A/N: I'm so sorry I've taken so long! Well, anyway, enjoy and please review. Sorry again! And thanks for the reviews I received.

Dreams and flashbacks are in Italics. You'll know the difference.


Time to Let Go:

Charlie watched Claire carefully from his position behind a tree. She was seated on the jungle floor, hugging her knees to her chest, her swollen belly hanging out of her shirt.

Laughing.

What in the world was she doing, just going out into the jungle by herself?

The pitch of her tone went up a notch, and now she was laughing so madly Charlie deemed it must be hard for her to breathe.

"Claire?" He walked toward her hesitantly, unsure if she would be angry that he had followed her.

Claire turned her head, and Charlie could see that there were tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Claire!" Charlie ran to her, kneeling by her side as she continued to laugh manically. "What's wrong? Why are you acting so strange?"

Claire shook her head, swallowing hard. "It's just occured to me, Charlie. I'm going to be a mother. A mother. I can barely take care of myself," She hiccoughed. "How on earth am I supposed to raise a child? And on an island no less!"

Charlie pulled the pregnant girl forward so that she was pressed against his chest. "It will all be okay, Claire. You'll be the best mother in the world."

"N-no I won't," Claire sobbed. "I was going to give him away, Charlie. What kind of a mother gives away her child?"

Charlie tightened his arms around Claire, providing a barrier of security around the girl. "That doesn't matter, Claire. What matters is that you didn'tgive him up. You could have, but you didn't. You did the right thing."

She peered up at him through her lashes, a few strands of yellow hair tumbling into her electric blue eyes, which at the moment were filled with tears. "That's not true," She sobbed. And then she turned her head and retched, throwing up about a foot from where the both of them sat. Charlie rubbed her back in slow circles and held her hair back, earning a watery smile when Claire finished, her throat raw and her nose burning terribly.

"Thanks," She managed to croak, whiping some spittle from her lips.

"Claire, I know you think that the crash is the only reason you didn't give your child away, but I know that's not true. I know you, Claire. I know that you wouldn't have gone through with it."

Claire wiped at her eyes. "I don't think that you know me as well as you think you do," She murmured.

Charlie grasped her chin in his hand gently, yet firmly enough that she couldn't look away. His stormy eyes bore into her light ones. "I know more about you than I know about myself, Claire. I know that when you're excited or nervous you bite your lip, I know that you believe in astrology, but you don't live your life from it, I know that you like to tell stories to yourself when you're on one of your walks and you think that no one can hear you. I know that you're a good person, and that you'll be a great mother. Do you want to know why I know so much about you, Claire?"

Claire nodded tentatively. "Tell me."

"Because I care about you. Alot of people care about you. And I don't know what I'd do if you or the baby were ever hurt, so please don't come out into the jungle alone again."

Charlie released his hold upon her grudgingly, wanting nothing more than to kiss her senseless. But he controlled himself. He stood up and helped her to her feet as well, smiling widely when she leaned in and placed her lips against the rough stubble of his cheek. Pulling away, they both blushed, acting like school children in Charlie's opinion. But nonetheless he couldn't help replaying the moment over, the feeling of her lips lingering on his skin. But his fantasy was interrupted when she slipped her slim, white hand into his calloused brown one. But he found he really didn't mind.

Claire was kneeling in front of Aaron's grave, tears cascading from her eyes. Charlie didn't really want to leave her in this state, but this might be the only moment he could get in time for a quick fix.

'But would you chose Heroin over Claire?' His guilty conscience demanded.

Charlie tried to convince himself that that had nothing to do with this, but the memory of the thought remained in his mind. So he ignored the icy sweat pouring down his back, the tremble in his hands, and walked over to her, stooping to be at her level.

He enveloped Claire in his arms and allowed her to sob into his shoulder. "I miss Aaron," She wailed. She stuffed a fist into her mouth to suppress the sobs wracking her frail body, but Charlie simply tutted quietly and removed it. "I remember someone telling me it was okay to cry. So just cry Claire," He whispered. And this time the tears were flowing because Charlie loved her enough to quote her own words back to her.

