Sawyer woke up gently to the distant rumble of thunder. His arm automatically reaching for the space beside him. He could see Juliet's silhouetted form through the darkness. He released a grateful sigh as his hand lightly came in contact with the curve of her waist as she slept facing away from him. He felt her steadily breathing and closed his eyes.
He lay there considering their conversation from the night before. He was actually very relieved to know Juliet and Ben hadn't had any sort of romantic relationship. Juliet hadn't said much but the look on her face told him that Ben definitely had feelings for her that were never reciprocated. He felt a strange guilty pang and wished he'd paid more attention to Juliet or even to Ben back when they had first met. The only thing he was focused on back then had been Kate. Kate... Sawyer groaned- He'd been such a tool. But then again- Jack had been hovering over Juliet like moth to a flame. He didn't suppose The Doc woulda let him within 10 feet of her when she'd first arrived, and now he understood why. He sighed as he realized that Jack knew from the beginning not to push Juliet- he knew her better and it sort of pissed him off that getting to know Juliet had come so easily to Jack. Clearly she had been attracted to him. He shook the thought of the two of them kissing as he glanced back at them on the hillside that day that Juliet left with him to head back to the beach. The only thing he cared about back then was that Kate didn't go with him. He blinked in thought as it occurred to him that Juliet would've been a hell of a lot safer with Jack but she still went with him voluntarily, alone."Karma" pfft. yeh. Some karma he was- Look where that had gotten them.
There was a lot more he wanted to know. He sometimes seriously disliked the fact that he wasn't the type to "let shit go" Hell- if he were, he wouldn't be on this damn island in the first place. It also bothered him that Jack's approach with Juliet had been more effective than his. Of course Jack was more mature-not older but he was educated and Sawyer was pretty sure he had been married. He remembered sizing Jack up after the plane crashed, trying to determine if he was a threat. He had also made a mental note of the white ring mark around Jack's finger where a band once was. That's what Sawyer did- he picked up the details. Why was this so much harder with Juliet? Even when he had noticed questionable things about her she was the queen of misdirection. He was either wrong or shut down. He had gotten better though, with everyone. The past few months had been crazy and amazing and he had to admit that he was learning to not force topics. Even with Jin and Miles- There were certain things he just kinda left off the table. With Miles- it was his parents. With Jin, Sun and the baby. It didn't take him long to realize these people were the closest thing to family he'd ever had and he was finding it was important to him not to damage what they all had. Was it possible he was growing up? Finally settling into a life with people he could trust?
His brow furrowed a bit at the thought of what he'd do if Juliet decided that she'd rather be without him. Pre-island Sawyer would've thrown up his hands and walked away with not another care in the world- "Next!" That wasn't the case anymore. He honestly didn't know what his stubborn ass would do. Not so very long ago he had been quite the womanizer, hell he'd even had sex on the island with Ana Lucia- just that one time for no other reason than to do it. His past was shrouded in numerous flings and one night stands. His face dropped expression as it also hit him that he had been truly alone that entire time. He hadn't cared about any of them at all, not until Cassidy and even then- there was a limit he wouldn't allow himself to exceed.
Sawyer found it interesting that since they arrived in Dharmaville that no other women had even mildly peeked his interest the way Juliet did. He guessed it was the idea that everyone was "old enough to be his parents" even if they appeared the same age. It was also hard to overlook the fact that these people were not going to be going back to the future with them. Sawyer decided early that it would be easier if he kept them in a "hands off" category. It was comfortably weird. He had to admit he didn't really even want to try to get to know anyone outside his group if he didn't have to. Sure, he occasionally got the wink from Heather in records- or maybe he saw a few of the ladies grouped up at lunch smile as he passed by but it was different. His mind was always on this blonde that lay beside him. He was pretty sure Miles didn't feel the same as he did. He was constantly askin' if he'd noticed "so-and-so" or what he thought of some of the single ladies in Dharmaville. Guess it was different though. He wasn't even born yet.
Juliet sighed sweetly in her sleep and rolled to her back. Sure, Juliet could be stubborn but she kept him grounded. He was able to be himself- to breathe. She loved him like she was going to lose him and it made his heart want her even more. Sawyer's hand casually slid off of her and he decided that was his cue to get up and see what time it was. He squinted as he watched her sleep, realizing that neither of them had had any bad dreams. They were better together. It was like the physical presence of the other kept the demons at bay. Sawyer was glad to be back on days, things could only get easier now that Billy Boy was gone. He quietly rolled up and out of bed, got dressed and stopped one last time to look at Juliet before heading off to work.
...
Sawyer swung by the cafeteria to check the time and picked up an egg sandwich then headed to the security building. He was almost an hour early but it didn't matter- he was awake and it was better than being late. The security station was a buzz with a mix of night and day crew. Apparently he wasn't the only one would figured that today would be a busy day. Phil was on the phone with the power station and Jerry was sitting in a raincoat by the coffee maker. Miles and Jin had also just arrived.
