Lostlorenzo: glad you liked the chapter, and don't worry, I wouldn't let anything to bad happen to our Charlie. Hope you get some of that work done, and to answer your question, this fic has already been written out entirely, and its only for chapters. I don't think I could handle working on two long term fics, as fun as that would be. But I am already working on another short fic as we speak. It'll be posted as soon as this one is done.
Catch a Falling Star:
The air port:
Charlie wondered down the crowded airport halls with nothing but his guitar case warped around his shoulder, witch caught a few admiring glances as he walked bye. It had been a long time since any one had looked at his guitar that way, not that it really mattered. But just to be able to see new faces, people he didn't recognize and never would, made him smile.
But as he wonder aimlessly through the station, hands shoved in his pockets, he noticed a face he did recognize. It was Claire. Sweet, beautiful, pregnet Claire. Strugling with her bags one again. Poor girl, he thought as he watched her try to lean down to pick up the duffle she had dropped, unable to bend properly with her over-sized belly. I better give her a hand.
"Here" he offered, kneeling down before her to pick up the bags. Looking up to see that beautiful smile across her face. "Why is it that whenever I have trouble with my luggage, you magically appear?" Claire questioned playfully, brushing the long blond strands black behind her ear. "Just handy I guess" Charlie replied sacracsticly.
"Could we hurry it up please!" A short, impatient man called from behind them. The nerve, yelling at a pregnet women in the middle of an air port just because your sorry ass needs to be some where.
"Why don't you walk around, ass whole?" he called in reply, raising an eye brow. The man scoffed in aggravation, but took his advice and walked around. "Bloody wankers..." Charlie muttered bitterly, glancing over at the man once more before lifting the bags. "Excuse my french" he then apologized, noticering the surprised look across Claire's face.
"I believe that was English" Claire corrected playfully. A smile crossed Charlie's face, and for a moment, neither of them spoke. "Come on, lets get you out of the human traffic before one of us gets run over" Charlie suggested, jokenly, looking from side to side as if the people around them were actually cars. Claire nodded, giving a little amused laugh. The two began walking side by side.
"So, how's the little one doing in there?" Charlie questioned after a while, glancing down at her stomach for inspirations. "He's good. Kicking...a lot" She explained, still maintain that loving look she got when ever she looked down at her stomach. After watching her admire that child through her stomach for the past four weeks, Charlie understood what people meant when they said pregnet women had a glow. Her big blue eyes lit up and sparkled, a bright smile across her face that at times could almost be blinding.
"He must be happy to be home" Charlie suggested, casually."Yeah..." Claire smiled in reply, looking down at her stomach once again as she felt a little movement under her hand. "So, what are you gonna call him?" Charlie questioned, curiously, trying to keep up conversation.
"I don't know. I haven't decided yet" Claire sighed, looking down at her stomach once again.
"Well, maybe I could help you think of something" Charlie offered, shyly. Keeping his eyes on his checker-bard shoes, that had grown quite brown after their stay on the island. "Aw, that's sweet" Claire smiled at him sweetly. He looked up, and found himself caught in her big blue eyes once again. What was it about her eyes that rendered him speechless?
For a moment, the two were quiet again, both stareing down at her stomach. "Claire!" A voice called from some where in the crowed. Charlie watched as Claire's head went up, searching for the owner of the voice. She seemed to have spotted him through the crowed. "Thomas?" She questioned out loud, a look of surprise crossing her face. . "Claire! Over hear!" the man called out again, this time grabbing Charlie's attention as well.
"Um, could you hold on for just a second?" Claire asked, turning to Charlie. "Yeah, sure. Of course" he assured, understandingly. Claire flashed him a smile before makeing her way over to where the man stood. He watched as she was nearly tacked by the man.
The two spoke back and forth, continuously hugging each other between words. Well, it was mostly the man. He seemed to be doing all the talking, as well as all the irrational hugging. Who is he? Charlie began to wonder. Who is this man who is hugging my Claire, crying over her shoulder? And why wasn't she saying anything, or hugging him back for that matter?
Then slowly it dawned on him. The man, whom Claire was now slowly begging to hug was the father of her child. Thomas, the bastard who left her and her baby alone. He watched as they held each other, both crying it seemed, feeling the hate build up inside him.
