Title: Vincent
Spoilers: set the night after the events in Exodus/Man of Science, Man of Faith but doesn't deal with anything that happens in season 2
Original post date: 11th December 2005
Summary: Claire has always been a free spirit. When the oppressive nature of the caves gets too much for her, she climbs until she can see the stars.
Disclaimer: Lost isn't mine. Also Don McLean isn't mine and none of his songs that I may or may not have stolen as a title are mine either. Also the lyrics from the aforementioned song/s are not mine.
Soundtrack: Don McLean – Vincent

Claire gazed out of the gap in the foliage, one hand falling loosely by her side. It had been so long since she'd climbed a tree she hadn't been sure she'd still be able to, especially with the afternoons rain making the branches slick and hard to hold onto but she had to do something other than sit in the caves.

She had to breath again.

And she certainly wasn't going to be able to do that in there, in the caves the way everyone was acting.

She knew Charlie would come looking for her soon. He had been playing his guitar when she had left. 'Do you like Don McLean?' he'd asked then answered himself. 'Everybody likes Don McLean.' And so he had played her every Don McLean song he knew.

Starry, starry night
Paint your palate blue and grey
Look out on a summer's day
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul...

It hadn't been hard to get away, Charlie had been totally focused on his guitar and probably thought that she had gone off for a wee or something. When she didn't come back though...

'Claire?' Claire couldn't help but smile a little. Speak of the devil... 'Where are you? Claire?' Claire regarded what little she could see of Charlie on the ground, guitar still in hand. He looked thoroughly bewildered and more than a little worried. She considered not answering him but when he plaintively called her name again she gave in.

'I'm up here,' Charlie jerked his head to peer up through the leaves at Claire perched like a small white monkey between the topmost branches of the tree.

'What the sodding hell are you doing up there?' he called up to her, half angry, half nervous. 'Come down!'

'Come up here,' Claire said obstinately.

'Have you gone completely crackers?' Charlie yelled belligerently. 'Come down! What if Aaron needs you?'

'He's asleep Charlie. Come up here,' she turned her face towards the sky again. 'It's beautiful.'

Claire heard a string of interesting curses drift up from the ground as Charlie put down his guitar and began to climb up after her. After a few minutes of rustling leaves and the sound of feet slipping off branches however, there was a dull thud and then Charlie gave a yelp. Claire froze.

'Erm...don't suppose you'd mind giving me a hand?' he called after a moment. 'I'm kind of...stuck.'

Claire heaved a sigh of relief and clambered down to help only to be rewarded with the rather entertaining image of Charlie puffing and swearing, completely soaked and scowling up at her from the branch he was half hanging onto, his legs pedalling desperately at the air. He shook his head like a dog sending water droplets everywhere as Claire tried not to laugh.

'I hope you're bloody happy,' he huffed. 'I've never liked heights and I still climbed this sodding tree to get to you.'

'Here,' Claire grinned and pulled him up.

'Thanks,' Charlie said grimly as his left hand lunged at the tree trunk, trying to find some sort of support. His other hand reached for a branch and instead found Claire's waist. He quickly pulled his hand away and began to talk very quickly to mask the almost-intimate moment. 'What the hell are you doing climbing trees this late at night anyway? And right after a monsoon I might add.'

Claire began to climb back up before she answered, behind her she heard Charlie following cautiously. 'When I was a little girl my dad used to sing me to sleep every night,' Claire put a hand out to pull Charlie up onto the next branch but he waved her hand away, obviously embarrassed that she'd had to save him already. 'He used to sing, "Catch a Falling Star". Have you ever heard of it?'

'"Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket"?' Charlie guessed as he finally managed to struggle his way next to Claire who immediately reached for the next branch.

'Yeah,' Claire pulled herself up and looked down at Charlie through a fork in the branch, her legs swinging in the cool night air. 'You singing before – starry, starry night and all that – it just reminded me of him and… I dunno I just felt like looking at the stars, but all the trees were in the way.'

'So...you decided to climb a tree?'

'Mmmn hmmn,' Claire pushed aside a branch to reveal the sky just as Charlie steadied himself beside her. It wasn't a clear night, most of the sky was covered with clouds from the rain earlier on but Claire pointed out a section where the midnight sky was visible, streaked with tiny sparkles of light.

'Hmmn,' Charlie murmured appreciatively beside her. 'I've never really looked at them, but the stars are much clearer here aren't they?'

'No lights or pollution,' Claire said unnecessarily and turned to smile at him. Charlie however was still gazing at the small swatch of night sky and Claire's eyes strayed towards the still-healing gash on his forehead.

It looked almost as painful as the night before, if not more so but he had refused all painkillers, even herbal remedies from Sun. Claire didn't know exactly how he'd gotten it – Charlie hadn't said anything much about it – but she felt a hollow sort of guilt knowing that he had been hurt trying to keep a promise he'd made to her.

With eyes that watch the world and can't forget…

He glanced down at her suddenly, realising that she was looking at him.

'What?'

'What do you think?'

'I think this tree is very wet,' Charlie tried to grin but found that it hurt too much, and tried for a lopsided grimace instead. 'And if I stay here much longer I'm going to fall out of it.'

'I meant the stars,' Claire said defensively. 'And its not my fault you're not good at climbing trees. If you really hadn't wanted to climb up here you didn't have to.'

Charlie tried for a grin again. 'Okay one; I think the stars are very pretty and two; I'd rather be up here with you than down there in the caves with the rest of that depressing mob in there.'

Claire felt her face warm.

'So,' Charlie said conversationally trying to find a better foothold. 'What do we do now?'

'Well I don't know about you but I'm...' Claire didn't ever get to finish her sentence however. Her feet slipped on the wet branch and next moment she found herself tumbling onto the next branch down with Charlie close behind her.

'Bloody bollocks hell!'

Claire caught at a branch before she could fall again and found herself nose to nose with Charlie who was practically hyperventilating. 'Now you see, this is exactly why trees should not be climbed!' he waggled a finger at her as he pulled himself upright and then began to climb down swiftly, wincing at a graze on his arm. 'Now if you don't mind I think I might climb down!'

Claire looked back up at the stars sparkling melancholy and beautiful in the one clear piece of sky.

'Yeah,'

They would not listen they're not listening still...

Claire turned away from the sky and followed Charlie back to the ground, sighing.

'Yeah okay.'

Perhaps they never will…