Fault Lines
A/N: This whole story came about in pieces in my head, and I recently decided to string the stories together. As a result, this fic is likely going to be pretty long but I am very excited about it! Special thanks to eponine119 for her feedback and discussion! And another plug: My favorite author is Jodi Picoult, and her writing inspires me greatly. If you haven't read anything by her, you most definitely should.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Lost, though I certainly wish I did. I will also be using quotes/lyrics/poems to set up each chapter and I don't own those either.
Without further ado, I hope you enjoy!
—-
It takes two people to make a lie work: the person who tells it, and the one who believes it.
Jodi Picoult, Vanishing Acts
—-
ACT ONE
Chapter One: The Long Con
"Now what?" Miles whispered urgently into Juliet's ear.
"We wait for James." She peered through the blinds, and spotted him walking towards a house with Horace. She tracked him with her eyes, trying to interpret his body language. He was straight as an arrow, but not stiff. Richard remained seated on the bench.
"How long is that gonna take?" Miles responded, clearly annoyed.
Juliet pursed her lips. "I don't know, Miles."
She felt him groan as he began to pace behind her. But her eyes never left the house. Soon, she saw Horace emerge once more, only this time, he was carrying the dead man over his shoulder.
Where was James?
There seemed to be an exchange, and Horace handed the man off to Richard. Richard's eyes flicked to the house where she was watching, and she flinched. He didn't seem to see her. Once Richard was gone, Horace returned back inside to let them know it was safe to come out.
Juliet debated searching for James, but thought better of it. In truth, she was tired, sore, and filthy, and just wanted to be alone. She knew this compound well, and her feet seemed to know where to take her, even if her mind didn't.
The dock was quiet at this time of night. Despite the lack of danger, most people still chose to stay in their homes, so the air was still as she strode across the lawn. She sat down cross-legged on the worn wooden planks, exhaling heavily as she got comfortable.
Juliet suddenly felt weary. The adrenaline was wearing off and as it receded like the tide, her muscles felt heavy and limp and her mind felt sluggish with exhaustion. She looked out over the water, watching it glisten in the pale moonlight, and though she should have felt worry, confusion, and even panic at their predicament, she truly didn't have the energy to even care.
She was only brooding for a few minutes before clomping footsteps on the dock alerted her to someone's approach. She didn't have to look to know it was James. His uneven footsteps signaled his swagger, and Juliet couldn't help but crack a grin and shake her head. She wondered if he knew he was even doing it.
"I bought us two weeks. Horace said we can wait for the next sub. Any luck, Locke'll be back by then," he called out to her. His voice sounded proud, but even his relief couldn't hide his exhaustion. He sat down on a crate next to her, and she wondered why he'd even bothered looking for her. How had he even found her?
"And then what?"
"What do you mean, 'Then what?'"
She turned to look at him, wondering if he had thought this through. "Locke said he was leaving to save us. The flashes have stopped. They're over. No more bloody noses. We're already saved. That sub behind you brought me here. I've been trying to get off of this island for more than three years, and now I've got my chance. I'm going to leave." She thought she saw a flash of disappointment on his face, but she supposed it also could have been a trick of the light. Surely, he didn't care one way or the other what she did. Why would he?
He sighed, and looked out over the water. "You do realize it's 1974 - that whatever it is you think you're going back to... it don't exist yet." She stiffened. They knew it was the seventies, but now they knew for sure. It was actually, somehow, 1974. Somewhere out there, she was only four years old.
"It's not a reason not to go," Juliet insisted. Her voice was low and sullen, as she resigned herself to her fate. This was it. She was never going to see her family again. It was over. Couldn't he see she had no other choice?
"Well, what about me? You really gonna leave me here with the mad scientist and Mr. 'I Speak to Dead People?'" A laugh bubbled out of her throat, and she unwittingly smiled. "And Jin, who's a hell of a nice guy but not exactly the greatest conversationalist." She didn't know if it was the exhaustion or the magic of a quiet night - where all the inflections of his voice were amplified against the sound of the lapping waves - but she could have sworn she heard desperation in his tone. She could swear, just under the surface of his words, he was begging her to stay.
