Author's note: Ok this chapter is LONG and pretty pointless. So why would I write a chapter like that, because it does hint at other things that will happen in the story. Also a lot of things make me giggle and since I am the one who is writing it, I don't care. I would like to quickly say, you can tell I am a woman writing male bonding, because the men talk. If it was realistic it would have gone like this:

Charlie sits alone, Sawyer sits next to him, hands him a bottle of water, "You gonna be ok?'

"Sure."

THE END!

But alas, that's not the way I wrote it. The one thing I am most proud of in this story is the slow steady changed in Sawyer. If you ever get bored, go back and reread his interactions with Charlie over the course of the story. Also Red X is not real, something I made up. I like Jack's rant about a moat, it makes me smile.

Thank you for reading and reviewing. I LOVE YOU GUYS!

Chapter 13: The Day After.

Charlie held Aaron in one arm and hand his fingers entwined with the other hand. Claire rested her head on his shoulder as they walked back to her tent. Locke was straightening it up, all the blood from the fight had been buried and he was folding their clothes.

He looked up as he was being caught in the act of being helpful, "I was just making it homey for you guys."

Claire smiled politely, "Thank you, John."

He shifted from side to side, things would still never be right between him and Charlie, and any interaction seemed strained. "Well, I'll get going. If you guys need anything, let me know. I could take Aaron for a little bit, let you two sleep."

Charlie squeezed Claire's hand tightly and understood what he was thinking as she responded to Locke, "Thank you very much for the offer, but I think we just need some time as a family right now."

Charlie gazed down at the stirring child. Tears cleared a path down Aaron's dirty face as he looked up at the man holding him, feeling safe once again. Charlie smiled down at the child so overwhelmed with emotion he was afraid he would tear up because Claire called them a 'family'.

He spent most of the morning holding her and Aaron, and if not holding them, touching or watching them. His paranoia was growing worse as the day continued.

Charlie ached. Breathing was still a strain and he had a constant headache. He was beginning to regret his decision of refusing to take the painkillers. Aaron yawned and made the same sleepy noise his mother does when she's tired. No, Charlie made the right choice about the painkiller. This was way more rewarding than temporary physical pleasure.

Soon other thoughts entered his head. Even if the borders were opened, there was no way he could make the trip up the mountain to reach the community. Not now. He cursed himself for breaking his promise to Daniel, he had no idea how long it would be until he would see his son again. His son. For three months now he had been referring to Daniel as his son, in his head, long before the child suggested he call Charlie "Dad." He was resting his head in Claire's lap; she ran her fingers through his hair, making small circles and paths in his hair line.

His broken heart bled into his voice. "When am I going to get to see Daniel?"

She tried to be as comforting as possible but reality and his injuries prevented it. "Two days, possibly, but most likely three."

He moaned and whined, she continued to rub his head and think about the fuzzy lollypop.

His thought was encumbered by his own emotional and physical pain. Whenever there was a synapse of thought something would hinder it from coming to the front of his brain where he could really get a good look at it. When the thought finally made its way to the front, it hit him with the force of a thunderclap. He sat up, out of the safety of Claire's lap and looked around.

"Where's Sayid?" He asked.

She shrugged and this forced him to move to his feet. Claire offered to help him up, but all he wanted was for her to accompany him on this mission. He found Sayid chopping down logs with Mr. Eko.

"So I was thinking," Charlie called out, forcing the two men to turn around, flinching when they saw his face. They finally nodded for him to continue, "Could you find that Crazy French Chick for me, Sayid?"

"Why, may I ask?"

"Well, I'm going bloody daft because I won't be able to see Daniel for three days." He scratched at the back of his head and kicked at the sand, "I can't even imagine what it would be like to go for fifteen years without knowing how my child was. It's really unfathomable. I was hoping you could find her and tell her Alex is safe and we're doing everything we're capable of to keep her that way."

Mr. Eko and Sayid exchanged glances, small smiles and nods before Sayid finally answered, "That is very kind of you."

