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

[complexguy]

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[complexguy]

"You sure you don't wanna be in the bed?" He asks softly, though he does take her hand. "I'll carry you."

[dharmalady]

"I'm okay, here," she promises, knowing out here, she won't accidentally roll and hurt herself further in her sleep.

Already, her eyes feel heavy, and she begins to relax as the pain lessens.

"I just wanna hear your voice."

[complexguy]

As he breathes slowly in and out, measuring each breath, he watches her face intently. Then, his fingers stroke up and down her arm tenderly. "You got it, Blondie."

James reaches for the book on the table now, beginning to read while keeping one hand on her.

[dharmalady]

Juliet is out quickly, sleeping soundly right there on the couch. When she wakes, it's late and she's hungry. She makes a soft whimpering noise to indicate her coming back to consciousness, carefully stretching until she can't.

"James," she murmurs, hand reaching for him in the dark.

[complexguy]

He's moved around a little since she fell asleep, but mostly stayed right there with her. He'd gently pulled her legs into his lap, quietly reading while she slept. So when she wakes up, he's still right there, and immediately reaches for her hand.

"Hey, darlin'."

[dharmalady]

"Gimmie a kiss and call me sweetheart," she murmurs, opening her eyes and smiling at him sleepily.

"Then feed me, please."

[complexguy]

"You like that better?" He smiles a little back at her before shifting to lean in and kiss her. "How you feelin', sweetheart?"

[dharmalady]

"I like everything you call me," she breathes out, reaching up to stroke his cheek.

"I feel...sore, and like I can't catch a full breath. That'll fade as I feel up," she promises.

"Help me up?"

[complexguy]

"Should you really be sittin' up?" She would know better than him, he's just worried about everything when it comes to her right now.

[dharmalady]

"Just to go to the bathroom and eat. Then I'll lay back down," she promises him.

"I'll take it easy, James. I'd like to think I'm a pretty good patient."

[complexguy]

"Alright, I'm holdin' you to that." He slowly helps her sit up, wrapping a firm arm around her waist to guide her to the bathroom slowly.

[dharmalady]

She's fine on her own from there, and when she comes back into the living room, she slowly sits down at their dining room table, not having to bend as much as she would to get back down on the couch.

"What's on the menu?" she asks, smiling thinly.

[complexguy]

"Let's see, we got..." He looks through the fridge, then the cabinet, sizing up what he's really capable of making. "Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?"

[dharmalady]

"Perfect," she decides with a hum, just watching him move around their kitchen.

"First thing you ever made for me," she says softly, her smile a little wider now.

[complexguy]

"'Bout the only thing I can make," he smirks a little at her over his shoulder. But he'll make the best damn sandwich for her that he can. Smothering both sides of bread with peanut butter, he layers some jelly between them, and then sets it down in front of her. He's got some peanut butter on his thumb, so he licks it off and smiles at her.

"Hope ya like it, baby."

[dharmalady]

"Mhmm, thank you," she murmurs, taking a bite and humming again appreciatively.

Juliet eats slowly, but she reaches out to rest her hand over his, looking up at him.

"You're making all of this bearable, you know."

[complexguy]

He covers her hand for a moment. "Givin' me too much credit, Blondie."

[dharmalady]

"James, when I--" Juliet pauses, thumb stroking the inside of his wrist.

"I'm not ready for this to be over," she says, voice breaking just a little as she looks down for a moment.

[complexguy]

"I ain't either. But sometimes we don't get a choice in the matter," he notes darkly, a frown on his face. His eyes focus on her thumb moving over his wrist for now.

[dharmalady]

"No," she acknowledges, tugging at his hand and pressing it over her chest, over her heartbeat.

"But you feel that? I'm here, right now with you. I'm alive and I'm with you," she says quietly.

[complexguy]

"That a promise you can keep?" He asks her as his jaw tenses a little; as the question leaves his lips, he knows it's an unfair one to even ask.

[dharmalady]

"That I'm not going anyone right now? Yeah, James. I can promise that," she says softly, looking up at him.

"You think I don't worry every time I know you're going out into the jungle? So, can you promise?"

[complexguy]

Right now isn't good enough, but it's all she can give him and he knows that logically.

"Don't like this feelin', Juliet. I just got ya."

[dharmalady]

She's quiet for a few moments, suddenly unsure, looking down, away from his face.

"Do you--" she pauses then starts again. "Do you dislike it enough to..." She can't even bring herself to say it, because she doesn't want it to be what he wants.

[complexguy]

"To let you go?" He fills in the blanks quietly. "No damn way, Juliet."

The fear of losing her is such a terrifying sensation, and it's something he's never experienced in his life. But he can't imagine not having her at all.