Disclaimer: I don't own "Lost" or "Spiderman" and "The O.C." which inspired an idea for this chapter.

Chapter 15- Prelude to a Kiss

Sawyer shifted uncomfortably in the seat that he sat in.Four days had passed since he had been shot and he was lucky to have walked away with only minor injuries. Sawyer looked down at his shirt, and then ran his hand over the hidden scar that remained from surgery. He scowled at the thought of Taylor having to pay his hospital bill. She had done enough, and he didn't want her to have to do anything else for him. Sawyer clenched his jaw as he looked outside. Specks of white powder now drifted down from the skies blanketing the cars below. If he was in a good mood then maybe he could admire the scenery, but not now. Sawyer slouched down in the chair and crossed his arms as he debated whether he should leave or not before Taylor came to pick him up. His thoughts were interrupted as he focused his aqua gaze on a nurse who came in to bother him every couple of seconds. Sawyer groaned loudly hoping that she would take the hint and stop trying to put him in the Christmas spirit.

"How you feeling sugar?" She asked kindly.

Sawyer scowled. He didn't like being called sugar, like he was some kid. "I'm fine,"

"You don't sound it."

"I'm in a hospital surrounded by sick people, what do you expect me to be singin' Christmas carols, and dancing around on rooftops like a jackass because it's gonna be a white Christmas?"

The nurse paused for a second and then glanced outside the window, "Well lookey there it is snowing. My kids are going to have a field day tomorrow."

Sawyer watched as she started to make the bed. He felt guilty for a second and then allowed the brief feeling to pass. Sawyer looked away from the nurse and then shifted his eyes towards a clock above the television. He scowled when he realized that Miracle on 35th street was playing on mute.

"So do you have any plans for Christmas? I'm sure a handsome fella like you has a beautiful woman waiting at home."

Why wouldn't this lady just stop talking to him? Sawyer shifted in his seat once again. "Christmas is just like any other day, there ain't nothing special to it."

"I'm sure she has something planned then." The nurse replied as she fluffed the pillow and then gave Sawyer a smile. "Would you like me to turn up the volume? Miracle on 35th street is on, and that movie is a classic."

"I hate it," Sawyer growled.

"Oh, okay,"

"And before you go Betty, what do you mean by she probably has something planned?"

"Oh I'm sorry. I assumed that the woman that came here everyday was your girlfriend, and that she was picking you up."

"She isn't my girlfriend," Sawyer mumbled as he watched the fog accumulate on the glass windows. "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire" was playing in the background and every now and then the sound of joyous laughs would tune out the music. All this happiness was making him sick. Sawyer hated Christmas.

"Excuse me,"

Sawyer shifted his eyes towards the door as a figure stepped in behind the nurse. Well shit, it looked like his Christmas had officially gotten worse. Sawyer clenched his fists as he stared back at the man who he only needed to run into once to remember his face forever. He was still wearing the same sneaky smirk that Sawyer had remembered first time he met him.

"I believe we have met before Mr. Ford,"

Sawyer rolled his eyes, "I don't think we have boss, can ya give me a formal invitation, 'cause I don't think I know you."

The man turned around to face the nurse, who seemed ready to throw him out if Sawyer asked. "We're fine," He glanced down at her name tag, "Carol, we're fine." He repeated in a sterner tone.

Carol glanced at Sawyer, "If you need anything honey just let me know."

Sawyer smiled briefly at Carol for the first time that night. He had been rude to her all night but yet she still insisted on calling him sugar and honey. Maybe it was because she was in the Christmas spirit which he was obviously lacking. Sawyer glanced back at his guest, "Is there somethin' I can help you with?" He asked even though he had no intentions of confessing a damn thing.

"So I see you got a little booboo,"

Sawyer snarled in the man's direction and then he remembered that he had to play it cool. "Yeah, I got shot. But I'm doin' just fine."

"I see that you are, good thing it was nothing to serious." The man looked around for a chair, and once he found one he pulled it up towards Sawyer. "Do you mind if I…"

Sawyer opened his mouth to protest, but the man had already sat down. "Make yourself at home,"

"You're a hard one to track down,"

"I come and go as I please." Sawyer remarked placing his hand to his stomach. "Why you been followin' me anyways?"

