Illusions of the island *A LOST fanfic*

Chapter 8: The pale white dawn before the storm

Juliet stared up at the horizon for a minute and noticed the sun was pale white, after all it was dawn, but she'd never seen the sun look like this before. The tide was unusually high and she heard thunder in the distance. She heard Cara whimper from inside the tent. Taking a few steps from her spot in the sand just outside the tent, she made her way inside and to the now squirming and screaming infant inside the makeshift cradle.

"Cara baby girl, you're going to wake daddy. Are you hungry?"

Sniffing the air, Juliet decided on a no.

"Ok, you need to be changed."

As Juliet changed a screaming Cara, James leaned over the edge of the bed and grimaced slightly.

"This girl has a set of pipes on her. She hungry?"

Juliet shook her head and finished putting a fresh cloth on Cara.

"No, she was wet. There's a storm coming in. I think she's scared."

Managing to get to her feet with Cara in her arms, Juliet sat down on the bed. James helped her lean back against the bed and watched as his
two girls bonded. He listened as Juliet spoke to their daughter.

"Hey, it's ok. Mommy's got you. It's just a storm. It'll pass."

Juliet watched as Cara's tiny red fingers flexed against her shirt. Her screaming had turned into whimpers and Juliet knew hiccups were coming. It happened when she got really upset.

"The sun is strange isn't it? It kind of looks like paper."

Cara stuck her fingers in her mouth and sucked on them. Juliet spoke down to her.

"You only do that when you're hungry."

Juliet smiled down at Cara and ran a finger over her tiny hand and gave a kiss to her forehead. James handed her a blanket and sat down on
the edge of the bed. Fixing the blanket, Juliet watched as rain came pelting down on the sand outside the tent. Cara coughed and grew upset as thunder rumbled overhead. The storm had come, now Juliet had to figure out a way to calm her. The storm would only get worse before it got better. She kept talking to Cara trying to get her to calm down.

"Hey sweet girl, it's alright. Mommy and daddy are right here. Nothing is going to get you. Your safe ok? Just close your eyes and go to sleep."

She'd said the last part in a sing-song voice. James smiled and spoke.

"Huh. Didn't know you could sing too blondie. What else can you do?"

A mysterious smile crossed her face and then faded as she winced. James noticed and put a hand on her shoulder.

"You ok?"

Nodding Juliet sat back on the bed and blew out a breath.

"I'm ok. Just a little sore. Your daughter is a barracuda sometimes."

James looked up when he heard a huge clap of thunder just above their heads. Cara stopped eating once again and started screaming. Juliet had to yell over all the noise.

"There's a hurricane coming in. It's going to dump a lot of rain on us! The best place to ride this storm out is to take shelter in the medical station! But there's no way we'll make it there before the brunt of this storm hits! We'll have to hunker down here!"

Rain began to pour into their shelter and James tried his best to shield his fiancé and daughter. The pelting rain was heavy. Cara's screaming got louder as Juliet became drenched in driving ran. It felt like she was on a schooner out on the ocean. James yelled over the noise.

"I've never seen a storm like this before blondie! Somethin' ain't right about all this!?"

The driving rain suddenly stopped and Juliet looked up, Cara was still screaming. They were both soaking wet. It didn't help that Cara was congested. Juliet got up from the bed and went to the entrance of their shelter. Pushing back the blanket that served as a barrier of privacy, she found Jack standing outside.

"Is everyone alright in here?"

Juliet nodded but was shivering. It may have well been warm, but, she'd gotten used to the island. It wasn't hot anymore.

"Nothing some dry clothes for each of us won't cure. Cara's just scared. Once we're dry I'll feed her and she'll probably just go back to sleep."

Jack took a peek at Cara's screaming form under the soaking blanket.

"She still sounds a little congested."

Juliet nodded in agreement.

"It'll go away with time. She's only two weeks old Jack. She's still learning how to breathe the air out here."

Jack knew not to argue with Juliet on these kinds of issues. That was her area of expertise. He wondered what else this island would throw at
them next.

To Be Continued...