Quickie:

SassyLostie - No, no rides. You can't really go on rides when you're carrying another person inside of you, ya know? And it ain't over til it's over.
sivan - Um, I'm not sure whether or not you'll ever find out. As of now, I have no idea where they were supposed to end up. Haha. But it might well pop out in one of the chapters. You never know.

Major major props and credits to Jessie, mi amor, for her vonderful help with this chapter. Tons of credit to my sister too. :D

Chapter 17

Kate continued walking beside Sawyer, silently, gazing at her rabbit. There was an awkward tension between them now, and he found himself unable to look at her. Instead, he looked around him. There were stores full of Disney merchandise, concession stands, and Disney characters walking around entertaining the children.

After a few minutes, he suddenly felt himself being followed. He glanced over his shoulder and saw two costumed chipmunks following them. He faced forward again, hoping he was just imagining things. However, when he looked back again, they were still there. He stopped and turned fully around facing them. This took them by surprise and they started to act confused with each other, shrugging and pointing at him.

Kate, who was a few steps ahead, turned around having noticed Sawyer was no longer next to her. She stared for a minute watching him, before she walked back by him.

"What's going on?" she asked softly.

"Chip and Dale here were followin' us," he said, nodding toward the two chipmunks.

"So?"

"So, it was startin' to get annoying," he told her, irritated.

One of them waggled his finger in Sawyer's face, seemingly scolding him. The other put its hands on his hips, and nodded, apparently agreeing. He rolled his eyes and turned to walk away, but one of them grabbed his arm. He ripped it away, angrily.

"Don't touch me," he said in a low voice.

"I think they're just trying to get you to lighten up," Kate said, amused.

The chipmunks started wagging their heads up and down in agreement. He glared at her, and she rolled her eyes. Chip and Dale both went to Sawyer and Kate, forcing them to turn and face each other, then stepped away. They looked at the two, and the chipmunks were suddenly hugging themselves and blowing kisses.

Kate looked down and laughed. Sawyer shook his head, surprisingly feeling the corners of his mouth turning up. One of the chipmunks went behind Sawyer trying to give him a push forward, but with little success. The other was pointing to Kate while looking at Sawyer.

"What?"

Chip joined Dale again, who was still pointing at Kate. Sawyer looked at her, and she at him. Then he looked at the two of them once more.

"You want me to kiss her?"

They clasped their hands together, nodding furiously. Sawyer looked at Kate again, who was grinning. He grabbed her and pulled her close against his chest. She looked up at him for a moment and he brushed a few curls out of her face. He wrapped his arm around her and let his lips brush gently over hers. It was a long, slow, and entrancing kiss. They were oblivious to the joyful victory dancing from Chip and Dale.

Sawyer finally pulled away, but didn't let go of her just yet. He stared down at her, watching her eyelids slowly fluttering open as she let out a long unsteady breath. He smirked. They stared at each other for a long time, forgetting where they were.

Slowly, the screaming of children sounded again, and the scent of salty popcorn and sweet candies filled the air. The park came back into view, and they started to walk once more. Behind them, Chip and Dale waved good-bye, gleefully.

"So what do you say, Freckles?"

"I think they got a good show."

"Damn right."

She laughed. Her eyes traveled around them until she spotted something that interested her. The sign read "MJM Studios". She patted his chest with the back of her hand.

"Why don't we go over there?" she pointed.

He looked. "What's over there?"

"I don't know. Can't hurt to go see, though, right?"

He shrugged, and they headed over. They walked into the gate and found themselves in a billboard town. The cut-out buildings went high up, seemingly going on forever. There were people in costumes walking around, including two cowboys, a rather large Victorian woman, and Star Wars characters. They walked through cautiously, observing the theaters around them, offering different shows.

Sawyer heard crashing cars in the distance and was suddenly interested in seeing what it was about. He pulled Kate along until they found the source – an arena in which cars were performing death-defying stunts. Kate rolled her eyes as he insisted they sat and watched for a while. He was successful in the end, promising that when it was over, they could go where she wanted to.

About fifteen minutes in, Sawyer cheered and made friends with the men next to them, as the cars performed. Kate sank back into the bleachers, watching them instead of the show. It turned out to be a more amusing form of entertainment for her. It was nearing sunset, two hours later, when the show was over, they walked through the wooden town again, where Kate searched for something she wanted to do. The large Victorian woman they'd seen earlier sauntered in their direction.

"Care to be photographed with me, sir?" she asked, batting her eyelashes at Sawyer.

He stared at her like she was crazy. "Are you kiddin' me?"

She immediately latched onto his arm. "I insist!"

Sawyer looked back at Kate, desperately. She, however, laughed at the sight. She followed them over to where the woman had him sit with her and pose. The camera flashed and the picture was taken. Kate took the photo from the photographer, laughing at it as they walked away.

