A/N: I've made some changes to these final chapters. Thus, they may be lengthier in some cases, but on the other hand, they'd be fewer of them.

This chapter is the longest ever. We'll be picking up the pace from here on in, let me know if you want me to slow down.

IMPORTANT: The actual dialogue from the season 5 episodes La Fleur and Namaste will be in italics and underlined to distinguish it from character thoughts.

The Sky Ain't falling just yet

(Sawyer, season 4, episode The Shape of Things to Come)

PROLOGUE

Setting: Hugo, Sawyer and Locke are playing a board game.

Hugo: We're all gonna die.

Sawyer: Calm down, Chicken Little, the sky ain't falling just yet.

Hugo: That's what he wants, he wants us to fight amongst ourselves. You're making a big mistake, dude.

Locke: it's his decision to make, Hugo. Let's get on with it.

July 1977

Right before dinner, James took J.J out for a walk to stretch his legs and to burn off some energy.

It was a beautiful sunny day, one of those days in Dharmaville that made life seem as domestic as can be. Even though he wasn't much into singing, he almost felt like singing.

"So, which flower you think mommy would like?" he asked hoping to slow down his son's quick pace. It never ceased to amaze him how fast this child could walk considering that only a couple months ago he'd taken his very first steps.

J.J examined the bushes.

Somewhere in the background, people were strolling leisurely about and riding their bikes.

"Dat one" J.J pointed to a yellow flower that caught his fancy.

James picked the flower and gave it to his child. Then, they both walked rather briskly towards their yellow house.

Their Home.

Once he got to the front door, he brought J.J down to stand on his own two feet.

J.J dashed inside and James closed the door behind him.

"Hmm…" something smells good," James happily announced noticing the wine and luscious green salad already set on the table.

J.J found his mother in the kitchen draining spaghetti and gave her the flower. "For you, mommy"

"For me?" she was flattered.

"From both of us," James clarified, leaning against the kitchen doorway, admiring the bright smile that curved her lips.

"Thank you, both."

Seemingly satisfied with her response, J.J sprinted to his basket of toys which was kept in a corner of the living room and busied himself with his toys.

James and Juliet turned their attention back to each other.

"You were amazing today." He was so proud of her.

"Thank you for believing in me." He was just so supportive like a dream come true. All of her previous relationships combined paled in comparison.

"I love you."

"I love you too." He kissed her making little growling noises. He couldn't ever get enough of her; He certainly felt like the luckiest man alive.

They slept together that night in complete bliss.

The next morning they woke up to a phone call that would change their lives forever.

"James, what's going on?"

For once, James was at a loss of words. "I gotta go," he answered thinking that he needed to check out the situation before anything else.

James made it to the North Valley in record time. There he found Jin next to Hugo, Jack and Kate.

He was most glad to see Hugo.

"Dude, you're alive…I can't believe it!

"Hey, easy on the ribs there, Kong!

Hurley smiled. "Hey, I missed that."

"I missed you too, Hugo."

Next James shook hands with Jack and gave Kate a hug.

Wow, he still can't believe they're here.

"Locke said he was gonna bring you back." James shook his head in bewilderment. "Where is he?"

"John is dead."

"Dead, how?"

"It doesn't matter, " Jack spoke again with an icy air of finality. He's gone."

James realized that to Jack, John Locke's demise seemed to be a non-issue. He was momentarily saddened since he was fond of John in spite of all the crazy stunts he'd pulled.

"This is 1977."

Before he knew it, Jin was rushing off hoping to find the plane that landed on the island.

Thinking on his feet, James decides that the thing to do was to bring Kate, Jack and Hugo into the Dharma Initiative.

Back at the yellow house, James started rummaging through his closet looking for a certain baggy sweatshirt with a bullfrog on it. As soon as Juliet walks in he asked if she'd seen it.

"It's in the laundry."

He continued to look for stuff in a sort of daze.

"James, what's going on?"

"They're back." James said still in a daze.

"I'm sorry, who's back?"

"Jack, Hurley, Kate."

What?"

Not now …" he moved over to the dresser and opens a drawer. "They came back, Juliet."

Juliet was utterly astonished. "Are they here now?"

While he frantically starts to pack clothing into a bag, he tells her they're at the North Point and that he's supposed to bring them in.

Juliet sat at the edge of the bed, her body moving in a slow motion. "How did they..?" Juliet replied barely above the whisper.

"I'm not sure, they said they were on a plane."

