Chapter 6

Weeks went by and not a peep out of Shannon or Charlie could be heard from either Claire or Boone. Claire knew better though, she could see the pain reflecting in Charlie's eyes, the disdain for Boone. He wouldn't speak up about it though, and she wasn't about to start up a conversation on the topic. She knew ignoring the matter was not the healthiest choice, but she liked having Charlie as her best friend. And risking that friendship was not worth the drama.

Currently, Claire was sitting with Charlie as the two played with Kaleb. Claire's eyes continually kept searching the horizon for Boone though; she hadn't seen him all day long and was starting to get worried. For the past few weeks he had slept near her at night, much to Charlie's dismay, and kissed her on the forehead every morning before going out into the jungle with Locke. She hadn't felt that kiss this morning and she didn't recall him coming in at all the night before.

"He's fine…" Charlie said softly as he tickled Kaleb's neck softly, the baby wriggling in his blanket with laughter. He said this as if it were a fact, like he knew. Well he definitely knew that was what she was worrying about.

"Oh." Claire jumped a bit, surprised by his intuitive response. "I know. I just…"

"You just worry when it's someone you love." He finished for her, not wanting to actually hear the words come out of her mouth.

Claire bit down on her bottom lip and then slowly nodded. Charlie looked away from her and back down to the baby. She wished she could have spared him the pain. "I'm surprised you still stay at my side anymore." She whispered.

"Just because you've chosen to be with Boone…it doesn't mean I stop being your friend, Claire. You're…well you know." She did know. She knew that he was trying to say that he would always love her and as much as it hurt to know she had hurt him, knowing he cared still made her feel complete. Selfish, she knew that, to want to be as important to him as ever, but it was human nature to be selfish every once and a while. Claire still wished that Charlie's love for her was more of the best friend kind though.

"Well, I should probably go and see if I can barter some Aspirin from Sawyer, I have a killer headache." Charlie piped up and pushed himself up from the sand. He gently pat Claire's shoulder then started to make his way down the beach. Claire watched him leave and then picked up Kaleb in her arms and lay back against the tree for a moment. "You think we should go and look for Boone? I know you like him, don't you?" She smiled as Kaleb started to giggle and reach out to her.

"Well, that's that then." Claire got up and cradled Kaleb in her arms, heading toward the jungle. The jungle didn't seem so frightening during the day. The sun was blazing and there wasn't a cloud to be found in the sky. The shade the lavish leaves brought in the dense jungle were actually quite relaxing, they blocked out a lot of the sun at least. Claire pulled up the blanket around Kaleb a little more snuggly and started to step over fallen tree limbs and mashed leaves.

Soft rustles could be heard here and there and Claire watched as a monkey jumped from one tree to another. Today the jungle seemed to be everything one would have expected to find on the perfect vacation. Claire had to admit that if the circumstances were different, if she knew that this was just a vacation, she might actually enjoy herself here. As it were though, she knew that there were things out here that couldn't be explained and she had to keep her wits about her.

Another soft rustle came from her right side and she whipped her head around to make sure that it was just another small animal and not something that could be dangerous to Kaleb. Once she had looked over there, however, the noises stopped. Claire blinked and then took a couple steps in the opposite direction. "Boone!" She started to call out, knowing that if he were near he would come running. "Boone!"

She didn't hear him running though, she heard a slower noise, and something was creeping toward her. She started to feel dizzy and she saw the shadow of someone, it had to be a person. She didn't see who it was though, before she knew it, she had been hit with something on the back of her head and everything became darkness.

Boone emerged from the jungle just as the sun was starting to set and he was anxious to see Claire. He had been working all night and all day on that garden and Locke had also had the idea of trying to find some more clean springs for everyone. A yawn escaped his mouth as he made his way into the caves. Before he even stepped foot into the caves, however, a hand came clamping down over his arm. Charlie.

"What are you doing?" Charlie demanded.

"What do you mean? I'm coming back from the jungle. I should be asking you why you seem so inclined to try and rip my arm off." Boone knew he should have tried to be more civil, but he and Charlie would always have bad blood between them. They both loved the same girl after all.

"Claire isn't with you? I thought she was with you."

"No…I haven't seen her since yesterday. I didn't get to come back here last night." He blinked and then felt that old panic build up inside his chest again. "When did she leave?"

Charlie started to get nervous as well, both men starting towards the jungle immediately. "I left for some Aspirin hours ago. In the afternoon, I came back later and she was gone. I figured she had found you and decided to stay with you for the rest of the day. No one else has seen her either, I asked around. Oh my God…what if she's hurt? I shouldn't have left her…" Charlie covered his mouth with one of his hands and Boone shook his head.

"It's not your fault. I shouldn't have kept her worrying. I should have told her what was going on so she didn't worry…and try to look for me." He started to beat back leaves that got in his face with a great amount of force, relieving his frustration on the plants.

"You're right, actually. This is your fault. Maybe if she hadn't of gotten involved with you, she would have stayed with me. She wouldn't have wanted to venture into the jungle." Charlie shot back at him. Boone wanted to punch him for that, but Claire was more important than petty banter.

Boone started off in the opposite direction as Charlie. "Claire!" He called out, all fatigue having left him. He didn't care about how his muscles were aching, or how heavy his eyes felt. He just wanted to find her, to make sure she was safe. To protect her, and he wouldn't rest until he could do just that.