"You'll be fine," she tried to assure him. After all, he didn't need her. He's never needed her.
"Maybe... but who's gonna get my back?" The question sank into her like a fishhook and tugged, forcing her to look at him. It surprised her, and his sincerity caused her to raise an eyebrow in suspicion. Surely he was just manipulating her. Surely, he didn't mean a word he said. But what did he even stand to gain, keeping her here? But something was off with him. He looked self-conscious, unconfident that she would respond with a 'yes.' She'd never seen him any less than arrogant. So what was this all about?
"Come on. Just give me two weeks, that's all I'm asking. Two weeks." James waited with bated breath. He couldn't explain why it mattered so much to him that she stayed. He tried to convince himself it was just what a good leader would do - keep his people together. He argued that she was a good shot, and a doctor, thereby a valuable asset. He even tried to justify his request that she stay simply on the grounds that he was doing her a favor. He didn't know how old she was exactly, but she had to be just a kid somewhere out there. He couldn't imagine her trying to get by in the real world without a social security number, ID, money… surely this was all just him sticking his neck out for her. And nothing else.
But the fact was, even though all those reasons were true, so was the unspoken one. He wouldn't even admit it to himself. He just didn't want to be alone. The guys were alright, sure, but he felt a connection - a kinship - with Juliet, that he could neither define nor explain (nor admit), and he just… didn't want her to go.
"All right. Two weeks," she agreed reluctantly. A grin broke out across his face, and she couldn't help but grin back. She felt like a bit of a fool, for agreeing. But perhaps he had a point - she needed time to plan. It wasn't like she could waltz back into society with no money and no identity.
A tiny piece of her, for just a tiny moment in time, whispered she might have stayed for him; because he asked her to. But she squashed the thought, too tired to examine it further; not wanting to.
As she looked at him out of the corner of her eye, she wondered if perhaps they were past their grievances. She wondered if maybe, just maybe, someday they could even be friends.
"What will happen over the next two weeks?" she asked curiously.
"Hell if I know. I may be a time traveler but I ain't a fortune teller," he teased. She cocked her head to the side, signaling she was serious. He sighed and played with the hem of his shirt. "I dunno. Guess we focus on tonight first. Gotta get some food in us, get some sleep." He sniffed his armpit and winced. "...Bathe."
"And you'll fill us in on the 'crash' of our boat?"
He nodded. "If I can get us in a house all alone, sure. We can fill in some a' the details in the mornin'. Then from there…" He sighed. "We start lookin' for our people."
"And if we happen to find survivors?"
"We bring 'em in."
Juliet nodded. "Do you think we'll find anyone?" She wouldn't dare admit it aloud, but she had a sinking feeling that they were the only ones left.
James stood, and held out his hand to her to help her up. She eyed it suspiciously before taking it. Her feet hurt when she stood. "I gotta believe we will. We have to." His response was curt, though surprisingly not untruthful. There was a longing in his voice, and Juliet felt a sense of shame she couldn't define. Like this was all her fault.
They walked back to the house they'd taken refuge in, only to find Horace, Miles, Jin, and Daniel waiting outside. Jin narrowed his eyes at them, wrinkling his nose in distaste as they approached the group together. It hurt Juliet far deeper than she expected it to.
"Ah. There you are. I was wondering where you two wandered off to. Looking for some privacy, I presume?" Horace chuckled and turned to face the group at large. James and Juliet shot each other confused looks as Horace continued. "Now, we have one house available for you to sleep in tonight. It's our temporary lodgings, usually reserved for new recruits awaiting housing. I'm afraid there's only two bedrooms, but each has a twin bed." He eyed James and Juliet apologetically, causing Juliet to raise her eyebrows in alarm. Why did he keep giving them looks like that?
"Uh, there's five of us, Boss," James explained warily.