Edward smirked, "Don't play games with me. You know why I've been following you."

Sawyer shrugged, "Actually I don't."

"Where is she?" Edward asked in a low voice as he narrowed his eyes back at Sawyer.

"Mrs. Claus? I heard she and Santa wanted to get in on real quick before he pulled the all-night shift. So why dontcha ask him."

Edward chuckled and then his face grew drastically serious. "I'm not in the mood for jokes so why don't you level with me. I've been looking for her since May, and who knew that I would get a break under these circumstances. She is so close that I can practically smell her. Where is she? Where is Kate Austen?"

"I don't know."

"Yes, you do." Edward challenged.

"What makes you so confident that I know something? I was with her for a short amount of time. The girl likes to run so she could be anywhere. I have no clue where she is."

Edward looked away.

"She could be dead for all I know." Sawyer added.

"You're a liar,"

"Last time I checked there was money involved. Do ya really think I would keep her safe when I got the chance to better myself? 23,000 is a lot of money, and she sure ain't worth that much."

Edward looked back at Sawyer, "She isn't worth that much, because you better believe if there was an award out for your arrest…she would turn you in faster that a person with a winning lottery ticket."

Sawyer didn't believe that. But he had to play along with Marshal. "She probably would. But I don't know where she is, and you know what I don't even care."

"Do you know if she is still with him?"

"Still with who?" Sawyer asked.

"Jack Shepard." Edward filled in somewhat irritated.

Sawyer focused on the door, "I don't know," He repeated.

Edward leaned forward placing his hands on his knees, "I'm sure Jack would like to know how his girlfriend is doing. Maybe if he knew everything that she's been through then he would turn in Kate and go back to Sarah don't you think?"

Sawyer remained silent because he knew the Marshall was like a shark after blood, so he had to keep his cool. "How about when you find him, tell him I said Hi,"

"So you really have no idea where they're at."

Sawyer nodded, "What did I just say for the last five minutes…no, I dunno."

"I'm sure Jack would like to know about the baby." Edward whispered in an eerie voice.

Sawyer looked away. Jack never said anything about a baby so the Marshal was just screwing with him.

Edward stood up and then reached for his coat, "Well if you do see Jack then why don't you fill him on the news I just told you. I think he deserves to know about his child because surely his own flesh and blood is more important to him than a fugitive."

"Just bein' nosy here, but what happened to this kid of his?"

Edward pulled on his jacket as he opened the door, "His girlfriend Sarah went into labor early and had a miscarriage. She lost their baby. So if you see him just let him know, so it can bring him back to his senses."

Sawyer stared back at the Marshall almost at a loss for words.

"You have a Merry Christmas, and I look forward to seeing you around James,"

Before Sawyer could say anything else, Edward closed the door behind him.

"Shit." Sawyer muttered under his breath.

The door opened once again and Sawyer looked up angrily ready to attack. His face softened when he realized that Taylor was looking back at him.

"Hey," She said as she dusted some snow off of her jacket.

"Hey," Sawyer muttered. Not only did he just have a run in with the Marshal who wanted Kate dead or alive, but he was tired of dragging Taylor into their problems. "You didn't have to come here you know,"

"Then who would pick you up?" Taylor reasoned.

"I'd find a way…you've done enough already," Sawyer replied as he turned away from her. Every time he looked at Taylor now he saw the fear in her eyes from that night, and he hated seeing her so scared. Sawyer closed his eyes as he tried to shake the image. "You've done too many favors for me already."

"Are you ready to go?" Taylor asked ignoring his last comment.

"You don't have to pretend that it's all okay. I let you and Chloe down." He was so worked up now that he couldn't even force himself to look into her eyes. Sawyer tried to stop but he couldn't. He hated himself for dragging Taylor and Chloe into this, and he also hated the fact that the Marshall was so fucking close to Kate. "Just leave. You've done enough for me."

"Are you finished yet?" Taylor asked obviously struggling to remain her ground.

