Chapter Text
The guards threw Juliana’s limp body on the bed in the holding cell, the mattress hard and lumpy, but what more had she expected. The small concrete cell was dimly lit and contained only the bed she was on and a metal chair in the corner. She was conscious and aware of her surroundings but couldn’t move her body; regardless of how much she tried. A wave of nausea broke over her. She swallowed hard, worried she might puke; she took a couple deep breaths to ease the feeling. As she lay there feeling completely helpless, she drifted in and out of sleep, waiting for the feeling to return in her limbs. The events of her final moments with Joe filled her head thanks to the photos John had showed her. They brought back so many feelings: hurt, betrayal, anger, grief. Tears stung her eyes. She'd had a hard time getting past the events of that night, a lot of whisky and cigarettes. She knew that it was her only way out, and if she hasn’t killed him, he likely would have killed her, maybe not in that room that night, but eventually. Once he had gotten what he needed out of her. That thought didn’t make it hurt any less; she loved him. Not the Joe that had returned from Berlin, but the Joe she had met all those months ago. The Joe that she had risked her life for to put on that boat to Mexico. She hoped that in another life, another world, that they were happy together.
A little while later she was starting to regain feeling in her limbs. When she opened her eyes, she noticed a tray of food that had been placed on the metal chair while she was asleep. Determined to make it out of here alive, she pushed herself up on the bed so she was seated on the edge. Her body ached with pain as she moved, the explosion in the mine left her bruised and battered. She pulled one leg up and crossed it under her to keep her balance; she didn’t feel very sturdy but fought to hold herself upright. With her hands in her lap, she closed her eyes and calmed herself by counting her breaths.
Deep in thought, she was able to ignore the noises she could hear in the distance, the faint smell of damp concrete and the flickering lights around her. Suddenly she heard the door to her cell slam open. Her eyes remained closed but she knew it was John Smith. She heard the click of his gun cocking, her body felt weightless and her mind was clear. followed by the sound of the gunshot, almost as if it was in the distance. Then suddenly pain flooded her left shoulder.
He fucking shot me she thought to herself, eyes still closed. The pain was too intense, everything went black.
When she opened her eyes, she wasn’t in the cell anymore. Lying flat on the grass, she stared up at the blue sky and noticed few fluffy white clouds scattered about. Rolling to her side, she grasped her left shoulder in pain.
“Fuck” she swore aloud. She had no idea where she was, or how she was going to find help. She could see it was nearly sunset and she’d be lucky to have an hour of daylight left. She sucked in a breath and tried to sit, but she was too weak from the pain and fell back onto the grass and rolled onto her side so she could look around, and hopefully get a better idea of where she was. There was no one around that she could see, but there was a lake or something nearby. After a few minutes she felt a bit of strength and tried again to sit, she was a little dizzy, but she managed to stay upright. Yes, definitely a lake, she thought, it was quite large across and flat calm. She noticed a path through the tree line and a small dock on the lake to the left of where she sat. She couldn’t help but wonder why she had landed there of all places, this lake which seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, with no one around.
She carefully stood, making sure not to fall over. A wave of nausea hit her again, she assumed it was from the travel. She fell to her knees and caught herself with her right arm. What the hell she thought to herself as she tried to regather the strength to stand once again.
Once standing, she headed to the wooden dock she saw, it stretched out onto the lake, and was low enough she could easily wash the blood from her hands and maybe she would attempt to stop the bleeding in her shoulder somehow. As she neared the dock, she noticed a wooden cabin behind the tree line that had been blocked from her view previously. She decided to head towards the cabin instead, it looked clean and well kept on the outside at least. She moved quietly with caution, trying to see if she could make out anyone inside. There were no cars around and only the outside porch light was on. She figured she would try to sneak in and out quickly, in case the owner returned. Maybe they would have some bandages or something she could use to help stop the bleeding in her shoulder. She walked up the front door and tried to open it.
