Somewhere in between
The flight was peaceful and not even one turbulence shook the plane as it was flying towards its destination in Sydney, Australia.
"So I wonder," Julia began when looking at her companion. "Do you have any specific plans for our week in Australia?" she asked.
"Oh, you know well what my plans are," the man turned to her with a dazzling smile which soon turned into a smirk.
"Oh, yes, there will be so many interesting seminars and lectures there." She nodded in agreement when obviously teasing him. "I can't just wait to attend them all!"
"Oh, so you actually want to attend lectures?" the man asked. "I thought you'd rather…" he started when getting closer to her so he could whisper it into her ear when suddenly, somebody bumped into him and the orange juice the stranger had in his glass, spilled all over his shirt. "Are you fucking kidding me?!" Alexander Roys raised his voice in anger and got up. "Watch where you're going!" He confronted the culprit angrily.
"I'm so sorry, brotha," the man apologized in an honest voice. "I didn't mean to."
"Yeah, right. Maybe you also didn't mean to actually drink so much! Otherwise you would've known where to go!" the man huffed and strode towards the plane's bathroom, deliberately bumping the stranger's shoulders on his way and doing it hard.
"I'm sorry," the woman from the seat apologized with embarrassment in her voice. "I guess he doesn't really like flying because he's been acting off ever since we boarded the plane," she explained sheepishly when looking up at the stranger.
"Why would you need to guess? Don't you know this man? I had the impression that you were a couple," the man said with a frown and in the same time the plane shook as it hit its very first turbulence. "May I?" he pointed the temporarily free seat and took it without waiting for the woman's permission.
"Careful there, you're starting to pry," she warned him.
"I'm sorry. I don't even know why I asked that. I'm usually a very nice person," he gave his apologizes and then smiled to her. Something in his eyes made her actually believe him. Something also caused her to trust him even though it was ridiculous since she didn't even know him.
"I'm Desmond Hume. Going to Australia on business," he introduced himself when reaching his hand to her.
"Julia Stanley. For friends, Julie." The woman smiled and shook Desmond's hand.
"Well, Julie…" he started and suddenly stopped. It was like he was hit with some kind of a light. His vision went white and he saw it. He saw it all. A pair of two old people. The man was lying on his deathbed and the woman, her, was holding his brittle hand and then she kissed his lips. Their two adults children were present and he knew somehow that their grandchildren were in the other room. Another flash brought him a memory of sitting on a beach and watching a woman going out of the ocean. Then there was the first time he kissed her. Their first time in the tent as she was taking off his blue shirt. The moment when they bought their house. The moment they had their first child.
"Are you all right?! Desmond! Des, wake up!" Julie said urgently, shaking the man. He really gave her a scare when fainting like that.
"You called me Des," was the first thing he said when he regained his consciousness.
"Sorry. I don't know why I did that. I was just worried, I guess," she apologized, hoping she didn't offend him. "You fainted on me. Are you all right? Should I find out if there's a doctor onboard?" she quickly asked.
"Do you remember?" he inquired instead and she shot him a stunned look in response.
"What are you talking about?" she asked slowly. "Remember what exactly? Are you sure you're all right?"
"Don't you remember me, Julie?" He wasn't giving up and this time there was actually a hint of desperation in his voice. He reached for her hand again just when her companion came back from the bathroom.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing? Hands off of her! She's with me! I can't believe…" Alexander started angrily.
"You should treat her with a little more respect, brotha," Desmond said in a harsh voice and stood up, facing the man.
"What did you just say to me?! First you splash your drink all over me and then…" Suddenly, he hit Desmond, causing him to stagger backwards and to nearly fall down. The Scotsman tried to hit back, but they were stopped by one of the passengers.
"Hey! Hey! Stop this! We're on a plane for a God's sake!"
"Come back to your seat," Roys turned to Desmond and then Julie stood up. "What the hell are you doing?" he asked her.
"Making sure he's all right. He just fainted and you freaking hit him!"
"Whatever," the man murmured under his nose and sat down.
"You shouldn't be with this guy," Julie heard from Desmond as she helped him to his seat which apparently was in the first class. "Please, join me," he offered and she just shot him a weird look.
"No, thank you," she responded. "I don't want to be thrown out by the flight attendant. I shouldn't even go to the first class…" she started when he interrupted her.
