Thanks for all the reviews. I'm glad everyone has enjoyed reading this and I hope you all like the final chapter. :)
Part Four: Learning to Move On
When I miss you, I don't have to go far...
I just have to look inside my heart because that's where I'll find you.
~Unknown
Opening up her umbrella and stepping from the car, all Kate can hear is the sound of the raindrops falling above her head. The weather perfectly suits her mood, gray and cloudy, with the ever-looming possibility of a thunderstorm.
When she looked out her bedroom window this morning and caught a glimpse of what the day would be like, she almost convinced herself to wait until tomorrow. But after stressing so much she found herself unable to put it off another day.
Walking toward her destination, Kate splashes in one puddle after another, the water soaking her high heeled shoes and spraying up the back of her legs. She smoothes out the dark blue dress she has picked to wear, now wishing she'd thought to choose something more sensible.
There's no going back now so she continues forward, pushing the gates open and hearing them screech slightly in protest before she enters the cemetery.
Striding along the rows of graves, it is as though she has entered a different world. Everything is silent except for the rain and she finds it almost peaceful.
Finally she finds the right spot and steps off the path, the long grass leaving wet trails across her legs. Stopping in front of the headstone, Kate takes a deep breath, leans down and places a bouquet of flowers beside it.
Her eyes fill with tears despite her resolve not to cry and she straightens up in shame, angry at herself for still being so weak.
She finds herself staring at the headstone, its message hard to read through her tears, but Kate knows the words by heart anyway. They were seared into her mind on the day of the burial.
In Loving Memory of Jack Shephard. Beloved Son and Hero. Then his birth and death dates, which only cause her to cry harder.
She wishes it said more, about the kind of hero Jack was, how brave and courageous he always managed to be, or how he saved the lives of not only his patients, but also his friends.
She knows there are no words to describe the man he was, though. She's tried.
And just like that, she knows it was foolish to come here. What good seeing Jack's tombstone was supposed to do, she doesn't know anymore. All she knows is that her heart aching and her mind is telling her to leave before she feels even worse.
As she turns away, Kate spots something silver in the grass beside her. Picking it up, her mouth opens in surprise when she gets a better look at it and realizes exactly what it is.
The engagement ring Jack gave her not that long ago – but what feels like forever now – is resting in her palm, the diamond in its center seeming to twinkle in front of her very eyes.
She pulls out the chain she always wears around her neck and isn't surprised to see that the ring is no longer on it.
Before Kate can stop herself, a soft smile appears on her face and some small part of her heart, the part overcome with grief and depression, mixed with her love for Jack, lifts.
She wonders how the ring got there in the first place. Maybe Claire took it from her last time they saw each other, or maybe it somehow slipped off her chain – even though it's not broken. But she finds herself not caring either way. Though she has never been a big believer in signs, she can't help but feel this is a message from Jack, telling her that he still cares about her.
In that moment, Kate realizes how lucky she is. Did someone else put the ring there? Probably. But did they do because they care about her and want to ease her pain, even though they are hurting as well? Definitely.
Kate knows she is fortunate enough to have friends who will do that for her, and who show compassion, much like the man she loved always did.
This time, thinking of Jack doesn't hurt. It only makes her grateful that she knows such wonderful people.
Sliding the ring back onto its chain, Kate imagines for one moment what her life could have been like if she and Jack had gotten married. But instead of allowing herself to wallow in self pity, her thoughts turn to Aaron and the life he would have had, never knowing his real mother.
Being able to reunite Claire with her son makes Kate thankful she went back to the Island. At least that part turned out the way it was supposed to.
Kate's thoughts turn to little Ji Yeon, who will have to grow up without parents. Kate vows to make sure the child gets to know what her mother and father were like, what wonderful people they were.
She pictures Aaron and Ji Yeon playing together with Desmond and Penny's son, Charlie, something she very much hopes they will get to do someday. Something she will make happen.
And then she begins to understand something.
Jack lives on in her friends, in all the people that ever knew him. He'd touched each of their lives in some way, changed them, and so he will never be forgotten.
And because of what he did, what he gave up, they all get to live. Something Kate will never take for granted again.
The pain of losing Jack is far from gone but it has lessened, enough for her to stop feeling sorry for herself and want to live her life. The way Jack would have wanted her to, the way she wants to.
"Goodbye," she tells him, and finally she can say it.
It feels good to let go, she thinks briefly.
Suddenly Desmond's words about the afterlife come back to her and Kate finds herself hoping Jack is up there somewhere, listening and watching over her. Waiting for the day when he will see her again.
As she stares at the headstone one last time, an inscription on the bottom catches her eye.
To live on in the hearts of those we love is never to die.
And this, Kate knows for certain, is true.