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FATE
The Next Level
Claire followed close behind the two as they darted through the woods. But with short legs and a
slow start made it hard to keep up. She followed their trail to an opening, surrounded by higher
ground. The two had all ready climbed the short distance to a higher level when she approached.
The pulled herself up the short wall of soil by a thick root until she reached the top. Sowyer stood
still before a curved wall of vines and think trees witch stood in a circle. Locke was no where to
be sceen. She pulled herself up the rest of the way and began forward just as Locke emerged from
within the circle with a look of remorse, sadness and sickness all tangled into one. Her heart sank.
She charged forward, but was stopped by Sowyer, who wrapped his arms around her waist and
held her back. Completely lifting her off the ground and turning his back to the circle in an
attempt to shield her from the image inside. She shrugged histaricly, unable to move her arms. Her
legs kicked and flailed, makeing it difficult for him to keep hold of her. Locke pitched in, trying to
calm her. She planted her feet on the ground, fighting his hold with every ounce of straight in her
body and managed to jerk both him and herself to the side. Locke reached out his arms on either
side of her shoulder trying to both turn her and block her view at the same time. But it was to
late. Heir flailing stopped at a halt as her eyes coughed the most disturbing sight she had ever
witnessed. Charlie's hand, dirty and bruised dangled at his thigh. Her eyes trailed down his leg to
the bottom of his feet, witch hung atleast four ft. off the ground. Her eyes filled with tears as she
realized all to quickly what was going on.
Charlie awoke to the sudden shock of a fist hitting his rib cage. He choked on the air as it rushed
into his lungs. His eyes flew open for a split second in shock before he began gagging. Hands
tugged at him, trying to turn him flat on his back as he rolled onto his side, choking helplessly. He
allowed them to tug at him reluctancy, unable to focuses on anything besides trying to breath. He
opened his eyes as the coughing fadded, but could barley see. Every thing was a greenish blur. He
squinted at the figure before him until it formed a face. Locke smiled back at him with relief. He
gazed back at him, confused. His eyes trailed from Locke to Sowyer, who kneeled beside him with
a slightly different, more angered look of relief, but it was there none the less. Finally, he saw
Claire stareing back at him with salt-stained eyes. Both hands wrapped tightly around his. The path
of tears still sparkling on her cheeks. "Claire" he said softly, with a hint of worrier, as he sat up.
His rib cage cramped as soon as he moved, and the blood rushed to his head. "Stay still" Locke
instructed, easing him back down. Claire leaned over him, brushing the hair off his face while being
careful to avoid any bruises. She was laughing and crying at the same time. He stared up at her,
still wearily confused about what was going on. He could tell by the way they were acting that
something really bad, just happened and because of the pain that consumed his entire body, it
probably was something to do with him. He laid his head back agenst the muddy ground and tried
hard to remember. Soon, it came back to him. Ethan had drugged him, that's the last he could
recall. He shifted, and tried to sit up again, makeing about a courter way before his ribs cringed
again. Before he could fall back into place Claire warped her arms around him, holding him as tight
as she could. Her hair flung about his shoulders, her head buried in his chest. He rested on his elbo,
surprised at first by her sudden urge to squeeze him to death. Then slowly, he eased into her
warmth and began to relax. Her very touch maid the pain disappear. She was bleeding magic.
