Chapter 15 - Mandatory Conditions

It still unsettled her, the way the daylight seemed to disappear faster than it was supposed to. Time passed strangely on the island, and she wasn't sure if it was emotional fatigue or something more…science-y. Juliet smiled, thinking of how Rachel would have put it. The smile was gone before Sayid approached her, suggesting they camp for the night.

Juliet nodded. "The trees will give us some protection."

"My thoughts exactly."

"Night two," Charlie said to Claire, with ironic flourish. "How many times will you need to pee?"

"Don't even get me started," Claire said tiredly. She'd agreed to let him set up a bed for her, as bed-like as their rolled airline blankets and tarps could get. "My bladder is a pancake now. Seriously, ask Juliet."

"I believe you." Charlie chuckled. He knew best of all, since he was her bathroom break buddy at all hours of the night.

After dinner, when most had settled down for the night, Sun approached the area Juliet had staked out for her own bed roll.

"Can I talk to you?" Sun asked.

Juliet smiled, and she tried to keep her brow from furrowing with concern.

"Of course." she said.

Sun cast a furtive glance at a nearby cluster of travelers. Juliet gestured for Sun to follow her a few paces further away.

"I don't know how to tell you this." Sun whispered.

Juliet stopped and turned to her. "Are you okay?"

Sun's facade began to crumble at the question.

"I think I'm pregnant." she said, tears forming in her eyes.

Juliet's expression opened up in surprise. Social cues would normally warrant a congratulations, but the possibility seemed to be a torture on Sun's conscience.

"...Oh." she said lightly.

"I heard Sawyer and Kate talking," said Sun. "I didn't mean to listen. I didn't understand all of it, but, they were concerned about Claire and her baby. About what your people…wanted to do with them."

Juliet reached for Sun's forearm, grasping it supportively. She had two very important questions.

"Did you have any idea you might be pregnant before you got here, to the island?"

Sun shook her head.

"And does anyone else know you might be pregnant?" Juliet asked her.

"Only Kate." Sun cast her eyes down, sorrowful and guilty. "I haven't told Jin."

"Good." Juliet said immediately, with confidence that surprised Sun.

Sun looked up, her eyes full of questions.

"The less people that know," Juliet explained. "The better. Even your husband. If Ben doesn't know about it, he won't be looking for you."

"So it's true?" Sun asked, fear rising. "What Jack was saying-?"

"You're going to be home," Juliet assured her. "Long before it will matter."

Sun did not look convinced. Juliet made herself believe it, one more time.

"Okay?" Juliet squeezed Sun's arm very softly. "We're going to get you home."

Sun nodded. She had to make herself believe it too. She hesitated, and then admitted something else.

"I don't want Jin to see me crying."

Juliet forced another supportive smile. "You can sit here with me for as long as you need."

She steeled herself against every emotion that threatened to surface. She sat patiently next to Sun, who wept in expert silence from a lifetime of practice. Juliet waited until the anxious woman felt well enough to return to her husband's side and prepared to keep yet another secret from him. She watched Sun translate to Jin all of Juliet's answers to her questions about the rest of the trip, which is how she and Juliet decided to explain their long and quiet conversation.

Juliet waited until more people laid down to sleep. She made eye contact with Sayid, who was sitting next to a sleeping Shannon, and they nodded to each other. He'd keep an eye on the camp. Then Juliet took a short trip into the surrounding trees, got down on her knees and had a silent cry of her own.

She didn't know how long the island would give Sun's body before it betrayed her and her unborn child. It was another pair of lives whose survival now depended on Juliet convincing Ben to let them leave the island, when Juliet knew in her heart that he would not.

Minutes passed; it could have been five, fifteen or thirty. She was in a trance of telling herself everything was okay, when clearly it was not. Not for her, for Claire, for Sun, for any of them.

She heard a twig snap. Her heart thudded in her chest, and adrenaline shot into her veins. Then she heard Claire's whispered voice, telling Charlie to stay close but not to look. Charlie giggled something deliriously sleep-deprived.

Wiping her eyes, Juliet stood up and walked further into the trees to avoid being seen or heard by them. She listened to the rustling as Claire relieved her bladder, and the receding sounds as they returned to the group camp.

Juliet took a deep breath, psyching herself up to return to the camp without visible emotion. Closer, much closer than before, Juliet heard another twig snap.

"...Oops."

The dry tone of her stalker cut into her psyche. It took her a moment to place it. It was the sense memory of stomach aches brought on by stress that finally made it click.

"Harper?" Juliet called as quietly as she could.

Harper Stanhope emerged from the shadows. She looked so different out in the wild. Her dirty hair was pulled back in a pony tail, and she was dressed for rugged travel. This was nothing like the world's worst psychiatrist who sat judging Juliet from the moment she'd arrived.

"Aww," Harper cooed mockingly, seeing the tears shining in Juliet's eyes. "Are you havin' a bad day?"

"Bad couple years, actually." Juliet whispered, voice hoarse from crying.

