A/N: Despite my original author's note, this story is strictly AU now. I started it before the series ended, you see. I just wanted to assure everyone that Richard Alpert has nothing to do with the island, and everything he says about Mittelos can be taken at face value. Enjoy!
Two weeks later, Juliet met Richard Alpert for lunch in the same restaurant in which she and James had encountered Edmund. She'd heard through the grapevine that her hopefully-soon-to-be ex-husband was out of town on a business trip, so she felt a little better about meeting Alpert at the hospital. She wouldn't have minded making Edmund insanely jealous again, but it was safer professionally to keep this business meeting from him. Now there was less chance he would find out and sabotage her, or put Mittelos itself out of business.
Alpert laid it out for her very simply. Mittelos Bioscience was looking for the best of the best, and Juliet's name was at the top of their list. Their facilities were brand new, they were privately funded by a family whose great-great-great-great-grandchildren would die before they ran out of money, and their goals were not for fame and fortune (well, not only for fame and fortune), but for the betterment of mankind. It sounded way too good to be true, and Juliet called him on it more than once, but Mr. Alpert carried himself with the perfect mix of confidence and humility. It made her want to believe in Mittelos, that she actually had a chance at being part of something amazing, but even if she did there would still be a few things keeping her from saying yes. The project they needed her for was planned for eight months, with the possibility of expansion and a much longer period of study.
"Were you expecting an answer today?" Juliet asked him. "There are a few things going on in my life right now that make this not as simple as it could be."
"You're referring to your sister's cancer?"
Juliet had actually been thinking about Rachel and James, but the fact that Alpert already knew about one of them distracted her. Her eyes narrowed, and Alpert started backpedaling.
"Your last stretch of research, before you joined the LAPD, was so heavily concentrated on her last bout-"
"You do remember that I wasn't able to complete the study?"
"At Mittelos, you will be." Richard assured her, with a sincere smile and a confident nod. "With your mind and our resources, you will be successful."
"But you feel the need to use my sister as leverage."
"Not at all." Richard said in a rush to correct his mistake. "I just wanted to reassure you that there are programs in Miami that would suit her needs perfectly. I don't mean to pressure you at all. I just want you to understand that we have taken everything we can into account. You and your family will be taken care of."
"Speaking of family," Juliet said carefully. "Since you know about my sister, you're probably aware of who my husband is."
Richard's smile was somewhat sheepish. It seemed that both he and Juliet had been avoiding that subject. "Yes, we are aware of Edmund Burke."
"And are you aware that we are legally separated and I'm trying my hardest to divorce the little bastard?"
Richard's smile deepened. Well, now that they were being honest...
"Edmund Burke has no sway over the decisions of Mittelos Bioscience. In fact, in the opinion of the company, he's...nobody."
"This might come off as petty, Mr. Alpert, but...god, it feels good to hear somebody say that."
Richard chuckled at her reaction. He became quiet as an idea occurred to him, a change in the style of his pitch. He shifted in his seat, and leaned forward slightly. Juliet could tell she was holding the cards. Alpert really wanted her to come work for him.
"I understand if you can't make a decision right now." he said. "We don't have many other candidates, and you are definitely our first choice. I'm not supposed to tell you this, but we won't be deciding for another month or so. If you tell me right now there is absolutely no way you'd ever say yes, and you decide in a month that you've changed your mind, the offer will still be open. Is that fair?"
Juliet almost laughed, but it wouldn't have been derisive. She just wasn't used to being treated like such a catch, at least not on the career side of things. James had that pretty well covered on the personal side.
"I'd say that's more than fair, Mr. Alpert."
"Please, call me Richard."
Juliet smiled. "Alright. Richard." He smiled back at her, and their agreement was made. They finished lunch while talking about more pleasant things, like what Richard should do in Los Angeles when he wasn't busy with the conference he was really in town for. Maybe it was foolish of Juliet to not expect it, but she realized too late that explaining the current state of her marriage had created a potentially awkward moment.
"If you're free, I'd love to have a tour guide." said Richard. "And if you're not up for that, then maybe I could just...take you out to dinner?"
"I'm..." Juliet started and trailed off. The paranoid side of her, the cynical side that had developed as a result of being professionally fucked over by Edmund so many times, thought for a moment that Richard might think that it was part of the deal. She thought for a moment that, for the sake of her career, maybe she shouldn't mention she was taken. Then she remembered that no job was worth that. If he wanted Juliet for the job, he wanted her for the job without special conditions on her part. And he did. He was already giving her a month to decide.
"I'm seeing someone." she said simply. "So I think we should stick to lunches."
Richard smiled, and it was still genuinely warm. "Well. Whoever it is, he's a very lucky man."
They got up to leave, and he made a comment that would stick in Juliet's head the rest of the day.
"Maybe I'll meet him, if he follows you to Miami."
If he follows me.
She hadn't thought of that.
A few hours earlier that morning, James had gone into work early to catch up on the ever growing pile of paperwork that sat on his desk. When Lt. Abbadon walked in, he didn't nod silently in greeting as he always did. Instead, he strolled over to Detective Ford's desk, a strangely pleased smile on his normally serious face.