"We're burnin' that when we get home."

"Oh no we're not," she shook her head, laughing.

Sawyer was going to argue, but was interrupted by a loud breathing noise.

"LUKE, I AM YOUR FATHER!" Darth Vader said, suddenly in front of them.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" screamed Luke, appropriately.

They walked around the two characters who had suddenly engaged in a lightsaber fight. Sawyer shook his head, clearly not amused. Kate knew his tolerance for the Studios was quickly wearing off.

"Can we get outta here now?" he asked, frustrated.

She nodded, knowingly. "Sure."

They exited the town and headed back into the world of Disney. As they walked, Kate spied a deep purple sign, and in bright yellow cursive it read "Esmeralda's Crystal Ball". Below, in print, it read "Fortune Teller". Kate stopped, and peered in. It was Sawyer's turn to watch her from a few steps away. Although, he wasn't only watching her, but he was admiring the way the sun lightened her hair and made her eyes gleam. How had he gotten so lucky? It was at that moment that she turned her head, meeting his gaze. Caught, he strolled over.

"Somethin' catch your eye, Shortcake?"

She looked up at the sign again and then back at him, questioningly. He looked up too, and read.

"A fortune teller?" he said, sardonically.

"Why not?" she beamed. "It might be fun."

"Puh-lease. They gather information about you as they go and pretend to be tellin' you your future. It's a scam to get your money."

"And you would know all about scams like that, right?" she teased.

He narrowed his eyes. "Har har."

"Come on. What's the worst that could happen?"

He sighed. "All right, fine."

They walked into the tent and found a woman with dark curls sitting at a table, hovering over it. She dressed in a loose white blouse and a long, purple skirt – true to Esmeralda's character in "Hunchback of Notre Dame". Kate glanced up at Sawyer and saw him staring cynically.

"If you don't believe in the power of foreseeing then you should not be in this tent," the woman said, staring at Sawyer.

"Did I say anything?" he said glaringly.

This time, she was staring at him cynically. "If you must question me, then leave now."

"Calm down, lady. I ain't goin' nowhere."

Now she turned to Kate. "Do not apologize for his misjudgment."

Kate stared, stunned and opened her mouth to speak. However, she realized this woman was right. In her mind, she was apologizing for Sawyer's rude behavior. They each took seats across from "Esmeralda".

"What's your price?" Sawyer asked.

"Twenty dollars."

He handed her the money and she tucked it in a pouch she wore on her hip. When she looked up again, it was at Kate and she held out an open palm.

"Your hand."

Kate looked at her cautiously, and placed her hand in the woman's. She instantly felt pressure as the woman squeezed and rubbed, traced and studied.

"Ahhh," the woman started softly. "You have quite a past, m'dear."

Kate flushed and looked down briefly.

"But so does he," the woman nodded at Sawyer, who grunted. She paused for a long time, before speaking again: "You can't blame yourself for the past, m'dear. What happened wasn't your fault."

Kate's eyes were glued to the woman. Sawyer watched in disbelief. She couldn't possibly believe in this, could she?

"Hmm...February…" she said, glancing at Kate's stomach. "Mmhmm..."

Kate's brow creased and she glanced at Sawyer, who was only shaking his head. She looked back at the fortune teller, eager to hear more. The woman's expression changed now as she released Kate's hand and peered into her crystal ball. She looked distressed. The woman leaned forward, her jewelry jingling. She glanced back and forth between her and Sawyer for a moment, finally resting her wide eyes on Kate.

"My ball has clouded. I cannot tell you anything more."

"What?!" Sawyer and Kate said in unison.

She said nothing else, only continued to stare at Kate, and Kate stared back.

"All right. I've had enough of this bull puckey," Sawyer said, standing up. "Let's get out of here, Freckles."

Kate nodded slowly and they both stood. Sawyer turned to leave, but Kate remained for a moment longer.

"I can only tell you this, child. With every death, comes new life," she said in a low, hoarse voice.

"What?" Kate said, with a nervous laugh.

"C'mon, Freckles."

Her eyes remained locked on the woman's as she followed Sawyer out. She stepped into the fresh air and breathed, unsteadily.

"Hey. You don't believe all that junk, do you?"

Kate swallowed, and forced herself to look up at him. "No. Of course not."

"Good. 'Cause it wasn't nothin' but a waste of twenty bucks."

She nodded. "Maybe…we should start to head back now."

"You serious?"

"I'm just suddenly not feeling so well again. I think I might be getting sick again."

"Don't sit and think on it, Freckles. That lady was just yankin' your chain."

"No. I know. I just…want to go home now."

He stared at her for a moment, and sighed. "If you're sure."

She nodded. "Yeah. It's getting darker already anyway."

Sawyer nodded too, and they started to walk, silently to the entrance of the park. Kate couldn't help pondering what the woman had said. It was all too true to be a scam…