Juliet and Sawyer settled into bed after a long day of work. Their newly domestic lifestyle was pretty routine although neither of them seem to mind. In fact, they both secretly loved how mundane their life was in Dharmaville; a comfort and stability they both had craved and never known until they found it with each other. They usually read in bed before one of them would announce they were tired, which meant they would both call it quits and turn out the lights. Once the lights were out they always talked. Even on days they were both exhausted, they would still talk before finally drifting off to sleep.

The conversations always ebbed and flowed with their train of thoughts and ran the gambit from pointless to profound, depending on if one of them had something important on their mind. It usually started with what went on that day and could end with anything: what they would do if they ever got off the island, what they wanted to be when they grew up, or a deep debate about the best flavor ice cream or their favorite episode of Little House. It didn't really matter what the topic was, just that they fell asleep talking to their favorite person.

This night was no different. As Juliet turned out the bedside lamp they settled under the sheets. They both laid on their backs next to each other, their hands barely touching. The yellow hue filtering in from the outside lights was bright enough to still see each other's faces. He glanced her way before reaching out a pinky to snag hers. She let out a soft sigh, relaxing into his gentle touch. It was him that interrupted the quiet first.

"I'm sorry I haven't gotten you off this rock."

He couldn't see that she was smiling with her eyes. She loved that he still had hope they would make it back to their own time and off the island one day. She had given up hope on returning a long time ago, but it didn't matter because she was happy right where she was.

"It's okay. I'm kind of partial to it now." She smiled bigger this time and he was able to make it out in the dark.

"Oh really? Last time I checked the only thing you wanted was to get out of here."

"Yeah, but that was before I had you."

He laughed under his breath, unsure what to say. Her straightforwardness was something that never ceased to impress him. She didn't beat around the bush or play games. She just laid everything out there, even her own heart. It was his turn to smile in the dark.

"Well, still. I wish you never had to come here. And one day I'm going to find a way…"

She cut him off, "Are you crazy? If it weren't for this island I would have never met you! That may be okay with you, but it's certainly not okay with me!"

He realized she had a point and this was not the direction he was trying to steer this conversation. "Oh, no... I just meant…."
He didn't know how to proceed without putting his foot in his mouth further. "I wouldn't change a thing either. I just hate…"

She cut him off and turned over on her side to face him. "I'm happy James. You make me happy."

He smiled back and stroked her hair before he replied. "I love you Juliet."

They both smiled before he pulled her into a kiss, which he promptly interrupted.

"Who's to say we wouldn't have met off the island anyways?"

She laughed at him and rolled back over on her back.

"Really? How exactly would we have met?"

"I don't know. I did a few cons in Miami! Maybe we would have found each other somehow."

"So in this hypothetical scenario we would have fallen in love after you conned me?"

He frowned. "Good point."

He grew quiet for a moment as he thought about his life before the island. He knew Juliet was right. It wasn't just the island that had brought them together. It was everything that happened to him and changed him here, including every bad thing that happened to them both. There's no way they would have bonded like they did and there would have been no reason for him to grow up. He was not the same man that crashed on this island over a year ago.

She interrupted his thoughts. "Anyways, I don't think you would have tried to swindle me."

"Cause you're too smart for that." He grinned.

She laughed. "No, because I highly doubt you would have noticed me, even if we had met."

"Oh, I would have noticed you." He said it in a suggestive and playful tone as he trailed his hand across her stomach.

"No believe me. You wouldn't have. No one did." She almost whispered these last insecure thoughts.

He looked at her in the dark again trying to decipher her emotions. She had described her life pre-island to him, but he could never seem to imagine the woman she claimed she used to be. He had seen her take men down; just as proficient with a bullet as she was with a steeled look. And yet, she could quickly resort to these moments of insecurity that made him scratch his head. Maybe he would have never tried to con her, but there's no way in hell he would have passed her by.

He wanted to reassure her so he asked, "Did I ever tell you what I was thinking the first time we met?"

She looked at him sideways like he was crazy. This was never a comfortable time for her to remember as she still felt a lot of guilt for being a pawn in Ben's game. James always tried to console her and make her feel better when they discussed it, but her jaw tightened at the memory of those days.

"Hmm, let me guess. Was it, 'why is this woman tasing me?'"

