More thanks than I can properly express go to Purple-Goose. Without her this chapter may well have never been finished.

When Sayid got to the church, he hesitated before climbing the steps. A dozen or so expensively dressed older women stood in the entranceway. They looked him up and down as he walked in, and he was glad for the jacket and tie Nadia had suggested he wear. He felt strange with it on, though. He couldn't remember the last time he had worn one.

He took a program from the usher and entered the sanctuary. Glancing around, he saw no sign of Shannon. He took a seat near the back and tried not to look as uncomfortable and out of place as he felt. Lost in thought he hardly noticed when a dark-suited Jack slipped into the pew next to him.

"Sayid, I thought you'd be here."

Sayid turned and took the hand Jack offered, then clapped the other man on the back. It was good to see him, despite the circumstances.

"Where's Shannon?" Jack asked "I figured you'd be sitting with her."

"We aren't...I haven't seen her..." Sayid sighed. "It's a rather long story."

Jack eyed him curiously, but didn't press further. Instead, he held up his left hand, showing Sayid the ring there.

"You and Kate?" Sayid asked, surprised.

"Got married. Yeah," Jack grinned. "Friday, in the judge's chambers, after her arraignment Two armed guards outside the door...talk about a shotgun wedding." Too late Jack realized that the expression, and therefore the joke, was wasted on Sayid.

"Shotgun wedding?" Sayid looked puzzled.

"Never mind," Jack chuckled, and looked around the church. Then turning to Sayid he asked, "So, what happened with Shannon?"

Sayid reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and took out a photograph of Yasmin. He wasn't sure why he had brought it. Maybe to remind himself of why this was necessary, or maybe as a talisman of sorts, to help him get through it. Now he handed it to Jack.

The doctor looked at him in surprise and was about to respond when the pianist started playing and they looked up to see Shannon and Sabrina enter from the side and sit in the front pew. Shannon's attention was focused on her stepmother and Sayid was relieved when she didn't look towards where he was sitting. The music ended and a tall blond man in a cleric's collar, got up and thanked them all for coming. He acknowledged Sabrina and Shannon and gestured a welcome to all that were there.

He walked to the altar and opened the Bible. He read a verse about there being a time for everything. Sayid was not familiar with many Bible verses, but this one made sense. Turning back to the crowd the pastor smiled, "Sabrina and Shannon assure me that Boone would have hated all this formality, so let's dispense with it."

He introduced another young man, Kurt somebody, Boone's college roommate. After that a procession of five or six of Boone's friends shared stories and memories. This was not the Boone of the island, the Boone Sayid had known, but Sayid noted that here there were many to speak to his loss, when on the island there had been only one. Sayid couldn't remember now what he had said. He only remembered wanting to somehow ease Shannon's pain.

Just when it seemed as if the speeches were finished Shannon stood in the front pew and turned to face the crowd.

"I wasn't going to say anything today," she began, putting her hand on Sabrina's shoulder, "But I realized that wasn't right. Boone was my brother and he always took care of me. He deserves a goodbye," she paused and cleared her throat. "We didn't always get along," Shannon smiled, and many in the pews, including Sabrina, nodded in agreement. "But I never doubted his love. I only hope he knows how much I loved him, too, and how much I will always miss him." With that, Shannon smiled tightlyand sat back down.

Now the lights dimmed and a slide show began. Pictures of Boone flashed on the screen. Boone as a baby, as a child, with his parents, and of course, with Shannon. The slide show was difficult for Sayid to watch, not only because of Shannon, but also because his new role as a parent gave him an understanding of Sabrina's pain. After only knowing Yasmin for a few days, he couldn't imagine losing his daughter. His stomach lurched at the thought. Did a parent ever get over the loss of a child? The pastor ended the service with a prayer and invited them all downstairs to greet the family.

Jack turned to Sayid, still holding the photograph. "Yours?" he asked, "Who's her mother?" Then remembering, he answered his own question. "The woman you were searching for? You never mentioned a child... you didn't know?"

"Not until a few days ago," Sayid said quietly.

"Shannon couldn't handle it," Jack said, handing the photo back. It wasn't a question.

