Epilogue

"Hello?"

There was a long pause at the other end. "Sarah?"

An even longer pause. "How did you get this number, Jack?"

Jack gave a small chuckle. "You know me; I'm nothing if not persistent. Sarah, I don't want anything from you. You made your position very clear when you didn't show up in Honolulu. And I've respected your wishes and your privacy. You know that it wouldn't have taken much of an effort for me to have found you, even after nearly three years."

A long pause. "What do you want, Jack?"

"To apologize. I'm not sorry that I married you. I know that a lot of our relationship was based on a false foundation, and that is mostly my responsibility. What I am sorry about is how horrendously I acted when I found out you were with somebody else. You were right. I should've let go. If I'd just been willing to do that, maybe", he swallowed, "maybe my father would still be alive. Maybe a lot of things wouldn't have happened. But none of that had anything to do with you. And for whatever pain it caused you, I am truly sorry for that."

There was a long pause on the other end of the line. Jack considered the possibility that Sarah had hung up. "I'm sorry, too." Sarah seemed perfectly calm. "I'm sorry that I turned you into my savior. I was vulnerable, and I needed a hero. I think we caused each other far too much pain the last few months we were together, and I've thought about that a lot."

"Are you happy? With him?"

Now Sarah sounded choked up. "Yes. I am. Very much."

"That's all I need to know." Jack brushed back a tear. "That's all I ever wanted for you. "

"Why are you calling me now?" Sarah asked.

"I'm getting married tomorrow." Jack gave a small laugh. "But I'm guessing you've probably heard about it."

Sarah gave a genuine laugh. "It's kind of hard to avoid it now."

"I didn't call to rub it in your face. I just wanted you to know that the two of us were never going to work. At my new hospital, I've seen a couple of cases where it turned into an absolute disaster, and it made me realize that I should've realized what was happening before you did."

"I wasn't exactly blind."

"No you weren't. But I should've been. The two of us were each trying to fill a void in each other lives, but as much as we tried to convince ourselves of it…" Jack trailed off. "I couldn't write my vows the night before we got married. That should've been a warning bell right there."

"Improvisation never was your strong suit," Sarah actually seemed to be teasing him now.

"I've gotten better at it over the years," Jack admitted. "Point is, it wasn't love. We both should've known better. And I was trained to know better."

"Please don't tell me you're trying to fix our divorce," Sarah said.

Jack gave a genuine laugh. "Believe me; if the last three years have taught me anything, it's that I can't fix everything."

"Sorry it took surviving a plane crash for you to realize it." Another pause. "You know, of all the people I ever saw you getting married to, I never thought it'd be an ex-con."

"Kate Austen is the exact opposite of everything I looked for in a woman. She never listened to me, she was very good at pushing my buttons, and she always wanted to run away rather than stay with me. She never thought that she was good enough for me, and spent almost all her time after the plane crash dart between me and another man. Everything she did was designed to piss me off." Jack paused. "I guess in that sense, we are perfect for each other."

Sarah considered this. "I did think about coming to see you after you and your friends came back to civilization. But for all that, I guess I thought you were a part of my life I wanted to put behind me forever. I'm sorry I never reached out. Even considering how we ended things, that was very cold of me."

Jack hesitated. "You know, for all the time that we knew each other, we went from patient to confidante to lovers to married so quickly, I don't think we ever tried to just be friends. I'd be more than willing to do that now."

There was such a long pause Jack was sure that he'd pushed her away again. "You know, I actually think I'm ready for that. Can I have your number?"

"Sure. Just don't try to reach me for the next couple of weeks. Hopefully, I'll be very busy."

"I have to admit that when Jack asked me to stand up for him at his wedding, this was the part of the evening I was looking forward to the least," Sayid told the small group. "As all of us are painfully aware, Jack was always better at making speeches then the rest of us."

The laughter that filled the hall was genuine. The only people who seemed baffled were Derek and Meredith, who seemed genuinely astounded that even Izzie and Alex were chuckling.

"Is this more of this island humor?" Derek leaned over and asked Miranda.

"There were always a lot of inside jokes at the hospital that no one else gets," Miranda was smiling herself, which didn't seem normal. "Now you know how the other half lives."

The idea of keeping Jack and Kate's wedding a small and intimate affair might've been possible when Kate had gone into prison. By the time she had been released, most of the attendings, some of the residents, and even a few of the nurses were now heavily invested in the lives of the Oceanics. So Hurley had managed to rent a slightly bigger hall than had been planned – not a big problem, considering the level of name recognition – and had sent out invitations to the members of Seattle Grace who had become parts of their lives. Sloane decided to stay home with Addison's child so that she could RSVP, and the only resident who had opted out was Yang, who was still dealing with her relationship with Owen, and whose trauma from her own failed wedding was still fresh. Derek and Meredith were the only members of the wedding party who didn't know anything at all about what had happened on the island, but considering that Derek had saved Carole Littleton's life, and Jack had pretty much managed to save his career, Jack figured he owed him at least this much.

The remainder of Kate's sentence had been commuted three months earlier. Considering that she had nearly died while in police custody, her attorney had been on the phone threatening to raise another lawsuit. Kate had told Alan Shore that it really wasn't the LAPD's fault – Charles Widmore had a long reach after all – and since she had less than a year on her sentence to go, she was still feeling rather penitent.