Sawyer clenched his jaw as he looked down in defeat. "I hate myself for not being able to do shit that night. And you should hate me too."

"I don't hate you." Taylor replied.

"You should, because everyone else does. Not that I'm complaining because it's better to be hated than liked." Sawyer realized that he was rambling now so he closed his mouth.

Taylor sighed and then reached for Sawyer's arm with shaking hands. "Things are starting to go back to normal now, Chloe and I moved back home from Cecile's house."

"What about Chloe, how is she doing?" Sawyer asked with difficulty.

Taylor glanced back at him in surprise, because of the blatant concern he was showing for Chloe. "She's okay,"

"I let her down,"

"Sawyer, this wasn't your fault." Taylor said as softly as she could muster. "You need to stop blaming yourself for everything."

Sawyer pulled his arm out of her grasp suddenly. "Just leave me here, I'll find a way out. Go Taylor."

"Where will you go?"

Sawyer shrugged, "I just want to be alone. I don't want to be involved anymore, I don't want to care. I just want you to turn around and never look back."

"Sawyer…"

"Listen to me," Sawyer's face was now a vibrant shade of red. "If I stay with you long enough, then I'm going to mess up your life, fuck it up like mine," He reached out for Taylor's arm and pulled her towards him, "Now you tell me, do you really want Chloe to be around me anymore now that you know everything I have done. Why don't you just make this easier and go."

"I'm not," Taylor said remaining her ground.

"You killed someone because of me right in front of your daughter."

"Sawyer please," Taylor warned.

"Because of me you're going to have to live with that for the rest of your life."

Taylor let go of his arm and then stepped back as she shook her head back at him. "I've been trying to forget about it Sawyer. Do you think it is easy to deal with that? I know I killed that man and I'm going to have to live with that for the rest of my life. But he threatened my daughter's life as well as yours' I didn't just do it for you."

"I wish he had killed me. One less bad guy for this world to deal with."

Taylor crossed her arms, "Are you seriously going to do this on Christmas Eve?"

"Pretend as if I don't hate myself…no, because I do. I don't even see why you waste your time on me…I'm not worth it, so just go."

"Some people actually do love you, you know that."

"Well those people are just wasting their time because I don't know what love is…never had, and don't plan on learnin'."

"I remember when you did." Taylor said as she sat down on the edge of the bed still deep in thoughts about Timmy.

Sawyer scoffed, "You going to bring that up, I hadn't seen you in so long and I thought…" His words froze on the tip of his tongue as he looked back at Taylor's solemn expression. Sawyer cleared his throat and tried to shift his thoughts back to the Marshal. He could deal with his guilt later, but now he had to figure out how he was going to tell Kate that she was close to being caught, and Jack that Sarah could've been pregnant.

"You meant it that night Sawyer," Taylor looked down at her clasped hands and then at her leg which was nervously shaking. "I shouldn't have brought that up. I'm sorry. Let's go."

"No,"

Taylor walked back over to Sawyer and then linked her arm in his. "You're not spending Christmas Eve here alone, I know you want me to hate you and turn my back on you, but I'm not. In all honesty we kind of need you back at the house because we're low on spirits despite my façade. Chloe and Kate really miss you…and I think even Jack misses someone to argue with."

Sawyer sighed as Taylor helped him up. "You'll regret bringing me back. I'll be like the grinch hovering over you when you're opening presents."

"A very handsome grinch," Taylor said in a small voice.

Sawyer couldn't read her thoughts even if he tried. He knew that Taylor was putting on an act for him because there was no way she could be doing so well after what happened that night. "You know everything about me now, so why do you still want to help me?"

Taylor decided to ignore his question as she focused on a tree in the corner. "That is a beautiful Christmas tree,"

"A U.S. Marshal is here looking for Kate, he tracked us down."

Taylor snapped out of it and turned to look at Sawyer with alarm in her eyes, "What?"

"What are you doing Jack?" Chloe asked as she came into the kitchen with him.

Jack looked up from the mixing bowl filled with cake batter which he was stirring. "Hey Chloe,"

"Hey," She said walking over to him with a curious expression hidden behind her sad eyes.

