Disclaimer: don't own it. But anyways, sorry its been taking so long to update, but I've kind of been waiting for the next episode to come so I can know a little more about my characters. This is a good idea, I hope, but its makeing it harder to think up ideas. So for all my readers, please let me know if you have any ideas or things you'd like to see happen in the story. I'd really appreciate it. Well, on with the show...
Shannonlover: thanks for the comment, glad you enjoyed it. I'm trying to incorporate Sawyer as much as I can.
FATE
Another
They'd been walking for atleast a half an hour. The smoldering heat being trapped beneath the
thick vale of leaves and branches high above them. Charlie was glade he had decided to change
out of the stuffy white shirt into tanish-brown wife beater. He felt more naked now than he had
before, but naked felt damn good in this weather. He admired Claire, who unlike the rest of the
group, didn't seem to be sweating. He couldn't understand how that was possible because he was
drenched. His matted hair stuck to his forehead and his cloths clung to his body like cellophane.
Jack, Lock and Kate were clearly in the same disposition. But not Claire, she seemed completely
un effected by the sun, besides that strip of freckles across her cheeks witch seemed to duplicate
every time he looked at her. He had stayed relatively quite for most of the hike. Kate and Jack did
most of the talking, teasing back and forth. Flirting, as usual. Ocasionly Locke would comment on
the surroundings, completely fascinated by the wild. Claire and Kate had chatted for a while as
well, though he hadn't caught much of the conversation. He couldn't seem to concentrate on
anything but the heat. His skin had grown extremely red since they had been walking and the big
bite on his neck had was forming its on national government. He had begun to contemplate rather
of not he was getting sun burn when Locke stopped in his tracks, extending his arm to stop the
rest of them from walking. "What is it?" Charlie whispered, not stopping until he literly ran into
Locke's out-stretched arm. He didn't reply. The leaves rustled in a shrub to their left before a
small rabbit emerged and scurried across their path. They all took a deep breath, relived. Jack
rolled his eyes in annoyance while Kate continued to dig through her bag, only to retrieved a small
Kodak camera and snap a picture. The rabbit scurried away from the flash as the rest turned back
to Kate. "Where did you get that?" Jack questioned playfully. "Shh, it's a secret" she replied
sarcastically, before snapping a picture of him as well. He stood, squinting, termperarly blinded as
the rest began walking once again. They traveled for another ten or so minutes before reaching
the small stream Jack had found early on. "We should stop and rest here for now" Locke
suggested, setting his bag on one of the rocks. Charlie plopped down on one of the rocks and let
the heavy bag slide of his shoulders. He leaned back agenst the rock dramatically, as if he were
about to pass out. Claire sat down beside him, laid her bag on the ground and began re-tieing one
of her shoes. Once she was done, she leaned back agenst the rock wall, imitating him. He glanced
over at her and smiled wearily before his eyes slid back shut. Ignoring him, she pulled out a bottle
of water and began chugging it down. His eyes eased open, immediately fixed on the bottle infront
of him. Claire looked at him out of the corner of her eye. Seeing how he looked as if he were
about to star drooling, she handed the bottle to him. He chugged it down, regardlessly. Nearly
finishing it in three gulps. "Thirsty?" she teased, snatching it back before he drank it all. "Like you
aren't" he replied, jokenly. She sighed, pulling one of her knees up to her chest and squinting up
at the trees. Her ratty fisher-hat casting a heavy shadow across her face. He yawned loudly, about
to fall asleep agenst the rock. "Hot" she noted, as if he hadn't already noticed. "No kidding" Kate
replied, putting one of foot up on the rock beside Claire to untie her shoe. "I'm gonna go wash
up. Wanna come with?" she suggested, removing the tan timberland boots she had pulled off one
of the bodies and switching to the other foot. "Sure" Claire agreed. The two headed off, leaving
the men behind. At first, no one said much. Locke walked around with knife in hand, taking in
everything with a satisfied grin. Jack stood agenst one of the larger rocks, rubbing his temples. He
always seemed to be stressed about something. Normally Charlie would have felt like it was his
fault, and try to cheer him up. He knew full well now that Jack didn't find him funny, and his
talking would only make it worse. But he was to tired to think about it. His muscles ached badly.
