Flashback

Liv walked home from school, reading the essay she got the best grade in her class on. Once she turned the corner and walked up to her door, she noticed her dad´s car was in the driveway and wondered what he was doing home so early. She smiled from one ear to the other when she reached her front door and turned the key in the lock.

"Dad, I´m home." She called for him when she was putting her shoes off, throwing them in a corner. Laughter came from the living room and Liv went there to greet her dad, but what she saw made her freeze in the spot. She let her backpack fall to the ground when she noticed the man sitting in front of her father.

"Hey darling, look who came to visit. Uncle Max." her father smiled at her but Liv couldn´t take her eyes off the man who she thought she was free of forever.

"Hey Olivia. You´ve grown up." Her abuser had a dirty grin on his face as he eyed the skinny girl up and down, his gaze staying on her chest instead of coming up to her face again. Liv tried to hold back the tears and pushed down the urge to scream and scratch his eyes out. Her body got tense and she felt goosebumps forming all over it.

"Liv are you feeling okay? You look a bit pale." Her father tore her out of her thoughts and she looked at him with pleading eyes. "Would you like to sit down with us? Have a cup of tea?"

"No!" Liv blurted out like a shotgun and quickly tried to come up with an explanation. "No I…um…I have…um…I got a lot to do for um…for school…yeah right I- I- I have to study." She meant in a shaky voice before picking up her schoolbag and running upstairs to her room.

"Oliva?" her father stood up, wanting to go after her but got a phone call. "Urgh..it´s work…could you?" he pointed towards the stairs, gesturing that Max should go upstairs and look if his daughter was okay which he gladly did. In the meantime, Liv has reached her room and shut the door. She was breathing heavily, a panic attack about to begin when she locked the door and crouched down in a corner of her room.

"Olivia?" she heard her uncle knock on the door and saw him trying to open it but failing. "Olivia, let me in…let´s talk." He said in a soft voice as though he had never hurt her. The girl didn´t answer. She picked up her backpack and emptied it on her bed. Afterwards, she took some shirts, pants and undergarments and packed them in there together with her diabetes kit and her wallet, phone, charger and diary. She was standing by the opened window already, when she turned around and looked at the family photo she had standing on her bedside table. Liv took it out of the frame and put it into the diary before climbing out of the window and running to the closest bank to get all her money from her cards.

The wind was blowing through Liv´s hair as she watched Jack remove Sawyer´s bandage with interest. The Southerner hissed in pain.

"You want it easy, quit moaning, I gotta change these bandages." Jack retorted and Liv snickered in the background. It took a few minutes until the new bandage was on and Jack left the two alone.

"What´s with your frown? I´m the one with a stab wound." Sawyer asked when he turned to the young girl who was staring into the ocean, a mindful expression on her face.

"Yeah a stab wound you wouldn´t have without me." She turned to him and gave him a soft nod as he nudged her into the ribs, saying it was alright and he deserved it. "I guess I just haven´t slept well."

"Well, I know what helps in that case." He smiled, catching her interest. "A good breakfast. Banana?" he joked holding the fruit towards her.

"I don´t think I can ever look at a banana once we get off this island." She smiled, taking it and starting to eat it.

"So you do think they´ll find us.." Sawyer inquired and Liv shrugged.

"I don´t know. At least if they don´t we can make a whole lot of things out of bananas." She giggled, standing up, Sawyer following her swiftly.

"Yeah like what? Ain´t like we got the ingredients for banana bread here."

"Do you even know the ingredients for banana bread?" the girl mocked him with a smug expression as they walked besides each other and Sawyer let out an amused scoff. "Here…close your eyes." She grabbed his hand, making him stop walking. Sawyer was reluctant but eventually did as she ordered. "Open your mouth."

"Kid, if this is a trick then you´ll get the worst pay back for it." He smiled but followed her commands. Liv broke off a piece of the banana and put it inside his mouth.

"Now imagine it being covered in chocolate, or that it´s a banana pancake. Or it´s the juiciest banana bread there is." She smiled from one ear to another watching the older man chewing on the banana. They were so focused on the task, they didn´t even notice how close they had gotten and that only a few inches separated their bodies. Sawyer´s eyes flickered open and they looked at each other cheerfully. "Did you taste it?" she asked with a happy smile and all the man could do was reply the smile. He didn´t know where all these emotions were coming from, but somehow that young girl made the cocky Southerner speechless. They looked at each other for another second before Liv broke the gaze and ran into the jungle.

