Coming across Bernard was a blessing since the old man led Julie and Desmond to his and Rose's camp. As it turned out, they'd been living there all this time. Rose was afraid that if she came back to America, her cancer would also return and the old couple decided to live till the end of their days on the island. In some way it was actually sweet and romantic, Julie thought when holding on to Desmond's hand. One day she wanted them to be like Bernard and Rose and she didn't even have to say it out loud, the gentle squeeze of Desmond's hand over hers and the caress of his fingers on her palm told her that he thought the same thing. The problem was that they couldn't just stay on the island. Not when they were both still young and fertile, not when they had their respective careers back in US and now when Julie was pregnant. She'd taken Aaron from the island the first time around so he could have the life he deserved. Even if her pregnancy wasn't endangered, even if she wasn't so absolutely terrified of giving birth on the island, she would still not want to live there. There were just too many bad memories associated with this place and she couldn't imagine being with Desmond but not being intimate in the same time. If she got pregnant here, she wouldn't survive for sure. What was she even thinking? She couldn't just give up, could she? They were getting the hell out of there. They would make it.
"Rose!" Bernard called his wife once they stepped into their small camp. "Look what I've got!"
"It better not be some suspicious fruit! I don't want to get food poisoning like the last…" Rose came to an abrupt stop when she emerged from the tent and spotted Julie and Desmond. "My goodness!" she called out. "What are you two even doing here?!" she asked when rushing over to them to give them a hug. "And what happened to your hands?" Nothing seemed to miss her attention. "And you, you look sick," she pointed Julie. "Come and sit. I'll bring you some water, dear."
In the end, Julie and Desmond didn't have much strength left and soon they were both asleep in Rose and Bernard's tent, the couple generously offering the place for them. It was only when they woke up in each other's arms the next morning, they were finally able to talk to their old friends.
"I thought you left," Rose said when they were all seated, having breakfast which consisted of fresh fruit and fish the woman insisted the younger couple ate since they seemed to be malnourished.
"Well, we were kind of forced back," Julie informed.
"What happened?" Bernard wanted to know the details.
While Julie accepted a piece of fabric and a bucket of water from Rose and started tending to Desmond's hands, he relayed the whole story.
"I thought those flashes of light were suspicious," Rose admitted when nodding. "Every time it happened our camp was either gone or in a different state. We were glad to finally see it ending, although we did lose a lot of things in the last one. This is just a makeshift camp before we'll manage to build more," she said when spreading her hands.
"Have you by any chance seen my boat anywhere?" Desmond then asked.
"No, I'm sorry." Bernard shook his head. "Are you in a hurry?"
"I can't imagine they aren't!" Rose turned to her husband. "They don't belong here, Bernard."
"Besides, I'm pregnant, so I kind of need to get out of here as fast as possible," Julie informed and first Rose smiled happily to her and congratulated her on hearing the news, but then she realized the implications it carried.
"Oh, dear, I'm sorry, but I'm sure you'll get out just in time. You haven't made it so far to just have it all taken away from you. You're really such a lovely couple!"
"Well, minus the age difference," Desmond pointed out and Julie wasn't sure that he meant it as a joke or not.
"I thought you didn't mind that," she pointed out with a frown.
"I don't. But ever since I started working for Sun, my business acquaintances keep congratulating me on landing such a young and beautiful woman and to be honest, it kind of makes me feel old."
"Eleven years is nothing," Julie argued.
Desmond only smiled in response. "Maybe it never seemed like much because we always seemed to get along so well, but then I realized that a lot of people think of you as my trophy wife."
"Well, then tell them that we got married when you didn't have a cent on you and I was technically a millionaire."
"Well, so that makes me… a trophy husband?" Desmond laughed at that. "Only it doesn't make any sense."
"Exactly, because we love each other."
"Julie is right. Age is just a number. Just look at me and Bernard," Rose said fondly when turning to her husband. "We met just a few years ago and we both considered ourselves old that time. Bernard here was actually still a bachelor. We found each other pretty late, but who cares? All that matters is that we did meet and that we love each other. Everything else is just background noise."
"Background noise," Julie repeated with a nod. "I like that."
She received a smile from both Rose and Bernard in return and Desmond actually put his arm around his wife, bringing her closer to his chest. They were sitting like that in a complacent silence when the Scotsman suddenly stat up straight, his eyes set on something in the distance.
Julie quickly followed his eyes as she noticed the significant change in him, he was all tensed up now.
And then she actually gulped.
"What a happy reunion," said John Locke when making his way towards them.
"John!" Rose actually seemed happy to see him and she stood up to greet him. "So you came back, too?"
