Thanks to everyone who has reviewed. Now on to the next chapter...
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Chapter 3
As he hurried along, he remembered being worried about her when she went into the jungle with Locke and Michael hunting the boar. But he couldn't let her know that. And somehow he knew she could take care of herself. So he had made a sarcastic remark when she came back, to which she responded with a flip answer and walked away. Yes, she could certainly take care of herself.
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But she couldn't take care of herself now. He had to take care of her. He needed to get her back to the hatch, to Jack, so he could get the bullet out and get some antibiotics into her. Get the bullet out, he thought, I could get the bullet out… He remembered getting the bullet out of his own shoulder with his own fingers, but he didn't dare try to do that with Kate. He remembered the pain he was in when he did that, and he didn't want to hurt her any more. Besides, he had been in the water, which helped with the wound, and there was no water around here to wash it out with. This thought of water reminded him that they hadn't had anything to drink since last night, and were both really dehydrated.
He stopped near a large tree, and leaning forward so that Kate's back was against it, he carefully took off the backpack and checked to see if there was any water in it. There was one bottle and he took it out. "Hey Freckles," he said. "I got some water here. You need to drink something." He leaned back so he could see her face. As he did, he could also see that the blood from the bullet wound in her chest had completely soaked her shirt as well as his. He held her face up to try to get her to take a few sips. She moaned and opened her eyes slightly. Seeing her eyes again brightened his own, and he smiled. "Hi baby," he whispered. "Here, drink." He tipped the bottle toward her lips. Her eyes closed again, but she slowly parted her lips enough that he could put the bottle there and he tilted it gradually to allow a small trickle of water into her mouth. He got a little bit into her before she passed out. He then drank a few sips, and saved the rest for later. After putting the bottle in the backpack and putting it over his shoulder, he pulled Kate back towards his chest and continued walking.
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Still thinking about water, he remembered their first "tackle". It was when she and Sayid thought he had stolen all the camp's water. Why everyone always thought he was a thief, he couldn't understand. Ok, well, yes he could. He had looted just about everything from the fuselage and from the unclaimed suitcases. And if she wanted to think that and tackle him, who was he to complain? Especially when the tackle reminded him of a birthday wish he had made four years ago…
Sitting alone, one night in a bar in Tallahassee, he had spied a cute little brunette on the other side of the room. He was feeling dejected after a con in which the husband had caught onto him, and the wife, in order to convince her husband there was nothing going on, had simply told him to go to hell. Since it was his birthday, they were supposed to celebrate after the scam, but instead, she was home with her husband and he was there alone. He had wished he had the courage to go talk to the brunette, ask her to come home with him, make him feel worthy of her, but before he could drink enough for that, she had slipped out unnoticed.
For some reason during this tackle, with Freckles on top of him, and then after rolling her over, he on top of her, she reminded him of the brunette in the bar. And knowing that he really didn't steal the water, he felt worthy of her. He owed her for that.
He remembered the day Jack found fresh water at the caves. He had tried to convince everyone that it would be better to live in the shelter of the caves than on the beach. But she wouldn't have it. She wanted to stay on the beach, just in case rescue showed up. She looked so beautiful sitting there on the beach, staring out at the ocean, the breeze blowing her curls around. She had later told him that she fell in love with his dimples that day, as he faced her, trying to read her mind about the caves vs. the beach. Neither had answered the other's question about where they were going to stay, but they both knew. It was all in their eyes, their non-verbal connection. He owed her for that.
When the time came and Jack had packed all his belongings and the medical supplies to move to the caves, Sawyer decided he was going to take over Jack's shelter on the beach. As he brought in his suitcases, Jack was preparing to leave, and trying to convince Kate to go with him. She refused. He owed her for that.
After dropping his suitcases, he looked at Kate and told the doc he'd like to find someone to share his new living quarters with. She showed no expression towards him for that remark, but he could read it in her eyes, and he knew she'd soon come around to his way of thinking. He owed her for that.
Later that day she had come to him for a laptop battery for the transceiver that she and Sayid were planning on trying to use to find the source of the French chick's transmission. She had called him a parasite, said he was always taking, never giving. She didn't know, but I would have given her anything she wanted, Sawyer thought now. He went with her and Sayid to triangulate the antennas, and when Sayid was getting ready to leave to put up his antenna, he had told Kate how he didn't trust him alone with her. Didn't trust me, bullpuckey, I would never do anything to hurt her. But she had gotten angry with him when he failed to mention that Saint Jack had been buried in a cave-in. She had run off, straight to the caves, to Jack. That made him realize that he was going to have to earn her respect. He owed her for that.
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Maybe this island can have two heroes. If I can get her back to Jack, then he'll fix her up good as new, he thought as he trudged through the jungle. Even though she was small, her weight was becoming increasingly heavier. His arms, legs, back, everything ached. He kept moving, but it was more difficult now. At least the trees were thinning out a little. Still, nothing looked familiar. He hoped he was almost to the hatch.
