Juliet held eye contact with James, the corner of her mouth twitched as her mind raced. James's expression was one of apology and all out anger.
There was a long silence. Juliet could feel Bill's breath huffing against the back of her head- his torso pressing down on her heaving back with dominant force. Juliet's nose was running, her eyes glassed over in frustration as she lay with her cheek pressed to the floor, her arm painfully tingling.
"Always a fighter when you're pushed. One of the things I like about you, Jules. Just... not right now." Juliet's eyes darted around as she forced breaths in and out of her compressed lungs. She needed to find out his intentions.
"Why are you here?" Juliet asked, her voice just above a whisper. Bill paused, as though it were obvious.
"For you. I... figured it out, the dreams. I know how to help you. Help us." He breathed as he pushed himself up- straddling the backs of her thighs, his voice was remarkably calm as though the two of them had just bumped into one another next to the water cooler at work. Juliet felt a chill crawl up her spine.
Juliet let out a light gasp as his weight shifted. Bill clearly wasn't there to kill them. If he was- James would already be dead. Juliet's brain was suddenly in overdrive, every encounter with Bill was flashing through her mind. Memories of Edmund were also assaulting her as she tried to sort out the threat- and her best approach. She had to be careful, look for an opportunity. Juliet knew that there was no reasoning with Bill-just as with Edmund- she needed to remain calm and hope he did too.
"Ok." She in simple compliance. She saw James from the corner of her eye. He let out a grunt and shuffled to change his angle, she guessed he was trying to sit upright.
"Then help me. but... not... like this." She continued carefully, in a gentle tone that made Sawyer pause. Sawyer watched Bill's eyes move along Juliet's pinned down form for a moment, his face unreadable.
Bill nodded in agreement then released Juliet's head as well as his grip on her twisted arm. Juliet turned her face away from James and rested her head in the opposite direction. Her heart clenched as she heard him respond.
Sawyer watched as the Cowboy softened his hold on Juliet. His hand moved to softy brush her blond locks back out of the way of her face. Her body tensed ever so slightly. Sawyer saw it. Bill didn't.
"I have a plan... to fix it all." Bill said as his palms moved down Juliet's back delicately lifting her shirt to reveal her scar. He traced it lightly with his thumb and Juliet's eyes fluttered- a nauseous feeling crept into her gut. Her expression pinched with anxiety as she listened to James breathe more heavily. She swallowed hard as she tucked her bent arms in closer to her body with her palms to the floor.
"Bill, please." Juliet pleaded in a whisper trying to steady her voice.
Sawyer's eyes closed in frustration at the sound of Juliet begging Bill. Juliet was trapped by this psychopath and it was his fault. She had turned away from him. She didn't want him looking at her. He didn't know what she was doing, what she was thinking. He watched in muffled horror. The ache in his wrists was moving steadily up to his shoulder. He'd managed to shift upright-and was leaning awkwardly with one shoulder against the hallway wall, the chair still dangling on the rope attached his left ankle. He did the only thing he could and started focusing on rubbing his right foot against the binding in hopes that he could loosen it and slide it down off the chair leg. Bill looked over at Sawyer and Sawyer halted his movements staring at Bill with a serious look of contempt. That's right- Yer a dead man, you just don't know it yet- Billy Boy. Sawyer thought loudly. He brushed his face against his shoulder, silently thankful his nose had stopped bleeding. Bill grinned at him in return.
"Please" Juliet repeated trying to break the silence.
Bill's face contorted for a moment with a look of confusion as his attention moved back to the blonde trapped beneath him. He shook his head as though his vision were blurry then nodded and slowly lifted himself up-allowing Juliet to roll to her back and purposely shift into a more vulnerable position. Sawyer could now see the look in Juliet's eyes as they met Bill's for the first time since that day at the Motor Pool. She was trying to seem in control but he knew it was the same terrified look she'd once given him. Her chest was rising and falling in tight bursts. Bill set himself back down in a full mount across Juliet's abdomen. His fingers reached for the red bump above her eye from where she'd hit the wall.
"Sorry" He said, clearly trying to apologize for his roughness.
Sawyer rolled his eyes angrily. The corner of Juliet's mouth twitched and she tipped her head shaking it at him sadly as though she were silently asking him not to do this. Her hands came up ever so slowly-hovering defensively in front of her still rapidly rising and falling chest. Bill let his fingertips trace her temple and down her jawline. He sighed at her expression resting his fingers on her collarbone then Bill's eyes continued down her body to where his thighs met her hips. It was as though he was memorizing her. Bill had never had the opportunity to touch her without repercussion and she was literally frozen over it. Her voice was gone. Her throat locked just as it always did when things spun out of her control. It felt like fingers were pressing against her vocal chords. Painfully tight and completely non-functional.
