Julie didn't know how it happened that she'd slept through the whole flight and then once she actually did open her eyes, she realized she was lying on something soft and very pleasant. The air was different, too. It wasn't the heaviness from the island she was used to. It was crisp and fresh and… it was actually coming from AC.

She opened her eyes, starting to panic all over again. Where was she? What happened with the plane?

"Julie, honey, it's all right," she heard the dearest voice and realized that Desmond was there, right next to her. What more, he held her hand in his.

At first she was blinded by the bright light, but this time it was the artificial kind as she was in a white room, lying in a bed. It finally came to her that she was in a hospital.

"Is the baby ok?" was the very first question she asked her husband once she set her eyes on him. He was wearing the same dirty clothes she remembered from the island, so apparently he didn't have the time to change or take a shower and it softened her heart because it only meant that he worried about her too much to think of himself.

"The baby is fine, honey," he said the words she was so desperate to hear.

"So Richard was right?" she made sure with fresh tears already in her eyes.

Desmond just nodded, his gaze also glassy.

"Why was I bleeding, then?" she wanted to know.

"The doctor said that it was because of stress," Desmond explained. "He said that it happens sometimes. That's it's a warning your body is sending you to take it easy."

"Easy to say," Julie complained when actually letting go of Desmond's hand and covering her face with hers. "I can't believe Jack and Hugo are just… gone."

"Hugo isn't dead," Desmond informed her and she looked at him again. "He replaced Jack in the last moment as the guardian of the island and decided to stay behind with Ben. They want to make the island a better place, the kind of a place it was supposed to be without the smoke monster."

"And I so hoped to kick Ben's ass for what he's done to me," Julie said to lighten up the mood. Jack was gone and it really hurt her, especially when she thought of the way they'd left things. But she was back, she was still pregnant and she wouldn't die when being that way. Added to that, Claire was back, too. "Wait… where are we exactly?" Julie suddenly asked Desmond.

"Costa Rica," he answered. "Frank took the first opportunity to land since we didn't have much fuel and you needed medical attention."

"Where's the rest?"

"I got them rooms at the nearest hotel," Desmond replied. "I wanted to get them tickets home immediately, but they didn't want to leave without us."

"Oh, that's so sweet," Julie said with a fond smile. "Is Claire all right?"

"She's scared of her upcoming meeting with Aaron, but she'll be fine. Kate took her to a hairdresser and then they were supposed to go shopping."

"Oh, yes, Claire definitely needed that," Julie admitted when nodding. "Desmond, you need to go and take care of yourself, too," she hinted next.

"Is that your subtle way of saying that I, too, need fresh clothes and a shower?" he asked when smiling to her.

"That, too, but you've been sitting here for way too long. You deserve to go and freshen up. And just so you know, I wouldn't have it any other way. I really appreciate you staying here until I woke up. I must've been dead tired if I didn't once the plane landed."

"Well, technically when that happened we called an ambulance and they injected you with something for relaxation. They didn't want to take any chances," Desmond followed with an explanation, "but don't worry. It was perfectly safe for the baby."

"I'm not worried," she assured him and took his hand again. "When can I get out of here?"

"The doctors are very optimistic and they said that once you wake up and feel all right, you can leave."

"Fantastic. Call for them, will ya?"

"You really don't want to stay here, do you?"

"I want to come back home," she admitted. "And I want to start my life with you again."

"I want that, too," he assured her with a smile.

In that moment someone knocked on the door.

"Are we interrupting?" Claire asked when stepping inside with a bouquet of flowers in her hand.

"Claire! Of course not!" Julie said, happy to see her friend. The blonde was now freshly showered, had new pair of jeans and a t-shirt on and her hair was cut to the level of her shoulders. Judging from its previous condition, Julie guessed that the rest was just not savable. Kate walked inside right after Claire.

"Is it ok if I leave you here with them now and go look for a doctor?" Desmond asked Julie when standing up.

"Yes, sure," she told him with a smile. "Just come back to get me home quickly."

"I will, I promise." He smiled to her and bent down to kiss her gently on the lips.

"Claire, how are you feeling?" Julie asked her friend when Desmond left the room and the blonde took his place in the chair next to the bed.

"Hanging in there, I guess," she admitted carefully. "I still have… problems… adjusting to all of this… but I'll be fine."

"We'll all be fine," Kate assured Claire when coming over to her and placing her hand on the blonde's shoulder. Still, it didn't miss Julie's attention that Kate barely held herself together."Claire, we'll help you get through this. I know the time you spent on the island alone was hard on you, but we're here for you. We need to stick together."

