Author's note: This chapter takes a very different path than the other chapters. Notice the change in mood from the beginning of the chapter to the end, while both characters are in similar physical positions, the tones of the scene is different. Ok, I wanted to say up front, don't hate me, but I had to do the thing with Beth. I had to! Honestly, I never expected people to like her! Just please keep in mind I am a big fan of redemption and dynamic characters, and I pray that will give you hope to keep reading. Enjoy it's a long one.

Thanks to everyone who's been reading and reviewing.

Chapter 11: The Dark Ones

Charlie's breath warmed Claire's neck as he spooned her in the early glows of the morning. He moved his foot until the tips of his toes touched the soles of hers. She jumped. A satisfied grin crept across his face. He moved his foot again. She jumped and twisted around.

"Chahlie, why are you ruining a perfectly good morning?"

"Because its even more fun to watch to jump. You would think you'd just move your foot out of the way. But nope, not you just stay where you are and let the tickle assault continue."

Her laugh was still one of the most glorious sounds he heard, he's place it with Hendrix and Bach. Mornings were always his favorite part of the day; Sleepy Claire was too cute to bear. Charlie wasn't sleeping every night in Claire's tent, but most nights. He would hold her until she fell asleep and often leave for his own tent. On the rare occasions he feel asleep before her, he would stay until the nightmares woke him. He hated to bother her with such trivial matters. Still there were other nights; he would stay because the idea of leaving her was worse then the nightmares. No matter if he stayed the night, he was always holding her before the first lights of the morning sun broke into the sky.

Claire rolled over to face Charlie, "I'm not the only one who's ticklish." She reached under his shirt and started to brush her fingertips along his side. He twitched, giggled (sounding rather childish in the process) and grabbed her hands.

"We'll call it a draw, this time." He laughed.

The morning continued uneventfully. Sawyer once again interrupted a snogging session, (which had been recently added to the morning rites) to asked Charlie, again, who he thought was stealing his condoms. Charlie had a pretty certain idea of who it was, but Sawyer wasn't going to like the answer, so he refrained from telling.

Claire, holding Aaron, walked Charlie to the edge of the jungle to say goodbye before he left for the community. He kissed her lightly on the lips, she pressed harder. Every morning it was becoming increasingly more difficult to leave her. When the kissed ended, Charlie picked Aaron out of Claire's arms.

"You take good care of your mum while I'm gone." He kissed Aaron on his head and handed him back to Claire. As he was walking into the jungles he heard Claire her voice.

"Wave goodbye to your Da, Aaron."

Charlie froze, he became dizzy and lightheaded, and his brain replayed the statement over and over again. His looked over his shoulder to see Claire waving Aaron's hand in the air. Charlie's hope surged as Claire delicately smiled at him, reassuring him, yes, she did say it. Her voice was kind and like sugar, "We decided to try it out and see if Aaron likes it."

A small grinned crossed Charlie's face and he nodded, not trusting his voice to speak. He walked to the Community thinking, "So this is what it feels like to have your dream comes true."

Charlie nearly bounced down the valley to greet Beth, "Hey, what's up?"

"Not much, but Dad wanted to know how many of your friends are coming to the recital." Beth shrugged.

"Nearly all of them, two people are hanging back to do hatch duty, but beyond that, everyone. Apparently they're just excited to break up the monotony of everyday life and just want something to look forward too."

"Are you going to play anything?"

"I haven't decided yet, I'm getting some requests, but I don't want to steal the thunder of any of the kids." He tried to hind his vanity.

Beth smirked, "It's incredible that I can fit on this island with your massive ego taking up most of the room. So, Claire's coming?"

"Yeah and she's bring Aaron, which means I want her traveling with big burley men with guns, lots of guns." Then rather whimsically he stated, "Still, it will be nice to have everyone meet Daniel."

Beth smiled, "Still won't it be weird for you, your "wife" and your "girlfriend" meeting?" She nudged him and laughed.

Charlie smirked and laughed, '" have a girlfriend and a wife? Funny with all that, you would think I would be getting laid once and a while."

"Yeah, I guess you have two wives." She chuckled.

They walked towards the buildings, and Charlie's voice echoed with a joy Beth had never heard before, "Claire referred to me as Aaron's dad today."

"Really?" Beth shared in his pride.

"Yeah, it's nice to finally be a dad." Charlie pounded his chest.

"I HATE YOU!" A high-pitched yelp bellowed down the hallway. Charlie turned around his eyes wide and panicked. His stomach sunk down to his toes and his heart clenched.

