Arrright, this chapter might be... a little indulgent. But something tells me that you, the reader, won't mind that at all, haha. Thanks everyone for still keeping up with this story, I know the waits are long sometimes, it really makes me happy that you're sticking around.

Fortunately for the police department and much to James' dismay, Juliet did not stay asleep for much longer. She slowly became aware of her surroundings, of a different bed underneath her than she was used to, of being on one side of that bed instead of the middle, and most pleasantly, of the strong arm wrapped around her waist. She could feel the length of his body pressed up against hers, holding her as close as he could without being on top or inside of her. She loved that feeling, the feeling of being comfortable and cared for, held and wanted. James wanted her in his bed. But desire got the best of her that morning, like it would get the best of James, and she turned over to greet him.

James felt Juliet stir, disappointed to lose the wake-up feeling, but excited to talk to her and look into her eyes. They were as blue as he remembered, and even prettier in morning light.

"Hey." she said, her voice still sleepy.

Juliet's heart fluttered when she looked up at James' face. His eyes made her feel safe, and the slow smile that took over his mouth made her feel warm inside.

"Hey." he answered her. "How'd you sleep?"

"Like a baby." she said, smiling when she felt his hand on her hip. His fingers slipped beneath the long t-shirt she wore, his hand sliding up to touch her breast.

"Me too." said James, squeezing her softly and running his thumb over her nipple until it hardened.

"So my snoring didn't keep you up?" said Juliet, biting her lower lip over her smile but failing to hide how much that simple touch turned her on.

"You snore?" James murmured, moving his head forward to kiss her lips. He lingered there, adding to the stimulation and making both places tingle.

"I wouldn't know," Juliet whispered when their lips parted. "I'd be asleep when I do it." She reached down between their bodies to see if he had anything for her. He was soft, which didn't surprise or disappoint her, since she wasn't exactly leaving him unsatisfied these days. She kissed him again, and wrapped her fingers around him in a delicate way, softly massaging him until he started to grow in her hand. "You want a quickie before you go to work?" she asked, the accompanying smirk making James chuckle.

"You're askin' a bear if he wants honey..." he joked. Juliet's hand held his real answer.

"Feel free to use my body." Juliet said, grinning playfully.

"Nah," said James, taking his hand out of her shirt so he could move the sheet and get on top of her. She rolled onto her back, spreading her knees apart to make room for his torso. "I'll make it good for you too." he told her.

She was still stroking him, tugging on an already thick shaft until her fist closed around the head, then back again. He reciprocated, the fingers of one hand exploring where she was already wet for him. She sighed gratefully, encouraging him with her hand and the soft sounds in her throat.

"I just don't wanna owe you." he explained in a low, teasing voice. "You're already insatiable." Juliet smiled, pleased to hear it, and took a peek between their bodies.

"And I love..." he said, giving her leg a tender shove with his knee to spread her a little wider. "Watching you come." His words and actions sent a small wave to his fingertips. He took it as an invitation, slipping one finger inside of her. Ooh, she barely moaned, just above a whisper, watching his hand while he watched her face. He pushed his finger deeper into her, feeling how far her lust for him went. She heard a rumble in his throat. "Mmm...you stay wet, don't you..." he said in wonder. She was always ready for him.

She smiled, almost bashfully, and looked up into his eyes. He was only making it worse. "I can't help it." she said quietly, breathy from anticipation. "Just thinking about you makes me so fucking horny..." She opened her legs wider, inviting him in. He was moving his finger slowly in and out of her, getting her desperate. Her hips started to rock, expressing her hunger, and he added a second finger. "Just do it." she whispered. "Please..."

She let go of him, and he took his hand back. Juliet tried to keep quiet as he eased into her, not knowing if the rest of the apartment was awake and not willing to stop the proceedings to ask. It was hard to stifle her moans, but it made it that much more exciting. Soft, slow kisses swallowed her moans before she could let them out, and keeping it all inside pushed her higher and higher until her body was just about ready to sing an aria. She'd been expecting fast, but he kept it slow, achingly slow, the entire time, causing a different sort of pleasure to build deep inside of her. Fucking her softly like this made her orgasm softly too, a longer, deeper, more complete orgasm that made every part of her body shake gently underneath him. She put her hands to his waist, trying half-heartedly to hold him inside her, but he kept moving, slowly, in and out. He could feel her pulsing around him, her breath impossibly short as she rode it out. Oh- God- she choked out, toes curling as it continued. James watched in awe, feeling like he'd learned a new trick. He'd expected results, but nothing like this.

