James "Sawyer" Ford was a con man before the plane crash that left them stranded on an island.  When he was just a kid, a man named Sawyer slept with his mother and conned his father out of all of their money.  James' father ended up killing his mother and committing suicide in front of him.  James vowed to find and kill the man that caused his family's ruin, but he found himself doing exactly what he was trying to destroy.  He took the name "Sawyer" for himself because he became the man he was hunting: a con man ruining people's lives and doing anything to get more money.  He learned to cut himself off from people emotionally so as not to get hurt ever again.  Sawyer was in Sydney because he was told that he could find the man he was looking for there.  He got himself a gun and killed the man he had been chasing his whole life, but it turned out that he had been given false information and had taken out a man who had nothing to do with him.  It was his first kill and he was really torn up about it.  He ended up on Oceanic Flight 815 because he was being deported from Australia after getting in a bar fight with an important man in Sydney.

Kate Austen was a convicted felon on the run from the police for murdering her "step-father", Wayne, when she found out that he was her real father.  She hated that he was a part of her and that she would never be "good" because of that.  She did come back to see her mother when she was really sick, but Diane had never forgiven Kate for killing the man she loved, and she screamed for help.  Kate had to run again and her childhood sweetheart, a doctor named Tom, followed her.  She drove straight through a police barricade and Tom ended up dying in the crossfire.  She was really broken up about it and set up a bank robbery so that she could retrieve a toy plane that belonged to him from a safety deposit box there.  Kate was not the most mentally stable individual.  She strove to be good and believed that by associating herself with "good" people and gaining their acceptance, she would be good too.  The problem was that she could never be herself around these "good" people because being herself would be the same thing as giving into her "bad" side.  Kate ended up hurting everyone she ever loved, including her unwitting husband Kevin who she married under a false identity.  She ran to Australia to try and dodge the American police, but the marshall that had been chasing her for many years finally caught up with her and they boarded fight 815 together with her in handcuffs.

When the plane crashed on the island, one of the other passengers found a pair of handcuffs, but had no idea that Kate was a convict.  Many actually thought that Sawyer was the prisoner because of his attitude and the fact that he had a gun (which he stole from the dying marshall).  Kate did her best to play the sweet girl angle, but the truth about her finally did come out to a few before the marshall died.  Sawyer was not accepted by the group from the beginning when he raided the plane wreckage and created a large stash of items for himself and wouldn't share.  Both were outcasts in different ways and this bonded them together in a way that no one, even themselves, really understood.

Sawyer and Kate flirted from the beginning and grew closer as the show progressed.  They had their hurdles to overcome such as Sawyer conning a kiss out of Kate under the pretense that he had some asthma inhalers, her obsession with gaining Jack's approval, his obsession with hunting the boar that hated him, fighting over a spot on the raft, and him using her to get all of the guns and medicine, but they always came back together.  When Sawyer came back from the raft mission slumped over Mr. Eko's shoulders, Kate looked like she saw a ghost and was extremely worried for him.  She became somewhat of a nurse to him, never wanting to leave his side, and she was so happy when he finally regained consciousness.  The two spent a lot of time together after that and were always smiling while he recuperated.  Then he had to go and pull the gun con and throw away all that they had (although she still cared for him and they came back together a few episodes later).

Sawyer and Kate's feelings for each other finally came out in the third season of the show.  They, along with Jack, were captured by the Others and the two grew very close in their captivity.  With Sawyer's life hanging in the balance, all of their emotions bubbled over and they gave themselves to each other with no barriers up.  When they finally escaped, they put their walls back in place and resorted to their old defense mechanisms.  Sawyer lashed out at Kate first, as he had become very vulnerable didn't want to be hurt by her (I mean, she started calling him "James", and he told her he loved her - how much closer could she get?), and she ran, as she had allowed him to get too close to her.  Once she came back, the two had so many issues to confront in their relationship: the first being what her feelings for Sawyer and Jack really were.  Sawyer placed the ball firmly in her court and gave her space to figure out what it was exactly that she wanted.

There is no telling where Sawyer and Kate's relationship will go as the show continues, but it's looking good at the moment.  I would hope that the writers would see that Jack and Kate have zero chemistry together and stop trying to promote a nonexistent triangle.  Sawyer and Kate are a great couple and every scene that they are in together is great.  I hate love triangles, especially in this case because these two obviously go so great together.  If Sawyer can grow up and learn that the world isn't out to get him and if Kate can stop running, they could be perfect together.  I think that they need each other to spark this growth because they don't judge and don't have to explain themselves to each other.  It is all up to Kate though, as it has been made quite clear where Sawyer's heart lies (she better not hurt him anymore than she already has).  And with the prospect of a child between them looking more and more certain, Kate better figure everything out quickly because she doesn't have that much time left.

