Authoress Note :Thank you all for your support and for generally being awesome!!!

Beautiful Disaster

Juliet groaned as she felt the sun's rays bombard her closed eyelids. She grabbed her pillow and covered her head, hoping to drift back to sleep.

"Rise and shine, Sunshine!" an oddly cheery voice said.

"Get out," she growled.

"No can do, Doc," the annoying voice said. "If you want me to leave, you're gonna have to fight me, and I don't think you're up for it this morning."

Suddenly, she felt the blankets being ripped off of her, and her body curled up in a ball to retain warmth. "You are a sadist, you know that?" she said, her voice muffled by the pillow.

He smirked and cocked his head to the side and said, "Well I guess you're not worthy of the title "Sunshine" any more, huh. I think I'll just call you child of darkness from now on."

Sawyer ducked as she suddenly threw one of her pillows at him with as much strength as she could muster. Juliet sat up in bed, narrowing her eyes. "Why is it that I always end up sleeping in your bed instead of mine?" she asked. Then she quickly held up her hand and shook her head. "Don't even bother answering that question."

"It was way to easy anyway," he said as he smiled and sat on the bed in front of her, eyeing the bandage on her arm. "You shouldn't be moving so much, Juliet. Need I remind you that you slammed your car into a tree?"

She rolled her eyes. "That was only the 42nd time since yesterday. I'm not so sure it's sunk in yet. You want to tell me again, you know, for good measure?"

"No need to be such a wise ass," he muttered. "The Doc also said you were on bed rest today."

Juliet raised an eyebrow and slowly turned so that both her legs were dangling from the edge of the bed. "Since I am a "Doc", I say that I'm well enough to at least walk around my own… your own house."

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong sweetheart," Sawyer said, shaking his finger at her in reprimand. "You may be a doctor, but you aren't thedoctor. Nice try."

She glared at him and inched a toe toward the carpet, with the intent of hopping off the bed. "If I want to get up and walk around," she said, making sure to keep her eyes on him, "then I'll get up and walk around. You can't make me—"

"Au contraire," Sawyer said, as he snapped his fingers. "I can and I will."

Just as she opened her mouth to protest, two familiar figures walked into the room, both with amused expressions on their faces. Sawyer gestured to them, with an exaggerated sweep of his hand. "Meet your bodyguards for the day."

Juliet snorted. "Phil…and Miles? How many of those "brownies"* did you eat, James? Honestly, Jin and Daniel would have been better candidates."

"Hey, hey, hey!" said Phil, looking affronted, "I'll have you know I took Tae Kwon Do and am currently a brown belt."

Juliet turned toward Miles, "What's your prerogative?"

He smirked, "I'm just bored. You guys amuse me. And what makes you think that Daniel would make a better bodyguard than me?"

"I'd let him do his job because he's seemed so sad lately."

Miles shook his head, "I guess I can't compete with that."

Juliet pulled her covers closer to her body, suddenly feeling very naked in the presence of three men. "Why do I need bodyguards, anyway? I'm not in mortal danger or anything."

"Because you don't know how to take care of yourself," said Sawyer, smirking. "They're here to make sure you don't leave this room while I'm gone."

Juliet looked at him incredulously, "You expect me to sit here and do nothing for the whole day?"

Sawyer shrugged, "Well, I sure as hell don't want you hopping around the house on that leg of yours. Just sit down, relax and—"

"Be bored out of my mind?"

"That sounds about right."

Juliet glared at him again before shaking her head and pushing herself off the bed. She shakily stood her ground in front of him and crossed her hand over her chest. "See? I'm perfectly fine, James," she said as she took a hesitant step towards him, wincing in pain. "I'll be fine so you don't need to—"

Juliet's body swayed forward as her leg gave way. She closed her eyes and prepared to hit the hard ground. However, a pair of strong arms wrapped loosely around her waist, preventing her from hitting the ground. Just as she prepared to step away from him, he held her closer to his chest, pressing the curve of her body against the smooth, hard planes of his chest.

