Disclaimer: Nope, I still don't own Lost. The fabulous idea for this story came from Diornicole!

Epilogue

The shrill bell of his digital alarm clock filled his ears. Six AM already, the night was over. Looking closer, Sayid saw the date: December twenty-fifth. They did it in one night! The ghosts, they somehow did this. Christmas isn't over, I still have time to change things.

Jumping out of bed, he was ecstatic to see the new day. He was alive, they were all alive, and there was a chance. I can fix things. There's still time. Quickly, he threw on jeans, a button down shirt, something that would be deemed respectable for a dinner party. Sayid doubted he would make it home again before Desmond and Penny's party.

I must call Kate. There's no way I can get in touch with Sun now, she's probably just flying in. Running, stumbling clumsily over everything in his path, he moved toward the phone in the living room. Shit, I didn't write down the number. Maybe if I go back through my received calls…

He missed it at first, so distracted with the telephone that he hadn't thought to look. But there in Nadia's neat handwriting on a pad of paper with the letterhead from her job were the words "Kate- 555-9340. I love you, Sayid."

It was early, much earlier than he presumed Aaron and Kate woke up, but he called anyway. Something deep within him told him that it was absolutely urgent that he get back to Kate.

Fingers moving quickly over the numbers, he heard the dial tone ringing, over and over. No answer. Hanging up the phone, he dialed again. No! I will get through to Kate. Another failure. Where is she?

Finally, the fourth time, Kate picked up. "Hello?" she sounded weary.

"Kate? It's Sayid. I must--"

"What do you want?" she snapped.

"I must apologize to you for my words yesterday. I was… I was thinking only of myself, and of my grief. I forgot myself. I am your friend, and you should be able to depend on me. Can you ever forgive me?"

The other end of the phone was silent. "Kate, please. Let me help you. You can't imagine how ashamed I am of what I've done. It's unforgivable. Tell me what you need me to do, and I will make it happen."

"Thank God, Sayid. If you hadn't gotten back to me today, I would have had to bring Aaron to the doctor. Jack is out wandering again. I think he's out in Griffith Park. He's probably hung over. Please talk to him, make him listen. If he walks out on us, I can't get help for Aaron… the hospital will found out he's not mine.

"I will find him Kate. He will see reason. Once we are done, I will bring him home, and we'll take care of Aaron. Do you plan on going to Desmond and Penny's?"

"Yes, I was hoping to."

"Good!" Sayid exclaimed. "I will drive us there. We'll need to pick up Hurley as well. I will see you soon."

Kate sighed, she was clearly relieved. "Thank you, Sayid. It means a lot."

"Live together, die alone, right?" He was almost jumping now, full of an energy and vitality that he hadn't felt in years. Everything was new again, and with this chance to help Kate, he felt as if he was starting over.

"Sayid, it's gonna take some time, you know."

"I know. Our island family needs to be rebuilt. Let me find Jack. Goodbye."

Hanging up the phone, he grabbed a light jacket, wallet, and his car keys, and began his search for the doctor. He did not even lock the door on his way out.

o O o

He found Jack throwing up next to a fountain in the center of the park. Luckily for him, the only people there to witness his fall from grace were two homeless men wrapped in plastic bags and newspapers, and the early morning joggers. As he lifted his head and wiped his mouth, Sayid was shocked as to how accurate Ana's depiction of Jack the night before had been. His beard really was long and graying, and his beer belly bulging.

"What the hell has happened to you, my friend?" Sayid asked, approaching the fountain where Jack was hunched over.

"Whadya want?" Jack muttered, looking up. "Shit, Sayid, is that you?"

"Yes, Kate asked me to find you."

Jack frowned. "What does she want now?"

"She's worried about you. Said you were slowly killing yourself, and asked me to talk to you. What has driven you to this?" Sayid kept his voice soft and calm, afraid that he'd startle Jack, or send him running. He'd never imagined that he'd see the man like this. The calm, collected doctor who disdained the lengths his father had fallen in his own life had mimicked his history.

