Title: The Twelve Days Before Christmas
Rating: PG-13
Summary: The Oceanic 6 will soon be celebrating their third Christmas off the island, but without Jack, Kate can't get into the holiday spirit. With some help from his friends will Jack be able to clean up his act in time for the holidays, or are Kate and Aaron doomed to spend Christmas alone? Jate.
A/N: I know the Twelve Days of Christmas are actually after Christmas, but I wanted to write a story that takes place before the holiday comes. I tried to make the timeline as accurate as possible, but I'm sorry if some dates and times are not correct. Spoilers for the flash forwards of season 4, especially "Something Nice Back Home" and for season 5.

Chapter 1: Home Sweet Home

Oh there's no place like home for the holidays.
'Cause no matter how far away you roam
When you pine for the sunshine of a friendly gaze
For the holidays you can't beat home sweet home.

Sighing, Kate reached over and turned off the radio. She wasn't in the mood for cheery Christmas music and, looking around her quiet house, she realized that it was not the place she wanted to be at this time of year. She longed to be back on the Island. Even though no one realized when it had been Christmas, the feeling of being together with a group of friends was one that Kate missed. She liked always having people nearby that she could count on and thinking about it now made her feel homesick for the place that wasn't really a home. But being there had made her feel safe.

Aside from the polar bears, monsters, Others and freighter people, of course, Kate thought grimly to herself. But maybe part of the reason why the island seemed friendlier was the presence of Jack. He had always been there when she needed him and now he wasn't. With only twelve days left until Christmas, Kate had almost given up all hope of seeing him for the holidays. Because even though she was the one who had told Jack to get out – she didn't want him around her son – the thought of spending Christmas without him after all they had been through seemed more horrifying than anything on the Island.

"But it's your fault that Jack's not here now, Kate," she said aloud to herself. "So get over and it try to make this a good Christmas for Aaron." She knew it would be hard to act cheery, with the ache of Jack leaving still so fresh. Or at least, it felt that way to Kate. In reality, he had been gone for over three months. But every time she thought of him, it still hurt. And Kate thought about Jack all the time. So many things reminded her of him. The couch in the living room they used to sit on together, reading bedtime stories to Aaron, even riding in her car made Kate think of the times she had driven him to work.

Shaking her head, she tried to push away thoughts of Jack. He wasn't here for her now and she needed to stop wishing he was.

"Jack isn't coming back," she said firmly. Then, wiping away tears that she hadn't noticed until now, Kate walked up the stairs and went to wake her son.

After dropping Aaron off at school, Kate did some grocery shopping and then drove back home. Walking in the door, she decided that today was the day to do some cleaning. The house certainly needed it and Kate hoped the work would get her mind off of Jack.

She was vacuuming the upstairs hallway, however, when a call came that would change her plans.

Kate nearly tripped over the vacuum cord as she ran down the hall to grab the phone.

"Hello?" she answered, out of breath.

"Kate?" a voice on the other end asked.

"Yes, this is Kate Austen speaking. Who is this?" The line was silent and for a moment, Kate panicked, thinking it was Jack.

Then, "Kate, it's me. Sun." Kate breathed a sigh of relief; she wasn't in the mood to deal with Jack right now.

"Oh, Sun. How are you?" She couldn't remember the last time Sun, or anyone from the Island, had called to talk to her, except for Jack. But she never picked up the phone when it was him anyway.

"I'm fine, Kate. I called because I'm here in L.A. and I was hoping we could meet."

Sitting in the hotel room, Kate watched as Sun carefully poured two cups of tea. She took hers, grateful for a warm drink after battling the cold winds outside. Winter was finally here, and the weather was proving it with freezing temperatures and a light sprinkle of snow on the ground. Kate knew that it was uncommon for L.A. to get snow, and the fact that there was some this year did nothing to improve her mood. She had woken up feeling lonely and depressed and the drive to Sun's hotel only made her feel worse when the snow had started falling.

Sighing, she leaned back in her chair and took a sip of her tea. She found herself staring out the window and almost didn't notice that Sun was talking to her.

"Kate, can you hear me?" With an apologetic smile on her lips, Kate turned to look at her friend.

"Sorry, Sun. I was just thinking." As Sun looked at her in confusion, Kate had to stop herself from sighing again.

"What thoughts did you have that made you so sad?" When she didn't answer, Sun gave Kate a knowing look. "You need to stop thinking of him. It's almost Christmas and this time of year will be no fun for Aaron if you are unhappy." Kate blinked in shock. She was surprised that Sun was able to know exactly who she was thinking about. And she had already told herself this morning that she needed to be cheery for her son, so she was taken aback that Sun knew exactly what to say. She sat quietly for a moment, trying to think of some way to reply.

"Speaking of Aaron, how is Ji Yeon?" Kate asked, not wanting to talk about Christmas anymore. Sun frowned, but let her change the subject. She herself knew a thing or two about grief and she understood why Kate didn't want to discuss Jack any longer.

For the rest of the afternoon, the two friends got caught up with each other. They each talked about their children, work, and other safe topics. Neither of them mentioned the Island.

And when it was time for Kate to leave – she needed to pick Aaron up from school – she found herself wishing she could stay longer. She'd enjoyed pretending she had a normal life and was sad to go back to reality.

Before she left, Kate and Sun hugged each other and promised to make plans to get together again soon. Then Kate was gone, the sad look in her eyes as she walked out to door burned into Sun's memory. Wishing she could do something to help Kate, she paced around her hotel room until she had an idea.

Picking up the phone, Sun dialed a number she had made herself memorize in case of an emergency. As the phone rang, Sun kept replaying the afternoon over in her mind. Again and again, she saw Kate's smile fade away as they discussed Christmas. She remembered the way Kate had to hold back tears as they came close to talking about Jack.

She shouldn't be alone this time of year, Sun thought, feeling sad for her friend. And I know just who can help. Then someone on the other end of the line picked up and Sun forced herself to focus.

"Hello?" a voice asked.

"Hi, Hurley," she answered. "This is Sun."