Author's Note: This takes place ten years after rescue comes. In this case, the people on the boat were telling the truth and Charlie got out alive ;-) I know it's going to be a little confusing, but bear with me, it will make sense in the next chapter or two. If you want me to continue, please review!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own LOST, yadda yadda yadda. Did anyone really think that I did?

Flames to dust,

Lovers to friends,

Why do all good things come to an end?

-"All Good Things (Come to an End)" by Nelly Furtado

Jack stumbled into his house and felt around for a light. It was nearly midnight and he was just now getting home from work. The way he worked lately, he was spending more time at the hospital then with his family. Jack glanced at the mail Juliet had left in a pile at his place at the table. The letter on top was neatly addressed in Claire's handwriting. Somewhere in the ten years since they'd been rescued, she had gotten into the habit of writing to him, mostly to update him on how Aaron was doing, because after they'd made it home they had discovered that they shared the same father making Claire his half sister, and Aaron his nephew. The letters ranged from discussing Aaron, Charlie and their three other children, to random memories about the island she felt like sharing. Jack almost never responded anymore. This time he ignored the letter all together, tossing it aside and picking up the rest of the stack.

"Oh, you're finally home." Jack didn't look up as he heard his wife of eight and a half year's voice.

"Yep." He replied, shuffling the mail in his hands.

"You know, Ray was sick today," Juliet said, referring to their five year old son. "He kept asking for you. I don't know if he told you, but in kindergarten they were talking about their heroes, and he said that you were his. The teacher thinks-"

"Goddamn it Juliet." Jack interrupted, throwing the mail down. "I had a long day, I just want to have a drink and get some sleep OK?" Juliet didn't even flinch at her husbands harsh tone.

"You don't need a drink tonight." Jack ignored her, walking forward and taking a bottle of beer out of the refrigerator. "Jack, come on. You work constantly, and now you're going to come home and drink yourself to sleep?" Jack took a long sip of the beer. It was true, he had been working longer hours. Some nights he lost track of time and didn't even come home. He'd stopped shaving too, so he had a full beard. On the nights that he did come home it was usually just to shower and change before heading out again.

"You don't understand."

"No I don't. I don't get why you think that your patients are more important then your own son, so explain it to me. Did you even know that Ray had a soccer game yesterday? Or that he cried when he found out you didn't come? You're not even putting any effort into this family anymore."

"Look, I'm sorry, but I'm busy putting effort into my work. These are peoples lives we're talking about. It's not a joke, if I screw up, they're dead." Juliet shook her head.

"I didn't want it to come to this." She turned around and grabbed a stack of papers behind her. "I think we should get a divorce, Jack." Jack stumbled backward and sat down at the table. He knew that things were bad between them, but he never thought that she would want a divorce.

"And you just decided this now?"

"No, I decided it two months ago, but Ray was about to start school, and I thought maybe we could try therapy. Of course, you couldn't take time off work for the therapy, so divorce it is."

"I can't take time off work, I'm the chief of surgery."

"I know that. Believe me, I know that you are the chief of surgery, and that clearly means more to you then I do." She sat down at the table across from him, and slid the papers to him.

"I'm not signing these," Jack said with a shake of his head.

"Don't start acting like you suddenly care. You're never home, you never even see us anyway."

"Jules, there has to be some way that we can fix this." Juliet just shook her head sadly. "I can fix this."

- - - - - - - - - - -

The rain was coming down in sheets now, it was so bad that Kate could hardly see the road. It also didn't help that the water had smeared her direction sheet so that it was practically unreadable. She alternately glanced at the road and the paper, desperately trying to make sense of what she had written. Did that say exit 23 or exit 28? What street did they live on anyway? It was silly because Kate should know this route by now. She'd been to visit Charlie and Claire dozens of times, though not recently. She hadn't even seen the twins yet, and they were nearly three years old. It was mostly because she didn't really live anywhere anymore. She had a system, rent an apartment, get a temporary job, stay for a few months, quit, move out, and start again. Right now she was living in Albany, New York, but that would change soon. It always did. Kate held the scrap of paper close to her face and squinted. If it was exit 23, she would be turning off here. If only her plane hadn't been delayed, she could be on the roads at a decent hour, not past midnight, relying on only her headlights to guide her. As soon as she made the decision to get off the highway and wait out the storm in a diner or hotel, someone hit her car from behind. Kate jerked forward, barely having time to process what was going on before her car was sent spinning out of control.