Chapter Text
Day Six
Juliet's on one side of the couch and he's on the other, both of them silently reading. It's a comfortable routine they've gotten themselves into every night before bed after Jin and Miles have already turned in. Some nights they read select paragraphs out loud to each other and talk about it, but tonight she's finding it hard to concentrate.
When she turns the page of her book, she realizes she has no idea what's going on because she's been spending most of her time looking at him. She's watching his mouth because he has this habit of reading things to himself silently, moving his lips over the words. He doesn't do it all the time, and she figures that it's either something he really likes that he's reading over again, or something that he's not quite understanding.
Either way it's distracting.
James knows that she's watching him, but he can't figure out why, and he'll be damned if he's going to call her out on it. The only problem is, when she's watching him, he can't watch her.
Day Seven
Juliet didn’t mind the fact that DHARMA housing put her in the same space as three men. In fact, she was sure that at least for the time being they needed to stick together. It was fine at first, the three of them tiptoeing around each other as they got used to the space. But now? Now she’s losing her patience.
It’s when she reaches into the fridge as she’s making dinner and comes back with an empty carton of milk that she finally snaps. She has no idea that James is watching her as she makes her way to her room. Let them all make their own damn food.
He’s reaching out for her wrist before she can actually slam the door, and he stares at her incredulously. "What the hell’s the matter with you, Sheba?"
"We – no, I live in a frat house. I’m sick of it."
"Well that ain’t an excuse to go stompin' through the damn house."
"When’s the last time you cooked something or cleaned something up? Or did everyone’s laundry? I work all day too, James."
He stares at her for a minute, and he’s distracted long enough for her to shut the door in his face. "Son of a bitch..." Going back to the kitchen, he figures out what he’ll need to finish the dinner she started, then goes to borrow it from Horace. When he comes back into the house, he looks around and can maybe see Juliet’s point.
Jumpsuits are tossed over the back of the couch, there’s a pair of damn shoes in the middle of the floor, and dishes in the sink. He sighs a little to himself, realizing he and the boys need to have a little chat.
Day Eight
All three men stare hard at their plates, not quite willing to make eye contact with her. James because of her outburst the night before, and Jin and Miles because they know she's pissed. Well, Jin doesn't quite understand, but he got it when James gestured to Juliet's room, the mess in the living room, and brought a finger across his throat. Juliet was close to killing them all, and none of them doubted she was capable.
"Hey," James finally says, shifting a little in his seat. Miles and Jin look up at him, waiting to see how this is going to go over exactly. "There's a plate in the oven. Figured we'd let you sleep in this mornin' since you're off and all."
She looks over them, silently amused at the lack of any of them giving her shit for getting mad. "That was nice of you, thank you."
Miles finally cracks. "You could clean your hair out of the drain in the shower you know."
Someone kicks him under the table, and it's two guesses as to who, but one isn't right because he can't even understand what's happening.
Juliet turns with a smirk about as dangerous as anything James has ever seen before, and he looks at Miles. "Well it was nice knowin' you, Enos."
She sits down calmly with her breakfast, takes a bite, then looks at Miles. "You clean your stubble out of the sink and we'll talk."
Jin knows her tone well enough to understand that someone just dodged a bullet, and he gets up quickly, muttering something in Korean as he goes. James and Miles stand. "Smart man. Think I'll take his lead," James smirks as Juliet sits in the clean kitchen.
She grins when they're gone and takes a bite of bacon triumphantly.
Day Nine
He’s leaning so close to her that she can smell the DHARMA issued soap he uses in the shower, and she can’t focus on what he’s saying. Something about pistons and push and lubrication. She’s trying to watch his fingers to distract herself because she has to learn how to do this. But every now and then the breeze shiftsjust enough...
"...And then you call a tow truck because your mechanic never bothered to learn this stuff."
Juliet blinks a little, realizing that what he’s saying isn’t part of the learning, and she smiles sheepishly. "Sorry, I’m paying attention. The pistons draw in air through the intake port..."