His quiet words seemed to echo in the room bouncing off the walls of their little yellow house. This was Their home: The place where she had lived the happiest years of her life.

But now they were back.

James realized that Juliet was in a state of shock and that he needed to be there for her. He stopped what he was doing and sat beside her on the bed.

"I thought they would never come back.". She felt a knot form in her stomach. She couldn't really the plainspoken reality glaring at her like a green eyed monster. One thing was for certain: Their lives would never be the same again.

"I don't understand it anymore than you do. But they're here and I gotta find a way way to bring 'em in before somebody else finds 'em and they screw up everything we got here."

"There's a sub coming in this afternoon." She took a deep breath. Suddenly, her mind was clear. "I'll get the manifest from Amy and I think I can make it so that their names are on the manifest.

James was relieved to hear that.

The plan became more solid in their minds. Hugo, Jack and Kate were to pretend that they came in on the submarine to be recruited as members of the Dharma Initiative.

"Gotta go, " James sprinted to the door and Juliet closely behind him. Sensing that she was right there, he turned to give her a concerned look. "What about J.J?"

"He's at Mrs. Johnson's…" Juliet fixed him one of her enigmatic looks that usually made others (except him) sort of uneasy. Over time, he'd come to recognize that usually during those times a thousand and one thoughts were swarming through her mind. "Did you tell them?"

"I said nothin.'"

"How about we keep it that way until we figure this out?"

"Hmm…yeah." He readily agreed although there was a part of him that couldn't wait to tell everyone he had a son. But maybe the best thing was to keep J.J out of all this. He really didn't know what their intentions were and why they had come back to the island. Everyone has an agenda and they were certainly no exception. And what if their agendas didn't exactly match?

When Juliet went to see Amy later that day to get the sub manifest, she awoke her from a nap. As it turned out, two of the recruits dropped out. Seeing Amy's baby nestled in his mother's arms, Juliet couldn't resist holding him and asking her if they had settled on a name yet.

"We're gonna name him Ethan."

Juliet gave the baby back to Amy.

"So, when are you and Jim going to have ANOTHER one of these?"

Juliet pressed her hand to her mouth. "I don't know, the timing's gotta be right." She wasn't terribly opposed to having another child with James. Really. It was just that…well, now she really didn't have a valid excuse anymore, did she? Now that she had successfully helped Amy give birth on the island, there was no reason….

Moreover, J.J had been born on the island AND in the 70's and it had all turned out just fine…

She shook her head swiftly dismissing this train of thought; this was definitely not the right time to think about that…

Her thoughts drifted to J.J. She had the feeling that she ought to keep her son out of all this until she could figure out how this was all going to play out.

When Juliet later arrived at Mrs. Johnson (who had been watching J.J since the last few weeks of Amy's pregnancy) her heart warmed at the sight of her son's beautiful smile; momentarily greeted by a sense of normalcy. Thus, just for a little while she decided not to dwell too much on what had happened this morning, otherwise she had the suspicion she would not be able to get through the day and think clearly.

After giving her a big hug, seventeen month old J.J brought over a big thick children's encyclopedia to show his mother.

Juliet looked over some of the pictures and smiled approvingly at her child.

"We've been going through some animal names all morning long," Mrs. Johnson said with a smile. "I think he can name at least 30 of them. And it's all his own idea, he keeps asking me… he just wants to learn. At this pace, he'll be reading in no time."

Juliet nodded while her gaze followed J.J across the living room to where a little girl of about his age stood holding a baby doll. Then, in awe she watched her child plant a kiss on the little girl's lips.

"Oh, Gosh! That's so cute," cooed Mrs. Johnson.

"Gosh, I wished I had my camera!" Juliet sighed. It seemed that Kodak moments always came at the most unexpected times just when you're the least prepared.

"Oh, no! Now actually wish I had a camera!" Mrs. Johnson lamented.

"I only have a few minutes, just wanted to say a quick hi…I gotta go back…the sub is arriving with a new batch of recruits…" Juliet tried her darndest to sound casual, refusing to let feelings of apprehension take hold of her emotions.

Jack and Kate watched the welcome to the island video at the Processing Center with curiosity. Then, before they had a chance to talk much, Dr. Chang called Jack over to discuss his job assignment.

Meanwhile, Kate is left to her own devices until Phil spots her and looks at her suspiciously. "You're not on the sub manifest either, who's your recruiter?"