“Locked, fuck” she muttered to herself. She tried the back, locked as well. She went back to the front and noticed the drops of blood she'd left trailing behind her. She took a seat on the stairs of the porch and pulled back the jumpsuit so get a look at the wound. It looked as though the bullet had mostly grazed her, it was deep enough that she should probably get it stitched, but she wasn't about to go looking for a hospital with a gunshot wound while wearing a jumpsuit.
If someone sees me, they’re going to think I escaped from prison or something the thought almost made her laugh. Isn’t that exactly what I've done though.
She ripped a strip of the sleeve off at the cuff and pressed it to the wound in hopes to slow the bleeding then covered herself back up with the jumpsuit. She hadn’t noticed a car pull up until the headlights were on her. The crunching of the tires on the gravel must have been drowned out by her thoughts.
She decided it wasn’t worth running, not that she would have had the strength to do so anyways. She pulled herself up using the railing and stepped down onto the grass. The car stopped a little way back from where she stood, the engine turned off and the driver's side door opened. It was just dark enough she couldn't make out the driver but no passengers got out.
“Hi, I’m sorry to intrude but I’m lost” she started slowly, cautiously stepping to the side of the stairs so she wasn't cornered. As the figure moved closer she noticed it was a man, tall, slim and carrying a paper grocery bag as he walked towards her.
He stepped into the light from the porch and she nearly collapsed. She could hardly believe her eyes. It was Joe. He was alive in this world. Suddenly she knew why she had landed here. Her lips curled into a small smile.
Another wave of nausea, this time she heaved, but nothing came up. She collapsed with a thud as her knees hit the ground once again.
“Hey, are you okay?” He asked, rushing to her side. Only then did he notice the jumpsuit, and the still wet blood that stained the left shoulder of it.
Tears escaped her and rolled down her cheeks. “I’m sorry” she apologized lifting her hands to wipe the tears away as she sat back on her knees.
“Hey, don’t worry. Please, let me help” he said taking her hand to help her up.
She was beautiful despite all the fresh looking cuts and bruises that covered her skin. He reached up and pushed a few stray hairs behind her ear. His touch startled her, and she jumped back. The last time Joe had touched her, he held a gun to her head. This is not the same Joe, this is not the same Joe she repeated to herself over and over.
“Come, I’ll help you get cleaned up and make you something to eat” he said unsure of where she had come from or how she had gotten there. His place wasn’t particularly close to anything, and he had planned it like that.
Inside he sat her down at the table and placed a tall glass of water in front of her. “What happened to your shoulder?” He asked curiously "It looks pretty fresh."
“Um, gunshot” she said shyly, avoiding eye contact.
“We need to get you to the hospital” he said with a hint of panic in his voice. “Who shot you? Where did you come from?”
“Please no” she said, this time looking into his eyes. “I’m not from around here. I’m in no danger here.”
He was confused by her words, but his concern for her wound was greater. “Can I at least look at it first before you protest?” He said, standing to get some supplies. “I’m not a doctor but I might be able to help.”
She pulled the jumpsuit out of the way when he returned carrying a small medical kit.
“So where are you from?” He asked her, trying to distract her as he inspected her shoulder.
She hissed out a breath as he poured some cool liquid over it. “Uh... San Francisco” she said carefully, watching his expression. She was curious if this Joe knew anything about her. He seemed unfazed by her response, which eased her worries.
“You’re a long way from home” he said with a slight laugh.
“Yeah” she said but, in her head she was thinking you have no idea! She still had no idea where she actually was.
“Well I still think you should see s doctor tonight, but if you're going to protest, I think you'll survive the night without. From what I can tell, I think the bullet grazed you mostly and I don't think it damaged anything major; the bleeding has pretty much stopped” he said as he began bandaging the wound. “You should still see a doctor though, tomorrow I can take you into town.”
“Um thanks,” she said, looking into his deep blue eyes. They were soft and caring, with a familiarity she welcomed, like the Joe she knew from Canon City.
“I was going to make some pasta for dinner, would that be okay?” He asked her as he packed up the medical kit.