"I'm trying to make a cake for Kate, because tomorrow is her birthday."

"Really," Chloe asked as she gave Jack a small smile. "Can I help?"

"Sure," Jack placed down the bowl and then looked around for a pan. "Do you know where Taylor keeps the cake pans? And how are you doing by the way?"

"I'm doing okay, I guess. Mommy says that Sawyer might come back today. I'll be happy when he's back because I missed him so much."

Jack bent down on one knee to place his hands on Chloe's shoulders. "You've been incredibly brave through all this, and I just want you to know that if you need anyone to talk too…I'll always be here for you."

"Thank you Jack, I appreciate it." Chloe said wrapping her arms around him, and then resting her head on Jack's shoulder.

Jack smiled to himself as he returned Chloe's hug . He had always wanted kids of his own, and it meant a lot to him that he could be there for Chloe anyway possible.Chloe patted Jack's back, "We have to hurry up, because Kate might wake up any second." She moved away from Jack and then walked over to the bottom cabinet. "Cake pans are right here and…" Chloe then pointed towards the top cabinets. "And the non-sticking spray stuff is up there…oh and we have frosting in their too."

"Thank you," Jack said reaching in the top cabinet for the non-stick spray and chocolate frosting. "We won't need this until later so…"

"It's snowing outside, you know what would be really pretty."

"What?" Jack asked as he handed the batter spoon to Chloe, and then started to spray the pan with non-stick spray. "You like batter right?"

Chloe nodded as she licked the spoon. "I love it,"

Jack smiled as he watched Chloe, she had been so sad the last couple of days so he was relieved to see her smile. "What did you ask Santa to get you for Christmas?"

Chloe moved to the sink to wash off the spoon. "I asked Santa to get me a baby brother."

Jack smiled, "Oh…really."

Chloe nodded, "But I know Santa won't be able to get me a little brother just yet, so I just asked Santa to give my gift away to someone else that needs it more than me. All I want is for everyone to be happy."

Jack paused, "You don't want anything?"

"I have all I could want." Chloe replied. "What did you ask Santa to get you?"

Jack smiled at the thought of asking Santa to get him anything at his age. "I have everything I could want as well."

"You have Kate. You two make each other so happy…I hope when I get older, I am happy like you two." Chloe pulled out a chair and then sat down. "When you and Kate have babies can I take care of them?"

Jack smiled as he turned on the oven and then lowered the pan inside. "Um…sure,"

"You would be a good dad." Chloe commented.

Jack felt himself blushing. At once he didn't think he would be a good dad because of his own daddy issues but since Kate had come along he was starting to see otherwise.

"I never knew mine, but mommy says that he was a great guy. She loved him a lot. And I kinda wish that I knew him." Chloe admitted. "Anyways, why were you outside earlier for so long…I saw you playing around with Christmas lights on the roof."

"I made a message for Kate up there…I just thought it would look nice with the snow and all."

"Can we make her a card too?" Chloe asked with wide eyes.

Jack nodded, "Sure,"

"And can we make Sawyer one too!"

"I don't see why not," Jack added.

Before Jack and Chloe left the kitchen, Chloe ran over to the stove and grabbed her stool by the sink so she could set the timer. "We can't burn Kate's cake on her birthday."

"No we can't…"

"Jack, does Kate believe in Santa Claus?"

Jack smiled, "No,"

"Would she like it if you dressed up as Santa Claus? Do you think that would make her smile because she hasn't smiled in so long…and I want her to smile again. Even though everything is kind of sad right now."

Jack wanted to see Kate smile too. "What do you have in mind?"

"Well we have this old Santa Claus costume up in the attic that my mom's friend used to wear on Christmas Eve when I was younger. How about you dress up for Kate? She might laugh at you but I think she would like it."

Jack felt his cheeks flush red again.

"But she could use a laugh…and I think she would love you for making a fool out of yourself just to cheer her up on her birthday."

"I'll make a fool out of myself for her…but will it make you happy too?"