"Congratulations, Sergeant." Abbadon said.
It wasn't official yet, but that was confirmation enough for James. He kept a straight face around Abbadon, accepting a quick handshake as he thanked him in a professional manner.
"Stay on the right track, Ford." Abbadon told him needlessly. "You could have my job one day."
Soon after, Abbadon walked back to the big office in the corner. Miles came in seconds later, sunglasses still on and a gigantic paper cup of coffee in his hand.
"Fuuuuck, I am hung over." Miles croaked. He flopped down in his chair and blew the air out of his lungs like he'd just had three breakfast platters in a row.
"Out with Jenkins again? Celebrating a little early, were we?"
"Celebrating...?" Miles said slowly, his jaw a bit slack as he tried to decipher the meaning behind the words.
"Say hello to your future boss, little man." James taunted him, even though nothing was set in stone yet.
Miles sat up with a start. "The results came in? You made it?"
"Nothing official, but Abbadon himself came over to pat me on the back. He even shook my hand."
"And you'll never wash that hand again." said Miles, shaking his head slowly. "Seriously though, congrats, man. You deserve it."
"Don't count yourself out." James said, just as Miles was pretending to sneeze while he coughed the words goody two-shoes! James sighed, and gave him the look of a disappointed parent. Miles held up his hand, holding his first finger up as if to ask for just a second. He looked as if he needed to sneeze again, but when he let it loose all James heard was cocksucker! hidden in another cough. James chuckled, smiled, and crossed his arms over his proud chest.
"Is my rampant success in both the personal and professional areas of my life givin' you a complex?"
"No, no, I'm just," Miles motioned toward James' general direction. "Allergic to your face right now."
"Straume." Abbadon's voice barked from the corner office.
"Yes, sir?" Miles whipped the sunglasses off and turned in his chair, and it was obvious to James that the sudden movement took his hangover headache to new heights.
"Congratulations." Abbadon said, slightly less happy about Miles' victory than he was about his boy James, but still proud that someone else on his team scored well.
"Thank you, sir." Miles said as Abbadon once again retreated to his office. Miles turned very slowly back to James, and spread his arms in victory. "Never first...but never far behind. In your face, Grandpa."
"He was a humble man," James said, reading Miles' imaginary obituary out loud. He picked his phone up off the desk and pressed a few buttons. "But he died of complications arising from a horrible case of syphilis he picked up from a tranny hooker..."
"Who are you calling?" Miles asked, ignoring him and being nosy as usual. "Are you ordering a skywriting plane in honor of me? Or a cake for Juliet to jump out of when the precinct throws me a huge party for acing the easiest sergeant's exam of all time? I mean, since you did so well..."
James put a finger up to his mouth, calling for quiet. "Hey." he said to Juliet. "I'm takin' you out for dinner tonight...it's a surprise...Yeah, real fancy..."
James chuckled at something Juliet said. Miles sighed, put his sunglasses back on and slouched down in his chair. James chuckled again, and said "Even better...I will, don't you worry...see you tonight."
"Iloveyoupookie!" Miles shouted in a rush as James took the phone away from his ear, but alas, the connection had already been severed.
"Straume, if I ever hear the word 'pookie' coming out of your mouth again..."
James cleaned himself up after work, and drove over to Juliet's place to pick her up. When she opened the door, she looked like she had on the night of their first date.
"Mm..." James said, looking her up and down with obvious approval.
"You said fancy, Detective." said Juliet in mock defense. "Doctor Burke does not mess around."
"She most certainly does not." James agreed. They walked to his car, and Juliet let herself in the passenger side. By the time James made it into the driver's seat, he found Juliet looking at him with a sly expression on her face.
"They didn't have one that said sergeant." said Juliet, holding up a toy badge that had the words Junior Sherriff embossed into its plastic gold surface. "But I think this looks more realistic than the one you already have."
James turned away and laughed, giving Juliet a sideways glance and smirk before he shook his head and turned back to her. Juliet grinned.
"Miles told you?" James asked her.
"I asked him for a hint." she replied. "He told me you'd done really really well on an exam, and I put two and two together."
"Damn." said James, turning and shaking his head for overly dramatic effect.
Juliet put her hand on his arm, biting her lip to keep from laughing. "I'm so excited for you," she said.
"God damn..." James kept muttering. "Ruined my big surprise..."
Juliet cracked up at James' feigned frustration. "You should be very proud of yourself." she said. She leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek, and she could see his dimples when she leaned back.
"It's not official yet." he reminded her modestly.
"You'll get the title." Juliet said with confidence. James smiled appreciatively, and moved his hand to turn the keys in the ignition. Juliet put her hand over his to stop him. "Are you really hungry right now?" she asked.
James shrugged. "I could eat." he said non-commitally. "Then again, I can always eat. Why?"
"...I really want to have sex with you right now."
James kept his hand on the keys. "Your place or mine?"
"You can come inside. Rachel was feeling good so she went out with some friends."
"Why didn'tcha say so?" James said with a grin. "I would have gotten us some take-out."
