★ but I'm going to be okay as long as you're beside me along the way

[complexguy]

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[dharmalady]

Juliet smiles at him in relief and before they're in view, she raises his hand to her lips and kisses the inside of his wrist tenderly. Then, they walk back to the house and as soon as they're inside, she draws the curtains.

She has no plans on leaving again until they both have to work.

Removing her clothes once again, she turns on the shower, then pulls her hair into a bun on her head, turning to look at him over her shoulder, smiling softly before stepping into the shower.

[complexguy]

She doesn't know what it means (and he doesn't even know how to articulate it) to him, even just the little touches like her kissing his wrist. It's an incredible feeling, to be this wanted and loved, and he just wants to be even better for her. He wants her to feel this loved, too. Every single day.

He takes his clothes off with her, following her into the shower with a sly grin. Of course, he has to take a moment to enjoy the view. Once he's in the shower, he takes a moment to wrap his arms around her, kissing her shoulder tenderly.

[dharmalady]

She hums softly, leaning back against him and closing her eyes.

"Is it really this easy?" she asks quietly, rubbing his arm. "To be this happy."

Her whole life, she thought it was an uphill climb, a fight, always. And right now, right now this feels as easy as breathing.

[complexguy]

He kisses her other shoulder tenderly, nuzzling her skin there, and then leaning in to whisper near her ear. "Maybe for you and me, it is." It's something about them, specifically, that makes this easy and makes it all possible at all.

[dharmalady]

She closes her eyes at the whisper, then she turns and wraps her arms around his neck, looking up at him.

"I believe that, James," she murmurs, holding his gaze.

She kisses him again softly, and then, like she knew they would, they have one another again in the shower, and she can't believe it, how incredible this is, how perfect he feels.

Once they're tangled in bed together, she lays with her head on his chest, forgetting about the fact that it's now dark and they haven't even eaten supper yet.

[complexguy]

It's not hard to notice just how perfectly they fit together, how easy it is to tug her close. She feels like such a slight weight in his arms, and it makes him feel even more protective of her.

His head turns to kiss her temple, and then a moment later, his stomach is growling. Laughing softly, he murmurs against her ear. "Tryin' to tell me something."

[dharmalady]

She laughs softly, raising her head only to duck down and kiss his stomach tenderly.

"Guess we should eat something," Juliet suggests with a grin before raising her head.

"Stay here."

Getting up, she plucks his shirt off of the ground and pulls it over her head, padding through the house naked otherwise. When she returns, it's with four grilled cheese sandwiches cut up into triangles, complete with toothpicks. She grabs a six-pack of beer, holding it in one hand, the plate in the other.

"Dinner's served. Bedside service."

[complexguy]

Sitting up immediately, James smiles at her with a wide, bright grin. "You're the sexiest damn thing I ever seen in my life, Juliet."

Wearing his shirt, holding out beer and sandwiches she made for him.

"C'mere," he reaches out, resting a hand on her ass to pull her close, needing to kiss her.

[dharmalady]

Putting the plate down, she sets the beer beside it and then straddles him, leaning down to kiss him deeply.

Then, she reaches for the plate, bringing a triangle up to his lips. "You know, you sneered at my very delicious grilled cheese sandwiches last time I offered one to you."

[complexguy]

She earned that one, and he ducks his head momentarily with a smirk. "I was outta my damn mind then." Leaning in, he takes a bite of the sandwich and hums a little, licking his lips. "Lucky for me, this amazing woman helped me get my head on straight."

[dharmalady]

"You know that nothing about then matters, right? I don't--everything that happened, you had a good reason not to trust me, James. I get that."

She needs him to know it, reaching out and touching his cheek lightly.

"And it doesn't matter anymore, anyway. We're here, now."

[complexguy]

Softening, he gets a little more serious in response. His hand comes out to cradle hers, and as his eyes hold her gaze, he speaks.

"Damn glad we are. But you're lettin' me off easy, Blondie. I wasn't a good man then. Like to think I'm gettin' better these days."

[dharmalady]

Moving the plate aside for a moment, she leans over him, cradling his face in her hand.

"You are exactly the man I need," she says softly, holding his gaze before kissing him softly.