"There's a couch too. Someone can take that for the night." All eyes swiveled to Juliet. She sighed, and nodded once. She knew logically it was because she was a woman, but it only reinforced that she was also the outsider of the group. Horace didn't seem to notice, as he kept going. "The cafeteria will reopen tomorrow morning for breakfast. Feel free to finish your sandwiches and that house right there will be yours." He pointed to the house at the end of the sidewalk. "Are there any questions?" He sounded tired and impatient, and no one wanted to keep him any longer than was necessary. "Good. Well, goodnight then. I will check on you tomorrow." The five remaining survivors watched him walk away. They gathered up what was left of their sandwiches and headed towards their house.
Juliet trailed off in the back, hoping to speak with James. She couldn't help but notice his limp, and she realized suddenly it wasn't his swagger that gave him away on the dock - it was his injury.
"You should let me take a look at that foot when we get there," she murmured to him quietly.
"I'm fine," he growled back at her. It startled her, because not five minutes ago he was begging her to stay, laying the charm on thick. Now he was being hostile?
"I need to make sure it's not infected," she insisted, louder this time. Daniel turned around.
"She's right…" he added. The only thing he'd said in what felt like hours.
The group reached the house, and Juliet grabbed James by the wrist. He looked down at her fingers, and then back up at her face.
"What did he mean by 'privacy?' What did you tell him?" she whispered accusingly.
He scoffed. "I didn't tell him nothin', sunshine. He's probably just makin' his own assumptions 'bout why we were off on our own." He pulled his arm out of her grip and continued into the house. She sighed and followed behind him, confused at why she felt so disappointed by his answer.
Despite his insistence that she not examine him, James dutifully trudged down the hallway into the bathroom. He sat on the closed toilet seat and propped his foot up on the lip of the bathtub. Juliet sat on the edge of the tub as well, and pulled his foot into her lap. It felt strangely intimate to have him so close to her like this. She didn't like it.
The wound was dirty, so she grabbed a towel hanging next to her, ran the tub at a low pressure, and dunked a portion of the towel in the water. "This is going to sting, okay?" she warned, before cleaning the skin around the puncture. He hissed, but didn't move as she scraped away the dirt and dabbed at the angry flesh.
"I was just gonna take a shower anyway," he growled.
"I know. And you should. But I wanted to check it out first." She examined the bottom and noticed the wound had already started to close. She shook her head in disbelief. "I guess you're not immune to the island's healing properties. It's looking okay. Might leave a scar, but you'll live." She gently placed his foot back on the floor, and he nodded once in silent thanks. "Check the closet or behind the mirror. I'm sure there's antiseptic cream in here somewhere. For after your shower."
For a moment they stared at one another, not knowing what to say. Then Juliet rose from her seat and signaled to the shower, Vanna White style. "All yours," she said, and left the bathroom.
It was close to midnight by the time everyone had showered and changed into frumpy, borrowed 70s clothing left behind by Horace. They'd gathered in the living room, all barely awake. James explained to the group what he had told Horace, about them being on a salvage vessel looking for the Black Rock. They lost half their crew and will be 'looking' for them over the next two weeks. Juliet could barely pay any attention; she was falling asleep against her closed fist.
"Blondie?" James barked. Her eyes darted open.
"Yes, Captain?" she mumbled. Despite the tension in the group, Miles and Jin laughed. Daniel looked like he was close to tears.
"Ya got all that?" James dug into her.
"Yes, James. Can we please get some sleep? We can talk about it more in the morning."
He sighed and looked around. Everyone was exhausted. "Fine. We'll talk before breakfast, ya hear?" Everyone nodded their assent.
Jin and Miles rose first, and ambled toward the room on the right of the hallway. James entered the one on the left. Daniel didn't move. He seemed to be staring into space, lost in his own head.
Despite her eyelids feeling like they weighed as much as she did, Juliet couldn't help but place a hand on his upper back. "Daniel? Are you alright?"
He didn't respond. She looked down at the couch, weighing her options. She could force Dan to go back into the bedroom with James, or she could just leave him on the couch. The last thing she wanted to do was share a room with James, but it didn't look like Dan was giving her much of a choice.
