CHARACTERS: Aaron, Charlie, Sayid, Jack, Kate and mentions of Claire
PAIRINGS: Implied Charlie/Claire and ever so slight Jack/Kate
DISCLAIMER: I keep trying to tell my shrink that I own Lost, but she doesn't believe me!
ANGEL
The jungle was so silent that it felt like if you so much as breathed too loudly, then it would all collapse into chaos.
Aaron sat with his back against a tree. His legs were drawn up and his arms were wrapped around them. He tried to suppress the shiver that ran down his spine, but didn't have any luck.
It was dark.
Aaron didn't like the dark.
He wished he was with his Mummy, but she was back at the beach, probably worried sick about him.
He thought of going back to sleep, but he was scared that he would have another nightmare.
In front of Aaron were the remainders of the fire that had been burning in the clearing earlier that evening.
Just beyond the charcoal and burnt bits of wood that were still letting off small whisps of smoke was Uncle Sayid.
Something Aaron had learned about his dark skinned uncle was that he could sleep anywhere. It didn't matter whether or not he had a blanket or a pillow, he could simply lie down and be asleep in a matter of seconds. He usually felt safer around Sayid, but after the events of the previous day he wasn't sure that he would ever feel safe again.
Next to Sayid, just to Aaron's right was his Daddy. Aaron knew that his Daddy wasn't the bravest or the strongest man on the island, but he felt a little happier knowing that his Dad had cared enough about him to want to go to his rescue.
But just after he had felt comforted by that thought, a night bird had called out rather eerily, causing the small five year old to jump and then draw the soft, warm, pale blue aeroplane blanket tighter around his shoulders.
Aaron looked up at the night sky and saw that it was overcast, so he couldn't even rely on the usual bright twinkling of the stars to bring him comfort. Aaron remembered something his mother had once told him:
"See those stars there Aaron?" Claire asked her adorable three year old son on her lap. "See how those ones make a diamond shape but with an extra bright star just to the right?"
"U-huh," Aaron replied nodding his head, causing his blonde curls to bounce around.
"When I was just a bit older than you, I used to have nightmares a lot, and to make myself feel better, I would sneak outside and lie in the hammock that my Dad had set up in the back yard and watch the stars, and those five stars there would always make me feel better because they reminded me of home."
"Wow," the awestruck child whispered softly.
"Can I tell you a secret?" His mother asked, gazing into his eyes with matching bright blue orbs filled with laughter. Aaron nodded again.
"Even here I sometimes feel scared, but all I need to do is look for the Southern Cross, and feel like I'm back at home in my Dad's hammock."
Aaron would have desperately loved to have looked for the Southern Cross to help him feel at home, but it was like nature was turning against him.
Looking down again, Aaron's eyes fell on Uncle Jack.
Uncle Jack was always good at making Aaron feel better when he hurt himself, but he hadn't scraped his knee or cut his arm, so he wasn't all to comforted by the knowledge that he was there. What good would Uncle Jack be if the monster came?
Suddenly Aaron couldn't hold it in anymore and he started to sob. Ever since the bad man had taken him away from the beach yesterday morning and tried to take him away, he had been terrified. Even now that four members of his family had rescued him, he still felt scared. So he continued to sob.
"Aaron honey? Are you ok?"
Aaron's head snapped around to his left where his Auntie Katie had been sleeping not but a minute ago. But she was now wide awake staring at him with concern written across her features.
The poor boy tried to speak but nothing came out, so he simply shook his head mutely.
He saw Kate's eyes, as green as the forest surrounding them, soften as she scooted over quietly and gave him a hug.
"There, there," she murmured softly while he sobbed into her long, chocolate brown curls.
After he had settled down, Aaron pulled away a bit and Kate wiped away the dirty streaks on his cheeks with her thumb. She smiled softly at him and asked him what was wrong.
"Th-there were monsters an-an-and scary men trying to take me away! And they hurt my Mummy!" He cried, burying his head into Kate's neck once again while clutching urgently at the button up shirt she wore that was once as white as the sand on the beach he called home, but now that shirt was stained with mud, dirt and the occasional spot of blood.
