Hello everyone. I realize it's been almost a year since I last updated, and my body fills with regret. But if you're a frequent reader, you'll notice a few things, the first being I often get board with one idea after new plot bunnies bink through my creative conscious. Anyways after my Lost hiatus (which lasted almost as long as the real Lost hiatus), rewatching the second and third seasons rekindled my love affair with making up my own stuff. So I'm definitely continuing this story, though I can't promise frequent updates, it WILL be continued.

New Life

Chapter 5

Broken

The muted television flashed from the corner of the room as they sat in silence. Sawyer never said much to her when they were alone, but when the doctor came in, it was almost impossible to get him to shut up.

He was to her right, hunched over in one of the ratty hospital chairs. His hands were clasped together and pressed against his chin as they waited for the doctor to return.

A pillow was propped underneath the small of her back, while she lay on the hospital bed. It was where she had woken up the day before, with wires and tubes travelling over her body like roads and rivers on a map.

Her jade eyes glanced over to Sawyer, still silent, eyes directed at the ground as his mouth spewed out a coarse rant of words dulled by his knuckles. Their indifference on the phone had been temporarily forgotten, but awkwardness still sat between them in the room.

The end of her nose itched. Until that morning oxygen tubes were in her nose for an entire twenty-four hours, which was a less than pleasant experience. Her left arm was broken, and when she woke up it was already incased in a heavy cast that she didn't try to lift. Her right arm still had an IV inserted at the wrist, looking at it for too long caused nauseous feelings to collide in her stomach, and she didn't want to chance tearing it out.

Hopelessly, she looked back to Sawyer who had adjusted his head so he could watch her while she was occupied by other things. His blue eyes cleared when they met hers which soon welled with tears she didn't want to expel; her right hand twitched as she bit her lip, and gave Sawyer a rueful smile.

As a tear broke free and fell down her face, she watched as his expression turned from frustration to sadness. He dropped his hands to his side, and waited until a second tear fell to the powder blue blanket covering her legs, staining it with a dark spot.

Pushing himself up from the chair, he was at her side in less than a second, "Hey," one of his hands moved to take hold of hers, and the other smoothed her hair from her face. "Freckles, it'll be alright," her head turned towards his from where she was attempting to hide it. He managed to stop a stutter from entering his speech, and his face held the same panicked smile he always gave when she cried.

But it reminded her of the island. It reminded her of how he comforted her after Ana Lucia and Libby had been murdered. Of how he tried to protect her when they were caged like animals, how he never wanted her to lose faith.

Kate leaned into him, hiding her face in the crook of his neck as he carefully wrapped his arms around her back. His cheek rested in her hair, and he began to move his hands up and down her back.

"I'm sorry you had to miss work yesterday," her voice was a soft whisper, barely heard over the clamor of the hospital. Her chin rested on his shoulder, and her cool cheek pressed into his neck.

Gently she felt him pull her back, "My job don't mean a damn thing Kate," he told her. His face was trying to remain emotionless, but bursts of sorrow broke through in random intervals. "I already talked to the guys at work, and we worked it out so that I could have next week off."

She smiled at his hand on her shoulder, then glanced back at his face, "You didn't have to do that."

He chuckled, his hand still running through her hair, "As I recall after I was shot in the arm someone stopped by everyday to make sure that I did my exercises."

"It was an island, Sawyer," she shuffled back against the head of the bed, "It wasn't like there was a lot to do." Her remark was completed with a sly smile.

"Is that so?" his eyebrow arched as he helped her lean back in the bed, "It's always a different excuse."

Kate exhaled a light laugh at his remark, but it was followed by a groan of irritation as she wiggled her nose. Sawyer watched her closely, "Something wrong?"

"Can you scratch my nose for me?" she turned her head towards him, wiggling her nose one last time, she thought about explaining the reasons for not doing it herself, but he didn't need any.

He shook his head chuckling as he moved a long finger to the end of her nose, and scratched it for a few seconds, "All better?" his index finger gave the tip of her nose a light poke and he moved his hand away.

"Sawyer?" her right hand came up to rest on the pillow beside her head as she angled her body so she could still see him.

"Yeah?" his voice was gruff, but his hand landed softly on the curve of her hip as he continued to hover by the hospital bed.

"Did you really win the lottery?"

The door creaked as he opened it for her; it stopped once as the straw doormat by the threshold of their home became bunched underneath. With an exacerbated grunt, Sawyer pushed the silver doorknob back until even the rubber padded mat screeched across the floor.

"I never want to go back there," she announced as he allowed her into their apartment first. Her arm was still wrapped up, a white sling now held the cast ensconced against her body. Glancing back over her shoulder to him, as he held one of their overnight bags underneath his arms, and fought with the door to get it closed.

