Title: Alphabet
Rating: T for some language and normal adult behavior
Disclaimer: Under the Dome and its affiliated characters do not belong to me. I mean no copyright infringement. I only use them as a means to de-stress myself.
Summary: A series of unconnected one-shots – one for each letter of the alphabet. Some will be long, some will be short. Some will be inside the dome and some will be outside of the dome. Some will take place during particular episodes and some will be random. They will all be centered around Julia/Barbie.
Spoilers: I tried to stay away from very specific things, but I suggest you watch the series for these one-shots to make sense.
Chapter 1 - Amnesia
(Inside the Dome)
Barbie was walking down the street towards home, his hands in his pockets. There was a chill in the air. It always started getting cooler in the dome when the sun went down. After a long day of helping Linda patrol the streets, all he wanted to do was go home, take a shower, and fall asleep with Julia in his arms. As he turned the corner onto her street, he heard Linda's voice through the radio at his hip.
"Barbie, it's Linda. You there?"
Barbie unclipped the radio and brought it towards his lips.
"Yeah, I'm here," he responded. "What's up?"
"It's Julia," Linda said.
Barbie stopped dead in his tracks. Fear overcame him.
"What? What's wrong? Is she ok?"
"She was...hit in the head."
"Where is she?" Barbie asked.
"I'm with her at the clinic."
"I'll be right there."
Barbie broke into a run, heading towards the clinic. It was more than a mile away, but he made it to the clinic doors in less than ten minutes. Out of breath, he burst through the front doors. The clinic was mostly deserted.
"Where is she?" He yelled to no one in particular. "Julia!"
Linda popped out from one of the exam rooms. "In here."
Barbie raced over to where she was standing and ran into the room. Julia was lying on a gurney, her eyes closed. Barbie could see a gauze pad covering a wound on her head, blood running from the wound and down her cheek. He was immediately at her side, watching her chest rise and fall. He breathed a sigh of relief. She was alive.
"What happened?" He asked.
"She was trying to help old man Withers clean out his closet. He kept ranting about how he had food that would keep the town from starving and Julia agreed to help him clear out some things to try to find it. They moved so much stuff, things started to collapse on them. Julia got hit with a ceiling tile."
"Is she going to be ok?"
"I think so. Ashley went to get some more bandages from the supply room."
"Ashley?"
"She's one of the only nurses we've got left. I'll go see if she needs any help."
Linda left the room. Barbie took Julia's hand and brushed a piece of hair away from her face. He grabbed a nearby chair and sat down beside her. He carefully peeled away the gauze from her head, inspecting the wound. It didn't look too deep, for which he was grateful.
"You're gonna be ok," he said to her. "Just stay with me." He watched her eyelids begin to flutter. A slight groan escaped her lips. "Julia? Open your eyes, baby. Come on."
Her eyes finally opened. She looked around the room, before eventually focusing on him. He squeezed her hand and planted a small kiss on each of her knuckles. He immediately felt her trying to resist. She tried pulling her hand away.
"Who...what's going on?" She asked. "Who are you?"
Julia attempted to sit up, but immediately felt light headed and gasped from the pain. He let go of her hand.
"Take it easy," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder. She tried to move away from him, brushing his hand off her shoulder. Barbie couldn't understand what was happening. "Julia…"
"Who are you?" She asked. He could hear the fear in her voice. She was genuinely afraid of him. He took a step back, giving her space.
"Julia, it's me. Barbie."
"I don't...I don't know you. Where's Peter? Where's my husband?"
Barbie didn't know how to answer. How could he tell her that her husband was dead and that he was the one who had killed him? That they had discovered that Peter wanted to die because he was so badly in debt? Or that he and Julia had practically been together since the dome came down? How could he even explain what the dome was?
Before Barbie could speak, Linda reappeared with the Ashley the nurse. The young woman looked like she was straight out of nursing school. Linda could see the confused look on Julia's face.
"Julia, you ok?" Linda asked.
"What's going on?" She asked. "Where's Peter? He should be here. I don't understand." Her eyes frantically flitted between Barbie and Linda.
"She doesn't remember anything," Barbie said.
"What?" Linda asked.
"What happened? How did I get here? Where are all the doctors?" Julia continued to question.
