Disclaimer: don't own this stuff.

A/N: So last chapter, thank you so much to everyone who read and reviewed I really appreciate it. I also apologise for how long it took me to put this up, its been written for a few days but i've been unsure about it. Hope you enjoyed the ride. Thanks again.

Daniel wondered why it was that when he wanted to be left alone he would receive visitors. Usually no-one ever came round. He ignored the knocking on the door, but the knocking persisted.

Dan gave an exasperated sigh and gave in. As he undid the latch the Lafleurs bustled through the door.

"Uh…hi."

"Look, we were just tryin' to help you out…" Sawyer began, his eyes wide, more with excitement than fear.

Juliet put her hand on his arm. Their lives had been so quiet and ordinary for so long that the slightest out of the ordinary event could evoke long lost feelings from the island within him.

"What's going on." Dan tripped backwards slightly as James and Juliet paced. They exchanged a glance.

"Long story short, your girlfriend is in the hospital."

Daniel's jaw dropped as he tried to ask what happened.

"Charlotte got hit by a car in Fiji." Juliet tried to put it gently.

"Is she alright, I mean, what?! What happened?!"

"I dunno, Miles gave her some letters and she ran out into the street and got hit, he weren't to clear with the details." James pulled his long grey hair back.

"What's this got to do with Miles? Is she going to be okay." Daniel repeated, he thought that perhaps he was having another strange dream. His mind had been concocting situations in which Charlotte did not get on the boat, but he never imagined her being hurt.

"We don't know Daniel, Miles said she's in hospital." Juliet stated simply, keeping her voice steady and low as to not panic Daniel. She delved into her hand bag and produced a piece of paper with the address for the hospital jotted on.

"I should go, now, she'll be alright won't she?" he said mostly to himself as he started collecting the items he would need to travel. He looked to Juliet for reassurance, she smiled fleetingly, her brow still lined and concerned.

"I hope everything works out for you this time." Juliet tapped his shoulder. She really meant it, it seemed the universe was just determined to make poor Daniel suffer.

She felt a phantom twinge in her neck as she thought of the ferocity Charlotte had used to hit her when she had aimed a gun point blank at Daniel.

The journey was made even longer by his constant worrying that when he got to Fiji, Charlotte might be dead….again. As soon as the plane landed he phoned the number Sawyer had given him.

"Hey, who is this." Came the reply.

"Its Daniel."

Miles was silent for a beat or two, "Long time Dan, I thought you killed yourself."

"Oh, well I didn't, and its only been about a month for me, since I last saw you."

Miles sighed, "Its all too weird."

Dan gave the briefest of smiles, it was strange to think of someone who could converse with the dead being weirded out. "What happened to Charlotte."

"She ran out, I couldn't stop her."

"Miles, I just can't loose her again." his voice broke as he spoke.

The man on the other end of the line shifted awkwardly, "Look Dan, she's probably fine, she was talking before she passed out. Oh yeah, you were with her, back when you were all brain fried. I wouldn't worry about that though, she hit her head pretty hard." Miles was not comfortable with telling Daniel that Charlotte had said she loved him so he omitted that detail. He wondered why he was always around when they decided to get all gooey eyed on each other.

They said their goodbyes as Daniel told the taxi driver to go to the hospital. He made a second phone call as the driver pulled away from the airport.

"Hello, Staples-Lewis Residence."

Dan chickened out and hung up, he would ring back when he was sure Charlotte was okay or better still Charlotte could ring her family herself. If he had to ring and tell them she was dead he might actually have to considered doing what Miles, Juliet and Sawyer had all assumed he had done.

Once at the hospital, a nurse told him that Charlotte had checked herself out. A wave of relief flooded over him, she was not dead. The nurse checked her chart and said that she had recovered from her concussion and had only suffered bruised ribs and a sprained ankle.

As he walked out of the large automatic doors his relief dwindled slightly, she probably made the boat after all.

With nowhere to go he wandered towards the dock, the place he had first met Charlotte.