She opened her eyes and colored slightly in embarrassment. "Um…" said softly, finding it hard to concentrate when she could feel the warmth radiating off his form. "Thank you. But I don't need anyone to watch me today. I can take—"

"God damn it, Juliet! Why are you so stubborn?" he asked as he released her and grabbed a handful of his hair in aggravation. "I know you're a doctor, but can you stop being a hypocrite and follow your own damn advice? The longer you try to strain that leg, the longer you won't be able to use it. Just swallow your pride and rest!"

Juliet sighed and fell backwards onto the bed. "Yes, sir!" she said as she covered her face with her hands. "You do realize just how much I hate you right now, right?"

"I'm sure I have a pretty good idea."

"Just making sure," she muttered. "I don't need bodyguards, James. What I need is to take a shower and get dressed. Though the doctor said I may need help for that, I think I can handle it myself."

Phil suddenly looked interested, "You know, I'll be happy to assist you if you should need—"

Sawyer glared at him, causing a chill to run up his spine. "Though I'm sure you can take care of that yourself, Juliet."

"I'm going to forget that you even offered your help," Juliet said, looking mortified. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go take a bath. I smell absolutely horrid."

"No kidding," said Miles, smirking.

Juliet glared at him as she rose to her feet again, shakily. Sawyer held his hand out to steady her, but she shook her head and hopped pitifully across the room, making sure to "accidentally" step on Miles' leg on the way out.

Miles smirked at Sawyer as he sat on the bed and nursed his aching foot. "See? I told you she liked me."

Sawyer shook his head and turned toward Phil. "So what was it exactly that Horace wanted me to do?"

"He wants you to man the Flame station today. I guess he was impressed by how quickly you reacted when Juliet got into that accident. Your buddy, Jin, is already down there right now with Thompson," he paused for a second and held his chin in his hands, pondering something. "I think he wants to show you the ropes in case…"

"In case what?"

Phil sighed. "I'm not supposed to tell you this, but many of the new recruits aren't qualified to become a part of the security team. According to Horace, they are a very skittish bunch. He's worried that we won't be safe here, what with the threat of the Hostiles. He's even willing to let an outsider…" he trailed off, suddenly realizing that he had said too much.

"Man, she's going to kill you," said Miles, looking at Sawyer with pity.

"She can leave this island anytime she wants to," Sawyer said simply. "If Horace will allow me to stay a little longer, then I'll do just that. It's got nothing to do with her."

"Sure, she can leave the island," Miles said with a knowing smile, "but you and I both know you're not going to let her.

Sawyer hesitated for a moment before sitting on the bed beside Miles. He let out a long sigh, looked at Miles and said, "She's gonna kill me."

Miles nodded. "She's going to kill you."

She was going to kill him.

Juliet shook her head as she slid down the bathroom wall into the warm tub. Stubborn? Of course she wasn't stubborn! She had never been stubborn a day in her life!

She grabbed the soap off its sofa and rubbed it angrily into the sponge. Pride? She was never prideful! James was just exaggerating. Sure he was really worried about her, but he didn't have to…

"Ugh!" she shouted as she rubbed the sponge roughly into her skin, as though she could somehow wash his words off.

No one had ever called her stubborn. She had been called weak, pathetic, and vulnerable. But that had been years ago. She had become a better, stronger person while being on the island. People knew that she was not weak, but strong and capable. She had worked hard to rid herself of those monikers, but somehow, without knowing it, she had let her guard down enough for someone to call out her imperfections.

She closed her eyes and sunk deeper into the bathtub. In that moment, all she wanted to do was disappear…

"You sure you want to do that, Julie? I honestly thought you knew better than that."

Her eyes shot open and she looked up, not believing what she was hearing. As her eyes met his, she opened her mouth and screamed as loud as she possibly could.

"Whoa!" the man said, holding up his hands in defense. "I can tell you're happy to see me too. How long has it been exactly since the bus incident?"

Juliet sat up in the tub and held her head in her hands. "You're not here," she said to him. "When I open my eyes, you won't be standing here any longer."

