Welcome to the Family

Lost Summer 2022 challenge: Sawyer/Juliet, moving in together - myrtlebroadbelt/dharmalars

Thanks to eponine119 for the summer challenge link! I wasn't quite feeling committed to working on my other story tonight so I thought I'd tinker around with this prompt and I love how it came out! Hope you enjoy!


Juliet felt guilty; of course she did. But she was also ready to live with James again. She knew it wouldn't be easy for David to understand - she knew because even she was still wrapping her head around the whole thing - but nevertheless the day had arrived: James was moving in with them, and that was that.

They'd only reunited three weeks ago. But God, in those three weeks? They'd had more sex than she and Jack probably had their entire marriage. Well, that might be just a bit of an exaggeration, but it certainly felt like it. He made her feel alive, which was almost funny considering they probably weren't.

And when he left to go home? She felt like a cheap hook-up every time, and she didn't know why. She shouldn't feel that way. She knew he loved her. But she was tired of sneaking around. She hated helping him creep out of the house in the wee hours of the morning, and only letting him come over after David was in bed or when he was with Jack.

Juliet was tired. They'd barely slept, since they were also trying to keep up their full time jobs (not to mention her lackluster parenting as of late) and could only play hooky so many times before it started to look suspicious. But the sex was so good, she barely cared. James worshipped her and it felt… she could almost cry thinking about how good it felt to be wanted like that. She wondered if it was residual guilt for how they'd left things, or what (who) almost drove them apart. But he made damn certain she knew how loved she was - over and over and over again.

The conversation with David a few days ago hadn't gone great but it hadn't been terrible either.

"David… you might be wondering why I've sat you down…" she started to say, putting on the most calming voice she could muster. David sat at the dining room table across from her, absentmindedly playing with his pencil.

"I'm guessing it has to do with that dude you've been sneaking in," he deadpanned. He had a blank look on his face, and Juliet swore internally. He could put on a mask just as well as she could, it seemed.

She swallowed. "His name is James. You met him."

"Twice."

"Yes, twice. Exactly."

"But one of those times you were sneaking him out in the morning and you both got so freaked out he barely said two words to me." Juliet cringed. That had been a few days prior to this conversation, and James had panicked, yes.

"You were supposed to be sleeping."

"Mom. I'm gonna save you the trouble of pretending. I know what you're doing in there. I'm fourteen."

Juliet began chewing on her fingernail. She'd never shied away from the birds and the bees talk with David, but she was starting to wish she had. She felt her face flame, and had to swallow again before continuing. "I know how old you are, sweetie. But getting back to James… he and I go way back. Way, way back."

"So you said," David sighed. Juliet remembered possibly using the same words when she'd introduced them at dinner about a week after they'd reunited. It had been… awkward. "Though you didn't say if it was before or after Dad," he added with a frown.

Juliet pursed her lips. That was a very complicated question indeed. "Before," she decided to say, and added an enthusiastic nod for effect. "It was before I married your father."

"Sooo what - you meet back up after all this time and just - boom - fall in love again or something?" David cracked his knuckles. This felt like a challenge.

Juliet straightened in her chair. "I never fell out of love, David. Love is a very complicated thing -"

"Then how come you've never mentioned him before?"

"It was too painful," she quipped, trying to shut this down before it spiraled out of hand. "And I'm sorry. I know this is going really fast. It is for me too."

"Then slow it down. Easy as that," he huffed.

"It's not - I don't -"

"What, mom? Just stop treating me like a little kid. Say whatever you wanna say." Juliet stared at him, hard. Her little boy wasn't so much a little boy anymore. Funnily enough, he may resemble Jack in appearances, but his attitude reminded her of James.

She inhaled deeply through her nose and laid her palms flat on the table. "I love him very, very much. I always have and I always will. But I love you more. I want him to live here with us, because I hate having to go behind your back. But David - if it makes you uncomfortable, we can wait. We can go slow and ease into this. I don't want to make you unhappy."

"I'm not unhappy," David mumbled. "I just - I barely know the guy."

"I know. But I'm hoping you can get to know him. He certainly wants to get to know you."

"Yeah, because he has to. Because he knows he can't be with you or whatever if he doesn't," he grumbled and leaned back heavily in his chair. He slouched a bit to one side, and it resembled James so much Juliet almost laughed out loud, despite the awkward conversation.

"It's not that. I've told him a lot about you, and he wants to get to know you because he wants to. He plays guitar, you know. Maybe you guys can play some stuff together. Or, I don't know, you can let him take you to a concert or something."

David heaved a loud sigh. The seconds ticked by and Juliet grew more and more anxious. She desperately wanted this to work, and she tried not to sway David's decision because she truly needed his buy-in, but she knew he could see it on her face.

"Fine," he sighed. "Whatever. Just don't get so wrapped up in him that you forget I exist."

Juliet flinched. "I would never. You are my first priority, I want you to know that."

"Yeah, whatever," he said, and stood up from his seat. Without another word, he'd ambled up the stairs to his room. Luckily though, he hadn't slammed the door.

Now it was move-in day. David watched from his vantage point on the couch as Juliet and James carried in box after box. They stacked them in the foyer before lining smaller boxes against the wall in the hallway, and larger furniture pieces got placed into the living room. For a guy living in a studio apartment, he didn't actually seem to have much with him. David wondered if he sold it or if he was just a mega-minimalist. Or perhaps he was just a sad individual living a sad and lonely little life with no stuff. Or maybe he was poor and this was all he could afford. David didn't know, or really care.

"Thanks for your help," Juliet huffed sarcastically, and wiped her forearm across her forehead.

"Don't mention it," David retorted. At least he was talking, Juliet figured.