Then she gave her attorney the abridged version of what had happened on the island, and how had spilled over to LA. Alan had sat in silence for a couple of minute.

"As my colleagues would tell you, I'm rarely at a loss for words," he finally said. "Well, now I understand why and your friends sat on the truth at your trial."

"You're not going to get in any trouble with the bar?" she asked concernedly.

"Yes, I am, but not for this case," Alan jested. "I didn't do anything illegal while I was defending you. And since your case ended in a plea bargain, the DA's not going to want to reopen yesterday's news. Your friends skated close to perjury, but since I seriously doubt that after everything you've been through the last few years, anyone's going to come to court, and raise a stink that they lied under oath. It's not exactly the stuff that movie deals are made of." He paused. "Although, if you ever do decide to make a biopic, I beg you to let me have first glimpse at the treatment."

Shore had then assured her to let him negotiate with the governor to let the sentence be commuted to time served. "I have a pretty good idea that they're going to be very busy with bigger fish over the next few months."

Alan hadn't needed a crystal ball to see the future. The woman who had tried to kill her- Zoe Barko had been the poor hitters name – had been more willing to sing on the people who had hired. After all their struggles, it had taken less than a month before Charles Widmore's name started coming up in the news cycle with charges of conspiracy to commit murder. It would take months before Widmore saw the inside of a courtroom, but one thing was very certain: he was never going to bother anybody who had come back from the island.

As for Ben Linus, Tawaret Security had apprehended him less than thirty-six hours after he had managed to escape from Seattle Grace. Ilana had told Jack and his friends that he would no longer be a threat to them. A day later, Richard Alpert had shown up, and told them what Ben had done to Sarah Milton. Both Sayid and James had demanded that he be turned back over to them.

"You have every reason to be angry," Richard had begun.

"Angry don't begin to cover it, Tricky Dick," James had replied.

"It's very clear your form of justice has failed," Sayid had agreed.

"And you think yours would?" Richard had countered. "I'll admit my people put you through a lot over the three months you were on the island, and I don't expect you to forgive us or even believe us, but you do know that there is no place in your world for Ben either. Besides, if he stays here, do you really want to spend the rest of your lives looking over your shoulders?

There had been a long moment when the unspoken threat floated in the air. The men who wanted more than anything to see Ben Linus dead honestly wondered if that was on the table. Then Juliet's silent plea passed through their minds. So had the thoughts of every person who had died already.

Ultimately, they had left the decision to Penny, who understandably had more at stake, even though she was even more emotionally wrought than they were. "I found the island once before," she finally said. "If anything else happens to my family or theirs, I'll find it again, no matter where you try to put it. Do I need to make things any clearer?"

Richard didn't need to hear any more. She was her father's daughter, after all. None of them knew what was going to happen to the man who had caused them so much misery, and the thing was, none of them cared much either.

"Everyone else who experienced what we went through will say that they knew Jack and Kate were going to end up together," Sayid said. "Not me, however. I was concerned with more trivial things like getting us rescued."

There was genuine laughter from everybody now.

"In all seriousness, though, as someone who had to spend so long looking for the love of his life," Sayid turned a longing look at Nadia, "I can understand what these two have gone through. And I can assure you that after pain and misery, there does come joy. And happiness than you can barely express. So Jack, if I may quote you one more time, we can rest assured that you stand no chance of dying alone. And Kate, instead of having to keeping running away, you finally have someone to come home too. And I'm sure that as I raise my glass to my friends, that we wish all them just a fraction of the happiness that we have managed to find. "

"Unca Sawyer!" Julian ran towards James.

James looked around to see Rachel smiling at him. "Are you ever going to tell him to stop calling me that?" he said to the woman who was practically his sister-in-law.

"Only when it stops being funny," Rachel said. "So, probably never. Where is Juliet? Please don't tell me you've lost her."

James gestured towards the center of the room, where Juliet was talking with Addison. "My guess is she's making another attempt to get her the patent her research again. Addison doesn't take no for an answer, but she's gonna have to at some point."

Six weeks ago, Addison had given birth to a healthy baby girl, who'd she christened Faith. Addison was ecstatic. Richard less so when he learned Addison was only going to be coming back part time. Juliet was a great doctor, but despite her association with the Oceanics, she still didn't have the name recognition that Addison had. Hence the desire for her to promote her research, which Juliet was standing firm about not wanting to write anything on. Seattle Grace couldn't understand. James could.

"The day care sections over back there," James gestured. "Hey Julian, Charlie's there."

"Yea! Can I pay with my fends? Please?"

Rachel turned mock serious. "Oh, all right. But only if Aaron and Ji Yeon say it's okay."

James smiled again, as Julian ran off.

"You're really good with him."

He turned around to see Stevens and Karev, as he still thought of them, looking at them.

"Never thought I would be," he admitted. "Never did well around kids before."

"You mind if I ask a silly question?" Stevens asked.

"Depends how silly," James admitted.

"We're kind of trying to figure out why you're not Jack's best man instead of Sayid," Alex told him.

James raised an eyebrow. "Doc has been telling you what happened on the island," he asked rhetorically. Jack had pretty much finished telling about their time up until the final days on the island. "Then I'd think you'd have it figured out by now."