Charlie shifted uncomfortably. He was still crouched on his feet, and the added weight of Claire against him was making his bended legs stiff. He apologized silently, sending her a reassuring smile when she looked up at him, and repositioned himself so that he was seated in the sand cross-legged, Claire sprawled across his legs.

He didn't know how long they sat there. He rubbed her back in a slow, rythmic pattern that was extremely soothing to the Australian. He was crying too. Claire could feel his hands shake as he caressed her. "Are you alright?" She questioned, rubbing her eyes. Crying always made her feel extremely sleepy.

"Y-yeah," Replied Charlie nervously, his voice hoarse. "I think I might be coming down with something, though. But I'll be fine."

Claire couldn't bring herself to smile, but said in all seriousness, "Good. I couldn't bear losing you as well."

"Don't worry Claire, it's just a cold."

"You're right. I shouldn't be worrying."


Charlie had managed to slip into the jungle while Claire sat by Aaron's grave. She had been too distracted to notice his disappearance.

Walking a little bit of a distance, he reached into his pocket. He pulled the familiar baggie out, twisting the elastic off and pouring a small portion into his hand. He pinched the mound together to form a small line. He then brought it closer, snorting the line. Blood pounded in his ears and a delicious shiver up his spine made him shudder with pleasure. Wanting more, he licked his hand, hoping to discover more of the Heroin between the folds of his palm.

Charlie was flying. He felt like he could dive head first into a pool inhabited by sharks and walk away unharmed. Forgetting that he was human and bruised easily, he twirled through the trees of the dark jungle, whooping and yelling with pleasure. He had never had such fun in his life!

He allowed himself ten minutes to stay where he was, nodding his head to an imaginary beat, before deciding that Claire might wonder where he was.

He stumbled toward her, trying to act as normally as possible. He knew, though she was quite oblivious to his Heroin use, that it bothered her when he lost control of himself.

"You doing better, Claire?" He asked her quietly. He watched as she stroked the miniature cross adorning her son's grave with her thumb, seeming not to have heard him.

"Claire?" He repeated.

She turned her head slightly. "Yeah?" She sounded so miserable.

"Are you feeling better?"

Claire laughed humourlessly. "I'm not the one who's sick," She joked half-heartedly.

Charlie forced a smile. "Well, I'm feeling a bit better."

"I'm glad."

Without asking if she wanted to leave, Charlie placed a hand on either side of her waist and hoisted her up, carrying her in his arms back to their tent.

Claire said nothing. She hadn't wanted to stay, anyway. Too many bad memories. She allowed Charlie to transport her. She felt tired but she didn't want to sleep. Maybe she'd write in her diary. It had been a while since she'd done that. But how was she supposed to write down what had happened? How could she put in words how she was feeling?

Charlie pulled back the flap of their tent and lowered her onto the make-shift bed. He smoothed back her hair lovingly, threading his fingers through it, and then he left. Claire couldn't help noticing that his pupils were the size of pennies.

And she soon found out why. In his hurry to leave Charlie hadn't noticed that something had fallen from his pocket.

Claire crawled off the bed and toward the object. She picked it up and rolled it between her index finger and thumb. It was a small bag filled with a brown sugar like substance. She knew it was Heroin, but before she went accusing and ruining her wonderful relationship with Charlie, she had to be sure. Ignoring the screaming inside her mind telling her that it was wrong, that she should not stoop to his level, should not so suddenly change all of her opinions on the subject.

And so, she pulled pulled the elastic open with shaking fingers, and unceremoniously poured a small amount into her awaiting hand, sobbed silently, and snorted it. It hurt beyong belief, a stinging, burning sensation beyond description. She cried out and felt tears seep from the corners of her eyes.

She couldn't believe it. She'd done drugs for the first time in her life. And when the pain wore off, it actually felt...good.


A/N: So, I hope that made up for the long wait! Please comment!

xox Sacha