Kate had always thought Halloween would get in the way of Aaron's birthday parties.

She wasn't sure why. Maybe part of her worried parents wouldn't want their kids consuming more sugar on November 1st after such a haul the day before. Maybe part of her just worried that people's Halloween plans would extend through to that day and that the other kids wouldn't show up.

There'd never been any true reason for that. Year after year, her home was filled to the brim with excited squeaking children and their parents — though the children, as of the prior year, filled her house on their own, already considered old enough to be on their own for a few hours. Surprisingly, that had been an easy transition, even if it still saddened her to drop off Aaron at other kids' houses on his own.

When Aaron had brought up the idea of having a Halloween-themed birthday, she'd been taken aback. She couldn't fathom why that had never crossed her mind; it sure would've put her resentment towards the holiday to rest.

She had to admit she'd never been much of a Halloween person to start with. Wayne, her step-father, had a bit of a no-joy policy in the house, once he'd moved in, and Halloween had been part of that. She'd gotten the life beaten out of her as a child the one time she'd snuck out to trick or treat with her best friend, Tom, and she hadn't bothered to try again. Making Wayne angry wasn't worth it. He'd hurt either her or her mother.

But she had tried to make it special for Aaron every year, even if she didn't really bother to go all out with it and just focused on a handful of traditions surrounding it.

That year, though, after his request, she'd gone out of her way to figure out how to make it special. How to turn his party into the best Halloween party a 9-year-old could imagine.

Jack had laughed at her for putting in so much effort, reminding her that Aaron would be happy no matter what, so long as his friends came and he got to play. It had made her mad. He was the perfectionist of the two, and if he'd been fretting about it at least half as much as she had been, she would've felt better about it, because she knew he wouldn't stop until he made it happen. Instead, he'd taken on what was usually her role and tried calming her down, and the effect had been the opposite.

She'd done her best to decorate the house in true Halloween fashion, with spiderwebs and skeletons everywhere. She'd even made the food match the theme, adding blueberry ice to the cranberry punch to make it look like eyeballs were floating on blood. The backyard had a more stereotypical party setup, with bounce houses and a Twister set up — a specific request of Aaron's, along with the Star Wars family costumes.

Aaron had been in his Luke Skywalker costume, lightsaber in hand, sitting in the living room since lunch, two hours before the party was set to start. Kate had underestimated hers, thinking the Star Puffs would be easier to make than they really were. She'd finally managed to make one when her boys came into the bedroom.

Seeing Jack and Peter in their costumes made her smile. Their baby was the cutest little Yoda, just as they'd predicted when choosing a character for him. And there was something about Jack, dressed as Han Solo, smiling at her while holding their child that made her feel fuzzy inside. She was sure her foul mood toward Jack and everything he did wasn't entirely party-stress related, and she knew then that she had to talk to him about it or she wouldn't be able to get through the party.

She'd been trying to come up with a way to tell him for over a week, unsure of how to break it to him, unsure of what his reaction would be. Their family dynamic had changed so much already and they'd finally found their groove again. She didn't know how to tell him they'd basically have to start everything over again.

"I'm pregnant," she blurted out, evading eye contact and instead focusing on the furry boots on Peter's little feet.

"I know." Her eyes shot up to meet his, a playful smile on his lips. "I've known for a while, I'm a doctor, Kate."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I figured you'd tell me when you were ready and I was right."

Peter reached for her to hold him and Jack handed him over to her. The baby's smile, two tiny teeth lining the bottom of his mouth, made her smile too. "We can talk about it later, let's focus on Aaron today," he continued.

She nodded, he was right, and it was a relief that he was so nonchalant about it. If Jack wasn't antsy or worried, she had no reason to be.

He offered to help with her hair, joking briefly that he should practice, in case this next baby was a girl. She'd almost smacked his arm for being so silly, but it just made her love him a little bit more. She could never say that Jack Shephard didn't care.

She guided him through the steps she'd read online so many times. It took four times the time it would've taken her to do the right one as she'd done the left, but the final product had turned out okay. Jack had howled victoriously, taking Peter from her arms and throwing him up in the air in celebration, earning a giggle from him.

Before she could say anything, the doorbell rang, followed by Aaron yelling. "Mom, Dad, they're here!" from the bottom of the stairs.

"Time to get this party started.", Jack told her softly, dropping a kiss on her temple before rushing down to help Aaron open the door for their guests.

The lingering thought of a daughter made her feel like it'd be a nice way to complete their family, though gender wasn't relevant to her; the pregnancy suddenly sounded like a good idea, even if they'd have two children under the age of two. Aaron would be the best big brother to the new baby, just like he was to Peter.

Seeing the house full of happy children, the bright smile on her eldest son's face as he played with all his friends, all dressed up as characters from their favorite franchises, candy wrappers everywhere, her husband dancing around with their child and raising him over his head to touch the spider webs hanging from the ceiling, Halloween didn't feel so bad anymore.

She could see herself doing this for the rest of her life.