Every bone in his body felt as if it had been bruised or twisted. Even the unsteady up-and-down
motion of his chest as he breathed hurt. And despite the half pint of water her had just downed, he
was still terribly thirsty. He dug hopelessly at the oversized bump on his neck that had been
irritating him for about twenty minutes. He had just built up enough strength to do something
about it, but scratching it only aggravated him more. When he looked up both Locke and Jack's
eyes were set on him. "You ok?" Jack asked, rasining an eye brow at him. "Fine" he sighed
unenthusiastic. He dropped his hands back to his lap in surrender and began the pulling at the edge
of his ring with the tip of his thumb. The two observed him as if he were an animal in a zoo.
"Where'd you get that?" Locke inquired about the bump, witch was now more of a gigantic scab
that had taken over what was once his neck/shoulder. "Some bug" he shrugged. "When we get
back to the camp, you should see if you can find something to put on that. It looks infected" Jack
suggested, although it was an obvious statement. Charlie ignored him and continued stareing at his
shoes. Well, not really his shoes. They were never his. He had stolen them, just like everything
else he was wearing. "You ok, kid?" Locke asked, sympotheticly, taking a seat beside him. "Yeah,
I'm fine" he replied, snapping out of his daze. He didn't want to be called kid. He knew, obviously,
he was much younger than the two. But he was still a grown man. What made him feel even lower
was they way Jack continued to stare at him. It was the look your father would give you when he
knew you did something wrong and was waiting for you to confess. The two of them together
would make a perfect parental team. Jack, with the look of strong disappointment and vague
disgust, Lock with the look of sympathy and understanding. He didn't know witch was worse.
What he did know was that he was not in the mood for any damned lecture. Finally the two gave in
and looked away from him. They went back to there little tasks, waiting for Kate and Claire to
return. Unable to focus any longer, Charlie drifted off. It wasn't how you normally wenst to slip,
lieing down and falling out after going through thousands of deep thoughts. No, this was the first
time in his life that his mind didn't keep him awake. He simply blacked out. His vision blurred and
fadded, along with the rest of his senses until he was unconchus. He woke to the sound of a blood
curdling scream. His eyes shot open. He couldn't recognize who the sound belonged to. Only that
it was female and came from a good distance away. Jack and Locke had both already made a mad
dash in the direction the girls had left, in what seemed like several hours ago .Claire. He suddenly
became aware that Claire could be in trouble, and instincts took over. Without thought he was up
and running through the trees, not far behind them. The first scream was fallowed by several
other's, and was now clear that it was coming form more than one person. He just barely stopped
himself from running straight of the edge of a very piece of rock. Some where along the way he had
gotten of corse, and was now almost three yards across from where Kate stood, screaming
histaricly. Jack and Locke emerged from the shrubbery behind her and stopped dead in their tracks.
Claire had gotten caught in some kind of quick sand, and was now stuck waist deep, panicking
hopelessly. Immediately Jack began rambling of useless ideas. "Don't struggle" Locke instructed
comely. "We need to get something for her to grab onto" Jack suggested, searching the
surroundings for any long branch that would work while Lock continued to calm her. Kate seemed
to be in shock. Because she didn't move. Not thinking, Charlie began to slowly make his way now
the edge of the rock. He found a small cluster of dirt large enough for him to stand on. Then, with
one hand gripping on of the thick roots imbedded in dirt, he reached out his hand. Claire, who was
now chest deep in the thick mud could just barely grasp the tips of his fingers. He gripped her hand
tighter, pulling her closer to him with all his strength. The other stopped what they were doing. Just
as he was makeing some progress on getting her out, the dirt bed beneath his feet gave and he was
half thrown into the quick sand himself. Still gripping the cluster of roots, he pulled her closer to
him. Once he got her close enough to where she could reach the edge of the rock herself, she was
almost shoulder deep. She grasped the roots and pulled herself up. The two made their way up onto
the rock while the others stood, helpless. Claire crumbled agenst him. Her head laid on his shoulder,
tears pouring down her eyes. Her hand gripping the front of his shirt, witch like the rest of him, was
covered in mud. He sat still, breathing heavily. Eyes stareing blankly at the space infront of him.