"Yes, we have to," Julie agreed and then dared ask. "Kate… I… I know it's too much to…"

"You want to know more about Jack," Kate guessed sadly.

"I'm sorry. You don't have to tell me anything now. I can wait until you're ready," Julie assured her when reaching to take the brunette's hand in hers.

"The thing is that I will never be ready and I don't think I'll ever get over it," Kate admitted when meeting Julie's eyes. "I told him that I loved him and he… he said it back, Julie, but… we both knew it was goodbye. We both knew he was going to die."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Julie said in a strained voice, close to crying herself as well. It was so difficult to just accept the truth. To accept the fact that she would never see Jack again and never be able to talk to him, to resolve the issues they had. But then again, it must be harder for Kate, the woman who actually loved Jack. Julie had almost lost Desmond, so she couldn't even comprehend the pain Kate must be feeling. Especially now when the time both Kate and Jack had spent on arguing and being apart seemed to be such a waste. They could've spent it together instead. Julie knew now that when two people really loved each other, they owed it to themselves and their love to work on their issues and to fight till they still could, to always fight to stay together.

"I knew we would never be together again after he agreed to take over Jacob," Kate said bitterly, "but at least I knew he would still be alive, you know? I even had this brief moment of consideration. I thought I could stay on the island with him, but…" Kate just shook her head and wiped the tears from her face. "It's just over."

"We're all with you, Kate. I, too, wish I had more time with Jack. After all, he was my brother. God, I still can't wrap my mind around it all," Claire admitted.

"Jack was a hero in the end," Julie suddenly said. "I know I was mad at him and I know I said some pretty awful stuff to him that I might even regret, but in the end… in the end he did the right thing. He saved me and Desmond. He got us to that plane and then he… died for all of us. Not many people can say that they did something so selfless and I think this is how we should remember him. As the hero."

As soon as Julie was able to leave the hospital, all of them returned to LA. It would've been hard if it hadn't been for Desmond's contacts at Sun's corporation. It was thanks to that, that he was able to fix them passports in no time and take care of the plane, paying the relevant parties for not asking any questions and keeping quiet. With both Sun and Jin's deaths, the whole company was temporarily given to Desmond, at least until Sun and Jin's daughter would be old enough to take over. Julie still had trouble wrapping her mind around all those deaths. It seemed that she really was one of the lucky ones, if not the luckiest. After all, she was back in America with both her husband and child healthy.

Once they actually got back to their house, it felt so surreal for Julie. She'd left in a such a hurry when blackmailed by Ben. She remembered how she'd searched for her passport and then cast her and Desmond's house one last look. She remembered how it'd hurt to just leave it all behind, to leave her husband behind. And now she was coming back there with Desmond by her side. She looked at him sitting right next to her at the back of a taxi and grasped his hand. He met her eyes with a mirrored expression. They were both so lucky to be alive and back home. More so even, they were lucky to keep their baby. Julie still couldn't believe that their son - if Richard was right about the baby being all right, why wouldn't he be right about its sex? - was fine. That he'd survived traveling in time twice and then Julie's fatigue on the island.

Julie got out of the cab and once Desmond paid for the ride, he joined her and they just stood there, right in front of their house. Then Desmond put his arms around his wife and she leaned into his chest, reveling in the feeling of him there, enjoying them simply being together and home, being able to come back to their lives.

"Are you tired?" he asked when they finally made their way to the front door.

"Not really. I'm just too excited to rest. We're back, Des, and I nearly can't believe it."

"Well, let me help you," he said and opened the door for her so she could step inside. "Just imagine that in eight months we'll bring a baby to this house and we'll be a family."

"We're already family," Julie corrected him when turning around to face him and putting her arms around his neck. "Nothing will ever change that." They kissed and then she just had to ask, "Do you think it's really over?"

"What do you mean?"

"The island. Do you think it's finally over? We thought it the first time around and we were brought back to it anyway."

"Yes, I am positive it's over. After all, it's what Jack died for, isn't it?" Desmond just said, putting his wife's mind at rest. "The island is not a dangerous place anymore and it has a new guardian. The smoke monster is gone. The light, whatever the heck it was, is safe. We are safe. And we can finally move on from that."

"I don't think we'll ever be able to just move on. It'll always be there, Desmond."

"Then look at the bright side. Thanks to the island, we met and fell in love. And now I doubt we'll have problems in our marriage big enough for us to ever part. It's too late. We're too connected."

"Well said, but I need to take some points off for mentioning problems at all," Julie teased him. "I feel like taking a hot shower after the flight. What do you think?"

