Chapter 20 -- the last chapter before the last chapter! I am not sure when I will be able to post the last chapter because I have family coming in to visit for the next two weeks. Whenever I will get a chance, I will write. And the last chapter is pretty much word for word written in my head already, so that should make it easier!

I hope you enjoy Chapter 20. You get to meet a new, little character in here! As always, I love to know what you think!


Chapter Twenty

Kate awoke to bright sunlight streaming in her eyes. Letting out a groan, she rolled over onto her stomach, reaching for Jack. Her arm hit soft bed. Jack was already up. Letting out another groan, Kate opened her eyes and sat up, momentarily confused by her surroundings.

The guest room. They had slept in the guest room because their bedroom was a mess. Well, that was going to be fun to clean up. Kate glanced over towards the digital clock. 11:14. How was it 11:14? They hadn't even gotten home until just after ten. Had she really slept for only that short of time? But she wasn't tired anymore.

And she had to pee really bad.

Kicking off the covers and walking down the hall to the bathroom room, Kate wondered where Jack was. She doubted he would have gone into work without waking her up to let her know. And he was tired, too. He wouldn't have slept for such a short time.

After finishing in the bathroom, Kate walked the rest of the way down the hall to their bedroom. Opening the door, she found a completely spotless room. She hadn't dreamt the entire thing, had she?

It hit her. No, she hadn't dreamt it. She had been asleep for over 24 hours.

Figuring Jack probably did have to work, or he had just run a small errand, Kate walked over to the closet and got out some clean clothes. Carrying them into the bathroom, she turned the water on for a much needed shower.

When she was finished, Kate got dressed and the dried her hair, letting it fall in loose curls around her shoulders. Cleaning up the mess she had made, she thought about going to make the bed in the guest room, but decided she was too hungry. That could wait for later.

Walking into the kitchen, she found Jack, unpacking grocery bags. "Morning," Kate greeted him, kissing him on his cheek.

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty," Jack greeted her with a wink. "Feeling better?"

"Much," Kate grinned. "I'm starving though. Got anything good in these bags?"

Jack gestured to a bag that was sitting on the kitchen table. "I thought you might be awake when I got back, so I bought breakfast. There's some muffins and eggs and random things; take what you want."

Setting a banana nut muffin on the counter, Kate kept digging through the bag. "You didn't by any chance get sausage, did you?"

Setting the bottle of juice he was holding down, Jack turned back to Kate. "No, I didn't get any. I know you haven't been feeling good lately, and I didn't want to risk the smell upsetting you. I can live without meat in the morning."

Kate took a nibble out of the muffin. "Do you think you could make some? For me?"

An amused smile lit up Jack's face. "You, the same Kate who picked sausage out of an omelet in front of my mother, is requesting some for breakfast? Not so vegetarian anymore?"

"It just sounds really good right now," Kate smiled. "Please?"

"The same Kate," Jack continued, "who gave me an hour long lecture about how I was killing myself when I dined on a steak dinner."

"Ooh, steak!" Kate said excitedly, grabbing Jack by the arm. "Can you make steak for dinner tonight? Use that one sauce, you know, the one that's kind of tangy and kind of spicy, but still not spicy enough to make you drink ten gallons of water with a meal?"

Jack took Kate by the arm and pulled her to him, placing the back of his hand on her forehead. "No temperature. You sure you're feeling alright? Maybe you should go back to sleep for a little while."

Kate pulled her arm away, letting out an aggravated huff. "Fine. I'll just make myself breakfast."

"No, no," Jack shook his head. He walked over to the refrigerator and took a package of sausage out. "I was just teasing. I'll make you whatever you want."

As he went to making breakfast, he motioned towards an envelope on the kitchen table.

"That came in the mail yesterday. I thought you might want to see it."

Kate's face lit up as she reached for the envelope. "I got mail?"

"No, it's my mail," Jack shook his head as he turned the stovetop on. "I just thought you might want to see it."

Kate gave Jack a disdainful look. ". . .You opened my mail?"

"It's my mail," Jack said, giving her an aggravated look. "Why are you trying to drive me crazy this morning?"

Giving him a sweet smile, but no answer, Kate took the contents of the envelope out. "Claire and Charlie's wedding pictures! I forgot all about their wedding. Did you? You were supposed to go, weren't you? How are you going to explain not showing up?"

"I didn't forget," Jack smiled. "Hurley took care of it for me. Don't worry. There's been a lot going on around here lately, I didn't want to leave you, and I'm sure you agree it wouldn't have been a good idea for you to go."

A shadow passed quickly across Kate's face, but she hid it by looking down towards the pictures. "Look at Aaron, Jack! He's so big! I bet he's talking now."

Jack watched Kate as she rifled through the rest of the pictures. "Oh, my God! Everyone's there. Even Sawyer. Boy, does he look happy. And Shannon's dress is gorgeous. Wow, everyone went."

