A/N: As in the previous chapter, the actual dialogue of episodes He's Our You and Whatever Happened, Happened will be in italics and underlined to distinguish it from character thoughts.

Thank you notes: Serendipity Cullen, eyeon, makealist and emerson023 for chapter 36 reviews.

Georgia: This story is my first fanfic and dear to me; however it had been buried at the bottom of my to-do list for quite some time. Your review came at time when I least expected it, so I really had to dig through my files in order to continue where I left off. The thing is that I do have multiple computer files, handwritten notes and outlines for this story as I wrote the first version back in 2012 and has been through various edits ever since while still following original plan.

So, thank you for your feedback. I do so looove hearing from new readers and guest reviewers!

Thehungerpotter (Dudah): Your reviews in the past few days have renewed my enthusiasm for this story! It's really been wonderful being able to talk with you as you read. Now, I can't wait for you to get to this chapter :) Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me, there are not many people out there who still get excited about Suliet.

In my opinion, Suliet's reunion in The End was the best scene I've seen on television. My favorite part is where she tells him "We should have coffee sometime," and he says, I'd love to, but that machine ate my dollar." It's like he doesn't hear the 'sometime' part, instead he interprets her words as an immediate invitation...of course, he can't wait, they'd been separated for so long now!

READERS: Something to consider: this story got really confusing between chapters 20 and 25. In hindsight, it was probably a little too much and it turned away readers (back then part of me wanted to skip all those chapters and move on to ch 25), SO if you made it this far, congratulations! Sorry, I know this is long, (and I'm not even handing out any give away prizes) but one last thing: had I deviated from my original plan it would have created a big mess and this story would have just made no sense whatsoever.

Although now everything DOES makes sense, doesn't it?

We Didn't Need Saving

JULY 1977 (continued from chapter 36)

That night they both tossed in bed, unable to sleep.

Realizing that he was still awake, Juliet snuggled up to him and rested her head against his chest.

He drank in her nearness, the scent of her calling out to him, pulling him into her magnetic gravity. With the lightness of a feather, he planted a kiss on her forehead.

Her eyes sought his.

Even in the semi-darkness of the room he was able to see the soft tenderness in her gaze and blood hammered through his veins.

And they made love that night until the wee hours of the morning, savoring every moment as though they knew it would be their last. Their spiritual bond reached soaring heights and the strength of eagles as they made their way across the clear blue sky.

Eventually, Juliet found sleep in his arms, happy and spent.

A couple of hours later, she woke to the beeping of her alarm clock. Her body still sang from his touch and her loins still burned hot for him.

"James?" she murmured, realizing that he was missing from her bed and still thinking that he must be nearby.

But he wasn't .

She rolled out of bed with a moan, wishing she could stay a little longer.

There he was in the kitchen whipping up pancakes and some bacon.

"Mornin' sleepyhead," he greeted her realizing that she was not quite yet ready to take on the day. "Couldn't go back to sleep, so I decided to get an early start on breakfast."

Other than their voices, the house seemed eerily quiet. "Where's J.J?" she asked clad in an indigo top that brought forth the color of her enigmatic blue eyes and a pair of dark blue jeans.

"I took him to Mrs. Johnson's." James quickly replied with a slight tilt of the head and one of his best signature smiles. Yep, he'd gotten the kid dressed, fed and ready to go all while Juliet was still in dreamland.

"Wh-what?" she was such a change in their regular routine. Her heart sank. She missed seeing her son's angelic little face; he was particularly adorable first thing in the morning.

Already life was changing; things that she had taken for granted were no longer a given.

James pulled the pancakes off the griddle and served them on a plate. Then, he motioned for Juliet to take a seat at the table. " "Bacon's ready," he smiled at her, and then took the frying pan off the burner in the nick of time. Otherwise, it would have burned.

After they were done eating, Juliet went to stand by the window with an air of elusiveness.

"What's on the TV?" He asked standing beside her.

They peered at Jack and Kate as they strode across the path directly in front of their yellow house as though it was the most natural thing in the world... as though they had always belonged here.

"It's over, isn't it ? Juliet wondered, the rational part of her mind refusing to be pacified: there was trouble ahead and that was all there was to it.

What's over?