She licked her lips and looked around the room. She spotted a blanket draped over the back of a chair. She took it and handed it to Dan, who accepted it with the barest of nods. It broke Juliet's heart to see him like this.
Bitterly, she swore she would never put herself in a situation to ever feel the way he did. She'd been through enough. His vacant expression and dull pallor were nothing compared to the inner turmoil that must be plaguing him. It made her shiver.
"Goodnight, Daniel," she whispered, before leaving him to find her own room.
James heard a soft knock on the door, and when he turned he saw Juliet enter, looking timid and dejected. "Ain't you sleepin' out there?" he asked.
She shook her head. "Daniel needs his space," she explained. And that was enough for him.
His eyes never left her as she closed the door behind her and settled into the twin bed closest to the door. Her legs were a lot longer than James had realized they were, and he was powerless to prevent himself from letting his eyes roam from her feet to her bare thighs. He supposed it was just instinct to check out a beautiful woman - Other or not.
She snuggled down into the covers, her wet, curling hair splayed over her pillow. "What, no goodnight?" he complained sourly.
She turned her head to face him instead of the wall. "Sorry. Goodnight," she said, and placed her head back into its original position. She looked tiny, curled into a ball like that.
James sighed and flicked off the lamp before settling into his own bed. "I know it's hard, sleepin' so close to me an' all, but try and keep it in your pants tonight, will ya?" A muffled snort was her only response. He supposed it was better than nothing. "Night, Juliet."
"Goodnight, John-Boy," she murmured, and he heard her snicker again.
"There ya go, that's the spirit. Fittin' in here already," James said with a chuckle. Here. In the Goddamn 19 freakin' 70s.
Just as he was about to fall asleep, in that in-between moment where his body felt like lead and images began to flash across his mind, Juliet spoke once more. Her voice was barely above a whisper, and it startled him out of his doze. "Thank you, James. For what you did for us tonight."
He blinked. "Uhhh… welcome? What're you thankin' me for?"
"Talking with Richard. Convincing Horace to let us stay. It's a good thing we had you to lie for us." James felt the comment was a double-edged sword in disguise. It rubbed him the wrong way.
He didn't respond to her. He didn't really know what to say. Despite the underhanded jab at his ability to lie under pressure (thanks to his previous profession), in a strange way, he also felt kind of touched. The fact that she had even thought to thank him at all made James feel almost… proud. It wasn't an emotion he was comfortable or familiar with. But all the same, he appreciated that she thought to say something.
As they laid there in the dark, he wanted to ask her why she agreed to stay. It had been nagging him, in the back of his mind. He knew he could be convincing when he wanted to be. But he never really felt like he had much sway with her. She was an enigma to him; someone he was certain he'd never understand.
But before he could ask her, he heard her soft, heavy breathing and he knew she'd finally fallen asleep.
—-
The next morning, James awoke to the trilling sounds of birds outside his window. The sunlight streamed in through the windows, hot and bright, and James had to squint against it as his eyes adjusted. He rubbed them with his fingers before opening them once more, taking in his surroundings. It all came back to him in a flash, and on instinct his eyes flickered over to Juliet's still body on the other side of the room.
She was lying on her stomach, hair fanned out over her pillow, and her white t-shirt riding halfway up her back. Her pale skin glowed in the sunlight, and James's fingers twitched - itching to touch her.
But then something caught his eye. He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, leaning forward to get a better look. There was a pale pink - tattoo? Birthmark? Something - on her lower back. He rubbed his eyes once more and squinted before the realization hit him square in the chest: it was a brand.
He stood, suddenly feeling embarrassed. He shouldn't be looking at her like this. He felt like a voyeur or something. How the hell did she get herself a brand? Who even branded her in the first place? For a moment, he thought it might have been the Others. They certainly seemed like the types to do something like that. But how could she still work for them after they did something like that to her?