Kate glanced back up at Jack, a sad look on her face, "Everyone but you. You should have gone, Jack. You would have had fun."

"Everyone but me and you. You count, you know. It's not a big deal," Jack shook his head and turned the sausage over in the pan. "I didn't want to go."

Kate silently accepted his reasoning and glanced back into the envelope, "What? No letter? Just pictures? They just assume you remember who they are?"

"There was a letter," Jack said slowly, not taking his eyes off the sizzling food. "I took it out. It was kind of personal."

That caught Kate's attention, "Too personal for me to be allowed to see?"

"Yes," Jack nodded, turning to give her his attention. "It was pretty personal."

"Some people would call that thing you like to do in the shower too personal for me to see, but you don't have a problem with that," Kate winked, walking over next to him. "I think our breakfast is done. Don't let it get too crisp."

Turning the stove off, Jack smiled at Kate, "How about you go set the table?"

Kate did as Jack asked, and tried to focus on him as he brought the food in, but the letter was still bothering her. "Okay," she took a sip of her orange juice. "Who wrote it? Claire or Charlie?"

Jack looked confused for a second, then rolled his eyes, "Charlie wrote it. It's not a big deal, Kate. Let it go."

"If it's not a big deal then why can't I read it?" Kate cut off a piece of the sausage and nibbled on it. "Just let me read it. Charlie's not going to know that I know his deep, personal thoughts."

"I threw it away," Jack shrugged, taking a blueberry muffin out of the bag. "Yesterday, after I read it. It went out with the trash this morning."

"Why would you throw an important letter away?" Kate demanded, clearly aggravated. She stood and went into the kitchen, taking the orange juice carton out of the refrigerator and carrying it into the dining room. The meat was spicier than she expected.

"It wasn't important!" Jack snapped. "This is ridiculous. This shouldn't be turning into a fight, Kate. It wasn't important, so I threw it away. Okay?"

Kate conceded with a short nod. She gave the last few bites of her sausage to Boo, who was weaving himself between her legs and finished off her muffin. She watched Jack as he finished off his meal. As he was taking the last drink of his orange juice he stood up and tripped over Boo Radley, splattering the rest of his drink on his shirt.

Giggling, Kate stood up and followed Jack into the kitchen, grabbing a sponge. She dabbed at his shirt and smiled up at him, "Getting a little clumsy there, cowboy?"

"It's that damn cat again," Jack shook his head, trying not too sound annoyed. He pushed her hands away, "Don't worry about it. I'll just wash this and put on a new shirt. You can't dab orange juice out with a sponge."

Jack pulled his shirt over his head and took the sponge from Kate, dabbing at where the juice had soaked through. At the sight of him with his shirt off, Kate leaned back against the counter and let out an involuntary sigh.

Glancing over at her, Jack smiled as a light blush crept across her cheeks. Tossing his shirt onto the counter, he stepped towards her, pulling Kate into his arms. Brushing his lips across her neck, he whispered, "It's been awhile."

"Mmhmm," Kate agreed, meeting his lips in a kiss as her hands traveled down to his belt.

Jack took a hold of her hands, and pulled away. "Let's go upstairs."

Kate nodded her agreement, and kissed him once more. He kissed back, running his hands up her shirt and leading them into the living room. Her hands traveled to Jack's belt once more, and this time he didn't try to stop her.

They made it as far as the couch.

An hour later, they lay on the couch wrapped up in a blanket. Jack placed a few soft kisses on Kate's head before asking, "You don't have any big plans for tonight, do you?"

"Let me think," Kate pretended to mull it over. "I guess I could cancel my manicure and facial if you have something planned."

"Good," Jack said with a nod, rubbing his hand over her back. "Marc called last night and asked if you and I would mind watching their son tonight so the two of them could do dinner and a movie."

Kate thought back to the pictures Megan had showed her at the dinner party for Jack's birthday. "His name is Mason, right?"

"Right," Jack told her. "And he's 9 and a half months old. And he's really no trouble at all. You'll like him."

Kate sat up, keeping the blanket wrapped around her. "And I would be correct in guessing that you already told Marc and Megan would be more than happy to baby-sit Mason tonight?"

"You would be correct," Jack agreed, watching her closely. "As usual. It's only for a couple hours, and if you really don't want to then --"

"You didn't call Marc and ask him if we could watch Mason, right?" Kate turned back to Jack. She brushed her hair back from her face, and gave him a serious look. "This isn't some kind of get a baby around Kate scheme, right?"

"Of course not," Jack sat up next to her. "Marc or Megan's parents usually watch him, but they know I haven't seen him in awhile. They said he was missing Uncle Jack and wanted to meet Aunt Kate."

Some of the tension drained from Kate. "They called me Aunt Kate, hmm?"

"They called you Aunt Kate," a soft smile lit up Jack's face. "Come on, Meg showed you pictures, right? You know you want to meet him."

"He did look pretty adorable," Kate agreed, nodding slowly. "But really, I'm not very good with kids."

