Chapter seven – A visit from an Old Friend.
Three days later…
With everyone living in separate houses at the barracks, Sawyer and Juliet had their home to themselves again. Most mornings, Jin and Kate went out into the jungle searching for Claire and Sun. Jack would sometimes accompany them, but most of his time was spent checking up on Sayid who had nearly made a full recovery. For the past three days, Sawyer and Miles had been going into the jungle to hunt for boar seeing as food supplies were running low.
However Juliet knew that his desire to be out of the house was because in spite of what he told her on the Dock, he still found it hard to be around her given everything that had happened. He was dealing with things in his own way and she had to respect that, which meant that most of the time she was left to her own devices.
Sometimes she enjoyed being alone. It gave her the space she needed to clear her head, but now she was bored of lounging around the house all day and she needed to do something productive. She took a book from the shelf and decided to spend the afternoon reading in her favourite spot, down by the Dock. The refreshing breeze and the cool water always helped to put her mind at ease, but recently her thoughts had been about home. Staring out at the vast spread of water, home was all she could think about. She wanted to see Rachel again and she wanted to meet her nephew, but more importantly she wanted James to be a part of her home, because without him there was no such thing.
This morning she had asked to join Kate on her search for Claire and Sun, but Jack had said no to the idea. He gave her strict instructions to rest and take it easy - "A miscarriage is dangerous to the body, potentially even more so on this Island. You need to take it easy…" - She rolled her eyes as she thought back to Jack's warning.
Now, she was sat by the waters edge with a book in her hand, feeling the warm sun beat down on her back. Much to her annoyance, the wind grew stronger and flicked the pages of her book, causing her to lose the page she was reading. The trees around her rustled and the once calm water rippled beneath her feet. The bright sunlight disappeared and was replaced by an unwelcome blanket of grey cloud. How had the weather changed so drastically? That's when she heard them, dozens of faint voices carried in the wind, almost undetectable.
Whispers.
She placed her book down beside her and rose to her feet, daring her eyes at the trees to see who was out there.
"Hello again, Juliet."
She turned to the sound of a familiar but unwelcome voice coming from behind her. A woman with long brown hair and a deadpan expression was standing on the wooden decking of the dock. "Long-time no see," the woman grinned patronisingly. "You look terrible by the way."
Juliet brushed aside the woman's snide comment. "Did Ben send you?"
The brunette shook her head. "He was exiled Juliet, but he's back on the Island. You should watch yourself, he's likely to come looking for you."
Feeling uneasy, Juliet took a step back and folded her arms defensively. "Why did you come here, Harper?"
The first time she had met the woman, Juliet had taken an immediate disliking to her. It was something about Harper's unsettling demeanour that put Juliet on edge. Harper wasn't exactly a friendly or understanding person, which was odd considering her profession as a therapist. Ever since Goodwin's death, Harper's feelings towards Juliet went from disliking to despising. It was safe to say that both women held hostile feelings towards one another.
Harper closed the distance between herself and Juliet. "I'm here to tell you that your friends must go back to the temple. It's the only place that will protect them."
Juliet edged further away from the woman and furrowed her brow in confusion. "Protect them from what?"
A calculous grin spread widely on Harper's face. "Surely Ben told you the stories?" Her patronising tone irritated Juliet yet at the same time succeeded to intimidate her.
"If by stories you mean Jacob, then yes."
Harper raised her brow at Juliet's sarcastic response. "You don't believe in Jacob?"
"I don't believe in Ben," Juliet confirmed. "Besides, I find it hard to believe that a man with mystical powers protects this Island. I mean, has anyone actually seen Jacob?"
Harper's tone became more serious when she spoke again. "The stories are real, Juliet. Jacob was the one who saved your life back at the temple and he was the one to who cured Rachel's cancer." Harper paused to take in Juliet's reaction at the mention of her sister. "But Jacob's not the one you need to worry about."
"Then who is?"
"The monster." Harper's words shook her - the monster? She swallowed hard and looked to Harper, wanting her to continue. Harper took another step closer and Juliet's body trembled involuntarily. "Your friends are candidates," Harper explained. "Which means they're in a whole lot of danger. Now that Jacobs's dead, he'll be coming for them. But as long as they are in the temple, he can't get to them."
"Why are you telling me this? Why are you helping me?"
