I didn't really mean for this to be a continuous fic, but because everyone wants an update, I'm going to do a few more chapters to it. I'm going to try and get another chapter up for this today as well. If not, it will be a few days yet because I've got some stupid rule where the computer has to be off for Xmas eve, Xmas day, and Boxing day. I think I'll have withdrawal symptoms - lack of Jate! So merry christmas to you all!

The next morning came sooner than they all expected. Suddenly, after their long year on the island, the survivors were forced to say goodbye to each other. Some knew that they would never see some of their friends again, but others were determined to stay in contact, and were frantically exchanging email addresses, phone numbers and home addresses of where they would be staying. Most people were going back to L.A, so they would see each other on the plane anyway. They had all been given free flights with a different airline, NOT Oceanic to everyone's thanks, and they had all been given large amounts of compensation from the company, meaning that none of them were short for money.

Jack was one of those travelling back to Los Angeles, and perhaps one of the calmest of passengers. Everyone else was hesistating walking up the steps, looking back all the time to try and find an escape. If he hadn't been holding onto Kate's hand so tightly, he was sure that she would have run away.

"Jack, are you sure there's no other way?" She asked awkwardly.

"Kate, come on, what are the chances of this happening again?" He said optimistically. Then again, what were the chances of them meeting in this in the first place.

"Come on, Kate, you're holding the whole plane up!" Charlie called from further down the line of passengers, and Jack saw Claire hit him lightly round the head over Kate's shoulder.

"Jack..." She pleaded, giving him that defeated look.

He returned the look with one of assurance, and gripped her hand. "Come on, just a few more steps, then we're on the plane, we're gonna sit down, and you can sleep all the way to L.A." He promised her. She raised an eyebrow at him, sleeping was the last thing on her mind. "Nothing is going to happen." He promised her.

Reluctantly, she slowly followed him onto the plane. She got a bit nervous upon discovering that they were sitting in row number 23, but Jack, again, assured her that there was nothing to worry about. The chances of crashing onto an undiscovered island ransacked with evil natives and experimental hatches with a different airline on the same flight path were highly unlikely. Besides, the weather was looking good, and there was no chance of them loosing radio contact again.

Having sat down, Kate gripped the arms of her seat and watched the other survivors come in. Charlie, Claire and Aaron ended up in the seats infront of them, which Kate was glad for, because she had become very friendly with Claire, and having some female company was something that she had liked on the island. After all, you can't talk to guys about everything, even if they are doctors. Hurley was across the other side of the plane, having already made himself at home with a new CD player, and a few snacks to keep him going. Sayid and Shannon got in the middle aisle, and as usual, Sayid got his usual stares upon entering the plane, but this time, because he was a celebrity.

One thing that Kate hadn't liked about returning was the publicity. Seeing the headline Doc Dates Ex-Criminal with a picture of her and Jack getting off the rescue boat wasn't exactly one to frame on the mantlepeice back home. Of course, seeing her name cleared on the front page the next day was definately one she wanted to keep, and she knew that Jack had secretly kept it for this purpose, because further down in the article, was a picture of her being released from a holding cell, and beside it, one of her and Jack; she had run up to him and jumped into his arms after finding out she was free, and he was holding her in the middle of all the photographers while they hugged. She couldn't think of a better way to celebrate her freedom than with Jack. She was glad that she had a picture of it, even if it was a 3x2 in a newspaper column.

Looking around at the strangers on the plane, Kate remembered the people that wouldn't be getting on this flight. The people that she might not see again. Sun and Jin were staying in the hotel for one more night before their returning flight to Korea. They had promised to visit, but it was still strange to go from seeing someone everyday to seeing them every other month. Kate felt a hand go over her own, and she held it, turning to face the man who could send electricity through her veins with such a soft touch. At least she would still be able to see him everyday.

"Are you going to miss it?" She asked quietly, still looking at the passengers.

"The plane?"

She shook her head, turning to face him. "The island."

Jack thought for a moment about all the things that there was to miss. It was where he and Kate met. They had both made friends there, friend who had become more like family in their time spent surviving together. He remembered all the times where people hadn't been scared, like their meals around the fire at night...having Kate fall asleep in his arms without her worrying about the people watching them...picking fruit with her...listening to Charlie sing to Claire's baby...seeing Sun and Jin when they weren't arguing. All his best memories included smiles, and peaceful looks, which were rare in their time there.

"Yeah..." Jack answered. "Yeah, I'll miss it."

Kate was silent for a moment, and then brushed some of her hair behind her hair. "Me too." She agreed. "Everything was so simple there."

"Apart from the hatch, the monsters, crazy French women..." Jack listed.

Kate laughed at him, and he leaned in to give her a kiss. "So, Dr Shephard." Kate said professionally. "What's next on the agenda?"

Letting their lips touch, Jack grinned playfully. "We're going to survive a plane flight, then we get a cab back to my place, hope that the spare key is still where I hid it, and then we're getting take out." He told her.

"You're finally going home and all you can think about is food?" She asked. "Haven't you eaten enough the past week?"

