Quickie:
SassyLostie - Call me, Dee, please- Crazee as I may be. (I've been meaning to change my penname but I don't want to lose anyone.)
bonboni - Well, what do you think?
Elie - Nice to know you're always looking forward to this. Thanks. :-)
xox-emily-xox - A ghost? I might have to go take a look at that one...
ElleSexy - Umm...let's see. She's probably about 8-9 weeks into it. Or at least by the time they get home its about 9 weeks.
Mathildou - Aw, I'm sorry. I don't mean to make you cry! Re: Jack's declaration...haha. It's ironic that this chapter was the one I had to put up so soon after the finale.
sivan - She'll tell him when she tells him. Patience, luv.
LostSista - I don't like it slicked back much. It's much more sexy when it hangs shaggily so. Gives him that rugged look. Mm. Glad you liked the speech, too. I had to really work with that one.
xxEllaxx - Wow, thanks for reading them all and reviewing now. The more the merrier. I agree, Kate's a lot better off when she isn't annoying and shifty.
So wow. I felt obligated to reply to as many reviews as I could, being that I got so many. I heard a lot about the speech and am thrilled everyone approves. As I said to LostSista, I really had to work with that one. And I thank you all kindly for the reviews. Always appreciated.
Now, I know it's been a few days since I've updated, and I'm sorry for the wait. Though, I suppose I should try and put more space between updates being that I'm starting to get closer to the last of what I've got written. (Don't worry, I don't mean the end of the fic. I still have a WAYS to go. I just need to get more written. It's all still stuck in my head.)
This chapter is actually one of my personal favorites. And you all know how much I "love" my writing.
Chapter 27
The wedding was nearing an end with only a few hours before Charlie and Claire would decide to leave. Kate, Sawyer and Ana-Lucia sat, bored stiff. Allison hadn't quieted about Jack yet, and even Jack, as hard as he tried, couldn't get her to stop. Thankfully, he'd asked her to dance, relieving the table of her endless chatter. Sawyer sighed after they left.
"I'm gonna get another drink," he told them, standing up. "You ladies want anything?"
"I'm good," Ana replied.
He looked down at Kate who shook her head, wishing she could have had at least one alcoholic beverage. He left them alone, and immediately it became awkward. Kate looked down at her lap, trying to think of what to say. Ana-Lucia sat up and leaned over.
"Listen…" Ana started.
Kate looked up, startled.
"I know Sawyer must have told you what happened by now. You know…while I was there?"
Kate smiled slightly, and nodded. "He did."
"Yeah. Well, I just wanna say 'sorry' about that. I never intended on anything like that. Not that Sawyer did either."
Kate nodded again. "It's okay. It's in the past."
"Right. I just wanted to make sure you knew. So," Ana paused to take a deep breath, "I'm sorry."
Kate looked up with a faint grin. "Thank you."
With perfect timing, Sawyer returned. He glanced between them.
"Everything good here?"
"Yeah," Ana answered.
"Everything's great," Kate said, too.
He looked at her, curiously. Just as he was about to open his mouth to ask, the music stopped. Claire was on stage now, a vision in white. Kate noticed she was holding her bouquet again.
"Okay ladies. I'm throwing the bouquet, so gather 'round!" she said excitedly.
The majority of the women gathered around the stage, with the exception of Ana, Sun, and Charlie and Claire's mothers. Kate stayed seated too.
"You ain't gonna go up there, Freckles?"
"No."
"Why not? Don't you think Claire'll want you up there?" he teased.
She groaned, feeling guilty. "I don't have to...do I?"
"Go on. I wanna see you go crazy like the rest of 'em."
She laughed, shaking her head. As she rose up, she said softly, "I'll get you for this."
She joined the crowd and Sawyer watched her, intrigued. She stood near the back by Claire's sister, and Allison who instantly engaged her in excited conversation. The women counted down from three and watched the bouquet go flying.
The flowers landed in Kate's hands. She looked down at it, horrified. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she felt like her breathing had stopped. She immediately let the bouquet fall to the ground and took a step back as the women began to fight over it. Kate couldn't help but feel a flood of fear come over her.
She turned her head and saw Sawyer. His wide eyes matched her own. Their eyes locked and their world had stopped completely. Not a sound was to be heard, not a movement was made. Their mind was one, floating with thoughts of what had just happened, and what would almost have been assumed.
