A/N: Hi all. I wanted to thank you guys who read and reviewed. I really enjoyed hearing your thoughts and comments. They made me smile. And I am really happy you are looking forward to the story as I am.
I just wanted to let you guys know that the way I will be writing the flashbacks, there won't be any particular order to them. They will be scattered flashbacks to the past few years that they've been in the Dharma Initiative. For the most part, I try to connect the flashback to the present (1977), but sometimes they don't connect as much. Thought I'd just put that out there.
Okay! Enjoy chapter 2!
1977
"Hey," Juliet said in a questioning tone as her husband stepped through the door. He was holding their son in his left arm while gesturing for their daughter to head through the doorway. It had only been twenty minutes since they had left, which didn't seem like much time to Juliet. "What are you three doing back so soon?"
"Had to cut it a bit short cause we had a little accident," James replied, shutting the door behind him as his wife approached.
As she stepped towards them, Juliet noticed Rory's teary-eyed expression. His cheeks were red and moist from crying, his hands slightly blackened with dirt. Brushing her hand through the boy's dirty-blonde hair, she asked in a light-toned voice, "What happened?"
"Took a bit of a spill off of the swing when tryin' to get off," the man replied, carrying the two-year-old over to one of the kitchen chairs and setting him down slowly. As he did, the child's bleeding knee became visible to Juliet.
She raised her brow as she knelt on the ground to take a look at what seemed to be a rather deep cut. "What were you thinking letting him jump off of a swing set?" She continued to inspect it and was at least thankful that it wasn't so bad. He wouldn't need any stitches.
"I didn't let him jump off," James corrected, a bit insulted by his wife's assumption.
"It was a accident," the couple's young daughter vouched for her father. "I saw."
Juliet nodded her head with a sigh, rather confident that this accident occurred because he wasn't watching them. As she got up to get the first aid kit, she thought that she couldn't really blame him. She tended to have moments when she made the mistake too. Keeping track of just one child was hard; never mind two at the same time. However James was more prone to making that mistake, and he did it often. She knelt down once more and began to clean the dirt and blood from Rory's knee.
Just as she had, James commented jokingly to their son, "So is Mommy gonna have to chop off that leg, or what?" As if he couldn't make his situation worse.
Both Juliet and James listened to Rory screamed out in a panic, "No!" More tears streamed down his face as he gripped hard on the edges of the kitchen chair and glanced at his mother.
"James!" Juliet reprimanded, giving the man a harsh look.
"It was just a joke!" the man quickly exclaimed.
"He's only two," Juliet replied. "He doesn't know that."
"Okay, okay," James said, kneeling down beside his wife and taking a hold of his son's hand. "I'm sorry, little man," he said. "I was just tryin' to be funny."
The boy, with a stubborn look in his eyes and a strong pout on his lips, replied, "You're not."
James laughed. "I know," he replied, glancing at Juliet who still looked angered with him as she finished cleaning the cut.
After placing a band-aid on Rory's knee, Juliet stood up and lifted him into her arms. Giving him a kiss on the cheek, she then asked, "Everything okay now?" The boy nodded. "Want to go play in your room with your sister until dinner time?" Once Rory nodded again, Juliet put him down and allowed both of them to scurry off to their bedroom, leaving Juliet and James alone to finally talk.
The moment they were gone, Juliet glared at her husband. "You weren't watching him, were you?"
"Well, I'm sorry," James replied, rolling his eyes at her. "I don't have super speedy reflexes to catch the kid every time he falls down, Jules. And what does it matter?" he commented. "Rory's a tough kid; they both are. And they're smart. They're ours after all."
"That's not the point, James," Juliet replied as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Then what is?"
As Juliet was about to respond, the loud and incessant beeping of the stove distracted her from the conversation. Quickly she ran to the kitchen, opened the oven, and mindlessly reached to grab the dish without anything on her hand, burning herself.
Hearing his wife let out a sudden swear plus a painful hissing noise, James quickly followed her into the kitchen. With an oven mitt, he pulled out the dish of lasagna and set it on the stovetop to cool. He then quickly went to Juliet's side. "Let me see it," he said. Taking a few moments to look at the minor burn, James looked at Juliet and slyly asked, "So… would your mother blame your father if they were here?"
Juliet glanced up at James with confusion. "What?" she asked him, furrowing her brow.
"Because you burnt your hand and he wasn't there, wasn't watching you," he replied in a snide sort of tone, trying to prove a point to her.
Sighing, Juliet responded, "This is different."
