A/n: Timeline is in the early days of the crash. I think these are getting worse and more random, but you tell me whatcha think. :)

First Dates

(Claire, Boone. Mention of Shannon.)

She noticed that he kept glancing her way, when he thought no one was looking.

The sun was high in the sky and pouring its heat down on the island. The waves of the ocean lashed rhythmically at the shore as she applied more sunscreen to her arms. She could feel herself burning under the sun's scorching rays and noted with dismay that her only bottle of sunscreen was now empty. She shifted her weight in the scavenged airline seat, adjusted her hat and let out a deep sigh.

It was three days since the crash.

She looked over towards the ocean and caught him staring again. He turned his gaze immediately away and Claire smirked. Part of her was a little amused while another part of her was mostly annoyed. Was he going to keep stealing glances at her and not actually come talk to her? Did he think she was attractive or…

Her eyes dropped to her bulging stomach and she laid her hand on it to feel the movement beneath. Well, she hoped to feel movement beneath. Nothing since the crash, which worried her deeply.

Yeah, that's it, she thought bitterly glancing over at him, as he stared out to sea. Stare at the pregnant girl and make her feel even more self-conscious. Wonder what her story is but don't talk to her. Wonder where her husband is. Wonder if she's okay. Stare, but don't ask. Just like everyone else. No one would want to get involved and actually have any sort of attachment or responsibility to the poor pathetic pregnant girl.

She looked away, letting out another long sigh. She tried her sunscreen bottle again, hoping to scrape the last of it out, but it was no use. It was all gone. She tossed the bottle away.

When she glanced up again, he walking her way with something clutched in his hand, swinging at his side. She figured he'd given up on the stealing glances and was now resorting to the make-a-reason-so-you-can-walk-by tactic that she'd resorted to many times in junior high to get a better look at potential crushes or offer a flirty smile to current ones. She highly doubted it was one of those occasions – he was probably merely trying to gouge if the pregnant girl was doing alright in the heat or something.

Like everybody else. Just walk past and hope the bomb of responsibility doesn't go off while you're standing right there.

He didn't walk past her, though, much to her surprise. He stopped in front of her and offered her a crooked smile. "Um, hi."

"Can I help you with something?" Claire asked him and craned her neck to see his face.

"I just saw you using the last of your sun screen there and thought you might want another bottle." He said and extended his arm out to her. The object he'd been holding was a curvy shaped brown bottle of sunscreen.

"Oh," Claire smiled a little uncomfortably and took the bottle. "Thanks. Are you sure you don't need it?"

"Nah, my sister packed tons." He gestured his thumb to a slim blonde in an orange bikini currently laying out tanning on a brightly colored beach towel about fifteen or so feet from Claire's left. He scrunched his eyebrows a little in annoyance but his expression cleared when he turned his eyes back to Claire.

"Oh." Claire said again. A second of awkwardness passed before Claire bravely tried to make a joke. She said teasingly, "So is there a reason you kept staring at me over there? Am I burning that bad in this sun or have you never seen a pregnant girl before?"

He laughed easily and sat down on the seat beside her. "Would you rather the honest answer or the fun, charming answer?"

"How about," Claire pretended to look thoughtful. "Let's hear the fun, charming answer first."

"Alright then," he said. "I was told you were Australian and I am fascinated by Australian accents and especially Australian women so I had to invent a reason to come over here and talk to you. The staring was just to get some ideas."

She laughed. "You're right, that was a fun and charming answer. And now the honest answer?" She wrinkled her nose and braced herself.

He sighed and gestured again to the blonde in the bikini. "The staring over here was to make sure she was staying out of trouble and not falling asleep and burning herself to a crisp." He grimaced.

Claire realized that from where he was sitting, to keep looking over at his sister the blonde, it would indeed appear like he was looking at her instead. She reddened a little, thinking of how annoyed she'd been at his staring.

"I'm sorry, I thought…" she began uneasily and trailed off.

"I knew I should have stuck with the fun answer." He said lightly, taking the awkwardness away as he smiled and met her blue eyes. "Moving on then. How are you holding up?"

It was a simple question. Yet there was something so different and pleasing about the way he said it.

Up until that moment, Claire didn't really have warm or cool feelings towards him, though she was quickly appreciating his sense of humor. When he asked her how she was, though, his eyes stayed locked on hers and didn't dart to her belly. Nearly everyone else who had managed to come close enough and ask the same question never seemed to be able to meet her eyes, or really meant "how is the baby doing?" when they asked. Their gaze flitted to her stomach and they always seemed to really want to know things like why was she flying alone? Where was the father of her baby? Why was she so young and pregnant and alone? Wasn't it recommended for women as pregnant as her not to fly?

Yet, when this man said it, she sensed it was a tone he would use to ask anyone else. He was asking her because they'd just survived a plane crash, not because she was pregnant, alone and frightened-looking. It was hard to explain, but somehow, because he'd asked her so simply and plainly, it made her, and this whole thing, feel somehow almost normal. For just one second in time, Claire didn't feel so vulnerable and self-conscious.

"I'm alright." She answered truthfully after only a moment's hesitation.

He nodded. "Me too." A few seconds later, he added, "Actually, this kind of reminds me of my first date."

Claire raised an eyebrow. "How does… any of this remind you of anything, let alone a first date?" she waved her hand at the plane wreckage scattered across the beach.

"Well, not the crash, obviously. Just the... sitting on a beach talking to a pretty girl part." He flushed instantly as though he hadn't meant to add that last part out loud.

Claire thought it was really sweet of him to say that and told him so.

"It's true." He said and glanced away. They sat in a comfortable silence for a good minute or two, both staring out over the beach, lost in thoughts about their respective first dates back in their old lives.

He turned his intense blue-green gaze to her. "Feel better?"

She regarded him confusedly. "I never said – "

"From over there you looked like you could use some company." He replied and smiled warmly.

A bit stunned that he was right, Claire didn't know how to react or what to say next. She managed a smile and bit her lip a little. "Well… thanks."

"You're welcome. I'm free anytime. You know where to find me." He smiled again, stood and began walking away.

"Wait!"

He stopped and looked back.

"You didn't… I don't even know your name."

"It's Boone."

"Boone. Thank you." She said quietly.

Boone grinned. "You're welcome Claire. See you around."

A/n: Well, it turned out a little more romancy than was intended. And other than like one line, it had pretty much nothing to do with first dates, lol. With these latest prompts I'm trying to stretch myself a little by trying out "new" character combinations (not necessarily romance!) and do different things with the prompts than the first thing that pops into my head. It's been very difficult and I'm not sure it's working, as the last two or three that I've tried to do something different with I did not like, so. We'll see. Tell me what you thought! Reviews are like oxygen.