“You really don’t need to cook me anything” she said. She felt like she was intruding on his evening, despite wanting to be there with him. She had to remind herself that this was not the Joe she knew, and he didn't know her. They were starting over, she had been given a second chance.
“It’s my pleasure, really, and you can stay the night. It’s getting late and there aren’t any motels nearby, just a couple across the lake... um... in town.” he said, then quickly added “I have a spare room, it even has a lock on the door.”
She looked at him again. She couldn’t imagine why someone would be so kind to someone in her state. She nodded in acceptance, she could tell he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “Why don’t I find you something to wear, then you can get cleaned up while I cook?”
“If that wouldn’t be too much trouble,” she replied, she felt the sincerity to his words.
I almost forgot. I’m Joe” he laughed holding out his hand.
“Juliana” she replied, taking his.
He showed her to the bathroom after bringing out a pair of lounge pants and a simple t shirt.
“It’s probably going to be too big for you, but I think it will be more comfortable... than, um, that.” He said looking at the stained and ripped jumpsuit she wore.
He had so many questions for her, but he could tell she wasn’t ready to answer them. Something about her seemed familiar, although he knew he’d never met her before. He would have remembered her beautiful face.
“Thank you,” she said, and he closed the door for her as he left. He heard the click of the lock as he walked back towards the kitchen to start dinner.
She turned on the shower and let the water heat up as she shed the miserable jumpsuit, then tossed it in the corner on the floor. The rest of her body matched her face; bruised and battered from the explosion in the mine. The bandage he had applied to her shoulder was waterproof, but she avoided getting it wet once she stepped in. The hot water felt like a dream, she couldn't recall the last time she had enjoyed a shower this much. It soothed the ache of her muscles as she carefully washed the dirt from her hair. Once finished, she dressed in the clothes he had left for her. He was right, they were too big, but she made it work, and anything was better than that jumpsuit. She walked back to the kitchen, where she noticed him standing at the stove. It was a good sized room with a small table at the back.
“Perfect timing” he said when he sensed her approach.
They ate dinner quietly, neither of them was sure what to say. He cleared the dishes then filled the sink with warm soapy water to wash them.
Juliana stood and walked over to the sink to take over for him. “It’s really the least I can do,” she looked down at the dishes in the sink.
“Well, I’ll wash, and you can dry” he gestured to the cuts and scrapes on her hands.
“Right, thanks” she said with a small smile.
“So, you’ve said where you’re from” he began. “But you never said how you got here.”
She let out a small nervous laugh, “I’m not sure, and honestly I don’t even know where here is” she said, almost embarrassed to admit. She had no idea how she was going to explain this, avoiding it seemed like the best option. Perhaps she would tell him one day, but she was nowhere ready to tell him yet.
“So where are you heading? You had to be going somewhere when you found this place” he asked curiously.
“I know this might sound crazy, but last I remember I was in New York. Then I woke up on the grass of the other side of those trees.” She answered trying to sound convincing.
“That does sound a little crazy” he admitted, “but I believe you. Oh, and this is Lake Naomi, Poconos, Pennsylvania,” he gestured towards the lake. “Town is pretty small and over on the far side of the lake," he pointed out the window to his left "not much there, but it’s enough for way out here.”
Once they finished the dishes she leaned back against the counter and lifted a hand to her mouth.
“You alright?” He asked her after a moment.
“I’m not sure what’s going on, but I keep getting bouts of nausea” she said once the feeling passed. “Must be the exhaustion or something” she shrugged it off. “I think I'm going to call it a night,” she said. “Thank you, very much. I really do appreciate you helping me out” she said. "And dinner was excellent."
She headed into the bedroom, it was small with a double bed made neatly against the wall under the window. There was a chair in the opposite corner and small dresser along the far wall. She imagined the room was used occasionally, perhaps a family member. She pulled back the covers and crawled into bed wearing just the t-shirt he lent her. The thoughts of her day played over in her head keeping her from sleep, so she laid there silently trying to calm her mind, before long she drifted off into sleep.