James shook his head. "No it ain't, Jules." He took her hand and began to run it under cool water. He listened to her let out another sigh from the pain and released a short breath of his own. "Listen," he said, "I know you don't like seeing things like that happen to them; the fallin' and the cryin' and all of it. I don't like it either, babe, but we gotta face the facts. We can't just stick them both in little plastic bubbles to prevent them from ever getting hurt or sick." He watched the way Juliet stared at him. She knew that he was right. "We're their parents," he said. "Our job ain't to prevent them from getting hurt; it's to make sure that we are there when they do."
Juliet smirked at him as he took the slightly swollen hand and kissed it softly. "Assure them that we have their backs?"
"You got it, sweetheart."
0-0-0
1974
She glanced up at the sound of the door quickly opening and closing and instantly smiled at the sight of him. "I thought you weren't coming," she commented as she felt his lips press against her forehead. He released a heavy breath that warmly hit her hair. She could tell that he had walked quite briskly to be there on time.
"Got Phil to cover for me." Smiling down at her, he continued, "I ain't gonna miss this for the world, sweetheart." He placed another kiss on her head and felt the way she reached toward his chest, gripping lightly at the collar of his jumpsuit. She was still nervous, and he couldn't blame her. He was somewhat anxious too, but he couldn't imagine what it must have been like for her in this moment. "Nervous?" he asked her, though he clearly knew the answer even before she began to nod her head.
"I shouldn't be," she commented, shaking her head as if trying to rid of all of her worries and doubts. She let out a quiet, nervous laugh. "I've probably done these things a thousand times on other women. I know how it works." She paused, finding some comfort in the way her fiancé held her. "I guess it's just different now because-"
"It's you," he finished, understanding what she meant.
Shaking her head once more, she said, "I'm sure it'll all go well."
"I know it will," he replied with a loving smile, brushing a few strands of her hair behind her ear. She stared up at him with a meek smile, her bright blue eyes still filled with hints of anxiousness.
Juliet had confided in him about her worries, being pregnant on the island and all, and James had done all he could to comfort her. He had even told her that if she felt more comfortable leaving the island with him, he would make it happen. He would do anything to assure that she would be safe; that they both would be. But she had made the decision to stay, reassuring herself that if Amy had been able to carry to term while on the island, then she could. Whatever had happened to cause the deaths of her own patients in the twenty-first century hadn't occurred yet. She just needed James to keep reminding her of it.
James knew that that wasn't going to be easy. After all, she had been there when all of those women died; she had taken the responsibility. He had no doubt that it traumatized her. Death was not easy to forget; he understood that more than anyone. However, he also understood that both of them wanted to be happy about this, Juliet especially. They wanted this baby more than anything, and both of them had already fallen in love with it. They were excited and wished to keep it that way. No one should have to fear having a child. So, he did his best to alleviate both of their doubts about this pregnancy for the past few weeks. And today, they would get their chance to see their baby and know that everything was going to be alright.
0-0-0
The doctor had entered the examination area only a few minutes after the couple had managed to calm themselves. He proceeded to greet them and explain the procedure of the check up, though Juliet already knew the details. Within moments, the doctor began to set up the ultrasound machine so that they could actually take a look at the baby.
Juliet watched closely as the doctor set up all of the machinery and the monitor. It was so different from what she was used to. A machine like that had only been invented a few years ago; it was still a new operation and a new technology. She recalled how when she had called the doctor about the appointment, he actually asked her if she wanted to try the ultrasound. It hadn't even become a routine part of the check up like she was used to doing before. It was still optional. It was strange for her to think of it that way.
After all of the machinery was set, the doctor took a few moments to feel around Juliet's abdomen and asked some basic routine questions about how she was feeling. "How has the morning sickness been treating you?" was one of the first things he asked her.
Juliet smirked. "It's worse, but I suppose that's a good thing. It kind of comes more routinely now."
He nodded, "It should die down in another few weeks. It'll be gone by the time you reach your second trimester." Feeling a few more places on her lower stomach, he asked another question. "Any spotting?"
"No," Juliet shook her head as she answered. She was trying to be polite though it was a bit clear that she was impatient. She just wanted to see that the baby was alright; the routine questions were something she had already been keeping track of herself. As of her eighth week, it seemed as if everything was going smoothly. However, she knew that there were things that the ultrasound could tell her that simple symptoms couldn't. As she heard the doctor say "okay", she glanced up at her fiancé and took a hold of his hand. This was it.
"Let's take a look," he said as he squeezed the cool gel onto her lower abdomen and turned on the monitor. It took a few minutes for the doctor to find the image. "There we go," she heard him say confidently. He continued to put pressure towards where he had found it. "There's a heartbeat," she heard him say to himself.
Suddenly, the couple watched the man's eyes widen with surprise. Both Juliet and James grew nervous. "What is it?" Juliet couldn't help but to ask.
"It looks like… we have two heartbeats," he replied.
James, not understanding what he meant, found himself panicking. "What?" he asked. "Wait, is our baby mutated or somethin'? Did the island do this?"
