Chapter 8- Return

Sorry it took so long for me to update! I became obsessed with another couple on General Hospital, Jesse and Maxie. Anyone watch it? LOL… No worries though. My number one obsession is CC and LOST in general. But I just had to write a fic for the pairing, which made me change my profile and my pen name. If you forgot… I used to be CCLover4ever and I am now CCnJexie4ever. SO all of you that have me on your author alert list noticed my new story for Jexie and I'm sorry if you were disappointed to see it wasn't a new CC fic or chapter. My apologies!

A/N: Anyone who reads Hearts Grow Fonder: Almost Perfect, I know it's been forever! I am still looking for the chapter I wrote. It's driving me crazy! SO stick with me, I may just rewrite it.

Charlie felt like someone had hit the pause button. He blinked, allowing raindrops to slide off his eyelashes onto his red cheeks. He felt as if he had been put in slow motion as he turned around.

"Eth…"

"Charlie wake up." Claire said hovering over him.

"Claire?" He whispered, flickering his eyelids open.

"Hey." She said letting out a sigh of relief. "You seemed really out of it… bad dream?"

"Impossible dream actually." He said wiping the rain off of his face. He saw Claire slightly nod and return his subtle glance. "How are you doing? Your leg?" He asked gesturing to her injured leg.

"I'm okay." She said avoiding being fussed over.

"Sure you are." He said smirking as he stood." "You ready?"

"Maybe we should wait 'till the rain stops." Claire said looking up at him, making it easier for the rain to hit her face.

"I don't know luv… the weather is very unpredictable out here. I think we should keep going." He said with an apologetic expression laid across his face.

"Yeah, you're probably right." She said shaking her head and putting on a small smile.

"Okay." He said leaning down to her. He placed his arms under her knees and back. "Going up." He said letting out a small laugh as he stood. She smiled a very gentle smile that made Charlie's heart melt. She was the only thing that kept him going. He could never do anything by himself. He was a screw up, very dependent on Liam, but when he walked away from Liam… everything came crumbling down. Charlie knew his world was screwed up when he was still on good terms with his older brother, but Liam had a way of making big things seem like a petty issue. When he was gone, Charlie knew he had hit rock bottom, and he didn't care as long as he had a hit. When he was finally free of the drugs, he felt as if he wasn't numb anymore. Claire was to thank for all the rest, the feeling of worth, hope, and every time his mind drifted into a day dream. Now she was depending on him again. He had let her down once and kept his promise the other time.

"Claire, Charlie!" Charlie recognized that voice. He ran as fast as he could with Claire looking puzzled in his arms as she secured her arms around his neck. He stopped and listened for the voice.

"Claire, Charlie!" A different voice this time, that one also recognizable… Jack.

"Jack!" He called out gently putting Claire down. "I'll be back luv, promise." He said kissing the top of her head and quickly turning to another yell, this one closer.

"Charlie yell again!" Jack yelled raising his hands to his face and making a tunnel around his mouth.

"We're over here!" He yelled walking in their direction. They emerged from a pair of bushes moments later.

"Charlie, I'm glad we found you. What happened… and where's Claire?"

"Follow me." He said walking away. They did as told and Charlie explained how they became lost in the jungle. They reached where Claire still sat, back against a tree.

"Her leg is cut?" Charlie said walking over to her.

"How bad?" He asked walking over and kneeling down.

"It's nothing, really." Claire said sitting up straight.

"Claire, just let Jack take care of you." Charlie said crouching next to her. Jack looked over the cut.

"It's going to need cleaned out when we get back, but this shirt tied here has kept it from getting too bad."

"The sacrifices he makes for me." Claire said letting out a small laugh. "How's Aaron?" She asked worried.

"He's fine; Sun's taking good care of him." Kate explained with a reassuring smile. Claire let out a sigh of relief and Charlie gently picked her up again.

They walked back to the beach, taking short breaks, so Charlie didn't get too tired. The rain slowly died down and eventually came to a stop. When they arrived at the beach, Charlie carried Claire to her tent and laid her on a blanket. Sun walked over holding Aaron.

"Are you alright?" She asked looking the two of them over, noticing a cut on Claire's leg.

"Yeah, it's just a cut." She said holding out her arms. Sun passed the baby to her and made an exit. Charlie followed to give Claire privacy while nursing Aaron.

"Sun." He said running to catch up to her. She turned to look at him. "I just wanted to thank you for taking care of Aaron."

"It was no trouble." She said with a smile, which faded quickly. "Is Claire going to be alright?"

"Yeah, Jack said there's no infection." Charlie said obviously relieved. "I'm going to go back to be with Claire and put a shirt on." He said with a small laugh looking down at his exposed skin. "Thanks again." He said smiling and heading back to Claire. He saw Jack and Kate talking to Locke… again. He headed over to them, since they were obviously waiting for Claire to get done breast feeding Aaron.

Claire was smiling down at Aaron; it would be hard to leave him again after their outing failed miserably. She found it a warning to herself never to go tromping through the jungle again, even if Charlie was there. Aaron's eyes drooped closed and Claire pulled her shirt down. She stood up, walking over to the crib, and gently placed Aaron in it. She began to walk out to Jack, Kate, Locke, and Charlie, but was met with a feeling of fear. She hunched over and laid a hand on a piece of wreckage that held up the tarp sheltering her tent.
"How close are they?" Another voice asked.

"About a mile. Keep her going, we can't afford to waste time." Ethan said fastening their pace.

Charlie loosened the "T" on his middle finger. He took a few more steps and let it fall to the ground. The rain began to pour down. Claire stepped over the bundle of tape and felt a sense of hope rush over her. She did her best to keep strong, strong like Charlie. She just hoped they would find them. She wanted to know what her baby would look like, what its sex was, and how it would feel to hold him… or her. Some how she knew it would be a boy, which made her, feel more like a mother. After a long time of walking, Ethan spoke up, "I'm going to take care of our followers." She heard his feet splash through the newly formed puddles, and then the sound was gone.

When Ethan came back he didn't talk, but Claire knew the look painted across his face showed he was planning something. She didn't want to know what.

The Lady Luthien
LOL! No Locke!

CharlieandClaire
I hoped you enjoyed your vacation, thanks for the review!

DOMSGIRL57
Thanks for the review! Of course I'm going to write more!

Mony19
I'm glad you liked it!

CharliesHoodie
Aw... That is clever!

FluffLover
Sorry it took so long! All better now!

Lara Chubb of Deephollow
NOPE! I tricked you! Trust me... I'm not done with Ethan!

jesi0546
Aw... thanks for the clapping!

WereKid
Thanks so much for pointing that out. I wrote that really late at night. Thanks a bunch!

Well, I hope that was worth the long wait! In case you didn't catch on… Ethan was planning Charlie's hanging. Which was already written! I'm running out of flashbacks! I know of at least two more! Unfortunately that means I go on after that without flashbacks 'till chapter 20 (and there might not be a sequel) or I end at chapter 10 and make a sequel of 10 chapters. It's up to you guys! Tell me what you want! Either way is fine with me!