He stood at the door, eyeing her over his shoulder one more time. Maybe that was the whole point. Maybe her switching sides hadn't been an act after all. He cringed, thinking of the terrible things he'd said to her. Then he shook his head, clearing away the thoughts before silently creeping out of the room so as not to disturb her.
In the living room, Daniel, Miles, and Jin were already awake. Though they seemed well-rested, they all looked miserable.
"Ah, our fearless leader approaches," Miles uttered dryly. James bristled at the word - leader.
"Drop the horse shit, Miles," James commanded, and flopped down onto the couch. "There any coffee here?"
"No. No kitchen," Jin replied, rubbing his forehead with his palm.
"Where's Juliet?" Miles asked.
"I killed her last night and dumped her body in the ocean," James deadpanned. Miles didn't even blink, but Daniel's head snapped up. Clearly he was listening after all. "For God's sake, she's still sleepin'. We're gonna leave her be."
"We gonna talk about all this? What we're doing here?" Miles urged.
"Of course we are. Soon as sleepin' beauty makes her appearance."
"Don't worry - sleeping beauty's awake now." Juliet yawned as she ambled into the living room. She was just sleeping soundly not two minutes ago, but she slumped into a chair across from him and tucked her knees to her chest. Despite himself, James's eyes darted to the seat cushion, wondering if he could see her ass when she sat this way.
"Alright, now can we figure this shit out? I'm hungry," Miles complained.
"Coffee…" Jin added.
James sighed. "Okay then. Now that we're all here an' accounted for, we gotta fill in some of the details on our cover story. We all know about the boat, sure, but why were each of us on the boat?" James propped his injured foot up on the coffee table. "Way I see it is, we each gotta come up with our own reasons and stick to 'em. Think of your skills, and play as close to the truth as ya can, got me?"
"Easy for you to say. You're the boat captain. You're just the driver," Miles grumbled.
"Ya just called me your 'fearless leader' not three minutes ago - ya wanna be out on your own, there Jet Li?"
Miles rolled his eyes. "Fine. Just, whatever. I guess I'll be the Navigator or something. Something easy."
James scoffed. "So that'd make landin' here your fault then, huh?"
"James," Juliet said softly. A warning.
"Fine. Navigator it is then. How about you, Miyagi?" James asked, looking at Jin. Jin looked confused, so he rephrased. "What are your skills?"
Jin thought about it for a moment before using his right hand to lightly punch his left palm. "Fight," he said softly, as if he regretted it.
"Okay, then. Jin here was our… security, for whatever reason. Danny boy, you cool with bein' a physicist? Figure you can make up some bullshit about tidal patterns, wind, somethin' or other." He saw Dan nod, which was good enough for him. "That leaves you, Barbie. What special skills do you bring to the table, 'sides tasin' people? Gonna be the ship's doc?"
She lifted her eyebrows at the nickname, but was otherwise unphased. "No."
"No?" he scoffed.
"You heard me. No. I'm not going to be the doctor. I… I can't. Not anymore." Juliet hugged her knees closer to her chest, and James wanted to press further, but her eyes were red-rimmed and everyone was staring at her. He sighed, and made note to ask her about it later.
"Fine. What'll it be then?"
Juliet considered. "I know a thing or two about mechanics. I could have been one of the mechanics on board. The other was lost."
"Why's there gotta be another one?" he challenged, trying to understand her reasoning.
"Because, James. When they put an engine in front of me and I barely remember enough to be able to fix it, I need to be able to say I was in training. That I tagged along with the person showing me the ropes."
"But you're a woman."
She laughed bitterly. "So?"
James shifted in his seat. "So - I don't know shit about mechanics in this decade. Did they even have women mechanics?"
Juliet put her hand across her eyes and shook her head in disbelief. "We're not all housewives, James. It'll be fine."
He grunted. "If you say so. Just - don't wanna anyone callin' us out, is all…"
Juliet snorted. "Sure. Understood."
"Okay then. So we all got our assignments. If anyone asks, stick with it, okay?"
"How 'bout our names?" Miles asked.
"Names?"
