alright! sorry for the delay! got caught up in real life :)

thanks AGAIN for the great reviews! they make me sooo happy!

here's E, another sad one i'm afraid. there are more happy ones though!

as always, reviews are love,

enjoy.

E is for Empty

Every. Damn Time.

He could set his calendar by that woman and that damn sub.

She promised him two weeks, which she'd honoured. And then she'd promised him a month; and then three.

Cut to eight months later and she was still watching his back, gently guiding him along, being his rock and his sounding board, his voice of reason.

But still; every damn time.

Sawyer stood at the end of the dock and watched people climb into the little yellow sub, waving goodbye to friends on the dock or tugging on their kids' hands or taking last looks at the island; and then there was Juliet, sitting on one of the recreational sailboats, bare toes just dipping into the water. Her head was tilted to one side as she watched the tiny ripples her gently swinging toes created.

He could see the emotion rolling off her in waves as the sub slipped beneath the surface and away from her. Her shoulders tightened and then slumped, like a physical thing weighed her down. The submersion of the sub rippled out and tiny waves spilled over her feet.

He watched her sigh and start to stand up, gripping the line of the sail and watching just a little longer, trying to let go of what she couldn't have. He wanted to go and take her face in his hands, make her look away from the vast blue nothing.

Her blonde ponytail blew in the gently breeze and he shifted his weight.

She turned around and hopped off the boat, pulled on the socks and work boots tucked along the side of the dock, straightened and caught sight of him.

Her smile was a little forced and almost immediate. Her eyes held a deep sadness and acceptance that made him hurt to look at.

"James, what are you doing here?" she asked casually as she reached him and stepped off the dock and into the warm sand.

"What do you feel when you see that sub leave every time?" he was usually a blunt person, but he couldn't begin to imagine why he'd just straight up asked that question. If he could've reached out and literally pulled the words back inside him and never say them, he would have.

Something slid over her face and he was looking at Other Juliet; he hadn't seen that mask in a while, and he hoped he didn't have to see it again any time soon.

"Nothing," she answered, turning and looking out over the water calmly.

"Oh, come on; you come out here every time a sub leaves and you come back all...different." he said, trying to catch her eye. She wouldn't have it.

"I don't feel anything James, it's like acceptance; I'm not leaving this island, I never will. I'll probably die on this rock," she kicked at the sand in a rare show of frustration, turning her face away from him further.

"What's for dinner?" she changed the subject, face still perfectly hidden from him. Her fingers played with a string on her pants.

"Hey, we're going to get off this Island. And if we don't, well, I got your back; you ain't dyin' on this rock, sunshine." Sawyer meant every word, he was surprised to discover.

"You know, I've heard that before," she said sadly. As she turned back to him, he could see a sorrowful smile on her face. "I think this is the first time I may actually believe it."

"Well, I mean it." he replied, watching her nod once slowly before she made to leave the beach.

As she turned and walked down the path back towards the compound, Sawyer saw the set of her shoulders and the tense muscles of her body; she felt something when those subs left alright, and it wasn't nowhere near acceptance.

*sigh* poor juliet.

but i just loooove sawyer/james

reviews make my day!

thanks again and i hope you liked it!