So this little flight of fancy nearly got sidetracked before I'd even begun. Starting at the beginning, I was skipping along to work the other morning (ok, half asleep and nursing a thermos of tea) listening to some good old Billy Joel (12 Gardens live, a must) when "You May Be Right" came on and I thought, Hey, I could turn this into a fun Dharma fic, and the bare bones of this one-shot started to formulate. So when I sat down to start to write it, I thought I'd go onto his website and double check all the lyrics. I promptly got distracted by this news article on the home page. It seems that in my absence John Lewis brought out an advert in the UK with a guy called Fyfe Dangerfield doing a cover of "She's Always A Woman" and it's gone to #1 – a song I've recently kinda associated with Juliet. I was this close to going off on a tangent, but no – this shall be written! But I have gotten thinking to what other Billy Joel songs might be apt… Miami 2017… Scenes from An Italian Restaurant… Angry Young Man… A Matter of Trust…

OK, enough, maybe one day. For now you deserve to be rewarded with making it to the end of this incessant rambling…

Well It Just May Be A Lunatic You're Looking For

Sawyer belched loudly and threw his empty can in the general vicinity of the trash. Only the six-pack and shots of rum that had been consumed previously had made his aim less than accurate.

"Juliet let ya litter her porch with emptys like that?" Miles slurred whilst tossing his own in a similar manner. However, his aim was worse and it bounced off the prone torso of a snoring Jin, who lay passed out on the top step.

"Hell no!"

"Welcome to the dark side my friend. We got pretzels." He haphazardly tossed the bag in Sawyer's direction before popping open beer number eight.

"Ya do realise she'll still make ya tidy all this shit up when she sees it tomorrow?"

"Not if Jinbo clears it all first," Miles replied with a smug grin. Sawyer considered this and nodded his head in agreement, reaching up to clink the nearly empty rum bottle with Miles' outstretched can. "My anal roommate is better than yours."

"Yeah, but mine has better legs… and what with these mighty humid evenin's we've been havin'… they're sure gettin' a lot of airtime in skimpy shorts…" Miles failed to suppress a groan at the thought, raising his can to cool his forehead and sloshing its contents down his shirt in the process.

"Low blow Lafleur. How can you stand it? She may scare the shit outta me, I'm man enough to admit it, but damn…"

"Master of self restraint me." He quickly chugged the rest of his beer with a determination that suggested he was anything but. Truth be told, this past month or so, his fair-haired roommate was straying into his thoughts far too much for comfort and those damn shorts were playing havoc with his precarious equilibrium. Not that he was anywhere near ready to admit this aloud – and certainly not to Miles. The man was worse than a teenage girl at times. So instead his solution in this last couple of weeks had been to avoid spending time with her; hanging out with the boys more than usual.

"Gimme another of those." Sawyer looked over to see Miles wasn't paying any attention. "Miles!" The younger man swung his head around from watching Sawyer and Juliet's house in rapt attention.

"Huh?"

"Beer." Sawyer stated flatly, flailing his arm out to receive the requested beverage. Miles rummaged around at his feet before freeing a can from the crate and just as uncoordinatedly gave it to him.

"What do you think they get up to? Bachelorette parties?" He nodded back at their house as if Sawyer wasn't well aware of the reason he'd been kicked out of his home on a Friday evening. They had been here for six months now and Juliet had offered to host the aforementioned party in an effort to get to know some of the Dharma women better. She had firmly let him know he was persona non grata that evening as she'd pushed him and his crate of beer out the door. Miles' question had made him recall the feel of her touch as she'd affectionately squeezed his arm as she'd done so. Shaking his head to reign in those thoughts, he quickly and somewhat unsteadily rose to his feet and drained yet another can.

"Maybe I should go find out." He attempted to peer at his watch in the dim porchlight. "It's well past my bedtime. Fancy crashing it?"

"Nuh-huh. That ain't a good idea dude. She'll skin ya alive!

"Call yerself a man? Hit me with another for the road, Scoobie-doo." Miles shook his head in resignation and complied. Sawyer popped it open and navigated Jin's unconscious form. "Enjoy the rest of you evening with Crouching Tiger here," he spun back round to face Miles, who was now sitting back on his chair with a drunken yet bemused expression. Sawyer pointed out his house with a flourish of his can, "I'll be home entertainin' the laaydees," he drawled.