"Where the hell are you going?" Sawyer called after her but Liv simply smirked.

"Come and find out." She suggested and she didn´t have to ask him twice. He came running after her and chased her through the woods.

"When did you become so cocky?" he panted a few feet away from her when they stopped for a minute.

"I´ve always been. I´m just comfortable showing it now." She meant running into another direction. Sawyer followed her and soon caught up. He grabbed her arm, causing her to trip over a root and they both tumbled around the ground laughing. As they eventually came to a halt, Liv was atop of Sawyer. Their faces weren´t far away from each other and Sawyer put a strand of hair behind her ear, cupping her cheek afterwards. A cold shower ran down Liv´s spine but not like the ones she used to know. It almost felt pleasant. However, she pulled away and sat down next to the man. It was only then that they noticed they were in front of a lagoon.

"It´s beautiful." She was stunned by nature´s beauty as Sawyer got an idea.

"I bet it´s a nice way to cool down after our morning jog." He joked as he stood up and pulled off his shirt and took off his shoes.

"You´re kidding right?" Liv asked but couldn´t keep her thoughts straight by the sight of his muscular, sweaty torso.

"Do I look like I am?" he unbuckled his belt and pulled down his jeans, leaving him in only his boxer shorts. "Come on in." he called her once he stepped in the chilly water. "It´s really nice." Liv was hesitant but eventually pulled off her shoes and walked towards the lagoon. "You sure you wanna go in fully clothed? You´re not gonna go back in wet clothes, are you?" Liv raised an eyebrow as she looked down, nervously pulling on the hem of her shirt. "I´ll even look away." Sawyer grinned as he turned around. Liv slowly unbuckled her trousers and let them fall to the ground before fiddling with her shirt. Sawyer dared to take a peek behind him and caught her as she set foot into the water. She felt uncomfortable in only her underwear but Sawyer´s presence somehow made it feel right. It didn´t take long for her to be surrounded by the refreshing water. Sawyer swam towards her but moments before he was able to dip her under water, Liv splashed an enormous amount of water in his face.

"Son of a bitch!" he cursed as he pushed his hair back, an angry glimpse in his eyes before a mischievous grin formed on his lips and he threw himself onto her and pushed her underwater. An excited scream was the last thing she could do before being underwater. But Liv didn´t go down without a fight and pulled the man down with her. They looked at each other as the water made them feel weightless and as though all their worries were far away.

"This is amazing." Liv stated once they came to the surface to breathe again. Sawyer didn´t answer. He simply looked at her with an expression, she has never seen on him before. "You alright?"

"I´m…great." He smiled, speaking the words as softly as possible, causing Liv to reply the smile instantly. They locked eyes as they floated through the clear water, staring at each other longingly and unsure. Suddenly, a twig in the jungle behind them snapped. The pair turned to where the noise came from, fear arising in them.

"Get behind me." Sawyer whispered, placing his hand on her hip and softly pushing her behind him. Leaving his hand on her body. "Who´s there?" he shouted and another twig snapped somewhere else.

"Sawyer…" Liv whispered scared as she held onto his shoulders and pulled herself closer, their bodies touching, their naked skins spending comfort to one another.

"Come out you son of a bitch!" Sawyer yelled another time as Charlie tripped out at another spot of the jungle. Liv and Sawyer exhaled relieved, but stayed in the position they were.

"Sorry guys I…I didn´t mean to…I should…I leave you guys to it." He stuttered, obviously uncomfortable thinking they were doing something else than just swimming.

"Charlie, wait!" Liv pulled away from their embrace and swam to the shore to follow the Brit. "It´s not what it looks like!"

A few hours went by in which Liv tried to avoid Sawyer after their moment by the lagoon. The sun has already set and Liv sat by the fire on the beach staring into the flames. Although she was sitting so close to the flames, she felt cold and had goose bumps all over her body as her mind wandered off to the day she ran away from home.

Flashback

"No you don´t understand I need to get on a plane now." The girl begged a lady who was looking up flights on her computer.

"I´m sorry Miss, but the only flights with empty seats are the ones to Zurich, London and Rome. We advise to book a flight in advance and not on the day you want to leave. Do you want me to call a hotel and tell them you are delaying your stay?" the woman asked politely and Liv rolled her eyes.

