Thank you sooooo much to all of my lovely reviewers: MyNameIsKate; October Sky (I've read some of your Lost stories and they're brilliant!); Northbabii03; Laney23; Hayley; Antatobo.
Thanks for letting me know Aaron's name as well. He hasn't been born yet because I'm watching from the UK. I was wrong about last nights episode though, it was about Sawyer, not Hurley. I can't believe Kate kissed him, but then I'm not a big Kate/Sawyer fan. I think that Sawyer deserved to be punched by Jack, it was good to see him let loose.
I know vaugely about this character Ethan as well...by any chance was it him who knocked Sayid out and broke the transmitter equiptment? Just wondering.
Anyway, on with the next chapter:
Sam
xx

When they were approaching the Sydney coastline, Kate was struck by a sudden thought. She had rushed around the boat, trying to find Jack, but no one had seen him. She kept on looking, until she found him, leaning against the railings on the oppsite end of the boat, gazing back at the direction they had sailed from. He turned around before she got near him, having heard footfalls approaching and leaning back against the railings. When she reached him, he stole a kiss from her and secured his arms around her waist.

"Hey." He said when she smiled up at him. "All ready to go?"

She smirked. "Not that I have much to go to." That was her dilemma. She had been on the run for so long before landing on the island, that she had never had a place that she really called home. The island was more of a home to her than anything she had known in her life. Where would she go now?

"You have me." Jack told her, and she shook her head at the idea with a smile. That was a romantic idea and all, but could it really be that simple? "Come on," He said suggestively. "Lets get our own place, out here, in Sydney."

"Together? Us?" She asked. The idea of her and Jack having the idealistic house in the suburbs flashed through her mind causing her to laugh a little.

"We've been together for eight months now." He reminded her. "And I'm sure a house will be more comfortable than a cave." He pointed out.

She laughed. Remembering the amount of times she had woken up with sore limbs because of the cave, and she had been forever grazing her arms on the edges of it. Not to mention the tiny bits of mud that found their way into her hair (although, thinking about it, that might have been something to do with Jack not having much self control at times). She couldn't wait to have a nice long lie-in in a comfortable bed with real pillows and blankets; or having a relazing warm bath. She already had a list of things she wanted to do, one of which was to buy a large bar of chocolate and devour it infront of the television.

"Well? What do you think?" He asked her.

She thought it over. She'd have more private time to spend with Jack, and she wouldn't have any reason to run any more. She'd have a home, somewhere she belonged. She leaned up and kissed him passionately, letting her lips do the talking for her. When they parted he looked down at her huskily.

"So that's a yes then?" He asked smiling.

"Yes. It's a yes." She replied, batting him playfully on the arm.

They had all been taken to a hotel not to far from the beach, where they could stay until they had arranged further plans. A department store nearby had also offered for them to pick out several outfits for themselves free of charge, which had proved the rest of the day to be a day of paradise for the ladies, whereas the men simply found two or three outfits and then went back to the hotel. The girls also had a lot of fun going around baby shops, looking for some clothes for baby Aaron. The shop was so full of lovely clothes that even Kate found herself wanting someone to dress them up in. Everything was so delicate and tiny, and yet all Aaron wanted when the guys walked off to go to the hotel was to go with Charlie. Once he realised that he had the undivided attention of Claire, Shannon, Kate and Sun, he warmed up a lot to this shopping spree.

Back at the hotel that night, Kate was standing out on the veranda that overlooked the beach. The view was wonderful, but it was nothing compared to that of the island. She looked behind her, into the bar. People were beginning to arrive. Hurley, Charlie and Claire were already seated around one of the long tables meant specifically for the survivors. She turned from the tempting sea and went back into the resturant, where they all jumped up to greet her. She loved that even though the circumstances were less than desirable, she had found friends, who had continued to stand by her even when her past was revealed. No one cared that she was a criminal. No one cared what she had done.

