Hanging By A Moment
Summary: /AU/ Set during/after Season Two's finale. What if Charlie hadn't escaped the hatch implosion as easily?
Claire sat on her bed hiding from the full force of the sun. Aaron had been fussing off and on all day, Claire just assumed it was the heat, and tried unwrapping his blanket a bit to help cool him off. Her eyes, without her consent, wondering back toward the clearing in the jungle. Charlie had told her earlier that morning that he was going to the hatch with Eko, and that he should be back by late afternoon. Claire could tell by the sweltering heat that it was as close to late afternoon as it was going to get.
'Where are you Charlie?" Claire asked in her mind, as if he was going to just pop up and answer her question.
She sighed and resigned to her nasty habit of biting her nails. She had tamed the habit immensely, but in times of crisis...or times of worry, she always found those fingernails into her mouth as her teeth crunched on them.
"Dammit Charlie, you better not have done something stupid!" Claire yelled a little louder than she had intended on.
"Charlie huh...I thought you were pissed at him," she heard the drawl of the southern accent that she couldn't mistake no matter how badly she might want to.
"I was...but I'm not anymore...unless he did something stupid...then I will be," Claire half stuttered through her sentence as Sawyer came to stand in front of her make-shift shelter.
"Well, I heard that Chuckie went out into the big bad jungle with..." Sawyer stopped as if to think of a name..."Damn what's that weirdo priest guys name?"
"Eko?" Claire said in a questioning tone.
"Yeah that's the guy...something about Mr. Clean and that drunk guy we brought back from that boat weren't going to push that stupid little button no more."
"Oh god, he is gonna do something stupid," Claire said suddenly.
"I'm guessing Chuckie didn't share that info did he?" Sawyer grinned.
"Shut up Sawyer and help me," Claire demanded, as she grabbed Aaron stomped off toward Jack's tent.
'Please...just please for the first time..be in your tent' Claire begged in her head.
"Claire...Sawyer, what can I do for you?" Jack asked.
Sawyer grinned and pushed past Claire a bit. "Apparently Chuckie's gotten himself into some trouble. I'm assuming Barbie here wants you to go find him and drag his scrawny ass back."
Claire hit his arm lightly before grabbing Jack's attention. "Charlie went to the hatch with Eko...I vaguely remember John saying that he and that Desmond guy were going to not push the button. I know that Charlie will end up doing something stupid...what that might be I don't know..." Claire stopped her worried and rage driven rant when Jack put his hand up.
"There is no evidence pointing to Charlie doing anything stupid, and I know that Locke and Desmond are not pushing the button, we came to the conclusion together. Now unless you have some proof that something might be up, then we'll go looking for him. Until them, I won't lead a group of people to go look for someone that could just be hanging out in the hatch as far as I know," Jack said simply and waved off her next attempt to talk.
She gave him a death glare before turning around to leave. She stopped halfway out of his tent and turned back toward him. "If something happens to him, I will hold you personally responsible. I swear to you Jack, if something horrible happens it will be your fault!"
Jack shook his head, he knew Claire could be moody, but screaming at him like that...that was new by even him.
"Barbie's got her panties in a twist don't she?" Sawyer asked, as Jack gave him a half glare, half stare. "Fine, I can take a hint."
Claire paced back and forth in her tent, a few tears present in her eyes. She couldn't believe that Jack wouldn't help her. Hadn't Charlie risked his life to save Jack once? Wasn't Charlie worthy of the same chance. She scolded Jack in her mind over and over, promising herself that if something happened to Charlie, that she'd never let Jack forget that if he had just listened to her that he would be fine.
She stopped dead in her tracks when she heard a high pitched noise coming from, well she wasn't sure but it was definitely coming from inside the jungle somewhere. She felt her blood run cold knowing that Charlie was out there somewhere, and he could be injured. She stepped out of her tented shelter to see that everyone was facing toward the jungle, their hands shielding the sun from their eyes as they focused on the noise coming from the jungle.
"What was that?" she heard someone ask.
She shook her head, she felt a horrible unmistakable feeling in the pit of her stomach. That feeling was of dread, and she knew it had something to do with Charlie.
"Claire, you said Charlie was out there...for sure?" Jack asked, as he walked up behind her, startling her a bit.
"Yes Jack, I'm certain," Claire shook her head, did Jack think she was that dimwitted?
"Well, I think that's a sign that we need to go look for him," Jack sighed.
"I'm coming with you," Claire said, her voice stern, but Jack simply shook his head at her.
