Story Information
Title: Fresh
Rating: PG-13 overall, but chapters vary
Summary: We know how the Oceanic Six reacted to the island being moved...but what about those who stayed behind? Others-centric, mostly Juliet/Sawyer take on the first twenty-four hours after the island vanishes.
Pairings: Juliet Burke/James "Sawyer" Ford is the main one...
Rum; spilt. Rivulets of the alcohol poured forgotten across the sand, winding a thin river to the massive ocean, joining the waves as they crashed. Slowly, the bottle joined the fluctuation of the tide: rolling in, pulled out, ducking under. Neither Juliet nor Sawyer noticed.
"What -- where ---" Sawyer stammered, anger and confusion rising as he stood. Despite the ache of his exhausted muscles, which had been strained during the long swim back to the shore, he was barely conscious of the pain. Shading his eyes with one hand, he looked out over the water. The same waves arched and vanished, the same white-water crested, but the helicopter was gone. The freighter, which had hulked worrisome on the horizon, was gone too. Not even the shadow remained. "But," he tried again, then gave up. Turning to Juliet, he widened his eyes, silently demanding an answer.
Sitting in the sand, Juliet closed her eyes. She was more than a little drunk, but aside from the mild dizziness she felt, she could hardly tell that she'd consumed half a bottle of Dharma issue rum. Alone for a moment in the reddish mental darkness, she felt the world turn, then opened her eyes, reluctantly staggering upright. "Something happened," she spoke heavily. "That...light...."
"Yeah, what the hell was that about?" Sawyer asked. He scanned the sky, watched as the massive, flaming sun began to sink. The distant whirl of the helicopter was absent. "Somebody forget to push a button over at one of the other stations? Ah, Hell, never mind," he continued as Juliet regarded him blankly. Turning from her curiosity, Sawyer waded hip-deep in the water, squinting as he tried to see. "It's...."
"What?"
Shrugging, he glared. "I don't know."
"It's different," Juliet answered for him, and for the first time, Sawyer was able to appreciate that she was something more than just an Other, more than the enemy. "We should go find Ben."
Shocked, Sawyer whirled around, staring at her as she dusted the sand off of her legs. "And why would we want to do that?"
"Because he knows this island," Juliet explained. She could hear the rushing of the sea in her ears, muffled and deafening at the same time, and cringed. It had been so beautiful to her, when she had first arrived on the island, bubbling with excitement, caught up in the novelty of her adventure. It's still beautiful, she had to admit, but things had changed. Rather than being freeing, the ocean was a prison, keeping her trapped on the island with no way home. A beautiful cage, she thought grimly, smoothing back her windblown hair. "If anyone knows what just happened, it'll be Ben. I don't like it any more than you do, Sawyer," she added, as he glanced back over his shoulder at the smooth, endless expanse of sea. "But something has happened. We need answers." She took a few steps forward, then looked back, her shoulders sagging. Something inside felt broken, hopeless. I don't want to be alone. "You coming?"
He took a few steps backwards, the sand catching on his damp jeans, and gritted his teeth. Reluctant to leave the beach, he hedged for a moment, thinking of a good explanation for staying. My stuff's here, he thought. And Kate -- Kate's out there somewhere. None of that would make a difference to Juliet, though, he knew, so he squared his shoulders, moving after her. "All right, She-Ra," he spoke, with just a trace of his usual sarcastic humour. "You lead the way."