Author's Name: Becky
Pairing: Charlie/Claire
Timeline/Spoilers: Takes place after the end of Exodus pt.2, right after Sayid and Charlie returned with baby Aaron.
Summary: Charlie battles with his thoughts of strength when Claire comes to him and they talk.
Note: Companion piece to "The Dog, Shelter, Apologies and Moonlight on a River's Surface" but can be read on its own. Also, this story has like a little idea of mine of why Claire named the baby Aaron. It's probably not the real reason, but oh well, heehee.
Charlie sat by Claire and the baby. His face still tingled from the brief moment that Claire had touched him to see his wounds. He saw her turn and smile at Shannon, displaying the child in her arms and smiled at how happy she was. After a while of watching her hold Aaron and hearing the infant coo happily at being in his mother's arms. Claire stood up.
"I think I'm going to go to bed. I'm really tired." She said. Charlie looked up at her.
"Right, today has been a long day." He replied. Claire gave him a soft smile and walked off, heading to where Sun, with some help from the others, had set up a small home for the mother and child. Charlie watched her leave as he felt some fatigue settle in his own body. He stood up, discretely picking up the bag which held the statue he had picked up from the plane, and settled into an empty spot not too far from Claire. He opened the bag and slowly took out the Virgin Mary statue. Charlie held it in his hand, running his thumb over the texture of the statue. He wondered if he could bring himself to crack open the ceramic figure and reap the benefits that lay inside. But, he then wondered, are they benefits? Was he still in the grasp of his former addiction? He didn't know. His ears perked up as he heard footsteps approaching him. He quickly hid the statue and looked up to see Claire standing by. "I thought you were off in dreamland by now." He said, giving her a nervous smile. Claire gave a warm smile and got closer to him, kneeling before him.
"I just wanted to come by and see you. Aaron's already fast asleep." She informed. Charlie wondered why she was all right with leaving the child unattended but he saw, over Claire's shoulder, that Sun was sitting by the cradle Locke had made for Claire, gazing down at the sleeping child. Charlie shifted his eyes back to the Australian woman before him as she settled down next to him. "You know," she began, "I still don't remember a lot of stuff that's happened here," she said, which made Charlie curse Ethan's rotting corpse for a second. "But, I get the feeling that you did your best to take care of me." She continued. Charlie looked at her and gave her his trademark half smile that displayed a few of his teeth.
"Just doing what I'm sure anyone else would've done." He said softly.
"Thank you." She said. "For putting up with me…. for saving my baby…For everything." She added. There was a silent undertone that said 'everything' meant what he had done to Ethan. Claire didn't remember what Ethan had done to her, and part of her told her it was something best left forgotten, but the way he had tried to come at her while she was the bait for that trap, told her he would harm her and her unborn child the second he had the chance. As much as the idea of someone killing another living being disgusted her, she was grateful that Charlie welcomed the demons that came with homicide just to keep her safe.
"You're very welcome." He said. Staring down at her face, all thoughts of the virgin statue and the secrets within left Charlie. All he could think of was the blonde Aphrodite sitting beside him. The two were silent for a bit before Charlie decided to ask the question that had been in his mind for hours. "Why Aaron?" He asked. Claire blinked as she thought for a second.
"I don't know." She replied honestly. "I just….I thought it fit, like something told me it was an important name. Besides, I was getting tired of you calling him 'Turnip-Head'." She said with a soft giggle. Charlie laughed a bit.
"Well, to me, he will always be Turnip-Head." He said. Claire giggled again at that. Charlie sighed a bit inwardly. Claire didn't remember the story behind that name. Not that it was much of a story. Back, days before Ethan had taken them; Charlie and Claire had sat together and talked about their lives before getting on the plane. He had told her how when he was little, his favorite uncle, Aaron, would always give him and his brother Liam sweets when he came to their house and how just months before Drive Shaft started on the road of fame, Uncle Aaron had died in a car accident.
"Well, I guess he'll have to grow up with that horrid nickname." Claire said. The sound of Aaron fusing floated in the air. Claire and Charlie looked over to see Sun fretting over the infant a bit, not to sure what to do. "I better get back." Claire said. Charlie nodded. Claire shifted as she went to get up and then turned back to Charlie. She leaned in and gently took his face in her hands and kissed him on the cheek. She pulled back a bit and stared at him. Charlie stared back at her, wondering what was going to happen. His wondering was cut short as Claire leaned in and brushed her lips against his. After some shock, that lasted about five seconds, Charlie eagerly responded to the kiss, his tongue sliding out and slipping in between her lips. Charlie would've loved nothing more than to pull her to him tightly, kiss her madly and never stop, but the sounds of Aaron fussing danced in his ears. After a while, Claire pulled back, her cheeks a little blushed. She stood up. "If you don't want to be alone," she said, tilting her head to the side towards her shelter, letting the sentence end at that as she turned and returned to her baby. Charlie watched her, licking his lips and tasting Claire's lingering flavor. He blinked as he realized what she had said and scrambled to his feet, eager to oblige her invitation. He stopped and picked up the Virgin Mary. No, he thought to himself, he was in the grasp of an entirely different addiction. He walked over to the edge of the area, towards the jungle, pulled back and threw the figurine as hard as he could. He saw the item soar through the air before hearing the sound of the ceramic breaking in the distance. He turned and saw Claire kneeling by Aaron's cradle and holding the baby in her arms. Sun sat by her and gazed at the tiny creature over Claire's shoulder. Charlie smiled. Being a family man was certainly uncharted territory for the former rock god, but, he realized, it was a challenge he was more than happy to take on.
THE END