"Yeah, check me out growing up and stuff."

"I will leave right away." Sayid nodded.

When they got back to the tent, Claire kissed him lightly on his slightly less bruised lower lip, "You're a good man Charlie Pace."

He shrugged, "I try." The circles under his eyes were darker, not due to the massive bruising but to the lack of sleep; the whites of his eyes where now pink with fatigue.

"You need to get some sleep."

"If I sleep, who will watch over you?" He was serious and sad at the same time, as he pushed the hair over her ear.

"Locke, Jack, Kate, Anna Lucia, Libby, Sawyer, Jo, Vincent, Jin, Sun, Bernard, Rose, Steve…" She counted off on her fingers. "Chahlie, really, when was last time you slept? Please just try to sleep."

He nodded to appease her but he knew it wasn't going to happen. He rested his head on her lap again, this way she was still free to tend to Aaron and read the book she's been working on for the past week. Her free hand stroked his head, soothing him anyway she could.

She studied his face; it wasn't peaceful, like it normally was. Even through his closed eyes he could not hide his pain or frustration. A shadow cast down on Charlie, he covered his eyes with his hand and groaned. It was Jack, providing a better late then never ice pack for Charlie's face. Claire graciously accepted it, but Charlie didn't speak. He was pretending to sleep.

"Chahlie, I'm going to put the ice pack on your face, ok?"

"Shhh. I'm sleeping." He stated flatly, his eyes still closed. He heard a sound like a huff but laughter at the same time. The ice pack hit him worse than any punch he received the night before. The ice burned his face long before it would numb it. He moaned and she soothed.

About an hour later, the ice pack was no longer solid but mushy and Charlie still hadn't gotten any sleep.

"You wanna shag?" Claire offered.

Charlie pulled the ice pack off his face. "Claire-a Bell Littleton" He said with disgust, "would you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

"Yeah, because she named me after a cow, and it wouldn't be my mother I would be kissing."

He sat up, electric pain shocked his body. "First of all, I refuse to "shag" you, not the first time at least." She blushed a little at the prospect. "Second, I refuse to make love to you because I can't sleep; it just cheapens the whole idea of it. Third, we are not going to do it so you can prove some point to Kate and Sawyer. Finally, as stunningly beautiful as you are, I don't think I'm physically up to it."

She cooed seductively, "I'll be gentle." Her hair fell in front of her face, masking it, making her mysterious.

Charlie swallowed, but sharp metallic taste filled his throat, dried blood; any arousal he felt was quickly crushed by the taste in his mouth. He tried to recover and pushed her hair away from her face, revealing his Claire "When it happens, it will be perfect." His fingers lingered on her cheek.

She closed her eyes and pressed harder again his hand, "Promise?" Fully understanding what her question meant to Charlie.

His voice became low as he lean in slowly and brushed his lips against her, "Promise."

Normally at this point in a kiss, Charlie would have dropped his fingers and traced her neck. But when his fingertips touched the bandaged around her neck, his hand froze. Caught up in his own pain, he temporary forgot that Claire had been hurt as well. He wanted to apologize, but he had done enough of that for today. Instead he tried being suave when the kiss was over, "When it happens, I'll ruin you for all other men."

A devilish grin crossed her face, "So you're saying if there was anyone else I wanted to shag on this island, I should do it now, while you're hurt?"

See, Charlie's little line would have worked on any other woman on this island. He knew it would have, but he loved that fact it didn't work on Claire. She could see through all his bullshit and stay with him anyway.

"If you wanted to hook up with a girl, that would be cool." He smirked and kissed her again.

She laughed through the kiss but stopped as he became slightly more passionate in the kissing.

A dark shadow cast over them, her eyes were still closed but she knew who could be, "What do you want, Sawyer?" Claire had become accustomed to his interruptions.

"I'm not Sawyer and I wanted to thank you." A strange, hoarse voice spoke. The couple scrambled, releasing each other from their grips, straightening their hair and coughing like they were caught making out on their living room couch by their mom and dad.