"Kate," Jack refrained from rolling his eyes. "You delivered a baby. I think you can handle baby-sitting one for a couple of hours."

"Delivering a baby is nothing like baby-sitting!" Kate argued with a laugh. "I just had to be like, push Claire, and then make sure it was breathing. This will be completely different."

Jack burst out laughing, "Are you kidding me? From the way Charlie made it sound, you were whistling a different tune during Aaron's birth!"

"I don't know how to whistle," Kate retorted, standing up and taking the blanket with her. She smirked at Jack who was left sitting on the couch, naked. "And of course we'll baby-sit him. I just don't think it will be as easy as you make it sound."

"Marc says he's feeding himself now," Jack told her, standing up and looking around for his boxers. They were on top of the television. How had they gotten there? "And he just started drinking out of a sippy-cup. It shouldn't be that bad."

"You sound cute saying sippy-cup," Kate teased softly, reaching out and stroking his cheek. "And I don't think just because the kid can hold a fork that we can toss him in the dining room with a steak, and that be that."

"I didn't say he could use a fork," Jack teased, finding her bra and jeans and handing them to her. "I said --"

"I have to pee," Kate interrupted, taking her clothes from him and dropping the blanket as she headed for the bathroom. Jack followed Kate to the bathroom door and continued on, "I said he can feed himself. I think he just uses his hands or something."

"See!" Kate called as she flushed the toilet. "I don't know anything about kids! Where's my shirt?"

"In the kitchen, I think," Jack shrugged. "Trust me, we'll do fine. It's only a couple hours. I don't think we can cause that much psychological damage in that short of time. It would take days of exposure for us to completely send him down the wrong path in life."

"You're right," Kate agreed, locating her shirt on top of the stove. She pulled it on over her head. "Do you think to be on the safe side you should get on-line and see what kind of things 9 month olds like to do? Maybe you could go rent Barney."

"I think that might be border-line crazy," Jack shook his head. "And I'm not renting Barney. I'm sure Marc and Megan will bring anything they think Mason's needs to have a successful evening away from home."

"Okay," Kate shrugged. "But if he cries the whole time, and it's because we don't have Barney, then I'm blaming you."

Jack held up his hands, "I will gladly take the blame. I'm going to go shower. Care to join me?"

"I already showered," Kate shook her head. "You go ahead. I still need to make the bed, and I'll baby-proof the house or something while you're upstairs."

"Okay," Jack nodded, leaning down and kissing her softly. "You baby proof the house, and I'll go think of you and do that thing in the shower."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Have fun."

After Jack went upstairs, Kate walked around the living room, putting anything heavy that could be pulled off the tables and onto babies heads to higher locations. Grabbing a few batteries that Jack had thrown onto the coffee table for God knows what reason, she opened a door on the hutch to toss them into. They landed on a piece of folded notebook paper. Curious, Kate grabbed the piece of paper and scanned it.

Reading over it again, Kate took a seat on the couch. She read it once more, and then again before it actually sunk it. She was still sitting on the couch, holding it, when Jack came back downstairs.

Kate held the letter up to him, a hurt look on her face. "Threw it away, huh?"

"Kate--" Jack started, stepping towards her and reaching for the letter. She moved out of his way before he could grab it.

"We were sorry you couldn't make it, Jack, but Hurley told us you were seeing someone," Kate read. "Claire and I are both happy to hear you're getting on with your life. I was worried you were still thinking about Kate. It's good to hear that you've finally found someone who deserves you. We all liked Kate fine, but she's not the type of girl someone should get mixed up with. Especially someone as bloody smart as you are, Jack. Congratulations on finally moving on. . ."

Kate dropped the letter to her lap, and was silent for several seconds before she glanced up at Jack. "Do I need to go on?"

Leaning over, Jack took the letter off of Kate. Silently, he ripped it in half, then shook his head. "No, I think that's enough."

Half of her wanted to yell at Jack for hiding the letter from her, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. "Someone who deserves you. . ."

"He's full of sh-t, Kate," Jack shook his head. "None of what he says matters, or means anything."

Kate knew Jack didn't care what Charlie had written, and that she shouldn't either, but it still bothered her. These people were supposed to be her friends. "I -- I delivered her baby, Jack."

Crumpling the shreds of paper in his fist, Jack let them drop the ground. "I know you did, Kate. And anything they say now, doesn't change that."

Kate cast a steely glare in Jack's direction. "When I first came here. . . you told me that you had talked to Claire. You told me she had said that she wished I could come to the wedding! You said something about how she thought I should be able to be part of Aaron's life because I delivered him."

Jack sighed, sitting down next to Kate. "Kate, I --"

Shaking her head, Kate scooted away from him. "Claire never said any of those things, did she? You lied to me, Jack. What was the point in that?"

"When I came home that day you were crying, Kate," Jack shrugged apologetically. "I just wanted to make you feel better. I didn't know what else to say. I never intended for something like that stupid letter to happen."