"Aaron needs his mother safe, and not of galabating in the jungle. Stay here, I'll be back before you know it," Jack smiled reassuringly at her.
"That doesn't help you know," Claire said, before sulking back into her tent.
Jack led a small group of people toward the hatch, Kate of course being one of those people, stood beside Jack, using her tracking skills to try and find any trace of Charlie, Eko, or any of the others that had came out to the hatch that day. They stood nearly in front of the hatch and Kate's hand flew over her mouth, trying to suppress the scream that wanted to come out.
There was nothing left of the hatch but a giant hole where it used to be. There was also no sign of any of the people that were for certain, out this way.
"Maybe he was on his way back," Jack said what he was thinking out loud.
Kate's head shook when she heard a faint but noticeable moan coming from about ten feet from them.
"Jack, I think...I think that's Charlie," She said, pointing in the direction of the moan.
Jack and Kate took off in the direction the moan was coming from, and stopped when they heard as it was much louder than it had been.
"Charlie," Kate called out, hoping whoever it was would continue to moan out to them so they could find them.
She heard it, but this time it was fainter than the very first time she had heard it, and knew whoever it was had just lost consciousness.
"This way," she said as she started off again.
They moved hardly a few feet from where they had been standing, when they came to a battered and broken body that laid in front of them.
Kate gasped loudly, the sight sickening her to a point where she actually felt the bile rise into her throat.
"Oh my god...it is Charlie," she said, her eyes wide.
Jack stood beside her, at a complete loss of words. He should have listened to Claire, he thought. Women's intuition right? He stepped a bit closer before kneeling down beside Charlie. Blood was seeping from just about everywhere, and he was brought back the grisly image of Boone, just before he died. Jack shook his head, he'd be damned if he was going to lose someone else on his watch. Especially like this, no dammit, he was going to save Charlie Pace, even if it killed him.
Claire stared at the clearing of the jungle, as if she stared hard enough Charlie would just come whalzing out. She shook her head, no that wasn't going to happen, something happened out there and she just couldn't shake the feeling that it happened to Charlie. She let her eyes wonder off the clearing for a bit, the intense staring had make her vision a little blurry and her eyes burned badly from it. She looked down at Aaron, who gurgled and gave her a small cutesy baby smile, as a spit bubble rose from his lips and popped almost as fast as it had risen. She smiled at the small infant, but her eyes immediately flew back to the clearing when she heard the obvious sound of leaves and twigs crunching under the feet of a small group of people. 'Jack's group', Claire immdeitaely thought.
She stepped out of her tent and saw that Jack was indeed coming back toward camp, and he and Kate were carrying a body back with them. They didn't have it wrapped up, that was always a good sign, although with the shape the body was in, whoever it was, wasn't in good shape. She then felt the dread creep back into her stomach and she knew immediately that it was Charlie. She saw Jack nod at Kate, and she let someone take her place as she walked toward Claire.
'Oh god,' she thought, 'Please don't let him be dead.'
"Claire, we uh...we found Charlie," Kate started but stopped immediately and took Aaron as Claire passed him quickly to her, and then watch as she bolted after Jack. She had to see him, she had to know that he wasn't dead, that he wouldn't die. He couldn't...could he?
"Claire, look, I think it would be best if you waited with Kate," Jack started, but stopped when he saw an almost dangerous look in Claire's eyes. He had never seen a look like that in Claire, not since they've been there. Not even when Charlie had taken Aaron and tried to baptize him...in the ocean.
"I have to know he's okay," she shouted, tears sprouting to her eyes, as Hurley tried to help Jack keep her out of the the medical tent that Jack had rigged up.
"Claire, you don't want to see him like this. He wouldn't' want you to...I won't lie to you, he's in bad shape, but I might be able to save him if you let me go in here alone and do my job," Jack said, surprised when she backed off, and stared at him blankly.
"Why does Hurley get to go in there?" she asked, the tears pressing against her eyelids, as she blinked rapidly to try and stop them from falling.
"He doesn't, not after his last attempt to help me," Jack paused as he remembered Hurley passing out on Jack when he was attempting to save the Marshall that had accompanied Kate on the plane.
"You can't do it alone! You need help!" Claire said, her voice a little louder than she had intended.
"Look, Hurley's gonna stay with you, send Kate to me, she'll help me out. I promise Claire, I will do everything in my power to save him," Jack said sincerely, 'even if it kills me,' he finished his sentence in his head, he needn't not share that bit of information with anyone.
