Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait. October was absolutely awful and I wasn't able to write much at all. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Just a few more left!

Big thanks to Marla's Lost for reviewing chapter 16!

Disclaimer: Lost is not mine.

As always, please read and review!

Code Silver

Chapter 17

"Julian, you have to eat before you can go play." Juliet reminded her nephew. The boy finally managed to pry his eyes away from the brightly colored tunnels and slides. He sat down and watched as his aunt arranged his food neatly in front of him on his own plastic tray.

"Where's my toy?" The nearly four year old asked before Juliet could sit down. She had hoped he'd forget about it until after he ate. Of course there was no chance of that. She pulled a small green plastic dinosaur out of the Happy Meal bag and gave it to him. Julian examined it as he started eating his hamburger.

Juliet sat and looked at her food, not exactly what she'd had in mind for lunch today, but she should have known where they'd end up when she asked Julian to choose a restaurant. From across the table James silently laughed at the look on her face. He knew she'd wanted to go somewhere that didn't offer a dollar menu.

Rachel had shopping plans with a friend so Juliet volunteered herself and James as babysitters. She loved living with James, but she found she missed seeing Julian all the time. They picked him up with promises of a lunch of his choosing and the opportunity to see where Aunt Juliet lived now. When asked where he wanted to eat the boy had immediately replied excitedly "McDonald's!". Juliet kept her smile in place, but James could see behind the facade. He laughed and shrugged and later whispered into her ear "At least the kid's cheap." Juliet shook her head at him and smiled.

Julian chattered while they ate. He told them about preschool and his friends and asked more questions than James could count. Julian finished his burger and was now alternating between eating the rest of his french fries and crushing them with the large feet of his new dinosaur. He stopped suddenly. "Aunt Julie?" He asked, looking thoughtful.

James grinned and sipped from his straw. The boy had already asked why the restaurant was called 'McDonald's' instead of something else, where burgers came from, and how fries are made. James was looking forward to hearing Juliet's answer to yet another impossible question.

Juliet looked to her nephew and once he was sure he had her attention he continued. "Is James my uncle?"

Juliet struggled to keep a straight face as the man in question nearly sucked his straw down his throat. "Why do you ask, Buddy?"

"Well," Julian explained. "Gavin has an aunt and an uncle. They live together and love each other." He paused and looked between the two adults. "You live with James now, right?"

Juliet nodded. "Yep. You're going to see where we live when we're done here, remember?"

"And you love him?" He asked.

She nodded again and smiled, glancing at James as she answered. "Yes, I love him."

Julian's big brown eyes turned to James. "And you love her?"

"Sure do." His head was spinning with the sudden turn of conversation, but this question was easy to answer. He returned Juliet's smile.

Julian turned back to Juliet. "Then he's my uncle, right?"

She looked to James. They hadn't talked about this, hadn't even thought of it. Was this ok?

He gave a slight nod. Yes, this was ok.

"Would you like him to be your uncle?" Juliet asked.

Julian nodded wildly.

"Good." James said. "'Cause you got yerself an' uncle and yer stuck with me now." He reached out and ruffled the boy's hair. The thought of having a title like Uncle, to be someone important to a kid, scared him, but Julian was so excited. And he found that, just like his aunt, he'd come to love the boy and wanted to make him happy.

It wasn't long before Julian went to play. They watched as he scrambled up and around and through the tunnels only to slide down and do it again. Juliet looked over at James. "Thank you." She said. "You didn't have to do that."

He gave her a full dimpled grin. "Well, I love you and we live together." He said. "Can't argue with that."

Juliet laughed. At times she was amazed by the things her nephew could come up with and this was one of them. She took James' hand in her own. "He loves you, you know?"

James nodded. He thought of his own uncles, Uncle Doug in particular. When his parents died Doug and his wife took James in. James tried rebelling, but Doug would have none of it. He set James' example of what a man should be and taught him how to channel his anger without seeking revenge. James wasn't sure where he'd have ended up if it weren't for Doug. He'd likely be in prison. He didn't think he could ever be as good as Uncle Doug, but he decided for Julian he would try. He just hoped he would never be like his father.