To Sawyer it was like watching one of his worst nightmares. Juliet was silent as Bill's hands freely roamed over her. His touch wasn't sexual-but Sawyer wasn't willing to wait until it was. Sawyer roared through his gag, kicking the wall hard as the chair leg broke off and bounced free. The hell you doin? Fight Juliet! His mind screamed. He'd seen her take down two guys, why was she allowing this? His meltdown worked. Juliet's breath hitched as though it snapped her out of her paralysis. Juliet's eye's averted from Bill's to Sawyer's for only a fraction of a second but it was long enough.
"Don't worry about him! Look at me!" Bill's voice boomed jealously.
Juliet sucked in her breath as her hands instinctively flew up to cover her face, an innate response from her days with Edmund. The quick motion startled Bill and he swiftly gripped Juliet's thin wrists and pinned them on each side of her head with a audible thud- forcing the breath back out. Juliet swallowed hard as Bill's face hovered inches over hers. He turned his head sideways and looked at James maniacally. Now it was Sawyer who froze at Bill's words combined with the look on Juliet's face.
"You don't want me touching her?" Bill half- asked and half stated at Sawyer as Juliet dangerously followed his stare. Her nose flared and gave James a pained look silently pleading with him to "Stop". Bill purposely shifted his position, grinding himself downward just enough for her to feel him and release a tense sound. She could see that James was losing it which was causing Bill to lose it. She hadn't factored in James being such a dominant influence on how Bill reacted to her. Juliet was now breathing so shallowly she wasn't entirely sure she was breathing at all. She did know that her heart was beating heavy in her chest- because it was so strong she could hear it in her ears.
"Bill."
She choked out in an attempt to reclaim her words. Juliet needed him to look at her- for all of their sake. Bill's sweat was dripping off his brow as he brought his gaze back to Juliet. She locked eyes with him and blinked slowly as her eyebrows angled painfully.
"Not like this..." Juliet repeated. Bill looked at her guiltily and his features softened once again. He eased off her arms and back up on his haunches still keeping himself fully mounted across Juliet's hips. She left her arms where he'd pinned them, implying that she was no threat. Bill looked around the room briefly then slid the sash from his belt with another look of apology. He set it aside as Juliet and Sawyer both watched him intently. Next he moved to remove the leather belt from around his waist.
Sawyer rolled his shoulder and growled as he tried to get to his knees but instead he found himself sliding back down the wall. His arms were bound too tightly for him to get the right leverage. Bill sighed in disappointment, clearly insulted at Sawyer's assumption as he carefully reached for Juliet's right wrist picking it up once again. He looped the leather strap around it, then shot a look to Sawyer.
"Not what you thought? Was it?" He spat questioningly at Sawyer. Sawyer's eyes stayed glued to Juliet. Bill turned his focus back to Juliet as he locked his hand around her wrist and pulled her upright then slid off of her legs.
"It's just for now- I promise." He said softly to her. Juliet nodded obediently or... out of shock, she wasn't quite sure which. Sawyer was floored- The guy was seriously crazy. He was flipping between cool and polite to heated and violent from one moment to the next. Sawyer also knew he had to shut his face because he could see now that if Juliet was going to get hurt it was going to be because of him.
Juliet closed her eyes with a jerk as she felt the strap tighten. She couldn't lie- she'd thought the same as James. That things might have taken a very personal turn for the worse. Juliet took a deliberate breath then willingly lifted her left wrist, holding it out to Bill like an offering. She needed to gain his trust. Bill's eyebrow twitched as he took it and strapped it together with her right. Bill moved to a crouched position beside her and patted the carpet against the side of James's armchair- gesturing for her to move there.
"I have a few things to grab before we go" He said calmly as he glanced at the clock.
Sawyer watched in wonderment as Juliet took Bill's hand carefully intertwining her fingers with his as he shifted her over a few feet so that she could lean back. Bill folded her legs in like she were a doll- so that Juliet was sitting cross-legged, then he smiled at her. Sawyer's stomach did a flip flop. Juliet's crystal blue eyes followed Bill's every move as she obeyed. Bill tucked her hair behind her ears then stood up and looked at Sawyer. Clearly he was unsure if it was worth trying to tie his legs right now.
"What are you going to do with us?" Juliet asked quietly when she noticed him focusing too long on James.