"Yeah, but you're with Juliet now," Izzie reminded him.

James frowned. "There such a thing as a love rectangle?"

"You're joking, right?" Alex asked.

"Yeah," Izzie said. 'First few months we were here, Meredith, Derek, Addison, and Sloan, that was pretty close to one."

"I may have dropped out of high school in the eleventh grade, but I know damn well that sometimes if you put two triangles together, you do get a rectangle," James pointed out. "Kinda what was going on between me, Freckles, the Doc, and Jules. First couple of months; it was me, Kate and Jack. She kept drifting between us for awhile, depending on how the mood struck her. Though it wasn't like here. I think the most she ever did was kiss both of us once."

"I still can't believe that's all that happened over that time," Karev said.

"Surviving a plane crash ain't the Blue Lagoon," James pointed out. "None of us were strutting around in bikinis" He got quiet. "Well, almost none of us." He shrugged it off. "Anyway, you know the Others basically kidnapped the three of us and Hugo. I never did figure out why they went to such trouble to grab him if all they were going to do was let him go. Even given who they were, that's cold."

"Where exactly did they keep you?" Stevens asked. "Jack's been kind of vague on that. Told us they held on another, smaller island, but didn't go into much more detail."

"Cages that were basically meant for polar bears," James told them. "They made us clear rocks for some kind of runway."

"A runway?" Karev asked.

"They were basically giving us busy work while they tried to figure a way to make Jack operate on Fearless Leader," James told them. "Kate was there to control the Doc. And I was there to control Kate. Fun fact? First time I met Jules, she was holding a gun to Kate's head."

Izzie and Alex both gawked at this – apparently Jack had sat on that particular piece of information. "Did she mean it?" Alex asked.

"I'm a pretty good judge of soldiers, and I think she would've fired without a second thought," He looked at Juliet. "They've patched things up considerably since then, but that's one reason Kate had trouble asking her to be a bridesmaid."

"Well, that explains part of it," Izzie admitted.

"That's not the whole story." James told them. "One of them – Pickett, his name was – his wife was killed a couple of days her later. He decided that it was eye for an eye time, and I was the one who was going to get poked out. Kate started to despair, and we ended up, doing the wild thing in my cage."

James found it very odd that, given all his years as a womanizing con, he actually felt ashamed of what he'd done. "Would it make you feel better if I tell that may be the weirdest place of I've ever heard of a hookup?" Alex said.

"I'd actually consider it a compliment, considering the company," James told them. "Do you mind if I skip ahead a bit?"

"It's okay," Izzie said. "We basically know what happened next."

"After Kate went back for him, Jack insisted, despite everything that happened, that Juliet was coming with them back to camp," James told them. "This decision went over about as well as Han deciding to trust Lando. And I practically helped stir up the lynch mob. None of us trusted Juliet, except the Doc, so then, we started having trouble trusting the Doc."

"From what he told us, you had every right not to," Alex pointed out.

"What everybody was thinking was that while Jack was spending his week in New Otherton, he had somehow starting hooking up with Juliet," James pointed out. "Freckles, who'd been at the center of one triangle for the past couple of months, now found herself on the outside looking in. Her reaction was to start hooking up with me. I didn't exactly object. Might have gotten more complicated, but that's around the time, Penny and her rescue ship showed up on the horizon. I'll let the Doc fill you in on the rest."

"You know, it's really weird to say this, but your island in terms of romance kind of sounds like the opposite of Seattle Grace, "Izzie told him. "Here, everybody's interested in getting laid with as little commitment or love as possible, and on your island, pretty much seems like it was the other way around."

"It's definitely gonna make a lot weird stories to their grandchildren," James admitted. "Anyway, I think you get it now. Me being the Doc's best man would be like Addison being Mer's maid of honor. It's theoretically possible, but it would be frigging weird for everybody concerned."

Izzie and Alex both nodded at this.

"But you're right about this damn crash bringing people together. We just literally had to get there by way of Australia," James told them. "Took Sayid eight years of searching to find Nadia, and she wouldn't have known he was alive if we hadn't come back. Des," he turned to them, "Doc told you about that saga, and it is one."

They both nodded. "Jin and Sun only started talking to each other, cause he couldn't talk to anyone else. Hell, she was gonna leave him at the airport. They're going to renew their vows on their seventh anniversary."

'And Freckles and the Doc," James shook his head. "That took a plane crash, her going fugitive, prison, and more guns pointed at them then I can count. Now look at them. I don't think I ever saw the Doc smile that much until he knew he was never gonna lose her. And I never thought I'd be cheering him on." He looked at them. "I hope this part gives you some courage."

Izzie and Alex looked at each other a little sheepishly. Izzie had thrown so much of her attention ever since she had gone into remission into planning Meredith and Derek's wedding that very few people had even dared to suggest the two of them might want to work on their own. Understandably, Richard had allowed both of them to take leave from their residency because of extreme circumstances. Derek had allowed the two of them to move into his trailer – by now, he was living at Meredith's – but neither had been willing to make any progress on pulling the trigger on their own marriage.

"It's just that the last year has been so difficult," Izzie finally said.

