Two chapters in two days! This one is officially my last (and second longest) chapter. And yes, it will be all about the reunion :) I'm sorry for keeping J&J apart for so long. I had not intended on doing that. It just worked out that way.

GencoOliveOil suggested an epilogue to get a glimpse of their post-island lives. I might be up for that. Anyone else interested?

I had so much fun writing this. When I started I honestly thought it would be 5 to 10 chapters long. And here I am, uploading chapter 27. Thank you so much for reading, reviewing and sending PM's. I'll be revisiting this site to read everyone else's stories!

She could see James' form when she looked up at the ship's deck. He was definitely there, although the bright lights behind him hurt her eyes and kept her from having a good look. The lifeboat was now approaching a ladder. James called her name, and she looked up again. As they came closer, she could see him more clearly. A lump appeared in her throat. She had seen him just this morning, but she'd missed him like it had been months.

Jack and Frank steadied the boat, enabling everyone to climb out safely. Juliet was the first to go up. Still shivering and with trembling arms from the swim she reached deck. A hand reached out for her and it was James'. She grabbed it and he pulled her in and then she was just pressing against him. He was warm and he was real. His arms circled her back to pull her closer, not caring about the fact that she was cold and soaked to the bone. She leaned into him, her legs suddenly wobbly again.

"You're here" she heard him mumble in her ear. His voice was hoarse and she knew he was fighting tears. She couldn't speak, overwhelmed as she was by just being here, feeling him. She pressed her forehead into the crook of his neck and inhaled his scent.

There were so many voices around her. People talking in a strange language. Hurley. Sun calling out for Jin. She could hear others climbing up now, one, two more people. "Miles" she heard James say and she turned her head to see that Kate was there, Miles and now Jin. They looked pale and exhausted, she probably looked like that herself. James loosened his grip to shake Miles' hand and to pull him in for a hug.

"Good to see you Enos."

"Missed me that much huh?" Miles replied in a shaky voice. Back to their old friendly love-hate banter immediately. And now Juliet was the one fighting tears. We're all here.

Some Asian looking men came out with blankets. Juliet took one and thankfully wrapped it around her shoulders. James' arms were back and he pressed a kiss against her forehead.

Hurley was the chatty and helpful one, not being particularly caring towards one or two people, but to all of them equally. With Penny's permission he organized dry clothes, towels, shampoo. The ship's chef brought everyone hot tea to warm up. After finishing their drinks, they all retreated to their cabins one by one. Miles would stay with Hurley, Kate would stay with Jack. They would all meet back out here for diner.

James led Juliet down the hallway and opened the ladies' bathroom. Inside it was warm and clean. He took the blanket from her shoulders and placed it on one of the hooks at the wall. He opened the door to the nearest shower and she stepped inside. He followed.

"A real shower" she said.

"And this one ain't even on the island" he added.

"It's been a while" she sighed and he wasn't sure whether she meant that in a happy way or that she was just again reminded of how many years she'd been gone, cut off from the real world.

He helped her take of her shirt, which was sticking to her skin. It was painful for her to raise her arms and he pushed the shirt over her head as gently as he could. The jeans she could do herself. He bent down to untie her shoes.

"One soggy mess you got here Blondie" he joked and he could hear her chuckle. She placed a hand on his shoulders for support as he took of her shoes. She then pulled down her jeans. Her underwear followed, displaying goose bumps all over her body. James kicked her clothes into a corner. He would have them washed later.

"Let's get this shower going." He leaned passed her and opened the taps. A solid stream of warm water followed immediately. Juliet stepped forward and let out a sigh as the warm water ran down her skin.

James now started undressing himself. His clothes were a bit wet from holding her and he hung them over the doorway. Then he stepped towards her, gently placing his hands on her shoulders. She let herself lean back against his chest and they just stood there for a while, waiting for the goose bumps and the shivering to disappear. When she seemed to have warmed up, he let go of her to grab the shampoo. He put some in his hands and slowly started spreading it onto her hair while massaging her head.

"I can wash my own hair you know."

"Sssshh. Just lemme do it will ya?" He wanted to take care of her and she let him.

They were in the shower for over half an hour. When they were done and drying themselves off James said "Now you get to see Rachel again." Her hands stopped moving at those words and she stared at his chest for a few long seconds. He brought a hand to her cheek. "He, baby" he whispered. "I know it's surreal. But it's really gonna happen now. I promise ya."

She brought her hands to her face and wiped away some upcoming tears. "It's not that…" she said.

"Then what is it?"

"It's just…" she lifted her head to look at him. "I hadn't thought about Rachel yet." Tears slowly came dripping down her face. "I haven't thought about Rachel this whole day."

They all sat out on deck. The weather was calm and the sky was clear, showing off a million stars and portraying a clear view of the Milky Way. The initial happiness of the reunion two hours ago had somewhat faded. Juliet felt tired and it was obvious that everyone that had been swimming really only just wanted to rest.