"Daniel." He whispered. Charlie rushed to Daniel but the child's fists were balled and ferociously punching the air. Daniel's fist made sharp contact with Charlie's face.

"You're supposed to be MY dad."

Trying to keep his voice as calm and even as possible, "Daniel, let me explain."

"Aaron's just a stupid baby! He's not fun like I am." Tiny tears dripped down Daniel's face.

Charlie tired to reach out and touch hold Daniel but the child slapped Charlie's hands away. "Miss Claire was mean to you, why do you care so much about her. Miss Beth says Miss Claire shouldn't trust you because you're a junkie." The child screamed.

Charlie's heart froze, all blood remained motionless. He heard the faint gasp from Beth, one breath that left her lips said more to him anything else. She had been talking about Charlie, worse of all, Daniel had overheard. Charlie was betrayed and refused to look at Beth.

Daniel's comments regressed to screams as Charlie approached. He swooped the child in his arms and carried him to his bedroom, "You are in you're a massive Time Out, Little Man."

Beth followed, but didn't speak as Charlie struggled with this twisting and whining Daniel who continued to punch Charlie in the stomach or back or whatever he could make contact with.

When Charlie finally got into Daniel's room he kicked open the door. "You stay in here until either Miss Beth or myself comes and gets you." Charlie growled at the child.

Then the child delivered the deathblow, the words which would haunt and engrave themselves into Charlie's brain, "YOU'RE NOT MY FATHER, YOU CAN''T PUNISH ME."

Charlie slammed the door behind him, the sound of steel on steel echoed through the hallways and made Beth jump a little. His hand was still on the door but his eyes remained focused on her feet.

Pain filled every word, every breath she uttered but still, it couldn't convey her emotions thoroughly, "Charlie I'm so sorry. Amy and I were talking, it was months ago. I thought he was asleep."

He didn't speak, he couldn't trust his mouth or his mind, but his eyes mirrored every emotion. His glare bore through Beth, making her feel his betrayal, his anger, pain and anguish.

Daniel's weepy sobs filled echoed from behind the steel door and somehow seemed the perfect soundtrack to moment. Charlie pushed passed Beth; she was invisible to him now.

He spent most of the morning building walls in this house with Michael. Every nail received the full brunt of Charlie's emotion. He hadn't been filled with this much venom in months. How could she? He trusted her! Did everyone on this craphole island see him as nothing more than a junkie, a deadbeat and a drain on their society? But the worse thought was Daniel thought of him that way.

When thoughts of Charlie's own selfish emotions were too much, new guilt's started to filter and infiltrate his mind. How horrible it must have been for Daniel? He's lost everything and everyone that was supposed to cherish him, protect him. Then Charlie sweeps into his life, builds him up, tells him he's valuable and precious and just as quickly knocks him down.

Charlie knew all too well what it felt like to lose the steady foundation in which your faith was developed.

His guilt and anger nearly consumed him. The steady pounding of his hammer against the nails created a rhythm, a new soundtrack for his thoughts. The cords of the song were Charlie's screams of rage when he misjudged the distance between his fingers and the nail and hammer.

Michael's only words of sympathy was, "That's why you shouldn't hammer angry."

Charlie glared at him and headed towards the infirmary where Amy worked. He found Amy distracted and mostly in a back room, "Charlie, go some ice from the cooler." Amy left him alone and headed back to the room from where she emerged.

The door was slightly ajar, so he took it as in invitation to peer in. In the darkness he saw Jo speaking to a teenage girl with dark brown hair. Jo was speaking to whom Charlie assumed was Beth, "I found her in the jungle."

The girl spoke, her eyes watery and glassy, "My name is Alex."

Charlie sighed and turned back toward the house he was building realizing his problems seemed trivial compared to everyone else's.

He spent most of his time at the house, pleased with the steady progress he was making but sore and exhausted from the manual labor. Finally, when he was calm enough, he walked to the room he had been dreading and stared at the cold steel of the door.

He knocked and opened it, peering in, scanning the room. The first thing he noticed was a tiny balled up human under sheets as if it formed a second skin or cocoon. The next thing he noticed was tiny dots that scattered across the room, shiny, round dots. He reached down to touch one when his brain made the connection it was so desperately trying to make. The dots were rocks- his rocks- Daniel had gone into Charlie's room, taken the rocks and threw them in frustration around his room.

"Hey Little Man." Charlie whispered. The cocoon stirred and turned away from the sound.

Charlie sat on the edge of the bed, "I guess you're having a bad day too."

Daniel sniffed and nodded his head. "Uh huh." His voice was laced with the tears he had cried most of the day.

