A/N: FYI this story is very deceptively sweet, but will become very dark and is unlike any of the stories I've written. Now for the generals, I do not own LOST or any of it's characters.
As Charlie floated in the water inside the Looking Glass all he could think of was what we was leaving behind by being heroic. He was losing his chance of having a family of his own; a chance to show his brother, Liam, that he could get himself clean without his help; and a chance to show just how great of a friend he could be to someone. As he felt the life leaving from his body he miraculously also felt his hot tears cascading down his face like a waterfall. He opened his eyes again and there was Desmond, trying frantically to break the door open to rescue him. Charlie knew this wouldn't happen because inevitably fate always gets her way. With that he felt his pulse began to fluster to an almost un-human pace and what felt like his head exploding. He welcomed the darkness and allowed it to captivate him and take him away.
Moments later Charlie realized that he was breathing again and didn't feel as though water completely surrounded him again. He opened his eyes and found himself on the other side of the door he barricaded himself in. He sat up, looked around and realized Desmond was nowhere to be found. He attempted to stand, but because of the lack of oxygen he fell back down. He then used his elbows and slid himself across the platform surrounding the moon-pool. After getting only ten feet Charlie gave up and just lay there on his back breathing heavily. Soon the coughing fits came and went. All Charlie could do at that time was to just lay down and cry because he was scared. He wasn't sure if Mikhail was for sure dead, but the main issue was will help still come even though he lived.
Desmond resurfaced from the Looking Glass and hopped back into the out-rigger that now only had half of its original passengers. Desmond paddled as he looked back from where he came from. He stopped momentarily and began to bawl. Maybe if he hadn't spent so much time trying to break the bullet-proof glass and went around instead he could have had time to save his friend. He did feel and immense guilt for leaving him down there, but he had no choice. There was no way he had the physical, nor the emotional strength to bring his fallen friend with him. He began a frantic paddle to the shore; he no longer wanted to be in the water. He craved the shore. Once he made it to shore he lay there with his hands buried deep into the sand. He then felt a bout of nausea come to him when he realized he still had to tell everyone what had happened in the Looking Glass. He wished he could just lie in the sand and just die there. He also wished Charlie had let him go down instead, even though he knew Charlie was the only one who would be able to un-jam the signal. He sat up and got to his feet and made the long and lonely walk back to camp.