It had been decided that James and Juliet would be introduced as a couple. It was the simplest way to explain her presence, and the surest way for James to be accepted amongst the people of the Initiative. With a woman like Juliet by his side, they'd take to him immediately and overlook his abrasive tendencies, Daniel had reasoned. James had agreed; she definitely had a way with calming him and keeping him in line, and he trusted her judgment more than that of the other three men.
Juliet had been hesitant; not because she was opposed to being known as James' lover, but because she wasn't. Since the flashes had started, Juliet felt herself growing closer to him. Their exchange of banter had become her favorite part of the day, and she couldn't resist thinking about how good he'd looked coming out of the ocean after jumping from the helicopter. Her desperate attempts to purge herself of these thoughts failed, and she couldn't very well explain why she didn't think Daniel's plan was a good idea, so she went along with it. What did it matter if she was attracted to James, anyway? He was still caught up in his feelings for Kate. It was best that way. The last thing Juliet needed was another relationship disaster.
And so it was done.
Within a few days, the members of the initiative had already begun warming to them, referring to them as The LaFleurs, even though they weren't pretending to be married. What Juliet had been most apprehensive about was sharing a house with James. Even if it was only for another week and a half, she was still on edge most of the time. Luckily, she knew how not to show it. She just had to make it through the next 10 days, and then they'd say she needed to go home to tend to her sister, and everything would be…better? James had convinced her to wait for the next sub, but she found herself wondering why she'd really agreed to stay. Maybe he'd been right, maybe there was nothing to go back for. Maybe her best shot at being happy was staying on the island…except now, that included pretending to be a LaFleur. She wasn't sure if she could handle it, although, she supposed, they could always just pretend to split up. She'd make decisions later.
"Mornin', Mrs. LaFleur." James greeted Juliet that morning with his famous dimpled grin. He seemed to be thoroughly enjoying their little deception. Why wouldn't he? He was an ex con man, after all. Juliet found it endearing.
She chuckled, pouring them each a glass of orange juice, "Morning. How'd you sleep? I know the floor can't be that comfortable…you don't have to sleep there, you know." Juliet said apologetically.
"What, you mean I can share the bed with ya?" he asked slyly, teasing her.
Juliet fought off the urge to blush, "I meant, you can sleep on the couch or something. If anybody sees you, we'll just say I kicked you out of bed for misbehaving." she said, now sporting a grin of her own.
"Me, misbehave? Naww, you must be thinkin' 'bout someone else." he replied, grinning, "Anyway, floor's not so bad, I don't mind. And yer kinda cute when you mumble in your sleep." he said, sipping his juice.
This time, she couldn't fight off the blush that rose to her cheeks. "I didn't know I did that."
"Hey, don't worry, ya didn't say anything embarrassing," he assured her with a chuckle.
"Well alright, then." she said, laughing along with him. "I was afraid I might have divulged all my deep, dark secrets…" she said ominously, then breaking into a smile.
He laughed, "You, deep, dark secrets? You ain't an Other anymore, Juliet, I don't think you gotta worry 'bout that." he told her, smiling. He finished his juice, but when he went to set the glass on the counter, it slipped from his hold and shattered against the floor. "Son of a bitch." he said with a sigh, leaning down to clean it up.
"James, hold on, let me get a broom…" she insisted, but he picked up the shards anyhow, one of them slicing his palm.
"Damn it!" he cursed in pain when he saw the blood.
Juliet was already coming to the rescue. She pressed a damp cloth to his wound. "Here, hold this and apply pressure. It's not deep enough to need stitches, but I'm gonna go get some bandages. I'll be right back." she assured him.
"Whatever you say, Dr. Burke." he said, smiling despite the pain. He applied pressure as she'd instructed, and she returned a few minutes later. The bleeding had already slowed greatly.
"Alright, this is gonna sting a little." Juliet told him as she poured disinfectant onto another cloth. "Here…" she grabbed his good hand in her left one, "Squeeze if you need to, I can take it." she smiled softly and dabbed his cut with the cloth. He winced in pain and squeezed her hand, firmly but not so hard that it hurt her. He eased up after the initial contact, and she smiled, "You're a brave patient." she said, grinning at him, not yet realizing that their hands were still connected.
"You're a good doctor." he replied, smiling back, momentarily forgetting about the pain.
It was then that she released his hand, slightly embarrassed by how long she'd held onto it. "Okay, bandages…" she said, wrapping his injury carefully. "There. You're all set. I'll have to change the bandage for you every once in a while to keep it from getting infected, but you'll be fine." she explained with a kind smile.
"Thanks, Blondie." he said, causing her to blush once again at the fondness in his voice and the fact that she finally had a nickname from him.
"Anytime, LaFleur." she replied. "So, are you hungry? I was gonna make pancakes."
"Bring it on."
