bliss_immunity | (no subject)

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trau

(no subject)

It's easy when it's raining non stop and people are switching bodies and there's people showing up in Dinosaur Territory and then you're lying in bed sick dreaming about something that never happened to get it into your head that this is a crazy place where only craziness happens and no happiness can exist.

But you'd be wrong if you thought that. Joshua finds Tabula Rasa to be an overall normal place, if not a little boring compared to his previous life. Sure, there are some things that are downright freaky, but then there were things like that happening every day on the Mother Ship half of them perpetrated by his own hand or under his own orders.

Still, days like this one are much more the norm than the exception. Days spent walking along the beach or swimming in the ocean. Quiet days with plenty of time for reflection and contemplation. Or, as some people are more inclined, time to run from their pasts by filling their days with other things. And maybe he's doing a little of both, but he figures there's no real way to run from your past here and there's no way to avoid quiet contemplation. Even with a day filled with activities and other people and responsibilities. The past has a way of catching up with you.

So do made up pasts that never actually happened except in a dream. The thought is a bit overwhelming for Joshua. He's still a little annoyed by the idea that the island would need to push them together in such a way, but what's done is done. And today's agenda is to have a normal day at the beach with Juliet. He's come prepared with supplies from the box: towels, a blanket and swimwear (for himself). Snacks and water from the kitchen and even a large umbrella.

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Every time Juliet went to the supply box to get a bathing suit, all that she could find was a black bikini. She wasn't exactly feeling like she could pull off a bikini even if her stomach was still flat as a board, but finally she gave up and went back to the hut with it. She doesn't really like the bottoms though, so she puts on a pair of shorts to go with them.

The truth is, ever since she'd moved into Joshua's hut and the morning sickness continued, she just didn't feel fantastic. Still though, she's happy and even quietly glowing already. She doesn't care about the dream anymore, not more than she should because ultimately it's given her this and she's happy. There's no doubting that she's pregnant, all of her symptoms are in line, so she's decided to be quietly elated, though anyone who didn't know her would never guess.

Pulling her hair up wearing the bikini top and shorts, she grabs a towel and finds Joshua. "Can I help with anything?"

"We have a giant umbrella and a satchel of food. Oh and a blanket," he says, walking up to her and giving her a kiss on the side of her head as he wraps his arm around her mid-section for a moment.

"There's nothing to help with. It's done. Now you have your choice of sunbathing or resting in the shade or swimming. Notice how helping me setup isn't an option."

Juliet can't help but grin a little, and she walks backward toward the water. "Fine. Fine, I'll swim," she says before turning and wading into the water. She stops when she's up to her thighs though and just looks out into the distance. It's something that feels familiar, and she remembers a time when she was a kid, how after her parents got divorced her dad would bring her out to the beach and they'd either sit in silence watching the sun come up, or she'd cry and he'd just wrap her up.

She'd done the same thing with David when she and Jack got divorced and so she finds the ocean therapeutic. Closing her eyes, she stands with her head tilted up at the sun, hands on her stomach and her hair blowing out a little bit behind her. It's almost like being home, like she'll turn and the crowded, congested beach will be behind her. She knows that isn't true though, and after a while she walks forward before slipping under the water.

He's noticed that she's not feeling well today and hasn't felt well for days with the morning sickness. And maybe going to the beach is a terrible idea because she's just standing there thigh deep, but despite dreams to the contrary, you only live once.

So he's tossing his shirt up the beach toward the umbrella and blanket and running into the water and jumping in. He's not really learned to swim properly, but the surf is pretty much non-existent today. He lies on his back and floats serenely past her without so much as a splash or a glance in her direction. And though his eyes are closed, there's a smirk on his face.

Juliet's peaceful reflections are shattered when Joshua dives in next to her and she comes up quickly to see what's going on. And then she sees him on his back as if he hadn't done anything at all.

She sinks into the water again and swims to him until she's near his head. "Excuse me, but you wouldn't have happened to see a man claiming to be the father of my unborn child splashing by here, would you?"

"No, only former aliens who have never really learned to swim here," he sasses back. "However, you wouldn't have seen the mother of my child? Blonde hair, blue eyes, and you'd be willing to give anything to find out what's on her mind?"

