PART 7
**
The most remarkable thing about you standing in the doorway
is that it's you and that you're standing in the doorway
and you smile as you ease the gun from my hand,
I am frozen with joy right where I stand.
("Going to Georgia," The Mountain Goats)
**
Sawyer follows Ben into the barracks and up the steps to one of the Dharma houses (Jerry's old house, he realizes). When they reach the door, Ben looks back briefly at Sawyer and asks, "You're sure about this James?"
Sawyer just nods, and then says, "Wait. Give me the gun."
"You want me to give you the gun?" Ben asks, in a tone that implies that Sawyer must be dumber than he thought. "How do I know you won't use it on me, James? After all, it's not as though you're above shooting a defenseless man." The dig about Duckett gets to him a little, just like Ben knew it would, but Sawyer's not going to let himself get distracted by Ben's mind games.
"Listen, you little jackass, I'm your only hope of gettin' off this island, and I ain't gonna shoot you 'cause if I do I got a feelin' that I won't make it outta this camp. But I also don't trust you. You can take the bullets out if that will make you feel better, but give me the damn gun."
Ben doesn't react for a few seconds, just stares hard at Sawyer, then shrugs and disengages the clip. Ejects the bullet in the chamber and hands the gun to Sawyer. He turns back to the door and knocks.
A middle-aged brunette answers the door, and looks first at Ben and then at Sawyer and says, "Everything okay, Ben?"
"Of course, Harper, everything's fine. James and I just need to speak with Juliet alone for a moment."
Sawyer can't believe how fast this is all moving and feels like he's somehow losing control of the situation. He doesn't know who this Harper woman is, he has yet to see even a hint of Juliet, and he has his back to the whole fuckin' camp full of Others. But it's too late to turn back now, so he just hopes like hell Juliet remembers him and she figures out a way to get everything under control, just like she used to.
After another curious look at him, Harper turns back to Ben and says, "Of course. Go on in."
As Harper walks away from the house, Sawyer follows Ben inside. He's almost 90% sure that Juliet's not even in there, that Ben's just setting him up and is going to, like, tie him up and gas him or something, but then they're inside and he looks around and Juliet is there, just sitting on the couch.
Her eyes get really wide when she sees Ben and Sawyer walk in, and Sawyer is kind of hoping that she's going to rush over and hug him or something, but instead she just says in that calm, cool voice of hers, "James? What are you doing here?"
And maybe it's not quite the romantic reunion Sawyer's been thinking about the past few weeks, but, somehow, it's even better. He gives her a brilliant smile, "Hey, Blondie. Thought you might need some rescuin'."
Juliet rolls her eyes and stands up from the couch. She smiles as she says, "Well thank you, James, that's awfully chivalrous of you."
And Sawyer's about to say something about white horses when Ben interrupts. "I hate to break-up this touching reunion, but James tells me that I'm being hunted by a large crew of mercenaries. So, if you two don't mind, maybe we should save the adorable banter for later?"
Sawyer looks like he's about to throttle Ben, but he gets distracted when Juliet just says, "What? James, what's he talking about?"
Sawyer looks at her, says, "Widmore's men." She gives him a slightly confused look and he adds, "Sorry, sweetheart, it's a long story. But Ben's right. We need to get movin'."
"Where?"
"We gotta get to the Orchid," Sawyer says and sees Ben's eyes narrow. Sawyer looks over at him and says, "Widmore is sending a crew there, but if we hurry we might be able to beat them there."
Juliet looks skeptical and Sawyer expects her to start asking about why they're going to the Orchid, but instead she just looks at the gun in his hand, which is clearly missing the clip, and says, "I'm assuming you have another gun? One that actually has bullets in it?"
Sawyer smiles at her. "Please, woman, I'm a professional. You think I wouldn't come fully armed?" Sawyer realizes he's grinning like an idiot now, but he honestly doesn't care. He can't believe they're joking about this, but he's just so happy that he found her again and for a moment he imagines that this is all going to work out.
He puts the empty gun on the table, reaches into his bag and pulls out a pair of handcuffs and two handguns. He gives the guns to Juliet, who tucks one into the back of her jeans. Then Sawyer walks over to Ben and cuffs his hands together in front of him, while he explains to Juliet, "Space was at a premium, so this is all I got. Figured we could grab a few rifles out of ye-olde-Others-armory."
Juliet just shakes her head as she hands the other gun back to him. "The armory's on the other side of the camp and I don't want to risk walking over there right now. Everyone's probably kind of on edge since you dropped in and I'm afraid if they see us waltzing in there they might get a little trigger happy." She looks up and gives him a wry smile, "Lucky for you, I just happen to have a few rifles in the back." She reaches out and touches his arm briefly, before turning around and walking towards the back of the house.