"We... are going on a field trip. Someplace safe." Bill said sincerely, his mind was somewhere else. He picked up the sash from the floor and placed it in the kitchen. Bill leaned against the counter and they all sat in silence for what felt like forever but in actuality was only 10 minutes. He quietly started talking without making eye contact with either of them.
"I never meant what happened outside the fence that day...or... at the Motor Pool. I... get angry and I sometimes get... confused. Things have been..." He stopped talking then released a huge sigh as his hand went up into his dark hair. He rolled his neck then looked at Sawyer, who was looking at Juliet over his mention of outside the fence. Juliet sensed that Bill was irritated by the thought of having to take James with to wherever they were going that or he was reconsidering it.
Bill checked at the clock again then collected the backpack from the table, taking out the camera and setting the knife out to start a pile of inventory. Juliet flashed a look of confusion at James over the camera and he returned it with "You ain't gunna like it" expression. Bill moved through the kitchen - tossing in a few pieces of fruit and other food items to his pile as he went through the cupboards. He paused briefly then picked up Amy's bottle of Quaaludes which was still on the counter. His eyes darted to Juliet. Sawyer's eyes closed knowing the guy had been a medic and probably knew exactly what those were used for. Sawyer let out a heavy sigh if not a full blown groan.
"Trouble sleeping Jules?" Bill asked as he moved around the kitchen table addressing Juliet. Juliet looked away from him, staring instead at the wall as a series of thoughts rapidly ran through her mind.
"Explains the other night." He continued.
Sawyer was now the one looking at Juliet with a distinct look of confusion. Juliet's expression flinched back to him. She'd only just remembered part of the other night and that it wasn't a dream. Why didn't he just take her when he had the chance? Juliet took a deep breath, the distance Bill had physically put between them had allowed her to find her voice again.
"Why'd you come back? You want me? You don't need him." She said gesturing to James with a raise of her chin, her eyes moving up to meet Bill's as he popped the top off and dumped the last 3 pills into his palm to count them. He stared at Sawyer in contemplation then moved back to Juliet and squatted down into her space.
"I do need LaFleur- to make this all work. He's what the smoke wants Jules. I know it. It came to me. It offered me a deal" Juliet looked at him and shook her head, not understanding.
"It says it can protect us - from them." Bill said in a more irritated tone as his right finger moved in to brush the scar along Juliet's collarbone left by Charles Widmore. Juliet watched his green eyes twitch, his pupils dilating. She'd never seen him this out of control.
"Bill, look at me..." Juliet said soothingly her brows angled sympathetically.
"You can't trust it. It's too dangerous. You... you can turn yourself in. End all of this now before more people get hurt. Horace would help you... You'd be safe here."
Bill's expression darkened.
"Safe?! Horace had me drugged, thrown in a padded room and hooked up to a Goddamm torture reel! I may as well have just stayed in Vietnam, Juliet! The only reason I made it out and I'm not a flippin' vegetable right now is because IT set me free."
Juliet flinched then looked to James. Clearly Bill remembered Room 23 more than they'd all hoped. James's eyes narrowed and were following Bill. Juliet quickly shot him a pleading look silently asking him not to do anything stupid. He blinked at her and gave her a slow nod in understanding, yet a twinkle of defiance was just below the surface.
"How much you weigh LaFleur?" Bill said over his shoulder, without looking as he held out the pills with a smile, knowing that Sawyer couldn't answer. Juliet's breath hitched.
"Bill, no." Juliet said rocking forward to reach for the bottle, her face changing into one of serious insistence. Sawyer looked at Juliet, confused by her tone change. She was challenging Billy Boy. Why? She'd taken them pills, why couldn't he? Bill looked at her curiously, pulled out her her reach then dropped 2 pills back in the bottle.
"Says Take 1. Do not mix with alcohol. Juliet thinks we should save em for later big guy, since you've had a few "alcohols" tonight." Bill continued as he moved back to the kitchen and pulled out a glass, filling it with water. He tossed the bottle into the backpack and took a sip of the water then held it up in a "salute" manner as he gauged his next move, rolling the pill between his thumb and middle finger.
Juliet's chest clenched. Her eyebrows furrowed as her nostrils began to open wider as she uncrossed her legs, bending her knees to her chest.
"You'll kill him." Juliet stated with certainty through a slightly locked jaw. Sawyer could see Juliet about to go over the edge, a silent rage bubbling just below her surface. It was that part of Juliet that scared all of them. Her words made him nervous enough to press his back off of the wall and jockey to his knees.
Bill took 3 long strides over to Sawyer and violently yanked the bandanna from his mouth.
