A/N: Okay something new here. Usually when I put '000' it means elapsed time. Now I have this '---' which means at the same time as…so there's no confusion! Read and review!

Oh, and DirrtyXtina…this chapter is dedicated to you. Thanks for the help. In fact this chapter wouldn't be here with out you. So, here's to you babe!

Reminiscing

Jack and Casey sat around a fire with Tina and Sawyer. They had been talking all evening and the conversation was now coming to a lull. Claire and Charlie had come to sit with them as well. All of them had become good friends over the years and differences that seemed to matter them didn't matter now.

Jack glanced at the fire burning not to far from them and noticed his daughter and Aaron sitting with Christy, Hunter and his brother Noah. Taylor was laughing at something. She looked so happy and carefree. Jack smiled at her without her knowing. She had always been that way.

"Daddy?" Taylor was five and full of life like every kid her age was.

"What monkey?" Jack asked tearing himself away from the patient at hand. It was nothing serious. So Jack turned to face his offspring.

"Will you play with me after your done?" She spoke in a high pitched tone. Her eyes pleaded to Jack for attention.

It wasn't that Jack didn't give his little girl attention she was just a daddy's girl. "Sure baby. I'll be done in just a minute." Jack turned back to his friend Sayid who had burned himself trying to fix a radio of some sorts.

"Go ahead and be with Taylor, Jack. This is plenty taken care of for now." Sayid gestured to the little girl playing in the sand.

"Are you sure?" Jack asked to subside the guilt he felt for blowing the Iraqi off.

"Yes. Jack, I'm sure I'll understand when Shannon and I have children of our own." Jack turned from the dark man and pick up Taylor and threw her into the air like he'd done some many times before.

The little girl squealed with glee and begged for him to do it again. Jack did as she asked and threw her towards the sky once more. When he caught her, his breath escaped him.

"You're getting to heavy to do this." Jack got out in a breathless tone.

"I'm sorry. You don't have to play with me daddy. If I'm to big I can go play with someone else?" He held Taylor close to him and kissed her forehead.

"Not on your life monkey! Your mine!" He laid the child down in the sand and tickled her sides until she broke free and ran down the stretch of sand before them. Jack quickly got up and ran after the five-year-old. She looked back and screeched with laughter again.

Jack slowed his pace when he got closer to her. He warned her that he was catching up but she just turned around and opened her arms as if to block him somehow. He just picker her up and slung her over his shoulder and ran around the beach.

God, he loved being a dad. He had been so afraid he wouldn't be able to do it, but now he was sure this is the way he wanted his child raised. She seemed to be happy, and Jack knew she was healthy and even though they lived on an island she didn't seem to have troubles of any kind. So, life was good.

He finally set the child down and she immediately took off away from him again. He sighed and let her get a head start. He could still hear her giggle.

"Jack!" Casey's voice cut through his thoughts and his head snapped in her direction.

"What?"

"You were staring off into space. What are you thinking about?" She weaved an arm through his arms that were propped up on his knees.

"I was just thinking about Taylor. How big she's gotten, how old I am." He smirked at his own joke. Casey full out laughed.

"You're not old!" She hit his shoulder with an open palm. She looked over at the kids. They were carrying on and having a good time. "They really have grown up haven't they."

All of the older members sitting around the fire turned to find their children. Wide smiles spread across their faces.

"I always call Aaron my baby. I guess he's not my baby any more." Claire laughed.

"Nonsense. Will, will always be my baby. Even when he's fifty." Tina teased. Sawyer rapped an arm around her waist and brought her in for a kiss.

"And doc…if anyone here should feel old it's me. I'm the only one out of y'all's who is a grandfather!" Sawyer reminded.

"I guess your right." Jack sighed and looked back to the kids. He saw Aaron and Taylor give each other a quick peck on the lips. At first he was angry then he noticed the look in his daughter's eyes. Everything was okay again.

"Boy, Taylor and Aaron sure have taken a liking to each other." Charlie voiced a thought.