Harper laughed. "I'm not here to help you. I honestly couldn't care whether you live or die, Juliet. My husband died because of you… and back at the temple it looked like you'd moved on pretty fast."
"How dare you!" This was the Harper she knew, bitter and always wanting to get a reaction out of her.
"Spare me the heartbreak Juliet." Harper remarked, her condescending and belittling tone now restored to its full glory. "I'm here because it is our people's responsibility to protect the candidates. Your friends Shephard, Ford, Kwon, Reyes and Jarrah are all candidates."
Ford. Juliet felt her chest tighten. James was a candidate. "Candidates for what?" she asked worriedly.
"That doesn't matter right now, but what does matter is that you listen to me this time. You have to convince them to go back to the temple. If they don't go back, they will die," Harper drew breath before continuing. "And I'm sure you wouldn't want to lose another lover would you Juliet, not after seeing how distraught you were over my husband's murder?"
Juliet bit down on her tongue, fighting back the urge to retaliate. Luckily she held her tongue, not wanting to give Harper the satisfaction of knowing she had gotten under her skin.
"You haven't got long, "Harper explained cryptically. "He'll be coming for them any day now."
"Who will? Who's coming?"
But harper had disappeared.
… … …
Somewhere in the Jungle….
"This is totally gross, man. Why did you have to slit its throat?" Miles fought the urge to wretch as he attempted to lift the boar over his shoulder.
"Make sure you hold it upside down over ya shoulder, the blood will drain much quicker that way." Sawyer teased before walking away, leaving Miles to carry the dead boar. Miles cursed as he lifted the animal over his shoulder and he quickly followed after Sawyer.
"Anyway I was thinking Jim," Miles began as he caught up to his friend. "Maybe you and Juliet should do something tonight? You know, like cook her dinner or something?"
"I don't think she'd really appreciate me cookin' her a plateful of boar," Sawyer retorted sarcastically, dismissing his friend's suggestion. "Nice try though."
"God, are you always this much of an asshole?" Mile heaved as he adjusted the dead boar on his back. "I was only making a suggestion."
Sawyer hesitated for a moment, and considered the idea. "So, you think she'd like it?"
Miles winked at him cheekily. "Trust me, she'll love it. All women want to feel taken care of, and I know Juliet seems a little cold sometimes…"
Sawyer raised his brow questioningly. "What the hell do you mean by cold?"
Miles gulped realising that he had dug himself into a hole. "Don't get me wrong, I love her and all… but, you know? She always has that look about her that scares the hell outta people," he admitted. "And she doesn't smile a whole lot either…"
"Gee, I can't imagine why?" Sawyer questioned sardonically.
"Well," Miles went on, hoping to redeem himself from his former remark. "Make her dinner tonight and I guarantee she'll smile. Plus, it will help you to patch things up with her."
"I think we need more than a nice meal to patch things up." Sawyer scoffed. If only it were that easy…
"Well, I think it sounds like an excellent idea."
Both Sawyer and Mile froze at hearing a familiar voice call out from behind them. Sawyer was the first to turn around, and a shiver sent down his spine when he came face to face with their unexpected visitor. A man who was supposed to have been long dead was standing before him, larger than life with a cheesy grin plastered on his face.
John Locke.
"Hello James, Miles. It's nice to see ya."
Sawyer took a step back in surprise and Miles stood frozen to the spot with his mouth agape, letting the boar slide off of his shoulder. Slowly, Sawyer walked up to the man studying him as though he were looking at some sort of magic trick, wanting to be the one to spot the con.
"How's this possible?" Sawyer began, looking the man up and down suspiciously. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to see you… but Jack told us you were dead."
John's smiled beamed and he let out a chuckle. "And Jack was correct in saying that. Technically, I did die."
Miles' jaw slackened even further. "Ugh what?"
John held up his hands and walked over to the two of them. "I did die James, but this Island can do very special things and it brought me back to life."
At first Sawyer was unsure about the whole thing; it looked like John Locke, talked like John Locke, but he didn't act like John Locke. Sawyer had seen the Island bring Juliet back from the dead, so he dismissed the unsettling feeling in his stomach and walked over to greet his old friend. "Well fancy that? Welcome back Johnny boy!" he laughed as the two of them shook hands.
As the three of them walked through the jungle, John explained how the other survivors were on Hydra Island and that he had left them to come looking for Jack and the others.