"Rose, stay away from him!" Desmond quickly warned her as he stood up and Julie followed suit. Only then he covered her with his body.
"Why? What's the matter?" Rose seemed surprised when looking back at the younger couple.
"Because whoever this man is, he is not John Locke," Julie said in a scared voice.
"What do you mean?" Bernard asked when not understanding a thing.
"John is dead," Desmond informed. "We haven't told you that yet, but it's true."
"Oh, and I so enjoyed wearing this body. Can you believe that so far everyone actually believed that I raised from the dead?" the man who looked like John, asked.
"Well, I believe in a lot of things regarding this island, but bringing someone from the dead is not one of them. This place is too evil for that," Desmond answered him harshly.
"Well, you're right. And you're looking at that evil," Locke said merrily and spread his arms widely with a smile on his face. "Even without me here, Jacob would still not be able to alter life and death. No one can."
"What do you want?" Desmond just asked.
"You," the answer came and Julie stilled, fear overwhelming her again.
"No!" she protested when coming out from behind Desmond and facing Locke bravely. "You are not taking him!"
"I'm sorry, but this is not an option. You can come with if you want, though."
"Look, we don't want any trouble here," Bernard started, "but you can't just…"
"You either go with me or I kill them," Locked told Julie and Desmond and then grabbed his knife and pointed it at the older couple.
Julie's and Rose's eyes met and the younger woman knew that she couldn't possibly endanger them like that, not after everything they'd done for her and Desmond. Not after how warmly they'd welcomed them into their camp. Even if they tried to fight, Locke would just kill Bernard and Rose and take them anyway. Julie could feel it. She knew whatever Locke was now, he was powerful. That power emanated from him and seemed so familiar that Julie gasped at the sudden realization.
"So, how is it gonna be?" John just asked with the same never-fading smile on his face. "Going?"
"Desmond, we have to," Julie turned to her husband. "It's the only way."
"I'll go. You stay here," he decided.
"NO!" she protested immediately and grasped his hand when he tried to make his way to Locke. Desmond actually hissed when Julie squeezed the wounds underneath the cloth tied up on his fingers. "I'm sorry," she apologized, hating that she caused him pain. "But I can't let you do this alone, Des. I've lost you too many times already. This will not be one of them. Whatever happens, from now on we stick together."
For a while there Desmond was just looking into her eyes and he saw how serious, scared and hurt she was. That mixture of emotions stirred something inside of him and he knew that if he just left her there, he wouldn't only break her heart by doing so, he would simply destroy her. How could they be sure that they would see each other again? What if he was going to die?
"All right," he finally agreed in a hoarse voice and they both joined Locke.
"Don't hurt them!" Rose called after them and Locke turned to look at her one more time.
"If they do what I ask of them, no one will get hurt, I promise," John assured the woman and they set off into the jungle once again.
"What do you want from us?" Julie asked John as they'd been walking for about half an hour and he still hadn't said anything to them.
"I said I only wanted something from Desmond," John corrected her. "And I generously allowed you to come along."
"Stop playing games and just tell us," Desmond was the one to speak now.
"You'll know soon enough," Locke only said in response and Julie got scared again. In fact, she was more terrified with every passing moment and she knew that this time they might not come out of this alive, that this might really be the end. Her hand slid up Desmond's arms as she held on to him and he must've sensed her fear because he pulled her closer to his side, trying to give her the much needed support. Still, he didn't make her feel better. She was so scared of losing him once she'd found him again that it was driving her mad. All she could do at the moment was to just cling to him for as long as she could.
After another hour or so, Julie was beyond tired and this time Desmond was scared for the baby. How much did the little being have to get through until it would simply give up and die? He wondered. If there was a way he could just cut a deal with Locke and put Julie on a plane or a submarine to get her back home, he would. He knew she would forever hate him for that, but it would be for her own good. Hers and the baby's.
"We're here," Locke informed after a while and they walked out of the jungle into a small clearing. Julie frowned as she saw a spring which disappeared into a hole in the ground there, creating something resembling an underground lake. The fact that she'd never before in her life seen this place, nor heard about it, wasn't enough. Jack, Kate and Hugo were there as well
"Jack, what is going on?" Julie asked the doctor as she spotted him.
He seemed to actually be surprised to see her and Desmond there.
"Why did you bring them here?" he directed that to Locke instead of answering her.
"Only Desmond can get in there without being turned into a black smoke like it happened to me," John answered idly and Julie came to a sudden stop, clenching onto Desmond's arm.
