A/N: Jeez, took me long enough didn't it? Please enjoy this T-rated (for language) chapter of Her BF, and thanks for waiting. suliet4eva. :)

"I might get a medical marijuana card this time around." Rachel announced during lunch. "The doctor you said looked like an Oompa Loompa said it wouldn't be a problem." Juliet grinned and chuckled. She'd been waiting for Rachel to bring that up again. "Gotta love California." Rachel added.

"How do you feel today?" Juliet asked her.

Rachel shrugged. "Well enough. Considering."

Juliet nodded and went back to her salad. Rachel noticed she'd been a little quiet since they'd met up. Not unusual for Juliet, but Rachel knew the difference between not having much to say and being consumed by private thoughts. It was all in her eyes.

"What about you? What's on your mind?" Rachel asked her, gently, but making it clear she knew there was something her sister needed to share. Juliet gave a tired chuckle, knowing she'd been found out.

"I called that Richard guy back." she finally admitted.

"And?" Rachel prompted her, a little confused by Juliet's attitude. She could think of two possibilities - the call had gone badly, which would have been a blow to Juliet's still fragile self esteem, or the call had gone well...and had been analyzed and picked apart until Juliet had deemed herself not worthy of the opportunity. Either way, Rachel was preparing a stern pep talk, and she was surprised when it turned out to be neither.

"And..." said Juliet "The job sounds amazing. It's everything I've ever wanted, I'm more than qualified, and they want me even though I've been out of the field for a few years."

"...But?" Rachel prompted her again, and they both cracked up at the need for another conjunction. Juliet looked at her sister and smiled sheepishly.

"Mittelos Bioscience is in Miami." said Juliet. "And so is the job."

"Ahh," Rachel sighed, nodding as if she understood.

"We're just about to start your treatment - "

"We haven't even decided on a treatment yet, Jules."

"And all of your doctors are based in LA - "

"We could find new doctors..."

"Rachel. It's just a job. There will be others."

"Juliet." Rachel said, in the same patronizing tone her sister had used. "How often do you use the phrase 'it's everything I've ever wanted'?"

"Do the times I say it about food count?"

Rachel chuckled. "No." she said, and Juliet shrugged in response, a shy smile doing nothing to hide the worry. "But I'm not the only reason, am I?" Rachel asked.

Juliet stared down at her salad. She was pushing a few leaves around in the salad dressing, with no intention of eating any more of it. She knew what Rachel was getting at, but she'd foolishly thought the sick sister thing would have been enough.

"It's stupid, isn't it?" Juliet asked suddenly.

"What," said Rachel. "Using me as an excuse to give up a dream job in Miami, or thinking that James isn't reason enough to stay in LA?"

"Well obviously I'm going to go wherever we can get the best treatment for you, Rach."

"But let's pretend for just a moment that I'm perfectly healthy, and the only problem with this job in Miami is that you might have to give up your relationship with James. Would that change things?"

Juliet poked a tiny cherry tomato with her fork, making a game out of trying to get a tine through its skin before the tomato rolled away, and making it more than obvious that she'd been struggling with these ideas for a while now.

"Sometimes it feels like we've already been together for years." she said. "That's how comfortable I feel with him. But then I remember it's only been a few weeks, and the last time I gave up having my own career for a man...well, we both know how that turned out." Juliet sighed, finally dropping her fork as she sat back in her chair. "It always has to happen all at once, doesn't it?" she said, knowing Rachel wouldn't be insulted by including her sickness in that statement.

"How about this," said Rachel. "We're having dinner with James and Miles tonight. I'll meet him then and decide whether he's worth it, okay?"

Juliet chuckled. "Okay, Rachel. We'll do that."

"If I find out he's a total prick," Rachel continued. "We'll pick out a house in Miami tonight. And if he really is the Prince Charming you say he is-"

"I never said Prince Charming." Juliet said, interrupting with lighthearted indignance. "He's more like...James Bond from Alabama."

"Oh, wow." Rachel said, a little jealous from that description alone. She also knew every detail that went along with it. "Still, as your sister I feel a responsibility to tell you to at least give the guy from Mittelos a chance."

"I already have plans to meet with him." Juliet assured her.

"Oh, when is that?"

"He's going to be in LA in a few weeks, for a conference at the hospital."

"Your hospital?"

"Edmund's hospital, yes." Juliet corrected her, since he acted like he owned the place.

"Did you ever find out how he'd heard of you?"

"He said he read my doctoral thesis." Juliet said, eyes narrowed skeptically.

"Why is that so hard to believe?"

