Kate frowns slightly as she passes the strange dark blue SUV parked in front of her house, wondering who it could belong to. She pulls her car into the garage and exits, and after a moment of contemplation, she decides to leave her purchases in the trunk of the car to keep them hidden from her son.

When she steps inside the house, she instantly hears footsteps running towards her, and seconds later, Aaron runs into her, arms wrapping around her legs. "Guess who here, Mommy!" he exclaims excitedly, and before she can even begin to guess, he tells her. "Jack!"

"Jack?" she frowns slightly, not sure she heard right. Aaron hadn't seen the doctor in almost two months, and she hadn't seen him in several weeks, not since he had asked her to meet at the airport and then insisted that they had to go back to the island.

"Yes!" he beams up at her.

Veronica steps into the kitchen, wringing her hands nervously, "Kate, I'm so sorry about this. Aaron saw him, and… well, I couldn't just send him away after that."

Kate sighs as she ruffles her son's hair and glances over toward the living room, where she presumes Jack is. "Do you mind watching him for a bit longer while I take care of this?"

"It's no problem, Kate," the nanny steps closer to her and rests a hand on her friend's arm. "I know you and Jack have had your differences recently, and it's really none of my business. But I think you should hear him out, Kate."

"Mommy?" Aaron asks, tugging on her hand.

She squats down to his level and kisses his cheek, "I need you to go upstairs and play with Veronica for a while, goober."

"But Jack here, Mommy," he pouts. "You make Jack leave again?"

She closes her eyes for a moment, not realizing that the young boy thought she had made him leave the first time. But if he is in the same state as he was then - and the same state he was in the last time she saw him - then there is no way she is letting Jack stick around, no matter how much it would devastate the boy.

"Don't worry, buddy. I'm not going to leave you again." Kate opens her eyes to find Jack standing in the doorway between the kitchen and living room.

"Come on, Aaron," Veronica reaches out for his hand, and with a reluctant look from his mother to the doctor, the blonde boy takes it and follows her upstairs.

"Kate," he starts once they are out of earshot.

"What are you doing here, Jack?" she asks, gaze hardening as she studies him. He looks a lot more like the man he had been on the island, not the drunk and high version that she had seen a few weeks ago.

"I tried to call, but you haven't been answering your phone." She glances down at the ground, not wanting to admit that she had blocked his number because she had wanted to avoid the pain of seeing him destroy himself. "Look, I'm sorry, Kate. I was an idiot before, and I ruined everything. But I promise that I'm clean now, and I want to stay that way."

"Good for you, Jack," she says, and while she truly is happy that he is turning his life around, there is no warmth in her words.

"I'm sorry, Kate," he reaches out for her hand, but she doesn't let him take it. He knew this would be difficult when he came over, and he certainly hadn't expected to just be welcomed back as if nothing had happened. But clearly she isn't going to make this easier for him at all. "I've ruined things between us; I know that, and I'm not asking you to forgive me for what I did to you. But Kate… I want to be a part of his life. He's family… you both are, no matter what happens with us."

"Jack…" she sighs and turns around, running a hand through her hair. Her little boy had been devastated when Jack left, and she can't bear the thought of putting him through that pain again if Jack relapses.

"You remember a couple months ago when we talked about wanting Aaron to have a real Christmas now that he's old enough to remember? With snow and everything?" Jack takes the plunge.

"If you bought him a present, Jack, I'm not going to stop you from giving it to him," she keeps her face angled away from him as she heads to the living room.

"It wasn't exactly just for Aaron," he answers, following her. Getting no further explanation, she turns to give him a quizzical look. "I, uh… I rented a cabin for us to spend Christmas at. It's up in the mountains a couple hours from here."

"Do you really think that was the best thing to do given everything that's happened?"

"I booked it the day after we talked about it. I just never got around to telling you before I went and made a mess of everything."

She glares at him, "And you think we're just going to go with you because you've already spent the money?"

"I was hoping that we could put our differences aside for a few days and give Aaron a good Christmas, something better than what we grew up with," he says, glancing around the room. "I mean… Christmas is less than a week away and you haven't decorated yet."

"You left us, Jack. Forgive us for not really feeling all that festive," she counters.

