Coffee Break {{Jack/Open}}

[Juliet Burke]

{{ Here we go!! Julesie time xD }}

Juliet walked quietly into the small break room. Her legs were stiff, her back ached, her head was pounding. This was not a good day. Rachel had a bad morning, and Juliet had tried to both help her and keep Julian from seeing her. She hadn't slept much last night, she had been too busy looking back over the charts. She just would not accept that, that island, had anything to do with this.

She walked to a counter where a lukewarm pot of coffee sat, and poured herself a cup. Not bothering with cream or sugar, she stuck it in the microwave to warm up, set the timer, and waited. When the alarm beeped, she sighed, and removed her beverage, and sat down in one of the hard plastic chairs that sat around a plastic table. Taking a slow sip, and then staring out into space. She would have to go pick up Julian from school soon, then it would be to feeding him, and taking care of Rachel. Part of her had to wonder if this was really the life she had been mourning over not having for those three years. If this was really any better a prison than the previous.

Who could say? Letting out a long, extended breath, Juliet relaxed in the chair, taking another drink, and glancing about the small room. She had never noticed the walls were blue. It was nice. Her thoughts quickly found their way to Jack, and how bad of shape he had seemed last time she saw him. It was odd, working in the same building as him, as the man she had once loved, maybe she still did, how she could so expertly avoid him. She had concocted all sorts of pictures in her mind, images of Jack with Kate, living the life she was supposed to have. Then there were memories, memories of the island, when she would bring him grilled cheese sandwiches, and they would talk for hours separated only by glass.

That glass never left. There would always be something keeping him from her, and she had come to accept that in a sort of resigned way. raising her hand to brush her wild bangs out of her eyes, Juliet smiled softly. The only thing that made this bearable was knowing that she might be helping people. Helping people conceive, and have healthy babies. Not having to watch them die so close to the baby's arrival. Then there was Julian, he was gorgeous. It wasn't easy, lying to him. Not with those big blue eyes that reminded her so much of his mother's eyes, but he was a joy. The best part of her day, when he'd smile at her, or hug her.

Life had its bightspots, and its dark patches, but all in all, it wasn't too much. It would take a lot more than this, to break Juliet Burke, a whole lot more.

[Jack Shephard]

It was the easiest thing to do. Besides the pills and the alcohol, working was the easiest because he could forget it, for a brief moment. Forget that everything had happened. Forget that Sawyer and Aaron were on some slab in the morgue, that Claire wasn't in Santa Rosa, that they had been on an Island...forget everything but that patient in front of him.

It didn't even effect him when the patient had died. He had built up such a wall that it didn't effect him like it would have before. It didn't make him cry, it didn't make him scream and punch things, he just...existed for the simple fact that he had to. His pocket vibrated, and he reached into his scrubs, past the bottle of pills, to his cellphone. He pulled it out and looked at the number.

"Hi mom." Jack said as he made his way to the Doctor's Lounge. "No, sorry, I couldn't answer the phone earlier. Yeah, I was in surgery." He paused, narrowing his brows. "Well if the press calls the house, tell them you have no comment. Or hell, I don't care what you tell them at this point. Make up a story; give them something to run with."

He arrived at the door to the Doctor's Lounge and he pressed the key into the keypad on the door, hearing it click open. Flat palmed, he pushed the door open, resting the phone on his shoulder as he reached for a coffee cup. He noticed, however, that he wasn't the only one in the room.

Juliet.

"Hey, Mom, I gotta go, okay?" he asked, and then nodded. "Yeah, I will get some sleep. I'll be home in a little while, alright? Yeah. Love you too. Bye." He dropped the cellphone into his palm, before shoving it back into his pocket. He grabbed the bottle from his pocket, downing two with the strong black coffee. He wasn't sure Juliet had heard the news yet. Turning to the door, he looked to see if anyone was coming to the door before he spoke to Juliet.

No one knew about the bond that Juliet and he shared. How the Island had brought them together. No one even knew about the Island except that it was a mass of land that the Survivors had stayed on for 3 months until rescue had come. Oh, Jack was wishing for the Island. It had been so much easier on the Island. Strange, a place where death could happen at any moment, was so much easier than life. Normal life.