"What?" she asked. She'd kind of already figured out that John was really the smoke monster, but now he was implying that Desmond had to go down there. What if despite what John just said, Desmond would turn into a monster, too? When the thought crossed her mind, she felt lightheaded. She really started to worry that she would simply faint. "You can't be serious!" she screamed.
"Now, now," Locked cooed when he turned to her. "Don't make me regret letting you come along."
"What is this place?" Desmond simply asked.
"This is the heart of the island. This is the place where magic happens," Locke informed. "I see that Jacob made you his successor." He turned to Jack. "I just have to kill you like I killed him, then."
"You are not going to kill anyone," Jack protested and Julie could only listen to that alternation with a frown that grew bigger and bigger on her face.
"Really?" Locke asked. "Amuse me, then. Why is that?"
"Because we want the same thing. We want this light to be extinguished," Jack pointed the light coming from the hole.
John was looking at him for a moment, clearly surprised by that statement, but then he just shrugged. "All right. But you need to tell me what you'll get out of this."
"I think that once we do that, I'll be able to kill you," Jack answered and Locke actually laughed.
"No one can ever kill me, Jack. This is both my gift and my curse. I am condemned to be this way for the whole eternity and once I get rid of this light, I will get to die. What more, with me the whole island will die and there will be no Jacob and his crazy plans anymore."
"Well, we'll just have to wait and see which one of us is right," Jack said. "It's only fair, isn't it? You die either way."
"If I do, it will not be by your hand," Locke assured him. "Desmond? Shall we?" He turned to the Scotsman and then pointed the hole in the ground.
"No! No!" Julie protested again. "You can't!" Her hold on Desmond's arm only tightened.
"I have to," he simply said when meeting her eyes.
"No, you don't!"
"Oh, he really does," Locke confirmed. "Otherwise I would have to kill you and your unborn child."
Julie shot Locke a furious look and then her eyes shifted to Jack. She was pleading him not to do it. She was begging him to find another way. Yet Jack remained unconvinced and it broke her heart all over again. She hoped that he could see in her eyes how big of a disappointment he'd turned out to be. She hoped he could see and feel her pain as he was taking everything she held dear, away from her. He'd been doing it from the moment she'd sat right next to him on the plane.
Then Desmond was turning to her and cupping her face. He looked her in the eye and said, "Till death, Julie. I love you, always." Next he kissed her and she felt his pain and his love for her through that kiss. She could feel his desperation, his willingness to save her and their baby. He was saying goodbye, he was telling her that he loved her and that he wished he could be there once the baby was born. He truly thought he would die. And Julie couldn't stand it. She clang to him, put her arms around him, buried her hands in his messy hair, kissed him back with all her might.
When the kiss was broken, she pressed her forehead against his and looked him in the eye from up close. "I love you. Come back to me," she told him.
And then he was approaching the hole. Then Jack was tying a rope around Desmond's waist and Locke just rolled his eyes at that.
"Why me?" Desmond asked one last question when he was about to go in.
"Because you survived the implosion of the hatch," Jack simply answered. "And you can survive this, too, brother. I know you can."
Julie could only watch helplessly as Hurley and Jack were lowering Desmond into the hole and then… then they just had to wait.
A few minutes later Julie heard Desmond screaming. He was screaming like he was in pain, like something was burning him alive and she ran towards the hole without thinking, wanting to just get to him, to help him, to get him out of there before it was too late.
Jack caught her just in time, holding her in the vise of his arms, pulling her away from the hole and she could only kick and push and fight, but he was too strong and he wasn't giving up. He was determined to save her and eventually her body just went slack in his arms and she started to sob. Desmond had stopped screaming by that time and she thought that she might've already lost him forever. And it was just another thing added to the whole pile for what she could never forgive Jack.
"I'm sorry," Jack chose the moment to whisper into her ear and she felt rage swelling inside her again. She wanted to kick him, hit him, inflict as much pain on him as she could.
"You're sorry?" she mocked him. "How can you say that and just stand here when the man I love is down there?!"
"Julie, you have to trust me on this. I am not wrong," Jack whispered again and this time in a voice much lower so Locke wouldn't hear him. It still didn't convince her. The last time he'd been so sure of something, it was the bomb. He'd thought it would would work and what happened? Something even Jack couldn't have predicted. And suddenly Julie thought that maybe it would've been better if the bomb had worked the way he'd wanted it to. At least then she wouldn't have had to face her life without Desmond. How was she supposed to go on without him? How was she supposed to raise their child without him? He was all her world, her whole life and it hurt so much that she couldn't stand it anymore.
In that moment the light in the hole went off and the whole island started shaking.
Jack suddenly let Julie go and she was so surprised that he wasn't holding her anymore that she just stood still, watching as he charged Locke and tackled him to the ground. And then Jack hit John and there was blood on the older man's lips.