"Hey David, ya got any space on your wall for this?" James called, and tossed David a tube. Curiously, David unraveled it and found a Van Halen poster inside. He was mildly impressed. He liked Van Halen a lot. But then David noticed the signature at the bottom. He furrowed his eyebrows and ran his finger over the marker - it was a legitimate autograph.

"Are you serious?" he asked, bewildered. "How much did this cost you?"

James shrugged. "Nothin'. Well, cost of the poster I guess. Did security for a show of his once upon a time and got it signed. You're a music guy so I thought ya might like it."

David stared at him like he had two heads. James pursed his lips and rocked on his heels a bit, feeling pinned by the teen's very Othery gaze. It was so much like his mother's.

"Thanks…" David muttered, and gently rolled the poster back up, delicately slipping it back into the tube.

"Don't mention it," James responded, feeling ten feet tall.

Nothing got unpacked right away. The boxes just sat where they left them and Juliet ordered pizza. They ate in comfortable silence, with David occasionally throwing James withering looks. By the time the meal was almost done, James had had enough.

"Ya got somethin' on your mind, champ?" he sighed. "Cuz if ya do, you should come right out and share it with the class."

David narrowed his eyebrows accusingly. Juliet gulped. "You're having sex with my mom. On what planet do you think you can win me over with a poster?" he snapped. Juliet thought she might faint as the air whooshed from her lungs, but James held his own and leaned in.

"Damn right I am. Cuz I love her and it's what ya do when you're in love with someone."

This was it. This was what was going to kill Juliet (permanently). She could almost feel the aneurysm forming.

David glared at James, fuming. "With how old you are I'm surprised you still can."

"David, for God's sake," Juliet tried to say, completely appalled.

"No, it's okay, Jules - I got this," James replied with a wicked grin.

"Jules? You hardly even KNOW her," David scoffed, his voice starting to rise.

"Oh I'll bet I know more about her than ya think I do, shortstop. Known her a lot longer than you have."

"Bullshit."

"DAVID!"

But David continued. "Where've you been then? If you loved her like she loves you, why show up now? Huh? Unless you're just trying to use her and figured she'd make an easy - "

"DAVID CHRISTOPHER SHEPHARD. I swear to God, not another word out of your mouth. Do you understand?" Juliet shrieked, standing and leaning with her palms on the table. James reared back, but he was not spared from her wrath. "And for Christ's sake, James. He's a KID for crying out loud! You're supposed to bond with him, not yell at him over dinner!"

"But - " James tried to argue.

"NO BUTS." Juliet was shaking with fury. "If you two can't get along, then James - I'm sorry but you'll… you'll just have to go back." The emotion died in her voice, leaving behind an empty husk of regret. "I'm sorry," she breathed, and stormed out of the room, shaking her head in befuddlement. She'd never seen David act like that before.

And she couldn't help but wonder if this had all been a huge mistake.

The quiet left behind in her wake was thick, almost tangible. James and David glared at each other after Juliet finally disappeared from view. Neither missed the distinct sniffle that echoed down the hallway.

It was a battle of wills: who was going to speak first?

David, who felt entirely justified, only felt slightly guilty for the way he'd treated James. The poster had actually been pretty cool. And he couldn't deny his mom had been far happier in the last few weeks than he'd likely ever seen her.

James, who also felt justified for defending himself against David's onslaught, only felt slightly guilty for rubbing his newly discovered relationship into the kid's face. She was his mother, and the last thing he wanted to do was steal her away from him. He wondered if maybe that's what the kid was thinking.

In the end, doing the 'adult' thing won out, and James cleared his throat before speaking. "Sorry I said all that stuff." David said nothing, but he stopped scowling. "I can't explain it to ya without soundin' nuts, but I swear - I've loved your mom for a long, long time. I never stopped. She was my best friend once, before she… well, stuff happened a long time ago. But I swear… she means everything to me. She ain't a hook up, she ain't a fling - whatever the hell you kids call it. What we got? It's the real deal. And I wasn't kiddin' when I told her I wanted to get to know ya. She tells me how cool you are and how smart and talented you are, too. I guess I was hopin' we could at least be friends."

David considered. James seemed to be being honest with him, and it was rare for adults to do that. Most people just say what they think others want to hear, but James had challenged him and it kinda, maybe made David respect him a little bit. He hadn't backed down, or tried to brush him off like his dad did. James had talked to him like a person, not a little kid.

"I get it," David finally sighed. "She really loves you too, you know. I can tell."

"I just wanna make 'er happy, is all," James admitted with a small shake of his head.

"You do. We both do, I guess." He shrugged and tossed back the rest of his pepsi. He waited a few heartbeats before relenting, "If you're gonna live here though, there are rules."

James tried not to grin. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. One, if I so much as hear a single sound I'm gonna vomit, so keep it down." James couldn't help it - a stupid grin split across his face and he chuckled to himself. What did the kid think they've been doing the last few weeks? Clearly he hadn't heard them yet.

"Done. Next?"

"We have movie night every Friday when I'm not with dad. We can add you into the rotation to pick, but you better not pick anything lame."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"And lastly, if you hurt her, I will never let you forget it." The threat in the kid's tone was icy cold, and James didn't doubt him. He didn't know how a teenager would exact this so-called revenge, but the thought was what counted most. He clearly loved his mom fiercely, and it warmed James's heart to know that even after her and Jack ended, she'd never been alone. She'd always worried about ending up alone.

"I'd rather die," James admitted, and it was the truth. Because he would rather die a hundred times than hurt her ever again.

"Then… I guess welcome to the family or whatever," David mumbled awkwardly. James smiled hard and offered up his hand. David took it, albeit tentatively, and shook twice before letting go.

"Thanks, David," James said before rising to clean off the table. David helped put the leftovers in the fridge and Juliet watched them from the hallway, beaming with love and pride.

Maybe this was going to be just fine after all.