Sorry for the long delay, hope it was worth the wait….

Don walked down the corridor towards his friend's apartment. He had news and even though it wasn't necessarily bad news, he knew that not everybody would find the news welcoming. Finally he reached the door and knocked. The door was answered a little while later by a smiling Lindsay.

"Come on in, I'll call Claire," she said as she stepped aside to let him in.

"Thanks," Don said.

He walked into the living room and smiled as he saw the twins playing with Lucy. They seemed so normal, it was hard to remember that the first twelve years of their life had been spent being scared shitless of everything and everyone around them. But no more. Flack had made the silent promise that these two kids would not be scared anymore. He was pulled out of his reverie when a hand touched his shoulder. He looked up to Claire's worried eyes.

"Is it over?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's over. He will never get anywhere near you. We took down his whole organization today. You don't have to worry about anything anymore," Flack said confidently. Claire was extremely relieved and it showed. Flack saw the relief in her eyes and watched the tension in her shoulders subside somewhat.

"He got hurt, didn't he?" More of a statement than a question. Flack knew that Claire had known Mac far longer than anyone of them, even longer than Stella did.

"Yeah, but he'll be here soon. Mac and Dimitri shot each other. The impact of Mac's bullet threw Dimitri's aim off and Mac got hit in the shoulder." Was all that he could say, for at that moment they heard the front door open.

CSI NY

Mac walked through the front door of his apartment. The fact that it wasn't quiet and empty was a strange, but welcome change. The sight of Claire in his living room was a dream come true, something he had hoped and prayed for, but had lost faith that it would ever happen. Mac could feel Danny behind him as he closed the door, but his eyes and attention was held by Claire's troubled blue eyes. Her eyes darted to the sling he wore, the shirt with the hole, and the blood evidence of what had happened. Suddenly the room was empty as the Messer family and Flack moved to the kitchen, and Claire took a step towards him. She softly caressed his cheek, searching his eyes.

"It's over." Two words out of his mouth, but the weight off her shoulders.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

The kiss that followed was enough to catch up for the missed years. Lost in their own little world.

"Now we can become a family. A real family without having to look over our shoulders," Mac said with a smile.

"Thank you." Claire said softly against his lips. He frowned.

"For what?" he asked.

"For finding us."

Another kiss followed.

Mac and Claire clung to each other, the pain in his injured shoulder forgotten. A few minutes later, small arms joined the embrace and the family stood together in a big hug. A promise of love and new memories, the past will never be erased or rewritten, but it can change to be a better future. What was once lost, has indeed been found again.

There you go the epilogue of Lost. Thanks to everyone who read (even if you didn't review). So for the last time, please share your thoughts.

Again, my apologies for not updating for so long, but I had a really crappy year and I think I've got a serial kidnapper that constantly kidnaps by muse.

There isn't going to be a sequel anywhere in the future, but if anybody has an idea, I'll be willing to listen.

Thanks to my amazingly patient beta, C. Nicole, without you I would be lost.

Till next time,

Flea.