Kate rubbed her head, trying to ward off the headache she felt coming on. "You know what, just forget it. I don't want to fight about this. There's no reason I should care what they think. It's just. . . Nothing. Let's just forget it."

Picking the paper up, Jack walked into the kitchen and threw it away. When he returned to the living room, Kate was still in the exact same position. She glanced up at him, "I'm sure you especially loved the part about how hopefully you've found someone you can settle down and start a family with."

Jack took a seat in his recliner, eyeing Kate closely. "I have."

"Oh, please," Kate stood up and rolled her eyes. "Let's not go there."

"We can talk about it, if you want to," Jack said softly, not quite meeting her gaze. "I know you say the results were what you wanted, but. . ."

"There's nothing to talk about," Kate interrupted with a shake of her head. "And there's no but. The results were exactly what I wanted. We've been over it, Jack. It's for the best. You know it is."

"For the best," Jack repeated softly.

Kate gave him a look that clearly said the subject was closed. "I need to go make the bed. Actually, I think I might even wash the sheets. Do the ones on our bed need washed?"

Jack shook his head slowly. "I washed them yesterday when I cleaned up. Want me to help you?"

"I've got it," Kate smiled at him. "I didn't really get around to fully baby-proofing the house though, so. . ."

"I'll make sure nothing heavy is in arms length," Jack nodded, standing up. "Anything else you need?"

"No," Kate shook her head. She turned to walk up the stairs and got to the second step before she turned back around. "I'm sorry, Jack. I really am."

Jack stared at her in silence for several seconds. "It's okay, Kate. You don't have anything to be sorry about."

Kate nodded, and gave Jack once last apologetic glance before going upstairs to clean. Jack stood for several minutes after she had departed, staring at step where her figure had been.

A few hours later, after Kate had made sure that everything in the house was baby-proofed, she was still trying to talk him into going to get a movie. "Jack, I just think the kid is going to need some form of entertainment. We don't want him to get bored."

Jack laughed, "He's nine months old, Kate. Playing with his own feet amuse him. I don't need to go get anything. In fact, they're going to be here any sec--"

Jack's voice was interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell. "See? No time."

Rolling her eyes, Kate hurried behind Jack to answer the door. Megan walked in first with Mason propped on her right hip. He was holding a torn up blue blanket with a Blue's Clues head on the top, and in his mouth was a Blue's Clues binky.

Megan handed Mason to Jack as they made their way into the living room. "Thanks so much for this, guys. Marc's parents are out of town, and I think Mason really did miss his uncle Jack!"

"Well, Uncle Jack missed Mason," Jack said with a smile, ticking Mason's belly. Mason giggled and the binky fell out of his mouth. Moving quickly, Jack caught it before it hit the ground and placed it back into Mason's whimpering mouth. "There you go, buddy."

"Marc's getting Mason's things out of the car," Megan said with a slight roll of her eyes. "He thinks he can carry everything at once." Turning towards Kate, Megan pulled her into a hug. "You look amazing, Kate. Is there something different? I really like your hair like that. But that isn't it. You look so happy."

Megan's gaze turned back towards Jack. "Is there something you two haven't told us?"

Before either of them could answer, Marc stumbled into the room. A play pen was in one hand, a diaper bag was slung around his neck, and assorted objects were in his other hand. "I think this is everything. I left the high chair by the front door. Thanks a lot for watching him tonight."

"It's no problem," Kate shook her head, moving to help Marc set the baby items down. "We're glad to do it. I've been so excited to meet him ever since you showed me his pictures! He's even more adorable in person."

Mason let out another giggle as though he knew that he was being talked about. This time Jack wasn't quick enough to save the binky, and it hit the ground. Patting a hand against Jack's cheek, Mason let out a chorus of, "Mamamama. . ."

"It's the only thing he knows how to say," Megan informed them, reaching out and taking Mason from Jack. "I don't think he even knows what it means. Marc's still mad he said Mama before Dada though."

"When he says Dada," Marc informed them, looking at his wife and son lovingly. "He will know what it means. Right, Mase?"

Mason reached out and grabbed his daddy's finger, babbling something in baby talk. Kate felt something inside of her swell up, but did her best to ignore it. She knew Jack was looking at her, but refused to look back.

After a few more minutes of cooing, Megan kissed Mason on top of his head, then handed him back to Jack. "You know both of your cell numbers. The number of the hotel we'll be at is on the list in the bag. There's also a few notes on what foods he can eat and what not. We brought about a week's worth of diapers."

"Better to be safe than sorry," Marc interrupted with a nod at Kate.

"We know he'll be happy here," Megan told Jack with a nod. Turning back to Kate, she winked, "Good practice for the future too, hmm?"

"Good practice," Kate echoed with a nod, hoping her words didn't sound empty. She glanced towards where Jack was holding Mason and couldn't help but break out in a smile. He looked more natural holding a baby than she had ever expected.