Claire reluctantly went back to her tent. She scooped Aaron up in her arms, and sent Kate on her way. Her heart was breaking, she just needed to see him. She needed to know he was alive. She felt tears prick against her eyes, as Hurley sat down next to her.
"He'll be alright Claire, he's a tough dude," Hurley said, as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and started pulling her in the opposite direction.
"Hurley, I need to stay close, I need him to know that I'm here. Oh god, I've been absolutely horrible to him..What if he dies?" Claire gasped in horror, as her hand flew over her mouth.
"He's Charlie, he can't die. It wouldn't be right," Hurley said plainly.
Claire started to sob quietly, as Hurley pulled her into a hug.
"It's alright Claire, I promise he'll be alright," Hurley found himself saying, even though he wasn't completely sure that he believed it himself.
It seemed like hours streamed by, but Claire had finally cried herself into a deep sleep. So Hurley elected himself official turinup head babysitter. He grinned at Aaron in his crib, as he cooed at Hurley before shoving his tiny fist into his mouth and then pulling it, along with a long string of drool from his mouth.
"Oh, dude that's gross!" Hurley exclaimed before realizing that he could have woken Claire. He turned toward her, and saw that she was still snoozing away.
She was curled up in the fetal position, her eyes were closed tightly, both were very puffy, and Hurley was sure that they were bloodshot as well.
"Hey, how is she holding up?" Kate asked, poking her head in.
"She cried herself to sleep. She's terrified that he's going to die, and I had to try and convince her otherwise," Hurley explained.
Kate sighed, "He's stable, but still unconscious. Quite frankly, there was so much trauma to his body, Jack isn't sure if he'll wake up. We just better thank our lucky stars that Jack was able to save him."
"Kate, that is not something I want to tell her. What am I going to say. Well gee, your boyfriend or whatever is alive, but golly gee, he just might not ever wake up?" Hurley snapped at her.
Kate jumped slightly, she had never seen this side of Hurley.
"I want my friend back Kate, and Claire wants her...whatever he is to her alive and well. We do not want a comatose Charlie Pace, now you go back there and tell Jack to fix him!" Hurley screamed, before stomping off.
"What about Charlie?" Claire asked as she rose up.
'Shit' Kate thought. "He's...um..he's."
"Kate, do not bullshit me, what's wrong?" Claire asked, taking notice of the way Kate was acting.
"He's alive..." Kate sighed, not wanting to say the words, not to Claire. She didnt' think she could take the hurt and painful look in her eyes.
"There is something your not telling me Kate, and all that is doing is pissing me off," Claire sighed, as she stood up from her cot, and moved right in front of Kate.
"He might not wake up. His body experienced a great deal of tramua, we're all very lucky that Jack was able to save him," Kate offered, trying to make it seem better.
"Kate, your telling me that he might be in a coma. At the same time I should be happy that he's alive? That...that's...gah!" Claire screamed, her head falling into her hands.
"Claire.."
"No, don't, just go," Claire said, pushing Kate from her shelter. All she wanted right now was to be alone.
Two Days Later
Claire hadn't left Charlie's side for nearly two whole full days, much to Jack's despire. She sat in the same spot, and held his hand tightly. The only thing she had said to anyone in two days was that he needed someone by him, someone to help him get better to wake up. Jack had tried to explain to her that there was a possibility that he might never wake up. That his body had experienced a lot of trauma and that they were lucky he was alive at all. Claire wouldn't have any of it. Instead she just held Charlie's hand tighter, and whispered kind and loving words into his ear.
It had been two days, and Charlie had so much as even batted an eye, moved a finger. Claire cried at night, after that maybe Jack was on to something, that maybe just maybe he wouldn't wake up.
"Mmmm...Don't cry," a voice rasped beside her.
"Charlie?" Claire sniffed through her tears.
"Mmmmhmmm," he said, his eyes were closed, but he tightened his grip on her hand.
"Oh god, your alive...and awake," she cried, as she leaned over and hugged him tightly, her tears falling fast.
He felt the hot wet teardrops fall onto his bare chest. He hugged her tighter, gritting his teeth through the pain.
"Of course I am, you thought you'd get rid of me that quickly?" he smiled at her.
She grabbed his hand in hers and brought it to her lips and kissed it lightly. She realized for the first time that she had fallen in love with Charlie Pace. She rested her head on his shoulder, as he kissed her forehead. This is how she wanted to live from now on, her head resting on his shoulder. She could be happy if she could live this way forever.
There is a very good chance that this will have a sequel...So keep an eye out for it :D