Disclaimer: Nothing is mine, wouldn't still be a poor student if it was.

Notes: Amazed at all the wonderful Suliet fics out there. Like most I'm refusing to believe she's dead and they're done so here is my humble offering to add to them to get me through the next 9 months. I'm working on the premise of what fluff might happen if the Losties were sent back to the flight, but Juliet to an equally pivotal point in her life. Not much mythology to be found here, as of yet. I've got 3 or 4 chapters at least thought out so far, but ultimately no idea where all this might take me! So please join me on my journey, I'd be most pleased to have you!

Unbeta'd so all mistakes are mine and mine alone. Oh and most of this first chapter is verbatim from Not In Portland. Didn't want to mess too much with perfection.

Are Birds Free from the Chains of the Skyway?

Chapter 1

"Come on!!!"

The jolt of pain that seared through her with each hit of the rock should have been enough to knock her out, but it didn't. Hell, the fall should have killed her, but it didn't. With every ounce of strength her battered and bruised soul had left, she refused to give in. This wasn't going to be in vain. If this damn island demanded her sacrifice, she wasn't going to give up without a fight. It would end with a bang - not a whimper. Not if detonating this bomb could somehow erase his cries of anguish when she let him go. In those last few seconds she knew she had it wrong, that he did love her enough and that he would have followed her down if she would have let him.

So if seeing this through meant the slightest chance that all this would never happen and his flight would land safely in LA; that he would never have to suffer any of the pain this place had brought him, she would pound that nuke until her last breath. For that, she would gladly sacrifice.

"COME ON, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

:::Flash:::

August 2001 – Miami Police Department Morgue

The grief took hold and all she could do was put her face in her hands and weep. Weep for the man she once fell in love with, for the man he became and for the guilt she felt at finally being free.

"Tissue?"

"Thank you. Thanks." Taking the offered tissue she wiped her eyes and looked up, expecting a cop or morgue worker; she instead met the eyes of a sympathetic stranger in a suit.

"Have we met?" He was looking at her expectantly as if he knew her and there was something oddly familiar about him that she couldn't quite place. Maybe he was a friend or colleague of Edmund's. Glancing to the side she saw her interviewer from earlier and stood up in confusion.

"Dr Burke."

"Mr Alpert?"

"I'm ah… so sorry for your loss."

"What are you doing here?"

"I saw what happened on the news and your office said you were down here. I just wanted to express my condolences in person, before I went back up to Portland. This is Ethan – he's one of my colleagues."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." She automatically shook the other man's proffered hand, but couldn't return the smile as an uncomfortable feeling settled upon her. Her mind uneasily replayed the events of earlier and it suddenly clicked into place why they were here.

"He was hit by a bus…"

"I know, they say you were there when it happened. You must have been…"

"No! No, in, in…" She stumbled over her words as she felt stick to her stomach. "In our interview…I said that I… I said that I wanted… I wanted him to get hit by a bus."

"Dr Burke, I realise that you are a little shook up right now, but this is just a tragic accident, you can't blame yourself. I don't even remember you saying that." Looking first into his and then his companion's eyes, she knew they understood her meaning and she feared that she was right. She glanced down and took a calming breath, wanting nothing more than for them to leave her alone.

"Why are you here Mr Alpert?"

"Look ah, I know that the timing is horrible, but we came because we're that serious about getting you to come work for us."

Her breath caught as he gave voice to her fears. She didn't know what to say.

"Just give us six months. If you need to you can be back before your sister gives birth."

"How did you know that my…"

"Oh we're very thorough in our recruitment process," he interrupted with a wry smile.

His knowledge of her sister was the final straw. She looked away and considered what he was asking. While their offer was certainly tempting and if it was just her she might have considered it, she didn't trust them and couldn't reconcile with the fear this conversation had instilled in her. If she was right and they were somehow involved in Edmund's death, who knew what else they were capable of? She couldn't leave Rachel and she didn't trust them near her. Also a weird sense of foreboding that she couldn't quite explain was telling her that nothing good would come from accepting this job. She took a deep breath, straightened her back and shoulders and looked Alpert in the eye.

"I thank you for your time Mr Alpert. Your offer and persistence is very flattering but I'm afraid I can't accept. With my sister's health and now Edmund's... death," she swept her arm around the room to illustrate her point, before wearily raising a hand to her now throbbing forehead. "I'm afraid I have to decline."

He stared at her long and hard for a few seconds and as the silence dragged on she started to think he wasn't going to accept her refusal. As she was frantically trying to think of something else to say, he finally opened his mouth.

"Very well," he sighed in resignation. "Thank you for your time Dr Burke and once again my condolences for your loss. You have my card if you should change your mind." With that he nodded once to his companion and they silently turned on their heels, leaving without a backward glance.

With the swinging shut of the door, the adrenaline that had been coursing her veins dissipated and she slumped back onto the stool she had previously occupied. She covered her face once more with her hands and wept.