Author's Note: Okay, this one is a request, and I'm such a sucker for people's requests, so this one goes out to NorthernWolf!! I certainly hope it's up to your expectations!
(Remember everyone, if you ever want a Sawyer/Juliet story, just let me know! Throw me an idea and I promise I'll do my best for you!! Funny, sad, happy.. romantic. More then one, you name it! I'll of course, try and do it!!)
The Caretaker:
Juliet opened her eyes as she heard the phone ring in Sawyer's room for about the third time in a row now. Normally he didn't hesitate to get up and get the phone, but today, he'd ignored it three times. That wasn't like him at all.
She let a yawn escape her lips and she rubbed the tired from her eyes as she headed out of her room wearing only a tank top, and embarrassingly enough, a pair of Sawyer's boxers. He'd complained they were too small, so she'd taken the liberty of absconding with them out of the wash one day, and had since donned them as sleepwear. Not that she'd ever told him.
Her eyebrows arched slightly as she peaked into his room and saw him under, at least, three blankets and still shivering despite it. She quietly walked over to the bed where he was still sleeping and she stared as the sweat dripped from his face. Her eyes softened slightly in response and she put her hand to his forehead. "James.." she muttered with a shake of her head.
They'd been in the Dharma Initiative for nearly a year, and although it was rare that anyone actually got sick, it did indeed happen on occasion. She glanced at the phone as it began its shrill of ringing for the fourth time and she reached out, snatching it off the receiver. "Hello.." she stated hesitantly.
"Juliet?" Horace had questioned with slight confusion. "I was looking for Jim."
Juliet frowned as she glanced down at Sawyer. "James is.. sick.." she stated.
"Do you want me to send the doctor over?" Horace questioned, a hint of worry in his voice.
Juliet smiled a little at the man. He was sweet, there was no doubt about that. "That's alright, Horace.." she told him. "It looks like the flu.. I can take care of him, but I don't think he's going to be doing any work today.."
She could almost hear him nod his approval and obviously it took him a moment to remember they were on the phone.
"Of course, keep him well then, Juliet. Thanks. And call me if you need anything."
"I will, thank you. Tell Caleb I can't make it down to the motor pool today?" Juliet requested.
"Not a problem."
Juliet smiled as she hung up the phone, then she glanced over at Sawyer and frowned. She sat down on the edge of the bed beside him and placed her hand on his shoulder, gently shaking him. "James.." she whispered.
"Mmmph.. not in the mood.. got a headache.." he muttered, rolling away from her. "Maybe later.."
Juliet raised an eyebrow up in response. It took a moment before she rolled her eyes in response and stood, heading out of the room and towards the kitchen. She sighed, grabbing a glass out of the cabinet and filled it with water before heading back into his room, watching in silence as he kicked himself out of the blankets and tried getting up. "Hey.." she said quietly, heading towards the bed and putting her hand on his chest, pushing him back down onto the bed.
It had been surprisingly easy to force him back down and that worried her a little bit.
"Geez.." Sawyer muttered, squinting at her as she placed a hand on his forehead. "What're ya' doin?" he questioned, ignoring the way his body ached as he swatted her hand away.
Juliet rolled her eyes. "Get back in bed.." she told him. "I already told Horace you weren't going to the security station so you might as well lay back down."
"Why would ya' do that?" he questioned, exasperated that she would do such a thing. He took the water gratefully nonetheless and took a sip only getting a little down his dry throat before he wheezed a little and coughed.
"That's why," she explained with an eye roll.
Sawyer frowned at her. "You're not even a doctor anymore," he told her, standing up and putting the glass of water on the nightstand beside the bed.
Juliet remained silent as he started walking out of the bedroom slowly and yet defiantly. "What are you doing?"
"Can't a man take a leak?" Sawyer asked out of irritation as he headed towards the bathroom. She always had to know everything. Almost daily it was, 'you're working too hard; you're not sleeping nearly enough; wear your glasses, you'll get a headache; you forgot to eat breakfast.. so I brought you some food; or his personal favorite: if you keep being so unhealthy you're going to get sick.'
