Sometime in the middle of the crash, Jack lost the hold he had on Alice and he immediately started panicking, doing his best to swim up to the surface to be able to locate her and save her. He couldn't lose her. Not now. Not when they were finally out of the island.

When Alice regained her consciousness, she couldn't understand why she was in the ocean, why she was drowning. Again. For a moment there she had the worst thought that she was back at the start, that somehow she traveled back in time and was about to immerse to see the island for the very first time. Only that couldn't be true. Her will to live was much bigger than before. She was in love. She had friends. She'd found purpose.

Once her body burst through the surface of the water and she finally took a deep breath, choking as she did so, the first thing she heard was Jack's scream. He was screaming for her.

"Jack!" she finally answered him and once he saw that she was all right, his expression changed from terrified and desperate to an equally emotional but happy one.

"Alice!" he called her name one more time and swan towards her, taking her into his arms even if that made it difficult for the both of them to stay on the surface. "Are you all right?" he asked then when moving away and cupping her face to look her in the eye.

"Jack… what happened?" she only asked, looking around in confusion. There was no island, no chopper, just a raft and water. Water and nothing else. The rest of their people were already on that raft or on their way to it.

"Nothing," he said in a shaky voice. "We're all right and that's all that matters. Come."

Together they swam to the raft and once they were all safely in there, Kate finally explained what happened and even though everyone except Alice saw it, she was still skeptical when she heard about it. Because things like that never happened. They just couldn't. It wasn't possible. It was against all the physical laws. You couldn't just move an island. You couldn't make it disappear. Only Ben had apparently done just that.

"What do you feel?" Jack asked Alice a specific question when the rest of them started wondering if they were going to die or be found in time.

Alice didn't really want to test the waters with her gift, especially since it'd almost killed her when causing her to lose her consciousness and almost drown when the chopper crashed, but she made the effort to try and sense something. And there was just nothing.

"I… I just don't," she replied, surprised herself. "I mean… even when I didn't sense anything before, I kind of… I don't know how to explain it. I felt different then. And I feel different now. I feel… free. Like it's gone."

"Maybe it is," Jack just said. "After all, Locke did tell you to stay on the island to work on that… gift."

"So, you really think that once we got out, I don't have it anymore?" Alice asked with hope in her voice.

"I do."

"Good. That's all I could ever want," she admitted.

"I'm a little confused here, dude," they suddenly heard Hurley's voice. "What are you, guys, talking about?"

The night had fallen pretty fast, maybe a little bit too fast. No one wanted to say it, but they were all thinking it - they might meet their end on this raft. Those might actually be their final moments. They couldn't know if there was anything out there, if they would even find another island or land or boat. They could as well be lost out in the open ocean with no hope of ever getting help, of ever being found.

Alice started shaking at some point, but all she could do was to snuggle closer into Jack's body, which was pretty much impossible as they were practically attached to one another ever since they'd gotten out of the water. She was pretty sure that her gift was gone with the island because she didn't feel that familiar clench in her stomach anymore. And something told her that she should. The situation was dire at best.

And then Hugo noticed a light.

And they were all standing up and screaming at once, waving at what appeared to be a boat in the distance.

And the boat was coming straight at them.

Alice was so cold she could barely feel her fingers, but she was excited. It was as though a new life was thrown into her, a new hope. They were going to be saved. They were really going back home. They were not going to die.

Only once she looked at Jack with that wide smile on her face, it disappeared at instance because she met with a completely different expression. Jack was troubled. And then he said, "We have to lie."

"About what?" Hugo asked, but for the rest of them it actually seemed pretty obvious.

"Everything," Jack answered. "About the island. The people from that freighter came to kill us. Our plane was found at the bottom of the ocean. Someone must've put it there. Just think about it. How much trouble someone went to, to cover it all up? If we say the truth, not only we will be in danger but the people we left behind as well."

"I understand that, Jack," Alice said, "but how can we ever help them if we don't say anything?" Her mind returned to James, wondering whether he managed to swim safely back to the island before it… She really didn't want to consider the other possibility. She didn't want to think that he might've died not so far away from where they'd crashed when the island disappeared.

"Alice, I'm sorry, but we might not have any other choice."

"But we won't pull it off," Kate protested. "How can we even lie so much?!"

"Just let me do the talking and we'll be fine," Jack offered. "There is no other choice and deep down inside you all know it," he repeated.

