Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters. Author's Note: Woah. big gap between updates. sorry! hope you all enjoy this final chapter, it's not much, but I'm generally happy with how it turned out. :) some last review responses: grumpypirate:
sammygrrl00: Thanks, and I hope you like the epilogue!
Mini Mo xx: Of course they'll be together forever - in this trilogy anyway! Outside of this I'm a total Sawyer/Juliet fan.
freakles: I hope you like the epilogue!
Epilogue:
You all everybody
You all everybody
I groaned and rolled over, hitting the snooze button on my alarm clock.
How the hell is that song still so popular? I wondered. Then I realized, as I pulled my pillow over my head, that my clock radio was set to an oldies station. Another hand gently gripped my wrist and prevented me from completing the action.
"Uh-uh, Snake, it's nearly two. We have to be at the rec center at three."
I groaned, recognizing that southern drawl. I sat up to find James grinning at me.
"Mornin'," he greeted.
I muttered. "Is 'Lyn up? You know how she loves to sleep in til three in the afternoon."
I threw my pillow at him.
"Yeah, see if you get lucky tonight." I called as he left the room, laughing.
"Don't even start."
I turned and saw my husband staring at me. He was showing signs of his age too; he'd cut the long hair a few years ago, and showed signs of gray in places.
"You look beautiful." he told me.
I sighed and zipped up the teal jacket over the white tee I was wearing. I already had a pair of old jeans on.
"Thanks." I walked back into our bedroom and, after combing out my damp hair, grabbed my purse. "We should go."
He followed me downstairs where our now sixteen-year-old daughter, Katelyn, was perched on the couch in the living room, listening to her ipod.
"Thanks for joining the land of the living, Mom." she called upon seeing us. I rolled my eyes. "Are we leaving?"
"You ready for this?"
I laid my hand on the door handle, and looked at James. Katelyn stood behind him, listening to her ipod. I nodded and pushed the door of the rec center open.
It was abuzz with activity when we walked in. Jack and Kate were sitting at one table, talking with Claire, and Aaron - now twenty (A/N: I did the math, and if I'm correct, he should be four years older than Katelyn). He was wearing Charlie's DriveShaft ring. Miles, Richard and Lapidus were hanging out near the refreshments table, talking about who knew what. Richard had finally begun to age again after we left the island, and now looked like he could be in his late seventies; it was a marvel to me he'd survived so long after leaving the island.
Hurley, Jin and Sun were standing off to the side, Jin and Sun's daughter, Ji Yeon, lounging at a nearby table with her earbuds in. I waved and Hurley waved back before giving me a 'thumbs up' signal.
"Riley!"
I turned and saw Claire walking up to us, Aaron trailing behind her.
"Hi Claire," I smiled and leaned over to hug her. "and this is Aaron, yes?"
"Yes ma'am," he replied. I didn't miss the look he gave Katelyn, and neither did James. "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Ford."
"You too. Aaron, this is my daughter Katelyn."
She smiled shyly at Claire's son.
"Hi." she said
James had gone over to mingle so I joined him. We sat across from Jack and Kate, and James passed me a beer.
"Thanks," I smiled and gave his hand a squeeze. "Oh let them be, they're only talking. If he tries to go to first base, then we ambush him." I added, noting the way he was watching Katelyn and Aaron. "Besides, Claire's over there to keep an eye on things. Relax."
He merely nodded. I looked at Kate.
"So how are things?" I asked.
"Quiet. It's still a change from the island, you know?"
I nodded. Life still didn't seem the same without the constant threat of death, the Others chasing us, or something blowing up every other day.
"I like quiet." stated James. "Hell, after what we went through, it's frickin' bliss."
I nodded.
"You never really feel safe again either. Doesn't matter if the past is behind you or not."
"Yeah we heard about Steve dying." said Kate, "It was all over the news."
I rolled my eyes.
"Of course it was, the man was a psycho." I said tersely.
"How is Katelyn?" asked Jack.
I arched an eyebrow.
"She's fine, if you don't bring up Steve, which I advise you don't. It won't be a pretty reaction, and let's leave it at that."
Jack and Kate didn't bring up the deceased man again, as Katelyn had joined us.
"Hey baby." I said, smiling at her. "Need something?"
"Yeah, just wanted to tell you that Ji Yeon and I are going to hang outside for a bit. Call me if you need me."
"Will do."
"Is Aaron going with you two?" asked James, eliciting groans from me, Kate, and Katelyn.
"Dad, chill, he's staying in, asking Richard all this crap about a guy named Jacob and some dude in black. Personally I don't get it, but I guess his mom talks about the island on a regular basis."
"Okay." said James grudgingly and we all watched as she and Ji Yeon left the room.
"So," said Jack, "Are you two ready to spill on why you cut ties with everyone?"
"Well gee, Jack, I'd have thought it was obvious," I snapped. "We didn't want to endanger ourselves or our daughter!"
"I don't understand, Steve's dead -"
"He wasn't at the time, Doc." said James shortly. "and plus you forget that I used to be a con man and Riley worked for that asshole Jake's gang. We both pissed off people who'd cut off their limbs to do us both in."
"We wouldn't have said anything to anyone -"
"Oh my gosh, Kate are you that dense?" my voice rose several octaves. "We were already facing life in the public eye because of the Oceanic and Ajira fiascos! People knew who we were! James and I weren't about to let our guard down, especially when 'Lyn came along."
"Riley -"
"I need some air." I squeezed James' arm and got to my feet. The explanations had come more easily than I'd thought they would.
Four hours later, Katelyn was half asleep in the back seat as we droe home.
"Well, that was interesting." commented James.
"You can say that again. Claire's still a tad nuts, Jack and Kate are both still morons and Hugo, Jin and Sun are still okay to hang with." I paused. "and it was pretty nice seeing Miles, Richard and Lapidus again."
"I'll agree with ya on all of that, Snake." Though his eyes never left the road, his hand found mine, and squeezed it. "I guess we've done pretty good with everything, huh?"
"I'd say so."
I was silent for a moment.
"I wouldn't change any of it, you know that right? Anything that happened after the freighter blew up, and I mean it. It made me realize how much I really loved you."
"I wouldn't either, sweetheart." he replied and I kissed his cheek.
It was over, and I finally had found what I deemed my saving grace, or redemption, for all the screwed up things I'd done over the years.
My family.
-the end.-
And so ends the Riley Carlen trilogy. I want to thank all of my wonderful readers and reviewers for taking the time to check out my stories and for letting me know what you all think. I will now move to work on my other Lost fic, Everything Happens for a Reason as well as my Harry Potter fic, Who Am I? I've also got a Glee fanfic that I am debating posting.
Until next time...
Oceanic Others Freak