A/N: This story was co-written by AO3's obsessivedaydreamer and posted here with her permission.
James
James keeps sneaking looks at Juliet as they walk to the tennis court. He's not sure she should be out like this, considering the fact that she still hasn't fully recovered from all the alcohol. He's a little startled by how much she must've drank to still be throwing up this morning. She looks extra pale beneath her hat, but she insisted on coming out here. She wasn't going to waste another day of their trip.
When they get to the courts, she takes one of the rackets they borrowed out of the bag.
"You know we can just sit on the beach or something, right?" he asks, pretty sure her hands are shaking.
"I want to play," she says, her voice stony. She refused to engage in any meaningful conversation last night, leaving them stuck in this uncomfortable place he can't escape from. "You can just tell me you're scared of losing."
"What?" He scoffs. "Yeah, sure. That's why, not 'cause you look half-dead."
She glares at him, and storms across the court to the other side. He sighs; he really isn't helping.
He gets his racket out and bounces the ball, watching her. She has perfect form, and even with the distance he can feel the holes she's burning into him with her eyes.
He sighs, and serves the ball over the net. She hits it hard and slams it back to him. He's startled by her force and misses it. It rewrites his assumption that this would be nothing more than a casual rally. To be honest, he didn't think she had anything more in her right now. He was clearly mistaken.
He retrieves the ball and serves it, a little harder this time. He's more prepared now, so he's able to hit it back. Though after they pass it a couple of times, she hits it hard enough to fly past him out of bounds.
Past the annoyance he feels at her aggression, James is concerned. He knows her. He knows how cruel her mind can be to itself. He knows that she'll torture herself and not say a single thing about it to him or to anyone. He knows that she can read into actions and words more than anyone could even imagine.
James can't fix things. But he has to try.
"You want to talk about anything?" he calls to her.
"Nope."
He taps his racket against the ground. "Are you sure?"
"James, serve the damn ball."
He sighs, but does as she says. After hitting it to her, he shouts, "So you're just peachy, huh? Nothing's troubling you?"
"Does it seem like there is?"
"Yes!" The ball flies past him and he groans, muttering, "Fuck."
"If something was troubling me, James, would I be kicking your ass?"
"Oh, shut up!" he shouts across the court, and slams the ball in her direction. "You're distracting me!"
"You're the one talking."
He grunts, squeezing the handle of his racket tightly. "At least I'm trying!" He hits the ball back. "'Least I ain't being all weird and evasive!"
"Is that what you think of me?"
"Right now, yeah! Is it that time or the month or something?"
It happens in the time it takes for him to blink. The ball collides right with his shoulder, carrying all the force from her powerful hit. He cries out at the impact, pain shooting sharply down his arm and chest.
"Sonofabitch," he shouts, hand shooting up to touch it and wincing. "What the fuck!"
"It was an accident," she says. And she might be telling the truth but it's not like she seems concerned. She hasn't even moved from where she stands. It's the final straw. He isn't going to put up with this anymore when he didn't even do anything.
"God, grow up, Juliet!" He storms toward the door to the courts.
"Where are you going?" she calls out.
He turns to look at her. "To get ice, and to get away from you. Just . . . 'less you wanna tell me what the hell's got you so pissed, I think I need some time to myself."
He waits, just a second. Just to see if she'll break. If she'll give in.
She doesn't say anything, and watches him walk away.
Kate
"Are Juliet and James acting weird, you think?"
It's their last full day at the resort and Kate is dreading leaving, even if she knows she wouldn't last much longer lounging around and doing nothing all day. She wants to enjoy it while she can, before she has to get back to balancing housework, motherhood and her travel book.
Even if Jack is helpful around the house, keeping up with his half of the tasks, his hours still mean most of the heavy lifting is often up to her and, while she doesn't mind that, she isn't exactly eager to get back to it. She wants to enjoy the beach, the sunlight, the peace before it all goes away.
Part of that is the quiet.
Auggie is sitting happily in the sand, practically caked in it, playing with Clementine in the shade. She's stretched out on a lounging chair, reading a book she didn't even remember she'd brought until this morning. The last thing she wants to do is have a conversation about James and Juliet, especially knowing the one secret she cannot spill.
"I think you should be enjoying your vacation and minding your business." It comes out harsh and she winces nearly as much as he does, but he doesn't raise the topic again. "I'm sorry, but don't worry about them, Jack, everything's fine."