"I'm so sorry if I hurt you, Daniel. We weren't telling people you call me Dad." He tried to rationalize, but really, what was the point? He changed his tactic.

The Cocoon named Daniel turned slightly as Charlie spoke, "You're the best thing…" He stopped as gazed down at the bundle; "My life wasn't going down any path I was not proud of until I met you. I don't think you'll truly understand what I'm trying to say. You had faith in me when no one else in the world did."

The child rolled over and looked at Charlie, his iridescent tears still tangled in the darkness of his eyelashes. Charlie pushed back Daniel's hair from his face, the motion seemed natural and yet he wasn't sure where he had seen or learned the behavior before.

"You know what the worst part of my day is, Little Man?"

Daniel shook his head, "no."

"Everyday I have to walk up the Valley hill, its steep and hurts my legs, but that's not what's so yucky about it. The worse part is that walk means I have to wait a very long time until I see you." Charlie tapped the child on his nose when he said the word, "you."

Daniel swallowed, "Why do you have to leave? Why can't you and Miss Beth be my mom and dad?" His voice and chin were shaking and on the verges of tears.

Charlie continued to push back the child's hair and in the softest voice possible, "I don't live here Daniel. I live on the Beach; we've talked about that. " He sighed as he tackled the question about parenthood. "I don't love Miss Beth and Mommy and Daddy's are supposed to love each other. But I can be your Dad and you can call me that in front of people if you want, it doesn't have to be a secret if you don't want it to be."

The child thought it over, "Do you like me as much as you like Aaron?"

Charlie kissed the top of the child's forehead, "I love both you and Aaron the same." He leaned in and whispered, "but I'll tell you a secret." The boy leaned up to hear it, "You're the only one I'll EVER let ride on my shoulders."

Daniel's eyes grew wide and the tiny forms of a smile crossed his face, "Promise?"

"Absolutely, even when Aaron gets bigger."

Daniel threw his arms around Charlie's neck and hugged him. New tiny tears of acceptance poured down his cheek as he said, "I'm sorry."

Charlie stayed with Daniel until he fell asleep, promising he would spend tomorrow with him, teaching him to play the piano and drawing and telling stories. Just before the child's tear stormed body gave into its on exhaustion Charlie told him, "You know I've been looking for someone like you my whole life."

A sleepy Daniel smiled, "I guess I'm pretty lucky because it only took me three years to find you."

Charlie nodded and closed the door behind him. Beth stood out in the hallway.

"You did a nice job with him."

Charlie didn't say anything.

"I feel terrible." She pleaded with him.

"Good." Charlie answer snidely. "Than maybe you'll understand how I feel to be judged a such a regular basis."

It was dark by the time he made it to the beach.

"God, Chahlie? Where were you, I was about to send Locke out to find you." A panicked Claire approached him.

Charlie rubbed his eyes with this palms of his hands. "Sorry, it was a rough day. Do you want me to help you put Aaron to bed?" Charlie offered.

"I already did it. What happened?" Claire ran her fingers through Charlie's hair and suddenly he realized why it felt so natural with Daniel.

He was emotionally and physically drained as she led him back to her tent. She curled up into his arms as he retold her the events of the day, she rubbed his chest and whispered soothing words to him. As Charlie was falling asleep, he heard the words, "You're truly a wonderful father, Charlie." A small quiver of a smile crossed his lips as he let Claire's warm and steady breathing lull him to sleep.

There was a sudden and sharp yanking sensenation on Charlie's legs, then dragging and stretching as Charlie's shirt was pulled back and the sand cut his back. His eyes weren't fully open, and sleep had not fully released Charlie from its grip. He knew something wasn't right about the situation but it wasn't until Charlie heard Aaron's blood chilling screeches he understood they were in danger.

In the darkness Charlie could barely make out shapes, but he heard and understood noises. Muffled, "Chhhaarrliie" came from his left; the sound of footsteps on sand came from all around him. There was an explosion of pressure on his chest as something hard and ribbed launched itself in full force. All the oxygen left his lungs as he heard a male voiced, filled with malice scream, "Where is she?"

Charlie's eyes adjusted to the darkness and he saw Aaron in the arms of a stranger, his blood chilling screams deafening his mother's cries for help. Claire's long, blond hair shone in the moonlight, but it wasn't her hair that caught Charlie's eye but the knife to her throat. His heart stopped and forgot someone had asked him a question.

The fist attacked again, lighting fast in his stomach. "Where is she?"

"Who?" Charlie coughed out.

Suddenly the hands left his chest and assaulted his neck. Air became a precious luxury.