The trip back to the beach was almost a blur. They had laid him on some kind of a stretcher, how it
had been made was a mystery to him. Claire had tried to explain what had happened, but all he
remembered was stareing up at the trees and listing to her voice. He passed in and out of
consciousness as they walked until they reached the beach. The group gathered around to great them. Each showing the same excitement witch he made no attempt to understand. He was only
worried about Claire, who had continued to hold his hand the entire time and still clung to it as he
sat in the midst of a crowded celebration. Jack emerged from the crowd as expected and had him
rushed off to the medical tent for examination Where he sat now. He sat on a table with his legs
dangling over the sides. His pants ripped, completely covered in mud on the back, streaked across
the front and he seemed to be missing a shoe. Claire sat beside him with her hand in his, resting on
his thigh. Locke sat near the floor, using a small stack of suitcases as a chair while Sowyer lingered
in the corner impatiently. Jack returned with water, a mag light and his handy assistants. He
walked over to Charlie and placed his hands on the side of his head, tilting it to inspect the
wounds. "My god" he muttered under his breath as he studied each little mark. He continued to tilt
it until he noticed the thick red wring traveling around his neck and cringed slightly. He ran his
finger along the edge of the rope burn, witch had managed break the skin. Charlie flinches slightly,
but continue to allow Jack to finish his examination. "Can you remember anything?" Jack asked,
tilting his head in the opposite direction. "A bit" he answered uncomfortably. "He drugged me, I
think. Stabbed me with a needle" he grumbled, still moving his head wherever Jack positioned it.
"Where?" Jack asked shortly, finally letting go. Charlie lifted his shirt and pointed to the small red
mark the needle had left. It was clearly visible, located just above the tree trade mark scars, that
appeared to once again bee busted open. Jack kneeled down to take a better look, and frowned. "It
might be infected" he said, indicating to the dark ring around the dot. "I thinks that's just bruising"
Charlie replied hopefully, lifting the shirt higher to reveal the parade of colors that ran acorns his rib
cage. Jack squinted at them for a moment, then stood. "Anything else hurt? Your legs? Your back?"
he asked, towering over him. Charlie thought for a moment. It was hard to tell what was hurt and
what was just sore. The pain all mixed in together until he was almost numb. Jack must have realized this, because he gave up on his previous question. "Hop up" he instructed, take a couple steps back.
Charlie slowly rose to his feet and gained his balance. "What was he like when you found him?" he
asked, circling him as he talked. For a moment, no one spoke. He had come upon a touchy subject.
"Well?" he asked, showing that it was important. "He was hanging" Locke confirmed shortly, looking
up at the two plainly. "From what?" Jack questioned, studding the back of Charlie's neck. "A tree"
Locke answered again, with the same tone. Charlie looked confused, not recalling ever being hung
from a tree. "Were his hands tied?" Jack continued to question as he further studied Charlie's arms,
lifting up the sleeves to cheek for any hidden marks. For a moment no one spoke. Locke glance from
Sowyer to Claire, showing that he didn't remember. Claire shivered as the image of his hand dangling
at his side resurfaced in the mind. "They weren't tied" she answered softly. Jack looked at the other
arm, running his hand across the skin. The elbo seemed to be scraped on the left arm, a few scratched
and busted knuckles on the right. "Well, who ever did this beat you up pretty bad" Jack confirmed,
giving his over all opinion. "Who ever did this?" Charlie questioned offensively, "I know exactly who
did it." Jack sighed, and looked down for a moment. "We'll worry about that later. Right now, lets
worry about getting you bandaged up" He suggested, turning away from him. Locke and Sowyer both
moved to find the misplaced bandages. "What are you talking about?" Charlie raved, "that dastards
still out there!" His voice rose, and it clearly hurt him to talk. He tried to ignore it. "I'm aware of that,
Charlie. We'll deal with him soon, but right now I'm more concerned about your health" Jack
confirmed with a medical tone. "Fuck my health! He's trying to kill her!" Charlie protested, throwing
and unsteady point in Claire's direction. "You need to calm down" Jack ordered sternly, grabbing him
by the shoulders. Charlie stared back at him angrily from the dark rings around his eyes. "Liston to me,
Charlie. I understand that he's dangerous. We will do everything possible as soon as we figure out
what to do. Until then your going to stay here and protect Claire. Alright?" he demanded firmly. Charlie didn't respond, but looked away, showing that he had given in. Satisfied, Jack let go of his
shoulders. Locke handed him the pile of pre-made bandages witch he'd retrieved from a suitcase.
"Here," Jack said, handing him the pile, "I'm sure by now your perfectly capable of doing this
yourself." With that he walked out, Locke following behind. Sowyer gave him an amused grin before
folding out as well. Claire, who had not moved or spoken since her previous answer stood, and moved
to his side. She wrapped her arms around his waist gently and rested her head agenst his the back of
his shoulder. Once again, the pain floated away. He turned his head back to look at her and smiled.
