[IF] MARCH B - "This probably won't..."

He was still asleep when she woke up, his light, blissful snoring a comfort to her even as she slid out of bed and quietly crept into the bathroom for a quick shower. Lincoln’s scent still clung to her skin even as she let the water beat down on her head and shoulders, her body still remembering the last of his fevered touches from only a few hours earlier.

They woke up twice during the night and made love, and both times it had been more than simply slow and gentle, it had been tender...real.

The last time she’d been touched that way by a man, she’d married him.

The knowledge drove her out of the shower and into her clothes, greedily watching Lincoln as she slid on her jeans and her t-shirt...burning the sight of him into her memory, the tan skin of his bare torso so dark against the cool white sheets twisted around his waist, features peaceful and at ease as he slept.

Once she was dressed, Kate began shoving the last of her belongings into her bag when her fingers brushed against it...cool metal and cheap plastic...

Her resolve almost broke, but not quite...still, she found a pad of paper and a pen, jotting down a quick note that she laid on the pillow beside his head.

This probably won’t mean much to you, but it’s all I have left of the only good thing I could ever keep for myself...until I met you.

Take care of it for me.

She laid the toy airplane on the note before turning and leaving the room silently, hoping to get out of there before she went back and took it with her instead.

The plane was an anchor...one that would bring her back to him the next time she had to run and had nowhere else to go. She’d come back for Tom’s plane...and for him.

The part that scared her the most was the fact that she had a sneaking suspicion she still would have returned to him without it.

Muse: Kate Austen
Fandom: LOST
Words: 351