SAWYER twisting his wrists around inside the bungee rope binding them -- starting to working himself free.
Kate oblivious to this as she approaches him. Matter-of-fact tone undercut by concern --   

KATE
What did they do to you?
 

SAWYER
Nothin’. Just got a manicure.


  KATE
(shakes her head; then)
So I’m here. Where is it?
 

SAWYER
Happy to tell you...
(beat)
Soon as I get that kiss.
 

KATE
What? -- Are you serious?
 

SAWYER
Baby, I’m tied to tree in the Jungle of Mystery and I just got tortured by a damn spinal surgeon and a genuine I-raqi. (beat)
‘Course I’m serious.
 

Kate just looks at him. Not knowing quite WHAT to think.
 

SAWYER (CONT’D)
You’re not seeing the big picture here, Freckles. You really gonna let that woman suffocate ‘cause you can’t bring yourself to give me a little kiss? Hell -- it’s only first base... lucky for you I ain’t greedy. I’m making it real simple here -- you wanna be a hero or not?  

ON KATE. Yeah. It’s fucking ridiculous... But dammit if he doesn’t make a compelling argument. And dammit if there isn’t a strong contingent of women out there watching this show who WANT her to do it.  

And we can see the moment in which she makes up her mind.  

KATE
Okay.
 

SAWYER
Okay.
 

Kate approaches him. Squats down on her haunches. Gets close. Looks into his eyes. He looks back.  

And here is the first kiss on LOST.  

What makes it interesting is that even though it starts out as a chore -- a necessity -- somewhere about three or four seconds in, it becomes something ELSE. And just before it actually goes from something else to REAL...  

Kate pulls away.  

And we milk this delicious moment afterward for all it’s worth. And despite the insanity of the circumstances under which it happened, both of them felt something. Finally -- and when Sawyer talks to her now, it’s softer -- that kiss did something to him -- some of his swagger is gone -- he’s just a man now --

Kate. Sitting. Looking at the sea, letting the water hit her toes, a near-perfect moment wrecked by Sawyer’s arrival.

SAWYER
Well well well, if it ain’t the Belle of the Ball.
(off Kate)
So what’s it like having both the doctor and Cap’n Falafel fighting over you?

Although Kate shoots Sawyer a “go to hell” glare, it is clear from their interaction that they too have a spark - different from the emotional bond she shares with Jack, but it’s there:

SAWYER (CONT’D)
Just calling ‘em like I see ‘em, freckles. Truth be told, I’m not the only person wondering where you’re going to weigh in on this whole “moving off the beach” thing.

KATE
Please.

SAWYER
Hey -- Jacko may be saving lives, but everyone here knows you went to get the transceiver, and hunt boar, and send the distress signal... even if they don’t know how that worked out.

Kate looks at Sawyer - and the plainness of her question makes it clear that she DOES care what he says and does:

KATE
Are you going?

SAWYER
That’s the real trick, isn’t it? We all pack up stakes to the caves, and the next day a plane passes by - they’re gonna go on their merry way and be none the wiser... On the other hand, you stay here and get eaten by boars or fall off a rock - there isn’t gonna be anyone around to answer the 911 call, am I right?

KATE
You didn’t answer my question.

SAWYER
You didn’t answer mine. And I asked first.
(getting up)
Sayonara, sugarpop.
And OFF Kate as she watches him go...

SAWYER (CONT’D)
Boy-howdy, now I’ve heard everything. What’s next? A cop eatin’ a donut?  

KATE
(a dare)
If you wanna come, you should just say so.
 

SAWYER
Think I’ll pass on that, freckles. Not big on crowds. And, face it, crowd’s not too hot on me, neither.  

Kate stares at him a moment.  

KATE
Do you like being an outcast, Sawyer?  

SAWYER
Last I check, you weren’t exactly runnin’ the yearbook committee yourself, pumpkin...  

KATE
Last I checked, you had a knife sticking out of your arm.  

SAWYER
Hell -- misunderstandings happen.  

Sawyer unleashes his grin. Kate just shakes her head. Smiles despite herself --  

KATE
So this is it, huh? Just... sitting around, pretending it’s okay that they all hate you?  

SAWYER
(shrugs)
Works for me.  

KATE
No it doesn’t. Because I know better.  

The reminder of this sobers Sawyer up.  

KATE (CONT’D)
One outcast to another?
(beat)
I’d think about making more of an effort.  

SAWYER
Duly noted.  

KATE, realizing he’s hopeless, turns and goes. OFF SAWYER, watching her, stewing on her words.
-------------------------------------------

SAWYER (O.S.)
I got two tubes of sunscreen and a flashlight says he chokes.  

ON KATE as she and the others turn to see  

SAWYER standing behind them, looking back with uncertain defiance. There’s a long awkward moment as all the fun dissipates with his arrival.  

ON JACK, eyeing Sawyer, as well.  

ON KATE, recognizing the heated tension in the air, but feeling for Sawyer, proud of him for making the effort.  

KATE
(to Sawyer)
I’ll take that action.  

Some in the crowd look at her, as does JACK. After a moment...  

BOONE
Yeah, me, too.  

SHANNON
You already bet on Jack, dumbass.  

BOONE
We can use the sunscreen, princess.  

After a moment, the tension broken, people again turn back to cheer Jack on. “Let’s go, Jack!” “C’mon, Doc!”  

KATE looks at Sawyer. Sawyer glances at her for a moment, then turns back to watch the action.

CLOSE ON A FIRE as a PIECE OF DRY WOOD kicks up a field of EMBERS as it’s dropped into the flames.  

Kate settles down next to the fire, Sawyer on the opposite side. Two outlaws, camped out under the stars. Hell, if we didn’t know any better?  

We’d think this was downright romantic.  

