Quickie:

SassyLostie - I'm kidney getting used to it to. It's gonna be a new fad. Hah!
bonboni - No, they haven't decided yet.
LordXwee - Ooh counting the days? I might have to persuade you to keep me updated with each review. Ha ha! Kidding.
LostSista - He will, don't worry. All in good time...
lost-crazy - Me too!
xox-emily-xox - Sorry, Em. I'm immune to the jedi mind tricks. But I did realize that I named the baby doll Emily. And when I realized it, I thought, "Oh. xox-emily-xox's going to love this..."

I love all you reviewers. I really do. Hehe. So, Enjoy!

Chapter 46

Later that night, Kate lay in bed, trying to fall asleep. Sawyer had kept to his side of the bargain, surprisingly, and had taken up residency on the couch. As promised, she was left all alone in the king-size bed. As she turned on her side facing where Sawyer always slept, she realized the bed was too big. There was too much space in it for one person. Sighing, she turned onto her back again, and stared at the ceiling.

The house was quiet and all she heard was the chirping of the crickets in the woods. She could even hear the creaks of the settling house. Frustrated, she turned on her side again, trying to relax. The clock on the nightstand read 2:47 A.M. She sighed, and turned the other way, determined to get some sleep. However, it was no use. Now she was even more awake than before.

Damn him, she thought. She had finally realized what he'd meant when he'd said "You'll see". It was her loss. The huge bed felt so empty without him at her side, and she longed for his embrace. There were no comforting arms, or the scent of cologne, or feel of his hair against her forehead. She wanted to prove him wrong – she didn't need him to be there to fall asleep. He wasn't her security blanket.

Now if that was the case, she thought, then she would probably be asleep by now. As naturally as lying came to her, there was never a time when she could lie to herself. She knew that Sawyer's absence was the reason why she couldn't sleep, and she knew she wanted him back beside her. But she knew that if she did that, he would win. Her dignity would become non-existent, and he would be getting exactly what he wanted. Was it worth it?

As she found herself kicking the covers off and getting up out of bed, she knew the answer was yes. Quietly, she crept down the stairs. Halfway down, she stopped and watched him sleep. She noticed that he was sleeping on an actual bed, or at least as close to a bed as you could get. So, the couch had a pull-out. Why hadn't he ever told her that? This must have been the answer - so that when she had damned him to the sofa, he wouldn't be missing out on sleeping in a bed.

Watching his bare chest rise and fall, she crept down the last few stairs. She observed him for another minute. One arm lied on his stomach, and the other was hanging off the top of the bed. On her tiptoes, she walked over to the bed and sat on it next to him. He didn't stir, and she was thankful. She stretched her legs out and fixed the blanket over him, then pulled it over her. Before laying back, she pulled up the arm that was hanging off and snuggled into it. She rested her head on his chest, breathing in the scent of his cologne, and instantly felt better.

Still asleep, he turned on his side, holding her closer, and she quickly drifted into a sound sleep.

The next morning, Sawyer was woken up by something soft against his chest. He looked down and saw Kate – her hair was the culprit. He smiled to himself, and brushed it behind her ears. She moved, slightly, and her eyes slowly opened.

"Mornin'," he murmured.

"Morning," she smiled.

"Fancy meetin' you here."

She smiled, sheepishly. "Couldn't sleep."

"Oh? I wonder why?"

She shoved him lightly.

"I hate bein' right," he grinned.

"All right," she groaned, starting to get up. "I'm out of here."

"Where do you think you're goin'?" he said, pulling her back.

"Somebody's gotta make your breakfast."

"Who said I was hungry right now?"

He leaned down to kiss her, but she pressed her hand against his lips.

"Oh no you don't," she laughed. "Clementine's bound to wake up any minute."

"I'm already awake," came a voice.

Sawyer and Kate turned their attention toward the stairs, and Clementine came down.

"I've been awake since eight o'clock."

"What time is it now?" Sawyer asked, sitting up.

"Twelve twen'y-four."

Kate sat up too. "You've been sitting there all that time?"

"Mm-hmm. Baby Emily too," she said, holding up her doll.

"You should have woken one of us up," Kate said.

"I didn't want you to be mad at me."

"Well next time, don't worry about it. You can wake me up," Kate said, standing.

"Yeah. You can wake her up," Sawyer added.

Kate rolled her eyes. "Come on. I'll get you something to eat."

"Okay."

Sawyer watched Kate take Clementine's hand and walk into the kitchen.

"Why were you and daddy sleeping in the same bed?" he heard Clementine say.

Groaning, he fell back into the bed, sighing. This kid was going to be the death of him. Rapid footsteps forced him to open his eyes again, and he saw Clementine rushing upstairs.

"Hey Speedy," he called. "Where you off to so fast?"

Clementine stopped midway, and turned around. "I forgot Baby Emily's high chair."

And with that, she was off again. Sawyer sat up, rubbing his head. Since when did plastic babies need high chairs? Just then, Kate appeared in the doorway, Emily in her hands.

"Why am I suddenly having a flash to the future?" she grinned.

"What?"

"Me with the baby, you lounging on the couch," she smiled, teasingly.