"You're not going to win the 'oh, poor us' contest when talking to any of the other people at this rehearsal," James reminded them. "If there's one thing I've the least few years – and I ain't the sharpest knife in the bunch - it's that, anything that can go wrong will if you wait too long. "

Alex looked at him. "What about you? You going to make Juliet an honest woman?"

James walked over to them. "Soon as the Doc and Freckles get back from their honeymoon, I'll pop the question," he said quietly. "Now, I'm countin' on you to keep this quiet. And for the love of God, don't let Hugo find out. Otherwise, everyone will know before she does."

"One condition," Izzie said. "When your book finally gets published, Alex and I get the first copies."

"Sure thing."

Kate's first marriage had taken place in a church. Jack's had taken place in a gazebo. Though both of them were infinitely more certain that this wedding was bound to go much better then their previous unions, both of them had been through so much just to get here that neither had been particularly willing to return to scene of the crime. (Pun definitely not intended in Kate's case). There had been a reason both had wanted just to go to City Hall.

So they had compromised and decided to have it outside Hurley's mansion. Hurley had been more than willing to come up with a priest (he had to fight his Ma tooth and nail to keep her from calling for hers), and arranged for the setting to be outdoors. Jack had gone against tradition, and had decided to pay for the entire wedding. "I let the bride's family pay for my last one, and that didn't end up going to well," he told Hurley. He had, however, been more willing to let Hurley and Sayid handle most of the supervisory jobs.

Claire had been more than willing to serve as Kate's maid of honor - even if Jack hadn't been her big brother, she and Kate had had one of the deepest friendships on the island, and in a way her absence had been the hardest on anyone other than Jack. Juliet and Sun had made up the rest of her bridesmaids, and by now Aaron was old enough that they all trusted him to be the ring bearer. Ji Yeon was going to be the flower girl.

There had been some question as to who was going to give the bride away, which had been answered when Sergeant Sam Austen had returned from Afghanistan to come back to the states.

Only Jack and Claire knew what the full story was involving Sam and Kate. A week after being released from prison, she had finally confided the real reason why she had murdered Wayne Janssen, the crime that had set on her the long and winding path that path that had eventually led to being on the island. It was a painful story, and Kate had been in tears by the time it was over – a big thing, because she almost never cried.

If Jack hadn't had so many issues with his own father, he might have been more inclined to be hostile. Claire, who'd had just as many reasons as Jack had to be angry at Christian was, as was her want, more understanding.

"Why are you so angry at him?" she finally asked the day before. "Because you think he made you kill Wayne, or because you're still pissed that he didn't take you with him when he left?"

"Both," Kate had admitted. "I could understand why she didn't come to see me, but I never understood why he didn't try to reach out to me until after my trial."

"Maybe he just felt guilty," Jack told her. "He must have felt like if he'd done more for you, none of this would've happened."

"I just don't why he didn't make more of an effort, " Kate had said. "You guys came to see me in prison far more than he ever did."

Jack though for a moment. "One of the few really good memories I have of my father was the day before my first marriage. He gave me a watch, and told me a story about my grandfather. Now, I got along better with Ray than I did with my dad, but this story kind of reset my thinking. He told me the day before his wedding to my mother, Ray came to him, and gave him a watch that he'd gotten before he'd gotten married. It was the only wedding present Ray ever gave him, mainly because he thought he was making a mistake marrying my mother. That's why I never saw my dad wear it. Then he gave it to me, and he told me that he thought I should have it because I was making the right choice." Jack knew what his sister and fiancée must have been thinking. "He didn't have a better grasp of the future than I did. What makes me glad he gave me the watch is because afterwards he told me that if I ever had a son, to be a better father than he'd ever been."

Kate and Claire knew just how difficult that must have been for Christian to admit.

"The point is, Sam is making more of an effort, just like my father did on that day. Our father is gone now," he said, indicating Claire. "But yours is still here. And I think you owe to yourself to let him back in."

Kate took this in for a moment. "Were you wearing that watch when our plane went down?" she asked.

"No," Jack admitted. "I stuck it in a drawer when my first marriage went down in flames. But I'm going to put it back on, so I have it to remember him by at our wedding."

Claire then hesitated. "I wanted to discuss this with you at a better time, but I figured you might as well know now. When we get an opportunity, I want you and Jack to me Aaron's godparents."

Kate swallowed for a moment. "Your mother's okay with this?"

"She understands," Claire assured her. "Considering all the chaos that has made a mess of our lives, she feels that it's only right that someone in our family be there just in case. Besides, you helped me give birth to him"

Kate nodded. "Just promise me that you'll return the favor."

Jack was a little stunned at this. He'd been thinking about having children more and more, but he hadn't known Kate was thinking the same way. "Are you sure you're ready?"

"No, but I will be soon enough," she assured him.

Hurley returned to Callie with a mixed drink in his hand. "I hope I got this right. Even when I partied, I never drank much heavier than light beer."

Callie took a sip. "It's fine. Besides, ever since the bender in Derek's trailer, I've really been trying to cut down."

Hurley looked around nervously. "Hugo, calm down. Nothing's going to go wrong. Everything's turned out fine."