In the episode "Outlaws," Kate was helping Sawyer find the boar that was out to get him and they set camp for the night.  He brought some bottles of alcohol with him and made her play "I Never" with him.  It started out innocent, but became serious as they turned to touchy subjects about each other.

Sawyer: "I never cared about having carte blanche because I just wanted to spend some time with the only other person on this island that just don't belong."

Kate (takes a drink): "I never carried a letter around for 20 years because I couldn't get over my baggage."

Sawyer (takes a drink): "I never killed a man."

(they both drink)

Sawyer: "Well, looks like we got something in common, after all."

~~~

This quote is from the episode "What Kate Did."  Sawyer had been shot on the raft at the end of the first season, and once he came back to their camp he was in and out of consciousness.  Kate didn't want to leave his side, but when she did he confessed his feelings for her.

Sawyer: "Where is she?"

Jack: "You mean Kate. She's been watching over you for the past 24 hours straight. The only way I could get rid of her was to send her out to get some food for you."

Sawyer: "I love her."

Jack: "What?"

Sawyer: "I love her."

~~~

This quote is from the end of "The Glass Ballerina".  Sawyer and Kate were forced to do heavy labor for the Others and Sawyer decided to kiss Kate, even though they were told not to talk, touch, or do anything other than the work assigned (he's such a rebel).  Sawyer told Kate that he kissed her to get the Others riled up so that he could fight them and figure out their strengths and weaknesses.  Kate looked a little disappointed, so Sawyer let her know that the kiss still meant something to him.

Sawyer: "I noticed something else too... you taste like strawberries."

Kate (smiles): "You taste like fish-biscuits"

Sawyer laughs and they share a really cute look.

~~~

In the episode "Every Man for Himself" Danny, who was very distraught over his wife's death, took Sawyer out of his cage and began to beat him up.  He threw Sawyer against Kate's cage and tried to make her feel the pain that he did in losing Colleen.

Danny: "Do you love this guy?"

Kate: "What?"

Danny (punches Sawyer again and shouts): "I said, do you love him?"

Kate (shouting and beginning to cry): "Stop!"

Danny: "Do you love him?  Do you love him?"

Kate (screams) : "Leave him alone!"

Kate throws her arms around Sawyer, putting out her hands to try and stop Danny's punches

Danny: "Do you love him?"

Kate: "What are you doing?  Stop!"

Danny (punching Sawyer): "DO-YOU-LOVE-HIM?"

Kate is sobbing and cradling a beaten Sawyer in her arms.

Kate: "YES!  Yes, I love him!  I love him.  I love him, please."

~~~

From the same episode, the Others told Sawyer that they put a pacemaker in his chest that would make his heart explode if it reached a certain number of beats per minute.  They told him not to tell Kate anything, or they would put one in her too.  Kate realized that there was something wrong with Sawyer when they brought him back to the cages and decided that they had to escape right away.   She got out of her cage and tried to help him, but he wouldn't let her.  He told her to run - to save herself - but she went back into her cage.  After years on the run trying to stay out of a cell, she put herself back in one so she could stay with Sawyer.

Sawyer: "Hang on a second Freckles.  I told you, the time ain't right!"

Kate climbs out of the top of her cage.

Kate: "You're the one that said we had to go!"

Sawyer: "Well that was before..."

Kate: "Before what?  I don't know what they did to you, but I know you're scared enough to lie about it.  And that scares me more than anything that they have done to us before!"

~~~

The third season episode "I Do" had so many great and romantic Sawyer and Kate moments.  This scene takes place after the two made love in Sawyer's cage and they are cuddling together.  Sawyer wants to know the truth behind Kate's declaration of love and gives his own as well.

Sawyer: "Let me ask you something Freckles... the day blockhead was beating on me, and you said... "I love you," that was just to... get him to stop, right?"

Kate picks her head up from where it rests on his chest, looks him right in the eyes, and kisses him.  She then lowers her head down to his chest again.

Sawyer (looks surprised and smiles): "I love you too."

He wraps his arms around her tighter and holds her close to him.