In Shallow Seas We Sail

Author's Note: It's a bit short but I want to go ahead and post this now because I'm not sure if I'll get a change to update this weekend or not. You should just be glad for such a speedy update though.

Enjoy,
Sara

*

I can't be stopped, I'll just keep going all the way
You will try but you will fail
Just say it's over and it's done with
Rock-N-Rule

[19]

Kate and Sawyer walked back to the plane in silence, though Kate could tell by his body language that something was up. She kept quiet and glanced behind them to see if Sayid and Jack had followed them. She saw no sign of the other two men and assumed they'd stayed behind to keep a lookout or find Ilana. She repeated the coordinates over and over in her mind.

As soon as they crossed into the tarmac, well out of range of any of Widmore's people, and far enough from the plane so that no one could hear, Sawyer turned on her abruptly and caught her arm.

"Listen, I'm going to ask you a real simple question, Kate," he said, stressing her name in a way that made her feel uncomfortable. She steeled herself and looked into his eyes. "Did you tell him to stay off the freighter?"

Kate didn't flinch; she knew better than to show Sawyer any weakness, especially when he was like this. She felt that she knew him better than most. "Yes, I told him not to get on."

"Dammit, Kate!" Sawyer roared. His fingers dug into her arm. "Don't you care? Don't you care about a goddamn person but yourself?"

Anger flared up inside her. "Don't give me that act," she hissed, pulling her arm away from him. "You were going to let your friend get on a freighter and die. Don't talk to me about only caring for myself."

"You don't know how it will change things," he said.

"And neither do you. Get off your high horse. We are changed everything, Sawyer, there isn't much more we can change."

His brow furrowed over his eyes. "I'm doing this for her."

"No, you're not," she said, staring at him, "You're doing this for you. If you were really doing this for her, you wouldn't be doing anything at all. You know she wouldn't want you to go back."

Sawyer seemed a loss for words. His mouth opened and closed, and then he growled, "Right now, I don't care what she wants, she needs us."

Kate felt sympathy for the man. He'd been broken without Juliet once before, but at least then he'd believed that she didn't remember, or wouldn't want to remember. Now they'd formed a life together, and she was gone again. History was repeating itself.

"More people need us than just her," Kate replied, "That's where you have to give, Sawyer. We're responsible for the well-being of all this people – "

"Like hell I am – "

" – whether you like it or not."

"What?"

"We brought them here. It's not a team effort, and you know it. It's always me, you, and Jack that have these plans, and this time, I don't even know, Sawyer – I have nothing to lose this time."

Sawyer looked at her closely for a moment then shook his head.

"And you know, I do care about Juliet – "

Sawyer barked a sinister laugh. "Yeah, you two were real close," he said sarcastically.

Kate shook her head. "I can't even talk to you anymore." With that, she started back toward the plane, but he caught her again and held her back. "Let me go," she said. He didn't. "Let me go."

"So you can run again, is that it?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Let. Me. Go." She tried to pull away from him, but he held her back. She glanced over his shoulder just in time to see Jack's face and then Sawyer dropped to his knees.

"Son of a bitch," he yelled, hand his cheek, the only place Jack had been able to land a punch for that angle. Sawyer staggered to his feet. "What was that for?"

Jack wasn't listening; he was advancing on Sawyer again.

"Stop!" Kate yelled. "Stop it!"

Sayid approached the group at a jog. "What's going on?"

Sawyer moved his hand away from his cheek, which was red and scraped from the punch.

"Jack," Kate said in a warning tone.

Jack stopped moving and turned to her. Sawyer lunged forward, but Sayid jumped in to restrain him.

"What's going on?" he asked again, looking this time at Kate.

"I told Miles to get off the freighter," Kate said.

Anger flared in Sawyer's eyes. "Playing with the future again," he said, "Just like you did, Doc, and we all see how that turned out!"

"Did he hurt you?" Jack asked Kate.

"No, no, he didn't hurt me."

At the same time, Sawyer said, "I wouldn't hurt her!"

The commotion must've alerted some of the passengers of the little plane, because Jin was jogging toward them and the others were watching from the windows.

"What is going on?" Jin asked.

"I told Miles to stay off the freighter," Kate explained again.

Sawyer looked down at his feet.

"And you are angry about this?" Jin asked him.

Sawyer sighed. "I don't – I don't want to put her in danger," he said softly.

"You do not know what will come of this," Jin said, laying a hand on Sawyer's arm. Sayid released him.

"Exactly," Sawyer said.

"Everything will happen how it is intended to happen."

"How do you know?" Sawyer asked, finally meeting Jin's gaze.

"I don't, but I have to believe. You have to believe. And Miles should not be the sacrifice for what we do not know," Jin said.

Sawyer looked confused, but after a few moments, he nodded.

"We will do everything we can to keep our loved ones safe. We are all in this together, and that is what we have to remember."

Kate nodded. Jack joined her at her side, surprising her by taking her hand. She didn't pull away.

Sawyer made no move to apologize, but she didn't expect him to. They walked back to the plane where Ilana and the others were waiting.

*

Juliet continued on her way through the jungle, although she had little idea where she was going. She hoped that if she didn't find Jacob, he would find her. She stopped for a moment, taking a drink of her water. At least she could find her way back to the barracks, if need be.

She nearly choked on her water when she heard the metallic screech that could only be one thing, the island's "security" system.

"Shit," she muttered, staying still for a moment to assess where it might be, and whether or not it was coming for her. The rustle of trees behind her answered her question quickly, and she dropped her bottle and began to run. It roared behind her, easily sweeping past the trees that separated them. Her only chance was to find a hiding spot like she and Kate had found, but it didn't look promising.

Her calves ached, and she felt herself slowing down with each step. Her chest burned, and she knew it was faster than her, regardless of how hard she tried. She took a deep breath and dropped to her stomach, somehow hoping that it would pass over her.

She held her hands over her head, then over her ears as it rushed around her, screeching. She tried to close her eyes, but they seemed glued open. The smoke quickly clouded out her vision and began to choke her. She coughed and her eyes watered.

And this was it; she'd come this far, and she was going to die.

Her vision cleared suddenly, and she was left coughing and sputtering on the ground. She looked up and blinked away the tears that filled her eyes. In front of her was the beach and the ocean, stretching for miles. A steady beat filled her ears, her heart. She stood, shaky, and turned away from the ocean.

The scene in front of her was horrific. Pieces of twisted metal littered the beach, and a small plane, crushed and bent, lay down the beach for her. She lifted her hand to her mouth. Fire licked the fuselage, and with a start, Juliet realized the beating she heard was not her heart, but the beating of fists against the plane's windows.

She hurried to the plane, picking her way through the wreckage. The plane was completely sealed off, so she looked for something heavy with which to break one of the windows. She grabbed onto a hunk of metal and avoided the flames that localized around one part of the plane.

As she pulled back to strike the window, a face appeared and she staggered backward. "James."

"Save us, Juliet," James said, his voice surprisingly clear.

"I will. Move away from the window!"

"No," he said, "Save us, Juliet."

She shook her head and moved back to shatter the glass on the window beside him.

"Juliet, go back to the barracks."

"No, I'm going to get you out!" She felt tears build in her eyes and fall down her cheeks. The fire was growing; she could feel its warmth.

"Go back or we'll all die."

Juliet squeezed her eyes shut and swung the metal. She could hear the glass shatter, and when she opened her eyes again, she was back in the jungle.