He wasn't even sure why it bothered him so much, because he knew that in a sense she was just taking care of him. But he'd never let anyone take care of him before and he sure as hell wasn't going to start letting Juliet do it. Sure, they'd lived together for a while, and even though people had a different idea about them, they were nothing more then.. he assumed, friends.
When he came out of the bathroom a few minutes later he couldn't shake the feeling of how cold he was and he frowned because he knew he was also sweating. He glanced at her in the kitchen now, as she dug through the cabinets.
"You should eat something," Juliet stated carefully.
"Not hungry.." he mumbled, taking a seat at the kitchen table and resting his head on his arms on top of it.
Juliet turned and glanced at him, and regardless of the fact he was being stubborn she couldn't help but feel bad for him. She let another sigh escape as she pulled some Tylenol out of back of the cabinet and filled another glass with water before she went over to him. She placed the glass down in front of him and the two tablets.
Sawyer glanced up at her with nothing short of frustration. "I don't need those."
Juliet couldn't help but take a deep breath to calm herself. He could be more then a little frustrating with his 'I can take care of myself' attitude, but at the same time she understood it. "Would you just humor me and please take them?" she requested, her voice soft.
Sawyer eyed her cautiously. He knew he did in fact need them but it was the simply fact that she had given them to him that made him say otherwise. He said nothing in response, nor did he take the water and Tylenol. He simply laid his head back down on his arms and listened to her grunt of annoyance.
"You know, I told Horace he didn't need to call the doctor," she told him. "But if you're going to sit here and do absolutely nothing that I ask you to do, then I'll just get the doctor instead," she stated angrily, and when he ignored her again she only got more angry. "You're being a child about this, James. Just take the damned Tylenol before I shove it down your throat."
Sawyer lifted his head and looked at her in shock. "You wouldn't dare," he stated, and from the look on her face he knew he was wrong.
"You wanna test that theory?" she questioned next.
Sawyer frowned, grabbed both the Tylenol and shoved them into his mouth before taking a gulp of the water to drown them down. It took him a moment after to stock coughing in response to it and when he looked up all he saw was concern in her features which frustrated him to no end. "Happy now?"
Juliet shook her head in response and walked back over to the stove, pulling out a pot.
"What's that for?" he questioned.
"Soup.." she answered frankly. There was no point in trying to form long sentences with him at the moment because he was just going to sit there and shoot her down on everything else.
"I'm not--"
"Hungry," Juliet finished. "Yes I know, so you already said."
Sawyer watched her. He already knew he'd pushed her buttons a lot this morning, not that he could help himself. It didn't seem to matter what he did, she simply didn't take the bait and break. Sure, she got frustrated, or a little angry sometimes.. but her threat to shove Tylenol down his throat was about the biggest break he'd gotten out of her yet.
He groaned and laid his head back down.
"What?" she asked, her voice gaining back its tone of sensitivity and worry. She headed back over toward him, going to once more put her hand on his forehead when he swatted her hand away again knowingly. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly in response.
"Gonna throw up.." he muttered.
Juliet's eyes softened. "Come on.. let me help you to the bathroom."
Sawyer shook his head. "Not gonna make it that far.."
Juliet frowned but she grabbed the pot off the stove she was going to use for soup and quickly brought it back over to him, placing it onto his lap just in time for him to lean over it and empty out whatever contents were left in his stomach. She involuntarily felt her attitude towards him dissipate as she rubbed his back with one hand and held onto his hair with her other.
She was vaguely surprised that his vomiting didn't make her at least gag, she supposed all these years on the island had given her a slight immunity to her gag reflex because before the island, the sight of someone puking would make her nearly puke herself. Or perhaps it was just the fact that she'd begun caring about him enough that she could suppress it, but that was a thought she didn't want to delve into.
