Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters and settings are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.

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Author's Notes: I was honestly thinking about making this the last Chapter/Epilogue, but my faithful reviewer LexieMcSteamy and a guest reviewer named Love managed to change my mind with their nice and encouraging words. Thank you guys. So because of you, here is the new chapter.

A little heads up that this chapter is rated M.

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A few days later

Hurley managed to open his car door and got out, despite the reporters and paparazzi that made it more than difficult for him. With the small cardboard box tucked under one arm he fought his way through to the front door, completely ignoring the questions the reporters were throwing at him.

He adjusted his sunglasses while he was showered in flashes from their cameras before he reached out and rang the doorbell.

He waited patiently for a minute, but nothing happened.

He rang the doorbell again and waited … and again … and again, until he finally reached inside the pocket of his jacket, retrieved his cell phone and made a phone call instead.

XXXXX

The curtains were drawn and had been drawn since they'd come home from the hospital a few days ago, which made the house look almost dingy and dark despite its white interior and walls throughout.

But neither Kate nor James minded since barely any light was required for what they'd been doing. James had held true to his word, when he'd said that Kate wouldn't need any clothing when he got home.

Patsy Cline greatest Hits was playing on a never ending repeat, not very loud but loud enough to successfully drown out the noise of the reporters who had been camping out on their front lawn since they'd arrived home.

They had completely cut themselves off from the outside world, with the exception of James' nightly phone call to his daughter Clementine.

So when the doorbell rang the first time … they didn't so much as blink. Then it rang again and again and again, causing James to lift his head just long enough to squint over at the alarm clock, noting that it was 1pm in the afternoon.

After he'd decided to ignore it he placed a small peck against Kate's temple as he lied back down. This minute movement of his body caused her to let out a small moan and a lazy sleepy smile spread over his face when he realized that he was still inside of her.

They had been like this since they'd stepped through the front door, had barely managed to make it to bed. Just a tangled mass of naked flesh and limbs, endless kisses and the constant lust and need to be even closer to one another. Always skin on skin!

They'd come together in every which way a man could be with his woman, with the one exception of him not being able to lie flat on his back due to his injuries. But that hadn't stopped them in the least from making love all hours of the day and night, only pulling apart to eat, drink, sleep and for Kate to change the dressing that covered the majority of his back at least once a day.

So this small little moan that had escaped Kate's lips, made his softened dick still buried inside her come back to life once more. No words were said nor needed, she simply opened her legs even further for him and he adjusted his position above her just so that he could fill her to the hilt as both their bodies began rocking against each other in a deliciously slow pace again. Kate moaned over and over as she crossed her ankles behind him and he let out this throaty animal-like sound that almost pushed Kate over the edge.

That's when the phone on the nightstand started ringing, but so entranced in each other neither even blinked to acknowledge that either … at first.

The ringing stopped, but less than thirty seconds later it started ringing again, and it just wouldn't let up. Every time it stopped, soon after it quickly started ringing again and at this point Kate began to regret that she'd turned the answering machine off. What she should've done was unplug all the phones instead.

When it started ringing once more, James groaned in annoyance, but Kate had had enough and reached over, blindly patting the nightstand until she found the phone and took it. Whoever this was, was very insistent … so maybe it was important!

Still thrusting against each other, James couldn't believe his eyes when Kate actually answered the phone in the midst of it.

"Hello." She answered throatily before biting her own bottom lip to keep herself from moaning out loud into the receiver.

Just a tad bit annoyed that she'd actually gone and answered it, he pulled out of her and sat back on his hunches. Her eyes looked up at him with a mixture of surprise and disappointment and just a hint of a smug expression to it, while she still had the phone pressed to her ear. Was she challenging him?

And just when she hummed "Uh huh." into the phone as some sort of agreement, James reached for her and turned her onto her stomach.

The phone slipped out of her hand and fell off the bed to end up with the blankets on the floor beside them, but he didn't give her a chance to reach for it again.

