Disclaimer: I don't own lost!

Note: Warning, little bit, well, a good deal of sextuality involved.

Alatarial10: Thank you for the compliment on the Sesame Street conversation. I plan to put in many more silly conversations of the like in further chapters, one because they get great reactions, and two because they're so darn fun to write! Thanks for the spoilers, I've heard a few since the last update and they're driving me mad! But again, thanks for reading!

Fate: The Next Life

Make Ups

Jack came down stairs, finding the living room empty. He wondered if Charlie and Claire were awake. With a shrug, he walked into the living room and plopped down on the couch.

"Hey" Claire's voice greeted from inside the kitchen. He glanced up, to see her already makeing breakfast.

"Isn't that Charlie's job?" Jack questioned in amusement. For a moment, she gave no reply.

"Normally, yeah..." She said after a moment, fakeing a little smile.

"Where is he?" Jack questioned, sensing her concern. "Where do you think?" She asked in reply, a slightly bitter tone edging its way into her normally sweet voice. Jack nodded, knowing exactly where it was she was talking about.

Ever since Nicky had appeared in they're door last week, Charlie had been leaving at random times of the day to go talk to her. Both were begging to worry. Claire, in her good nature said nothing of it. But it was clearly visible now that it had been makeing an impression on her.

"Clair, I'm starting to worry about him" Jack explained, pushing off the couch. "Your not the only one" She sighed in agreement.

"Have you talked to him about it?" Jack questioned, makeing his way into the kitchen. Claire shook her head. "Maybe you should" he suggested, after she gave no further response.

"What could I say?" She questioned, turning to face him. Jack shrugged, not knowing what to tell her. "I have no clue. But someone needs to talk to him" he insisted.

"I will" Claire nodded, reassuring him. Jack gave a weak smile, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. At that moment, the front door came open, letting a think beam of sun light in.

Charlie slid inside, sun glasses firmly placed as he shut the door behind him. He said nothing to the others, he didn't even seem to notice them as he headed for the stairs.

"Charlie" Claire called after him, grabbing his attention. He stopped in his tracks, slipping off the sun glasses before turning to her. Around his eyes lay a dark ring, he looked as if he hadn't eaten or slept in days. "Can I talk to you?" She asked in a small, meek voice.

"Of course" he replied, looking at her as if confused, and fallowed her into the living room. Jack slipped upstairs without being noticed in order to give them some privacy.

"Where have you been?" She asked softly, sitting down on the couch. He was across from her, stareing at her blankly. "What do you mean?" was his response.

"Charlie, you were gone when I woke up! As a matter of fact, you've been gone all week!" She explained, letting her emotions get the best of her.

"I was with Nicky, and you know that" Charlie replied, sounding a little offended. "Yes, but where were you? You've been disappearing off and on for the past week" She exclaimed.

"What? All of a sudden I'm not aloud to leave?" he questioned defensively, rising to his feet. "You have a family to take care of!" She remained him, stareing up at him from the couch.

"I'm sure you and Ben will be fine if I go to get help! It must be true, Jack said it himself" Charlie explained bitterly.

"I don't care what Jack said, its not true. We need you here, Charlie. I need you" She told, a small pain now appearing in her voice. "I know that Claire. But I can't always be here. Some times, I just need to get away" He tried to explain, sounding as sympathetic as possible.

"Get away? From your own family?" She questioned resentfully, now rising to her feet. "Claire, sit down.." he suggested, not wanting her anger to in any way effect the babies.

"No, Charlie. Not until you tell me why it is you feel the need to run off to your little ex girl friend at all hours of the day" Claire demanded, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

"She's not my ex girl friend" Charlie assured, once again sounding offended. "Then who is she?" Claire questioned bitterly in return.

"Why dose that even matter?" He questioned in aggravation. "It matters because you seem to prefer spending time with her rather than your own wife!" Claire exclaimed in return.

"That's not true, and you know it" he snapped bitterly. "No, I don't know it! You've been leaving every day to go see her! Mean while, you don't ever talk to me, or even look at me any more! What am I suppose to think?" She questioned deeply.

"What do you think?" He asked, looking extremely offended. She hated seeing this side of him. His question caught her off gaud, and for a moment she couldn't even think.

"I don't know, Charlie. But I'm worried" She explained firmly, her voice calming to some extent. "Well don't be" he snapped back, more defensive than he'd meant it to sound.

"How can you even say that?" she gasped in astonishment. Charlie looked down, knowing she was right.

