AN: This story is a futurefic and contains some small spoilers for season 2. This story also implies several character deaths. Some are obvious, some aren't. I hope I can continue this one, as I kind of like where it's headed. Let me know what you think!

Written for the LJ comm 40-mixed.

Goodnight Moon

by Noa08

"Hey little man," Kate whispered into the dim light of the room. A shadow of a hand paused its dancing on the far wall at the sound of her voice, and she tiptoed into the room, smile on her face.

As she got closer to the bed, Kate saw the small figure lying still now, quilt kicked off to the edge of the mattress. He knew he was caught. Wide blue eyes looked up to meet gentle green ones in the dark, and Kate sat down on the bed next to Aaron.

"What are you doin' up?" She leaned close to him and whispered to the little boy. Aaron looked away from her and down at his hands, tiny fingers ever fidgeting. He shook his head.

He was quiet for his age. Of all the four year olds Kate had babysat back in her teenage years in Iowa, all of them had been rambunctious balls of energy, never sitting still and never taking advantage of the ability to talk. Aaron was the complete polar opposite, quiet and standstill. Of course, if the circumstances had been different, Kate would guess he would be as loud and as wild as any other boy his age. But circumstances were not different, and for that, Kate was grateful.

Smile still on her face, if not a bit concerned, Kate ruffled Aaron's light brown hair. "Hey," she said, grabbing the boy's attention. "Can't fall asleep, huh?"

He shook his head.

"Want me to tell you a story?" She rubbed Aaron's forehead, brushing away the day, watching his eyes close as sleep so desperately tried to catch up. Aaron slowly shook his head again, and wrapped a small hand around Kate's arm. His eyes locked onto hers again, and Kate knew something was wrong.

"Honey, what is it?" Her smile faded and she delicately cupped his cheek in her hand.

His mouth opened and shut, and Kate would've sworn he was doing his best impression of a fish if he didn't look so distraught. When his voice did come, it was soft, barely a whisper. "Do you think mommy can still hear me? If I talk to her?" His eyes looked up to the ceiling of the bedroom, and Kate's heart broke.

Mouth open, she inhaled a deep breath, praying she wouldn't cry, and stroked Aaron's cheek. "I miss her," his little voice broke, and Kate tried her best to smile.

"I miss her too." She said, barely a whisper.

Aaron sighed and looked down to his hands again, as he started to make shadows on the wall. "Mister Eko said that if I want, I could ask God to bless mommy and then she'd be safe."

Kate smiled again, and watched the little boy make a thousand images on the wall, his imagination changing each one to make a story. "And did you?"

Aaron shook his head again. "I don't know what to say." He shrugged, letting one of his shoulders to fall out of the oversized shirt he wore as pyjamas. Kate pulled the sleeve back up onto his tiny frame, vaguely aware that the shirt was one Charlie used to wear.

"I could help you, if you want?" Kate began to pull the blankets back up, tucking them under his chin. Aaron nodded, resettling himself in bed.

Kate sighed. She couldn't even remember the last time she prayed. A brief memory of her eight-year-old self, hiding underneath the heavy blanket on her bed, praying for Wayne to leave her mother alone flashed through her mind. Kate blinked hard, a small amount of tears escaping her eyes, as she pushed the memory back and focused on this child who needed her. "Okay, I think I can remember how to do this," she chuckled.

Kate clasped her hands together in her lap and out of the corner of her eye, she watched Aaron do the same. She closed her eyes then, but peeked them open in time to see Aaron's eyes firmly shut. Smiling, she cleared her throat and opened her mouth, ready to start, but Aaron's quiet voice stopped her.

"God bless mommy," he said, a tinge of his mother's accent coming through. "And God bless Charlie." His eyes opened then, asking her with her eyes what to say next.

Kate nodded and encouraged him on. "Say what you feel Aaron."

Aaron's eyes closed again as he continued. "God bless aunty Kate and uncle Jack, and Mister Eko, and Sun and Jin and the baby. And God bless Hurley and Libby, Mister Locke and Walt, and everyone else. And thank you for stars and the ocean . . . " his eyes peeked open again, and a grin spread across Kate's face. "Oh, and God bless Vincent!" He added, closing his eyes again quickly as though doing so was his conduit to heaven.

"That's good Aaron!" Kate smiled and tapped the little boy on the nose, proud of him.

"Aunty Kate?" he blinked slowly, as sleep started to grab hold of him.

"Yeah, baby?" She smiled.