James had grabbed her hips and had pulled her to her knees and up against him.

"What the hell are you … oooohhhhh, god."

He slit back inside her and began taking her from behind and Kate couldn't hold back the moans any longer.

With both his hands gripping her hips, he rocked against her, increasing speed with every thrust. Kate, who had first braced herself on her elbows, had now lowered her upper body completely onto the mattress. She simply didn't have the strength to hold herself up any more, her body weak from their constant lovemaking over the last few days.

Her forehead pressed into the sweat-trenched sheets, her arms stretched out and hands flattened against the mahogany wood of their headboard to brace and keep herself from moving forward with every thrust he gave her from behind.

James looked down where they connected. He watched mesmerized as he moved in and out of her and began to feel that familiar pull. The sound of moist skin slapping against skin took over the room, you could barely hear Patsy crooning in the background.

His left hand let go of her hip and snaked around to her front. His touch wasn't light, but rather forceful when his fingers began to rhythmically work on her.

He watched and listened. Her breathing was labored, so was his, her moans soft but consistent and when her fingers moved from the headboard and dug into the sheets instead, he knew she was as close as he was.

When he felt her tighten around him, muscle spasms ripping through her and she moaned his name out loud, he knew she was there. His hand left her clit , gripped her hips again and tried to hold her jerking hips still against him while his own hips jerked against her uncontrollably a few more times and he himself fell over the edge with her.

He gently smoothed a hand over the small of her back that was glistening with sweat before his hands dropped to his side.

Her thigh muscles shook from weakness – and her entire body was so weak - that the moment James let go of her she fell forward and hit her head on the wooden headboard.

"Ouch." She shrieked and rubbed her head as she rolled onto her side.

"Shit." He muttered, falling onto his side next to her, his hand replacing hers as he tried to rub her pain away, "Sorry, Freckles."

She slowly rolled onto her back and kissed his chest, her naked chest rose and fell rapidly with her still ragged breaths, and she murmured, "So worth it."

"I'll second that." A deep throaty chuckle followed as he kissed the small puckered scar on her shoulder.

Propped on his right side, his hand slid down her body and over her stomach. His fingers spread out and caressed her, a gentle back and forth movement over the growing baby bump.

His eyes trained on the path his hand was taking and he seemed lost in thought for a moment.

Kate took in the odd expression that crossed his face and couldn't help but ask, "What are you thinking?"

His eyes connected with hers and he paused for a beat before he spoke up, "Ever heard the one about the baby and the dad in the hospital nursery?"

She gave him a confused look and he continued, "So the father picks up his newborn, and the kid …" his hand leaves her stomach and he pokes her forehead a few times with his finger, "… pokes his father in the forehead a couple of times and says, 'Now how does that feel? Hurts, doesn't it?'"

Kate lets out a laugh and rolls her eyes at him, "I don't think the baby can feel any of this."

His hand covered her bare bump again, "I'd beg to differ. All that rockin' back and forth we've been doing. Poor kid is probably sea sick." His eyes move to her hair and a smirk creeps on his face, "And your hair, Freckles."

She ran a hand over her hair and asked offended, "What about my hair?" She had barely glanced in a mirror in days.

"Looks like you took styling tips from Jungle-Claire."

She gave him a shove and he laughed at her and began rubbing her bump again in a loving manner when Kate suddenly propped herself up on her elbows and cursed, "Shit."

"What?"

"Hurley!" she exclaimed, "He's out front." She sat up and he followed suit.

"What the hell are you talking about?

"He's the one that called while we were … you know."

"Son of a … when did he get off the island?" James climbed over Kate to get out of bed.

She shrugged her shoulders, "Can you go let him in? I can't go down there looking like this?"

"Sure thing. If he's even still here … we took our sweet time." He said and bent down to give her a quick kiss before he reached for his pair of jeans and stepped into them.

XX

James pulled an old t-shirt over his head on his way down the stairs and opened the door for Hurley.