He was tired, emotionally and physically drained, but he had 2 more hours on his shift. Of course, he could easily just leave...but then he'd be at home and would have all the time in the world to sit and drink and brood.

"Juliet." He wanted to ask her if she had seen the news, heard about Sawyer and Aaron. He wanted to hear that she was going through life in a happy carefree way, but he was sure that wasn't the case. Her sister had cancer. "How's your sister?" he asked, blowing on the rim of the Styrofoam coffee cup to cool it slightly.

[Juliet Burke]

When the door sounded that someone was entering, Juliet quickly straightened, trying to compose herself and mask the emotions. She was so used to it now, she didn't even really have to think about it. It just happened. She heard him before she saw him, he came in, talking on his phone. She gave a small welcoming smile which quickly dissipated at the site of his beard and haggard appearance. She frowned, crease forming in her brow as she watched him poor coffee, then add something else.

She felt she should say something, scold him, try to reason with him, but those days were long gone. Instead she looked away, pretending not to see. It was just easier that way. When she heard her name be spoken, she looked up, blue eyes shining at him. She put on the act, warm smile, interested tone. She even sat forward in the chair, gripping the warm cup in her hands.

It was difficult not to break down right there, when he asked about her sister. Not so much that someone actually cared, but that he did. Blinking a few times, making sure her emotions would not betray her, she nodded. "She's alright -- " Juliet paused thoughtfully, before continuing. "We've been better, but we'll get through it." So she lied. Big deal. It's not like Jack was in any state to hear, more less do anything about her troubles.

"I heard the news." She said quietly, keeping her gaze fixed on him. "I'm so sorry Jack," she spoke tenderly, and sincerely. She knew he and Sawyer hadn't always gotten along, if at all, but that didn't mean he wished the other man dead, and Aaron. Little baby Aaron, this couldn't be easy on Jack. It was even more difficult for her, having to pretend she didn't have the connections she did. She wanted to comfort him more, convey more emotions, anything but play these games. "How are you doing?" She hoped that sounded casual enough. A co-worker's close friends and nephew just passed away. There was nothing wrong with asking that.

[Jack Shephard]

"I can still call my old roommate."

Cancer was a funny thing. It came in quick and fast most of the time, and it didn't matter if you had a family doctor, or a top Oncologist; if it was going to kill you, it killed you when it wanted to. Days, weeks, months, maybe even years if you're lucky. He felt for Juliet in that instant, her and her sister. Her sister was more than likely going to die. Soon, Jack figured. He remembered hearing Juliet speaking of her sister on the Island. Her sister had a son. Julian. He pulled a pad out of his labcoat, and wrote down the Oncologist's name and phone number.

"His name's Friedrich Michaels. He goes by Fred. He's working at St. Jude's part time, but he mainly stays at Mayo. He's got knowledge in both Peds and Adult cases. As far as I'm concerned, he's the best in the country. Your sister's in good hands with him."

However when Juliet spoke of the news, Jack's eyes fell down onto the white table. He traced an invisible pattern with his finger. "Kate's, uh..." He shook his head slightly. "She's really torn up about it. I didn't tell her about the autopsy report. It's saying murder-suicide, and from what I figure, that's what the cops think, too." He glanced up at her, always aware that someone could come in and they'd have to switch their conversation to patients or consults or conventions that they never planned on going to.

"How are you doing?"

Jack found a scoff escaping his lips easily. He brought a hand up to rub at his face; he could feel the pills slowly starting to take the edge off, but even they hardly worked half the time anymore. "I, uh...if you want my honest opinion, I'm doing--" Horribly. So completely and utterly horrible that Jack wasn't even sure how he was surviving.

"All that time on the Island, I wanted to get off. I wanted to come back here because--becuase somehow I thought that this could be better." His voice was lowered slightly, in case a stray doctor walked in. "And now--" he scoffed again, looking from the table to Juliet's eyes. "And now, I'm looking back wondering what the hell I was thinking was waiting for me back here. My life is---it's just as bad as when I left. I thought that somehow, something happened here. Or something would happen that would change this place, and I would come back from death and everything would just be...better."

