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[new_ophelia]

Kate realized the other day that it's officially been four years. Honestly it's not really a date she pays much attention to. It feels like longer and every day of the past nine months have been some sort of sickening blend of too fast and too slow. Sam growing up way too fast and each day full of too many lulls and silence and the pressing grind

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[weusedtoshine]

He's been running himself, though, obviously, not as hard as Kate. He's pretty sure that his lungs couldn't take it. He registers the chest of draws right before Kate slips right into the water.

His chest's hurting too much to do anything but walk to her.

"Jesus, Kate. Are you okay?"

[new_ophelia]

Kate comes up spitting water, gasping a little as she still hasn't caught her breath from her damn run.

"Fine," she coughs out, blinking water out of her eyes to try and see what the hell that even was. She pushes up until she's on her knees in the water, staring up at a very familiar looking thing. "Goddamit," she whines, chin dropping to her chest. She should know better than not to expect this shit, after all this time.

[weusedtoshine]

The bandages are off his hands, the burns all but healed but, even if they weren't, Baze wouldn't hesitate to wade into the water with her. He ends up on his knees beside her, soaked to the skin and barely noticing.

"What?" he asks her, reaching out to brush wet hair back from her face before he's thought about it. "Kate, it's just furniture."

[new_ophelia]

Her head jerks up at the touch to her face and she awkwardly tries to stand. "It's not. It's from home," she says tightly. "He had a drawer." She reaches a hand out to pull on the middle right drawer.

[weusedtoshine]

"If he had a drawer then maybe you shouldn't look in that drawer?" asks Baze, still in the water, but he knows it's pretty pointless: if something from home turned up, and he knew there was something of Lux's in it, he couldn't stnad not looking, even though it would hurt like hell.

Sitting there, hurting for Kate, he knows that he wouldn't do a single thing different.

[new_ophelia]

She's not really listening as she pulls the drawer open and grabs a soft t-shirt with shaking hands."It's his. It's Jack's." She puts it up to her face and takes a breath. God it smells like him. She had almost forgot.

[weusedtoshine]

Well, fuck. It's an intensely private moment, and there's no way that Baze wants to disturb it. The water's kind of nice but that doesn't mean he necessarily wants to stay in it. He lets Kate have her moment while he gets up, dripping water from his shorts and t-shirt and leans against a rock.

He just stays there, stays quiet, and lets her have it.

[new_ophelia]

"I'm sorry," she whispers, still staring down at the clothes. God, this poor guy. She carefully sets the shirt back in the drawer and swipes at her eyes. "It does this. The island sends you stuff from home, sometimes."

[weusedtoshine]

"Jesus, kate - what're you sorry for?" asks Baze, staring at her for a long moment. He can't imagine anyone holding that against her. He just sits there.

"Take as long as you need, okay? And then I'll help you move it."

[new_ophelia]

"I'll get the rest later," she says firmly, unlatching Jack's drawer and pulling it out. "I just need to get this home. I don't...Christ. Will you walk with me? I'm supposed to get my kid and I'm all wet and I can't just leave this here."

[weusedtoshine]

"I'm surprised you even feel you've got to ask," says Baze, already pushing to his feet. The skin of his hands is pink and tender, and he winces at the contact with the rocks.

"I'm totally right there, Kate. What do you need?"

[new_ophelia]

"Grab the bottom right drawer," she decides. It's got some summer clothes she might actually be able to wear. The sexy stuff can stay. No use for it, anymore. "I'll just deal with the rest later. I don't know, start a bonfire or something. I don't live far at all."

She finally turns to face him, offering up a weak smile. "Thanks," she says as much genuine emotion as she can come up with packed into that one word.

[weusedtoshine]

He bends down, snagging the draw that she asked for, lifting it up and holding it against his chest. He returns the smile, shaking his head.

"No problem," he says. "What can I tell you, Kate? I'm a really great guy."

[new_ophelia]

That at least manages to get a genuine snort of laughter out of her as she rolls her eyes and hoists, Jesus, Jack's stuff onto her hip. "Right then, let's go before I have another freak out."

She turns to lead the way down the path. "So, these are my husband's clothes. Which is about as close of an introduction as possible."

[weusedtoshine]

Making her laugh feels kind of like a victory, and it's definitely one that Baze'll take. He looks down at the contents of the drawer in his hands.

"You know," he says, looking up at her. "I can't decide if having something of Lux's would make it better or worse."

[new_ophelia]

"I'll let you know if I come up with an answer," she says, looking sadly back down at his stuff. "I think I'm doing better and then something like this. But on the other hand it's all I have left and Sam's never going to know him so maybe...I don't know I can give him this stuff."