The chef had brought out diner: roasted chicken, sticky rice, vegetables. There were beers, sodas, tea and coffee. It was the best meal she'd had in weeks, but even though James was right here and the food tasted delicious, she couldn't shake the weary feeling that had come over her.

Hurley and Jack shared the details of the last two days on the ship. No one seemed surprised by the time irregularities that seemed to have been playing. It didn't matter now anyway. The island was gone. That was the only important thing.

Desmond and Miles gave away some details from their journey on the island, but most things remained unsaid out on deck. It had to be saved for more private times behind closed doors. Just like the last time some of them had been rescued, they had to be careful not to display too much in front of crew members. Strategies on how to get them back to the real world still had to be discussed.

Juliet held James' hand. She could feel his thigh pressed against hers. The weary feeling remained though and now that James had mentioned Rachel, she could think of nothing else.

"What will happen to Claire?" she heard Kate ask.

"I think she might be alright Freckles" James answered, and hearing him say Freckles didn't bother her anymore. That was in the past now. It was just a nickname.

"Ben left that way. Locke left that way. You both met them off the island, right?" Sawyer continued.

"What about the other people still out there? What about the other people from our plane?" Hurley continued. He was obviously talking about the Ajira crash, the people on Hydra.

All those people are going to die. Juliet felt her stomach tighten as she remembered the pain from the flashes she had gone through more than three years ago. If John hadn't stopped things, she would have been dead now.

"I don't know" Miles finally answered. "If the same thing is happening now that happened to us after you guys left…" He sighed. "Doesn't look good, man."

After diner, Desmond proposed they would all head upstairs to the bridge. They could talk privately there and discuss the details of their journey back and their reentrance into society. Juliet excused herself.

"I'm sure you can plan things for the both of us James."

He gave her a slightly worried look.

"I'm fine" she reassured him. "It's just been … an intense day. I'd like to stay outside a little longer."

"OK" he answered, while stroking her cheek. "I'll come find you after."

When everyone had left, Juliet walked over to the rail and grabbed it with both hands. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Being alone, she felt able to relax. This was just like being on the beach after a long day at the motorpool. The sound of wind and waves, her hair still wet from a recent shower.

Suddenly she missed the island and opened her eyes instantly at the realization. How can I miss something I've hated for so long?

She followed the rail along the starboard side of the ship towards its front. Staring out onto the ocean she saw nothing but blackness. But she knew that just a few hours ago, that's where the island had been. Slowly, her aching muscles still protesting with each movement, she sat down.

She had dozed off a bit when she heard footsteps approaching. It was James.

"You ok?" he asked.

She smiled up at him but didn't answer. He sat down next to her and placed his elbows on his knees, his hands folded together. The ships engines were being powered up and they both listened to the humming of the motor and the sound of the boat meeting the waves. James stared out into the night. Juliet stared down at her hands.

"I'm nervous." She finally spoke.

"About what?"

"About going back. About seeing Rachel again." She paused and looked at him. He kept quiet. "About us. Maybe things will be different."

"Why would things be different?"

"I don't know. It just seems now that the island was a very safe place to be together."

"You call what we've just been through safe?"

"Well maybe safe isn't the word. Simple?"

"I don't see how that word cuts it either."

She let out a laugh and he smiled at her. The sight of his dimples made her feel warm.

"I don't mean the island itself. I guess it was just simple because it was you and me against the world. Something like that." Was she making any sense?

"Jin and Miles excluded."

"Obviously."

"I don't see why it won't be you and me against the world back home as well."

"That's just it James. What is home? We haven't talked about anything. Not about where we're going to live. Not about what we're going to do. Not about what we want."

"I want that king-size bed for one."

"I'm serious."

"I know." He shifted and folded his left arm around her shoulders. "So why don't we talk about it now?" he continued. "You wanna go back to Miami?"

"It's where Rachel is. At least I think that's where she is. She loves living close to the beach."

"Must be a family thing, Blondie."

They both remained quiet for a while. Juliet was staring down at her hands again, noticing her nails were still dirty from the island. Even after a swim and a shower. Stubborn island dirt.

"What if Rachel's not ok?" she whispered, finally putting her true fear into words. "What if the cancer came back? What if.."

"Ssssh. Ssssh. Don't think like that." He put his other arm around her as well and pressed her to him. "Your sister is fine. You are fine. And you're gonna be together again. Everything will be fine."

He pressed her head gently on his shoulder. She let out a sigh and closed her eyes. The warmth of his body had always had an amazing calming effect on her.

"So we'll live in Miami" he concluded.

"You don't want to go back to LA?"

"And run into a bunch of old enemies who still call me Sawyer and will only ask me to run more cons? No thanks. Miami's fine with me."

"So what will you do?"

"I don't know Jules. I haven't really thought about it. What about you? Wanna be a doctor again? Or are you sticking to grease monkey?" Those dimples again.

"I guess that depends on the money you'll get from Oceanic."

He chuckled at that. He took her left hand in his right and started rubbing small circles with his thumb. "There's something I haven't told you yet."

She lifted her head to look at him.

"Richard's dead."

"What? … How? What happened?"