Kate continued to stroke his golden locks, her heart going out to the terrified son of her best friend.
"Shhh, it's alright now, I've got you, nothing can hurt you, it's ok," Kate kept on muttering softly in his ear while rocking the small boy back and forth. In her arms.
"Aunt Katie?"
"Yeah honey?"
"Could you sing me the song Mummy always sings me?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, but I don't really know 'Catch A Falling Star,'" She apologised quietly.
Aaron hung his head sadly and tightened his grip on the brunette's shirt.
"But I do know another song," Kate supplied hopefully. "My mother never really had time for me when I was a kid, but she gave me a CD that I would always listen to when I was trying to sleep or when I missed my Daddy, and it would make me feel batter."
"Ok," the small boy breathed so softly that Kate had to strain her ears to hear it.
With the boy's reassurance, Kate began to sing softly.
"Spend all your time
waiting for that second chance In
the arms of the Angel far away from here
For the break that will make it
okay
There's always some reason to feel not good enough
And
it's hard at the end of the day
I need some distraction or a
beautiful release
Memories seep from my veins
Let me be empty,
oh, and weightless and maybe
I'll find some peace tonight
From this dark, cold
hotel room, and the endlessness that you fear
You are pulled from
the wreckage of your silent reverie So tired of the
straight line, and everywhere you turn In the arms of the Angel far away from
here You're
in the arms of the Angel, may you find some comfort here"
You're in the arms of the
Angel, may you find some comfort here
There's vultures and
thieves at your back
The storm keeps on twisting, you keep on
building the lies
That you make up for all that you lack
It
don't make no difference, escaping one last time
It's easier to
believe
In this sweet madness, oh this glorious sadness
That
brings me to my knees
From this dark, cold hotel room, and the endlessness that
you fear
You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie
In the arms of the Angel, may you find some comfort here
As Kate finished singing Aaron turned in her arms to look up at her.
"Auntie Katie?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm not scared anymore, do you know why?"
Kate shook her head, her eyes questioning.
"Because nothing can hurt me while in the arms of an Angel," he stated simply.
Kate smiled and started to say something, but then she noticed that the young boy was fast asleep while lying against her chest with his little arms wrapped around her neck.
Kate smiled and gently kissed the top of his head and then drifted off into her own deep slumber.
4 8 15 16 23 42 EXECUTE
"Bloody hell those two can sleep!" Charlie exclaimed while looking down on his adopted son asleep in the arms of the fugitive who wouldn't hurt a fly. "An atom bomb could go off and they probably wouldn't stir."
"Don't forget, they both had a tough day yesterday," Sayid cut in while repacking his back from the other end of the clearing. "Go easy on them."
"I'm not picking on them!" Charlie exclaimed defensively. "I just don't understand how they could sleep in so late! I mean, they slept all through the night-"
"No they didn't," interrupted Jack, who had just been taking a swig of water. "Aaron was crying in the middle of the night. I was about to go and see if he was alright, but Kate beat me to it." Jack then stood up, slung his bag over his shoulder and walked over to where Charlie was standing over the two sleeping figures. He smiled and explained what had happened.
"She sang him to sleep, I was so shocked I almost said something, but I didn't want to ruin the moment so I pretended to be asleep."
"Was she any good?" inquired a shocked Charlie.
"She's definitely better than you!" Jack laughed, "Though that's not very hard!"
"Ha ha," Charlie rolled his eyes, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He then bent over and lifted the still sleeping Aaron out of Kate's arms and went to follow Sayid who had just left the clearing towards the beach.
Not wanting to disturb the sleeping brunette who usually never gave herself a second's rest, Jack followed Charlie's example and gently lifted Kate off the ground and followed his friends.
Kate was very light and easy to carry. And as he brushed a curl away from her sleeping face, he thought that she really did look like an angel.
4 8 15 16 23 42 EXECUTE
So what did you think? Was it too drawn out? It only took me a day to write this and that's shorter than it's ever taken me to write anything! Let me know if you think it was really bad, and pointers are very welcome!
Oh, and the song's called 'Angel' by Sarah McLachlan. I don't own that anymore than I own Lost!
DR8