She knew it wasn't the time for sarcasm. Not with Harper. She just couldn't help herself. Here she was again, out in the jungle without a weapon, allowing Ben's minions to sneak up on her. She'd barely survived the last encounter.

The mocking in Harper's eyes curdled into hatred.

"What are you doing here?" Juliet asked her tiredly.

"What do you think?" Harper snapped. She kept it together enough to stay quiet and avoid alerting the rest of the sleeping camp. "Ben sent a group to check on you."

Juliet's mind raced. She and everyone in this group was supposed to be on the other side of the ridge right now.

Harper could see the wheels turning. She savored Juliet's confusion, reveled in her panic.

"I had a feeling you'd do something tricky like go the long way around," said Harper. "The rest of the scouting party didn't believe me. But, here you are. The genius." Harper mocked her with a cruel smile. "You might have Ben fooled. You might have all of them fooled. But you don't fool me."

Juliet found the silver lining in being confronted by another one of Ben's most fervent supporters. She didn't feel tired anymore. Any emotional turmoil she'd been experiencing was shut away, compartmentalized to make room for survival mode.

"Is your work really so important," Harper asked in a sharp whisper. "That it's worth destroying everyone else's lives here? Do you know how many times I tried to get pregnant before you arrived? How many times I miscarried? Ben brought you here to help. To help me. Not to steal my husband. Not to get him killed."

Juliet's mouth began to form an apology, but Harper had a lot more to say. The words began to spill faster, in that harsh and seething whisper.

"You killed him. And I know you're responsible for Ethan's death too. I heard what was on that tape. I don't give a fuck who pulled the trigger. It was your fault. You wanted to keep the pregnant girl to yourself, for whatever sick, stupid, Nobel prize-winning reason you think is at the end of all of this. Everything was fine before you got here. And you don't care. You never cared. Not about Ben, or about me, or about my god damned husband-"

A rush of heat came to Juliet's cheeks. "I didn't-"

They both heard a rustling from the direction of the camp and coming closer. Their common training silenced them immediately. Something clicked in Harper's hand, and she raised a handgun to show Juliet she was armed.

"Say one word and they die." Harper said, barely more than mouthing the words.

Juliet closed her eyes, and told herself to breathe. It wasn't even the danger this time. It was the hypocrisy that made her want to scream.

Whoever was out there tripped on a root. "Ow!" they whispered, swearing at their night blindness.

It was Arzt. Not a threat. Just another midnight bathroom run.

Juliet looked at the gun in Harper's hand.

"Relax." Harper whispered, disgusted that she had to be there. "I'm not going to kill you. That would be too easy. It would be a gift for you, really. No, you deserve to live. So you can stay here forever, and be reminded of what you did to Goodwin every day for the rest of your miserable fucking life."

Harper knew Juliet felt trapped. It was the one thing that kept Harper warm at night, knowing that Ben's 'love' was slowly destroying the object of its affection. Knowing Juliet was too soft to do anything about it.

Walt. Juliet kept thinking about his little face, innocent even when he was defying his father. Juliet had the pregnant girl with her, taking the long way around the ridge. But she didn't have everyone, and she had no easy way to warn the other group there were Others coming.

"You can't hide from us," Harper warned her one last time before she left. "You might feel isolated now, but you are never alone. Remember that, when you meet up with your new friends and come back to wreck the rest of my home. We'll be waiting for you."

When Harper slipped away, back into the shadows, Juliet crouched and buried her face in her hands.

The mirror camp on the other side of the ridge was mostly asleep, too. Ana Lucia found it impossible to sleep even when she knew someone else was on watch. She laid down, watching from afar the sleeping forms of Michael and his son Walt. Something inside of her kept her awake to keep her eye on the boy, the last kid accounted for on the manifest. She hoped the other two she'd met were safe.

She was still awake when Eko strode in from the north. He was concerned, but Ana Lucia knew he would not have left his post if he didn't think it was safe.

"They came," Eko reported, once he was close enough to speak quietly. "But only to observe. They know this is not the whole party. And they know the pregnant girl is not with us."

Ana Lucia scowled. "Did they seem upset?"

Eko shook his head. "They mentioned a Harper. Said 'she was right'."

Ana Lucia shook her head. "Who the hell is Harper?"

Eko had no answer. He glanced back toward the trees.

"It wasn't like the last time." he said curiously.

"No shit," Ana Lucia agreed wryly. "If it was, half of us would be dead or kidnapped by now." She regarded Eko with some concern of her own. "You should get some sleep."

Eko shook his head. You first.

Ana Lucia chuckled tiredly. They'd gotten to the point where he didn't have to say it out loud.

She wasn't sure how or when, but Ana Lucia managed to catch a few winks before morning. She was woken up gently by Libby, who seemed proud of her friend for falling asleep. Ana Lucia forced her aching body to sit up, and she glanced around the camp to take stock. Walt and Hurley were up already and playing with sticks, having an epic sword fight for breakfast. Michael and Jack were chatting about something Ana was too tired to eavesdrop on. She found James at the edge of the crowd, looking as destroyed as she felt. Something amused him though, and when he caught her eye, he gestured with his chin, so she would look behind her.

