Authors Note: Special thanks to anyone at all who is still reading this story. I started it and left it behind until I graduated. Now that I am not doing 500 things at one time, I am hoping to update this story weekly. I'm really vested these characters with every intention of finishing it. I hope you all enjoy it. More Juliet/James action ahead I promise. You all are the best.
Julianna stood eye to eye with a man who had the power to take her out in a matter of seconds. She wondered if Richard had factored "death by fishing knife" into his plan to keep her safe.
"Who the hell are you and what are you doing spyin' on us?"
"I wasn't spying on anyone," she said quickly.
"Let me guess, you were birdwatching."
It was obvious if this man wasn't going to kill her with his knife, he was going to kill her with his innate sarcasm. "I am looking for my mother." There was no point in lying or sugarcoating anything. If this man was part of her mother's camp, surely he would know where to find her.
"Your mother? Who's your mother?" he asked as he moved around her like a vulture would his prey. She could feel his eyes size her up as he made a full circle and twisted a strand of her hair through his fingers. "Wait just a minute. Blonde hair, long legs, blue eyes….you belong to Blondie. You're one of them."
"One of who?"
"Sawyer!" she heard someone yell from across the tree line, which caused him to quickly turn and stalled his interrogation.
"Come on" he said grabbing her arm and dragging her out into the open. For a moment, she was too transfixed on getting out of his grasp to notice everyone beginning to stare. She finally stopped long enough to look up and notice that everyone had stopped what they were doing to see the woman who wasn't in Sawyer's company when he left.
"Who is this?" a dark headed man asked, walking towards them with his hand clenched to his side as if he was in pain.
"Found her out in the jungle. Says she's lookin' for Blondie" he said casually, finally letting go of her arm. "Seems to be a lot of people dropping in out of nowhere" he added, looking suspiciously at a redhead and a scruffy looking man sitting together on the outskirts of their camp.
"Juliet!" the dark headed man yelled behind him.
Opening up a tent door, Juliet stepped out into the sunlight and seeing her so close sent chills down Julianna's arms. She was just as beautiful as she was in the picture she carried around her neck.
"Jack, what are you doing up? You're supposed to be resting", Juliet chastised before she noticed everyone staring at her. "What's going on? Who is this?"
Stab.…right to Julianna's chest. Richard had warned her that this would happen. She should have prepared herself. While she had no memories of her mother, simply knowing who she was had already formed even the smallest of connections and the fact that her mother didn't recognize her didn't go without its own pain.
"You don't know this girl?" Sawyer asked from behind her.
Juliet looked at Julianna thoughtfully and intently for a moment before breaking eye contact and looking back at Jack. "I've never seen her before."
"She says she's your daughter" Sawyer said moving one step closer. "Check her bag, Muchacho," he ordered, throwing the black duffel bag over to a large man with curly hair who she hadn't noticed before. The man, who looked at Sawyer with hesitant eyes, began pulling garments of clothing out of the bag and setting them to the side.
"Those are my things" Juliet said walking over and picking up the shirts and jeans that Richard had packed. She dropped the clothing and snatched up a book before whipping around so quickly Julianna jumped back. "Where the hell did you get this stuff?" waving what appeared to be a Stephen King novel in her face.
"I found it in the jungle." Julianna figured the "them" Sawyer accused her of being a part of were the group of people whose camp she had just left. She didn't want to lie, but figured it was best not to be grouped with the enemy.
"She's lying" Juliet said looking at Jack and back at Sawyer as if she was pleading.
It suddenly dawned on Julianna. Richard had said that Juliet had left the compound to come out and be with the plane crash survivors. Julianna's presence was compromising her mother's safety.
"I would know if I can birth to a child. They're messing with us. Did Ben send you here?"
"Ben? " she suddenly remembered the small man with glasses who she and Richard avoided earlier. The small bit of recognition on her face was enough to give her away.
"Tie her up" Jack said quickly and adamantly.
"What!?" she screamed louder than she should have. It should not have come as a surprise that these people didn't trust her, but thought she was supposed to be protected there, not become their hostage.
"We've got a lot to do, and a lot to figure out. Tie her up in the middle of camp so we can keep an eye on her."
"Jack, are you sure they don't know each other?" the curly headed man said as he stood up from searching the duffel bag.