"She won't thank you." Sawyer shrugged, unperturbed.

"Others might, ah'll take ma chances." He tripped slightly and quickly returned his attention to walking. As he made his way across the grass, he was admittedly starting to have doubts about the wisdom of crashing her party, but hell – he was committed now! Trudging up the steps, he could hear girlie chatter and some damn hippy music coming from inside. Taking a deep breath, he steadied himself against the doorframe before flinging it open with gusto.

"Honey, I'm home!" He quickly darted his gaze about to find Juliet in the crowd, landing on her just in time to catch her roll her eyes from her perch on the kitchen counter.

"Hey, the stripper's here!" Someone he couldn't identify piped up, which garnered cheers from what suddenly looked like far too many women crowding around him. Shit. He tossed a look of panic back at Juliet and swore he saw her smirk as she slid down onto the floor.

Juliet could tell immediately that he was pretty drunk as he crashed through the door. Her initial irritation at his blatantly ignoring her request to stay away tonight soon gave way to amusement as she caught the deer in headlight expression on his face as he quickly became surrounded by about a dozen women not that much more sober than he was. He clearly hadn't thought this through. Served him right, the jackass.

She approached slightly and folded her arms as she watched him shrug and chug down the last of his beer. Tossing the can aside, he motioned for someone to crank the music up and give him some room. This should be good – even if it was really bad.

He ripped his shirt open, his favourite - he was going to regret that in the morning – and swaggered about in an unsteady circle as he slowly removed it to catcalls. She couldn't help but grin as he twirled it about his head and swung his hips ridiculously out of time with the music. Oh how she wished for a camcorder right at that moment.

His belt was next to go, nearly whipping him in the face as he tore it out the belt-loops of his jeans. Hands were now unashamedly clutching at his arms and chest. Absorbed in the show, she didn't notice Amy had sidled up to her until she spoke.

"Aren't you going to save him from a mauling?"

"Eventually." She briefly looked over and smiled at the dark-haired woman who'd become the first female friend she'd had in years. "He got himself into this, drunk or not."

"Well, Terri's enjoying herself, that's all that matters right?" Amy replied with a grin and nodded at the woman who was due to get married in three short days, now being happily twirled in Sawyer's arms.

"Exactly." Juliet smirked once more as her attention shifted back to the crowd. He'd now successfully toed off one boot, but was hopping about struggling with the other, in serious danger of falling back on his ass. "Ok, guess that's my cue," she quickly surged forward and fought her way through the gaggle, grabbing hold of his arm just in time to stop him from toppling over.

"Sorry guys, show's over! Casanova here'll be playing at the Starlight Lounge all week, be sure to tip your waitresses." Ignoring the cries of protest she hauled him away and towards his room.

"Took ya long enough," he hissed once out of earshot.

"Oh, you seriously don't want to go there right now," she retorted as she pushed him through his door, pleased when he stumbled before collapsing onto the bed.

He covered his face with his arm and groaned whilst she closed the door behind them and leaned against it.

"There'll be talk ya know, y'all hauling me off to the bedroom just as it's getting interesting." She let out a quick humourless laugh at this.

"They already talk, that's nothing new." She pushed off the door and approached him, absentmindedly picking up discarded clothes and tossing them into his empty hamper. "I was under the impression I was saving you, but feel free to go back out there and make a fool out of yourself some more if you like." Reaching the end of the bed she removed his remaining boot and set it down on the floor.

"Nah, I'm good. Always best t' leave 'em wantin' more," he slurred, arm still covering his eyes. She openly giggled at this and gingerly sat down on the edge of the bed, a little concerned. Whilst he liked a good drink, it had been a while since she'd seen him in this kinda state – not since they first arrived in the seventies and he was mourning the loss of his friends. The loss of Kate.

"You're crazy, you know that?" she stated softly, keeping the tone light. He removed his arm and struggled to sit, propping himself up on his elbows and regarded her warily.

"You ain't mad?"

"Oh I'm mad alright. Mad that your five minute striptease – if you could call it that – got the party going more than anything I'd tried all night. I suck at hosting parties it seems. Amy's been pretty much carrying it." Why she was telling him this when he was too drunk to care, she couldn't fathom. "Anyway, where's your sidekick?"

