Title: The Other – 05 – The Child
Original post date: 1st May 2006
Spoilers: set from about episode 14 of the new season, from there its just spec and my muse having some fun
Summary: Charlie, unable to cope with Claire's estrangement any longer, sets off into the jungle alone. But after a month of pain and hardships, he stumbles across something he wasn't ever expecting to find out there…
Disclaimer: Isn't mine, never has been, never will be and I promise I'm not making any money – writing fanfiction is simply for my own self-satisfaction.

'Charlie, listen to me. Tell Kate – Charlie, look at me. Tell Kate to wait until the contractions are sixty seconds apart. You got that? Now, she's gonna need to make sure that Claire pushes, but not too hard, not too fast – just until the head is clear, and then as hard as she can. Now, when the baby is out, make sure she clears its nose and its mouth.'

'Okay, but you'll be there by then, right?'

'No, I won't.'

'Jack—'

'I'm not going anywhere. I need to stay here. Now you tell Kate – that she's gonna have to deliver this baby.'

Grace had contractions for hours whilst Charlie held her hand – gritting his teeth. Claire had had enough trouble during her labour because of her slight frame but Grace wasn't even fully-grown yet – she was still developing her childbearing capabilities. From the expression on her face, Charlie could tell that she was in great amounts of pain and yet she barely made a sound the whole time.

'You seem awfully calm,' she commented at one point, then sucked in a breath as another contraction hit her. She waited until the pain had subsided before continuing. 'Were you this calm when Claire was giving birth?'

Charlie shook his head and smiled a little. 'Last time I was allowed to panic because everybody else was doing all the real slog. This time I've got to be calm because if I get hysterical then you'll get hysterical and then we'll all be in trouble.'

Grace watched smiled but she noticed the paleness of Charlie's face all the same.

'Did you hold her hand too?' she squeezed Charlie's digits gently. 'Claire's?'

Charlie looked down at Grace's hand – it was trembling a little in his – and sighed.

'No,' he amended. 'No I didn't.'

'But you wanted to?'

Charlie hesitated to answer when another contraction hit her but after it subsided, the question was still there in her eyes and so he answered.

'Yes. Yes I did.'

Grace sighed, shutting her eyes and letting her head fall back against the pillow – waiting for the next contraction to strike. Her usually straight hair was curling into sweaty ringlets around her pale face and she looked ready to pass out.

And Charlie held her hand.

'Claire... I think this is about the time you're supposed to start pushing, okay? So, uh, push. And… no don't hold your breath, honey. You're not gonna be able to push if you hold… Claire? Claire, what are you doing? Oh, no, no, no, no, no. Claire, you need to push right now. Don't do this, Claire, okay? You can't stop this. This is happening. Your baby is coming and I need your help!'

'It's not going to want me!'

'What?'

'It knows I don't want it and I was gonna give it away! Babies know that stuff!'

'Do you want this baby now? Hmm? Do you want it to be healthy and safe? Okay. Because your baby knows that, too. You're not alone in this. We are all here for you. This baby is all of ours. But I need you to push, okay?'

'It's His,'

'Sorry?'

Grace looked ready to pass out from the pain; her lip was red and swollen from being bitten over and over, her eyes were squeezed shut and her free hand was gripping the sheets beneath her, twisting them into a tangled knot. She rocked backwards and forwards and moaned silently for a moment before she managed to speak but even then her eyes were still shut and every word seemed like an effort.

'The baby,' she grunted through her teeth. 'It is His. The man who lived here before we came. He…He always…He used to…and my mother as well. He had been alone for so long that He did not care. We could not stop Him – He was too strong. He threatened to hurt us – to kill us – so many times…we couldn't…'

Charlie nodded, trying not to show how horrified he was. 'It's okay Grace. He's gone now and that's all that matters okay? Now you just concentrate on breathing. Okay? Just breathe yeah? In – and…'

'I killed him!' Grace wailed suddenly and Charlie was so startled, not only by this sudden revelation, but also by the volume of her voice, that he nearly fell over. 'He killed my mother and I knew… I knew he'd kill me too. I knew eventually he'd kill me too. It was not until afterwards that I realised that he'd…that I was…'

Charlie gaped at her tear-streaked face, her hair plastered to her face and neck and finally, abandoning all pretence, he put his arms around her shoulders and pulled her to him. Her sobs echoed against his chest as he awkwardly stroked her hair and after a while her sobs subsided a little.

