"Locke, we need to stop." Jack's voice was harsh and scared; Ana was weak and tired and he was nearly dragging her through the jungle as she sagged against him. His heart still hadn't dropped back into place; it was lodged firmly in his throat and he was having difficulty breathing around it as his mind revisited her, gun barrel to her chest as she pulled the trigger, and she did it for him, but also, he thought, for herself. Despite her exhaustion and weariness he sensed a peace in her that hadn't been there before. His free hand brushed away a sweaty strand of hair from her pale face as he asid, "Are you okay, Ana?"
She raised her eyes to him; they were ringed black and ashy gray lines radiated from the corners and he stopped, helping her gently to a fallen log. "We're stopping, okay? You need to rest." He kissed her, softly, then sat next to her, pulling out a water bottle and handing it to her. She drank, thankfully, and a little color returned to her skin.
Sara dropped next to them, resting her head on her knees; in less than twenty four hours she had seen and heard some unbelieveable stuff and now her brain just wanted some quiet time to try and assimilate it all, absorb it. Locke finally noticed that they had halted and he came back, squatting down in front of Jack. Glancing at all three of them, tired and spent, he smiled, shrugging slightly. "I guess we're stopping here."
Jack glanced up at him, glaring a little; Ana's whole, warm body beneath his fingers wasn't comforting him much as he kept seeing her pull the trigger, the fear and despair that she was struggling with coming out as she stared at him, or was it Jason? His arm tightened around her shoulder as he asked her, "Is he gone, Ana?"
Her heart thudded against her chest as she nodded, slowly, almost imperceptibly; Jason was gone. The horrible guilt and remorse was gone. The anger was gone, leaving just hollow sadness instead; her hand splayed across her belly sadly. She wasn't whole; not yet, but she was closer. "Yeah." His arm dropped from her shoulder to wrap around her waist and he kissed her neck, gently.
Sara watched them, smiling as Jack's lips moved to Ana's mouth. She was happy for them, but that sense of dread and darkness still hung around them like a fog, casting them in cool shadows. Sighing, she rose to help Locke build a fire, giving them some space.
-----
The sliver of moon was high among the stars when they made it back to the entrance to the hatch;Vincent had led them to the second door, on the Valley side of the ridge, and as they walked through a short stone hallway they came to the bunk room; Sawyer raised his eyebrows and nodded towards the bed and Kate rolled her eyes. "Later, Bunny."
He was confused. "Bunny?"
Laughing, she shook her head. "Think about it."
He worked on it as she led him down the stone stairs into the crater room and she gasped as she looked up; the sky was so bright she could see every star in the galaxy and beyond; as Sawyer wrapped his arms around her from behind, burying his head in her neck a shooting star streaked across the sky, leaving a glittering trail behind it. "I get it, Freckles, very funny. But I don't see you turning it down."
She laughed and it vibrated against his arms, shaking and shuddering through his entire body, making his skin and nerves tingle. He kissed her neck, nipping gently at her soft skin until she gasped, then she turned in his arms and their mouths met with tender fury.
One corner of the darkened room was furnished like a tiny library; there were a few hard-backed chairs and a worn, dusty recliner and Sawyer swept Kate up into his arms, cradling her as she kept their lips together. He kicked one of the hard-back chairs out of the way as he deposited her in the overstuffed seat, and he fell on top of her, drawing his feet up as she reached down and pulled the handle on the side of the chair, popping out the footrest and reclining the seat back. The seat rocked dangerously as he settled himself above her, holding his weight off by levering against the sides of the chair, but Kate grabbed him and pulled him down to her, tearing at his buttons with sudden urgency as he slid her shirt up ond over her head; her bare skin against his inebrieated him and he was drunk and spinning as her hand reached down to his jeans, popping open the button and sliding in. He groaned and kicked his jeans off, reaching down to help Kate wriggle out of hers and as they came together again the chair rocked dangerously.
They kissed and touched and murmured together for a long time, the stars glowing down on them and Kate opened her eyes in ecstasy as Sawyer rocked into her; the sky above her, framed by the walls of the crater suddenly began to glow and a star streaked by, then another, then another; the heavens were falling in around them and she didn't care. "Say my name, Kate."
She whispered in his ear as he moved slowly, gently; the pace increased at his name and the chair creaked and swayed dangerously as Kate suddenly cried out, arching against him as he groaned and shuddered against her neck; they lay, panting, staring up at the heavens as the meteor shower continued, leaving dusty silver residue against the sky. He watched for a few minutes, feeling Kate's breathing slow beside him; he glanced at her and her eyes were glowing with the streaking stars. "I moved the heavens for you, baby."
She chuckled and looked over at him; he was glowing with something completely different than the meteor's glittering light. Her chuckle faded as he touched her cheek, she rested her hand on his waist, feeling the hard muscles beneath his skin. The funny retort she had ready faded; instead she said, "Yeah, you did."
