1Disclaimer: I don't own Lost. I do own this story, but not Kate ro Sawyer or anyone. Which is very unfortunate.

A/N: This story is a little fluffy, but sort of not.. Umm, bad explanation...Let me put it this way : Some serious things amidst the fluff.

Barriers..

Kate was furious. More pissed than she had been in a long time. She huffed off, her strides large and deliberate, away from the caves. Jack didn't want her to be in the jungle alone, but he sure as hell wasn't heading after her. Not after that fight. She might just attack him. He had tried to ask her why she was the prisoner on the plane, why she never told him. Kate thought it was obvious. Because he would look at her with different eyes if she had. So would everyone. And luckily Jack wasn't telling. He had called her some rude and offensive things, and she wasn't the type to stand and nod her head muttering "sorry". She had flipped out.

"Who do you think you are?" Her voice had quivered with barely controlled fury.

"To tell me who I am, and why I'm no good. I suppose your perfect? I suppose you're the one playing the goddamned Christ and savior on this island?"

"I'm not the one who was in handcuffs !" Jack yelled.

"Screw off, Jack. Leave me alone." And with that she left. She had no intention of coming back that night. It was already late afternoon, maybe close to suppertime. Not that there really was a suppertime on the island. She was in tears now, as she could find no other way to let go of her emotions. More than once she considered taking a blade and slicing her skin slowly... Letting all the poisoned emotions run out, making her sane. She never did.

Kate was at the beach now, her wounds still fresh. She headed strait to her old haunt, where she slept before moving to the caves. It was a quiet spot, under the shade of several trees, where the tide didn't reach and the sand was always cool enough to lie on. She flopped onto her back and stared at the coconut on the tree. What if it fell on her? She wondered. It must be heavy. It was large, and would definitely not feel nice. It might even kill her if it landed on her head. Maybe it would fall, hurt her, and then Jack would be to mad to doctor her. Not the most glorious end imaginable, and definitely not a likely one.

There was a noise in back of her, and she jumped as someone covered her eyes with large hands.

"Guess who." Came a familiar voice.

"Sawyer.. What the hell do you want?" She snapped, not in the mood for his games.

"Well, I was just wondering why you were back. You don't seem in the best of moods."

"How did you guess."

"Almost looks to me like you've had a fight with dear old Doc."

She spun to look at him.

"Oh, I'm right on the money." He smiled, not unpleasantly.

"Yes, you are." She said venomously.

"Easy, freckles. How bad was it?" He asked, sitting down beside her.

She shook her head and laughed quietly at the sincerity of his words, thinking the concern was out of pure curiosity. He wanted a laugh, she thought.

"Well he feels he has to now unnecessary details about me."

"Unnecessary as in tax records, or your underwear color?"

Despite herself, Kate laughed.

"Or," He continued. "Something more dark. Like.. A secret of sorts..." She froze. "A very important issue of your personal history..." Sawyer toyed with a lock of her hair, twirling it between his fingertips. He leaned closer, his words a whisper in her ear.

" I know too, Kate. If I were you, I'd keep your secret close."

She couldn't move.. Sawyer knew she was the prisoner.. He knew what she had done..

"I-...Sawyer.." She couldn't think of what to say.

"In case you were wondering I've know for a while, and your secrets safe with me."

Sawyer reached over and started to massage her shoulders, gently at first, and then more firmly.

She was still to stunned to flinch or shrug his hands off. He was under her skin now, and he knew it.

"Sawyer." She said flatly.

"What, freckles?" He asked slowly, his accent clinging to the words.

"What do you see when you look at me?"

This startled Sawyer. He stopped his rhythmic massage on her shoulders and thought for a moment. Then he started again, slipping his strong fingers down to touch on her shoulder blade before returning to the back of her neck. She had to admit, something in her had snapped. A wall had come down. If it was for the better or worse, she had no idea, but she knew that at this time yesterday she would have been ready to spit in Sawyer's face if he so much as thought of touching her. Today she couldn't give a damn. She rolled her shoulders and let the muscles stretch and loosen under his warm touch.

She waited for his answer and wondered what Jack would think if he saw her sitting in front of Sawyer like this right now. The thought made her hope he would walk out of the jungle, just to piss him off.

" I see a young woman. Gorgeous, that's for sure. Usually pretty defensive. I think you know what you want, and anybody who gets in your way better watch out." He smiled and looked up at the sky before continuing.

"You have a different side of you though, one that you don't wear on your sleeve.." He chose his words carefully, afraid to say the wrong thing. Since when was he afraid to say the wrong thing?

"Now that I know you a little bit, I know that there's something serious in your past that changed you. There's a lot more to you that meets the eye ,Kate."

She nodded and thought about this for some time.

"Your not going back to the caves, are you?" Sawyer asked, taking his hands from her back.