Seeing her, feeling her made everything better. "Come on, lets get you bandaged up before you fall
apart" she suggested, taking the heap of sloppily folded bandages out of his arms and setting them on
the table next to a metal try filled with iodine. "Keep this up and I'll be looking like a mummy in no
time" he joked, trying to lighten the situation. It seemed so long since the last time her heard her laugh.
She patted the table top, indicating for him to sit. He hopped back up onto the surface and waited. One
by one, she dipped the think white strips into the rusty-colored liquid and patted them agenst his
wounds. He flinched slightly as the cold cloth touched his neck. "Sorry" she said, pulling her hand back
instinctively. "No, no. Its alright. Go ahead" he assured, smiling over her. She didn't smile back, but
continued to dab the cloth agenst his skin. After a moment, once she had covered the neck area, she laid
the rag down. "Let me see your arms" she said, kneeling on the surface of the table at his side. He held
out both arms, palms up. She unsnapped his bracelets and untied the little strip of cloth around his wrist.
Stared at it for a moment, funning her fingers lightly across his skin. He shivered slightly, and she
stopped. The silence was become intensively awkward, and he found himself searching for something,
anything to say. She dipped the next bandage and began wrapping around his elbo. He watched her plain
expression as she struggled with the knot. That's when he noticed the red whelp on her lower lip. He
frowned slightly as he lifted his hand and, tilting her head to face him. "Its fine" she said after a moment when she realized what he was looking at. She lifted her and to her mouth in an attempt to cover it. He
took her hand, and studied the bandage. "You sure?" he asked, looking up at her. "Yes" she replied, a
smile slowly forming. He smiled back, feeling accomplished. She hoped back off the tabled and pulled
him up by his hand. He operated willingly with a look of amusement as she positioned his arms above his
head and pulled off his shirt. He stood awkwardly as she began wrapping the bandages around his waist.
"I don't think we have enough" she said with a little laugh as she studied the marks running all across his
chest. "Its just a bunch of bruises" he shrugged. "They might look ugly, but they don't really need
bandaging." Claire smiled and laid the bandage back down. "They're beautiful" she corrected playfully,
pulling her arms around him once again. He took in a deep breath, startled by the sudden touch. It was
the third time she had sprung a hug on him, and this time it was his bare skin witch made it ten times
worse. The warmth of her body and the feel of her skin agenst his not only made the aching fade, but
brought up some emotions he'd prefer to keep tamed. Or atleast, a part of him did. "Promise me
something" she said suddenly, without moving at all. "What's that?" he asked, looking down at her as he
brushed his hand over her hair. "Stop almost dieng" she answered softly. "I'll try" he answered with a
smile. She laughed, and it was real. Pure, rich laughter. He pulled his arms around her shoulders and
pulled her closer to him. Resting his head on top of hers.
Claire sat on the edge of the beach beside a bucket of water. Her cloths laying in an open suitcase at her
side. She kneeled on the sand with her hat plopped on her head, dipping a exceptional ruined white tank
top into the water. To her left, sat Kate, who was doing the same with her own batch of cloths, to her
right, was Sun, folding the cloths over her lap. Claire lifted the shirt back out of the water and inspected I
it. A good amount of the mud was gone, but the blood stains and a few grassy ones still remained. "I'm
running out of cloths" Claire noted, raising an eye brow as she stared at the top. "Who needs cloths?" Kate joked, brushing a lose strand behind her ear. Shannon made her way across the beach lugging a box
full of clothing behind her plus a whole duffle bag full swaying at her hip. Boone walked along side her,
makeing on attempt to help. She dropped the bag to the sand and plopped down beside Kate with a huff.
