Illusions of the island *A LOST fanfic*

Chapter 4: A stroke of good luck

"Hey now blondie, don't go hurtin' yourself now. I got it. You just sit down and relax. Remember what the doc said? No heavy liftin'."

Juliet rolled her eyes at James. I am not an invalid. I can move a crate filled with laundry 20 feet for crying out loud!

"I'm perfectly capable of moving the laundry James. You don't have to do everything for me!"

Sometimes he was infuriating. Still sweet, but infuriating nonetheless. She barely had a visible baby bump and he was already treating her like she couldn't even lift a finger. If she was honest with herself, she had a bit of a temper, when she let it show. Taking a breath, she sat down on a rock under one of the palm trees and shook her head.

"I'm sorry James. I don't want to fight with you. All this sometimes is just frustrating. I can't lift heavy things; I'm not supposed to run... I'm barely showing and you treat me like this."

James felt like Juliet was being irrational. But it was all part of the process. He stopped for a moment and dropped a pair of pants into the water trough.

"Come on blondie, I'm just trying to make sure the two of you stay safe. Why don't you just sit and relax? I'll tell ya what, you look like you could use a foot massage. How does that sound?"

Smiling, Juliet got up from the rock and sat down under the shade of a palm tree.

"Sounds like heaven. My feet are absolutely killing me."

Leaning up against the palm tree, Juliet smiled and sighed as James began to give her right foot the much-needed massage.

"Maybe I should get you somethin' to soak your feet in too while I'm at it."

Juliet was only half-listening to James and answered him.

"That sounds nice James. Keep the massage coming. You really think we're having a boy?"

Opening up her eyes to look at James, she gave him a sideways glance and then a small smile.

"Yup. He'll be a strong boy. Maybe the next one will be a girl. That way Max will have a little sister."

Max? Juliet couldn't help but laugh a little. Her hunches were almost always correct. Her smile turned into a frown as her mind wandered to her nine failures.

"Nine women. Nine children. Five girls and four boys, make nine. Add the nine women into it all and that makes eighteen. This island has caused more casualties than miracles. I don't want to be one of those casualties James."

James stopped massaging Juliet's feet and gave her a sympathetic look.

"Hey, it's not your fault blondie. It's this damned island. You are the smartest woman I know. So far, everything has worked on you. I'd say that was a miracle in itself. Don't be so hard on yourself. Look at Megan and Kate. They both owe you their lives. They are alive because of you."

She nodded and reached for James hands in a gesture of comfort.

"Thank-you for always believing in me James. I couldn't be stronger without you."

James nodded and continued massaging her feet.

"You are my stroke of good luck blondie. I will always have your back sweetheart. We're still in this together. Now and always."

To Be Continued...