But Hurley had gone and settled back into his car, and in an attempt to appear busy he started playing a game on his smart phone. The moment the reporters realized that the front door had opened they quickly abandoned their position surrounding Hurley's car and marched back up the front lawn to the house, bombarding James with all kinds of questions.

Hurley quickly got out as well with the small box in his hands, made his way through the crowd and disappeared into the house without giving a single comment to the paparazzi.

James quickly locked the door behind them and turned around to greet his friend. "Sorry to keep you waiting, big man, but we kinda got caught up in … somethin'."

Hurley's cheeks turned a dark shade of pink, "Yeah, I know … I kinda couldn't help but overhear some of that, but when I realized what was going on I hung up right away, man."

He tried not to smirk but he couldn't help himself, "Shit, sorry." James replied sounding anything but sorry, "Any who …" he waved his hand in the direction of the kitchen, "Cold drinks are in the fridge, so … mi casa es su casa, and I'll be back in a minute."

Hurley nodded and James turned and took a few steps up the stairs before he turned back towards his friend once more and added, "Hey, let's keep what you heard between the both of us, alright? Kate … she gets upset over that kinda stuff."

Hurley raised his hands in surrender, "Trust me, dude, I had no intentions of bringing it up to her like … ever!"

X

Meanwhile

Kate got out of bed and headed into the adjoining bathroom. She'd just planned on splashing some water onto her face, run a brush through her hair, throw on some clothes and head downstairs to greet Hugo, but as soon as she stood she realized that wasn't really an option.

She was literally wet, not just moist, but wet between her thighs, and one look in the mirror told her that James hadn't really been joking when he'd made that comment about her hair. Apparently the constant back and forth movements on the sheets had tangled and teased her hair in a way, that it now very much resembled that of Claire's when she'd first gotten back.

"Holy shit." Kate cursed as she tried to run a hand through it. One snag after the other, this would take her hours to untangle.

Frustrated she leaned into the shower stall and turned the water on and waited with her hand held under the stream until the temperature was warm enough before she stepped inside.

She washed her hair first, rinsed it and applied three times the amount of conditioner she'd normally use and began to try to untangle some of it already.

She heard the bathroom door close and saw him through the fogged up shower glass as he dropped his jeans and pulled the door open. "Mind givin' me a hand, babe?" he asked before he turned his back towards her.

She rinsed her hands under the stream, stepped closer to him and gently began to peel at the sticky corners of the tape that held the huge bandage in place on his back.

It looked so painful and she still couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that he'd done this to himself to get back to her. The thought just seemed crazy and she felt an immense amount of guilt for having ever doubted his faithfulness at all.

Doctor's orders were to rinse it with warm water once a day and change the dressing, so once she'd removed it he'd quickly stepped into the shower with her.

"Was he mad?" Kate asked as she stepped aside to let James step completely under the stream.

He shook his head, "I don't think so."

"What did you tell him?" she asked while he began to lather shampoo into his hair.

That smirk appeared again and eyebrows rose suggestively, "Told him we got caught up."

Kate nodded, but didn't look too happy, "He probably knows what we were doing."

"Well, baby doll, I wouldn't sweat it." He said before he stepped back under the stream and rinsed the shampoo from his hair. He stepped closer to her and ran a hand down his face to clear his vision, "Ain't like we're livin' in sin or somethin', Honey bun." He cupped her face and kissed her and she gladly kissed him back.

They deepened the kiss and he dropped his hands from her face down to her waist and pulled her slick against him.

Kate suddenly gasped and took a quick step back and a look of surprise crossed her face as her hands cradled her little bump.

"What's wrong?" James asked worried and alarmed by the way she'd so quickly pulled away from him.

"I think … I" she blinked up at him and saw the utter confusion in his eyes before she grabbed his hand and pressed it firmly against the lower right side of her belly, "I think I just felt it move."

Holding their breath and standing completely still, she felt it – a flutter more than a kick – again and when her eyes connected with his she saw the awe in his eyes and he nodded at her smiling, "Told you the squirt has had enough, he's trying to kick me away."