"All of it. Our lives here…"

James looked away for a moment, he needed to hang onto a sliver of hope that in the end everything would work out okay.

"I never actually thought they'd come back." Juliet reiterated.

"So they're back. Nothing's changed. I'll do everything in my power to make sure of this, Goddammit...

What if Sayid tells them who he is?

"Sayid ain't saying nothin'"

"Hey," he traced her cheek with his finger ever so softly, "I got this under control," he reassured her as she stood by the window with soft sunlight slanting through the curtains.

She moved her cheek closer in response to his touch, the silent weight of her love for him shinning through that riveting combination of beauty, intelligence and furtiveness.

Next thing they knew, Horace was knocking on their door with news about Sayid.

James opened the door. "Morning, H. What's up?

There was a problem with the prisoner.

When James later visited Sayid, he realized that there were going to be some bumps ahead. He tried to get Sayid to understand that if he let him go, everyone else in would be in jeopardy including Jack, Kate and Hugo.

Although first most on his mind were Juliet and J.J. It was up to him to keep them safe.

Juliet and Kate at the motor pool.

"….Plugs, bearings, sockets, ratchets here."

Juliet turned to Kate, How are you with a flat 4 engine? You have no idea what I'm talking about, right?

"No, not really."

"It's okay." Juliet reassured her.

There was a short moment of silence where both women seemed to gather their thoughts.

"Jack told you about us?"

"No", Kate paused."Hurley actually." She chuckled.

It's kinda of a relief, actually" Juliet leaned back against the long table behind her, crossing her legs. "I didn't know quite how to do it without sounding like I was telling you to stay away."

"It's fine" Kate smiled. "So you two are together?"Kate inquired politely.

Well, not just together. We love each other and we have a son, Juliet opened her mouth to speak yet the words refused to form in her lips. She knew that it was just a matter of time before everyone found out about J.J, but first she had to find out what Jack was up to.

How had she fallen in love so deeply in love with this man? Love had sneaked up on her at the pace of a snail. It had started back in the jungle with we got each other's back...and then she had found herself thinking that maybe he was alright and NOT bad looking. Before long, she was telling herself: I will stay just stay and not board the sub cause we're such great friends. And you know, great friends are really hard to come by. And he's such a great conversationalist, pulling out references to and fro. He makes me laugh like no one ever has (no, seriously, I don't normally laugh out loud). And he loves books ( guess what, we happen to have that in common and that is definitely a biggie).

What do you know, one day he just pulls me into his arms and... well...he's such a great kisser and I just couldn't board the sub and possibly miss out on…( hmm…who knows?).

They heard the sound of an engine approaching. It was Horace behind the wheel. Just a few feet away from where they stood, they saw Sayid being held in custody.

Juliet met James' gaze for a second. In that one instant he was able to convey to her that although he would like to know what was going on, he really did not have time for anything but what was going on with Sayid.

"Juliet!" Someone motioned her to an engine that was blowing smoke. "We need your help over here!"

"We'll talk later?" Juliet said to Kate before going back to work.

At Amy's house.

All right, what do we do with him? Horace asked.

"We kill him," Radzinsky stated.

"Hold on a second, we're not killing anyone, are we? James asked in worried tone.

The group discussed all the ramifications of the situation with the hostile and the fact that he violated the truce. Radzinky pushed for his agenda while Horace played the pacifist role.

"The longer he's among us, the more danger we're in," Radzinsky pointed out.

"I can talk to him, Horace, I just need more time," James pleaded.

"NO! You had you're chance, La Fleur!" Radzinsky scoffed.

In the end, the group decided to call for a vote and take things to the next level.

Amy agreed with Radinsky and made a personal appeal to Horace, "We have no choice".

Seeing that James was the only hold out at this point, Horace decided to up the pressure a notch. "We'd like to make it unanimous."

On the surface, James agreed with the group thinking that the last thing he needed was to give rise to suspicion. The bottom line was that there was still a chance that somehow he can get Sayid to cooperate. He only needed more time to figure out what to say to him so that he would finally come to his senses.

James and Kate.

After visiting Sayid in his cell once again and offering a means to escape (which he refused) James could no longer deny to himself that things were getting complicated. He certainly had not counted on Sayid refusing to cooperate especially when he emphasized that he was going to get killed. As it turned out, Sayid was a variable completely outside his control.