Of course, he couldn't really say anything. Juliet had been ont he Island so much longer than he had.

[Juliet Burke]

"Jack," Juliet began, not wanting to be a burden over this, "you really don't have to." She gave him a empathetic look, mingled with a tilting of the lips that was somehow supposed to be called a smile. Watching as he wrote down the number anyways, and accepted it with a nod. "Thanks..." she said quietly, looking down at the paper, then folding it up so that it would easily slip into the pocket of her lab coat.

She regretted asking as soon as he began answering. If it hadn't been a bad place, she would have instantly been up, consoling him. Nothing was worse than being made to sit back and watch. It was no different than the women on the island. She just nodded silently, with a thoughtful look on her face as he spoke of Kate, then the circumstances of the deaths. Juliet's eyes seemed to be happy to stay anywhere but on him as she listened to the sadness in his voice. Most predominantly they sat on the surface of the coffee in her hands. Looking down at her murky, dark reflection. Trying to convince herself that this was what she wanted. It was odd, having him confide in her like this again. It was painfully akin to the moments they had shared at the hydra and then when they were living in the barracks. She missed being the one he confided in, being the one he trusted and knew all his pains. She missed him.

"Ben always said that I'd regret leaving the island." Juliet stated, finally lifting her eyes back to him. She felt so much emotion inside, yet very little translated through her walls, her voice was warm and understanding, yet still distant. "Up until now, I never believed him. I just thought it was some sort of scare tactic to keep me there...." Taking a deep breath and shaking her head, then releasing the breath with a sigh. "I'm starting to think Ben was right."

Meeting Jack's eyes silently. Hoping if anything, to let him know that he wasn't alone.

[Jack Shephard]

"I don't ever want to admit that bastard was right."

The words came out harder than Jack intented them, but of course, the anger at the man was still there. "He's a liar. I would never admit that he was right."

However, if Ben had never locked him inside a polar bear dunk tank, he would have never met Juliet. He wasn't sure why, but the time that they had been seperated by glass, Jack had told her things that he had never told anyone on the Island. Watching as she met his eyes, Jack felt himself swallow down a lump in his throat before bringing the coffee to his lips. "This...all of this is just...life. My life was a complete and utter mess of shit before I landed on the Island, so it's not that different now. I've just added more people and more death to the mix. I have to deal with it." Why the hell was it so easy to say? The words came out of his mouth so smoothly, that he knew that simply saying the words would not make it instantly happen however hard he wished. But it was true; his life hadn't been stellar before he had crashed.

He couldn't tell Juliet that he had started popping the pills like candy to just keep himself in that state. He couldn't tell her that because he'd be exactly like his father. A washed up drunk who failed as a doctor. The apple never fell far from the tree, his father used to say. Except, he used to say it for good reasons, usually when speaking about being a doctor. However, he was spiraling down the same path as his father. It could almost be pathetic (and Jack knew that it was) except that it for a brief second stopped the pain. It's why he came back night after night after night. It's why he swallowed the pills eagerly.

Jack moved, resting his forehead against the smooth white table. "I'm just...so tired. A year ago I was working here, I was married...and now..."

And now he felt utterly alone. "I just don't know how much longer I can keep doing this, Juliet. I don't know how long I can stay like this."

[Juliet Burke]

Juliet sighed, flattening her lips into a tight line at Jack's response. She wasn't sure what she had expected. Sure, she had known Ben longer, seen more of him, but she was sure no one had ever seen all the way to the murky depth's of that man's soul.

"Jack..." Juliet's tone was calm ans sympathetic. Tilting her head just a bit and giving him a pleading look. "Jack, It's been really horrible for all of us. That island, no one hates that place more than I do, but, Jack, if it weren't for Rachel? I would be doing all I could to get back." She nodded to him, hoping she was getting through.

"The reality of all this, is that, I don't think we were meant to get off that island. I never wanted to believe it, to believe Ben, but look at us." Juliet frowned with more sadness than anger, gesturing an arm around the break room. "Look at our lives. How are we supposed to go back to this, and pretend that we're normal?"

