Following, Part Sixteen [Jack/Juliet] [R] [WIP]
Title: Following (Part Sixteen)
Characters: Juliet, Jack, Charlotte, Daniel, Hurley, Bernard & Rose (so far)
Pairing: Juliet/Jack, hints of Charlotte/Daniel
Rating: R (This part is more like PG-13- maybe a little profanity.)
Spoilers: Season 4, Season 5 (sort of)
A/N: I got inspired to write more--but now I have to get back to (my neglected) work again! This chapter contains a big "first" for me, I'm writing a character I've never written before: I hope it doesn't disappoint! I will ♥ you forever and ever if you leave a comment. :)
~~
“Jack, can you hear me?” Juliet’s voice echoed in his ears, and at first, he couldn’t tell which direction it had come from. The back of his head was burning, throbbing and hot, but there was something cold against his face and arm, sapping the heat from his body almost as quickly as he could generate it. When he opened his eyes, he became conscious that he was lying on the stone floor of a cell. High above him, the dark yellow rays of afternoon sun were streaming in thin, harsh lines through a narrow aperture in the wall, but the window was so high up that even had he stood up, he didn’t think he would have been able to see through it to the outside.
As he moved to sit up, his limbs stiff from the cold, he realized that his window was the only one in the room. The rest of the place was dark, and it took his dazed eyes a moment to register anything but the negative image of the sunlight against the darkness around him.
“Jack,” he heard Juliet say again, and he reached out into the dimness toward the sound. His hand brushed metal, then curled around the cool bar in front of him. When he felt her fingers on top of his, blind relief coursed through him.
“Juliet,” he said, looking into the darkness that was still resolving itself into her shape. “Hey-are you ok?” he asked, releasing the bar he was holding to take her hand when she pulled at his.
“Yeah,” she nodded, squeezing his palm. She was dirty but seemed unharmed, her eyes a little damp in the torchlight as she looked at him, “Are you?”
As his eyes continued to adjust to the darkness, he looked past the bars between them, realizing that his cell was inside hers: Behind her there were more bars and a hallway, where a torch was burning against the door, casting dull shadows all over the room.
“I-uh, I think so. I think I might’ve hit my head when I fell.”
“Let me see,” she urged. She released his hand when he moved, pressing his back up against the cold bars, looking at the stone wall behind him. He shivered at the contrast when he felt her warm fingers in his hair, against the back of his neck.
“Juliet, where are we?” he asked. Her hands stilled, “You know, don’t you?”
He heard her take a deep breath.
“I’ve never been inside before, and I can’t see out your window, but- Based on the walls-and the torches-I’d say we’re in the Temple.”
“You mean, where the Others go, the sanctuary?”
“That’s what they told me it was when I came here. We never had to-use it-while I was living here. It’s only supposed to be for emergencies.” she sighed audibly, “I never understood what that meant before. But I guess-the flashes-I guess this is what they meant.” Then she rose to her knees, her fingers parting the hair at the back of his head. “You’re bleeding, Jack. Do you remember hitting your head?”
“No-Well, maybe, but I didn’t feel it: I couldn’t really feel anything when I fell.”
“Yeah: those darts had some pretty serious tranquillizer in them,” she agreed, “Do you have a headache? Do you feel dizzy?”
“I don’t have a concussion, Juliet,” he said, as he felt her hand slip down the back of his neck slowly. Then he turned around to face her, a thought occurring to him suddenly, “Did Ben do this? Did you see him with the Others?”
She shook her head.
“I didn’t see him,” she answered slowly, “but, of course, that doesn’t mean he isn’t responsible.”
“What happened to Charlotte? Did she get hit too?” Jack asked as she trailed off.
Juliet nodded.
“I told her to run, when I knew we weren’t going to be able to escape, but-she didn’t want to leave Daniel.”
“So-whoever it is-has all of us, then.”
