Chapter 2:

"It's a surprise" Charlie replied. "I don't want to tell you or the moment won't be right. You'll just have to wait till a little later to find out."

Claire cocked her head in curiosity, but told herself that it would be well worth the wait, she was sure of it.

They headed off into the jungle for another walk this time taking a different path then the one they normally did. Charlie walked close to her carefully keeping an eye out on their surroundings.

When they had finally made it to the beach. They could see some commotion going on. Jin was apparently auguring with Sun about something. Obviously it was because he didn't like the bathing suit Sun was wearing.

" Do you think we should do something?" Claire asked as everyone started to stare.

" What can we do?" Charlie asked.

" I don't know." Claire said knowing he was right. "I just feel terrible for Sun." she finished.

Charlie nodded in agreement. When all the sudden they saw Michael run up to them, and push Jin away. Then they saw Sun slap him across his face and walk away.

Charlie and Claire both looked at each other in surprise.

" Glad we didn't try to help." Charlie replied.

After the whole incident with Jin and Sun, Charlie and Claire continued on their walk.

Claire was still curious about what Charlie had planned for her but it didn't matter to her what it was as long as they were together.

They spent the day doing laundry, thinking of baby names; Charlie suggested she name the baby Charles or Peanut. Claire thought about it and actually liked the idea of Charles. They also talked about things they missed from home like Peanut Butter, fluffy beds, hot showers, and actual clean clothes.

Later that evening Charlie led Claire to his makeshift spot in sand. It was a beautiful sight for Claire. "Charlie," she whispered, " This is wonderful"

"I made it just for you Claire. I know how you like to sit in the sand and look at the ocean. No you won't get wet when the tide comes in. Sit here for a sec while I go get something."

Claire sat down and her mind began to drift. Never had she had a man care for her this much and that's why she admired Charlie so much. He cared for her so deeply as she did in return. Gazing around at her surroundings she could see Hurley not far off listening to his CD player deep in his own thought.

"I wonder when those batteries will die out," Claire thought in her mind.

Minutes later Charlie returned with two teacups in hand.

" Aww, that's so sweet. How did you know I love tea?" she asked taking one from his hand.

" I've given it to you before." he said looking slightly sad.

" Charlie, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to.. I wish I could remember, more than anything in the world." She said.

" Oh, no Claire, I wasn't trying to make you feel bad! It's just, last time I gave it to you.. I… I told you that I wanted to be your friend and…" he trailed off.

" And?" she asked him.

" Well, lets just say that I don't think you wanted to be my friend." he said looking down.

" Oh, Charlie, that's not it at all.. You're practically my only real friend I have on this place. I don't remember me doing that to you, but it probably had something to do with.. Thomas. He.. He said we could do it, raise the baby together. But then he just.. Bailed. I guess I have some trust issues." Claire said.

" I'm not Thomas, and I never will be. I promise you, I won't leave you Claire," he said staring at her eyes.

Claire's eyes opened wide.

" What? What is it?" Charlie asked.

" I won't leave you Claire. You've said that to me before, haven't you? I.. I think I remember." she asked excitedly.

"Yeah I said it to you the night you had the nightmare." Charlie replied a smile forming on his face, happy that Claire was beginning to remember. "What else do you remember?"

"Everything is so blurry, there's just bits and pieces that are coming back. I remember you also told me that you wouldn't let anyone hurt me."

"That's was right before Ethan took us." Charlie said sadly. "You had false labor and I told you before we headed back to the caves that I wouldn't let anyone hurt you"

"I also remember something about benoffiee pie." "What is benoffiee pie?"

"It's a pie made up of toffee and cream. We were doing laundry and talking about things we missed from home and I told you I missed benoffiee pie. It was right before you told me you missed Peanut Butter"

At that moment Claire become overwhelmed with memories. Memories of her and Charlie together. Though it was only bit and pieces and nothing whole. This overwhelming emotion seem to take a hold a Claire and she fainted.

"Claire, Claire..." he began

" Claire!" Charlie shouted as he stood up.

" Claire, please wake up!" he yelled as he bent down over her to put her face in his hands.

Seeing what was going on, Hurley got up and got to them as quick as he could.

" What's going on, dude?" he asked Charlie and he helped him to sit Claire up.

" I don't know. Hurry and get Jack. Please. Hurry!" Charlie begged.

" You'll go faster. You go, and I will stay here." Hurley said.

" What? NO! I'm not leaving her!" Charlie said quickly.

" Dude, do you want her to be okay?" Hurley asked.

" Yes, more than anything." Charlie said looking sadly at her.

" Then go, go get Jack!" Hurley said as he leaned down by Claire's small yet large bellied frame.

Charlie ran as fast as he could to the camp, no one had left to go to the caves yet, for practically the whole group, aside from Jin and Sun were sitting around a fire.

" Jack! Jack! Come.. Fast.. It's Claire," he yelled out of breath.

" What's going on Charlie?" Jack asked as he got up to put his hand on his shoulder. Kate followed him.

" It's Claire, we.. We were talking when all the sudden she.. She fainted." Charlie said.

