A/N: 1) In this chapter: a) Sideways: we learn of Juliet's new-found affection for hummingbirds. b) Post-island: Miles discovers that J names are still far from becoming extinct. c) 1976 timeline: MORE Miles? Does he really have anything to do with the title for this chapter?

2) 1976 timeline has a first time ever flash forward. So far, I've kept Dharma and sideways timelines in chronological order, post -island being the only one out of sequence. I thought this would help avoid any confusion. Anyhow, it just made sense to insert the 1976 scene at this point rather than later on

3) Post- island: I'm still using the lyrics of the song Carry On by Fun.

Double J

The next morning, Jack and Juliet had breakfast together in silence. It was one of those rare mornings when their child was catching up on some sleep.

They were sitting at their 70's style diner booth tucked nicely in a corner of their spacious kitchen. Juliet had always liked that booth with its deep pocketed leather padding, each pocket accented with a large button set within the cushion, and each corner of the base was supported by a round tubular leg; elegant but simple. Tall window panes providing an unobstructed view to their far reaching garden. An outdoor awning kept the sun from bearing too harshly on their quaint breakfast nook.

Juliet stared out the window, barely nibbling on her eggs and toast.

Her eyes widened at the sight of three little hummingbirds hovering in her flower garden. Her appreciation for one of God's most beautiful creations had grown ten fold ever since she had taken an active interest in bird watching.

Hummingbirds were territorial by nature, and typically chase other birds away, eating out of the feeder one at a time. Hence her surprise to see that this morning, all three birds were nicely taking turns around the red bird feeder with protruding spouts shaped like Hollyhocks, which she had strategically placed around a vast array of trumpet flowers.

All of a sudden, one of the birds flew away, leaving the other two engaging in some type of dance. The one she assumed to be the male was flying around at top speeds in a U shaped pattern... Perhaps trying to impress his female companion?

Jack cleared his throat.

Juliet's mind was suddenly forced to land in the present moment. Did she miss anything?

"I said I'll be on call, I'm taking over someone else's shift" Jack stated, his tone impatient, as though it was a chore to repeat himself.

"Uh huh" Juliet nodded.

She turned her attention back to the hummingbirds. Now, one of the birds was laying still on the flat part of the bird feeder while the other bird moved rapidly behind it. Juliet's heart skipped a beat, wondering if this was some kind of mating behavior or whether one of the birds was suddenly dead. She drew in an almost imperceptible gasp.

Jack was now staring at her, as he stood in front of the window panes, blocking her view. One look at Jack told her he would not have the patience for this. Thus, she said nothing about the birds.

Jack glanced at his watch. He was going to be late for work.

Noting his demeanor escalating to rush mode, Juliet's lips moved as though getting ready to speak. "Jack, we need to talk."She could hear the words so clearly in her head as though she had in fact spoken them out loud, yet no actual sounds had left her lips.

He walked towards the door in great haste. Then, about halfway there, he turned around as though he had forgotten something. He really did not have the time; he turned about, and mumbled a quick goodbye.

The sound of the door shutting behind him echoed through the house like a loud trumpet. Out in the garden, the two hummingbirds were back fluttering about merrily. Juliet's entire body relaxed as she breathed in a deep sigh of relief.

This was going to be a good day, she decided. She was going to enjoy her day off and whatever alone time she had before her son woke up. Thus, She flipped open her laptop and started surfing the net, while enjoying a bite of her toast. First, she looked up more information on hummingbirds. Amazingly, there were 340 different types; the ones in her garden were the ruby-throated variety.

Then, she noticed there was an e-mail from the photographer she had recently hired for a photo shoot. A sunny smile crossed her lips when she viewed the attached photo proofs. David was sporting his best smile, as he stood against a lattice white fence that served as a backdrop. Her eyes focused on the adorable Popeye- the- sailor-man suit her son was wearing.

She had the distinct impression that something about the picture was decidedly familiar… yet she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

2015

Courtroom, 11:41 a.m.

James took his time answering the question. His attorney had warned him about speaking out of turn, and/or expressing hostility against the other parent in court. There were times when he wanted to dispute inflammatory statements, yet had to bite his tongue. Both lawyers had been arguing back and forth and the judge put an end to it all by asking the question himself.

"How many times have you actually visited your son in the last year?"

"Just twice" James answered from his seat. Since this was a custody hearing and not a trial, he was free to answer the question without having to take the witness stand. He took a deep breath, grateful for the opportunity to explain.

A year earlier….

The first time he saw Jonah had been one of the longest days of his life. He had taken the first available flight to New York early that Saturday morning after the baby's birth and had planned to return to Alabama the following day.

A nurse had pointed Jonah to him through the clear window panes. Hospital policy was that only the parents were allowed inside the nursery. Legally, Jonah's parents were Lisa and her new husband.