"Not tonight, that's for sure." She said definitely.

"You could.. Stay with me." Sawyer ran his fingertips along her arms, giving her goose bumps. Kate narrowed her eyes. She should have seen this coming. Was simple friendship too much to ask of anyone?

Getting to her feet, she ran around a bend to a private spot of the beach, and then to the water. It was almost dusk, and the tide was in. The waves lapped the shore, colored on the tops with the bright hues of the sunset, oranges and reds mostly. She dipped her foot in the water, and found it pleasantly cool. Not cold, as most of the surface water was warmed from the intense heat of the day, yet not warm either. She didn't think twice before slipping out of her jeans, taking out her ponytail just by tugging the scrunchie, and tearing her shirt over her head. The water slid past her body with refreshing ease, and she breast-stroked out a couple dozen feet from shore. The deepening of the water was gradual, and she assumed there was a drop-off a ways out. The water was clear and blue, and Kate lay on her back , floating with her face to the brilliant evening sky for a moment before swimming a ways to the right. She did laps around an invisible circle several times before her arms began to burn with the effort. She was a good swimmer, and she found it natural to be in water. Before long she looked to the shore and saw someone standing at the water's edge. Sawyer. He waved to her for a minute, and then his tall, tanned body bent down and picked something off the sand... Her shirt. She couldn't see his face clearly from where she was, but she imagined the little smirk on his handsome face.

Then he picked up her pants and waved again. He wouldn't. He couldn't . Oh my god. He was.

Sawyer turned the other direction and walked away, back around the corner to his camp, with her clothes. Feeling like she could scream, Kate swam quickly to the shore, wringing out her hair on the sand and then standing still, unsure of what her next move should be. She couldn't go to the caves, because Jack was there, and along with everyone else. The last thing she wanted to do was go marching up to Sawyer and demand her clothes back. She could imagine his amused grin and the spark in his eye as she stood before him in her bra and panties, asking for her clothes with an outstretched hand. Yet she had no choice.

Sawyer looked up to see Kate walking up the beach toward him. And what a sight she was. He laughed quietly.

"What's the matter, freckles? Cant find your shirt?"

"Or my pants." She concluded.

"What a shame. You look mighty nice without 'em." He commented, sweeping his gaze purposefully down her body. She blushed scarlet.

"Sawyer. Please give me back my stuff." She said seriously.

"Aw, come on Kate, relax. I was just having a little fun." He said, taking his sweet time. With her luck someone would come wandering to this section of the beach and run into this scene, she thought.

"What do you want?" She asked, exasperated.

"You to go get your other clothes back at the caves. You know, the caves everyone's sitting around at. Yea, march right up there just like you are now and see what scenario Jack cooks up. Oh," He imitated the doctor. "Kate's a murderer and a hooker.. Why Sawyer, Kate, and not me?.." He pretended to be Jack still, pouting out his lower lip.

"OK!" Kate yelled. She'd had it with Sawyer's games.

"Sawyer, give me back my clothes or I'll-"

"Or you'll what?" He challenged.

"Hurt you." She said, almost laughing at her lame threat and the overall absurdity of the situation.

"Im shakin' in my boots." He said. Kate approached him and he stood up to face her, grinning. He thought this was so damn funny... Kate aimed her fist for a split second and then the next thing she knew, her hand was stinging and Sawyer was bent over, almost double, clutching his chin.

"Damn , Kate!" He said as she got her clothes from behind him and slipped them on.

"I warned you." She said, fighting a laugh that threatened to bubble up.

"I gave you a massage and all I got was a punch in the face?" He asked, fully recovered now.

Kate didn't answer, instead she just strode off to her patch of palm trees. It was noticeably cooler now, and the sun was almost over the horizon. She settled against the tree and watched it set the rest of the way, sinking below the water line. She wished she could paint the scene, right then, but not only did she not have any talent she knew of, but she had no canvas or paints or brushes. She could see a fire down a ways along the beach. There were quite a few people still not at the caves, she noted. Suddenly she caught a sign of movement out of the corner of her eye. Looking up, she saw Sawyer approaching. He had a pleasant smile in place of the smirk he usually wore, and he had something dark blue folded up in his arms. A blanket.. He dropped it in the sand next to her and left without a word.

Once he was gone, Kate unfolded the blanket he had given het and draped it over her. When she unfolded the last part, something fell into her lap. Picking it up, she realized it was her scrunchie she hadn't remembered was gone.

She burrowed under the blanket, glad for its warmth in the cooling night air. Stars were spattered in the bruised blue night sky. Warm and cozy, she thought. Just as she was Sure Sawyer's arms around her would feel tonight... If it weren't for those barriers still holding her back.

A/N: That was a short and sweet one-shot people :P Check out my other stories if the spirit moves you!!