HannySkateShipper - I'm always writing more!
SassyLostie - I guess I haven't really expanded on the attention he'd get. But I wish I had. It would have been fun. It's a little late to do it now. Oh well..
xox-emily-xox - Quite frankly, I'm wondering why she's so level headed with him around. Haha!
Well, while I've been consistant in updating every other day, I'm feeling generous today so you get a freebie. Enjoy! (I need a new word...)
Chapter 9
As the plane unloaded and the passengers filed through the airport, Kate and Sawyer got more stares and people whispering passed them by. They all looked like they wanted to say something to them, but were probably intimidated by Sawyer's icy glares. Or…so Kate assumed.
"Bastards," Sawyer muttered, glaring at all of them.
Kate glanced around at several people, but each person immediately looked away. She looked down at the floor, feeling an overwhelming amount of resentment from them. Sawyer put a protective arm around her.
"Don't worry about them, Freckles. You don't know them, they don't know you."
She smiled weakly at the floor. "Thanks."
They made their way to the baggage claim area and waited by the conveyor belt for their bags. Kate looked around and saw a flash of blonde in the distance. As she looked harder, she knew who it was, and her spirits were finally lifted.
"There's Claire!" she told Sawyer, eagerly.
Before he could respond, she was already gone. He sighed. Thanks for leaving me with the luggage, Freckles, he thought to himself.
"Claire!" Kate called as she got closer.
"Kate!" she walked toward her, her arms open for a hug. "How are you?"
"Great," she said, as she hugged Claire. "How are you?"
"I'm great, now."
"Where's Charlie?"
"Oh he's outside with Aaron in the car. Is Sawyer…"
"Oh. He's getting our stuff," she said, biting her lip. He couldn't be happy about that.
Claire glanced past her and saw him. "Oh here he comes," she waved.
Kate turned around and had to force back a laugh. The expression on his face was beyond priceless. She hurried to him to help with the bags.
"Sorry," she murmured.
"No you ain't," he replied quietly, which made her grin.
"Hello Sawyer," Claire said, shyly.
"Hey yourself, mamacita."
Surprising both women, he put the bags down and gave Claire a hug. Kate laughed when she saw Claire's reddened face as she broke away from Sawyer's embrace. She looked up at Sawyer who only raised his eyebrows.
"Okay, well, Charlie's just outside with the car. So…should we go?"
"Sure," Kate answered.
"Lead on," Sawyer nodded ahead.
They followed Claire outside where Charlie greeted them both with hugs.
"You two sods need to make more of an appearance now and then," he told them.
Kate smiled. "We'll try. How've you been?"
"Never better. Oh! Hey! Do you want to see Aaron?"
"Sure."
"Right, then. He's right back here. Come on out, bugger," he said lifting Aaron from his car seat.
"I thought he was asleep," Claire protested.
"He woke up the minute you left."
Kate smiled at the toddler. "Hi Aaron," she said softly.
"Hi," he replied.
She laughed, and Sawyer almost swore he saw her eyes double in size. He watched her as she took his hand and played with him. His gaze stayed fixed on her. She was really happy. Their future flashed before his eyes. He saw the two of them playing with their child, happily. The vision immediately faded and he suddenly couldn't help but feel something inside – something he couldn't explain – that made him start to feel very insecure. He had to look away from them. Kate looked over at him, smiling, but it faded quickly. She turned back to Charlie and Claire.
"Maybe we should get going," she suggested.
"Sure," Claire answered.
They put their luggage into the car and the drive to their apartment began. Aaron sat in his car seat between Kate and Sawyer – something Sawyer wasn't very happy about. Every time she looked at him, he was staring out the window. Instead of letting it bother her, she made faces at Aaron, enjoying the giggling she would get out of him.
Charlie and Claire were in a world of their own, she'd noticed once Aaron had fallen asleep. They were talking softly amongst themselves and she caught Claire smiling and laughing several times. It was then that she saw just how in love they were. She snuck a glance at Sawyer again, but he was still looking out the window.
Suddenly she found herself questioning her relationship with Sawyer. Could it really compare to Charlie and Claire's? They looked so happy, while she and Sawyer…well, they'd had their fair share of bumps in the road. But…they were happy too, right? Realizing the idiocy of what she was thinking, she forced the thoughts away, knowing that their relationship was better now than it ever was before. Or at least, it was on its way. She stared out her own window, anticipating their arrival to Charlie and Claire's apartment.
Luckily, they pulled into the parking lot of their apartment within a few minutes. They followed Charlie into the building and piled into the elevator. Kate felt a wave of dizziness come over her as the elevator went upward. She knew she would be in need of their bathroom sometime soon.
"Home sweet home," Charlie said as he helped them into the apartment.
Kate and Sawyer looked around in awe.
"Your little band got you all this...?" Sawyer said, astounded.
"Little? We had immense crowds at all of our concerts! People loved us!"
"How many concerts you say you played at?" Sawyer said with a smirk.
Charlie ignored him. "Not to mention we went platinum just after the plane crashed. Crazy sales!" he grinned at Kate. "I told you."
Kate smiled. "It's amazing."
"Here. I'll show you to your room. Take Aaron, Charlie," Claire said.
They followed her to what seemed like a whole different wing of the apartment, to a large bedroom with crème walls. The bedspread was beige with a simple floral print. Brown wooden blinds covered part of a wall.
"You two can just make yourselves at home and get settled in. There's also a bathroom in this room, right over there," Claire pointed.
Kate glanced in that direction, knowing she'd soon be making use of it. Claire also showed them a small deck just off their room, which turned out to be what the blinds were hiding. Sawyer dubbed it his smoking deck, since Claire wouldn't allow him to smoke inside.
"You two just get settled. Take as long as you need. We'll be somewhere around here whenever you're ready," she told them.
"Thanks," Kate smiled at her.
"I'm so glad you're here," she said, just before closing the door.
Kate sighed and looked around until her gaze fell on Sawyer. "So…it's not so bad, right?"
"If you're happy, I'm happy, Freckles."
She smiled, but knew that, inside, he wasn't happy. Something had started to bother him. And if she didn't figure it out soon, it was going to be a long week…