"Yeah. You're LaFleur, right? Do we have to change our names too?"
James looked to Juliet, silently asking for her opinion. She merely shrugged. "You do whatever ya wanna do. But if ya go by a fake name, it could get messy if one of us messes it up."
"That why you're not going by Sawyer? Because Juliet here calls you James?" Miles retorted. It caught James by surprise. Once more, he looked to Juliet for an answer. Her eyes were wide, innocent looking.
"I call him James because it's his name," she said softly. "I'd advise everyone to use their own names. If you want to change your last name, fine, but our first names should remain the same." Her eyes flicked to James, who nodded once.
"That gonna be an issue, Daniel-San?" James poked Dan in the arm to make sure he was listening.
Dan raised his head slightly, looking out over the group. "It doesn't matter. Whatever we do is what we did," he offered. James rolled his eyes.
"Alright then. Now let's go get some grub. I'm starvin'."
Miles let out a strangled gurgle. "Finally!"
—-
After breakfast, Horace handed the group two walkies. They were to be escorted to the sonar fence by security personnel and were to report in on the walkies when they were ready to return, and someone from security would pick them up. Daniel opted to stay behind, just in case anyone from their group got brought in by someone else. When they left him, he was sitting in a corner of the cafeteria scribbling in his journal.
Upon reaching the sonar fence, the group decided to split up and stay in touch via the walkies. Before anyone could suggest otherwise, James pulled Juliet to his side and said they'd search the eastern part of the island, while Miles and Jin could take the western part. No one argued, and as soon as they were out of earshot, James pounced.
"So tell me - why ya so against bein' a doctor here?" he said without preamble.
Juliet's breath caught in her throat, but otherwise showed no visible reaction to his question. "I think that's a rather personal question," she replied, and kept walking ahead of him.
"Aw, come on now sweetheart, it's just you 'n me. This have somethin' to do with our old pal Jack?" he teased. She stilled, clenching her fists, before taking a deep breath and continuing on. "Ooooh, seems like I hit myself a nerve," James crooned.
"It has nothing to do with Jack," she replied coolly, not taking the bait.
"Is it cuz ya ain't makin' the big bucks out on the ship? Too good for a lowly job like that out at sea?"
Juliet laughed dryly. "Yeah, sure. Your fake ship didn't pay me enough. Let's go with that."
"Aww, come on. I'm only teasin'. Is it… because ya think you're bad at it cuz ya couldn't save your old pal Ben? Needed Jacko to do your dirty work?"
Before James could even blink, Juliet had whirled around and stuck her finger in his chest. "That's enough," she spat. She was fuming.
"I see. Yet another nerve exposed, me thinks. If you'd just tell me then I wouldn't have to guess," he purred. He knew he was being obnoxious, but part of him couldn't help it. Just because she was an enigma he'd never understand didn't mean he wasn't curious about the human living under the ice queen facade. If she was even still human. He certainly wasn't.
"If I tell you, will you drop it?" she hissed. Her eyes were narrowed and her jaw was clenched.
James brushed back a lock of hair that had fallen out of her ponytail and she blinked in surprise. "Tell me, an' it'll be our little secret."
She worked her jaw from side to side, debating, before finally inhaling deeply through her nose and letting her shoulders slump. "Fine. I will tell you. But I swear to God - not another word," she warned.
He held up three fingers. "Scout's honor."
She sighed and looked around the jungle. She needed to look anywhere but at him. "Do you know why I was recruited here?"
"Recruited?" he huffed. "The hell do you mean by that?"
Juliet rolled her eyes. This was going to take longer than she thought. She licked her lips before continuing. "I was brought to this island, James. I didn't crash here or come upon it by mistake. Ben and his people… they needed my help solving a problem that was affecting pregnant women on the island."
"Ah, there ya go again. What's his obsession with pregnant women, anyway? He got a complex or a freaky fetish or somethin'?" James scoffed, and sat on a nearby log.
"Pregnant women on this island don't make it past their second trimester, James. They die. Painfully. Slowly. So before you go making jokes, you should consider the severity of the situation and think better of it."