And that was when he told her the whole story, without ignoring any details. He shared about their meeting with Jacob, about how Richard had told him that Miles could be in danger. How the Black Smoke had chased them into the canoes. How Richard stayed back to distract it.

"Only now I'm thinking he wasn't staying behind for that at all. He knew he was sending us off the island. It was weird though. First he's all keen and eager to help us get to Hydra. Next thing he's shipping us off for good."

Juliet took in James' words. "I think Jacob must have somehow gotten to him."

"What… you think they could talk to each other long distance? Like telepathy or somethin'?"

"Why not? They're both not exactly normal men."

"On a not exactly normal island."

Now it was Juliet's turn to tell her end of the story. She started with Desmond's arrival and John Locke's appearance at the beach (she had to honestly laugh at James' totally confused face at that news). Then she told him about Jacob as well, how John had turned into smoke, and finally about the Orchid deal. When everything was said, she put her head back on his shoulder, a yawn escaping her mouth. She really wanted that bed soon.

There was one thing still on her mind though. "Do you think someone will fix things? Like John fixed things for us?"

"He got us stranded in 1974."

"But at least we were alive. We wouldn't be here now if it wasn't for him."

James didn't answer. He knew there was nothing more true than that. He started shifting a bit while removing his hand from hers. He reached for his pocket and fumbled with something inside.

"I still have something for ya."

He brought his hand back up. Between his thumb and index finger he held something small, a ring. Juliet stared at it, and all the thoughts about the past 24 hours or worries about the future vanished. The ring was tiny, kind of dated, but beautiful. The idea that this had been waiting for her for 30 years (or a few months) made her almost cry instantly, but she controlled herself.

He didn't move. His hand was just kind of up in the air with the ring between his fingers.

"Are you going to keep it there or are you going to give it to me?" She looked at him.

He straightened his back. "Hold your horses darlin'. You gotta let a man do what he has to do." Her words encouraged him though and he turned so he could face her better. He cleared his throat and swallowed. How was it that he had this ring for months now and never worked out a proper speech? Probably because he thought he could pull of a proposal like he'd pulled of so many other things: with smooth talk and slick improv. But now he was nervous and couldn't think straight.

When he looked at her she was just sitting there, staring back at him. And he could tell she was nervous too. He produced a sheepish grin and opened his mouth.

"I know you're tired, but I don't want to keep this on me any longer." Damn. What am I supposed to say?

"You know I've been carrying this around for a while. And now that we're off to the real world. I don't know. Seems like a good time to give it to ya. I mean…" he stopped to take a deep breath.

"I shouldn't have waited this long. I'm sorry. I've been a stupid hick. That's what you get for not listening to your mates. I thought I was just waiting for the right time. Dumbest decision ever, since there is no such thing as 'the right time'." He paused, noticing that he wasn't getting to the point.

"OK. Forget what I just said. I just..." He moved the ring between his fingers. Just what? She knew how he felt, right? Were you supposed to repeat that while proposing? Hell, he wished he'd watched more romantic movies in his life. Or not, since Juliet wasn't a fan either. Oh stop it. He needed to get this done.

He pointed his eyes at her again. She looked back at him, face unchanged, waiting patiently. "I just… I love you. You know that. And I love us. And if a few years back someone would've told me I'd be doing this, I probably would've kicked his ass. You screw things up so many times you think that's how it will stay. That that's all you'll ever know. But it ain't. I know going home may look scary. But I can take any kind of scary if you're there with me. And I wanna be there with you."

He smiled at her, still feeling nervous. She was biting her lower lip. His eyes moved to the ring as he turned it between his fingers. When he looked back up at her face he could almost feel the weight of the moment. This was serious, and he loved it.

"I wanna marry you Jules. I want us to never end. What do you say?" Juliet had been staring at the ring but now lifted her head slightly. Her eyes looked bluer than ever to him. "Please marry me, baby."

She couldn't respond immediately because of the lump in her throat. Knowing about his intentions was one thing, hearing him actually propose was something totally different, something totally better. Edmund had never proposed. He had just announced that it was something they should do, or would do.

But this here, now, was so new to her. Here was James, conquering his own nerves, sweetly letting her know she was the one for him. Something she knew already, but still. To hear his words now - with the ring and the nervous smile, the mumbling, and the total blunt honesty - felt better than anything she'd ever felt before.

She smiled and sniffed. "OK. Yes." He exhaled, his face relaxing. And before she was able to say anything else he pulled her in and buried his head in her hair. Her mouth was next to his ear and she repeated her answer, whispering. "I'll marry you James. Of course I'll marry you."

She kissed his cheek and then moved back to kiss his mouth. He kissed her back, eagerly. When they broke apart she could tell she wasn't the only one crying.

"Propose to a girl. Cry in front of a girl. Two things I swore to myself I would never ever do. You make me break all my old rules Blondie." With shaky hands he put the ring on her finger.

"Yeah well… never falling this hard for someone was one of my old rules. You made me break that one long ago."

"OK. We'll call it even then."