A Different Place and Time – Ch. 13
Authors Note: Sorry for the ridiculous cliffhanger last chapter! Please forgive me!
"We're all walking a fine line and I'm
Walking towards you, and I
Hope that I'm right in thinking, I'll never walk alone
I'm always running from something
Now I'm running towards you
It may not be the right thing, but it's what I want to do
I'll be biding my time, and I'll be
Watching my step, 'cause I don't want to
Be starting something here that I might live to regret
'Cause I have learnt my lesson
And I have learnt it well
There are some things in this life best left for time to tell
I believe I could safely lay my life down in your hands
I believe that's what I'd do if you gave me half the chance
In a different time, in a different place
I could see myself with you
And in a different time and a different place
I believe you could see yourself there too"
Different Time, Different Place ~Julia Fordham
The flashing light was blinding and the wind roared all around. She'd never been so scared in her life. Even as her fingers had slipped from his in that different place and time, she hadn't been this scared.
The wind continued all around her but suddenly, all was quiet. Out of the black smoke a shadow began to emerge. It was a younger version of herself. She watched as tears streamed down the child's face and suddenly she remembered that moment. A nine-year-old girl, cursing her parents for their ensuing divorce, vowing to never fall in love herself - because she believed nothing else could ever be as painful. Juliet half laughed to herself, surmising that her experiences after that moment only proved she should have held to her vow, and she was instantly saddened, wishing she'd been able to prove herself wrong.
Suddenly, the child was gone and was replaced by an image of her 20 something self. She was in her first year of residency. She'd been a resident for exactly two weeks, was on her emergency rotation, when the double gunshot wound had come rushing through the ER doors. Downtown Miami was a mecca for those training in the medical field. Gunshots were a fact of life and the two bodies that came through those doors, while in desperate need of medical attention, were clinically 'routine'. She remembered the woman, mid 30's, 25 weeks pregnant, had a collapsed lung. Juliet had made an incision for the chest tube - inserted it with ease. Next, she went to work on the bullet. It had entered through the victim's shoulder, but instead of passing through to the other side, became lodged in the body, and was threatening to enter her chest cavity.
Juliet proceeded to open the victim up to remove the bullet but something…happened. The bullet suddenly shifted, entered the patient's heart cavity and instantly killed her. The fetal heart monitor told her baby was still alive, but quickly losing oxygen. They performed an emergency c-section, and got the baby out alive, but he had been deprived of oxygen for too long, and was permanently brain damaged. Two days later he died. The remorse that filled Juliet as she watched her younger self crying silently as the small boy was wheeled out of the room. His life hadn't even begun yet and because of her, it was over.
While it seemed to be in slow motion, moments and events from Juliet's past kept appearing before her. Stealing medicine from the lab to help Rachel become pregnant. Ed being hit by the bus, her island indiscretion with Goodwin, all of the pregnant women dying, infecting Claire, killing Danny, tricking the Oceanic survivors, blowing up a hydrogen bomb – she realized then that she was being judged. Just as others had been judged – and ultimately killed for not measuring up to island standards.
In her heart she wanted to believe that she was a good enough person to survive her judgment, but part of her knew that she had made some bad choices – and ultimately – those choices made her a bad person.
She turned her head away from the images then. If this was her life flashing before her eyes, she didn't want the last thing she saw to be terrible reminders of the person that she was. She first looked at Jacob, who was smiling. This, she knew, meant that he knew he was winning. She was the only one who could stop him from finally gaining control of the island, and as each second passed, she was slipping further into the grasp of the smoke monster. Next she looked at Ben. And his look, was oddly of hope. She saw fear and recognition as well, and this told her that he may have found himself in this situation once – and the fact that he was still living suddenly gave her hope too.
Her gaze then passed over her friends. They looked on with horror as one image after the other portrayed all of the awful things she'd done in her life. She was angry that this would be what they ultimately remembered of her – that is if they even made it through the ordeal. Lastly she let her gaze fall on James. Tears streamed down her face and she pleaded with her eyes for help. She didn't know what else to do and she didn't want this to be the last time they laid eyes on each other.