Even he had to admit that Callie was right. The food was all perfect, including the cake. With Izzie's help he'd managed to find a fairly decent string quartet for the band. He had gotten the DJ for the reception. And according to Claire and Sayid , everything looked fine on the bride and groom's side, respectively. Nevertheless, Hurley thought he might be even more nervous than the married couple, if such a thing were possible.

"You're not thinking your luck is going to wreck everything?" Callie admonished him. "Damn it, Hurley. I thought you were past this by now."

The thing was, Hurley was past this. The entire effort to bring down Charles Widmore had ended with none of his friends getting hurt. Even Penny seemed to be dealing rather well with the fact that her father was probably going to spend the rest of his life in prison. She had taken over the reigns of her father's empire, and had announced that she was divesting the Widmore corporation of all of its illegal holdings. In a lesser move, she had also handed over to Mittelos Bioscience everything her father had ever acquired regarding the Black Rock and anything else that might have some connection to the island. She, Desmond and Charlie were taking up residence in London, but had made it very clear how grateful they were to everybody who had made this possible. The trip to the wedding was the fifth time they'd come for a visit since everything had become safe.

Michael had come home to Walt a few days after the crisis involving Widmore had been resolved. There had been some initial awkwardness between him and Hurley, despite everything that he had said, but he had finally managed to forgive Michael for what he had done. He had, however, been very circumspect when it came to telling Teresa Cortez that he was back, and he was going to do everything in his power to make sure they never met. They might be able to forgive Michael, but he was relatively sure that if she learned about his involvement, Teresa would be nearly as brutal as her daughter was in dispensing justice.

And things between him and Callie were going remarkably fine as well. Despite the fact that it had been, for the first few months, a long distance relationship, both of them seemed willing to make more of an effort. Hurley had basically told Callie everything that had happened on the island, as well as giving her some of the details as to what had gone on between Widmore and Ben in the aftermath. Callie had handled it nearly as well as Karev and Stevens had handled Jack's retelling of the events, which led to a very odd series of bonding between Callie and Izzie. Then again, apparently nearly dying of skin cancer trumped ruining your marriage – just barely.

And it helped matters that George was now too busy to really be having a relationship with anybody. He had taken over Izzie's job as the chief resident running the clinic, he had just signed up for a trauma fellowship with Dr. Hunt (Hurley still considered that something along the lines of the blind leading the blind), and he was still working in connection with the rehab stint in LA every few weeks. The general consensus was that he was the front runner to be chief resident, which actually pleased Jack, as he thought he was the only one of the group who might actually make a real doctor.

"Nope," Hurley said cheerfully. "Being here, surrounded by all my friends and the people I love, I'm beginning to think whatever curse I had is long gone. It's just" he shrunk a little, "when it was there, it never hurt me. And considering how much Kate and Jack have been through, I wouldn't be shocked if someone actually stood up during the part where they say, you know, speak now or forever hold your peace."

"I've been to a couple of crappy weddings the past few years," Callie reminded him, "Hell, one of them was my own. Maybe if someone had objected… I'm not exactly being the comforting girlfriend right now, am I?"

"No, but that's not exactly what made me fall in love with you in the first place," Hurley reminded her, taking her hand.

"Hell, you're the only man I brought to meet my dad who passed his test."

"It helped that I wasn't after your money," Hurley told her. "Incidentally, I found a place that was willing to rent me a room not far away."

The relationship had been going so well for them that he'd decided to try and find an apartment in Seattle where he could be closer to Callie and the rest of his friends. He'd been a little upset about moving out of his Ma's place, but she was all for it. "After all you've been through, who am I to object if you want to live in sin for awhile?" she had told him.

"Where is this place?" Callie asked.

"Oh, a small two bathroom, two bedroom on Hedwig Street." Callie looked at him. "All right, it's the penthouse of that condo."

"Hurley, you've been through a lot in your life," Callie gently prodded him. "And you've barely spent any of that money on yourself. It's okay if you want to live in a nice place."

"I know," Hurley admitted. "I just didn't like the idea of all this money changing me even before I got it. Hell, that's why I was flying coach in the first place on 815."

"Hurley, half the people at the hospital are rich doctors who want money and power. You may be the only person I know where one can really say money didn't change them." Callie looked at him. "That's why everybody loves you."

Hurley put his arm around Callie. "You know something, I never thought I'd say this. I am the luckiest guy alive."

The wedding went off without a hitch. Even the ultra-cynical Meredith Grey had to admit that there was something truly adorable about watching Aaron walk down the aisle, hand the ring to Sayid, and then throw his arms around Kate.

After the couple had exchanged rings, but before the minister finished the ceremony, he turned to the assembled and said: "The couple didn't write their own vows for this ceremony – the groom was very specific about that – but both of them said that they each had something that they wanted to say for themselves and for the assembled guests."

Kate went first. "As far back as I can remember, all I ever wanted to do was run away. There were a lot of problems in my life – I won't go into them – but rather than try and face them, I kept running. I ran to Florida. I ran to New Mexico. I ran to Australia. And even after we crashed on that stupid island, when it seemed I had nothing to look forward to but a pair of handcuffs, I just kept trying to leave. I even did it after I came back to civilization. You'd think I'd have known better by then." This did get some laughs.