How could any one do that? Leave a poor girl all alone to find for herself with a baby on the way, and then have the nerve to try to come back and claim her...well, apparently it worked.
He looked up to see Claire infront of him, her eyes still red from crying, though she tried to hide it. "Hey, sorry I took so long" She apologized. "No problem" He assured, forcing himself to smile. He handed her the bags, helping her get them situated. "So, I guess you'll be going home then?" Charlie questioned, trying to sound as if he were happy for her.
"Oh, well I suppose we'll stay in L.A. for a few days, but yeah. I'll be going back to Australia soon" She explained, nodding uncomfortably. "You'll be letting me know when the little one comes?" he questioned, though it was more of a request. "Yes. Of course, where are you staying?" She asked, pulling out her diary so he could right down the number.
He pulled the sharpie from his pocket and scribbled out the number, pausing a while to remember it. When he looked back up, Claire was already stareing back at her man. "Here you go" he said, distantly, catching her attention.
"Alright. I'll be sure to call" Claire assured, closing the little blue book once again and sliding it into the side pocket of her bag. For a moment they stood awkwardly, neither knowing what to say. "Well, guess you better get going then" He suggested, in a low, distant voice. "Yeah" She nodded, though it came out in the form of a sigh.
His eyes were on the floor, and he was surprised to suddenly feel her arms around him."Good by, Charlie" She added, over his shoulder. "Good bye, Claire" he replied, softly, using all his power to ignore the fact that he didn't want to let her go.
But he did, and she went back to her man and disappeared into the crowd without another word. Leaving him alone, to stand and watch her vanish. He stood in the middle of the air port for a long, long time. Watching each an every face he recognized from the plain meet up with their friends and family before they finally left. And no one spoke a word to him. Not a single good bye. Any connection he'd made on the island had now been lost for good.
He was back to reality. Back to being the little outcast, Charlie. With no conscious knowledge of movement, he left the plain station, hailed a cab from the side walk, and climbed inside. "Where to?" the Hispanic man asked from the driver seat. "Venice Beach" He answered effortlessly, stareing out the window in a weary daze. The driver nodded, and started up the car.
The cab stopped infront the address Charlie had given him. A dusty little house at the top of a hill, surrounded by a narrow strip of bare grass. Old grey siding, and charred shingle roof. The second story wrighting down the first. The porch bemas built unevenly, the un-stained, battered wood busted and weathered by the rain. The whole house seemed to be slanting to the left. Even the windows, long, narrow and covered with dust, the shutters broken and falling to bits, didn't seem to stand up straight.
A crooked house, Charlie mused as he watched it appear in the squar of the window before him. If ever was a house that matched its owner entirely, this would be it. For Jay, the man who owned it, was a crooked as they can get.
Charlie climbed out of the cab, tossing a few bills into the passenger seat before letting the door slam shut behind him. The cab drove of as he watched up the hill, through the high weeds that sprung up through the little cobble stone bath that lead to the front steps.
He felt the wooden boards creek beneath his feet as he stepped up onto the porch. Pulling the screen door, witch had been nearly been eaten away by moths, open and knocking on the door. He stopped after a moment, waiting for some sign of life on the inside. None came.
He knocked again, feeling the softened wood agenst his knuckles. After a moment, he heard a crash inside, and the creek and unsteadily thump on the floor bards as someone made there way to the door. Charlie waited patently as the thumps grew closer, until he could tell that the man inside was right infront of the door.
"What?" Jays tired, disoriented voice groaned from behind the door. "Open up" Charlie replied, recognizing the voice immediately. It was quiet for another moment as he listened to the door being unlocked in at least ten deferent ways on the other side. "This better be good, cause I'm not about to wake my lazy ass up and crawl all the way out here for one of them Jahova witness bastards-" Jay grumbled bitterly as he opened the door, at first looking down at the floor. But as he spook, he slowly looked up at the man before him and was at a lost for words. In a delayed reaction, he jumped back, clinging to the door to keep form falling completely.
"Holly shit!" he exclaimed, looking as if he'd seen a ghost. "Chill out, man. I come in peace" Charlie assured teasingly, patting him on the shoulder as he made his way in. Jay fallowed him with wide eyes, slowly moving off the door. "You...your dead, man" Jay exclaimed, pointing a shaky finger in Charlie's direction.