He chuckled and continued on sweetly, ignoring the bitter sarcasm in her tone, "No before that. When I first saw you I thought I was dead."

She raised an eyebrow completely confused. "I'm sorry, what?"

"When you came out of that jungle, I thought you were an angel."

She rolled her eyes and scoffed. "You know you don't have to use one of your lines on me right? You already have me in bed."

He chuckled. "Funny."

He brushed a strand of her hair out of her face so he could look her in the eyes better. "No, it's the truth. I really did think for a split second that you were a beautiful angel come to take me away or something. Nothing else made sense. Why else would someone like you appear out of nowhere?"

She eyed him suspiciously, still not believing a word he was saying.

Suddenly, he pulled her up and over so she was straddling him. He decided to convince her by placing a few gentle kisses on her; first her cheeks, then her eyelids, then her mouth. She pulled back and her eyes were still fixed on his; questioning the veracity of his ludicrous statement.

"You're ridiculous." She smiled into his kisses.

"It's true." He waggled his eyebrows at her before running both hands up her thighs while still kissing her. This elicited a little moan from her and then he pulled away from their kiss to add:

"Course, then I got a load of those kakis and knew I must be in hell."

She burst out laughing and smacked his chest in protest. "HEY!"

"OWW! What? It's true!" He laughed while still planting kisses down her jaw and neck.

"Don't worry though, now I know I was actually right the first time!"

She pulled back again, "Oh yeah? How's that exactly?"

"Well, you actually are an angel. And being here with you is definitely heaven."

She rolled her eyes as far back as they would go and sat up, still straddling him.

"Did these lines work on all your other women?"

"I told you, it ain't a line. It's the God's honest truth."

She decided she didn't care if it was true and loved him for trying to cheer her up. So she just smiled and kissed his chest. Her finger tips trailed down his body until he grabbed her wrists. Then he pulled the t-shirt she was wearing up and off, leaving her with just her cotton underwear. His hands roamed her backside until he pulled her closer on his lap so she could feel how much he wanted her. He found her mouth again and traced her lips with his tongue until she couldn't take it any longer. She cupped both sides of face and pulled him into a deep kiss.

As their passion grew he flipped them both over so that he was on top. He began a greedy exploration down her chest and stomach with his mouth. Her hands found their way to the back of his neck and she tried to pull him back up, but he continued down her body, removing that last bit of clothing in his way until he reached the perfect spot. She gave into the pleasure as he tortured her with his tongue. It didn't take long before she bucked up, grabbing at the sheets with her fist as she came.

He watched her in the glow of the outside light as she trembled and the waves of pleasure continued to wash over her. Her eyes were shut, but she opened them as her body finally stilled. When she saw his dark gaze fixed on her, she felt a surge of electricity shoot through her and she trembled again.

He was perched over her now smiling. She reached out to pull at his boxers. As she helped him pull them off she saw exactly how much he wanted her. So she wasted no time and wrapped her legs around him as he pulled her hips up, easily entering her. He hissed with pleasure as he started a slow rhythm. Her hands found their way to his sides, right above his sharp hip bones. She loved this part of his body. As he rocked into her she focused on matching his rhythm. She was so turned on it didn't take much to come a second time and he followed shortly after, collapsing on her as he did. Still spent, his head was lying on her chest and she started laughing.

"What's so funny?" He didn't try to move.

"You know I'm not an angel, right James?"

She couldn't see him smiling as she held him to her chest, stroking his hair softly. She could however feel the light rumble of his laugh muffled against her.

"You are to me." He rolled over next to her and she rolled on her side to meet his eyes, their naked bodies pressed up against each other.

"I'm really not." A tear slid out of the corner of her eye. She didn't know what to make of her own emotions. She couldn't tell if she was crying from happiness or guilt.

He reached up to swipe away the tears and she reached up to trace the top of his lip with her thumb in return.

"You've saved me so many times and in more ways than one. So what else do you call that?"

She crinkled her face up again, hating his continued insistence on giving her this compliment. He smiled as he continued to watch her. She let out a sigh as she decided she couldn't debate him any longer. She didn't say anything, but pulled him closer so that her head was against his chest and she finally drifted off. He held her and watched her until his own eyes grew heavy; his last thought before giving into sleep: "it's all true."