He leaned over to kiss her and the chair gave up; it flipped over with a groan, spilling them both out onto the cold stone floor. Kate leapt up, laughing as Sawyer stood shakily, grimacing. "You okay?"
He glared at her; she had kicked him squarely when the chair tipped over and he wasn't feeling too friendly at the moment. As his eyes fell on her, though, naked in the light from the streaking stars his glare faded and he smiled at her so sweetly and lovingly that she went to him, hugging him around the neck. "I'm fine, Freckles." He held her for a few more seconds, then said, "Damn. I love you, but you smell like Vincent's-"
She smacked him and he grinned, swinging her up into his arms. "I ain't the only one, Sweetcheeks."
"Stop doin' that." They grinned at each other, shooting stars mirrored in their eyes; as Sawyer carried her up the stairs the stars gradually lessened, and as the shower came on in the bunk room, one last meteor shot across the sky, it's tail leaving a silvery vapor over the heavens.
-----
They all sat around the fire, Ana cradled in Jack's lap; he hadn't let her out of his grasp at all, and Ana liked it, she felt safe nestled up to him, hearing his breath above her. Her chest was sore and it hurt when she breathed or spoke, so she stayed quiet, taking shallow, short breaths, it almost felt like she was panting, and Jack kept checking to make sure she was okay.
Sara sat across the fire from them, her eyes trying to be anywhere but there; she felt like she was invading their privacy, though she didn't think they'd notice even if she took off all her clothes and did the mambo around the campfire.
Locke would though; he'd been watching her all night and his stare was getting unnerving. His eyes were burning holes in her and she finally glanced up at him, hoping he'd stop gawking if he thought she noticed; unfortunately it didn't work as he just smiled at her and kept staring.
He rose and came to sit beside her at the fire; Jack glanced up from Ana and nodded, then turned his attention back to her. Locke was quiet for a minute, then he said, "You were glad to see Kate."
Sara nodded. "Of course. She saved my life when I..." she choked on the word, "crashed." She wiped away a tear as fatigue took its toll on her emotional stability and she finished, "She was good to me. I'm glad she's not dead." She didn't look at Locke as she said it; he was staring at her, studiously, and he finally smiled.
"Princess Noor-un-nisa Inayat Khan." Sara just looked at him, confused. "She was the daughter of an Indian Mystic and an American woman who converted and moved to India. Schooled in France, she wrote children's stories for Paris Radio before the outbreak of World War II convinced her to join the British Women's Auxiliary Air Force, so that she could do her part to overthrow Hitler and get him out of her beloved France." He paused, noticing that Jack and Ana were still, paying attention to his words. Sara was listening with interest, too, and he smiled before continuing. "Since anyone who could speak fluent French was in demand she was tapped by the British Special Operations Executive, where she underwent extensive training as a wireless operator, and she was the first woman operator dropped into enemy-occupied France where she maintained a fragile link between London and the various resistance groups in her vicinity." Sara tried not to react to his words, but his gaze made her nervous; what did he know? Or think he knew? He rubbed his forehead and lowered his eyes, continuing. "The Gestapo tried to catch her for months, but she stayed one step ahead of them, riding her bicycle around the French countryside while she radioed information and positions from the wireless set hidden in a basket on the front of her bike. Her luck ran out, though, and she was betrayed by another captive; they held her for weeks, torturing her, but she refused to give up any information, either on her work or on her fellow resistance fighters."
Sara was feeling a little nauseous and she groaned inwardly as Jack asked, "What happened to her?"
Locke smiled, looking directly at Sara; he didn't answer until her eyes met his. "Unable to break her, they sent her to Dachau concentration camp, where she was executed and buried in a mass grave."
She tried to mask her sudden terror by smiling, but it felt off and she knew she wasn't fooling Locke. His eyes were cold as he smiled and she shuddered as ice dripped into her stomach. "Good story. I'll have to tell it to my students."
Ana was looking at her, too; she'd heard enough of Locke's stories to know that they meant something; her eyes narrowed as she saw the look on Sara's face. She was scared. And guilty. Ana's threat alert system went off and she sat up almost knocking Jack in the jaw as she did, glaring across the fire at Sara.
Locke threw her a warning look and she relaxed a little, but she kept her eyes glued to Sara as he said, "You're a teacher, then?"
She nodded, reagining her composure. "Seventh grade. English."
Locke nodded appreciatively. "Difficult age. Takes a tough woman to work with those kids."
She was wary as she replied, "I have my days." And this isn't one of them.
He was quiet for a second, Then he chuckled and said, "Don't we all?" He rubbed the back of his head and frowned; after a second he glanced up and met Sara's nervous eyes as he said, "Where's your wireless, Sara?"