"So which one is it?" Miles asked, looking at the sea of baby faces.

James looked at Miles, temporarily disoriented. He had almost forgotten his friend who for some reason never failed to be there when he needed someone the most…pretty much in the same way that Cricket was there for Pinocchio, rain or shine.

"That one" James replied, gesturing towards the infant laying in a see-through crib directly across from where he was standing. He was asleep; his little head to the side so that all that was visible to the observer was his side profile.

"You mean that little fellow? Miles asked, raising one eyebrow. "WOW, He's already in good company…"

James gave him a quizzical look.

"You know, so young …and already sitting pretty between two girls." Miles observed with a conspiratorial smile.

James stifled a chuckle. The two other infants on either side of Jonah were swaddled in pink blankets.

"What's his name?" Miles inquired.

James hesitated. "Uh…Jonah."

Miles peered at him and turned his head as though not sure whether he had misheard. "Noah?"

"It's Jonah" James corrected him in a firm voice.

A slow mischievous smile formed on Miles' lips, along with a certain twinkle in his eyes. This was going to be fun.

"It's Jonah…..with a J" James clarified with a wry smile. He could tell that Miles was thinking the same thing, okay, okay, let's have it!

Miles grinned. "Uh huh…With a J…what's the difference? They're both bible characters… both into high stakes sea travel at a time when people believed in sea monsters and in the earth being flat…. and they were both spared from certain death by none other than God almighty himself!"

James did not respond. He simply continued staring at the baby.

"You could talk to her you know, maybe your baby mama will talk to them nurses, and you could see him up close" Miles suggested, matter of factly with a slight twitch of one of the corners of his mouth. This situation really sucked.

James shook his head. His relationship with Lisa had become quite strained right after she told him about the pregnancy. In hindsight, (and after reading a copy of Men Are from Mars and Women Are from Venus SHE had left behind), he realized that she probably had expected something from him. Further, all along he'd been wrong to expect her to understand that he still felt as though he was cheating on Juliet. She didn't stick around very long though… within 48 hours, she had packed up her bags, married her former long distance fiancé Vegas style, and moved to New York. The end result was that he had no legal rights to this child.

"He was named after her grandfather" James said all of a sudden. This was a safer topic of conversation.

Miles chuckled. "You're shitting me!."

"Nope" James half smiled.

"Sooner of later there will be no J names left, and you'll have to start recycling them…"

"What the heck you talkin' 'bout?" James stared down at Miles.

"You know, for your next kid…"

"Next kid?" his tone just on the edge of becoming defensive, a deep crease bulged in the middle of his forehead.

"You telling me that you're all done now…sowing your wild oats?" Miles continued with a poker face.

James' scowl became even more pronounced.

"Maybe next time, wear a pair of birth control glasses…you know, like those heavy dorky frames you used to wear back in the day…." Miles teased, cocking his head, corners of his mouth lifting just a tad. "And ditch those damn contact lenses?"

"Alright, Wiseguy…who needs them glasses when all YOU gotta do is open your big mouth?"

Miles had a point. Still, he thought, it ain't none of his goddamn business…

About planning: Well, Jonah had been unplanned just like James Jr had been. Yet there was a big difference. His bond towards James Jr was just a natural extension of the love for his mother: he was their son. Every time he had looked into the boy's eyes, it was like coming home with a bottle of wine on the Fourth of July.

On the other hand, when he looked at Jonah for the first time, all he could think about was how he could have done things differently. Maybe he should have been more careful, shoulda double checked…definitely too many 'should haves'. Etc, etc, etc. Yet, who was he kidding anyways?

Sometimes you just wanna believe you're invincible and you carry on thinking that everything would be just fine. And you silence all unspoken expectations and any 'should haves' that you don't want to think about.

And then one day you hold the phone to your ear, you hear the news and you realize you were only human after all. And you can't believe that the time has come to put your feet squarely upon the ground. Obligation comes knocking at your door. The sounds of silence can no longer be ignored. And then, there you are roaming the hallways of a hospital, feeling your head's on fire. How you ever gonna make up for all the times you swore you could cheat it all?

"Let's go…" James said, heading towards one of the hospital exits with Miles trailing behind him. "Let's grab a beer."

October 1976

Miles took a sip of his Dharma labeled beer. There was nothing like relaxing in front of the TV on a Sunday afternoon, watching the World Series… Especially as a guest in the home of his pal LaFleur.

In the meantime, Juliet was busy in the kitchen and James was trying to figure out what was wrong with the fridge which was not cooling at optimum temperature.

James Jr was at that golden age when babies are like little crawling machines that get into everything. Outwardly, Miles lamented the fact that his own TV was broken while secretly enjoying the baby's antics.