After a few more instructions and a few more kisses from Marc and Megan to Mason, they left. Jack smiled over at Kate, "Want to hold him?"

"I think you'd better," Kate said, with a slight shake of her head. She opened the diaper bag and rifled through it. "They brought DVDs and stuff. We could put a movie in for him."

"Or you could hold him," Jack smiled. "Come on, come here. Tell her not to be so scared of you, buddy. You're just a baby, what are you gonna do to her?"

Kate rolled her eyes, and held her arms out towards Mason. He continued to stare at Jack. "See, he doesn't want to see me."

Jack shook his head, then rolled his head. "Come on, Mason. Let's go visit Aunt Kate." Jack pointed to Kate, and Mason followed his gaze. Giggling, he held out his arms towards Kate.

Smiling, Kate took him into her arms. She laughed as he smiled up at her. "My, my. You're quite the little chunk, aren't you? And you don't smell that good either, do you? I think you might've gone potty."

"How about you change him?" Jack suggested with a smile. He reached into the diaper bag and took out a blanket, laying it on the ground. He took out a diaper, and wipes and set them next the blanket.

Kate sighed and shook her head at Mason, "That's Uncle Jack, for you. He wants all the fun and none of the work. Let's see if we can't get you clean."

Mason let out a series of giggles and baby jabber as Kate went about changing his diaper. She smiled down at him, "Well, you're just about the best behaved little boy ever, aren't you? Yes, you are!"

Jack laughed softly as he watched Kate interact with Mason. He leaned down next to them and grabbed Mason's dirty diaper, "I'll go dispose of this."

"We will be right here," Kate cooed, tickling Mason. "Yes, we will. Won't we? We will wait right here for Uncle Jack!"

When Jack returned from the garage, Mason had a hold of Kate's hair and was giggling like crazy. Kate was laughing and trying to remove her hair from his balled up fists, "Come on, Mase. Let Kate have her hair back!"

"Aww, get her!" Jack laughed, sitting down on the blanket next to them. "You tell Aunt Kate who's the boss." Mason turned to him and babbled something, then looked back at Kate, giggling and pulling her hair even harder.

They continued to play on the floor for a little while until Mason seemed to get bored of them. He crawled over to the couch and grabbed the side of it, pulling himself into a standing position. Holding onto the couch, Mason took a few wobbly steps before falling backwards onto his padded bottom. He glanced to Jack and Kate, startled.

"Aww," Kate said, scooting over towards him. "Did you fall down? Are you okay, little buddy?"

Seeing Kate's concern, Mason's bottom lip began to quiver. Within seconds, he was bawling. Concerned, Kate scooped him up, bouncing him and whispering soothing things. Worridly, she asked Jack, "Do you think he hurt himself?"

"No," Jack shook his head with a smile. "I think he saw that you were worried and decided to play it for all it was worth. Your concern scared him more than falling down did, you have to just let him be after he falls."

Popping Mason's binky into his mouth, Jack asked him, "Isn't that right, buddy?"

Kate sighed and kissed Mason on top of his head. "I told Uncle Jack I didn't know much about babies, but he didn't want to listen."

Smiling, Jack kissed Kate on top of her head. "Who's ready for dinner?"

Mason understood the word, and his binky fell from his mouth as he responded in baby talk. Kate grinned, "I guess that means you are, right?"

Jack got the highchair from the foyer and set it down in the kitchen. He began to prepare Mason's dinner as Kate set him in the Blue's Clues highchair, making sure he was fastened securely. "You sure like this little blue doggie, don't you, Mason? Your mommy and daddy brought some of his videos. We'll have to check him out later."

"Mamama!" Mason responded loudly, banging his hands on the highchair tray. "Mamamama!"

Jack appeared from behind Mason, a bib in hand. Fastening it around his neck, Jack smiled at him, "Gotta try some kind of damage control. Let's see how much of this food you can get in your mouth, buddy."

"Marc and Megan said he doesn't eat much baby food anymore," Jack informed Kate. "But they brought some because it's easier than fixing a bunch of stuff he can eat. However, along with his pureed peas, he gets some bananas. And since he is Uncle Jack's favorite baby, I have some mashed potatoes for him."

"Mmm, mashed potatoes," Jack said to Mason, sitting his plate in front of him. Kate couldn't help but wrinkle her nose at the green mush on it. Next to the plate, Jack sat down a sippy cup of milk. He handed Kate a spoon, "Knock yourself out."

Spooning a little bit of the mashed potatoes, Kate offered them to Mason. When she put the spoon in his mouth, he clamped down on it, giggling. His bite was so hard Kate couldn't remove it from his mouth. "Ah, you wanna play, do you?"

Mason grabbed the spoon from out of his mouth and clumsily maneuvered it into the green mush. Reaching the spoon to his face, he got more on his cheek than in his mouth. Kate applauded, "Good job, Mason!"

