I wrote this with ForeverErica and stefanie bean in mind. I hope you both enjoy it.

It was nightfall and Hugo plunged deeper and deeper into the jungle looking for that same spot where Jacob had spoken to all of them for the last time. Ben wanted to follow him tonight, but this was something he wanted to do on his own.

He had waited a few days since his anointment as Island Protector. Waited to see if Jack would appear to him like Jacob had after he was killed by Ben and that fake Locke guy.

Hugo even mused whether Jack would appear as the kid version of himself - that could be kinda cool.

He could still remember the feel of each painful step Jack took when he helped him stagger back to the Island's source and he knew then Jack was slowly dying in his arms. But now, he wanted to talk to Jack. And he finally decided that he'd try that ash burning thing that Jacob did. Maybe it would summon Jack or something.

Hugo breathed deeply as he prepared the fire using the torch that had helped guide him through the blackness. It didn't take long to get a campfire going and once he felt the warm glow hit his skin he reached for the pouch and began to untie it.

He sure hoped this would work.

Carefully, he began to sprinkle … Jack onto the fire and when the calfskin bag felt lighter, he stopped. If this could actually do what he hoped it would, he should probably save some of the ashes. This may not have to be a one-shot deal. Like, maybe he could hang out with Jack every now and then.

He smiled. That would be awesome.

He sat with his legs crossed, and looked around while the steady sounds of the wild played in the background. He waited patiently, listening to the crackle of the firewood. That is when he saw the sweeping movement of large palm leaves followed by Jack emerging from the edge of the jungle into the clearing, wearing that sheepish grin of his.

And to say that Hugo felt like he saw a ghost … well that was ….

But better yet …. Hugo's eyes brightened … he was relieved. It worked!

"Jack!" He shouted and with some unexpected speed, he stood up and made his way to where Jack was standing, which still kinda freaked him out a little, because … well … Jack was sort of … dead.

He wanted to reach out and embrace him, but was afraid that there was nothing but air to hold onto. Jack's human form was now nothing but ashes and that made him sad again.

But for being dead, Jack sure looked pretty good though, like California good. No creases of worry etched in his forehead or puffy eyes lined with deep shadows earned from sleepless nights of grief and stress. Even the dark purple bruises and bloodied cuts were gone too. This healthy image before him was the same one he remembered when they were back home. There was no way to describe the comfort that Hugo derived from seeing Jack like this. He couldn't bear the thought of Jack suffering and still being in pain … somewhere.

Hugo's mind flew back to one day in June of 2005. He was chilling out with Jack who had babysitting duty of Aaron. Kate had needed some alone time to do girl errands - whatever that meant. Back then, Hugo could never understand how a supposedly dangerous fugitive was out on bail and roaming freely around L.A., but her whole trial seemed completely whack anyway. It was even more unrealistic than that show Ally McBeal. Now, Hugo just assumed that Jacob probably had something to do with erasing all those legal troubles for Kate. Kind of a good deal for Kate and for Jack too, they got to live together and stuff.

Well, anyway, Jack had invited him to lunch at one of those trendy, yuppie outdoor cafes in Santa Monica. It was a real nice day too, sunny and uncharacteristically cool for that time of year - he remembered how the breeze had nipped sweetly at the hair on his powerful calves. He even felt the salty air of the Pacific Ocean hit his nostrils and, of course, that reminded him of this place. But he was determined to not let the Island dampen his mood. Instead it was all about having fun for once. Jack looked kinda cool, wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap while holding Aaron and trying to coax the little dude into finishing his bottle. They sat in a comfy, quiet spot under the shade of the table umbrella, a place where they could squeeze in Aaron's megabucks designer stroller.

He still remembered the sensation, it felt surreal … it felt normal. Hanging out with a good friend, talking about all random sort of stuff. But it was also funny and … crazy too that Kate would trust the two of them with the hefty responsibility of watching the baby all day, but then again Jack was a doctor. And despite all of Jack's insecurities and protestations, Hugo noticed that he was actually pretty good with the little guy.

At that point, some of the Oceanic Six media hoopla had died down a little, as did their celebrity status, but he was still approached by people once in a while. That afternoon, in particular, a couple of real cute girls came up to them and Hugo just assumed that they were gonna chat up Jack. The ladies always seemed to like Jack, it was something he noticed on more than a few occasions - it was also something definitely noticed by Kate and to her irritation too - she didn't like it one bit. The days when Kate used to give icy looks to Ana Lucia and Juliet came to mind.