Eventually, the trembling flower petal in his bed pressed her head back into her pillow and squeaked, letting her body relax all at once as the climax finally released its grip on her. Endorphins saturated her blood stream; it felt like she'd just had a two hour massage, and it had only taken a few minutes to get there. James continued a few minutes more, savoring being inside her. When he wanted to come, he sped up a little, making the bed rock a little, the mattress creak a little. Just a little. And when he came inside of her, Juliet smiled at the feeling and said Mmmm, a reaction that would keep James happy for the rest of the day. Their hearts beat fast, but they weren't out of breath. Relaxed into complete satisfaction; what a way to start the day. James kissed her, and they talked to each other in a low murmur until Juliet told him it was okay to get out of bed and shower.

"See what you get when you stay the night?" James told her with a grin as he climbed out of bed. Juliet grinned back, watching him walk naked around his bedroom until he found something to throw on so he wouldn't have to streak to the bathroom. "I'll be quick." he said, winking as he closed the door behind him.

Juliet waited until it clicked before groaning the words Oh my godddd, and stretching her body like a cat in his bed. She could still feel the pleasure all the way down to her bones. What was she going to do all day without him?

Miles was just pulling two Eggo waffles out of the toaster when he heard an unfamiliar set of footsteps coming down the hall. Juliet hesitated for a moment when she saw him, wishing she'd taken more than a glance in the mirror before walking to the kitchen. She was wearing her jeans and the t-shirt she'd slept in, and she felt like she had the word 'sex' written across her forehead.

"Morning." Miles greeted her, pretending not to notice. He froze for a second too, looking at the still hot breakfast delights he'd just toasted to perfection. "You want these?" he asked her.

Juliet smiled at the two waffles held between his fingertips. "No," she said sweetly. "Thank you."

Miles shrugged. "More for me." he said non-chalantly, pulling two more out of the toaster. "I'll get you coffee though."

"You don't have to do that," Juliet said quickly. "I'm fine."

"Well, normally I'd let you thirst to death Burke, but I'm scared James will beat me up if I don't take good care of you."

Juliet laughed, grateful when he handed her a hot mug.

"Cream and sugar?"

"No, thank you."

"Whoa..." Miles said, backing up slowly. "Black coffee? That's pretty hardcore. ...for a girl." he added, in case she thought he was starting to get too nice. The thing about Miles was, once he started teasing, that's when you knew he really cared.

In spite of the lameness of his joke, Juliet cracked up again, and she was glad she hadn't taken a sip of coffee yet. The giddy feeling she'd gotten from waking up and doing that with James had her all goofy, but doing a spit take in front of Miles would have been going too far. She let the steam rise from her mug, and watched Miles pour way too much maple syrup on his full stack of waffles. Juliet knew he wasn't the type to hide his feelings, especially not anger or distaste, so she thought it was a good sign he was being so sweet to her now.

"You don't mind that I stayed the night, do you?" asked Juliet, just in case.

"Nah." Miles said easily. "He's lucky to have you, ya know. Usually around this time I'm sneaking into his bedroom with an airhorn."

"What time do you usually head out?"

"Depends on whether we're going to the gym or not. I'm assuming that's him in the shower?"

"Yes, unless you had a special guest we didn't know about."

"My blow-up doll only takes baths." Miles deadpanned.

"And that is officially too much information, Straume." Juliet said with a smirk.

Miles smiled, and dramatically mouthed the word sorry before he sat down and began to cut his waffles with his fork. As they'd been talking, the water in the bathroom had been shut off, and they could hear James move to his bedroom to get dressed. They sat in silence for a little while, Juliet sipping her coffee and trying to think of something interesting to talk about, and Miles trying to think of the most delicate way possible to ask his next question. It was potentially a very touchy subject, but one he felt, as James' best friend and partner, he had to address.

"So. Burke." said Miles, swallowing the food in his mouth and preparing another bite for shoveling. "I hear you're still married. What's up with that?"

Juliet stopped moving mid-sip, her eyebrows rising as she tried to halt the flow of the hot liquid. She took the mug away from her lips slowly, swallowing even slower to stall for time.

"I'm sorry to bring it up first thing in the morning like this." said Miles. "I'm just looking out for my buddy. You guys got really close, really fast, and I don't want to see him get hurt."

"I don't want that either." Juliet assured him. "I have a legal separation, and I'm doing everything in my power to get him to agree to a divorce. It's been more than a year now. Believe me, there is no one who wants it to be over more than I do. Especially now."

Miles nodded, satisfied. It wasn't that he doubted what both James and now Juliet had told him. But he wanted to be able to say he'd asked when the time was right.

"My sister always tells me," Juliet went on, "She would keep her cancer over Edmund any day of the week."

Miles laughed once, enjoying the pitch black humor. "Wow. Harsh."

Juliet smirked and shrugged, heavily implying that she didn't disagree with the statement. Miles went back to his waffles, almost done already.

"I appreciate you asking, Miles. You're a good friend."

"I'm a better lover." he quipped. "Ya know...if you ever get bored with Ford here."

