Fandom: LOST
Character: James & Juliet
Rating: T
Status: Complete (One-Shot)
Disclaimer : Characters and show belong to ABC. Title belongs to 3OH!3 (Don't trust me)
Author's Note: Early birthday present for my sweet and awesome Richyl! During the week I'm always so busy with school and stuff so I hope you won't mind me posting this few days earlier than your birthday! :P The beginning of the story has been in my mind since forever but I can't say the same thing for the end. Well, I hope you'll like it! & Happy Birthday, hun! *hugs*
Just another girl alone at the bar.
It was late night when Juliet Carlson left the hospital. It was a cold night and she had just had one the worse nights of her life. Being a surgeon and a fertility doctor, she was used to death. This time it was different though. Her dear friend, Andrea Carlisle died under surgery. They had been friends since Juliet had memory and when Andrea arrived at the hospital, Juliet knew there wasn't much she could do. Her friend's car was hit by a truck and she was the only survivor. Andrea's husband and daughter died in the crash and when the paramedics brought her to the hospital, the woman was unconscious and there was no pulse. Juliet wasn't allowed to scrub in and she had to wait outside the OR while the other doctors were desperately trying to save her life; the Neurosurgeon and the Cardiothoracic one called her death less than half an hour later.
Blaming herself for what happened, Juliet drove her black Lexus to her favorite bar. It was a small bar not too far from the hospital and the blonde woman knew the bartender pretty well because she used to have a drink with her colleagues after work.
Juliet parked her car and before getting out, she looked at herself in the mirror: her straight long blonde hair was messy, her mascara was all smudged, her eyes swollen and red. She looked horrible. Actually, Juliet couldn't care less because she had just lost one of the most important people in her life but she also knew that she couldn't be seen like that. People would have started asking questions and she didn't want it, she didn't want to talk. All she wanted was to get wasted. Alcohol would have helped her, she knew it.
After brushing her hair and cleaning her face, the woman left the car and walked into the bar. The loud music surrounded her, the smell of sweet cocktails got deep into her nose, the vivid lights dazzled her.
"Hi, Juliet!" the bartender greeted her as she sat on a black stool by the counter.
"Hi yourself, Ben" she replied, forcing a smile.
Ben McNamara was a man in his late thirties, tall with deep blue eyes. He was an attractive man and not being married, many women hit on him. Juliet had never done that because the two of them were too different and she was too much into her work to actually care about starting a relationship with someone.
"What would you like to drink tonight?" Ben asked Juliet while drying a light green cocktail glass with a clean dishtowel.
"I'll start with an Apple Martini" she replied, rolling up her blue shirt's sleeves.
The bartender served her a delicious Apple Martini that Juliet finished in less than ten minutes. While drinking, she thought about her friend Andrea. They used to be neighbors when they were children and their families were also friends; Andrea's daughter, Julie, was like a niece to Juliet and Andrea's husband, Michael, was like a brother to her. Everything was gone. She couldn't believe it. She couldn't accept it.
Juliet asked for a Cosmopolitan and drank it in two sips. It was her favorite drink after all.
"Whoo-hoo" Ben exclaimed, looking at Juliet "Don't drink so fast or you'll get drunk!"
"That's exactly what I want" she admitted and ordered a Satan's Whiskers.
It didn't last long. Juliet drank it in few minutes and she finally started to feel the alcohol in her body. She was feeling warmer and warmer every minute and her head had already started to spin.
Juliet took off her shirt and all she had left was a close-fitting white top that showed her perfect breast.
The woman was sipping a Corpse Reviver when somebody sat on the stool next to hers.
"A beer, please" a rough voice ordered.
Juliet slowly moved her head left and saw a dark blonde man sitting right next to her. He was wearing a leather jacket and a pair of blue jeans, his hair was long and she could tell he hadn't shaved for at least three days.
The man started sipping his beer straight from the bottle. Looking better at him, she spotted a police-badge on his black leather belt. So, mystery solved. The unknown man was a cop.
She couldn't help but stare at him. There was something familiar in that man. Maybe she had delivered his wife's baby, maybe she had seen him at the supermarket or maybe she was just so drunk that she thought she knew him but she actually didn't.
"You look familiar" the words came out of her mouth loud and clear.
The man drank the last sip of his beer and ordered another one. Then he finally looked at Juliet.
"I don't think we have met before" he shrugged.
"I think we have, instead" she insisted.
"Look, you're drunk" he chuckled.
"Thouche" she laughed.
Usually, Juliet Carlson wasn't that extroverted with strangers but alcohol was helping her a lot.