"Am I?" Charlie questioned sarcastically, touching his chest and looking down as if he were just noticering. "No man, you died! You died on that plain!" Jay exclaimed, not knowing what to make of the situation. If Charlie was a mind reader, witch at times he believed himself to be, then at the moment this would be blowing Jay's mind.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but if you would have picked up a paper or turned on you TV you'd be aware that many of us ghost survived the crash, and are now home safe and sound" Charlie explained, keeping that praise sargassum at all times. "So...so your alive then? This is real?" Jay questioned, in confusion.
"Fraid so" Charlie confirmed with a shrug, carefully sliding his guitar case off and setting it on the floor. He was nearly knocked down beside it as the skinny little man tackled him in a hug. "Oh man, this is great! I thought you were dead man! I was totally fucked!" Jay exclaimed, over his shoulder.
"Glad my presence some how improves you living conditions" Charlie replied, giving him a short pat on the back before pulling away from him. "Well, you know how I hate being alone" Jay shrugged, casually. Charlie's eyes trailed over the couch, where a bunch of cloths, some of witch he hoped to god didn't belong to his friend, had been sprawled.
"Yeah, I'm sure you were very, very lonely" Charlie noted, sarchasticly, lifting a very feminine pair of underwear from the couch. "I was. That's why I had to find some company" Jay joked in reply. "Hmm... how much did that cost you?" Charlie teased, dropping down onto the broken old couch that stood barely a foot above the battered floor.
"I assure you, its nothing I can't afford" Jay replied, trying to imitate a proper English accent. "Man. Must have been cheep" Charlie continued to tease, eying the room lazily, trying to get it all back into his system. The softly rotted wooden floors, the torn striped wall paper that should have been burned in the seventies, the smell of dust and smoke that filled the room.
"Well, come on man, relax! Kick off your shoes, have a bear. Haven't had one of them in a while, eh?" Jay offered, already pulling on from the fridge. "Oh, no that's alright-" Charlie began to protest, but stopped when he found the bottle being caught in his hands. "Hm, why not" Charlie shrugged, and twisted off the top.
"Drink up, me hardy. There's plenty more in the fridge" Jay assured, sitting down on the little wooden coffee table before taking a sip of his own bottle. "Surprise, surprise" Charlie muttered, rolling his eyes as he sat the bottle down.
"So, are you going to tell me what happened or just take up my couch?" Jay questioned, after a moment of silence. "Actually, if you don't mind I was hoping to take a shower" Charlie explained, pushing himself of the couch. "Excellent notion. You smell bloody awful" Jay noted, taking yet another gulp of his beer. "Fair enough" Charlie shrugged, and shut the bath room door behind him.
He pulled off his shirt, and untied the little black-string necklace he'd been wearing around his neck. As he began removing his few bracelets, he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror. The bruises he had gained from his disappearance with Ethan had still not faded completely, and a few dark circles around his rib cage still remained.
What was worse was the scars on his neck. At a distance, they couldn't be seen, but close up, you could still back out the little bluish-brown marks, and even traces of red where the skin still hadn't healed over. He tilted his head to the side, examining the marks on his neck. "
You look like a mess" He muttered outlawed to his reflection. He felt like a mess. His eyes were soar, his muscles ached, every inch of his body was screaming for sleep. He turned on the shower and took of the rest of his cloths before climbing in.
About an hour later, after letting the water beat down on him until the aching in his back had subsided, he climbed back out and pulled a towel around his waist like a skirt, and headed out into the living room.
"Have fun?" Jay questioned, lifting his head from the arm of the couch as Charlie walked out of the bath room. "Not particularly" Charlie replied, unenthused, as he sat down on the couch beside him. "Well, can't say I blame you for not feeling well" Jay noted, sympathetically. "Anything I can get do?"
Charlie didn't reply. He laid his head in his hands, letting his hair drip down to the floor, still in nothing but a towel. "Come on, buddy. Anything at all?" Jay continued, giving him a nudge. "Cut it out" Charlie muttered, nudging him back playfully. Even if Jay was annoying as hell sometimes, he could always make the poor boy smile.
"Hey, come on. Get dressed" Jay suggested, hopping up off the couch. "Get dressed? Why?" Charlie questioned in confusion, feeling a tiny rush as he lifted his head. "Because I have an idea" Jay explained, and threw a balled up shirt and a pair of geans in his direction.