When he'd finished a few minutes later and she was positive nothing more was going to come spewing out, she hesitated for just a moment before she grabbed a rag off the counter and knelt down, wiping his mouth off. "Drink the water, James.." she advised in a gentle voice. She took the pot off his lap and carried it to the bathroom without really looking down at it before dumping it out into the toilet and flushing it away.
She let out a breath she wasn't even aware she was holding before she went back out towards the kitchen. She glanced down at the pot with a certain distaste before she walked to the front door and tossed it outside on the porch, ignoring a few choice looks in her direction. She honestly didn't care about the pot, or keeping it in case he wasn't able to make it to the bathroom again. She would just give him a different pot.
Once she shut the door she looked back over at him with his forehead resting on the table and she frowned. But when she looked at the glass of water she noticed he'd drank a lot of it down. She pulled off another cloth from the stove and ran cold water over it from the sink before she headed back over to him and wiped down his face from the sweat. She only glanced up when there was a knock at the door and she hesitated before folding the cloth and putting it on the back of his neck, heading to the door.
Juliet couldn't say she was surprised to see Horace and Amy at the door because she knew they'd eventually show up on their own to see how Sawyer was. She almost chuckled as she noticed them both eying the pot warily and with as much distaste as she had. "I'd suggest a quarantine," she teased before opening the door and stepping aside to let them in.
Amy held out a plastic container for Juliet. "I figured he's probably giving you a hard time, you probably haven't had the chance, so I made soup.." she told the blonde. She was already good friends with Juliet, and truthfully she'd been fond of her since the first day they met.
"Thank you.." Juliet stated gratefully, taking the container and setting it down on the counter before she cast a glance over in Sawyer's direction.
Horace watched the gaze Juliet gave towards LaFleur and he could only barely suppress the chuckle that neither really knew how much they actually cared for the other. "Any better then this morning?" he asked curiously, though from the looks of his recently appointed head of security, he was guessing the answer was no.
Juliet let out a sigh as she shut the door behind them. "I'd love to say yes, but he was too stubborn to stay in bed.. so.. no."
"Are you sure you don't want me to get the doctor here for him?" Horace asked her. He knew she just wanted to take care of him herself, but sometimes a doctor was necessary.
"Honestly," Juliet stated. "Calling the doctor in here would probably make him even more frustrated.." she answered. "And if you want the truth.. I have a fair amount of medical training myself.."
Horace looked slightly surprised, but when he glanced at Amy he could see that she was already well aware of Juliet's previous statement before now. "You do?" he asked. "Why didn't you tell us?"
Juliet glanced back at Sawyer to check on him before she looked Horace in the eyes. "I saw too much.. death," she admitted carefully. "I became a doctor to help people.. not see them die," she said with slight frustration. "Medicine just became uncomfortable for me.."
Horace let her words wash over him and he knew not to push the subject any further. LaFleur was obviously wearing her down, he could see it in her eyes. She was already tired, and it only made him worried she would get sick to. "Are you sure you don't need anything, Juliet?" he asked her, worry clear in his voice. "You look tired.. if you need help don't hesitate to tell us."
Juliet smiled a little in response. She was about to reply when she heard Sawyer mutter something from the table about being sick again and she frowned, not hesitating to pull his chair out and lean his head down between his knees. "Just keep your head down for a minute, James.." she stated quietly before opening a cabinet and hauling out another pot. She was going to have to keep this one handy, because if she didn't she would simply run out of pots to use.
She was back over to him just as quickly, lifting him up enough to place the pot on his lap and help him lean himself on it before she heard it all erupt again. She sighed, moving his hair back once more and rubbing circles on his back. She forgot for just a moment that Horace and Amy were still there and she glanced up at them and gave them a sad smile. "If you don't mind Horace.. after this I may need your help getting him back to the bedroom to lay down.."
Horace nodded softly in response, watching as Amy grabbed the container of soup and made her way over to the fridge to put it away. "Not a problem, Juliet.." he answered. He watched the pure affection Juliet had for the man she was taking care of and he wondered how exactly, LaFleur couldn't see it before now. And he assumed the man was far too gone at the moment to really know what was happening. He was going to have to have a chat with the man once he was feeling better.