James stiffened. Juliet was serious, and her cold stare made him feel ashamed. "So, what - they brought you here cuz you were a baby doctor and could figure out how to save all the mamas to be?"
"Something like that. I'm a fertility specialist. I'd done some… things… that made me stand out from others in my field."
"Things? Like what?"
She looked down at her feet. "I impregnated a male field mouse. And I impregnated a woman who was completely sterile."
"Some sperm ya got there, sunshine!" he hollered jovially.
She eyed him levelly. "What did I say about jokes?"
He flashed his dimples at her as he smiled apologetically. "My bad. As you were sayin'?"
She joined him on the log, leaving just enough space between them that she could move her arm without her skin brushing his. "They all died, James. What I was brought here to do? It was impossible. And all those women who relied on me? I just… I can't lose anyone else," Juliet said softly. "That's why I don't want to be a doctor here. I'm not a surgeon, or a trauma physician. I can't do anything here. Not with the training I have."
James bumped her shoulder with his. "Ya saved Jack. That's gotta count for somethin'." She turned her face towards his. He was serious, all traces of cheekiness or sarcasm gone. What was left was simple tenderness towards her, and she was stunned by it.
"If it had been anything more serious than appendicitis, I wouldn't have been able to. Do you understand now?" she begged. She didn't like the whine in her tone, but she needed him to understand.
He nodded. "You're tired of fuckin' up, havin' bad things happen to you. Ya wanna do somethin' different. Be somethin' different. I bet no one here gets that more 'n me." His admission was genuine, and something twisted inside Juliet's chest at the kinship she felt towards him in this moment. "Secret's safe with me, Blondie."
James stood, holding out his hand for her to take. She did, albeit slightly unwillingly, and they resumed their trek.
After a few minutes of silence, a question wriggled out of Juliet's mind. "Why do you keep calling me nicknames having to do with my hair? Do I really have no other defining qualities?"
James laughed - a loud, sharp sound that made Juliet smile. "Since when're you concerned about the quality of your nickname?"
"Since I realized they're all because I'm blonde. Surely you're more creative than that," she teased. She liked this playful back and forth between them that they'd developed as of late.
"I just call 'em like I see 'em."
"So… I'm blonde. That's it. You don't even call me 'Doc' like you did with Jack."
"Turns out, you don't like that too much," he sassed, turning around to give her a playful look. "What do ya want me to call you then, if my nicknames don't seem to tickle your fancy?"
Juliet thought about it. She couldn't come up with any better characteristics to warrant nicknames that she'd approve of. She was a good shot, but shooting made her uncomfortable and she didn't want to be reminded of all the times she'd used a gun. She supposed she was smart, but nerdy nicknames felt more negative in connotation coming from his mouth. Hell, all of his nicknames seemed callous coming from him.
"I don't know. Tom used to call me Julie."
James bit back a retort. Juliet could see his shoulders tense, and she wondered if she'd made a mistake. James had killed Tom. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to remind him that Tom was once her friend.
"You don't look like a Julie," James bit out.
"What does a Julie even look like?" she responded incredulously.
"I dunno. A Julie is like… sweet lookin'." He heard her scoff behind him and he turned around, suddenly regretting his choice of words. She was clearly offended, and was shooting daggers at him with her eyes alone. "Hey, I don't mean you're not good lookin'. You're beyond good lookin', okay? I meant a Julie is like… mousey-sweet. You can kick ass."
She crossed her arms over her chest and James's eyes flicked down to her cleavage. "Are you seriously looking at my chest right now? What is the matter with you? You can't just tell someone they're not sweet and then immediately check them out," she chastised.
James put his hands on his hips. "Alright - enough of the Julie shit. You're not a Julie. How about Jules? Anyone ever call you that?" He was clearly irritated now. So irritated, in fact, that he didn't see the teasing smile slide from her face. Rachel had called her Jules.
"No," she responded simply.