"Stuart left a checklist for you guys- suppose to rain a bit later but nothin' like yesterday. It's been a long, boring, soggy, cold night- so good morning and good night." Jerry said sleepily as he pointed at the counter where a binder of papers lay before turning and dragging himself up the stairs.
Miles poured himself a coffee and silently gestured if anyone else would like one. Both Jin and Sawyer nodded and Miles poured two more as they listened to Phil.
"Alright go head."
The lights in the station flickered briefly and Phil drug the phone cord over to the monitor banks. 4 cameras came on- static filled at first then slowly clearing into viable footage.
"That's some of them, yeah 1-4 are up. Keep working on the fence. I'll have LaFleur take over- I'm heading out. K- I'll probably be back early- I just need a few hours." Phil said to whoever was on the other line before ending his conversation and hanging up.
"So- power is back up at about half of the stations outside the fence- the list is there." Phil said pointing to a bulletin board on the wall with a map of the islands stations- there were red and blue push pins in it marking which had power and which didn't.
"Stuart is working with The Arrow and The Flame. Horace will be running clean up here in the barracks. Hopefully all the housing will have power by the time I wake up. Start with the list. " Phil sighed heavily then grabbed his things and headed out.
"No problemo Groucho, we'll see ya in a few hours." Sawyer said slapping Phil on the shoulder as he passed.
Miles waited for Phil to leave then slid over and started messing with the dials on the monitors.
"Well, ain't this just peachy" Sawyer said sarcastically as he walked over to the map on the wall. It definitely had more red pins than blue and Sawyer let out a sigh.
Jin picked up the check list from the counter, nodding to himself as he read it silently before speaking.
"I will start by checking all main barracks buildings" He said pointing at the list and grabbing a raincoat.
"I'll call the power station, get the rest of these cameras up." Miles said sliding his chair loudly across the floor and reaching for the phone.
"Guess I'll go get the Jeep and run the fence perimeter make sure it's all secure and whatnot" Sawyer scowled as he opened the gun locker and pulled out rifle and a walkie.
...
Sawyer walked out to the fence warily. He stared through the pylons across the field, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he looked for any signs of movement. At least there was no rain and all was quiet. The fence was up and running sans the cameras and he approached the control panel. He was pleased to see the orange light from yesterday was no longer flashing as he punched in the code. He crossed over and reached into the Jeep to turn the key, which was still in the ignition- the engine stuttered but wouldn't turn over. "Of course it's dead you idiot!" he groaned. He stepped back through the fence and reset the code before turning back and heading to the Motor Pool. He walked into the garage though the big doors as Kevin walked in simultaneously from the side. Kevin arched a brow at Sawyer.
"Heyo-LaFleur. You broke my Jeep didn't ya?" He said after reading the frustrated look on Sawyer's face.
Sawyer sighed heavily running his hand through his hair.
"Yeh, gunna need a hand gettin' it back from the fence. Ya gotta a few minutes for a tow?"
"Sure thing man- Hey Jess, I'm gunna take the number 8 van for a bit- help LaFleur get the number 4 back." Kevin said as he picked up his cigarettes and grabbed a set of keys from a hook near the tool counter. Jesse stepped out of the supply room and nodded.
"It's c...cool. I'll have a look at it when ya get it back. Hopefully just a dead b..battery or something." Jesse replied as he waved nervously at LaFleur and walked over to start yanking a heavy chain out of a barrel.
"Thanks twitchy." Sawyer said coolly.
Kevin tossed the chain into the back of the van and hopped in- Sawyer climbed in the passenger side and they headed back out to the fence.
"So- minus the rain. Things went pretty well? Juliet seemed pretty rattled the other day. Glad you two got away for a little while while all the shit was goin' down with Bill."
"Yeh- Juliet can usually hold her own but I ain't upset that you were here when he showed up."
"Sorry I gave ya a Jeep- they said rain but no one mentioned it would be that bad man- figured you'd be back long before it started."
Sawyer stared out the window and his nose wrinkled a bit.
"Don't worry about it, ain't yer fault, unless you yer the guy in charge of the weather." Sawyer said looking over at Kevin as he adjusted the rifle, leaning it casually against his knee.
"Ha- that I am not, man. That I am not." Kevin smiled.
The drove the few minutes to the fence in silence. They arrived back at the fence and got out- Kevin had pulled the van up backwards towards the front end of the Jeep and he and Sawyer worked to hook the chain to the bumper.
"Wanted to thank ya for what happened with The Cowboy the other day. I know Juliet already said it but- yeh..." Sawyer nodded honestly as he took a second to put the rifle into the Jeep.