"Which one?"

"I hardly think this is Jin's style."

"Miles? He's chickenshit." At this he flopped back down and groaned. He'd definitely had far too much if he was already feeling ill.

"You Ok, James?" she inquired, laying a hand on his shin. He flinched at the touch, even in his stupor and she quickly removed it again, puzzled by his reaction. She thought they'd gotten past shutting each other out. But then he had been distant these past few weeks. She was starting to think he couldn't bear to be in the same room as her these days. She had no idea what she could have possibly done to cause this change.

"Peachy," he sighed with a hint of sarcasm, flipping over onto his stomach. "Whadaya expect when you kick me outta the house with a crate of alcohol." He buried his head under the pillow and she could tell the conversation was over. She silently stood, leaving him to his misery and left to rejoin the party, closing the door a little more loudly than necessary on her way out. Now she was mad at him.

#####

It was nearly noon when Juliet heard signs of him stirring in his room. She'd just about managed to restore order to the house after the party and had even managed to find all but one of his shirt buttons strewn about. She wondered if he'd be any more of a joy to live with today, but seriously doubted it if his hangover would be as bad as she suspected. As she cleared away the last of the dishes, his door banged open, followed by stomping footsteps down the hall and a slam of the bathroom door being closed.

Great.

She poured herself a glass of iced tea, retrieved her book from the counter and settled into the couch, intent on ignoring his bull in a china shop routine. However, five minutes in and she had yet to turn the page, her thoughts continually returning to the current tension in the house. To say that these past six months had been a surprise to her would have been putting it far too mildly. After reluctantly agreeing that it would be madness to leave the island in the seventies, she'd found herself carving out an uneasy existence in the Dharma Initiative and forced into sharing a house with James.

Whilst zipping through time they may have quickly learned to trust the other to have their backs, but thrust into a bizarre domesticity, they had warily circled each other with an air of forced politeness and more than a hint of suspicion. Added to that, they were both suffering their own private heartaches; she the loss of her one remaining chance to get home and he the loss of his friends and Kate.

But pretty quickly they had bonded over a shared sarcastic sense of humour and love of books, which gradually led to her now being able to count him as a close friend who she would trust with more than just her life.

Or so she'd thought.

She'd come to accept that this was her fate, resolved to make the most of her life here and it had seemed that he'd put his demons to rest and likewise adjusted to becoming an upstanding citizen. It had been a clean slate for both of them and she knew he was relishing the opportunity and responsibility that had come with his job in security while she was content to fill her days elbow deep in car engines.

Yet now it felt like he'd put his walls back up and she was feeling the loss acutely. She'd watched him closely and it seemed this regression was only when it came to her. She couldn't understand it, nor could she understand quite why it was getting to her so much. She missed their easy, playful banter. Where had her friend gone?

Was it Kate? Was he still not over her and somehow taking it out on the closest target – his platonic, yet female roommate? Frustrated that he was stuck here with her and not his precious Freckles?

Kate.

The proverbial elephant in the room.

He'd never spoken about her much, other than to say she'd been the first woman he'd ever really loved. Juliet dearly hoped that the helicopter had made it and that they were all safe and alive, but she'd never approved of the way Kate had treated James the brief time she'd been witness to their interactions when with the survivors camp. She'd always kept one eye firmly on Jack, bouncing between the two and playing both men off each other, whether it was intentional or not. Juliet suspected that Kate had been attracted to James against her better judgement but it was Jack that she had idolised.

Poor, sweet Jack who had believed in her and helped her escape Ben's clutches, but who ultimately couldn't deny that it had been Kate and not her who he loved. She'd been initially disappointed, but her heart had remained relatively untouched and she'd gotten over it. Time travel and flaming arrows will do that pretty quickly.

But no, Juliet was certain that Kate would never have belonged with James and she would never have given him the chances he deserved. He was becoming a better man without her.

Not that she could ever tell him that. Nor was she going to apologise for situations out with her control. He'd just have to deal with it, if that was what was bugging him. She'd gladly help if only he was willing to swallow his damn pride and pig-headedness and ask for it.

