A/N: Penny who? Oh yeah, please be so kind and review! They make my day, and who wouldn't want to be the reason I go psycho-hyper, yet again? (I'm not the Hyperactive Chaos Queen for nothing) Remember, YOU have the power! Lol, okay, I'm done being lame now. Promise. (Remember to review!)

A/N2: Okay, so this is a first of tenish small stories, which are 'pivitol' moments in the relationship between Desi and Claire's relationship, but if ppl don't like it I'll turn it into a oneshot. So (surprise) u gotta let me know if you want more, cuz, like, i'm not psychic like Desmond.

Disclaimer: Do I really have to? I mean, really, people should already know that if I owned Lost or any of the characters Charlie would be long gone and Desi and Claire would have been together a loooong time ago. Like…duh.

Moments to Remember

One beautiful smile,

the world stops spinning,

his hands start sweating,

his insides melt.

Part One: One Beautiful Smile

It was easy to get used to beauty when you lived on a tropical island with clear ocean waves, a bright gorgeous sun overhead and a brilliant green blanket of leaves behind you. After a while it just didn't make the same impact on you, didn't seem quite as note-worthy. Well, at least to Desmond.

Claire Littleton on the other hand… She was a different story entirely. Her amazing blue eyes surpassed anything nature could conjure up and her sweet, (he imagined they were so) full lips managed to catch him off guard every time she was within his line of sight.

Oh yeah, he was whipped. One smile from her and his heart tripped over itself and threatened to stop altogether. Repeatedly. But even though he seemed to lose himself in her eyes when she was near he kept thinking of excuses to talk to her. He even considered trying to convince her that her roof still needed fixing. Yeah, that would go over superbly with Charlie (that dolt) hovering over Claire 24/7.

Try as he might, Desmond just couldn't figure out what she saw in that guy. Yeah, he tried to take care of Aaron, and he figured girls thought he was 'cute' but that didn't quite cut it when it came to raising a child. Claire needed someone who could take care of her and her baby; she needed someone who could provide, someone who would go to the bat for her. She needed a man.

Like him.

Okay, so he hadn't always been the most respected man ever. Mr. Widmore had confirmed that notion, but he had grown up since then. Three years. He still couldn't believe it was three years since he had last seen Penny. Only one week since he stopped thinking about her every day. It was hard go back to not being constantly realizing she wasn't taking up his mind. But there was a damned good chance that he was never gonna get of this island and he needed to move on. He still wondered if he was really over her or had just convinced himself that he was so he wouldn't feel guilty about looking at Claire the way he did. But his own self-doubts weren't going to make his existence a miserable one.

Desmond got to his feet, leaving his meager shelter and walked out to the beach, stuffing his hands deep into his pockets. The wind tousled his already tangled hair and pushed his shirt, which was open halfway down, against his chest and stomach. He figured that by nightfall the storm would be here. The dark rain clouds still far on the horizon didn't pose much of a threat – yet.

He was absently wondering if he should make another lighting rod when he felt her presence next to him. His body immediately tensed up after her distinctly feminine scent washed over him.

"Looks like another storm's coming," Claire remarked casually, bopping Aaron from one hip to the other, trying to keep him content.

"Aye. Looks like." He kept his eyes focused straight ahead of him.

"At least we're getting a warning this time," she laughed. "Mostly they come out of nowhere, you know?"

"Yet another mystery left unsolved."

"There are quite a bit of those around here," she looked up at him and studied his face. He was a mystery. The most nagging of all…and the most intriguing.

Desmond finally allowed his gaze the freedom it desired and he chanced a glance at her. Bad idea. "Was there something you wanted, sistah?" He resumed staring at the storm clouds with seemingly great interest.

Her eyes immediately hit the sand and remained there; a tiny shrug of her shoulders was the only movement she made. "Well, I had just noticed that you always eat alone, and I hate eating alone, so…I just wanted to invite you to join Aaron and I."

"And what of Charlie?"

"What about him?"

"Aren't you two playing house? You didn't mention him." He hadn't meant the first statement to sound so rude. Really, he didn't. Desmond could practically see her reigning in her temper, trying to remain as civil as she could.

"Never mind. Forget I asked, okay?" She turned and walked away, her feet kicking up sand behind her. He spun around and called her name. Thankfully, she paused and turned around.

"I'm sorry, Claire. I was out of line. If the invitations still open, I'd love to join you. I make one hell of a fruit salad, ya know," he smirked at her, hoping it would help her shoulders return to their natural position, rather than the way they were inwardly bent. They dropped and her lips (oh, those beautiful lips) curved into a smile and she even let out a short laugh. His stomach preformed its own gymnastics routine.

"Apology accepted. Come on, you can help me with the fish. I can't stand the way it smells before it's cooked."

It turned out that Charlie was having dinner with Hurley…for the third time that week. Desmond wondered what the look in her eyes was when she told him that little piece of information.

A/N: Would you like more? Did you hate it? Do you want to see me burn for writing this? (that'd suck) Let me know by reviewing!