"It's not, it's just...new. There are people out there that know my work."

"People that weren't warned off by Edmund and his goons." Rachel added. "See? He's got no power over you."

"Yeah, I only have to travel three thousand miles away to be free of his influence." Juliet answered, her sarcasm clear even without the smirk.

At the very same time that Rachel and Juliet were speaking of that devil, he was being staked out - or stalked, depending on the point of view - by two of the toughest, smartest cops on the force. They liked to think so, at least.

"Are you sure this is decaf?" Miles asked James. He took the lid off of his coffee cup and stared into the last few sips, as if he could divine the amount of caffeine just by looking at it.

"I told the woman behind the counter what you wanted, Princess." said James, taking another sip from his own cup. "Whether it's decaf or not, it's a little late to complain about it."

"When is it ever too late for me to complain, about anything?"

"What an astute observation, Straume. I don't know why they even made you take the sergeant's exam when it's so obvious you should be Lieutenant already. Colonel, even."

"Honestly, how do you think you did?" Miles asked, skipping over the sarcastic digs and bringing the topic back to the exam.

"No fuckin' clue. " James answered honestly.

"And you still haven't told Juliet you even took it at all?"

"I told you, I'll tell her when I pass."

"Keeping secrets already, oh boy. This is headed for disaster, Ford. Disaster."

"Shut up, here he comes." said James, suddenly more alert after seeing Edmund leave his sattelite office for lunch.

"Let's see, The Asshole is leaving his office at...1300 hours, for lunch or a..." Miles trailed off when he got a better look at Edmund. "Dude, seriously? Juliet actually agreed to have sex with that? I am so disturbed by this development."

"Don't remind me." James muttered as Edmund got into his car, the door closed behind him by the valet. They both watched him peel out into the street, well on his way to breaking the speed limit while the valet was left in the dust.

"He doesn't tip either, apparently." Miles remarked.

"Fuckin' douchebag." James kept muttering, slowly turning the key in the ignition of their unmarked police car and preparing to follow him.

"The douchiest of bags." Miles added.

Unfortunately, the traffic prevented Edmund from doing anything worse than running through a few yellow lights. They tailed him all the way to a different medical building, where he parked and went inside. James parked halfway down the block, prepared to wait for his eventual exit.

"If I'd known I'd be spending all afternoon in a car with you I wouldn't have had three burgers for lunch." said Miles. "Sorry."

James chuckled in spite of himself, and in spite of the smell. "Do you think Abbadon would notice if I replaced you with a trained monkey, Straume?"

"Of course he would. He would derive no pleasure in torturing the monkey the way he tortures me. Hey, remind me again what the hell we're waiting for The Asshole to do?"

"Anything suspicious."

"Right. And then what?"

"What do you think, Sherlock?" James asked harshly. "Start givin' him tickets, bug him at inconvenient times. Let him know there's someone watching him. What, you think I'm going too far?"

"I'm just saying, maybe you should just take a step back and enjoy this thing with Juliet without interfering in the divorce drama. If he catches us and gets pissed off enough to use his evil prick powers, it's only going to get you in trouble. With Juliet too. And just for your information, a trained monkey couldn't give advice like that."

James sighed, and stared at the front of the offices that Edmund had disappeared into. Beverly Hills was pretty far out of the way of their normal routes, and Lt. Abbadon would raise more than a stern eyebrow if James came to him with some random or exaggerated charge for a slick doctor whose wife he just happened to be dating. James may have been the golden boy at work, but only because he didn't bring bullshit like that back to the office.

"You really think she'd be mad at me?" James asked his friend, eyes still on the front door.

"I was joking before about keeping secrets, but, yeah. In general, women don't like it when you stalk their husband without their express permission."

"God dammit, Miles." James said, sitting up slowly to turn the car on. "Since when are you right about anything?"

"Your mind's clouded, Ford. By whatever you do when my precious headphones are on."

"It's clouded by more than that." James admitted, still staring at the building even though the car was idling. "You just pick the damnedest times to give good advice."

"Maybe I'm just waiting for Juliet to realize she's into mopey Asians. And I'd never forgive myself if I let you piss off Juliet enough for her to go back to that."

"That's not gonna happen."

"Come on, men have done far worse and gotten their wives back. We've seen it a million times."

"She left him a year ago. This ain't a rebound thing."

"Aw, she must be that one in a - "

"Ya see, look at that. He's got some other chick on his arm." James cut Miles off as Edmund suddenly emerged, his hand on the lower back of a leggy blonde who was at least half his age, possibly less. "Why the hell doesn't he just let her go?"