At this point, Juliet had just walked in and saw Kate with her Hawaiian style outfit struggle for the right response. She probably should have been there instantly, she realized with dismay. Something could go wrong. She became briefly aware that her fingernails had been digging into the palms of her clenched hands.

Juliet rolled her shoulders trying to relieve some of the tension she was feeling.

Then, she took a deep breath, smoothed her clothing and walked over towards them."Hold on, Phil…I just got the new list from Amy. Last minute additions." She peered over at Kate and inquired in a neutral inquisitive tone as though this was her first time meeting Kate, "Miss Austen?"

Kate smiled.

"I'm sorry for the mix up. I'm Juliet." She offered Kate a welcoming handshake and returned the smile, trying to stifle the nagging question that loomed in the back of her head. Why did they have to come back? The knot in her stomach was now tighter than ever. They were actually here! And there was nothing she could do about it…

"Kate."

"Hi, Kate. Welcome to the island."

She would love to stay and chat (not really).

Once she was outside the building, Juliet breathed a sigh of relief. The fresh air instantly cleared head. James had trusted that she would take care of the situation to the best of her ability. And she had done just that.

There were so many questions in her head and there was so much that had been left to speculation. Were the others? And how come only Jack, Kate and Hurley were back. How about Locke? Part of her had wanted to ask Kate but the last thing she wanted was to arouse any suspicions.

In the meantime, Jack, Kate and Hugo were called over to stand with the other group of new recruiters to pose for a photograph.

Right afterwards, Phil announced that there was a 'minor security situation,' during the welcoming ceremony of as new recruits. Bewildered, Jack, Hugo and Kate watch James and Jin AND Sayid in handcuffs.

It had been a long, long day. Physically and mentally exhausted, James walked home looking forward to some quiet time with his family.

That's when he spotted Maarten the salesman waving at him with one hand and carrying a black briefcase in the other. He was wearing a thick pair of dark glasses and his demeanor instantly reminded him of the insurance salesman in the movie Groundhog Day who keeps running into Bill Murray in the same place and time day after day…until Bill Murray realizes that he's just doomed to living the same day over and over again…Groundhog's day.

"La Fleur, wait up!"

James turned around and for a second, he watched him step off the sidewalk in a beeline towards him, half expecting the salesman to greet him just like in the movie.

"I got your special purchase." As he spoke, Maarten looked furtively around them as if making sure that no one else would overhear. "I came in the sub this morning but I just wanted to catch you when you were alone…like you asked."

The ring! With all of today's events, he had completely forgotten about it.

James frowned. "It was just about time, wasn't it?"

"I didn't know it was on back-order until I got to Ann Arbor." Maarten shrugged apologetically. "Then, there was nothing I could do but wait."

James took the ring in it's velvet box, put it in his pocket and murmured a rushed good-bye.

As he resumed his walk back home he considered for the first time in many months about the right time to present Juliet the ring.

By the time he had reached the front door, he had decided that the ring would have to wait. With everything happening today, he would need to wait until the crisis was over.

That night after dinner Juliet rocked her son in the wooden rocking chair in the nursery while reading How The Grinch stole Christmas (normally James and she would take turns reading on alternate days). Tonight was her turn.

The Grinch had been caught by this Tiny Who daughter who'd got out of bed for a cup of cold water.

She stared at the Grinch and said, "Santy Claus, why, why are you taking our Christmas tree, why?

J.J finished the bottle he had been nursing quietly as his mother read the book. He turned to her and asked "WHY?"

This was J.J's favorite page and he always asked 'why' when they got to this point in the story. Sometimes, he would study the page intently and refuse to move on, wanting his mother to keep talking to him about whatever she would choose to tell him. He loved listening to her talk about the pictures on the page or about more abstract concepts such as stealing and right from wrong.

She loved talking to him about these things even though he probably understood very little at his age. But she figured the gist of it would somehow stay in his subconscious mind.

"WHY?" he would invariably ask again in an attempt to keep his mother engaged in this sort of one-sided conversation.

The truth was just as old as time, Juliet thought. Some people just enjoyed taking other people's Christmas trees for the heck of it. Some people were just too self-absorbed in thinking about their own needs to care much about other people's Christmas trees.

The saddest thing of all is when we find ourselves acting like the tiny little Who child who kept thinking that the Grinch was the real Santa Claus, when in reality the Grinch had only come to steal all her hopes and dreams.

She hadn't realized how much she had been talking but it must have been a long time because next thing she knew J.J was rubbing his eyes, looking sleepy.