"Juliet Carlson" she introduced herself.
"James Ford" he replied, shaking her hand.
"Nice to meet you, James Ford" she continued "What brings you here?"
"The end of my shift" he replied, politely. That woman was so drunk that she would believe everything told her.
"You're a cop" she pointed at his badge.
"Genius" he counteracted "What about you?"
"I'm a doctor" she simply said.
"A doctor?" he looked closer at her "You shouldn't drink that much, Doc"
Juliet couldn't help but laugh. That guy didn't know a shit about her but still he was trying to tell her what she should or shouldn't do.
"Look" she started, moving a lock of rebel hair behind her ear "Leave me alone"
This time, James burst into laughter.
"What's so funny?" she asked, skeptical.
"Nothing, nothing" he tried his best to stop laughing. That woman wanted to be left alone when she actually started the conversation.
"Ben!" Juliet yelled, overtopping the loud music "I want to pay!"
The bartender gave Juliet her bill and she paid, giving him a generous tip. Ben tried to refuse the money because it was really a lot of cash and, considering that Juliet was drunk, he didn't want to take advantage of the situation. On the other hand, Juliet insisted and he, eventually, accepted the money.
Juliet slowly stood up and realized that her high heels weren't the best in that situation. She was wasted. She got what she wanted but she was starting to regret it. Walking was harder than Juliet excepted so she stooped down and got rid of her shoes. Her head spun so much that the woman almost fell on the floor while getting up, her shoes in her hand.
"Hey, do you need a hand with that?" James ran to her. He was a cop and that woman was drunk, he couldn't just leave her like that.
"No… no" she refused, slowly getting up "I'm fine"
"No, you aren't" he denied "Let me help you"
"I don't need your help" she moved a hand to her forehead and closed her eyes. She was burning like hell.
Slowly, she turned and started jogging on towards the bar's door. Silent tears started rolling on her cheeks, Juliet hated herself for what she had just done. Additionally, she had to admit that alcohol wasn't the right way to deal with problems. It took her all her strength to open the door.
The cold air overwhelmed her. The breeze ruffled her hair and refreshed her burning hot skin. Her naked feet started to walk slowly to her car. Juliet crossed her arms on her chest, she was freezing. It was winter and she was wearing just a top and a pair of jeans because she forgot both her shirt and her coat inside.
"Wait!" a male voice yelled, going after her "Wear this or you'll get a pneumonia."
An heavy leather jacket was put down on her naked shoulders. She felt better immediately.
"Thank you so much" she managed to say, looking at James.
"You got it, Blondie" he smiled at her "Let me call you a cab"
"Oh no" she denied "My car's here somewhere…"
"You can't drive. You're drunk, Juliet" he tried to make her reason.
"I know that" she hissed.
"I'll take my phone now" he stated, pointing at the jacket Juliet was currently wearing.
The woman simply nodded, thinking about how weird the situation actually was.
James put his hand into his jacket's pocket and while taking his phone out, he moved his hand too quickly and something fell on the ground.
Both James and Juliet bent and they simultaneously grabbed the item. It was an Apollo Bar. Their hands slightly touched and something happened. They felt something inside, something in their hearts, in their souls. It was something they had never felt before.
The quickly got up and they both started in fear.
"Did you feel that?" he asked her, concerned and dazed at the same time.
"Yeah…" she nodded.
He moved closer to her in order to put the Apollo Bar back into his jacket and Juliet grabbed his wrist. As soon as her delicate fingers caught hold of his wrist, Juliet started seeing flashes of herself. She saw herself getting on an island, being a doctor on that island. The scenes were confused and foggy. Few seconds later, the woman saw herself with James. They happened to be together. They were a couple, they were on a dock talking about something related to two weeks, they were kissing in a kitchen she had never seen before. The scene switched again and she saw herself falling into a hole, dying in her soulmate's arms.
"Oh my God" she whispered, finally realizing what she had just seen.
"It's me, baby" he said, shocked.
James had just seen the very same things Juliet saw. He also saw himself blaming himself for the love of his life's death, he felt what love actually meant. The man also felt the pain for Juliet's death.
"James" she cried, hugging him.
He hugged her tightly and caressed her hair like he used to do when they were on the island. Frankly, James wasn't sure if what he had just seen was something that happened in a previous life or in a parallel one but he was sure that Juliet wasn't a stranger, that she wasn't just a girl alone at bar. She was the love of his life, he had loved her before. He had her but he lost her. This time though, nothing would have kept them apart. He would have never let her go again.
"Kiss me, James" she begged him, in tears.
"You got it, Blondie."