James starts talking again, and now his hands are guiding hers so that she can feel what he’s talking about. And he’s saying things like 'power stroke' and 'exploding forces' which isn’t helping the situation.
It’s the first time she realizes she’s got it bad.
Day Eleven
Juliet knows he's watching her but she doesn't let it distract her from the task at hand. Rhythmic strokes of the brush dipped in red glide over her toenails. She leans forward in concentration, her shirt sliding up her side a bit, and her hair hides a smirk when he shifts in his seat. "Can I help you, James?"
"What?"
"You've been staring at me." She looks up at him to see his reaction. She's not disappointed when he looks a little like a deer in the headlights.
"Guess I'm just wonderin' who you're gettin' all fancy for."
She arches an eyebrow. "Why does it have to be for anyone but me?"
He doesn't have anything to say to that, and she smiles at him innocently. Finally he sighs a little. "Just sayin'. You might give a guy the wrong idea."
This time she's the flustered one but she hides it well.
Maybe she wants to give a guy the wrong idea.
Day Twelve
James loses track of Juliet at the new recruit cookout, and it gives him time to think. Little things all week have been making him wonder about her. She's hovering in his space more, touching him more. He's good at pretending like he doesn't notice (hell, he was a conman once), but it's been hard not to. When he brings it up to Miles, he rolls his eyes and tells him that she's obviously flirting.
Flirting?
Suddenly, Horace is there shaking James out of his thoughts, but his eyes finally find her. She's talking to Amy, her hair moving a little in the breeze. He doesn't mean to get caught staring, but Juliet looks up and they make eye contact. She smiles at him, a real genuine smile, and that one dimple comes out full force. It catches him off guard and he grins back before she tucks a piece of hair behind her ear and turns back to her conversation.
He doesn't know when it happened, but something's different.
Day Fourteen
She’s already smiling when she hears his familiar footsteps coming closer, and she pushes herself out from under the van at his greeting. "Grease monkey?" She smirks up at him, and notices the brown paper sack in his hand. "Is there something in that bag for me?"
"Now that all depends. Considerin’ you never bring me lunch at the station." He reaches out a hand to help her off of her back, and she pushes her goggles up on her head.
"I never knew you wanted me to." She makes a grab for the bag and he holds it behind his back.
"Not so fast. I want you to know how much hard work went into this. Come on," he says as he leads her to one of the outdoor tables.
She follows him, pulling off her goggles and work gloves completely. Sitting, she waits for his presentation with her chin in her hand.
"First," he drawls somewhat dramatically, "Is this turkey sandwich made from the finest DHARMA poultry meat there is." He’d almost made her ham, before he remembered that she hates ham.
Juliet chuckles a little. "Oh, I bet that was hard work, making the sandwich from scratch."
"And, you got your carrots and your apples. Sliced."
"Oh, well, you know how I like it."
Something runs through his mind at that. She’s flirting. But he isn’t sure if she means to, so he just smirks at her. "Well, I’ve been livin’ with you long enough, I should."
She looks up at him, a genuine small smile on her face. "Thank you, James."
He steals one of her carrots before standing. Without thinking about it, she lets her fingers brush against his arm as he gets up. It strikes her that he didn’t have to do this, but he went through the trouble of making her lunch the exact way she always does, down to the apple slices. A bigger smile makes her duck her head, and she doesn’t even realize that he’s been watching, waiting for that reaction from a few feet away.
Day Fifteen
She’s writing something, sitting on the couch with her legs tucked up and the notebook on her thighs. She does this every night just before picking up her book. James flops down on the other end of the couch and looks at her until she finally murmurs something. "Can I help you?"
He puts on his glasses, opening Lord of the Flies (ironic, he knows) and shaking his head. "Nope, just mindin’ my own business."
"Good."
He’s aware after ten minutes that he’s read the same sentence over and over again, and she’s still writing, never pausing for a break.
"You’re staring again," Juliet finally looks up at him pointedly.