"We have to go back, and she won't believe me. I've been trying to get back. Every damn time I get on a plane, I just pray it crashes and we find them. She's not happy with me, she wants Sawyer. She'll never be happy until he's rescued. And Claire is my half-sister, you know. I left my own sister back on the island!" In all this grief, there was almost a new humanity to Jack. He wasn't the hero; he was fallible. "And I feel like, if we don't go back, something horrible will happen. But Kate won't listen to me. She doesn't believe me."

"I do," Sayid replied softly. "Last night… well, never mind what happened, but I know now. We must go back to the island. I believe you."

Jack's face was filled with almost child-like awe, to know that someone was actually on his side. "How do we convince the others?"

"We will tell the tonight, at Desmond and Penny's dinner. Together, we can convince them." Sayid extended an arm to him. "But first, your nephew is sick. You must help him."

Jack grabbed Sayid's hand to stand. "What's the matter with Aaron? How sick is he?"

"Kate did not say. If we leave now, though, it will give you time to figure that out before we go to dinner."

"What are we waiting for then? Let's go!" Sayid pulled out his cell phone to call Kate and let her know they were on their way.

He was halfway to redemption.

o O o

Sayid spent the day with Kate, Jack and Aaron at her home, watching over the little boy. His fever had gone down drastically right before they arrived from the park. After checking his nephew over, Jack determined that it was only a mild form of the flu, and nothing really to worry about. Had he been left without treatment, however, it could have been much worse.

Sayid saw the guilt in Jack's eyes- not only had he abandoned his nephew, but the woman who was watching over Aaron in his mother's place. In watching their interactions during the afternoon, Sayid felt more assured that Jack and Kate would work out their problems. There would be no reason to send Aaron back to Australia, Kate to prison (though Jack still probably could use some time in rehab).

And if the gleam in Kate's eyes when Jack wrapped an arm around her as she threw together some lunch for the three adults indicated anything, their relationship might still stand a chance as well.

o O o

"Wait here, I'll go get Hurley," Sayid said, exiting his car. "We didn't part on the best of terms last time I saw him, I must apologize."

"Seems you're doing quite a bit of that lately," Kate shot back knowingly, half a smile on her face.

Sayid smiled back, though the words did sting. It's your own fault, but you realize that now. That's what the definition of 'fix' is. It means repairing the damage, and living up to the faults.

Entering Santa Rosa for the second time in two days, he ran into the nurse he'd shoved when he ran from Hurley. "Can I help you?" she asked politely.

"First, I must apologize for yesterday. I was… distraught, to say the least, when I left here. Second, where can I find Hugo Reyes?"

She smiled. "He's in his room right now. Visiting for Christmas?"

"No, he'll be joining my friends and me for dinner. I believe this was arranged prior?" Checking over her books, she nodded in reply.

"Ah yes, it's right here. Let me just go get him for you." Sayid thanked her, and waited patiently for her to return with Hurley.

Sitting in the waiting room, he watched anxious families happily reunite with their loved ones. Some of the reunions were a bit sadder than others, and there were some patients that stared jealously, knowing that they would not be having any visitors. The different nuances in each individual's expression flabbergasted him- all his life he'd been trained to watch people, but today it felt like he was seeing them for the first time.

"Dude, what are you doing here? You still bugging out?" Hurley followed the nurse downstairs, giving the small woman a hug and wishing her a Merry Christmas before she returned to work.

"Hurley! Merry Christmas! No, you were right! I'm sorry for not listening to you! Everything you said was true! I saw Ana, and Nadia, and Shannon last night! They all came just as Charlie said." He trusted Hurley to keep this to himself, knowing that the other man would never divulge what had happened to another soul.

"Dude, are you shitting me?" Sayid felt his eyes widen at Hurley's less than typical language. "It's about damn time someone else noticed the dead wandering around besides me. What happened?"

