Embers - Lost fanfiction - Sawyer/Kate - 1/5
Kate clasped Claire’s hand harder with every bout of turbulence. Everyone was tense, no one believing that they could have really gotten off the island. But they did. The plane was in the air and had been for almost an hour. They were really off the island. More time passed, and eventually Claire’s tight grip on Kate’s hand loosened as the blonde fell asleep.
Kate glanced sideways at Sawyer to observe him staring out the window, eyes wide.
She took a deep breath. “So how does it feel?”
Sawyer’s head snapped towards her at the sound of her voice. “How does what feel?”
Kate attempted a smile, but didn’t quite manage it. “Getting off the island. How does it feel?”
Sawyer shook his head. “It doesn’t feel real. That’s for damn sure. The real world is going to take some getting used to.”
“It does have its perks,” Kate stated. “Much better food. Clothes without bloodstains. Maybe I can finally get some bandages for this shoulder,” she said with a wince.
“There’s probably a first aid kit on board,” Sawyer replied.
Kate nodded. “Probably. I don’t feel like getting up, though,” she said quietly.
Sawyer nodded. “Yeah. Listen, Kate,” he started. “About Jack…”
Kate dug her fingernails into her palm at the mention of his name.
Sawyer continued, “I’m really sorry.”
Kate blinked away the few stray tears that had managed to escape. She gulped. “Me too.”
“You really loved him, huh?”
Kate sniffled quietly. “Yeah…I did.”
Sawyer reached across the aisle and gave her hand a quick squeeze of condolence. “You should get some sleep. Your shoulder must hurt like a bitch. I know mine did.”
Kate smiled softly. “Yeah. It does. And I feel like I could sleep for a year. If I’m not up in a few hours, wake me, will you?”
“You got it, Freckles.”
* * *
When Kate, Sawyer, Claire, Miles, Richard, and Frank reached civilization again, Kate was beyond thankful for the diamonds Miles took from Nikki and Paulo. They needed the money to help cover everything up again. The majority of them were supposed to be dead, and Kate was never supposed to leave the state of California. They used the millions of dollars to cover things up, and the rest to make lives for themselves.
There was an unspoken agreement on the plane ride home that Kate and Sawyer would not split up. They were a team, and that wasn’t changing just because they were back in the real world.
They spent their first few nights in a motel, Kate and Claire in one room, Miles and Sawyer in another. Richard and Frank roomed together, as well, and Frank began to teach Richard how to live in modern civilization, much to everyone’s amusement.
It was over breakfast and coffee one morning, a few days after the return, when Kate turned to Sawyer and said, “So, James. I was thinking.”
“Yeah, Freckles?” he turned to her. “Thinking what?”
She bit her lip. “New Mexico. We should move there. You, me, and Claire.”
“We?” Sawyer raised an eyebrow, and Kate sighed.
“You’re my friend, Sawyer. I don’t want to lose you just because we’re back in society.”
“And New Mexico?” Sawyer asked. “This got anything to do with a mutual friend of ours? Well, not so much my friend as my bitter ex, but that’s just the same.”
Kate looked down at the table. “Maybe. I just think it would be good to live in the area. Incase you ever wanted to see your daughter.”
Sawyer stiffened.
Kate tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “You don’t have to see her now, James. Or tomorrow or this month or this year. I just think it would be good to live in the area incase you ever wanted to get to know her. Miles has already paid off my parole officer…I don’t have to live in California. I think it could be good. It’s just an idea I had, is all.”
Sawyer took a bite of his toast and put it back down on his plate. “Have you talked to Claire about it?”
“She seemed on board. She’s terrified to be on her own with Aaron, so she’s probably going to stay with me for a while. Not that I mind,” Kate added, trying to blink away the sudden tears that had pulled in her eyes. “I’ve really missed him.”
Sawyer took a sip of his coffee and nodded. “I know. At least you will get to be with him for a while.”
“For a while, yeah,” Kate sighed. “It’s better than nothing at all. Then what have I got?”
“Well, Freckles, you’re mighty lucky that I’m sticking around then, huh?”
Kate smiled the first smile Sawyer had seen since their return. “Yeah,” she replied. “Very lucky.”
