alliecat8 | The Killing Type

This is a fic was based on spec about THE BIG SPOILER. Turns out it was wrong, so we'll call this AU.

Title: The Killing Type
Rating: PG-13 for violence
Characters: Sawyer, Jack, Kate
Prompt: Written for

fanfic100's prompt #47, Heart
Word Count: 671
Spoilers: Duh. Also some cracked-out speculation.
Disclaimer: I don't even approve of this fic, I sure as hell don't claim to own anyone in it.

The Killing Type

James Ford wasn’t the killing type. Growing up in Tennessee, he’d been raised the old-fashioned way. Mind the Ten Commandments, and answer to your Maker if you don’t. But he’d also been taught to stand up to demons. When a devil named Sawyer came into his life, taking away everything that was sacred to him, he took a vow. Someday he would face his demon, and he would slay him.

Over time, James broke every Commandment in the book. He figured he’d become something of a demon, himself, and he began to call himself Sawyer. But he never forgot his vow. The day came when he saw his chance, and he put a bullet into the heart of the man he thought was the devil. James wasn’t the killing type but Sawyer was, and he called it justice.

***

Jack Shephard wasn’t the killing type. He’d always been a protector, standing up for the underdog, doing the right thing even when the right thing caused him pain. He vowed that someday he’d make a difference in the world. Someday he’d be a savior.

Over time, Jack achieved every goal he set for himself. He became a doctor, he married well, he always did the right thing, even when the right thing caused him, or someone else, pain. He never forgot his vow. The day came when his well-ordered world turned upside down, and everyone expected him to save them. Then Sawyer tried to shoot the Marshal in the heart, and missed. There was more than one way to stop someone’s heart, and Jack put his hands around the dying man’s neck and squeezed. It was the right thing for him, as a doctor, to do. Jack wasn’t the killing type but the Doctor had to be, and he called it mercy.

***

Kate Austen wasn’t the killing type. Growing up in a military family, always on the move, she learned to adapt. Do what it takes to get by, to get what you need, no matter how things change. When the day came that her hard, angry father attacked her for the last time, she did what she had to do to adapt. She closed scared, vulnerable Kate away in a sheltered corner of her mind, and she became Katherine. And Katherine vowed that no one would hurt her, ever again.

Katherine dealt with her father in the manner he deserved, and although there were rumors that she’d been involved in his disappearance, the body was never found. When it was safe, Katherine allowed Kate to re-emerge. But she never forgot her vow. Katherine was silent, for a while, until Kate married a man who had a temper. The first time he got that look on his face, the one Kate’s father used to get, Katherine came raging back and took care of him the same way she’d taken care of her father. This time, the authorities didn’t give her the benefit of the doubt, and Katherine ran. Over time, new personalities appeared to help her adapt. Maggie, and Joan, and Annie, were all there to help when they were needed, but Kate always came back in the end. She heard it was called it Dissociative Identity Disorder, or split personalities, but for Kate it was just self-defense. When the day came that she was lost on an island, with the food and medicine running out, Katherine knew that only the strongest deserved to survive. Shannon was a parasite. She used up valuable resources and gave nothing back in return, and Katherine put a knife in her heart without a single pang of remorse. Kate wasn’t the killing type but Katherine was, and she called it survival.

End

*makes muse stand in corner*

End note: Originally, Katherine killed Sawyer to get his spot on the raft. Maybe that works better, but I had to draw the line somewhere. All signs point toward Kate killing Shannon, so this is just my lame attempt to figure out WHY.