"Juliet!" called Sawyer's muffled voice through the door. "Are you doin' alright, sweetheart? We heard you screaming—"

"No!" she said, her voice a few pitches higher than usual. "I mean… no, I'm fine! I just...uh… hit my arm against the tiles and it really hurt! Clumsy me, I guess."

"You need any help?"

"What, so you can see me naked? No thanks, James."

She heard him chuckle. "Again, it was worth a shot. You know, with you bein' weak and vulnerable and—"

"I get it," she said. "I'm fine, James. I can take a shower. It's not that difficult."

"Alright," he said with hesitation. "Just holler if you need anything."

Juliet waited until she could no longer hear his footsteps before she turned angrily to the man before her. "What are you doing here?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. "You have no business here and you know it."

"Man, Julie," he said, "you sure do move on quickly."

She laughed aridly. "Well, Edmund, I seem to recall you moving on very quickly on the coffee table, in the bathroom, and work. Remember that?" She pressed her chin with her finger, feigning contemplation. "I think it was during that sham we called a marriage!"

Edmund sat at the rim of the bathtub, smiling and shaking his head. "You know, you say all that but you know you really don't mean it."

Juliet crossed her arms over he chest and stared at him incredulously. "Oh, I'm sure I mean it. I've had more than three years to think about how horrible a person you were to me when we were married. You treated me like trash, Edmund. If I had been the person I am today back then, I wouldn't have stood for it."

"But you still are the woman I married, Juliet," he said, looking at her as though she were stupid for thinking otherwise. "Sure you're much less frumpy than you used to be, but you're every bit as vulnerable as the first day I met you. Different packaging, same girl."

"You're wrong," she whispered quietly. "I've changed. I'm…I'm stubborn now. Prideful even."

Edmund laughed as he gently grabbed her wet shoulders and drew circles in her back with his thumbs. "Babe, you haven't changed at all. You pretend to do all those things to hide the fact that you still hate yourself for being so insecure. You're still a mess, Juliet," he said as he grinned at her, gripping her shoulder tighter. "God, you're beautiful. A beautiful mess…" he trailed off.

His fingers lightly traced her collar bone as he looked into her eyes. His eyes, she noticed, were devoid of all feeling. "Do you know why I married you, Juliet? You were so obedient. I would see you at work, following orders, never retaliating when your coworkers made fun of your looks or the way you dressed. I thought, that girl won't be any trouble. She'd do what ever I wanted her to do. You'd even jump off a bridge if I told you that's what I really wanted.

"There was no passion," he said, his fingers trailing down her arms down the curve of her sides. "I did not feel anything for you, but I thought you wouldn't object if I banged a few girls on the side to find my passion."

Juliet shuddered in revulsion, but suddenly found herself unable to move.

"But now," he said, leaning over so his mouth was pressed against her ear and his hand lightly brushed against her breast. "I actually want you."

Something clicked in her mind and she suddenly realized she was in danger. She opened her mouth to scream, but he pressed his hand roughly against her mouth to silence her. She started flailing and splashing water in a vain attempt to get away from him, but to no avail.

He leaned in and pressed wet kisses down the curve of her neck as she continued to hit him with her fists. He used a free hand to restrain her hands. She was completely trapped. Edmund was really going to…

His mouth reached her chest and she closed here eyes and prayed it would stop. She bit her lip so hard she could taste the blood on her tongue. Her eyes welled up and the tears began to fall before she could stop them.

"You're crying?" Edmund scoffed and moved his hand from her fists to her throat. "Are you worried what they're going to say when they discover just how weak you really are, Juliet?"

"Don't touch me," she hissed dangerously. "Get your hands off me."

"You can't talk to me like that," Edmund said as he shook his head. "Now I'm going to have to punish you."

Before she could even lift a hand to defend herself, he pushed her head into the water and held her down by her throat. She frantically moved her legs, hoping to somehow catch him off guard. It was no use; his grip on her neck was far too strong and she was loosing strength in her legs. Just as she realized she could hold her breath no longer and that the water would flow through her nose, he pulled her up.

"Don't you ever talk to me like that—"

She pulled back her arm and slapped him with all the strength she had. As he held his face in pain, she began coughing and spluttering. He took this opportunity to try to grab her neck again, but this time she screamed again.