"What the hell are you writing?" He can’t help it, he has to know.
She’s quiet, her eyes moving over him, deciding if she can trust him with this vulnerability she has. "Letters."
He snorts. "Well, that clears it up."
"To my sister."
His smirk leaves his face immediately, and he wants to reach out to tell her it’ll all be okay one day, but instead he just nods and lets her get back to it.
He feels like an ass.
Day Sixteen
Jin blinks a little in surprise as Juliet stands. "Good job today, Jin." Her smile isn’t genuine, he knows. He tries again.
"Jim. Likes you."
She stares at him for a few seconds. "How do you know?"
He understands 'you' and the look of confusion on her face, so he shrugs a little. "We talk. He talks. Understand enough."
Juliet’s a little shocked at this information. He talks about her? Of course he talks about her to the person he thinks can’t understand a word he’s saying. Suddenly she’s laughing, pressing her face into her hand. "Thank you, Jin."
The question was...what did she do now?
Day Seventeen
Juliet’s starting to realize that James stares at her when he thinks she doesn’t notice. She usually does, and sometimes she calls him out on it, but most of the time she says nothing. Tonight isn’t going to be a night she lets it go.
"James?" There’s a little grin playing on her lips because she’s had more than a couple of beers and now she’s feeling bold.
He looks at her, a little worried because of that grin and he takes a sip of his drink. "Yeah?"
"Did you have something you wanted to say?"
He leans back on his elbows against the steps of the porch. "Kinda do, actually. Have a question for you."
"Then I have an answer," she responds coolly.
He likes that and smirks a little into his beer bottle as he takes another swallow before looking over at her. "Why’d you stay?"
She knew this would come up eventually, and she sighs a little, drawing her knees up to rest her arms on them. "Because you were right. There’s nothing off of this island for me."
He doesn’t know what he expected her to say, so he lets her silence linger for a minute before speaking again. "Well. You coulda left. Hell, you still could. Go off and invest in Microsoft or somethin’."
Juliet laughs at that, smiling widely. "Is that your plan eventually?"
"Hell yeah it is. Gonna live in the most damn land locked state there is with my millions."
She knocks her beer bottle with his. "Sounds like a plan, James. Sounds like a great plan."
She needs a plan.
Day Eighteen
Juliet stands there, watching him eating her ice cream. "James?"
He pauses with the spoon halfway between the carton and his mouth. "Oops."
She rolls her eyes and digs a spoon out of the drawer before sitting next to him. "Did the ice cream fall out of the freezer and drag you out here from your bedroom?" There’s a smirk playing on her face as she takes a bite.
"Didn’t think you’d mind, considerin’ you drank my last beer the other day."
"Oh, so this is revenge?"
"Not anymore since I didn’t finish the whole thing."
She smiles around her spoon as she takes another bite. "It hasn’t been this hot on the island in a long time. Or maybe we’re just spoiled now that we have four walls and an air conditioner."
"You gettin’ soft? We could always take a field trip out to the jungle. Maybe do a little runnin’, gather some mangoes."
He’s making her smile a lot, and this is no exception as she actually laughs a little. "Don’t even think like that, James. I like my four walls."
He finally looks at more than just her eyes and realizes she’s wearing a tank top and those skimpy DHARMA shorts. He shakes his head and takes a bite of the ice cream.
She’s very aware that he’s only wearing boxers and she clears her throat. "I’m surprised Miles isn’t out here complaining about the heat."
James snorts. "He ain’t even here. Spending the night with Lisa or Leslie, or...hell, I can’t remember her name."
Juliet laughs louder, leaning a little so that her head falls on his shoulder for a second before she pulls it together. "You know this island isn’t very big, he’s going to be the topic of all the gossip."
"You think?"
She nods. "Oh, I know."
That earns her an eyebrow arch, and she realizes that this isn’t something she’d ever thought she’d be discussing with him. And it doesn’t exactly have a happy ending. She’s quiet for a minute, considering the facts of the story. Quiet for so long that he speaks.