"Mommy's listening, right?" He asked again, this time his eyes became hazy, tears threatening to spill over his cheeks.

Kate bit her lip and pushed the hair that fell forward onto his head away from his eyes, focusing on the task so she wouldn't cry too. "Of course, Aaron, honey. She can hear you . . . wherever you are. She's watching over you every day, sweetie. She loves you so much."

Aaron squeezed his eyes shut then, and a tear trailed down to his chin. Kate wiped it away as a column of light snuck its way into the dark bedroom. Kate glanced over her shoulder to the door and saw it close slightly.

Aaron's eyes were slowly closing now and Kate turned back to him, caressing the boy's forehead, calming him more. His breathing began to even and Kate slowed her actions, eventually taking her hand away.

"I love you," Aaron's exhaled before sleep finally took hold of him. Kate smiled sadly, heart breaking for the boy.

Leaning close, she whispered in his ear, "I love you, too." She sat back and watched him then, making sure he was asleep. Long moments went by and Kate slowly got up off the bed. She turned around one last time to look at Aaron's sleeping form, before silently opening the door and exiting out into the hallway, closing the door behind her.

She turned to go down the hallway to the main room when she saw Jack leaning against the wall.

"Couldn't sleep again, huh?" He asked, a small smile on his tired face. Kate nodded then, before meeting Jack halfway and collapsing into his open arms.

She sighed heavy against Jack, breathing him in. "He misses her." Kate pushed back to look at him then. "He's too young to be without her, Jack."

Jack nodded, and turned to usher Kate down the hallway of the bunker to their own room. In the years that had passed, the island grew too dangerous to live on out in the open. Out of all the survivors that were left, the small group had split up. The ones with children under their care lived in the medical bunker while others stayed in the Swan station. Neither group had yet decided to venture across the island and lay claim to any of the other Dharma hatches. Every day, the survivors of flight 815 struggled to keep their dwindling numbers, the last thing they wanted now was to provoke the Others again.

"I just wish Claire . . . " Kate voice trailed off, and Jack rubbed small circles on her back. Turning the corner to their tiny spartan room, Kate sat on the twin-sized mattress that made up their bed, and put her head in her hands. Jack sat next to her, arms around her. She hitched under his touch, and Jack heard her stifle a sob.

"Hey," he said, raising her chin to look her in the eye. Tears ran down her face in torrents, the stress finally getting to her. "It's only been a week, Kate."

She nodded, frowning. "Why did she have to get so sick? ...It's hard for him, Jack." She pressed her forehead to her palm, fighting off the headache she knew was coming. "He's so . . . wise beyond his years. He knows what's going on . . . "

"I know," Jack stood up and closed his eyes, hands on his hips. They both suffered for the little boy in the room down the hall that needed his mother.

"I can't be the mother that Claire was to him." Kate choked on a sob, missing her friend, wishing she could change everything. "I can't be a good mother, Jack." She shook her head and wiped away the tears coursing down her cheeks. Jack heaved a sigh and knelt down in front of Kate's slumped form, helping her wipe her tears.

"Yes you can." He nodded his head as she shook hers. Gathering her up in his arms, he whispered into her hair, "Claire had faith in you, Kate. She knew she was sick, she knew she would need someone to take care of him . . . " Kate's breathing evened out, and Jack knew she was calming down.

"You'll do this, Kate. You'll sing to him every night before bed and make him breakfast when he wakes up. You don't need to replace her. You just need to be there for him." Jack's arms wrapped tight around Kate. "And I'll be right here, by your side. We'll do this together. Okay?" He pulled back and brushed a damp curl off of her cheek.

Kate nodded, sullen. "Okay."

"Besides," A slight comforting smile on his face, Jack continued, gently laying Kate back on the bed and moving around to lay beside her, pulling her into him. "It'll be good practice . . . " His voice trailed off, still unsure how she felt; unsure how he felt about the subject. His hands traveled down her body to her stomach, where her hands instinctively covered his over her still flat abdomen.

Kate closed her eyes and let Jack wash over her, not quite knowing what to say. It had been around the same time the pneumonia took Claire that they found out Kate was pregnant, and she still refused to accept it. It just seemed too soon.

She felt him sigh and kiss her neck, not pushing the topic further. Kate calmed just a little and let the week escape her. She listened a long while before Jack's breathing slowed, and she let herself relax completely in his arms.

As Kate quietly gave in to sleep, she found herself praying for the first time in twenty years, asking the heavens above to bless the beautiful man laying next to her. She didn't want to think of where she would be without him.