He nods, frustrated, but relents and trades sitting in his lounging chair for hanging out on the sand with Auggie and Clementine. Kate turns back to her book, but can't quite focus on the page in front of her, reading the same sentence three times but absorbing nothing. Guilt is rising in her chest, starting to consume her for the way she spoke to him, so rudely, unprompted.
She's about to apologize to him when something in the water catches her eye. It's a far away flutter in the water that instantly makes her heart sink. She looks around her, hoping — praying — it's not what she thinks it is, but when she doesn't see him, her fear only grows. "Where's David?"
Jack barely looks up from the sand castle he's trying to help them build but Auggie keeps tearing down and points in the general direction of the water, muttering something about how he wanted to find more shells. She's on her feet before he even finishes, racing towards the ocean with her heart stuck in her throat.
Kate can hear her heartbeat in her ears as she treads through the waves until she's finally in the water enough that she can start to swim. She doesn't hear when Jack calls out her name, asking what's wrong, she doesn't hear when Clementine points something out in the water, the very something that had her sprinting towards it, the pale flailing arms just over the surface.
It might not be David, she tries to tell herself, in an attempt to remain calm and focused as she swims, constantly looking ahead to check if the person is still moving. But in the end, if not one of theirs, it was someone or someone's child.
As she approaches, she can hear the calls for help and she nearly freezes as she identifies the voice and it's indeed David. She swims faster, yelling that she's coming, begging him to hold on. He sounds weak, hurt. The closer she gets, the more she can hear him gurgling water as he tries to keep his head out of the water.
She wraps her arm around his chest the first chance she gets, keeping a tight hold on him and maintaining his head above the water. "I've got you, it's okay. You're okay," she tells him as reassuringly as she can, certain that he can feel her heart beating through her chest, against his back as she drags him along with her back to the shore. "What happened?"
"I don't know," he replies, coughing out some of the water he swallowed. "It just burns so bad."
"What burns?"
"My leg, my knee. It hurts, Kate!" He's practically crying as he hangs onto her arm that's wrapped around him.
"Can you kick your legs or does it hurt too bad?"
He nods and does his best to help, clenching his hands around her arm when the pain gets worse in waves. Jack's half in the water, going to get them, as she approaches the sand banks. She lets him pick David up into his arms and carry him to the sand and makes a less graceful exit herself, still trying to catch her breath and keep her mind from reeling.
When she looks at David's leg, when Jack sets him down on a towel someone brought for them, she immediately knows what's wrong. The skin on his knee is welted in a track pattern, bright red. "It's a jellyfish sting," she blurts out, running up the beach to where they'd been sitting earlier and taking one of Auggie's sand buckets.
She fills it up with water as fast as she can and drops to her knees next to the boy. "This is going to hurt a bit, okay? But I promise you it'll feel better." She waits for him to nod before dumping the water on his leg. Jack checks him out while she rinses off the stingers from the wound.
David hisses and winces, trying to pull his leg away, but she keeps it steady, making sure it's all cleared out. The lifeguards finally show up, promptly apologizing and jumping into action, taking over David's care.
They take him to their station and Jack follows while Kate grabs their stuff and Clementine, who's holding Auggie tightly in her arms. They meet them there; the lifeguards are cleaning the area with vinegar and David, still hissing whenever something touches the wound, seems to have relaxed a little, the pain easing.
Kate sets their things down in a corner and picks up Auggie, who's happy to be back in his mommy's arms. "Clem, I need you to go get your dad and Juliet, okay? Can you do that for me?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, tell them David is okay but that we need them to come here and then bring them, alright?" The young girl nods and bolts out the door.
Kate approaches Jack, who puts his arm around her shoulders. "Thank you," he whispers against her wet, messy hair before pressing a kiss to it. "Thank you for getting him."
"You're not the only one who loves him, Jack."
"I know. And that just makes me love you even more." She smiles at his cheesy line, despite feeling how truthful he is, how much he really means it. "Thank you for telling Clementine to get Juliet, too."
One of the lifeguards starts talking to Jack about the measure's they'll have to take to ensure that the sting will heal nicely and David will be left with as little pain as possible.
As he focuses on that, Kate thinks of what it would be like to be in Juliet's place. How she would feel if something that caused Auggie pain happened; whether or not it was life-threatening, she would want to know. She would want to be there for her son, to make sure that he was okay herself. "It's just what mothers do."
