"Son of a bitch, it's hot," Sawyer suddenly exclaimed, tossing his unread book aside.

Juliet looked up from the book she was reading with an amused and not so surprised expression she used commonly when James got like this. They were trying to enjoy their Saturday morning together outside on their tiny porch, but she had to admit the heat was pretty unbearable.

Normally the island had at least a light breeze to cool even the hottest days. Lately it had seemed to become more humid and a tad boiling. She was happy they weren't at work today, because Dharma jumpsuits and this heat would be a terrible combination. Even in her skimpy shorts and tank top she was sweating. And she noticed James' entire (shirtless) torso was dripping sweat too…not that she minded.

"It is a bit warm," she concurred, hardly looking up from her book so as not to give into his dramatics.

"WARM?" he shouted (as he was apt to do; especially when he was hungry, tired, or hot). She loved him, but his temperament was a lot like a toddler if she didn't make sure his basic needs were cared for.

She grinned at him, giving in: "Alright, I guess it's pretty damn hot. Do you want to go inside?"

"Well sure, but it's just as hot in there. I can't think straight. It's impossible to do anyting when it's this hot. Hell, it's so damn hot we can't even have sex!"

"I didn't know that was on the agenda," she gave him a knowing look with one eyebrow raised.

"When is it not?" He said it so matter of fact it made her smile at him again. It was true, they had a pretty regular routine when it came to their sex life. Not in a boring way, but in a welcome home, it's been a long day, and I'm so glad to see you, now take off all your clothes sort of way.

"We could go swimming," she offered.

"Maybe, but it's so damn hot, I'm pretty sure the water is just as warm. I don't think taking a lukewarm bath sounds any better."

"Well, you could take a cool shower."

"Not unless you're gonna join me." He flashed his dimples at her, as the idea sounded pretty good to him.

"You just said it's too hot to have sex though."

"Well, that's before you came up with your genius plan."

She stood up and offered her hand to pull him out of his seat. "Come on James."

Her sudden determination took him by surprise. He looked at her with anticipation, "Are we really bout to go have shower sex right now?"

"No, I have a better idea." He followed her like a puppy.

She led him into the living room and pushed him down on the couch. "Stay there."

"Yes ma'am!" He sat there with a dimpled grin on his face watching her every move as she padded away toward the kitchen in her bare feet.

He shouted into the other room after her: "It's too bad the hostiles got all the good parts of the island. I bet the creeks and waterfalls are still icy cold." As he said it, a memory flashed into his mind. It seemed like a lifetime ago (but was more like a year and half) that he and Kate found the beautiful waterfall and deep lagoon hidden in the middle of the jungle. It suddenly occurred to him that this was the first time he thought about Kate in forever. He smiled to himself because thinking about her didn't stir up any sad emotions as it had for months after they found themselves in 1970s for good. Instead, his happy memory of that place was quickly transformed into a raunchy fantasy involving a leggy blonde that was taking way too long in the kitchen. "Whatcha doin' in there anyways?" he called after her.

She reappeared suddenly with two popsicles in her hand. His eyes lit up as he realized what she was holding. "Oh you are a genius, aren't you!"

She gave him the classic Juliet smirk as she stuck out both hands for him to pick one. The popsicles were still in their white wrappers so it was a simple luck of the draw. He didn't take his eyes off hers as he picked the left one. He made sure to gently graze her hand with his fingers as he did it. She might have been roasting, but his gentle touch did as he intended because goose bumps appeared on her arm instantly. She hated that her body betrayed her. It was bad enough that she was head over heels for this man, but he didn't need any more ammunition.

"Orange!" he exclaimed, revealing what he got. She took her popsicle and sat opposite him on the couch. He sat sideways with one leg propped up and the other stretched out on the floor. Neither one of them were exactly short so despite sitting with both of her knees up, her feet still grazed his thigh. They sat in silence, staring at each other as they enjoyed the simple cool sweet treat. He was mostly fixated on her mouth as she nibbled at her cherry popsicle.

She noticed his intense gaze and tilted her head to the side, silently questioning him. She did this all the time, which only drove him more wild. It reminded him of the time she offered him water while she watched him do hard labor ( a fact that they can both now laugh about). Even back then that head tilt was curiously arousing, but he also thought she was playing him so he had ignored any pleasure and poured out the water just to piss her off. If only he knew back then that she was basically immune to his antics. Hell, it's still nearly impossible for him to piss her off enough to get a rise out of her (not that he would ever try to do that on purpose).