Charlie cleared his throat, moving the blood around, "Um, Danielle, hi." He waved.

Danielle looked at Sayid for support. Human interaction was such a rare thing for her; she looked to him for social cues.

Sayid nodded, "When she found out you risked your life for Alex she wanted to thank you personally."

"Is there anything I can do for you? Teach you how to kill one of the bears? Build a trap? Anything?"

Charlie thought it over, "Well, you returned Claire to me, which I thank you for. But if you could refrain from stealing Aaron again, that would be great."

Sayid whispered, "He thinks he's funny."

Danielle nodded, "Oh." She reached out and touched the fading scar on his forehead and her fingers lingered over his purple face. In a sad voice she muttered, "Look at what my family has done to you, I'm sure you used to be an attractive man."

Charlie's eyes nearly budged out of his head, " USED TO BE!"

Sayid lead her away from Charlie, "Have you meet Mr. Eko? He's a fascinating man."

Charlie grumbled and pointed with his thumb, 'See, that's why I hate the French."

Claire smiled at him, "You're still an attractive man, I wouldn't have offered to…"

"Claire, find a different word, we're still in front of the baby."

She rolled her eyes, for someone who had probably been with hundreds of woman, he was surprisingly conservative. "Anyway, you get the point."

He smiled through his pain, "Yeah, I do."

A few minutes later they were, once again, interrupted. When Sawyer approached, Claire stood up, kissed him on the cheek and thanked him, "I'll leave you two alone. I'm taking Aaron so you don't taint his mind."

"With your potty mouth, I'm a little concerned about your effect on him." Charlie called out to her. His eyes followed her as she walked along the shoreline.

Sawyer handed Charlie a bottle of water and sat down next him, "So, VH1 how you doing?"

Charlie's face fell flat, "Well, you know in the past 24 hours, my so-called-friend told my son I was a junkie, I slammed my hand with an hammer, I was attacked and nearly watched Claire's life come to an end, I had my nose readjusted, I can't see Daniel for three days, and a French Lady called me ugly. Over all, I've been better." Charlie watched Claire from a distance and refused to look at Sawyer.

Sawyer studied the water, "So, you're having a bad day?" Charlie huffed and put his hands in the sand behind him for support. Sawyer sighed, normally it would be Hurley trying to cheer Charlie up, but since Stay Puff was out saving the group, he decided he would take it upon himself to do the job.

"So, a few years ago I was in the middle of a long con. The trick with a long con is that you have to let the mark think it's their idea. Long con's are rough things, you have to stick around for a long time, (hence the name). You get to know them as a person, build their trust. Ultimately, it's a bigger pay off, but sometimes it isn't worth it.

"Anyway, this time I was with this woman, and she was really into the lead singer of some lame band. So I broke down and took her to the concert, because you know, girls are pretty and sometimes they let you touch them in naughty places." Charlie laughed, but eyed up Sawyer curious to see where this was going. "The opening band was a forgettable experience and when the main act came out, she and every other woman in the place went nuts for the front man. He seemed like a total tool to me. What I noticed was the bassist. He was running around the stage, he played guitar, drums and piano, all in one set. I remember thinking at the time, the bassist was the only one with real talent."

Sawyer paused for a second letting the words sink in. "Some time passed, the long con was over, that crappy band broke up and the bassist put out a solo album. I keep track of his career over the years, so when the album came out, I bought it. I was sitting in my car listening to his CD and this song came on. It was about him apologizing to a girl. He stole from her, lied and hurt her and he was begging for her forgiveness. Something about the words he chose and the cords he played, I don't know, I could relate. I remember thinking, 'That guy seems pretty cool.' Something tells me that girl never forgave him, and he's been looking for redemption ever since."

Sawyer sipped his water bottle and cleared his throat. Charlie blinked at him for a few seconds before commenting, "You're a fan?"

Sawyer shrugged, "Whatever."

A small grin crossed Charlie's face. It had been so long since anyone other then he spoke about DriveShaft, even longer since anyone commented about his solo album. A long forgotten surge of pride washed over Charlie.