She tilted her head in affirmation, and added,
“If it’s really Ben who’s behind this, Jack-I don’t want to think about what he’s going to do to Charlotte and Daniel. As far as Ben’s concerned, they’re still Charles Widmore’s people: the same people who were sent here to kill him.”
“But-they have information, right? About Widmore? The darts-Ben must have wanted something from them, or he wouldn’t have-”
“You’re right,” Juliet answered grimly, “And that is probably the only thing keeping them alive right now, but-their being alive-here- It’s not necessarily a good thing. I never saw it myself when I was living with the Others, but there were rumors about this place-” She inhaled sharply, “Sometimes, when people were-in trouble-at our camp, this is where they were sent. To be-tested.”
“They were tortured?” Jack translated, his hand tightening around one of the bars. He wasn’t claustrophobic: not particularly, but Juliet’s words were making him feel like the walls were closing in.
“I never saw anything for certain,” she admitted, “but-yeah, I think so.”
“And you think Ben-you think he’s going to-”
“He’ll keep them around as long as he needs them,” she returned quietly, “But if they turn out not to be useful-”
There was a long, painful squeak, and Juliet’s head jerked toward the hallway behind her at the sound.
“Oh Juliet,” Ben said, standing in front of the open door, his figure yellowed by the odd configuration of light in the room. “Everybody’s useful-in one way or another. You of all people should know that.”
~~
Juliet went rigid as Ben finished, her hand moving automatically to her hip.
“If you’re looking for your contraceptives, Juliet, they’re still in your pocket. Unfortunately, I did have to take your gun, though.”
“What the hell do you want from us, Ben?” Jack gritted his teeth, pressing his arm against the bars as if he could bend them through sheer force of will.
“Well, Jack, you might be surprised by this, but I don’t actually want anything from you. I came here to speak to Juliet.”
“Juliet, don’t- don’t negotiate with him,” Jack protested, gripping one of the bars.
Juliet looked at him briefly, almost guiltily, before her eyes flicked back to Ben.
“What do you want?” Juliet asked, looking up slowly.
Jack just sighed, dropping his head back against the wall.
“I would like your help with something I’m working on,” Ben answered, “It won’t take very long-a few days, maybe a week. If you do everything I ask, I’ll let both of you go.”
“You’ll let Jack and I leave the Temple,” she said, and it sounded more like a demand than a question.
“If that's really what you want, Juliet- ” he looked at Jack briefly, raising his eyebrows, and then shaking his head dismissively. “Well, there’s no accounting for taste.” Then he paused, leaning against the wall behind him and looking at Jack. “You know, I would’ve put money on you and Kate. Go figure. Now that she’s gone, I guess things’ve changed.”
“Gone?” Jack repeated, wincing even as he spoke. He knew he was taking the bait, but couldn’t help himself, “What do you mean, gone?”
“You mean you didn’t know?” Ben feigned shock, “They all left on Charles Widmore’s helicopter-Hurley, Sun, Jin, Kate, and Sawyer. They’re gone.”
“Sun,” Juliet said suddenly, smiling as she turned to Jack, “The baby-she’ll be ok-she got off.”
He smiled uneasily, feeling an odd kind of relief as he thought about Sun and Kate and Sawyer and all the rest of them, free. It was what he’d wanted for them, from the beginning, and even though he hadn’t been able to help them, a bittersweet kind of gladness filled him at the idea that they were safe.
“Of course, that’ll make things more difficult for John, when he tries to bring them back,” Ben added.
“What?” Jack asked, his relief souring instantly, “Why would Locke-”
“Because he thinks it’s what he has to do. To fix what’s wrong with the island.”
“Is it?” Juliet asked doubtfully.
Ben only smiled slightly.
“You told him that, didn’t you-to get rid of him,” Jack realized slowly, “Because he was trying to take your place here-as leader.”
“I’m beginning to think I underestimated you Jack. You’re cleverer than he was. Then again, John never was the sharpest tool in the box-”
“So what’s happening to the island,” Juliet continued, “It doesn’t have anything to do with them leaving? What caused it then?”
