It was an impossibility for me not to write something after the last episode. I absolutely loved it and thought every second was amazingly wonderful. Anyway, this is about James and Juliet. Hope you like it, and please review! :)
"Excuse me." Desmond asked, tapping his fingers on the tabletop to attract the desk sergeant's attention, "Excuse me, is there uh--" He looked down at the paper held tightly in his hand, "Is there a man by the name of James Ford here?"
The man seated behind the desk peered over his glasses and let out a heavy sigh, clearly agitated at the visitor, and opened his mouth to speak. However, a tall and rather intimidating woman suddenly appeared and intervened.
"You lookin' for Ford?" She asked, quirking one eyebrow up in the process and he swiftly nodded. After receiving the manifest and doing a bit of research on the passengers, James Ford had naturally been the first to visit. He remotely lived near the area and searching him down had been far less than a challenge.
"May I speak with him?" He asked after a pregnant pause, then added swiftly, "It's important."
"How important?" The woman, whose nametag read Ana, asked.
"Life altering."
"Is that so?" She deadpanned, "You his bookie or something?"
Desmond cleared his throat, scratching at the nape of his neck, "I'm afraid I've never yet had the pleasure of meeting him."
"Let me get this straight." She began slowly, "You actually want me to interrupt Ford's work so he can chat with some stranger he'll want nothin' to do with? You have any idea how bad that'll piss him off?" She asked before breaking into a sly smile at the thought, "You know what? Follow me."
Desmond gratefully did as he was told, and not before long, he was shaking hands with a rather puzzled officer.
"Nice to meet you, brother. My name is Desmond Hume." He began, "You're probably wondering why I'm here."
He nodded once, "What can I do ya' fer?"
Desmond opened his mouth, only to realize he hadn't a bloody clue what to say. He racked his brain for the most logical strategy, and without realizing it, found himself almost mimicking Charlie's words, "Have you ever been in love--spectacular, consciousness-altering love?"
"Ya know, Cupid, can't say that I have." The southerner replied gruffly, "Now what the hell's this 'bout? Miles put ya' up to this? 'Cause I ain't got the time o' patience fer it."
He shook his head, "No, brother--this isn't a joke." He paused, deciding to lay all his cards on the table, "A few days ago, I saw a...a flash--of something--of another life. Of a girl."
James leaned forward, suddenly interested, and eyed Desmond carefully, "Whadda ya' mean, a flash?"
"I found myself in a car accident a few days ago and somehow, I...Well I saw a girl--Penny." He beamed as her name left his lips, "And I felt this...connection. It was love, but--but it went beyond that. And it wasn't only me, brother, I happen to know of two other fellows that had the same thing happen to them."
"Even if you...felt it." James motioned around him, "Whatever the hell it was--ever think she ain't even real?"
"Aye, it's real." Des assured him, "I met her."
"You did?" He asked, hope sparkling in his eyes, "So it ain't just a dream or nothin'..."
"Its happened to you, then?" Desmond prodded, not failing to notice the hint of a smile on James' face.
He reluctantly nodded and breathed out a breath of air before explaining, "Other day. Saw a gal on the news--was givin' some speech atta' new openin' of some fancy hospital. Got to cut the ribbon an' everythin'."
"Go on." Desmond prodded, for James clearly wanted to say more, "Tell me about her."
"Tall, blonde, gotta hell of a smile, an' her body--" He whistled, "She's a knockout. Read 'bout her in the paper too--said her name's Juliet Carlson."
"Well, brother, seems like quite the catch." He smiled, "Now it's time to go out there and get her."
"Don't know if that's sucha good idea, matchmaker."
"If you love her, if you felt it, then you've got to search for her--you'll never be happy unless you do." He stated before catching a glimpse at the clock, "I better get a move on. Have a dinner date with Pen soon."
James simply nodded and exchanged goodbyes with the man, but not before asking curiously, "Why'd ya' come down here in the first place? Don't make much sense."
"Does anything?" He asked with a laugh before answering in all seriousness, "If I can help anyone be as unbelievably happy as I am with Penny...well, brother, then it's well worth it."
--
"Congratulations again, Juliet. You deserve this." Her comrade said genuinely, placing his hand on her shoulder as they both stood in front of her new institution.
"Thanks Ethan." She smiled politely, "I just wish Rachel was here to see this."
He gave a sad smile, "You know it's more trouble than it's worth for her to fly here from Miami, you even said it yourself."
"I know." She admitted softly, "It's just--"
"Lonely at the top?" Another voice interrupted from behind her, "I know what that's like."
She habitually looked over her shoulder, gingerly flipping her hair behind her, and smiled, "You do, huh? That's surprising considering you're nowhere near the top."
The man let out a laugh, "Good to see the fame hasn't affected your sense of humor."
"Fame? I'm hardly a celebrity, Jack." She argued, oblivious to the fact Ethan had walked away and she was left solely with Dr. Shepherd, "They showed a glimpse of me on one occasion while having a slow news day."
"Don't be so modest." Jack protested, and she smiled in response. They stood, staring at one another for a moment, until Jack broke the silence by stating, "I got run over by a cart today."
"What?" She asked, breaking into a smile, and Jack explained slowly, "At work today--a cart knocked me over. Fell and hit my head pretty hard. I, uh, even blacked out."