"Hey, you don’t have to tell me," he offers.
"No. I will." She takes a bite of the ice cream, remembering a day she ate this same type of ice cream in bed. "I had an affair. On the island before you crashed here. It was...I don’t know what it was," she says honestly.
He stares at her in surprise, forgetting the spoon in his hand for a minute. "You had a what?"
"An affair, James. I slept with a married man."
"Damn. Had no idea you had it in you."
"A girl gets lonely on the island," she says with the barest hint of a smile.
"What happened?"
"You sound like Amy."
He takes a bite of ice cream indignantly. "You started the story, now you gotta finish it."
She looks at him, sighing softly. "Ben happened. He sent Goodwin to the tail section of your plane to pose as one of the survivors. He got found out, and someone killed him."
There’s a lot of silence for a long time. He doesn’t know what to say. She doesn’t want to tell him the full story about Ben. "Anyway. People knew we were sleeping together. His wife knew. I wasn’t very popular."
James puts down his spoon and takes a deep breath. "Well. I ain’t got a lotta room to judge, Blondie. I’m not exactly a saint."
She knows. She’s read his file.
He reaches out and lets his hand rest on her knee for a minute and his hand is warm, the gesture taking her by surprise. "It don’t matter, Juliet. None of it matters, especially now."
Juliet reaches out and wraps her arms around him because she’s surprised at his words and a little touched by them.
It doesn’t matter who she used to be. It only matters who she is now.
Pulling back, she lets her fingers mess up his hair before turning to go back to her room.
It doesn’t matter.
Day Nineteen
Juliet can hear him taking a shower, then brushing his teeth. She knows when he’s in his room getting dressed, and she rolls over onto her stomach to listen to him trying to be as quiet as possible so that he doesn’t wake anyone else. It’s his turn for the early shift which means that he’s the only one up. Or so he thinks.
They were up late the night before, and while she listens to him finally getting something together for himself for breakfast, she wonders what he thinks now that she’s told him a little bit more about herself. He’d reassured her, she’d hugged him, and that was it. Only the hug was with a shirtless version of him and she can’t quite get it out of her head. Had she lingered too long? Maybe she’d lingered.
She finally hears him in the pantry taking what she assumes is her last DHARMA granola bar, but she doesn’t care. That won’t be enough to hold him until dinner since he never seems to come home for lunch. (She wonders when she started to notice that sort of thing.) Once he’s gone she gets up and goes about her day off routine until lunch time. That’s when she commits to the idea of packing him a lunch.
Walking down into the security station where James is watching monitors with Miles (who looks a little bleary eyed after his night out), she clears her throat. James turns and waves her in. "Come to watch the news?"
Miles barely suppresses rolling his eyes. "I’m taking my lunch." He decides to leave before he suffocates in the tension.
Juliet watches him make his exit, and she takes his abandoned seat, putting her legs up on the desk in front of them to mimic the way James is sitting. "Brought you something," she says without looking at him, her eyes on the small black and white screens as she hands over his lunch.
"Must be my lucky day," he smirks as he opens the bag and pulls out a sandwich. "Oh, gourmet. And DHARMA 'crisps'. If that ain’t high class, I dunno what is."
Juliet’s grinning now and she looks over at him. "I hope you like it. I hear my sandwich making skills are pretty amazing." She stands to go so that he can enjoy his lunch in peace, but he reaches out to hold onto her wrist.
"Where do you think you’re goin', Blondie? All I got is Miles to talk to and it ain’t exactly stimulatin' conversation. Well, most of the time."
She sits back down, happily surprised that he’s asked her to stay, and steals his chips.
Day Twenty
Miles looks at James intently in the security room. "Just. Kiss her. Do it before you drive me crazy, LaFleur."
James stares at Miles for a good minute or so before speaking. "What the hell are you talkin' about?"
Miles runs a hand down his face. "She? Likes you. You? Like her. And if you deny it, I swear to God Jim, I'll punch you in the face."
