They were the first people Hurley really took notice of. The man was short and scruffy looking. The woman was cute and blonde with an enormous, pregnant belly. How could you not miss that? He hadn't seen them on the plane, but now it seemed everywhere he turned, there they were.
The short man hovered over the pregnant girl, twitchy and worrisome. He snagged a blanket from somewhere and rushed back to her side, covering her bare shoulders from the night chill. He murmured something near her ear, and she nodded absentely. With a peck on the cheek, he left her alone again.
Hurley decided it was time to deliver the short man and pregnant girl's rations to them. Somehow Hurley had gotten stuck rationing the food from the plane. It's not that he didn't mind doing it, the job kept his mind off the trauma. Seeing people's thankful faces soothed him.
She had a very bright smile, the pregnant girl did. Hurley trudged up behind her, stepping on a piece of the plane that had been turned into a makeshift bench. Two ready-to-eat meals sat on his arm.
"Here's some food for you and the dude that's with you," he said, sitting down beside her.
"Thanks," she replied, taking the meals into her lap. "Yeah, that's my husband, Charlie, and I'm Claire."
"Hurley." He stuck out his free hand and they shook. "Anymore, um...baby stuff?"
Claire looked down, patting her enlarge stomach. "No, but it's okay."
An awkward pause then Hurley said, "Here." He pulled two chocolate bars from his shirt pocket, and thrusted them into her lap then walked off. Seconds later, he returned placing one more bar on her lap. "The extra one is for you...later...in case the kid wakes up and is hungry. Hang in there."
Claire smiled, gratefully. "You too."
Some blankets had been salvaged from the plane, and Charlie wormed his way into getting one for Claire. He wrapped it around her from behind, his hands lingering on her shoulders. Claire laid a hand atop his and turned to him with a smile.
"I promised you a blanket and I got one," Charlie said, proudly.
"Yes, you did."
Charlie leaned down near her ear. "I'm going to find someone who may know what's going on. Okay?"
Claire nodded, recieving a kiss on the cheek before he took off towards the large bonfire a little ways down the beach. A man with longish, curly hair and dark skin was sitting alone on one side of the bonfire. Charlie casually plopped down next to him, and signifigantly paused before saying, "Hi, I'm Charlie."
The man glanced at him from the corner of his eye, and said in a stoic voice, "Sayid."
"Good to meet you, Sayid."
The man didn't reply, and Charlie gazed at the bonfire, readying to get up.
"You think they would have come by now."
"What?" The sudden statement turned Charlie's attention back to Sayid.
"Rescue should have come by now," he said in frustration.
Before they could say anything else, a loud rustling and clanking noise echoed from the jungle. Everyone stared out into the darkness. More clanking noise, and people jumped to their feet. "That was weird, right?" Charlie said, as he followed Sayid to where everyone was gathering.
The trees began to shake and disappear from the jungle outline against the starry sky. "Did anybody see that?" Claire asked, whirling around.
Hurley was staring blankly into the darkness. "Yeah."
More people were gathering. Charlie caught sight of Claire's blonde hair, and came up behind her, slipping a hand around her waist without saying a word. The clanking, and what could be called roaring, seemed to be coming closer as more trees fell. But then it stopped, leaving the survivors afraid and wondering.
"What do you think that was?" Claire asked Charlie as they headed back to the small fire they'd claimed.
"I don't think I want to know, love."
Charlie eased Claire down to the ground, taking his seat beside her."Something doesn't feel right."
"Is it the baby? Is something wrong?" He would have bolted to retrieve the man in the suit who he had found out was a doctor, if not for Claire's grip on his arm.
"No, that's okay. I mean, this island." She frowned, her shoulders slumping. "Something doesn't feel right about it."
"Well, I'd say so after that noisemaker in the jungle showed up. This island is bloody creepy."
Claire tugged the blanket around her a little tighter. "I hope morning comes soon."
"You just lay against me and get some sleep." He pulled her against him, and Claire nestled her face in Charlie's chest, her unclosed eyes staring uneasily into the darkness of the jungle.