She closed her eyes and felt the fear wash over her again as she closed her eyes. This was it. He was definitely going to kill her in a matter of seconds.

Suddenly there was a very loud noise, which caused Juliet to inch closer to the corner, back pressed against the wall. She pressed her face into her folded arms hoping it would be over soon.

When she felt a hand on her shoulder, she screamed again, pushed herself flush against the wall and started to cry softly.

The hand remained on her shoulder. Only its grip was not as rough as she thought it would be. It was calloused but gentle. She didn't have to open her eyes to know whose hands they were; she recognized how they made her feel.

"James," she whispered, pressing her face deeper into her arms. "I hate this place. It's insane and I want out. I—I just can't do it any more."

She lifted her head a little so she could see his face. "I just—I just saw my ex-husband. He was sitting where you are right now. He was saying things, taunting me…" she hesitated before continuing. "He… he was touching me. He could have killed me. He's the third person this island has caused me to see. They all cause me pain, James. It's destroying me. I just can't…can't…"

Her voice got caught in her throat again as her eyes welled up for a third time. She wiped away her tears with one arm and regained her composure. "Next time that sub comes around, you have to let me go. This place is going to kill me. I need to get away before I go crazy."

Sawyer suddenly grabbed her by the waist and pulled her against him in a tight hug. "As much as I want to, I can't do that Juliet. If you escape this, you're never gonna forgive yourself for running away and I'm never going to forgive myself for lettin' you. This is more than a selfish desire to keep you here as company."

He pulled her closer, so close that he could feel every bit of her pressed against him. His clothes were getting wetter by the second, but he found he could care less. He wanted to stay like this, feel like this for as long as possible.

"Juliet, you're gonna win this fight and I'm gonna help you. You can try to push me away as much as you like, but I'm not gonna let ya," He moved one of his hands from his waist and gently grabbed a handful of her hair. "I ain't goin' anywhere, Juliet, and you best get used to it."

She remained silent for a moment as she hesitantly laid her head against his shoulder. A few moments later, she became very aware of her lack of clothing. "That… was very sweet, James," she said. "But I just can't help but get the feeling that you're simply masking your intentions of feeling me up."

He chuckled. "I'm not. The fact that you were naked was an added bonus."

"Did you…?"

"No, I didn't see anything." There was a very pregnant pause, then he said, "But we could change that if you like."

She rolled her eyes. "Turn around."

He reluctantly disentangled himself from her and did as he was told. "So this ex-husband of yours—"

"I'm done," she said quickly. "You can turn around now."

As he did so, she held up her towel with one hand and hopped across the room. Before she could make her exit, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and helped her to his room. After he had helped her onto the bed, he sat down next to her and looked into her eyes seriously.

"I'm guessing that ex-husband of yours was a jerk."

Juliet smiled. "Yep. That just about sums it up."

"Did he ever…?"

"No. He never beat me. Though sometimes, I wished he would. That would have been easier than the emotional pain he inflicted everyday. He ignored me and talked to me only to order me around. He thought I was worthless and never neglected to remind me."

"Juliet—"

She held up a hand. "Can you pass me that pile of clothes over there on your dresser?"

He handed her the clothes, looking confused. She dug her hand into the pocket of here folded jeans and pulled out a very worn looking diamond ring. "I still hold on to this. The relationship seemed to have so much promise. Sometimes I look at it and wonder where everything went wrong…"

"You're sleeping with the past again."

She opened her mouth to respond and he held up his hand to silence her. "Get dressed. We're going out."

She raised an eyebrow as she placed the ring back into her pocket. "I'm guessing I have no say in this whatsoever, right."

"Of course not," he said as he walked out of the room and closed the door.

"Didn't you have a thing to do today?" Juliet asked, her face pressed into his shoulder.

Sawyer shrugged and continued walking, repositioning her on his back. "It can wait."

She tightened her arms around his neck to feel more secure. "Are you going to tell me where we're going?"

"Why would I tell you that, woman?"

"I've got both a severely fractured arm and leg. I'm extremely vulnerable and can't fight back. Some would call this kidnapping. So I say you tell me before this situation gets out of hand."