"I'd like to see you try, Rocky."
"Rocky hasn't even been made yet so you can't use it. And, by the way, you didn't deny it."
James stops to think about that, but shakes his head dismissively. "I ain't her type."
"How do you know what her type is?"
"I just know."
"You're assuming, you ass."
James shakes his head. "This conversation is over."
"Why are you getting so upset?" Miles protests. "It's because you like her. You wanna kiss her, LaFleur."
James turns around and starts walking away without saying anything else.
Miles yells after him. "And I'm taking bets!"
Day Twenty-One
James goes to the kitchen to get his dinner, grabbing a beer from the fridge before sitting down. Glancing over at the couch, he watches the back of her head, every now and then nodding in agreement with whatever she’s reading. He thinks about what Miles said the night before.
He wants to kiss her.
He’s never been this wrapped up in what he should or shouldn’t do when it comes to a woman. He was the con man, the one putting women’s minds at ease and bedding anyone he wanted. He’s never had a problem with it before, so why the hell was a kiss so damn difficult? He knows the answer even before his mind can finish asking the question.
This isn’t a con. He wants to kiss her because he wants to kiss her. There’s no ulterior motive, nothing to blame this on. It’s just Juliet.
Day Twenty-Two
"Son of a bitch!" Juliet yells from the living room when she stubs her toe.
Miles calls out innocently from the kitchen. "Jim, is that you?"
She sinks onto the couch as Miles wanders in. "Wow LaFleur, I never knew that under your jumpsuit you were a woman. It explains so much."
Juliet stares daggers at him. "When I can walk again, I’m kicking your ass."
"Further proof that you're James. It wouldn’t be a day if he wasn’t threatening me."
"Miles – "
"Shut up?"
"Yes."
"You got it, boss." He wanders out with a smirk, shaking his head.
She closes her eyes when he goes and takes a deep breath. Maybe she has been living with James for too long.
Day Twenty-Three
Juliet’s still half asleep when she runs into James in the hallway, almost falling. His hands shoot out to catch her, and the sudden adrenaline wakes her up all the way.
"Whoa, Blondie. Sleep walkin’?" He’s in his jumpsuit, only on break during his overnight shift.
She’s trying to answer him, but her brain has finally picked up on where his hands are exactly. His thumbs are grazing bare skin because of the gap between her tank top and shorts.
"Juliet?" He’s looking at her in concern, like maybe something is actually wrong with her. She drags her eyes up to meet his.
"I’m fine. Tired," she mumbles as she pushes away from him and into the bathroom. She leans against the door, willing her heart to stop pounding, and can still feel the pads of his fingers on her stomach. When she finally comes out, she’s surprised to see him leaning against the wall.
He looks at her curiously as she offers a little smile. "Goodnight, James." She walks to her room and closes the door behind her, not falling asleep again until she hears him leave.
Day Twenty-Four
All day long, James has been wondering about his run in with Juliet in the middle of the night. He regrets signing up for a second shift when he could have spent the day trying to figure her out. As soon as he’s off work and makes his way to their house, he can tell she’s in a good mood, hearing her laughter from the porch. "Evenin’ ladies," he says all Southern charm and drawl, mostly to impress Amy.
"Hello Jim and goodnight to both of you." Amy turns to grab her hat and winks at Juliet. She’s heard about what she’s dubbed the 'Hallway Incident'. "Juliet, call me," she says as she leaves.
"She left in a hurry," James notes with a suspicious look.
Juliet just shrugs. "She’s been here for hours. We shared a couple bottles of wine."
"A couple?"
She grins. "I saved you some."
He sits down next to her on the patio furniture and stretches out. Her feet are pressing against his leg they’re so close, but neither one of them moves. He closes his eyes for a second, tired from working so much, and without thinking about it, one of his hands is on her ankle. His thumb moves over her skin as he drifts a little.
Juliet looks over at him, her heart pounding the same way it did in the hallway. Only this time she’s buzzed from the wine, so she scoots over and lays her head on his shoulder.
