Chapter 12- Claire to the Rescue
Sayid walked quickly, trying to forget the sting of Alex's angry words. He knew she wasn't trying to be mean to him. She was just angry at Ethan. But that didn't make the picture of her screaming at him fade from his mind's eye.
He showed up at the caves a few minutes later. Upon his arrival, Jack jogged over to him.
"Where's Alex?"
"She's taking a walk by herself." Sayid said shortly, not wanting to talk to Jack about his problems.
"Oh. Was that her yelling?"
Sayid winced "You heard?"
"Just her tone, not her words." Jack said, not noticing Sayid's obvious discomfort. "So she's all worked up over Ethan?"
Sayid nodded, wishing he could think of something to change the subject. Fortunately, Claire came over at that moment.
"Hey Sayid, can you help me with Hope for a minute?"
"Uh, sure." Replied Sayid, wondering what in the world she wanted him to do.
He followed Claire to her cave. They went inside to find Walt holding Hope, who was cooing happily in the boy's arms. Claire smiled.
"Thanks for watching her for me!" she said, taking the baby from Walt.
"You're welcome!" Walt called over his shoulder as he ran off in search of Vincent.
Claire sat on the cave floor. Sayid fidgeted uncomfortably.
"What did you need help with?"
Claire laughed "Nothing, actually. You just looked like you didn't want to talk to Jack, so I decided to rescue you."
Sayid grinned "Thanks." He sat next to her, watching the baby gurgle.
"Is there anything you want to talk about?" Claire asked, her eyes questioning.
"What is it with mothers and being able to read people's minds?" thought Sayid. "Yes, there is. Alex and I…we got into a fight."
Claire studied him "Are you mad at her?"
"No, I know why she was upset."
"What was she upset about?"
"Ethan. What he did to her. How she won't be able to ever let it go."
"Ah," said Claire, rocking her baby gently. "Where is she now?"
"She's still in the jungle. At least, that's where she was when I left." Sayid said, staring off into space, lost in thought.
"You really care about her, don't you?" Claire asked quietly.
Sayid met her gaze and nodded.
"Well, then what are you doing here? Go find her!" Claire said, giving him a gentle shove. "Go on! Go be her knight in shining armor!"
Sayid grinned. He leaned over and gave Claire a peck on the cheek.
"Thanks!" he said, standing up and heading out of the cave.
"Anytime!" Claire laughed. "Men!" she said to her small daughter "What would they do without us women to help them?"
Author's Note: Claire saves the day! I think that once Claire has her baby, her motherly insticnt will kick in ans she will act like a mother to all the castaways, if that makes sense:p