Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you

[dharmalady]

Juliet Scott was married for five years. Three of them were good. She was young, Damien was too. They were in love and carefree; had fun and had a lot of sex, traveled to a lot of places. She'd been on track to start med school but when she met Damien, she wanted him instead, and she thought she'd always choose him over everything.

Until she got pregnant.

He stuck around for a few months but then, conveniently his job took him away and the stretches of time between being home and being gone were longer. He was never a bad dad to Mia, not once, but it was like a chore to be home, to be a husband and civilian again. Juliet missed him but she tried to talk to him about it and it was a fight, every time. He had a job, he had missions, he couldn't just give that up. So she decided a year and a half ago to not make him choose anymore. She sent him divorce papers, certified mail, with a letter explaining to him that she was tired of feeling like she and Mia weren't a priority. Like he didn't want to be there when he was back in the states. She wasn't surprised when she got the signed paperwork back with no note in response.

She and Mia have been solo ever since, the two of them moving to Miami to be closer to Juliet's sister. Med school finally happens, and now Juliet's an intern and Mia is five. It's been hard, harder than Juliet ever thought she'd have to do on her own, but she's doing it. She's never told Damien he can't be a part of Mia's life, she's never tried to keep him away from her. When she moves, she makes sure someone in his branch of the military, wherever he is, gets her address. She's not even angry at him anymore, just sad that it ended this way between them.

Comments

[dharmalady]

"God, I thought..." She chokes back tears, so damn happy knowing he's alive, happy for the first time in weeks. "I miss you. So damn much. Are you okay?"

[inthewar]

"I'm okay," he assures her quickly. "Are you? Is Mia..." He knows she was so upset when he left, and his heart still breaks at how she was clinging to him.

[dharmalady]

"Mia's okay," Juliet promises. She misses you, and she talks about you every day. But we had a long talk and she understands. She knows you didn't want to leave her." She evades answering how she is for a moment. "Where are you? Can you tell me?"

[inthewar]

He closes his eyes for a moment, just feeling so damn grateful when he hears that. "I'm far out here, Jules. Near Afghanistan somewhere." He takes a deep breath. "Baby, I miss you so much."

[dharmalady]

"I can't sleep without you," she whispers, then clears her throat. "I have to tell you something. Are you...can we really talk for a little bit?"

[inthewar]

"Got a few minutes," he tells her. "Are you okay? Is everything okay?"

[dharmalady]

"I'm okay," she reassures him. Then, she takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Damien, I'm pregnant."

[inthewar]

There's complete silence on the other end, though the connection isn't the best so it's a little staticky.

[dharmalady]

For just a second, that panic settles into her chest. When she was pregnant with Mia he almost immediately shipped out, ran.

"Please tell me you're still coming home," she says quietly into the phone.

[inthewar]

When he finally responds, there's an actual laugh. It's choked laughter because he's feeling so many emotions - joy and happiness, and this ache of missing her and wanting to just be there right now.

"I'm sorry, baby, I..." He's almost breathless, letting out a wild, nonsensical yell that's clearly pure joy. "I'm so fucking happy. Fuck, I wish I was there right now."

[dharmalady]

Juliet just starts crying in sheer happiness at how elated he sounds. "Even more reason to come back now, baby. You have to. I need you for this, for all of it," she says, but there's pure joy in her voice because she could tell him, and she knows it's amazing news this time.

[inthewar]

"I'm gonna be a daddy again," he grins into the phone, laughing again, running a hang through his hair. "I'll be there, baby. For everything. I'm not missing the good stuff this time, I promise."

[dharmalady]

"You better not. I'll find you wherever you are in the world and drag you back here. No one would ever be able to stop me," she promises seriously.

[inthewar]

"Yes, ma'am," he chuckles softly. "I know you will." There's the sound of distant gunfire, though, and Damien's voice changes. "Baby, I gotta go. I love you. And Mia. And our baby."

[dharmalady]

"Please be careful," she says urgently. "Please. I love you. We love you," she says, stomach clenching to hear the gunfire. "I love you so much."

[inthewar]

He doesn't even get the chance to respond, his connection is cut off completely. He's not able to talk to her at all anymore, too deep in the mountains and the desert to get a stable connection. But he finally gets to go home three months later, calling her when his layover lands in Germany.

"Baby, I'm coming home. I'm in Germany right now, another six hours and I'll be home."

[dharmalady]

Juliet bursts into tears the second she hears his voice, and then when he says he's coming home she's so happy she can't even speak for a full five minutes. But finally, she pulls it together. "Okay, okay. God, okay. It'll be the middle of the night but I'll be up. I'm not sleeping again until it's in our arms," she breathes out.

She doesn't mention that she's been hurt, it actually doesn't even cross her mind because she's so elated right now, telling him she loves him over and over before he has to get on the plane.

[inthewar]

He can't wait to see his family again, finally. "I'll see you soon, honey," he smiles into the phone. And when he gets home, it's nearly two in the morning, and he opens the door with his key, trying to be quiet so he doesn't wake Mia.

[dharmalady]

Juliet's on the couch, watching some random movie, but when Damien gets home she's wide awake and remembering she has a bruised up face and her left arm is in a cast. It didn't even occur to her to say anything she was so overwhelmed with happiness before. But she stands up to greet him, eager as hell to see him. She's wearing one of his old shirts and it hugs her belly, making it obvious she's pregnant.

[inthewar]

Damien practically runs to her, but stop short before kissing or holding her, frowning with deep concern. "Juliet, what the fuck happened?" He's so worried, cradling her face tenderly.

[dharmalady]

"I fell at work," she breathes out, eyes moving over his face, unable to stop drinking him in. "Blood. Someone didn't clean up. I fell face first and had my arm around my belly to protect it, and my arm broke," she explains. "The baby's fine. She's fine."

[inthewar]

He looks so pained, eyes closing for a moment as he just takes her in, lightly touching her cast, fingers moving gingerly over the cuts on her face. He wasn't here.

[dharmalady]

"It's okay, Damien," she whispers softly. "It was at the hospital. There wasn't anything you could have done."

[inthewar]

He leans in, pressing soft kisses to all those bruises, stroking his fingers through her hair. But then he pulls back, realizing what she said.

"...she? Our baby...we have another little girl?"

[dharmalady]

Juliet takes his hand and kisses his fingertips lightly, then presses his hand to her belly. "We're having a girl," she says with a tearful smile. "I found out when they did an ultrasound to be sure she was okay." His kisses on her skin feel like pure heaven, and she melts into him, reaching out to stroke his face.