[complexguy]

He can't do anything but kiss her back deeply, a low hum in the back of his throat. While she cradles his face, his hand comes to rest on the back of her head, pulling her closer before stroking her hair tenderly.

[dharmalady]

"Come on," she finally murmurs. "More food."

She feeds him a bite, then takes a bite of her own, alternating back and forth. Then, they share the six-pack, and God is she ecstatic to be in his arms.

When it's late and she's tired, she curls into his arms.

"Am I really going to sleep in your arms?"

[complexguy]

"Hard to believe any of this. Feels like a dream, it's so damn good," he admits softly, pressing his forehead to her temple and just breathing in slowly.

[dharmalady]

Juliet closes her eyes and then, slowly, she falls asleep. It's the best sleep she's ever had in her life.

They stay wrapped around one another the entire weekend, and God, Monday is hard. But they eventually part, and at lunch, eat together in the cafeteria. The day is going fine, Juliet working on a van. She's under the front, legs sticking out when someone--not an actual motor pool employee--accidentally hits the jack and the front of the van drops right on top of her.

Her scream alerts others right away and they scramble to try and get the van up, but it's taking time and she can't catch her breath, the van pinning her at the midsection.

[complexguy]

James is busy, of course, monitoring cameras and making sure everything's secure. So he doesn't know what's going on until Jin runs in to get him, having no idea what shape Juliet's even in.

His stomach twists in knots as he runs to the motor pool as quickly as he can. "Juliet!"

All he can see from a distance is the sight of this heavy van pinning her down, and for a split second, he thinks she has to be dead under there. The sheer weight of it crushing her; that thought actually stops his heart. For a moment, he doesn't want to take another step because he's not sure he can handle finding out she's just gone. But he takes a breath and closes the distance, calling for her again.

"Juliet, answer me!"

[dharmalady]

As soon as she hears him, Juliet starts crying again, just wanting him, terrified. She hurts, so badly, and she tries to reach out under the van for him, her fingers grasping.

"James, James get this off of me, please," she begs, sobbing. "James, please."

[complexguy]

He can't move fast enough now, knowing she's still with him. If he could, he'd lift and toss the whole damn van just to get to her. "Don't you go anywhere, you hear me? You stay with me, sweetheart," he begs her huskily. Without knowing how bad it is, he's just terrified about any internal injuries she might have, and he just needs her to keep talking to him.

The sound of her sobbing, though, is like a knife to the heart. "Stay with me. I'm gettin' you outta here, I promise," he breathes out, yelling at people around him to help. He barks out orders, quickly coming up with a plan to lift it up swiftly while James grabs Juliet. The minute she's in his arms, he cradles her protectively, still not breathing until he knows she's gonna be okay.

"I got you, baby. You're gonna be okay," he whispers just to her.

[dharmalady]

She cries out one more time in pain, one hand shakily pressing to his chest as she closes her eyes.

The doctor and his nurses are there already with a stretcher, ready to get her over to the infirmary.

"Don't leave me," she pleads, taking a fistful of his jumpsuit in her hand.

[complexguy]

James stares at her for a second, kissing her forehead before looking at the doctor. "No. I'm carryin' her," he insists, unwilling to let her out of his arms. He won't leave her, not for a moment.

[dharmalady]

There's a rush then, to get her to the infirmary and as one of the nurses tells him where to lay Juliet, she opens her eyes while he does so. There's no blood at least, but she's in obvious pain.

"It wasn't--" She doesn't want him to lose his mind at anyone, and now that she's free, she's calming down. "Was a freak--freak accident," Juliet murmurs, squeezing his hand.

[complexguy]

"You'd tell me if it wasn't?" He asks huskily, cradling that hand between both of his. Juliet tries to protect everyone, always, and that's why he asks to begin with.

[dharmalady]

She meets his gaze, but then a surge of pain ripples through her and she whimpers, closing her eyes.

The doctor gets x-rays taken and there are two broken ribs but no internal bleeding, luckily. She'll have a hell of a chest bruise but all in all, it's a miracle the damage isn't worse. They decide to drug her for now, get her sedated so they can wrap her ribs securely. When that's all done, they let James sit with her, assuring him she's fine.

Juliet's completely out of it for now, though she does mumble his name, fingers reaching for him.