The men had been working on the repairing of the hatch for about three hours now. Sayid used his experience to what seemed to be the most important task, fixing the computer Locke had broken. He'd made relatively good progress after Echo retrieved the monitor from the computer in the other hatch and managed to get it up in running. Now all he had to do was figure out how to get the metal box that used to perform the count down back in business after the magnetic field had forced it to cave in on itself.
Desmond has assigned himself to fixing all the wires that had been blown during the explosion, having the most knowledge about the electrical system in the hatch. After reattaching all the wiring that had been snapped and dislodged during the explosions, he managed to get most of the electricity running. A few lights still flickered here an there, but for the most part, everything seemed to be working.
Charlie had taken on the task of cleaning, which wasn't as easy as it sounded. After moving the larger objects such as book shelves and washing machines back to their rightful space, he began working on easier things such as moving the furniture back out of the hall way.
Locke, who was a bit out of it after having almost killed the entire island, mostly just did an easy pick up, gathering all the books and smaller objects that had fallen from the shelves, dazed as he moved from space to space gathering them up.
Charlie eyed him curiously as he single handedly tried shifting the couch back against the wall, wondering how he, being the smallest man in the room, got stuck doing the manual labor while Locke, the golly bald giant, was free to wonder aimlessly and occasionaly pick up a book. Expseicaly since this whole mess was his fault. And here he had said Charlie was dangerous.
"Hey. Mind giving me a hand" he questioned, unable maneuver the couch through the door way by himself. Locke didn't respond, lost in his dream like mental state, and continued to wonder about like a zombie as he picked up a hand full of shredded magazines and placed them on top of the desk. Charlie grimaced, about ready to give him a piece of his mind when Echo placed a calming hand on his shoulder.
"Just leave him alone, Charlie. He feels bad enough" Echo suggested wisely, watching as Locke made his way down the hall. "Funny. When Claire left me I felt like shit. He didn't leave me alone. In fact, he punched me in the face" Charlie replied bitterly, his voice a low growl as he smiled at the thought of revenge.
"You never almost killed any body" Echo reminded, giving him a look to told Charlie to let this one go. Charlie sighed, knowing he was right, and went back to pulling on the end of the couch, this time managing to force it through. Echo helped him move it back the rest of the way, watching in concern as Charlie leaned over the edge, sweaty and out of breath.
"Perhaps you should take a break, Charlie" Echo suggested, knowing that his fatigue may be due to the injuries he'd gotten in the explosion. After all, just because he didn't look that bad physically, he could still have a concussion or even some internal bleeding.
"Not thanks. I helped make it, I can help clean it up" Charlie confirmed, trying to hide his annoyance at Echo's suggestion. Echo signed and patted him on his shoulder, as if commending him for his work, which only agitated him more. He made a face once Echo's back was turned, knowing that doing it to his face would have been immature and worthy of a beating with the Jesus stick.
He straightened back up, the muscles in his back throbbing, and headed into the hall to bring in one of the arm chairs. He'd heard the door pull open and assumed it was just Echo heading out side for one reason or another, perhaps taking his own advice and having a little brake. But after a moment, Claire wondered inside, her eyes wide as she looked around the cluttered hatch with its messy floors and papers flying through the air.
As soon as Charlie spotted her, the hatch turned into one great big danger zone. The wires in the walls, the forks on the floors, everything screamed hazardous as Claire made her way through the hall, unaware of the dangers that surrounded her.
"Claire!" Charlie called, quickly dropping his attempt at the chair to come to her aid. Claire looked up curiously, then flashed a smile once she realized it was him. "What are you doing here?" He questioned, realizing that him running to her rescue when she was in no real danger might seem a bit silly.
"I was wondering if you guys had gotten the pluming working. I kind of need a shower" She explained, looking a little embarrassed as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Charlie opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by Desmond as he jumped off the little step latter he'd been using to reach the wires.
"Yeah, its all done. Go right ahead" He assured, flashing Claire a friendly smile which Charlie took a flirtatious. "Thanks" Claire replied appreciatively, and squeezed between the two in order to make her way down the hall and into the little bath room.
Charlie turned away from Desmond, ignoring the urge he had to punch him in the face for smiling in Claire's direction, and watched as Claire disappeared behind the door. A dreamy grin stretched across his face as he recalled the memory from last night when she'd kissed him.
"You alright, brother?" Desmond questioned, eyeing Charlie with an all-knowing grin. "Huh?" Charlie questioned, snapping out of his dazed look. "And here I though she said she was single" Desmond noted, looking over Charlie's bashfully expression in amassment. Charlie eyed him curiously, wondering how the man would have thought anything about Claire, especially about her marital status.
But before he had a chance to ask, Desmond walked off. Sighing, Charlie went back to the task of dragging the arm chair back into the living room. He managed to get it through the door way much easier then the couch, and had it back in its spot with only a minimum of effort. Once finished, he whipped the sweat from his brow and headed down the hall, kicking papers out of his way for Locke to pick up.
He walked past the door to the bath room, pausing for a moment when he heard the sound of humming. The shower wasn't running yet, which meant she was probably changing. Before Charlie could stop it, the image fluttered into his mind, bringing a smile on his face that enabled him to move away from the door. That was until he was shoved into the opposite wall from behind.