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Earn her respect….. well, it wasn't going to happen this way…. He remembered seeing her standing there on the beach as she picked up the book he'd been reading before deciding to skinny dip in the early morning tide. As he walked up to her, she had looked him up and down, taking in the sight of his naked body, and he knew she wanted him. He also knew she wasn't going to admit it. So he had made some stupid comment and she just walked off. She was really going to make him work for what he wanted. He owed her for that.
She later told him that she had denied to Jack that she felt any type of connection with him. But because of the connection that she really does feel, she had come to him to ask for Shannon's inhalers that they all assumed he had. Again with them thinking he was a thief. This was getting old. She had asked him what he wanted for the inhalers. What the hell, he had thought at the time, let's see what I can get. So he had asked for a kiss. She called him disgusting, but she could see through his cover, and he knew she felt the same connection with him as he did with her. They were two of a kind. Good and bad. Fighting to see which would win out. But instead of telling her the truth, he showed her the letter, the one that he had carried around with him for over 25 years, and let her believe that he really was as bad as everyone thought. When he again asked her for a kiss, she had refused to look at him. Damn, he needed to stop doing this to himself. He never let people into his life, no matter how much he wanted them to be.
When he refused to tell Jack and Sayid where the inhalers that he didn't have were, they decided torture was the best thing to make him tell. Pain, he could handle pain, he'd done it all his life. But when Sayid threatened to cut out his eye, the thought of not seeing Freckles again had made him change his mind. He said he'd only tell her.
When she came to him, and he saw the look in her eyes, he knew all the pain had been worth it. He still had to beg for that kiss, but when she said "okay", that was music to his ears. And oh what a kiss! He had asked for a simple kiss, and he thought that's all he was going to get. Hell, if the situation were reversed, that's all he would have done, a short peck on the lips, and been done with it, just to get back at her. Revenge. Revenge was always on his mind. But when she leaned in, looking at him with such empathy, and then lightly touching his lips with hers, an electric shock went through his body worse than the torture he'd just experienced. She pulled back slightly, and he knew she felt it too. Then she parted her lips and leaned forward again, forcing her mouth onto his, full and wide open, allowing his tongue inside to dance with hers, slowly at first, then with all the strength he still had, and while still being tied to a tree. For a split second she pulled away again, and then slid her tongue between his waiting lips, and together they lingered there, until she broke away, this time completely. He licked his lips, still tasting her. They each took a few seconds to catch their breath, and then their eyes met, and that was all it took. Their connection was confirmed. And although he'd continue to deny it, publicly and to himself, it was useless. She was a part of him, and he a part of her now. He owed her for that.
Of course, when he told her he didn't have the inhalers after all, and she had punched him in the jaw and then walked away… Well, it was still worth it. And the look on her face as she leaned over him and held him down so Jack could keep his artery from bleeding out after Sayid stabbed him in the arm …. It was worth it. When he woke up, his arm bandaged, and saw her sitting there, watching over him…. It was worth it. And when she, being the smart woman he knew she was, realized that the letter had not been written to him, but had been written by him back in 1976, and he'd been forced to explain it to her, he could tell she felt sorry for him, and he had pushed her away. But he knew she'd be back. He owed her for that.
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Suddenly Sawyer was brought back to reality as he stumbled over a tree root and nearly dropped Kate. "Son of a bitch!" he screamed, staggering, bumping into a tree. He backed up to the tree and slid down to the ground, still holding Kate. She moaned quietly and he knew she was fading. He brushed her hair off her face. So beautiful.
He wondered how much further it was to the hatch, or if he was even going the right way. He really wished he'd been paying more attention to her words than her ass when she tried to teach him about tracking as they were looking for the boar that had run off with his tarp one time.
He looked around nervously. It was starting to get dark. She'd been shot about 8 hours ago. She couldn't hold on much longer. He still wasn't completely sure he'd been going in the right direction all day, and as he took this quick rest, he could only think of one thing to do. Something he hadn't done since before his parents died.
He held Kate close and whispered, "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." He looked upward. "And please let your will be that Freckles here doesn't die. She might have done some bad things, but it was for good reasons. You know that. Hell, sorry, I mean heck, you see everything, so you know." He felt so strange praying, it had been so long since he'd even thought of God. But it was something he felt he had to do now. For Freckles. Even though it was coming from someone like him, he hoped God was listening.
Before getting up, he decided to get out the water again and try to make her drink a bit. He laid her back slightly, and as he slowly poured some water into her mouth, he felt her forehead with his other hand. She was burning up with fever. Dammit! He knew he had to get her to Jack soon. He put the bottle away, and carefully stood up with her in his arms. With a renewed strength and will to save her, he began running.
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Author's Note: Some of our other favorite characters will make appearances in the next chapter. And he's got to be almost to the hatch, right?