James
James hits the side of the vending machine. "You've got to be fucking kidding me."
The candy bar mocks him, stuck hanging onto the metal rather than falling down how it was supposed to. He presses the ice back into his shoulder, wincing lightly, and groans. He kicks the machine hard. Nothing.
"James."
He turns around. Juliet walks down the hallway toward him. She doesn't meet his eyes, quickly scanning the situation. Without a word, she gets down on her knees and reaches behind the machine. She unplugs it—the candy falls with a clatter—and plugs it back in, lights flicking back on.
She grabs the candy bar and hands it to him. Deja vu, he thinks. For a moment, he's back in the hospital, the first time he saw her. This is all too familiar. But things are so different now, in a number of ways.
He considers taking a piece off for her, but his shoulder aches when he rips the wrapper open and he decides against it. The chocolate is already melting, milky and sweet.
"I'm sorry," Juliet says, looking him in the eye. It's so genuine it makes him regret ever saying anything cruel, even though he feels he was right in his anger.
"It's fine."
She shakes her head. "No, it's not." She takes a step toward him, reaching for the side of his half-open Hawaiian shirt, murmuring, "Can I see?"
He nods, and lifts the ice, letting her push the fabric back to see the developing bruise on his shoulder. It's turning into quite a nasty purple, and he's sure it'll only get worse. He's been in enough fights in his life.
Juliet's face falls when she sees it. "Does it hurt?"
"Yeah." Like hell, but she clearly feels guilty. He doesn't need to make it worse.
Even so, her eyes well with tears, and his heart breaks. He can't help it.
"I'm sorry," she says, and her voice trembles. "I'm really sorry, James."
He shakes his head, and then wraps his good arm around her and pulls her to his chest. "It's okay."
"It's not."
He runs his hand over her back, and worry floods his chest. Things may be worse than he even thought, and he has no clue what the source of her distress is.
"Juliet, just talk to me."
She sniffles and leans back away from him, looking away. "I was so angry, because I didn't want you to leave."
He sighs—this again. "Juliet, it makes me happy that you love me so much, but that's a bit extreme, don't ya think? It's work. I don't throw a fit when you go to the hospital all day."
She stares at the ground. "I know. I know. It's just, you don't get it. You don't understand how stressed I've been, about the baby and trying to make it work, and time keeps passing, and I just couldn't deal with you leaving on top of that."
"It's not supposed to stress you out. Why haven't you told me any of this? Juliet, I want you to be happy. If trying to have a kid isn't making you happy, then why are we doing it?"
"No, it's not that."
"Then what is it?"
She rubs her hand over her face. "It doesn't matter anymore."
"It does matter."
"No. It doesn't matter anymore." There's something odd in her tone, and he frowns.
"Why?"
She plays with the hem of her tank top, working the fabric between her fingers. "Yesterday, when I was sick. It was . . . more than just me being hungover."
The candy bar wrapper crinkles in his hand. He blinks, watching her closely. "What are you talking about?"
She takes a deep breath, biting down on her bottom lip before opening her mouth. "James, I took a pregnancy test yesterday."
His breath catches in his throat. He recounts all the times she's taken them at home, that single line staring up at them, glaring at them from the trash can.
". . . ok."
It seems eternity passes before she says, in the softest breath, "It was positive."
Everything stops. The world, time, his heart. It's like the words are a riddle his brain has to unscramble, and when he does, the shock rattles him even more than the tennis ball had earlier that morning.
"What?"
She smiles faintly, almost nervous. "I'm pregnant."
"Oh my god." Instinctively, he pulls her into a hug, not even worried about the pain in his shoulder. He holds her so tight. It doesn't matter how much they'd discussed the prospect, it was never real until now. "Holy shit. We're having a baby."
"We are."
He laughs. He can't stop. It's the joy and the shock all blending together. He doesn't know what else to do with himself.
She smiles, but it falters. "You're gonna leave."
That had been her biggest fear. That's what distressed her so awfully, the fear of being alone with their unborn child. And now it's come true.
He understands now.
He shakes his head, and he means it with no hesitation. "No, I won't. I'll figure it out. I'll tell 'em I can't, I got a good excuse."
She frowns, eyes down. "I don't want to mess up your work."
"Juliet, I ain't gonna leave you. Not now, not ever." She has to know that. He has to make sure she knows that, especially now.