"A couple of days ago, I had a conversation with Mr. Desmond Hume. Now despite the fact he saved my life, the two of us never really talked that much on the island or off. And honestly, I was a little surprised by how much we had in common. He ran away from a six year relationship to become a monk." There was more genuine laughter. "He walked away from the love of his life because he didn't feel he was good enough for her. I won't bore you with the rest of the story because we all know it, but he did once tell me that he had to learn to run towards something rather than away from it. And now I realize that's what I've been doing. It took a long time, and there were way too many detours. I've finally found something worth staying for. And Jack, along with all the other oaths that I've made, I promise that I will never run anywhere without you."

Jack took a deep breath. "As practically everyone here knows, all I'd tried to do for as long as I can remember is fix things. People said that I was good at it, and I guess I thought I was, but I didn't realize that the thing that was truly broken was me." He looked to everybody. "When I think back to what we all went through, those of us who survived and even those who didn't, was that most of us were all like that. We were all damaged in some way that had nothing to do with surviving a plane crash."

He looked around for a man they all were thinking of. "Locke said that all of this was happening for a reason. And in a sense, he was right. Not about the island, but maybe about why we were all there. We all needed each other. I'm sad that it had to happen the way it did – I think that's one thing we can all agree on – but for all the trials and tribulations that we had to go through, I'm at glad that you're all here."

He turned to Kate. "I'm not going to say anything as clichéd as you fixed me. But you are what I have been looking for. And knowing that we will spend the rest of our lives together, I feel whole. From now on, fixing things will just be a job, not my life. And I will no longer be alone."

"By the power vested in me, by the state of California, I now pronounce you husband and wife."

Jack lifted the veil, and kissed the once and future Mrs. Jack Shephard.

A couple of hours later, as the dancing was starting to wind down, Sayid walked over to Juliet and James who had just finished boogying on the dance floor.

"You did a hell of a job, Sayid," James told him.

"Just don't ask me to repeat it. I think my wedding had less stress involved," Sayid said.

"As I recall, you and Nadia practically eloped," James gently reminded him. "Now considering she's practically part of the family…"

"Funny you should mention that," Sayid turned to Juliet. "Nadia's pregnant."

Juliet embraced Sayid – something that would've seemed absolutely unthinkable three years ago, almost as much as James shaking his hand, and slapping him on the back.

"This part of you spreading the word, or more of a medical consult," Juliet asked.

"I didn't want to take the spotlight away from Jack and Kate on their big day," Sayid said quietly, barely able to suppress a foolish grin. "That's why I went to you two first instead of Hurley."

"Probably a smart decision," James admitted dryly.

"I have no doubt that there are more than capable people in Los Angeles," Sayid went on. "But Nadia said – and I agree with her – that we'd both feel more comfortable if you served as our OB."

"Am I going to have to do this for everybody?" Juliet said in that endearing sarcastic way of hers.

"No. Just people who you meet on desert islands who threaten to torture you before they get to know you." Sayid was developing a sense of humor of his own for their experience, which for him was incredible.

"You know, she could've told us this herself." Juliet said. "Despite my appearance, I'm not that intimidating."

"I may have shared far too many opinions," Sayid said a little sheepishly. "She's also a little embarrassed. She still has scars from… her time as prisoner." He didn't have to tell them that he'd help give some of them to her. They knew it was one of his deepest shames, and he had far more than most of them.

"I'm a doctor. And I saw far worse even before we met," she told him gently

Sayid nodded.

"That the only reason you came here, Hoss" James asked.

"My father was a horrible human being," Sayid told them. "And as hard as I've tried, I haven't been much better."

"Join the frigging club, man" James said. "My opinion may not count for much, but you're one of the best men I've ever known. Time you started believing it."

Jin and Sun had taken a break from the dancing to help Ji Yeon get into more comfortable clothes so she could play with the kids.

Claire had just shown up with Aaron in tow. The minute Aaron saw his friend, he practically started running the rest of the way. "Hi, Auntie Sun! Hi, Uncle Jin!"

Both knelt down to say hello to their nephew. "Hi Aaron," Jin said. "I know someone who wants to play with you."

As Aaron and Ji Yeon started playing together, Sun shook her head. "They look so happy together."

"They do."

There was something in Claire's voice that Sun hadn't heard in awhile. "Are you okay, Claire?"

"It's odd," she admitted. "Sometimes I just miss him so much."

"Charlie?"

"It's odd. I only knew him for three months. He's been gone for three years. Sometimes I forget I even knew him. And then, there are days like today…" Claire trailed off.

Sun looked at her friend. "Is that why you haven't even tried to date somebody since we came back?"

"It's not easy being a single parent, even if you are one of the most famous in the world," Claire replied. "I mean, I have a full life. I have Aaron, and Jack, and everybody else.

"He'd want you to find happiness." Sun gently stated. "I don't think he'd have wanted to know that he got you off one island to put yourself on one metaphorically."

"I know," Claire told her. "It's just memories. They're all we've got."

"No," Sun told her. "We have so much more than that. We have the ability to make new ones. We've all had so many horrible ones before. Now we get to write our own story. I'm sure Charlie would've wanted that, too."

Claire look at her son playing with Ji Yeon. She remembered Charlie setting up a picnic for her, telling her to seize the day. Maybe she could find a way to do just that.

Jack and Kate were sitting at the table, still in the process of receiving guests, when Meredith and Derek walked up to their table.