"My god, theres so much shit to watch" she groaned, brushing her hair out of her face. "Well maybe if
you hadn't brought twenty suitcases" Boone teased, standing over the four. She made repeated his words
in a mocking manner and continued with her things. Sun watched them talk, but didn't say much. Witch
wasn't surprising, seeing that she didn't understand. But all the same, Claire felt like she was being left
out. She zoned out from the little tiff Shannon and Boone were carrying and tried to think of something
to say to her. Its wasn't so much that she didn't speak English, because she seemed to pick up a good
amount after being stuck there for so long. It was the fact that she was a mystery. She had sat with her
every time she need something cleaned, with had accrued quite a lot on the last five months, but she knew
absolutely nothing about her. She was drawn back to the conversation when Kate said her name.
"Hmm?" Claire asked, turning to her. "Well, I don't need any man" Shannon was saying defensively,
pretending to have a clue of what she was doing as she dipped one of her revealing little tops into the
water. Kate gave her a skeptical glance and rolled her eyes. Boone had left some time during Claire's day
dreaming, and she realized she completely lost the conversation. "Oh, who am I kidding" Shannon then
contradicted herself after a moment. Her, Kate, and even Sun laughed. Claire smiled, but didn't get the j
joke. "So, hows my little buddy doing?" Shannon asked, addressing Claire. "He's good. Talking a lot"
she said, recalling two nights ago when he awoke her and Charlie at the break of down screaming his
entire vocabulary with a grin. "Yeah, he's veery...verbal" Shannon agreed with a slightly guilty smile,
seeming to know of a similar incident. Claire gave her a questioning look. "What did he say?" she asked,
rasining an eye brow. "Well...." Shannon began, trying to look as innocent as she could. It didn't work.
"The other day, when I took him so you and Charlie could get some sleep, he uttered a particularly...not good word" She explained, trying not to laugh. "What word?" Claire said, unable to keep herself from
smiling. "Starts with an F" Shannon hinted, before busting into laughter. Claire shook her head, laughing
along with her. "I swear he didn't get it from me" she assured, shaking her head. "Then who'd he get it
form?" Kate accused playfully. Shannon bit her lip and gave a suggestive glance over at Charlie, who was
playing with Ben in the sand over by the boom fire. "Well" Claire said, looking in the same direction. "I
think your right" she agreed with a laugh. Sun smiled, glancing over at Charlie for a moment, then at her
husband, who was sitting on the rocks, looking for some sort of sea life to eat. She frowned for a
moment, then looked back at Charlie and Ben. "How old is he?" she asked, turning to Claire. "About four
months" Claire answered, squinting over at her. "He should be walking soon" Sun noted, looking at him
once again. Charlie was sitting cross-legged in the sand, holding Ben by both hands and trying to help him
keep balance. He stood for a while, until he became aware of it and plopped back onto his bottom.
"That'll be hell" Kate said jokenly. The four laughed. "Well" Shannon said after a moment, letting her
wet cloths drop in the open suitcase, "I'm not about to spend my whole day chatting with you girls like a
bunch old spencers." With that she got up and screeched a little."were not spencers, were cleaning
laddies" Kate corrected, calling out to her as she walked off. "So, Kate, how's Jack?" Claire asked, once
Shannon hand flipped her off without turning around and tripped over the sand. "He's...good" she
replied, her cheeks growing red. "No kidding" Sun snickered suggestibly. Kate blushed harder, innocently
sliding a strand of hair behind her ear. "Oh come on," Claire teased, nudging her arm, " we've all heard
you." Kate grinned with embarrassment, draw dropped as if she were shocked. "Like you haven't done
anything!" she teased accusingly. "We haven't!" Claire protested, copying her shocked expression.
"Right" Sun said sarcastically. Kate second the opinion by rolling her eyes. "We haven't! I'm serious" she
insisted shyly, her cheeks growing pink as well. "Really? Why not?!" Kate gasped, giving her a
questioning look. Claire shrugged, not really knowing the answer. She thought for a moment. Why hadn't
we? "Well, you better get cracking!" Kate ordered cheerfully. Claire went red, and looked away,
embarrassed and turned her attention back to her cloths. As the subject of conversation shifted again and
again Claire drifted off, repeating the question in her mind.