She meets his eyes, looking at him for a long time. And then she cracks the most genuine smile yet. "We're having a baby."
He laughs, and kisses her. To think that their child is growing right now, that soon enough they'll have a tiny human born from their love, is the greatest thing he's ever felt. "I love you."
"I love you too," she says.
"Daddy! Juliet! There you are!"
They both startle, turning to look at Clementine, who dashes down the hall.
James lets go of Juliet, turning to her. "Hey, Sweetheart, what's up?"
She's panting, hair a mess. "David got stung by a jellyfish and he almost drowned and died, but Kate saved him."
"What?" Juliet cries.
"She said I had to come get you guys—"
"Oh my god, where are they?" The panic is deeply set into Juliet's face, a far contrast from the joy that was there moments prior. "Is he okay?"
"Come on, they're on the beach," Clementine says, and they're quick to follow after her. "His leg looked really gross, but I think he's fine now."
James reaches out and grabs Juliet's hand, squeezing it tightly. She looks over and offers him a weak smile.
He's got her. He thinks maybe he's finally convincing her of that.
Kate
When Jack slams his fists on the table, they all shake.
Kate struggles to look up from her half-empty plate, too scared to witness his reaction. She's seen him mad before, she's seen him lose it, but never like this. Never like this with his son.
He'd already not been in the best of moods when they made it to the restaurant, the same one they'd been to on their first night. When they'd talked to James and Juliet about where to eat that night, it had seemed like a good idea to go back to where they'd started, especially since it'd been the kids' favorite.
By the time the couple came down, Jack was already antsy, complaining that he was hungry and asking her why people couldn't be punctual. She'd said nothing, focusing on feeding Auggie some of the food she'd ordered for him when they arrived. "You can have some of his food until everyone gets here, he won't eat it all anyway."
Juliet had sat down across from Kate, uttering apologies for their delay. From the look the blonde gave her, Kate knew they'd finally had that conversation and while she felt relieved she didn't have to keep it a secret from James anymore, Jack was still an issue. "Where are the kids?" He grunted next to her, his eyes cold.
"They're coming." James answered sternly, not in the mood for Jack's crankiness. "They just needed some stuff from their room and we didn't wanna keep y'all waiting."
The kids had approached the table quietly, eyes on their feet. Clementine hurried to take a seat next to her father, pulling her chair so close to his that they were touching. He seemed to sense her need for comfort and put his arm around her, the two having a whispered conversation of their own that Kate didn't pay attention to. David stopped right next to her. "I'm really sorry," he'd said, pulling her camera from behind his back and setting it on the table in front of her.
Then all hell broke loose.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing? What the fuck did you do, David?"
The people at tables around theirs turn to look at Jack, shocked at his phrasing and outraged reaction. David recoils, inching closer to his mother instinctively. "I'm really sorry," he repeats, looking from his dad, to Kate, and then at his feet. "I just wanted to know why Kate likes it so much."
The way his voice breaks pulls at Kate's heartstrings. The boy looks guilt-ridden and Jack's anger only seems to be making it worse.
The palms of Jack's hands land on the table with a loud thud as he pushes himself up from his seat, wrath seeping through him, his face red. But Kate is quick to stand up as well, and place himself between him and David. She touches his arm carefully, gently, "Sit down, Jack," she says, firmly.
He doesn't listen until she says it again, when he finally takes the time to look at her and see that she's still calm. He takes a deep breath, feeding off her energy, doing his best to balance himself out of his disproportionate reaction.
When he sits back down, Kate follows, reaching out her hand to David so he'll approach. She turns to him, blocking Jack from her sight, so she can talk to David and David only. She takes both his hands in hers and tries to keep her voice as soft as possible. "Why didn't you come to me? You could've just asked, bud. I would've shown you."
"I wanted it to be a surprise, I guess. Me and Clem, we took pictures yesterday and I really wanted to see if you'd like them when they came out."
He doesn't look her in the eye, a single tear sliding down his reddened cheek, but she puts her finger under his chin, lifting his face so she can really see him. "I don't bite, okay? Just ask me if you can borrow it next time."
"Can you teach me?" He asks quietly. "You took some cool pictures with your other camera and I want mine to be good too."
"What do you say when we get back, we can go out and I'll give you some lessons, alright? Just the two of us, no dad, no Auggie."