"Have you ever read A Christmas Carol, Hurley?" Sayid began, walking slowly out to the car, giving him time to relay the entire mysterious story before they rejoined Kate and Jack. Somehow he doubted they were ready to hear the entire tale yet.

o O o

"I didn't think you would come," Sun said softly, embracing him tightly.

Sayid wanted to tell her, so badly, that Jin was alive. She had brought little Ji-Yeon, a beautiful black haired baby girl, just about a year younger than Aaron. Still, he had no evidence, no proof but a ghostly image that her husband was alive, so he resigned himself to just convincing her to return to the island.

Desmond was prancing around the cabin of the boat, good-humored and happy for once. Sayid imagined it was Penny that brought this out in him, for that was how Nadia and Shannon had changed him in their time together. The Scotsman had hidden the bottle of whisky he'd been planning to force on everyone after Sayid had a brief word with him on the deck of the boat regarding Jack. Penny was the perfect hostess, and a surprisingly talented chef, considering the epically proportioned meal she'd prepared for them.

"I know. But some friends helped me to realize that this was where I needed to be. We are family, Sun. I forgot that, how important that is."

She smiled mysteriously, knowing there was more to the story, but she did not press for details. Penny was calling everyone to the table.

As he settled into a seat between Hurley and Sun, Sayid couldn't help but look at those around him. He had been so close to losing them, his friends, as unlikely as it seemed. But they were friends, and they had to protect each other, to look out for each other.

Which was why, before Penny could even begin serving he stood up and said, "We have to go back."

Through the choruses of "what the hell's" and "why's", Sayid held up his hands, begging them to allow him to finish.

"I… I have had a lot of time to think lately. About the island. About those we've left behind."

Their faces looked incredulous, except for Jack's, who looked relived that finally someone other than him was bringing this topic of conversation up. I have to lie. They're not ready to hear about ghosts and seeing the future.

"Ben came to me," Sayid said. It was half true. Ben had come to him, but not about the island. He wanted people dead. Nonetheless, the excuse would work. "When he moved the island, he moved it in time, not in space. That's why Jack, for all his trying, cannot get back. The island has been sent to 1973. And if we do not get back there within the next five years, everyone we left behind will be dead."

Sun's face dropped, Kate looked like she wanted to cover her ears and sing loudly to drown out the words, but instead counted to five softly. Hurley's eyes bored into Sayid. "Charlie's been trying to tell me that all along," the man whispered.

"In 1978, an event called the Purge occurred. Ben used a poison gas to kill all those in the Dharma Initiative, allowing the Hostiles to take over. This gas will kill those we left behind as well if we do not stop it. We have to go back."

The table was silent, awed, until Desmond stood. "I hate the idea of going back, but we can't leave the others for dead. I'm with you, brother, in whatever way you need me."

Jack and Penny nodded in agreement. Sayid looked at Kate, knowing that she would be the hardest to convince. She was frowning. "Fine. But for Aaron. He needs Claire, I can't raise him forever. It's too dangerous for him, especially if I get locked up again."

"That's not gonna happen Kate," Jack said softly, taking her hand. Sayid could see there was still a lack of trust between the two, but they seemed well on the road to and Hurley quickly added their agreement to go back, each with eyes looking far past the walls of the boat they sat upon, thinking of those they lost on the island. It was determined. They would return.

"Well then," Penny said quietly. "Now that that's settled, why don't we enjoy Christmas dinner. We all deserve one night of happiness before we throw ourselves into danger again, don't we?"

And though he wanted to pull out maps, start buying the weapons he knew were going to be absolutely necessary to protect them on the island; Sayid settled back in his chair and helped himself to a heap of mashed potatoes and a hunk of turkey.

There was a chance, there was hope and happiness and love, and there was forgiveness.

o O o

Meanwhile, back in 1973 (where, dear reader, it is happily noted that none of our faithful survivors had been killed), Sawyer sat lazily in the crow's nest of the Black Rock, feat kicked up onto the half rotted wood of the boat. It had been a Christmas miracle- the Hostiles and the Dharma Initiative had finally taken a day off from their endless fighting. Finally, a day where no one would have to stand guard duty and worry about having their head blown off by those two groups of idiots.