Now Charlie could see the balding, bird like quality of the man choking him, eyes large and white filled with crazed confusion. "Tell me or I'll kill you."

After the fact, moments later Charlie would laugh about the ridiculous request of the crazed other. How could he possibly answer the question if he was choking?

"Wh.." was all Charlie could mange to say.

The man holding Claire hissed, "Alex."

When the baby's screams first filled the air, Sawyer's eyes shot open. Danger. Aaron had stopped crying when Charlie had moved back home. These were not his normal cries either; there was a terror in the child's tears that confirmed it for Sawyer. Danger. He pulled his gun from under his makeshift pillow and started to storm the beach.

He fired one warring shot into the air- it had a two-fold effect, waking everyone else and hopefully scattering the Others. It didn't work.

The large eyed man jumped slightly when the gun shot echoed over the beach but he continued his interrogation as he feverishly attacked and punched Charlie, face, chest, throat; whatever he could get his hands on. "Where is she? Tell me or we'll kill the girl and the baby and make you watch."

Snap. It was the almost audible sound of the thin string that held Charlie's emotions together, his grip on reality had snapped. Charlie fought like a rabid animal, punching, screaming and throwing sand in the stranger's eyes.

The man who held Claire at knife point hissed, "I can't believe you share your bed with him, after all that Ethan did for you. He loved you." The knife tightened against Claire's neck and warm wet liquid dripped on her shoulder. "You're as good as dead."

The gunshots shattered the chaos and struggle on the beach, but mostly it masked the other approaching footsteps.

Click. The sound of a gun loaded with the safety off. "You will not harm the woman or the child." A voice whispered behind the Other in the darkness. Only the whites of Mr. Eko's eyes reflected the light in the night.

A second click and a barrel pressed against the large eyed assailant head. "Get off of him NOW" Sawyer voice rang out.

People started to emerge from their tents and surge towards Charlie and the Others- the ones who attacked in the Dark. The Dark ones.

The Large Eyed Dark One pushed Charlie against the sand one more time and asked the question again, "Where is she?"

Charlie's hateful glare didn't provide the location of the girl. Mr. Eko's voice became the logic among the chaos, "You are out numbered and out gunned. Release the child and the woman and leave this place."

The man holding Claire released his grip and returned the baby to the mother, "Henry, let's go."

"This isn't over Pace." The Large eyed man, Henry hissed as he stood. "We'll be back for the whore." His eyes glanced in Claire's direction.

Charlie wiped the blood from his mouth and in a tone no one had ever heard before, a tone that would have intimidated the devil in his seven rings of Hell, "I swear to God in Heaven if you come near her again, I will break you, and I will snap you and make you beg. But I will not kill you, only let you live in your misery."

Henry and the other man left in the darkness of the jungle.

Hurley stepped out from the group, "Hey, Charlie, you might not want to piss off the crazy people who attack you in the middle of the night." Charlie glared at Hurley, his testosterone still burning. Hurley shrugged, "Just a suggestion, Dude."

Charlie fought every urge to run after the men and kill them with his bare hands, but his eyes quickly focused on Claire's water stained face and Aaron's screams.

Claire gazed down at her child, "Charlie, Aaron's bleeding!" The terror that filled her voice matched the terror in her eyes. Charlie blinked the rage from his eyes and focused on her.

"No Claire, you're the one who's bleeding." Sun's soft voice and comforting hand rested on her shoulder.

It wasn't long before the questions started, but to Charlie and Claire it was all just white noise.

"Who were those people?" Rose asked.

Charlie embraced Claire, he was unsure if she was shaking or if it was him.

"What did they want?" Bernard followed up

He need to hold her, feel she was real in the darkness and emptiness. He touched her check lightly. Her eyes left her baby's and she blinked back her tears.

"Why do some people have guns and other's don't" Anna Lucia hissed.

Charlie whispered, "are you alright?' But he questioned the truth of her answer.

This was the only question answered. Sawyer hissed, "You mean, why didn't you get a gun and the answer is because I don't like you."

Claire's eyes searched his for some answers, but she found none.

Mr. Echo took control of the situation as Charlie rubbed Claire's arms, warming her. "We need to find out if anyone else was hurt. We need a head count."

As if by magic Kate appeared behind Sawyer, "Locke and Sayid are in the hatch and no one is in the caves, we need to count the people on the beach."

Jack arrived on the scene with his gun drawn, "What happened?" Sawyer mocked, "Charlie got his ass kicked and Claire almost became a pez dispenser"

Jack instantly took control, "We need to get Locke and Sayid out of the Hatch, and we need the most guns on the beach as possible. Hurley you're coming to the Hatch with Charlie and Claire." Hurley jaw dropped a little not liking being ordered around, but he went one-step farther and retrieved Aaron's crib. It made the most sense to separate and secure Charlie and Claire from the group. The Hatch was the safest place to do it.