"Must be the thrill of being The Asshole." Miles mused. Edmund was helping the blonde into his car, and Miles could tell James was angry on Juliet's behalf by the way he gripped the steering wheel.

"Alright, we're leavin'." James said abruptly. "Before I run him off the road."

"And I had "The Heat Is On" all cued up and everything. You've lost the passion, old man."

"Nah, I've just directed it elsewhere." James said as he looked over his shoulder and pulled into traffic. "You still up for dinner tonight?"

"You said Juliet's sister is going to be there, right?"

"Yeah, and she's gettin sick, so no cancer jokes, alright?"

"Oh shit." Miles said, in all seriousness. "That sucks."

"Yeah. I guess it's her second round too."

"Fuck, man...that's how my mom died."

"I remember." James said respectfully. They watched the streets and sidewalks as James drove, traveling in thoughtful silence, both wondering how the night would go, until Miles spoke up again.

"Is she hot?" Miles asked.

"Haven't met her yet."

"But she's Juliet's sister, so..."

James didn't take the bait, but a few moments later he said "Mopey Asians, huh?"

Miles chuckled. "Can you get us back to work, already? Before Abbadon docks our pay?"

The dinner was going well, even better than everyone had hoped. Once James and Miles realized that Rachel had a sense of humor, it was joke after joke, promising a night full of embarrassing stories and laughter. Then Juliet noticed Rachel growing quiet, which really wasn't like her at all. She was starting to feel sick again. Fuck you, cancer. the women thought. Eventually, wanting to lay in a dark, silent room won out over social obligation, and Rachel had to admit she wasn't feeling well, cutting the lovely evening short. The men both knew that Rachel was sick, and they tried not to be too obvious as they allowed her an easy exit with no teasing, which wasn't like them at all either.

"You want me to come with you?" James offered quietly once Rachel was in the passenger seat of Juliet's car. "Miles can pick me up later."

"No," said Juliet. "Rachel is really self-conscious about things like this, I think it's better if it's just us two. But I appreciate you asking."

"Call me if you change your mind?"

Juliet nodded, even though she thought it would be the last they saw of each other for the night.

"Good night." she said, leaning toward him to kiss him. "I'll see you tomorrow."

In the car, on the way home, Rachel's strong and easy-going facade was crumbling. For Juliet's sake she tried to fight the tears, but they'd been so damned polite; Miles pulling out her chair so she could stand up, James telling her it was great to finally meet her and see that all of Juliet's best traits must be genetic. He is so Prince Charming, Rachel had said before they left, giving her seal of approval right in front of James. Rachel's chin trembled now, because she suddenly felt like couldn't even make it through one dinner anymore.

"Rachel, what's wrong?" Juliet said, her voice clear and stern in her worry. Rachel almost laughed; Juliet sounded so authoritative and doctor-like when she spoke that way.

"Fuck, Jules." Rachel said instead. "I don't want to be sick again." Juliet glanced at Rachel, who covered her face with her hand as she started to cry. The strong, protective side of Juliet kicked in, steeling herself against the exact same feeling that Rachel was finally giving in to, and she made a plan to get her home, get her in bed and comfort her however she could until Rachel cried it out for the night.

Juliet rubbed her sister's back until Rachel fell asleep, at which point she left Rachel's bed and got into her own. She had no intention of falling asleep, but her mind was too occupied to do anything else besides stare at the dark ceiling of her own room. Her mind was racing, and the strength she'd summoned to comfort her crying sister was fading slowly like adrenaline from her system, being replaced by paranoid thoughts and worries. Had Rachel ever been this bad before chemo the first time around? Had she been ignoring her symptoms, hoping they'd go away on their own, and was it now too late to effectively treat her? Was Rachel really that much of an anti-hypochondriac, to think she could will her illness away through sheer denial?

Get a grip, Juliet. she told herself. All you can do is wait until the next doctor's appointment. Worrying isn't going to do either of you any good.

But Rachel had finally broken down, and it had shaken Juliet to the core. Before tonight she'd just had to worry about Rachel's body, and now it was her emotional state too.

She'll be fine in the morning. She'll smile and tell me she was just having a girly moment. She'll be lying but I'll pretend to believe her.

This was it, the worst part for Juliet. The eggshells, playing mother until Rachel got frustrated and only wanted a friend. Playing the part to keep Rachel happy.

Fuck, Rach. I don't want you to be sick either.