" Okay, show me where she is." Jack asked.

Jack, Kate, and Charlie made it to Claire, who was beginning to wake.

Jack rushed up to her with Charlie close behind.

"Claire, Claire come on wake up." Jack said

Claire began to stir and the moment felt like dejavu. She remembered something similar to this happening before

"What, what happened?" She asked.

"You were talking to me about something you remember when you fainted" Charlie replied.

"That's right. I was talking to you Charlie. I remember most everything about the time we spent together. It all coming back to me. Expect for when Ethan took us. I still don't remember that. But I do remember you telling me about a dream you had about a bus, when you helped me calm down after my nightmare, and the conversation about things we missed from home. I remember all of it. I guess it got so overwhelming that it made me faint."

"That possibly one reason," Jack said, " It could also be the heat. I want you to take it easy Claire. Don't do so much walking and drink lots of water and limit strenuous activity," he handed her a bottle of water.

" Yes, right." Claire said taking the bottle feeling slightly lightheaded.

" And since you are starting to remember stuff, well.. If you do remember anything about.. Well you know.. What happened.. Just umm.." Jack stuttered.

" I'll tell you right away." Claire smiled to reassure him.

" Are you sure you're okay, sweetie?" Kate asked as she bent down to the sand where Claire still sat up, her hands propping her up.

" Yeah, I'm feeling better already. Well, except for the whole being pregnant thing. Kind of getting, well.. Tired of lugging this thing around." she said pointing to her stomach.

Everyone laughed.

" Okay, well.." Jack started looking at he sky as the last bit of light faded away. " You two should head back to the caves with us now. It's better we travel in groups. Safer." Jack said.

" Right." Charlie said as he slowly helped Claire up off the ground.

" Okay, come on." Jack said as Jack and Kate walked next to each other and Charlie and Claire walked behind them side by side.

They finally reached their small camp in the caves.

" Okay, well.. If you need anything Claire, I'll be right over there." Jack said pointing near his small area where he slept. There was a small piece of plane propped up in case it rained over him.

" Okay. Thank you Jack." Claire said as he started to leave.

" Same here hun, if you need me.. I'm right near Jack's place. Okay?" Kate said rubbing the side of her arm comforting her.

" Okay, thanks." Claire said once again.

" And if you need me, I'll be right… Here." Charlie said pointing the ground where they were standing.

Charlie walked over a bit to wear Claire normally slept. He drug her 'bed' over right near his, which wasn't too far away. It was in the corner somewhat, but still in was roomy enough. Charlie had made himself a little sitting area. Something similar to what Sawyer had made himself.

Claire smiled and ducked under it. She sat down, and then slowly laid down on her back, Charlie came up next to her and lay down on his 'bed' area. They were not directly on top of each other, yet they were still close enough so that they could feel the warmth of the others skin when they briefly touched arms.

" Thanks Charlie. For this." Claire said as she turned her head towards him.

" No, thank you for coming to my.. Home?" Charlie questioned himself chuckling a bit.

Claire smiled. " You tired?" she then asked him.

" Nope, I told you. I wasn't much of a sleeper," he said smiling at when they had talked. Although it wasn't the best memory, it was still the first time Claire was back and he couldn't have been happier.

They talked for a long time that night. About everything from what Claire remembered to things that they liked.

Finally after a while Claire drifted off to sleep. For a moment Charlie just sat there staring at her, not once taking his eyes of her. She was like an angel to him, sleeping so peacefully. Strands of her hair fell over her eyes and her hand was draped around her belly. She smile and it obvious she was dreaming about her memories of Charlie.

Charlie soon fell asleep. A dream crossed his mind as he slept. He was somewhere near the caves and Claire had just given birth to a beautiful baby boy. They were alone. Jack had gone to check on the campfire and Kate was somewhere with Sawyer. The moment seemed perfect. Claire still holding the baby and Charlie sitting right next to here. They leaned towards each other moving in for a kiss.

Charlie suddenly awoke with a start. He had small beads of sweat on his forehead. And he was breathing slightly heavy. He still felt the same nervousness he had had in the dream. Him and Claire had finally kissed. He felt as though it had really happened, that's how real it had seemed.

He looked over at Claire who still had a slight smile spread across her lips. He was glad; she deserved to be dreaming of something good for a change. He couldn't stop staring at her lips. ' Look away Charlie!' he scolded himself. ' Claire is not ready for that yet. She is pregnant, with another mans child. She would not want you to kiss her now.' he reminded himself. Then, he slowly drifted off to sleep once again deep in thought.

The next morning Claire awoke with a start. She remembered that today was her birthday. Should she tell someone? Charlie, perhaps? No. They were stuck on an island for God knows how long. Birthdays wouldn't matter here neither would they do any good.

Charlie walked toward her handing her her daily breakfast of banana. She accepted it with a smile and they proceed to talk about their day's plan.

"I was thinking about going to the beach." Claire said.

"Good I'll go with you" Charlie replied.

"No Charlie, I kind of want to spend some time with myself." She said.