Both men sat in silence for a couple of moments before Jack blocked the sun, raised his hand to his head and sighed, "So Kate's not speaking to me, which if she is pregnant is an excellent way of solving the problem."

Jack plopped down next to Charlie, and took the water bottle out of his hand. The Brit smirked and pointed to the man on his left. "Guess what? Sawyer's a fan of mine. He's got my solo album."

Jack looked out to the water and nodded and rather absentmindedly he said, "Sure, it was a good album, it sounded a lot less commercial than your DriveShaft stuff. I liked the song about you fighting the epic battle with the copy machine. Great use of irony."

Charlie had the same dumbfound look at first; it was kind of funny to think that Sawyer was a fan, but Jack too. That was a little unbelievable. "But when we first crashed, you said you had never heard of me."

Jack rolled his eyes he spoke slowly as if to get the point across better. "Charlie, we crashed landed on a creepy ass island. I had other things to worry about other than your ego."

Charlie frowned at his own arrogance. Sawyer huffed, "So you and Freckles, how long has that been going on."

Charlie glanced over to Sawyer's unreadable face, bitterness, sadness, curiosity.

"About three months now."

Charlie's head whipped around to Jack, regretted the fast movement, and gasped. "Three months?"

Jack shrugged, "Yeah at first we were just messing around, but now I think it's pretty serious."

Sawyer's brow furrowed. "Three months, huh? But my condoms started to go missing about a month ago."

Jack scratched at his head, "Um, yeah in the beginning it didn't happen often and I just used my stash."

"You cheeky devil, you kept some condoms from the group." Charlie smirked and slapped Jack on the back.

Jack shook his head, "No, if someone needed one I gave them out, I simply didn't advertise about I had them." He seemed lost in his own thought. "Damn those were great condoms. Amazing. They're were wrapped in a black wrapped with a big red X on it."

Sawyer nearly spit the water out of his month and instead he started to choke. Charlie's knuckles turned white as very muscle in face and body became tense. Jack watched the other men's reaction.

Sawyer questioned, "What? You had Red X? Did you have that with you before the crash?"

Jack shook his head, "No I found it here. What's the big deal?"

Charlie became tense. "You had eight. Right? You found eight."

"Yeah, how did you know?"

His voice was harsh and bitter, "Because they were mine."

Sawyer's voice was filled with awe, "You have EIGHT Red X's!"

Charlie started to scratch and pull at his hair, "I HAD eight, until Jack unceremoniously used them." He glared at the doctor.

"What, they're condoms; they're meant to be used."

Charlie sighed dramatically, "You clearly don't understand the importance of these condoms. Trojan makes over 2 billion condoms a year. Only 100,000 of Red X are made a year. You have to get on a three year waiting list and you have to know people in the "industry" in order to get onto the list! They come in an Italian leather box with a 24 carat gold clasp. Each condom is priced between 50 to 100 AMERICAN dollars! They are the Bentley's of condoms and they are NOT to be used for "messing around". When sex is done right, Jack, it's an art. It's like etching out the "David" out of marble or painting the Mona Lisa, Red X is just a tool you use, but still tools can make a huge difference in the quality of art."

Jack sat very still for a second, "Really?"

Sawyer nodded, "I used one ONCE, best damn night of my life. It cost me $75 but worth every penny." He thought it over, "You need to use it with a special girl, someone who knows who Henry Rollins is, who's read all the great books, someone who's cool and has interesting opinions about stuff. The woman has to be "worthy""

Charlie added, "Someone who can name all the important bands of the last 25 years. Someone who knows about cool art and even cooler cartoons. Christ Jack, you just used them like it was nothing, didn't you? God, I've been on the verge of tears all day, and I swear, this, could be what pushes me over."

"Guys, those are terrible things to say about Kate. She's "worthy" of your fancy condoms." Jack was becoming offended by this whole conversation.

Sawyer and Charlie exchanged glances, but Charlie answered, "Jack, it isn't Kate who isn't worthy of the condoms."