* * *
In the end, they settled on Santa Fe. Sawyer hadn’t wanted to move to Albuquerque - he had made that clear by freezing up every time Kate even mentioned the city. He was scared of running into Cassidy or Clementine before he was ready for it, and Santa Fe was only about an hour away. They searched around for houses and stayed in a hotel rooms for a few weeks. Just after making offers on two homes, Kate and Claire took a trip to Los Angeles. It was well past time to get Aaron back.
After having looked into it, Kate found that Mrs. Littleton was staying in the same hotel still, not having left for Australia yet.
The reunion was tearful. Claire hadn’t known that her mother had come out of her coma until Kate told her after returning to civilization. Aaron was asleep when they arrived, and Kate sat awkwardly through the mother and daughter reunion. Mrs. Littleton regarded Kate with disdain, but Claire told Kate that she would come around.
Claire glanced at Kate. “Do you think we should wake him up or let him sleep?”
Kate bit her lip. “We can wake him, I think. He’s usually good about falling back to sleep.”
Claire nodded. They walked into the next room quietly. The second Kate saw Aaron, she burst into tears.
Claire turned to Kate with surprise. “He’s so big,” she whispered with awe. “This is really him? This is really my son?”
Kate sniffled and nodded, “That’s your son. That’s Aaron.”
As the pair of women approached, Aaron stirred from his sleep, grabbing at his stuffed penguin with his tiny hands. His eyes blinked open slowly, and he turned to see Kate.
“Momma?” his words were tired and soft, and they sent Kate into another bout of sobs.
Kate picked Aaron up out of his bed and pulled him into an embrace. “Hi, baby.”
Claire stood awkwardly at Kate’s side, a million emotions displayed on her face. She didn’t know what to say.
Kate stroked Aaron’s hair and began to speak, “Aaron, this woman here is Claire. She’s your momma, and she loves you very much. We’re all going to live together, okay?”
Aaron’s little eyebrows furrowed with confusion. “You’re my momma.”
Kate sniffled. “I know, baby. But Claire’s your momma, too, okay? And I’ll bet she would really like it if you called her that.”
Kate looked at Claire and spoke in a hushed tone, “Is that okay? I can start having him call me something else, if you like…it’s just what he knows me as…”
Claire nodded. “It’s fine, Kate. He doesn’t know me. Maybe he should just call me by my first name…” she said, unsure.
Kate shook her head. “You’re his mother, Claire. I know how much you love him. He will, too. Eventually. Do you want to hold him?”
At Claire’s hesitant smile, Kate passed the child onto Claire, who hoisted him onto her hip. She was speechless.
Aaron rubbed his little eyes and spoke to Claire, “Hi, momma.”
Claire wiped a stray tear from her eye. “Hi, Aaron.”
And for a moment, the three felt complete.
* * *
Over the course of the next month, Kate, Claire, and Sawyer got settled into a small neighborhood on the outskirts of Santa Fe, having purchased houses right next door to each other.
Sawyer spent the vast majority of his time over at Kate and Claire’s, obviously yearning for company.
“So how is this all gonna work?” Sawyer asked Kate over a glass of wine. Ever since returning to civilization, Sawyer had started bringing wine over often. After three years of ‘that boxed Dharma shit,’ Sawyer had become a bit of a bottled wine enthusiast.
“What do you mean?” Kate asked.
“The whole Aaron thing? What’s he call you?”
“For now, at least, he’s going to keep calling me ‘mom.’ But he’s calling Claire the same thing.”
“Isn’t that going to get confusing?”
Kate shrugged. “I don’t know. Probably. Maybe we’ll have him call us ‘Momma K’ and ‘Momma C.’”
Sawyer smirked. “That what same-sex parents do?”
Kate rolled her eyes. “Hell if I know. Probably.”
Sawyer opened his mouth, but Kate cut him off.
“And don’t make another lesbian joke about me and Claire.”
Sawyer grinned. “What do you want me to say? It’d be hot.”
Kate rolled her eyes again and took a sip of her wine. “How are you liking Santa Fe so far?”
Sawyer shrugged. “It’s alright. It’s hot. Some pretty good scenery, though.”
“Do you miss it?” Both knew what she was talking about.
“Hell no,” Sawyer replied easily.
“James,” Kate said quietly, pleadingly.
“Yeah,” he sighed. “I guess so. A little. It was home for over three years.”
Kate nodded. “If you ever want to talk about anything…well, you know where to find me.”
Sawyer finished off his glass of wine and stood up to leave. “Same goes for you, Freckles.”
They parted ways.