Author's Note: This is the sequel to "The Choice" If you haven't read it I recommend that you do, but basically Kate was engaged to Jack, slept with Sawyer, and got pregnant. Now she is with Sawyer, and just had the baby. Please read & review, any comments/suggestions/criticism is welcome!

We've seen our share of ups and downs
Oh how quickly life can turn around
In an instant

Kate sat in the waiting room as patiently as she could. She glanced at Sawyer, but he refused to meet her eyes, focusing instead on the clock on the wall opposite them. Jack too was sitting across the room, but Kate did not look his way. She couldn't believe that she was even in this situation. Five months ago, she thought that she'd left Jack behind forever. She moved in with Sawyer, and on September 18th, gave birth to Lucy Carol Ford. Unfortunately, that was not the end of the story. Jack had come around two months after Lucy's birth, the day before Thanksgiving, drunk, demanding a paternity test. Sawyer and Kate had refused at first, but he kept coming back, threatening to call his lawyer, and they gave in.

"She's yours, I promise," Kate had whispered to Sawyer on the day of the tests, though in the back of her mind she wasn't so sure. Right after they'd gotten back together, Sawyer had been gentle and loving, and he was great with their daughter. Lately, however, he'd been moody and distant, leaving for hours, sometimes days, at a time without letting Kate know where he was. She prayed that he was the father so things could return to normal and Jack would leave them alone. A petite woman with dark hair entered the room and Kate, Jack and Sawyer all stood up as she squinted at a clip board.

"Paternity case for Ford, Lucy?" She called, and the trio followed her into a small office. Kate entered last, stopping to lean up against the wall outside the room for one last quick prayer that Sawyer was the father. She was afraid of what he would do if he wasn't. When she finally entered, she took her place in the chair between her boyfriend and ex-fiancé. The doctor smiled, and glanced down at her clipboard again. "OK, for Lucy Carol Ford, the father is Jack Shepard." Kate felt like she had just been punched in the stomach.

"But that's impossible!" Kate almost shouted, standing up. "My doctor gave me the date of conception...I wasn't even with him then."

"It's possible that the D.O.C. was a week or two off." She smiled kindly. "I'll leave you three alone for awhile, take as long as you need." Kate shifted awkwardly in her seat and pressed her head into her hands, trying her hardest not to cry. She lifted her head in time to see Sawyer leave the room, slamming the door behind him.

"I want to see her," Jack said in a low voice. "I want to see my daughter."

"No," Kate said forcefully. "She's not your daughter."

"She is, and you can't keep me from her. I swear to God I will take this to court." Kate couldn't help but wonder why Jack had come to her in the first place. He hadn't been concerned during the last two months of her pregnancy, or the first two months of Lucy's life.

"Why are you doing this?" Kate asked, her voice breaking on the last word.

"I'll come over tomorrow and we can work out a schedule for when I see her. I want at least equal custody," Jack said, ignoring her. With that he too walked out of the room, leaving her alone.

When Kate emerged from the doctor's office a few minutes later she saw Sawyer standing outside of their car, smoking a cigarette. He'd given up smoking for the sake of Lucy's health, but clearly that wasn't a concern now.

"I left Lucy with-"

"Yeah, I know where she is." Sawyer said, cutting her off. He put out his cigarette and got into the car. The drive to Charlie and Claire's apartment was unbearably silent. Kate couldn't even imagine what Sawyer would say or do once they got home. He would probably leave, she decided, but this time he might not come back. She shook the thought out of her head, too horrible to think about. She had pushed him away more then once, but now she couldn't even think about being without him. It felt like an eternity had passed before they finally pulled up into the parking lot outside of the apartments.

"I'll go get her. You can stay here," Kate offered. Sawyer said nothing, he didn't even turn his head her way as she spoke. When she got up to the door she couldn't help but smile as she was greeted by Aaron.

"Auntie Kate! Auntie Kate!"

"Aaron!" Kate bent down, giving him a hug, then looked up to see Charlie standing above him. "Hey, Charlie. How was Lucy?"

"She was great," Charlie said with a grin. "How were the...you know...the tests?"

"Oh. They were...is Claire here?" It wasn't that Kate didn't trust Charlie, but Claire was her best friend, and she was Lucy's godmother, so she wanted to tell her first. Just then, Claire walked out of the bedroom, holding Kate's infant daughter in her arms.

"She just fell asleep," Claire whispered. "How did everything go at the doctors?" Kate leaned on the counter for support before speaking.

"She said Jack's the father," Kate replied. She stepped forward, taking Lucy from Claire.

"What? But I thought you said-"

"I'll call you tomorrow OK? Sawyer's waiting. And thanks again for watching Lucy." Kate couldn't talk about this now. All she wanted to do was go to sleep and wake up to find out that this was all a dream, or some sort of misunderstanding.

"No problem," Claire said weakly, but Kate barely heard as she was already out the door, heading for the parking lot. When she got to the car, it was already running, and Sawyer had another cigarette hanging out of his mouth. He dropped it as soon as he saw Kate and Lucy coming. No one spoke on the way home, except for the occasional coo from the back seat.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Kate and Sawyer didn't speak for the rest of the night. She slept in the rocking chair in Lucy's room, while he stayed in their bedroom. Jack had called, and when Kate didn't pick up he left a message saying that he was coming over at 3 PM to discuss his visitation rights. She cried when she listened to it. Kate stayed in the kitchen the entire morning, waiting for Sawyer to wake up, and when he finally did, she cornered him as he tried to get to the front door.

"Sawyer, please talk to me." He tried to push past her, but she stepped in front of him, blocking his way.

"Let me through Freckles." Freckles. Well, that was a step in the right direction.

"You can't just leave, James. We have to talk about this."

"You said she was mine." Sawyer clearly did not want to be talking about this, but Kate didn't back down.

"I'm sorry. But Jack is coming to get her in five hours. He's going to try and take her from us."

"What do I care? That ain't my kid!"

"Sawyer!" Kate shouted, her anger growing, "Don't you dare say that you don't care about her! I know you do."

"What do you want me to do Kate? I can't stop the Doc from runnin' in here with his band of lawyers so he can see her once or twice a week."

"Do you know Jack at all? He's going to try and get full custody!" Kate heard Lucy crying faintly in the background, but she didn't move.

"He's not gonna get it. They always give that to the mother. Don't worry about it Freckles." He tried to get around her again, but Kate put her hands on his chest and stopped him.

"Yeah, they'll give me full custody because who can care for a child better, a con man and a murderer? Or a surgeon?" Kate never took her eyes off of him as she talked, silently begging him for help.

"I can't do nothing about that. No one's gonna listen to me. Just let me go."

"No. Maybe you can't do anything to get custody, but you can help us run."