Jack laughed. "Ok, eating, sleeping, and movies." He nodded to himself. "Yeah, thats it, we'll watch a movie."

Kate nodded, leaning back comfortably in her seat. "Sounds good to me."

"Which movie?" Jack asked.

"I dunno." She shrugged. "What ones have you got?"

Jack thought back to his DVD collection that he hadn't thought about in a year. "Um...Jurassic Park?"

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "A film about running away from monsters on an island?"

"They're dinosaurs, not monsters." He corrected. "Completely different. How about, Mission Impossible?"

"Which one?"

"The second one." He told her. He had always preferred the second one to the first, except the part where Tom Cruise was hanging from their ceiling vent. That was always something he had secretly wanted to do.

"With the strange illness?" Kate tested again.

"Oookkkk." Jack answered. Trying desperately to think of a movie that didn't tie in with their experience on the island. "I got it! American Pie? Ever seen the third one?"

"There's a third one?"

"American Pie, the Wedding." He noticed her strange expression. "Seriously, you've never seen it?" She shook her head. "We're watching that." He decided for them.

"Yes sir." She answered with a salute.

The fasten seatbelts sign went on, and they began to take off. Kate's nerves set in again, and she didn't let go of Jack's hand for the whole trip.

"Home sweet home."

They had got out of the cab and looked upon what Kate knew to be everything she had ever dreamed of. The house in the suburbs. Sure, the front garden was a little messy, in fact, it looked like a jungle of its own, she couldn't imagine what the back looked like. The windows were dusty from not being cleaned for a year or so, and she didn't imagine that was something Jack would normally do anyway. When Jack led her inside, the first thing she was met with was a lot of photographs on the wall. There was a space in the middle of them all where one looked like it had once hung there, but had been taken down. She didn't ask about it. The others were all clearly Jack, even as a child with his parents, or whom she imagined to be his parents, he still looked the same. He still had those kind eyes and the sensitive smile.

"I know the place is probably a mess. I wouldn't expect my Mom to do any cleaning for me." He laughed it off. Walking into the living room, he saw that he was right. Even the television guide was in the same place as where he had left it before he went to Australia. Turning around, he saw Kate was standing in the doorway looking around her with wide eyes. The whole place was just so...homely. How strange that she could feel so at home in a house she had only been in for thirty seconds, but never feel at home where she had grown up and lived for twenty four years. "You Ok?" He asked her.

She nodded, still looking around her. "Probably just jetlag." She shrugged off. "What time is it?" She asked.

Jack found a clock still working over on the coffee table. "12.45." He told her.

She nodded vaugely. "Ok."

He looked at her before asking again. "Sure you're alright, you look a little ... pale."

She smiled and nodded. "I'm just tired." She said, walking over to him and wrapping her arms around his stomach.

"That's what you get when you don't sleep on the plane." He chided her.

"You can talk, Jack, you didn't sleep either." She pulled him over to the couch. "Come on, lets just sleep for a bit."

Jack sat down, pulling her down with him. They naturally fell into a comfortable position where Kate had her back against his chest, lying between his legs. Jack put his arms over her stomach, keeping hold of her, and leaning his head atop of hers. After a few moments, he heard her whisper gently to him, "Hmm...love you." She sighed sleepily.

He smiled, although she couldn't see it. "I love you, too." He whispered back. "Welcome home, Kate."

When Kate awoke, she felt slightly cold. She shook herself for a moment to remind herself, as she did most mornings, that she wasn't on a sunny island anymore. Opening her eyes, she remembered that she was in L.A now, with Jack. She smiled to herself, then realised that he wasn't lying next to her anymore. Her eyes fell upon the clock, and she saw that it was now 3.20 in the afternoon. She had only been asleep for 2 and a half hours, but she felt much more refreshed. Standing up from the couch, a blanket fell at her feet. Jack must have draped it over her, because she didn't remember having one when she fell asleep. The first thing she saw was a peice of paper beside the clock. She picked it up and unfolded it.

Dear Kate. Oh yeah, this was from Jack. Him and his letters, she thought to herself.

Sorry that I disappeared on you, but I needed some things from the store, and you looked to happy asleep to wake you up. I should be back in an hour or so, depending on traffic. If there's anything you need, my cell phone number is still on the fridge I think, I couldn't remember the number then, and I still can't remember it now. Just give me a call if you think of anything you want. If you want a shower, the bathroom is upstairs, second door on the right. I'd say to help yourself to food, but thats the reason I've gone out. The expiry date on everything is about six months ago, and as hungry as I am, I don't want either of us to get food poisoning. Make yourself at home, Kate. I meant what I said, you can stay here as long as you like, and I'm glad you came. We saw each other every day on the island, I think seeing you for a day here or there once a year would be too hard to cope with, but I understand if you need to go. Just know that I love you, and no matter what, you'll always have a home with me.

See you soon, Love Jack.

Smiling at his words, Kate folded up the paper. Seeing a pen with a notepad beside it, she had an idea and began writing her own letter. After writing it and leaving it beside his, she went upstairs for a shower, hoping that Jack came back before she was done.