He turned away, rolling his shoulders. Kate frowned, and walked over to sit next to him.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothin'."

"Why is it that ever since she got here, you've been acting different? Like…some kind of zombie or something." She stared at the back of his head, frustrated. "You won't even look me in the eye anymore!"

Defiantly, he turned toward her and looked her straight in the eyes.

"What's the matter with you?"

"Nothin's the matter. It's just gonna take some gettin' used to."

"You were doing fine until she took Emily out," she said, looking down at the doll.

"It's just a doll," he sneered.

"Then why are you making it so much more than that?"

He only sighed.

"It's because of the pregnancy, isn't it?" He still refused to speak. "I don't get why you're acting like this." She sighed. "Would you please just answer me!?"

"I'm afraid!" he finally snapped.

She gazed at him, taken aback by his words. He sighed again.

"Well…why couldn't you just tell me that?" she asked quietly.

"You think it's easy to admit that?"

"It doesn't make you any less of a man," she smiled. "Besides, what's there to be scared about? You said you didn't want it."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you don't. And…maybe I changed my mind."

"What?" she laughed.

"I don't know. I'm still thinkin'."

She nodded. "Okay."

They heard Clementine's steps sounding the stairs, and glanced at each other.

"We'll talk about it later," she said quietly.

But they didn't talk about it later. In fact, they didn't talk about it the next day either. Or the day after that. Instead, they hardly talked at all. They spent their time on Clementine. Kate would take her out to toy stores, and had even taken her shopping for clothes so she would have some to keep at the house. Sawyer took her to the park to play, and to the zoo – as promised – which he even found himself enjoying (except when it came to the polar bear). He was spending more time with her than he was with Kate - which shouldn't have been a bad thing, but for Kate, it was. Her energy levels were quickly decreasing. The exhaustion brought on by the pregnancy wasn't helpful either, but it was the nightly routine that was more to blame.

At night, either Sawyer or Kate would tuck Clementine in, and then Sawyer would retreat to the couch to watch TV until he got tired. Kate would clean up any of the day's messes, or go upstairs to bed early. She never knew when Sawyer would come to bed, because he would always wait until she was already asleep. But every morning she woke up beside him, yet, not close to him. Most nights, however, he slept on the couch, and she got no sleep at all.

One night, Kate was awoken by a small squeak-like sound. She sat up in bed, careful not to disturb Sawyer - who had, shockingly, come to bed for a change - and looked around. There was a faint light in the room, which she soon realized was pouring in from the opened door. That's strange, she thought. He always closed it at night. Quietly, she threw off the covers and walked over to the door. There, she found the source of the sound she'd heard – Clementine was sitting outside their door, crying softly. She opened the door and Clementine looked up, her eyes puffy, and her face red and tearstained. Kate kneeled down in front of her.

"Clementine, what's wrong?"

"I had a bad dream," she sobbed.

Kate frowned, and smoothed Clementine's hair away from her forehead.

"Come on," she said, standing up and holding out her hand. "Let's go back to your room so we don't wake your dad."

Wiping her nose, Clementine scrambled up and took hold of Kate's hand. When they were in the room, Kate lifted Clementine back into her bed, and tucked her in again. She sat next to her, continuously smoothing her hair.

"Do you want to tell me about it?"

"There was a monster," Clementine said, sniffling. "And he was chasing me. And he took Baby Emily from me!"

Kate smiled. "You know…there's no such thing as monsters."

"I know, but he was scary!" she reasoned. "He had big yellow eyes, and HUGE teeth!"

"You know what my mom told me to do when I had a bad dream?" Kate told her, grabbing Emily and handing her to Clementine.

"What?"

"She said anytime you have a bad dream, instead of crying about it, laugh. She said to imagine the dream turning real, and laugh at it."

"Laugh?" Clementine asked, uncertainly. "But it's scary."

"Well, think about it. How silly would it be to see a monster with Baby Emily? Just running around with a baby under his arm, trying to look all scary. It's not very scary, now is it?"

Clementine smiled. "No."

"Pretty silly, huh?"

"Yeah. It's real silly," she giggled.

Suddenly, Clementine broke into a fit of laughter. Kate smiled.

"See? If you imagine it becoming real, it just makes you laugh."

"Yeah."

"Besides, I think you could beat up any monster that tries to take Emily from you."

"Yeah!"

"Do you think you can get back to sleep now?"

Instantly, Clementine's smile melted into a frown.

"I guess so."

"Okay. Good night, Clemmy," Kate smiled, tucking her in again.

"Good night." As Kate turned to leave, she called, "Wait! You forgot to say good night to Baby Emily."

Kate grinned. "Good night, Emily."

"Kate?" Clementine called again.

"Yes?"

"Will you stay until I fall asleep?"

After a brief moment, of contemplation, Kate nodded.

"Of course."

Clementine moved over in the queen-sized bed so Kate could lie beside her. About twenty minutes later, after Clementine had fallen back to sleep, Kate lay in thought. So, she had the maternal gene in her after all. It had taken a while to find it, and sure it wasn't as sharp as most. But she would get the hang of it, and she would learn.

That was when she realized, without any more self-analysis, and some help from Clementine, her mind had been made up - she wanted to keep the child.