Juliet could see the wheels turning in James' head. She knew where his mind would go, where it always went when he thought too hard about his relationship with Julian or the possibility of becoming a father himself. She brought his hand to her lips and kissed the knuckles there. He responded by cupping her cheek in his palm and caressing the side of her face. She stilled his hand with her own. "You're not your father." She reminded him softly. "You're as good for him as he is for you." She tilted her head slightly in Julian's direction.

James didn't know how she did it, how she could always tell what he was thinking. Sometimes it annoyed him and he always found it somewhat scary, but he loved her for it every time she was able to make him feel better without him having to say a word. He leaned over the table and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips.

They left McDonald's soon after and James allowed Julian to press every button in the apartment building's elevator before Juliet could say anything. Both boys grinned as the doors opened at every floor. Juliet tried to avoid eye contact with the residents on those floors who looked thoroughly confused when the doors opened and no one got off.

"Alright, Bud. This is us." James held the doors open as Julian jumped over the gap between the elevator floor and the hallway.

Inside the apartment Julian had to inspect every room. "That's me and Mommy." He pointed to a picture in the living room. Juliet nodded and continued following him during his exploration.

He liked the TV. It was bigger than the one he had at home. He didn't have much to say about the kitchen, though he was disappointed in the lack of cookies. Down the hall he came to the bathroom first and, much to Juliet's relief, decided he wouldn't spend much time there. Next was the spare bedroom. "Whose room is this?" He asked.

"This is where you'll sleep if you stay here some time."

Julian climbed up onto the bed, bounced a couple times and then laid down with his arms and legs outstretched. He looked around some more from his position on the bed before sitting up and announcing "I like it."

Juliet grinned and tried not to laugh. "Good." She said.

Next he opened a door that only revealed the hidden washer and dryer. It surprised him, but he didn't linger. Finally, he reached the end of the hall and the last room, the master bedroom with attached bathroom. "Gotta try this one, too." He said as he climbed onto the bed. Juliet wondered why she'd bothered to make the bed that morning.

"Whose room is this?" Julian asked as he looked around.

"Mine and James'." She said not expecting the look of shock that appeared on the boy's face.

"Both of you sleep in here?" He asked obviously confused.

Juliet suddenly realized that all he'd ever known was living with herself and Rachel. He didn't have two parents who shared a room and a bed. She was sure he'd seen couples on TV, but it had never been a part of his life. In the world he knew everyone had their own bed in their own room with the exception of some kids he knew who shared a room with a sibling. Juliet also realized there was no way she was explaining the bird and the bees to her nephew, especially at his age. Then she got an idea.

"Yeah." She replied. "That's what aunts and uncles do, they share things."

Julian thought about this. It was new, but he'd never had an aunt and an uncle before. He could see some of Juliet's clothes mixed in with James' in the closet and high heels were next to work boots on the floor. He could see into the bathroom where Juliet's purple blow dryer sat on the sink next to James' electric razor. "You guys are really good at sharing." He told his aunt.

Juliet laughed. "I guess we are."

"I could never be an aunt or an uncle." He said as he slid down from the bed thinking about how awful it would be if he had to share his room and all his toys with someone else.

Juliet held in her laughter as she followed him back to the living room. He may not have the exact definitions of aunt and uncle down, but at least the conversation had been painless. She was beyond thankful that he'd decided today to ask about the uncle thing.

James was on the couch. He looked up when he heard them coming. "Well, what do ya think?" He asked Julian.

Julian nodded his approval. "I like it here." He said.

"Good." James said. "Do you wanna watch TV?" He pointed towards the television with the remote. The boy nodded again and sat next to James with Juliet taking a seat on the other side of her nephew. They found Toy Story playing on the Disney channel which happened to be Julian's favorite movie. He was thrilled to find it and then appalled to learn his Uncle James had never seen it. He instructed both adults to be quiet so they could watch. Juliet and James shared a smile from opposite ends of the couch before settling in to watch the movie.

Halfway through the movie there was a knock at the door. Juliet looked at the time. "It's a little early, but could be Rachel." James nodded his agreement as Juliet left the couch to get the door.

She opened the door and came face to face with a woman she didn't recognize. The smile Juliet had on for her sister slowly faded away as she looked at the stranger. She had short dark hair and dark eyes that, like Juliet's blue ones, were looking at the woman in front of her with confusion. "Can I help you?" Juliet finally asked.