He really liked this guy for some reason. He was honest but not pushy. Kevin took a second to figure out who the nick name was for then sighed in acknowledgement then lit himself a cigarette before leaning on the van bumper and offering one to Sawyer. Sawyer felt his mouth water and closed his eyes...
"Nah brother, I quit awhile back. Ain't you heard? Those things'll kill ya" He said - secretly proud of himself for not succumbing to his old habit. Kevin let out a light laugh and puffed for a minute then continued.
"I haven't been here too long so I didn't know they had history. Bill and Juliet. I woulda had a closer eye on things if I knew, Juliet's a genuinely sweet person. She reminds me of my sister back home. Don't know that she's beautiful which makes her even more so. Ya know?" Sawyer contemplated Kevin's words and had to admit-for not knowing her long. He was right. He said it so matter of factually that Sawyer had to let out a laugh himself as he pictured Juliet's reaction to someone giving her that compliment.
"Jesse told me a bit about what happened before I got here. Pretty scary shit. The situation with the "hostiles" and all. I kinda had a feelin' about Bill's crush on her but didn't know he had a fucked up mean streak. He always seemed pretty casual whenever I worked with him. But yeh- there was always a weird tension between them now that I look back on it. Hopefully Bill gets the help-those army guys have seen too much. Makes me glad I dodged the draft man. Well not really dodged...Turns out I'm flat-footed and didn't qualify to be sent into Viet-hell but you'll never hear me complain."
Sawyer arched a brow and had to admit he was happy to hear Juliet reminded him of his sister. Kevin finished his smoke and Sawyer climbed into the wet Jeep- growling as he felt his pants soaking through. Kevin started the van and Sawyer did his best to steer the Jeep as the chain yanked it roughly back towards the garage.
The day went pretty well after that, to be honest, Sawyer was glad to not be trapped indoors staring at blank monitors all day or having been forced to check every building in the barracks for issues.
...
Sawyer grabbed lunch at the cafeteria, which was packed with people that still had no power. Jin was on the far side of the room at a full table with his clipboard and Sawyer gave him a nod before heading out. He had hoped to see Juliet but didn't. He heard that she was out with Amy when he was walking home to change out of his wet clothes and ran into Horace down near the dock. He brought a sandwich and an apple back to Miles and was glad to see all but 2 cameras working.
"Hey, good job Data. Looks like you done better in just a few hours than Phil did all night. " Sawyer commented as he returned his walkie and rifle to their homes.
"Yeh thanks." Mills said rolling his eyes.
"Brought ya lunch, cafeteria is a mad house. What's the word on the stations outside the fence?" Sawyer said as he moved back over to the map on the wall. It now had more blue than red pins which meant most the Dharma stations outside the barracks were fully operational again.
"Better than before, only a few left to check in. Everything is so slow man- I don't know how people survived with so little technology." Miles said irritably.
Sawyer huffed in amusement.
"So-you and Juliet? Things getting back to good?" Miles inquired as he nodded in thanks for the food and unwrapped his sandwich.
"Think so. Yeh. I ain't sleepin' on the couch if that's what yer askin'" Sawyer grinned. Miles shook his head.
"Lucky. bastard. You guys got dinner plans? The cafeteria will probably be nuts if the power doesn't come back on- maybe we can grab some beers an head to the rec center- ya know, for old times sake?"
"Huh, Well Ghengis if I didn't know any better I'd think you missed hangin' out with us." Sawyer replied in a snarky manner.
Miles sighed. "Jin's a good guy but I feel bad takin' all his money at poker- I miss Juliet really, but you can come too, I guess." Miles added stoically.
"Ah, there's that dry sense of humor. We miss you guys too buddy~ Pretty sure we ain't got nothin' better to do."
"It'll be good for you- ya know, socializing for a change? Plus it's like Halloween in a few days and you need practice not scaring everyone off with your ugly mug" Miles said sarcastically.
"Hmmph. Well if it gets busy we can just bust out the candles n hold a seance - maybe you can conjure up the ghost of Marilyn Monroe in preparation for the day of the dead... or somethin'" Sawyer replied matching Miles's enthusiasm.
Sawyer poured himself a coffee and stared at the map on the wall again... His dimples dented into his cheeks as he noticed The Hydra was still marked red. He wasn't sure if that meant they had no power or that they hadn't been heard from yet. He was aware that they had their own security systems and generator on the island and hoped it was just overlooked.
The phone rang and Sawyer took a step over to answer it.
"LaFleur here.- Sonofabitch. Alright- I'll grab Miles and head that way as soon as Jin gets back. Yeh yeh gimme 20 minutes- I'll go get him. channel 2. K."
Miles's eyes grew wide as he shook his head inquiringly silently asking. "Well? What?"
Sawyer hung up the phone and dumped the rest of his coffee before heading over to retrieve his gun and walkie once again.
"LaFleur?!"
"It was Stu. They found a body."