Thanks for the reviews. I decided to do something a little different with this chapter and have it from Claire's POV. It's set about one year after the last one. ;)

Epilogue

The doorbell sounded while Claire was in the kitchen, checking on dinner. "Can you answer that?" she called to Charlie, taking the roast out and depositing it on top of the stove so that she could arrange the potato pieces around it.

Out in the hall, she heard the murmur of excited voices and then he yelled back, "They're here!"

Peeling off her oven mitts, Claire threw them onto the counter and went out to meet her family. "Merry Christmas!" she greeted them, rushing forward to embrace her brother, who hastily relieved himself of an armload of parcels in order to accommodate her.

"Careful," Kate warned her when it was her turn, shifting the little red bundle she was nursing into one arm so that she could hug her with the other. "We just got her to sleep."

When the two women released each other, Claire stepped back to take in her soon-to-be sister. Her black maternity top disguised her belly, but from what Claire could tell, she was almost back to her normal shape. "I can't believe you only gave birth a week ago," she gushed. "You look amazing!"

"You haven't seen me naked," Kate reminded her with a self-deprecating smile, drawing a smirk out of Jack, who clearly didn't understand her complaint.

The baby wasn't due to arrive until the New Year, but to everyone's surprise and delight, she'd decided to make her entrance into the world a fortnight earlier than expected. Christmas Eve marked the anniversary of her first week of life, and her first trip to the paediatrician's office for the never-ending string of infant check ups that Aaron – now almost eighteen months old – had just finished.

"How is she?" Claire asked, remembering how anxious Kate had been when she spoke to her on the phone that morning, convinced, just as she had been, that the exam would uncover something the ultrasounds had missed.

Kate averted her eyes to her sleeping daughter, glowing with maternal pride as she answered, "Perfect."

Watching them, Jack's expression softened and he bent to grip the toes of an exposed foot – no bigger than the pad of his thumb –, pressing the sole to his lips before tucking it back inside the folds of her blanket.

"I could've told you that!" Claire teased them. Her brand new niece was every bit as beautiful as she'd imagined their babies to be, second only to Aaron in cuteness, although she did have the advantage of being more than half his current size.

"I was a little concerned when the doctor told us she actually lost weight," Kate confessed, "but Jack insists that it's perfectly normal for newborns, so I guess I'm just gonna have to trust him on that."

"It was only five ounces," he told Claire. "Not even half a pound." The hand that wasn't holding Leo's leash rose to massage the small of Kate's back, his palm coming to rest comfortably over her hip. "He also said she was 'exceptionally healthy'."

"Ah, mummy fears." That was definitely something Claire could relate to. She'd done nothing but worry since Aaron was born: every sniffle, every rash, every bruise. "Get used to it. Now that you're a parent, you'll never sleep soundly again!"

While everyone else was fussing over the baby, Jack and Kate's golden retriever remained sitting patiently beside his master, waiting to be told where to go. Claire had never owned a dog herself, but she'd heard stories from people who had; each time she saw him, she found herself marvelling at how well Eli had trained him. "You brought Leo!" she said and he wagged his tail furiously at finally being acknowledged. "How's he adjusting to the new arrival?"

"He's been great," Kate told her. "He sleeps next to her bassinette and barks whenever she cries – he's even better than a baby monitor." She reached down to ruffle his fur affectionately. "You love being a big brother, don't you, boy?"

"I think he's looking forward to the day when she's big enough to play with," Jack added. "So what's the plan for this evening?"

"Charlie and I were thinking we'd start with drinks before dinner, and then when Aaron wakes up from his nap, we could do the presents," Claire suggested. They were holding Christmas early this year so that Jack and Kate could take the baby to her grandparents' house for lunch the next day. Their father had invited Claire as a courtesy, but given that Margo still hadn't entirely forgiven his affair, she'd decided that she would much rather spend the holiday at home with Charlie and Aaron: her real family.

"Jack already gave me his gift," Kate joked, lifting her gaze from the baby, back up to his, and flashing him a goofy grin. "I always wanted a dolly."

He chuckled and lowered his forehead to hers, stroking the edge of her jaw lightly with his fingers. "You were the one who did all the work," he reminded her. "I just stood there."

When she first heard that Kate was pregnant, less than six months after she and Jack had officially moved in together, Claire was worried that it would put a strain on their relationship and undo all the hard work she'd put in, but for once, she was wrong. Since then, Jack had seemed happier, and more relaxed than ever: he was even thinking of taking a sabbatical so that he could spend more time with his daughter. "Aw. You guys are so sweet."

"You should've seen her trying to pick out what she was gonna wear today," Jack told them when he released her. "She must have dragged out every piece of clothing she owns. There were little sweaters and onesies all over the apartment. I thought a Baby Gap had exploded."

Claire thought of the mountains of stuff they'd amassed at Kate's baby shower and in the lead up to the birth. "Every piece?"

"He's exaggerating – it was only the bedroom," Kate corrected him and everyone laughed.

"Well, she looks adorable," Claire assured her.

"She does," Jack agreed.

In honour of the occasion, Kate had dressed her in a red dress that almost covered her feet, the matching red headband standing out against the thick carpet of dark hair that already curled away from her scalp.

