Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing.

Here's chapter 4 with a few more of Sawyer's memories. I hope that part isn't too boring, basically recapping what happened in the show, pretty much in order, but with Sawyer's opinions. I just thought that it showed that Sawyer and Kate have had this "connection" since the very beginning of the show, even though it is sometimes very subtle. Hopefully the real Lost writers will continue with it in season 3. (Since of course I don't own any of them!)

Ok, on to the chapter. I don't want to give it away, but Sawyer finally gets some help getting Kate to the hatch!

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Chapter 4

As he ran, more memories flooded his head…

She had "invited" him to the golf course that Hurley had built. He wasn't all that excited about watching the doc play golf, but he decided to show up after all. When he arrived, bets were already on the table. He bet some sunscreen and a flashlight that Jack choked, and when she said she'd take that action, he knew that was a metaphor for another kind of action she'd like. He smiled now at the thought. He owed her for that.

He remembered the time he secretly followed her out into the jungle one day after Claire had been kidnapped, to protect her he told himself, but when she caught him, she had insisted she didn't need protecting. As they came to a clearing, they had found the most beautiful waterfall and taken a playful swim. It was fun until they found the dead bodies. And the case. She wanted the case but refused to tell him what was in it, and she had let him take it back to camp. But that night while he was sleeping, she had come to his tent to try to steal it. Because he had her all figured out, he knew she would do that. That's why he held it safely between his legs as he slept. And as she reached for the handle to pull the case out, he grabbed her arms and pulled her down on top of him. He had made another stupid comment and she'd head-butted him. But it was worth it, just having her there at all. He owed her for that.

The next day as he was up in a tree, trying Michael's suggestion of impact velocity to open the case, he saw her come over and grab it as it hit the ground. She took off running and he climbed down and ran after her. The chase ended in another tackle. Oh how he loved those tackles! And he could tell she did too. Why else would she keep lettin' me get her in that position? He owed her for that.

But she still refused to tell him what was in the case, and he had walked away with it. I should have just given it to her, he thought. Then Jackass wouldn't have gotten his hands on it, and made her feel bad about the toy plane she kept for some sentimental reason. He didn't understand women when it came to things like that. And he still didn't know why it meant so much to her, but he knew she'd tell him when she was ready.

He remembered the time she and Charlie had come to him looking for Claire's diary. Something goes missing and they always assume it's me that's got it. Only this time they were right. But he hadn't read it, and she believed him when he told her so. He owed her for that.

He remembered when they were going out to catch Ethan. Kate had wanted to come, and Jack didn't want her to. He had an extra gun and offered it to her. Of course he was worried about her, but if the lady wanted to come along, he wasn't going to try and stop her. She was a strong woman and it was her decision to make, not anyone else's.

She had teased him about the boar wrecking his tent and taking his tarp. Told him he was going to get lost when he went looking for it. She denied that she cared, but her smile and the look in her eyes as she said it, betrayed her words. He owed her for that.

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He was really getting tired now. He'd been carrying her and moving through the jungle most of the day. As he slowed down, the brush under his feet wasn't rustling as much, and he thought he could hear running water. Moving toward the sound, he came to the edge of the treeline, and there it was, "their" waterfall. Finally, something he recognized. Now that he knew where he was, he could surely get to the hatch.

As he turned in what he now knew to be the correct direction, he saw Charlie and Claire sitting on the rocks. He let out a long, tired, relieved sigh. "Hey! Charlie!" he yelled.

They turned and looked at him. Seeing him standing there holding Kate, Claire and Charlie both jumped up from what looked like a picnic and ran over to them. "Oh my God!" Claire exclaimed when she saw all the blood. "Is she…..she isn't…?" Claire couldn't get the word out.

"No, she's not dead," Sawyer said. "Not yet. Not if I have anything to do about it. But we need to get her to Jack NOW!" Claire could tell how worried Sawyer looked. She'd never seen him show so much emotion toward anyone.

"Come on then," Charlie said, reaching out to try to take Kate from Sawyer. Sawyer shook his head. "But you're exhausted. Let me carry her for a while." Charlie held his arms out.

"No, I got her. Let's just go." Sawyer refused to let go of her.

Claire grabbed the backpack off his shoulder and they started off to the hatch, Charlie going first, then Sawyer and Kate, and Claire bringing up the rear. Charlie thought about asking what happened, but he knew Sawyer was too tired to talk, so he didn't bring it up.

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When he realized she'd been following him for a few hours as he was trying to track the boar, that was just another confirmation that she did care about him. He thought about her request for carte blanche, and even though he'd deny it, she already had it. He knew he'd give her anything she wanted, any time she wanted, but because he was Sawyer, not without trying to get something out of her first. So he agreed and let her help him track the boar.

By night time, when they hadn't found the boar yet, they decided to make camp. He had made a fire and they sat down by it. When he had pulled out a little bottle of liquor and had blackmailed her into playing the "I Never" game because technically she didn't have carte blanche yet, he hadn't realized how it would end. They had both told the truth for a change, finding out a lot about each other, some really important information. And he made a mental note now that when she was better, they would play again. Because now, one of his answers would be different. He owed her for that.

In the morning when they discovered that the boar had trashed his stuff, but not touched hers, he thought the smug look on her face was really cute. And she had caught on to the fact that he wore cologne, even if it was something he found in an abandoned suitcase, not his fragrance at all. Damn, nothing gets past this woman!

When they found the baby boar, she had kicked him for using the piglet to try to lure out the daddy. Thinking back now, he realized that he deserved it. He deserved that and everything else bad that had ever happened to him.

