Charlie wakes up with a jolt. Screaming and crying enters his ears and, for a second, he almost thinks he's back at the day of the plane crash. He blinks rapidly before scrambling to his feet. He stumbles around in a horror-filled daze. People push past him and he fumbles blindly in the direction the commotion seems to be coming from. He sees her and stops dead in his tracks. Blood is splashed bright red over the white sand. Paulo is holding her bloody body close and slowly rocking her back and forth. Charlie stumbles back in terror as he looks at Niki. He races around, yelling for Jack. He suddenly sees Claire and pushes towards her. He touches her shoulder and she jerks around to see him. Her eyes are wet with tears that are illuminated by the early morning sunlight. Charlie lightly places a hand on her shoulder.
"Charlie, what's going on?" she sobs as she lays her head onto his shoulder.
"I-I don't know..." he whispers into her hair.
"Charlie," Claire sobs, holding her stomach as she backs away from him.
"Yeah?" he asks, stroking her hair.
"Who did that?" Claire bawls.
"The Others," Jack butts in darkly as he strides past the couple.
Charlie looks at Jack with a scowl. "Hey, I'm gonna check this out, 'kay? You'll be alright?" he asks, jerking his thumb in Paulo's direction.
Claire blinks back more tears, nodding rapidly. "Yeah...I'll be okay." she sniffles.
Charlie smiles at her warmly before jogging after Jack. He catches up and slows to a walk. He gags upon seeing the gory scene of Niki's slaughtered body again. He sees Jack cringe. Charlie waits to talk to Jack. When Jack finishes assigning burial duties, Charlie taps the doctor's shoulder. Jack sighs before turning and looking at Charlie. Charlie looks up at Jack.
"Hey, why'd you say that in front of Claire?" Charlie demands angrily.
"Someone needs to tell her the truth," Jack replies moodily.
Charlie scowls again. "I do! I just...I don't want to scare her, Jack." Charlie replies.
"Look, I already said what I said. Sorry, but I don't have time for this right now!" Jack snaps before marching off.
Charlie rolls his eyes before approaching Sayid. "Who do you think did it?" he asks in a hushed tone.
"Who do you think?" Sayid asks, looking at Charlie.
"Them?" Charlie mutters, folding his arms over his chest.
Sayid nods, then ponders, "But, why?"
Charlie shrugs before he realizes it. He whispers, "Claire..."
"What was that?" Sayid says.
"They-They want Claire. For Aaron." Charlie explains before racing off.
Charlie pushes past the survivors and finds Claire sitting in the sand with Kate. He releases a long breath of relief before approaching the two women. Claire looks up at him with a forced smile. He lowers himself to a seat beside her. He brings his knees up to his body and rubs his neck's scars absent-mindedly. Kate stands and goes off to find Jack. Claire and Charlie watch her go before staring out at the chaos. Claire taps Charlie's shoulder timidly.
"What is it, love?" he asks, his ands dropping to wrap around his legs.
"Who...Who really killed that girl?" Claire mutters.
Charlie sighs, looking out at the jungle. "The Others did." he replies. "Don't worry, though. I'll be here for you...I won't let them--or anyone--get you."
Claire nods with a shiver. "Thank you, Charlie," she mutters, rubbing her bulging stomach.
"No problem," he tells her with a grin.
Ethan watches Charlie and Claire from the jungle's shadows. He grumbles impatiently; the two are so close he could reach out and grab them. He clenched his fists, telling himself to wait. They would be much easier prey once they were the only two left on the beach. He chuckles quietly, imagining the fear in their eyes. And Charlie's face when he would finally kill the Brit. Ethan slinks back into the foliage. He scopes out his next victim. The one he would kill tonight.
Charlie's eyes shoot open. He looks around and sees that it's night. He slowly sits up, careful not to disturb Claire, who had been safely nestled beside him. Ever since they had moved down to the beach after Claire's nagging, Charlie felt very wary of everything. He felt exposed around all these faces he had seen, but never come in contact with. And tonight, he felt extremely terrified. He rises from the bed and tip-toed over to the tarp that covered his and Claire's tent. When he peers out, he sees someone hunched over a body before the person slinks away. Charlie looks at the body; it doesn't move. Charlie's eyes widen and he screams out, "JACK!!! SAYID!!!"
The next few hours pass in a blur. Charlie has been crying steadily. Claire hugs him tightly as Charlie weeps into his hands. He could have gotten out of bed faster. He could have woken up sooner. He felt so guilty. Claire continues to tell him that it was not his fault and that there is nothing he could have done. But Charlie refused to let himself off the hoook. Rose had died because of him. He stifled a hysterical sob and Claire hugs him tighter.
"It was...my-my fault!" Charlie chokes out.
"Shh...Charlie, there was nothing you could do..." Claire whispered into his hair.
"No...no...I could've--could've--I should have...It's all my fault." Charlie hiccups.
Claire takes Charlie's chin in her hands and makes him look her in the eye. "Charlie, it's not your fault at all. They did that to Paulo. THEY did this to...to Rose."
Charlie looks down at the ground. He nods reluctantly before looking back into Claire's eyes. "But, I could have--"
Claire places a hand over Charlie's mouth. She felt him sigh against her palm. "Sh...Just get some rest. Nobody blames you." she consoles him, laying down. She releases a long yawn before patting the bed beside her. "Lay down," she quietly orders.
Charlie nods and carefully lays beside Claire. He stares up at the top of their tent. He listens to Claire's breathing as it becomes soft and even as she falls asleep. He closes his eyes and hopes that no one else would die. And, if someone does, it's not her.