"Yeah, they sure have." Casey added kind of dreamy eyed. "Ah, to be young and in love."

"Yeah." Claire said in the same way.

"But to be old and in love is better." Tina and Sawyer were sitting extremely closed to one another. The kissed each other quickly and laughed at it.

All three couples laughed at the joke and went on with the conversation.

---

"Hunter! That is so sick!" Taylor laughed and scolded at the same time. Hunter had his mind in the gutter this evening, which was proving to be entertaining. No one knew why he was like this tonight but there were no objections to his behavior.

"Yeah, man. Where did you get that from?" Noah laughed and slapped his brother on the back.

"Trust me you don't want to know." Hunter held out his hands and shook his head meaning he wasn't telling even if his life depended on it. Everyone laughed once again at the boy.

The laughter died down after a few moments and the conversation took a new turn.

"So Noah I saw you eyeing Mia today while I was talking to her." Hunter decided to be the mean older brother.

"What are you talking about? I wasn't doing any such thing!" Blush crept into the man's cheeks.

"Yes you were! If I didn't know you were my brother I would swear you were related to a beet!" Hunter laughed at his brother's expense.

Christy just sat quietly on her log across the fire from Noah. Hunter usually wasn't this way. Most of the time he was sweet and sensitive with a stylish sense of humor. Tonight he was just being an ass and she didn't know if she liked it. But she still sat and laughed when it was appropriate and commented here and there.

Aaron glanced at Taylor from the side and decided to turn the conversation in a different direction.

"So, is it three days 'till your birthday Taylor?" He asked when in reality he knew how many hours and seconds until the actual time she was born.

"Yep. I'm going to be twenty!" She said excitedly.

"Well, I have something for you." Aaron, noticing the look on Taylor's face, decided to explain himself. "I have a gift for you and I don't know if I can wait three day's to give it to you." Taylor smiled.

Aaron reached into his breast pocket of his blue button up shirt and produced a macramé bracelet. It was braided twine and had small red clay beads on it. Taylor looked at it and then looked at Aaron.

"I love it." She said happily.

"I made it." Aaron said proudly.

Taylor looked down at her gift and felt an overwhelming sense of love. It had been a wonderful gift before she had known that Aaron had made it but now it meant even more. Just knowing that he thought of her long enough to make her something that came from the heart was more than Taylor could handle. She quickly tied the bracelet on and gave Aaron a quick peck on the lips.

000

Jack and Taylor were walking back to the caves together. Casey had gone up with a friend long before, leaving father and daughter to each other.

Jack wanted to address the issue of 'Aaron' so he decided to ask Taylor about it.

"I saw you with Aaron tonight. You guys have seemed to have taken a liking to each other." He said stealing Charlie's phrase.

"Yeah…I guess you could say that." Taylor still looked straight ahead of her. She barely even acknowledged the fact her father had asked her something.

Jack knew that was all he was going to get but he was going to try and get a little more out of her. "It's pretty serious huh?"

"I don't know." She answered truthfully.

"Do you want it to be serious?" Jack still asked.

"Well, yeah, I mean…Dad!" Taylor finally caught on to her father's trick.

"I'm sorry I just want to make sure your not going to get hurt. You are my little monkey after all." Jack smiled at his daughter.

"Are you saying you don't want us to be together?" Taylor sounded somewhat hurt by the fact that her own dad didn't want her with Aaron.

"No, it's not that. I think Aaron is a fine boy and I trust that Charlie and Claire have brought him up right." Jack turned to face his offspring. "I just want you to be happy."

Taylor looked at him seriously but with a small smile. "I am happy Pop."

Jack grinned to himself and nodded. "Then that's all that matters." The pair continued walking until they had reached camp. It was late and Jack watched contently as his daughter settled into her bed.

Nothing really mattered as long as she was happy. Jack decided that was true and drifted into a peaceful night sleep while he held Casey in his arms.