She turned back to where Michael and Jack had been standing. Michael had gone over to Walt, and Kate had taken Michael's place beside Jack. The way Jack and Kate were smiling at each other, yet trying to avoid smiling at each other…

Ana Lucia turned back to look at James, with a smirk on her face. James raised his brows and frowned appraisingly. They were impressed.

James and company arrived at the rendezvous first. The early afternoon sun made them feel safe in the small valley. They sat or laid down, surrounded by a mess of baggage, waiting for the other group to arrive.

It was the longest half-day any of them experienced since the plane crash itself, but when Charlie ran ahead, cresting the small hill beyond which rested their meeting place, and saw the other half of the survivors waiting on the other side, his relief and excitement was contagious.

Walt spotted Charlie first, and the two whooped and hollered at each other, letting both parties know they'd made it.

James stood up, waiting on the celebration until he knew she was okay. He didn't notice his heart racing in anticipation until he saw her. She shielded her face from the sun, and he could have sworn the little half smile that graced her lips was for him.

For the rest of the two groups, reunion excitement eclipsed all exhaustion. They hugged, and greeted, and commiserated about the difficult terrain.

All of them except for Juliet. She strolled a few paces behind, eyes on the ground, sadder and more tired than when they'd parted. She passed the revelers, the trauma-bonded friends who were simply happy to see each other again, and she approached James on the far side of the celebration. She stopped in front of him and looked up, let him see past the facade, into eyes that reflected newfound existential weight.

"You all made it." she said softly.

James nodded. "You sound surprised."

Juliet smiled to keep her chin from trembling.

"Everyone accounted for on your end?" James asked worriedly.

She nodded again. She was a breath away from falling apart, but she couldn't just yet. Not in the daylight. Not in front of everyone.

The look of silent understanding he had for her threatened to knock it all loose. She stepped forward. Slowly, carefully, Juliet wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him, tucking her chin against his collar bone, her lips brushing the edge of his shirt. He felt her melt into him, and he reciprocated, squeezing her waist.

For a long moment, nothing else existed. His hug took a weight off her shoulders, and reminded her she was real and alive. She indulged in the feeling a moment longer, then gently extricated herself from the embrace.

"We're almost there," she said in a ghost whisper. "Let's keep going."

Juliet slipped past him, keeping her head bowed as she walked away. James stared after her. He didn't realize Charlie and Claire were nearby until Charlie called out to him.

"This might sound incredible," Charlie said to James. "But we are so happy to see you."

James tore his gaze away from Juliet, and tried to process something clever.

"What's incredible is that baby hasn't popped out yet." he said.

Claire smiled and rolled her eyes. Hurley came up to her, giving the short girl a generous hug.

Charlie noticed belatedly that James was distracted. He walked over to James, away from Claire and Hurley so they wouldn't hear it if James had bad news.

"You alright, man?" Charlie asked him.

"Did anything happen on the way?" James asked.

Charlie frowned and thought about it. He couldn't think of anything noteworthy, aside from the misery of carrying all their stuff for two days straight, and dealing with the insects at night.

"No," he answered, the truth from his perspective. He looked up at James, and followed his eye line as he took up staring after Juliet. Charlie turned back to James.

"You're worried about her," he observed, surprised by a new appreciation for the cranky cowboy.

James turned and found Charlie showing his knowing, crooked smile.

"Now you know how I feel." Charlie teased him.

James gestured at the woman walking further away from them. "She seem different to you?"

"I'm sure she's just tired." Charlie said casually.

James nodded, but he'd already dismissed the advice. Charlie hadn't seen her face. He hadn't felt her shrunken frame, or the embrace that felt like one in a series of last goodbyes. Tired didn't begin to cover it.

The scouts let Ben know when the survivors of the plane crash were approaching the tree line. He wanted to be in the courtyard, waiting for them with a kind smile, when they emerged.

Welcome.

Word spread quickly, as he'd known it would. There were times when lack of discipline worked in his favor. Having so many of his followers gathered behind him, staring with anticipation toward the jungle, would heighten the effect.

We knew you were coming.

His people remained hushed as the newcomers filtered through the trees. Despite knowing how rough they'd been living, it was a shock to see how rough they appeared compared to the profile photos he'd studied. One by one he picked them out, through the grime, the exhaustion, and the relief.

If they'd been close enough they would have seen the curious smile on Ben's face. His spoils had arrived, an entire host of new puppets. There was Dr. Shephard, and Officer Cortez, standing right next to little Walt and his inexperienced father Michael.

Ben looked upon James Ford with new eyes. No longer outcast, no longer worthless, to the survivors or to himself.

At last his eyes came to rest on his ultimate prize, now returned to him. To most of the survivors, his smile was kind and inviting. For those that knew, their stomachs turned when he said proudly,

"Welcome home, Juliet."