*James*

"You look like shit." I tease Julia and roll my chair towards her.

"Thanks. I knew I could count on you to make me feel better."  She responds with her red swollen eyes.

"And you smell like a damn liquor store."

"Again... Thanks?" She gives me a well-deserved eyeroll.

"Are you drunk right now, Miss Moretti?"

"No."

"I'm gonna miss you stalking me at Griffith Park." I stop swiveling my chair and roll it closer to Julia, to the point our knees touch.

"I'm gonna miss you bumping into things and knocking over shit around here... spilling coffee, dropping napkins... losing your damn keys." I inhale sharply.

"You'll come over and say bye to Maggie before you leave, though, right??"

"Of course."

"I have her today. She's at home sleeping. Your rental car is still outside my house, too."

"Think you'll get help once you're home?" I ask her seriously now.

"Counseling?" She shrugs.

I take a deep breath in.

"No. Julia..." I stare at her with eyes full of sympathy. "The pills."

"You knew."

"I knew."

I rest my hand on her knee to comfort her.

"Nate's personal assistant booked my flight." I change the subject.

"I leave in two days."

My eyes widen in shock. Did she just say she's leaving in two days? This can't really be happening right now. I thought we had more time. A lot more time. I can't seem to wrap my brain around what she just informed me.

"TWO DAYS? As in... TWO DAYS?? I was thinking like...in the next few weeks. Not in two days!"

"Yeah, I think Trisha is eager to have me gone. I'm getting in the way between her and Nate."

"Oh." I catch on quickly.  I kind of had a feeling Trisha is interested in being more than Nate Hollan's personal assistant. I lean forward and take both of Julia's hands. "Well, I have Maggie for a few days. Will you come home with me when my shift is over to say goodbye to her???"

"Yeah. I'll go home with you. Me and... Paul." We both look over at the tired man.

"And you're sure about Boston? What do you think will get accomplished while you're there all alone?" I ask this genuinely concerned.

"You'll move on. Nate will move on. The media will move on to someone else's drama. Things around here will settle down. Paul will find someone else to follow."

"Julia..."

"James."

"I'm talking about you. What's gonna happen to YOU when you leave?"

She shrugs and evades my question.

"I should probably go up and get some rest before your shift ends."

"Ok, I'll come up and get you when I'm done." We both stand up, in return, making exhausted Paul stand up, realizing Julia's on the move.

Paul follows her back up to her room like always.

*****
My shift couldn't end quick enough, yet, at the same time, I want these two days to go as slow as possible.

Security drives Julia to my house, and I follow behind. Julia can't go into my house until Paul makes sure it's safe to go in. I get it. Some of these Hollan fans are starting to act crazy, and the paparazzi isn't helping. But poor Maggie is a mess, following Paul while barking like he's an intruder. We get the thumbs up to go in my house, and the first thing we do is calm down my dog.

"Awww, come here, girl." Maggie runs to me all worked up and shaking. I kneel down and hug her to comfort her. She may be an excellent therapy dog, but she's shit at a guard dog and is a pile of nerves.

"It's ok, Mags. Blame her." I look up at Julia, giving her sad puppy dog eyes to tease her. "It's all her fault,"

"Hey!" Julia nudges me and knees down. Of course, the minute my dog sees Julia, I'm chopped liver, and she could care less about me. How is she gonna be when Julia leaves? She's a smart dog. 

"I can't win." I say in defeat.

"Paul, you look exhausted." I look over to the tired security guard sitting on my recliner.

"Yeah, Nate picked a winner for me. She doesn't sleep. EVER." Paul glares at Julia, and I laugh.

"Well, we're not leaving this house for a while. And I'm here." I puff out my chest. "You should get some rest while you can."

But the bodyguard only shakes his head stubbornly, not feeling comfortable doing that while on the job. I walk closer to the large man and lower my voice.

"Seriously. Sleep, pal. Maybe even put headphones in so you hear nothing. You're not gonna wanna be awake for this." I smirk, Julia blushes, and Paul won't make eye contact with either of us...

"I'll never understand you two." Paul grumbles and grabs the blanket from the couch. I quickly grab Julia's hand, and we run up the stairs like two little kids, with Maggie following behind.  I push Julia against the wall, and we start making out, but my dog isn't having it. She starts barking, all confused.

"Quiet, Mags. I'm not hurting her." I kick one of her toys to avert her attention, and it works.

Maggie grabs her toy in between her teeth and heads to the den, somehow knowing she's not getting our attention anytime soon.

"So, this is it, huh?" I cup Julia's face and gaze into her eyes.

"This is it." 

****

"I don't know why you don't just stay here. You can live with me. We can stay in 'Friend Mode' if you want. You can find a job and settle down. There are plenty of teaching positions around here. Or start fresh. Do something new."  I ramble on. 

