Chapter 20

"She's yours"

He held on to the bed and waited for the room to stop spinning.

"What?" He whispered back not trusting his voice to speak any louder. He looked at the baby and then a wave of dizziness swept over him, his eyes closing.

"She's your daughter" Kate said again avoiding looking directly at him.

Jack pulled himself up sitting on the edge of the bed. "But how? We haven't seen each other in… "

"Nine months?" she finished the sentence for him

Jack looked up surprised. He went from shocked to surprise to realisation in record time.

"The night we spent together?"

He remembered "Yes" was all she could manage to say, holding her breath.

"Oh god"

"Yeah oh god"

He couldn't believe it, she'd been pregnant with his child all this time. Now he finally found her again a day after she gave birth.

His child. Oh God he had a child. He was a father

Kate saw Jack just sitting there, she was getting more terrified by the minute and needed to know what he was thinking, feeling.

"Jack?"

He shook his head slightly as if to clear it. He looked down at the small but perfect little girl in her arms. The head covered in soft dark curls. My child.

He reached out to touch the side of her face tracing a line from her hair to her chin,

"She looks like you" he said his voice sounding hoarse in his own ears.

"She has your mouth and nose" Kate said biting the side of her lower lip tears threatening at her eyes

He looked up at Kate with tears in his eyes. Suddenly everything in his life had changed all his once important priorities just didn't matter anymore nothing mattered except the woman and child in front of him.

"Thank you" he just barely could get the words out, then reached closer to them folding them both in his arms. Kate reached for him with one arm holding him as tight as she could manage while still holding the baby in her arms.

She let her head rest against his strong chest for a moment then Jack leaned in his face so close to her. She opened her mouth slightly and Jack leaned in to kiss her

It was a soft touching of lips neither moving for several beats, then Kate opened her mouth for a deeper kiss and Jack immediately complied he kissed her deep his mouth now crushing against hers, his tongue slowly exploring her mouth. If she wasn't already sitting down her knees would've gave under her.

She wasn't sure if minutes or hours passed before they pulled back for air. They smiled at each other. "You're beautiful. I wish I could've gotten here sooner."

"Its ok you're here now that's all that matters." She looked down at the sleeping baby "Wanna hold her?"

Jack nodded

She slowly placed the little warm bundle in his arms and Jack now recognized the strong overwhelming feeling he had earlier when holding her as love, pure untainted love

He heard people talk about it when first holding your own child but could never really imagine what it felt like. After his marriage failed he never thought he'd get to experience it and now here he was back on the island where his whole life changed where he met the one woman he knew he had stronger feelings for than anyone he'd ever know the one person who challenged him, trusted him respected him completed him and he was holding in his arms the most precious gift of all.

He never believed in fate or destiny before but maybe Locke was right this had been fate for them to come here. His destiny that lead him back here. Back to this moment right now.

Jack was helping Kate pack the last few things before they'd leave the next morning. "What's her name? Have you named her yet?" He asked having not even thought about it until now.

Kate hesitated. "Not really, I was too nervous during the pregnancy to think of names everything was so unsure and since she'd been born I just I don't know I guess I just haven't really had time to think of something"

"What about Hope"

"Hope?"

"yes. She's a new beginning for both of us. Hope for the future. None of this would've happened if the plane didn't crash that it was all meant to be that this, us" he pointed to the three of them "was fate and meant to be but without hope for a future these last few months we probably wouldn't have been back here together."

Kate couldn't breathe, she fought against the knob in her throat and her eyes were burning.

"Hope. That's perfect and the most beautiful thing I ever heard anyone say." She couldn't hold back the tears any longer they fell freely down her face. Jack came closer placing his hands on both sides of her face wiping the tears away. As he felt them threatening at his own eyes Kate saw it and reached up to kiss them away. Her mouth trailing down his cheek to find his mouth they shared another passionate kiss. When she came up for air she whispered at his mouth 'no more tears for us' and kissed him again.

Later that night they were lying together on the bed with the baby sleeping between them when Jack bought Kate up to date with everything that happened in the last few months.