And, damn, Sawyer loves her. He smiles after her like a moron as she goes to get the guns, thinks what he'd like to do is follow her back there, spend some time getting reacquainted, show her how much he missed her. He snaps out of it when Ben asks, "So this is all about Juliet? You came back here, have kidnapped me, and are risking your life because of a woman?"
"Shut it, ya little creep. And we ain't kidnapped you; you agreed to come with us. The handcuffs are just a precaution. And, yeah, I came back for her. Wouldn't you?" Ben looks down, and Sawyer can tell he's gotten to him. He knows Ben would sacrifice Juliet in the blink of an eye if it meant saving his own ass, but he also knows about the man's little crush on her.
Ben opens his mouth to respond, but Juliet marches into the room, a rifle in each hand and he doesn't say anything. She hands a gun to Sawyer and says, "Ready?"
**
They manage to get out of the camp unmolested, Ben complaining the entire way about the handcuffs chafing his wrists and making it difficult to walk through the jungle. Sawyer doesn't remember the little bastard being so whiny and it's really grating on his nerves.
"So James," Ben starts, "what, exactly, is your plan for getting off the island?"
"I told ya, already," he replies impatiently, "we beat Widmore's men to the Orchid and go from there."
"Well, that is an impressive plan. I can't see how it could possibly fail," Ben replies, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "It's good to see that all of your experiences here have taught you the importance of thinking things through."
"Yeah, well, it's the only choice you got, so stop criticizin' and keep walkin'," Sawyer sneers at him and pushes Ben forward.
They've only been walking for about ten minutes when Ben starts up again. "I can't say I'm surprised that the two of you got together," he says in a tone that implies that he really does know everything about everything. "I mean, once Jack left, there weren't a lot of other eligible bachelors around and, knowing Juliet, she probably got restless fairly quickly. You guys were on this island for what, three years?" He smirks and adds, "That's a pretty long time to go without companionship."
Sawyer wills himself not to react, just clutches his rifle a little tighter and stares resolutely at the jungle in front of him as they continue walking in the direction of the Orchid. He can't believe he's even bringing Ben along with them. All the times that he imagined his reunion with Juliet, none of them involved Ben trailing along behind them like a psychotic puppy. Certainly they didn't involve Ben insinuating that Sawyer's plan isn't going to work and making snide remarks about the nature of his and Juliet's relationship.
"Although, James, I must say I am a bit perplexed about why you came back for Juliet," Ben muses.
Sawyer knows that Ben is just trying to screw with them, to somehow regain control of the situation, but damn it if the other man isn't pissing him off. He looks over at Juliet and she just shakes her head and rolls her eyes. That makes him feel a little better. He tries to concentrate on the fact that he has finally found her, and ignore Ben's presence completely. Which gets increasingly difficult as the other man continues to talk.
Looking from Juliet to Sawyer, Ben asks, "So what are you two going to do when you get off the island? I mean, it's great that you guys were able to make it work here, where the choices were rather limited. But if you both actually do make it off the island…" He shakes his head and trails off, looking off into the jungle.
"If we do make it off the island, what?" Sawyer snaps at him, annoyed.
Ben just looks at him, his eyes wide with mock concern. "Well, James, you're an ex-con who's never worked an honest day in his life. And Juliet is a well-respected doctor." He gives Sawyer an innocent smile as he says, "It just seems like it might be a challenge."
Sawyer grits his teeth, doesn't respond. He's considered this, of course. Hell, he thought about it more than once when they were still here in the 70s. Figured if they were in the real world, she'd had never been with someone like him, someone who has spent his whole life being a liar and a cheat, and he'd have probably seen her as nothing but another possible mark. Back then, he'd managed to convince himself that it wasn't important. That they were together now, and were both different people and that was all that mattered. But he considers for a moment that Ben might be right; that when they go back in this life, that maybe it won't be as easy as Sawyer hoped it would. That when they're not locked together in a lie, they'll fall apart.
But even as he's thinking this, Juliet looks back at Ben and says, "Thank you for your concern, Ben, but I think that James and I will be able to handle it." She looks over at Sawyer and smiles softly. And, looking at her right now, he believes her, believes that they'll somehow make it work, that it will all be okay. If, that is, he can get them off the damn island.
"No, of course, Juliet. After all, you do have experience with dating men rather below your station," Ben says and smiles at her. "Although, I must say, I just hope this whole thing ends better for James than it did for Goodwin."
And that's it, Sawyer's had enough. He pushes Ben forward with the barrel of the rifle and sneers at him, "Shut the hell up and keep walkin', asshole."
Juliet lets out a bark of laughter and looks back at Sawyer. He smiles back at her. "What can I say, Blondie. Comin' up with new nicknames all the time is hard."