This chapter is ENTIRELY Jate and completely dedicated to EternalConfusion. She recommended the idea for one of the dramatic endings to this chapter, but the very last one she doesn't know about, so that goes out to her :P Hope you like it girl! Pretty soon, we're going to cut quickly to the trial, and then after that, we're being thrown into what will probably be the final climax of the story. Saying that, it's going to last for ages because it will take up so many chapter, and by then I would have thought of something else. Anyway, enough from me, thank you to all my lovely reviewers. Cookies and Jabies for all! (for those who know what a Jaby is :D) And enjoy!

Was it real?

Was it a dream?

Was it over?

Was it fate?

Whatever it was that held him to the ground, he threw it off as soon as he could, by that time, Kaia and Curtis were scrambling off the stage to get to their mother, and Jack ran the rest of the distance of the room that kept him from her. He didn't care for the cameras that followed him, or the reporters that called in his ear, all he cared about was reaching her, and doing so before anyone else could. When she saw him running, she ran towards him as well, and in the centre of the room, for all to see, their bodies collided.

As he held her close to him, he couldn't believe that the last time he had seen her had been that morning, as they were led off the boat; that the last time they had held each other like this had been only yesterday. It just showed Jack how much that he really needed her, to hold her, to guide him, and it no longer scared him just how much he loved her with all his heart. She relished in the feel of his arms around her, holding her safely. His arms could always protect her from the world, where nothing would harm her, because with one arm he'd fight the dangers off, and with the other he'd make sure that he never let her go. So he breathed her in, having not forgotten the scent of her hair that would never leave him, the softness of her curls feeling like silk across his face.

Reluctantly, he pulled back from her, still keeping her in his arms, as they gazed at each other with tears in their eyes.

"You're really here." He whispered, and fingered a coil of her curly hair to make sure that she was real, that this was real.

"Yeah." She nodded, unsure of what else to do. She was here, with Jack, and he had rendered her immobile.

"How?" He asked, although he didn't care how or why.

"My trial is in five days." She told him. "They're not keeping me in custody until then." She revealed, finally finding the words to tell him how.

"They're not?" He asked her, a grin spreading across his face. She shook her head. "So, you're home?"

She nodded. "I'm home." She answered with that smile he hadn't seen in days. Then she pulled his hand down to her stomach, and rested them both their. "We're home."

Grinning, and letting out a laugh, Jack gathered her into his arms once again, spinning her around the room as she laughed. Kate was back, for five days, nothing was going to take her away from him. He didn't care whether half the world saw him twirling her around as she squealed at the excitement of it. He wanted to shout his love from the rooftops and ... oh, he could do better than that!

He didn't have it planned, but in that few seconds of wondering how he could prove his love to her, he had planned it down to a tee. He placed Kate back down on her feet, and watched with a swelling heart as she bent down to Kaia and Curtis, who both flung themselves at her at the same time. She held them closely, scared that if she let go, she would never see them again, and a few days ago, she had done the same thing. The feeling of them being back in her arms after having been ripped from them on the boat was nothing short of bliss.

Jack felt a hand on his arm, and turned to see Shannon. "How?" He asked. "Did you know about this?" He asked her, remembering that Kate had been standing next to Shannon.

Shannon nodded. "I saw her be escorted into reception about an hour before the party, I didn't know where you were, so I took her upstairs to my room, and got her all dolled up for you, brought her down here."

"But you've been here the whole time." He pointed out.

"Yeah, but I went back for her." She said.

Jack smiled, and hugged her. "Thank you." He said.

"No problem. You all deserve it."

Kaia pulled away from her mother, and Kate stroked her cheek lovingly. "I missed you so much, baby." She said softly.

"I missed you more." Kaia said. "But I looked after Daddy and Curtis." She said proudly.

"I knew you would." She smiled. "Are you all right, Curt?" She asked him, placing a kiss on his forehead.

"Mommy's home." He stated, hugging her tightly with his arms around her shoulders, just like Sawyer had described a few minutes ago. "Everythings good now."

Kate grinned, and stood up, so Jack finally got a good look at what she was wearing. Clearly it was one of Shannon's dresses, but it looked like it had been made for Kate. The simple, emerald green dress that matched her eyes skimmed down over her knees, with a layered skirt and matching shoes. Somehow, Shannon had been in a city for a little less than ten hours, and managed to become up to date with every style and fill her wardrobe with it all. Her hair was half pulled up, with the underneath hanging down against her bare shoulders and back. Also, he was seeing her for the first time with make-up on. It wasn't extravagent amounts, as she had a special natural beauty that didn't need the aid of cosmetics, but it was only some shimmer and mascara that defined her emotion-filled eyes even more.

As Kate stood, she went back over to Jack, with Kaia trotting along after her as always. Ten minutes ago, during Sawyer's speech, Jack had felt downhearted, as if he would never see the scene again of Kate and Kaia dancing, or Kate holding Curtis, and now, almost magically, it had appeared before him. As she stood before him, a permanent grin crossed over her face, Jack softly held her chin in his hand, and turned her head slowly to their right, to where Sam stood. Kate's smile faded into something that formed confusion, then hope, then realisation, and then the grin returned.

