TITLE: Somebody to Need Me

AUTHOR: dleduddet

DISCLAIMER: I do not own lost. I do not own the characters of lost. But believe me, if I did, there would be some changes.

SUMMARY: Charlie fights with Claire and begins to think that nobody needs him, but then he finds someone who does.

RATING: K+

PAIRING: Kind of Charlie and Claire and my own characters

NOTES: This is my first Charlie POV fic. His thoughts are written in italics. Please Read and Review!

CHAPTER 1

"I just can't believe you, Charlie! How dare you? I finally trusted you again!" Claire said as she tossed Charlie's bags out of their little shelter and into the pouring rain. She picked up a bag and fumbled around inside of it. Pulling out a virgin Mary statue, she gave Charlie a nasty look. She broke the statue and pulled out a small bag of powder and poured the contents on the ground.

"I'm sorry Claire! Look, would you just give me another chan-"

"I already gave you another chance! You lied to me. Again!" Claire exclaimed as she found another statue under Charlie's sleeping pad. Charlie watched helplessly as she poured the heroin into the sand. His eyes were glazed.

Suddenly Claire sat down on the old stump that Charlie had helped her move next to Aaron's crib. Her face was in her hands and it took Charlie a minute to realize that she was crying. He stood there wringing his hands. He knew, if he touched her, she would only push him away. But it was just so hard to stand there and watch her cry because of him.

"Why Charlie?" Claire whispered, looking up at him. "Why did you start using again? You said you burned all the… the drugs." She hiccupped "Why did you start again? I thought you were fine."

Charlie looked down.

"I guess…" he said to his shoelaces "I guess… I dunno. I'm not fine. Those drugs. I can't feel good without those drugs."

Claire picked up Aaron and turned to Charlie.

"Just get out."

Charlie continued to stand there, staring at Claire with a pleading look on his face.

"Leave!"

And he did.

"Damnit!"

Charlie threw his guitar to his side. All morning he had been trying to play. He couldn't concentrate. He could only concentrate on her.

He was sitting under the tree. The tree that he usually got his fix under. The tree in the shadows. Claire couldn't see him, but he could see her. All morning he had watched her. Watched her as she went for her morning walk around the beach, watched her make herself breakfast over her campfire, watched as she sang to Aaron.

Aaron. What will he do without me? What will I do without him? Little Aaron, Who is learning to walk. He wouldn't be walking half as well if it weren't for me.

And what about Claire. I thought she loved me. Well this is my fault I guess. Maybe, if it weren't for my good friend heroin, she would still love me. I only need somebody to need me.

"Charlie?"

Charlie looked over in alarm as Jack came walking towards him.

"What?"

"Charlie, Claire asked me to tell you that she knows your over here and she wants you to stop watching her. And I agree. Charlie, if she doesn't want you there, you really should leave. I don't want to have to do any more stitches on you. And don't you even think about going near that baby."

"Who are you to tell me what to do?" asked Charlie, standing up.

"I'm just trying to protect people, Charlie."

"Protect them!? What rubbish is that? You think I'm gonna pull something? You think I want to hurt somebody? Is that what you think?" yelled Charlie.

"Charlie-"

But Charlie wasn't listening. He had already grabbed his guitar and started walking deeper into the woods.

How did she see me? She didn't. She just knows me well enough to know that I was sitting there. Bullocks! Now she probably thinks I'm a bloody stalker. And that Jack, Jesus, I thought I loathed him before but ever since he got back from the "Other Island" he's been even more of a know it all. Idiot thinks he's the ruler of everything. Well I've had enough of this. I'll just go. Nobody wants me here anyways, they all think I'm a bloody lunatic.

Charlie stopped. He took his backpack off and pulled out all of the heroin he had left. He closed his eyes, ripped open the bags and dumped it all in the dirt. Even if she didn't want him any more, he was going to stop doing the thing she hated most. The thing he hated most about himself. Drugs.

Back at camp Charlie was packing all of his wet belongings into his even wetter bag. He had decided to move down the beach where nobody would have to deal with him and his bad choices.

Now if anyone needs me, I told Hurley what I'm doing and they'll know where to find me. Not like they'd ever need me for anything. Except Claire. She needs me. She just doesn't know it yet. I wonder if she remembers all the things I've done for her. I was there when she gave birth to Aaron. I helped take care of Aaron. I made dinner for her. I even died for her. Well almost. But she doesn't care about all the good things I've done for her. She only dwells on the bad things.

Charlie heard a noise from behind him that brought him out of his thoughts. He turned around and to his great surprise, saw Aaron sitting on the sand playing with the zipper on his bag.

"Aaron! What are you doing here?" yelled Charlie.

"Chaway!" exclaimed Aaron.

Charlie looked around nervously. If people found him with the baby, they would think he stole him again. He couldn't let that happen.

"Oh my God! Where is Aaron!?" Charlie heard Claire exclaim from down the beach. "He's gone! Aaron! Aaron!"

"He can walk now. Maybe he just wandered off." Said Hurley trying to calm her down.

"Hey," said Nikki. "Didn't Charlie take him last time you got mad at him?"

Charlie panicked. He grabbed Aaron and frantically looked around for a place to hide him. Seeing his guitar case, he picked it up, threw the guitar on the ground and gently stuffed the baby inside. He looked down the beach and saw a group of people, led by John Locke, running towards him. Charlie dived for his guitar and started randomly plucking strings, pretending like he had been playing the whole time.

"Charlie!" yelled John. "Where is the baby?"

"What? Is Aaron missing? Oh my God, I'll help you look."

"I don't think we need you to help us find him, Charlie," said John "we need you to tell us where he is."

"How the bloody hell would I know where he is? I've been sitting here playing my guitar."

"Then why is your face so red and sweaty?" asked Nikki. She had her arm around Claire who was bawling.

Charlie momentarily forgot everything and reached out to Claire but she turned away.

"Look," Charlie said more calmly "I don't know where he is."

John looked at Charlie suspiciously and started to walk away. The rest of the group followed. Charlie looked over at the guitar case and sighed with relief. He would simply put the baby over by Claire's shelter and she would believe he really had just wondered off.

But then, when the group of people was not but ten feet away, Aaron started crying. Everyone turned around in alarm and ran back.

"Where is he?" yelled Locke.

Charlie looked at the guitar case and Locke ran over and lifted the baby out. He handed the baby back to Claire. She kissed Aaron and continued to cry as she turned towards Charlie.

"Look, I didn't take him this time."

"Oh really! Then how do you explain him getting locked in your guitar case without you knowing about it?"

"You know he can walk now. He wondered over here and I didn't want you to think I had taken him again so I hid him. I was about to go put him in his crib when he started crying and you-"

Claire slapped Charlie so hard he almost blacked out. She turned on her heal and headed back to her shelter. The group of people went there own separate ways, all giving Charlie dirty looks. Locke walked up to Charlie.

"Look, would you just leave me alone." Charlie yelled in his face "She's mad at me for good and I'm leaving. You can have her and the baby all to your self."

He picked up his guitar and jammed it in the case and picked up his bag and headed down the beach.

They'll be better off without me. The only person who ever appreciated my help was Mr. Eko. And now he's gone. I don't know if I can take this anymore. I made another bad choice.

Then it dawned on him.

Aaron cares about me. He came to me. My name, that's the first word I've ever heard him say. Aaron is the only person who really truly cares. I need him. I love him too. And Claire. Little Aaron is one of the only people who I've ever felt really wanted me in his life. He needs me in his life.

But none of that mattered. Charlie was leaving for good. And he needed a fix.