"Are you alright?" She asked, stifling a laugh, "You must have quite the bruise."
"No, I'm fine. It's just...while I was out, I saw a vision of this woman. She was--she was on the plane with me the other day. She--"
"Well head injuries can cause hallucinations. You're a doctor, you know that." She stated casually, unaware of the serious tone Jack had taken.
He shook his head, "You don't understand. The feeling I had, it was--"
"You blacked out, Jack." She argued, "Nothing more, nothing less. If you're so worried then maybe you should take some x-rays."
"Put aside the medical talk for a second. Is it possible to feel..." He searched for the perfect word to describe what he was referring to and came up blank, so instead asked, "Do you believe it's possible to care about someone--more than you even care about yourself...and you don't even know their name?"
"I don't see where you're going with this." She stated, disregarding the question, "You're not acting like yourself, Jack. Now I'm going to get a cup of coffee, I'd ask you to join but maybe you should get some rest."
--
"Hell, what're the chances a' that?" James mumbled as he stared at the computer screen full of Juliet's information in front of him.
"You that lonely, Ford?" His partner asked as he walked by, "What, no one wants to talk to you so you resort to talking to yourself?"
James glared up at him,"Ain't there somebody else ya' can annoy the hell outta?"
He shrugged, "Of course. But what fun would that be?" He paused momentarily before asking, "S'what are you up to, anyway?"
"None of your goddamn business."
Miles raised his eyebrows, "Thought we said no more secrets."
James rolled his eyes, but knew the man was right, "Just looked this girl up, found out she lives right down the street. Can't believe she's been so close the whole time an' I never even known it."
"Ah, the joy of stalking."
"I ain't stalkin' her." He shot back, "It's called research."
"It's called a matter of time before she gets a restraining order." Miles quipped as he glanced over his partners shoulder and at the computer screen, "Who is this chick anyways?"
"Don't matter." He explained, "T'was thinkin' 'bout goin' to meet her but changed my mind."
"Why?"
"Don't matter how badly I wanna meet her, it don't mean she wants to meet me." He stated bluntly, "Now let's get back'ta work. Haven't done much of it today."
--
Juliet strolled out of her favorite cafe, coffee cup in hand, when she heard a familiar voice ring out, "Well look who it is. If it isn't my favorite medical star."
Without having to turn around, she already knew the owner of the voice, "What the hell do you want, Ed?"
"What a way to greet your ex-husband." He retorted, "And all I wanted was to give my congratulations on the new hospital. You're certainly climbing up the ladder of success, aren't you Julie?"
"No thanks to you." She reminded him, "Now if you don't mind, I think I'll be on my way."
"Wait." He called after her in desperation, "Just give me a few more minutes."
She narrowed her eyes, but eventually nodded reluctantly, and followed him over to the side of a nearby building so that they could speak in privacy.
She stared daggers at him, waiting for him to speak first, and he eventually began, "You look beautiful today. Really, it's remarkable how--."
"I know what you're trying to do." She cut him off, "I told you last week you're fired. Things aren't going to change simply because you've mastered the art of flattery."
"So there's nothing I could possibly do that would make you allow me back at the research center?"
She didn't even blink, "No."
"Fine, then." He shrugged cooly, reaching inside his coat pocket, "Guess we'll have to do this the hard way."
"E--Edmund?" She whispered, taking a step back, "What the hell is that?"
"What, Julie? Don't tell me you've never seen a gun before." He smiled slyly, putting his hand on the trigger and pointing it directly at his former wife's chest.
"How poetic would it be? Not only would I have broken your heart metaphorically, but literally as well...You were always a sucker for irony." He droned on cynically, "Now, do we have an understanding? Am I safe to say I have my job back?"
She swallowed hard and shook her head before saying slowly, "You don't have the guts."
"All I want is to go back to work." He stated, "But if you can't do that for me--I will kill you, Julie."
--
"You're not still thinking about that chick, are you?" Miles asked as he and James walked out of the police station and over to their patrol car.
He shook his head as he reached into his pocket for the keys, "'Course I ain't."
Miles whistled, "Boy it's a shame."
"What's that?"
"You used to be able to lie."
Suddenly, a voice cried out, "Don't do this. Don't. Get the hell away from me."
"You hear that, Ford?" Miles whispered in alert, straining his ears to hear the distressed voice.
James nodded and shifted his eyes towards the side of a nearby building, "Think it's comin' from over there in the--"
Suddenly, he heard a single gunshot sing out and immediately went into cop-mode. He rounded the nearest corner, gun in hand, looking around for wherever the shot had sounded from and it didn't take long for him to find the location.
As he approached with Miles in toe, he watched as a woman stumbled backwards in pain, falling to the ground while blood stained the top of her shoulder. James naturally rushed over to her, while Miles ran over to the man handling the gun and forced him to the ground without much struggle.
"Smart thinking using a gun in the middle of a day right next to a police station." Miles commented as he snapped the handcuffs on the criminal, "Man, you must've really hated that chick to do something this damn stupid."
Simultaneously, James squatted next to the woman and put his hand on her knee, "You okay there, Blondie?
She weakly lifted her head up, pieces of hair falling around her face, and as her bright blue eyes met his, he nearly fainted.
It was unmistakable. It was her.
"Son of a bitch..."