She felt her heart skip a beat at his last words. Surly Jack wouldn't....he was too smart to try and do anything drastic. Wasn't he? "Jack..." Juliet said with rising concern, "hey," she said a bit louder. "Don't you say that. Don't even think like that, Jack." Juliet leaned forward on the table, reaching out to take his hand tightly in hers, "you know its not the answer, Jack." Juliet's touch was soft, but her face and tone were stern.

[Jack Shephard]

"Jack..."

"Juliet, don't. Please don't." Jack felt his eyes close instantly at the sound of her voice. Why did she have to care so much? She went on, speaking about the Island and how she would be willing to go back in an instant, and Jack felt the sharp hint of tears press against the back of his eyes. The burning got worse when Juliet took his hand quickly, her voice sharp and hard...and god, why did she have to care so much? Then, it happened, the tears slipped past his eyes as her hand held his own tightly. It had been like this in the Hydra...she just...listened. "I just can't--" The sound of the door opening made Jack jerk his hand from Juliet's, moving to rub at his eyes. The younger doctor watched Jack for a moment. "Hey, Shephard? You okay?"

"Yeah," Jack found himself laughing sadly as he shook his head. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm--I'm good. I've just, uh...I had a long surgery. I've got a headache."

"You should take some time off, man. I mean, seriously, the hospital's just glad you're back, man. That must have been something, huh?." the man said, before moving to grab an orange juice from the fridge. "Hey, Juliet, you heard about Shephard? Crazy. I woulda gone insane. I mean, the plane crash alone woulda--" Jack felt his fingers digging into his eyes with every word the younger man said. However, the sharp shrilling beep of a beeper made the younger man frown.

"Aw, hell. I can't do anything without getting called." he muttered, and then moved to the door. "See ya, Shephard! Juliet!"

Jack felt himself sigh out as he put his head in his hands for a brief second. "See," he said, his voice muffled by his hands until he placed them on the table. "That. I can't--" he felt himself break off in his sentence as he shook his head. His voice was softer than before.

"I'm not that person, Juliet. I can't lie anymore."

[Juliet Burke]

The pain in Jack's voice was like a knife to her heart. Why couldn't he see that it didn't have to be so bad? That he wasn't alone? Despite his protests, she kept a firm grip on his hand. Some part of her felt that it was the only real connection she was able to have with him anymore. When she saw the tears come, she let her head fall to one side, her expression remaining caring and yet sad.

Then it happened, he was going to say something, she felt a shiver of anticipation when he spoke, but all the hope for anything substantial to happen was shattered when the door opened, and Jack took his hand back. Quickly sitting back, and wrapping her hands around her coffee, Juliet put up the all too practiced facade, giving a pleasant smile to the younger doctor as he entered.

When he asked if Jack was okay, Juliet let her eyes dart nervously to Jack for just a moment before moving back to the papers in front of her. The one's she hadn't given a second glance since Jack came in. Pretending to read them and not be hanging onto every word the two men exchanged, Juliet took a small sip of coffee.

Looking up, an expression of being aloof on her face when her name was spoken, she looked from the doctor to Jack, nodding with a look of casual condolence. "Yeah, it's amazing." her tone was soft and she flashed Jack a small smile. The other man kept talking, and Juliet began to slowly frown as she saw how it was affecting Jack.

Snapping her attention to the other doctor, she opened her mouth to speak and change the subject, but luckily his pager went off and he had to go. "Bye. Good luck!" Juliet called out after him in a cheery tone, which vanished the moment the door closed, and her attention returned to Jack.

She wore a forehead creasing frown. The more she watched him, the more she worried about his stability. What he might do. She couldn't even begin to think such thoughts, so she banished them from her mind.

Jack's final words were the hardest blow. Like falling from a plane without a parachute. There was so much sadness and defeat in those simple words. Juliet didn't know what, if anything, she could do or say.