Against his better judgment, James decided to stop by Kate's bungalow.

"Why'd you come back?" He asked when she opened the door, it just didn't make any darn sense. "…and I wanna know, why you all come back?

"Uh…" Kate dropped her gaze.

"Why, Kate?

Kate looked uncomfortable. "I don't know why everyone else came back. I just know why I did."

I came back to find Claire. I have Aaron, y'know," she took a deep breath. "And it's not right… for him to be without his mother…"

"Claire's been missing since the day you left," James pursed his lips and exhaled. He shuddered remembering all the times they had gone back in the jungle looking for any signs of Claire, but it was as if the earth had swallowed her. "Look, Kate we've been doing fine here. We've had a good life and now…"

Right then, they heard the engine of a runaway van on fire and crushes into a building. Everyone rushed in to help.

Aftermath: Sayid shoots Ben.

Once he learned of the shooting, James asked Miles to keep Jack, Kate and Hurley under house arrest as a precautionary measure and have some control over the flow of information.

MILES: You can't change anything. You're maniac Iraqi buddy shot Linus. That's what always happened…we just never experienced how it all turns out. Miles is pissed. As far as he was concerned the Oceanic Six (or five actually) were truly loony for coming back to the island. Things are rapidly spinning out of control and he cannot predict the outcome of all this.

HURLEY: That was really confusing.

James dashed inside and immediately turned to Jack.

"NO, I'm not coming with you." Jack stated in a calm and collected manner.

James was astounded. How could the Doc refuse to save someone's life? "If you don't come with me, Jack, that kid's gonna die."

"Then he dies" Jack replied. He'd already saved Ben Linus' life back in hydra island. He did it for Kate but now she won't even give him the time of day. Yep, he'd gotten the short end of the stick. Earlier Kate had snorted: "This is our fault," We brought Sayid back, we caused this!"

The more Jack pondered on this, the more he believed his position to be justified. After all, things had turned out worse than he had hoped. In the future (or past), he had tried to save Kate and Sawyer from captivity and sacrificed himself; yet the Others were still relentless in their quest to overpower the survivors.

Juliet and Kate at the infirmary

Annoyed at Jack, Kate checked in at the infirmary and winds up donating blood for the 'save little Ben' cause.

"So, James tells me that Jack wouldn't help, but he didn't say why." Juliet prompted.

"If I understood what Jack does what he does I wouldn't be sitting here."

Juliet thought that was sort of a negative thing to say. "Off-island did something happen with you two?

"We were engaged. Does that count?"

Juliet was surprised, not so much by the engagement itself but rather by the implication of a break-up. From the minute that she had stepped aside three years ago so that Kate could be with Jack, she had wholeheartedly assumed they would get together ...AND stay together.

"Listen, Kate. I don't need to know the details of what happened. But to me, it's obvious that Jack cares about you still."

Kate sighed. She really didn't want to discuss her relationship with Jack. In fact Juliet would be the last person she would to discuss Jack with. Thus, it was safer to change the subject. " So you're with Sawyer, now." she paused to make sure she had Juliet's full attention. "So what's your secret?" she countered, "What's the glue that keeps you two together…?"

Roger barged in to see what's going on with Ben and interrupts their conversation.

Miles and Hurley

Once again Miles tries to clarify whatever happened, happened. "Because once Ben turned that wheel…time is not in a straight line for us anymore. Our experiences in the past and in the future for us occurred before these experiences right now.

Needless to say, Hurley was hopelessly confused. "Say that again?"

Then, Hurley wondered aloud why Ben doesn't remember back when he was captured in the hatch (since it was Ben's future) why wouldn't he remember Sayid as the guy who shot him when he was a kid?

Huh…I hadn't thought of that." Miles admitted that Hurley might actually have a point.

Juliet and Jack

Thinking that they could not stand around and watch little Ben die, Kate and Juliet decided they would secretly load the boy into one of the Volkswagen vans and that Kate would be the one taking him to the Others.

While Kate was away, Juliet payed Jack a visit at his bungalow.

Jack was in the kitchen, eating sandwich when she arrived.

"Jack, I need to talk to you."

