Disclaimer: I do not own Lost. If I did, Charlotte would still be alive.

Chapter 1

Daniel stared at Charlotte, desperation filling every inch of his body. Tears rolled down his face, and he grasped her hand even harder. "Charlotte, open your eyes" he said, his voice filled with the anguish he was feeling. "Charlotte, please. Wake up" he begged, sobbing. His heart sinking, he reached with his free hand to take her pulse. Although his hand was trembling, he felt nothing. He knew that she was gone.

Daniel shut his eyes, wondering how he could've failed her. He promised that nothing would happen to her, that he would fix it. As soon as she had died, the world felt wrong. He knew that this shouldn't have happened. As he looked at the sky, he cried out "She wasn't supposed to die, do you hear me? Please! Let her come back!"

As he dropped his gaze back to Charlotte, the sky filled with light and another flash occurred. Despite the extreme brightness, the flash barely registered. He was consumed with Charlotte, attempting to memorize every inch of her before everyone else came back. He stared at her face, and with a broken sob he reached out and shut her blue eyes. Only a short time earlier, they had been filled with life. Now, she was staring blankly at something he couldn't see, no matter how hard he tried. Her red hair fanned out around the ground, still catching the sunlight streaming through the trees.

Daniel didn't know how long he had sat, staring at Charlotte's lifeless body before the remaining members of the group returned. He heard footsteps approaching, but it did nothing to make him look away from Charlotte. The steps stopped suddenly and quiet gasps of shock filled the air.

"Daniel, what happened?" he heard a female voice say. For a moment, he thought it was Charlotte, but the voice did not have her British accent. After his momentary burst of hope, he realized that the voice belonged to Juliet. "Did she…?"

"She's... gone. Died after you left. I - - I don't know how lo…long ago that was". He realized that it was now dark, but it seemed fitting. The darkness fit his mood at the moment. Daniel's voice was hoarse from the crying and pleading he had done earlier. Now, it was flat, and eerily calm. How emotionless his voice was should have surprised him, but he felt as if he was incapable of feeling anything again. He still did not look away from Charlotte. He probably never would have, but Juliet had knelt down and used her face to block Daniel's view of Charlotte's voice.

He shut his eyes, fear filling him as he could no longer see Charlotte. He blinked a few times, and Juliet's face came into clear focus. He tried to look around her to see Charlotte, but she stopped him. She gently reached for his hand, and pried Charlotte's hand from his. As soon as he lost contact with her, he began to cry again.

"Daniel, look at me. I know this is hard, but what exactly happened?" Juliet questioned softly.

He got up and almost fell, due to the fact that he was shaking so hard. Jin ran to support him, but Daniel shrugged him off. He surveyed the rest of the group, and saw their shock and fear for what they had discovered. He did not see Locke, but it didn't matter. No matter what Locke had done, he didn't do it soon enough. Daniel didn't think he could ever forgive him. He turned away from them, closed his eyes, and began to speak, allowing the memory to wash over him.

Charlotte's breathing was labored, she was coughing, and she was deathly pale. Daniel knew she didn't have much time left. The only hope he had was that Locke could fix this, and save Charlotte. He just prayed that it would happen in time. He knew she was fighting, but her strength was running out.

"Daniel" Charlotte said, so softly he could barely hear her.

"Yes?" Daniel responded, just as quiet.

Charlotte's eyes darted, as if she was considering telling him or not. Finally, she spoke. "I've been here before"

Daniel was shocked. "You've been…been here before?"

"I grew up here. On the Island. And there was this thing… the Dharma Initiative. I moved away with my mum. Just my mum. I never saw my dad again". Charlotte's voice cracked, as if she were about to cry, but she continued. "Then when I got back to England, I asked my mum about this place, yeah? But she would say that it wasn't real, and that I made it up" Daniel reached out and stroked her hair. "That's why I became an anthropologist. To find this Island again. It's what I've been searching for my whole life."

Fear filled Daniel, because with her revelation he knew her death was closer than he previously thought. "Charlotte, why are you telling me this?"

Charlotte began to cry as she continued her story. "Because I remember something now. When I was little, living here. There was this man, this crazy man. He really scared me. And he told me that I had to leave the Island and never ever come back" A sob broke out, but she pressed on. "He told me that if I came back, I would die"

Daniel was confused, and tried to fight back tears of his own. "Charlotte, I don't understand"

"Daniel, I think that man was you"

At Charlotte's sentence, a million emotions hit him at once, and he couldn't sort through them all. He knew, in that instant, that she would die. He just didn't know when.

Charlotte broke into another coughing fit and Daniel immediately focused back on her "Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on… Stay. Stay. Stay with me. Stay, ok? Everything's going to be fine. Everything's going to be ok". He attempted to comfort her, as well as himself. "I've got a plan. I've got a plan. When we were back at the hatch I talked to Desmond. I told him to find my mother. She can help us Charlotte. She will help us" He desperately tried to get her to believe him so she would fight harder.

In a small voice, Charlotte replied "How can your mother help us?"

Daniel stroked her hair, and continued. "She can. She..." He trailed off as Charlotte coughed again and blood began to run down her face.

Suddenly, the coughing stopped and she smiled up at Daniel, but her smile wasn't right. It was different. Alarmed, Daniel asked "What?"

His heart sank at her response. "I'm not allowed to have chocolate before dinner". Then, she stopped moving and her eyes went blank.

"Charlotte" Daniel said, hoping that her silence was just temporary. "Charlotte" he whispered again, his voice beginning to break. "Charlotte" he repeated while shaking his head. As what had just transpired began to dawn on him, he whispered "No", grasped her hand, and began to cry.

Daniel didn't wait to hear their responses. Instead, he walked off into the trees, wanting to be alone. If he couldn't be with Charlotte, he didn't want to be with anyone.