Dislclaimer: I don't own Lost
Okay guys! Here's the sequel to the story "A Boy Just Needs His Mother". If you haven't read that story yet, please go and read it first, otherwise you might be confused here. I had thought about not making it a seperate story, but I'm treating it as episodes, however, this story will be longer than the first one. I had planned it to focus mainly on Sawyer, but I've decided it's best to equal it out between him and Juliet, and even the Oceanic 6.
Thanks again on the reviews last time!
Previously on 'A Boy Just Needs His Mother'
"What happened?", she asked.
"What happened, is that kid just broke one of my best mugs, and he's lying about it," he answered, in a pissed off tone.
"James he's only three," she reasoned.
"That ain't the point. He's lying!" he snapped. The young boy turned and burried his face in Juliet's purple top. She instinctively raised a hand against the back of his head.
"James, it was a mistake."
"No, the mistake was letting this happen in the first place. Letting him happen," he growled as he pointed to the boy.
Juliet huffed in anger and hurried away form him. She tried not to think as she carried the boy to his room.
"Hey, it's okay. We all make mistakes Ben," she told him, in a tone that marked defeat.
"How's Roger doing?"
"Not well," he said as his head dropped. "He's taking it pretty hard, as you can imagine. I don't think he'll be able to take care of the baby at the moment."
"Well, then we'll have to find someone who can," Juliet insisted, but she wasn't offering. Horace's eyes latched onto her's.
"Well, I have thought about that on the way over here. I thought maybe you could do it."
"He's gone."
"What?"
"Ben's gone," she stated fearfully.
She expected Susan to lead her back to her house, but instead, she was leading her toward the edge of the compound near the sonic fences.
"Ben why! Why did you run away like that?!"
Ben's eyes softened more, but he didn't cry.
"I'm sowwy mommy."
"You're mine," she told him in a soft voice.
Juliet moaned as the phone's rings rang loudly. She didn't bother to answer it as James reached over and did it for her.
"Who was it?"
"It was Jin," he gasped.
He left the room before Juliet could question him further.
"Miles, have you seen James?"
Once she made it back, she found James pulling down clothes from the closet.
"They're back," he gasped.
"I'm sorry, who's back?" she asked, still not following.
"Jack, Hurley, Kate." The names registered like a dream she was vaugely familiar with. She found she still couldn't quite process what he was saying.
"What?"
"I know." He crossed the room headed for the dresser, but he turned to her once more with her look of shock mirrored on his face. "They came back Juliet."
Chapter 01
James LaFleur sat at the edge of the bed next to Juliet, matching her look of shock and confusion. Their friends from three years ago, Jack, Kate, and Hurley had all come back, just as Locke had promised. They were out there, waiting for him to tell them what to do and how to survive in the late 70's. He glaced at her, and he could tell she was trying her hardest to make sense of it. To understand what it meant for them.
"I don't understand it any more than you do," he said softly. "But they're here. And I gotta find a way to bring them in before somebody else finds them and they screw up everything we got here."
Juliet looked him dead in the eye. She looked like she was weighing in the option of throwing in the towel.
"What have we got here James?"
James looked at her, bewildered by the question and the way she asked it. He couldn't help feeling she was testing him, but at the same time she sounded like she wanted confirmation on her thoughts.
"What we got, is a family worth protecting. A life worth protecting."
"And that life, still includes Ben?"
James knew he shouldn't be surprised to hear the question, but he couldn't answer it. After his return from running away, he'd swore he'd do his best to accept the boy from here on out. Everything seemed to be falling back into a better order, but with his friends returning, it seemed that order might be done if he didn't handle it properly. He didn't know why their arrival should change their situation. He supposed he was just tense from the shock of it.
"There's a sub, coming in this afternoon," Juliet offered to fill in his silence.
James started to answer her earlier question, but decided it was best to move on.
"Well, better get to it then." He got up, grabbed the clothes, and left the room.
He headed down the hall, but paused in front of Ben's room. He hesitated awkwardly before slowly prying open the door and peeking through. Ben was still fast asleep, tummy side down on his bed. His little face was turned where James could get a good view.
Juliet wanted this boy, and he wanted her; and together they had accepted this life. His friends' arrival, in a way, seemed to signify that this wasn't the life he was meant to persue.
Flashback
"You can't do this," James growled as he followed Juliet toward the recovery room of the medical station. Not once did she meet his eyes.
"I have to because-"
"You have to because Horace told you to. He guilted you into this. It's not too late to tell him you changed your mind."
"I'm not feeling guilty," she said lightly, but James wasn't fooled.
"The hell you ain't," he countered. "Emily just died, but that's no reason to go blaming yourself. Hey." He forcfully stopped her by moving in front and grabbing ahold of her shoulders. "Don't do this to make up for something that ain't your fault. What's done is done."
"James I'm aware of that," she said seriously. "And, maybe you're right, maybe I do feel guilty, but I still want to do this."
"Dammit Juliet, why?" He couldn't fathom it. "After the hell he put us through."
"He hasn't done that yet James. You said it yourself. What's done is done."
James sworn under his breath as he quickly worked up another argument.
"So I should just put it all behind me? Take him under our wing? You might of said yes to this, but I say hell no."
"Look at it this way," she started as she laid her hands against his chest. "If it weren't for him, we'd never be together."
James didn't know what to say for that. He simply looked to the ground, frustrated.
"I understand what you're saying. I'm having a hard time dealing with it myself," she continued.
"Then say no," James tried again. "Walk away."
Juliet gave him a small, defeated smile. "I can't. I know it's Ben, but he's just a baby, and I can't just leave him alone. What if I'm suppose to do this?" She hurried away before she could allow him to persuade her choice.