"Hey" Sowyer said, easing himself down onto the sand beside Charlie. Charlie looked over, a bit startled
by his sudden presence, then grinned. "Hey" he replied, turning his attention back to ben who was sitting
to face him with both hands wrapped around one of Charlie's fingers, trying to use it as a chew toy.
"Ow" he muttered, as Ben tried once again to bite down."teething" he explained to Sowyer, who was
giving him a questionable look. "Ah. How much has he got?" he asked, looking down at the chubby little
man clinging to Charlie's wrist with all his might. "Six perfectly white teeth,"Charlie answered, "damn
Aussies." Sowyer smiled. "How's Claire doing?" he questioned, leaning back on his elbow's. He glanced
over at the edge of the beach where the three girls sat. Claire stareing off into no where as she dipped the
shirt into the water. "Good. Fantastic" he answered without taking his eyes off if her. Unable to take his
eyes off her. "I'll bet" Sowyer muttered suggestively. Charlie's head perked up a bit at the insinuation.
"What's that suppose to mean?" he questioned, turning to look at him. Sowyer smiled a sneaky grin.
"Exactly what you think it means" he answered. "I wouldn't know" Charlie admitted with a shrug. Sowyer
sat up, removing his sun glasses to better give him a 'what the fuck?' look. "What the hell's the matter
with you, boy?" he scolded, after seeing that he was serious. "Its not that important, I guess. I mean, with
all that's been going on and the baby. Besides, she just gave birth. I doubt she really wants to" he began to
explain in a rambling tone. "Are you kidding? Women who recently gave birth are the most hormonal
creatures on the planet" Sowyer confirmed. "Really?" Charlie asked slowly, with a curious look. "Yep" he
answered firmly. "Hu" Charlie muttered, his jaw pulling to one side as he thought on that for a moment.
"You know this from, experience?" he asked, turning back to Sowyer. "Perhaps" Sowyer answered
secretively, pulling the black shades back on. Charlie thought for another moment, focusing on Claire who
set a few yards away from him. Sun and Kate were conversing rapidly across the tin barrel, but Claire
seemed to be some where else. Daydreaming, with her hair blowing about her in the wind. "Exactly"
Sowyer, said, able to tell by his fascinated expression that he was clearly interested. "Now quit drooling
and get over there!" he ordered with a grin. "What about ben?" Charlie asked, snapping out of his daze.
"I'll watch him. Go on." Sowyer insisted. "What do I say?" he asked nervously. "I don't know. Just talk to
her like you always do" Sowyer shrugged, growing slightly agitated. Charlie took a deep breath, and began
to sit up. "Maybe I should wait until later, when shes alone" Charlie suggested, trying to find a way out of
the situation. "Go!" Sowyer ordered. Charlie nodded, took in another deep breath and stood. Sowyer
watched him leave, waiting for Charlie to turn around and make another lame excuse. He didn't. After a
moment, Sowyer turned to the chubby little four month old sitting before him. Ben looked up at him with
wide blue eyes, fascinated with every thing he saw. "What are you looking at?" Sowyer said defensively, as
if he were talking to an adult. Ben giggled wildly at this. Sowyer raised an eye brow at him as he wobbled
back and forth with a gigantic grin across his face. "Weird little bastard" Sowyer muttered, lighting up a
fresh cigarette. He looked out to the edge of the beach where Charlie had just Reached Claire. He was
babbling something that couldn't be heard over the waves. Claire looked up at him and appeared to be
smiling. Sowyer exhaled, letting the smoke flow back out. "Just like your dad."
"Hey" Charlie said, stopping less then a foot at Claire's side. "Hey!" She said with a smile, looking up at
him. Alright, she knows you're here. What now? "What you doing?" He asked, pulling the first thing he
could think of. "Laundry" She answered, giving him a curious look. "Yeah. I knew that" He replied,
realizing the stupidity of the question. Nice going, ass. None the less, he lowered himself down beside her.
"So, what have you laddies been chatting about?" He asked cheerfully, crossing his arms over his knees.