Chloe nodded, "Yes,"

Both Jack and Chloe headed into the den to make cards for both Kate and Sawyer. "I hope you don't mind if I multi-task," Jack said.

Chloe shook her head, "No, go ahead I'll just work on Sawyer's card first."

"Ok," Jack said as he affectionately patted Chloe on the head and then moved towards the Christmas tree to remove a bag from underneath. As he made his way back towards Chloe he couldn't help but to glance at the spot where Timmy had died. Jack clenched his jaw as he thought back to that night. Just four days had passed, and the first two nights they had all stayed with Cecile, but then Kate started to have panic attacks, so Jack decided to come back with Kate. He lowered himself back down onto the floor and then glanced at the fire in the hearth. Jack couldn't help but to notice how put together Chloe was after all of this.

Chloe watched as Jack started to pull out the little boxes. "They're shiny,"

Jack smiled. "That they are. And I know what you're going to ask next so I'm just going to go ahead and answer." He pulled out a silver locket from the bag, followed by a piece of paper. "I'm going to put gifts in some of these boxes, and in others I'm going to put little notes…just words that tell Kate how much she means to me. I'm a fan of the all things sappy, at least when Kate is involved."

Chloe smiled, "I know, but I'm sure Kate loves it."

"I feel like it is too much sometimes though."

"But you love her so it isn't."

"You're a very wise six year old." Jack commented with a smirk.

Chloe giggled, "Thank you."

Kate slowly opened her eyes. For some reason she expected Jack to be curled up close behind her, but surprising he wasn't. She sighed to herself as she forced herself up. Christmas wasn't even here, but yet Kate was already miserable. She never did like Christmas. Kate placed her hand to her head as she looked outside solemnly. It was snowing, and the grass was coated in a thin sheet of glistening snow. She stood up and walked over to the window. Everyone seemed to be slowly recovering from the trauma that was Timmy, but Kate was still shaken about the whole episode. Every time she closed her eyes she still saw Timmy's face, and how much he resembled Tom. Kate bit her lip, as she reached in her pocket to pull out the airplane that Sawyer had given her right before Timmy had shot him. She knew that she shouldn't be holding onto it, but the airplane reminded her so much of Tom. Kate closed her eyes. Was it so much to ask for her to be happy for once in life? She had Jack and she loved him so much, but yet the emptiness inside of her would always remain, and Kate knew that Jack would get tired of her one day. She lowered herself down onto the window ledge and then looked down at the plane. Kate turned it over slowly in wonder, and then turned it back towards her so she could fly the plane in the air. Her face dropped in sadness as she thought about Tom and then Diane. They were both gone. And they had died all alone because of her. Kate dropped the plane, and bent her head in despair as a wave of emotions started to take over her. She wrapped her trembling arms around her body as she struggled to console herself.

"Silent Night" started to play outside of the room.

Kate wiped away her tears and looked up in surprise as the door opened. Chloe stepped inside and then signaled for Kate to follow after her. Kate's eyebrows furrowed low over her eyebrows as she stood up in curiosity. All the lights had been turned off outside of the room but Kate could make out the soft glow of candles bouncing illuminating the walls. Kate immediately realized that Jack was behind this, but she couldn't allow herself to be excited, because her heart wouldn't let her. They had all been through so much, and there was no way that she could smile and pretend that it was all going to be okay. Even though she wanted to for Jack, she just couldn't.

"Don't forget to pick up the boxes on the floor," Chloe pointed out.

Kate looked down in surprise to see at least ten golden boxes with velvet bows leading the way to the open patio door. The snow was starting to fall at a steadier pace and the grass was now barely visible. It was truly beautiful outside. Kate sighed to herself as she bent down to pick up the first box. Why did Jack always do this to her? Why did he always try to cheer her up when she didn't want to be cheered up?

Kate hesitated before untying the velvet bow, and then she pulled off the top. Inside was a small piece of paper. Kate pulled it out and then read it. "This is your day and you deserve it. I can't tell you how many times, that smile of yours brightened up my day…so I wanted to do something special for you. It may be a little stupid on my part because it's snowing. But you mean so much to me that I don't care…just hurry up ok. It's going to get slippery soon. Open the next box Kate."