Hurley and Miles agreed to leave so that she and Jack can have some privacy.

"I needed you. That kid was bleeding out. You're a surgeon."

"That kid is Ben."

"It's not Ben yet. He's just a kid."

"Juliet, I'm sorry, I can't help you." He shrugged and then ate another bite of his sandwich.

"I'm not asking for your help, Jack, you made it pretty clear that you're not interested." she paused."It's up to Sawyer and Kate now."

"What?" Jack put down his sandwich on the counter and gave Juliet a hard look.

"I sent James after her to help because they actually care."

"I came back because I care, I was trying to save you."

'We didn't need saving! We've been fine for three years!" Juliet cried."You came back here for you! At least do me the courtesy of telling me why."

"I came back because I was supposed to."

"Supposed to do what?"

"I don't know yet."

Juliet shook her head. This was ridiculous. "Well, you'd better figure it out!. She was not going to let this matter rest "Why after all this time?"

Jack shrugged. Then, he took out a blender and some pre-cut mango slices from the refrigerator. "All I need is some juice and I'll make us a mango smoothie."

"No thanks." Juliet said coldly. "What gave you the idea that you were supposed to come back?" she reiterated.

"I...just had this feeling..." he said evasively, now debating whether he should mention Ben Linus and John Locke.

"So you came on this plane...but how were you planning to get back?" Noting that Jack seemed hesitant, she added, "don't tell me that you were just planning on staying here then...as in forever?"

"We didn't have a plan," he admitted, focusing on the blender and the smoothie preparation. "So…you're happy here…with him, with Sawyer?" Jack still couldn't wrap his head around this. He still didn't think very highly of Sawyer. Wasn't this the same guy who had hoarded all the goodies from the plane after they'd crashed and had behaved for the most part like a humongous pain in the ass?

"Yes, I am." She gave him a thin smile.

He shook his head in disbelief, but decided to change his tune. "Last time I saw you…you wanted to leave this island more than anything in the world. How about your sister, don't you wanna go back for your family?" Jack turned on the blender after mixing some orange juice and chunks of mangoes. "Are you sure you don't want some, Juliet?" he asked and without waiting for a response he filled two cups with the tropical drink.

She sighed. "Okay. Fine. I'll have some," she said as Jack handed her her a glass. Then, she sat in the easy chair in the living room closest to the kitchen. She would be more likely to get on board with this 'go back to the future' plan if only there was a plan. There was simply too much at stake. She had to think of her son, she couldn't just take him out of the world he knew into the unknown.

Juliet drained her smoothie in three gulps. Plus, there was also the matter of J.J's unknown status. Ever since Jack and company came back, she had become preoccupied with how would this all affect her son. If they went back…would he then still be a child? Unlike his parents, he had not traveled to the 70's…he had actually been born in the 70's. Thus, the future was really his future and not his past.

"We like it here. " She retorted after a while. "We've built a life. We're respected and James…" she wanted to say that she was not sure how James would do out in the real world. He had changed from the man he'd used to be yet that also meant that his whole identity as a man was wrapped up in his position as head of security of the Dharma Initiative. But of course, she couldn't say any of this to Jack; she couldn't give him the impression that she had nothing but absolute faith in her man. "We're happy here." She concluded.

"I think I can get us back, Juliet… We don't belong here… I just need a little time to figure out how."

James and Kate talk

James was not happy to learn that Juliet and Kate have banded together to remove Ben from the Dharma compound. Yet, he listened to Juliet's point of view. She really believed that child Ben was not the evil person who had made their lives miserable back in the future.

"Whatever happened, happened." James reminded her of what Daniel Faraday used to say.

"This is Ben's past…but it's our present…somehow, I doubt that we will re-live the past which is really Ben's future. Yes, what's done is done…" Juliet ran a hand across her forehead. "One thing is true…we can't control the past or the future…all we have is today…and I think that today we can only do our best."

Later, James finds Kate who had taken Ben in one the Dharma vans. Kate wondered why he's willing to help Ben.

"I'm doing it for her," he told Kate in reference to Juliet.

That was the first indication that Kate has that James was not the same man that she had known three years earlier. Sawyer, the Sawyer she knew would have never agreed to help Ben; rather he'd probably be focusing on getting his revenge. After all, back when they were imprisoned in the cages, she had witnessed first hand Ben Linus' ruthlessness.