Juliet watched as he once again grunted out a noise that meant there was nothing left and she grabbed the rag, wiping his mouth one more time before tossing it aside on the table and lifting him up to grab the pot. "Drink more of the water.." she said softly as she pulled the pot from his lap. She didn't bother taking it to the bathroom and instead emptied it into the trash, as distasteful as she found it. Then she rinsed it out in the sink and set it aside.
She noticed Amy's careful gaze on her and she looked back, smiling just a little before heading back over to Sawyer. "Want to help me move him now?" she requested to Horace. At his nod they both lifted one of his arms and put them over their shoulders and began walking him towards the bedroom.
"Smell nice.." Sawyer muttered out.
Juliet flushed a little as he leaned in closer to her neck and she felt his breath on her.
Horace released a chuckle at Juliet's reaction and helped her lay him down on the bed. "You're positive that you'll be alright?" he asked her one more time.
"I'll be fine," Juliet answered, looking up at Horace and smiling a little. She glanced back down at Sawyer when he began shivering and she frowned, placing her hand on his forehead. His fever still didn't feel any lower and she let out a frustrated sigh.
"Is he alright?" Horace questioned with a bit of worry.
Juliet sat down at the edge of the bed and moved her hand down to cup his cheek. "Yes and no.." she answered honestly. "He's got a fever, but the flu doesn't really care about that, you'll have a high fever and you'll experience chills.." she explained to him. "Covering him with blankets won't reduce the fever, or make the chills go away.."
Horace felt surprise and relief flood over him at once. She honestly wasn't lying about her medical training. "Don't get sick yourself," he warned her. "If he wears you down, please just call me to get the doctor, Juliet."
"Alright," Juliet replied, just to make him feel better. Truthfully though, she knew that she wouldn't do that. She felt obligated to take care of Sawyer, for whatever reason. "Thank you."
"Take care," Horace told her. "Let me know how he's doing when you get the chance."
Juliet nodded and watched as he left the room. It took a moment for her to register that Horace and Amy had just seen her wearing his boxers and she rolled her eyes at herself. She watched now as he opened his eyes and looked up at her. "Are you alright?" she asked immediately. "Do you feel nauseous?"
When he mumbled out something incoherent, she moved to stand up and grab the pot from the kitchen but instead his hand caught her wrist and he pulled her back down. She found herself laying across his chest and blew out a breath of frustration. "What in the world are you doing, James?" she questioned, attempting to pull herself off him, but his arms were locked tight around her.
"Yer' warm.." he muttered.
Juliet ignored the sensation she felt from his arms around her and made the attempt to break away from him again. "And you're burning up, let me go."
"I feel better like this.." Sawyer groaned out, not wanting her to leave. Truthfully, he knew it was a sorry excuse to use his illness to keep her close to him, but he wasn't unwilling to sink to that low, as he'd just proved to himself.
Juliet hesitated as she glanced at him. "I'll be back, James.." she assured him. "At least let me go and get the pot in case you get sick.." she requested, letting out a breath of relief as he reluctantly released her. She stood back up, heading out of the room.
Sawyer closed his eyes again, but he couldn't help the faint smile the registered on his face when he heard her muttering a few choice curses as she went down the hallway. He was fairly certain they were phrases that she'd learned from living with him. He almost felt like letting them loose as well, if only because he missed the sensation of her body.
Juliet leaned against the counter and took a deep breath. He was just sick, she reminded herself carefully. And the flu could wreak a havoc on your mind set, so she knew very well not to be taking his sudden interest in being close to her too seriously for the future. Regardless of how she'd begun feeling towards him, he'd made it painstakingly obvious over the past year that it was one-sided.
