Part V

Be nice to Charlie. Be nice to Charlie. Be nice to Charlie. I repeat to myself like a mantra as I nurse Aaron. He only wants to help us out. I shouldn't let my hormonal self go flying off the handle when little things he does annoy me.

"Claire. Claire, look what Sun gave me," the man in question says, holding out the green, oozy plant like some sort of peace offering. He looks very eager-little-boy with his sandy hair flopping into his eyes. I can't help but smile.

"Aloe," I say. "For diaper rash, am I right?"

Charlie nods. "I told her he doesn't much have a problem with that yet, but she told me to take it anyway. I guess we can store it in one of Arntz's old jars till then."

"Thank you, Charlie. That's very thoughtful."

"I'll go get that jar now," he volunteers, turning without a second thought and heading toward the little area Arntz's experiments and specimen are still set up. No one's had the heart to take them down.

I finish nursing Aaron, laying him down in his cradle to nap. I button up my shirt and tidy my hair as much as I can without a comb, waiting for Charlie.

"Had to displace a grasshopper to nick the jar, but I don't think he minded," Charlie says when he reappears, setting the jar in the sand near Aaron's cradle. He sits next to me, brushing his shaggy hair out of his eyes. "Claire?"

"Yes, Charlie?"

"Would you mind taking a walk with me?" he asks. "Hurley told me about this cool little place on the beach. He was going to take Libby there before. . .well, before she died."

"Isn't it the same place Shannon went with Sayid?" I think a moment, before shaking my head. "I don't like the track record of that place, Charlie. Bad things happen to the girls who go there. . .Or even plan to go there."

"That's just coincidence," he insists.

I shake my head again. "Nothing is coincidence here."

"You don't fancy a walk then?"

"Not there."

"Somewhere else then?" Charlie asks, managing to make each word sound like a question.

"Somewhere where people don't die would be fine, yes."

Charlie stands, holding out a hand for me. He turns, calling to the first person he sees. "Desmond! Hey, mate, would you mind watching the baby?"

Desmond comes over, looking silently from Charlie and I's joined hands to Aaron's sleeping form. I blush, hoping he can't tell what I'm thinking.

"Will you watch Aaron?" Charlie asks again since he didn't get an answer the first time.

He nods slowly. "Aye. Going for a walk, are you?"

"Just a walk," I insist, blushing even more when Desmond's gaze swings toward me and I can tell he is thinking what I'm thinking. . .Or would be thinking if it was him and me going for this so-called walk instead of me and Charlie. "Aaron might need his nappy changed if he wakes up but you can always take him to Sun if you're uncomfortable doing it."

"I'll manage."

"Thanks, mate," Charlie says, speeding the process along by tugging at my hand. I kiss my hand and lay it again Aaron's soft forehead, waving thanks to Desmond as I'm drug away.

"You didn't have to tug so hard," I complain to Charlie once we're away from camp. "I was just saying good bye to Aaron. I'm not used to being apart."

"If we're going to manage any time alone together, we needed to go," Charlie says. He stops suddenly, pulling out a blue airline blanket from behind a fallen log and laying it on the sand. "For you, my lady."

I laugh, sitting cross legged on the blanket. "How sweet, Charlie. Where'd you find it?"

"Right there. Someone must have had plans of a dubious nature before me."

"Dubious?" I tease. "Is that what you have in mind?"

Charlie grins, plopping down next to me and seeming to enjoy my good mood. "All that and more."

It really is rather nice kissing Charlie. I can't deny that. He moves his hands to either side of my face, pulling me closer, and I let myself be drawn deeper. How I've missed this. Just simple affection and the zing-zing of sensation as my mind shuts down and my body takes over. This emotional recklessness has gotten me in trouble in the past but, right now, I don't care. I just don't care.

"Bloody Hell!" Charlie swears suddenly, wrenching away.

I blink rapidly, trying to clear my fussy mind. "What? What is it?"

"I'm sorry," Desmond says, somehow beside us even in this secluded spot, Aaron in his arms. "Aaron woke up and wanted you."

"So now you're the bleedin' Baby Whisperer?" Charlie says, foul look matching his foul mood. "What else did Aaron tell you?"

"He needs his mother," Desmond says, gently handing Aaron over when I stand and hold out my arms. "Sometimes nothing else will do."

"Thank you for watching him," I say, tip-toeing to kiss Desmond's cheek impulsively. Charlie releases a string of curses under his breath at the gesture. "You were right to come find me. . .If he needed me."

Desmond looks away and I want desperately to ask "Is Aaron the only one who needed me?" but hold the words back. That would just set Charlie off even more and the last thing we need is fight. Especially over me.

"Thanks again, Desmond," is all I say, cuddling Aaron close and heading back down the beach toward camp.

Charlie stays behind. Perhaps to have a 'talking to' with Desmond. I don't know. I don't want to know.