From the look on her face, James could tell she was unwilling to commit, but was willing to force herself to. He was just about to saunter out to the station when he caught Miles and Jin heading his way.
"Hey daddio, you brush up on your parenting skills?" Miles asked sarcastically.
"Can't believe she's doing this," he grumbled.
"She, still keep the baby?" Jin asked.
"She's determined to be a mom, but to the wrong person. I can't talk her out of it."
"To bad Farraday's not here. He would have told her," said Miles.
"Told her what?" James demanded.
"Told her this is a bad idea," he said more seriously. "We're not even suppose to be interacting with the past, and this is way beyond what Farraday said."
"Look I hear what you're saying, but she's set on it. What am I suppose to do?"
"Well if you ask me, it's Linus himself she's still attatched to."
With that, James grabbed the front of his shirt. "Watch yourself Miles. In case you haven't heard, he ain't in no fit state to see her that way."
"Fine, okay." James released him. "But I wouldn't get to attatched to him if I were you."
"I don't plan to."
Upon Miles' look, James turned around to see Juliet standing with the baby terror in her arms. She appeared hesitant to approach them, considering the fact she had heard their conversation. Nonetheless she stepped forward.
"James, Horace said he and Amy will drop by later to bring us some supplies."
"Swell," he said unenthusiastically. He didn't bother to come close to her, yet Miles and Jin were curious to see the child for themselves. He was currently sleeping, but wiggled every so often. He looked like any average baby, without any sign of who he could become.
"Hh, how bout that," said Miles, somewhat awed at the sight of the Hostile leader in such an innocent form. "Who'd of thought Linus was ever...little."
"Yeah, and cute," Juilet managed as she watched him yawn.
"Juliet, are you, sure?" Jin asked.
She glanced down at the baby, the over to James who was leaning against the wall glaring at her.
"Yes, I'm sure. We're sure."
James turned away, disgusted.
Present
James found himself in an awkward position as he drove the Dharma van filled with old acquiantances. During the trip, he did his best to answer their questions without oversharing. The one thing he would not share was the fact that he and Juliet were raising a young Ben Linus. He decided it was best to take it one step at a time. So he focused on explaining the plan. He was certain there wouldn't be any issues, so long as they followed his orders.
He returned to the compound which was active with new recruits moving about and greeting one another. Jack, Hurley and Kate got out of the van, looking as lost as he secretly felt. Still, he was determined to hold it together. In a strange way, seeing Kate fueled some of his own confidence. He gently placed the welcoming lei over her head as he tried not to think about the past they'd shared.
"Put these on and listen up," James said quickly as he handed out the other leis to Jack and Hurley. "Juliet's got it worked out so your names' gonna be on a list, alright. So when you get in there, just watch the little meet and greet video and wait for them to call your name. When they do, just smile, step up, and take your jump suits and work assignments."
"Work assignments?" Jack questioned.
"Don't worry, I got it covered. Just remember to act a little doped up, cause you just woke up from the sub," James added.
"What if they start asking us questions we can't answer, like who's president in 1977?" Hugo quickly asked.
"It's not a damn game show Hugo. Besides, I'm gonna be in there to get your backs." He wasn't convinced it was a perfect plan, but it would have to do.
As he started to guide them behind the other new recruits, a van pulled up distracting him.
"Lafleur, where you been, I've been trying to reach you on the walkie." He stopped, stunned at the sight of Jack, Hurley and Kate. "What, the hell are they doing here?"
"They're our new inductees," he said as casually as he could with a forced grin. He quickly led Miles away before he could draw attention to them. "I'll explain everything later. Stop staring and tell me what your damn problem is."
"It's ah, it's Jin. There's a 14J at the Flame."
"What?" It was hard for him to believe the situation could get any worse.
While James was conversing on the walkie, Juliet was attempting to sneak the list of recruits away from Horace's wife Amy, who was sleeping in a hammock next to her newborn son who lay in a carriage. She didn't manage to sneak away quietly enough as Amy was alerted to her prescense.
"Juliet?" she called.
"Hey Amy," she greeted. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. I just came to get the sub manifest."
"No, it's fine."
"Obviously it's not good for you to work today."
Juliet smiled down at the new mother. In Amy's case, Juliet hadn't delivered her son, and for that she was grateful. Amy had survived. Because she had not intervened liked before, a child didn't have to lose its mother, unlike Ben. The day she had learned Amy survived, Juliet had felt a strong guilt towards her own failure. She'd spent much of the day coddling Ben and even tearing up at the thought of Emily's death.
"Thank you for taking over."
"Sure. Full load?"
"Almost. Two of the recruits dropped out in the last hour. They didn't want to take the sedatives. Will you tell Pierre?"
She nodded as she moved in front of the carriage and peeked in at the baby. Juliet smiled and tickled his tummy.
"Hi...oh hello little one." She gently pulled him into her arms. "Have you and Horace decided on a name yet?"
"Yeah we have. We're gonna name him Ethan."
Juliet caught herself before allowing the smile to fall. She knew it shouldn't have come as too much of a shock. This was the past, and she was bound to run into familiar faces; afterall, she happened to be raising one of those familiar faces.
"Well, you better watch him. They grow up fast." She laid baby Ethan, Ben's future henchman, next to Amy. As she did so, she wondered if she would have to keep them apart as they got older.
"Like your little one. How's he doing?"
"He's good."
"You got the mother thing down fast enough. I just hope I can too."
"Don't worry," Juliet assured her. "You have Horace to help you out."
"And you have James," Amy added.
At that, Juliet couldn't help wondering if she would continue to have him, now that their friends were back; now that Kate was back.
"Yeah," she answered with much uncertainty. "I have James."
Things are just getting started people. Let me know what you think so far!
Expect this story to get a lot more crazy and dramatic