She closed her eyes for a moment before shaking her head. She admitted that she wasn't above sinking to an all knew low of actually allowing herself to enjoy his sudden need for her. So she pulled yet another pot out from the cabinet and filled it with cold water, tossing a few cloths into it before she balanced that pot and the empty puke pot, heading back towards the bedroom. She placed both the pots down on the floor before sitting down on the edge of the bed and wiping his face down once again, and she let out an involuntary gasp when his hand shot out and grabbed hold of her wrist in a tight grip.
Sawyer opened his eyes at the gasp, and seeing the hurt in her eyes he instantly let her hand go. "Sorry.." he managed to croak out. "Surprised me.."
Juliet's eyes softened a little as she continued wiping his face, then his neck. "It's alright.." she assured him and gave him a small smile.
"Lay down.." he instructed, his voice still a little hoarse.
Juliet eyed him with a bit of uncertainty. "James.. it's not a good idea," she stated softly. But Sawyer yanked her down beside him anyways and she felt him drape his arm over her waist from behind. Obviously that was his was of saying he didn't quite care if the idea was a good one or a bad one because it was what he wanted to do. She didn't know when, or how, but she eventually felt herself drifting off into sleep along with him.
She wasn't entirely sure what was happening, or how long she'd fallen asleep for when she felt weight on top of her, pinning her to the bed and breath on her cheek. And she opened her eyes to see Sawyer hovering above her, his eyes closed and clearly asleep. But obviously he was dreaming of something, and acting it out too seeing as he was now pinning her arms to the bed. "James," she called out to him, struggling to pull away, but regardless of the illness racking his body, his strength seemed quite in tact.
"James let go," she tried again.
"Not gonna do it.." he muttered out. "Don't wanna do it.."
Juliet frowned in response. She wasn't exactly sure what he wasn't going to and didn't want to do, but she was fairly certain he had no idea what he was actually doing. "Then don't do it," she told him carefully, not exactly sure if he could honestly hear what she was saying.
"Can't make me.."
Juliet winced as he tightened his grip on her hands. "James, damn it.." she growled out, pulling her hands from his and trying to shove him off of her. And when she went to pull herself from under him she felt him drag her back and pin her back down. She got the feeling she wasn't going to have a choice as she reached her arm out and grabbed the phone, glancing over at it as she pulled it off the receiver and dialing Horace's number as best as she could.
She shrunk back slightly as he knocked the phone from her hand onto the ground and grabbed for her hands again. "James, stop, stop!" she yelled at him, smacking at his hands.
"Can't make me.. not gonna kill him.." Sawyer muttered next.
Juliet hesitated in response to his statement. She'd finished dialing Horace's number before he'd knocked it out of her hand and she could only assume he'd probably be heading over here when he listened to them. Unfortunately her hesitated bagged her hands being held down at her sides and she couldn't seem to get them away this time. "Son of a bitch.. James let go!!"
It took a moment for her to register his weight being pulled off of her and she took a deep breath as Horace pushed Sawyer down on the other side of the bed. She sat up and rubbed at her temples with her fingers, attempting to at least somewhat compose herself as Sawyer calmed down on the other side of the bed. She couldn't help the way she jumped slightly at the hand on her shoulder and she looked up to see Horace with a worried gaze.
"Are you alright?" he questioned immediately. He couldn't even begin to explain the worry he'd felt when he picked up the phone in time to hear Juliet yelling 'James, stop, stop' and he hadn't even bothered hanging the phone up before he ran over. He glanced at her wrists and the redness around them from where LaFleur had held her down and he frowned. "What happened?"
Juliet glanced at Sawyer and her eyes immediately softened. She couldn't even hold it against him for what happened. "Honestly I'm not sure.." she admitted, running her fingers through her hair. "He asked me to stay in here with him and I guess I fell asleep.." she explained warily. "Next thing I know, I'm waking up and he's pinning me down muttering about something he wouldn't and couldn't do.." she told him, purposely leaving out the part about him refusing to kill somebody.
Horace wasn't sure how she could stare at the man with such affection still after that, but he knew for certain that the man on the bed next to her was damn well lucky to have someone like her. "He didn't know what he was doing?" he questioned.