"Amnesia? Is that possible?" Linda asked Ashley.
"I don't know. I'm just a nurse!" Ashley exclaimed.
"Would someone please tell me what's going on?" Julia questioned. She reached up to the wound on her head and gasped as her hand made contact with the injury. Barbie went to reach for her hand, but she pulled it away before he could touch her. Ashley began working on cleaning and covering Julia's wound.
"You were hurt," Linda explained. "Hit in the head. I think...I think you've forgotten the last few weeks. What's the last thing you remember?"
Julia closed her eyes, trying to remember. "I was working on a story. Something for the newspaper. I was supposed to meet Peter for dinner, but he didn't show. He said he was working late. I don't...I don't remember anything after that."
"You don't remember Barbie?" Linda asked.
Julia looked at Barbie. She studied him quizzically.
"No. Who are you?"
Barbie gave Linda a quick glance. He felt his heart sinking. The one person he had connected with under the dome didn't know him anymore.
"Julia, a lot has happened that you don't remember," Linda explained. "I don't even know where to begin."
"Where's Peter?" Julia asked again.
"He's gone, Julia," Linda answered.
"What do you mean gone?"
"We don't know," Linda said truthfully. Barbie looked down at the floor. He couldn't look Linda in the eyes. "We think he left before the dome came down."
"Dome? What dome? What are you talking about?"
Ashley finished bandaging Julia's head wound. "You don't need stitches," Ashley said. She looked at Barbie. "You'll want to keep an eye on her for the next twenty-four hours. She should be all set to go home, though. Sorry, but I have other patients I need to check on."
She hastily walked out of the room. Barbie sensed she wasn't leaving so quickly just because she had other patients to check in. He could see discomfort on her face. He just wasn't sure why she was so uncomfortable.
"I don't understand," Julia said. Tears began to form in her eyes. Barbie knew Julia was strong, but he could only imagine how confused she must be.
"Why don't you try to explain things to her?" Barbie suggested. He didn't want to leave her, but he also knew she wasn't comfortable with him there. "I'm going to see if Ashley needs any help."
Barbie gave Julia one final look before leaving the room. He found Ashley sitting behind the reception desk, filing her nails. She clearly didn't have any other patients to look in on.
"Sucks that she can't remember anything," Ashley said.
"Yeah. Anything you can think of to do to help with her amnesia?"
"I told you, I'm just a nurse."
"Right. You sure ran out of there in a hurry."
"I'd never met Mrs. Shumway, but…" she trailed off.
"But what?"
"I did know her husband. I knew him well. Like, really well."
Barbie finally realized why she was so uncomfortable in Julia's room and why she practically ran away when she was done treating Julia's wound.
"You were having an affair with him."
"It wasn't just an affair. He loves me," she said. "He was going to leave her for me."
Barbie didn't know quite how to respond. If he hadn't already killed him, Barbie wished he could do it again. Any man who stepped out on Julia was a fool.
"Stay away from her," he said.
"Gladly."
As he walked back towards the exam room, Linda came out.
"How is she?" Barbie asked.
"Confused. I told her about the dome. I don't think she believed me at first, but after I explained everything, I don't think she had a choice but to believe me."
"Think her memory will come back?"
"I don't know. I hope so."
Barbie caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He looked and saw Julia walking towards them.
"Woah, Julia. You gotta take it easy," he said, rushing into the room to help her. He stopped moving towards her when he saw her back away from him.
"I want to go home," she stated.
"Her Prius is right outside. That's how we got her here," Linda said.
"Alright, I'll take you home," Barbie offered.
"I don't even know who you are," Julia replied.
"That's Barbie, Julia," Linda explained.
"What kind of name is Barbie?" Julia wondered.
Barbie couldn't help but smile. "It's a nickname," he told her. "Long story. I told you to once."
"I don't remember," she replied.
"Barbie's your...friend," Linda explained. "He's going to help you. He's been...staying with you at your house."
"You have?" Julia asked.
"Yeah," Barbie answered. "You took me in when I had nowhere else to go."
Julia smiled. "That sounds like something I would do."
"He's a good man, Julia," Linda assured her. "Trust him."
She nodded. "Ok."
Barbie had to stop himself from reaching out his hand for her. He let her walk by, towards the exit.