" Your gone all the time. You don't eat. You don't sleep. Your spine's showing for god sake! Jack says you've been throwing up almost every morning and your spending all your free time with your ex" Claire replayed the week for him, repeating herself once again. He need to here it from her view.

"She's not my ex girlfriend!" he repeated once again, more aggravated then before. Claire jumped at the sound of his voice. "She's my ex drug dealer" he finished, hand covering half his face as he rubbed his darkened eyes.

"Oh god..." Claire sighed, looking him up and down. He saw her worried look, and could see she'd already jumped to the obvious conclusion.

"No, I'm not using..." he assured, still in annoyance. "I just needed someone to talk to" he explained, letting the hand drop to his side.

"Why couldn't you talk to me?" she asked weakly, now she was the one who sounded offended.

"Because you haven't been there Claire. You don't know what its like to hate something with a passion, but your body won't rest until you have it" he explained, his voice a low rumble.

Claire stared back at him, her eyes growing soft with sympathy as she moved forward, wrapping her arms around him. "I'm sorry" She said softly, pressing her head agenst his chest.

"Don't be. Its not your fault" he assured, rubbing his hand along her back. He pulled his arms around her, holding her as close to him as physically possible. "How could I have ever doubted you?" She whispered out loud, her voice muffled agenst her chest. He gave no response. Instead, he simply rocked her in his arms, gently laying a kiss on top of he head.

At that moment, a knock came to the door. It took a moment for the sound to register, before Charlie stepped back, giving Claire a reassuring smile before heading off to answer it. Claire wondered towards the kitchen, not ready to great her company with teary eyes.

Charlie peppered him self for the strong beam of sun before opening the door. "Charlie" the women infront of him gave a big smile. His jaw dropped at the sight of her.

"Oh my god..." was all he could gasp, moving forward to give her a hug. "I haven't sceen you in so long" Kate sighed over his shoulder, patting him on the back.

"No kidding" he replied after pulling away. She looked him over, noticering the few newly appointed scars. "I see you've been keeping up your usual mishaps" She noted, indicating to the bandage on his forehead.

"Couldn't stop if I tried" He grinned jokenly, and gestured for her to come inside. "Kate!" Claire squealed once she spotted the visitor, makeing her way out of the kitchen. The two gave each other a warm hug.

"My god, your more Pregnet then ever" Kate noted, pulling back to look her friend over. Claire blushed, smiling down at her stomach. Inside, the two little ones were kicking vigorously. They could always seem to tell when someone they knew was around.

"Where's Ben?" She questioned, glancing back at Charlie. "He's upstairs....with Jack" Claire explained, as gently as possible.

"I expected that much....that's kind of why I'm here" Kate explained with a sigh, folding her hands together.

"For Jack?" Charlie questioned, hopefully. Kate nodded. "That's great!" he exclaimed, before catching himself. Claire shoot him a little glance that told him to keep his mouth shut.

"I'll go get him" Charlie suggested, leaving quickly before he could make the situation worse. Claire took a seat beside Kate, who had already sunk down onto the couch.

"So how has he been?" Kate asked with concern, looking up at Claire.

"He's doing alright, I think." She assured, giving her a comforting pat on the shoulder. "You know Jack, not one to talk on his own problem"

"Yes. I distinctly remember that..." Kate assured with slight amusement. Jack walked in through the open door way, spotting Kate instantly, even if it was only the back of her head. Claire stood, ready to head up stairs and give them some privacy.

"Hello Jack" Kate said, watching him as he made his way over. "Where have you been?" He questioned, cutting straight to the point. She sighed, waiting for him to sit down before she began.

"I was half way to Alabama..." She explained, a little skeptic at her exact location."Alabama?" He questioned in confusion. "With Sawyer..." She nodded. His eyes went wide.

"You left with him?" Jack questioned, a little out raged. "Yes. We....we were having an affair"

she explained softly, refusing to look at him.

"An affair?" he asked with a laugh, looking at her skeptically. "Since when?"

"Since the night before we contacted the plain" Kate explained. "Why didn't you tell me?" he questioned bitterly, forcing her to look him in the eye. "I didn't know how to tell you. I was to assumed" she explained guiltily.

"So you just left?" he asked in out rage, moving to his feet. All she could do was nod in response, to choked up to speak. "

Why are you here, Kate?" He questioned after a moment, stareing down at her with no Sympathy at all.

"I realized I couldn't keep running from my mistakes. I had to tell you" She explained, looking up at him from her spot on the couch.

"So what do you want me to say?" He questioned after a moment. "You don't have to say anything. I just thought you should know" She replied softly before rising to her feet. He watched her make her way towards the door. She was half way there before he realized he couldn't let her leave.