“Your new friends caused it, Juliet. Charles’ people flew into this island just in the right place to destroy everything. It’s very dramatic. Very him. They probably didn’t even know what they were doing. It would be just like him to trick them into it.”
“So if bringing everyone back won’t fix what’s happening, what will?”
“I don’t know,” he sighed, looking almost disturbed by the admission, “But you and Faraday and Lewis are going to help me find out.”
“And that’s what you need me for? To help you-”
“I won’t kill them, not if you help me. And if you’re there-it’ll make things a lot-easier-on them.”
“You want me to help you torture them, Ben? Is that what you’re saying? Why would I ever-”
“Because I’ll let him live,” he said slowly, nodding toward Jack.
“What?” Her voice broke a little as she finally turned toward Jack, meeting his eyes. He leaned forward instantly, trying to take the opportunity to stop her from going any further.
“Juliet-don’t listen to him. There’s no guarantee that he won’t kill us both, and you know it-”
Juliet flinched and then looked back toward Ben.
“Why would you kill him? I thought you said that-he was important to the island-that he had come here for a reason-”
“That is what we used to think, Juliet, but you’ve been out of the loop for a while now: Things have changed. We were mistaken about him. He’s expendable.”
Juliet got to her feet suddenly, moving close to the bars where Ben was standing.
“Juliet-” Jack called, feeling sick to his stomach.
“I want you to let me see him, Ben,” she demanded, “For every day that I’m here. So I can see myself that he’s ok.”
“Juliet-don’t- Please.” Jack tried again, his desperation momentarily overcoming his anger.
“Alright, Juliet,” Ben said with sarcastic indulgence, “you can visit. Anything else?”
“I want a minute-before I go with you-to talk to him-alone.”
Ben sighed as if he was humoring a particularly annoying child, “I’ll send someone up to get you-in five minutes. Don’t be late: We have work to do.” Then he stood up straight, looking toward the back of Jack’s cell.
“Nice seeing you again, Jack,” he mock-bowed, and then nodded at Juliet, and then he was gone.
~~
Part Seventeen
Characters: Juliet, Jack, Charlotte, Daniel, Hurley, Bernard & Rose (so far)
Pairing: Juliet/Jack, hints of Charlotte/Daniel
Rating: R (This part is more like PG-13- maybe a little profanity.)
Spoilers: Season 4, Season 5 (sort of)
A/N: I got inspired to write more--but now I have to get back to (my neglected) work again! This chapter contains a big "first" for me, I'm writing a character I've never written before: I hope it doesn't disappoint! I will ♥ you forever and ever if you leave a comment. :)
~~
“Jack, can you hear me?” Juliet’s voice echoed in his ears, and at first, he couldn’t tell which direction it had come from. The back of his head was burning, throbbing and hot, but there was something cold against his face and arm, sapping the heat from his body almost as quickly as he could generate it. When he opened his eyes, he became conscious that he was lying on the stone floor of a cell. High above him, the dark yellow rays of afternoon sun were streaming in thin, harsh lines through a narrow aperture in the wall, but the window was so high up that even had he stood up, he didn’t think he would have been able to see through it to the outside.
As he moved to sit up, his limbs stiff from the cold, he realized that his window was the only one in the room. The rest of the place was dark, and it took his dazed eyes a moment to register anything but the negative image of the sunlight against the darkness around him.
“Jack,” he heard Juliet say again, and he reached out into the dimness toward the sound. His hand brushed metal, then curled around the cool bar in front of him. When he felt her fingers on top of his, blind relief coursed through him.
“Juliet,” he said, looking into the darkness that was still resolving itself into her shape. “Hey-are you ok?” he asked, releasing the bar he was holding to take her hand when she pulled at his.
“Yeah,” she nodded, squeezing his palm. She was dirty but seemed unharmed, her eyes a little damp in the torchlight as she looked at him, “Are you?”
As his eyes continued to adjust to the darkness, he looked past the bars between them, realizing that his cell was inside hers: Behind her there were more bars and a hallway, where a torch was burning against the door, casting dull shadows all over the room.