Before Charlie knew what was going on, he hit the steel wall at full force, having only a second to catch his breath before being swung around and slammed against it again, this time with his back to the wall and a large pair of hands clutching his shift. Charlie tried to open his eyes, feeling a sudden nausea and a pounding in his head. He managed to get them open about half way, watching through blurred eyes as a fist came straight towards his face.
He felt the blow crack his nose, and a painful warmth rush through his nose as it began to bleed, his head throbbing at full speed as his skull was knocked back into the cement for a third time. He lifted his hands to his face as the dropped to the ground, no longer able to stand up.
He could hear struggling in the hall way and knew that who ever attacked him was now paying some sort of price. He managed to open his eyes, looking up from his spot on the floor and watching as Echo slammed Locke against the wall near the bathroom door, much as he'd done with Charlie.
"What is wrong with you?" Echo questioned angrily, looking Locke dead in the eye with a protective flare. Before Locke could response in his jarred state, the bath room door opened and Claire stepped out, clutching a plain white towel around herself as she emerged from the door.
"What's going on?" She questioned, worried there'd been another explosion. "He was standing by the door!" Locke explained, having some difficultly speaking with Echo's large hands clutched at the caller of his shirt. Claire's eyes shifted from him to Charlie who remained huddled on the floor, his hand over his nose which had begun to bleed.
"Charlie!" She explained, eyes growing wide as she quickly knelt down in front of him, clasping her towel shut with one hand as she reached out the other to examine his nose. Locke eyed the seen in confusion, wondering why she was suddenly so quick to run to his aide.
"Are you alright?" She questioned, moving Charlie's had so she could study the damage on his face. There was some bruising and a little blood, but from what she could tell, his nose hadn't been broken. "I'm fine" Charlie assured, shooting Locke a bitter look before turning back to Claire, happy to have her taking care of him again.
She pouted sympathetically and gave him her hand, offering to help him up. Charlie took it and used the wall as support, slowly moving himself up ward. His legs still felt a little shaky as he stood, but Claire's hand on his shoulder gave him the strength he needed to stand up. Once she knew he was ok, Claire turned her head back to Locke, shooting him a confused look.
"You did this?" She questioned insistently, her hand remaining against Charlie's chest as if she was protecting him. Locke continued to look confused, like a dog who had done something wrong but didn't understand why everyone was now yelling at him. He looked back and forth from her to Echo, wondering who he should fear more. He couldn't bring himself to look at Charlie, who's face was covered in blood at his fault.
"He was standing by the door. I thought he was going to hurt you" Locke stammered nervously, making no attempt to free himself from Echo's grip. "Charlie would never hurt me! Are you insane?" Claire questioned defensively, her voice rising with anger.
"He lied to you, Claire! He stole your son!" Locke yelled defensively, wondering if everyone had just magical forgotten. This made no sense. Last time he checked, Charlie was a danger to her and her son. Now, out of no where, she was defending him.
"I didn't lie!" Charlie insisted, aggravated that after all this time, no one seemed to believe him. "I think you should leave" Echo intervened, giving Locke a forcefully look that told him his suggestion was a demand and not a request. Locke signed as Echo released the grip on his shirt, wondering if everyone around him had gone mad as he stormed down the hall.
"Are you alright?" Echo asked in concern, turning his attention to Charlie. "Yeah, I'm fine" Charlie assured, whinching as a sharp pain ran through his head. Claire laid her hand on his cheek, a worried look across her face.
"You should get him cleaned up" Desmond suggested, appearing in the other side of the hall. He must have been standing there the whole time. Claire nodded and took Charlie's hand, guiding him into the bath room. He took a seat on top of the toilet and watched as she turned on the faucet, wetting a rag that had been hanging on a little hook above his head.
She knelt down and dabbed under his nose gently, not wanting to hurt him. Charlie kept his winching to a minimum, trying not to look to whimpy. Claire smiled, amused by his attempt to be macho as she pressed the rag to his upper lip, carefully whipping the blood away.
"So...what exactly were you doing by the door?" Claire questioned, a playfully hint in her voice. Charlie's face went red. "Nothing.." He replied innocently, not wanting to confess that he was imagining her undressing. Claire raised her eye brow skeptically, but soon faded into a smile as she ran the rag down his cheek, cleaning up the trail of blood that had rolled down there.
He smiled softly, the closeness and the touch of their hand bringing memories from the night before fluttering through his head. He closed his eyes gently, as if by instinct alone, and slowly leaned in, anticipating the feel of her delicate lips against his.
A loud, distorted hiss roared through the speakers, shaking them out of the moment and back into the hatch, where lights in the hall were flashing and doors were beginning to slam. Charlie hopped up quickly, ready to investigate, when the door to the bathroom slammed shut, as if it had been pushed, and locked on its own. Charlie slammed into the door, violently giggling the handle in an attempt to open it before resign to banging his fist against the wall in order to get someone's attention.
"Charlie..." Claire questioned worriedly, clutching the towel to her chest as a frightened look crossed her face. "Don't worry, its ok." He assured, shooting her a comforting glance over his shoulder before once again trying the knob. No luck. They were trapped.