"Kate" he called after her, waiting for her to turn in response. "I want to talk about this" He insisted. She tried to hide the smile of relief that was pushing its way on to her face as she walked back over to him.

Boone looked up when he heard a knock on the door. He'd been relaxing in his chair, beating himself up as usual on how he continued to screw up his life when he'd heard the sound. Slowly, with no rush at all, he walked over an opened it.

"Its about time you came back" he noted to Shannon, as she stood in the door way. Her first instinct told her to slap him, the second told her yell at him, the third told her to just leave. But she ignored her fist in stinks and sided with the patient forth.

"Your right, it is" She agreed with him passively, no longer wanting to argue. Her passiveness caught him off gard as he allowed her to walk inside.

"So what are you doing her Shannon?" he questioned, shutting the door behind her. "I came to apologize" She replied simply.

"Apologize, you?"he asked skeptically, raising an eye brow as he made his way over. "I'm tired of fighting, Boone" She sighed, sitting down on the arm of the couch.

"So am I" He replied simply. "Then lets stop" She suggested in a blank reply. "I'm sorry"

"Me two"

"Some how I don't feel much better" She explained with a little laugh. "Me neither" he replied, letting a smile come across his face. "You such a dork" She sighed, shacking her head.

"Your such a bitch" he replied teasingly, moving over to give her a hug. They held each other for a moment before letting go once again. "So, where's Hillary?" she asked in a slightly suggestive tone.

"She broke up with me" He explained. "Oh, I'm sorry" Shannon sighed, trying to be sympathetic.

"Don't be. I'm better off without her" Boone assured. "Yeah, probably" She agreed. "So, where have you been staying?" he asked, half ready for her to tell him it was none of his business.

"I stayed with Eve for a while" She explained to his surprise. "The bartender?" he questioned in disbelief. "Yeah, until she pissed me off" Shannon added.

"Oh...so then where did you go?" he questioned curiously.

"Oh, no where..."

"Shannon..." he insisted.

"I stayed with Sayid"

"I knew it, your whore"

"Your such an ass"

And they hugged once again.

"Funny how were like prisoners in our own house" Charlie noted, as he paced back and forth in upstairs living room, witch looked more like an attic.

"Were not poisoners. Were just giving them some space" Claire assured, trying to keep his mood positive. It was a lost cause.

He gave a skeptic laugh. "Dose giving them space include ease dropping on their conversation?"

"Im not ease dropping" She protested with a roll of her eyes. "Oh? 'S that why your sitting at the very edge of the steps listening to every thing they say?" He questioned skeptically.

"No..its my house, I can sit where ever I want" She concluded, unable to make a good defense. "Right" Charlie grinned. "Ease-dropper"

"Well, where do you suggest I go?" she questioned, shifting to face him. "Well, we could go to the bed room..." he suggested with a hinting grin that made her jaw drop, as if shocked.

"Are you suggesting we go....in there, while there down stairs?" She questioned in astonishment. "It was just a suggestion" he shrugged with a grin, makeing no attempt to deny it.

"Shh, wait they're talking again" Claire whispered, almost cutting him off. "Alright, that's it. Up you go" Charlie exclaimed as he pulled her to her feet. "Oh, come on. I was just listening" she sighed in protest, allowing him to pull her down the hall without even realizing it.

"Where are we going?" she asked, glancing at him over her shoulder.

"Were giving them their privacy" He explained with a gin before pushing the door to their bed room open. "Ladies first"

She gave him a skeptical smile before walking inside, glancing at him over her shoulder as he shut the door behind her. "I hope your not thinking what I think your thinking" She said, turning to face him.

"What do you think I'm thinking?" He questioned, his voice already in a textual tone as he moved closer to her. "I think your thinking what I thought you were thinking before"

".......What?...."

"Oh, just shut up" Claire grinned before pushing her lips agenst his. He obeyed with no fuss as he pulled his arms tightly around her waist. Her fingers ran through his hair, then trailed down the side of his cheek, sliding along his neck as the kiss deepened.

"You know what we should do after you have the twins?" he asked, his voice muffled agenst her cheek. "What?" she questioned with amusement

. "Have more." he answered before trailing a kiss down her slinder neck. "And why is that?" she questioned with a smile, tilting her head to the side. "Because, pregnancy hormones are great" he looked up with a grin.

"Well see" she replied, as if talking to a child before she placed another kiss on his lips.

"What do you think they're doing up there?" Jack asked curiously, stareing up at the ceiling.