“I-uh, I think so. I think I might’ve hit my head when I fell.”
“Let me see,” she urged. She released his hand when he moved, pressing his back up against the cold bars, looking at the stone wall behind him. He shivered at the contrast when he felt her warm fingers in his hair, against the back of his neck.
“Juliet, where are we?” he asked. Her hands stilled, “You know, don’t you?”
He heard her take a deep breath.
“I’ve never been inside before, and I can’t see out your window, but- Based on the walls-and the torches-I’d say we’re in the Temple.”
“You mean, where the Others go, the sanctuary?”
“That’s what they told me it was when I came here. We never had to-use it-while I was living here. It’s only supposed to be for emergencies.” she sighed audibly, “I never understood what that meant before. But I guess-the flashes-I guess this is what they meant.” Then she rose to her knees, her fingers parting the hair at the back of his head. “You’re bleeding, Jack. Do you remember hitting your head?”
“No-Well, maybe, but I didn’t feel it: I couldn’t really feel anything when I fell.”
“Yeah: those darts had some pretty serious tranquillizer in them,” she agreed, “Do you have a headache? Do you feel dizzy?”
“I don’t have a concussion, Juliet,” he said, as he felt her hand slip down the back of his neck slowly. Then he turned around to face her, a thought occurring to him suddenly, “Did Ben do this? Did you see him with the Others?”
She shook her head.
“I didn’t see him,” she answered slowly, “but, of course, that doesn’t mean he isn’t responsible.”
“What happened to Charlotte? Did she get hit too?” Jack asked as she trailed off.
Juliet nodded.
“I told her to run, when I knew we weren’t going to be able to escape, but-she didn’t want to leave Daniel.”
“So-whoever it is-has all of us, then.”
She tilted her head in affirmation, and added,
“If it’s really Ben who’s behind this, Jack-I don’t want to think about what he’s going to do to Charlotte and Daniel. As far as Ben’s concerned, they’re still Charles Widmore’s people: the same people who were sent here to kill him.”
“But-they have information, right? About Widmore? The darts-Ben must have wanted something from them, or he wouldn’t have-”
“You’re right,” Juliet answered grimly, “And that is probably the only thing keeping them alive right now, but-their being alive-here- It’s not necessarily a good thing. I never saw it myself when I was living with the Others, but there were rumors about this place-” She inhaled sharply, “Sometimes, when people were-in trouble-at our camp, this is where they were sent. To be-tested.”
“They were tortured?” Jack translated, his hand tightening around one of the bars. He wasn’t claustrophobic: not particularly, but Juliet’s words were making him feel like the walls were closing in.
“I never saw anything for certain,” she admitted, “but-yeah, I think so.”
“And you think Ben-you think he’s going to-”
“He’ll keep them around as long as he needs them,” she returned quietly, “But if they turn out not to be useful-”
There was a long, painful squeak, and Juliet’s head jerked toward the hallway behind her at the sound.
“Oh Juliet,” Ben said, standing in front of the open door, his figure yellowed by the odd configuration of light in the room. “Everybody’s useful-in one way or another. You of all people should know that.”
~~
Juliet went rigid as Ben finished, her hand moving automatically to her hip.
“If you’re looking for your contraceptives, Juliet, they’re still in your pocket. Unfortunately, I did have to take your gun, though.”
“What the hell do you want from us, Ben?” Jack gritted his teeth, pressing his arm against the bars as if he could bend them through sheer force of will.
“Well, Jack, you might be surprised by this, but I don’t actually want anything from you. I came here to speak to Juliet.”
“Juliet, don’t- don’t negotiate with him,” Jack protested, gripping one of the bars.
Juliet looked at him briefly, almost guiltily, before her eyes flicked back to Ben.
“What do you want?” Juliet asked, looking up slowly.
Jack just sighed, dropping his head back against the wall.