He realized his line of thinking was only making him hotter so instead he decided to break the silence. "Where'd you get these anyways?"

"They had them at the market the other day."

"They don't have the dharma label on em," he noticed.

"Oh no, they do. It's just on the box," she corrected.

They returned to their comfortable silence again as they finished off the last bits of their popsicle. She reached out her hand and he obliged giving her his now empty stick. He watched as she neatly tucked them back into the wrappers and set them both down on the coffee table. He wasn't sure why he even found this arousing, but he did. Damned if everything about her didn't turn him on.

"That really hit the spot. You really do think of everything don't you." He flashed his dimples in full glory at her.

She smiled a genuine smile back and pursed her lips as she looked at him again. She had a habit of doing this whenever she was thinking and he noticed her lips always seemed to quiver a little as though she was trying suppress a smile from some mischievous private thought.

"What?" he asked accusingly.

"Nothing. It's just I would have thought a boy from Alabama could tolerate a little more heat."

"Ohhhh, is that what you thought."

"Mmm, hmm." She teased back, giggling to herself.

"Well at least in Alabama I had a nice AC unit in the window of our trailer! These dharma yahoos ought to consider it."

"They do eventually. I had an AC in my old house…of course it always used to break. I wonder when they…" Her voice trails off as she considers the idea that maybe they could be the reason that they were added.

Even though she doesn't finish the thought aloud, he reads her mind and gets excited at the thought. "Oh yeah, I'm definitely telling Horace to buy some damn AC units next time I see him!"

He paused again for a moment before he asking her, "And what about you missy? You must've had some good AC down in Florida as a kid."

She considered the question. "Well we did, but it was still hot as hell. I don't think God intended humans to inhabit Florida honestly." This got a belly laugh from him.

"Actually one of my favorite memories from being a kid is sitting in front of one of those huge box fans with my dog to cool off. And you know how when you talk into it and it distorts your voice?"

"Yeah, I did that too! And you sounded like Darth Vadar? I loved that!"

Simultaneously, they both did their best impression: "Luke, I am your father!"

They both started laughing as they recalled such a dumb shared experience. Juliet's eyes softened as she watched him still laughing. She knew his childhood was filled with trauma so to think of him having an actual happy memory made her stomach warm with joy.

"What else?" he asked.

"What?" She didn't understand his line of questioning.

"Tell me something else you did when it was hot out when you were a kid." He liked picturing her as a little girl; happy and not stuck on an island in 1975.

"Oh I don't know…" she stopped to recall these far away memories. "The usual I guess for a Florida kid. We went to the pool or the beach. Oh I know! I loved when the ice cream truck showed up! I'd go dig in the couch cushions for money to buy something!"

"What your parents didn't give you an allowance?" he teased.

"I spent it." She shot back in her classic deadpan.

They both smiled goofily at each other again before she gently asked him for another memory. She wasn't sure he had many more happy ones to share, but she wanted to know anyways.

"Hmmm. Well, we didn't get the ice cream truck in my part of town, but I do remember getting excited when we bought popsicles. Of course, they weren't fancy ones like these. They were those plastic tubes that you had to cut the end off of to eat."

"I loved those!"

"You had those too?"

"Yeah, of course! I loved to let them melt a little so you end up with a slushy more than a popsicle!" She laughed as she thought about another happy memory.

He watched in wonder as her laugh reached her eyes. He loved it when her nose crinkled up too. When she stopped laughing his tone shifted and he suddenly blurted out in a husky voice. "I love you."

They had said these words a handful of times before, but the way he was saying it now took her off guard and caused her whole body to tremble. She had to look away for a moment to collect herself. When she looked back it was like he was looking straight into her soul. She had to take a deep breath to keep from crying. She tried to implore him with her own gaze before speaking. She wanted him to understand how much she felt for him and not just to parrot back the sentiment. So instead she just said, "me too." Only this time she couldn't keep the tears from her eyes.

They sat in silence once again smiling like fools at each other, still not touching.

With his eyebrows raised and a twinkle in his eyes, he said "you know that popsicle was great and all, but I think I'm still feeling a bit hot. I might need that shower after all."

She smirked mischievously as she stood up, pulling him by the hand once more. "Come on James." For the second time that day she knew he would get cranky if his basic needs were not met. She smiled to herself as she led him toward their bathroom because now she knew she was one of those needs.