Juliet shook her head. "He had absolutely no idea.." she stated with confidence. "Thank you for coming.." she finally said.
"Of course.." he told her, helping her off the bed. "Lets let him rest, maybe get some ice on those wrists.."
Juliet smiled at him. "I'm alright, Horace, honestly." But she still followed him out of the room and towards the kitchen. She took the chance to glance down at her wrists to see the angry red marks on her wrists and she was fairly certain they would probably leave bruises. She grabbed his glass from the table and rinsed it out before refilling it with some water and placing it on the counter.
"Maybe I should just get the doctor, Juliet.." Horace suggested, heading over to her by the counter. "I don't want to take the chance he'll do that again, even if he doesn't know what he's doing, what if you can't get the phone next time?"
Juliet smiled warily at Horace but she shook her head in response. "I can take care of him, Horace.." she replied as she pulled out two more tylenol.
"I'm more worried about you now," Horace admitted. "He could hurt you, Juliet."
"He would never hurt me," she corrected him.
Horace glanced at her wrists again and frowned. The woman was downright loyal, but he understood that she couldn't bring herself to hold his fevered delusion against him. Even Horace couldn't hold it against him. "Be careful.." he warned her.
Juliet smiled a little. "I'll be fine."
"Juliet.."
Juliet turned her head from Horace, forgetting to even wave good bye as she grabbed the glass of water and the two Tylenol tablets and headed back down the hall towards his room. She glanced at him sitting up and frowned her disapproval as he turned the lights on. But her eyes softened as she saw the haunted look in his eyes. "Relax," she told him gently, resting her hand on his arm and holding the water out to him. "Just take a few more Tylenol and lay back down.."
Sawyer took the glass, but not without noticing the marks on her wrist and he frowned. He took a sip just to get his voice back before he asked. "What'd you do?"
Juliet glanced down at her wrists. "Nothing," she answered calmly before handing him the tablets and watching him swallow them down. She reached down to the pot and grabbed another wet cloth, taking the chance to wipe his face again. "Do you feel a little better?" she asked next.
Sawyer nodded. "Little bit.."
"Good," she replied. She placed her hand on his cheek and then his forehead. "Feels like your fever went down a bit, that's good.."
Sawyer frowned. There was something off about the way she was acting. "Are you okay?" he asked, taking another sip of the water.
Juliet felt her eyes waver for a moment with uncertainty on how to answer that, and obviously he'd seen it as well. "James.. what were you dreaming about?"
Sawyer blinked the confusion from his features at the question.
"Who couldn't you kill?" she asked quietly.
Sawyer frowned. The only way she'd know was if he was talking in his sleep, and just as he was about to open his mouth and respond is when the realization hit him on where she got those marks on her wrist. "Oh god.." he muttered.
Juliet felt her eyes soften in response. "Hey.." she said softly, reaching her hand out and touching it to his cheek. "You had no idea, James," she assured him. But she frowned as he shied away from her touch and rolled over onto his side, turned away from her. She sighed before laying down behind him and wrapping her arms around him, refusing to let go when he attempted to pull apart from her.
"I'm sorry.." he managed to throw out after a few minutes of silence. It took him a moment to realize she wasn't responding, not to mention the fact she'd loosened her grip around him. So he turned over, glancing at her as she slept. He was surprised at how peaceful she looked when she slept and he couldn't help but pull her closer before he closed his eyes too. For whatever reason she trusted him enough to stay, he definitely wouldn't forget it.
The first thing Sawyer noticed when he woke up was one, he didn't feel half as bad as he did when he'd gone to sleep the first few times with Juliet taking care of him. And two, he and Juliet were practically wrapped around each other to the point he couldn't find away to untangle himself from her without possibly waking her up.
A chuckle from the doorway of the bedroom caused him to look over and notice Horace standing there.