Kate was still afraid of going back that she'd have to go to jail. But Jack had told her she was free, her grandmother had come forward and told everything to the police. They weren't looking for her anymore. They could go anywhere she wanted and start fresh. She couldn't believe it, the years of running was it really over? She felt like she was dreaming, she was free, she had Jack back with her and they had a beautiful baby. How did all of this happen? If she were dreaming she just never wanted to wake up.

"So how is everyone? Do you still see them?" Kate asked softly not wanting to wake the baby.

Jack smiled "Yes I still see them" He shook his head and grinned. "Boy have I got things to tell you"

Kate smiled back at him "really?"

"I have a sister."

"Oh?"

"One I didn't know about till after we were rescued."

"Wow, okay. That must've been a surprise. What's she like?"

"It was but she's great. In fact you know her"

Kate looked puzzled "know her? How?"

"It's Claire"

Kate's jaw dropped open. "You mean…?"

"uh-huh. I know I had the same reaction" He pointed towards her wide eyes and partly open mouth. "Unbelievable, hey?"

"Yeah"

"Recovered enough to hear the rest?" Jack teased.

Kate playfully poked him in the ribs and nodded.

"She and Charlie got engaged a few weeks ago"

Kate's smile widened. "That's great. I'm glad they worked things out."

"They're already like an old married couple though" Jack grinned. "And Charlie's a great dad he's always running after Aaron, who's started walking now btw"

"I can't believe it."

"They're living in Sydney. I've spent the last few months with them while looking for you"

"And what about the rest of the group?"

"Most of the others are in California now, seen most of them last month at Charlie and Claire's engagement party. Sun and Jin have a baby girl about 3 months old already, she was born a few weeks premature, but doing fine now, they took her for a visit to Korea last month. Hurley and Libby are engaged and have been planning the wedding of the year for the past few months now. The date's set for beginning September now. Exactly a year after the crash. Sayid is married to the woman he originally came looking for when the plane crashed, and their expecting a baby in about 3 months. And Sawyer is married…" He wasn't too sure how she'd take the last bit of news.

"What!" If Kate was shocked at the news of Claire being Jack's sister she was almost more so to hear that Sawyer got hitched.

"Eloped a few weeks ago. He and Cassidy were at Charlie and Claire's engagement party they were on their way to honeymooning in Fiji of all places"

"OMG I can't believe it" She slowly started to smile again. "Well seems like everyone had a happy ending"

"Including us" Jack said as he got up slowly and pulled her up too.

"I'd have wanted this to be more of a romantic setting but I've waited so long to do this." Jack stood up but held up a hand when Kate wanted to get up too. She sat perched on the edge of the bed while Jack reached into his jacket pocket taking out a small velvet box. He slowly knelt down in front of Kate while she got a confused look on her face. "Jack what are doing?"

"I got this over Christmas, sort of on impulse but knew I wanted to do this as soon as I found you again." Taking her hands in his he looked up into her eyes. "I love you Kate, with all my heart and soul. The last few months without you is something I never want over again. I couldn't sleep, couldn't function. It was torture not knowing where or how you were. I want you with me by my side for the rest of my life" He took a deep breath and opened the case holding it out to her. Inside was a platinum ring with a big diamond sparkling in the centre and small diamonds along the sides.

"Kate will you marry me?"

She couldn't speak and felt her eyes beginning to water. Her vision blurring. She tried to speak but her voice abandoned her.

She looked down into Jack's face and what she saw in his eyes made her breath caught in her throat.

She slowly nodded, her arms circling around his neck and she leaned down to kiss him.

It was a gentle kiss, her lips moving softly over his, her tongue playing across them, parting them softly, searching. He found her tongue with his own and they locked into a slow, sensual rhythm. He wrapped his arms around her body, slowly caressing every available inch of her soft skin, up to her neck, crawling slowly down across the small of her back. She pulled away after several minutes breathing hard.

"I take it that's a yes" Jack asked locking his gaze to hers.

"Yes" She replied smiling

Jack grinned and slipped the ring onto her finger. A perfect fit.