"Hmm, that's a first" Charlie muttered teasingly, pushing himself off the couch. "Very funny. Come on, hurry up. I'll go start up the van" Jay explained, and headed out the door. Charlie hopped of the couch, and quickly got dressed before wondering out to meet his friend inside the big ol' van with the DriveShaft logo painted on the side. It had been long since he'd sat in the dusty old thing, witch had now been dented atleast five times.
He pulled himself up into the passenger seat, taking quite some effort for a man of his small stature. "I still say we need to get you a stepping stool for this thing" Jay teased from the passenger seat. "Cute. You been taking care of her for me?" Charlie questioned, as he pulled his door shut. "She's running good as ever" Jay assured with a grin.
"Why is it I don't believe you?" Charlie questioned skeptically as he pulled on his seat belt . "Have faith, little man" Jay joked in assurance, patting Charlie on the shoulder before starting up the van. Charlie took in a deep breath, and laid his head back agenst the seat, spotting the prism that dangled on a chain from the rear view mirror, the light shining through it and makeing little dancing rainbows across his hand as it sat on his lap.
"You ok, man?" Jay questioned, raising an eye brow at him as they pulled out of the drive way. "Yeah, I'm fine" Charlie assured, in a dazed tone. "You sure?" Jay insisted, mildly concerned. Charlie thought for a moment, stareing out the window.
"Absolutely"
The club:
"Not bad, ay?" Jay questioned, arm around Charlie's shoulder as the two entered the club. Charlie looked around for a moment. "I guess" he shrugged, not to impressed. "You guess?" Jay questioned skeptically. "You must remember, there was a short time when I was quite famous. I've seen better" Charlie reminded his friend sarchasticly.
"But of course. Charlie Pace has seen it all!" Jay teased, leading him further into the club. "Hm. Perhaps it will hold my interest more after I've had a few drinks" Charlie suggested, looking around for the bar. He spotted it over in a far corner and began to head towards it.
"No, no my friend. This way" Jay insisted, turning him in the opposite direction. "And where would this way be leading us?" Charlie questioned, septically. "It better have alcohol"
"Its got something better, trust me" Jay explained suggestively, after looking over his shoulder in a paranoid fashion as if someone might be listening. Charlie said nothing, and simply went along until they reached a door that lead to the 'back room'. 'here we are. Take a seat, make yourself comfortable" Jay insisted as the entered the room.
"Sit...where?" Charlie questioned, looking around the crowded little room, witch the only sight of furniture as far as he could see were a few pre-occupied bean bags. "Ok, stand and make yourself comfortable. I'll be right back" Jay corrected, giving him a pat on the shoulder before disappearing into the swarm of people.
Charlie stood in place awkwardly, hands shoved in his pockets. What are you doing here Charlie? Back in the same place as before. Get out while you still can. Charlie thought to himself, idly watching the people around him. The kind of people he'd been around his whole life. Drunk, high, loud, obnoxious idiots. All just looking for a good time.
What would they think of you back on the island? After all the trouble they went through trying to get your life straight? Was all that for nothing at all? What would Claire think?
Charlie's eyes trailed over to the door where they'd came in. You could leave now. Just disappear. No one would bother to look for you. Slowly, as if he were being watched, Charlie made his way to the door. 'Thirsty?" a voice questioned from behind him. Charlie turned to see an attractive young women standing before him, holding a bear bottle in hand.
"You look like you could use a drink" She explained, sliding it into his hands. "Uh, thanks" he replied appreciatively, not knowing what to say. So much for makeing a clean escape. He thought, twisting the top off the bottle and taking a sip. Alcohol, god how I've missed you. He looked up to see the girl, watching him drink with a smile across her face.
Why is she stareing at me like that? "I'm Carry, by the way" She explained, casually. "Charlie" he replied simply, eyes on the floor. Is she flirting with me? "Looking for something?" she questioned playfully, lifting his chin so his eyes meet hers. Charlie smiled shyly. She is. "Well, I see you've made a friend" Jay exclaimed teasingly, popping up beside Charlie once again.
"Hi, Jay" The girl smiled sweetly. "Hello, darling. Why don't you do me a favor and show Charlie around? I've got some business to handle" Jay suggested, casually. Charlie shoot him a confused look. "I'd love to" Lindsey assured, sweetly, taking hold of Charlie's hand. "Have fun" Jay grinned, patting him on the shoulder. Jay slipped something into the pocket of Charlie's hoodie before disappearing once again.
