Chapter 6

Charlie had been spending a lot of time with Claire since she had reappeared. They sat side by side in the caves, which were the most comfortable for Claire, since they were cool and shaded. At first they talked about nothing important, he didn't really remember what they said. After a while, they would start having deep conversations.

"You know what's the hardest thing about being here and being pregnant?" Claire said one evening. "It's not that I don't have any support, I've got a lot of that – from everybody. It's that I don't know when my baby will finally be safe." She let out her breath slowly in a kind of sigh. "I mean, five years from now… will we still be here? Will we ever get home?" She had her face upturned, her head leaning against the rock wall. Her eyes were glassy.

Charlie didn't know what to say, so he took her hand in his and they sat in silence. Finally he said, "It must be hardest for you. Seems like everyone here has nothing to go back to, but you do."

She opened her eyes and looked at him. "Like who?"

"Like everyone." Charlie said knowingly. Then he dropped his voice. "Michael and his kid hate each other. Kate's supposed to go to jail or something, Sawyer too, probably. Locke… he's just a weird guy who works at a box company."

"What about you?" she asked sadly. She wasn't prying, Charlie knew, she was just genuinely sad for him.

"Me?" he questioned, looking away. "There's nothing really to say about me. I'm an ex-druggie, an ex-rocker, I left Sydney and got on this bloody plane because I got in a fight with my brother…" he shrugged, and turned back to her.

"I think there's a lot to say about you." Claire said softly, so quiet he barely heard her. "Good things." She added.

They didn't say anything else for a long time. The sun had gone down completely, and the only light in the cave were the dim flickers from the fire outside. Charlie suddenly reached into his pocket. "Oh! I keep on forgetting to give this to you…" he pulled out a small black book.

"My diary!" Claire exclaimed, taking it and flipping through it. She grinned at him. "Thanks, Charlie, I thought it had been lost in the wreckage."

"Maybe it'll help you remember things." He told her.

'Yeah… did you read it?" Claire asked suddenly. He was dumbfounded. He could feel his face turning red. Shit. He thought, knowing he couldn't lie to her.

"I, uh… Yes." He said hurriedly. "But only because I thought, somehow… I thought that maybe it would help me find out where you were. I know it sounds crazy, but I really thought…"

"It does sound crazy," she said, looking more thoughtful than angry.

He watched her cautiously. Was it possible she wouldn't be flaming mad at him?

She bit her lip, looking intently back at him.

"You have a right to be pissed at me." Charlie blurted.

"I know I do." She answered promptly. "But for some reason I'm not. I think partly because I like you so much…" This time, she blushed a little at her forwardness, but she went on quickly. "and I think partly because they're not really my private thoughts if I can't even remember writing them or feeling them." She paused. "Thanks for telling me that instead of lying." She added.

"Do you want me to leave?" Charlie asked slowly, as she opened her diary and began scanning the pages again.

"Nah. Stay with me." She said. Charlie smiled to himself, glad she wasn't looking at him.

Kate watched them sit and talk for hours, never leaving, never looking bored… she was jealous. Not of Claire, not at all. She liked Charlie a lot, but not in a romantic way, and besides, she was happy that Claire had such a good friend to dump out her emotions about losing her memory and everything. It was the fact that they were so companionable and easy-going about each other. She didn't know if they were in love, maybe they didn't know either. But they had a confidante in each other, and at least a chance at something really special.

Kate looked around and spotted Jack. As she watched him help with the fire, or laugh with Michael, her heart ached. Why did she have to go crazy over the case she found? Why did she have to steal the key, why did she have to lie to him? And then, to top it off, the breakdown she had right in front of him when they finally opened the case, when she finally got that stupid, stupid toy airplane. It was all in the past, and by dwelling on it, she'd ruined the future. Any future, any chance that she could have had with Jack was gone.

Oh, he didn't hate her, she knew that. But since her breakdown, he… Kate let out a barely audible sigh as she thought about it. He talked to her, but not about anything important. His conversations were polite and inquiring. That was all. He didn't trust her anymore. Maybe he never had.

Kate looked back at Charlie and Claire. Claire was reading her diary with a mildly surprised expression. Charlie was staring at the fire, with a small, slight smile on his face. They both looked so comfortable and… together.

She wiped at her eyes as inconspicuously as she could, got up and headed back for the beach.