A/N: 'Tis the season and I was in a fluffy Jate mood. Since my current story didn't quite lend itself to that kind of chapter right now I thought I'd deviate for a little bit and kick out this short Christmas story, though a few days late. It's an AU setting and there is some angst and some fluff – hope you guys like it.

And just know that this originally started as a two part one shot….but it sort of grew and took on a fuller life. But it is shorter than my other story and it is finished. I'll post the rest if you guys are wanting.

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"Hey, sweetie" Kate Shepard cooed as she reached down and slipped her hands under the infant in the crib in front of her. Gently she lifted her fussy son, Sammy, to her shoulder and patted his back in an attempt to soothe the child. "What's wrong, huh? Why are you so restless?" She softly bounced the two month old as she paced the room.

It was Christmas Eve morning, Sammy's first, but Kate couldn't say she was really thrilled about it. Not when her husband, Jack, wasn't there to share it with them. It had been almost three months since his disappearance while on a trip from Australia. His chartered plane had gone down and while only part of the wreckage had been recovered Jack hadn't been found. Authorities had told the families that it was almost impossible that there would have been any survivors, but Kate had refused to believe that. She didn't believe Jack was dead because she didn't feel it, not in her soul.

When she had met the handsome, young doctor, at a charity function, the attraction had been almost instantaneous. They had spent the night stealing dances and flirting until their dates became upset. Kate chuckled to herself as she remembered how her date had abruptly left the party telling her she could find her own way home. Jack was only too happy to provide her the ride after his own date had stormed off in a jealous snit. From that point on they were together and were married a year later. Now here she stood a widow, in other's eyes, with a baby to raise.

"He'll come back to us, sweet pea," She whispered to her son. "He promised me a lifetime and Jack always keeps his promises."

A soft knock on the door broke her thoughts and she turned to see her step mother, Jeanine, come into the room. An attractive woman with short strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes, Jeanine had been married to Sam Austen for six years now. She and Kate had always gotten along, but they had grown closer since the plane crash.

"Kate, your in-laws are here." Jeanine told her with a small smile.

The brunette nodded as she shift the baby in her arms. "Has dad called yet?"

The older woman shook her head. "Not yet."

Sam had left on a trip over a week ago and Kate had no idea where he had gone or what he was doing. Given his career in the military it hadn't been unusual for him to take missions and not be able to share any details with his family, but in the last few years his assignments had been more in recruitment and training and not missions overseas.

"Do you think he'll make it back by Christmas?" Kate asked softly. It was hard enough facing this holiday without her husband, but adding Sam to that list would make it even harder.

Jeanine reached out and rubbed the baby's head in affection. "I hope so. I'm sure he'll do everything he can to get back here."

Kate nodded but didn't reply. Instead she made her way out of the room and down the stairs to greet Jack's parents, Christian and Margo Shepard.

"Come on, Sammy, let's go see Grandma and Grandpa." She kissed the side of his head and walked downstairs with Jeanine following behind.

She found Jack's parents sitting in the comfortably decorated living room making small talk with her mother, Diane. In the corner was a pretty decorated tree and a few presents already underneath.

Spotting Kate walk in Christian stood up and greeted her with a smile. "Good Morning."

"Good Morning, Christian…Margo." She replied. "I thought you were coming over tonight…for dinner."

Christian glanced at his wife with a nod. "Well, we wanted to just stop by and see how…you and Sammy were doing."

"We're fine. He's a little fussy today."

Margo stood up and made her way over to the young woman. "Is he?" She said, concern in her voice. "He's not coming down with anything, is he? An ear ache?"

"I don't think so," Kate replied as the infant starting fussing again. "He doesn't have a fever. He's just a little restless."

"May I?" Margo held her hands indicating she wanted to hold the baby. Kate nodded and transferred the baby to her arms.

"So, how are you holding up?" Christian asked Kate as she sat in the recliner leaving Margo and Jeanine to fuss over Sammy.

"Fine. I finished up the rest of my shopping and I just need to wrap some final gifts I got for Sammy."

"Honey, you know that nobody would blame you if you just wanted to keep things low key…maybe even skip the holiday."

Kate looked at her father in law in surprise. "This is Sammy's first Christmas. We can't skip it. Jack wouldn't want me too."

"I know, but under the circumstances…well, Sammy's just a baby, he won't know…"

"But I would know…" Kate replied, not in the mood to rehash this discussion. Both his parents and her mother had already talked to her about this before. Her father had been the one that supported the idea of keeping things normal and go forward with celebrating. "This is Sammy's first Christmas…we'll never get that back…and I want to have pictures and stuff…." She trailed off the sentence but Christian knew what she was going to say.

"Kate, I know that things have been hard…and you need time to grieve…"

"Don't." Kate warned.

"Kate…" Diane spoke up quickly. "He's just looking out for you…we all are."

Looking at her mother with a disappointed look, Kate shook her head. "By trying to make me believe something I don't?"