Sawyer digs around his pack, finally finds what he’s looking for -- a MINI-BOTTLE OF VODKA. Cracks it open. Tosses it back in one cool shot. REVEAL Kate, having watched the whole process.  

KATE
Where’d you get that?  

SAWYER
Plane.  

KATE
Jack was looking for the alcohol cart --  

SAWYER
-- Well, it’s a good thing I found it instead then, huh?  

Kate just looks at him. No idea what she’s thinking. Then --  

KATE
Got anymore of those?  

SAWYER
I got more a’ everything. But you ain’t got carte blanche yet.  

KATE
Is that a “no?”  

Now it’s his turn to look at her. And dammit if Sawyer ain’t charmed. Reaches into his pack, emerges with a whole HANDFUL of mini-bottles.  

SAWYER
All right, Sassafrass -- but you wanna drink? You gotta play.  

KATE
(smelling the rat)
Play what?  

SAWYER
I never.  

KATE
  What?  

SAWYER
I. Never.  

KATE
Am I supposed to know what that is?  

SAWYER
A game is what it is. Call it a way to get to know each other better. For example...
(grins)
I know you never went to college.  

KATE
(he’s right)
And how do you know that?  

SAWYER
If you had, you’d a heard of “I Never.”  

Sawyer tosses her a MINI-BOTTLE --  

SAWYER (CONT’D)
Simple. You say “I never...” and then finish the sentence. If it’s something you did, you drink. If it’s something you never did, you don’t drink.  

Kate absorbs this. Then --  

KATE
That makes absolutely no sense.  

SAWYER
Then learn by example.
(declares)
I have never kissed a man.
(a beat)
Now you drink.
(another beat)
‘Cause you’ve kissed a man.  

Subtext -- That man being him. Kate sighs --  

KATE
What’s the object of this game?  

SAWYER
What’s the object of anything?  

ON KATE. Deciding whether or not to embark on this foolishness. Sawyer’s just lookin’ at her, eyes twinkling -- So she cracks open her bottle. DRINKS. Sawyer grins, impressed --  

SAWYER (CONT’D)
Your turn.  

KATE
(thinks; then)
I’ve never implied I went to college when I really haven’t.  

And Sawyer’s grin is GONE. But rules are rules. He drinks.  

SAWYER
I never been to Disneyland.  

Kate does NOT drink.  

SAWYER (CONT’D)
Aww. That’s plain sad.  

KATE
I’ve never worn pink.  

Sawyer GLARES at her. But DRINKS. By way of explanation --  

SAWYER
The eighties.
(moving on)
I never voted Democrat.  

Kate doesn’t drink.  

KATE
I’ve never voted.  

Sawyer smiles. Drinks.  

SAWYER
I never been in love.
 
KATE
(bullshit)
You’ve never been in love.  

SAWYER
Ain’t drinking, am I?
Kate might not buy it (hell, WE might not buy it), but she drinks. Then --  

KATE
I’ve never had a one-night stand. Sawyer takes a healthy swig.  

SAWYER
I gotta drink for each one?  

KATE
(ha-ha)
Your turn.
 
SAWYER
I never been married.  

Kate eyes him for a second. And then she takes a little sip.  

KATE
Didn’t last long.  

Sawyer, INTRIGUED as she reaches for a new bottle --
KATE (CONT’D)
I never blamed a boar for all my problems.  

O-kay. Now it’s getting personal. Yet, Sawyer DRINKS. Fires back --  

SAWYER
I never cared about getting carte blanche ‘cause I just wanted to spend some time with the only other person on this island who just don’t belong.  

On KATE. And that flash of VULNERABILITY. Yeah – He fucking NAILED her. But she meets his gaze. Takes a drink. And fires right back:  

KATE
I never carried a letter around for twenty years because I can’t get over my baggage.  

And Sawyer goes cold. Locks that stare into her. But drinks. Holds the stare for a beat, then:  

SAWYER
I never killed a man.  

And there it is. After all this time. The handcuffs. The case. The guns. The Marshal. It doesn’t matter when he found out, but he KNOWS.  

He looks at her, for a reaction. SEES a flash of intense vulnerability, then covers it. She doesn’t want to give him the fucking satisfaction.  

And she drinks.  

ON SAWYER. Not as surprised as we might expect him to be. But what is surprising...  

Is that Sawyer drinks TOO. Drains his whole mini-bottle. And when he’s done --  

SAWYER (CONT’D)
Well, looks like we got something in common after all.
------------------------------------------------------

Suddenly, he stops short. Even backs up a step or two because standing right in his path is the fucking BOAR. That big one. The one he’s been hunting.

Sawyer draws his gun.  

The boar doesn’t move -- doesn’t go anywhere. Instead, its head turns and A BIG BROWN EYE stares over at Sawyer.  

Sawyer, looks out over his outstretched gun, stares right back at the boar.  

Now we see KATE step INTO VIEW, behind Sawyer. But he doesn’t see her.  

Instead, for the longest moment Sawyer and the fucking boar have a STARE-OFF. They look at each other.  

And from the intense expression on Sawyer’s face we’re just waiting for him to pull the trigger...  

But he doesn’t. Instead he lowers the gun.  

The BOAR waits a final beat, watching him, then turns and walks off into the brush.  

Sawyer stands there, gun hanging down at his side, trying to collect himself.  

Now he senses something -- turns to see Kate watching him. SEES that she saw the whole thing -- and in her face is an appreciation for what he just did. Except Sawyer DOESN’T WANT IT. He walks right back past her. Meets her eyes for only the briefest of moments to say --  

SAWYER (CONT’D)
(shrugs)
It’s just a boar.
(as he goes)
Let’s get back to camp.  

Kate takes this in then walks after him, drawn toward this complicated, troubled soul. Because she is one herself.