okay, a double feature today! this makes me happy.

here's H; i actually really like this one, so be kind (as if you aren't already, you all rock)

hope you like it!

enjoy.

H is for Hold

She forced herself to sit still, even though the butterflies in her stomach and the fearful voice in her mind made her want to run as far as fast as she possibly could.

"Blondie?"

He was looking at her like that with serious eyes and a mouth set in a firm line and shoulders squared determinedly.

Her mouth was suddenly dry and her lips seemed stuck together. All she could do was look back at him helplessly and force herself to stay on that couch with every fibre of her being.

"Did you hear what I said?"

He was coming closer, inching down the couch. The stubble on his face was suddenly visible in great detail, and along with the flecks of blue in his green eyes held her gaze locked on his.

"Juliet, I know you feel the same. Just say somethin'," he sounded desperate now and she wanted to answer him, to speak, but all she could think was oh no, not again, not here.

"Is this about Kate? Look, they've all been gone over a year, I'm startin' to believe they ain't comin' back. Juliet, you-," he looked down at her clenched hands and then up at her face and she felt a little zing go through her, right to her gut, at the look.

"You're here, you stayed, you got my back. And I got yours, all the way. That means somethin' to me."

She believed him. She really really did and she wanted to tell him, but the words and the butterflies and the damn voice...

She must have smiled or given some positive response because he was very close now, so close she could smell the generic fabric softener of his shirt and feel her heart race.

She swallowed thickly and managed to lick her lips.

He was so close, so close, and she hadn't moved and she was congratulating herself, getting caught up in the moment, thinking maybe just maybe this is okay and this will work and he will not die or leave or be a jerk, when it happened.

Her toast popped.

The light ding made them both jump and it seemed that sound was the only prompting she needed to unfreeze herself.

She lurched off the couch, carefully avoiding touching him because really, that would be the end of it all, and rushed into the kitchen where she gripped the cool counter.

She was breathing now, and breathing deep, and she felt light headed and she tried to remember when the last time she felt like this was.

Jack? He'd been her ticket off the island, a strong helping hand, one that wasn't holding her down but rather lifting her up and pulling her along.

No, never felt like this, like the room was spinning and her heart would explode.

Goodwin? He'd been her lifeline, her saviour, her taste of normalcy on this rock; he'd loved her and cared for her...he'd been so lovely, a welcome and needed opposite to Ben and Edmund.

Still, never like this, like every colour in the room stood out in extreme contrast, everything was bright and shiny and all her senses were heightened.

Too preoccupied with her thoughts, her toast got cold and hard; her arms shook from gripping the counter edge too tight, she missed the swish of fabric and the quiet foot falls of the man currently throwing her cool calm demeanour into a wicked panic.

"Sunshine?"

That was it. There it was. Heart skipping a beat; hands damp; butterflies.

He was behind her now, she could feel a hand hovering over her bare shoulder, the heat coming off his skin.

She needed to say something, anything.

"I-," and she couldn't. There was too much fear. What if they got off the island tomorrow? What if they didn't? What if the others came back? What if she came back? What if they didn't?

His finger just brushed the top of her shoulder and she found herself slipping out from around him and backing away to the doorway into the kitchen.

Everything was spinning.

"Juliet," he said, and a slow smile spread over his mouth.

She felt her own attempt the same. "James," she managed. It came out level, warm, she was proud.

He came to her slowly and she backed into the frame, hands behind her back to hold herself against something solid, or she was sure that look he was giving her would make her bones completely useless.

"Are you freakin' out sweetheart?" he asked as he closed the distance between them.

Juliet licked her still-dry lips and nodded. "Little bit,"

Sawyer came closer still until they were almost toe-to-toe. "You're not gonna get me with some kind of taser or somethin' if I kiss you, are you?"

Damn smile.

"No," breathless, she needed oxygen, her head was twirling.

His scent filled her mind in every way and he was bending down to her, one arm gently sliding around her waist and the other down her arm to find cool, shaking fingers.

His breath mingled with hers and she always found that weird, breathing someone else's air; how was that romantic? Here and now that was irrelevant and his lips were right there and the butterflies suddenly fell away and her breathing completely evened out and feeling returned to her fingers and toes.

Her heart kept beating wildly though.

And his lips were on hers.

Gently at first, soft and waiting for her to respond, and then she did, and they became...more.

Her lips were no longer dry and it felt like something beginning to slide back into place for her. Her free hand, the one not holding his, was up into his hair of its own volition.

His own free hand was at the back of her neck, keeping her right where she was and it was perfect.

They separated when air became necessary and she rested her forehead on his chin.

His lips kissed the centre, moved on to her nose and he watched her eyes as he kissed both cheeks and her chin.

And then lower, to a spot just below her ear she didn't know existed with such feeling she felt like falling apart and letting him go on forever.

"James," it wasn't her voice, but that was okay.

He looked up at her and both hands framed her face, thumbs smoothing along a trembling (trembling?) jaw.

"I've got you," he said quietly. And she believed him.

"You do, James," she said, and her hands came up to hold onto his forearms. "Be gentle," it was a whisper and she didn't know if he heard it, but he was now leading her back to the couch and sitting her down.

She watched him as he settled down and went willingly when he pulled her close to him, pressed a long, deep kiss to her lips, and took the book he handed her with a growing smile.

He grinned down at her and dropped a sweeter, promising kiss on her smiling lips before cracking open 'Carrie'.

This whole moment, this whole development of whatever-they-had had taken less than five minutes; something so potentially epic, so fast.

The reality of it hit them when the front door opened and Miles and Jin came in, laughing and talking about something and making a beeline for the fridge.

Miles leaned up against the doorframe where James had just kissed her.

Jin handed Miles a beer and then leaned against the counter where she'd been just moments ago.

And it seemed normal for them all to be like this, together.

And in a little over another year and half, when she goes screaming down a hole to the end of life as she knows it, this is the night she would remember the most; that she would cling to until the very, very end.

:)

review please?

thanks.