"Ah..You Sonofa..." Sawyer started as Bill wretched Sawyer's head back and dropped the pill in his open mouth shoving him off balance and backwards onto his haunches. Before Sawyer could close his lips to spit the tiny pill out -Bill dumped the water over Sawyer's face, making him keep his mouth open to breathe but also allowing water in. Bill threw the glass aside and slammed Sawyer's chin downward into his chest-effectively closing his mouth and eliciting no other choice but to trigger his swallow reflex.
Juliet's voice pitched instantly becoming much louder as she used her elbows to thrust herself forward off of the chair arm and to her feet. She wasn't thinking anymore. Bill took notice of Juliet and sent a fist into Sawyer's face- dropping his head back to the floor before he turned towards her. His brow narrowed.
"No-Stop!" Juliet said as she rushed in, heading for James's side. She was intercepted by Bill who easily spun her back into his chest.
"It's just one. He'll be okay- I think. How much did ya drink bud?" Bill said to Sawyer's crumpled form with a shrug as held Juliet in place and looked over his shoulder at Sawyer who was flexing his jaw.
"You son of a bitch" Juliet snarled darkly as Bill arched her off of her feet and drug her back across the room. Juliet watched James in a panic- she was beginning to hyperventilate.
"You've been hanging out with LaFleur for too long" Bill groaned in reference to Juliet's use of language as Juliet kicked back into his thigh hard. He bent them both over and tightened his hold, immobilizing her completely
"Don't you get it!? You can't save him! And only I can save you! This hothead is only gunna get us all killed." Bill growled.
"Let her go, Cowboy." Sawyer said as he spat the blood from his mouth. Bill turned with a glint in his eye, it was as though he was enjoying this sweet little bit of revenge. Sawyer moved to his knees then staggered up to his feet. His hands were still bound behind his back. He lowered his head and raised his eyes as his hair fell forward and his expression turned to one of true rage.
Bill sighed and shook his head.
"I really wish you wouldn't have done that... How long do those pills take to kick in Jules? 20 minutes? Here I was hoping we could all just sit here together, enjoy each others company and watch the clock. See, I need you to be manageable by shift change, and let's face it LaFleur- you are a beast. But, I guess if you insist. We can try it your way. Juliet? You okay if I talk to LaFleur for just a second sweetheart? You don't mind right?"
Bill ranted like a madman then turned suddenly- shoving Juliet hard over the arm of Sawyer's chair with full force. Juliet let out a surprised sound somewhere between a gasp and a whimper as she was flung forward unable to catch herself- her head smacked into the floor as she felt the wind get knocked out of her. Bill lunged for the knife on the kitchen counter and moved around the table towards Sawyer.
"Look what you made me do! You shoulda stayed where I left you!"
Sawyer's face pinched in panic as he saw Juliet go down.
"Juliet?!"
Juliet was temporarily stunned and made no sound.
Bill moved in towards Sawyer as Sawyer backed down the hall trying to anticipate his first move. Bill flipped the knife in his fist and swung overhand towards Sawyer's head. Sawyer ducked as the blade made contact the wall behind him with an angry thump before it dropped to the floor. He countered by bringing a foot up which solidly connected with Bill's chest successfully sending him backwards into the wall. Sawyer's nostrils flared as he moved to bend down for the knife. Just as his fingers touched the wood of it's handle, Bill's knee smashed into the side of his head effectively sending his head careening through the door frame and into the bathroom counter. Bill crouched down and reached for the knife, his chest heaving- when he felt an energy rushing him from behind.
"No!" Juliet yelled as she launched herself at Bill's back swooping her belt bound wrists over Bill's head and around his neck, yanking the constraints tightly.
"James?!" Juliet called out in desperation as Bill stood up and spun her off her feet. James wasn't moving. Juliet held her choke on Bill as tightly as she could but realized quickly that she didn't have the leverage- her grip was slipping. Bill gasped and rammed Juliet's back square into the wall opposite the bathroom with angry force. Juliet cried out and slid limply to the side of Bill's shoulder as he turned and pulled her arms up- successfully ducking out of her hold, gasping for air. Juliet dropped to the floor in a heap.
"Jeezus! Stop it! He isn't worth it! Why won't you listen? I'm doing this for you - for us!"
Bill glanced over his shoulder at an unconscious Sawyer slumped against the bathroom tile behind them then dropped down in front of Juliet's crumpled form and shoved her shoulder's upright into the wall- her head lolled then raised slowly. Her lip was bleeding and her face had instantly paled. Bill gave her a look of confusion. He followed her gaze down her leg. Bill's eyes grew wide at the sight of the steak knife half-embedded in the top of Juliet's upper right thigh.
...