"Jack...." she began, faltering. "I know its hard Jack...." struggling for words, Juliet sighed heavily, feeling equally as defeated. She had been doing so well. Pretending to be okay through all of this. Through the lying, through Rachel, through Jack. How was she supposed to encourage someone when she herself didn't even have the motivation in her deepest of souls?

She once wondered if she even had a soul any longer. When she was on that island. It felt as if something had drained the very life from her there. Now..now she had left it, and it was becoming apparent to her that reality could be much worse than being without a soul.

"Just...Jack please don't give up. You can't. You're stronger than that, Jack." Juliet's tone was more stern than she wanted it to be, but it was the only way she was keeping herself from breaking down right there. One of them had to be strong, and she was used it. She spent three years being a soulless stone of a woman, having no other choice than to be. What was three more minutes?

[Jack Shephard]

"Jack, Jack please don't give up. You can't. You're stronger than that, Jack."

His forehead rested on his arms as he laid his head down against the white table. He wanted to be fine with everything, but it was like the secret he was holding in himself, the pain he had caused everyone, it was like it was eating him alive from the inside. It had been fine for a while, to supress the pain, but the closer it got to the surface, under his skin? The harder it was to surpress it.Suddenlly, he didn't want to be at St. Sebastian's anymore. The memory of the patient's death earlier in the day made him sick to his stomach once more. He moved, digging his cellphone out of his pocket. He lifted his head from the table.

He pressed a button and brought the phone to his ear. "Brenda. Yeah, look, I'm not feeling so good, I think I'm gonna take the rest of the day off. Can you get Dr. Hartford to take over my cases for me until I get in tomarrow? Yeah, just update him on what happened with the patient, and let the family know for me that I'll take any questions that they have. Take them down and call me if it's important. Tell them there will be an autopsy tomarrow, we'll find out more of what happened then, but I think it's just a simple case that her heart couldn't the stress. Oh, and let Dr. Hartford know about the Peterson case. I want him to watch her closely, she's crashed twice before. Yeah, call me if she crashes again, I'm just going home. Thanks, Brenda. Talk to you in the morning."

Jack hung up the phone, and suddenlly, he felt exausted. Looking over at Juliet, he paused for a moment, swallowing before he continued. "Why do you care about me, Juliet?" he asked honestly, his voice tired. "I'm--" he found himself laughing, though it was hardly fully. The laugh was bitter and cold and tired. "I tried to kill you when I first met you, I'm--" he felt a sigh esacpe his lips.

"I'm just a complete mess. After everything that's happened, you--I don't know why you're here." Of course he knew. He knew when she had kissed him. When he kissed her. He knew it and maybe he was afraid to admit it. She cared for him.

And he knew he didn't deserve it.

[Juliet Burke]

Juliet's face fell when Jack didn't respond. Had she failed? Was he too far gone? Was she? She frowned heavily staring down at the table, trying to not let the sudden silence get to her, when she heard him stir. Looking up, she watched him bring his phone to his ear.

She watched him intently, not even considering that her actions could be taken as rude. So he was going home. That was good, or at least she hoped so. Waiting till he finished, she gave him a weak smile. However what he said next was not what she had expected.

Giving Jack a wry (albeit still weak) smile, she took a sip of coffee. "To be fair, I had you locked up in a dolphin tank." It was really just pointing out of facts, she took another sip of coffee and set it down on the table, letting his words sink in. Her eyes were busy studying the not so intricate patterns of bumps on the white table, as her mind sought to find the best answer to give him.

Slowly raising her eyes to meet his, they held much sadness but also a fierce determination. "I'm here because no one should have to go through that, or this hell alone, Jack." It was a wonder to her how her voice remained so calm, when she felt so uncalm inside, but old habits died hard, and this was one of her worst habits.

A contemplative look overtook Juliet's face as she watched him, her thoughts returning to that of concern for his safety, which was much more important than her fleeting hopes that something could ever actually happen with Jack. Romantic notions had never done her any good, and they always ended with one dead body and her in tears. "Are you driving? Home, are you in your car?" She could tell by how he looked that whatever he added to his coffee, combined with whatever else Jack might be taking was seriously impairing him. The last thing Juliet was going to allow was him to drive a car on the freeway in Los Angeles.