It took a few seconds for Jack to fully comprehend what they were saying. He frowned. "Oh, I'm not worthy."

Charlie groaned, "Who else did you give it to?"

"Sayid, Jin." Both men's names were met with approval, but Jack's voice became low and quiet. "Hurley."

Sawyer and Charlie had the same reaction which registered 10 on the disapproval scale. Their arms shot up in the air, "Oh come on!"

"What a waste."

Jack quietly sighed, "Sorry."

Again the three men sat in silence, stewing in their own anger or humiliation or frustrations. Eventually, Sayid came over offering apologies to Charlie about Danielle's comment. Charlie was still too angry with Jack to care about the earlier offensive comment. Sayid sat next to Jack, and before long, Locke was walking over. Charlie invited him to sit with the ""cool kids", except Jack, he isn't cool."

"So, James I heard about the fight with that Jo woman. What happened?"

He sighed and didn't really want to tell the story, but hey, it wasn't nearly as bad as Charlie's day. "I yelled at her."

"Uh oh." Jack muttered.

"Women really don't like that." Sayid offered his opinion.

"She didn't either." Sawyer frowned.

"What did you yell at her about?"

Sawyer became quiet for a second, "I told her she needed to be more careful, she should stop being so reckless. The island is dangerous and" he was just thinking aloud, "at first we didn't talk, just screwed in the jungle. Very hot. But, after a while, we started to chat a little. When Charlie told me the condoms were bad, I figured she would just want to stop meeting, but she didn't. So we talked some more. We've read a lot of the same books, and when she says stuff, most of the time, I agree." He smiled and chuckled to himself, "Sometimes, I'll tell her she's wrong just to see her get all angry, she's gets this little vein to pop out of her forehead and her skin gets all flushed. Anyway, when she got her, um, period, and we knew she wasn't pregnant. I didn't mind not doing the nasty with her, because at least I knew she was safe." He scratched at his beard. "This island is so dangerous, last night she got stabbed in the arm, nothing serious, but what if next time…" his voice started to fill with fear, "what if she was kidnapped. I don't know what I would do if something happened to her."

The other men looked at each other, waiting for the epiphany to come, trying to suppress their smiles.

Sawyer glanced over to Charlie, his eyes filled with a new understanding, "Oh MY GOD! That's what you just went through. Are you constantly filled will a horror that something's going to happen to her?"

Charlie nodded. "Yep, and when I'm not worried about her, I'm worried about Aaron and Daniel."

Sawyer scratched his neck, "Shit, it must be so much worse because, you know, bad stuff already happened to her. "

"Yep."

"So this is what you feel like all the time. That pit in your stomach, breaking out into cold sweats, the constant dread."

Charlie shrugged, "yep."

'Well, it sucks!" Sawyer kicked at the sand at his feet.

Charlie laughed, "Welcome to being an adult."

Locke muttered, "Well, would you look at that, the Tin Man found his heart."

"I still stand by my statement, "it sucks". He stopped for a moment to think. "Charlie, do you love her?"

Sayid laughed, "Are you kidding? If you ever wanted the definition of love, its Claire and Charlie."

But Charlie became quiet and still and Sawyer pried further, "Did you tell her?"

Charlie looked up at Sawyer, "Did you just grow ovaries?"

Locke scanned Charlie, "You haven't have you?"

It was his turn to sip on his water, stall for time and kick the sand, "No."

'Well, why not?" Jack nearly screamed.

"Maybe because I don't have any Red X to follow it up with." He answered angrily, but when it faded, he sighed, "Look, I don't want to delude myself in thinking that she loves me back. I know she's always meant more to me than I've meant to her, and maybe it's to fill any void in my life. Maybe I was using her for my own selfish reasons. Maybe I don't want to hurt her."