Kate had no idea where Jack was going with this so she focused on Chloe in confusion. "Okay? What's going on here?"

Chloe shrugged and then turned towards the kitchen, "I have to go check on something really quickly but I will be back!"

Kate watched after Chloe for a little longer and then picked up the next box. She didn't hesitate this time to pull off the ribbon. Kate gasped when she looked down at the beautiful silver charm bracelet. Her mouth dropped open in awe as she admired the bracelet. She trailed her hand beneath the tiny heart that hung delicately from the silver loops and examined the inscription. It read in small cursive words, "Jack's girl." Warmth started to invade her cheeks and the earlier feelings of sadness slowly started to drift away. Kate picked up more boxes which exposed more notes until there was only two more boxes left.

Chloe had returned now.

Kate picked up the second to last box and then opened it quickly. This one contained a letter as well that read. "Just one more box, and then you get to get a good laugh at me. I've really made a fool of myself this time, and I doubt I'll be able to top myself this time. But it's okay. I love you, so check the next box…sweetheart."

Kate bit her lip in order to hide her smile. She practically ran to open the last box which was situated right by the edge of the door. Kate brushed off some snow which had fallen on the box and then opened it. She sighed in relief when she saw the engagement ring Jack had given her a couple days back. Tears of relief welled in her eyes because she thought she had lost it. Kate put the ring back on her finger with shaking hands.

"He's waiting for you," Chloe replied reaching for Kate's hand and taking her outside.

Kate wiped the tears away from her eyes as she stepped outside into the white wonderland. Her emerald eyes shifted around the bare trees which were coated with glistening snow and then at the rest of the backyard. Jack was no where to be found.

"Kate!"

Kate slowly turned around. She squinted through the falling precipitation almost unable to believe her eyes. Either Jack was being incredibly foolish or unbelievably romantic at the moment. Her hand shifted to her mouth as she watched him in awe. The wind whistled and the snow shifted its steady fall to the east. Kate wrapped her arms around her body and shivered as she kept her eyes trained on Jack. "Oh my god Jack, get down from there!"

"Hold on, Chloe now!"

Kate watched as Chloe ran inside and then all of a sudden an array of lights illuminated the area around Jack's feet. The roof was lit in beautiful gold, green, and red lights and in the middle of the roof was a heart. Kate's mouth dropped in disbelief. She was speechless, completely and utterly shocked.

"I love you Kate Austen!" Jack yelled like an idiot.

Kate stared back athim in awe. Jack was going out of his way to make her smile, he wasn't even behaving like his usual calm self .She was flattered, and swept off her feet. Kate placed her hand to her mouth as she tried to hide her smile. "Jack…" Katesaidas she wiped away the last ofher tears.

Jack beamed back down at her, "Now you can laugh at me. That's what I'm up here for."

Kate nodded her head up and down as she kicked at some snow beneath her feet. "I'm not going to laugh at you…even though you're dressed up as Santa Claus,"

Jack blushed. "Even more reason to laugh."

"You did all this for me. I'm speechless, the charm bracelet is beautiful…but my ring is even more so. I thought I had lost it." Kate wrapped her arms around her body and shivered as a cold breeze blew past. "You spoil me more than I deserve to be."

"You dese…woah…" Jack's foot slipped on a hidden sheet of ice beneath the accumulating snow on the roof.

"Jack!" Kate screamed holding her hands outwards.

Jack fell onto his back hitting the roof with a hard thud, and then sliding downwards. He yelled as his body was propelled forward andgrabbed onto the saftey rop around his waist as itjerked him back upwards. Jack groaned to himself as the safety rope then caused him to sway from side to side he and then hit his back against the wall. God, he really made a fool of himself this time. Jack looked down and then closed his eyes as he tried to catch his breath which had been knocked out of him by the fall. When he opened his eyes the first thing he saw was Kate staring back at him with her mouth agape.

Kate watched him nervously with her hand held to her heart. "Jack, are you okay? You scared me to death."

