Illusions of the island *A LOST fanfic*

Chapter 15: Floating in the ocean

Juliet felt like she was drowning. When she surfaced for air, she realized she was in the ocean. How'd I end up here? All around her was ocean and she couldn't see the island anywhere. A wave pulled her under and when she surfaced again she had trouble staying above water, the waves were so rough. She screamed hoping someone would hear her.

"HELP!?"

Maybe if she got to a shipping lane, someone would see her. She felt tiny feet below her and suddenly knew she had to keep swimming. The next wave was coming at her fast. She dove under the wave and swam faster. Surfacing, she saw something floating in the water. 'A piece of wood!' Grabbing for the piece of wood she floated on it for a while. She felt like she was falling asleep. The next time she woke, she heard a large boat whistle. Opening her eyes, she barely had the strength to speak.

"HELP..."

A person onboard the ship saw her floating and yelled for help.

"There's someone in the water! Tell the captain to stop the ship!"

Juliet didn't remember much after that; other than the fact someone was pulling her up with a rope ladder. Once she was pulled aboard the ship, she realized she was on an aircraft carrier. A navy ship of all things. She frantically looked around at the people surrounding her. One put a couple of blankets around her.

"Where did you come from?"

She felt a kick just below her ribs again and her hand went to the spot she'd felt it. The weight of her wet clothes plus the combined weight of the baby was making it difficult to step forward. Stumbling, she felt four sets of strong arms catch her, and four sets of unfamiliar but friendly faces. All of them in uniform. One spoke up.

"Lowell, leave the poor pregnant woman alone. She probably just wants to rest. You can ask her where she came from later. What's your name miss?"

Juliet wanted to laugh. Am I still young enough to be called 'miss'? Managing to stand up a bit with the help of the men at her side, she spoke up.

"Juliet. Juliet Burke."

One of the men stuck his hand out for her to shake.

"Lieutenant Michael Richardson. It's a pleasure to meet you Juliet Burke. You look like you could use a hot meal, some clean clothes and a shower. Then we'll escort you to our medical bay so that our doctor can have a look at you and your baby."

Juliet suddenly felt very subconscious. Somehow she felt completely naked even though she was still wearing her sopping wet clothes. She
suddenly became suspicious and planted her bare feet on the deck below her.

"What are you going to do to me?"

Lieutenant Richardson's gaze softened and he did his best to reassure her.

"You're safe here. The doctor is just going to make sure you're ok."

Juliet could hear that Lieutenant Richardson's remarks were sincere, but she didn't trust, after all the things she'd been through on the island. This was a bit of a shock to her. The first place she was escorted to was somewhere she could sleep. Some clothes had been set out for her. She was then left alone to change. Changing out of her wet clothes, she got into the shower. Once she was clean, she put on the fresh clothes and opened up the door to her room.

"Are you ready to see the doc miss?"

Juliet was wary of the man standing in front of her. But she knew she should see a doctor. She'd been out on the water for far too long. She
didn't know how detrimental it was to the baby growing inside her.

"Yes thank-you."

Lieutenant Richardson had joined them as they walked down the hallway. She was led into a room with at least 50 beds. A man in a white lab coat looked up and smiled.

"You must be our rescued survivor. What's your name?"

Juliet took a seat on the edge of one of the beds and wrapped her arms around her belly. She suddenly felt afraid, but she didn't know why.
This man had kind eyes.

"Juliet Burke."

The doctor in front of her nodded and came closer.

"Pleasure to meet you Juliet. I'm Doctor Carlington. What I would like you to do is lie back on the bed for a few minutes. I just want to see how your baby is doing."

Juliet began to panic. She needed to find James and Cara.

"We have to find my husband and my daughter Cara."

Doctor Carlington looked at Juliet with sad eyes.

"They didn't tell you?"

Juliet almost felt like her throat was going to close on her, depriving her of oxygen.

"Tell me what?"

Her emotional state was already fragile; she didn't need something else to push it completely over the edge.

"Your husband is dead and we found no trace of your daughter."

How was that even possible?

"No. I refuse to believe my husband is dead. My daughter is out there somewhere!"

Doctor Carlington looked at her.

"Don't you look at me like that! I'm going to find my daughter!"

Juliet found herself in the tent. Strong arms wrapped around her waist. She felt James voice vibrate against her back.

"Blondie, your shaking. I've got ya."

She had a haunted look in eyes.

"I don't think you'll ever leave this island James."

She was still shaking and continued her thought.

"Just shut up and hold me James."

She didn't know why she'd gotten cross with him, only that she had. What had this dream puzzle given her this time? Was she going to float out to sea and be rescued? Her alone though?

To Be Continued...