"You had me at hot," Desmond chuckled and then chased his wife to the bathroom where they quickly got rid of their clothes and stepped into the shower cabin, turning on the hot water and kissing under the stream.

It didn't take long for things to get heated up and before they knew it, they were both very aroused, missing each other's bodies after such a long period of separation. They moved the party to the bedroom fast, not even bothering with drying themselves with towels, and they made love. And then they made some more and more until they were both just lying breathlessly on their backs, trying to calm down their heartbeats.

Julie felt overly hot, but even though, she still snuggled up to Desmond as she still needed to feel him right next to her. She still needed to be touching him to remind herself that he was really there. She'd come way too close to losing him on the island and she'd come to that point more than once.

"I think we should talk about the baby," she then said when she was lying with her head placed just above her husband's heart.

"What about it? You don't honestly want to tell me that it's not mine, do you?" Desmond chuckled when obviously making a joke.

"Hey! That's not funny!" She playfully swatted him on the chest. "Of course he's yours!"

"Good. Then what is it?"

"I just think…" she hesitated, but then went on. "I know that I said I wanted a c section, but it's basically an operation and if we want more kids, it will only be harder for my body to heal afterwards. I decided I can handle all the pain and I'm sure the epidural wil help, if only a little."

"Whatever you want, honey," he assured her. "It's your body."

"Great, so that's one settled and now that I finally decided, maybe I will stop having nightmares about giving birth."

"I didn't know you were that scared," he said with a hint of worry in his voice.

"It's nothing. As I said, it's settled now."

"All right and as we're already talking about it, can we maybe name him… Charlie?" Desmond suggested. "It would be to honor our dead friend, of course."

"What do you say for Charles Jack?" Julie asked.

"Charles Jack Hume, it's perfect."

"It doesn't really have a ring to it, does it?" Sawyer said once he heard what Julie and Desmond named their newly born baby. "Eh… sorry, I guess," he followed quickly when he realized that everyone present in the room shot him a murderous look. Julie was especially pissed, but that might also be the remnats of her giving birth.

"We wanted our son to be called after two bravest men we knew," Desmond informed in a cold voice.

"I love it," Claire voiced her opinion. "I really do. It's only fitting."

"I think we should all go now and give those three some rest, what do you say?" Kate suggested and grabbed Sawyer's arm before dragging him out of the room.

"I'm so happy that you're here," Julie confessed with meeting Desmond's equally tired as hers eyes. "I have no idea what I would've done without you. I wouldn't have survived if something had happened to you, too." There were fresh tears in her eyes.

"I'm here, baby," he just said when placing a loving kiss to the side of her head. "And I have no idea what I would've done without you, too."

Desmond knew that he should probably go, but no one dared throw him out of the room since his wife had just had their son, so he took advantage of the situation and soon they were both asleep.

"It's time to go home, brother," Jacob said to Jack as they were both present in the room, both watching over their friends from quite some time now. In fact, Jack had been watching over those he loved since the moment he'd released his last breath.

"Where to?" he just asked Jacob. He didn't want to leave. He wanted to keep looking after the people he cared about, the people he'd given his life for. Still, they were safe now. They were back home. They were happy. He had no business here anymore.

"To a place where you'll all meet again in order to move on," Jacob just said and before Jack managed to ask him a follow-up question, they were gone.

About a year and a half later

Julie felt really overwhelmed with such a big turnout at her second book's signing. The first one had been quite popular, but the second was the huge success Julie had always been dreaming of. Now she was sitting in a chair in a cozy old bookshop she'd chosen herself as the first mark on her book tour and she'd already signed so many novels and heard so many amazing things from her fans that her head was spinning. Sometimes she was truly at awe with her life and she could find herself dazed by how things had worked out. Of course she didn't forget what had happened on the island the two times she'd been there, but she still considered herself lucky. She knew that not many people could say that they had a successful career and that they actually did what they loved and what brought them both accomplishment and pleasure. Then she had this amazing family which consisted of her gorgeous husband and their son. She couldn't be happier at the moment and after everything she'd been through, she'd truly learnt how to appreciate it all and never take it for granted.

Her newest book was called Lost & Found and it was about a small group of people stranded on an island. The hero of the story, originally based on both Desmond and Jack as Julie didn't want to bring too many characters into the story or make it all too alike her own life since it would rouse unwanted suspicions; actually died in the end. Sometimes she was being bashed for concluding such an amazing book so sadly, but the majority of her fans really liked it and kept telling her that the book made them cry and appreciate their life and their loved ones more. After all, it was what Julie had been aiming at when writing it. The main female character was a strong woman who was in love with the man who died. Even though it was purely a work of fiction, Julie was highly inspired by what she herself had been through and she dedicated the book to JS - the real hero of the story as a tribute to Jack. Only a few people in the whole world knew who the person under those initials really was, but it was enough for Julie. Of course she was pretty often asked in interviews whether what she wrote about had happened for real, but she just laughed such comments off and asked: how could it? It was pure fantasy. Things like that didn't happen in real life, did they? But yes, the idea came to her after what she herself had been through on a stranded island.