"Very festive," Charlie said with his usual dryness. "Speaking of picking things out though, do you two have a name for her yet? Or am I gunna have to invent one?" He pretended to think about this for a moment. "Let's see, there's Holly, Ivy, Mary …"

"Her name is Lucy," Kate announced before he could finish his list of Christmas themed monikers, which Claire suspected was pre-prepared.

It wasn't highlighted in any of the books that Claire had lent them during her pregnancy. "Is that short for something?" she checked. "Lucille or Lucinda…?"

Kate shook her head.

"Just Lucy," Jack reaffirmed.

"Little Lucy Shephard. Leo and Lucy," Charlie tried out. "Cute."

"Jack chose it," Kate explained. "Apparently he never had any doubt that she was a girl."

Claire could remember Kate telling her, not long after she and Jack broke the news, that she was fairly certain she was carrying another Shephard boy; in fact, she'd managed to get caught in the middle of more than one epic argument about it when she made the mistake of siding with her brother.

"Could I…?" She held out her arms, indicating the baby. They'd passed her around Kate's room at the hospital the night she was born, but she hadn't had the chance to bond with her since then.

"Sure," Kate agreed, transferring her carefully into them. "Just…" She trailed off, easing her palm from beneath the baby's head as Claire repositioned her against her chest, "…You know."

"She has done this once or twice before, Kate," Jack teased her, giving her ribs a gentle squeeze.

"Hi, Lucy-Goosy," Claire addressed her niece, swaying with her when she whimpered and stirred. "Remember me? I'm your Aunty Claire."

She felt her face split into a grin when Lucy yawned, exposing her dainty pink tongue. "I forgot how tiny they are at this age." She pinched her hand – the size of a doll's – between her forefinger and thumb. "It almost makes me want to have another one," she remarked and Charlie mimed bolting for the door, although knowing how much he loved being a father to Aaron, Claire was sure that he would feel the same way about any other children that they had in future.

"I know," Kate agreed. "I still can't believe she's mine." She glanced up at Jack and smiled. "Ours."

He closed the distance between them, placing a tender kiss on her lips, and seeing how the birth of their daughter had only strengthened their love for one another, Claire's heart swelled with pride at having brought them together. If it hadn't been for her, Jack would probably still be living alone, drinking, and working his way towards an early grave; then again, if it wasn't for him, she would have gone back to Sydney without Aaron or Charlie, so she supposed they were finally even.

It was because of Aaron that she'd been brave enough to speak to Charlie when she first noticed him busking on the corner from the restaurant where she was meeting her father. She was still a little gun shy after her experience with Thomas, but her son had given her something to talk about. The fact that Charlie had listened – and even asked questions – left a deep impression on her; so deep that she'd accepted a coffee date that afternoon without much hesitation. There weren't a whole lot of guys her age who were willing to take on someone else's kid.

Somewhere in the distance, Aaron began to cry, bringing Claire back to the moment. "I guess he wants his presents now," she joked, moving to pass Lucy back to her mother, but Charlie stopped her.

"You stay here – I'll go get him," he offered, heading for the nursery.

"While we have you alone, there's something we need to ask you," Kate said when he was gone.

She nodded to Jack. "Would you like to be Lucy's godmother?" he chimed in, even though they already knew the answer.

She'd dropped enough hints, if you could even call them that. "I would love to!" she agreed, flinging herself at Jack, almost squishing her niece in the process.

"We're going to ask Charlie to be her godfather," Kate assured her as she pulled back, just before he returned with Aaron on his hip, wearing the little red and white infant Santa suit that Claire had bought for him.

"Look, Aaron – it's Uncle Jack and Aunty Kate, and Leo," he said, and her son began to rock with excitement, his little face lighting up in recognition.

"Hey, buddy," Jack greeted him. "Merry Christmas." He tapped a large box sitting beside him with the toe of his shoe. "See what we got you?"

Charlie carried him over to where they were all standing, stopping in front of Claire. "And this is your cousin Lucy," he told him; Claire tilted her head up so that he could see her. "When you snoop at the presents, you'll be able to use her as look out."

She swatted his shoulder playfully with her free hand, feigning outrage. "Charlie!"

"What?" he insisted, twisted so that Aaron was between them like a human shield, to prevent her from hitting him again. "He needs to know these things. It's what my brother did to me."

Claire struggled to suppress her laughter at his antics, forcing a stern expression onto her face. "Well, your brother was a bad influence," she pointed out. She was yet to meet Liam, but after the things he'd told her, she wasn't sure that she wanted to. For now, she was just glad that he was able to get his life back on track. "Aaron isn't going to do anything like that."

"You say that now…" he teased her, turning his attention back to the room. "So then, shall we adjourn, now that we're all here?"

Claire handed Lucy over to Jack so that she could take Aaron from Charlie, and together the six of them – and Leo – made their way into the living room to begin the celebration.

Thanks again for all of your kind words and support -- I'll be sad to see this fic go! At the moment I'm toying with the idea of following it up with a Lucy and Leo one shot, just because I think it would be cute to see how they interact with each other once she's a bit older, but we'll see. If you want to know what I imagine them to look like, my icon should give you some indication. As for what's next, I've posted a poll on my profile, so don't forget to vote! Or alternately, if you don't have an account you can just let me know in a review. ;)