"Jack…" Alice started and stopped, not sure what argument even present to him. She just couldn't think straight. All those people… Locke, Claire, Juliet, James… she couldn't bear the thought of never seeing them again.

"No, man, I don't think we should…" Hugo started, but then Sayid interrupted him, "Hurley…"

"No! We just can't leave them behind and never go back for them!"

"They'll be safe," Sayid told him and then added, "The island is gone and even if we wanted to, we wouldn't be able to find it."

"But…"

"I need to know that you're all with me on this," Jack cut in again, emphasizing his words. "Everything depends on it." He looked at Alice, but at the moment she was just a silent presence beside him. She hadn't even thought that they wouldn't be able to find the island again. Earth was big, there was so much… so much ground to cover and they didn't even know where to start. Her mouth went dry when she tried to wrap her mind around all of this and then she remembered Ben's words. He had told them that they would never be able to come back. She just hadn't realized then that he meant it literally.

"Alice?" Jack prompted.

"I have always been with you," she assured him in a strangely empty voice. There was really nothing else to say when everyone else she cared about was gone and only Jack remained. Jack – her future.

"Me, too," Kate agreed.

"Aye," Desmond simply said and that left Sayid and Hurley. The first one was all right with the conditions, but Hugo still wasn't happy, though he was outvoted in the end.

And that was the moment the boat finally reached them and the men onboard started screaming something to them in a foreign language. One word must've stood out since Desmond stilled and asked, "Penny?!"

Soon enough, Alice witnessed a marvelous reunion between Desmond and his girlfriend. What she saw made her believe in real love against all odds. How many years had Desmond been away? Why Penelope hadn't given up? It was beautiful, truly and lifted all the survivors' spirits, even if for just a moment.

The following week was filled with getting to know Penny, talking over what they would do and say once found and just blissful relaxation. Soon, they got close to the Membata island and then Sumba where they were to stage their rescue.

"Anything?" Jack asked once last time and both he and Alice knew he was referring to her ability.

"No. I really think it's gone. It disappeared along with the island."

"That's actually good news," he said with a smile and she reciprocated.

Just like that, they were at the shore and a crowd of people was already running towards them. They were officially rescued or… maybe they rescued themselves.

Once they made a call, the Oceanic Airlines sent a plane for them. In the meantime, they decided Kate should say that she was Aaron's mother since Alice couldn't possibly pull that off. She would like to have a child, so taking care of her friend's baby would be a natural thing for her to do, but Jack reminded her that she'd been hospitalized before she'd taken the flight 815 and those records were still there, stating that she hadn't been pregnant during the car accident in which her family had died. It meant she couldn't have possibly been carrying a child for six months during the crash. They also decided to change their story completely, saying that only a few more of them had survived the crash, but the missing people had died on the island from various reasons; Jack being the doctor made it all easier for them as he could figure out plausible enough scenarios.

Oceanic provided everything. After all, they didn't have much of a choice if they wanted to maintain a good PR. The survivors were given food and drinks, they got a place to shower and a fresh change of elegant clothes since after their landing they agreed to a video conference. They were all exhausted, but they didn't want to procrastinate. It was better to just put all their efforts together and lie perfectly while they were still in shock, while – as Jack said – their obliviousness to some of the things that had apparently happened to them could be explained by it.

They didn't talk much on the plane. Hugo was still mad about the fact that he was outvoted by the majority and had to lie as well. Also, even if some of them hadn't spent enough time with Desmond on the island, they missed him now as he and Penny had dropped them off and sailed away. Charles Widmore – the man who'd sent the people on the freighter to the island – was actually Penny's father and he always hated Desmond. Needles to say, the reunited lovers chose to stay together in hiding.

"We're getting close to landing," the spokeswoman of Oceanic informed. "Get ready. Your families are all out there, waiting for you."

