Thanks for the reviews. Feedback still isn't what I hoped, but since those of you who have taken the time to comment have been so amazing, I still decided to update.

Oh, and I'm glad so many of you enjoyed my "Good News" one shot, since I wasn't sure how it would go down, but I'm afraid it was never meant to be anything other than that. I structured it in such a way that it was self contained, with a beginning, a middle and an end... ;)

Chapter 28. Something To Celebrate

"Well that went better than I thought it would – aside from the part where she pulled a gun on us," Jack said once they were out of Christine's earshot, grinning as he looped an arm around Kate's waist. With the flash drive nestled in the inside pocket of his coat, over his heart, he seemed more optimistic than he had since Claire dropped the bombshell about his father, patting it every so often with his free hand to make sure that it was still there.

But as much as she wished that she could share in his joy, she couldn't seem to forget Christine's warning:

"You'd better be careful, because someone knows you're here. They're probably watching you right now."

She knew she would feel better once J.J. was with them, and they were all back inside the apartment; maybe they could just order take out and spend a quiet night in front of the TV. She might even suggest that they go to bed early, she decided, smiling to herself as they separated at the curb.

She let Jack take the wheel now that he had sobered up, reaching for her seat belt in time to see one of the drivers behind them put his car into gear. He pulled out a few seconds after they did, falling into the stream of traffic at a non-threatening distance, but was it really her imagination, or was he turning when they turned, stopping when they stopped?

Before Jack could make the right that would take them back to the park, where they'd arranged to pick up their son, Kate touched his arm to get his attention, directing his eyes to the rear view mirror. "Don't – we're being followed," she explained, and he shot her a quizzical look, but to her relief, he continued on past the turn off, heading straight towards the harbour.

"Where should I go?"

"Just keep driving," she told him, taking her cell out and dialling Claire's number. "I'm gonna call Claire and tell her to meet us at the apartment instead – I'll feel better if they stay with us tonight."

They couldn't risk leading their pursuers to the one place that they knew they would be safe, so they left the rental at a mall a block away and doubled back on foot.

Claire was sitting on the floor of the lobby, colouring with Aaron while J.J. scribbled lightly over everything, when Jack and Kate stepped through the glass doors, but she was on her feet the moment she saw them, worry etched into her doll-like features.

"They wouldn't give me a key," she complained, gesturing to their little camp. "Is everything okay? You sounded weird on the phone."

"Everything's fine," Jack assured her with a grin, "Just a precaution," and she relaxed as she crouched down to get her son and his things into some kind of order.

Jack moved to do the same for theirs, but Kate reached him first, hugging him to her chest, relieved that they hadn't tried to come after him again. "Did you have fun with Aunty Claire and Aaron?" she asked him, kissing his nose, and pressing her forehead to his, and watching her, Jack smiled, his hand falling protectively to her side as he steered them towards the lift.

Once upstairs, the tension ebbed away, in favour of a more festive atmosphere.

After feeding the boys, and settling them in the living room, Jack and Kate took turns filling Claire in on their meeting over dinner; when they got to the part about the flash drive, she insisted on seeing it, handling it as if it were made of glass.

"You really think this is gunna work?" she checked with a cautious smile, passing it back to Jack so that he could return it to his pocket.

"It better," he agreed with a laugh, and Kate could see that while he still had his doubts, he was refusing to entertain the possibility that it wouldn't. There was too much riding on their success. "In fact, I'm counting on it."

"So what happens now?" Claire asked, setting her fork down, her forehead crinkling into a frown, and Kate realised that as happy for him as she was, she was also disappointed that there was no longer anything keeping him in Sydney. "I mean, do you just go back to L.A., or are you gunna let them know you have it?"

"We're gonna give you a copy," Kate assured her, looking to Jack for support. They hadn't talked much about the next step, neither wanting to jinx the outcome of the meeting, but during the few short conversations that they'd had, they seemed to be in agreement.

"In fact," he added, his face breaking into the same grin he always got back on the island when he was certain that a plan couldn't fail, "We're gonna make sure everyone has one. They can't pick us off one by one – not unless they want everyone else to go public."

"That's pretty Machiavellian of you, Jack," Claire said with an approving smile, and he scratched his head, bashful all of a sudden.

"Yeah, well, I can't take all the credit – Kate's been the heart of this operation," he confessed, turning to her, his dark eyes warm, and full of unspoken gratitude.

She didn't know what to say to that, so she leant over and kissed him, both of them pulling away, self-conscious, when Claire let out an amused, "Aw, you guys are so sweet. So when's the wedding? You have to let me be a bride's maid."

"What? Who told you we were getting married, Claire?" Jack asked her, shooting an accusing glance at Kate.

"Wasn't me," she told him with a shrug, returning to her food to hide her grin.

"You've been together pretty much as long as I've known you, and you have a baby – don't tell me you're afraid of committing, Jack," Claire went on, doing her best to sound innocent, but the mischievous twinkle in her wide blue eyes told Kate that she was only half serious.

Watching him fumble for an answer that wouldn't make him look like an ass, Kate almost felt sorry for him. "She's just making fun of you, Jack," she assured him. "No one's asking you to do anything – not yet anyway," she couldn't resist adding with a smirk.

"I guess that's something I'm gonna have to get used to," he agreed once he recovered from his embarrassment, meeting Claire's eyes with a hesitant look, until she smiled.

"If you think you can put up with having your hippyish Australian little sister and her illegitimate son around."

They were still grinning at each other across the table, sharing a companionable silence, when Kate's cell went off, and excusing herself, she got up and took it into the bedroom.

"Hello?"

At first, she wasn't sure that she'd heard right, and she had to ask the caller to repeat it, but by the time she hung up, the news had begun to sink in.

"That was Daniel," she announced when she rejoined the others, and when he couldn't get a read on her expression, Jack tensed, bracing himself for the worst.

"Did something happen?" he asked, getting to his feet, "Your dad…?" trailing off when her face split into a grin.

"He just woke up."

Next chapter: Jack, Kate and J.J. head home to L.A., and Jack and Sam finally meet... ;)