He had sat himself straight up in his chair, pushed back the tendrils of his shoulder length hair in expectation of what the girls were gonna say. Every guy knows women just love babies, so Jack was totally going to be the chick magnet in this scenario. But not that day, the blonde and redhead were only interested in him. And, yeah, that made him feel like a …. Total. Stud.

Jack's wingman instincts had kicked in and he was quick to take the hint. Hugo saw the wink Jack gave him through the lens of the Ray-Ban aviators. Jack stood up, grabbed the diaper bag under the guise of changing Aaron and maneuvered his way through the tables and into the restaurant while toting the cooing infant in his arms.

Hugo walked away with two phone numbers that day.

Yeah, they at least got to share some good times before the specter of the Island decided to collect on its raincheck and bring them back. That was a good day.

Getting pulled back into the present, Hugo was SO relieved to see that Jack was wearing his own clothes now - the blue t-shirt, jeans and work boots. The only difference was that there were no rips or stains - it all looked freshly laundered. It would have been weird and way too Moses-ish to see him come out of the jungle wearing that white linen tunic thing that Ben helped dress his body in. It was The Others' funeral tradition, Ben had explained. Hugo went along with the whole ritual. And the funeral service was also one of the saddest moments in his life - to have to lay to rest a friend, a good guy that was way too young to die.

But now. At this moment. Jack looked like … Jack. Just the way he should.

He wasn't sure what to say or how to break the ice, so he blurted, "Jack, I saved some of your ashes."

Jack's eyebrows rose and he smiled, "What?"

Hugo went over to a large rock and sat on it. Jack followed and took a spot next to him, finally resting his forearms on his knees as he looked over at his friend.

Hugo knew he was about to ramble out a half-baked explanation, "Cause, you know how, like, Luke would talk to Obi-Wan Kenobi. I was thinking that I'd keep some of your ashes around to light up now and then, in case I needed your advice or something later on."

But, Hugo knew it was more than that. Jack was the closest thing he had to a brother on the Island. Yeah, Jack was a hard-ass sometimes and the dude could stand to loosen up and relax a little. But, he wouldn't be Jack then.

Jack nodded and chuckled, "I liked Star Wars when I was a kid too." Hugo's eyes lifted in surprise. For some reason, he sorta just pictured a young Jack always stuck at home studying or doing science projects.

"Yeah? Your dad used to, like, take you to the movies?" Hugo noticed a sudden shadow in Jack's expression as the edges of his mouth dipped.

"Nah, I used to tag along with my best friend Marc and his father. My old man was always too busy for stuff like that." Hugo saw pain there. He knew Jack's dad used to be some big time surgeon and that must have made for a lonely childhood existence. And Hugo understood. It wasn't like his dad was all that great, he spent seventeen years in the shadow of his absence.

"That sucks dude."

Jack nodded his head, Hugo was right, that really did suck. As a kid, he was so terrified of his father and actually as an adult as well. Yes, still so many regrets there, things he wished he had a chance to say or take back. And now who knows? But for some reason he held some flicker of hope that he would wrap up their unfinished business, it was a feeling. The same kind of feeling he had when he thought about Kate, he would see her again. He had to.

Jack looked at the fire and it was beginning to dwindle, there wasn't much time. "Hugo, I have a favor to ask. When you take Desmond off the Island, can you please check on Claire, Aaron, Kate and the baby for me?"

Hugo nodded, of course he would. But then he was suddenly hit by the last part. Baby?

Jack noticed his look of confusion, "Yeah it's very early. Kate doesn't even know yet. About our child."

A blush of realization crept across Hugo's heavy cheeks, "Uh. So ... uhm … you and … Kate -"

Chuckling, Jack rubbed the back of his head and said, "Yeah, that's usually how those things happen."

Well, good for you, man. You deserved a little action. Hugo secretly thought to himself.

"But, I thought you guys were broken up."

Jack shook his head slightly, recalling that final night they spent together in his apartment. He remembered how their needy bodies collapsed into one other, demanding everything they were capable of giving. But most of all, he knew his soul had actually touched hers that night - he felt it. And despite how angry Kate was with him then, he knew that he could never be with anyone else again. And now he was so, so grateful that in her moment of grief, Kate came to him - even in all her beautiful tragic gloom. Because that night, he was able to give her something to help fill that chasm in her heart left by Aaron.

