Disclaimer: I don't own LOST.

A/N: Set in the future, but it's different from the finale, which is why this is AU. Jack and Kate might act a little different as well.

Jack stood at his sink washing his hands. It had been a long day at work. A young girl had been in a car accident and had a crushed spine, and then he had been asked to cover the ER because they had been short. It wasn't exactly a great day.

And to top it off, his friend Mark had suddenly decided that they needed to reconnect. Jack saw right through him though. All he wanted was Jack's money that he had gotten from Oceanic.

Jack turned his water off then he poured himself a drink and then headed for his living room. On his way he nonchalantly glanced at the pictures hanging in the hallway. One was of him with some of his friends at a bar. Sayid, Hurley, Charlie, and Desmond. He stopped though at the next picture. He grinned, shook his head, and then kept walking. It was of him and Kate. What he liked about the picture was that they looked like a normal couple. But there was no such thing as normal when it came to Kate. It hadn't taken him too long to figure that out. He had taken that picture of them the last time she had come home. They were sitting on his couch, and he was asking her to marry him. As a joke, he had taken a picture. And of course, like always, she answered, "Not yet." It was her answer to everything he asked her and he was okay with that.

Jack had even bought a ring. It was hiding in his drawer in his desk at work. It had been there for two years.

Sayid had talked with him once, told him that waiting for Kate to come every couple months just for a couple days was useless. That he needed to move on, and let Kate move on too. Sayid reminded him that she still hadn't gotten over Sawyer's death, and that until she did, she would never be ready to settle down. Jack fully knew this, yet he still let Kate do this to him, because he loved her too much to let go.

Jack sat on the couch, staring at the empty seat next to him. "Oh Kate." He breathed in deeply. "I wish you would come home."

He never knew what she did during those months she was gone. For all he knew, she was off with other men, messing with their lives just as she did with him. As she still does. He had even asked her once what she was doing.

"So what did you do this time?

"Oh you know, I stole from some banks and stuff." Kate replied.

"Funny. Really, what did you do?"

"Nothing Jack. I just can't stay in the same place for a long time, you know that."

Jack was fully aware of the fact that she couldn't stay in one place for very long. When she moved in with him she told Jack that she was going to need complete freedom and be able to leave whenever she wanted. He told her that she never needed to ask him permission for anything. Of course she could leave whenever she wanted. Of course, he didn't know that meant never being home. But that was okay. She would be ready to stay with him one day, and he would be waiting for her. He hoped it would be sooner than later.

Later on that night, Kate was standing in front of the front door. She was looking for her key, which was hidden above the door. She left it there every time she left because she didn't want to carry a key with her. The less she had to carry with her the better. She found the key and opened the door. It was pitch black inside. Kate realized with a smile that Jack was asleep.

She had missed him more than usual this time around. She kept denying it, but he was her only love and she couldn't survive without him.

Kate softly dropped her bag onto the floor and crept into their bedroom. She took her shoes off and began to take off her clothes. She fumbled for her dresser, and put on her silk pajamas. She sighed in content. She had missed those pajamas. She crawled into bed and put the covers over her. Jack was lying on his back, with his arm over his eyes. The covers were partially covering his bare chest. Kate thought about leaving him alone for the night and letting him get some sleep. But she couldn't resist not being near to him, so she snuggled up against him under the covers. She trailed her fingers across his chest until he woke up, which didn't take very long.

"I'm home." Kate whispered as soon as he opened his eyes. Jack grinned.

"Welcome home." Jack whispered back and kissed her forehead. He put his arm around her, and she put her head on his chest, and they lay like that until they both fell asleep.

A/N: Reviews would be appreciated!!