"Looks like I was right," Jack said and keep on hitting the man, but eventually Locke escaped his grip.
"Hurley! Make sure you pull Desmond out!" Jack called out to Hugo and then he met Julie's eyes. "I'm sorry," he told her once again. "I really am. I hope that one day you'll find a way to forgive me, Julie. Now you have to get Desmond and you need to get to the plane! It's that way!" Jack pointed the right direction and then he just disappeared in the jungle, following Locke.
"Jack!" Julie called after him, having the worst of feelings about him going after John, but there was nothing she could do anymore. She turned towards Hurley who was already pulling on the line, getting Desmond back. All Julie could do in that moment was to keep praying that Desmond wasn't dead. Please, God, please, let him live. Let it all end, please. Just let us go home.
Eventually, Desmond's figure was brought up to the surface and Julie froze when seeing that he wasn't moving. She was still in denial as she just kept shaking her head. Desmond couldn't be dead. No, no, no. He couldn't. She would go crazy without him. She would simply go mad after everything that had happened to them on the island and losing him would just be the last straw. He had to survive this, he had to!
Hurley pressed his finger against Desmond's throat and then he called out to Julie, "He's breathing!"
"Oh, my God!" Julie sobbed when putting her hands to her mouth and then rushing to Desmond and getting to the ground by his side. "Desmond?! Desmond, can you hear me?! You have to wake up! Wake up! Open your eyes! We need to go!" She cupped his face, gently caressing it with her fingers, praying that he would finally open his eyes, so they could get out of there. "I need you! There's a plane waiting for us! We can go home!"
Finally, Desmond groaned and winced, slowly bringing his hand to his head.
"Des, wake up!" Julie begged him one more time and that did it. He opened his eyes and looked at her in awe.
"We've made it?" he asked, not really believing it. "Is it over?"
"Yes, honey! Yes, you did it! Now, please, you need to get up." She got up from the ground and helped him out, then she directed them to where Jack had told her the plane was. "Hurley?" She turned back to the big guy as he didn't seem to move.
"I'm sorry. I still have things to do here, Julie."
"But the plane…"
"Just go! Don't wait for me! Go! Jack would want you to!"
In the end, Julie had no choice but to get Desmond to the plane. This time Jack was right. Desmond hadn't been killed down there because he was somehow immune to the island's power. And Jack wanted to make it all up to Julie. He wanted her to get on that plane and to just fly off the island and never look back. And she would do just that.
The plane wasn't that far away or maybe it just seemed like it since Julie and Desmond started off in that direction with a newly found strength. This was the last trek they would ever have to take on the island and the possibility that the plane might take off without them only caused them to go faster. Eventually, they spotted the machine which was miraculously all right. The pilot, Frank, started waving at them the moment he noticed them and when they came close enough, he helped them onboard.
"Oh, thank God," Julie said when releasing a breath of relief once she and Desmond finally fell into two nearest seats. "I can't believe it," she said. "I can't… Are we really going home?" She looked at her husband from aside.
"Yes, Julie, we're really going home," he assured her when taking her hand into his.
"Are you all right?" she asked then. "Are you sure nothing happened to you?"
"I'm sure." He nodded.
Julie could finally stop worrying. At least she thought so and she leaned into her seat, just focusing on breathing and on holding Desmond's hand. Focusing on him being alive, on his also breathing presence right next to her.
Then a man who introduced himself as Richard, got in and the door was closed.
That was the moment Julie started panicking again.
"Wait… Wait!" she screamed to the pilot. "We can't just leave yet! There are others we need to take!"
"Look around, lady!" Frank just screamed back and once she looked out the window, she was terrified again. The island was literally crumbling. Everything was shaking, everything was unstable. Frank was right. It was now or never. They had to leave.
"Look!" Desmond suddenly pointed something in the distance and they spotted three figures running out of the jungle. Julie sucked in a breath when she recognized… Claire. Claire with tangled hair. Claire holding on to Kate's hand. Then there was Sawyer and…
"Wait… Where's Jack? Where's Hugo?" Julie asked when coming near the window.
The plane stopped just in time for those three to get in and then it started off again.
Julie was truly stunned when she found herself face to face with Claire. With her best friend, Claire. With the woman she'd spent so much time on the island before. With the mother of Aaron. And now Claire was here and she was looking at Julie like she wasn't sure what she should do. She seemed confused and very careful with everybody around her, but Julie didn't care. She jumped to her and embraced her, crying into her messy and tangled blonde hair.