Charlotte had first met Daniel in the Jungle years ago, they had met again on the freighter and in Tunisia and once more after she had been hit. She was only aware of the meeting in Tunisia.

Charlotte sighed as she stared out over the ocean, no sign of the freighter. What the hell was she supposed to do now! Go home and carry on with her life knowing she had blown her only chance to prove herself sane?

The dock was dark and empty save for a few tiny fishing boats, It was miserable and lonely. Would she be completely out of order if she went back to Massachusetts to find Daniel? Would he be angry with her? He had all the right in the world to be, she had left without saying goodbye. If she had broken his heart then she would not be able to forgive herself.

"Charlotte?!" she heard Dan's voice and for a moment she thought it was just a memory. Charlotte glanced back over her shoulder and found him standing a couple of yards away, a weight was lifted from her heart as she held his gaze. She had no idea of how to start.

"Can you believe they left without me, bastards." She eased herself up from her seated position and limped towards him. Arms outstretched, she pulled the baffled man into an embrace. Remembering her bruised ribs he wrapped his arms around her neck and shoulders.

"I'm sorry." she murmured against his neck, hoping the words didn't seem empty or redundant.

"Shhh, its okay, don't worry about it." so polite and kind, Charlotte gripped him a little tighter.

"I got run over." she laughed at the absurdity.

"I heard, are you alright?" He moved back slightly so he could look at her face, she was covered in scrapes and bruises. His hands cupped her cheeks the way she liked.

"Yeah they gave me some painkillers. It's so stupid, this man said he was from the Dharma Initiative and he gave me all these letters from my dad." she furrowed her brow.

They sat down together on the side of the dock as she took the letters from her bag.

"Most are just sentimental slush, but this one, incidentally the one I ran out into the street for is scary." she handed Daniel the envelope.

He gave her a sympathetic look as he noted the "deceased" stamp.

Dearest Charlotte,

Never ever ever come back to the island. Promise me that no matter how much we miss each other you will stay away. I hear you have a new sister now and that your mother has a new husband. They must be your family now, love them and forget all about this terrible place. Work hard at school, get a good job, be happy and if you should ever fall in love don't let that person slip through your fingers. I regret losing your mother's love every single day, but deep down I think she understood why she had to take you away. I hope one day that I can come home to England and see you, if not do not coming looking for me. Charlotte if you come to this island you will die.

Love for you Always,

Dad.

"It's not like I thought I'd ever get to see him again…but…" Charlotte choked a little as she spoke, it was hardly noticeable but Daniel picked up on it. He wanted to tell her that it was okay if she was upset but she continued before he could speak, "It's just nonsense though, isn't it, dramatics."

Daniel carefully folded the paper and slid it back into the envelope. They sat together quietly.

"I am so in love with you and if going to the island is the only thing that can make you happy, then..."

Charlotte stared up at him, a startled expression on her face. "Dan, you didn't have to say that, I'm not going anywhere." she vaguely remembered saying the same to a short haired Daniel, she dismissed it as a hallucination caused by the accident.

"I said what I said because I meant it."

Charlotte smiled, "I know, and I guess, as its such a romantic setting…" She made a gesture to the oil streaks in the murky water and the stinking fishing boats, "…That I should tell you I love you too, even though its completely absurd and we've only known each other a month…"

Daniel kissed her before she could continue with her confused analysis.

"I don't think going to the Island is the only thing that would make me happy." she smiled. "However, when we are old, grey, practically dead and in desperate need of a holiday destination we could go to Florida or maybe we could consider the Island?"

Dan grinned at her compromise, "You are going to stay with me until we are old and grey?"

"If you play your cards right." she smirked and placed her arm around his shoulder. He helped lift her to her feet.

Maybe when the time came, when they were old and grey as she had visualized, he could tell her the whole story. That day was decades away and for now they could just live out their lives, free from islands, brain aneurisms and bullets.

A/N: Reviews if you'd like too