Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Are you hungry, sweetie?" Claire said, looking at the baby. "I bet you are," she continued in a ridiculous voice.

Boone laughed.

"How come everybody speak so funny around babies?"

"You jealous? Poor Boony" she said, mockingly, in the same tone she had spoken to the baby with.

"Hey! I'm supposed to make fun of you, not the other way around" He protested but couldn't avoid smiling. When Claire was teasing him, he liked her the most.

"Keep looking for apartments and I will feed the baby…DON'T PEAK!" She said, waiting for Boone to look away.

"Can't promise anything" He said, teasingly but did as he was told.

While the baby drank her breast milk eagerly, Boone mentioned apartments that he liked.

"Here's one that's perfect. 2 rooms and a kitchen! Should be big enough for the two of you"

"What's the catch?" She asked, suspiciously.

"No catch"

Claire was done feeding the baby and went over to Boone. Peeking down in the newspaper she said, "Boone! That's only a couple of apartments away from yours"

He looked like he had been caught.

"Oh really? Didn't see that" He tried to sound surprised, but he wasn't fooling her. She was used to reading him now, she knew if he was lying.

"Hey, it's okay if you did. I think it's a great idea…" She smiled a little as she went on: "You're the only person I've been in contact with here and I'd like to live close to you"

"Great! We'll check it out tomorrow then. You me and…him" Boone said, pointing at the baby in her arms. "Any name yet?"

"Aaron. I think he's an Aaron" Claire said, smiling at both of them.

"I like it" Boone said, truthfully. "Shining light. It's beautiful, just like his mother"

"Is that what it means?" She asked shyly. She didn't know the meaning of the name, she had just liked it.
"Yeah and Claire means shining so in many ways your names are similar. It's a good choice. Can I hold Aaron now?"

Claire went over to him and handed over her son, her shining light. For the next half an hour she watched Boone making funny faces and rocking the baby to sleep. Claire was amazed by how much love Boone gave her son.

"Come on over here" Claire said when Boone had put down Aaron in the crib.

Boone, once again, obeyed her and sat down beside her in the bed, shoulder to shoulder.

"Feels like we haven't had any time alone today" Claire said, tired.

"It's only ten o' clock Claire"

"Really? Guess babies take all the energy?"

"Need a massage?" He asked gently. She must be worn out after yesterday. It was something that he could never know, how much it must hurt to give birth.

Claire gave him an appreciative look "Yeah! Won't say no to that."

"Lay down" He said and moved so that he sat left to her.

Carefully he began to massage her back, in round circles. He noticed that when he came close to her armpits she began to laugh, still ticklish. He loved that. Then he did his special, moving his hands up and down her spine – she purred. So cute, he thought. Then he moved his hands a little lower, closer to her bottom. He could feel her tensing up, and only seconds later she turned around so that his face above hers.

"That was nice" She said, aware of the fact that his face was only a couple of inches from hers. Unnerved she asked, "Coffee?"

Boone smiled at her insecurity, happy that he could make her feel that way. "Defiantly" he said, rolling off the bed. "We'll need that when the little guy wakes up again. Should get a nurse in here just in case, though."

A couple of minutes later they were sitting opposite each other in the hospitals cafeteria. Boone with a cup of coffee and Claire with tea (she was Australian after all) and both of them had also ordered a huge sandwich. They played their version of 20 questions, in attempt to get to know each other better.

"Favorite movie?" Boone asked and chewed on his sandwich.

"Gone with the Wind" She answered, instantly.

Boone shot her a look of surprise, causing her to defend herself, "It's romantic! Rhett just sweeps Scarlet of her feet. Hate her whining about Ashley all the time, though."

"Perhaps… not really my kind of movie." He twitched his nose.
Laughing she said, "Oh really? Have you seen it?"

"Uh, not that much of it" He replied, truthfully.

"Then your opinion doesn't count!" She said with a satisfied grin. "Which is your favourite film then?"

"I'd go for something more action-y. Like Matrix"

Claire laughed so hard that tea flew out of her nose. Whipping her nose with a napkin she said, "You can't be serious! Those movies are all pang pang, right?"

Boone raised his eyebrows.

"Have you seen them?" He was mocking her, like she just had mocked him.

Smiling she shocked her head and asked another question before he could tease her more.

"Favorite food?"

"Pizza. Your?"

"Pork in Apple Sauce"

He gave her an "are you serious look"

"It's yummy"

They talked about one hour, asking each other about favorite music, books, living persons, color and that kind of things. In many ways it reminded them of their first night together in L.A. but this time, unlike the other, the could go dig a little deeper, talk about more emotional subjects.

Claire told Boone about Aaron's dad, Thomas, and how he had left her when she was only a couple of months pregnant. Boone, in return, told her more about his complicated relationship to Shannon and how she liked to play with his feeling. He even told Claire, a little bit uneasy, about the time that she and Shannon had slept together, just so that there would be no secrets between them. Claire couldn't deny that it creped her out but she accepted it because it was in the past. The fact that they were able to share these bits and pieces of themselves made them more comfortable in their relationship and how it was processing.

They were sitting, talking quietly when a noise suddenly filled the room. Curiously they tore their eyes from each other and looked around, seeing that the cafeteria was taken over by paparazzo's that was clearly out after them.

"Follow me" Boone said, grabbing her hand.

She was shocked but trusted him. They ran as fast as possible to their room with the paparazzo's close on their heels. Obviously they were attractive to the press now when they were "survivors of flight 815". Luckily, they were at a hospital and the security guards quickly throw them out. Boone and Claire knew that they weren't the only ones being "staked" by the paparazzi. During the last couple of weeks they had seen headlines like "Drive Shaft re-unites" "Fugitive to be judged" and "Survivor signs book deal" but the fuss about them seemed to be a lot more since there was a interest in if they were a dating or not. To Boone and Claire that seemed ridiculous since they didn't even know that.

Now they stood, painting, with their bodies pressed against the door. They hadn't run that long but still it had been physically exhausting.

Claire searched Boone's features with a new sense of excitement. She let her eyes wander from his brown tick hair down to the eyes. Feeling his gaze on her, she continued towards his body, amazed by how well-built he was. She found that incredibly sexy, no doubt about it. His hands were rough but yet, when he stepped closer and touched her hand, they felt soft as silk.

Claire shivered when Boone coaxed her a little closer.

"Claire" His voice was full of desire. "Do you want to do this?"

Claire nodded. She was hardly breathing at all. Everything had become silent inside of her. Boone was afraid to come on too strong, afraid that he might scare her of again like he had done that night in the kitchen.

He closed the gap between them inch by inch, making sure that she had the time to change her mind but Claire didn't back away. A storm swept through them, the same aching need to touch, taste and feel. For Claire it felt like forever until Boone, finally, touched his lips to hers. He kissed her softly, trying to memorize every moment of their first kiss.

Claire pressed her body against his muscular chest, giving him more and more of her, meeting every kiss with hunger. Noticing that her mouth was soft and warm, the way he had thought it would be, Boone increased the pressure of the kiss gradually, letting out all hidden desire and attraction. They kissed hungrily, their tongues intertwined, playfully exploring each other.

There was nothing rough about the kiss, though; it was simply a kiss that satisfied both their needs but still, when they touched and tasted each other, sparks flew through them and as Boone broke the kiss, he thought that this was the only woman in the whole world he wanted.

Where had she been all his life?

They looked into each others eyes, for the first time without any walls between them…