"Ah, it's the other couple I've heard so much about," Kate said quietly.

"Well, I have to say your love story will probably be a lot simpler to tell your children," Meredith admitted.

"Did Jack mention the first time we met, he asked me to sew him up?" Kate said wryly.

The two of them looked at each other. "You do know the two of us have only heard bits and pieces of this island adventure?" Derek asked.

"I may have told Kate more details of your story than I have of ours," Jack admitted.

"Incidentally, I met someone inside who might be interested in turning the adventure of Seattle Grace into a TV series," Kate joked. "How do you feel about the working title Paging Dr. Sexy?"

"Only if we get the rights to sell your story," Meredith countered. "Turnabout is fair play."

"Well played," Jack said. "Does this give you any inspiration for how to handle your own wedding?"

Derek and Meredith exchanged another glance. "We're working on the details," Derek admitted.

"We've already written our vows." Meredith added.

"But Stevens has kind of turned it into a three-ringed circus," Derek admitted. "We were actually hoping for some advice."

"Don't go to Sydney on your honeymoon," Jack said quickly.

"In fact, try to avoid airplanes altogether," Kate told them.

"Always listen to what your partner has to say,"

"And then do what you feel you have to."

"Tell each other everything."

"Never hold a grudge."

"Don't let any obstacle stand in your way."

"No matter how attractive they may seem."

"And tell your friends what you think."

"Make sure you have friends in the first place."

"Never let your work become your life."

"And don't let the past become an anchor."

"Does that help?" they both said at the same time.

"That was helpful," Meredith told them. "And a little scary."

"Someone has to learn from our experience." Kate said.

Meredith and Derek walked off. "Do you think they paid attention?" she asked as they left.

"Those two have known each other for two and a half years. They still barely listen to each other." Jack told them. "Hopefully, though, there's been enough going on the past couple of years to make them think a little."

"I could always follow through on my threat," Kate said. "Maybe having their story shown on national television would embarrass them into changing."

"Somehow, I think they're immune to shaming," Jack said honestly. "Anyway, enough of the story of McDreamy and the resident. I think it's time we went on to write our own story, don't you?"

Kate gave one of those full smiles she rarely got a chance to give. "May I have the first dance?"

And as they walked out to their first dance as man and wife, Jack felt, as he was among his friends and family, that they could once and forever leave the island in the past, and focus on looking forward. He wasn't naïve enough to think that things would be perfect from now on, but he knew enough to know that whatever happened, he would never be alone again.

Postscript

BOULDER, COLORADO

Benjamin Linus was not the kind of man who would ever admit that he was nervous or afraid. Considering that he'd spent the first half of his life basically afraid of his father, then the second half afraid that he would be exposed as a charlatan, he'd done a lot of work basically convincing the people on the island that he had no emotions.. He was an accomplished liar, so it had worked for him.

But now, as he stood outside this perfectly conventional home, he had to admit to himself that he was terrified. Not of some horrible monster that moved among the jungle tearing up trees, not of losing his power – he was afraid that what he was going to find would, like everyone else he'd ever known or tried to love, would reject him.

He'd gone to the Lamp Post a few days ago to talk with Eloise, who'd been his last hope of ever going back. She'd been just as cold and imperious as she'd been when he'd first met thirty years ago, and told him bluntly that the window was closed, and the next one wouldn't open for several months.

He'd been about to leave when she stopped him. "That's not what you're really looking for, is it?"

"Considering that I've lost everything I've ever had, I have no idea what you mean Eloise," he'd said.

"Not everything, Benjamin." A look of what seemed to be a mixture of pity and regret appeared on her face. "We've all made sacrifices for the island, and we usually get so little in return. In your case, though, I believe an exception can be made."

She reached into her cloak and pulled out a slip of paper. "When did it all start going wrong? When you joined us or when she left? You didn't have much of a choice in the former, but she had none. If she had stayed, there's an excellent chance she would've died."

An emotion in Ben's heart – something that the people he'd spent months tormenting

wouldn't have believed he had – began to flicker.

"She moved to Denver in 1980. She got a master's degree in European History at the University of Colorado. She's teaching at a private school in Boulder, most high school sophomores. She's never gotten married, she's never had any real relationships."

Ben turned the paper over. A simple address was there.

"That's what you've been trying to find all those years. That's what you've truly lost."

So he'd been sitting outside her house for more than half an hour, trying to work up the nerve to knock on her door. How Jarrah and Ford would have smirked to see the monstrous Ben Linus terrified of simply trying to reintroduce himself to a girl.

But that was a lifetime ago. He'd been a different person then. He'd assumed that person had died the day of the Purge, if not before. For years afterwards, he'd wondered would he have been so swift to slaughter the Dharma Initiative if she'd still been there.

He'd hurt so many people, in the name of the island. And the island had rejected him. Maybe that's what he was afraid of it. Everyone else had cast him aside. Why should she be any different?

But he needed to know.

Finally, he got out of the car and walked towards the door. The fifty feet had been more terrifying than it had been to face his father all those years.

He rang the doorbell. Silence. He rang it again. Still no answer. He was about to think no one was going to come when the door opened.

"I'm sorry, I've been…." She trailed off.

