Author's Note: Since the finale, I've read some absolutely wonderful stories about Sawyer's life after the island. And they're heartbreakingly good and angsty, but they've put me in a total fluff mood. So here's my take on what happened after the church. Don't be expecting anything like plot and conflict in this. Total, unadulterated fluff. Suliet's earned it, I think ;) Hope you enjoy!
Sitting in the church pew, Juliet nestled her head on James' shoulder as the white light surged. He kissed her forehead and gripped her hand tightly as the church faded away around them. When the light receded, Juliet found herself no longer on a church pew, but on a couch. A beat-up, 70's style couch. She lifted her head from James' shoulder to look around the room. She slowly stood up in amazement as she realized where they were. This was their house. Their little yellow Dharma house.
She looked back at James as he stood up, a similar expression of disbelief on his face. After a moment, he grinned widely and turned to her. "We're home," he said.
Pure joy bubbled up through Juliet and her eyes filled with tears. James rushed to her side, wrapping his arms around her and picking her up off the floor. She threw her arms around his neck and laughed, unable to contain her happiness. When he put her down, he gave her a sound kiss before saying, "I love you."
Juliet smiled. She knew. Where they were now, everything that had happened to them in the hospital and the church was the proof, and her old insecurities disappeared. She leaned up and kissed him, running her tongue along his upper lip. "I love you too," she said with a cheeky smile. They rested their foreheads together, grinning at each other like lovesick teenagers.
A loud voice from outside interrupted the moment, and they looked at each other questioningly before going over to the window. The whole of Dharmaville was outside, just as it had been in 1977. They quickly indentified the voice – Hurley, holding hands with Libby, and calling over to Jack and Kate, who were sitting together on the front porch of another house.
"Looks like we got neighbors," James said from behind Juliet, sneaking his arms around her waist and pulling her back into him.
She leaned into him and sighed in contentment. "Do you think we should go out and say 'hi'?"
"Hell, no!" James responded. "We got all eternity to hang out with those yahoos. I just got you back and I'm keeping you to myself." He accentuated his point by pushing her hair over one shoulder and kissing her neck. Juliet dropped her head down and hummed in pleasure. "And just for the record," he murmured in between kisses, "I was right."
"About what?" she asked, turning in his arms to face him.
"You, with your 'we aren't supposed to be together' shtick and thinking I wanted Kate and all that bullshit. Getting stuck together in heaven is a pretty damn clear sign we're supposed to be together, I'd say."
Juliet laughed. She hated to let him win so easily, but she couldn't deny he was right. "I suppose," she replied, laying her head on his shoulder. "You aren't going to let me forget that, are you?"
James rubbed her back. "'Course not. I'm going be rubbing that one in forever. "
She laughed again, enjoying the moment, enjoying the warmth and comfort of his arms, and reveling in the fact that when he said forever, he meant forever. She looked up at him, and found him watching her intently. "Come on," he said. He stepped away from her and took her hand, leading her down the hall towards the bedroom.
As they passed the kitchen, a yellow daisy in a vase on the counter caught her eye. Juliet pulled him into the kitchen and picked up the flower.
"It's the flower you gave me. The night before they returned."
"And ruined everything," he added. But not bitterly, she noted. That didn't matter now. They could pick up right where they left off, as if those horrible last few days never happened.
"Everything is exactly as we left it," she said, turning towards him and smiling. The sense of peace at this discovery was overwhelming. She was home.
"That's nice," James said, taking the flower from her hands and putting it back in the vase. He put his hands on her waist and boosted her up onto the counter next to the sink. "How 'bout we finish the house inspection later, sweetheart?" He lifted his eyebrows suggestively and grinned at her.
Juliet responded by wrapping her legs around him. She put her hands on his face and drew him into a kiss. The kiss deepened, and their arms went around each other. His slid his tongue into her mouth, and she groaned, overwhelmed by being with him again. She ran her fingers through his hair and pulled him even closer. Abruptly, however, he pulled away.
"Stay right there," he said with a wink, leaving the kitchen without explanation. She sat on the counter, confused by the sudden exit. He was usually near impossible to derail when they were about to do that. She heard him walk down the hall towards the bedroom. When the scraping and banging noises started, she hopped off the counter.
"James?" she asked. "Everything okay?"
"Yep! Give me a second," he called back.
James sauntered back into the kitchen a minute later, hair tousled, a dimpled smile on his face, holding up a small drawstring bag. "After you said everything was like we left it, I remembered this."
"What is it?"
"Something I got you. Never got a chance to give it to you though," he said, and Juliet could hear the regret in his voice. He paused for a moment. "Now, I don't know if this even matters in the afterlife. Things probably work a bit different 'round here. But I got it for you and thought you should have it. Worth a shot anyways."
She crossed her arms over her chest, confused, but endeared, by his rambling. "Well, can I have it then?" she asked.
"I'm getting to it. Damn impatient woman," he quipped with mock anger. He opened the bag and pulled out a small diamond ring. Juliet's breath caught in her throat, and she stared at him in shock. "So what do you say, Blondie? Wanna marry me?"
Tears immediately formed in her eyes and she nodded. "Absolutely," she choked out, before the tears spilled down her cheeks. James put the ring on her finger, and she threw herself into his arms and cried unabashedly.
"I love you so much," he whispered into her hair, squeezing her tightly.
After a few minutes, the tears subsided and Juliet pulled back far enough to see his face. "So you had this in the 70's? Why didn't you give it to me then?"
James scowled. "'Cause I'm an idiot. Waiting for the right time, or just too chicken shit to actually ask."
"You've asked now, that's all that matters," she soothed him.
"Yeah," he replied, wiping a lingering tear off her face, "And this might work out even better. Maybe we can get Jesus Christ himself to officiate."
Juliet laughed, and kissed him quickly. "How about Elvis as a witness?"
"Now you're talking! We can have a better bash in heaven than in the Dharma rec room, that's for sure. I get to pick out the band. You want the Beatles or the Stones?"
"Hmm, the Beatles," she answered. She leaned up and gave him another soft kiss. "We have all the time we want to figure this out. Why don't we spend some time getting reacquainted first?" she suggested.
A huge smile lit his face. "God, I missed you so much."
"Well, you're stuck with me now," she said, flashing her new ring at him.
"Sounds like heaven… Oh wait, it is," he joked, kissing her forehead.
She stepped out of his arms and took his hand, and together they headed back towards their bedroom.
