Chapter 35: Time Flies

"Mommy look!" yelled Lily attempting to lift a pumpkin twice the size of her head off the ground. Lily had no avail. She yelled over to her seven-year-old brother to come and help her. Jacob sprinted to his sister's aid. Even together they could not lift the pumpkin.

"Lily Samantha," Kate said looking kneeling down so she and Lily would be the same height. "Did you have to find the biggest pumpkin in the entire patch?"

"We have a bet who can find the biggest pumpkin," Lily said innocently her hazel eyes sparkling in the autumn sunlight. Kate laughed and looked around for Jack. She would pick up the pumpkin if it weren't for her belly. Soon it would be the size of the pumpkin. But she still had two months before that would happen. She was due at the end of December.

"Go get Daddy," Kate said after standing up slowly. She hadn't gained much weight from this pregnancy; running after her three kids kept her in shape. It didn't matter if it was ballet lessons, karate, work or elementary school… she was always busy.

Lily took off at a run to find her Dad. Jack was standing at the other end of the pumpkin patch, Marley Claire in his arms. Their three-year-old daughter was squirming around. She wanted to run around, but he knew once he let her go she would take off at lightening speed.

"It was a quite complicated procedure," Jack explained to Margot as they walked together through the pumpkin patch.

"There!" yelled Marley happily. She pointed to a pumpkin covered in dirt and vines.

"Is that the one you want?" Jack asked.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Marley squealed.

Jack looked over at Margot to pick it up. Margot frowned at her son and then looked down at her Prada shoes and then stepped into the dirt and picked up the pumpkin holding it against her getting dirt all over her fur coat. Anything for her grandbabies.

"Daddy!" Lily said running over to her Dad and Grandmother. "I found the perfect pumpkin! I need you to come get it."

"Did you show Mommy?" asked Jack putting Marley down on the ground. One more of her kicks to his chest he would be done for.

"I see!" Marley said taking off at a run towards Kate and Jacob who were keeping a close eye on the perfect pumpkin just incase someone tried to take it.

Lily was running off too, a minute later Jack and Margot caught up with them.

"Lily Samantha I believe you found the biggest pumpkin," Jack said picking it up. It was a struggle even for him.

"I win!" said Lily triumphantly.

"That's not fair!" Jacob replied with a pout.

"Come on now," Kate said giving Jack a look. He smiled at her. They loved being parents, plain and simple, "Let's not fight. Aren't you excited that you get to go to grandma's and carve your pumpkins?"

"Oh yes," Margot said less then enthused, "Thrilled."

"Grandma!" Lily said putting her hands on her hips. "You need a pumpkin."

"Oh no dear," Margot said kindly, "I really don't."

"Yes you doooooo," Jacob said agreeing with his sister. "We will find you one. Come on Marley."

The three kids took off at run, Lily holding onto Marley's hand. Not running too fast, but only fast enough where Marley's tiny legs could keep up.

"Those are great kids," Margot said as she watched her grandchild search for her pumpkin.

"I know," Jack said putting an arm around Kate. She leaned her head against him.

They were both wearing their scrubs, underneath their windbreakers, from their day at work. Kate had one more week left before she would be completely incapable of doing any of her duties, then she would spend everyday at home with Marley.

It had been a struggle to get pregnant with Marley. It took over a year of trying before Kate became pregnant. Then Marley had been born during a flood. It took Jack an hour to get to the hospital. Normally it would have only taken fifteen minutes. If they hadn't gotten there Marley would have been born in Jack's truck.

"Mommy!" Lily's voice called over the crisp autumn air, "Jacob cut himself."

"Be right back," Kate said walking through the pumpkins. She knelt down in front of Jacob who had cut his hand on a sharp edge of a stick. Out of her purse she took out a first aid kit and put on a pair of rubber gloves and then cleaned and bandaged his wound.

There hadn't been a single scare with Jacob and his HIV. He had been able to comprehend the idea since he was four. All he had known at the time that blood wasn't supposed to touch anything or anyone. As he had grown older he had understood more about the disease specifically. There had been times where he had gotten sick from his medication and he had to have more shots then the other kids to prevent random illnesses. Otherwise he was living his life as a normal seven year old.

"Is that grandma's pumpkin?" asked Kate after she had wrapped up the gloves and band-aids in a tiny trash bag and stuffed it into her purse.

"Yes," Jacob said picking it up since this one was a lot lighter then Lily's.

"Do you want me to carry it Jacob?" Kate asked kindly.

"No," replied Jacob wanting to show his strength. He hoisted up the pumpkin and walked back to Jack and Grandma with Lily and Marley proudly.

"Okay," Kate said after all four pumpkins were safely tucked away in the trunk of Margot's car. She was looking at her three kids in the backseat of the Lexus. "Be good and don't give Grandma any trouble. We will pick ya'll up tomorrow morning and then we will go to the zoo okay?"

"Bye Mommy!" all the kids called.

Kate and Jack were half way to the care when Marley's tiny voice called after then. They turned around and Marley whispered into Jack's ear. Jack picked up Marley and she kissed Kate's stomach.

"Bye baby," Marley said. Jack put her back down and she ran back into the car.