Although, he mostly enjoyed announcing such antics in a loud fashion:

"Double J! is getting too close to that outlet!" Or "Oh oh, "Double J is getting his hands in the cookie jar!" (meaning the plate of cookies sitting on the coffee table). Yet, he would refuse to lift a finger to re-direct the child, instead he enjoyed watching both parents as they scrambled to do all the re-directing while also trying to get other things done around the house.

"Stop calling him Double J!" James hissed, sporting one of his Sawyer-style impatient stares, before turning back to the task at hand.

"Why not?" Miles countered as he lay back on the couch with his hands behind his head and the heels of his shoes resting squarely on the coffee table. "In honor of both his parents…J and J…..One single J? Nah, boring. " He turned towards Juliet. "Besides, that's sort of discriminatory…don't you think, Juliet? Why should his J count but not yours?"

"I don't have time for this right now, Miles" Juliet spoke in a motherly fashion, as she scrambled to get some vegetables together for a salad. Then, she peeked into the living room to make sure that her child was doing okay. He was playing with some toys on the floor next to the couch. She thought it was such a blessing that she could still keep an eye on him from practically any corner of her quaint little kitchen.

"James… Give me hand, will you?" Juliet pulled James aside, got him to stop working on the fridge. "You know he's enjoying this, don't you? Just ignore him, and he'll stop…it's just like being back in grade school."

He gave her one of those, I don't know what you're talking about looks.

"Everyone knows that the best way to deal with a bully is by ignoring him" Juliet assured him.

His lips curved into a crooked smile. "Can't believe you bought all that bullshit that schools try to shove down your throat! Schools ain't nothin' but breeding grounds for pushovers!"

Juliet gave him one of her Other-style deadpan looks that she used whenever something made her uncomfortable and she was trying to figure out the best response. Back in third grade, there had been a clique of girls who had singled her out as their pushover of choice. They would always make nasty comments. They made fun of the way she ate her PB and J sandwich (she liked to eat it with raisins on top). They did not stop bothering her until one day, Rachel and her team of 5th graders joined her at the lunch tables.

He knew her well enough to know that he had inadvertedly reminded her of her former pre-island self. His old pre-island self would have had pre-island Juliet for breakfast. In any case, he still couldn't picture his knock- down-Kate-Austen-with-a pool-stick Juliet acting like a pushover.

He didn't realize he'd been smiling like a Cheshire cat until she pointed it out.

"What's so funny?"

"Y'know when you were with the Others…" he waited for her to nod in order to continue. "Not this last time…but the first time…." He paused again, stifling a chuckle. "And you came at Kate with a pool stick…remember that?

Juliet nodded again. "Yeah…yeah…" she chuckled. How could she not remember that? In one graceful move, she had bridged the distance between them and locked her arms around his neck.

"I tell ya one thing…." He smirked. "There's only one person in this world I would ever trust to get my back…"

"Hmm…and who's that?" she gave him one long playful look, lowering her eyelashes Marilyn Monroe style.

In response, he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a short sweet kiss.

Right then, they heard the sound of a dishware cracking on the floor, followed by laughter. Oh, shit…the baby….

James instantly went back to nickname calling mode. "Hey, Mr. Miyagi wanna be…" he said to Miles as he walked back into the living room.

Juliet nearly bumped into James who had suddenly stopped on his tracks to stare at the scene before his eyes.

This was one of those moments that made life in Dharmaville such a joyride.

Juliet rushed to get her Polaroid camera which she always kept handy for special moments like this.

James Jr, who was clad in the same Popeye- the –sailor- man suit Juliet had brought from Tahiti, had pushed himself up to stand on wobbly feet holding on to the edge of the coffee table. He stood there flashing his heart throbbing dimples, long strands of sun-streaked hair curling about his forehead, and with cookie crumbs all over his face.

"I helped J.J a little…he couldn't reach the cookie" Miles explained with a genuine smile. "I figured it was better than having him with his face next to the cat's bowl" he added, satisfied with the fun he had thus far, ready to call it a day.

Of course, Juliet took a boat load of pictures.

James and Juliet looked at each other with an open, ready smile. J.J…hmm… Well, that was definitely better…J.J had a nice ring to it, they both decided right then and there.

A/N 1) J.J's name, it's supposed to have a period between the two J's and at the end (as in J.J. Abrams), but this period after the last J was driving me insane when proofreading. Whenever I see a period, I think I need to capitalize, so from now on I will do without the last period. Period.

2) I will not go into much detail about Lisa and her relationship with James, unless it specifically relates to Jonah. Stay tuned for I have lots more planned for this story. This roller coaster ride is just about to get to get to its tallest peak (within the next few chapters), and when we finally get to the very top, we'll get a clear view of the path ahead. Thanks so much for your continued reviews :)