"You, actually" Kate told deviously, before Claire could respond. "Really?" he asked, looking surprised,
then interested "What about me?" Claire shoot a look at Kate, forbidding her from mentioning anything
from their previous conversation. Kate ignored it. "Nothing really" She answered slyly, "Just about how
you and Claire haven't had sex." Claire shoot her another evil look. Kate and sun exchanged glances, each
holding a mischievous expression.
Charlie looked shocked and confused. So she has noticed? Is it that obvious? "Yeah, she was just telling us
that you've been together for a long time now and, you've still never made any moves" Kate continued, now
makeing stuff up for the purpose of torturing Claire. Charlie continued to look confused and slightly
uncomfortable. "And how she can't wait until you do" Kate added triumphantly. Sun looked from one
person to the next, trying her hardest not to laugh. "I never said that" Claire noted, learning at Kate. "Are
you calling me a liar?" Kate questioned, pretending to look innocent. "Yes" Claire confirmed. Kate opened
her mouth to respond, but couldn't think of anything. Instead, she began giggling. Sun joined in, unable to
hold it any longer. Claire glanced at Charlie wearily, feeling quite awkward at the moment. Charlie was
completely bewildered. He turned to her, eye brows scrunched low, and opened his mouth to spoke. Then
shut it again, and looked back at the whaling with laughter. Then once again at Claire. "Women" She
shrugged, unable to give him much of an explanation. Charlie nodded in simple agreement. Silly girls.
The sky was pitch black. No stars, no moon, just black. The fire sparkled brightly in the near distance where
Boone, Shannon, Walt, Michael and hurly sat, talking amongst themselves. Charlie and Claire sat just
outside their little tent infront of their own privet fire. "Dose that hurt?" she asked, poking at one of the
fadded bruise on the back of his shoulder. "Not really" he answered scurfily, "Just sore." he had almost
fallen asleep in the last couple of minutes. Claire kneeled behind him, rubbing his shoulders and the back of
his neck. He'd been aching all day, and the simplest things made them hurt even worse. One wrong turn may
have had him temporarily paralyzed. But now he was relaxed, every muscle pain melting away with the
movement of her hands. Claire looked off into the distance where Sowyer sat inside his tent With been
plopped on top his chest, holding the book "Watership Down" in one hand and a lit cigarette in the other as
he read aloud. "Are you sure leaving Ben with him is a good idea?" She asked skeptically. "Sure, he's
harmless. Besides, who else could teach our son every curse word in the English language?" Charlie joked
playfully. Claire laughed. "Hell, he probably know a couple in Spanish two" he added, glancing over his
shoulder at her to catch another glimpse of her majestic smile. He white teeth showed brighter at night,
makeing her appear almost angelic. "Are you sure that's who he's getting it from?" she asked accusingly,
running her fingers through his fluffy little strands of hair that curled up off the back of his neck. "What's
that?" he asked, pretending to not have a clue what she was talking about. "Oh nothing" she said with a sly
grin. "What did he say?" Charlie asked, looking slightly amused. "According to Shannon, he's been dropping
the f-boom left and right" Claire explained conspicuously, continuing to play with his hair. "Well, according
to Kate you've been drooling about me for the past few months" he replied smartly, trying to hide his
prideful grin. "What's that suppose to mean?" she asked, raising an eye brow at him. "It means your friends
are liars" he explained teasingly. Claire smiled and slapped his shoulder playfully. "Maybe I have been
drooling over you for the past few months" She protested, matter-of-fact-ly. Charlie snickered as her dug his
bare toes deeper into the sand. It was starting to get a little chilly as the breeze came by. Pretty soon he'd
have to go add some wood to the fire. "What?"Claire asked, as if she had been offended. "Your not the
drooling type" Charlie explained. "I, on the other hand..." Claire laughed, and rested her forehead agenst the
back of his. Her hands curled around his shoulders. A loud burst of laughter erupted from the fire. Both
looked over to see Shannon cracking up obnoxiously at something Hurly had said towards Boone. Soon, a
couple of others began to laugh as well. Even Boone cracked a smile at his own expenses, shacking his head
as if he wert offended. Walt didn't laugh, instead he continued to stare at the fire with a looked of boredom.
