[Setting: just after the detonation of the Jughead. Where (and when) are they now, and more importantly, can they remember where they've been?]

Chapter 1: Begin Again

When James regained consciousness, he was laying in a hospital bed. Where, he had no idea. When was a mystery, as well. Had the Hostiles taken him prisoner? Was he still in Dharmaville? Juliet! Where was his Blondie?? It all came flooding back to him. She'd fallen…he'd begged her to hang on, but she let go, and then…

James felt tears slide down his cheeks at the painful memory. He couldn't bring himself to believe he'd never see her again. He didn't know what had happened, but she had to be out there somewhere. If he'd survived the blast, maybe she'd survived, too. He had to hope. He had to hold on now, for both of them.

Thirty minutes passed, and the door to his room opened. James jumped in surprise, suddenly feeling the soreness in his ribcage. He groaned and scanned the room for a weapon, in case it was one of the Hostiles at his door, but found nothing. Fortunately, he didn't need to worry.

"Well hello there, good to see you awake." the nurse said with a smile.

James' face twisted in confusion. She wasn't an Other, and he didn't recognize her from Dharmaville. "Wh-where am I?" he asked, catching himself before he asked when.

"Pacific Alliance Medical Center," the nurse replied, "Do you remember what happened at the airport?"

"Airport? What…" he trailed off in confusion.

The nurse sensed it, filling in the blanks for him. "You got in a fight after you got off of your plane. Apparently a couple of really big guys grabbed you, the police have them now. You were beaten up pretty badly, but you'll be just fine. You have a mild concussion and a fractured rib, but with a little rest, you'll be good as new." she explained with a kind smile.

"Now hold on a minute…I'm in L.A.?" James asked, his head spinning. How did he get here? He couldn't be here, not unless… It worked! he thought triumphantly to himself, suddenly beaming for no apparent reason.

"Are you alright?" the nurse asked, curious as to why he seemed so gosh darn happy to be in the hospital.

"Yeah, I am," James replied, chuckling to himself, "I'll be damned…" His Juliet was out there, he just knew it. "By the way, miss, what's the date again?"

"September 22, 2004." she replied.

"HOO-WEE! That crazy son of a bitch was right!" he exclaimed with a laugh, prompting the nurse to urge him to calm down. "When can I get outta here??" he asked anxiously.

"Well, we'd like to monitor you overnight, just in case--"

"Overnight? No way, sweetheart, I got places to go and people to find…any way I can get outta here now?"

The nurse chuckled, "Be patient, Mr. Ford, it'll be at least an hour before I can get your discharge papers, and if you insist on leaving, I'm gonna have to have you sign a DAMA."

"I'll sign whatever needs signin', but I gotta get outta here. See, the woman I love is out there somewhere and I gotta find her now, there ain't no two ways about it. So if you could get those papers…soon as you can, please." he explained to her, a smile on his face at the thought of finding his Juliet again.

"Aww! That's just about the sweetest thing I've ever heard." she said. Obviously, James had appealed to her inner romantic. "I'll see what I can do about those papers, you just sit tight."

"Thanks, doll. 'Preciate it." he said, laying back on the bed and imagining what it would be like to be reunited with his true love again. They were rescued, they could really be together now, in the real world…nothing would stand in their way again. No more Others, no more getting shot at, no more Jim LaFleur or Sawyer or lies or cons…just James and Juliet. Unfortunately, things aren't always as simple as we imagine them to be.

An hour later, James was back at the airport, buying a ticket to Miami. He knew that if he wanted to find Juliet, the best place to start his search was with her sister. He showed up on Rachel's doorstep the next morning, and was greeted by the pitter-patter of a toddler's feet. Rachel opened the door a moment later, a young boy in her arms.

"Oh…hello, can I help you?" Rachel asked James, scanning his face to try and remember if she knew him. He didn't look familiar.

"I sure as hell hope so…" James began with a soft chuckle. "Is Juliet here?"

Rachel's eyebrow lifted, then furrowed, her expression becoming a bit darker, "No, she's not. Who are you?"

"I'm the man who wants to marry your sister."

"So let me see if I have this straight: you met Juliet on that island they took her to three years ago, but she was part of this group called 'The Others' and she tasered you and had you locked in a bear cage. Then, she helped you escape, and later joined your people on the beach, and you went through a bunch of stuff that I won't even attempt to repeat or understand, including flashes through time itself, and it all culminated with my sister falling down a hole with a hydrogen bomb, which exploded and sent you back here before it all started."

"Basically, yeah." James said, as if it were as simple and commonplace an explanation as that. He'd told Rachel the entire story, beginning to end (omitting the parts about Kate, just as a matter of taste), and she seemed to believe him…not that she had any idea how to understand it.

"Wow." was all his true love's sister could manage to say. "I, um…I'm not sure how to take this in. I mean, I haven't seen or spoken to my sister in three years. I'd basically accepted the fact that she was dead, and then you come here, exactly three years after she left, and you tell me she was being kept there by this Ben guy? I really hope you're not screwing with me, James. Because I will kill you." Rachel said with the same confidence in her voice that Juliet always had.

"I'm not screwin' with ya, Rachel. I've loved your sister for three years, and I have to find her. If she's still on the island, then I'm gonna find a way to get there and I'm gonna bring her back with me. Or die tryin'." he assured Rachel seriously.

"Well, James, for your sake more than mine, I hope she's still alive…and I hope to hell that you can actually find her."

"Oh I'll find her, alright. I ain't about to give up on the love of my life, Rachel. I bought her a ring. I was gonna pop the question, but…well, my plans kinda got interrupted."

"Well find her, then, James. If you can bring my sister back to me, I just might give you my blessing to marry her." Rachel smiled softly, her eyes welling with tears at the idea she might really see her son's namesake again.

James chuckled, "Ya just might, huh? Well in that case, consider it done."

"Mmmff." Juliet groaned and rolled over in bed as the light poured in the windows.

"Hey…wake up, sleepyhead." Goodwin said with a chuckle, sitting down on the bed and running his fingers through her hair.

Juliet turned again, her eyes heavy. She felt like she'd just been through World War III for some reason, but she couldn't figure out why. "What…time is it?" she asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes and sitting up.

"Almost noon. You've been out like a light for over 12 hours." he said, placing gentle kisses on her neck.

"Mm. I don't know why I'm so tired. What happened last night?" she asked with a yawn.

"Nothing unusual, though you may have had just a little more wine than usual." he said, smiling and kissing her. Why did his kisses feel so…different? She remembered the last set of lips that touched hers, and they didn't taste or feel that way. She pushed the thought aside and smiled.

"You should get back home." she suggested kindly.

"I was just there, everything's fine." he replied, smiling. "What do you wanna do today?"

Juliet paused a moment in thought. "I have the strangest urge to go to the beach. What do you think?"