"Well, you're more than welcome to come join us at the Barracks." Sawyer offered, but he sensed that John wasn't keen on the idea.
"I'm afraid I have to get back to my people James, I'm their leader now." John explained, shaking his head.
"Leader?" Sawyer quizzed. "As in leader of the others, like Ben used to be?"
"Yes, that's right."
"In that case we'll let you go, but your always welcome back at our place," Sawyer offered. "We owe you for keeping your promise and bringin' them all back. Thank you, John."
"You're welcome," the old man replied kindly. "And I'll be sure to stop by and visit sometime."
Miles had been awfully quiet since Locke's arrival and it hadn't gone unnoticed by Sawyer. "You're not saying much, Miles?"
"A bit overwhelmed I guess." Miles lied, not wanting to arouse any suspicion.
John reached out to shake Sawyer's hand. "Well it was nice seeing you again, James. And for the record, you should take Miles' advice and cook Kate a meal."
Kate? This was awkward…
"Ugh, not Kate actually." Sawyer replied hesitantly, and he watched as a look of confusion crossed the old man's face.
"Oh, my mistake," John apologised. "So tell me, who is this mysterious woman?"
"Juliet." Sawyer answered matter-of-factly, and a large smirk grew on the old man's face. "Somethin' funny?" Sawyer asked defensively. He hated people's reactions to the idea of him and Juliet being a couple, like they were the unlikeliest pairing in world. Why was it so hard for people to believe that they actually worked as a couple?
"No, nothings funny," the old man replied, fighting back the urge to chuckle. "I just never pictured the two of you together that's all. I guess it's funny who the heart choses?"
"I suppose it is." Sawyer replied more than a little harshly.
"Well, I'll be seeing you," John said, before turning to leave. However he stopped mid step and looked back at the two men. "Oh, one last thing. I was hoping that the two of you could keep our little visit a secret. I don't want people knowing that I am alive for the time being," Miles and Sawyer both looked at him in confusion. "It's too long to explain, just wait for my visit," Locke explained casually. "Can I trust you to do that, gentlemen?" His voice was calm, but there was an underlying threat to his words that unsettled the two men.
Both Sawyer and Miles nodded their heads in understanding, and they watched as John walked away.
"I don't trust that guy one bit, man." Miles said quietly, once he was certain that Locke was a safe distance away.
"And why not?" Sawyer asked, turning to face his friend.
"Something wasn't right with him," Miles said darkly. "I can't explain it, but he kinda scared me."
Sawyer rolled his eyes. "Well everyone scares you Miles, first it's Juliet and now it's Locke. Ya just bein' paranoid."
"I'm telling you man, something wasn't right." Miles protested.
Although Sawyer pretended otherwise, he knew exactly what his friend was talking about.
There was something very different about John Locke.
….
Jin and Kate arrived back at the barracks after another unsuccessful venture into the jungle. Kate was heading back to the house she had claimed for herself when she noticed Jack sitting alone on the front porch of his little yellow house. She walked over to him and took a seat on the bench he was sat on. Jack looked a little lost in thought, but he forced a smile when he saw her approaching.
"Any luck?" he asked, turning to face her.
She was on the brink of tears. It had been three days, and still, nothing. She didn't even know if Claire was alive. "I've searched the caves, the beach, I've even been to some of the Dharma stations – and still no sign of Claire or Sun."
Jack frowned, knowing how much finding Claire meant to Kate. It was the only reason that she had agreed to come back to the Island. "What about the passengers of the Ajira flight, have you seen them?"
"No, I can't find the plane anywhere," Kate sighed in defeat. "It has to be somewhere, right? I mean a plane can't just disappear?"
"Maybe you should call off the search for a while," Jack suggested. "You've been looking for three days straight, you need to give yourself time to rest."
Kate shifted away from him in anger and stood up from the bench. "You don't think I'll find them, do you?"
"What?"
"Just admit it, you think Claire's dead? It's written all over your face, Jack."
Jack shook his head furiously. He would never give up on his sister, he had to believe that she was still alive. "No, I don't think that. I'm just worried about you that's all, it's not safe to be going out into the jungle."
She calmed herself and sat back down again. "Sorry, I didn't mean to overreact. I'm just a little stressed... I just can't let myself give up her, you know?"
"It's understandable that you feel stressed Kate, we've been through a lot. But I promise you, Claire is out there somewhere. It's not a question of if we find her, it's a question of when."