The bathroom door swung open once more and he slouched out, wet from the shower and with only a towel slung around his waist. She steadfastly ignored him as he approached the kitchen and refused to look up until his back was to her as he stood at the sink. She watched silently as he filled a glass with water and swiftly gulped it down, her gaze unwittingly drawn to beads of moisture as they slid a path down the taut muscles of his shoulder blades. She quickly shook her head to clear it and took her own gulp of her drink before resolutely returning her attention to her book.

After a second glass of water he turned around and she could feel his gaze on her as silence reigned. Eventually he cleared his throat and took a deep breath, hands clutching the sink behind him.

"I'm sorry," he croaked and she looked up at him coolly. "For crashing your party, I'm sorry I was such an ass. I'd had far too much to drink."

"I asked one favour of you James," she replied evenly. "Just one." He looked down, chastised and he looked so much like a scolded child. She wanted to go over and hug him, but she forced that instinct down. He wasn't getting off that easy.

"I know, I'm a douche. I really am sorry." He looked up and over her shoulder slightly, unable to meet her eyes. For some reason this was the final straw and Juliet felt her eyes watering slightly as her heart broke. If she didn't have him to count on, what the hell was she doing here?

"Ok," she steeled herself and looked back down at her book. She wouldn't let him see that she was upset. He sighed and shuffled on the spot slightly for a few seconds, looking like he wanted to say more. But he didn't and just shook his head as he headed back to his room. Only then did she let a silent tear slide down her cheek.

#####

Back in his room, Sawyer was feeling like a prized jackass. She was clearly mad at him, but more than that she looked upset at his antics the previous night. She was right, she never asked anything of him and it looked like he couldn't respect her enough to heed that one request.

Trouble was, ever since he'd been starting to have these damn feelings – and yes, in the cold light of day and with a pounding headache, he could finally admit that he was falling for her – he had no idea how to deal with them and so had reverted back to type. Getting wasted and acting like a jerk.

For one thing, he was feeling guilty. What the hell did it say about him if he was so quickly getting over Kate, who not that long ago he thought he'd been head-over-heels in love with? What if she really was dead? Was moving on just pissing on her memory?

For another, there was no way in hell Juliet could possibly feel the same way. She was way outta his league. They were surrounded by scientists and brainy hippies who she could have her pick of, what could she possibly see in him, a dumb hick who'd dropped outta school in favour of a life of crime? She'd seen his file – knew every sordid detail.

So instead he'd shut her out and was now running the risk of seriously damaging their friendship. A friendship that had come to mean the world to him. Pacing up and down his room, he didn't know what to do. He just didn't know what to say to her anymore, didn't know how to act and so he'd withdrawn, nearly to the brink of no return. Yanking open a drawer, he pulled on a t-shirt and shorts. Maybe a run will help him work off some of this frustration.

Venturing back into the living room, he grabbed his sneakers from the door and sat down to put them on. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see she had looked up from her book and was regarding him curiously, one of those damn perfect eyebrows quirked in silent question.

"Goin' for a run," he grunted and stood, raking a hand through his still damp hair.

"Since when do you run?" she asked with a hint of amusement.

"Maybe it's time I started." He replied, heading for the door. "Won't be long."

"Well have fun," she tossed after him as he closed the door behind him.

Ok, what now? Where the hell was he going to run to? He started jogging lightly in the general direction of the dock, intending to head there then along the beach before heading back around the playing field. That'll do for a start. Having only gotten fifty yards, he felt a twinge in his hamstring and stopped by a picnic bench. Right, stretching first would be a good idea.

On doing so, he looked back at the house to see Juliet exit. His gaze followed her and his throat went dry as he realised for the first time that she was wearing shorts yet again. Stretching forgotten, he watched with slight longing as she obliviously headed over to Amy's house and knocked on the door. It opened and she slipped inside and out of sight.

"Hey Jim!" He turned around to see Jerry heading his way from across the quad.

"Whatsup Jerry Lee?"

"We've got a softball game going over at the field, but we're a player down. Whadaya say?" Sawyer took a quick look back at Amy's house and sighed.

"Sure, lead on Macduff."

"Eh?" Sawyer shook his head in despair.

"Nevermind. Let's go."

Twenty minutes later and he was glad he'd joined in. It was a glorious Saturday afternoon and it seemed many of the good Dharma folks had turned out to either take part or sit around in the sun and watch on the makeshift bleachers. Miles had dragged Jin along and it seemed the Korean was a pretty handy pitcher, even if he could only understand half of what everyone was saying. His English still had a way to go, but with Juliet's help he was getting there. He had to admit he was having fun, despite having to fend off some unwanted advances from a few of the single women and some ribbing from the guys over his antics the previous night.

