Author's note: First off I am want say how sorry I am that it took so long to update and even more so how short the chapter is. I wanted to do a quick update with his chapter and the next one. I'm in the process of writing the final chapter but stupid life is getting in the day. This is the final Claire Chapter.
Chapter 7
Love and Memories
Claire POV
I refuse to fly, sorry, its not happening, not with the what happened the last time I flew a commercial. Besides flying with Aaron would be a nightmare. Oh and I don't have a real id either so I could get arrested at the airport. So it looks like the only way I can get New York is by train. I have only a small window to make it across United States and reach Penny Wedmore before she returns to the United Kingdom.
A three-day train ride is the best I can do. Aaron and I pull into Penn Station, wow and I thought LA was crazy. Ok deep breathe; you're a woman in a mission. I head out to Madison Square Garden and catch a cab to the Plaza. Ok that was the only hotel I've heard of and I know it's in a nice area, and it not like Charlie's hurting for money or anything.
I'm grinning so much, my face hurts. Charlie. It's been two and a half months, I don't know how much longer it will be, but hopefully not too much longer.
Aaron and I head up to our room, I shower and dry my hair, clean and feed him. I try to make him look as presentable as possible. He's been great during the traveling; I think a lot of it has to do with my mood. Hopful. Happy. Thrilled. Excited. Certain.
I hope Aaron back into his stroller and head to the Hanso building; truthfully at this point I am flying by the seat of my pants. Who am I kidding, my plan to save Charlie is to find Penny and hope she will help me? Yeah that's never going to work.
New York City has like millions of people in it, how the hell am I going to find one? I mean what are the odds? She might not even been in her office, she might be away. She might not even take my call. She might think I am loon. Too many factors I didn't think of. Damn I was so confident a few days ago, but now that I'm in the crowds, the smells, buildings, I'm not sure if I can do this.
Seriously how am I going to find Penny?
Of course, that could be her getting out of the limo and walking into the Hanso building. Ok Claire keep it cool.
Penny is flanked by who appears to be her assistant and maybe a bodyguard.
All my hopes and prayers rest on the next thirty seconds, maybe I should have rehearsed this. "Excuse Ms. Wedmore?" She stops at stares at me. Waiting for some explanation, "Um, I think you and I have a mutual friend."
"Oh really?"
Her bodyguard starts to approach me, "Ms. Wedmore is a very busy women."
I call over to Penny, "he's a funny sort of fellow, Scottish, and calls everyone 'brother or sister'." The bodyguard grabs my arm to usher me away, but Penny stops him, her eyes are filled curiosity. I call out to her, "He used to say the only thing you need in this life is someone who loves you."
Penny's jaw drops slightly as her eyes start to tear up, but her voice remains steady, "Who are you?'
I pause for a second unsure of the right way to answer the question, "I was born Claire Littleton. Then I boarded Oceanic 815, on paper I died. Now I go by Claire Marie Pace."
Her brow furrows, "Pace?" She clearly recognizes the name.
"Please, Ms. Wedmore, I know where Desmond is, he's with Charlie." My eyes never waver from hers.
She turns to her servants, "Amber, clear all my calls for the rest of the day." She looks at me and growls slightly, "I swear to God Almighty if you are just wasting my time I will crush your soul and your child's."
We walk into her tower of marble and glass. No one speaks, making for an awkward lift ride. Penelope dismisses her employees once we approach her office. She points to a chair cross from her desk. I don't think I've ever been in an office quite like this before, its like the kind you see in the movies, rows of books, long red curtains, and I pretty sure her desk is made from a tree that is a least three thousand years old.
"Take a seat Claire." She stares at me. "You seem to know a lot about me, about the people I care about, I find this alarming and unsettling. Mostly I do not understand if you claim to be on flight 815 then how the bloody hell did you get here?"
"Well it is quite a long story."
"Fortunately for you I cleared my schedule for the day. However you will have to work hard to prove yourself. I obviously will be doubting every word you say."