"Nonsense. I'm a very successful and powerful businessman. They won't throw you out if I'm the one who asked you here. Just trust me on this."
She eyed him carefully and finally took the offered seat. The man was very persistent and she wasn't sure she should even be talking to him. What if he was dangerous? Still, it was either spending some time in the company of an apparently crazy person or coming back to her aggravated date. She'd rather choose crazy for now.
"I know this will sound crazy," Desmond turned to her just then and she really wanted to roll her eyes at that. Didn't she just think the exact same thing? "But you're not meant to be with that man. He's bad news, Julie."
"How dare you tell me what I should or shouldn't do? We've just met!" She got angry and wanted to leave when he suddenly grasped her wrist. She stilled, surprised that his touch was actually gentle and not harsh like she thought it would be.
"Please, just listen to me," he pleaded when looking her straight in the eye. She actually saw something in those warm, brown pupils of his that told her to do just that. What did she have to lose anyway? She could as well have some entertainment. "You went to Australia, had an affair and you came back completely broken. What more, you boarded the flight Oceanic 815 and it crashed. You spent almost a hundred days on an island and then…" Hume was saying and she kept on frowning at what she heard. Eventually, she couldn't stand this anymore and interrupted him.
"Ok, you really are crazy," she said and wanted to get away, but he stopped her once again.
"You can't go back to this man. He will use you both physically and emotionally. I can change things this time," he promised with such intensity on his face and in his eyes that she wasn't sure whether she should be scared or grateful that someone cared for her so much. Only then again, why would a complete stranger do that? He was nuts, that must be it. She should've just stayed with Alex.
"This time?" She was completely stupefied now as she repeated those words after Desmond. "I don't know what mental institution you left, but…" Her words were muffled when he suddenly kissed her. At first, she wanted to pull away, but then she actually felt something. Something so… familiar, so… right. How was it possible that she was in love with him? How? And then when she stooped struggling and surrendered to the feeling, when she actually kissed him back, she saw it. She saw it all. Australia. The plane going down. Her silent time spent on the beach. Desmond drinking on the shore. Desmond changing her life. Them falling in love and leaving the island. Her slapping the face of the very same man she was to go with to Australia right now.
She pulled away with a gasp. Her eyes opened widely and settled on the man's face.
"Desmond," she said, but this time there was clear recognition and affection in her words. His name sounded differently, like a caress. "How?" she asked, still dazed, still not understanding.
He cupped her face and met her eyes and she could see his tears.
"I'm here, baby. I found you. We're together again," he told her.
She threw herself into his arms and reveled in the familiar and dear feeling of him being right next to her.
"But where are we?" she asked into his ear.
The answer froze her to the bones, "We're dead."
Then there was only peace. Surprisingly enough, Julie accepted the truth. She did remember that they'd spent their whole lives together in peace and happiness. It should be enough, shouldn't it? Yes, it was enough.
"It's ok," she found herself saying. "We've had more than enough time together when we lived."
"Yes, we did. We were the lucky ones," Desmond agreed when pulling away and wiping a stray tear from her cheek. "But the road to that happiness was hard and filled with misery and pain."
"Isn't every road like that?" she asked the perfect question. "What's best in life, comes the hard way."
Desmond just nodded, reveling in the sight of her face, in the presence of her right next to him.
"What now?" she asked after a few moments of companionable silence.
"Now we move on. But first we need to get on the flight Oceanic 815," he informed.
"Are you kidding me? So it would crash all over again?"
"That's the thing. It won't crash this time because here, in the place where we're all dead, in between… there is no island. The island is life and there is truly no place for it here."
"But they'll all be there in Australia very soon," Julie pointed out. "Can't we just gather them all together then?"
Desmond shook his head. "The flight 815 is the exact thing that will bring us all together again. Then we'll make sure they'll all find each other back in Los Angeles. That they'll all remember."
"And then what?"
"Then we'll move on."
She smiled to him. She felt peace at that moment. She wasn't afraid. She was with the only man she ever truly loved and it was enough for her. It was more than anyone could ever ask for. "No matter where we'll be or in what form, we'll always be together, won't we?" she asked.
"I'm pretty sure of that." Desmond smiled back to her and leaned towards her to kiss her again. In that exact moment they heard an angry voice.