"Katherine…"

"Jack's not dead." She said firmly. "And you can't make me believe otherwise."

Ten days earlier:

"Are you sure?" Sam spoke into his cell phone as his wife walked into their den. "Well, how old is the intell? Did they find any markings?" He nodded his head as he took in the information on the other end. "Okay, alright, sounds promising. Yeah, I can be on a flight tonight. Just let me make the arrangements and I'll get back to you." He snapped the phone shut and turned to face Jeanine.

"Something going on?"

Sam debated for a moment whether telling her what he had learned would be wise. He finally decided to fill her in only on the fact that he was leaving, hoping she would assme it was another mission and not ask any real questions. "I'm going on a trip…out of the country."

"What? Now? Sam, it's almost Christmas." She protested.

"I know, I know. And I wouldn't go if it wasn't important." He replied as he made his way to the closet to pull out his duffle bag.

"Sam, what's going on?" Jeanine asked, knowing her husband well enough to realize he was holding something back.

"It's a mission, honey." He said trying to dismiss her inquiry.

"Samuel Austen…" Jeanine stood with her hands on her hips ready for a fight. "What is going on?"

Sam let out a sigh as he dropped the duffle bag on the bed. He should have guessed she wouldn't give up. She was too stubborn. Sitting on the edge of the bed he patted the empty spot next to him. "We may have found Jack."

Present time:

"Christian, it's Christmas, "Margo said as she rocked Sammy in her arms. He looked so much like Jack had at that age, it was making her wish for a chance to go back in time. "Can you just drop this?"

"I'm not trying to start anything," Christian replied defensively. "I was just trying to say it wasn't expected that Kate do all this."

Kate looked over at her mother to see if she would say anything and realized that she was in the same mindset as Christian. 'Great, she's in on this too.' She thought to herself. She wasn't in the mood to argue and she certainly didn't want any tension hovering between them for the next couple of days.

"Can we just change the subject?" Kate asked. "I appreciate your concern, but I don't want to fight. Can I get you some coffee or something to drink?"

Christian shook his head. "No, we actually just stopped by for a bit. We're meeting some friends for brunch."

"Oh, okay."

"Kate, where is your father?" Margo asked hoping to cut some of the tension.

Exchanging a glance with Jeanine Kate shrugged her shoulders. "He had a mission come up last week."

"A mission? I thought he was done with those assignments." Christian countered in a surprise tone.

"We all did." Diane added as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

Jeanine gave Diane a look before addressing Dr. Shepard. "This mission is very important to him. He's hoping to retrieve something special."

Ten days earlier – Midnight

"Sam, I still don't know why you didn't tell Kate what you're doing. She would want to know." Jeanine told him as they were driving to the military base so Sam could catch his flight out.

"Because I don't want to give her false hope, Jean. You know that this information is still rather sketchy. All Cronan found out is that there could be…could be a couple of survivors from Jack's flight. And one is thought to be a white man around Jack's age."

Sam told her.

"Isn't that enough?" Jeanine asked. "I mean, it was a small plane. There weren't that many people on it."

"But there were at least 6 men that could fit that description. I don't want to get Katie's hopes up. She's already clinging to the idea that he's still out there somewhere."

"Do you think she's wrong?"

Sam shook his head. "I've been around those two enough to know there's some sort of deep connection between them...something special.. If she's telling me that she doesn't feel he's gone, then I'm taking it on good faith he's alive and out there somewhere." He replied as he pulled the car into the hanger's parking lot.

"I hope you're right.''

"Me too."

Present time:

Kate sat in the kitchen reading the paper while her mother was rocking Sammy trying to get him to sleep. Christian and Margo had left a few minutes ago and Jeanine had excused herself to call her daughter in Denver.

"Are you sure he's not getting an ear ache?" Diane asked as she draped the infant over her shoulder and patted his back.

"He doesn't seem to be. He's just acting up. I'm sure he'll be better after a nap." Kate told her without looking up from the paper.

"You're mad at me aren't you?" Diane surmised.

"You didn't need to take his side, did you?"

Diane pursed her lips. "Honey, he has a point. It's been three months."

Kate pulled the paper down to the table. "And what, I'm just supposed to give up on him? Just like that? Even when I don't feel that he's…gone?" She demanded angrily.

"Katherine, you need to be realistic…"

"I am being realistic, mom. You just don't agree with me and you're trying to force me to think your way." She shot back. "Why can't you believe in me? Why can't you be more supportive like dad?"

Diane bristled at her daughter's comment. Kate was a daddy's girl…always had been, always would be. "And where exactly is your father? Shouldn't he be here with you and Sammy?" At this point Sammy decided to start crying.

Kate jumped up and took him from her mother's arms and trying soothing him. "Dad will be here if he can." She started to walk out of the kitchen when her mother stopped her by grabbing her arm.

"Katherine, please, let's not do this. It's Christmas, honey. We should be coming together, not fighting." She pleaded with her daughter. "Please?"