Jack took Curtis into his own arms, and Kate began her way over to Sam. It had been almost fifteen years since she had seen him, and he looked older now, worn. Yet it was still him. She stood before him, and put her hand on his face.

"Daddy?" She whispered, almost to herself. She didn't feel strange calling him 'Daddy', like a child. He nodded. "You came."

"Katie." He whispered, and then enveloped her into large hug that she couldn't have got out of if she wanted to. Instead she hugged him back, and when he finally realeased her, he had tears in his eyes. "Look at you." He said, gazing at what she was wearing, how she held herself. "You're all grown up now."

"I was grown up before." She said, still smiling.

"But it's real now, you're a mother." He said, looking over at Kaia and Curtis. "A mother to two wonderful children who I was most happy to meet earlier."

Kate followed his gaze, smiling at Jack and the children. "I did it, Dad. I stopped running."

"I knew you could." He said, the faith that shone from him was almost contagious.

"Dad, I want to thank you, for what you did." Kate said, "For doing your job, and calling the marshals."

Sam frowned at her. "Why?"

"Because all of that led to me being on that plane." She told him. "If I wasn't on that plane, I wouldn't have them."

Sam smiled, understanding what she meant. "My only regret is not being there to see my grandchildren grow up."

Kate looked down, and then up again. "Well, you've got another chance for that." She told him, laying a hand on her stomach.

"Katie..." He started, and then smiled. "And you told me that you'd never be a mother." He joked, and Kate laughed, jumping into his arms again. Jack and the children came over, with Curtis sitting on Jack's hip still, and Kate lifted a giggling Kaia into her arms.

"Looks like I was wrong." She said to herself. "'Cause its the best thing thats ever happened to me." All the other survivors came over to hug Kate, ignoring the cameras that were still filming them, and welcomed back their friend and ally that they had just declared for over the cameras.

Jack, however, looked to Sam. "I, uh, I wanted to ask you something." He said gently.

Sam frowned, and their silence caught Kate's attention as well. The rest of the crowd died down as the mood changed, and they watched silently, curiously, as Sam nodded.

"Um, I wanted to do this all properly, and now seems like the best time, so..." He smiled at Kate, and then back at Sam. "I'd like to ask your permission." He said.

"For what?" Sam asked, smiling anyway because he knew exactly what Jack was going to ask him.

"To marry your daughter."

Kate grinned, and Jack turned back to her. With Kaia still in his arms, and Curtis in his, Jack waited for Sam to nod his blessing, and then bent down on one knee. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out the box that had been there since that afternoon. He had asked Claire to watch the children for a while when he had gone shopping, knowing that he was going to ask Kate at the first chance he got, whenever he next saw her, and he was going to stand by that. He watched as Kate's eyes lit up.

He opened the box with one hand, steadying Curtis with the other, and then revealed the ring inside to her. It was a silver ring, with a diamond in the centre, and either side were two emeralds that perfectly matched the colour of her eyes.

"Jack..." She started, about to tell him that it was beautiful, but he stopped her, saying something similar to the night in the cave when they had first feared rescue only four or five days ago.

"Kate, our time on the island is over, but our time together isn't staying there. Nothing's going to make me leave this behind, leave you behind. We're going to be find now, more than fine. We'll make it, the five of us. Me, you, Kaia, Curtis, and the next one on the way. Us and our beautiful kids. We're together again, and nothing' going to tear us apart, because I can't live without you, and I don't even want to try." He took her free hand in his and kissed it. "Kate Austen, love of my life, mother of my children, will you marry me?"

Kate smiled, tears in her eyes, knowing that this was a question that didn't need answering, and he smiled back. Kate turned to Kaia, and nudged her a little. "What do you say, Kai? Shall Mommy marry Daddy?"

Kaia nodded. "Yeah!"

Kate turned back to Jack grinning. "I guess I can't say no to either of you. Of course I'll marry you, Jack, you never even had to ask." She said, and Jack stood up, bringing her into a kiss that he had waited for for a long time. As they kissed, Curtis and Kaia gave each other a high-five, as did Charlie and Hurley. When they parted, Jack slipped the engagement ring onto her finger. They kissed again and Kate murmered into his ear a single word. "Six."

"Six?" He asked.

"You said 'the five of us'," She reminded him, and brought their hands to her stomach again. "There's six of us."

"You mean-" He started, but Kate cut him off.

"They brought a doctor to the prison this morning, gave me a scan." She told him. "There was two heartbeats."

"Two!" Jack said, a grin splitting his face even more. "We're having twins?"

She nodded. "We're having twins."

They hugged again, and Sawyer, having heard this, turned to Hurley who was standing next to him. He raised his eyebrows. "Twins." He muttered.

"Dude, you mean, we've gotta deal with another two Jack and Kate cross breeds?"

A/N: Shock horror! Jaby twins! For those who didn't know, a Jaby is a Jate-baby. I found that out on the lost forums yesterday and am now in love with the word Jaby. Just to run you up to speed, this is what's coming up in this story:
1. Kate's trial and verdict, with some shocking witnesses.
2. Jack's nightmare intertwining with Sarah's arrival
3. A long hospital stay
4. Jabies. Of course.
and 5. A wedding.
What do you think will make a better story ending? Jabies, or wedding? Please let me know cause I'm stuck for sure!