Disclaimer: I do not own the characters and I am not affiliated in any way, shape or form with anyone who does.

Sawyer cursed under his breath as one of his legs fell into a puddle left behind by the recent rainstorm, covering his lower-leg with dirt and the skeletal remains of fallen leaves. Locke chuckled behind him, finding the scene amusing and Sawyer turned around.

"You think this is funny? I just washed the damn trousers."

"Yes I do James." Locke had almost not spoken at all, almost slinked away into the jungle and pretended that he hadn't been sharing the same path to the beach that Sawyer had. It had taken effort for him to talk, even more for him to attempt a joke with one of his fellow castaways. He instantly regretted it when he saw Sawyer's face darken.

"My name isn't James."

"It's what it said on the manifest."

"My name is Sawyer."

"No it isn't." Locke wasn't sure where he had received the courage to keep talking, but he knew that the need was still inside him, the need to help Sawyer become James again. It had first appeared when he had seen the flight manifest and had increased every time he had seen Sawyer since. "You shouldn't be ashamed of your name."

"Yeah?" Sawyer's voice had lowered in tone, he was practically growling the words, "and why shouldn't I Locke?"

"N…names are special. You get your name when you're born and it is what makes you… you. You could die, the world could end but your name would still exist. It clings to you for your entire life, it witnesses your best moments and it comforts you through your worst and it is how people remember you when you've gone."

The darkness hadn't gone from Sawyer's face, "my name is Sawyer." He stepped closer to Locke who closed his eyes, trying to block Sawyer out of his mind. He was regretting that he had voiced his opinion, he should have known better than to believe that anybody would care what he had to say. And, worse than that, he had offended someone, "James died a long time ago."

"I wanted to do that," he opened his eyes again and caught Sawyer's gaze with his own. "I wanted to become someone different after…" he paused, realising that he had almost mentioned his father and the all-consuming feeling of betrayal that had made him wish he was anybody except Jonathon Locke. Sawyer couldn't know that, nobody could know what had happened to him. If they knew, they could use it to their own advantage, and he would end up hurt again. "After something happened but I realised that I couldn't run from my past, from who I was. I had to deal with it."

Sawyer chuckled, breaking eye contact, "well I don't have to deal with it… and you don't either. Why else would you call yourself Locke, Locke?"

"I didn't," it was the truth, he could still remember when Michael had called him it in his introduction to the group and it had stuck. He hadn't been brave enough back then to tell them that it wasn't his name, that it wasn't what he wanted to be known as. "People decided that one for me; I wanted to be called John."

Sawyer looked confused for a moment before backing away a couple of steps and turning round, heading on the path towards the beach again. "See you later John."

"See you later Sawyer."