"Probably listening to us" Kate replied with a shrug. "You think?" he questioned, taking a seat on the coffee table before her.

"Yeah, either that or..." She began, stopping herself before the word came out. She covered her mouth quickly, just incase. Jack grinned, knowing full well what she was going to say. Both burst out into laughter, unable to hold it in.

"Oh, Kate..I"ve missed you" he sighed, looking her in the eye. "I missed you too" she assured, blushing slightly as she pushed a lose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Dose this mean you forgive me?" She questioned hopefully. He hesitated for a moment.

"No....but it means I'm willing to try" he answered with a sigh. She nodded with a smile. It was all she need to hear. For a moment, silence fell between them. Not necessarily awkward, there was simply an absence of words. Still, Kate felt it need to be broken.

"You know...I haven't..." She gave a suggestively indicating glance up at the ceiling, "in a while."

"Oh?" He questioned, in the same manor, slowly leaning in. "yep" She grinned, before closing the space with a kiss.

"So, what did he say?" Sayid asked, watching Shannon as she walked in through the front door.

"All is well" She replied with a sigh as she fluffed the back of her hair. "And...?" he questioned, folding the paper in his lap.

"And..I told him I'd be stareing here for a while, so I could start getting on my own feet" She explained teasingly as she made her way over, plopping down on the arm of the chair beside him.

"Wonderful" he grinned in reply, leaning up to give her a small kiss. "Was he man?" he asked after they're lips had parted.

"No" she answered with a shrug, pulling her arm casually across his shoulders. "As a matter of fact, he seemed really happy about it"

Sayid grinned. "Well...he's not the only one" He assured, pulling and arm around her waist as he nudged her onto his lap. She continued to run her fingers through his hair as she gave him another kiss.

Being with him was the greatest feeling she could ever have. Not to mention he could kiss better than any guy she'd ever been with, and it wasn't even open mouth. But, she'd keep that little detail to herself. So instead, she laid her head agenst his, idly playing with his long, black curls as she thought to herself.

"Do you ever wonder what the others are doing?" She asked suddenly, turning to him. "The others?" he questioned, mildly confused.

"Yeah. You know, Jack, Kate, Charlie, Claire..the others" She explained. "I'm sure they're doing.....something" he grinned suggestively. She shook her head, trying not to laugh before giving him yet another kiss.

Boone walked down the wide, empty white hall until he found the room number which the women at the counter had given him. Inside, Thomas stood by the hospital bed where the young women laid. It was the girl from the island whom he'd carried back to Jack all the way from the other side. The doctors were still not sure what was wrong with her, after almost a month of being back home.

For a while, he'd been to caught up in what was going on with Shannon and Hillary, that he forgot all about her. But now that things were better, she'd suddenly popped into his head.

"How's she doing?" he asked, a little awkward as he walking into the room. "Oh. Hey. She's doing better" Thomas answered, a little surprised to see him. "What brings you here?"

"Well, I've been thinking about her a bit lately, thought I'd come and check in" Boone explained with a shrug, a part of him not really knowing why he was there to begin with.

Thomas nodded, seeming to understand. "You know, its kind of strange. I don't even know her name" He continued, stareing down at the young women sleeping face. Her features had grown lighter since he'd sceen her on the island, her hair more tamed. Though her complection remained the same pale shade as before.

"Doesn't mean you can't worry about her" Thomas assured. Boone gave a little smile, still feeling pretty uncomfortable. Not just from being there. But being there with him. The man seemed nice, but there was just something weird about him. Not to mention the fact that he seemed to know Claire. And from what Boone could guess, it could only be from one thing.

"So you knew Claire?" Boone questioned simply, sliding into one of the empty chairs. "Yeah" Thomas nodded, taking a seat of his own. "How?"

"It's a long story"

"Tell me"

"Well..." he began, "we used to date."

"Are you Ben's father?" Boone questioned, cutting straight to the point. Thomas thought for a moment. "No..Charlie is" He answered simply. "But are you his father?" Boone repeated persistently.

"Biologically, yes"

Boone nodded, thinking as much. No use in makeing the guy feel more uncomfortable than he already did. "Alright. I just...wanted to know" Boone explained with a shrug, picking up his jacket as he began to head out.

"You should come back" Thomas suggested, rising to his feet as well. Boone turned to him in confusion, unsure what he meant. "You should come back and visitor her. When she's awake" He elaborated.

Boone glance back at the sleeping girl, and wondered why he felt compelled to at all. "Yeah. I will" he assured with a nod, before heading out once again.

Took me a while to get that one out. Coment please! :)