They made their way downstairs but hung to the back of the long, winding line making its way slowly toward Sabrina and Shannon. Both men were absorbed in their own thoughts, in their own regrets, as they inched closer to the two women. Jack reached Shannon first, greeted her with a hug, and endured a lengthy introduction to Boone's mother who grew teary-eyed meeting the man who shared her son's last moments. Sabrina wanted all of the details, so they moved off to the side, leaving Sayid and Shannon alone, staring at each other.

Sayid's mouth was dry. All the words he had thought of saying evaporated in an instant. He stood there, clenching and unclenching his hands, unable to speak.

"I didn't think you'd come," Shannon lied, looking past him to where Sabrina was talking with Jack.

"How could I not come? I knew how hard this would be for you."

Shannon gave a short laugh, "Yeah, well, seeing you just makes it harder."

"It was not my intention to make it worse," Sayid glanced around the crowded room. "I wanted to make sure you were all right."

She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at the floor. "Oh, you did, huh? Well, I'm not. But that isn't your problem anymore, is it?" Her hiss drew attention and an odd look of disapproval from Sabrina.

"I do not want to have this conversation here, Shannon," Sayid reached up and loosened his tie.

"Why does it matter where we have it? It's all the same, right? It isn't going to change anything. Whatever you have to say to me you can say it here." Her eyes flashed anger, but he could see something breakable just beneath the surface.

Sayid sighed, "I am sorry for this. Sorry for hurting you. I did not know..."

"You knew!" Shannon's voice grew louder, "You didn't know you had a child, but you knew how you felt about Nadia. Don't lie and tell me you didn't. No more lies, O.K.? Let's at least be honest."

"Shannon," Sayid looked around to see if her outburst had attracted more attention. He lowered his voice and leaned closer to her, "Can't we talk somewhere else?"

"Okay. You know what? I have a few things to say to you, too,".She turned and walked away from him, heels clicking on the hard floor. He caught Jack's eye.

Jack raised his eyebrows questioningly, "I'll see you outside?" he mouthed, pointing to the exit.

Sayid nodded, and continued to follow Shannon down a narrow hall and into a small room, obviously an office. Books lined the walls and there was a desk at one end with two chairs in front of it. As soon as he entered the room Shannon whirled and spat at him, "Okay...here we are...someplace else...let's say what we have to say and then you can get out."

Sayid rubbed his hands over his eyes. "I'm sorry I did not tell you the whole truth. I thought it did not matter. We were on an island, Shannon, with no way off that we could see. What do you want me to say? That I knew all along what I was doing? That all of this was planned?"

"You knew if we were rescued that you'd go to her, didn't you? You knew where she was, right? That's why you were on the plane."

"Yes, that's why I was on the plane. Yes, I was searching for her because I loved her, but she had become a dream, and you were real."

"If I was real, if what we had was real, why did you have to find her now?" all the anger seemed to drain out of her, and she sank into one of the chairs, staring up at him.

"I had to know," he sat in the other chair, facing her. "I was so close. I wasn't able to walk away. It doesn't mean I did not love you."

"Not enough."

"Enough for what? To deny my own child? To abandon her mother? Do you really think I would ever do that? Could you even love someone who would do that?"

Shannon shook her head, "Come off it ,Sayid, If you hadn't gone looking for her again, you wouldn't have known."

"And that would be better?" His jaw set stubbornly and his eyes darkened.

"Yes," Shannon answered quietly, her voice almost a whisper, "That would be better."

"Better for you, perhaps. But would it be better for Yasmin not to know me? You grew up without a parent, Shannon, do you wish that on her?"

"That's not fair, Sayid," Shannon thought about who she was before, and who she was becoming. A year ago she would not have cared about some faceless child. Now, because of the island, because of this man, she knew what she had to do.

"The island was the dream, or might as well have been. I don't know about you, but I'm wide awake now and back to reality. We never could have worked here, child or no child." she stood up and walked to the door. "Today is about saying goodbye. I said goodbye to Boone, now I'm saying it to you. Goodbye, Sayid. Leave. Go home. Go back to your daughter, back to Nadia. That's what you want, and that's where you should be. Don't beat yourself up. Don't 'poor Shannon' me. You didn't end this. I did." She stopped and took a breath.