"Okay," Kate replied softly. "I'm going to go put him down." She added before leaving the room just as Jeanine walked in.

Looking at Diane confused Jeanine asked, "Is everything okay?"

Diane waited until Kate had left the room before answering. "She's still determined that Jack is alive somewhere out there."

"I know."

"You and Sam aren't helping with this, you know." Diane told her as she poured herself another cup of coffee.

"Meaning what?" Jeanine shot back.

"Encouraging her in this instead of trying to help her come to terms with it."

"We're being supportive of Kate and her needs."

Diane squared off on the slightly taller woman. "Oh really? Do you think this is being supportive? Jack is dead and the sooner Kate accepts that, the sooner she can move forward."

Jeanine started to say something, but bit her tongue. She had promised Sam that she wouldn't say anything to anyone until she heard from him. As much as she felt Diane was being harsh about the situation, she knew that in a way the other woman was right. If Sam's information was wrong and Jack was in fact gone, Kate would have to come to terms with it sooner rather than later…if only for Sammy's sake.

8 days earlier – in Sydney, Australia:

"Sgt. Austen, here are the photos that you and Lt. Cronan are waiting for." The young Private offered Sam a manila envelope.

Sam pulled out the contents and studied the photos. He had finally arrived in Sydney earlier that morning and had spent his time being briefed and studying maps and arial photos. He was waiting for the rest of his team to arrive. While his connections with the military had gotten him this far, it was going to be up to him to follow up this lead. Lt. Cronan, currently with the 76th Ranger Battalion had been granted limited authority to act. They could do a rescue mission, but there had to be evidence there was someone to rescue. So far, it was all unsubstantiated rumors. So Sam had contacted four of his retired Rangers and hired them to help him in his search for his son-in-law. The men had eagerly agreed to help.

"Did you find anything more from your contact?" Sam asked as he flipped through the photos.

"Only what I've already told you." Brett Cronan replied. "This guy didn't spend much time in the village. Only heard some chatter about an injuried man and caught a glimpse of a woman that appeared to be white."

"He didn't ask?"

"Wasn't his business to ask, at least that's how he's looking at it." Brett replied. "He was more interested in scrapping out the metal from the plane wreckage."

"But you identified it as part of the wreckage of 815?" Sam asked.

Brett nodded. "Yes sir. But where he found it was almost a hundred miles from the closest village. I can't imagine if anybody was injured in the crash they would have made it to the village on their own. They would have had help."

"Which means someone knows something." Sam theorized. "As soon as the rest of the guys get here we should get going. How far out is this island where the village is located?"

"About a thousand miles south of Sydney," Brett replied. "It'll take you a day of traveling to get there."

"Then the sooner we leave the better, huh?" Sam shoved the pictures back in the envelope for later reference.

"I hope this works out for you, sir." Brett replied.

"Yeah, me too, Lieutenant, me too. I've got a daughter and grandson counting on me."

Present time:

Kate had taken Sammy into her bedroom instead of the nursery and laid down on the bed, both of them falling asleep for a couple of hours. When she woke up later it was quiet and Sammy appeared to be dozing, his eyes barely open. Without waking the baby she reached over and turned on the radio. Christmas music softly filled the room.

Bells will be ringing this sad sad news
Oh what a Christmas to have the blues
My baby's gone I have no friends
To wish me greetings once again

Choirs will be singing Silent Night
Christmas carols by candlelight
Please come home for Christmas
Please come home for Christmas
If not for Christmas by New Years night

Friends and relations send salutations
Sure as the stars shine above
But this is Christmas yes it's Christmas my dear
The time of year to be with the one you love
So won't you tell me you'll never more roam
Christmas and new Years will find you home
There'll be no more sorrow no grief and pain
And I'll be happy, happy once again
Oh there'll be no more sorrow, no grief and pain
And I'll be happy, Christmas once again

Kate felt a tear trickle down as she listened to the song sung by the Eagles. It had been a favorite of hers, but now the lyrics seem to hit so close to home. This was supposed to be their first Christmas as a family, but instead Jack was out there somewhere, badly injured or something else keeping him from getting back to her.

She looked down at their son and gently rubbed his head. "We just have to keep the faith." She wiped at the tears on her cheeks. "Make this a good Christmas for you because it's what your daddy would expect me to do."

As Sammy went back to sleep Kate slipped off the bed and picked him up. With a few cooing noises she walked him back to the nursery and laid him in this crib pulling a blanket over his tiny feet. "Sweet dreams, sweet pea." She whispered before returning to the living room.

"Did you have a good nap?" Jeanine asked, looking up from a television show she was watching.

"Yeah, where's mom?"

"In the kitchen working on dinner." Jeanine replied. "I offered to help, but she told me she's got it under control."

"Mom's not to keen on sharing the kitchen once she's laid claim to it." Kate laughed as she sat down to join her stepmother. "What are you watching?"

"A Christmas Story."

"Oh my gosh, Jack and I love this movie." Kate replied with a smile. "Especially the part where he gets the leg lamp."