"What the fuck?!" Alexander stood there, perplexed and furious. "Are you fucking crazy, man?! This is my date!"
"Sir, I will have to ask you to calm down and leave. This is not your class," the flight attendant got to them.
"It's ok. I'll talk to him and then he'll leave, I promise," Julie said when standing up and facing the one person who'd hurt her the most while she'd still lived. Only then, even though the man had hurt her, he'd apologized for it, too, and in the end, he'd changed. Julie also remembered how one day Roys just disappeared, leaving his job behind. She never heard of him again, but she was pretty sure he'd gone on a quest to find the island and something told her that in the end, the island found him. Maybe he joined the others, found love there, shared his extensive knowledge with the community? At least it was what Julie wanted to believe.
The flight attendant looked at Desmond and he just nodded, so the woman walked away with a sigh.
"I used to hate you," Julie turned to Roys and said, "but now I only feel sorry for you. I hope that one day you'll find your way again."
"Julie, what are you…?" the man felt like he suddenly found himself in a mental institution. Were all those people crazy or what?
"I know you don't understand me just yet and I'm sorry for that. I can only hope that someone will do for you what Desmond has just done for me."
"Julie, are you going crazy? I feel like in a Twilight Zone," Alex finally voiced his concerns.
"I'm sorry. I just can't go with you. I can't be with you. Even if we're all…" her voice trailed off before she could actually reveal the big secret. He wasn't ready for it yet and she knew it. "I just can't make the same mistake twice. I'm sorry. Go back to your seat and forget about me. Goodbye, Alex." After having said that, she turned around.
"Good riddance," he just murmured under his breath and finally left, still not understanding a thing and deciding that that girl was, indeed, crazy. And a gold digger. What else could explain that she'd rather stay with a complete stranger just because he was in the first class and offered her a seat next to him?
"Didn't you have an important business meeting?" Julie asked Desmond when they stumbled into his hotel room when kissing.
"What does it matter now?" he asked. "I'm in Australia to earn another couple of millions, but I don't need that money. We're already dead and soon we'll leave. Why would I bother with showing up to a boring meeting when I can spend this remaining week with you in bed? We're both young again. Maybe this isn't real, but it feels real. Why not enjoy it?"
Julie didn't answer. Instead she ripped his shirt open, enjoying what she saw.
"Remember that blue shirt I loved so much?" she asked him.
"The one that was also driving you crazy?" he chuckled at the memory. "Oh, yes, I do."
"It was driving me crazy just because you looked so hot in it and I couldn't touch you back then."
"You could."
"But we weren't together. I didn't know that you loved me and I didn't want to ruin the friendship we had," she explained and Desmond just kissed her deeply in response and then said against her lips, "We have all week, so you can model for me all the pretty underwear that you bought."
"Or I could just wear every single one of your shirts," she teased him.
"Sounds good to me."
They landed on a couch, both already only in their underwear, Julie straddling him.
Yes, it would be an amazing week, she thought as she captured his lips hungrily again.
Once the debauched week came to an end, both Julie and Desmond boarded the flight 815. When Julie noticed that they weren't in the same section of the plane that their friends were, she voiced her disappointment.
"Julie, we can't intervene. Not yet," Desmond said when taking her hand and looking into her eyes. "Let the fate run its course. It's only then that we'll be able to help them see the truth," he tried to explain.
"Granted the plane won't crash again," Julie murmured under her breath sarcastically and then she actually squeezed Desmond's hand as a particularly bad turbulence hit them. "Wait… that was it, wasn't it?" She suddenly asked in awe. "That was the moment everything went down the hill."
"Yes, it was," Desmond confirmed with a smile. "I told you it wouldn't happen this time… Can you wait here for me? I need to go talk to someone." He unbuckled his seatbelt.
"Hey! I thought we couldn't!" Julie protested. "I want to see Jack! I need to talk to Claire! Des, can I just…?"
"No, Julie, you can't. I'm sorry. You need to be patient. Everything in its right time," he was being annoyingly persistent.
"That's not fun at all," she pretended to pout and he laughed at her expression.
"Remember when Widmore took me back to the island and experimented on me?" he asked.
"Yeah?"
"It's thanks to that that I now know more than all the others. What he did, created a link between my consciousness then and now. My job is to help them all and you're just going to have to trust me on this."