[Jack Shephard]

"To be fair, I had you locked up in a dolphin tank."

"Touche."

He was sure anyone would have done the same thing in his situation. Natural, primal instincts of escape kick in. He'd have tried anything to get out of that cold metal room. Then he remembered the water. He had been so high on the feeling of escaping that he hadn't even realized the water until it had ran into his nose and mouth. Until he was struggling to stay on the surface. Then, somehow, they had managed to close the door. Then he remembered nothing but blackness.

When she spoke, telling him that the reason why she was still there with him, that no one should go through this hell alone, Jack's brows narrowed sharply, his throat constricting as he tried to swallow down the lump. Suddenly, he felt exhausted; he wanted it to be over with. All the pain, the saddness...what the hell had happened to normal every day problems? He remembered once, seemingly decades ago, where he had gotten a flat tire on the freeway. How it had made him so angry that he thought he'd be unable to get over it. That flat tire and the feeling it brought, it was going to stay with him forever. On the fucking freeway, he remembered seething to himself as he called the hospital to tell them that he was going to be late. Yeah, a busted tire in the middle of one of the busiest freeways in Los Angeles. Yes, it did suck to be him. He remembered calling Sarah and she laughed. He always had the worse of luck, she would tell him. He remembered when she laughed, it sounded like bells. Even with a busted tire in the middle of the freeway, for a second, she could make it okay. He could see her smile on the other end of the phone when she told him that he needed to come home early. Because after the crappy day he had, he'd need to unwind. She'd make everything better.

That had been before everything. Shortly after their honeymoon, when she used to smile and say that she loved him more than anything. They had never left the house without kissing each other. Sometimes more than once, then more than twice and then they'd get lost in a tumble of sheets and limbs.

Sarah had seen him the other day. Or he had seen her, either way. It hadn't been like before; he didn't actively seek her out, and she didn't bother with finding him, either. That tide had shifted, leaving nothing but empty footprints and sand. Juliet's voice broke through, sounding almost like the water from the tide, and he blinked, looking over at her. Her lips moved, but the words came slower, later and he had to process them in his brain before he fully understood them. Something about driving. A car. His car. His jeep was parked outside, in the parking spot that held his name. It shouldn't have even held his name anymore, he thought silently. He was supposed to be dead after all.

"I, uh..." he started, his voice slow and slurred. "Yeah. I'm driving home. It's not--I just pick up the freeway and take the--" he blinked, brows narrowing in slight confusion. "The 7th exit and it's right off to the left." Or was it the right?

Why the hell couldn't he remember something as simple as that?

"I'll be fine." he told her, standing up. However, as slow as he thought he had stood, his brain told him that he had stood up too quickly. The world spun, and he reached out, Juliet's arm being the closest thing within reach. Trying to take a step, he felt himself stumble slightly. Just how many pills had he taken? 2 or 5 or 12? He hardly remembered anymore. He just dolled them out into his hand. Whatever the bottle wanted to give him...

He knew he had done it before...but sooner or later, he knew it wasn't going to work. He couldn't drive in this state, because sooner or later, he'd hit someone and kill them, and it wouldn't matter that he was the hero of the Island, it wouldn't matter that he had saved all those people, the only thing that would matter was that he was a washed up drunk of a doctor, just like his father. What would only matter was the fact that someone had died because of him.

"I can, uh...my mom's probably just sitting at home, she can..." he trailed off, knowing that if Margo Shephard had to come pick her son up from the hospital because he was too wasted to drive home himself...well, that would be the end of it. He'd get the 9th degree burn and she'd probably wrack him so full of guilt over the fact that her husband, his father was dead from the very same thing. Jackson, she'd tell him. You'll do what you did to him to me, and I can't have that. I've got enough pain in my life to last me three lifetimes. You're just like your father. She'd make him feel like a worthless ball of shit that he'd have to hang himself just to make her shut up.

How the hell did he manage to come out at least half-sane with his parents, he thought to himself. How did he survive?

