bonboni - You're right. They wouldn't. Except Sawyer was drunk. And Kate...well how do you NOT give into that? I mean really!
SassyLostie - Pish posh! I love your poetic reviews. :) Proves that you understand things the way I do and one less person I have to explain it to. (Not that I mind doing that for everyone - if you all are reading this.)
LostSista - I never thought about that. You're right, it does remind me of Wayne. Creepy!

So wow!
- I got a few more reviews than usual out of that one. Sex sells, huh?
- I also got a lot of talk about how Sawyer was being abusive to Kate in the last chapter. I wouldn't go so far as to say that. Well, I mean sure he was, but understand that he was drunk and distraught.
- As for the vote of when this chapter would be posted, I got a lot of mixed answers. No one could seem to make a vote. Hehe. But that's okay. I decided to go neutral and post it now. This way, on Wednesday - LOST day - I can start up the new one and you can all rejoice with that! Oh happy day!

Yes. You heard me right. There will be a fourth installment. What can I say? My fingers and imagination just love to run wild and have yet to stop yet. Hopefully I haven't done too much overkill and it won't be too redundant or anything. If it ever gets to be that way, please let me know, or I may not realize. But back to the main point here, yes. There will be a fourth. Yes, there will be more Skate stuff! And YES I have a title. The fourth story will be put up on Wednesday and will be titled: Baby Steps.

As for this story, I want to express great gratitude to all of you who have stuck around to read it. And even more to those of you who have reviewed. I know I abandoned my series for a while but I can't be more grateful for those who STILL stuck around. It means a lot. Like I always say, my writing is 100 percent for the fans. I can only hope that you like it and if you don't, I know that I can just do better with the next chapter.

Anyway, let me stop trying to sound deep here and let you hurry on to read the FINALE CHAPTER!!
Note: You should all know, I realize how abruptly this ends. I hope it's not much of a disappointment but I can't be too sure. It's hard to create an ending when there is more to the story.

Chapter 52

Sawyer woke up that morning, feeling something soft against his chest. He opened his eyes and realized it was Kate's hair. He swallowed, hard, seeing she was only in her skin – as was he. What happened last night? Before anything could happen, he slid out from under her, careful not to wake her up. Spotting his shorts on the ground, he picked them up from the pile of clothing and put them back on. He went to the kitchen and saw several empty liquor bottles sitting in the sink. So that was what happened last night…

He flicked one of the bottle caps, which popped off, and managed to make as much noise as it possibly could on its way down to the base of the sink. Thankfully, Kate seemed to be sleeping soundly. He leaned against the counter, sighing in exasperation. There would be questions when she woke up. An immense amount of questions. And no answers. What happened? Why did it happen? What does it mean? Then he thought to himself, what did it mean? Did it mean he still loved her? He rolled his eyes at his own stupidity. Of course he did. That was a given. He would always love her.

So…did it still mean she loved him? She wanted to leave. She was going to go to Jack. He scoffed aloud. What exactly did that mean? Maybe he had a few questions for her, himself. But he did, however, have one question for himself. What would he do when she woke up? He had no plan. He had no idea what was going to happen. He did know that he needed an aspirin, first off. As he headed out of the kitchen to go upstairs, his high hopes seemed to laugh in his face, as he bumped directly into Kate (now dressed again). They stared at each other, dumbfounded.

"Morning," Sawyer finally murmured.

"Morning," she replied.

They stood awkwardly for a moment. Sawyer stared at the floor.

"I was just gonna go get myself some aspirin."

"Oh. Right." She moved out of the way to let him pass.

He stared at her a minute longer, then went upstairs. She followed him with her eyes until he disappeared. She wandered into the kitchen and took a seat at the table. Her head throbbed and she suddenly felt overwhelmed with exhaustion. She laid her arms on the table and lowered her head into them. She didn't even raise her head when she heard the stairs creak as Sawyer came back down.