"So let me fix it, Kate. Let me do this for him… and for you," he pleads, wishing he could just go back and not make the same stupid mistakes.

Silence envelopes them for several minutes, him waiting for her to make a decision and her still reluctant to trust him again. "Why, Jack?" she asks softly.

"Why what?"

"Three weeks ago you were stoned and drunk. It looked like you hadn't shaved since you left. And all you could talk about was going back. So what changed your mind?" she looks up at him curiously.

"Can't we just say it was a Christmas miracle?" he gives her a small smile.

"You don't believe in miracles," she replies with a shake of her head. "Jack, if you really want what you're asking me for, I need to know that you are serious about this. I can't go through the last two months again; I can't put Aaron through that again. So what was it, Jack?"

He looks down at his feet for a few seconds, "I saw my father."

"I thought your father was gone, Jack," she looks at him suspiciously.

"He is. And this isn't the first time I've seen him since he died. He appeared while I was driving late one night. I was… well, I was in no better state than I was when you last saw me. Thought I was going crazy, and I ended up wrecking my truck. But… well, he told me that he had been proud of me, that I hadn't been a disappointment to him even when I… when I betrayed him and cost him his job. And then he said I was going to end up just as worthless as he has always made me feel like I was if I didn't straighten up. What he told me was exactly what I needed to hear to let him go and to let what happened on the island go."

A small smile graces her lips as she accepts this explanation, and she reaches for his arm, "You're okay? After the accident?"

"Just a few scrapes and bruises. They're mostly healed now. But, uh…" he gives a soft chuckle and gestures out the window, "you're probably happy to see that my truck wasn't as lucky."

Her smile widens, "Yeah, well I might actually let you drive Aaron around in that one."

"Kate…" He can't help but let his hope rise as he snags her fingers, giving them a light squeeze.

"Jack," Kate whispers, closing her eyes again but not pulling her hand out of his.

"The accident was eight days ago. I won't deny that it's been hard, Kate. But I think that being around him, having a reminder of why I'm doing this, is exactly what I need right now."

"Jack," she repeats with a soft sigh.

He gives her fingers another squeeze before letting go of her, "I know that I'm not really making things easier for you right now. I've put you through a lot the last few months, and I know that it's not just going to go back to how it was. So… I'll give you some time to think about things and decide."

She gives a small nod, "Thanks."

"I'm, uh… just going to go up and say bye to Aaron if that's okay," he points to the stairs.

"Of course."

Five minutes later he returns from Aaron's room, having assured the little boy that he wasn't leaving for good. Or at least he hopes not. "The reservation for the cabin is Sunday through Wednesday, but we can go for as much or as little of that as you want. If you want to go. Just… just call me and let me know," he gives a tentative smile.

She returns it, "I'm glad you're doing better, Jack."

They look at each other for a long moment, each unsure what to say, before he turns and heads out the front door.

~Lost~

"Mommy read?" Aaron asks, sitting down on his bed.

Kate has to hide her surprise - he had never asked her to read since Jack left, and most of the time he didn't want her to when she offered. "Yes, I can. What book do you want to read tonight?" she asks with a smile.

He thinks for a moment before darting out of the room. She frowns slightly when she hears him going down the stairs, but minutes later he comes back with a book in hand - Twas the Night before Christmas. "This one, Mommy," he hands it to her before crawling into bed, pulling his covers up.

"Where did you get this?" she asks, knowing she hadn't bought it for him.

"Jack bringed it."

"Oh," she replies, tucking him under the blankets even though he had ended up in her bed before sunrise every night since Jack left, and then settles down on the floor beside his bed to read to him.

"What do you want Santa to bring you?" she asks when she has finished reading, finding him sleepy but still awake. She had gifts for him already, though she hadn't yet had the motivation to wrap them, but when she brought the subject of Christmas up, he would never really tell her what he wanted.

"Santa bringed my present already."

"He did?" she asks, wondering if the boy is confused in this sleepy state.

"Yes, Mommy. Santa bringed Jack home," he replies, blinking slowly before his blue eyes finally close with sleep.

Kate swipes at her eyes quickly, then leans down to kiss him goodnight. After standing in the doorway a moment longer to watch him sleep, she heads downstairs, needing to make a phone call.