"What? No I didn´t book a hotel…please…I just have to leave and go somewhere far away." She pleaded and the helpful woman who noticed the anxiety in her eyes leaned forward so she could speak more quietly.

"If you are in any kind of danger, I can alarm the authorities without drawing attention to you, if you want." She offered quietly and Liv felt a shiver running down her spine.

"No, I just…I just want to leave. When´s the next flight to a place that´s far away?" she shrugged it off and the woman went back to the computer.

"We have a flight to Sydney, Australia scheduled for tomorrow afternoon and there´s a few seats left." She informed Liv and she nodded.

"I´ll take it." The young girl meant, paying the ticket with the money she picked up at the bank before. After the trade was done, she checked into the duty free area, seeing as there was no way back to her old life.

"Hey Kid, you avoiding me or something?" Sawyer suddenly tore Liv out of her thoughts and she sighed tired. "Want some dinner?" he asked holding a plate with some boar meat in front of her but she shook her head with furrowed eyebrows.

"I don´t know I´m just not feeling well lately." She meant rubbing her stomach and Sawyer sat down next to her, putting the plate aside.

"Maybe you should let Jack check that. Could be something serious." He insisted worried but Liv waved it off.

"Sweet how you care about me but no. I´m sure I´ve just eaten something bad. Anyway I should probably get going. I´m way past my curfew." She joked as she stood up and waved Sawyer goodbye before walking to the caves where Jack and Hurley had a talk about needing a distraction. "Hey Jack can I talk to you for a minute?" Liv interrupted them and Jack nodded, gesturing to Hurley that he should go away.

"What´s up? You feeling okay? You look a little pale." He asked and Liv scoffed while sitting down nervously.

"Do you have anything for…sleeping?" she wondered and Jack raised an eyebrow. "Like sleeping pills, maybe?"

"Why would you need that stuff?" he asked worried and Liv sighed, fidgeting with her fingers.

"Well, since I talked to Sawyer in the forest I…I´ve been having those flashbacks that I tried really hard to get out of my head and…I just haven´t been sleeping good lately and feel really tired and stressed…I don´t know I guess I´m just a bit exhausted with this whole situation." She explained.

"You know I don´t feel comfortable giving such things to people, they can lead to addiction really fast and I´ve got my plate full with Charlie right now. Maybe I should just check on you or…or Sun could make you some herbal tea." He suggested but Liv denied.

"No, no, I´m…I guess I´m fine I should probably just…distract myself somehow." She meant, leaving Jack to it. The girl went to her little sleeping spot in the cave and started looking at the picture of her family she took with her. It was a few years old and all of them had massive smiles on their faces, but little did people know that seconds before the picture was taken everyone was far from happy.

"What are you doing here?" Liv suddenly heard Jack speaking in a rather annoyed tone and looked up when she recognized Sawyer´s voice.

"Wow I gotta say I liked your tent on the beach more." He mocked her as he came closer and Liv hid the photograph in her waistband. "You wanna go for a walk?"

"What?" Liv chuckled surprised by his offer but didn´t deny his hand he reached out to help her stand up. "Where are you leading me to?" she asked after they stumbled a bit through the forest, their hands still holding each other.

"I want to thank you. For confiding in me and for accepting me. And because you are what I would call my only friend on this damn island." He explained and Liv couldn´t help but smile. "I wanted to make a banana bread because it seems like that´s the only thing you´ve talked about all day, but food supplies are limited here." Sawyer came to a halt and Liv noticed that they were at a clearing and a blanket and some pillows were lying on the ground. She blushed as her smile grew wider and the man gestured for them to sit down. "So I asked around and finally got a deal to get a bit of chocolate someone still had hidden. And because of the heat it´s melted so…You said something about chocolate covered bananas?" he smirked as he put all the ingredients out of his backpack.

"You´re kidding me, right? I can´t believe you did that what did you have to give them for this chocolate bar?" she almost started crying happy tears when Sawyer smiled sheepishly.

"Two tubes of sunscreen and a new toothbrush." He admitted and peeled a banana before breaking it in half and offering one to her.

"That´s truly the nicest thing someone has ever done for me." Liv grinned as they dipped the fruit in the sweet liquid. They enjoyed their improvised chocolate fondue until every bit of the treat was gone and then laid down on their back looking up to the stars. Suddenly Liv pulled out the picture she still had with her and gave it to Sawyer who took a close look at it.