As he walked back into the kitchen, Sawyer saw her and stopped for a second, watching her. He wasn't sure if she was in pain as well or not, but it didn't hurt to assume. He put the bottle on the table, having already taken two out. He went to the cupboard and took out a glass and set it on the counter before him. Then he took out a second glass, placing it next to the other. He filled them both with water, and sat at the table with Kate. He slid the bottle of aspirin across to her, placing the second glass of water next to it. She looked up and saw both, and he caught her smile for a split second. He swallowed the medication and stared at the water in his glass.

"So, uh, about last night –

"You don't have to," Kate stopped him. "I know you didn't mean for it to happen."

He let out a long tired laugh. "Tell ya the truth, Freckles, I don't even remember what happened last night."

"Oh," she said quietly, her shoulders slightly slumping. "Well then…I guess we're back where we started."

"And just where was that?"

"I was hoping you'd tell me," she smiled sheepishly.

"You still havin' 'ol Jack-O come 'n get you?"

"No."

Sawyer took another sip of water. "So, maybe we oughta get you to a doctor. Make sure everything's as it should be."

She looked up at him, surprised. That was certainly not something she'd expected him to say. What was that about?

"Sure," she answered, uncertainly.

He took one more swallow of his water, and let out a sigh. "I'm gonna shower first. Then we'll head out."

She nodded, watching him get up and leave the room. She slumped back into the chair, releasing a long sigh. He didn't remember anything from the night before. She couldn't decide whether that was good or bad. That meant he didn't remember what he'd said to her before they fell asleep..."Don't leave me, Freckles."...Maybe she should just forget about it. It meant nothing anyway. And she should've known that, considering he was drunk. She just hoped that he'd meant it. Of course, he obviously hadn't. But apparently, he was finally done arguing. It was a relief. And yet, it wasn't. Nothing had been resolved, and that wasn't entirely good. Still…they were making progress, at the very least. Although, they were still stuck at this roadblock they couldn't seem to get around. She sighed, hopelessly.

In about ten minutes, Sawyer came down the stairs again, buttoning his shirt. She met him at the doorway of the kitchen. He stopped abruptly, and they stared at each other.

"What's going on, Sawyer?" she asked, folding her arms.

"What're you talkin' about, Freckles?"

"I don't know. You're not yelling at me anymore."

"I'd think you'd be happy about that," he said, wearing a small smirk.

"I would. It's just that…nothing's been resolved. And it's sort of an awkward feeling, you know?"

"Look. I don't wanna think about it anymore. I don't wanna talk about it anymore. We ain't gettin' nowhere anyhow. And it's only causin' us both grief."

"So you're just going to forget about it?"

"Neither of us'll ever forget about it. But that doesn't mean we gotta stay stuck on it."

She nodded, looking down. It wasn't a resolution, but it was a start.

"I'm thinkin' it's time to move on. Pretend like none of it happened."

She smiled. "Start fresh. Clean slate?" she teased.

He snickered. "Yeah..."

She looked up at him, curious. "So…you're giving me a second chance?"

"I guess I am, Freckles," he grinned.

She smiled, gratefully. "Thank you."

He nodded in response. "So, uh, let's getcha to a doctor," he said as he turned away to go get his keys.

"Sawyer," she said to stop him. He turned back around, but she only smiled. "We need to make an appointment before we can go walk in."

"Oh," he realized.

They looked at each other, and she smiled at the floor, timidly. The corners of his mouth turned up. Sawyer now knew that this would be the end of the biggest fight they'd ever endure. It was then he remembered his Aunt's words at the time of her separation with his Uncle – "James, I'll tell you this and you damn well had better remember it. When you meet that special lady in your life, just remember: If you can survive the first big fight, you're set for life. If you can't, well then you're better off lyin' face down in the street lettin' the cars run over you instead of tryin' to keep the relationship alive." They weren't exactly a Wiseman's words. And of course…he was only eight years old at the time. But he still remembered...