A/N: This is just a short chapter to make up for the ending of the last one. I know that you wanted a fast update because of the ending, and if I added more to this chapter it would only make me take longer to actually come up with a gap filler, so I'll post this on it's own and then do the rest of it as planned. And for Sophie's friend, who said to her that this was the best Jaby story ever, I give you a big hug, whoever you are! You made my week saying that honey!
"We find the defendant..."
She braced herself, closeing her eyes and biting down hard on her lip, almost drawing blood. Was it going to end this way? Was she going to cry when it was announced? Would she sob and scream as they took her from the room, or would she hold her head high and keep what little was left of her pride after it had been thinned out and beaten at all day? How long would they put her away for? Ten years? Fifteen? Fifty? Life? Oh God...did they still have the death penalty?
"...Not guilty."
A lot happened in the next five seconds.
Sawyer and Jack screamed out "Yes!" and Kaia cheered in with them.
The girls all stared to applaud, accompanied by all of them.
Kaia leaned over the back of her seat and gave Walt a high-five.
Curtis looked around him, confused at first, but saw everyone happy, and laughed, clapping away.
There were cheers from the other survivors, with Sawyer, Charlie and Hurley starting up a chant of "Kate! Kate! Kate!"
Kate simply stood there, letting it sink in.
Not guiltly.
As in...not guilty...not going to prison.
She wasn't going to prison.
She wasn't even being charged...with anything.
She was going home.
She was free.
She smiled, letting out a choked laugh, and let the last lines of the judge wash over her, all except for "Katherine Austen, you're free to go.", which she cherished. Those final words were going to burn in her mind forever as the day she lost her reason to run. The day she stopped being referred to as a 'criminal', a 'fugitive'...she was a person now, and could go back to roles she had grown used to. Girlfriend...fiancee...mother...friend...they weren't just temporary until they were ripped away from her anymore, they were for life now.
She watched as the judge left the stand...followed by the jury...and the prosecution lawyer...and Ben came to stand infront of her. "You're free, Kate." He smiled at her, watching her shocked face.
She looked up at him, slowly registering the information still. Her eyes glistened over with tears as she gave him a smile. "Thank you." She whispered. "Thank you, so much."
"No problem." He said, giving her a friendly kiss on the cheek. If she were in her right mind, or perhaps paying more attention to the fact that this man had just given her life back to her, she probably would have strangled him into a hug, but instead, she remained breathless and rooted to the spot. "I think someone else wants your attention." He told her, walking over to his briefcase and occupying himself whilst Kate turned on the spot.
Jack was standing about ten feet behind her, giving her the biggest smile his face would allow. She smiled back, not seeing anything else except for him. At first, her smile was weak, and then it just exploded with a laugh that she didn't even know she was holding, and she ran towards him, closing the gap between them. She flung her arms around his neck, and immediately his arms wrapped tightly around her back, holding her so close that their bodies might have molded together.
She wasn't aware of her feet being lifted off the floor, but she felt Jack spin her around once and then return her to her feet. All she could do was to hold on tight to him whilst it continued to sink it. She was free. No more running from the law. She wasn't guilty. She was innocent. Free. Just like Jack had promised her. She smiled into his neck, and through her smile came the tears, and she didn't do anything to stop them. For almost half of her life, she had been on the run, worrying about getting caught, and wondering what would happen if she was found. Gradually, she had found a life, but that only gave her something to have taken from her. Jack, Kaia, Curtis, and the soon-to-be twins...nothing was going to take them away from her. She was going home, with them.
Hadn't Jack promised her that she'd be home for Christmas?
When Jack felt the damp, salty tears against his neck and shoulder, he released his hold on her slightly, and she brought her head up to meet him. At that moment, it was like he was seeing her for the first time all over again. There was a light in her eyes, a hope that hadn't been there for the last few days. Whatever joy she usually had in those emerald orbs was diminished with the arrival of the letter announcing her court date, and now, it was back again, revealed from its hiding place by the shed of tears that was continuing.
"I'm free." She murmered to herself, and then stronger, with a smile. "I'm free. I'm really free."
"It's all over now." He smiled back at her, stroking her hair back from her face.
She laughed again, and brought her hands down infront of her, unwinding them from his neck. "God," She said, shaking her head lightly. "I'm shaking." She announced, showing Jack her quivering hands, which he took to hold in his own. "I just...I can't believe it." She said.
"Well, how about we get you back home, and start helping you believe it." He suggested, and leaned forward to kiss her.
Their lips met, and slowly, Kate regained her former self. The scared child that had been revisited in her that day was gone, and she was Kate again, not Katherine, Kate. Kate Austen. Soon to be Kate Shephard. "I'd like that." She smiled. "I'd like that a lot."
Jack grinned, and replaced his arm around her shoulders, steering her towards where their family stood with Sawyer, even though considering that the children referred to him as thier uncle, that made him their family. Sawyer was holding Kaia's hand, and had Curtis on her hip, which left Sam waiting to see his daughter. She smiled at him, and went to hug him.
There always is something about a father's arms that are comforting. Something about the arms that raised you holding you is a feeling that can't be taken away. Jack understood that, because he had lacked it for the majority of his life, which is why being a father was so important to him. It made him proud to know that his daughter loved her father like her mother loved Sam.
Kate pulled away from Sam and stood infront of him, and he placed a kiss on her forehead. "How's freedom?" He asked her with a smile.
She nodded, smiling broadly still. "It's fantastic." She told him, as Jack came to stand beside her.
"Mommy?"
She looked to see Curtis looking at her from Sawyer's hip, and she moved to take her son from him. "Yeah, baby?" She asked him.
"Mommy coming home?" He asked hopefully.
Kate smiled, fresh tears falling down her face as she hugged him to her. "Yeah, sweetheart, Mommy's coming home."