"I would but we're already here."

Juliet lifted her head off his shoulder as he slid her body slowly down his back. Her body suddenly exploded with sensation and she prayed that he was not able to feel her heart nearly beating out of her chest. She felt disappointed when her foot hit the ground.

She felt confused as she looked around their destination. "It's the dock, James. I don't understand what's so important about it."

He helped her sit down, sat down beside her, and hand out his hand in expectation. "Give me the ring."

She cocked an eyebrow. "What you took me to a secluded place so you could steal it from me? You're a really lousy con artist."

"Must you always say somethin'? Just give me the ring."

"Pot, Kettle, Black?" she said, rolling her eyes. "And no."

"You're making this a lot harder than it has to be."

"Why do you want it?"

"Because," he said as he slyly moved his hand behind her. "You've got to let go."

She looked down as his hand into her back pocket. "Apparently you have to as well, if you value your arm."

"Just give it to me!" He yelled as he dug his hands in both her front pockets.

She kicked him in the knee with her good leg, causing him to fall on top of her.

"Ow!" They yelled simultaneously as their foreheads connected with each other.

Sawyer grabbed the ring from her pocket and held it tightly in his hand. He looked down at her for a moment, caught off guard by her appearance. Her cheeks were flushed, her chest was heaving, and her eyes were flashing in anger. He found it odd that he found her attractive no matter what she was doing, be it crying in the shower, yelling at him, anything. His face was inches away from hers. He was so close he could almost feel how soft her lips were as well as the tear stains on her cheeks.

Sawyer quickly pushed himself off of her, suddenly remembering the reason he had brought her here in the first place. He held out his hand to help her up. "Juliet. You are going to take this ring, and you are going to throw it as far as you can into the ocean."

"I am, am I? What makes you think that?"

"If you don't, you're always going to be bound to that idiot ex-husband of yours. If you get rid of this, I don't think he'll visit you anymore. I sure as hell don't want to share him with you, so you had better get rid of it," he said. She gave him a look and he shrugged. "You're my friend. You should know I've never been good at sharing."

Her smile faltered a bit before she shrugged off that annoying feeling that seemed to have found a home in her chest. She clasped his left hand with her right and grabbed the ring with her right. She took a deep breath and prepared to throw the ring as far as she could.

"Hold it!" Sawyer suddenly exclaimed. He ignored her look of annoyance and asked, "Any last words?"

Juliet looked down at the ring. It represented all the misery she felt while being with Edmund. She hand known she didn't love him when she married him, but the ring was so beautiful that she thought the marriage might be as well.

"To Edmund," she said as she pulled her hand back in a graceful arc, preparing to throw it, "With this ring, I do declare that you were the worst son-of-a-bitch I've ever had the misfortune to meet."

She then flung it into the ocean, watching it spiral downwards and plunge into the water.

Sawyer nodded appraisingly. "I couldn't have said it better myself."

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment before Juliet spoke again. "I still want to run away from all this, James."

He nodded. "I know," he said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, "but as long as I'm here you stop you, you ain't goin' nowhere either."

Her smile faltered a little as she looked toward the ocean longingly. She knew if she wanted to escape, she would have to do it quickly. Her resolve was crumbling with every word that came out of James's mouth.

If she didn't do something fast, one of these days he was going to offer to save her and she was going to let him.

Sorry this took so long, but you know how life gets in the way :)! I hope you liked this chapter, it was a bit longer than usual, but I suppose that makes up for the wait. This chapter was inspired by the song "Beautiful Disaster" by Jon Mclaughlin. Despite the subject of the song being 17, I really like this song for Juliet. I don't know what song to choose next, but we're long overdue for both a Ben chapter and a Kate chapter. The island manifestations only come when the characters have to do something, so I don't want to bring Kate in too soon. I'm not going to bother writing down what songs I might use because I always end up changing them anyway. Even though I have a master list, I keep adding and removing songs. Anyway, tell me what you think! I told you this one wouldn't be fluffy, but maybe next time? Maybe.

Miki-hime