Families? Alice thought since she knew there would be no one waiting for her because there simply wasn't anyone left alive. Only then she felt Jack strengthening his hold on her hand as though he sensed her anxiety and was trying to tell her without words that he was there for her and everything would be all right. And it would truly be, she knew that. She wasn't alone anymore and it wasn't only about Jack. She not only had a person to share her life with, but she had friends now as well. If they had to lie, they could only talk about what happened on the island with each other. They couldn't even use psychological help to deal with their issues. Alice was sure that she and Kate would remain good friends and that she would be an amazing aunt for Aaron. It still hurt that Claire and James hadn't gotten out and that Alice didn't even know if they were all right. Her friendship with the woman had changed ever since Claire had been taken into the Dharma station by Ethan, but she was still a person Alice had trouble letting go of, not to mention Sawyer to whom she'd gotten so attched to. Sun would probably come back to Korea, but Alice was sure they'd stay in touch. She was also hopeful that Hurley would come around. As far as Sayid was concerned, Alice still had mixed feelings about the Iraqi, but she would do her best for Shannon. For another friend she'd lost.

Just like that, they landed and for a moment, just before the door opened, they all seemed to be in real shock. They'd spent over one hundred days on the island and while it seemed a lot, now they had the impression that it'd gone by so fast that their heads were spinning. They were used to fighting for survival, to fighting for every single day of life, to fighting their inner demons and strange happenings and monsters. Suddenly, they were back to normality and they didn't quite know how they'd fit in there again. When the novelty of the famous Oceanic Seven – as the media had already started to call them – wore off, they would have to do just that. They would have to find a place to live if their old apartments had been sold off; they would have to start working again and instead of picking up fruits and hunting animals, they would earn money to buy them.

"Ready?" the spokeswoman asked and then the door slowly opened.

None of them was really ready, but it didn't matter. They had to do it. They just had to get over this in order to start living again.

Hugo was the first one to get out of the plane as he was too eager to see his family and too mad at his fellow survivors for the decision they'd made. Jack marched towards someone whom he apparently recognized with a smile on his face, but his hand did not let go of Alice's and it resulted in him pulling her forward when she stopped, deciding that she'd feel much better among Sayid and Kate who apparently also had no one to greet them. Jack had none of it and soon enough Alice was standing next to an older woman whom she assumed was Jack's mother. She hugged her son tightly and that was the moment Jack was forced to finally let go of Alice's hand.

"It's so good to see you!" his mother was just saying with tears in her eyes.

"You, too. You, too, mom," he answered and then looked at Alice who felt rather out of place. "Mom, I want you to meet someone special. She's…" he stopped there for a moment as though he was searching for the right words to say. Eventually, he finished with, "she's the one, mom. She's the love of my life."

Alice didn't know what to expect and she nearly wished she'd still had the gift. How foolish it was of her to want that? She was just being introduced to Jack's mother. But not maybe just. This woman had given Jack's life and raised him and Alice wanted so much for her to approve of her son's choice.

"We met on the island," Jack explained, "and we saved each other."

Mrs. Shephard took a closer look at Alice and the latter was grateful that Oceanic had provided her with shower and real shampoo because she really wanted to look good and amicable.

"Of course it must've taken a plane crash and deserted island for you to finally find her," Jack's mother voiced her opinion. "I thought you were never going to find anyone good and to be honest, I never liked Sara."

Alice was surprised to hear all of that and she actually decided that she would most certainly like Mrs. Shephard.

"Come here, my dear," the woman then said and gave Alice a hug. "I'm sure we'll like each other very much… Jack, she's so pretty!... but wait, where's your family, dear?"

Alice's expression changed from surprised happiness to an actual sadness.

"Oh, dear God, I said something wrong, didn't I?"

"You couldn't have known, mom," Jack assured the woman when putting his arm around Alice. "We really have a lot to talk about," he then added. He might not be able to tell his own mother the truth about the island, but he definitely had to tell her about his father and the operation on Alice's twin sister.

