Fic: The Life I Have Now
Author: 
andibeth82
Rating: G
Fandom: LOST
Characters: James/Juliet
Spoilers: General Season 5, Dharmaville
Word Count: 1,264
Note: Set immediately following the decision to stay. Juliet and James settle into life in Dharmaville.
“And this one here will be yours…number 6.”
The words are punctuated with the sound of sharp pencil marks against a piece of paper on a clipboard. Juliet looks up, meeting the smile of a woman in a starch gray jumpsuit and returns the sentiment cautiously, climbing the steps to what she’s assuming is now officially considered her new place of residency.
She quickly steals a glance towards the overhang as she passes under it. There’s no real differentiation between the Stepford Wives similarity of all the houses in the barracks, but she’d know the loose patch that Goodwin once tried to repair for her if she saw it. Seeing nothing but unbroken paneling along the frame of the roof, she quietly breathes a sigh of relief. It’s one less thing to worry about.
“So, we’ve set you up, and you should have your first shipment of materials from the sub coming in a few days. I’m sorry it can’t be before then, but there are rules, you know, and Horace and the others like to abide to the rules. Do you need anything else?”
The woman is too cheery, too meddling, and suddenly Juliet isn’t sure how much she’s really going to like her stay in Dharmaville. But she nods anyway, plastering on her trademark tightlipped smile in response.
“If I need anything else, I’ll be sure to let you know…thank you.”
The woman turns, descending down the porch steps and Juliet quickly closes the door behind her. She sinks into the nearest chair, and although the quiet is oppressing, she’s glad to be alone for a moment. She places her hand on the kitchen table, looking around warily. It’s not her house, it’s not the one that she lived in when she was working for Ben and it’s not even Ben’s house (thankfully) but she still knows everything surrounding her like the back of her hand. She’s gone back in time and yet she feels strangely familiar and more at ease in this community than she did when she arrived in 2004.
Time travel. What a bitch.
A sharp rap on the door interrupts her thoughts and she rises curiously, shoving a hand through her hair as she makes her way across the kitchen. James is standing on the other side, and he greets her with both a smirk and an eyebrow raise.
“Well, looks like you got yourself a home. Mind if I come in?”
Juliet can’t help but smile. “You’re already in,” she reminds him as he steps over the doorway. He turns, shooting her a cocky grin.
“Dirty.”
Juliet ignores his remark, rolling her eyes. He nods in her direction, shoving his hands in his pockets. “You get set up okay?”
She shrugs. “I guess so. Not much to set up, really. They put you somewhere too?” She’s careful to keep the curiosity out of her voice, and careful to keep the additional word “close” out of the sentence. James waves his hand in the direction of the barracks.
“I’m in 8. Miles and Jin are in 4. Convinced the DI to keep the two of ‘em together…translation purposes and all. Thought it might make things easier for us.”
One less thing to worry about. Juliet sits back down in the chair, looking up at him. “What are we actually going to do here, James?”
He stares at her as if she’s asked the most obvious question in the world. There’s concern and slight sadness in her eyes, and he wonders if she really made the decision she wanted to that night on the dock. He pushes it out of his mind, suddenly determined to prove that he isn’t wrong, that she’s not going to regret staying here.
“We’re going to live.”
Juliet laughs slightly, swinging her bare feet against the floor. “Live. It’s 1974…how are we going to live?”
“Well.” James moves a chair next to her and sits down, stretching back. “Might be vintage, but last I checked there’s runnin’ water, shelter, food, and even jobs. Sure seems a lot better than sneakin’ off around the jungle with these Others and Hostiles, don’t it?”
She shakes her head, placing a hand on her head. “It’s not that…”
“Then what is it?” James leans forward, gently brushing hair from the side of her face. He lets his hand fall to her knee and she automatically reaches for it without even knowing why.
“I don’t know.” Juliet leans into him, and for a moment, she realizes how safe she feels despite the fact she knows they’ve never touched each other beyond a level of friendship or support. “It’s just…how do we know this will work?”
