Charliepacesmaug: Thanks! I'll do my best.
Charlie fidgeted nervously as he sat in aisle seat of the plain, the sound of his ring clicking against the arm rest flooding his ears. The loud tapping didn't stop until he felt a soft, warm hand come to rest on top of his, drawing him out of his panicking daze.
"Charlie, calm down. Your making me nervous" Claire instructed playfully, flashing him a bright smile that caused him to melt in his seat. The tapping stopped instantly.
"Sorry" He apologized, looking down at his lap in embarrassment. After all, he wasn't the only one on this plane who had been involved in a crash, the least he could do was to stop from making it any more nerve racking then it already was.
"Its ok." She assured, patting his hand comfortingly. "You just looked so stressed out." She added after a moment, showing some concern.
"I'm just twitching. Its how I cope" He replied with a shrug, hoping to lighten the mood a bit with a stupid joke. Claire giggled in response and he felt much better.
"Well, cut it out. The last thing I need is for Aaron to wake up and ruin the flight for everyone" Claire noted, glancing down at the bundle in her lap with a smile, happy to see him taking his first flight so well.
"Yeah, because its been going great so far" Charlie noted sarcastically, shifting in his seat uneasily. "Its just a little turbulence, Charlie. We're not gonna crash" Claire assured in a motherly tone.
"That's what they said the last time!" He reminded persistently, letting his nerves get the best of him. Claire just laughed in response, finding his panic attack quite amusing.
"Well, if we crash, we crash. There's no point worrying about it, so calm down" She insisted, a playfully grin across her face.
"Your right" Charlie agreed, taking a deep breath. "I'm fine" He assured, eyes widened dramatically as he nodded, trying to assure himself. Claire laughed and shook her head, adjusting Aaron in her lap.
Charlie glanced down at the baby, who continued to sleep peacefully despite the bumpy ride, not to mention Charlie's fidgeting.
That's when it dawned on him that they would be leaving. Him and Claire, they would be out of his life. Sure, they 'ed stay in contact. But they were no longer on the island, and Claire no longer needed him to protect her.
"So, exactly where do you plane on going once we get back home?" He questioned, shifting once again so that his body faced her.
"I'm not quite sure yet. If my parents are at the air port, then I'll probably go home with them. Either that or one of my friends. At least until I can get my own place" Claire explained as she looked down at Aaron, bouncing him in her lap.
"What about you?" She questioned, looking up suddenly. She'd begun to day dream when looking down at her child, wondering how she was going to manage taking care of him without Charlie there to help.
He was always so good with Aaron. He always knew how to calm him down or make him laugh. He always had an answer.
But as much as Charlie loved Aaron, she knew she couldn't ask him to be his father. Charlie was a young man who was just as desperate to get back to his old life as she was. She wasn't about to make him suffer for her mistake, not that she really considered Aaron to be a mistake. At least, not any more.
"I guess I'll just be heading back to my old apartment" Charlie replied with a shrug, not really sounding to pleased about the thought.
"You think its still open?" Claire questioned curiously, wondering how the owners managed to keep it vacant all this time.
"Well, I had a roommate, who I called when we got on the plane. She's on vacation, according to the answering machine, but the apartments still there." He explained, looking around the plain aimlessly, still unable to sit still.
"Oh, well in that case you should give me your number. That way I can call and, you know, keep in touch" Claire suggested with a shrug, glad to know she'd be able to contact him.
"Good idea! Hear-" He agreed, and quickly began fumbling through his bag for a scrap piece of paper. Unfortunately, he could find none.
Most of the stuff in his bag was just cloths and things he'd found on the island that he kept as a souvenir. There wasn't much paper to go around.
"I've got some" Claire explained, and shifted Aaron into one arm so that she could reach down into her bag and retrieved the diary that sat in a side pocket with a pin tucked inside.