Petting Vincent on the head as he panted beside him. "Poor kid" Charlie noted, looking over at the group.
"Yeah. Must be tuft for him living on this island with no one his age" Claire agreed. Charlie shifted
downward so that the back of his head rested on her lap and linked his fingers at the back of his neck. "I
wonder if Ben will be scared for life after living here" she said openly, talking to the space infront of her.
"Nah. He'll be fine" Charlie assured, looking up at her. "How do you know?" she asked, peering back down
at him with a half smile. "Because, they say it takes a tribe. And he's got a family of forty odd persons.
Makes a damn good tribe." He explained. Claire smiled down at him, resting her hand across his forehead.
He rolled his head around, trying to crack his neck. His eyes slid shut. He looked exhausted. Claire continued
to play with his hair as she drifted off in her head.
"Um, excuse me" Claire said shyly, standing before the counter with a shinny duffle bag flung over her
shoulder and a plain ticket in hand. "Yes, may I help you?" a dark haired woman behind the counter asked
politely. "Yes, its my first time flying. Ever. And I'm a little confused" she admitted, slightly embarrassed.
"No problem. I'll send someone over to assist you in just a moment. For now, just take a seat over there and
relax" the women suggested, pointing to a few rows of benches not far from the counter. "Thank you"
Claire said appreciatively and headed over to the seat. She plopped down, exhausted, and let the bag roll of
her shoulder. She gave a little huff and rested her hand on her over grown stomach. From inside, she could
feel the baby kicking around. The same baby that had been growing inside her for the past eight months. It
was a part of her. Her child, and now she had to give him away. She couldn't do it once, and nothing had
changed since then. What am I doing? She asked herself as she stared down at her rounded stomach. This
will never work. She glanced over at the women from the counter, who had not yet found some one to assist
her. She seemed busy with another customer who was arguing with her rather loudly at the head of the line.
Slowly, she lifted herself back out of the chair, pulling the bag back over her shoulder. She began walking
back down the hall she had just came from, moving quickly as she were running from something. She brushed past person after person in the bright, crowded halls until she stopped suddenly, her breath caught in her
through. A few yards a head of her, stareing up at the schedule boards was a man she thought she'd never see
again. My god, what is he doing here? She thought as she stood in shock, stareing at Thomas as he squinted
upward. She couldn't breath. What if he know's I'm here? Oh god, please don't let him be looking for me.
"Excuse" a voice called from behind her. Claire gasped, startled back into reality. She turned to the person
who had addressed her. Another dark haired women in a blue pants suit stood before her. "Claire is it?" the
woman asked cheerfully, reading of ticket Claire had given to the other women. Claire didn't respond, she
was still panicking. "I was told this is your first flight and your looking for some assistance" the woman
explained with a phony smile after Claire had said nothing. Once again, the question didn't register. Claire
looked back over to where Thomas had been standing. He remained in the same place until a women
approached. She was tall, thin and tan with straight hair as blond as hers. He turned and smiled at the
women, mouthing the word 'hello' as he linked her arm in his. Claire's eyes grew wide. "Ma'am?" the
women said, giving her a worried look. Claire snapped out of it once again and turned to her. "Yes" she said
sweetly, slightly embarrassed by her absent mindedness. "Yes. Its my first flight" she elaborated, focusing
once again. "I bet you're a little nervous" the women said, makeing her own explanation for Claire's
detachment. "Yeah" she sighed with a bit of a laugh. "Well, don't worry. Flighting is completely safe. Just
follow me" the women, who's name tag read 'Jain', suggested. Claire followed her over to a line at the
security check. There was about six people ahead of her. "So, how far are you do?" Jain asked, indicating to
her oversized belly. "Eight months" Claire said with a smile, moving her hand in a circular motion across her
stomach. "You checked with your doctor before coming, correct?" the women questioned. "Yes" Claire
nodded, lieing through her teeth. She hadn't had time to get checked up. She barely even had time to pack.
