Fic: We'll Not Undo What Has Been Done (Jack/Juliet)
Title: We'll Not Undo What Has Been Done
Rating: PG
Summary: He’s been fidgeting ever since they left, but he hasn’t said a word.
Disclaimer: I do not own Lost. At all. I wish but alas...
Author's Note: Used for un_love_you, prompt #11: Thought I needed this.
Jack’s leg is shaking, and she knows it’s because he wants to stand, to pace the small space they have in front of them. She knows he wants to walk and think - over-think - until the submarine docks. He’s been fidgeting ever since they left, but he hasn’t said a word.
But neither has she.
Maybe there isn’t anything to be said.
The island is almost gone. It will be behind them soon. Figuratively. She doesn’t know if she’ll ever be able to remove herself from it psychologically, though. Not after all that had happened…all that she had seen. Truth be told, a part of her is surprised that she’s sitting here now.
Ben loves the island above everything else. Everything he has ever done has been to protect it, or at least that is what he has twistedly believed. But Ben also loves her - his version of love anyway. She had once thought he would never let her go, but here she is, sitting next to Jack, moving further away from Benjamin Linus by the second.
“Are you okay?” she eventually asks Jack. He turns to her, startled, as if he’d forgotten she was even there. He shakes his head and runs his hand over the back of his neck.
“I’m fine,” he lies. “Just…I have a lot on my mind.”
“And that’s different from any other day…?” she replies. He smiles a little bit, but it’s a guarded smile. It’s the same smile he always smiles around her. Like he doesn’t know if he wants to laugh, to let her a step closer to him. She’s chipped the walls around him, but they’re still up, and stronger in some parts than others.
“Different thoughts,” he answers. She nods.
“Are you going to go back?” she asks, dropping her voice so that only Jack can hear her. She assumes he will. He looks at her curiously, and she supplies, “Eventually. For all of them.”
Jack looks down at his hands. This is what he’s been thinking about. She assumes this is what he’s been thinking about for a long time. “When I know how to help them…” he says, as if he’s still trying to complete the thought, the plan. “I’ll go back when I’m sure.”
“Sure of what?”
“Sure that I won’t fail again,” he replies.
She hasn’t known Jack for very long, but she believes she just heard the essence of who the man is, of what he’s about. His every failure is burned like a brand in his skin. He recounts the details over and over, masochistically trying to pinpoint exactly how he went wrong. It’s almost painful.
“I can’t go back,” she tells him, folding her hands and leaning forward. There was a finality to her words. She knew that once the submarine docked, they would go their separate ways. Because Jack’s path lead back to the island, to the people that he had left behind, and her path lead her as far away from the island as she could possibly be, back to her family, to the people that she had left behind.
She doubts, in fact, that she will ever see him again.
“I know,” he answers, mimicking her, and looking her in the eyes.
“I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you,” she tell him. It’s true. Ben, as much of a liar as he was, was a man of his word. He had promised Jack that he would allow the two of them to leave - why she could not figure out - and he had. Without Jack, she would still be trapped.
“I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you,” he replies. She takes a deep, painful breath.
“We’ll be surfacing in a few minutes,” a loud voice announces over the intercom. Juliet sighs. This is it. In a few minutes she’ll be standing on solid ground, closer to home than she’s been in over three years. She’s been waiting for this moment for so long, dreaming about it, that she almost can’t believe it’s here.
She had never expected it to be this bittersweet, though. She looks at Jack, knows she’s about to lose him, and she feels her happiness has a disappointing aftertaste.
“I’m not sorry we met,” Jack says. She looks over at him, startled. Considering how, he would really have every right to. “And not just because of this. Not just because I’m off the island. I’m not sorry I met you, and I am going to miss you. And when this is all over, I will find you.”
Juliet takes a deep breath and shakes her head. She honestly can’t believe this. It’s the last thing she would have expected. Her face softens as her mind works in over-drive. Jack just smiles at her, eyes earnest and open. He’s pulled the wall down, for her. And she believes him.