Well, here we go. No turning back now...
"Well, are you coming?"Carry questioned, sliding her arm around his shoulder. "Of course" Charlie grinned, assuringly. He slipped his arm around her waist and fallowed her through the crowd.
Back at the house, a few hours later:
After walking around the club with Carry for a few hours, having plenty of bear and a good half of the little baggie Jay had slipped in his pocket, Carry convinced him to show her the house. Charlie, who was to caught up in his intoxication to decline brought her back to his place without even a thought of any coincidence. After all, it didn't really matter now did it?
"So, this is your place?" Carry questioned, looking around the tiny living room. "Well, its Jays actually. I just sort of, live here" Charlie shrugged, as he shut the door. "It's a bit of a mess, I might add" he explained, modestly.
"Oh, trust me, I've seen worse" she assured, pulling off her Jacket. She tossed it on the couch and headed over to the kitchen area, witch was pretty much a fridge, a stove and a sink.
"I would actually call it homey if there weren't women's undergarments thrown everywhere" she explained sarcastically, pulling out a bear. "Yeah. That's Jays idea of decorating" Charlie replied, jokenly, scratching the back of his head.
"How original" She scoffed, playfully, taking a sip of her bear. She continued wondering around the room, looking around curiously.
"So, wheres your room?" she questioned, turning to face him once again. A smile crossed Charlie's face as he made his way over to her, taking her hand in his as he lead her to his room. "Wow. Its clean" She exclaimed as she wondered into the dark little room. "No, just empty" He corrected, closing the door behind him.
"Well, I think its nice" She explained, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, pushing him back agenst the door. Charlie leaned down to kiss her, pulling both arms around her waist. Feeling the high start to kick in. Before he knew it the two were on his bed, cloths coming off by the second.
He was on his back, half naked. A girl he'd just barley meet straddled his lap, leading a trail of hickeys down his neck. As he closed his eyes, trying to enjoy himself, all he could think of was Claire.
One week later:
"Charlie, you awake?" Jay called, his voice sounded much louder to Charlie, who's head was throbbing. "Kind of" Charlie replied sleepily, attempting to lift his head from the pillow. Although the room was relatively dark, and the sun from the window was being shaded by a black t-shirt that had been tacked over it, the room still seemed way to bright.
"Well come on, man. Get up. We've got places to go" Jay explained, throwing some cloths in his direction. "We?" Charlie questioned skeptically, rolling onto his back. Makeing no attempt to sit up. "What, your just gonna sit around her all day?" Jay questioned, sarchasticly.
"Why not?" Charlie replied, closing his eyes once again. "No way, man. Get up" Jay insisted, giving him a playfully nudge. "Come on, you can't sleep your life away"
Charlie gave a protesting sigh, but forced himself to sit up. He looked around, squinting from the sunlight. His head hurt like hell. "When did Claire leave?" he questioned, tiredly. "Claire?" Jay questioned in reply, a confused look on his face. It took Charlie a while to catch his mistake. "Carry" he corrected, running his fingers through his messy hair in an attempt to get it out of his face. "She left about a week ago, man" Jay explained, as if it should have ben obvious.
"Oh" Charlie nodded simply, still a little confused. He threw his feet over the side of the bed, laying his head in his hands. "You're a mess, man" Jay noted, eyeing him in concern. "Thanks" Charlie muttered Sacracsticly, feeling around him for the pair of jeans that Jay had thrown. "No, man. I'm worried about you" Jay explained, captiously.
Charlie out a sarcastic laugh as he began pulling on his pants. "And why is that?" he questioned, skeptically. "Look at you! You've been in bed for three days! You haven't eaten any thing or drank anything! All you do is get up occasionally when ever I come home to see if I have any more sodding drugs!" Jay exclaimed, pacing back and forth in the little space between Charlie's bed and the wall.
"So?" Charlie questioned casually, now looking for his shirt. Jay rolled his eyes in aggravation. "Look at me, Charlie. Do you remember anything that happened this week? At all?" he questioned, holding onto Charlie's shoulders. Charlie thought for a long moment. "See? You see what I mean! You can't keep doing this to yourself!" Jay exclaimed, persistently.