Jack looked at Julianna and back at Juliet. "I trust Juliet, Hurley. I've told you that. She doesn't know her." Jack nodded and began to walk off with Juliet. Sawyer grabbed hold of Julianna before she stepped forward in protest. "Mom, please…."
Before Julianna could get another word out she felt the hard binding of the book Juliet was holding hit her so hard in the face, it knocked her to the ground.
"I am not your mother" she said, dropping the novel into the sand and walking back into the tent she came out of without looking back.
The weight of the day weighed heavily on Julianna's mind. She felt the exhaustion run in an out of her muscles and head like a snake. She had finally come to the conclusion that everyone had either forgotten about her or they were keeping her tied up as punishment for showing up. No one had checked on her in hours. The cold of the night had set in and the darkness of the woods behind her was beginning to make her nervous. The only light visible was the glow of the fire reflecting off of the ocean. She had nearly dosed off sitting up when she felt someone sit down beside her. Her eyes shot open and she instinctively scooted towards the other side of the tree.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you" Jack said as he settled his arms on the top of his knees and looked out over the ocean. "I just want you to know, that if you're here to stir things up before your people move in, it's not going to work." He pulled a knife out of his pocket and began to peel an avocado that Julianna hadn't seen before that moment.
"I am not here to stir anything up. Those people are not my people. I was just trying to find my mother."
"Why can't she remember you then?" he said like a casual smart ass, dropping an avocado peel to the sand and starting again from the top of the fruit
"Because she hasn't given birth to me yet. In her mind, I don't exist." The same information that had startled her hours ago seemed to bring the same reaction from Jack. "Don't ask me to explain it because I can't. I don't know any more than what I just told you. I know I don't remember where I came from, she obviously doesn't remember where I came from, I know the "them" you think I am a part of are a dangerous group of people, and I know that I can trust you . If you just give me a chance, I will prove that you can trust me too" she said and for the first time she really looked at Jack who stared at her in utter disbelief.
He rubbed his hand over face in an anxious manner and took a deep breath. "Wow."
"Yeah, I know. It's hardly believable."
Jack turned back towards the water and contemplated things for a while.
"Just so you know, I don't believe you. But then again, I don't know what I believe anymore. I am sure I am going to regret this later, but at this point, what in the hell do I have to lose?" he said before taking the knife and slicing the rope that was keeping Julianna tied to the tree. She pulled her hands out in front of her and stretched her shoulders which were full of ache and pain. Jack surprised her when he reached his hand down to help her up.
"You should eat something" he said, handing her the peeled fruit. "Avocado's good for memory."
Juliet settled down and tried to make herself warm under the canopy of her tent. Things were falling apart around camp quicker than she expected. First, the helicopter crash and then news of the freighter offshore was causing everyone to go insane thinking this was their chance to get off of the island. Then that girl….Ben had pulled some slick things before, but nothing this extreme.
"Hey Juliet" Hurley said from behind her, startling enough to make her jump.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
"It's okay, what's up?" Hurley moved towards her and sat down next to her in the sand. Juliet had always had a special affection for Hurley. Outside of Jack, he seemed to be the only other person that trusted her.
"I thought you might, want your book back."
"Thanks Hurley" she said slightly smiling. "Though I am quite sure I won't have time to do much reading out here."
" I didn't think so, I just thought you might want it for the inscription inside."
Juliet looked at the book as if it was going to bite her. Carrie was Juliet's favorite book and she had bought the copy that Hurley held in his hands. There was no inscription on the inside.
"Someone is a little over the top when it comes to horror stories" he said smiling, before Juliet hesitantly took the book from his hands.
"Thanks." Juliet waited until Hurley walked away before she flipped the cover open.
There in hasty penmanship was a note:
Juliet,
She is telling the truth. Keep her close
and protect each other. She is the key to
everything.
Richard
She had seen some crazy things happen on this island, but this? This was too much and how was Juliet supposed to trust Richard? He was the one that tricked her into coming here in the first place. The smallest part of her wanted to though.
Ever since Juliet had delved into her research and helped her sister have a baby, all she wanted a child of her own. She knew she couldn't have a baby with Edmund, who would have controlled their child just as much as he had controlled her. Then there was Goodwin, whom she still missed terribly. However, something about this island kept woman from getting pregnant. Juliet knew that would have been a vast impossibility.