Jack inhaled a big gulp of air and puffed his words out. "It's complicated Hugo." His shoulders slouched a little. "Things between the two of us always have been."

And, boy, did Hugo know it. In the beginning, he thought for sure that Kate and Jack were going to shack up in the caves together. He would have bet his entire lottery winnings on it. Even he managed to notice the dumb looks they used to give each other all the time - yeah, they totally wanted to bone. But then Sawyer seemed to enter the picture and Hugo knew for a fact that they had something going on at some point. And that was kinda ... awkward.

Hugo considered Sawyer to be his bro too and despite Sawyer's cranky persona, Hugo could tell that the guy was pretty hung up on Kate. But Hugo had been determined to not take sides in that drama Kate had somehow created for herself. And as much as he stayed out of it and had other things in his life to focus on, he always did believe that Kate and Jack would end up together. A few times he had spotted Kate sitting on the beach looking real, real sad and each time he followed the path of her teary gaze, it would land on Jack and Juliet huddling and laughing. That's when he knew, who Kate was in love with.

And then he was hit in the gut with another sad feeling. Kate's gonna be a single mom.

"Uh, Jack, if Kate doesn't know, how do you know?"

Jack closed his eyes, trying to figure out a way to articulate a response that could be of some use to his friend. Jack still didn't have answers, his reign as Island Protector was so short, he had no concept of what powers he briefly held.

But Jack smiled radiantly. "That's a good question. It's just a feeling, I guess. When Kate kissed me, even through her sadness, I felt something so innocent, warm and bright emanating from her and … I was nearly floored by this overwhelming compulsion to … protect … them and I just knew it was our child. And … I knew that I had to get Kate off the Island."

Jack sighed, wishing he could offer more of an explanation, be counsel to this gentle giant of a man. Jack knew that he had literally dumped a world of responsibility on him in a matter of minutes. Jack dropped his shoulders in helplessness, and all he could offer was,"You'll know what I mean one day, when you start figuring things out for yourself."

A few tears escaped the corners of Hugo's eyes as he recalled Jack's heart wrenching goodbye with Kate and now it made more sense why Jack was so intent on Kate leaving.

"I'm really sorry Jack. That you can't … that you're not gonna … be there. I know what you told me that time when we were walking to the lighthouse, but I don't care. I still think you woulda made a great dad."

Jack smiled then, Hugo's words of confidence lifted his heart. "You know, Hugo? Something tells me that I'm gonna know what it feels like." Jack paused, there was something else on his mind and a small choke in his voice, "If you get the chance to speak to Kate before the baby's born, can you let her know that I always liked the name David?"

And that was all it took for Hugo to unleash the tears he was trying so hard to hold in. He was a total pile of mush now. If this made him a mess, how was he supposed to be in charge of this damn Island?

"I tried to save you Jack! When I found you in the bamboo grove, I tried to use my Island magic and make you come back. But I didn't know what to do. I still don't know what to do."

Jack's eyes warmed with affection and he placed his palm on his friend's massive shoulder to comfort him … to let Hugo in on what he knew to be a given truth. Using a tone of deliberate force to convince him, Jack said, "You're gonna be great at this, Hugo. Trust me. You have what it takes."

Fisting at the stubborn tears that still rolled down his bearded cheek, Hugo reluctantly nodded. He then looked at the fire and saw that it was almost gone. Quickly, he reached for the pouch that contained the remainder of Jack's ashes. Once again, Hugo dug deep into his heart to find that inner strength, he had done it once before when Jack told him that it had to be him and now he needed it to say goodbye to the man he would always call a brother. And with that, he proceeded to sprinkle the rest of the ashes into the flames.

Jack's eyes widened in surprise, "What are you doing? I thought you wanted to save it."

"No dude. It's not right, making you stick around the Island to, like, keep me company when you need to find your way to get to that place where you'll one day be with Kate, your baby and … I think you'll meet up with your dad too." Hugo paused a second, now wondering where these blurted out random thoughts came from.

Jack's eyes watered, "You still didn't have to do that. I would have waited until you were ready."

"Shut up, Jack."

Jack chuckled, "Fair enough."

A/N: I know a bunch of you are expecting an update to SA or TTR and it's coming. But, I woke up with this story in my head and I had to write it before anything else.

I know it's a one-shot and there may be no motivation by readers to review. But, if you read it, please let me know. I'm trying to expand my writing, especially in the canon realm. I have a few ideas for some LOST canon, but I am really insecure about writing it.

Reviews are such a source of inspiration and motivation.