Illusions of the island *A LOST fanfic*

Chapter 21: The best memory

Flashback:

University of Florida

Miami, Florida

March 18th, 2001

Juliet was dog-tired and she'd only been in the hospital less than a day. She'd been taken to the hospital part of the university. Every part of her below the waist was sore. She didn't want to move an inch. She'd just fed Hayley for the first time. Interesting experience to say the least. Hayley was asleep in her arms. She watched as she took each breath and sighed.

"I can't believe I gave birth to a 10 pound 6-ounce girl, and 23 inches long. Mommy thought you would be at least 6 pounds. Wait until Aunt Rachel sees you."

The door came bursting open and in came Rachel. Wide eyes and smiles.

"Oh my god Jules! Look at that big baby! She's beautiful! Lemme hold her!"

Juliet gave Rachel a tired smile as she took Hayley from her arms.

"She's heavy. How much does she weigh anyways?"

Feeling a little overwhelmed, Juliet put a hand to her forehead.

"Don't choke when I tell you this: 10 pounds and 6 ounces. She's 23 inches long."

Juliet saw Rachel's jaw drop.

"You've got to be kidding me Jules. Talk about ouch. So what happened? I want all the details."

Shifting uncomfortably in the bed, Juliet was about to speak when David entered the room.

"You sure you want all the gory details Rach? If you say so. Your sister came into work to fix a little mistake she made with some numbers from her computer. I told her she should go home and get off her swollen feet. I offered to give her a ride home, she declined. I followed her to the bathroom. She locked herself inside. She let me in and told me she was in labor. I'd suspected she'd been like that all day. I rummaged through the first aid kit on the wall and found some supplies. Then I raided the restroom cart parked just outside the bathroom and found some towels. Juliet asked me for an epidural. But there was no time to go and get it from drug lockup. Hayley was born on the floor of the women's single restroom. She took one large breath when she came out of your sister and started screaming. Juliet was so disoriented by that point I don't think she knew what was going on exactly. Security had showed up and a few minutes later so had the paramedics. I just feel bad for the ladies who had to stay and clean up our mess. She screamed so much I had to turn the tap on so that it would drown it out. Everything went smoothly, except for the fact that your sister needed six stitches."

Juliet stared at the fussy baby in Rachel's arms and sighed.

"Yeah, well it's a price to pay for my research actually working. I got a beautiful little girl out of it."

Rachel carefully handed Juliet Hayley and took a disposable camera from her purse.

"Picture time."

Gaping at Rachel, Juliet shook her head.

"Look at me Rachel. I'm a mess. I've got dark circles under my eyes, I haven't slept, my hair is absolutely disgusting and I feel like my whole body has been squeezed through a juice press."

Rachel laughed a little and held the camera up.

"Pfft. Please. You look beautiful. Besides, don't you want a memory for her baby book?"

Relenting, Juliet held Hayley a little closer to her and smiled almost timidly. What Juliet didn't realize was that this photo would haunt her years later when she got stuck on the island.

"Let's see how you feel Rach only six hours after giving birth. You want a baby Rach, I'll help you achieve that once I'm on my feet again. You have my word. I'll be there for you every step of the way."

The day had turned out alright. The best part was, Ed had been out sick with the flu. He didn't know a thing about what had went on at
work. Juliet just hoped it would stay that way.

To Be Continued...