"You look happy." He noticed and Liv shook her head with a scoff.

"We weren´t. Moments before they shot this my brothers were bickering and fighting and my father was arguing with them because they wouldn´t behave. My mother was close to a breakdown because we got to spend so little time as a family and she just wanted to have a picture with us all in it." Liv pointed to each of her family members while explaining what was really going on.

"And you?"

"That was the day after I told my uncle I would tell my parents everything and he…I was in a lot of pain. I could barely even stand straight let alone look happy. If you look closely you can see that it´s only my lips that are smiling. My eyes look dead." She sighed as she rolled on her side. A few seconds later Sawyer folded the picture in half and gave it back to her also rolling onto his side. Their eyes met and they just stared at each other for a few minutes not saying a word. The rustle of the leaves tore them out of the position and they looked up at a man standing by their feet. He was strange to them and seemed awkward.

"Can we help you…?" Liv asked quickly realizing she didn´t know his name.

"Ethan." He said, not moving an inch and still staring at Liv as if he didn´t notice Sawyer.

"You need something? Ethan?" Sawyer asked again but the man still didn´t look away from the girl. "Hey!" Sawyer got protective as he stood up and got closer to Ethan who only then looked at Sawyer and backed up. Once he went away Sawyer started packing their things, not feeling like it was safe any longer for them to stay out.

"I´ve never seen that guy." Liv admitted confused and startled by his weird presence.

"Yeah he´s a freak, probably spends most of his time in the forest." Sawyer glared into the woods where Ethan went to.

"Yeah really like who even spends the evening in the forest and enjoys it." She gave him a soft nudge which made him smirk as they started heading back to caves.

This night Liv could get a bit more sleep than the nights before but she was still tossing and turning and felt more tired and exhausted when she woke up than when she went to bed. After she had come to her senses and stretched, she noticed that most people have already left the caves and the sun was pretty high already. Just as she thought about it being probably midday her stomach started to growl and decided to go to Sawyer and thank him again for their little date the night before. But even on the beach only a few people were working on their tents or going through some of their stuff.

"Where is everyone?" she thought to herself as her feet carried her to the well-known tent. "Morning Dimples!" she greeted Sawyer as she walked up to him reading a book on a plane seat.

"Dimples? Really?" he laughed and Liv shrugged as she let herself fall down next to him.

"Why should you be the only one getting to give people nicknames." She mocked him before they stared off into the distance. "Where is everybody, by the way?"

"Haven´t you heard? They build a golf course, everyone´s playing golf now." Sawyer explained, turning the page of his book.

"And why aren´t you there?" Liv turned her head, making her eyes small so the sun wouldn´t blind her, but noticing Sawyer´s thoughtful smirk.

"This may come as a shock to you but…most people are not too fond of me here." He joked and Liv acted surprised.

"Really? How´s that you´re so likeable." She laughed jokingly punching him onto the arm he had the bandage on under a shirt with longer sleeves. He hissed in pain and she soon realized what happened, apologizing immediately.

"It´s fine." He continued reading his book, Liv´s gaze still lingering on him.

"Maybe we should check it out…the golf course." Liv suggested but Sawyer shook his head denying her request. "Come on there´s not much else we could do here?"

"I´d have a few ideas…" he meant cocky while turning to her with a smirk. The girl rolled her eyes as she stood up and pulled the Southerner to come with her and check it out. He trotted after her unwillingly but on the way to the golf course remembered the words Kate told him earlier about making an effort. He somehow managed to befriend this young girl with a horrible past so why shouldn´t he be able to make other friends. They just reached it for Jack´s final swing at it and people betting on whether he´ll sink it or not.

"See, looks like fun." Liv whispered as they stopped a bit further down from the action. Sawyer grinned and moved further up.

"I got two tubes of sunscreen and a flashlight says he chokes." Sawyer wanted to get into the bet and Liv watched him from a distance. For a moment everyone simply looked at him and didn´t answer and he was about to turn around wanting to give Liv a piece of his mind about `how much fun´ this was when Kate spoke up.

"I´ll take that action." She smiled at him and other people agreed to it as well. Liv came closer too, wanting to watch what happened but she couldn´t help but notice the look Kate gave Sawyer and the way he replied it. She knew he might not feel the same as she did for him, she just hoped for it to be different.