As they walked along the creek with James carrying little Ben, she seized the opportunity to further test her theory.

"So you've changed." she studied him with a hint of smile. "You're now Mr. LaFleur...a different man from the one who asked me to take care of his daughter."

Needing a break from carrying Ben through the jungle, James puts his unconscious body down by the creek, supporting his head.

"Did you?" He looked up at Kate, expectantly.

"Of course I did. "

"What is she like?"

"Clementine?"

"Yeah, Clementine." He had often wondered about his daughter…and whether she even knows about him, yet he feels as though he doesn't even have the right to ask.

"Oh, she's beautiful…looks just like you when she smiles." Kate said fondly. "She's got a little attitude."

"I bet you and Cassidy had a lot to talk about." He imagined that Cassidy had a lot to bitch about.

"She's got an interesting theory as to why you jumped off the chopper."

"Yeah…what's that?"

Looking a tad uncomfortable, Kate rubbed the back of her neck. "She says you were worried about what would happen if you didn't."

He thought this over. Well, I tell ya what would have happened Kate. If I had stayed on the chopper…you, Hurley, Jack and the others wouldn't have made it off the island. That's what. He felt like saying this, yet he bit his tongue. That would probably be confused with some kind of heroic act…of the likes of Jack.

His mind momentarily flashed to the time when Lapidus had mentioned that the chopper was riding too heavy. James had noticed the guilty look on Hurley's face.

However, the main reason he had jumped off was that he felt that if anyone should have been left behind, it was him. Everyone else deserved a chance.

"I told her about us," Kate clarified.

James shook his head. "You and me would have never worked out, Kate. I wasn't any more fit to be your boyfriend than I was to be that little girl's father. "

Kate smiled to herself, the Sawyer she knew would have never said that. "You seem to be doing alright with Juliet. So you've been together for 3 years? That's a long time. Longer than Jack and I were together."

He sighed. " Yeah, I've done a lot of growing up in the last 3 years. I have a position of responsibility here, Kate. These people, the Dharma folk, they trust me…they trust all of us, Miles, Jin, Juliet." He took a deep breath, glancing down at little Ben who was still unconscious, wiping his forehead. "They're our people now."

"Are you telling me that you are happy here…all of you?" Kate inquired in disbelief, taking a seat on a rock nearby.

"Why is it so hard to believe?" he gave her an inquisitive look. "So, why did you and Jack come back? All this time…I pictured that by now you'd be living together in house with a white picket fence and a couple of little rascals in tow."

Kate looked away. "It just didn't work out that way...Jack and I were together for a while…but then went our separate ways," she smiled ruefully. "I wanted it to work out…I wanted for us to be a family…we had Aaron. But…I just…"she trailed off with a defeated look on her face.

"Well, just cos' you broke up don't mean that you can't get back together," James said in an encouraging tone. "Jack's crazy about you, Kate… he still is. The way he looks at you. You know that, right?"

James did not really enjoy playing matchmaker, but he figured that it would be a lot easier to get the Doc and Kate to assimilate into the Dharma initiative as a couple. Otherwise, they'd be like two separate loose cannons heading in different directions.

Kate scratched her head. James was the second person today telling her the same thing, yet... "It's not that simple," she mumbled.

"It can be, Kate. You just gotta stop being so darn stubborn!" he stood up, lifting Ben into his arms. They had to get moving. "Both of you, I mean…" he clarified.

Right then, they heard weapons being drawn. They were now surrounded by the Others who were quick to point out that they were in violation of the truce. Unfazed, James demanded that this group of Others take them to Richard Alpert. In order to save little Ben, time was of the essence.

But of course, there was more at stake than saving little Ben.

Now James had to make sure that the tape showing him and Kate crossing the sonic fence was destroyed.

A/N: I'm currently juggling/writing TWO other stories for TWO different fandoms (Which by the way are both a piece of cake in comparison to this one). So, yes, I've been busy, busy, busy. The writing muse is an independent being fueled by positive feedback.

Therefore, This story will continue as long as there is continued reader support . Don't count on someone else reviewing. Chances are they're also thinking the same as you.