"Miles?" came James voice as he appeared in the doorway. "Is it just my bad ear, or did you just ask me to scrub the toilet with your toothbrush?"

Juliet, her back to the doorway, turned to look at him, smiling at the sight and sound. He was leaning on the door jamb, fully dressed, arms crossed, his hair still wet from his shower. God, he was so fucking cute. She could smell the soap from where she was sitting.

"Nope," said Miles. "Just hitting on your girlfriend."

"So, business as usual."

"Oh yeah."

"Well you make sure to finish your milk and kiddy breakfast real soon, or we're gonna be late to work. Don't wanna get a spanking from Abbadon."

"Speak for yourself." Miles said suggestively, standing and tossing his plate in the sink for later. "I'll be ready in a minute, just gotta brush my teeth. And, please: get the makeout out of the way before I get back. I just ate."

James let Miles pass with a simple raise of his eyebrows, and he looked to Juliet as she stood and walked toward him.

"You've got a bad ear?" she asked with concern.

"Perp fired a gun next to my head a few years back." James explained, pointing to his right one. "Hasn't quite been the same since."

"Oh." said Juliet. "Is that why you respond differently when I moan in that one?" she asked, motioning toward his left. Her look of complete innocence didn't last long when she saw his smile.

"Come on, now." said James. "Don't make it harder for me to leave."

"Don't make it harder?" Juliet asked with a wry look, as if she couldn't quite believe he'd let the words slip by.

"Woman," said James, as Juliet put her arms around his waist. "Your mind is as dirty as that mouth."

Juliet chuckled, accepting a kiss when James leaned down to give her one.

"Should I head out too?" Juliet asked him. "I can get dressed if you want to lock up behind me."

"No, stay." James tucked her hair behind her ears. "The door locks from the inside, so you can leave whenever. You can take a shower here if you want."

"I might."

"I am returning to your area!" Miles called out as he walked back from the bathroom. "Please detach!"

Juliet laughed, and she dutifully let go of James' waist, but James would never let Miles win so easily. James took her face in his hands, and gave her a deep, I'm-going-to-miss-you-all-day kiss right as Miles passed them with one hand covering his eyes.

James watched the road while he was driving to work, but there was something nagging at him. What had Juliet meant when she said Miles was a good friend?

"So what were you and Juliet really talking about in the kitchen?"

Oops. thought Miles. He hadn't meant for James to notice that, but he wasn't about to lie or pretend it didn't happen.

"I asked her about her husband."

Like a thunder cloud passing over a sunny sky, James gave Miles a dark look. "Are you serious?"

"I was just making sure-"

"I told you not to bring it up with her."

"It wasn't like that! I didn't grill her. It was a polite conversation, no feathers ruffled."

"Yeah..." James muttered.

"See, this is why I asked. You're so protective of her, your temper's flaring up at nothing. You're not thinking straight."

"Well, what'd she say?" James said testily, interrupting the usual analysis.

"She said Edmund is worse than cancer, and she's doing everything in her power to divorce him." Miles turned to James, leaning closer and making the tone of his voice sickeningly cloying brand of sweet. "Especially now that she has you." James gave him a look, but Miles knew James was smiling somewhere on the inside. "Does she know you're taking the exam today?"

"Nope." said James. "Didn't wanna jinx it. I'll tell her when I pass."

"Such confidence." Miles said, as if there were reason to doubt it. "You should know, even if you pass, I'm going to beat your score."

"In Mario Kart, maybe. Then again, maybe not. Even with a girl in my lap I still beat Baby Mario."

"Fuck you." Miles sang.

When Juliet arrived home, Rachel was up and feasting on all sorts of baked goods.

"I gotta eat while I still have an appetite, right?" Rachel said with a good natured smile. Juliet chuckled sadly, wishing she could be that upbeat about the sickness. When she sat down at the kitchen table, Rachel leaned over and sniffed her shoulder. "You smell like man soap." she teased, to which Juliet smiled slyly. "Oh," said Rachel. "You got a phone call a little while ago. A guy named Richard Alpert, calling from Mittelos Labs. I think it's about a job. The note's on the counter."

"Mittelos?" said Juliet, getting up to go take a look. "I've never heard of them. Did he say how he knew of me?"

"No," Rachel said regretfully. "I didn't think to ask. I just assumed everyone would know who my amazing sister is."

Juliet smiled at Rachel, then looked at the phone number this mysterious Richard Alpert left. "I don't recognize the area code..."

"I looked it up; it's Miami."

"Hm." Juliet said curiously. Now she was very intrigued.

OMG YOU GUYS, don't worry, this is nothing island related. I just thought I'd throw in a familiar character to spur the upcoming drama. Just a little drama, I promise! This is the fluffy one, remember? ;D