She was forty-three now, a woman, her blond hair streaked with gray, but he'd recognize that smile anywhere.

"Annie?" he said slowly.

There was a very long pause. Long enough for Ben to think that she was going to reject him too. "Ben?"

"I'm sorry to just show up your doorstep." The awkwardness that he'd spent a lifetime suppressing was back in a second. "I know that its been a long time, and that you've probably forgotten me…"

Annie wasn't there anymore. She'd gone back inside, but the door was still ajar. Once again, the man who'd always prided himself on having a plan didn't seem to have a clear course of action

And then, she was back. But not empty handed. "One for you, and one for me. That way, we'll never be apart."

There it was. The doll she had made for him on his tenth birthday. The paint had faded considerably after thirty years, but he'd have recognized it anywhere.

"When they evacuated all the women and children that day, they barely let us grab anything that couldn't fit in a suitcase." Annie told him. "I looked for you as long as I could, but my mother wouldn't let me leave your side. So I grabbed the doll. For the rest of my teenage years, she told me to forget the island and that we could never go back. I tried to move on, and in a way, I did. But I never forgot you, Ben."

For the first time in his adult life, Ben felt tears were coming to his eyes. And for the first time in a very long time, he felt worthy of someone. Not of some mystical island, or a benevolent, unseen deity, but of someone he'd loved, and who was capable of loving him.

"Come in, Ben," she said with that welcoming smile he'd never forgotten. "Tell me where you've been and what's happened to you."

"I-it's a long story," Ben said, in one of his famous understatements.

"We have time now," she told him.

"Yes," Ben almost whispered. "I guess we do."

And for the first time in a long time, he felt like he might be at home.

SANTA MONICA

Helen was feeling more like her old self, despite the fact she still needed a lot of physical therapy. In all honesty, the brain surgery hadn't rocked her as much as learning what had happened to John had.

Jack and the rest of the people who had survived the island experience had tried to pretty it up as best as they could, but it was pretty clear that John had made himself an island even before he had refused to come back. And truthfully, there was some part of her that felt guilty about it – maybe if she'd had the courage – no, the faith to stay with him, John wouldn't have felt the need to seek rebirth in a walkabout

"Miss Norwood, you have a visitor," her therapist told her.

"Did they give their name?" Helen asked.

"Just that he was an old friend."

And somehow, she knew. Even before John walked into the room.

It was strange. Even though she hadn't seen him in nearly a decade, she still felt a little averse to showing her true feelings.

"Hello, Helen." Apparently, John felt the same way too.

"What are you doing here, John?" She didn't know why she was acting so cold, but there was obviously still a lot of hurt there. "How did you even know where to find me?"

"A very good man told me that something had happened to you." John was clearly nervous.

"They get some kind of email on your mystical island?" She didn't know why she wanted to hurt him so badly.

"So you know." Some of John's façade began to break. "I guess they told you about it."

"They told me a lot of things, John." She melted a little. "Why didn't you come back with them?"

"I was afraid," John admitted. "Part of me was terrified that if I left, I wouldn't be able to walk any more. That what the island had given, it could as easily take away."

"So why'd you come back now?" she asked.

"The man I met on the island – the man who said he'd brought me there – told me that something had happened to someone I loved. He offered me a choice. I could stay on the island, learn all its secrets, and maybe someday become his successor. Or I could go back home, and be with you."

"That must have been a hard decision for you, John."

John started to fall apart. "It was the easiest decision I ever made. Helen, a decade ago, I made the biggest mistake of my life. I was weak, and for some reason I never understood, I chose my father over you. You were the only person who ever believed in me. Who thought that my potential hadn't been wasted. And I rejected you in favor of a con artist and a murderer. Even the moment he pushed me –"He couldn't finish the sentence. "Even after he did that, that still didn't hurt nearly as much as when you rejected me. It was worse, because I made the mistake. I thought that everything happened for a reason, but I could never see the reason that I did that. The moment I heard that you'd nearly died, I realized that everything that happened on that island was meaningless if I had to be alone for – forever."

There was a lot that John wasn't telling her. But that was nothing new. She knew more than enough from what Jack and the others had told her to know that for John, he had made a sacrifice far greater than the one she had asked him to make – and he hadn't even hesitated.

"It's going to take a lot," she said slowly. "And I'm not saying I can forgive you this quickly. But John – I understand. And I really want to try again."

John started crying. Something she had never seen him do before. "I love you, Helen, and I'll never leave you again. I promise. Everything will be all right, as long as we're together."

After everything that had happened, Helen still wasn't sure she could believe him. But maybe she'd have been more secure if she'd known John had never used the word together a single time when he was on the island.

There were a lot of problems in their future, but they both believed in something bigger than themselves.

Each other.

THE END

Author's Note

For my loyal readers: I plan for this to be my last piece in this particular saga. (Then again, I said the same thing after I finished Home is where the Heart Is, so…) But I really do think everybody's story has been told for good.

I didn't intend to involve the island so much, but really I just follow my muse sometimes. I hope I didn't screw up to bad.

I do intend to write more Lost fanfic someday, but when I do, it's actually going to happen on the island this time.

I want to thank all my loyal reviewers and readers, and I hope you share your love with this and my other fanfic. It's been a wild ride.