"Maybe that's how you started out, but that's not how you are now. You start out picking people to fill voids in your life but it ends up making the other person feel just as complete. God, you're so laid back about it, too, 'Hey, are you looking for a father for that kid of yours, that's great I've always wanted to be a father.' 'Hey Jack, I've always wanted a big brother to look out for me instead of the shithead I've got, you up for it?' 'Sure, Charlie why not, I like to fix people and you're a doozy.'" Jack nudged Charlie. He caught Locke's eyes, " ' Hey, Locke, I've always wanted a father figure who will push me to get off the drugs and support me along the way, you up for the challenge?' 'Yo Sayid, do you have great advice and world knowledge? That's cool; I've always wanted to hear about that stuff.' 'Sawyer, you seem like a social degenerate, how about this, I'll be your friend when you think no one is watching and slowly I'll teach you how to be a real human being, but I'll do it so sneaky you won't even know its happening.'" Jack laughed as Sawyer pushed his arm. "See Charlie, you might start off entirely selfish, but it doesn't end that way. You fill people's voids."

"'Cept Claire's." Sawyer smirked.

Jack glare at Sawyer before continuing, "I'm sure she feels the same way about you, but if you want to be the Cowardly Lion about it, pick your time, make it perfect and do something you can be proud of. Don't just blurt it out after sex, like most men do."

Locke laughed, "Looks like the Scarecrow found his brain."

Sayid grumbled, "Does this make me Dorothy?"

"Well, you are the only one who actively tried to get us off this island." Jack thought it over.

"Does that make you the wizard?" Charlie looked up with a half smile at Locke.

Locke looked out to the beach, "Guess so."

"Gee, I seem to remember the Wizard being filled with a certain amount of shit in that movie." Sawyer commented.

"Hell, you probably read the books." Sayid muttered under his breath.

Charlie nodded, but unsure if he felt better about the situation, he watched as Claire met up the Jo on the edge of the water. "What do you think they're talking about?"

Sawyer grumbled, "Us."

Claire sat next to Jo, who looked at Aaron and asked to hold him. The two women sat in silence before Claire finally spoke. "I don't think your sister likes me very much."

Jo was in the middle of making funny faces at Aaron when she questioned, "What? Amy likes everyone."

"Not Amy, Beth."

Jo tore her eyes off the little one and nodded, "No, you're right Beth does NOT like you one bit. I think it has a lot to do with your first impression."

Claire pushed her hair back, "I don't really remember that much about it. Was I awful?"

"Mega bitch. You yelled at Charlie. Hell, even I snapped at you. Beth was a little bit more even keeled about the situation at the time, but man, did she scream and yell about you on the walk back."

Claire frowned, "What about now?"

Jo shrugged, "Now I think your pretty cool. My opinion changed greatly after Charlie said you wanted to get into a fight, which by the way, he thought was the dumbest thing he had ever heard."

Claire laughed, "Yeah, he's been complaining about that for a while now."

Soon Kate dropped by to offer her apologies to Claire, "I'm so sorry. I was out of line this morning. It was terribly rude of me."

Jo cocked her eye brow, "Gee, do you even know what your apologizing for?"

"Lots of things. Being insensitive to the severity of the situation, insulting her relationship with Charlie, questioning the importance of being a mother." Humble pie was Kate's least favorite desert and this was a triple portion. She sighed deeply, "If I am pregnant, I just ruined Jack's life."

"That's not true." Claire tried to comfort her but no support came from Jo.

Jo eyed her up, "I don't like you."

The tension was obvious. Women hate competition even more so when it's dealing with a man. Even though Kate had long moved on from any feelings she might have had for Sawyer, Jo represented a whole new source of animosity.

"I don't like you either."

Sensing the cat fight about to occur, Claire stepped in, "I don't like Anna Lucia."

Kate pondered the statement, "me either, she kinda reminds me of a dude."

"I think she's queen of the bitches and she kinda ugly."

The women laughed finding neutral ground.

Jack watched Kate laughing with the other two women. He studied her interaction with Aaron and shuttered. "If she is pregnant, I've got to get her off this Crap Hole Island."