Suddenly, the deafening roar of wind returned and the images faded from before her eyes. She knew her judgment had been passed. With one last glance towards the man she loved most, she braced herself for the blow ahead. Instead of closing her eyes she stepped forward with arms wide and her gaze steady.
But instead of being enveloped in smoke, something strange happened. First it was an image of a younger Jin. Shame in his eyes as he walked away from the small fishing village where he grew up. Next, it was Hurley, sitting on the couch eating piece after piece of fried chicken. Kate riding away from that small country house, and the explosion that ensued. A little boy hiding under the bed, listening as his father shot his mother, then committed suicide – then Sawyer, the man that boy became, as he conned lonely women out of their life savings. Sun, lying in the arms of another man while Jin was at home washing blood off his hands. Sayid as an Iraqi soldier, torturing innocents for information that they didn't have to give. Miles exploiting grieving family members as he used his gift to steal from the dead.
One after another, the images appeared, so quickly that it was becoming impossible to distinguish one from another. Juliet turned and her eyes widened as she witnessed the site before her. Her friends, along with those who had traveled to the island to help them, with hands linked, were slowly walking towards her – putting themselves on the table for judgment in very much the same way as she had just been sacrificed.
The smoke monster began to revolt, the growling and ticking a deafening noise as the smoke and images swirled around them.
Her saviors reached the spot where she stood, James and Ilana broke the line only for an instant, and each grabbed one of her outstretched hands. She could feel their strength coursing through her. Each step they took built more momentum. The smoke monster started to recede, with each step forward, the swirling smoke receded and the blurry images faded.
Jacob, utterly confused yelled out. "KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL!" Juliet turned and could see the fear in his eyes. They were fighting back – something he hadn't expected.
Ben, who had been standing next to Locke, suddenly pushed forward, running straight towards Jacob. He pushed the man as hard as he possibly could. Jacob, who was caught off guard stumbled, and ended up between the survivors and the smoke monster.
"LET GO!" Juliet suddenly yelled out. The line broke and they all ran for the trees.
Once a safe distance away, they watched as Jacob struggled to break free from the smoke monsters hold.
The images that flashed before him were fascinating – they spanned centuries of time, but the survivors still saw familiar faces. Two young men battling for power. One bestows a young Richard as protector of the island, the other curses him with immortality; a sentence he'll serve for eternity. One brings peace to their small but strong community, the other continually brings strangers to their land, forcing the need for war and heightened security. The black rock, Yemi's plane, Danielle and the other members of her crew, Desmond, the crash of Oceanic Flight 815. All of these events had been orchestrated by Jacob to create chaos, when all his brother wanted was to bring peace to their land.
The battle between brothers, and between good and evil could be seen in each of the images that flashed before Jacob. Through it all he struggled to escape, his power fighting mercilessly against that of the smoke monster. Suddenly, the judgment was complete, but the break in concentration allowed Jacob the opportunity to break free. He started to run, but was quickly pinned down. Locke came at him from behind, and held him in place, the smoke swirling around the brothers and carrying out the sentence.
Juliet covered her ears, the screams more than she could bear. She fell to her knees, the force of the wind too strong – then a sudden white, blinding light exploded from within the monster. And then – nothing.
Epilogue:
September 23, 2004
She woke suddenly and thrashed viciously at the weight upon her body, but as she came fully awake, she realized it was merely the blankets that were holding her down. She slowly took in her surroundings, the bedroom familiar, yet different.
She tried to remember what would make her feel so different – she remembered going to work yesterday, stopping on the way home to hang out with Rachel and Julian, all normal daily occurrences. When she got home she made something to eat and enjoyed a glass of wine 'Maybe the wine was bad,' she thought as she padded out of the bedroom trying to get rid of the fuzzy feeling in her head.
She walked into the kitchen, suddenly ravenous, and searched for some cereal and milk. She sat down at her breakfast bar and turned on the TV. The usual stories plagued the morning news – murders, robberies, all normal for a September day in Miami.
'What is going on?' she wondered suddenly. Why did things seem so different when they were so completely normal.
She showered, threw on a flowing summer dress and got ready to go to work. It wasn't until she was stepping out the door that she felt the flutter in her stomach. With that one small movement it all came rushing back. The island, Ben, the smoke monster. James.