“I would like your help with something I’m working on,” Ben answered, “It won’t take very long-a few days, maybe a week. If you do everything I ask, I’ll let both of you go.”
“You’ll let Jack and I leave the Temple,” she said, and it sounded more like a demand than a question.
“If that's really what you want, Juliet- ” he looked at Jack briefly, raising his eyebrows, and then shaking his head dismissively. “Well, there’s no accounting for taste.” Then he paused, leaning against the wall behind him and looking at Jack. “You know, I would’ve put money on you and Kate. Go figure. Now that she’s gone, I guess things’ve changed.”
“Gone?” Jack repeated, wincing even as he spoke. He knew he was taking the bait, but couldn’t help himself, “What do you mean, gone?”
“You mean you didn’t know?” Ben feigned shock, “They all left on Charles Widmore’s helicopter-Hurley, Sun, Jin, Kate, and Sawyer. They’re gone.”
“Sun,” Juliet said suddenly, smiling as she turned to Jack, “The baby-she’ll be ok-she got off.”
He smiled uneasily, feeling an odd kind of relief as he thought about Sun and Kate and Sawyer and all the rest of them, free. It was what he’d wanted for them, from the beginning, and even though he hadn’t been able to help them, a bittersweet kind of gladness filled him at the idea that they were safe.
“Of course, that’ll make things more difficult for John, when he tries to bring them back,” Ben added.
“What?” Jack asked, his relief souring instantly, “Why would Locke-”
“Because he thinks it’s what he has to do. To fix what’s wrong with the island.”
“Is it?” Juliet asked doubtfully.
Ben only smiled slightly.
“You told him that, didn’t you-to get rid of him,” Jack realized slowly, “Because he was trying to take your place here-as leader.”
“I’m beginning to think I underestimated you Jack. You’re cleverer than he was. Then again, John never was the sharpest tool in the box-”
“So what’s happening to the island,” Juliet continued, “It doesn’t have anything to do with them leaving? What caused it then?”
“Your new friends caused it, Juliet. Charles’ people flew into this island just in the right place to destroy everything. It’s very dramatic. Very him. They probably didn’t even know what they were doing. It would be just like him to trick them into it.”
“So if bringing everyone back won’t fix what’s happening, what will?”
“I don’t know,” he sighed, looking almost disturbed by the admission, “But you and Faraday and Lewis are going to help me find out.”
“And that’s what you need me for? To help you-”
“I won’t kill them, not if you help me. And if you’re there-it’ll make things a lot-easier-on them.”
“You want me to help you torture them, Ben? Is that what you’re saying? Why would I ever-”
“Because I’ll let him live,” he said slowly, nodding toward Jack.
“What?” Her voice broke a little as she finally turned toward Jack, meeting his eyes. He leaned forward instantly, trying to take the opportunity to stop her from going any further.
“Juliet-don’t listen to him. There’s no guarantee that he won’t kill us both, and you know it-”
Juliet flinched and then looked back toward Ben.
“Why would you kill him? I thought you said that-he was important to the island-that he had come here for a reason-”
“That is what we used to think, Juliet, but you’ve been out of the loop for a while now: Things have changed. We were mistaken about him. He’s expendable.”
Juliet got to her feet suddenly, moving close to the bars where Ben was standing.
“Juliet-” Jack called, feeling sick to his stomach.
“I want you to let me see him, Ben,” she demanded, “For every day that I’m here. So I can see myself that he’s ok.”
“Juliet-don’t- Please.” Jack tried again, his desperation momentarily overcoming his anger.
“Alright, Juliet,” Ben said with sarcastic indulgence, “you can visit. Anything else?”
“I want a minute-before I go with you-to talk to him-alone.”
Ben sighed as if he was humoring a particularly annoying child, “I’ll send someone up to get you-in five minutes. Don’t be late: We have work to do.” Then he stood up straight, looking toward the back of Jack’s cell.
“Nice seeing you again, Jack,” he mock-bowed, and then nodded at Juliet, and then he was gone.
~~
Part Seventeen