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And he deserved to be the one shot now, not her. He wished he could take away her pain. When the hatch was in sight, Claire ran ahead of Charlie and up to the side of the cliff where the door was. She held it open for them to go in. "Jack!" Charlie yelled. He ran down the hallway and found Jack and Locke sitting at the table playing backgammon. Charlie was out of breath, and he collapsed on the couch.

"Damn good thing I didn't let you carry her Chucky," Sawyer said dryly as he saw him there.

Jack looked up just as Sawyer came around the corner with Kate. "Sawyer, Kate… What the hell happened?"

Sawyer took Kate straight to the bunk bed and laid her down. "She's been shot Doc. You gotta help her."

Jack jumped up and went straight into doctor mode. "John, get my medical bag. Charlie, get some towels. Charlie? Charlie! Towels!"

"I'm on it."

"Claire, start the shower and help me get her clothes off. Sawyer, why don't you sit down and rest."

"No way, I ain't losin' sight of her Doc."

"Yeah, I didn't figure you were. So tell me what happened."

"What do you think happened genius? For a doctor you ain't very smart. She got shot!"

"Sawyer, you need to calm down. Tell me how. How close was the gun to her? What direction was she facing? How long ago did it happen?"

"You're the doctor, can't you tell?" Sawyer said in his usual smart-ass tone. Then he realized the better he explained, the easier it would be for Jack to treat her. "She got shot in the chest. So she was facing the gun. The guy was about 10 yards away. It happened this morning, 'bout 8:00 I guess."

"Ok, the bullet didn't go all the way through. From the sounds she's making as she breathes, it missed her lung."

"The shower's ready," Claire said.

Sawyer helped Jack lift Kate up and held her between them as they moved toward the shower. Claire followed taking off Kate's shirt. Sawyer winced when he first saw the uncovered wound, but after the water washed off some of the blood, it didn't look quite so bad.

While they were in the shower, Charlie put some towels on the bed, and a bedside table, and Locke took some of the medical supplies out of his bag that he thought Jack would need and put them on the table.

After they got her back to the bed, Jack took some alcohol and cleansed the wound. Then he picked up a scalpel and tweezers. "Sawyer, you might not want to watch this."

"I'm watchin' Doc," Sawyer growled.

Jack turned to Kate and made a small incision. Then he began removing the bullet.

Charlie, Claire and John were sitting at the table, waiting. "Do you think we should go get Sun?" Charlie asked. "I mean, she knows things about medicine, herbs. Maybe she can make something to help Kate."

"Let's just wait and see what Jack needs," John said.

A tear rolled down Claire's cheek. Then another. Before she could control it, she was openly sobbing. "Why would someone shoot her?" she cried.

"We don't know why these 'Others' do what they do," Locke explained. "But I would like to find out."

Charlie put his arm around her and pulled her to him. "Shhhh, she'll be ok. Jack will make sure of it," Charlie whispered. Claire didn't respond, just buried her head against Charlie's chest.

Sawyer held Kate's hand in both of his hands as Jack worked on her. "Why's she so cold, Doc?"

"She's lost a lot of blood, Sawyer," Jack said, as if it should have been obvious. He had managed to get the bullet out and dropped it and the tweezers on the table. "As soon as I sew up and bandage the wound, I'll get some antibiotics into her to fight the infection. Then dress her and cover her up with two or three blankets to get her body temperature back up. I don't think the bullet damaged any organs, so she should be fine in a few days. It's just a good thing you got back here when you did. She's a lot better off than you were when Eko brought you in."

As he watched Jack finish up with the wound, he thought back……

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He remembered the time Kate made him go to Jack when he was having headaches. She had mentioned it to Jack on her own, and Jack had come to talk to him about it, but he had refused to be checked out until she forced him to go. He smiled now, yes, she cared about me then too. He owed her for that.

And when Boone had been hurt, she came to him to get all the alcohol he had, and she didn't even have to use her carte blanche card. He willingly gave it to her. Damn, I'm gettin' soft. He owed her for that.

Well, he wasn't all that soft. The time she had threatened to take his spot on the raft, he had outed her to everyone as the prisoner that the marshal had been taking back to the states. He never should have done that, but she had cornered him and he did what he had to. He realized now that he'd really been a jerk to her at times.

And when she asked why it was so important that he be on the raft, he had told her that there wasn't anything on the island worth staying for. Goddamn biggest lie I've ever told in my life. She was worth staying for, more than anything, but he was too stubborn to admit it. He regretted that now. But she was also too stubborn to ask him to stay. But if she had asked, he wouldn't have had to think for a second. He owed her for that.

The next day when it was time for the raft to set sail, he had looked around for her, but she had already left with Jack and Company to go looking for the dynamite to blow open the hatch door. He didn't get to say goodbye to her, but that was probably for the best. He wasn't very good at goodbyes.

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And he wasn't about to say goodbye to her now. He was sitting in a chair beside the bed. Jack had gone out to let Claire, Charlie and Locke know that she'll be okay and they can stop worrying. But he wasn't going to stop worrying until she was up and teasing him and climbing trees in the jungle again. Of course, he couldn't let her know that. He had to be strong for her. He held her hand and smoothed her hair off her face.

She looked like an angel. He suddenly remembered his earlier prayer. He looked up into space for a second, smiled and nodded his head, and whispered, "Thanks."

Then he began talking to the sleeping Kate. "You had me worried for a while there, Freckles. I didn't know if I'd get you back here in time. But I did, and it looks like Saint Jack pulled off another one. Fixed you up, just like new. You're gonna be fine, Freckles. And when you wake up, things are gonna be different. We've wasted too much time already. I don't want us to spend any more time apart. You and me, Freckles, we belong together."

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Wow, he's finally realizing that!

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