He'd expected a roll of her eyes for his comment, but instead she just smiled up at him. The biggest and goofiest teeth baring smile he'd ever seen on her and he couldn't help but smile back before she got up on her tippy toes to kiss him again.

"He?" Kate asked, still smiling up at him.

"Or she." James offered and shrugged his shoulders.

They stood like this a few moments longer, hoping to feel their baby move again!

XXX

Hurley sat on the couch and was flipping through the channels when James stepped into the living room. "Kate will be down in a minute." He paused and gestured to his own hair, "She's got some … hair issues." He'd offered as form of explanation as he sat down in the recliner.

Hurley nodded and tuned the TV off.

"So … when did you get back, Curly Sue and what can I do you for?" James asked and ran a hand through his wet hair. He had a pretty good idea what this was about.

"You really did a number on Richard, man. Ben said he's never seen him this angry."

"I know." James replied and leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees, "Look, man, she thought I had cheated on her. The whole fucking world thought I'd cheated on her. I couldn't get in touch with her to tell her what really happened, so I … I improvised!"

Hurley nodded his understanding, "I get it, James. You were worried to lose her, you were … desperate. But this stunt you pulled, dude … you have no idea what you put Richard through. All the stuff he had to do to make your return seem legit and for your story to pen out … you owe him at least an apology, you know."

James nodded. "Yeah, I do." His eyes met Hurley's, "But we're good, right? I mean, he'd managed to get it all straightened out."

Hurley folded his arms over his chest, "Yeah, man, Richard made it all work out."

"Good." James nodded and sighed in relief.

"How's your back?"

"It's better."

Hurley nodded.

An awkward silence suddenly hung in the air until Kate finally stepped in the room.

"Hurley." She said in greeting and Hurley stood to give her a hug.

Hurley sat back down on the couch and before Kate could decide where to sit, James had tugged on her hand and pulled her onto the recliner with him.

"When did you get back?" She asked curiously.

"This morning."

"I bet your mom was glad to see you, huh?"

Hurley laughed, "Yeah, she was, and my dad was too."

"So …" Kate looked back over her shoulder at James and then back at Hurley, "We're good, right. I mean everything's going according to plan?"

James tucked her a little closer to him and answered before Hurley could, "Everything's perfect, Freckles."

Kate smiled and looked back at Hurley, "Are you coming over to Claire's tonight for dinner?"

"Of course, it's her birthday." Hurley nodded. "Oh, before I forget." Hurley added and jumped up, walked into the kitchen and came right back with the small cardboard box he'd brought in with him, "Richard said this was yours" and handed the box over to the couple.

Kate took it and before James could stop her, she had opened the flap and peeked inside. "My dress?" she asked surprised as her fingers skimmed over the fabric and she gave James a curious look over her shoulder.

"Yeah." He said and took the box out of her hand and pushed the flap closed again, "I had it in my pack when we walked up to the Orchid station, 'cause I was gonna give it to you to take home. Then we left together, so I kept it."

"I put it back in your drawer so you would have something to remember me by."

"I know, and I took it back out. Anyways." He looked over at Hurley, "Thanks man."

"That's not all, I brought a few things back from your house on the island too. They're in a bigger box in my trunk. Let me go get 'em real quick?"

They all got up. Kate went into the kitchen and James was just about to pull on a pair of shoes to step outside with Hurley, but Hurley shook his head.

"It's not that heavy. I'll get it."

They opened the front door and were immediately bombarded with questions and cameras in their faces again.

Hurley went to his car and got the box out while James stood in the doorframe, keeping the door open for his friend.

He ignored the reporters as best as he could, but right when Hurley was about to step back inside, an envelope was shoved in James' face and between all the random questions from the crowd in front of him, this man's word's stood out, "James Ford. You have been served."

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End Notes: Please, if you have any thoughts at all, good or bad, just let me know. Your reviews are what keep me going and it'll only take a minute or two out of your day! Thanks! XOXO