"I still want to have a special night out," said Juliet. "I just-"
She paused, since James was already out of the car and closing the door. Juliet let herself out, and they met on the sidewalk. "I missed you." she finished. James put an arm around her waist and kissed her as they walked back to Juliet's apartment. It had been a few days since they'd been able to see each other, and a phone call to say goodnight wasn't the same as having a warm body in bed. One night apart and each missed the sound of the other's voice. After three nights apart, pressing their naked bodies against each other was all either of them could think about.
James undressed her like he was unwrapping a gift, like he wasn't already familiar with what was underneath her dress, behind her strapless bra and inside the soft pair of panties he slipped down her legs. He touched her and looked at her like it was their first time, and he paid attention to all the right places like he knew her body by heart.
"I missed you too." he said, kissing her lips while her hands were busy taking his clothes off. Her bedroom smelled like she did, only stronger. Natural and sweet. He'd only been in her apartment a few times, and never for this. It felt like she was letting him in, like he'd entered another part of her life, the way he was about to enter her now. She could feel how hard he was, rubbing against her leg and rubbing against the spot between her legs as they rolled around in bed together, luxuriating in the feeling of warm skin on warm skin. Every time they pressed their hips against one another she'd feel him, and she'd moan, causing him to kiss her harder, squeeze her tighter, and press even closer to her. Finally, when he had her on her back, he pinned her with his waist and reached down between them. Juliet stopped moving, her heart beating fast, and she held still so he could push into her. They both made a sound in their throats, like it was a huge relief to be there again. He moved carefully at first, and she adjusted, and then they fell into a natural rhythm, one that felt good for both of them.
While her body relaxed, Juliet's mind was storming. She couldn't help it. As good as James felt inside of her she still had a lot on her mind. Everything with James was going perfectly. They were so comfortable with each other, it all felt so natural when they were together. He treated her well, told her she was beautiful, his life was on track and he was supportive of her deal with Rachel. A perpetual bachelor had made room in his life for a woman with a complicated life. How could she ever leave him behind? She wasn't too keen on the idea of a long distance relationship, since being together physically was something they both needed, something they both craved on a daily basis. Three days was a long time. Eight months was a lot longer, and a lot could change in that time. Would he come with her? She didn't think he should, his career was taking off. Would he wait for her if he didn't? He was gorgeous, and he knew how to treat a woman, and god, he was good in bed. Juliet put her arms around James' waist and felt the muscles in his back. She felt him moving inside of her, pushing in and sliding out again and again, and she forgot for a moment how she'd ever lived without him at all. Stopping to think for that one moment, she felt her body rev up, getting closer to orgasm at the mere idea of being made love to by this man.
Juliet moaned, and she reminded herself that she had a month to decide, that as much could change in one month as it could in eight.
And then he said it. It was in the heat of the moment, but, even though there was a part of Juliet that still hurt from betrayal and didn't trust anyone to truly feel and care for her, the rest of her was so ready to believe him that she almost came just from hearing the words.
"I love you." he said, loud and clear, no whispers or hesitation about it. Juliet cried out, a desperate and involuntary sound as a wave of pleasure shot through her. After twelve years of an empty marriage, at least eight of them being completely meaningless to Edmund, and the last three being meaningless to Juliet, she'd been afraid to set herself up for rejection and disappointment. After twelve years of being neglected and taken for granted by a man she'd eventually come to realize wasn't worth the dirt on his own shoes, she hadn't thought of herself as someone who would be loved back by someone as amazing as James. She'd been telling herself it was too soon to say those three words, because she thought he wouldn't want to hear them from her. Now he'd said them first, and it opened up a whole new world of possibilities.
Twelve years? said the rambling voice in her head. Fuck your twelve years, this has been the best month of your life.
She stopped hugging him so tight, and he looked into her eyes, searching for a reply. She looked into his eyes and nodded as she answered him.
"I love you." she said. He began to move faster, just the way she liked it. Juliet's eyes closed, and she turned her head as the feeling started building in the very core of her, spreading outward until her whole body was tingling. He could tell something had changed after saying it, so he tried saying it again.
"I love you, Juliet."
He felt fingernails dig into his back, and her thighs tensed up, squeezing him as she got closer. All she had to do was start shaking the way she did, moaning or talking dirty the way she did, and he'd be ready too. "Oh my god..." she whimpered, feeling his lips on her bare neck. She turned her head, forcing his lips back to hers, and they kissed each other hard until it started. "Oh my god," she moaned, rocking her body up and down, the long climax taking over. In the middle of it she could feel the force of this thrusts change, and his body tensed up too. He was done seconds after her, and she took it as a compliment. Your orgasm made me come.
James laid down, spent, and Juliet rolled onto her side to be closer to him. Both stomachs growled, but they stayed in bed, cuddling up and being even more affectionate than usual.
"Sorry we missed dinner." said Juliet, accepting his arm around her shoulders. James chuckled.
"We'll go out tomorrow night." he reassured her, pulling her closer until she was halfway on top of him. "I'm just glad you said it back." he said.
Juliet hugged him tight. There'd be other job offers, she told herself. Her worries were forgotten for the night.