"I should've known better than to be on the roof while it's snowing, but I just wanted to do something for you, no matter how ridiculous it was." Jack shook his head in disappointment as he tried to pull himself upwards, but instead he ending up falling against the wall again. "Um…when you get a chance would you mind helping me down?"

"Are you okay Jack?" Chloe asked with wide eyes.

"Yeah I'm fine, but how about we keep this between us." Jack asked trying to ignore the feeling of embarrassment coursing through him.

Kate smiled back at Jack.

It had been four days since he had last seen that smile. So maybe making a fool out of himself wasn't too bad of an idea.

"Chloe how about you go back inside, it's getting cold out here. I'll make sure Jack gets down okay."

Chloe nodded sensing that Kate wanted to be alone with Jack and then disappeared back inside.

Kate looked after her and then slowly turned back around to face Jack. "I've been really down the last couple of days, because so much has happened…"

"I know but…"

Kate placed her hand on Jack's lips to silence him.

Jack closed his eyes as he allowed himself to relish in the feel of Kate's soft fingers against his lips.

"You're going to be the death of me Shepard."

Jack opened his eyes and then focused them back on Kate. She looked so beautiful right now. Flecks of snow were hidden inside of her curly locks and her cheeks were rosy and begging to be kissed by him. He tried to break free of the trance that Kate had induced on him, but his attempts only seemed to be proving futile. "How am I going to be the death of you?"

"This has been done before you know." Kate said removing her hand from over his lips and then stroking his jaw with adoration.

"What has been done?" Jack asked obliviously.

"Upside down kisses."

"Oh…god, do you think I did this on purpose? I mean I wanted to make you laugh, but I didn't intend on making this big of a fool out of myself. This was an accident I didn't mean too…"

Kate silenced Jack by placing her lips against his nose, and then placing down a tender kiss. "I thought this was going to be just like any other Christmas. And with everything that's happened I didn't see how I could enjoy this day…and I didn't want too. But you always do this to me, and I love you for being able to cheer me up."

"I'm glad I could help." Jack whispered in Kate's ear as she turned her face away from him. He groaned as his lips traced her delicate earlobe, and then she turned back towards him causing his mouth to graze her rosy cheeks.

"I'll take you down in a second, but now you have me curious." Kate placed her hands on both sides of Jack's face and then stared deep into his eyes. She knew this was right. Jack was right for her, and he had always been. Kate's eyebrows furrowed low over her eyes as she brought her mouth closer. How could he love her, put up with all of her craziness, and choose her out of all the women in the world. Her eyelids slowly fluttered shut as she felt Jack's breath tickle her lips seconds before they kissed.

The snow started to fall even steadier, but neither Jack nor Kate noticed because they were so lost in the moment. Small flecks of white powder descended onto Kate's long eyelashes and then slid down her cheeks as she tasted the longing, and eagerness hidden behind the affectionate kisses Jack was giving her. Kate stood onto her tipee toes so she could have better access to Jack's mouth. Whenever they kissed she felt as if all of her worries were eased off of her shoulders, and that everything would be alright. Kate needed to feel that security right now. She gripped onto Jack's face a little tighter as she bit his bottom lip. He groaned quietly but he continued to kiss her back.

Jack opened his mouth wider, and allowed Kate to explore every crevice of his mouth as he did the same to her. He breathed in her air as he adjusted his head to the side. The feel of her mouth against his, and the way her hands were stroking his cheek caused a warm sensation to travel through his body despite the freezing temperatures around them. Jack just wanted to live in this moment forever.

Kate leaned away a couple seconds later as she still held onto his face. She was out of breath and gasping for air.

Jack still craved more and he was still lost in their kiss. His lips were puckered outwards and his eyes were still closed.

"Jack…"

"Just one more." Jack replied.

Kate couldn't help but to giggle.

Jack smiled but kept his eyes shut. He had managed to make Kate giggle. He wasn't sure how she would be in the morning, but right now all that mattered was that she was okay.

"Just one more, and then…"

Before Jack could beg Kate to kiss him once again she placed her lips on his silencing all of his thoughts.