Quickie:

Mathildou - Well, aside from the plane's turbulence stopping, you're right about another. But I wasn't talking about the argument. LOL
lost crazy - Um..what?

Have fun. :)

Chapter 29

Upon getting home, they all filtered into the house. Kate looked around the house, glad to be back. She missed Mackenzie and couldn't wait to get him back from Cassie. At least he wouldn't be mad at her. After a while, she decided to help Charlie and Claire set up the upstairs guest bedroom for Aaron's usage. Sawyer decided that he needed a drink.

Later, Kate, Charlie and Claire (and Aaron) were sitting in the living room, talking. Sawyer walked out of the kitchen and the room quieted. Kate watched him grab his keys from the mantle and start for the front door.

"Where are you going?"

"Out," he said, coldly.

Sawyer pulled into the back lot of The Parlor. He walked to the door and entered the back door of the diner. He spotted Cassie heading out of the kitchen, her hands filled with plates.

"Hey Jerry," he greeted the cook.

"Howdy to ya, James. Cass is 'spectin' ya?"

"No," Sawyer grinned.

Jerry chuckled to himself and went back to his cooking. Sawyer took a look at the food, while he waited, and grimaced.

"Best of luck to the poor devil that has to eat that slop," he commented.

"Luck won't do 'im no good," Jerry grinned wickedly. "It's the health inspector's meal."

Sawyer smirked. "Then shouldn't you be tryin' to make your food good?"

"Oh it'll be good, all right. 'Til he hits the can, later."

Sawyer laughed. Cassie walked in the door and Sawyer walked over to meet her. She shrieked at the sight of him, having startled her.

"You gotta come sneakin' up on me, James?" she said, annoyed. "Damn near gave me a heart attack!"

"Nice to see you too, Cassie."

"What're you doin' back here? You know you ain't supposed to be comin' in this way. If the manager was ta catch you – "

"Is he here?"

She paused. "Why?"

"'Cause that son of a bitch owes me money."

"Just 'cause you couldn't con his wife outta their money don't mean he owes you nothin', James."

"Whatever."

"What're you doin' here, anyhow?"

"Came to pick up the cat."

"Oh, Mackenzie? Sure thing, baby. He's upstairs. Door should be open."

"Great," he said, sullenly.

"This is about more than just the cat, ain't it?"

"What? No."

"Jerry, tell Tabby to hold down the fort when she comes back in," she said. "I gotta take James up to get his cat."

"Sure thing, Cassie," Jerry replied.

He sighed and followed her up the stairs to the apartment that resided above the strip mall. She opened the door and stepped into her apartment, glancing around.

"Don't mind the mess. I haven't gotten 'round to cleanin' just yet," she told him.

"No problem."

He looked around the small apartment. Everything looked exactly as it always did. Clothes littered the wooden floors, and navy couch. There were clouded rings on the glass coffee table from cups left too long, and several magazines stacked.

"You want somethin' to drink?" she called from the kitchen.

"No thanks."

He sat on the couch, pushing aside some of the clothes. He was almost startled by Mackenzie who jumped up onto the arm of the couch beside him. He sat and watched Sawyer, then began to lick his paw.

Sawyer stared at the cat, his eyes pained. She loved that cat. She was always taking care of it and making sure it was safe and comfortable. It was a damn cat, for Christ's sake. Why the hell did she love it so much? What kind of pleasure could it possibly bring her?

Sawyer sighed and rested his arm on the arm of the couch, careful not to hit Mackenzie. Mackenzie stared at his hand, then lowered his head and nuzzled it. Sawyer looked at him, taken aback by the cat's gesture. He would've thought the cat hated him. All he did was kick him around and treat him cruelly. But here was Mackenzie, rubbing his face against Sawyer's hand affectionately, trying to make peace. Trying to prove that he could see past the cruelty and still love him. He lifted his hand and hesitantly gave the cat a pat on its head. Maybe it wasn't so bad, after all.

Cassie came out into the living room and smiled.

"I guess you found your little friend."

Sawyer looked up, bewildered, and immediately pulled his hand away from the cat. Mackenzie immediately ran away from him. He looked down, shamefully.

"Friend," he scoffed.

"Oh, well, pardon me." She sat on the opposite side of the couch on it's arm. "So what's on your mind?"

He looked down at the floor for a long time, lost in thought. When he finally looked up again, he shook his head.

"I gotta get the cat home."

"You sure, James?"

"Yeah."

He got up and walked over to the corner Mackenzie was sitting in. He easily scooped him up in one hand and held him. Then he grinned.

"She's waitin' for him."

Sawyer retrieved all of Mackenzie's things, and found a small box to put him in for the car ride. He set the box in the passenger's seat beside him and said 'goodbye' to Cassie. As he started to drive, he heard Mackenzie moving in the box. When he looked over, the cat's head was poked out and his big green eyes stared up at Sawyer.

"You gotta stay in there, pal," he said, gently shoving Mackenzie's head back in.

After another minute, Sawyer saw the cat's head poke out again, this time, accompanied by a paw as he tried to climb out.

"Oh, think you're funny, do ya?"

He pushed him back in and kept his right hand on top of the box for the remainder of the ride. In a few minutes he was pulling into his driveway and turning off the truck. Hoping that Kate was not in the living room, he took the box Mackenzie was in and walked inside. Luckily, no one was in the living room. He guessed she was upstairs with Claire and Charlie. And Aaron.

As he made his way up, he heard the voices coming from the guest room. The door was opened a crack. He walked quietly into his own room and placed the box on the bed, then closed the door. He walked back over to the guest room and knocked, then opened it. Charlie and Claire looked up, and Kate looked away.

"Sorry if I interrupted somethin'," he said.

"Not at all," Claire assured him.

"Was wonderin' if I could borrow Kate for a second."

She looked up at him, her eyes cold and hurt at the same time. Reluctantly, she got up and followed him out of the room.

"What do you want, Sawyer?"

He stopped walking and sighed. "I'm tryin' here, okay?"

"What're you talking about?"

He didn't answer her, but opened the door into their room, gesturing for her to go in first. She did and he followed, closing the door behind them. She took notice of the box on the bed, but didn't seem to care. She turned around and folded her arms staring at him.

"So what's this about?" she asked, impatiently.

He nodded at the box. "Call it a way to say…sorry."

She looked at him, confused, for a moment then slowly went over to the box. She looked back at him again, hesitant to open it. He looked away, seemingly embarrassed. Before she could make another move, a small meow came from the box. She looked down and smiled. She opened the box and saw Mackenzie. Sawyer watched her eyes light up as she lifted the cat into her arms. She pet him lovingly and he heard it purring. She looked up at him, her smile lessening.

"Thank you," she said softly.

And for an instant, she was the cat. And he was the dog that was always running after her, trying to hurt her. But, he realized, he didn't want to be that dog anymore.