A/N: This story came to me after listening to the song Molly Smiles from the Uptown Girls soundtrack, and thought it would totally account for a very angsty Charlie/Claire fic. I hope you all enjoy this.
Disclaimer: I don't own Lost...although sometimes I wish...I also don't own the song Molly Smiles.
Molly Smiles
Summary: /AU/ Post Rescue. Charlie and Claire are separated, and Charlie writes and performs a song for his little girl.
Charlie Pace has been known as many things in his life. A son, brother, junkie, band mate. Most recently though? He's been known as a husband, and as a father. He and Claire had been married for nearly five years. That is until Liam came to him, begging to get the band back together. After a long talk, Charlie soon found out that Liam and his wife divorced, and Liam had lost custody of his daughter. Charlie had explained this to Claire. That Liam needed something to get his mind off it. That he didn't want his brother to dive back into his former life. Claire had been fine with it, until Charlie's former life came knocking long and hard. He wasn't really a junkie again, just more of the casual heroin user.
This though, was far to much for Claire. She gave him an ultimatum. The band or their family. While Charlie knew that Liam had picked his family over the band before, Charlie just couldn't bring himself to do that. Not when his brother was falling further and further into the darkness. Charlie promised her that he'd clean up, and get Liam clean. That they'd be the only England based band to not use any sort of drugs. Unfortunately for Charlie, Claire didn't believe him. A month later he found he was being served divorce papers.
That's where he is now. Sitting down at the lonely kitchen table in the luxury hotel room kitchen, staring at the divorce papers wondering how Claire could just give up like that. He sighed as a single tear fell from his eye. He grabbed a scrap piece of paper and a pen. His hand guided across the plain paper freely, nothing stopping him.
After only ten minutes of writing, Charlie was happy with what he had written. Giving the paper a self-deprecating smile, he grabbed his guitar and headed out of the door. Tonight, in a lonely club, would be Charlie Pace's final performance. He was giving it all up, and he had been clean since the day that the divorce papers had arrived. That, he sighed, had been nearly a year ago.
A year he thought, was one hell of a long time. He misses Claire daily, and dreams every night that he's snuggled up against her, holding her tightly. Although he misses her, and wants her to love him again. He misses his two children more. Aaron and Molly Pace meant the entire world to him. He could remember when they had been rescued, and he promised Claire that everything would be fine, and that he wanted to be Aaron's father. More so than he actually was. Even though he felt like Aaron's father, he wanted paperwork to show that he was, even if it was in an adopted form. A year later they were married, and only six months after that Claire found out she was pregnant with Molly. That had been nearly four and a half years ago though. Molly was the sunshine in his life, since Claire didn't want him to see Aaron much. She said that Charlie was rubbing off on him to much and that he wanted to be a musician, just like dad. Even though that made him proud, Charlie didn't want Aaron exposed to that life. He didn't want Aaron to end up like Charlie. An ex addict, who was about to become an ex husband. No that was not what he wanted for him at all. That was why he made sure that everything was put into place to have Claire, Aaron and Molly at the show tonight. This was going to be his last performance and he needed his family there.
Charlie heard his name called out, and the place erupted in cheers as he walked out on stage with his acoustic guitar in one hand, and let his free hand shake at his side. It had been only two months since Liam had died, and even though it seemed like he was taking it well, he wasn't. Claire didn't know, or at least he didn't think so. Tonight, he thought, is the night I win back my wife.
"Hello Manchester. I wanted to share a bit with you before I start. There is a reason for this…I guess speech I'm about to give, and I will explain that…" Charlie paused, taking a deep breath, and his eyes meeting Claire's for a split second.
"Okay, so for anyone who didn't know, tonight is the two month anniversary of my brother, Liam's, death. He was in a car accident, due to drug's and alcohol. He fell asleep at the wheel going eighty miles an hour and collided head on with another car," Charlie's head fell for a moment. "With that said, I'd like to tell everyone that I myself, have been clean from both drugs and alcohol for a year now. The day I got divorce papers from the love of my life, was the day I knew I'd screwed up so badly that it would take more than me to quit all my bad habits. With that said, tonight right here, is my very last performance. I'm hanging it all up, and I'm only singing one song. It's a song that I wrote earlier this afternoon, and it's dedicated to the one person in my life that keeps my spirits up. Molly Pace, my baby girl, this song is for you. It's called…Molly Smiles."
Charlie pulled his guitar into place, dangled his skinny fingers over the strings and started to strum out the melody.
Daddy's little girl paints the world with her magic wandDaddy's little child breathes new life to the morning time for meThough we're apart, her thoughts follow meWhen I come home, Molly smiles with the dawnMolly smiles, and she radiates the glow around her haloWhen she plays, Molly smilesOn a summer day, Molly smilesA new day, Molly smilesDaddy's little girl ties a ribbon around my heartDaddy's little child waves goodbye to the ocean tide that sweeps meThough we're apart, she's a part of me
Molly smiles with the dawnMolly smiles and she radiates the glow around her haloWhen she plays, Molly smilesOn a summer day, Molly smilesA new day, Molly smiles
Charlie strummed out the melody, as tears fell down his cheeks. He was almost certain that this was just an empty gesture, that Claire wouldn't even looked phased. He decided to take a chance, and looked up and caught her eyes. She to had tears falling fast down her cheeks, and that alone made him feel like maybe he did have a chance.
When I come home, Molly smiles with the dawnMolly smiles and she radiates the glow around her haloWhen she plays, Molly smilesOn a summer day, Molly smilesA new day, Molly smilesWhen the days have gone grey, Nothing's wrong when Molly smiles
He finished out the song, and looked up catching her eyes just one more time. She looked at him, a hint of surprise in her eyes.
"I hope you guys enjoyed that song, and I hope that even if I'm not active in this industry anymore, that you will still enjoy all of the songs that I've come up with over the years. I also need it to be known, that even though I love this, that I love to perform, that I love to sing. Most importantly, I love to write songs, while I do love all of that and it is important to me. My family means more to me, and I've come to realize that all of this, is not worth losing my family over," with that, Charlie stood up, as the place erupted in a mixture of cheers and boos and figured as much. He'd pretty much just told the fans that he didn't give to shits about them, not compared to his family, and while it took losing them to realize it. It really wasn't.