"Are you ready?" Jack asked Kate.

"Yes," Kate said. Tonight was a Friday night. Margot had offered to take the kids to give Jack and Kate some time to rest and just be together without the kids.

Things hadn't changed too much. Jack and Kate were still the exact same people. Parenthood hadn't had any negative effects on their life. They weren't super-parents. The scary parents who are involved in every single activity at school and always had a big cheesy smile plastered to their faces. They didn't have fresh baked cookies waiting for their kids everyday; Parents who were plastic and robotic. They were the kinds of parents who took their kids to the zoo and made crazy animal sounds. They did messy crafts in the kitchen and when each of them were completely covered in paint, glitter, and glue they would go outside and clean off in the hose. All five Shephard's volunteered at the Memphis AIDS Clinic once a week. The kids befriended the patients while Jack and Kate used their medical knowledge to treat patients. Jack and Kate were the kind of parents that every kid wished for.

Margot had adapted to Memphis well enough. She still wore her furs and designers shoes. But now she would pick up dirty pumpkins and bake cookies from scratch. Despite a slight accent now when they said certain words, the Shephard's were the same.

Claire and Sayid had married three weeks after Lily was born and one day before Jack and Kate had left. They had six kids now. Kate called Claire the baby-making machine. Aaron was now in his teenage years and had mood swings to prove it. Claire loved to call Kate and tell her all about the drama in his life. It was like a real life soap opera. Harry was six like Lily. A year after Harry Claire had had the twins, Katelyn and Jacqueline, Grace almost exactly nine months after them and Luke was seven months old.

Claire had come out to Memphis for Marley's birth and would be coming out the week Kate was expecting baby number four to come. They had also made it a ritual of talking to each other every other day on the phone at exactly nine of clock. Their husbands knew not to be on the phone at that time or deal with the consequences.

It had occurred to Kate six months after moving to Memphis that she was now living in Sawyer's home state. But she hadn't seen him since that day they had had lunch. She didn't think of his often and when she did… she wondered if he was happy… but Kate knew Sawyer and knew his stubbornness probably caused him to be alone. But she hoped that he was had found someone that completed him like Jack completed her.

"I am going to miss not seeing my Mom carve a pumpkin," Jack said as he entertained the thought of Margot sticking her hand into a pumpkin and removing the contents.

Kate laughed. She could see it too. Her three beautiful children playing with the seeds and pumpkin guts while Margot was dressed as if she was preparing for surgery. She would probably have one of her maids gut her pumpkin.

Marley and Lily could be twins if they were the same age. Each had long curly brown hair and hazel eyes. They had Jack's mouth and a sprinkle of freckles across their noses. Jacob stood out in the family. His auburn hair was curly and out of control. If he didn't comb it after a bath he would end up with an Afro. He had his sister's eyes and sense of humor.

Kate could remember the one night she had come into his room to check on him and saw him sleeping soundly. Jacob had been having nightmares for the whole week and she had found it surprising that he was sleeping. The next morning she asked him if he had a nightmare. He said yes but then in the middle of it a girl with long red hair wearing a white dress and a lily in her hair came into the dream, took his hand, and told him not to be afraid that she was there with him. Kate knew from that moment on that her family was being watched over. Sam was the reason she believed in angels.

"What do you want to do?" Jack asked as they pulled up in front of their home.

They had planned on building a house the entire time before they had moved. But once they had gotten to Memphis and searched the suburbs they had found the prefect Victorian house for sale. It had to be gutted and remodeled, but it was perfect.

"Movie, dinner, night at home?" Jack asked shutting off the car.

"Night in," Kate said yawning. She wanted to spend the night watching a movie curled up in Jack's arms.

"Alright," Jack said agreeing.

Kate was curled up her head resting on Jack's shoulder. She had a blanket tossed over her lower half, her hand buried in a popcorn bowl. They were watching the Shawshank Redemption. It was Jack's favorite movie in was in gulfed in it. Every once in a while he would kiss her forehead or hold her hand.

It was simple moments like this that made their marriage special. Not everyone had what they did and most could never imagine being in this kind of love.

Insert line from Shawshank Redemption

Kate laughed to herself. She remembered running down Jack's street in Los Angeles… running towards the dream of being with Jack. She had just been dumped by Sawyer and was feeling free. It had been amazing. That day had changed everything. She could not imagine what her life would be like if she had not gotten that job at the hospital. Kate tried not to think about it. What she had now was worth more then all the riches in the world.

"What's so funny?" Jack asked looking over at her.

"Nothing," Kate said shaking her head.

Jack gave her a puzzled look and then Kate kissed him.

"I love you."

"I love you too," he told her softly.

On December 24th Kate and Jack welcomed Aiden Christian into their family. Like Claire had promised she had flown in from L.A. Like the two times before she called the doctors fuck-faces and made sure that Kate was comfortable. She remembered the Bob Marley CD and Jack held Kate's hand. He didn't tell her she was strong as often because after doing this for a third time she had to know it by now.

As Kate held Aiden in her arms she felt a sense of completion. She knew her family was finally complete. She had gotten her dreams… and it was only because of Jack and the fact that he had given her the love she had always wanted.

THE END