Despite having already lived on the island for three years, in these barracks even, Juliet agreed when Horace offered to show them all around.
"This here is the cafeteria, if ever you don't feeling like cooking," Horace announced proudly as he waved his hand in the direction of yet another generic looking Dharma building, "They do pretty good waffles, but if I were you, I'd stay away on hamburger day. They always seem to give me an upset stomach!"
Not knowing whether Horace was serious or telling a really lame joke, Juliet smiled at him nervously before looking round at James. They'd stopped walking for less than ten seconds and he'd already perched himself on a bench. He obviously wasn't listening to a word that Horace was saying and he seemed to be lost in a world of his own. James leaned forward on the bench so that his elbows were resting on his knees and he could cup his chin in his hands. He looked a mess; he hadn't had a shave for days and his hair was looking wildly out of control. He let out a big sigh before scowling and mumbling something to himself.
Ten days. It had been ten days since they arrived in Dharmaville and he had asked her to stay with him. When Juliet thought back to that moment on the dock, she felt every emotion under the sun. Relief, at finally getting an opportunity to get off this godforsaken island. Happiness, with the thought of seeing Rachel again. Disappointment, knowing that it was 1974 and that Rachel was only 6 years old. Frustration, knowing that there was nothing that she could do about it. Wanting to leave anyway. Determined to leave. And then James came along.
"What do you reckon, Blondie?" came a Southern drawl from somewhere to Juliet's left, "You joining us on the rest of this tour or not?"
Blinking and shaking her head to jolt her out of her day dream and back to present time, or 30-years-in-the-past time, or whatever they were calling it these days, Juliet looked over at where the voice had come from, only to find that her tour group had already started walking away from the cafeteria and over towards the houses.
As Daniel, Miles and Jin began to follow Horace up the familiar path to her old neighbourhood, James stood waiting for her.
"You're one to talk," she quipped, "Don't think I didn't notice you daydreaming too"
"At least I don't make it obvious in front of Mr Boss-man," He taunted back, "You're gonna get yourself stuck in a dead end job now, Jules!"
They joined the rest of their group over by the porch of the house that Juliet used to live in. How long had it been since she last slept in this house? Twenty three days. Twenty three days since she left the barracks and ten days since they arrived in Dharmaville. How is it possible that so much had happened since then?
"You're kidding me, right? This has to be a joke?" Miles sneered, while flailing his arms in front of him to exaggerate his disdain, "Women get their own house...all to themselves....but men all have to share in a dorm?"
"I think you'll find it's comfortable enough in the dorm house..." started Horace.
"...You have got to be kidding me. Jim, you listening to this? We all have to share. There better not be bunk beds or, I swear, I'm outta here!" Miles fumed.
"Tell you what, come have a look. Make your own mind up. If you don't like it, there's a sub leaving in a couple of days. We already promised you that we'd send the rest of your crew on if they ever show up. Come take a look."
As Horace, Miles and Jin started walking towards the biggest of the Dharma houses, Daniel stood rooted to the spot, staring into the distance at the small red headed girl playing on the swing set. Juliet's heart broke when she looked at him; she understood the pain of losing someone you love. She went towards him to put her hand on his shoulder, to let him know he wasn't alone, when she felt someone blocking her path.
"Don't." James stated simply.
"Why not? He's missing Charlotte, I just wanna let him know that it'll all be ok."
"You don't know that it'll all be ok. We know nothin'! For all we know, the flashes might not have stopped, we might be back in 2004 again tomorrow!"
"John obviously did it, he stopped the flashes and the time jumps and the nose bleeds. We might not be where we want to be, but we're alive. Isn't that something?" Juliet implored him to go back to the James on the dock, the one who assured her that staying was that right thing to do, that hope wasn't lost, that one day they might return to save them.
"I've gotta get my head around it all and Wacko over there, he's gotta do the same. I lost someone I love too."
Later that evening, Juliet was already settled into her new house. Pouring herself a glass of her favourite Merlot, she wandered over to the book case to see what the Dharma Initiative had to offer. All the classics, plus a couple more recent ones, albeit 1970's recent. Not bad, she thought, as she picked out a well worn copy of The Little Prince, a book she read repeatedly as a child. She remembered how her mother used to get her and Rachel tucked into their beds before reading them a chapter of the book to get them to sleep. Rachel always fell asleep within minutes, but Juliet had always found herself transported into the dream world of the little boy from another planet and his love of his rose that he kept so lovingly in a dome.
Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door. Taking the old book with her, Juliet was surprised to find James, standing with his back to her, on the porch.
"You know you're supposed to be facing this way, right? I'm over here." Juliet smiled, as she jokingly waved her presence at him.
"You know, you don't always have to be such a wiseass," James snarled, as he turned around to face her. "I was just coming over to...."
He sighed and the anger immediately disappeared from his face. The sun had almost set, leaving everything seeped in an eerie gray light, despite the brilliant red colour of the sky. It was still hot out, but there was a slow, cool breeze which brought in the fragrance of the ocean air and of the flowers that were growing in the hanging baskets and flowerbeds around all the houses. His eyes rested on Juliet's copy of The Little Prince.
"...to see if I could borrow a book! All we've got over there is a pile of crappy old comics."
He stood there quietly, a slight smile on his face that showed a hint of his dimples, a smile that was supposed to count as an apology for his less than polite outburst when Juliet had first answered the door.
Without saying a word, Juliet opened the door fully before turning and walking towards her kitchen.
"Want some wine?" Juliet offered.
His smile became wider, the dimples more pronounced, as he stepped inside Juliet's house. He didn't need to nosey around, having already spent a brief amount of time living in the exact same house with Hurley. His heart sank when he remembered that Kate had been here too, they'd spent the night together and he'd wanted her to stay with him. But, as always, she'd freaked out and ran off to Jack the next morning. Everything reminded him of Kate. His smile had disappeared.
"You got any beer?"
"I don't know, I don't think so," Juliet shrugged, "I don't really drink beer."
"So, what you doing reading a kids' book?" James said calmly, as he went to open the refrigerator to check for himself, "Aren't you a little old for that? And why don't you have any beer? I don't trust people who don't like beer...I don't like 'em and I don't trust 'em."
He had no idea why he was being so mean to her, but he couldn't find himself able to stop. He didn't think that really; he did like her and he certainly trusted her. In fact, the more time he'd spent with Juliet, the more he realized how lucky he was that she had his back. He'd actually decided to check in on Juliet to see how she was doing, whether she needed someone to tell her it'll all be alright; whether her earlier attempt to comfort Daniel was a desire for comfort from someone for herself. But the memories of Kate, of having Kate and of losing Kate, were too strong, too recent and too raw. He had once asked her to stay with him and she had refused. Yet here he was, with Juliet, a woman he had asked to stay with him. And she said that she would.