Trying to remember what had just happened. He hadn't even noticed the one hand that was moving
rythmicly across her arm in an attempt to aid her shivering. The others made their way up to the rock
and kneeled around them. Imidiatly they began hounding Claire. Asking if she was alright, if she was
hurt, completely ignoring him. Claire nodded in response, her chin wrinkled. He noticed a small,
deep red scrape across her pale chin, witch was now speckled with dirt and mud. Jack lifted her chin
to inspect the wound while Kate ran her fingers through her mud-soaked hair. Locke observed from
the other side. "So much for getting clean, I guess" Kate joked through her tears. Claire managed to
laugh a little, her smile still shining even when the rest of her was a complete mess. Jack and Kate
helped her up by her arms, Leaving him to lift himself up on his own. He didn't mind the lack of
attention, he was to confused on what had just happened to even worry about it. They made their way
back to the little water fall so the two could clean up. Claire seemed to be more worried about her
hair than anything as she stood bare foot in the ankle knee deep water, all of her hair flung infront of
her head as she ducked under the tiny waterfall. She then flipped it back as she stood up straight, but
continued to pick at the ends, witch were still a murky brown. He wasn't that worried about getting
clean, he just wanted to rest. He felt once again like a zombie, except this time he had no drive. He
cupped his hands together under the fall, waiting them to fill before her splashed himself with it. The
water was cold, and seemed to even out the heat. "I should have brought that hair brush" Claire joked
as she twisted the long, blond tail of hair over her shoulder. He smiled, unable to think of anything to
say. Or remember how to talk for that matter. He hadn't noticed her moving towards him until she was
directly infront of him. He looked down and noticed what she was so fixed on. There was a rather large
rip in his shirt on the lower right side. Blood mixed with mud so that you could barely tell the
difference. It stung when she touched it, just barely, and made him flinch. She pulled her hand back
quickly, not wanting to hunt him. "Did that hurt?" she asked, looking up at him. "A little" he replied,
the pain showing in his voice. It had now begun to burn. He couldn't tell how big it was exactly, but it
didn't hurt as much as it should, witch normally meant it was bad. "I'll be alright" he added, hoping she
would drop the subject. He was tired of people worrying about him, exspeicaly Claire. "You sure?" she
asked, with a smile. Thank god, its no big deal! "Yeah, just a flesh wound" he joked, trying his hardest to
keep that 'real man' appeal. "Alright" she smiled, then walked past him and lifted herself out of the pond.
"You guys bout finished?" Jack asked, appearing from behind the woods. "Yeah" Charlie replied,
makeing his way out as well. He was still a mess, but didn't really care. He wasn't about to hold every
one back over a bit of mud. "Good" Jack replied, enthusiastically. He grind for a moment, but it soon
fadded as his eyes locked on the very large gash across Charley stomach. "Woo, what happened?" he
asked, eyeing the wound with confusion. Jesus Christ, what do you think happened? "Don't know. Must
of got it when I fell" he shrugged as he headed over to his bags. "Dose it hurt?" he asked, continuing to
stare. "Nah" he replied, casually. But as he leaned over to pick up his bag, his stomach clinched and an
involuntary grunt escaped his mouth. "You sure?" he asked, skeptically. "Yes" he confirmed, becoming
very agitated. "What's going on?" Kate then asked, popping out from the forest as well. "Nothing"
Charlie replied before anyone else could speak. "Let me take a look at it" Jack suggested, moving
towards him. "Look at what?" Locke questioned, appearing behind Kate. "No, really. Its ok" Charlie
insisted, about to explode. Jack ignored him and continued to move the ripped fabric aside to better inspect
to wound. "What the hell? Get off! I told you I'm bloody fine!" boom. He snapped. Every one froze, in
shock. Jack stared at him blankly, not knowing how to reach. He glanced from person to person, feeling
paranoid. Wondering why it had bothered him so much. "Sorry" Jack replied, after a moment, defensively
taking a step back. "We should probably head back, almost dark" Locke suggested plainly, as if the incident
hadn't just happened. Kate glanced back at him over her shoulder as did Jack when the two walked bye. He
hated that look. But what was even worse was that Claire didn't look at him at all. Great, just great. He
cursed himself as he fallowed behind. It was complete silence the whole way back to the beach. Once they
got there, Kate and Jack headed off to the fire together. Locke went off too his tent and Claire headed
towards the smaller fire where Boone and Shannon sat, right outside their tent without saying a word. He
plopped down in the sand right at the edge of the woods and leaned agenst a tree. His body ached and his
head was pounding. He rested his hand on top of the stinging wound at his stomach, witch seemed to
spread across his entire chest. He continued to ask himself why had been so pissy to them. What ever it was,
it had him in a foul mood. He wasn't about to stress over it. He needed rest, badly. He closed his eyes and
tried his hardest to concentrate on sleep.