“I won’t be hiding,” she assures, softly.
“I hope not,” he answers.
Rating: PG
Summary: He’s been fidgeting ever since they left, but he hasn’t said a word.
Disclaimer: I do not own Lost. At all. I wish but alas...
Author's Note: Used for un_love_you, prompt #11: Thought I needed this.
Jack’s leg is shaking, and she knows it’s because he wants to stand, to pace the small space they have in front of them. She knows he wants to walk and think - over-think - until the submarine docks. He’s been fidgeting ever since they left, but he hasn’t said a word.
But neither has she.
Maybe there isn’t anything to be said.
The island is almost gone. It will be behind them soon. Figuratively. She doesn’t know if she’ll ever be able to remove herself from it psychologically, though. Not after all that had happened…all that she had seen. Truth be told, a part of her is surprised that she’s sitting here now.
Ben loves the island above everything else. Everything he has ever done has been to protect it, or at least that is what he has twistedly believed. But Ben also loves her - his version of love anyway. She had once thought he would never let her go, but here she is, sitting next to Jack, moving further away from Benjamin Linus by the second.
“Are you okay?” she eventually asks Jack. He turns to her, startled, as if he’d forgotten she was even there. He shakes his head and runs his hand over the back of his neck.
“I’m fine,” he lies. “Just…I have a lot on my mind.”
“And that’s different from any other day…?” she replies. He smiles a little bit, but it’s a guarded smile. It’s the same smile he always smiles around her. Like he doesn’t know if he wants to laugh, to let her a step closer to him. She’s chipped the walls around him, but they’re still up, and stronger in some parts than others.
“Different thoughts,” he answers. She nods.
“Are you going to go back?” she asks, dropping her voice so that only Jack can hear her. She assumes he will. He looks at her curiously, and she supplies, “Eventually. For all of them.”
Jack looks down at his hands. This is what he’s been thinking about. She assumes this is what he’s been thinking about for a long time. “When I know how to help them…” he says, as if he’s still trying to complete the thought, the plan. “I’ll go back when I’m sure.”
“Sure of what?”
“Sure that I won’t fail again,” he replies.
She hasn’t known Jack for very long, but she believes she just heard the essence of who the man is, of what he’s about. His every failure is burned like a brand in his skin. He recounts the details over and over, masochistically trying to pinpoint exactly how he went wrong. It’s almost painful.
“I can’t go back,” she tells him, folding her hands and leaning forward. There was a finality to her words. She knew that once the submarine docked, they would go their separate ways. Because Jack’s path lead back to the island, to the people that he had left behind, and her path lead her as far away from the island as she could possibly be, back to her family, to the people that she had left behind.
She doubts, in fact, that she will ever see him again.
“I know,” he answers, mimicking her, and looking her in the eyes.
“I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you,” she tell him. It’s true. Ben, as much of a liar as he was, was a man of his word. He had promised Jack that he would allow the two of them to leave - why she could not figure out - and he had. Without Jack, she would still be trapped.
“I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you,” he replies. She takes a deep, painful breath.
“We’ll be surfacing in a few minutes,” a loud voice announces over the intercom. Juliet sighs. This is it. In a few minutes she’ll be standing on solid ground, closer to home than she’s been in over three years. She’s been waiting for this moment for so long, dreaming about it, that she almost can’t believe it’s here.
She had never expected it to be this bittersweet, though. She looks at Jack, knows she’s about to lose him, and she feels her happiness has a disappointing aftertaste.
“I’m not sorry we met,” Jack says. She looks over at him, startled. Considering how, he would really have every right to. “And not just because of this. Not just because I’m off the island. I’m not sorry I met you, and I am going to miss you. And when this is all over, I will find you.”
Juliet takes a deep breath and shakes her head. She honestly can’t believe this. It’s the last thing she would have expected. Her face softens as her mind works in over-drive. Jack just smiles at her, eyes earnest and open. He’s pulled the wall down, for her. And she believes him.
“I won’t be hiding,” she assures, softly.
“I hope not,” he answers.