Thanks for the reviews. I know some of you aren't sure about Juliet's behaviour last chapter, so I'll try to explain. Basically, the last time Juliet saw Jack they were warned not to make contact with anyone from the island. Naturally, she assumed that that was why she hadn't heard from him in three years, until he showed up on her doorstep with Kate and a baby, and she realised how stupid she was to think that he'd actually given her a second thought. So some of her coldness was real, but if you look back, you'll see that she was never actually rude: given Kate's attitude towards her, you had to take most of what she said and did at face value. It was just another one of my exercises in perspective... ;)

Chapter 36. Closure

Despite his reassuring words, the thought of Jack alone with Juliet still made Kate uncomfortable when she woke the next morning to find him already up. She felt better when she saw that he'd taken their son with him; catching sight of herself in the mirror, she raked her fingers self-consciously through her hair as she left the bedroom, freezing when she heard voices.

Creeping forward to the end of the hallway, she saw them sitting at the breakfast bar drinking coffee together, Juliet in her work clothes with J.J. seated on her lap. Watching her smile and duck her head to whisper something in his ear, Kate felt a pang of fresh irritation, hating how comfortable she looked with her family, until she got close enough to overhear their conversation.

"He's beautiful, Jack," Juliet said, her expression wistful as she shifted her eyes back to him. "You should be proud."

"It was stupid – seeing Kate when I wasn't supposed to, getting her pregnant – but it's still the best thing I've ever done," he confessed with a grin, reaching over to stroke the back of J.J.'s head, and Kate found herself grinning too.

"I'm just glad you're happy," Juliet told him in a soft voice, and for the first time, Kate actually felt bad for her, especially when Jack supplied, "Even if it's not with you?"

"Yeah," she agreed with a sad smile, doing her best to sound sincere. "You're a good man, Jack – if anyone deserves to be, it's you."

Remembering Juliet's bitter words the from night before, "Oh, I'm sorry, I just assumed that since the rules were pretty clear, maybe you weren't actually together…" Kate decided that she'd been too harsh in her assessment of her. She wasn't interfering in their relationship; she was just trying to understand why Jack hadn't chosen her. Why she wasn't worth the risk. It made Kate feel ashamed that she couldn't find it in her heart to be more forgiving when hers wasn't the one that was broken.

"Morning," she greeted them, coming out of the shadows, and when they turned to acknowledge her, Juliet's expression was slightly guilty as she moved to pass J.J. back to Jack.

"I think he likes you," Kate told her with a smile as she moved over to join them, nodding to her son and Juliet looked startled, then pleased.

"I like him too," she agreed, with a warm grin.

Juliet gave them a ride to the airport on her way to the fertility clinic, and after saying their goodbyes, they boarded another jet to Knoxville, which was the best lead they had on Sawyer's whereabouts. As far as Kate knew, he still had an aunt there; she figured that he must have made contact with her at some point after the rescue. She might even have an address for them, assuming that he'd remained in one place.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Jack asked, dubious, as he turned into a dirt road lined with dilapidated trailers, the little gardens and brightly coloured deckchairs doing nothing to make the neighbourhood more cheerful.

"Yeah, it is," she agreed, sad that Sawyer had been forced to live somewhere so depressing. Her family had never had much growing up either, but he looked like he'd had even less.

"That one," she told him, pointing to one near the end. It was kept better than most of the others, but the faded wooden porch made it obvious that it hadn't moved in decades. "I remember him describing it once."

She hadn't meant for this to make him jealous, but she could tell by the hard line of his jaw that didn't like being reminded of the fact that she and Sawyer had been on such intimate terms. She was about to give him the same speech he'd given her, about that being in the past, when to her surprise, the door opened, and Sawyer emerged carrying a trash bag.

"I guess that makes things easy," Jack said, watching him step down from the porch, and deposit it into the metal trashcans between his aunt's trailer and the next, his stunned expression mirroring her own. He killed the engine, but before he could get out, Kate put out a hand to stop him.

"Why don't you let me take this one?" she told him, reaching for the door handle, the sharp look he gave her making her feel guilty when she realised how he would interpret her reluctance to let him tag along.

"Why don't you want me to talk to him, Kate?"

"It's not that I don't want you to talk to him," she assured him quickly, wishing that she could avoid this encounter too. It would be easier to let him deal with it. "I just think he might be embarrassed if he sees you here."

She held out her palm for the flash drive, and with a sigh, he passed it over to her, his hand clasping hers for a few seconds longer than was needed.

"I'll be back soon," she told him, stroking the side of his jaw with her free one, reaching up to graze his lips when she saw how wary he looked. "Wait for me, okay?"

Before he could change his mind, she climbed out of the car, making her way up to the porch, conscious the whole time that Jack was watching her.

"Freckles?" Sawyer said, his eyebrows lifting in surprise when he saw her. "What brings you to this neck of the woods?" He wiped his hands on his jeans, scanning the car park, his eyes falling on the rental, conspicuous amid all the beat up old pickups and station wagons, before returning to hers. He didn't seem to recognise Jack.

"You, actually," she told him, regretting it when his breath hitched, his eyes hopeful as he waited for her to go on. She shifted her weight, glancing back at the car, hoping that it was too far away for Jack to pick up on this. The last thing she wanted was another fight, this time about Sawyer.

"I have something for you," she added to break the uncomfortable silence that followed, offering him the flash drive.

He picked it up out of her palm, turning it over with a perplexed look. "Okay, I give up – what is it?" he asked, growing impatient when he couldn't seem to make any sense out of it.

"It's a flash drive," she explained, smiling despite herself. He hadn't changed much.

"I know that – what's on it?" he insisted.

Still as belligerent as ever.

"Blackmail material, so we don't have to play by their rules anymore," she confessed, and a slow smile spread over his face. "I hear it's an interesting read."

"Does that mean you're stickin' around for a visit?" he asked her, flashing his dimples as his smile turned flirtatious.

"Sawyer…" she began, trailing off when she didn't know what to tell him; she was still trying to think of the least humiliating way to shoot him down when she heard the car door slam, and they both turned to see Jack coming towards them with J.J.

"You and Jacko, huh?" Sawyer observed his expression shifting from one of realisation to acceptance as it hit him that she was there for business and not pleasure. "I shoulda known." He cocked his head at J.J. "Kid yours?"

"Yeah," she agreed, understanding now why Jack had looked so guilty the day before. The last thing she wanted was to hurt him again. "I'm sorry, Sawyer."

"Why? Looks like you got what you wanted," he told her, an edge of bitterness creeping into his tone as he moved forward to shake Jack's hand, doing his best to save face. "Howdy, Doc – welcome to Casa de Sawyer."

Next chapter: Sawyer decides to help out, and Jack and Kate go back to L.A (Only four more chapters to go!)... ;)