"You two going to be ok?" Linda asked.
"Yeah. I"ll keep an eye on her."
"Call me if you need me," Linda said.
"I will. Thanks," Barbie replied.
Barbie made is way outside. Julia was already at her car, standing at the driver's side door.
"Where are my keys?" She asked.
"I'm driving."
"It's my car," she stated.
Barbie almost smiled. It was like Julia's usual stubborn self back. But he knew it had nothing to do with that. She didn't trust him.
"You have a head wound. I'm driving."
Barbie opened the passenger side door and waited for her to walk around the car. She finally did with a loud sigh. As soon as she was safely in the car, Barbie walked around to the other side and got in. He could feel her staring at him as he started the car and drove away. She was clearly trying to decide if he was someone she should trust.
"So, you've been...staying with me?" Julia asked.
"Yeah."
"Since the...dome came down?"
"Pretty much."
"It seems so...unreal. I mean, how does something like this happen?"
"That's what we're trying to figure out."
Barbie pulled up in front of her house. She looked out her car window, staring at the dome. Barbie knew she was going through what they had all gone through when the dome first fell. She was most likely full of confusion, disbelief, and a little bit of awe.
"You get used to it," he assured her.
He got out of the car, opened her door, and led her into the house. She stepped inside and looked around.
"He's really gone," she said. "Peter. He's gone."
"I'm sorry."
"I'm not surprised," she murmured.
"What?"
"He probably ran away with some younger woman somewhere. He was always more interested in them than me anyway." She paused. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't bring you into the problems in my marriage. I don't even know you. I'm going to go lay down."
"You do know me," he whispered to himself as Julia headed up the stairs. He watched from the bottom of the stairs as she entered the bedroom they had been sharing. After a moment, she reappeared at the top of the stairs.
"We're not just friends, are we?" She asked.
Barbie knew she must have seen his T-Shirt on the bed. She had taken to sleeping in for the past few nights. She had said it was more comfortable than her own pajamas.
"No," he answered honestly. "We're not."
"I wish I remembered that part," she said with a smile.
"Yeah, me too."
She disappeared down the hall, making her way back to their bedroom. Barbie saw it as a good sign that she didn't shut the door. He settled on the living room couch, knowing it was going to be a long night.
Hours later, Barbie woke up when he heard footsteps on the stairs. He had checked on Julia several times since she had gone up to her bedroom. He wanted to make sure she was still breathing. When he heard her on the stairs, he opened his eyes and saw her walking towards the front door.
"Julia?" He called out.
"It's raining," she said. Barbie listened, hearing the rain splatter against the window panes. "We need to collect the water."
"What?"
"So we don't run out of water to drink. We need to collect the water like last time."
"You remember when it rained last time?"
"I...I remember everyone was happy that it had rained."
"Yeah, we were all happy."
"Why can I remember that but I can't remember you?"
"I don't know."
"We should go collect the water."
"We don't have to go out there. We already set up a system to collect the water in buckets out back."
"Oh."
"How's your head feeling?"
"Better."
Barbie couldn't help but notice that she was staring out at the rain. She walked to the front door and opened it.
"Julia, what are you…"
"There's something about the rain."
She walked out the door and into the downpour.
"Julia!"
Barbie raced out after her. She was standing in the pouring rain, looking up at the sky. Barbie walked right up next to her. She slid her hand into his.
"I remember," she whispered. She turned her body so she was facing him. "Our first kiss was in the rain."
"Yeah."
"It was incredible."
"Yeah," he breathed.
He leaned in closer to her until their lips were only centimeters apart. He waited for her to pull away, but she didn't. He kissed her, slowly at first. He didn't want to scare her away. It was Julia who looped her arms around his neck first. He wrapped his arms around her waist.
"I remember everything," she said when they parted.
He pressed his forehead against hers.
"That's good."
"It's all coming back to me. The dome, you, Peter leaving…everything."
"Glad to have you back."
"If I remember, our first night together was pretty incredible, too."
"Yeah."
"Care to refresh my memory?"
"Hell yeah."
He smiled before capturing her lips with his own.
Author's Note: Thank you for reading! I've never tried anything like this before, but I thought I'd give it a shot. This was probably one of the longer chapters. Once I got started, I just couldn't stop. Please don't forget to review!