"James!" she shouted out loud. Then blushed because her neighbor, who happened to be outside watering her flowers, looked at her like she was crazy.
She ran back in the house to look at the calendar. September 23rd, she read carefully. September 23rd – just one day before Oceanic 815 was destined to crash. 'But would it?' She wondered hopefully.
Not caring that it was 5 a.m. on the west coast, she called LAX for the flight information. Flight 815, departing from Sidney Australia was scheduled to land at LAX, 9 a.m. pacific-time on the 24th. She quickly hung up, hopped online and booked the next flight out west. If there was any chance that the plane would land, she had to be there to see him get off.
Once her flight was booked, she called the hospital and told them she'd be gone until Monday. She packed her bag, called a cab, crossed her fingers – and hoped.
Flight 815
He'd dozed in his seat and was in the middle of a fascinating dream filled with blonde hair and blue eyes, when the sudden drop woke him. A few startled screams surrounded him, and he grabbed the seat handles at the same time as the girl next to him. He smiled at her but the turbulence was getting worse – the fasten seat belt sign came on and a few bags even tumbled out of the overhead compartments.
The plane hit another huge air pocket and the weightlessness took the breath right out of him. Out the window all he could see was ocean – and the screams and cries that surrounded him had him praying for safe landing.
The plane shook violently and it felt like they were going down, but all of the sudden the plane corrected itself and the ride smoothed out considerably.
Moments later the pilot's voice reassured the passengers.
"We're sorry for the scare everyone. We hit a few air pockets, caused by some bad weather due north, but we've gotten through the worst of it and should have smooth sailing from here."
His heart was still racing, but he held on to the hope that the plane would make it home.
Three hours later, Sawyer breathed a huge sigh of relief as the wheels touched down to the ground.
LAX
She got as close to the gate as she could. She had remained at the airport after landing the night before, knowing that otherwise she wouldn't be able to get anywhere near the gate when they landed. She set up camp in the food court and had checked hourly on the progress of the flight. After over 24 hours of worry, she was ecstatic to hear that it had landed safely. Now that she knew flight 815 made it, the fear suddenly overtook her – would he remember?
She stood on a nearby chair, unable to see amidst the crowded terminal. Suddenly the gates opened and passengers started to flood out. She saw Jack first. He glanced at her briefly but then walked on, absolutely no recognition on his face. The same thing happened with Kate, Jin, Sun, Claire, Sayid and Hurley. As each of her friends walked on, more tears formed and fell. She started realizing that she might have to face the journey ahead alone, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to do it without him – if she could do it without him.
Suddenly, he was there. Scruffy from the flight he walked out of the gate. With his bag over his shoulder and his hands in his pockets, he walked with his head down – like a man who knew right where he was going. She thought for a moment that he'd pass without noticing her; and it was hard not to notice a half-crazed blonde woman standing on a chair in the middle of an airport, clutching her stomach while tears streamed down her face, but just as he was about to pass her he glanced up.
Their eyes connected and, for a brief moment, she thought she saw a spark of something, but as quickly as he had looked at her, he turned away, and kept walking.
"James…" was the strangled cry that left her lips as her legs gave out from under her and she collapsed onto the chair. The sobs were uncontrollable, she couldn't remember when she had ever cried this hard.
Her life with him had begun and ended so quickly. Trapped in time with only each other, they had created a future that was never meant to be. But now she had to live with that future, knowing that he would never be a part of it. It seemed that even when the island had righted itself, she was still left with a life that was all wrong.
She rocked back and forth, arms tight around her body and tried as hard as she could to breathe. But it was too hard – she didn't want to do it anymore. A hand on her shoulder had her looking up – into blue green eyes she'd come to know and love.
He squatted down in front of her, "Hey," he said softly. She shook her head, not believing he was there.
"How did you…?" she tried to ask, but talking seemed too hard when she couldn't even remember how to breathe.
"I heard you say my name, and, I remembered." He explained simply.
She smiled through her tears, and he grabbed her and pulled her into his arms, falling back onto the floor in the middle of a sea of strangers.
Now, it was their time.
Authors Note: Well, that's all she wrote! Thanks for those who stuck with me through my non-updating! I hope you all enjoyed it. Can't wait for season six!