Kate rest her head on Jack's shoulder and sighed. "Thanks Jack." Then she quickly sat up and reached inside her pocket and pulled a small metal chain necklace. "I found this out in the jungle. I think it's a dog tag. You know, like the ones they have in the military. What do you think?"
She handed him the metal chain and he examined it carefully. "Yeah, that would be my best guess."
"Jin thought that maybe it belonged to one of Keamy's men," Kate told him, looking at the metal object in his hand. "I mean, what other explanation is there?"
Jack nodded, but he wasn't so easily convinced. If it had belonged to one of Keamy's men then surely the metal would have weathered after being on the jungle floor for three years. However, the metal was rust-free and in perfect condition. No, this dog tag belonged to somebody else. The question was, who?
"That wasn't the only strange thing we found," Kate continued. "There was a burnt out cabin in the middle of the jungle… and there was a circle of ash surrounding it. Weird, huh?"
"Yeah… weird."
"You hungry?" Kate asked, taking back the dog tag and placing it into her pocket. "Because I can always rustle something up, there's plenty of tinned food at Hurley's place?"
"Sawyer and Miles are in charge of food tonight," Jack explained. "They went out hunting earlier, so they should be back any minute now."
Kate couldn't help but notice that Jack seemed a little distracted. Over the past few days she had begun to notice that he was trying to distance himself from the others, and she knew it was because he was still feeling guilty over what had happened at the Swan site.
"Oh, right. Anyway, I just thought I'd stop by… make sure you were feeling okay," she paused and looked at him closely, trying to figure out what he was bothering him. "Are you okay, Jack?"
"I'm fine." he answered her, but his reply sounded distant, like he wasn't really listening to her.
"Right...I'll see you at dinner then." she said, before getting up to leave.
… … … …
Sawyer and Miles arrived back at the barracks later than usual due to their unexpected catch up with a dead man. Juliet wasn't in the house, so it was the perfect opportunity for him to start preparing the dinner.
Then a sudden idea came to mind, and he stopped what he was doing and ran to the bedroom. He pushed aside the wooden chest of drawers and lifted up the loose wooden floorboard revealing a small space under the floorboard where he kept his hidden stash. He pulled out an old shoe box and wiped of the dust from its lid with the palm of his hand. He opened the box and pulled a small silk draw string bag. He held it in his hand for a while, before placing it into his pocket.
He had been waiting months to do this, and now he finally had his chance. Tonight, he would ask her to marry him.
…
It was early evening when Juliet decided to head back to the house. She strolled in through the front door only to be welcomed by the sound of clanking pots and pans. She paused in the doorway taken aback by the view. The house had been cleaned from top to bottom; books were stacked neatly on the shelf, pictures were hanging back on the walls, and ornaments were put back in place. However her focus was drawn to the neatly laid table decorated with candles.
Sawyer was over by the kitchen busily tending to the dinner, and he hadn't noticed her standing there. "Dammit!" he cursed, as the knife he had been using to cut the meat sliced his thumb. He rushed over to the sink and rammed his finger under the cold water.
"What's cooking?" She asked curiously, making him aware of her presence.
"Hey, I didn't see ya there," he said, a little startled by her presence. "Where you been all this time?"
"I was down by the Dock reading a book," she answered him, slipping off her shoes. "James… what is all this?"
"Decided I'd do the cookin' tonight," he said, wiping his thumb against his shirt to stop the bleeding. "But as you can see, I aint exactly an expert." He walked over to the neatly laid table and pulled out a chair. "Madam."
"Why thank you," She smiled and took a seat, flattered by the gesture.
He excitedly hurried back the kitchen, and a few moments later he returned with two plates in his hands. "Grubs up, sweetheart."
"This looks delicious," she beamed, admiring the plate that was set down in front of her. "I didn't know you had such a passion for cooking."
"Take it easy, sweet cheeks. You aint tasted it yet." As usual he was playing himself down, but she could tell he was secretly proud of his achievement.
"So, are you going to talk me through what we're eating?"
"Don't get too excited – the menus based on tropical island specialities. That basically means bore, beans and whatever else I could find in the cupboard."
She giggled when she noticed the two dharma beer cans in the middle of the table. "Where did you get these?"
He tapped his nose. "A man's got his ways, Blondie."