David sniffles and gives her a half smile, the best she's gotten out of him the entire trip. "Yeah, that sounds cool. Thank you, Kate." He leans in and hugs her. She's surprised with the gesture of affection, but she hugs him back, happy they seem to have crossed a line and made some progress. "And thanks for today," he adds in a whisper.
"You got it, kid."
"But you're still grounded for a week the second we get home," they hear Juliet interject from across the table, a serious look on her face, eyebrow perked up. "You're in some serious trouble, both of you."
Clementine sinks in her seat, practically hiding as she blends into her father's side. "You heard the woman, Clem," he adds. Both children groan but don't argue.
David stands there for a while, not really wanting to sit next to his dad this time, not after his angry outburst, too scared of what he might say or do. Kate senses his fear and frustration and can't help but feel for the boy, all too familiar with what it's like to be scared of a parental figure. "Why don't you sit next to me today, huh?"
The boy nods eagerly and Juliet shoots her a thankful smile. "Scoot, Jack. Today's my turn." Kate adds, trying to sound more excited than ever for the sake of lifting up the cloud that's hovering over their table and get everyone to switch subjects. Jack does as told, knowing better than to challenge Kate right then.
James catches on and starts talking about how exciting it is that Auggie is turning one the next day, how time has flown. All adults at the table feel a little bittersweet about it, all thinking of the children they have and how fast they've grown, but Kate knows this hits different for the couple across from her since they're about to embark on the parenthood journey again; together this time.
As much as she hates how much good time takes away from them, she's grateful for how much it gives and a new family member might just be what they need.
James
After Clementine insisted Juliet go and look at how fancy the bathroom is with her, James walked out of the restaurant alone. Jack and Kate were quick to dash out—likely embarrassed due to Jack's awful outburst. It pained James, to see how small David became beneath his harsh gaze.
Luckily, the only other person he spots outside the restaurant is the kid.
He's staring out at the pool, and James walks over. He musses the hair on top of his head, and he frowns.
"You okay, kid?"
David just keeps holding onto that grimace. God, he looks like Jack.
"What's up?" James asks. "Don't worry about what happened in there. I know you had good intentions. Everyone will forget about it tomorrow."
"It's not about that," he mumbles.
James frowns. "Then what's it about?"
He looks up at him now, and his eyes are deep and watery. "Are you guys having a baby?"
James' stomach flips. "What? Where'd you hear that?"
"Are you?"
"David—"
"So you are."
He sighs, pushing his hair back off his face. Where's Juliet? He really shouldn't be the one having this conversation.
"Yeah, we are."
David shakes his head. "Why would you tell Clementine and not me?"
"What? We didn't tell her."
"Yes, you did!" David's eyes well with tears. "Why is she more important than me?"
"Hey, that is not true. David, look at me. We didn't tell her. She is not more important than you."
David's lip trembles as he gets out, "But she told me. She said you guys said you were having a baby. And you are."
He remembers her running up the hall earlier, bursting into their conversation. They weren't exactly being quiet, and kids hear everything. Fuck.
"She heard us talking, when she came to get us earlier. Your mom just told me a couple hours ago. We ain't keeping anything from you, David. It's all a misunderstanding."
He sniffles, and doesn't say anything.
James bends down so he can look him in the eye. "Listen. Your mom and I love you. Yes, this is going to change things, but it ain't going to change anything about the way we feel about you. Okay?"
David nods. He isn't sure he believes it.
"She's gonna want to tell you, so just . . . act surprised when she does."
David cracks a smile, and James smiles back. Mission accomplished.
"Ok," he says, and wipes his eye with his hand. "Clementine is really excited."
"Yeah, I'm a little worried she'll steal the baby as soon as it's here."
David laughs. "She probably would."
James smiles, and pulls him into a hug. "You're my kid, you know? I love you."
"Love you too," David mumbles, but he's smiling.
James lets go just as the girls come out of the restaurant, Juliet nodding along as Clementine talks her ear off.
"What're you two up to?" Juliet asks, once she makes her way over to them.
"Boy's stuff," James says.
David nods in agreement. "Boy's stuff."
She chuckles. "Alright, then. Certainly nothing as cool as that bathroom."
"It's so fancy!" Clementine shouts.
"We need to let you out more," James says, putting his arm around her shoulder.
The four of them walk back down the path toward their rooms. James catches Juliet's eye over the kids' heads and they share a smile.
How lucky he is to be here, a life he never ever thought he'd have.