She was bumped by Allison and snapped out of her trance. Allison stomped her way past Kate and back to their table – empty handed. Kate followed, slowly, and took her seat next to Sawyer again. One of Claire's other friends had gotten the bouquet.
"That wasn't even fair," Allison pouted. "Kate had it first."
Kate looked down. Sawyer glanced at her, then away, trying to think of a way to ease the tension between them.
"It's gettin' to be kinda late," he said because it was all he could think of. It seemed to work, however, for Kate immediately looked up. Encouraged, he added, "Maybe we oughta get outta here soon."
He looked down at her and she nodded.
"Yeah. I think that's a good idea."
After saying a few fond farewells to Jack, Allison, and Ana-Lucia, Sawyer and Kate went around to the rest of their friends to say 'goodbye'. While Sawyer was still busy talking with Jin and Hurley, Kate went over to Charlie and Claire.
"We're going to get going," she told them.
"Oh, already?" Claire frowned.
"Yeah. I'm starting to get a little tired," she said, thankful, for once, that she could use her pregnancy as an excuse.
"All right," Charlie agreed, reluctantly.
"Feel better, okay?" Claire said. "And thanks for coming!"
She nodded and hugged Claire and Charlie, then waited at the door for Sawyer. He finally turned away from Jin and Hurley to look for her. He spotted her by the door and had to stop and stare for a moment. The lighting from his angle made her look amazingly appealing. She stared back at him, with seemingly the same thoughts in her mind. He had to hold himself back to say goodbye to Charlie and Claire, then met with her at the door and they, finally, left the wedding.
The first twenty minutes of the ride home were quiet. Kate stared out the window and Sawyer watched the road.
"Wanna go for a walk?" Kate asked slyly, breaking the silence.
"A walk?" he glanced at her sideways, bemused. "Where?"
She nodded ahead. "There."
Sawyer looked ahead and saw an empty beach, with a boardwalk running along it. Well…he thought to himself. That sounded like a damn good idea, as a matter of fact. Instead of answering her, he pulled the car over and parked at the entrance of the boardwalk. Kate grinned as she got out and they walked up onto the wooden dock. He followed her and they walked along until they found the stairs that led down to the sand. She left her heels on the steps alongside his shoes.
She welcomed the cool water that splashed over their feet, and let her toes sink into the sand as they walked.
"That was fun," she said, finally.
"It was all right," he replied. "Glad we got out when we did though. Don't know how much more of Doc and Ally I coulda taken."
"Yeah."
"All their love business…"
She didn't say anything, but, then, neither did he. After another few seconds of silence, she stopped walking and looked down at the sand. A few steps ahead of her, he noticed and went back to stand in front of her.
"Are we like that?" she asked him.
"Hell no."
"Why not?" she asked, looking up now.
He peered at her. "'Cause we ain't them. They haven't been through all the things we been through. And they sure as hell don't feel the same way we do." After a short pause, he added, "Doesn't mean we ain't in love."
She nodded in agreement and they began to walk again. He took her hand in his and squeezed it. They walked silently for a few minutes, once more.
"You know," she started. "The first few days we were here, Claire and I had gone out to dinner."
He grunted. "I remember. I was stuck with Huey that night."
She smirked. "I remember that too. The Three Little Pigs, right?"
He looked down, trying to repress the memory. "So what about it?"
"Well, she said something…interesting."
He stayed quiet, waiting for her to go on, but she didn't.
"Well, you gonna tell me or you just gonna leave me hangin' here in suspense?"
She smiled weakly. She took a deep breath, trying to figure out how to say it. After a moment, she finally sighed.
"She asked me when we…if we were going to…" she paused, hesitant to go on. "If we were gonna get married."
He looked down, watching his feet kick the sand as they walked.
"Who said we were gonna get hitched?"
"Well, no one. I mean…I don't know. Maybe she just – "
"Do you want to?"
She stopped and stared at him. He turned and faced her too.
"Are you asking me?" she asked softly.
He stared at her, studying her expression.
"No," he said, finally.
He turned away again, and they continued to walk, hands no longer linked. She stared down at her feet.
"Do you want to?"
He stopped again, and smirked. "You askin' me?"
She smiled. "No."
They walked down the beach, following the ocean. Even though neither had given any real answer to the question, they had a silent understanding.