Juliet, however, knew what had happened. A sudden smile grew upon her lips as she stared at the old monitor, two little hearts beating perfect and strong. She looked to her fiancé and squeezed his hand tightly. "Hey," she said in a soft-toned voice, "it's okay."
"How could it possibly be okay?" James asked. He had clearly let his fear cloud his common sense. "Didn't you hear him say that there were two heartbeats, Jules?"
Nodding her head, her smile growing wider, Juliet replied, "Because there are two babies."
James' eyes widened instantly. He glanced over at the doctor for confirmation. As the other man nodded his head, James looked to the monitor and then back at Juliet. "Two?" he asked softly, watching the joyful tears well in her eyes. "Twins?" He began to smile as he let out a relieved sigh. He listened to the way she chuckled as she glanced at the monitor. "And they're okay?"
Juliet nodded, a few tears falling to her cheeks. "They're perfect," she replied.
"Strong and healthy," the doctor added.
Letting out a laugh, James leaned forward and placed a loving kiss on Juliet's lips. He caressed her cheek, the joy in her expression only made this moment better. He felt her grip the hand that was resting on her face, and again he kissed her. "I love you," he whispered to her.
She replied with a smile, "I love you too."
"Hey," James said in a loving yet slightly more serious tone. He placed his other hand on her cheek, now cupping her face in his palms. He smiled and whispered to her, "We're all gonna be alright. You know that, don't you?" Juliet nodded her head, sliding her hands gently over his wrists and caressing his rough skin. James continued, "I'm not lettin' anything happen to you or those babies. So you got nothing to worry about. You hear me?"
Juliet whispered breathlessly, "Yes."
0-0-0
1977
After almost twenty minutes of arguing, Juliet had managed to get Rachel out of the bathtub. She had no doubt in her mind where the girl's stubbornness came from. It was funny that even she could see that Rachel was just a smaller version of herself right down to the majority of her personality. It was both interesting and sometimes frustrating. Juliet would constantly wonder to herself about if she had been this difficult at Rachel's age. Occasionally, she'd even think to herself how sorry she was to her parents for being such a troublesome child.
"Ow," she heard her daughter say as she began to brush through her long, wet hair.
Here we go again, Juliet thought. This was a nightly thing, or at least it was always a bath time thing. With the way Rachel's hair was, Juliet had to comb through it right away after she took her out of the tub. It would curl very quickly, and if it wasn't brushed right away, it would get knotted instantly and trying to comb through that was a battle with her daughter. However, because Rachel had insisted on being stubborn about getting out of the tub when Juliet told her to, the child's hair was already pretty curled and knotted.
"Mommy," she heard the girl groan again as Juliet brushed out another big knot of hair.
"I'm sorry, baby," she apologized, "but I have to get the knots out or they'll only get worse." She continued to listen to Rachel continuously let out moans and sighs with the occasional "ow" as she untangled the mess of blonde hair. When she was finished, she put it into a French braid, one of Rachel's favorite hairdos. "Alright," Juliet said, "All done. Now let's go get your jammies on."
As she lifted her daughter into her arms, Juliet noticed James peek his head through the door, his expression somewhat frantic. As she looked towards him with curiosity, he said, "I got to go." Before she could even ask why, he had disappeared into the living room and kitchen area. She followed him; her daughter still nestled in a towel in her arms.
"James, what's going on?" she asked as he scurried around the room, seemingly looking for something.
"Where are my keys?" he asked, not answering her question.
"Kitchen counter, by the stove." He look only grew more confused.
"Thanks."
Growing a bit more frustrated with him, Juliet repeated, "Honey, did something happen?" Juliet glanced down when she felt something near her leg and noticed that Rory had joined them. He had been playing in his room after Juliet had dried him off from his bath and dressed him. She glanced down at him and placed her hand on his head, caressing her fingers calmly through his hair so that James' strange behavior wouldn't frighten him. Though, it was frightening her slightly.
"Not sure yet," he replied, grabbing his walkie from the counter as well. "Jin just gave me a call. Said he needed me to meet him asap. I'm gonna go find out what it is and then I'll be right back."
"Will you be back in time to tell us a story?" Rachel asked softly.
Shaking his head, James replied, "I don't know, munchkin. We'll see. If not, though," he promised, "I'll be sure to tell you two stories tomorrow. How's that sound?" He watched the girl nod her head, not entirely satisfied with the answer but content. James leaned forward and kissed her head, then crouched down to kiss Rory. As he stood back up, he noticed the still confused look in Juliet's light eyes. He smiled reassuringly at her. "Don't' wait up for me, okay?" he said and then pecked her lips sweetly. Within ten seconds he was out the door and Juliet was left wanting some answers as to what he wasn't telling her.