Fucking hippies… he thought, flipping through the pages of a four year old copy of Playboy.

Below decks, the ship, for once, was bustling with life. No bated anticipation of death and murder. The Little Mamacita, who has returned from Jacob's cabin only a week or two after the departure of her son, finally seemed to be coming alive again. Sawyer had to admit, he'd been looking out for her especially. Things had changed between them since the loss of her son. Today Claire had joined Bernard and Rose's celebration of Christmas, where the trio was determined to make some sort of gift for each of the survivors.

Sawyer had even managed to get an embarrassed smile out of her when she handed him his gift of themagazine he read now, when he told her he would much prefer it be her posing in the bunny ears. The Mamacita was too cute for her own good.

That had also gotten him a firm scolding from Charlotte, who was packing a picnic lunch for her and Daniel. Not that they were going far- she'd called shotgun on the poop deck for the day. Literally, called shotgun, which reminded Sawyer of the way things were back in the real world. Not that there was much of an argument. Last he saw of the two, they'd been carrying far too many blankets up to the deck for one picnic. It was the reason why he refused to leave the crow's nest. He didn't think he could bear to see that much of the crazy physicist.

Juliet had been drinking from a bottle of rum, trying to get any and all who were around her as wasted as she was. "It's Christmas!" she'd giggled gleefully, an entirely new side of the former Other for Sawyer to see. "What else would we do?"

She'd succeeded in convincing Jin, who spent most of his time pining for his wife and wondering what his daughter looked like. Having spent too many long hours on guard duty with good ol' Chewy, Sawyer couldn't help but respect the man.

After four or five shots, the Korean man was the most relaxed Sawyer had ever seen him. He heard Juliet downstairs, attempting to teach him the Twelve Days of Christmas. "What better way to learn English?" she'd screeched drunkenly.

If only it was always like this. Tomorrow it'll be right back to the hiding and the terror. Enjoy your day off, hero, he thought.

Hero. Now there was a role he wanted. That was for men like Jack and Sayid and Locke. But there he was, picking up where Jack had left off, leading those who got left behind. Claire had told him once that she felt safe with him. That had been a surprise, though he could honestly say he was pleased at the words.

"Yo Sawyer!" Miles had emerged from below decks. "The high school groping session on deck is over. It's safe to come down now."

Captain Ghost Hunter always knew. Without fail, he always could figure out what Sawyer was thinking. It annoyed him. Precariously lowering himself down onto the ladder, he skipped the last few steps, and jumped onto the deck. Miles was off in his own little world again, chatting gleefully to someone Sawyer couldn't see.

The Asian man had been jumping around in excitement all morning. "They're back! They're back! About damn time!" he'd shouted, before settling into one of the crevices, laughing at an argument that remained unheard by the rest of the survivors.

"Wait, you convinced him to come?" Sawyer heard Miles ask as he passed him. "There's really a chance now?"

Sawyer didn't know the response, but Miles was grinning. Crazy, just damned crazy.

And as he strode down stairs, determined to find some sort of Christmas gift for Claire, he heard Miles laughing again before he started rambling to the invisible people.

With a roll of his eyes, Sawyer mumbled, "God bless us, everyone."

That's it! My first completed chapter story written here, and my first foray into Lost fiction! Diornicole, I hope you liked your Christmas gift, even though it was a little late in getting finished! Thank you so much for giving me the chance to write this story, it has been so much fun!

Thanks to those of you who took the time to review the last chapter: Diornicole and Terry Gibbs. Thanks also to those of you who reviewed the other chapters: Jane Willow, revenge is a bitch, and Ed Westwicker. Your kind words and encouragement are greatly appreciated. I'm so glad you all enjoyed the story!

Feel free to leave one last review! They make me smile rediculously!