Claire plopped down next to Shannon with a grin. "How's my boy?" she asked, not able to stay away from
him for another second. "Oh! He's great" Shannon replied, plopping him onto her lap. His eyes light up at
the site of her. "Except for the time you dropped him" Boone teased. "I did not! Really" Shannon replied,
jokenly. "Well, thanks for watching him" Claire said, appreciatively as she climbed to her feet. "Any time" Shannon replied, smiling. Her and Boone continued to talk as she wondered off, baby in hands. She was so
preoccupied with keeping him from sliding that she didn't watch where she was going and rand straight into
a familiar face. "Woo. Watch it, sweat heart" Sawyer exclaimed with that never-fading smirk. "Sorry" she
replied, embarrassed. "No problem" he grinned, taking a seat on a small pile of wreckage. "So, where have
you been all day?" he questioned, patting an empty space beside him, indicating for her to join him. "Out
with the bunch looking for water" she explained as she reluctantly took the spot beside him. "Guessed that
much. Must have been pretty thirsty to leave your first born with the bimbo" he joked, indicating to Shannon
as he patted Bens head. "Aw, shes not that bad" Claire replied, brushing Bens hair back as well. "Surprised
she didn't drop him" he continued, leaning back on his hands. She couldn't help but snicker at the remark.
"What happened?" he asked, suddenly moving his hand to her chin. "Huh? Oh that. Its nothing really. Got
myself stuck in some quick sand" she explained, slightly embarrassed. He smiled, not lowering his hand. He
was looking at her strangely. Before she knew it his lips were on hers.
He couldn't sleep, no matter how hard he tried. His body felt so incredible heavy, it hurt to breath. And the
scrape across his chest was overwhelming. He was suffering a cold sweat and tremendous shakes. All he
wanted was sleep, he thought. He craved it. But his body disagreed. It wanted something else, wanted the
drug. And it would not rest until it had it. Agrivateed, he stood up, brushing himself off. The scrape stung
with every movement and some where in the back of his clouded mind the bite on his neck irritated him as
well. He brushed his finger through his tangled mess of hair as he began walking towards the rest of the
gang. He eyed the beach in search of Claire. A talk with her might get his mind off what his entire immune
system was screaming for. Besides, he wanted to apologize for snapping earlier today. He didn't know how
exactly. But he wasn't about to blame it on the withdraws or the stress. But he did know he wouldn't be
able to survive on this island with her ignoring him. Finally he found what he was looking for and stopped
dead in his tracks. He was frozen, eyes wide, in shock. A simple kiss, lasted only for a second before Claire
pulled away. He stared in utter shock. His stomach sunk and a lump formed in the back of his through. he
felt as if he were about to choke. He wanted to close his eyes. To look away and run. Pretend he hadn't just
sceen what had just happened. But all he could do was stand, frozen, as a single tear rolled down his cheek.
Claire broke away from him as soon as she realized what was going on. She stared at him in shock and
confusion. Why did you do that? What is wrong with you? She wanted to scream, but no words could come
out. "Sorry" he murmured awkwardly after a moment. Still, she could not figure out how to close her jaw
long enough to produce a single word. He looked away for a moment, trying his hardest not to grin. He
couldn't help it. He turned his back to her almost completely as he stood, hoping she wouldn't notice. "I'm
gonna go" he suggested, with an overbearing smirk spread across his face. She sat motionless, speechless as
he strutted away. She shook her head as he left and turned to look back at him. But what she saw when she
turned around was not Sawyer at all. Instead she saw Charlie standing about six yards away. Stareing with
a look of pain, betrayal and heat break all wrapped into one. He looked away as soon as her eyes meet his,
but not quickly enough to hide his tear. Her hair whipped in the wind as she looked over her shoulder, not
knowing what to do. Her lower lip began to tremble as she watched him turn and slowly walk away.