Author's Note – Here's the next instalment for your reading pleasure. This part has a rather touching little Skate moment that made me upset writing it, so hopefully it's good. As always, reviews (especially nice ones) are always welcome.

Disclaimer – I don't own any of this.

Now that everyone had arrived, they all headed out to the garden. Kate helped Claire carry the plates and bowls of salad and all the little sausage rolls and things you would normally find at a party, and they arranged the dishes on the big trestle table in the garden, while Clementine insisted on helping by carrying the paper plates and plastic cups.

Meanwhile, Jack, Charlie and Sawyer – who had managed to escape Aaron and Chris – were arguing over who should do the barbeque. Charlie thought he should because he was the host, and Jack and Sawyer… well, they never missed an opportunity to argue. The women watched as they argued, stifling laughter. In the end, the argument was settled by Jin pushing them all away and taking over himself. When they saw that he could obviously manage perfectly well by himself, Charlie went inside for a moment and reappeared with three beers. They settled on the patio – still near the barbeque, though – and chatted about work and their respective children.

While this was happening, the children were playing in the garden. Aaron and Chris had run to the end of the garden and appeared to be building a fort, with Jake tagging along and trying to help. Clementine had put her book down, and was sitting crosslegged on the grass, helping Libby and Sun's six-year-old daughter Miya gather daisies to make daisy chains with. When they had a good-sized pile , the older girl tried to show them, but couldn't make it work, so she got up and went over to Kate.

"Aunty Kate?"

"Yes, Clementine?"

"Can you show me how to make daisy chains again? I wanted to teach Libby and Miya, but I can't remember how you do it."

"Okay, I'll show you." Kate got up, leaving Claire and Sun sitting in their garden-chairs talking about Sun's latest pregnancy. She sat down by the little girls, and started a new daisy chain to show them how to make them. As she worked, Sun's other daughter, little three-year-old Kami, toddled over to them and started playing with the daisies they'd picked. When they stopped her trying to eat the flowers, she ended up sitting on Kate's lap and adorned with daisy chains.

It wasn't long before Jin called out – his English was very good now – that the meat was done, so Kate and Claire began rounding up the children. Kate somehow dragged Aaron and Chris away from their half-built fort, also rounding up Jake and Kami's twin brother Dai, who had followed the older boys and was basically getting in the way. Claire, meanwhile, picked up Kami and directed Libby, Miya and Clementine to the benches on either side of the table. When everyone was sitting down, and provided with a plate and a plastic beaker of their chosen drink, Kate whispered to Claire.

"Look, I had a word with Jack, is it okay if we make the announcement now?"
"Yeah, go on. It's fine."

"Thanks."

Kate and Jack stood up together, and Jack took a deep breath, before saying to everyone "Well, uh, Kate and I have some news. Um, we're…".

He couldn't seem to find the right words, however, so Kate took over.

"What Jack's trying to say is that I'm about three months pregnant. We're expecting our third child."

Chris was the first to say something. "Mommy… does that mean I'll have another brother or sister?"

"Yes, sweetie, it does."

"Oh. Can it be a boy this time please?"

"We'll have to wait and see about that I'm afraid."

"Oh. 'Kay then."

Then, Kate and Jack sat down, Kate blushing slightly as everyone congratulated them. Claire told everyone they could start eating, which kept herself, Kate and Sun busy helping their younger children get food. It did not take long before the kids took their plates and went to sit on the grass as they ate, and then the adults returned to their comfortable seats.

Sawyer came over to Kate as she settled into her chair, sitting down next to her.

"So, time for Number Three then, Freckles."

"Yeah. It wasn't planned, or anything… it was just an accident."

"I'm glad for you."

"Thanks… I know it must be hard for you, with Cassidy not being around any more."

"I do wonder, you know, what it would have been like if she was still here, and we had other kids… if Clementine had a little brother or sister."

"I can't imagine what it would be like, raising a child alone. If anything happened to Jack, I don't know what I'd do."

"If anything did happen, you know I'd be there to help you, don't you?"

"Yeah, I know."

"Not that anything will happen. You an' the Doc are going to grow old and look after your grandkids together when ya kids are busy. Nothin' gonna happen to break that up."

"How are you so sure?"

"Ah, well, that's a secret. No-one's allowed to know that, Freckles. I wish I could tell ya, but I can't."

"Sawyer. Come on, stop messing around."

"I know nothing will happen to mess things up for you an' the Doc, because I won't let anything happen."

"I said stop messing around."

"I'm not. I still have feelings for you, Freckles, but seein' as how you're with the Doc now, the best I can do for you is to look out for you and make sure you're okay."

Kate turned to look straight at him, looking into his bright blue eyes, and saw regret, and sorrow, and love in them. "What?"

"I have a lot to atone for, Freckles. Far as I can see, lookin' out for you an' yours is the best way I can do that."

"I had no idea…"

"I know. I never told you because I want you to be happy, and if that means being with Jackass, so be it. Anyway, you've got two kids and another on the way, it's a bit late to change now."

"Not necessarily."
Now it was Sawyer's turn to be confused. "What?"

"I could leave Jack. I could walk out, take the kids and we could be together."

"Clementine…"

"She wouldn't mind. She loves me, remember? Calls me 'Aunty Kate' and everything."

"Oh, God, Freckles, you have no idea how tempting that idea is. But I couldn't. I've done a lot that I regret in my life, but I've never broken up a family. Especially not a family that are dear friends. I can't. I want to, but then I think about it and I can't. You have a family of your own, and I cannot take you away from that. I'm sorry, and I will always love you, but I can't possibly be with you."

He glanced over at the others, checking that no-one was looking in their direction, and swiftly kissed Kate once, gently, for the last time. "Sorry, Freckles. I'll be your friend, and I'll always be your friend, but I can't be your lover ever again."

Kate nodded slowly, blinking back the tears. "I understand. It was a silly idea, of course we can't run away together."

"Friends?"

"Friends." And he hugged her, holding her close as she wept silent tears into his shirt. When her tears were spent, he got up to get a fresh bottle of beer from the kitchen, and she sat in her chair, discreetly wiping the tears from her face as she watched her children – her and Jack's children – playing in the warm summer sunshine.