"You don't have to. I'll be fine, I can make it. It's no problem, I just...I just stood up to quick." However, he saw in her eyes that she didn't believe a word he said. And he knew that she wasn't going to give up the idea at all.

The first step was admitting, he told himself. So slowly, he dug the keys out of his scrubs and placed them into her hand. I don't have a problem, Jack wanted to say to her. I just don't want to drive.

Liar.

[Juliet Burke]

(Holy freaking long post, Jackman!)

*tiny time jump*

It had been a quiet drive back to Jack's mother's house. It hadn't taken much to get off her shift, Juliet knew that the fact Jack was giving her the keys was a good sign. Maybe he wasn't past saving, maybe she didn't have to worry so much. Maybe. She drove in silence, seeing as how Jack had passed out, she was glad she knew where his mother lived, seeing as he was being about as helpful a bucket with a hole in it. As soon as they arrived back, she had made sure she knew where everyone was, just in case.

Pulling up in front of the rather luxurious home, she turned off the engine, and looked over at Jack. He looked so peaceful, so at rest. A small smile crept over her lips, as she unbuckled, and turned in her seat.

"Jack..." Juliet called out tenderly, reaching a hand out to shake his shoulder, "Jack, we're here."

[Jack Shephard]

He barely made it into the jeep before sleep took him. He had remembered answering one or two questions of Juliet's, small talk with mumbles for answers, and then darkness had spread. He hadn't even dreamt much, only the sound of the ocean had met his ears once again. But unlike the other times, there had been no screams, no smoke. Just the ocean.

"Jack...Jack, we're here."

Her voice filtered into his brain, and Jack's brows narrowed as he floated back into conciousness. Opening his eyes, he saw Juliet turn the jeep off. They were there already? Lifting himself up to fully sit from where he was leaned against the window, Jack's eyes focused from the blur of sleep to his parent's house. He saw at the front door, his mother turning from locking the door. She had a boquet of flowers in her hand. Fingers moved slowly to the door handle, and he exited the jeep, watching as his mother came to him.

"Jack. I'm glad you're home. Marc's parents were kind enough to go with me to the cemetary. You really should go, Jack." She looked between Jack and Juliet, until Jack spoke up.

"Uh, yeah. Mom, this is Juliet Burke. She works at the hospital. Juliet, uh...this is my mother, Margo Shephard."

"Nice to meet you, Juliet." Margo said, and looked at Jack. "You really should come to see your father, Jackson. And you look like hell." She added with a slight frown before she leaned in to kiss his cheek. "Get some sleep. And call Marc, he's been calling here non-stop."

Jack watched as Margo walked to her car, got in and drove off. As he watched her drive away, he shook his head slightly. "It's weird. She pays more attention to him when he's dead than when he was alive." he told Juliet with a slight smile as he shook his head. "They loved each other, there's no doubt about that...but they could hate each other just as much." He looked towards his front door and then back at Juliet. "Uh...do you want to come in for coffee or something?"

[Juliet Burke]

Juliet got out of the car along with Jack, looping the key right over her finger and absentmindedly clenching them inside of her fist. A woman Juliet assumed to be Jack's mother was at the door, holding some flowers. Shifting uncomfortably as she approached, Juliet tried to shrink back as far as she could to keep from intruding on Jack's business, all the while listening to every detail.

When Jack introduced her, Juliet gave a warm smile, and a nod of the head. "Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Shephard." Juliet felt her emotions begin to stir again as his mother talked on to him about his father. An overwhelming need to protect Jack, given his current state, of both mind and health, was beginning to take her over. That included not wanting anyone to give him undue stress.

Her smile faded into an expressionless stare, as she watched the woman leave. Already she was trying to concoct the most believable way to invite herself in, she wanted to make sure that he didn't do any more damage. Maybe if he fell asleep she could remove all the alcohol from the house and get a look at those pills in his pocket.

However he spoke first, catching her off guard at first, which she quickly covered up with a wry grin. "I'd love to." Juliet gave him a small nod, holding his keys back out to him. All those moments alone on the island, never did she imagine she'd be invited into his childhood home, something about it was enthralling for her. A closer look at Jack Shephard.