Four heads turned in Jack's direction as he continued his rant, "This place is a horrible place to raise a child." Now the eyes changed direction between Charlie and Jack. "God, there's polar bears, and crazy others, social retards." Charlie frowned as Jack continued, "When I think about the idea of the raising a child here, I think about all the things he could would be missing out on." Charlie shoulder sunk lower as Jack ranted, "We won't be able to go to baseball games, eat ice cream, watch Spongebob."

Sayid nudged Jack in the shoulder and pointed to Charlie, who was looking more depressed by the word. Jack quickly recoiled, "But this places isn't so bad. I guess."

Silence over came the men once again before Jack's internal thoughts overcame his mouth, "Do you think being an asshole is biological or learned behavior?"

Questioning eyes peered at Jack. Sawyer started the answers, "Biological, no wait environmental, wait, I don't know, come back to me."

"For Aaron's sake I hope it's learned. Then he won't dump a pregnant woman for picking out curtains." Charlie muttered bitterly.

"Curtains?" Sawyer growled, "Well, that's it. He just made the list of people whose ass I've got to kick when I get off this Crap Hole Island."

Charlie smirked at Sawyers announcement but continued with his train of thought, "but what if it's learned? With every promise I break, I become one step closer to being my back stabbing, lying, and bastard of a brother."

Sayid shook his head, "You're nothing like your brother. I'm surprised you share DNA to begin with, I mean he's such a prick in all of his interviews."

Charlie looked at him curiously. Could Sayid be a fan, too?

Jack moaned and put his hands on his head, "I'm going to be a terrible a farther, I know it! I'm going to try to fix every problem my son has. I'm going to end up belittling him and fill him with self doubt. God Charlie, how do you do it?"

Charlie shrugged, but started to feel a little guilty, "I don't know, I just think about what my father would do and I do the opposite."

Locke started to eye up Charlie as he shifted his toes in the sand.

Jack's rant continued once again, "Oh God, what if it's a girl? That's it. I'm going to have to build a moat! A moat to keep all the little deviant boys away from her. Any boys whose dad's know about Red X. Maybe I'll lock her up in a tree fort to keep her safe. Great, now I have to build a tree fort. Do you think Kate would mind living in a tree fort? I think she'll hate it, but tough shit, she's just going to have to suck it up."

Locke's gaze finally burnt deep enough into Charlie's skull that the Brit looked up at the older man. The exchanged was nonverbal, told entirely though glances.

Locke: You have to tell him

Charlie: You know?

Locke: That's what Father figures do, they know everything.

Charlie sighed, as he made his confession, "Jack, Kate's not pregnant."

Jack looked at Charlie with panic and confusion still lingering in his eyes, but hope sprung eternal behind the fear.

"What?"

Charlie took another deep breath, "There's nothing wrong with Sawyer's condoms."

There was an eerie stillness in the air as if the words needed to be absorbed by each layer of the brain before a reaction could occur.

Jack's reaction was predictable, "WHAT!" A blend of rage and relief filled his voice.

But Sawyer remained motionless, as he whispered, "Why?"

Charlie's voice was edging on playful while still remaining defensive, "You turned me orange, you interrupted my first snogging session in months. What, you didn't think there wouldn't be some type of retaliation?"

Sawyer's face remained unreadable stone. All the air left his body in one sigh, as he whispered, "I don't know what to do. On one hand, I want to punch the crap out of you, but on the other I'm kinda proud of you. That was one hell of a con!"

Charlie continued his frozen stance in the sand, unsure if any sudden movements would stir the angry beasts that sandwiched him.

"CHAHLIE!" Suddenly, angry women came storming his way.

His eyes grew wide and uneasily he asked, "what?"

"BETH'S ENGAGED?" Claire bellowed at him

"Oh that." Charlie's relief was obvious, "Yeah, for like two years now, his name is Mark. Great guy, he's been helping with the house. Why are you so mad? I told you we were friends."

"But you neglected to inform me she was already spoken for."

Locke smirked, "Well, did you ask?"

Claire thought it over, "Well, no."