They barely met with their families and they already had to go and attend the press conference, but as Jack said, it was better to get it over with. The reporters kept on asking a lot of difficult questions, but luckily, the survivors' confusion of how to answer was taken as simply being in shock. Kate was asked how it was to give birth on the island and then the reporters smoothly followed with asking about being a convict, which was skillfully bounced by the Oceanic spokesperson. Discussing Kate's criminal past wasn't a part of the deal. Alice was soon asked about the tragic circumstances preceding her boarding the plane and how she coped with it right after the crash. That question also remained unanswered and Jack spoke instead, saying something about how amazing she was on the island. It wasn't true, Alice thought morosely, remembering how she'd actually wanted to die and gotten so close to taking her own life, but then again, nothing that was said in front of the reporters that day was true. It was the price they had to pay for freedom and for protecting those who were left behind. She thought of Sawyer and Claire again. The fact that she couldn't be sure that they were ok was killing her. In a moment, she would be free, but in the same time she would never actually be. Not when she wouldn't know what happened to her friends. She thought that life was never easy. There was always loss, a price to pay for happiness and then the happy ending was rather bittersweet. She looked at Hurley who was still angry and clearly not speaking to anyone of the Oceanic Seven; then she glanced at Sun who was also upset, grieving the loss of her husband. And she was pregnant. Alice wouldn't wish that fate on anyone. Kate had taken Aaron, pretending to be his mother and from now on she would have to be extra careful. Not only she was still pending a trial, but she needed to make sure that no gynecologist would ever discover that she, in fact, was never pregnant. Sayid seemed mostly all right, just being glad that he was out and probably looking forward to what would happen next. And then, there was Jack and finally, Alice saw light in the darkness. She might always be wondering what was going on with both James and Claire and all the rest, but she would also always have Jack. They had both made it, they'd survived. Jack was actually speaking now. He was truly amazing with what he was doing for them all and he was so right when he said they could trust him and leave it all to him. With his help, they would soon be out of the woods. Another question was asked and he met Alice's eyes. She instantly felt better and her heart warmed up. She only had to hold on to the end of the conference and then it would finally be over. Then she and Jack would just go home, wherever that was. She was actually happy to know that even though her apartment had been rented to another person a long time ago, she still owed her bookshop. It was closed and slowly turning into ruin, but it hadn't been sold on any auction yet. That was all she truly needed. The lawyer hired for her by Oceanic also informed her that some of her stuff was still in the basement of the building she'd used to live in. Her landlord had gotten rid of her clothes, but the photo albums remained as he didn't have the heart to just throw all that memories away, even if the owner and all associated family was gone.

Finally, the conference came to an end, no more questions were allowed to ask and soon enough one of the bodyguards started guiding the Oceanic Seven to the back exit. The reporters were still screaming at them, but they didn't have to talk to them anymore. They were free. Well, maybe except Kate, Alice thought, instantly worried about Aaron's future. What if Kate was thrown into jail? Would Alice be able to take the boy then? She truly wished she could've taken him in and lied that she was his mother, but her medical records from the time of the accident were unquestionable. They might not figure out that Kate wasn't Aaron's mother, but they would surely guess that with Alice.

As she walked, led by the bodyguard, she felt a hand on her shoulder and she calmed down under the familiar touch. Then they were at the door and Jack's arm was around her, making her feel better, making it possible for her to breathe again.

"We're going home," he said into her ear.

As they finally found themselves outside, they saw Sayid hugging and kissing some woman and even though they didn't know who she was, they were actually happy that someone found the Iraqi. Then came the time for goodbyes. Hugo said a few words, but they didn't sound very honest and he quickly bailed with his parents, Alice sending him a sad look. It hurt since he was always the one hugging everyone and now he was just gone. Sun also left quickly with her family, probably wanting to catch the next plane back to Korea and see a doctor about the pregnancy. Kate was the only one who hugged both Jack and Alice and then she let them say goodbye to Aaron. They offered to give her a ride, but she already had a car waiting for her from Oceanic. They could go to court with the airline, but they already orally agreed to the generous offer they proposed. It would make them all very rich people and they didn't see any sense in fighting for more. Money wouldn't bring anyone who was dead or simply gone, back. Going to court wouldn't let them forget and they wanted to do just that desperately. They needed to forget in order to keep their sanities intact and to move on.

"Call us soon!" Alice told Kate as the brunette was walking away and then she finally got into the car Jack's mother was driving.

"Where to?" Mrs. Shephard asked and Jack just told her to drop them off at his place. It was a good thing that the woman hadn't sold or rented it. After allegedly losing both her husband and son, she just couldn't think of getting rid of anything.

They were all quiet during the ride. Alice sensed that Jack's mother wanted to ask them a lot of questions, but she didn't out of respect for all they'd been through. Besides, she already knew the whole story from the press conference and it wasn't like they could tell her the truth. All they did now was to just sit next to each other in the back and hold hands, still not believing their eyes as they saw the world passing by.

Once Mrs. Shephard stopped the car, she turned to them and said, "If you need anything, just call me, ok? Even if it's the middle of the night." They could tell that she didn't want to let her son go just yet, but his needs were more important to her than her own, so she did. She could tell that both Jack and Alice were exhausted and drained and they just wanted to be alone.