The signing was almost coming to an end and soon enough Desmond with Charlie would pick her up.

Another book was placed on the table in front of Julie and she heard, "You know, there was a girl once that I let slip away. She was just like the one in the book."

Julie raised her head to see Alexander Roys standing there. She was surprised and couldn't hide it. Then she just asked in an exasperated voice, "What are you doing here, Alex?"

"Can we talk? I promise I'll be civil," he assured her. "You're just finishing here anyway, right?"

"Listen, I'm not sure…"

"I just want to talk, nothing more. I do not intend to harass you, I promise," he was being persistent and his eyes were actually pleading her to say yes.

Eventually, she just nodded and he waited for her until the signing was officially over.

"Ok, but I only have a few minutes," she informed him when walking over to him. "What do you want?"

"Let's go for a walk, shall we?" he suggested.

They exited the bookstore and walked in silence for a moment. Then Alex took a deep breath and finally said, "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I never really did and I need to do it now. I really am sorry, Julie," he confessed when facing her and she couldn't help but look at him. "I'm really sorry about how I treated you. I'm sorry I hurt you."

He seemed to be honest with her, so eventually she just said, "Listen, if you need forgiveness, I'll give it to you, but I don't have feelings for you anymore, Alex. I never really had. I don't know what you want from me. I don't know why you told me that you let me slip away, but it's just too late. With you it was just a stupid girl's fantasy and then I finally met the right man and fell in love. I am a happy wife and a mother of a beautiful boy. My life is perfect now the way it is."

"I know. I know that," Alex admitted, but she could tell that he saddened when he heard that. "I know and I am not asking you to give anything up. I'm not asking for you to come back to me either. I would be a fool if I did. Obviously I just now realize how much I lost when I hurt you, but I also know that I have no right to make a move now. I just needed to apologize. I'm trying to be a better man here and if there's something that keeps me awake at night, it's the fact that you were in that plane crash because of me."

"Well, I've moved past that and it did bring me to the love of my life, so let's just forget it, ok? You bought me the ticket, but I was the one who boarded the plane."

"There's just one more thing I need to know," Alex admitted. "The island from your book… is it real?" Julie would've gasped if only she hadn't stopped herself from showing him her surprise. How could he know? Why did he even suspect something like that? "I just couldn't help but notice that you left for a few weeks about a year and a half ago," he added. "Did you come back there, Julie? No one knew where you were and there is no record of any traveling you might've done. Your husband disappeared, too. People from his company were looking for him."

Julie didn't know what to say to that. It seemed like she could only deny it all.

"Don't worry," Alex added when seeing her hesitation. "Your secret is safe with me. I don't want to expose anything. I just… I told you that I've been feeling guilty about giving you that ticket and ever since that plane crash, I've been looking into it. I've done a lot of research even after you came back home. I found out about people who were lost at sea and they spoke about some miraculous island, but some of them also mentioned it being a hellhole. Could it possibly be the same place? Your husband did spend three years there, didn't he?"

"Look, Alex," Julie finally started, not really knowing what to tell him. "There are things in this world you wouldn't believe even if you saw them with your own eyes. The best thing for you to do is to just let it all go."

"So it is real?"

"For me that place wasn't miraculous. It was a hellhole," she admitted, "but then again, for some it was the first option."

In that moment a car pulled up and Julie spotted Desmond behind the wheel. Charlie was strapped into a baby seat in the back. Julie also noticed the frown on Desmond's face as he saw the man she was talking to and she knew that she had to hurry up.

"Listen, Alex, I need to go. Goodbye and I…" she hesitated, "I wish you all the best. If you really have changed and I think that you have, I hope you'll find someone special just like I did."

"Thank you," he said when smiling sadly at her. "It was nice to see you again."

"Yeah, but don't make it an habit."

"I won't bother you again. You have my word. I hope you'll be very happy."

"I already am," she told him and then she finally walked towards the car and got inside.

"What was that all about? I thought I would never see this guy again," Desmond said when Julie kissed him before he started the engine again.

"It was hope," she answered ambiguously, somehow having a good feeling about Alex. She really believed that he'd finally changed. "It turns out that there's hope for anyone. We just need to believe it and look hard enough to find it."