"You don't know how to swim?" she says as her eyes widen. "Joshua, I'm not going to be able to rescue you if you start to drown," she says critically. But then her face softens a little, and she shakes her head.

"No. Only soon to be mothers wondering if they were ever that great at parenting the first time are over here."

"I can swim just fine. For a lizard," he replies, nearly laughing, because he's never been this honest about what he is with anyone who wasn't a Visitor.

"Oh you've got plenty more experience than I have. Visitors hatch from eggs nearly full grown. And see if you can guess who lays those eggs." And then he's really laughing because he can already hear her answering V males.

Instead of answering, Juliet makes a face, but his laughter makes her grin, and she indulges him with that answer exactly, eager to see him keep laughing and smiling like that.

She suddenly splashes him playfully. "You better not let your inexperience keep you from changing diapers, Joshua."

"What? I knew it," he says, getting serious. "You only moved in so I would change your baby's diapers."

Juliet crosses her arms over her chest. "I moved in so you could hear me getting sick all day every day just to bring your baby into the world."

They may have been a pout at the end of that, because she had a long ways to go before the morning sickness portion of the pregnancy was over, and she felt like she was sick all the time.

He'd been squatting in the water so as to enjoy the feeling up to his shoulders, but he stands up now. "And I've enjoyed the sound daily. Thank you."

And though it sounds silly, his voice is tender and he's sincere. He moves closer so he can give her a hug.

Juliet hugs him back, burying her face in his neck. She lets the motion of the waves rock them a little before she pulls back to look at him. She's quiet for a while, searching his eyes.

"I love you, Joshua."

He waits as she searches his eyes, he's not sure what she's looking for, but he certainly doesn't mind her declaration. He gives a smile. It's small, but it's sincere and it reaches his eyes.

"I love you, Juliet. I wish I could make things better for you." He only says it because of the serious moment in their conversation. He feels it often, but never says it.

"It's worth it, in the end," she smiles.

And then, taking advantage of the seriousness, Juliet attempts to dunk Joshua under water, but she doesn't have much on him, and she ends up (somehow) at his back, her arms and legs around him.

He's laughing now because her best attempt at dunking him in the water has ended with her on his back like some kind of starfish.

"Just what exactly are you doing?" he asks, still smiling.

Juliet's laughing too, and she presses her face against his neck. "I was trying to push you under water, and then I realized you're much stronger than me, too late."

"If you want to go under the water, just let me know," he replies, feigning as though he's going to dunk her by leaning backward and instead just dipping them down into the water slowly.

Juliet holds on tighter when he leans back, actually honest to God giggling before she lets go of him and does indeed sleep down into the water. The cold feels good over her head and she swims out a bit before coming back up, floating on her back, her hair fanning out around her like a halo.

No matter how sick she's been, she realizes that in this moment she's happy, and she grins to herself.

"Hey, Joshua," she calls out, not moving otherwise.

Edited 2010-08-13 12:19 (UTC)

"Hey," he replies, somber for a moment as he watches her. Sometimes, despite all the crazy, it's difficult to believe this is his reality now.

She lets herself float for a minute, thinking about what she's going to say before finally speaking again.

"I want to marry you."

It's her answer from before, it's what she knows is right no matter how long she thinks about it.

"I told you not to tell me," he replies quietly, but there's a small smile on his face. An appreciative smile.

"So what am I supposed to do? Show up one day in a wedding dress?" she teases, but she plants her feet on the bottom and stands upright.

"If we both know, then why am I not telling you?"

"I want you to be able to change your mind. It's too soon. And we're not going to do it just because you're pregnant. That's how this thing works, right?" He's taking cues from what she's told him and what he discovered through his researches both on the Mother Ship and on Tabula Rasa.

And while everything he says would sound a lot more desperate if it weren't for his confident tone and careful timing.

"Why would I change my mind?" she asks with a little frown, and her eyes are a little worried.

"I'm not...I didn't say yes because I'm pregnant. If you would have asked me to marry you the first time you kissed me Joshua, I would have said yes."