Charlie frowned obviously disappointed. Truth be told Claire would be glad to have Charlie come with her, but right now
she needed some time alone. Some time to reflect.

"Oh alright..." Charlie said. Hurley went off to French Lady. Jack and Sayid are going to go look for him. He might as well go with them.

" So, I'll see you later then?" he asked.

" Yeah." she said as she slowly walked away to the beach.

Charlie decided to go get some water.

After the Men Decide to Go After Hurley

" Hey there you are." Charlie said as he spotted her sitting near the beach on the ground.

" Oh, hey." She said with a smile. She was about to tell him that she was done being by herself and wanted to spend the day with him when he started to talk as soon as he squatted down next to her.

" I know you wanted to be alone, but I just came by to say that I am going with Jack and Sayid to look for Hurley." Charlie said simply not expecting her to care all that much. She was in an odd mood today.

" What?" she asked sounding a little angry.

Charlie was confused. " Umm.. Yeah, Hurley went after that French women I told you about, so we need to go find him." Charlie started.

" Why? Why do you have to go?" Claire asked not meaning to sound so harsh. Maybe it was her pregnancy hormones that were getting the best of her today. She just felt depressed. She didn't want him to leave her, she wanted him to stay right here with her the whole day.

" Umm, well.. I have nothing else to do since you said you wanted to be left alone, love." Charlie said as nicely as possible.

" You do have a point" Claire replied. "But I don't want anything to happen to you. You don't know what's out there."

Charlie put his hand on her shoulder and reassured her. "I'll be alright Claire, I'll be with Jack and Sayid," he reminded her.

"It's just that I don't know what I'd do if something were to happen to you." "I can stand the thought of being alone here." She turned her head toward the sand.

" Claire, you won't be alone. I will come back I promise. As long as I know I have you to come back to, I will always be safe with that thought," he assured her.

"Just be careful Charlie." Claire lifted her head up and paused for a moment thinking of the right words to say.

" I.. I.." she stuttered.

Charlie smiled. " It's alright if you're not ready, love. I'm coming back, I promise. They'll be plenty of time for that, okay?" he said.

" You promise promise?" she asked still sad that he was leaving.

" I promise promise," he said he got up from squatting and on the way up he kissed the top on her head. She felt goose bumps on her arms and neck. 'What would it be like if they actually did kiss?' she wondered.

" Bye." he said as her turned and left.

Claire watched him as he left and couldn't help, but a part of her begged for him to stay and another told her to just let it be.

She turned to head towards the ocean and began to think about the kind of life her baby would have on this island. With all her heart she hoped it would be safe and healthy and that that nothing would go wrong during the birth.

Suddenly a thought crossed her mind. What if she went into labor and Charlie wasn't there? But would Charlie actually stick around with her during the birth?

The day had slowly dragged by and Locke had just finished helping Claire bring her new cradle to the caves. He had made her baby a cradle, and she had never had a better gift in her life. She was so thankful for that. He set the cradle down next to what was now her and Charlie's sleeping area.

" Thank you, again." she said to him.

" You bet." he said as he patted her shoulder and then left.

Claire sat down in the front of their little 'tent'. She was beginning to slightly worry. Who was she kidding, she had been worried all day, but now she was really worrying. Charlie wasn't back yet. What if something had happened to him? What if he was hurt? Or worse? Terrible thoughts started coming to her head when all of the sudden she saw Charlie walk into the caves.

She sighed a sigh of relief. But when she saw the look on Charlie's face she got nervous again, he did not look happy at all. He looked really angry.

"Charlie, what's the matter?" "Did some thing happen while you, Jack and Sayid were looking for Hurley?" she asked.

Charlie's face soften at the sight of Claire, but he was still angry.

"Oh no, it just that when we got back I talked a little to Hurley. He told me that he though he was cursed and that everything bad that was happening was because of him." "I about my drug addiction, hoping he would tell me what was really going on with him." "Instead he just told me he was worth a bunch of money."

"I'm sorry Charlie," Claire said, " But maybe there was something more to what Hurley told you."

"What do you mean?" Charlie ask interested as he sat down next to Claire.

" Well, I mean.. Isn't it possible that he really is worth a lot of money?" Claire asked.

Charlie thought about it for a second, " Well.. I guess maybe. But why wouldn't he have told me sooner?" Charlie asked looking at Claire.

" Why didn't you tell him about your addiction sooner?" Claire asked raising her eyebrow at him.

Charlie realized what she was saying and nodded, leaving it at that.

" So how was your day, love?" Charlie asked as he noticed the crib and changing the subject.

"Locke asked me to help with a project today and it turned out he made me a crib for the baby,"

"It's beautiful", Charlie replied.

For a moment they said nothing. The just sat there every so often glancing at each other.

Deep inside Claire knew she should tell Charlie that today was her birthday. Even though it didn't really matter since they were on an island. It was still the right thing to do.

"Charlie." Claire said her head turned towards the caves.

"Yes love?" Charlie said flashing her that sweet smile she loved so much.

"Today is my birthday,"

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