Her voice is filled with fear and worry and for a moment, James isn’t sure whether she’s talking about them or the current situation. He immediately puts the first thought out of his mind and tries to shift his focus to the moment in front of him. Stuck in a time period and now a community they’re not even supposed to be in by history’s rules, and somehow forced to survive while hoping the universe didn’t magically correct-course itself in the process and fuck them over.
You can’t change the past, James.,/i> He runs Faraday’s words over and over in his mind, and squeezes her hand gently. “Well. We don’t. We don’t know shit about what will happen but we don’t got a choice, do we?”
Juliet sighs, her face still half submerged in the fabric of his shirt. “I guess not.”
James shifts, sitting upright and pulling her up so that her face is level with his. “Listen, we’re not tryin’ to win a war against these people, to prove we wanna fit in here. We just wanna survive. And we’re just gonna take it one day at a time, okay? Me and you, together, we’re gonna get through this.” His eyes find hers, and there’s a desperate pleading in them that he hopes he can make her see even through her fear. Just trust me.
Juliet’s staring at him, biting her lip and he can tell she’s still unsure, that her doubts are still there. He’s not sure how else he can make her see that this will work, that he will take care of her, that this is real and not some game of playing house that he wants to try for kicks.
It had all been laid out that day on the dock, when he had practically begged her to stay, and if that was what it took, he couldn’t do that again. But then her voice breaks the silence, soft but certain, and she squeezes his hand back.
“I trust you.”
James feels himself start to smile. “Trust will get us through, Blondie. Always does.” He gets up, his hand still entwined in hers, and inclines his head towards the door. “Come on over. I’ll make you dinner to celebrate our first night in a real house. And you can even drink, not like you gotta drive home…can’t turn that down, can you?”
Juliet grins, her smile matching his, and runs a finger over the curve of his wrist. “Only if you let me help.”
James is halfway to the door. He turns at her words, and it’s a real smile settling onto her features, a smile that comes with no façade or hurt or pain.
“I’ll think about it.” He flicks off the light as he ushers her out the door, thinking that maybe if he just keeps caring about her like this, it will eventually be enough.
andibeth82
Rating: G
Fandom: LOST
Characters: James/Juliet
Spoilers: General Season 5, Dharmaville
Word Count: 1,264
Note: Set immediately following the decision to stay. Juliet and James settle into life in Dharmaville.
“And this one here will be yours…number 6.”
The words are punctuated with the sound of sharp pencil marks against a piece of paper on a clipboard. Juliet looks up, meeting the smile of a woman in a starch gray jumpsuit and returns the sentiment cautiously, climbing the steps to what she’s assuming is now officially considered her new place of residency.
She quickly steals a glance towards the overhang as she passes under it. There’s no real differentiation between the Stepford Wives similarity of all the houses in the barracks, but she’d know the loose patch that Goodwin once tried to repair for her if she saw it. Seeing nothing but unbroken paneling along the frame of the roof, she quietly breathes a sigh of relief. It’s one less thing to worry about.
“So, we’ve set you up, and you should have your first shipment of materials from the sub coming in a few days. I’m sorry it can’t be before then, but there are rules, you know, and Horace and the others like to abide to the rules. Do you need anything else?”
The woman is too cheery, too meddling, and suddenly Juliet isn’t sure how much she’s really going to like her stay in Dharmaville. But she nods anyway, plastering on her trademark tightlipped smile in response.
“If I need anything else, I’ll be sure to let you know…thank you.”
The woman turns, descending down the porch steps and Juliet quickly closes the door behind her. She sinks into the nearest chair, and although the quiet is oppressing, she’s glad to be alone for a moment. She places her hand on the kitchen table, looking around warily. It’s not her house, it’s not the one that she lived in when she was working for Ben and it’s not even Ben’s house (thankfully) but she still knows everything surrounding her like the back of her hand. She’s gone back in time and yet she feels strangely familiar and more at ease in this community than she did when she arrived in 2004.
Time travel. What a bitch.
A sharp rap on the door interrupts her thoughts and she rises curiously, shoving a hand through her hair as she makes her way across the kitchen. James is standing on the other side, and he greets her with both a smirk and an eyebrow raise.