"Then you have no reason to be mad, he didn't lie to you." Sayid rationalized.

Claire looked over to her female supporters, and redirected the question, "What do you mean, "we were friends.""

"Just what I said," Charlie answered coldly, "we used to be friends and now we are not. Past Tense. She betrayed me. Sure, Daniel was just repeating words he heard and he has no idea what a junkie is, but now I have to have a conversation with a child I had hoped to avoid until he was old enough to formulate a solid opinion about me."

Sawyer stood and kicked the sand, "I don't think you should write her out of your life entirely. Beth gave you a second chance, and lets face it, that's a rare thing on the island."

Locke corrected, "This whole island is a second chance."

"Whatever, Wizard. Charlie, she's your friend. All I'm saying is anyone who knows you doesn't think about of you as druggie and if they do, fuck them, they don't know the real you anyway."

A small smile crossed Charlie's face. Any time a man shared his honest opinion about his feeling about another man, the next phrase is bound to come out of someone's mouth. "Pouffer."

Sawyer thought the word over, "Did you just call me a fag?"

Charlie's smile got bigger, "I didn't just call you a cigarette."

Sawyer was a melting pot of rage, laughter, acceptance and frustration. Now he was torn. Should he beat the crap out of Charlie and save face or smile and laugh it off? A voice from behind them saved Sawyer from making the decision.

"Dude, you better be careful, I think Sawyer's killed people for saying less about him."

All attention turned to Hurley, sweaty Hurley. Sawyer and Jack were already on their feet, Charlie let out a gasp as he tried to stand. Two sets of arms lifted him up.

Locke started the questions, "Hugo, what happened?"

Hurley shrugged, "I don't know."

"What going to happen to Alex?"

"I don't know, I think Beth's community is keeping her."

"What is it going to cost?" Jo asked.

"Um, we have to give back Ethan's body and there is something about crates."

There was confusion about the meaning of the crates and only Jo seemed to fully comprehend the implications of these objects.

Hurley continued to provide no useful information about the meeting even after his interrogation from his peers. Charlie declared he would get the whole story from Jacob when he went back to the community.

"Oh, Jo, your dad told me to tell you to come home tonight. But I say, 'She's a big girl and I think she could kick my ass, so I'm not going to tell her anything.' And he said, "good call, tell her come home when she is good and ready.' So I think a crisis was averted."

Jo smiled as her weight shifted slightly towards Sawyer's body. Hurley dug through a bag and pulled out a square box, glanced at it and looked at Claire and Charlie, finally deciding on handing the box over to Charlie. "Here, I guess these are for you."

Charlie took the book, read the label and smiled, "Thanks, Hurley."

Suddenly Jack grabbed the box out of Charlie's hand, opened it and spilt the contents with Sawyer. "Gee, Charlie I don't think you should be using these condoms." His voice was so serious. "I don't think you're physically up to the activity."

Claire looked heartbroken at the box in Jack's hand.

"Is this because of that whole Sawyer's condoms thing?" Charlie stared at the box.

"I guess you'll never know." Jack smirked. "But there's a possibility that you might your crack your ribs and puncture an organ."

Sawyer shook his head, "Internal bleeding is a horrible way to die."

Charlie sighed and puffed out his aggression while his Southern friend counted the square packages, "Hey, there's some missing."

Hurley shrugged, "I don't know how that happened." He dug through his bag one more time and pulled out some paper, "Here Charlie, this is for you." He caught Libby's eye across the beach and headed towards her.

Charlie glanced down at the paper and for the first time that day he was filled with a genuine joy and pride. He stepped toward Claire and showed her paper. "Look, its from Daniel." Indeed it was. The letter was written by an adult but Daniels' trademark dinosaurs were all over it. Charlie's smile and joy surpassed any pain he felt as he showed the letter to his friends and family. He and Claire read and reread the letter, each time with more enthusiasm.

The sun dipped in the sky until it was finally swallowed by the horizon. The warm glow of Charlie's friends and family provide light on what should have been his darkest day.