The line moved forward and Claire stepped up along with it. The baby was kicking again, and a loving smile
spread across her face as she stared downward. "For Christ sakes!" a man groaned up ahead after he'd set of
the alarms. "Do you have any watches, keys, rings on you?" one of the male gard asked, approaching the
young man. "Yeah, here"he replied softly, twisting a ring from his finger. He removed to more from his
other hand plus a wrist watch and dropped them into the tin pan. "Please step through the again" the gard
instructed. "Yeah, yeah" he grumbled, walking back out, then turning and stepping through again. Another
buzzer went off. He rolled his eyes and sighed angrily. "Please, hold out your arms, sir" another gard said as
he came forward with a hand-hailed mettle detected. The young man watched him awkwardly as he moved
the contraption around the perimeter of his body. It didn't go off. "Please step aside, sir" the gard asked,
taking his luggage. The man scratched the back of his cull as he moved out of the way. The next person went
through without setting anything off. Claire tried to watched the young man as he stood fidgeting
off to the side while the gauds searched his bags. He had his hood pulled over his head, makeing his
face invisible from her view. "Something in their set it off" Jain assured, mistaking the
blank expression on Claire's face for worry. Claire nodded, and smiled slightly. The line moved forward
quickly. She handed her bag to the man at the side so he could send it through the machine and stepped
through the large matric rectangle. A low buzz rang out. "Do you have any watches, keys or rings?" the
previous gard questioned just as he had with the young man. Claire removed her rings and dropped them in
the pan, then turned to walk through the detector again. Again, it buzzed, and the second gard came with the
mini version. Claire stood uncomfortably as he moved the detector around her. It didn't go off. "To the side
ma'am" he said, but she had already gone over. "Some job their doing" the young man standing beside her
grumbled. "Oh, I'm sure lots of Pregnet women carry dangerous weapons onto plains. They have to be extra
carefully" she said sarcastically. He laughed from beneath his hood. "Ma'am" one of the guards addressed.
She walked over. "Sorry for the inconvenience, your free to go." the gard said, handing her bag. She pulled it
over her shoulder and began walking, and nearly tripped over the man who had knelt down infront of her.
"Sorry" she apologized, stepping back. "No problem" he said with a bit of delay. When he looked up at her
to speak, his hood fell back. Shaggy blond-brown hair tossed about on his head, bangs hanging down
to one side. Smiling slight as he stared up at her with intense blue eyes. Something about him seemed
strangely familiar. She shook her head and continued walking. Jain helped her find the proper seat on the plain
and she took her bags. Claire leaned back in her seat an closed her eyes. Thank god he didn't see me, she
thought, as she rested her head back agenst the seat. She dozed off before they even lifted off the ground.
Although she had only left Sydney once, she had never been nervous on plains. That is, until the turbulence
started. She awoke to a heavy shake as the flight attendant came on the speak and told every one to stay calm
and buckle up. Claire pulled on her seat belt and settled back down, stareing out her window at the clouds.
Suddenly, from beside her she heard a short cough, like some one clearing their through. The seat had been
empty when she fell asleep. "Thomas?" she gasped, surprised to see him of all people sitting beside her.
"Claire liston-" he began to say, placing his hand on hers. "What are you doing here?!" she demanded in a
angry but soft voice, leering at him aggressively. "I came back looking for you. Magen told me you were
leaving-" he tried to explain. The plane shook wildly. Claire turned away from him. The movement caused the
baby to move, and she felt a hard thump in her stomach. "Are you alright?" he asked, cupping his hand over
hers. "Fine" she grumbled defensively. "Claire-" he started up again, but before another would came out, the
engine collapsed. The entire plane shook. Bags fell from the ceiling. Those who ignored the seat belt sign flew
up in a split second. Crashes and roaring, booming, indescribable sounds along with screams as the end of the
plain broke of. Claire held her stomach, eyes wide with panic. The plain disappeared. The screams, the chaos,
Thomas, all gone. Only her and her unborn baby remained.