"What do you know" Charlie scoffed, grabbing the shirt off the bed and pushing past him. "What the bloody hell is that suppose to mean?" Jay questioned angrily, fallowing him down the hall. "You think your better than me? How long has it been since you went a day without your sodding drugs!" Charlie questioned, sarcastically, after pulling on his shirt.
"Its been longer than you have, that's for sure" Jay replied, accusingly. "I don't know if you've got this through your head or what, but I was stuck on a bloody island for a whole god damn month. Heroine doesn't exactly grow on trees!" Charlie exclaimed angrily.
"No shit! I'm the one paying for it so you can sit around here on you ass all day and use it up!" Jay replied, bitterly. "You want me to stop using your drugs? Fine" Charlie explained, grabbing his coat off the ground. He turned around and headed for the door. "Where do you think your going?" Jay questioned skeptically. Charlie simply flipped him off before storming out the door, letting it slam behind him.
A few days later, Charlie found himself in a dingy little motel that he was paying for with the money he'd gotten out of Jay's coat. He spent his days up in his tiny room, laying in bed and living off the little stash that he also stole from Jay. He didn't know how long he'd been staying there, but he knew that he'd just about warn out his welcome. Pretty soon they'd be coming to kick him out.
On top of that, the stash was almost empty. It took all of what little strength he had left to keep himself from moving so he wouldn't use up the last bit. He laid flat on his back, every light in the room shut off. The rain was pouring down outside. His temples throbbed and his fingers twitched uncontrollably, keeping a steady drum beat agenst his stomach. Every vain in his body was aching for the small contents of the little bag. Charlie's eyes slowly trailed over to where the baggy sat on the end table, only inches from his head. Out In the open for anyone who entered to see. The lightning flashed outside, shooting a flash of bright light into the room that made him flinch.
He could hear the door to the room next to him being opened. Way to go with the paper thin walls. He sat up, cracking his neck and running his hands through his hair. His whole body was shaking now. A baby's cry sounded from the other side of the wall. Wonderful. Just what I need to keep me awake. A screaming child. Charlie thought, throwing his feet over the bed.
I don't blame the kid. I wouldn't want to be kept in this dump either. He rubbed his eyes for a moment, trying to wake himself up. It was no use. Getting to sleep would be impossible without a little extra help. His eyes trailed to the baggy once again. Why the hell not?
He lifted the baggy off the end tabled and pulled it open, slipping his finger inside to scoop out what ever he could get and placing it to his gums. He fell back into the mattress, feeling the relief start up instantly. The throbbing in his head stopped, or atleast, he stopped noticing it. As well as the shaking in his hands. The sound of the baby in the next room seemed to have died down.
Charlie closed his eyes again, feeling himself slowly sink into sleep. Just before he was out completely, he heard a voice singing a very familiar song.
Catch a falling star
and put it in your pocket
never let it fade away
Catch a falling star
and put it in your pocket
save it for a rainy day
It took him a while to realize that it wasn't a dream. That the voice was coming from the room next to him. It all hit him at once. Claire, he thought, recognizing the voice instantly. What is Claire doing in a hotel? He thought to himself in confusion. Quicky, he tried to get up but the attempt failed. For some reason, he couldn't seem to move. He couldn't even lift his fingers.
He felt his body began to shake once again, and a twitching in his vains that sent a wave of panic right over him. He was sweating bad, the cold sweat you get when you've just had some terrible night mare. Tears rolled down his cheeks. he opened his mouth, to call for help. But no sound came out. His stomach felt as if it were being twisted into a knot. He still couldn't move. He couldn't even tell if he was breathing or not.
Slowly, the room around him went black, and all he could hear was the sound of Claire's voice as she sang her baby to sleep, completely oblivious to the fact that he was Dieng inches away from her. Claire, he tried to call, but nothing came out. He had no control of his body what so ever. All he could do was lie there, shaking, panicking, feeling the blood rush through him. And listening to Claire's soft, sweet voice as the world around him faded away.
Catch a falling star
and put it in your pocket
never let it fade away
Catch a falling star
and put it in your pocket
save it for a rainy day
Authors note: Ok, theres Chapter number three. I know, its getting quite upsetting, but don't worry. I wouldn't let anything that bad happing to our sweet little Charlie, or Claire for that matter.