Sayid looked stunned. "Shannon...I..."

Shannon opened the door, " Get out. This is over."

Sayid walked past her and down the hall waiting for the door to slam, but the sound never came. He found Jack in the parking lot, leaning up against a black Mercedes, smoking a cigarette.

"You okay?" Jack asked, "What happened in there?"

Sayid took the tie off and unbuttoned his collar."Shannon grew up," he smiled a sad smile.

"Come on, get in. I'll give you a ride home."

"Ventura is over an hour from here, you do not have to do that."

"Borrowed Mother's car." Jack said, smiling, "I'm driving without a license, too. Might as well push my luck. I've got nothing better to do."

After driving in stop and go traffic for almost an hour, Jack suggested they get something to eat, and head for Ventura once the late afternoon rush was over. They pulled into a steakhouse and the hostess led them to a deep booth in the back. Sayid ordered coffee, black. Jack ordered a scotch, then shook his head, calling the waitress back. "Make that coffee, same as his."

The waitress came back with a pot of coffee and two cups, which she sat on the table. She poured the coffee, took their order, and left to place it with the kitchen. "So what's her name...your daughter?" Jack asked, lighting a cigarette.

"Yasmin," Sayid smiled.

"That's a pretty name. Let me see the picture again."

Sayid reached into his pocket and handed Jack the photo. Jack looked at it, and back at Sayid. "Lucky girl, she must look like her mother," he grinned.

"For the most part, yes," Sayid said, laughing, "But unfortunately she seems to have inherited my stubbornness, at least from what Nadia tells me."

"That's not always a bad quality. So, are you...together, you and her mother?"

"Maybe, I hope so. It is too soon to say for sure."

The waitress brought their salads and conversation lulled while they ate.

"How is Kate?" Sayid asked, after the salad plates were empty. He watched Jack's expression carefully.

"She's okay, really," Jack nodded, "The arraignment wasn't bad. She agreed to extradition in exchange for dropping the fleeing charges."

"Where will she go now?"

"Iowa. That's where the original charges were filed."

Their steaks came, and Sayid found himself surprisingly hungry. For the first time since leaving the island, he ate until everything was gone.

Jack lit another cigarette and poured a cup of coffee. "You're too polite to ask what she did." he observed.

"It does not matter to me what she did. She proved the person she is to me on the island. Nothing changes that."

"Yeah. I know. Wish the law felt the same way. It's manslaughter, by the way. She shot her father, although whether the guy was her real father or not isn't too clear, maybe even to her. Whatever he was, he was a son-of-a-bitch."

"As I said, it does not matter to me what she did," he sipped his coffee, "It does not matter to you, either."

"No, you're right, it doesn't. Hey, I almost forgot. Did you get your letter?."

"Letter?"

"From the airline, about the settlement."

"No. It may have gone to the hotel where Shannon and I were staying before...I should call, see if it's there. What did it say?"

"It's a good offer. We all have to sign off on it though. If one of us balks, then the whole thing is off."

"So it may be awhile before we get anything?"

"Looks that way. I can't imagine anyone rejecting this, but you never know. People get greedy."

"I will have to look for a job anyway," Sayid said, "When will you go back to work?"

"Not going back," Jack said, "Not to surgery anyway. I've applied to the emergency medicine department at a couple of hospitals. LA Doctors looks like a possibility. I want to work where I can do the most good. Surgery doesn't interest me anymore. What kind of job are you looking for?"

"Anything, really. I am comfortable with mechanics, or computers. I could translate. Nadia's neighbor works for a law firm that does a lot of work helping detainees and immigrants. They need someone who speaks Arabic. It would only be part time, but I am thinking I should take it for now."

The check came. Pulling out a credit card, Jack insisted on paying. "It's not on me," he said, "It's on Mother."

Back on the highway they were almost to the Ventura exit when Jack saw the flashing lights in the rearview mirror. "Crap," he said, glancing sideways at Sayid. "Good thing I didn't have that scotch." Jack pulled over and rolled down the window.

