"Nothing Happened"
Darkness had fell a few hours earlier and Claire was still sitting next to Charlie. It was like she was afraid he would disappear if she left him, even if only for a minute. He had been acting strange since he got back. More like disoriented.
She could tell by his arm that he had gotten himself into some kind of trouble. Yet, he wasn't acting as though he was in pain. He was acting like a wide-eyed child on Christmas morning. Almost as though he was surprised to be there. Excited to be there. Like he knew he was suppose to be somewhere else.
"What happened out there, Charlie?"
"You want to hear the part about me nearly being killed by the flaming fireball…or the flying fork?"
A joke. He decided to make a joke. It was almost like he thought the whole thing was a joke. That he was just happy to be there and wanted her to be happy to.
"I want you to be serious." He got the picture.
"Nothing happened."
"Well, something happened. I mean that noise and the sky turned that weird violet color."
"Really?" He was making another joke. Why was he in such a good mood. For all he knew Eko and Locke were dead and he was making jokes. And even though she tried to look serious and she knew she should be serious…she smiled.
She then tried to distract herself by looking at the cut on his arm. Ever since she had had Aaron she had a motherly way about her. Always trying to fix cuts and scrapes. As she touched his arm he flinched, but it was a delayed reaction. Like it didn't really hurt him, but he knew it should.
And then he looked at her. He looked at her and she couldn't help but look back. It was like someone else had taken over her body as she found herself just wanting to touch him. She wanted to be near him…to feel safe.
She didn't even realize that her hand had moved to his forehead. Gently swiping his long bangs out of his face. And he looked at her. He looked at her as to say you can trust me. She wasn't scared anymore. She knew he wasn't going to use her. She knew he wasn't Thomas. He wouldn't break her heart.
She kissed him. Not long and not passionate. Just enough to say I forgive you. And he accepted gratefully as she took his hand. They sat like that for awhile longer. Just holding each others hand and every once in awhile looking at the other. Hoping they wouldn't notice like a 6th grader on their 1st date.
Claire didn't know what was coming over her. She felt like he had cast a magical spell on her that let her forgive him. She stood up out of nowhere.
"I'm gonna be heading to bed. It's pretty late." The smile he had had since he had got back faded.
"Of course" He looked like he was loosing his long, lost love. Like this was the last time he'd ever talk to her. And once again his magical spell worked its charm.
"Charlie…Would you like to move back to my tent?" His face quickly lit up again.
"Of course, Love. I thought you'd never ask."