"I'm looking for Jim Ford." The woman said. "I was told he lives here."

Juliet's smile disappeared completely as she called over her shoulder. "James?" Who was this woman and what did she want? And why did she suddenly seem to be appraising her, looking the blonde up and down?

James was behind Juliet quickly. "Cass?" He asked incredulously as Juliet nearly forgot how to breathe.

"Surprised?" Cassidy deadpanned. "You can be very difficult to get a hold of when you want to be."

Juliet just stood there staring at Cassidy until James wrapped a protective arm around her waist. She looked up at him only to find he was still staring straight ahead, shooting daggers with his eyes in Cassidy's direction, while at the same time letting her know that if she'd come hoping for a reconciliation she'd better go ahead and leave.

James opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Julian calling from the couch. "Uncle James!" He said. "You're gonna miss the best part!"

Cassidy quirked a brow. Juliet slid out of James' grasp and back into the apartment. James didn't like the accusatory look that passed over his ex's face. "What are you doin' here?" He asked gruffly.

"We need to talk." She stated simply.

"I ain't got nothin' to say."

"Then you'll listen." Her voice was steady and firm.

Meanwhile, Juliet was attempting to gather her nephew. "Time to go, Buddy." She told him.

"Is Mommy here?" His eyes were still glued to the television.

"Nope. Change of plans. I'm taking you home now." Juliet said as she searched for her car keys.

"But the movie's not over!" He protested.

"We'll finish it later." She tried to stay as calm as possible. The last thing she needed was for him to throw a fit. She didn't know why Cassidy was here or what she wanted, but Juliet was pretty sure Julian didn't need to be around for it.

"But I don't want to go home yet." He said firmly and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Juliet panicked. She needed to leave as quickly as possible and with the least amount of arguing from Julian. "We're getting ice cream on the way home!" The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.

Julian's eyebrows shot up immediately. "Really?" He asked, arms uncrossing.

Juliet nodded. "Yep. We're going to get ice cream and then go home." And then your mother will kill me. She thought. Ice cream was generally reserved for special occasions only. Otherwise the boy would want it every day. But Juliet was desperate.

She found her keys, grabbed her purse, and took Julian's hand. "Ready?" She asked him.

He nodded enthusiastically, having forgotten about the movie as soon as dessert was mentioned.

"Let's go." She led Julian to the door and gently pushed him past James and into the hallway. The boy ignored Cassidy who stood there glaring at James.

Juliet tried to squeeze past James, but he stopped her with a hand on her arm. "Wait." He said. "Where are you going?"

She glanced at Cassidy. "Just call me later, ok?" She pulled away from him quickly not wanting to spend any more time than what was necessary around her boyfriend's ex-girlfriend.

"Jules!" He called after her, but she didn't stop. Now he was really mad. "What do you want?" He asked Cassidy, his jaw set in a hard line and his eyes narrowed.

"This is cute." She said, some of her anger spilling out as she motioned towards Juliet and Julian who were heading down the hall. "You disappear to come play house with some strange woman and play "Uncle" to her kid." She used her fingers to provide the quotation marks around 'uncle' insinuating he was anything but.

"He's her nephew." James growled unsure as to why he felt the need to defend himself against this woman.

"Sure. Nephew." Cassidy conceded though she didn't look or sound as though she really believed it.

"You need to leave, Cass." James said. "I ain't got nothin' to say to you an' I don't wanna hear anythin' you have to say either."

Cassidy held out a picture he hadn't realized she'd been holding. "You have a daughter." She said.

Juliet and Julian were waiting for the elevator. The doors opened as the word 'daughter' floated down the hall. Juliet's breath hitched and she nearly froze in place, but Julian pulled her along. She let her eyes close for a moment forcing herself to remember that she knew nothing for sure. It could all just be a ploy to try to get James back. Or he could have a daughter.

The elevator opened. Julian had resisted the urge to press multiple buttons, his desire for ice cream winning out. He led Juliet to the car as fast as his little legs would carry him. She got him buckled in before taking her place in the driver's seat. She took a few deep breaths and willed all thoughts of what was going on upstairs out of her mind before taking her nephew for ice cream.