She placed a forkful of food into her mouth and was pleasantly surprised by how good it tasted. "Mmm that's not bad, you can do the cooking more often."
"Is that so?" he teased, flashing her a dimpled smile.
She looked across the table at him and felt the sides of her mouth curl into a smile. She couldn't believe all the effort he had gone to for her, and the fact it was a spontaneous gesture made it all the more special.
"This is nice. Just the two of us." She said, before placing another forkful into her mouth.
"Yeah it is. We haven't had a lot of down time since those yahoos came back."
"So, what gave you the idea for all this?" She asked, wiping the sides of her mouth with her napkin.
He took a swig of his beer before speaking. "Well, I would like to say it was all my idea, but it was Miles who suggested the idea." he admitted.
"Miles? Really? I didn't know he was the romantic kind…" she said, giggling into her napkin. He missed her laugh. It was contagious and he always found himself laughing too. Once their laugher had died down there was a brief moment of silence, and he took to the moment to reach across the table and place his hand over hers stroking her fingers with his thumb.
"I love you." She said smiling at him, biting her bottom lip slightly as their eyes locked. The sincerity in her voice as she said those words powerful words made his heart flutter. He owed Miles big time for the idea, because tonight things were looking hopeful. There weren't any awkward silences, no sadness or tension hanging in the air. Things were starting to go back to the way they used to be between them. Happy.
"Wait 'til we get off this rock, I'll take you out to eat at the best places in Miami. Wherever you wanna go, I'll take you there." Sawyer promised her. "It'll be our first proper date in the real world."
Miami.
"You really think we can get home?" she asked, staring into his eyes with a piercing gaze that always managed to see right through him.
"Don't get me wrong, the three years I spent with you I wouldn't change for anything," he affirmed. "But three years is long enough, hell you've been here even longer than that. I thinks it's time we went home."
Home. Relief washed over her in knowing that he was thinking of home too.
"Just think," he continued. "We'll get back to the States, I'll get the big insurance pay out from Oceanic, and you'll have to explain where the hell you been for the past six years…"
"God, six years?" She had almost forgotten how long it had been for her. "They probably think I'm dead…"
"We'll use the money to buy a house someplace," he continued excitedly. "What about a place in Miami, to be close to ya sister?"
Her eyes were wild just thinking about it. "And we can visit your daughter, Clementine."
"Yeah, I guess we can." he agreed, finally feeling worthy of being her father. "So," he said, reaching his hand across the table. "We got ourselves a deal, Miss Burke?"
"It's a deal." She said, and they playfully shook hands.
…
With dinner out the way, James was stood at the sink washing the dishes when Juliet came up behind him. "James, let me do that."
He carried on, happy to be doing the cleaning. He wanted to make tonight all about her. "No way. You just put your feet up and relax, I've got this."
She wrapped her arms around his waist and rest her head against his shoulder as she whispered softly in his ear, "Thank you for this."
He turned his head slightly to meet her gaze. "You aint gotta thank me. It's just nice to have a bit of normality in the day, that's all." After all they had been through together, he wanted to show that no matter what, he would be there for her.
"Well I mean it, this has been great. So, thank you."
"You got it Blondie." He brushed his finger against his trouser pocket, feeling to make sure that the ring was still there. Tonight was the night he was going to ask her to marry him and he wanted nothing to ruin his big moment. "I just thought you needed cheerin' up," he said casually, before turning his attention back towards the pots. "Besides, I wanted to do something special for you."
She planted a soft kiss on his shoulder, and he closed his eyes at the welcome feeling of her lips against his skin. He dropped the dish he was holding into the water and turned around to face her, shifting his arms around her waist to pull her closer to him. Looking into her blue eyes, he got the sudden urge to kiss her, but he stopped himself, knowing that if he did, he wouldn't be able to stop there and he would miss his moment to ask her a very important question.
"I'll be in the bedroom if you need me." She said gently, placing a soft kiss in his neck. Then she turned and headed down the hallway.
By the time he had finished the pots and made it to the bedroom, she was already fast asleep under the sheets. He reached for the ring in his pocket and held it out in the palm of his hand. He had wanted so desperately to ask her, but looking at her peacefully sleeping, he didn't have the heart to wake her. Sighing heavily, he placed it back inside the dusty shoe box and pushed it under the bed.
'Next time'. He told himself, before climbing into bed.