She also didn't want to be alone. Juliet glanced at the glowing blue numbers on her clock for the millionth time. Every minute she let pass made her anxiety grow. Every minute she let pass without calling him brought her further away from picking up the phone, but she ended up dialing his number anyway. He must have had his phone by his side, because he picked up during the first ring.

"Hey, baby." he said, still wide awake. To her longing ears, he sounded happy, curious, and relieved to hear from her. All that from a two word greeting? Am I delerious? Juliet wondered.

"Hey." she said, the sweet feeling of relief she felt at hearing his voice tinged with lingering anxiety about what she wanted to ask him. In her heart, she felt it was a test. If he really wanted her as bad as she wanted him, he'd say yes.

"You okay?" he asked her in the meantime.

"Not really, no." she said, her voice weakening. She was afraid she'd sound pathetic or weak, but at that moment all she wanted to do was melt into his arms, and that desire was stronger than her pride. "Can you come over, James?"

There was a short pause, after which Juliet realized James had been getting up off the bed or the couch so he could leave the apartment.

"I'm headin' out the door now." he said.

Juliet waited at the door until she saw his car pull up outside. She walked out in her pajamas, her arms crossed against the outside chill, and got in the passenger side to sit beside him. She sat forward in the seat, facing him, looking into his eyes with a tired and grateful expression.

"Thank you." said Juliet. "For coming over this late."

"I meant what I said." said James. "You can call me any time. For anything."

Juliet's mouth scrunched into a half smile, all she could muster now that she felt safe enough to be vulnerable again. She leaned toward him, placing a hand on his cheek as she kissed him. His lips felt extra soft, extra warm, making her realize exactly how much she'd been missing them. Feeling better already - steady, at least - Juliet leaned back and stroked his cheek. Even his rough stubble was a comfort.

"Felt weird goin' to bed without you anyway." he admitted, taking her hand and kissing her palm.

"It felt weird for me too." she said, clasping his palm as they let their hands drop between them. "I'd invite you in, but she's finally asleep. I don't want her to feel awkward."

"Understood." James said with a nod.

They'd been spending most nights together, at his place, in the month they'd been dating. It might have felt like more of a pain in the ass for Juliet to be away from her home every night, away from all her stuff, but they'd fallen into a comfortable rhythm, and they were far from being ready to find a place together. James was still getting used the whole healthy relationship thing, and Juliet still needed independence, not to mention the duty she felt she had to take care of Rachel.

The car was silent, both of them watching their hands while Juliet played with the knuckle on James' pointer finger. Independence didn't have to mean distance.

"You're sitting too far away." Juliet said quietly, the half smile returning.

"Hop in back." James said, tilting his head in that direction. "We can cuddle." he added, the sweetness cut by just enough sarcasm to make the word sound natural coming out of his mouth. Juliet's smile widened at the suggestion and she released his hand so she could crawl between the seats.

"You're lucky I don't work at the precinct anymore." she said, making room for him so he could make his way back next to her. "If they knew Detective Ford was a cuddler..."

"I'd lose my badge, Blondie." James warned her. "Don't you dare."

Juliet chuckled as they settled into one another. It was true; he was someone she could run to, at full speed, knowing he would open his arms and hold her when she needed him to, kiss her when she needed him to, touch her when she needed him to. That would make her decision about Miami, if she even got to a point where she had to make one, even harder. And James, knowing it wasn't the time to tell her about the sergeant's exam anyway, could feel she trusted him, that maybe she was beginning to rely on him, which was something he wanted very much though he was far from admitting it. He didn't want to let her down if he'd scored badly and that fast track to a promotion never came his way.

"I think when she gets healthy again I'm going to find my own place." Juliet said, resting her head on his shoulder, and her hand on his stomach near the hem of his t-shirt.

"It's about time for me to find my own place too." said James. "Miles is damn near housebroken."

James felt her body move when she gave him a tiny giggle, but she got quiet again after that, still shaken by the night Rachel spent crying. She'd said when, but somewhere deep inside, the fear wondered whether it was a when, or an if.

"I'm sorry if I won't be able to spend as much time with you as we have been." Juliet told him. "Or as many nights. It's going to get worse before it gets better."

"You don't have to apologize." said James. "Your sister had dibs before I came along."

"Still. I'm going to try to make time for you. Just don't take it personally if I can't spend the night. Things like that."

"I'll take whatever I can get." James reassured her. "Even if it's the back seat of my car, in the middle of the night." He held her closer, getting his mouth close to her ear so he could whisper. "Even if it's just to cuddle."

Juliet smiled and gave him a squeeze. He must have trusted her a whole lot to say something so corny. She'd never tell.