"Or maybe you're just afraid I'll screw something up when actually trying to talk to someone," she pointed out, now plain teasing him.
"I don't, but you should really stay here."
Desmond was back in about ten minutes and once he took his seat, the plane was ready to land. Nothing eventful happened during the flight and it came as a relief to Julie. They were really writing a new ending or maybe just fixing things. Or maybe none of the above, she thought hard. Maybe they were just there so they could find each other again and, as Desmond had said earlier, move on together. They needed to meet one last time before they would. Julie especially wanted to talk to Jack. She'd been missing him ever since she'd found out that he was dead and that feeling had never really gone away. She wanted to talk to him, to see him one last time. And now she would finally be able to. Things like that were really worth waiting for.
"It's remarkable that even after death you can feel so much pain and so much joy," Julie said when the plane touched the ground in LA.
"It's because there's life after death," Desmond simply answered and she knew it to be true.
When Desmond and Julie were waiting for their luggage, the woman suddenly froze, taking in the sight of a blonde girl who was struggling to get her own bag. She was extremely pregnant and Julie realized that it was Claire. Claire so young and so inexperienced with life. Claire without her burden and nightmares she'd been through on the island.
"Can I help you?" Desmond offered as he noticed how hard it was for her to get the bag.
"Oh, yes, thank you so much," the blonde said and sent him a bright smile. Julie still didn't move, realizing that she forgot the Claire from before the crash, the Claire from before even Aaron.
"Is it safe to travel when so pregnant?" Desmond asked in a friendly tone once he got her luggage.
Claire smiled again and shrugged. "I really had no choice," she answered. "Thanks again." After that she just walked away.
"Oh, God," Julie finally got her voice back. "Can we talk to her some more?" she asked Desmond.
"I don't think the time for that has come yet," she received in answer and it only frustrated her more. She knew she needed to be patient and she knew Desmond was right and that she should trust him, but she didn't anticipate that it would be so hard. Maybe it was a good thing they hadn't ran into Jack yet. Then she would certainly screw everything up.
Once Desmond took their luggage, they made their way to the hall where they spotted Claire again. She was looking around with a slight disappointment on her face as clearly waiting for someone who hadn't showed up.
"Sorry to bother you again," Desmond decided to come over, "but you look troubled. Do you want us to give you a ride?" he offered. "Me and my wife have nowhere to be right now, so it wouldn't be a trouble at all."
Claire briefly looked at Julie and then back at Desmond and she just shook her head with the same never-fading smile. "Nah, it's fine. I'll just grab a cab." She waved it off.
"Are you sure?" Julie prompted, finally able to speak. She would really like to give Claire a lift. Maybe it would stir something in the blonde's memory?
"Yes, but thank you," Claire repeated.
"But…" Julie was already opening her mouth to try to convince the blonde when Desmond's hand took her own and squeezed gently, clearly telling her something. Having no choice, they just walked away.
"It's a boy!" Desmond suddenly called after Claire.
"What?" She frowned at him.
"Trust me! I'm good at these things!"
"Why didn't we insist to take her?" Julie asked when they were further away and Claire couldn't possibly hear them. "And why did you just tell her that she was having a boy? Wasn't that telling her too much?"
"Claire apparently wasn't meant to get into the limo with us," Desmond answered with a chuckle. He clearly thought Julie's behavior to be funny and she didn't like that. "And the baby thing, it's not like it'll change anything."
"Well, I wouldn't have changed anything either if I could just talk to her some more."
"No, that's actually not true," he disagreed when they came to a stop by their limo.
"Seriously?" Julie raised her eyebrows at the car. "My, my, you are rich. By the way, you called me your wife back then. We're not married here," she pointed out.
"And where is here, exactly?" he asked when opening the back door of the limo for her. "We're married, Julie, because we remember getting married… Look! I was right!" He then pointed something in the distance and Julie followed his hand.
Claire just got into a taxi and a few seconds after that, Kate when clearly being chased by someone, got inside it, too and it drove away. The police was already yelling to stop the cab, but it was just too late.
"Are you sure Claire's safe? Kate was… is… a fugitive, after all," Julie said.
"Kate would never hurt Claire and we both know it. Stop worrying and just get into the car, wifey."
That did it. Julie finally laughed, letting the grumpiness leave her and she finally got into the limo. Riding inside it would, after all, be cool, she decided.