"Got yourself in a bit of a predicament, eh Jim?" Horace stated quietly, holding back a laugh as he watched the man begin pulling himself apart from Juliet. He watched as he successfully got out of the bed and Juliet simply mumbled something incoherent and flipped over onto her stomach, pulling a pillow over her head.
Sawyer followed Horace out of the room and down the hall towards the kitchen. "What made you stop by?" he questioned curiously as he sat down at the table and watched Horace put a bowl down in front of him filled with soup.
"Regardless of Juliet's decision that she would take care of you.. she looked tired," Horace admitted as he sat down across from him.
Sawyer eyed him carefully as he took a bite of the soup before he spoke. "That and what I did."
Horace felt his eyebrows furrowed. "You know what happened?"
"When she asked me about what I was dreaming about, I figured it out.." he admitted.
Horace sighed slightly. He could tell that LaFleur obviously felt horrible about it. "She cares about you, you know?"
Sawyer glanced back up at him.
"Not just as a friend," Horace clarified. "I saw the way she was looking at you earlier, you're not going to find someone like her more then once in a lifetime."
Sawyer remained silent as Horace's words rang through his head. The man had no idea how 'one of a kind' Juliet really was.
"What are you doing out of bed?"
Both men turned and looked at Juliet in the edge of the hallway, rubbing her eyes.
Sawyer hadn't ever seen anything like it before. There was Juliet, blonde hair all over from sleeping, rubbing her eyes, and wearing his boxers. He was too caught up by her appearance to form a sentence so he said the only thing he could. "Soup.." he answered, pointing down at the bowl with his spoon and not taking his eyes off of her.
Horace released a chuckle at his reaction to Juliet and stood up. "Looks like you guys are doing alright, I better head back to my house.." he stated before heading out the door.
Juliet tilted her head slightly out of confusion as Sawyer's eyes looked her up and down. She felt some color rise to her cheeks when she remembered the boxers.
"Aren't those mine?" he questioned curiously, full-well knowing the answer to the question.
Juliet chuckled. "You said they were too small, so they're mine now."
Sawyer smirked slightly before taking another bite of the soup.
"Make sure you lay back down when you're done," Juliet told him as she went to turn and go to her room.
"You gonna join me again?" he questioned, glancing in her direction in time to see her momentarily freeze in place.
Juliet frowned slightly, but she didn't turn around. "Pretty sure you're feeling a lot better," she stated simply.
Sawyer frowned now. "You made it easier to fall asleep."
Juliet turned back around and studied his face, and strangely, found only truth in the statement. "It's probably not a good idea, James," she admitted, leaning against the wall.
Sawyer sighed and walked over to her, placing his hands on the wall on either side of her. He would have laughed at the way she turned slightly red in response, and when she looked at him he had to fight the urge to kiss her. "You know.. you keep lookin' at me like that and I'm gonna have to kiss you."
"So?" Juliet questioned.
Sawyer chuckled now and rested his forehead against hers. "I'd probably get you sick, then we're gonna have to go through this all over again.."
Juliet took a deep breath and let it out.
"So, mind helpin' me fall back to sleep?" he questioned innocently.
Juliet smiled a little a shook her head in response. "Alright.. but only because your sick."
Sawyer just grinned in response before he headed back towards the bedroom, ignoring the rest of the soup completely as he took her hand and pulled her with him.
Juliet found it awkward at first to lay down with him completely and fully aware of what was going on. Even more so when he rested his head on her shoulder and his breathing evened out in seconds. But she couldn't resist the smile the fought its way onto her lips and she brought them down to his forehead kissing him chastely. His fever had definitely gone down, he was beginning to feel like a normal human being again.
She completely missed the grin that formed on his lips as she closed her eyes and let herself go back to sleep once again. She wasn't even sure how she could still sleep at this point, but she was almost positive it had something to do with the man sleeping on top of her.
()()END()()
Okay. No doubt about it, this was LONG. But hey, I kind like this 'someone's sick' story, so.. if you want a part 2, wherein he's passed the flu to Juliet. Just say so, I might just throw it up tomorrow night!!