Dropping the spoon onto his shirt, Mason tried to copy Kate's clapping. Seeing that he had dropped the spoon on himself, Mason picked it up again and tried to feed himself another bite. This time the peas landed on his nose.

Kate glanced to Jack, "How about you bring me another spoon?"

Jack obliged, and Kate took turns with Mason, spooning food into his mouth. After awhile, he gave up on the spoon, dropping a glob of mashed potatoes onto himself. With a little help from Kate he was able to drink from the sippy cup.

Jack picked up a slice of banana, and handed it to Mason. "See how you like that, Mase."

Mason stuck it in his mouth and chewed for a few moments before starting to cough. Kate jumped up from her seat and grabbed Mason's free arm, lifting it up in the air. "Are you okay, Mason?"

Laughing softly, Jack watched Kate. He shook his head and leaned close to Mason, "She's a little high-maintenance, isn't she?"

Kate rolled her eyes, and she and Jack continued to help Mason eat his dinner. When they had decided that he had successfully inhaled more food than he had spilt on himself, Kate removed him from the chair as Jack cleaned up.

Removing Mason's shirt, Kate was careful not to get any of the food on herself. "Look at your chubby little belly! Some of that food must be getting in there, hmm? How does a bath sound!" She lightly rubbed Mason's belly and he giggled.

"I think a bath sounds excellent," Jack nodded. "I'll go run it and you gather his things, okay?"

"Sounds good to us," Kate agreed with a nod. As Jack left the room, Mason began to whimper. "Aww, don't cry! Me and you are friends, remember? Uncle Jack is just going to run your bath water. You and I can go get you some PJs! How does that sound? Did Mommy pack your favorite jammies?"

Mason's whimpering calmed down as Kate set him down on the living room floor. She went through his diaper bag as Mason crawled around, inspecting things. Kate took out his pajamas, and seeing who was on them, glanced at Mason. "Seriously, Mase. Who is this blue dog? Why are you so into him? Is he a magic puppy?"

Mason answered in his own language as he pulled himself up, holding onto the coffee table. Clutching on, he took a few wobbly steps in Kate's direction.

"Good job, buddy," she encouraged. "Let's see how far you can make it this time! Come see, Aunt Kate!"

Mason made it a few more steps before falling. This time, as soon he hit the ground, he seemed to be studying Kate's reaction. Smiling at him, she shrugged, "Maybe you can make it all the way to Aunt Kate next time!"

His response was chorus of giggles, and he crawled over to her, pulling himself up by holding onto her knees. Kate pulled him into her lap. "Are you ready for your bath?"

Kate stood up, Mason on one hip and his towels, clothes and a few bath toys in her free hand. Jack was testing the water when they entered the bathroom, "Is it ready, Uncle Jack?"

"It's just right," Jack leaned over and took Mason from Kate. As Kate laid all Mason's stuff out, and dropped the toys into the water, Jack relieved him of his pants, socks and diaper and sat him in the water.

Mason giggled and splashed his hands into the water, reaching for his plastic Blue's Clues floatie. He entertained himself as Jack and Kate worked on washing his hair and his body.

"He's so chubby!" Kate said delightfully, as she scrubbed at an arm. "He's like a little Michelin Man. He's too cute. You're too cute, aren't you, Mason?"

At the sound of his name, Mason turned to look at Kate, splashing happily. Apparently, bath time was a favorite of Mason's. However, his mood changed as Jack poured some water over his head, washing away the shampoo. Mason's eyes squeezed tight and he tilt his head back, not even bothering with a whimper. This time he went straight for a wail.

"It's okay, buddy," Jack said softly. "I'm sorry. We have to get you clean though. You don't want to be a shampoo-head, do you? No. I didn't think so." A few more cups of water and some comforting words later, Mason's head was clean and his wailing had ceased.

"You're all better now!" Kate laughed, picking up one of his toys. She floated it in the water over to Mason's blue doggie. "Woof-woof, little blue puppy! Do you want to play with me?"

Mason seemed to love Kate's animal impersonation and laughed so hard, he almost fell backwards. Jack laughed as he steadied him. Turning toward Jack, Mason splashed his hands into the water, sending a spray of water onto Jack. "Thanks, little buddy."

Kate giggled and continued to play with Mason for several more minutes until she noticed the water was getting too cool and Mason's fingers were getting a little too prune-y. She lifted him out of the tub and into a towel Jack was holding. Together, they dried him off. It tickled, and he laughed through it all.

"Oops!" Kate laughed after he was completely dry. "I forgot a diaper!" Picking Mason up, she headed downstairs, Jack behind her. Smiling, she sat Mason on the couch. "You be good while Aunt Kate gets you a diaper."

She grabbed a diaper, and when she turned around, Mason was sending a fountain of pee onto the couch. She let out a gasp and Jack turned around to see what was going on. "Kate!" he exclaimed. "You let him pee on the couch!"