It was Sawyer who appeared next, now wearing a blue shirt opened up over a white tank top beneath it. He had shaved, and Kate had to admit that even though she mainly despised him, he did look rather Handsome. He sat down beside Hurley with his usually "Hey, Freckles," and watched the conversations around him' not really contributing rather than adding in a sarcastic comment when need be.

Sun and Jin arrived. Since it was revealed that Sun could speak English, she had started to teach her husband, and Jin now knew the basics of the English language, and knew it more in depth to listen to rather than speak it. Jin had also realised that he needed to let Sun have more fun, which had, in turn, made him develop a strong friendship with Michael, who had at one point been attacked by him.

When Michael and Walt joined them, Kate found it strange to see Walt without Vincent at his side, but even though they were insperable, Walt still knew that they couldn't have a dog in the resturant, and it wasn't a good idea to test how much they were allowed to get away with at the hotel.

Kate was talking with Shannon when Jack arrived eventually. He was wearing a short-sleeved black shirt, partly unbuttoned at the top, and a pair of blue jeans. He, as had the others, had shaved, and cleaned up very nicely. Almost too nicely for Kate to even think about making it through dinner. Jack took up a seat beside her, which she had left empty for him, and he leaned over to kiss her before whispering in her ear.

"You," He said said temptingly, "look amazing."

He had never seen her as he did now. Being on the island had limited the clothes and styles she wore, but tonight she was wearing a simple strap dress, which showed off her legs with a compliment. It was pale blue in colour, which contrasted wonderfully with her brown hair, which was neatly brushed and hanging loose over her shoulders. She hadn't put on make up, as Shannon had done, and Jack was glad that she hadn't. She looked beautiful enough with out it, and truth be told, he had never seen her wear it anyway.

"You don't clean up too badly yourself, doctor." She whispered back with a sly smirk.

The meal they had was wonderful. Kate hadn't realised how much she had missed roast potatoes...and carrots...and peas...and swede...and everything else she had piled onto her plate. The real delight came from the desert though - warm, slightly melted, chocolate fudge cake. Her eyes had lit up when she saw it on the menu, and didn't even bother to read the rest of it. She couldn't believe that she had kept cravings for chocolate under control for a year, but then again, she didn't really have much choice when there wasn't any around. Now though, for various reasons, she was less able to control it.

After their meal, they stayed sitting at the table, all talking amongst themselves. Soon enough, everyone had found out that Kate was moving in with Jack when they found a place, and Sawyer smirked.

"How long before there's a minature Jack-O running around then?" He asked teasingly, causing both Jack and Kate to blush furiously, and the rest of the table to laugh hysterically at the shade of their cheeks. Only Hurley had seen Jack's cheeks that colour before when he had accidently walked in on Kate and Jack in a rather intimate moment. Needless to say, walking in had turned instantly into running out.

In answer to Sawyer's question, Kate bit her lip. She had worried about a question like this popping up. Beside her, she could see that Claire had made a big point about taking a drink from her wine, and neither Sun nor Shannon would meet her gaze. Jack looked at her, and she saw the same expression on his face. Only a few select people actually knew that Kate was pregnant, but obviously that was going to be made common knowledge within the next thirty seconds. She had only found out that morning, having brought a test when they were shopping, and had at first only told Shannon, who accidently let it slip to Claire and Sun while they were waiting for the result. She had told Jack afterwards, who hadn't been able to stop himself from telling Charlie.

Thirty seconds of silence passed...a minute...and finally Sawyer realised. "Oooohhhh..." He said. "I get it. You're already pregnant, aren't you Freckles?" He said in annoying tone of voice.

Kate released her lip from between her teeth and looked awkward for a moment. "Well..." She began but Sawyer cut her off laughing. "What's so funny?" She asked him.

"Nothing." He said, quietening as if chastisied. "If it were up to me, you two would be the last people I would let breed though."

Jack shook his head, grinning. "If it were up to you Sawyer, all females would live in bikini's and be your eternal love slaves."

Sawyer seemed to like this idea, and stopped talking for a while.

"Well, congratulations, guys." Michael said, clapping Jack on the back while he went to get some more food on his plate.