Juliet's mind had retreated so far back into her own thoughts, she didn't even see Julianna walk up next to her tent. "Can I talk to you for a second?"
"Sure.. Sit" she said, gesturing to the spot on the ground next to her.
Silence drifted through the air for a moment as they both looked out over the water. Anywhere, but at each other. "I know this is insane, and I know none of it makes any sense, but I'm not lying." Julianna said turning toward her mother and wiping the sweat away from her brow.
It startled Julianna slightly when Juliet reached out and grabbed hold of her chin, turning her head to get a better look at her cheek. "I knocked you pretty good."
"He knocked you pretty good" Juliet said, turning her fifteen year old daughters head to the side to get a better look at her cheek.
"Does it look awesome?"
Juliet playfully rolled her eyes. Sometimes she swore her daughters tomboy ways made up for the fact her husband never got the son he always wanted."Awesome? It looks like you got punched in the face."
"Well, I made the touchdown anyway, despite stupid Danny Rom's attempt to tackle me with his elbow." Julianna jerked back when Juliet put the icepack on the emerging purple spot on her face.
"You've got to ice or its going to swell, and what did I tell you about playing football with those boys anyway? Some of them are twice your size. Can't you go walk the track like every other teenage girl?"
"Dad said…."
"Your father, is just as dauntless as you are and just wants you to be happy and would be perfectly happy if you grew up to be a hockey player. I want you to be happy too sweetheart, I do. You just have to be careful."
Julianna looked at Juliet with forgiving and loving eyes. Though her mother was always on her to be careful, Julianna knew that she was just trying to protect her. How could she fault her mother for loving her so much?
Both girls turned when they heard a door slam downstairs. Julianna turned to Juliet excitedly with a pleading look on her face. "Can I go?"
"Go ahead. Show your father your war wound."
Julianna jumped off the bed and headed towards the door, turning back to run and kiss her mother with her unbruised cheek before running downstairs.
Their surroundings quickly changed from the confines of the warm bedroom to the windy beachfront. Julianna looked at her mother and saw the utter disbelief that lie within her eyes. She looked scared, hopeful, and sad all at the same time.
"I remember that day" Juliet said, innately confused by what she saw. She remembered experiencing that moment. She could picture the bedroom in the home that she shared with her husband and her daughter, but she couldn't recall anything other than that moment. More importantly, she didn't know who her husband was. Juliet looked older in that memory, so that moment obviously happened in the future, but when? Suddenly she recalled something else. "Later that night you came into my room and the whole side of your face was purple."
"Yes!" Julianna exclaimed, obviously excited to have remembered something else. "You told me you were going to kick my gym teachers ass the next day for letting me play, but dad eventually calmed you down." and for the first time Julianna saw her mother really smile.
However, the smile didn't last very long. "Your father. Do you…."
"No" Julianna commented quickly. "I don't know who he is."
Juliet tried her hardest to quickly and scientifically figure out how all of this was all possible, but there was no explanation. No explanation for this beautiful girl sitting in front of her who possessed the same hands and same blue eyes that she did.
"Is there anything else you can remember outside of that memory?"
"Nothing outside of waking up in the jungle, talking to Richard, and coming here."
"Why?" Juliet asked. Her face turning suddenly stoic. "Why are you here?"
"Richard says I'm here to save you."
Juliet looked back out over the water, fighting back the tears. If only Julianna knew just how much saving she really needed.
The sun had just began to come up over the beach when Julianna woke up. The whole camp was quiet, including her mother, who lie asleep next to her under a shared blanket. Julianna was glad to see that she had finally fallen asleep. She didn't' say much after they had talked. The shock of the whole situation was enough to exhaust them both. She was awoken throughout the night by movement or a touch from her mother, who appeared to be checking to make sure that she hadn't disappeared in the middle of the night.
Julianna moved swiftly and quickly, making her way through the tents and down the beach with Richard's hand drawn directions in hand. She found the dunes and beach rocks Richard had drawn which meant it was time for her to head into the tree line. She turned int and was surprised to find a relatively clear pathway leading into a large clearing. Squinting, Julianna could see Richard in the distance, who waved when he saw her. A twig snapped underneath her foot and before she could take another step, she was paralyzed by a cracking sound and the sudden appearance a cloud of black smoke, which came towards her like a freight train.