He pulled the strap of the bag up higher onto his shoulder, "You were only there for three days," he pushed against the broad wooden door, which now wasn't moving at all, and muttered a few curse words.

Kate shook her head as she approached him, "Three days was three days too much." Crouching down, she pulled the ruined mat from beneath the serrated edge of the door. She handed the ball of straw to him and matched his smirk with an amused grin.

"Yeah, well," he slammed the door back into place, and threw his keys into a bowl resting on an unstable coffee table, "at least you don't have to go back there again."

Her head wrenched up from where she was busy rearranging the pillows on the couch, "They haven't caught the guy yet have they?"

"Was it a guy?" his answer was almost immediate as he set the duffle bag onto the floor. His face suddenly turning heated.

She looked away from his eyes, and toyed with the corner of the stiff pillow she held, "Honestly, I don't remember."

"Well whoever did it, is going to get theirs," the tone of his voice was malicious, it sounded almost jagged.

"Do you know who did it," she asked after studying his disposition for a few seconds.

Jerking his head towards the kitchen he divulged, "I might have an inkling."

"It's not Ben," her eyebrows rose as she tried to convince him, "Sawyer it couldn't be him."

Sawyer's feet turned on their heels, "Oh, and why not?"

Kate almost laughed aloud at him, "Well for one thing he doesn't have any legs," she watched the glower work its way off of his face as she continued, "and he is being held in a psychiatric ward, under heavy surveillance."

His eyebrows fell as he contemplated her reasoning, "Yeah he is pretty Silence of the Lambs, ain't he?"

A giggle found its way out of her as she nodded her head. He looked so normal standing in the middle of the kitchen looking back at her, but she knew that her car accident had worked something up in him. She hadn't been in any immediate danger at all sense the island, the accident allowed a relapse of the unwanted emotions, the captivity, the monster, the others. Neither of them needed to think more on that matter, not right now.

"Let's just forget about it for now okay?" she set the red patched pillow back in its corner of the couch and approached Sawyer, this time with something else in mind, "Can't we just celebrate the fact that I'm home now?" Was this apartment with Sawyer her home? Really?

His eyes drew half closed, and a familiar grin spread across his lips, "Hmm," the sound came from deep in his throat as his hands found their way to the small of her back, "What'd you have in mind, Freckles?"

Kate drew in a deep breath, "Oh I don't know," her eyes grew wide and innocent as her right arm snaked around his neck, "Just a nice evening in I guess?"

Bowing his head, his lips moved over hers with a force strong enough to elicit a moan from the back of her throat. The stubble that had grown in the three days Sawyer had barely left the hospital scratched against her chin, as his thumbs began to kneed at the skin on her lower back. Behind him in the kitchen, the phone began to ring.

"So what do you think Freckles?" he questioned as he broke the kiss. Leaning close to her he planted hot kisses on her cheek and whispered, "What are the chances of today getting a happy ending?"

Letting out a seductive laugh her fingers ran along the back collar of Sawyer's shirt, "I don't know, isn't me being back good enough?"

The phone continued to ring in the kitchen as the same wide grin grew on his face, he liked it when she played hard to get, "Can always make it happier."

Glancing down to her arm, then back up to him she warned, "You're going to have to be careful."

"I always am Darling," his hands were now cupped behind her, holding her in place against him.

A beep rang through the room as the answering machine picked up the missed call. The recognizable blurb that told callers to leave a name and a number went unnoticed.

"Do you have protection?"

"What?" Sawyer's eyes darted to meet hers as he grew agitated at the simple question.

Kate's hand dropped from around his neck as she pulled away from him, but his hand stuck together tight, still keeping her in his grasp. "I haven't been able to take my pills for almost four days now Sawyer, if you don't want—"

A grumble escaped his throat, "Yeah I think I—"he stopped halfway through his answer.

Shifting her eyes to his face she tried to figure out what he was doing, "Sawyer?"

"Son of a bitch," The support against her back was gone almost immediately as he stomped to the counter where the phone and answering machine was situated, "That son of a bitch."

As the tape let out a shrill screech as it rewound, she moved her body next to his, her hand landing lightly on his biceps, "Sawyer, what—"

"Just listen to this," his eyebrows were cross as a beep indicated the tape was at the right spot and as he leaned forward to press play, a sudden nervousness awoke within her, almost making her heart pound right out of her chest. He didn't have to press play, she knew who it was, she'd completely forgotten about him.

"Hey Kate," Jack's voice was dull and scratchy against the old machine tape, "I saw the accident on the news, and I was just phoning to see if you are all right, or if you needed anything," there was erratic pausing between his words that showcased his fear. "Umm, I'm in a rehab clinic right now," another pause with a deep intake of breath, "If you want to get in touch with me—"

She didn't get to hear anymore, as Sawyer's hand slammed down on the erase button.

Next Chapter - We meet up with rehab Jack, and things get a little freaky.