"Oh my god." Shannon exclaimed suddenly.

"What?" Everyone asked in unison.

"Just think...this baby could have Kate's stubborness, common sense, and lust for adventure, as well as Jack's stubborness, protectiveness and intelligence..." She said. "Any babysitter would turn into a hostage after ten minutes." She laughed.

"Yeah dudes." Hurley agreed. "It would be like a super baby, but instead it would be danger baby."

Kate and Jack both laughed. They couldn't imagine any baby of theirs being dubbed 'Danger Baby', but obviously the others said differently. The pair sat listening as the guys started to talk about all the neat tricks they were going to teach their baby as well as Aaron, to annoy their parents, and the girls began planning a wedding for Kate and Jack that neither were aware was occuring, but was apparently taking place on a beach.

It got late, and Walt was the first one to feel the tiredness. Him and Michael disappeared upstairs, and so did Claire, who wanted to put Aaron down to sleep in the crib he had in hers and Charlie's room. Sawyer decided to take advantage of the sudden amount of alcohol open to him, and was completely smashed already; most of his words being nothing more than a drunken slur which none of them could understand, or a decleration of him wanting another drink. After a while, he started to fall asleep on his feet, and Hurley had helped him stumble up to his room.

Kate and Jack went back out onto the veranda that Kate had been on earlier. Jack's arm was wrapped around her waist and she was leaning against him gently. Behind them, they could hear music playing, and people talking, laughing. She started to miss the peace and quiet of the island, where the only music came from Charlie's guitar and the singing of the survivors. Laughter, as well, had become more common on the island once they had started upon their own civilisation. She blocked out the sounds of the other people, people who had been staring at the survivors all day as though they were celebrities, and focused on the gentle crashing of the waves not to far away.

Until being on the island, she had never really liked the ocean. When she was constantly surrounded by it though, she liked nothing better than to stare out into the bleak horizon, not to watch for a ship passing, but rather just to relax. Stormy seas were better. She would stand safely back, and watch the ferocious waves smash against the shore while the rain poured down and lightening forked overhead. She had only done this once, however, on the island, because she had ended up being Jack's patient for the rest of the week when she had caught a violent cold as a result of standing in the rain all night. She hadn't minded the attention, but the fact that she could be off doing other things, like helping out, annoyed her that she was ordered to stay lying down and resting.

The pair were silent for a while, and Jack remembered that this morning, when the sun rose, they were all on the island. He hadn't even been expecting rescue anymore, having given that up for good after five months. Now, the island was gone, and they were back in civilisation, back with people, back with families. He had a phonecall from his mother when she had seen on the news that he was alive, and she was coming to Sydney as soon as she could, although she was nervous about travelling by plane. As far as he knew, Kate hadn't called anyone, but then she had barely sat down for two seconds to relax all day, as per usual. Some things, no matter where you are, never change.

Jack noticed Kate's eyes drooping. "Tired, by any chance?" He asked her.

She nodded, closing her eyes. "Exhausted. I never thought that shopping could be so tiring, but then again, I've never been shopping with Claire or Shannon." She added.

He laughed, and kissed her. "Come on, let's go upstairs." Taking her hand, he led her up to the elevator, along the corridor, and into their room, where they finally got to sleep with real pillows, a real matress, and a real blanket. Kate was asleep before she had even laid down, but Jack stayed awake for a while, watching her sleep. He gazed down at her stomach, wondering how long she had been pregnant for, and how long it would be until she started to show, and what the baby would be. Would it be a boy? Or a girl? He didn't mind, although he suspected that Kate might like a girl, or would that be a boy? Calm down Jack, he thought, you've only known since this afternoon, you've got enough time to think about all of this still.

Before long, the comfortable bed pulled him into sleep as well. Wrapping his arm around Kate and spooning behind her, he closed his eyes, his face half buried in her hair, and had the best sleep he had in over a year; knowing that there would be no chance of him waking up to a medical emergency or a frantic survivor.