The officer walked to the car, "We had a report of a stolen car matching this description. License and registration, please."

Jack chuckled, "Well, that's just it officer, This isn't my car and I don't have a license. You see, my friend and I, we were just rescued after a year stranded on a fucking island..." Sayid cringed in the passenger seat.

"Okay, Smartass. Out of the car! Both of you." The officer put his hand on his gun and watched them carefully. After frisking them both, he got the registration out of the glove box. "Who is Margo Shephard?"

"My mother." Jack said.

"Well, 'son', your 'mother' reported this car stolen an hour ago. I'm going to have to take you two in. You can call 'Mommy' from the station and see what she says." The officer loaded them in the back of the cruiser and called for a tow truck.

Jack looked at Sayid. "Sorry about this." To his surprise, Sayid was laughing.

"We are in trouble because you told him the truth," he said, "Most people would at least try to lie."

Jack laughed, too, and the cop looked at them in the rearview mirror as if they were nuts.

At the station, Jack had no luck with his mother. "She's punishing me for being alive while my father is dead," he told Sayid, "That and marrying a fugitive. Not exactly her idea of the perfect daughter-in-law."

"I'll call Nadia," Sayid said, "She will come and get us."

Nadia was not happy when she arrived at the police station, a sleepy Yasmin in tow, "I had to wake her up," she said to Sayid. "What in the world happened?"

Sayid picked up his daughter and gestured to Jack, who stood for the awkward introduction. Once things were explained, Nadia relaxed and her smile returned. "It is nice to meet you," she told Jack, as they walked out to the car, "Although I might have preferred a different location."

"Me, too." Jack agreed.

Sayid slipped into the back seat and Yasmin lay her head in his lap. Jack turned around in the front seat to look at her, then back to Nadia. "Is there a motel near here?"

"Sayid's motel is on the other side of town. I just want to get her home. You can sleep on the couch at the house, if that is alright."

"Yes, that's fine."

When they got to the house Nadia pulled blankets and a pillow from the closet for Jack while Sayid carried Yasmin in. He started for the child's bedroom when Nadia stopped him, "Put her in my room. You can sleep in hers." Her look told him there was no discussing it. Jack caught Sayid's eye and grinned, shrugging, as if to say "nice try."

Jack awoke to the sound of pots and pans and the smell of coffee. He sat up and saw Sayid's daughter looking at him shyly from the doorway to the kitchen. He sat up and smiled at her. "Morning," he said. The child flashed a smile and disappeared back into the kitchen. Jack got up, straightened his clothing as best he could, and made his way after her.

Yasmin was sitting on the floor stuffing papers into a bookbag. Sayid had his head in the refrigerator and was handing something to Nadia who stood at the stove. "Hey," Jack said, "I didn't know breakfast came with the great digs. What's on the menu?"

"Scrambled eggs," Yasmin said from the floor.

To Jack's amazement, all three of them burst out laughing. "Is there something I should know about these eggs?" he asked.

Let's just say they are my specialty and leave it at that," said Nadia, smiling. "I hope you slept all right."

"Yes, I did, thanks."

There was only room for three of them at the table, so Sayid sat Yasmin on his lap as they ate. Jack noted that while Yasmin did look like her mother, seeing father and daughter close together brought out a definite resemblance.

"Great eggs," said Jack, grinning. Yasmin giggled. Jack looked at Sayid, "I suppose I'd better call my mother and apologize so she'll come and get me."

"I can give you a ride into the city, if you like," Nadia offered. "But I need to leave in a few minutes,

"That would be great. Then I can catch a cab and go see Kate. Apologizing to Mother can wait."

Nadia looked at Sayid, "Can you get her to school? Grace is sick today, so Laurel can't take her."

"On our way," he grabbed Yasmin's bag and turned to Jack, "Thanks for the ride...and all, it was... fun," he smiled. " Stay in touch."

"Yeah, you, too. I'll leave a number with Nadia."

"Let's go," Sayid said to Yasmin, and they all headed out the door.