Kate rolled her eyes and lifted Mason onto the floor. "Say it's just a little pee, Uncle Jack. Go get something and clean it up."

Jack went into the kitchen and grabbed a towel, grumbling while he cleaned up Mason's mess. Kate shook her head, "And Uncle Jack thought he wanted a baby. He couldn't handle it, could he?"

"I could handle it just fine," Jack said softly, watching Kate as she fastened Mason's diaper and dressed him in his pajamas. "And so could you. Look at you. You would make an amazing mom, Kate."

"Jack," Kate looked over at him and shook her head. "Don't, okay? Don't make this about that. I told you I wasn't going to budge on it. You agreed. So just don't."

Jack silently consented and finished cleaning up the mess. After he had finished and Mason was in his pajamas, Jack put a Blue's Clues DVD into the player. He watched Kate as she watched it with Mason. She seemed just as into it as him.

Mason sang along in his own language with all the songs and bounced up and down, moving his body to the music. Kate and Jack exchanged a glance, smiling. She leaned back against his legs, and whispered, "I think he's about ready to nod off."

"I think you're right," Jack agreed, smiling as he watched Mason's head bob up and down. He played with Kate's hair, keeping his eyes on Mason, until the movie was over. He then stood up, scooping Mason into his arms. "You about ready for night-night, little man?"

Jack took a seat on the couch with Mason resting his head on his chest, as Kate stood up. "I'm going to go get something to drink. Do you need anything?"

"I'm good," Jack whispered, with a shake of his head.

Kate walked into the kitchen, pouring herself a glass of juice. She started to walk back into the living room, but stopped before Jack saw her and watched. Mason was cuddled up to him and Jack was whispering to him softly, "You are getting so big. Uncle Jack can't believe it. And you might be just about the most perfect little buddy ever, do you know that? Of course that's because Uncle Jack and Aunt Kate aren't going to be giving you any competition. That's okay though. Being Uncle Jack is pretty awesome."

Mason's hand curled around Jack's finger and Jack's smile grew wider. "You're so strong! That grip is so tight. You're getting Uncle Jack. You got me!"

Kate felt something inside of her tighten up, and she stepped back into the kitchen, leaning against the wall. Until that moment she thought there was no way she could possibly love Jack anymore. She had been wrong. Seeing Jack sitting there, holding Mason was too much. In her head Mason disappeared and was replaced with the image of a different baby -- their baby. The one that up until the moment she hadn't let herself fully imagine, not even when she had been convinced she was pregnant.

The picture of what their family could have looked like practically sent Kate into tears. She knew Jack would be an amazing father, and she knew that she would love a baby more than she even thought possible. But it just couldn't happen. And the test had been negative. It wasn't going to happen.

Pushing the image from her mind, Kate walked back into the living room. Mason was now asleep against Jack's chest. "Want me to set up the play pen?"

"Yeah," Jack nodded, smiling up at Kate. "I think he's conked out pretty good."

Kate quickly set up Mason's play pen, making sure it was secure. Jack laid Mason down and Kate placed a blanket over him. Looping her arm around Jack's waist, Kate whispered, "He's about the happiest baby I have ever seen."

"He really is," Jack agreed. He kissed Kate on top of her head, "I think I'm going to make myself a sandwich."

Kate followed him into the kitchen and watched as he put a sandwich together. Turning around he handed it to her, "This one is for you."

Meeting his eyes, they shared a smile. Once again, the familiar feeling of longing swelled within her. Setting her plate down on the stove, Kate stepped into him, meeting his surprised lips in a passionate kiss. Letting out a low moan, Jack pulled Kate to him, flushing her body against his. Jack rested his forehead against hers when she pulled away.

"What was that for?"

"Just because I love you," Kate whispered, laying her head against Jack's chest. They stood there, holding onto each other, completely forgetting about dinner.

When they finally went to bed, they decided it was for the best to take Mason with them. Maneuvering the play pen up the stairs proved to be too difficult. Kissing Mason softly atop his strawberry blonde head, Kate laid him in bed between them.

After several minutes, Jack's heavy breathing fell in sync with Mason's and Kate knew they were both sound asleep. She watched the two of them until she, herself, finally succumb to her tiredness.

The next morning Jack awoke and glanced next to him. He laughed softly as he saw that Mason was cuddled up on Kate's chest. He wondered how long they had been that way. He watched them sleep for a few minutes until Mason's eyes fluttered open.

"Good morning, buddy," Jack whispered, holding his arms out. Mason rolled off Kate and crawled over to Jack. "Does somebody need a clean diaper?"

Jack changed Mason and was making his breakfast when Kate walked downstairs. "Why didn't you boys wake me up?"

"Mason thought you needed your beauty sleep," Jack said with a shrug. "And who am I to argue with a 9 month old?"

Just as Jack sat Mason's breakfast in front of him, the doorbell rang. "You feed him, I'll get that, okay?"