She flashed Charlie a smile when she handed it to him, and watch curiously as he flipped to the next empty page an frantically scribbled the number down, adding his name and a little smiley face just to make her smile.
Claire giggled and tucked the diary back into its pocket, relieved at the thought of her being able to stay in contact. After living with him every day on the island for two and a half years, depending on him, laughing with him, caring for him. A life without Charlie was unimaginable.
"It might be a few days before I can reach you, just so you know. I'm not sure where I'm going quite yet. I might have to move around a bit, and I doubt I'll be able to have access to a phone" She explained, wondering how the next couple days would play out. It all seemed so uncertain. So scary. And Charlie wouldn't be there to make it better.
"Understandable. Just make sure you call soon as you get settled in. You know how easy it is to make me panic" He reminded playfully, taking notice to the worried look on her face. She forced a smile, trying not to thank about what lied ahead.
"I will" She promised, wishing she could just push the idea out of her mind. But the thought of having to be shuffled from place to place, plane to plane, not to mention with a baby in toe!
Having to sleep in hotels and scrap for diapers and baby food. Keep from fussing. Plus her own hunger and lack of sleep. It was all a bit overwhelming.
It wasn't long before her mind was flooded with worry, and she began to feel herself buckle under the wait of it all.
She blinked her eyes, trying to keep the drops from falling, but it was simply no use. Her vision was starting to go blurry, and she knew that she would soon be soaked in tears.
"Um, Charlie, would you mind holding Aaron for a bit? I need to use the bath room" Claire explained, leaning forward and pretending to get something out of her bag in order to hide her face from him.
"Sure" Charlie agreed more the willingly, and gladly took the sleeping bundle into his arms. Claire managed to make the exchange and squeez through without him noticing, and quickly made her way down the asile to the bathroom so she could hurry up and whipe the stupid tears off her face.
Charlie sat in his seat, bouncing Aaron in his lap. He was glad to be able to hold him again. Aaron was like a son to him. He'd done everything for this baby.
The thought of having to part with him, not to mention Claire, was utterly unbearable. At that moment he knew he couldn't stay away from them for long. Even if it meant flying to Australia and hunting them down.
"Hey Charlie" a souther accent broke his train of thought. "Yeah?" Charlie replied, turning his head to face Sawyer, who sat in the seat across from him on the other side of the aisle.
"You said you had an apartment?" Sawyer questioned, not bothering to apologize for ease dropping on their conversation. "Yeah, why?" Charlie questioned, wondering why Sawyer was so interested.
"Cause I need a place to stay" He replied bluntly, as if it should have been obvious. Charlie considered this for a moment. On one hand, Sawyer was a dick. He was mean and grumpy and probably a horrible person to live with.
But, on the other hand, he had helped Charlie a lot over the years, and he was pretty easy to deal with once you got to no him. Besides, he'd already lived with him for two and a half years, a few more days wasn't gonna hurt.
"Oh, sure, you welcome to stay." Charlie assured, glad to know he could be helping someone, even if it wasn't Claire. "Thanks man, I owe you one" Sawyer replied appreciatively, leaning across theaisle to give him a slap on the shoulder.
"Don't mention it" Charlie assured, just happy to help. After that, Sawyer went back to reading his news paper and Charlie went back to bouncing Aaron in his lap.
"Hey, Charlie" Another voice interrupted, this time a Scottish accent that came from behind him. Charlie shifted around until he located the speaker, who sat behind him, leaning over his chair.
"How big is your apartment?" Desmond questioned, cutting straight to the point. Charlie blinked at him curiously for a moment. "Its a studio apartment, two beds. But my roommates out for three days, so if you need a place to stay until then-" He began, wondering if this whole happy to help plan was such a good idea.
"Thanks brother, your the best" Desmond replied before he could even finish his sentence, giving him an appreciative slap on the shoulder before disappearing back behind the seat.
"No problem" Charlie replied through closed teeth, doing his best to fake a smile. Oh, man. This was gonna be hell.