Grace opened both her eyes and looked up the length of Charlie's chest to stare into his eyes.

'I am glad you are here Charlie,' she murmured, exhausted from her outburst. 'I am glad you are with me. I would be so afraid to be alone…'

Charlie helped her sit back against the cushions again. 'You just take a break, do some of that breathing okay? I think you're getting close now…'

'How long have I been…?'

Charlie glanced down at his watch and was surprised to see the time. 'It's been nearly seven hours now. It's almost morning.'

Grace nodded tiredly but then next moment her mouth opened in a silent moan and she was gripping his hand tightly.

'You just hang in there.' Charlie muttered – barely aware of what he was saying. 'You're almost there Grace. You're doing so well…'

'On the count of three. Ready? One...two...three, push. Go ahead. Good! Push! Good, good! Yeah, that's good! Push! Push!'

'Oh God this is revolting… okay push!'

Grace didn't answer but she didn't scream either as she pushed with all her might.

'You're allowed to scream,' Charlie offered. 'If you think it'll help…'

Grace paused for breath and managed a short laugh. 'No, I am fine.'

'You're sure?' Grace nodded and Charlie nodded back before training his eyes back where they were supposed to be. 'Okay then. Ready to push again?'

Grace nodded and without any prompting, began to push again.

'Okay and relax again, breathe…'

Grace kept pushing.

'Hey!' Charlie yelped. 'Stop! No! No look, don't… don't… stop Grace! Grace, you can't go too fast or you'll hurt yourself!'

Grace let out a vehement exclamation and Charlie looked quite taken aback as she continued to push.

'Grace! Seriously! Stop.'

'Relax, relax, relax. Breathe. Come on, breathe. Breathe. Okay. Okay. Ready? You got to do another one. I can see it. It's close. Go, go, go, go. Push. It's really good -- I think it's close. Come on. Yeah! That's it! Okay. Okay good! Good, good, good!

Grace collapsed backwards and for one terrible moment Charlie thought she might have actually fainted from the pain but next moment she had lifted her head again and was staring at Charlie, her eyes almost black.

'I just want it out of me,' she whispered brokenly. 'I just want Him out of me.'

'Okay, sure, fine, that's fair enough but these things take time,' Charlie said quickly. 'You'll tear yourself apart from the inside out if you keep pushing like that.'

Grace rolled her eyes and gave a great sigh before tensing up again.

'Are you ready to go again?'

'Yes.'

'Are you sure?'

'Yes,' Grace snarled, her eyes snapping open to glare at him.

'Okay,' Charlie said defensively. 'Well if you're ready then off you go…'

'I can see…I can see the top of its head. It's almost clear. Come on. I can see, I can see it. Okay. You're almost there. You're so close. You're so close. Ready? Ready? Come on. One more. Go, push! Push, push, push, push, push! Yeah, come on!'

The sound of a baby's cries rent the stale, dusty air.

'It's a girl!' Charlie said ecstatically. 'You have a girl!'

Grace tried to sit up, her arms reaching towards her daughter.

'Let me see her.' She demanded. 'Give her to me!'

Charlie handed the tiny yowling form to her and tucked a towel in around the infant's body.

He sat back, exhausted, watching Grace as she stared at the baby in her arms as though hardly believing that it was all over – but then she looked up and smiled at him and he couldn't help but smile back. In that moment when she had looked up and her face had glowed with happiness he had almost been able to believe that it was Claire and Aaron all over again – the way it should have been, with him holding her hand through the contractions and not Kate…

'What's her name?' he asked vaguely, his head felt like it was full of helium – like he was on the worlds biggest high.

Grace's smile fell and she looked back down at her daughter for a moment before muttering something.

'Sorry, what?'

Grace looked up again and her smile grew tentatively as tears leaked from the corners of her eyes.

'Her name is Hayley.'