He doesn’t move. They don’t say anything, and they sit like that until the sun goes down.
Day Twenty-Five
She was only going out into the jungle for fresh mangoes. Now as she runs, she realizes that fresh fruit is over-rated. Somehow she’s managed to skirt the edges of the pylons, caught in Hostile territory with no weapon. She doesn’t even realize it until she feels the first drop of rain before the downpour begins.
Juliet knows what sudden rain means. She doesn’t even wait to hear the sound of the smoke monster before she’s running, but it isn’t long before it makes its presence known. It’s been weeks since she’s been this damn afraid; maybe she’s gotten too comfortable, forgetting that this was still out there.
When she can almost see the pylons she trips on a root and loses her breath. Gasping, she pushes herself up and keeps going, realizing too late that she doesn’t know the code for the fence. She has no idea what she’s going to do, but she’ll take ruptured eardrums over getting caught by the smoke any day. She runs through the fence, holding her hands over her ears as she does.
That doesn’t work.
Falling to her knees, she manages to keep her eyes open long enough to watch the monster retreat.
Day Twenty-Six
James spends the day avoiding being in the same room alone with Juliet. He’d seen her the afternoon before on the monitors in the security station, running right into the middle of the damn pylons, then he’d seen the smoke following her. By the time he got to her the rain had already stopped and she was lying there, not moving. A thousand different things ran through his mind until he saw her chest moving up and down. She was still alive. He picked her up and carried her back to their house, yelling for Phil to cover the rest of his shift and ignoring the people who were trying to figure out what happened.
When she woke up three hours later and explained that she’d gotten turned around in the jungle looking for fruit, he left.
He hasn’t been home except to get a fresh jumpsuit, and he doesn’t speak to her before leaving again. He has no idea why he’s so damn mad other than she knows better than to just wander off. Claire had just wandered off and they had no idea in hell what happened to her. He reviews the security tape from the previous day, watching her as she falls, and all it does is piss him off even more. After reassuring Horace that it was just a new recruit stupid mistake, James goes home and slams the front door shut behind him.
She’s at the dining room table alone and looks up, not saying anything.
"Look, Juliet. You wanna go out in the jungle, that’s fine. I ain’t stoppin’ you. But you can get a fucking mango from the cafeteria. So next time, come up with a better excuse."
He doesn’t even give her a chance to respond before he’s storming back out.
Day Twenty-Seven
Juliet knows that James being pissed off at her right now is warranted. She accepts it; it’s her fault. But she had no idea that she would miss him while he gave her the cold shoulder. His outburst the day before let her know that he cared, but he still hasn’t come home to stay.
When he’s not in the house she doesn’t sleep well, so she lies in the dark on her bed wondering when the hell that happened. Unexpectedly, she hears the front door open, and she tries to remember who has what shift. Jin and Miles are on overnight together. A quick glance at the clock tells her they wouldn’t be home yet for a break. Heavy footsteps that make it halfway through the living room, then stop and turn back let her know it’s James. He’s gone back to take off his boots at the door, just like she always asks.
He goes to his room and closes the door, and she sits up, sitting on the edge of her bed and listening in the dark. When she can’t hear him shuffling around anymore, she gets up and tiptoes to his room, raising her hand to knock. There’s a light filtering out from under the door, and she guesses he’s reading. Rethinking interrupting him, she lets her forehead rest on the frame as she closes her eyes.
She has no idea how to fix this with him. But she hasn’t felt this alone since the freighter blew up. By the time she’s ready to try knocking again, she realizes his light has gone out. Retreating back to her room, she closes her door and tries to sleep.
At least he came home.
Day Twenty-Eight
James doesn’t move for a while, figuring she thinks she’s being quiet with her crying. He’s not as mad at her anymore but it’s been easier to not talk about what happened than to actually try and have a conversation with her. She only talks to him when she wants to, and he doesn’t see a point in actually trying to get her to say anything she hasn’t made up her mind to tell him.