"Thank you, mom," Jack said and leaned towards her to kiss her cheek. "It's all… too much today, but I promise I'll call you and then come visit as soon as I can."

She nodded and smiled to him through fresh tears in her eyes. "I'm just glad that you're ok. It's really all I could ever ask for."

Jack reciprocated the smile and then got out of the car, followed by Alice.

"So you live here," she finally said on seeing the rather tall and fancy apartment building.

"Yeah," he admitted with a nod. "Didn't I mention that I come from a long and rich line of doctors?"

"Nope, you didn't," she made that clear. "Not that I care, but it's a nice transition from my crappy old apartment… Jack," she then started again after a moment of silence in which they made it to the door. "If it's too soon…" she said awkwardly, not really knowing how to put those words together. "I can find something… else… temporarily… with the money from Oceanic, I'll be able to afford it."

Jack turned to her in surprise.

"What?" he asked. "Alice, I already told you that I want nothing more than you in my life. After everything that…" He just shook his head as though he was trying to repel the bad memories. "After everything I've been through… after everything we've been through… I don't see my life going anywhere without you. I won't be happy alone. I need you there in my apartment. I love you. I'm in this for real." He put his hands on her shoulders as he was saying the last part.

She smiled to him brightly through the tears that appeared in her eyes.

"I guess I just have cold feet. I know it's silly, but I'm afraid that…"

"I will not leave you. You will never have to be alone again. I'm your family now," he assured her when looking her deeply in the eye and drawing soothing circles with his fingers on her shoulders.

"Good. I feel the same way," she finally said and was about to kiss him when the door opened, showing a stunned doorman.

"I'm sorry, doctor Shephard," he apologized quickly, realizing that he interrupted something. "I just can't believe it's really you!"

"It's nice to see you, too, Philip." Jack turned to the man with a smile.

"It's really great to see you alive, doctor!"

"This is Alice," Jack introduced her . "She'll be living with me now."

"It's an honor, miss," the man told her and kissed her hand.

"Well, that was a warm welcome," Jack said when they were both already in the elevator riding upstairs.

"You have quite the reputation, doctor Shephard," she teased him when taking his arm.

"It was just one miraculous operation," he said as though he didn't think of himself to be so good.

"And what about the successful tumor removal on the island? That wasn't a show off your skills? You saved Ben's life."

"Only to save you," he assured her when the elevator stopped and they were finally in Jack's spacious and actually well-furnished apartment.

"It paid off since he let us go," she said.

"So, what are you want to do now?" Jack asked her, finally taking her into her arms and kissing her like he'd wanted to downstairs.

She kissed him back with equal fervor. Just a second ago she didn't feel like doing anything else but sleeping, but now as their lips touched and she finally felt safe and happy that she was back in a civilized world with Jack, she felt the fire burning inside her and it only grew hotter. She moaned when his tongue found its way into her mouth, making her forget her own name and then Jack's hands were on her hips and he pulled her in, showing her how ready he was for her. In fact, he was already fully aroused.

"Wait… wait…" She woke up after a moment and it took all her willpower to pull away, but she did so. And it wasn't for her, it was for him. She might be ready for a baby, but he wasn't. At least they hadn't talked about it yet and the last time they'd had, he didn't want one. Besides, now that they were back home, she saw how silly it would be to get pregnant after barely months of knowing each other. "Condom. Do you happen to…?" she started, but he interrupted her with a smile on his face.

"I think I have some," he answered.

"Oh, thank God! Where's the bedroom?" she asked, but instead of actually looking for it, she started kissing him again and he raised her up until her legs were securely wound around his hips. Then he carried her to the needed room and gently lowered on the bed. He was actually looking for a few minutes, but finally found a pack of condoms in the bathroom.

They couldn't seem to wait any longer. Clothes were ripped, hands desperately touched and explored, trying to cover everything at once as they hadn't been in this position for what seemed like forever. Lips met and sucked, tongues licked and entwined together and then Jack lined up and pushed until he was buried completely inside of her and her back arched in pleasure and anticipation. Then they were just moving, doing what felt right, doing what felt natural, losing themselves within each other, reaching their completion. And right after that, they fell into deep and uninterrupted sleep.