Kate nodded and sat down in the chair in front of Mason. "Are you ready for some breakfast, big guy? Uncle Jack sure does like to give you bananas, doesn't he?"

A few seconds later Jack returned to the kitchen with Marc and Megan. Mason let out a squeal of happiness upon seeing his parents. "Mamamama!"

Standing up, Kate greeted them. "Hey! Did you two have fun? You're back early."

"Meg missed Mason," Marc said with a slight roll of his eyes. "She tried to call six times last night, but I caught her before she could each time. You're lucky we didn't show up here at one in the morning."

Kate laughed as she watched Megan remove Mason from his highchair and smother him with kisses. Mason seemed to love every second of it.

"We had so much fun with him," Kate told them with a nod. "He's so well-behaved."

"Did you put on a show for Uncle Jack and Aunt Kate?" Megan teased, kissing Mason again. "Really guys, we can't thank you enough. Especially since it was so last minute."

Marc reached into his wallet and offered a stack of folded bills to Jack. Jack pushed his hand away, shaking his head. "You know there's no way we're taking money from you."

"Come on," Marc said, offering the bills to Kate. "You have to take it. I'm sure we messed up some kind of plan you guys had."

"No," Kate shook her head. "We had no plans. You guys saved us from a night of boredom. We had so much fun, didn't we, Mason?"

Kate and Megan stayed in the kitchen talking as Jack helped Marc carry all of Mason's things to the car. "Was he really good for you guys? Sometimes he has trouble when we aren't around. He seemed comfortable here though. You seem to be good with kids? Have you given thought to any of your own?"

"Actually," Kate said slowly. "We had a little bit of a scare not so long ago. But then I took a test, and it was negative."

"That's what looks different about you!" Megan immediately exclaimed. "You look so happy. Like, you're glowing. You should take another test."

Kate cocked her head. "What?"

"They're not always right," Megan shook her head. "The first one I took when I thought I was pregnant with Mason was negative. But he's here! That would be so exciting for you guys."

Kate was about to respond when Marc and Jack returned. "You about ready, Meg? Your mom just called and said they wanted to come over tonight."

Megan rolled her eyes. "We'd better get going then. You think about what I said, okay Kate?"

Kate nodded and after a few more good-byes, they were gone.

"What exactly did Megan say to you?" Jack asked curiously, after they had gone.

Kate smiled and shrugged. "Just a little girl talk!"

"It was fun to have him around," Jack said softly, pulling Kate to him. "But there are certain merits of it just being the two of us."

"Mmhmm," Kate murmured as Jack's hands traveled up her shirt. "And what certain merits are you referring to?"

Meeting her lips in a slow kiss, Jack whispered, "How about we go upstairs and I show you?"

"Sounds like a plan," Kate said, kissing Jack once more. He scooped her up in his arms, not breaking their kiss, and clumsily they made their way upstairs to the bedroom.

The next morning Kate came downstairs to find Jack dressed in black slacks and a tie. "Work today?"

"Not for long, hopefully," Jack shook his head. "I was thinking -- do you want to go out and do something tonight? Maybe I'll take you out to a fancy dinner. Give you a chance to wear that dress my mom got you again."

"A fancy dinner, hmm?" Kate said, a smile arching up her face. "Are you asking me on a date, Jack Shephard?"

"I am," Jack said with a nod. "After living with someone for several months, and falling in love with them, I usually feel it's time to ask a lady out on an official date."

"Sounds like a plan," Kate laughed, leaning over and kissing him softly. "Although, I should tell you -- I don't put out on a first date."

Jack kissed her again, smiling against her mouth. "We'll see about that. I give the date twenty minutes before your begging me to bring you back here for a sack session."

"You're probably right," Kate agreed, still not breaking their kiss. "How about we go practice right now?"

"I really have to go," Jack said, finally pulling away from their kiss. "But hold that thought for later, alright?"

"Promise," Kate agreed with a nod, giving him one last kiss before he walked out the door.

Jack hurried through the paperwork he had to get done, and sat in on a interview with a man who he and another doctor were going to be operating on the next week. He still had a pile of paperwork to finish, but decided it could wait until later. He wanted to make sure he and Kate could get into a good restaurant. Just as he was standing up to leave, a firm knock sounded on his office door.

"Come in," Jack called, reaching for his car keys.

A man in a dark LAPD uniform entered his office, followed by two men in gray suits. Jack knew exactly who they were before they spoke.

"Jack Shephard," the man in the LAPD uniform held out his hand. "I'm Lieutenant Derek Harper with the LAPD. These men are Jeffrey Smithey and Edmund Harris with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. They'd like to ask you a few questions if you have a minute."

"Of course," Jack said with a nod. He gestured towards the couch. "Please, have a seat."

"It won't take that long," Jeffrey Smithey said with a shake of his head. "We just were informed of a matter that we were told you had some information on."

Before Jack could say anything, Edmund Harris spoke up.

"Dr. Shephard, we have recently been informed that Katherine Austen is very much still alive."