"Okay, little guy, time for bed," she whispered, stroking her son's forehead. Sometimes they just couldn't get past this page and finish the book. That's just how it was.

For a while there, she had been so absorbed in the story that it nearly made her forgot the troubles of the day.

A few moments later, Juliet was tucking J.J in his crib with his favorite blanket and favorite teddy bear.

She gently closed the door of the nursery behind her.

"He's almost asleep." She said to James who was sitting in the living room reading a book.

"Alright, I'll come in and say goodnight again." He grinned.

Juliet smiled back. James had developed this little routine with J.J which had started one night when their child lay in bed unable to sleep right after Juliet had read him a bedtime story. Seeing his son cuddled up in bed with his teddy bear and wearing his footed P.J's, James couldn't resist and improvised a story off the top of his head. And so it went, J.J had come to expect this special treat every other night.

Right then doorbell rang and Juliet went to open the door still smiling.

It was Jack.

She was genuinely glad to see him as there was a part of her that would always be fond of Jack. The feeling seemed to be mutual. In fact, Juliet had the distinct impression that Jack was immensely relieved to see that she was okay. After all, the last time they'd seen each other there had been chaos all around as their group had prepared to leave the island.

"I was looking for Sawyer, I guess I came to the wrong house."

"No, come on in," Juliet opened the door all the way.

Jack caught sight of James sitting with a book on his lap.

"Good evening, Doc."

Jack smiled and kept on smiling. Sawyer and Juliet? Together? Well, this certainly seems to be a bit of a surprising development. Right then, he could have sworn he heard the cry of a child. He shook his head…no, this couldn't be…he thought mistrusting his own senses.

"Aw…I bet you two have a lot to talk about," Juliet excused herself. Apparently, J.J was still awake.

James offered him a beer. Jack declined.

"I don't even know where to start," Jack dropped his eyes for a second. "How about with Sayid?

James tells him he had to improvise regarding Sayid, he had no choice.

"So now, Sayid is safe, that's all that matters."

"So where do we go from here?"

"I'm working on it.

"It looked to me like you were reading a book."

James heard the translation in his head: Seems to me that you're doing nothing about this. It was just so like Jack to think that there was only one way for things to get done: his way.

"I heard once Winston Churchill read a book every night, even during the Blitz. He said it made him think better. It's how I like to run things. I think. I'm sure that doesn't mean that much to you, 'cause back when you were calling the shots, you pretty much just reacted. See, you didn't think, Jack, and as I recall, a lot of people ended up dead."

Jack didn't like hearing that. Of course, he would rather run things himself and tell people what to do…the last thing he wants is letting other people call the shots, James thought.

"I got us off the island." Jack stated solemnly.

"But here you are right back where you started. So I'm gonna go back to reading my book, and I'm gonna think, 'cause that's how I saved your ass today. And that's how I'm gonna save Sayid's tomorrow. James started walking to the door. All you gotta do is go home, get a good night's rest. He opened the door. Let me do what I do. Now ain't that a relief?"

Jack had already left when Juliet came back into the living room and James had resumed his position in the living room. Although he had the book open on his lap, he had been staring into space.

"Do you think Jack will stay out of your way?" she asked when he looked up at her as she sat on the couch beside him. She knew Jack; it wasn't in his character to take orders from others or take a backseat role.

"He ain't calling the shots anymore…he just needed a little reminder."

"This thing with Sayid…"

"I'll talk to him in the morning… I just didn't get a chance today. He'll talk to me and cooperate, it's the only sensible thing to do... he'll understand once I get through to him." He reassured her.

James didn't want to discuss the situation with Sayid any further. Just like he said to Jack, he wanted to think things through before he took any action. He needed this before he discussed it with anyone.

Juliet sighed. "I guess I'll be turning in…" she smiled softly. "Are you coming soon?" she needed him tonight more than ever.

James cocked his head slightly. "A little early tonight, huh?" He closed his book and studied her for a moment. "So you're really too tired tonight?" he asked, a tiny smirk curving his lips. "Cause y'know I was thinkin'…" he trailed off. His eyes twinkled with mischief, tiny dimples emerging.

She knew exactly what he was thinking.

She bit her lip in a subtle flirty way. "Hmm… I never said anything about being tired," she took his hand and happily led him into the bedroom.

A/N: At this point, I'm thinking I should have chapter 37 posted soon (I've got parts of it done already). Visit my home/profile page in a few days for an approximate date.

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