We lay in my bed after some pretty intense sex, possibly our last time, and talk.  I know I'm being pushy. I don't care.  My heart is in the way of any rational thinking my mind wants to think because I'm practically begging my best friend to stay in L.A.

I roll on top of Julia but shift my weight to the side, so I don't squish her and start leaving soft kisses all over her face, my body showing her in fat for round two already.

Maggie has made her way into the room to lay on the carpet at the foot of the bed.

"You said there's nothing left for you in Boston. There's a life for you here. People who can't live without you here. Puppies that can't live without you." I look down at my dog.  "Look at Maggie's face. Do you really want to make her sad?"

Maggie hears her name and jumps up on to the bed, looking for attention.

"See? Look at that happy face. Look at those puppy dog eyes. Right, Mags?" I roll back and scruff her ear and let her lick my cheek. "Ya big baby."

My dog puts her head on Julia's chest over the blanket, and she pets her. I scruff behind her ear again and she lays down with us.

"See Mags? Make her stay."

"You're not making this easy, James."

"That's the point."  I push Maggie out of the way and resume my place on top of Julia.

"You can still change your mind, ya know."

"My bags are packed." She answers.

"So unpack them."

"My flight is booked."

"So don't show up."

I rest my head on her forehead and close my eyes.

"You once said being around me brings out the best version of yourself."

"I did..."
I open my eyes, and she can see them water up again.

"You're throwing in the towel, aren't you? I can tell. You're giving up on yourself."

"I am." She says and tears roll down her face.

"Julia..."

"James..."

"Don't break me. Don't fucking leave me. Please..." I beg.

"You know I'm a mess, James. You're gonna be better off. You know I'm broken."

"Then I'll fix you." I peck her lips over and over again while we debate.

"You know you can't."

"Sure I can. You just have to give me a chance."

"You sound so confident in your abilities, Mr. Gallo."  Julia flirts, trying to get us both out of the funk we are in and lighten up the mood.

"I'm VERY confident in my abilities." I deepen our kiss. "I fixed myself. Better than anyone else ever could."

"You did..."

Maggie barks, letting us know she's still in the room. 

"Find something to do, Mag."I reach over and throw one of her toys out into the hall. Maggie gets the hint and drags her toy down the hallway into the den, away from us once again.

"Well, that wasn't nice."

"I'm not here to be nice, babe." I kiss down Julia's neck.

"Shouldn't we be in 'Friend Mode' by now?"

"Fuck friend mode. You're leaving. I get to call the shots today." I shove my hand in between her legs, and she gasps from being overly sensitive now.

"You're very demanding, you know that?" Julia looks at me and exhales sharply.

"I do."

"That's such a turn-on, you know that??" She admits. 

"Mmmm, I do..."

"You're making this very difficult for me to leave."

"That's the point, baby." I can tell she's getting close. "What if I just get up and walk away."

"I'd kill you!" Julia glares at me now.

"That's how it will feel if you get on that plane. I'll get up and leave. Finish myself off in the shower. Maybe make you watch." I smirk.

"Don't you dare!"

"Then don't leave me." I move my hand faster and watch the color rise up to her cheeks. "Julia..."

"James." She sighs, almost there now.

"Look at me. Focus." I stop and completely edge her and shift my body off her.

"James! Knock it off!"

"Stay."

Julia props herself up on her elbows and looks at me breathlessly. "I can come back and visit."

"You know neither of us has that kind of money. I'm never gonna find someone as good as you. And you'll never find someone that feels as good as me." I say.

"Please......James..." She wraps her arms around my neck, and I give in, kissing her hard.

Neither of us care that tears are still running down our faces. Neither of us care if Paul is awake or not downstairs, or how loud we are now. All we care about is what is happening right now, knowing it's our last time together.

I crash my body into Julia's, making sure she NEVER forgets me.
*****

*Trisha*

I'm not gonna lie.  I was more than willing to give Julia a ride to the airport this morning. 
The drama that comes along with Julia is too stressful for Nate...

But I DID feel awful for James.  When I picked Julia up from the Marriott, James was there. his shift was ending, and he wanted to say goodbye. I've never seen him emotional. Ever. But this morning, it tore my heart out. 

He held her for so long and they both cried. He buried his face in her neck to hide himself while he fell apart. It was gut wrenching to watch. To the point I ended up needing to turn around and wipe my own tears and that's just not like me. But it's James. No one ever wants to see James sad. He's one of the good guys.

Then... I felt guilty. I felt guilty because I told Julia that it was best if she didn't go to the hospital because it would be too hard for Nate to say goodbye. I know. I'm a rotten human. But a protective one and he already said goodbye to her the night he broke outta the hospital. This just prolongs the pain. And if Nate is anything like James right now...Fuck..I can't watch Nate fall apart like this.

But now, Julia is on her way back to Boston and I'm hoping both Nate AND James can move on with their lives. They both deserve to move on.

*****