“Well, looks like you got yourself a home. Mind if I come in?”
Juliet can’t help but smile. “You’re already in,” she reminds him as he steps over the doorway. He turns, shooting her a cocky grin.
“Dirty.”
Juliet ignores his remark, rolling her eyes. He nods in her direction, shoving his hands in his pockets. “You get set up okay?”
She shrugs. “I guess so. Not much to set up, really. They put you somewhere too?” She’s careful to keep the curiosity out of her voice, and careful to keep the additional word “close” out of the sentence. James waves his hand in the direction of the barracks.
“I’m in 8. Miles and Jin are in 4. Convinced the DI to keep the two of ‘em together…translation purposes and all. Thought it might make things easier for us.”
One less thing to worry about. Juliet sits back down in the chair, looking up at him. “What are we actually going to do here, James?”
He stares at her as if she’s asked the most obvious question in the world. There’s concern and slight sadness in her eyes, and he wonders if she really made the decision she wanted to that night on the dock. He pushes it out of his mind, suddenly determined to prove that he isn’t wrong, that she’s not going to regret staying here.
“We’re going to live.”
Juliet laughs slightly, swinging her bare feet against the floor. “Live. It’s 1974…how are we going to live?”
“Well.” James moves a chair next to her and sits down, stretching back. “Might be vintage, but last I checked there’s runnin’ water, shelter, food, and even jobs. Sure seems a lot better than sneakin’ off around the jungle with these Others and Hostiles, don’t it?”
She shakes her head, placing a hand on her head. “It’s not that…”
“Then what is it?” James leans forward, gently brushing hair from the side of her face. He lets his hand fall to her knee and she automatically reaches for it without even knowing why.
“I don’t know.” Juliet leans into him, and for a moment, she realizes how safe she feels despite the fact she knows they’ve never touched each other beyond a level of friendship or support. “It’s just…how do we know this will work?”
Her voice is filled with fear and worry and for a moment, James isn’t sure whether she’s talking about them or the current situation. He immediately puts the first thought out of his mind and tries to shift his focus to the moment in front of him. Stuck in a time period and now a community they’re not even supposed to be in by history’s rules, and somehow forced to survive while hoping the universe didn’t magically correct-course itself in the process and fuck them over.
You can’t change the past, James.,/i> He runs Faraday’s words over and over in his mind, and squeezes her hand gently. “Well. We don’t. We don’t know shit about what will happen but we don’t got a choice, do we?”
Juliet sighs, her face still half submerged in the fabric of his shirt. “I guess not.”
James shifts, sitting upright and pulling her up so that her face is level with his. “Listen, we’re not tryin’ to win a war against these people, to prove we wanna fit in here. We just wanna survive. And we’re just gonna take it one day at a time, okay? Me and you, together, we’re gonna get through this.” His eyes find hers, and there’s a desperate pleading in them that he hopes he can make her see even through her fear. Just trust me.
Juliet’s staring at him, biting her lip and he can tell she’s still unsure, that her doubts are still there. He’s not sure how else he can make her see that this will work, that he will take care of her, that this is real and not some game of playing house that he wants to try for kicks.
It had all been laid out that day on the dock, when he had practically begged her to stay, and if that was what it took, he couldn’t do that again. But then her voice breaks the silence, soft but certain, and she squeezes his hand back.
“I trust you.”
James feels himself start to smile. “Trust will get us through, Blondie. Always does.” He gets up, his hand still entwined in hers, and inclines his head towards the door. “Come on over. I’ll make you dinner to celebrate our first night in a real house. And you can even drink, not like you gotta drive home…can’t turn that down, can you?”
Juliet grins, her smile matching his, and runs a finger over the curve of his wrist. “Only if you let me help.”
James is halfway to the door. He turns at her words, and it’s a real smile settling onto her features, a smile that comes with no façade or hurt or pain.
“I’ll think about it.” He flicks off the light as he ushers her out the door, thinking that maybe if he just keeps caring about her like this, it will eventually be enough.