Still, he figures it’s time to stop being a jackass and make sure she’s alright. Running a hand through his hair, he makes his way to her room after throwing on an undershirt with his boxers. Knocking softly he whispers through the door. "Hey, Juliet. It’s me." And he doesn’t give her a chance to protest or fix herself up before he’s slipping into her room, closing the door behind him. Watching her wipe at her cheeks, he stands there silently for a minute because he hasn’t really thought of a plan beyond this.
"What do you want, James?" she asks, her voice tired and still laced with tears.
He realizes in that moment that he really can’t stand seeing her upset, and he goes to the edge of the bed to sit. He’s never been good at telling anyone how he’s feeling or why his first instinct is to push people away. Eventually he has to try, so he picks his words carefully, thinking them over first.
"I’m sorry I yelled at you," he starts, figuring that sounds as good as anything. "You were layin’ there, and I was all the way in the security station."
Juliet blinks a little at that, looking up at him from her pillow. He keeps going before she can say anything.
"I asked you to stay, and it’s ‘cause I need you out here with me, Blondie. Ain’t another person out here who can get my back the way you got mine." What he wants to say is that he needs her, that he’d be completely screwed without her, but it sounds stupid in his head; he can’t even imagine what it would sound like out loud.
She reaches for him, effectively cutting off his thought process as she pulls him into a hug. His arms wrap around her and he holds onto her tightly for as long as she lets him. He’s surprised when she’s tugging him down beside her and she curls back against his chest. There’s a moment when he’s not sure where to put his hands or what she wants him to do, so he settles for resting one hand on her hip and stretching the other arm out above her head.
"I’m sorry," she says quietly, and he squeezes her gently.
They both know it’s okay.
Day Twenty-Nine
As soon as he hangs up the phone, Juliet moves back into his side, liking the way she fits against him. The day before was spent like this too, only she slept most of that away after having a couple of restless nights. Now she was awake and could enjoy it, and her fingers moved across his chest. They were both silent, content to simply be in each other’s presence.
Her fingers eventually dragged up his arm and paused at his shoulder. Stroking the scar she found there, she finally spoke curiously. "How did you get this?"
James shifts uncomfortably, sighing a little before answering her question. "Sayid. Decided to pass one of the lonely days after the crash torturin’ me."
Her eyebrows narrow, because she knows about Sayid’s past, what he did, and her fingers keep moving over the scar. "Why?"
"’Cause he thought I had something he needed." He’s not getting into the whole story; he’s not bringing up Kate right now. "I didn’t, but he’s a little trigger happy."
In a move that Juliet’s surprised she’s making, her lips come into contact with the scar for a few seconds before resting her head on his shoulder. Her eyes search his, sharing a soft smile with him before she gives in to the pull of sleep once more.
Day Thirty
Miles is staring at Jim over his playing cards. "So. Saw you coming out of Juliet’s room this morning."
James doesn’t even flinch. "And?"
"Oh, come on LaFleur. You’re not even gonna tell me what happened?"
"Ain’t nothin’ to tell, Sally."
Jin, meanwhile, is looking back and forth between them, picking up on a few things. "You? Juliet?" He gives his friend a thumbs up.
James rolls his eyes and tosses down his cards. "Look, it ain’t anything like that, okay? She was upset, I talked to her." He gets up to grab a beer from the fridge.
Miles snorts. "Yeah, except that you spent the night in her room, what, you two just talked the entire time? Bullshit."
"Believe it. Nothin’ happened."
"He’s right," comes a voice from behind them all, and Juliet’s standing there in her jumpsuit, having walked in on the tail end of their conversation. She stares hard at Miles. "Nothing happened."
Standing up and putting his hands out in self defense, Miles shakes his head. "Okay, okay. Nothing happened." He’s making his way past Juliet to the front door. Just when he’s finally out, he turns back to yell. "Try to keep it down when it does happen. I’m a light sleeper."
He narrowly avoids a work boot being thrown at his back.