"Okay then. There ya go. I'll throw Jules in the mix - happy now sweetheart?" he sneered with emphasis on the word 'sweetheart.' She knew he meant it as a joke. He was going to call her that now, just because of this whole stupid conversation. But the word - it made her stomach twist when he said it.
He kind of reminded her of Han Solo when he acted this way, all full of swagger and sarcasm. But if he were a little nicer, that word would sound very sweet indeed, coming from his mouth.
She took a deep breath to steady her heart, and tugged on his arm to keep him moving. "Come on. We still have a lot of ground to cover." He obliged, and they continued their search.
It took almost thirty minutes for her to speak again, and when she did, it came out delicate and tentative. "Earlier, you said… you said I was 'beyond good looking.' Did you mean that or were you just trying to backtrack and make me less offended?"
James didn't hesitate in replying. "I said it and I meant it. You'd have to be blind, deaf, and dumb not to see that."
He could only see the back of her head and the swishing of her ponytail, but he could have sworn a smile bloomed across her face.
—-
As expected, that night Horace dropped by to pay them a visit. As expected, he wanted to hear from each of them about their experiences on the ship, though he made it sound like he was just making conversation. Everyone dutifully reported what role they served on the salvage vessel, and James was glad they'd had this conversation ahead of time. Everyone, even Daniel, convincingly wove their story. Jin did mostly okay, using hand movements to help act out words he didn't know. James said he was the cheapest security they could afford, and Horace nodded in understanding.
Juliet, ever the clever thinker, asked Horace about the Dharma Initiative. He proudly gushed for over ten minutes about how they were conducting research that would inevitably change the world. James didn't pay him much attention. His total and complete focus was on the lie. It was all up to him to keep the details straight and make sure they were accepted without a thought. So far, all seemed to be going well.
Upon the conclusion of their meeting, Horace informed them that they would remain bunked in their current house for the next two weeks. Once that time was up, depending on how many crew members they'd found, they would come back together and figure something out moving forward. Apparently being shipped off to Tahiti was still on the table - a fact that made James nervous. If things didn't go well and they didn't manage to impress Horace, it would all be over.
Collectively, everyone sighed when Horace finally left. They were tired, sore, and emotionally drained from a day spent out roaming the jungle. Juliet went to bed early, followed shortly after by Miles and then Jin. James didn't want to be left alone with Daniel, so he eventually trudged off to bed too.
Juliet was still when he entered their bedroom, curled up in the same ball as she had been the night before. Gingerly, he climbed into his own bed and settled down under the covers. He thought back to how the day went, and couldn't help but smile at his interactions with Juliet. They were weird and unexpected, but he seemed to be learning something new about her everyday.
He wondered what Kate would think of all this - of him sharing a bedroom with the blonde Other, stuck in the 1970s with the damn Dharma Initiative. He was certain she wouldn't believe him even if he told her. Sadly, he wondered where she was now. Locke had assured them that the group was alive, but that didn't mean they were safe. He'd seen the freighter's pillar of black smoke out there. Were they still floating around somewhere out at sea? Or had another boat found them and rescued them? Were they returned to civilization yet?
Had Kate already hooked up with Jack now that he was out of the picture? He thought about the helicopter, and how he'd just offered her up to him on a silver fucking platter.
He didn't regret jumping. They all might have died if he hadn't. But a small part of him wondered just who loved her more - after all, Jack certainly hadn't volunteered to take the plunge.
He felt his blood pressure rising, just thinking about them. He didn't want to think about them, but his mind kept trailing off that way. So instead, he focused on Kate. He thought about her laugh, her bright green eyes, and the way she said his name with that little smirk of contempt.
Well, she didn't say his real name. She never called him by his real name. No one did, ever. Except Juliet. He wondered idly why that was, as he snuggled deeper into the covers, pulling them up over his shoulders. Why did she rarely ever call him Sawyer? And why didn't it upset him more?
Soon, his eyes grew far too heavy for his brain to process much more of anything else. The last thought he had before drifting off to sleep was that he supposed he liked the sound of his name on Juliet's lips.
