A/N: I would like to give a shout-out to the reviewers who have been patiently waiting for this. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far: Ewyn, SatinChic, me, GGRox07, Nyx, anonymous, ----, StephCalvino, UnidentifiedPineapples, Lauren, President Laura Roslin, Shirebourn, Blue Rose177, Cassism, Dr. Giggles, Ardienne, DFaraday, FlawlessImperfecti0n, jalice-and-karret, Avery Blaire, ErinXnirE, TrueGirl, TsOl1516, myconstantthephysicist, and Emily. I feel very blessed to have all of you as fans!!! And now, on with the show!
DISCLAIMER: Just because I know two people who look exactly like Daniel and Charlotte and are basically the Ukrainian versions of them does not mean I own Lost.
It had been a good supply run. Sawyer had managed to gather up a few people and to go around the island until they got to the Dharma food drop place. They snagged as much as they could before wandering around the island, stopping randomly at the different stations Juliet pointed out to them before heading back to camp. She had spent more time than usual at the baby-snatching place (as he called it), using the 'medicine' excuse for her reason. He hoped it wasn't for Charlotte. Ever since he had walked in on them unannounced, he had been attempting to keep his mind on other things, usually unsuccessfully. The fact that the geek was getting laid – by the new ice queen no less – was somewhat scarring.
Needless to say, Sawyer had been avoiding the two of them – especially the healthy one – as much as possible. Though none of them could avoid hearing Charlotte's near-constant retching, he figured he was doing a pretty good job staying away from her and whatever the hell she had. Unfortunately, Juliet was approaching him, looking as if she wanted to talk. He mentally willed her to go away, to not talk to him, to just leave him alone…
Too late. "James, what's the matter with you? Every time Daniel tries to approach you, you jump and run away as if he's about to bite you," she said as she squatted down beside him.
Sawyer grumbled. "If you had walked in on what I did, Blondie, you would have the same reaction."
"As in?"
"He was about to…you know…umm…"
"About to what, James?"
"Go down on her!" he yelled a little too loudly. When the surrounding strand-aways noticed his pointed glare and lost interest, he continued, "How was I supposed to know they were screwing? Did you?"
It was only once! Juliet thought, but stopped herself before she said it. She just rolled her eyes instead. "James, just because two people are in the same tent and one is concerned for the other does not mean they're screwing. It's about time you learned that."
She barely dodged the swat Sawyer threw at her. "Blondie, I'm not the one who's been inside of Jack. But I do know that when two people share something they're usually screwing. Or close to it. Like the Professor and Ginger."
You are so mature, James. I understand now why every woman you conned was falling over you. NOT. "Or," Juliet replied, "They could be very close friends who support each other."
"But but but…" Sawyer stammered in response.
Juliet silenced him. "Do yourself a favor, James. Get your mind out of the gutter."
After her…not-quite heartfelt talk with Sawyer, Juliet felt like she needed to check on her patient. Charlotte hadn't emerged for a while now. Quietly, Juliet snuck into the tent, and motioned for Daniel to come over to where she was standing.
"Hey. How is she doing?"
Daniel sighed. "A little better, but she's throwing up a lot. She hasn't had anything to eat either, and not that much to drink, even though I keep trying to get her to. Is her puking normal, or is she dehydrated? Will she become dehydrated?"
"In a twin pregnancy, nausea is much more prevalent. It's good that you've been keeping her hydrated, but she needs to drink more than she is now and eat something light. I just wish we had seltzer water or ginger ale so the nausea would go down."
"I'm over here, you know," Charlotte suddenly said, causing Daniel and Juliet to jump. "And even though I think I've supplied my lifetime quota of vomiting quite efficiently, I can still hear you."
Shrugging, Juliet made her way over to where Charlotte was lying. Kneeling down, she moved the arm the other woman had over her forehead off to the side and received a glare in return. Sighing, she waved the saltine crackers and water she had brought in front of Charlotte's face. "I come bearing gifts," and was met with an eye-roll in return. This was going to be a lot harder than she had expected. "Are you feeling any better?"
"I would be if a certain someone hadn't knocked me up," Charlotte replied with a pointed glare at Daniel. "Considering the situation, I'm fine. Not having to run outside for fifteen minutes is a small victory."
"Good, good. Dan, could you come over here, please?"
Nodding, Daniel obediently went over and sat down next to Charlotte, squeezing her hand as he did so. Juliet gave him the bottled water and saltine crackers, as well as giving him the copy of What to Expect When You're Expecting she had snagged from the Orchid when she had gone to get supplies with Sawyer. Then she reached into her back pocket and pulled out the small vial, causing Charlotte to flinch and Juliet to sympathetically nod. "I'm sorry, but you know this has to happen. Actually, if you would let me, I would like to test a theory. Maybe the vaccine is causing your excessive nausea. If it continues into tomorrow, I'll decrease the dosage and we'll see how it goes, okay?"
Once again, Charlotte reluctantly agreed and allowed the needle to pierce her skin, this time squeezing Daniel's hand as tightly as she could. When the needle left her body, she sighed. "Does this have to happen every day?"
"That's what we did for the other mothers on this island. I hate to use you as my guinea pig, but I've never had a woman expecting twins on this island before. All of the others conceived one baby."
"Wait," Daniel stammered, "There have been other pregnant women on this island? I mean, Sun told me she was pregnant, but she left and…what happened to the others?"
Juliet and Charlotte looked at each other, uncertain. What would be worse – the truth, or a lie that might turn into the truth? Finally, Charlotte decided that as the father, he should prepare for the worst. "They died. All of them died."
Daniel's eyes became downcast, trailing from her own to her stomach, then up to Juliet's. "And the fetuses? Did they survive?"
"No," Juliet answered. "We lost the mothers and their babies. But Daniel, Charlotte, I promise, I will do whatever it takes to make sure it never happens again. Claire gave birth to Aaron on the island and she lived, right? I'm sure it can happen again," she smiled.
Daniel nodded in understanding, and turned his gaze back to Charlotte, trouble still on his mind. Juliet squeezed Charlotte's shoulder gently and walked out on the tent, hoping she could deliver on her promise to both of them.
A/N: Part one of two done. The Charladay will be in part two. I must say, a new season of Lost does wonders for the brain. I'm totally calling it right here that either Charlotte or Juliet is David Sheppard's mom (watch episode 8, people), evil Sayid is boo, and I'm praying Kate lives, which is weird because I dislike Kate (maybe it's my love for Evie?).
PS: Dear Darlton, I know episode 13 is going to be called "Happily Ever After." I know it is supposedly Desmond-centric. And I also know Daniel is in it. Since it's called "Happily Ever After," can Charlotte and Daniel get their proper, deserved, happy ending? Sincerely, Charladay shippers everywhere.