I shift in my seat, growing more nervous with each passing second, I start to play with my engagement ring, Penelope's eyes glance down at my hand, her eyes rises slightly on her forehead but says nothing. I sigh and start from the beginning. I repeat everything I told Carla, but this time I add information about Desmond, the Others, Ethan and mostly about Charlie. I watch her reaction, or lack there of, as I speak. I end the story with me walking up to her on the street. It takes nearly five hours to tell the whole thing, I didn't even stop when Aaron woke up and demanded a bottle. I hope she appreciated that sort of dedication.
When I finish she sits quietly, her index fingers touching together and tapping her lips in unison. "I had my doubts, but it was the imaginary peanut butter and the porn stash that sold me." She finally breaks her mask of ice and smiles at me. She opens her drawer and slides me a black journal. "This is Charlie's, I took it just after the crash, he hid it under his bed, I'm sure if you had it, you wouldn't have had as many hours of darkness and doubt. So he stayed clean? Even after you were kidnapped by the "Others" he didn't fall back into his old habits?" She seems proud at him.
"Well, I'm sure some of that has to do with the fact he didn't know there was any on the island." I shrug.
She laughs, "I guess. Still its good to know he finally found what he was looking for. For years I tried to get him to quit, I sent him into rehab when I found out he was living on the street, but he couldn't do it. He didn't feel HE was worth it. He needed more, someone to live for, and I guess that is you."
I blush for a second. "I really miss him."
She nods, "I'm sure you do."
"Um, can I ask you a question?"
"Of course." She grins.
"How do you know Charlie? I mean obviously you two have known each other for a while now."
"I'm Charlie Pace's mother's best friend. Megan told me about her affair, it was one night of weakness and she fell into the arms of her former lover. When she learned she was pregnant there as no doubt in her mind that the child was Marcus Mittlewerk's. When she finally told Duncan Pace he was devastated, he was ready to leave her, but he just couldn't do that to Liam. When the baby was born he adopted him as his own and named him Charlie. However, that is not what the birth certificate says according to the birth certificate his name is Joseph Mittlewerk and it made Charlie the heir to a fortune. Shortly after Charlie was born, Marcus was tragically killed in a car accident, whether it was Duncan acting out his own revenge or Marcus' own father, I don't know, the end is still the same. So Duncan, Megan and I kept the secret. I would pop in and out of Charlie's life, keeping an eye on him from a distance, it wasn't until his mother passed away and he learned the truth did we become close."
"Um were you and Charlie …lovers?" I feel sick asking the question.
She laughs, "dear god no, he's like a little brother to me, the shear thought of him having sex makes me ill." She catches herself, "Um, I'm sure you two are great together." She looks shyly at the desk before asking, "Did Desmond ever talk about me?"
"Yes." I smile.
"You've been separated from your love for only three months, give or take a few weeks, I've been separated for nearly six years." She claps her hands together, "Let's bring our boys home."
I can't help it, I know it doesn't look cool, but I really can't help it, I start to cry. I laugh and cry at the same time, feeling foolish and blissful.
"Claire, do you think you can hold out for another two weeks? Because I think that's how long it should take." TWO WEEKS? That's it! In two weeks I will be in Charlie's arms, holding him, hugging him, ripping his bloody clothes off. I nod almost violently.
"Do you know the exact location of the island?" Penny asks.
I shake my head no, losing my newly gained home.
"Not to worry, we still have another option. Did you happen to remember to get Aaron's birth certificate filled out?"
"Oh blood Hell!" I smack my forehead, "No I didn't."
She grins like the devil, "perfect," she purrs. She fills me in on her plan, I agree completely. She moves on to a new topic, "Now I going to go shopping for some very naughty knickers, would you like to come with me?
"Sure." I know exactly which I'm going to buy.
We head out of Penny's office together, when she stops at Amber's desk, "We're going out shopping." She wiggles her eyebrows and Amber beams understanding completely the reason why.
"You've found him?"
Penny grins, "Oh and please connect the Families Searching for Survivors, and tell them we've got one hell of a lead."
"Who's that?" I ask.
Penny grin grows wider, "Claire, you really didn't think you were the ONLY one looking for them, did you?"