He was on deck, swinging and waiting for his turn when he saw Juliet walk up with Amy and start chatting to Horace and a couple of the guys on his team. He caught her eye and she smiled slightly in his direction and he sensed he was at least partly forgiven. He grinned back and she rolled her eyes at whatever the conversation that was going on around her was about before returning her attention to it. Maybe he could impress her with his physical prowess on the field, he mused.

"Lafleur! You're up." Time to play ball.

#####

Finally, all hot and sweaty, the game was over and he'd played a large part in his team's win. He'd been unable to get the chance to talk to her yet, whenever he wasn't up or on the field she'd always been amongst a crowd of people – far too many of them men for his liking. But right at that moment she was all alone on the bleacher and he wasn't about to waste this opportunity. She looked up and smiled as she saw him approaching and his heart skipped a beat.

"Hey," he drawled as he sat down beside her. Smooth.

"What happened to the run?" she asked softly as she turned to look at him cautiously.

"Hell, who am I kiddin'? I hate running!"

"Unless it's for home base, right?" she returned with a slight hint of irony, bumping her shoulder against his.

"You saw that, huh?" he asked with pride.

"Kinda hard to miss… as were the celebrations. Certainly not shy on the field, are you James? I sometimes wonder for your sanity."

"Well, if you've got it flaunt it, right?" Her smile faded and he cursed himself. He'd obviously just reminded of his ridiculous antics the previous night.

"I want to apologise again for last night."

"It's fine, that's not really what I'm mad about. What has been with you recently, James?" He looked up and into her eyes and saw a rare flash of vulnerability there. He sighed, even more angry at himself.

"I don't know, Blondie. What say you let me make ya dinner to make it up to ya?" He hopefully held her gaze as she contemplated his request. Was that disappointment he saw?

"I can't," she sighed. "I promised Amy I'd help her and Terri finish the table decorations for the wedding."

"Oh." He'd completely forgotten about the wedding of the century. Did she have a date, he wondered? Could he handle it if she did? He was working the courage up to ask her about it when Amy interrupted them.

"Ready to go, Jules? So glad you could help out. With three of us we might just get it all done tonight!" He sighed in frustration.

"Sorry," Juliet whispered and patted his hand apologetically as she stood up to join Amy. "Don't wait up," she tossed back good naturedly and was gone.

Sawyer watched her departure, forlornly. His first strike-out of the day and he had nobody to blame but himself.

#####

Late Sunday afternoon saw Sawyer alone on his porch with another six-pack of beer. He'd barely seen Juliet since the softball game yesterday; this damn wedding was taking over. He'd given up and gone to bed long before she returned the previous night and she was up and out early again today. Although the upside of all this was that he had plenty of time to think and he'd come to a decision.

It was time to man up and go for it. Sure if he was wrong, he ran the risk of losing her, but if he was unable to get over this infatuation and things carried on like this, he was doing a fine job of ruining their friendship anyway.

Maybe… just maybe he had a shot. She didn't seem averse to his company, they got on well when he wasn't being an ass and she never treated him any less than her intellectual equal – even if he felt he wasn't. She never tried to change him. She listened to and respected him and he couldn't remember the last time anyone had ever really treated him like that. Not even Kate; hell especially not Kate.

But now was not the time. He seriously doubted she'd appreciate him barging in whilst she was busy. Grand gestures were definitely not her thing. So he'd simply wait with his beers to keep him company until she returned.

Time rolled on with no sign of her and his beers had dwindled until he was down to his last. He contemplated trying his hand at dinner, but he had no idea how long she'd be. The sun was starting to dip behind the trees and a thought suddenly struck him. He'd take one of the jeeps, watch the sunset from the north shore and figure out what he was going to say to her. He stood up quickly, feeling a little unsteady on his feet.

Great. He couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten and the beers had gone to his head more than he realised. Definitely wise to go sober up a bit before she returned. Going inside, he grabbed his keys and left for the motor pool. Nobody would be there this late on a Sunday and he could snag a car without much trouble.

