a sanctuary in an Island of insecurity and Kate couldn't wait to get there. She was still terrified for Sawyer, and for herself; she knew the lie would only delay them and they would have to run again soon. She hated that; she never wanted to run again. That was a different Kate, from a different life; running wasn't an impulse anymore since she had found a reason to stay put.

The little stone church finally appeared before them, materializing out of the jungle; Sawyer made Kate and Vincent wait inside the gate while he checked everything out. She patted Vincent while they waited, and he gazed up at her with slavish affection, his brown doggy eyes shining in the sunlight. Every few seconds he'd lick her hand, rapturously, and she laughed at the look on his face. "Would you stop that?"

He wagged his tail and woofed, then jumped up and licked her face. "Ugh, stop, would you? I'm sorry I said anything." She was grinning though, and Vincent woofed again and sat beside her, grinning up at her. "Okay. I love you, you silly dog. You better knock it off, you're gonna make James mad." She smirked at him a little, and said, "And you know what happens when he gets mad." She waggled her fingers at him and he rolled his eyes, as if to say, Yeah, I'm scared. Kate laughed and hugged him again. "I do love you, dog."

Sawyer reappeared in the doorway, looking hurt. "I thought I was the only one, Freckles." He grabbed his chest, sighing and falling back against the doorframe. "You broke my heart, girl."

"Well," she grinned wickedly, pointing at Vincent's lolling tongue, "You just couldn't compete with that, Tex." Vincent's eyebrows shot up and he stopped panting, drawing his tongue back into his mouth and looking at Kate with surprise.

Sawyer almost fell over laughing at the dog's expression; Kate was right, he loved the damn dog, too. "Get in here," he said, still chuckling at Vincent. Kate started to brush past him but he stopped her, catching her hand and pulling her close. "I love you, Kate."

She smiled and leaned against him, sliding her hands against the skin under his shirt, feeling his heart beating against her cheek. "I love you, too, James." She glanced up at him, her eyes shining. "Thank you for saving me."

He kissed the top of her head, whispering softly into her hair. "Don't thank me for that, baby. That's what I'm here for." They were quiet for a minute, then he added, "Well, something else, too."

She grinned and slipped away from him; he followed her and shut the door, waving his hands to put the pews against it. Fatigue slipped up on her again and she crawled into the makeshift bed; the flowers were still there, though a little worse for wear but she didn't care as she felt Sawyer crawl next to her, wrapping her up in his arms. He held her close, kissing the back of her neck, her shoulders, her ears, as his hands splayed protectively across her stomach. He didn't want sex- well, he always wanted sex, but he was content to just lay beside her, feel her warm body and hear her breath as it evened out into a gentle sleep; he loved her with a completeness and totality that still frightened him with it's intensity.

He was scared; without Eko to guide him he was lost, he didn't know where he was supposed to go or what exactly he was supposed to do and he didn't know how to continue. He was playing it by ear, like a con, going with the flow, but so much more than money hung in the balance here; if he messed up, if he made a mistake, he lost Kate and there was nothing to replace her. His hands convulsed against her and she stirred and mumbled; he couldn't hear the words but he could feel them and he smiled and buried his face in her hair. "I love you, too, baby. We're gonna be just fine."

-----

After Kotori flew off Sara tried to keep up a little better; she wanted to hear what they were saying, hoping to catch some information she could send back to Sawyer. She wasn't sure why she trusted him so easily, why he seemed so right, but after seeing the change wrought in Jack she was sure she couldn't trust him.

She wished for the millionth time that she knew what the heck was going on; speeding up a little she caught up to Jack and Ana, who were talking quietly and holding hands. They didn't acknowledge her at all; she finally cleared her throat and Jack tore himself from Ana long enough to give her a terse, "Yeah?"

Asshole, she thought, then smiled. If she wanted to get anything she was going to have to play a part, act a role. "I was just wondering if you would mind filling me in a bit on what's been going on. You've been here two months- why hasn't anyone come?"

They slowed down a little; Jack felt a pang of guilt at ignoring her all this time. She looked tired and wan and he realized that she had been in a plane crash just a few hours ago, found him alive after thinking he wasn't, seen John torture Kate and kill her, and seen Sawyer throw Locke with a wave of his hands and shoot him with a bolt of lightning. It was a wonder she wasn't gibbering like a lunatic.

He stopped, and smiled apologetically at her. "I'm sorry, Sara. I'm being an ass." He laughed at her amazed expression. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Look, I promise I'll fill you in when we stop and have time, it's a long, long story."

She nodded, a little disappointed. "Okay." She looked at Locke disappearing into the trees and she said, a little sheepishly, "Could you ask him to slow down? I-I'm really tired."

Jack nodded and squeezed Ana's hand; she cast him a smoldering look before she ran up to Locke, apparently passing on the request. He glanced back at Sara and smiled, nodding. "Sorry!"

Who were these people? They were discussing murder like baseball scores an hour ago, and now they were the nicest folks on earth; Sara didn't buy it. It was an act; she dealt with lying teenagers enough to know when she was being put on. At least the pace did slow; she finally caught her breath as they walked and it was easier to keep close to Jack and hear what they were saying.

"...thinks this hatch may be another surveillance post, to watch the skies for planes. Like the Shark hatch."

Ana said, "What about the other red area? The one between the mountains?"

Jack shrugged. "He said he doesn't know, and the Others wouldn't tell him. I guess we'll end up there eventually."

None of that made any sense to Sara; hatches? Surveillance systems? Where was she?

They came out of the jungle suddenly, and a long range of mountains stretched before them. Sara gaped at them; she had caught glimpes of them while they were walking but she had no idea of how big they were. Locke was looking up and down at them and staring at a piece of paper he had unfolded; Sara edged up to him and said, "Can I see?"

Locke smiled and held the map out for her; she got a look at the Island she had landed on. "Big place," he said, and his eyes crinkled as he grinned at her. "Guess you must be kinda freaked out."

She smiled back and nodded; Locke chuckled and pointed out an area in the lower southwestern area of the map. "That's our camp. Not long after we crashed we found these caves," he moved his finger to the caves, then slid it up to the Swan Hatch. "That's is the Swan Hatch; we found that a few weeks after we crashed." He glanced around, and said, "The plane broke into three pieces; Jack and Kate found the cockpit the day after and the tail section," he moved his finger to the extreme northwest, "landed here. Ana was on the tail section. We didn't know they were alive until Sawyer and a few others built a raft and tried to sail off to find help. They ended up here," he moved his finger to an area a little south of the tailies' beach, and said, "They met up and all of them came back to our camp."

Sara gazed at the map, storing it away in her memory. "How many survived?"

"Including the tailies, about seventy-five."

She nodded, blowing out her breath. "That's a fair few." Locke smiled, and shook his head.

"We've had a few...accidents. I think at last count we had forty-something people between the beach and the caves."

Sara blanched. "What happened to the others?"

He shrugged. "Like I said, accidents happen."

She looked askance at him, a little disturbed at his nonchalance. "That's a lot of accidents." She held his eyes for a second, then she dropped her gaze back to the map. "Where are we now?"

Locke stared at her for another second, then pointed to a spot next to the brown mountain ridge, about halfway down. "We're here," he said, and she saw the words Eagle Hatch written on the side of the mountain. "and we're going there."

Sara gazed up at the range towering above her and she groaned. "Great."