Charlie and Claire seemed unfazed by the command. There needed to be some sort of order in the chaos.

"I'll come with you." Kate offered.

"No, you stay here." Jack's eyes were sharp and his voice harsh; she was taken back for by his reaction.

Jack led Charlie, Claire, a sobbing Aaron and Hurley to the hatch. Order on the beach was slowing being regained. Sawyer grabbed Kate's arm after Jack disappeared into the jungle.

"Freckles," There was something hidden in Sawyer's eyes, like a mystery had been solved, but he was happier without the knowledge, "your shirts on backwards."

Kate blinked away her shame.

Charlie was bombarded by questions by Locke and Sayid when they got to the Hatch. He only answered, "The Dark Ones are asking questions I didn't answer."

Jack examined Charlie, asking ridiculous questions as he pressed his hands on Charlie's ribs, "Does this hurt?"

"Everything hurts, Jack." Charlie growled. "I'm fine, look at Claire."

"You're not fine. If I had to make my guess, you've got two broken ribs and a broken nose. There's been some damage to your vocal cords as well." Jack handed Charlie a rag to wipe away the blood.

The alarm went off. Aaron howled while both Claire and Charlie attempted to sooth the child, but was unsuccessful until Hurley punched in the numbers he hated so much. When the noise stopped, Aaron's screams turned to whimpers, only 103 minutes until the next alarm. It was going to be a long night.

Charlie went into the bathroom to clean off his face; he tried to ignore his monstrous appearance. His lips were swelling and while most of his face was red now, by morning it would be a lovely shade of purple with yellow mixed in for good measure.

He walked back out into the sleeping quarters where Jack was cleaning Claire's neck. Charlie mentally cursed, what if she ends up with a scar, a constant reminder of tonight, the night he broke a promise?

"Is she going to need stitches?" Charlie swallowed his fear.

"Not sure, it looks like the bleeding has stopped, I'll look at it in the morning. You two should get some sleep." Jack stood and patted Claire on the shoulder. For a world famous doctor he had terrible bedside manor, it was even worse for people he cared about.

Charlie huffed, "Yeah, like that's gonna happen."

"Try." Jack whispered as he walked passed Charlie. This was the first time Charlie had noticed the way the doctor was dressed, his belt buckle was open and he was missing his shoes.

Charlie might have nearly died tonight but his powers of observation were uncanny. He knew why it took Jack so long to get to the beach and Sawyer's mystery was solved. While Charlie almost watched Claire die before his eyes, Jack was shagging Kate in the caves. Jack left the three victims alone.

"Call Mulder, I just solved Sawyer's X-file." Charlie huffed bitterly.

"Chahlie?" Claire was on verge of losing her mind, a few minutes ago she had been torn from her bed, been threatened, told Ethan had loved her (that thought was nauseating enough) and watched people beat Charlie, HER Charlie. Watching the attack, she felt as if each punch was landing on her body. Quite frankly Sawyer's condom mystery was the last thing on her mind. She reached her arm out and let it hang there in the air, beckoning to him to touch her.

"God, Claire, I am so sorry." He hated his stupidity and sometimes caulis nature. He took her in his arms and repeated the words over and over again. He didn't mind the growing pressure and pain in his chest as Claire led him to bed. He sat down first, sitting as still as possible. She rested her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arm around his waist, attempting to hold him without touching his chest or rib cage. She needed to touch him, to make sure he was real, and as much as she wished this were a horrible nightmare, his gasp when her fingers grazed his stomach confirmed the reality of the situation.

She was being selfish; she knew that in the early hours of the morning. There were three words she longed to hear from Charlie, and yet he would not produced those words. She thought after she referred to him as Aaron's dad, he would say them, or even after she consoled him after his horrible day in the Community. Still the words did not come. Even now, as he lay in bed, his arm limply holding her, his breath straining, the words aren't being said. He repeats how sorry he is, sorry she's scared, sorry she' got hurt, sorry she has to sleep next to a monster.

She whispers there is nothing to be sorry about, hoping that will intice the words. It doesn't it. Small tears start to dampen his shoulder, and sting her skin as they head down their path. She cried because her child had cried. She cried because Charlie tempted and cheated death once again. She cried because she could have died and she never would have heard the three magic words she needed to hear. But mostly she cried because as scared as she was, she couldn't say the words he needed to hear, either.