Reaching the jeeps, he jumped into the closest one and tried unsuccessfully to find the ignition with the key. He swore to himself for having that last beer and leaned over so he could see where he was aiming.

"James?"

Shit.

He quickly straightened up and swivelled to see where her voice was coming from.

"Uh, hey. What you doing here?" He spotted her approach from the corner of the garage. She held up a greasy bandana.

"Wanted to throw this in the wash so stopped by on my way home. Where are you going?" She came up to the driver's door and lightly rested a hand on it.

"Thought I'd go check out the sunset." He replied evenly, trying desperately to appear sober and nonchalant.

"Have you been drinking?" Busted.

"Uh, maybe just a little bit?" Damn, that didn't mean to sound like a question. She arched her brow, obviously not buying it.

"More like quite a bit. Well you're crazy if you think I'm letting you drive anywhere. You'll either kill yourself or someone else. Move over, you lunatic, I'll drive." Ok, this wasn't part of his plan. He had no choice but to comply and shifted over to the passenger seat whilst she got in. "North shore?"

"Yup." Of course she knew where he was headed. Maybe this was a good thing, she could drive, he'd just rest his eyes for a moment and concentrate on sobering up before they got there. Then he'd just lay in on the line… somehow. At least he'd have a romantic sunset in the background.

Next thing he knew, she was shaking him awake and the jeep had been parked facing west, near the north shore cliff face.

"We're here," she smiled at him, the rays of the dying sun illuminating her hair and catching the blue of her eyes and suddenly his thinking was cloudy for reasons other than the alcohol in his system. "Come on sleepy-head, you're missing it." She hauled herself out of the vehicle and slid up onto the hood. He remained frozen in his seat, just watching her until she turned round to look at him with confusion and amusement. She patted the metalwork next to her and it was all the encouragement he needed to start moving.

He joined her and they sat in silence for a few minutes and calmly watched the sunset.

"So are you ever going to tell me what's been bothering you recently?" she took a deep breath and turned to look at him seriously. "Is it Kate?" He inhaled sharply and turned to look at her in surprise. She couldn't have been more wrong.

"No." He let out a shaky breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. "It's not Kate. She's firmly in the past… or future I guess." He smiled slightly and she tentatively returned it, still confused as to what was eating at him. "I figure we gotta live in the present or else we'll lose our minds." He looked out at the sea below them, honest to God tongue-tied for the first time in his life.

"Then what is it, James? You've barely looked at me these past few weeks. I'm at a loss here, what have I done?"

"Nothing… Everything," he declared hoarsely. He looked back up to catch her scrunch her nose in consternation.

"Well that narrows it down somewhat." She noted wryly.

"I'm sorry I've been distant lately. It's not you, it's me…"

"You breaking up with me Lafleur?" she interrupted in an attempt to ease the tension that was practically rolling off him. He laughed at this and rewarded her with a full blown grin. This was why he loved her.

"The opposite, actually." He whispered and she froze in shock.

"Sorry, what did you just say?"

"Ah hell, Blondie. Feel free to throw me off the cliff for this, but…" at his wit's end he reached over and kissed her solidly on the lips, hand snaking into her hair. He felt her tense and for a horrible moment he was sure he'd blown it. He quickly released her and drew back slightly in fear.

"Should I just jump?" He tried to back up more, unable to read the expression on her face, but she quickly reached out and grabbed his hand to stop him.

"No. Do that again."

"What?"

"You took a girl by surprise, James." She smiled slightly and her gaze flickered to his lips. "I'm ready now."

"Oh you are now? Ya think I'm just here to kiss you on demand, when you feel like responding?" His cockiness returning in the face of her encouraging smile. He reached out and took her other hand in his, intertwining their fingers.

"Well, gee… I was so bowled over by your smooth talking there. I thought you chatted up women for a living?"

"You ain't women and frankly this scares the crap outta me. I've had no idea how to deal with all these feelings I've been havin' and I had no idea if you were on the same page. I mean why would you? What do I possibly have to offer someone like you…"

"Shut up and kiss me already, James." She interrupted impatiently.

"You got it, Blondie." This time when he leaned over, she met him halfway and all their doubts slipped away with the fading sun into the ocean below.

~Fin~

Note: Well that turned out quite a bit more angsty than I intended, sorry for that. But hey, alls well that ends well, right?