Chapter 3: It's going to be all right
As Claire was pulling out of the hug she stopped at Charlie's face and planted a friendly kiss on his lips. Then they heard a horrible shrieking noise, for their new baby had woken up. Claire Lifted her self and the baby. Charlie got a water bottle and handed it to Claire.
"Thank you," she said. "But he doesn't want water." Claire smiled.
"Oh,"Charlie blushed. "Well, I'm going to go find some sort of diaper," said Charlie striding off, examining everything he saw. Claire entered a deserted cave for privacy and Charles had his late lunch.
Charlie found only one thing that could possibly work as a diaper. So he accepted the job of cleaning towels daily. When Claire emerged from the cave, Charlie wrapped a towel around Charles' bottom. Then they sat down by the cradle and Charlie rocked Charles to sleep. Claire took Charles and put him in the cradle and rocked it.
"Hi." Claire and Charlie heard a whisper and looked up. It was Shannon. "Can I talk to you alone?" asked Shannon looking at Claire.
"Sure, I'll go clean more towels," Charlie said as he got up, grabbed some towels and headed for a stream.
"I was wondering, did it hurt, giving birth?" Shannon sat down next to Claire.
"I don't remember it, I think it did but not so terribly," said Claire trying not to scare Shannon.
"Oh god, I don't want to do this, I wish I could get an abortion!" Shannon slumped.
"No you don't, I thought that too, until Thomas convinced me we could raise my baby together," Claire was trying hard not to release her anger about Thomas. "Then I was going to give the baby up for adoption, but the "family" I was going to meet wasn't real. A physic told me I had to raise this baby myself, I think he knew about the crash," Claire stopped and looked at Shannon. She was just staring at Charles. "There was no family, if I was suck on this island I would have to raise this baby myself, but now I want to raise Charles." Claire stopped.
"So your boyfriend, Thomas, wanted to raise the baby?" Shannon asked. "That physic knew about the plane crash? That we would be stuck on this island? Maybe he knows when we will be rescued, or now that you have and want your baby, he will tell someone where we are," Shannon began to get excited.
"No, I don't think so, but he did know about the crash," Claire said. Shannon began to cry.
"I wont be a good mother like you, I'll yell at my baby she'll hate me!" Shannon put her head on her knees and cried her eyes out until there were none left.
"No you wont. You don't know anything yet," Claire whispered, hugging Shannon.
"I just don't know what to do," Shannon was still whining.
"Nothing yet, just sleep," Claire stroked Shannon's hair until she fell asleep. Tenderly, Claire lifted Shannon's head and put it on a pile of towels for a pillow. Then Charlie came over the hill with a bunch of clean towels.
"I'll hang them here to dry," he whispered, hanging the towels on a nearby tree branch. Charlie and Claire sat down near Charles and Shannon.