"Claire… Oh, God… Claire, I missed you so much!" After a few seconds, Claire finally pulled her arms around Julie as well, hugging her tightly and she started crying, too.
Julie looked over the blonde's shoulder at Kate, sending her a silent question.
The way Kate's expression changed caused Julie to still and once she let go of Claire, she just shook her head.
"No, Kate, no… Tell me he isn't…"
Only Kate didn't tell Julie that Jack wasn't dead because he really was.
"NO!" Julie screamed as the plane took off and they would all fall down to the floor if Desmond, Richard and Sawyer didn't help them all to their seats.
When Julie found herself next to Desmond again, he put his arms around her and she clang to him, crying as it dawned on her that Jack was really gone. She might've hated him recently, but most of the time she'd loved him. She really had. And now he was just gone. He sacrificed himself, his life, so they could all go home, so the island would be safe, so Locke or whatever the black smoke was, would cease to exist. And what about Hurley? Julie thought. Recently all she could feel was pain. It'd been constant and never ceasing. First, she'd been so scared about not seeing Desmond again, so scared that she would lose him. And now… now she'd lost her friend instead. And she'd never told him that she forgave him. She didn't really remember the last time she'd said something nice to him. She felt so guilty about that at the moment.
"Julie, you're bleeding," she suddenly heard Kate's terrified voice.
"What?" Julie frowned, not even registering her friend's words as she was too focused on whom she'd lost that day.
"God," she then heard Desmond saying in panic as he pulled away from her to assess the situation. "Julie, you're really bleeding." It was the obvious fear in his voice that finally woke her up and she temporarily forgot about the reason to her crying. When she finally looked at Desmond's face she saw him scared like he'd never been before. He was pale as he took in what happened. And then she followed his eyes and spotted that she, indeed, was bleeding and it was coming from…
"No!" she started panicking immediately and she sat up straight, feeling dizzy out of the sudden. "No!" She shook her head frantically, tears shining in her eyes. "Please, tell me I didn't… Desmond, please!" she begged him, but he wasn't saying the words she wanted to hear so badly. At the very moment she realized how much she truly wanted their baby to be born. She'd never before wanted kids, but now… now she did and she couldn't lose this one. She just couldn't! "Desmond…" she said her husband's name in panic again.
"I'm sorry, honey. I'm so sorry," he said when meeting her eyes. She could spot fresh tears there, his face contorted in pain. And it was nearly unbearable for Julie to watch. Why those things kept on happening to them? Why couldn't they just get out of the island and be happy ? Why had they had to come back there in the first place? And now so much was gone. So much was lost. Jack… the baby…
"How are you feeling?" Desmond asked Julie when focusing his whole attention on her. Was he afraid that they didn't get out of the island on time? Was he afraid that she would soon die as well?
Julie couldn't answer him. In fact, she couldn't say a word. She was just too stunned. Everything that had happened those past twenty four hours was just too much. She needed it to stop. She needed a moment of respite. She didn't want having to deal with one crisis after the other. It wasn't fair. She couldn't do this anymore.
"Julie, please, answer me!" Desmond begged her, his voice bordering on hysteria. "Honey, please, I can't lose you, too!"
"You haven't lost anyone yet," Richard said calmly when coming over to them.
Both Desmond and Julie looked at the guy in shock.
"What?" Julie asked when frowning. "I don't… I don't understand…" she admitted.
"You haven't lost your baby," Richard rephrased calmly. "Don't worry."
"But… But she's bleeding!" Kate cut in, also not understanding a thing. "Are you a doctor or something?"
Richard nearly smiled at her. "Hardly," he said. "But I know what I'm talking about. This baby will be a gift from Jacob. You don't need to worry. It will be born."
"A gift from Jacob?" Julie repeated, completely stupefied.
"There is a little boy growing inside you. You and Desmond will have a son and he will bring you so much joy," Richard continued. "You don't need to worry about him. Jacob blessed this child and he will be born."
"But I'm bleeding!" Julie raised her voice, not sure if she should hit that Richard guy or thank him. What if he was wrong? How dare he give her false hope?
"Sometimes it doesn't mean anything," Richard simply said. "Just trust me on this."
In the end, Kate brought a blanket so Julie could wrap it around herself and then she snuggled up to her husband again. Now they could only wait for the plane to land somewhere so they could get to a hospital. What Julie heard from Richard was crazy, but somehow it calmed her down. She couldn't explain it, but once the guy had spoken to her, she felt this overwhelming feeling of peace. She'd stopped panicking and sobbing frantically. Maybe she was simply growing numb, affected by all that had happened. Maybe her senses were on overdrive. In the end, she even managed to fall asleep.