Disclaimer: I don't own Lost… I would be extremely rich if it was the case.
A/N: I luv you guys, your review were so sweet! Keep them coming, I could never have enough of them :D. if you are a Chaire shipper, you're going to like this chapter. I love charlie, I think he's really funny.
Chapter six: I promise.
"Do you want to order now?" Kate asked Claire who was seating alone at a table at Joey's Dinner.
"No, thanks. I'll wait for him." Kate nodded and smiled down at her. The blonde was biting her nails and seemed to be really nervous. Kate put her free hand –the one that was not holding a coffee pot- on her shoulder and smiled reassuringly at her.
"Don't worry; everything is going to be ok."
"You don't know that. You don't know him." she said, the stress taking control of her. Ever since she learned she was pregnant, she had a difficult time trying to calm down. She could not remember the last time she ate. She knew it was not good for her or the baby but she could not bring herself to relax long enough to feed herself. Every body had tried to help her, Jack and Charlie even spent last night in the girl's apartment but nobody was able to do anything about it. Charlie's presence was soothing but he made her go crazy when he was bashing Thomas for not being there when she needed him the most.
"It's too much." She whispered, fighting the urge to cry. Kate wanted to comfort her but she did not know how. She has been on her own all her life; only minding her own business. She was not good at helping other people solve their problem, especially when she was not able to resolve her own. In addition, she never found herself in a similar situation.
"I'm sorry." She said simply.
"It's okay." Claire said with a weak smile. She looked at the brunette and her smile turned into a smirk. "I like your uniform." Kate rolled her eyes. She was working for two days now, she already had visits from Jack, Sawyer, Charlie and Shannon, and they all made a comment about her work outfit.
"See you later." She said squeezing Claire's shoulder and gave her a warm smile before getting back to work. The blonde nodded and waited anxiously her boyfriend.
Kate went behind the long counter and refilled the coffee pot. She turned to the only client who was seating there. He was wearing a baseball hat and sunglasses so big that they were covering nearly all his face. 'Los Angeles people!' she thought looking at his ridiculous outfit. 'Maybe it's a star' she thought but pushed the thought away, they were too far from Hollywood. She noticed that his coffee cup was empty, so she went to refill it.
"Thanks." He said with a quick smile. She noticed his accent.
"Would you like anything else?" she asked with a professional smile. He did not reply. Instead, he kept looking over his shoulder toward Claire.
"Sir?" Kate said.
"Uh- no thanks. I'm good." He said. This time she recognised both his voice and his typical British accent. She looked at him, rather amused and he looked down at his cup.
"I can't believe you, Charlie." She said shaking her head but chuckling at the same time. "She'll kick your butt, if she recognizes you." She added putting her free hand on her hips trying to sound reproachful but was clearly amused by Charlie's over protective behaviour.
"She won't!" he said pointing at his glasses.
"Yeah, right!" Kate said sarcastically. "If I did, she will too." Charlie sighed, defeated.
"I know, but I had to come."
"She told you no to, though. She needed to do it on her own. Plus, it's not like she's in danger. She's just meeting her boyfriend."
"It's more serious than that." He had not taken off his glasses but Kate could hear his worry.
"I know and I understand." She said putting a hand on his. "Look, I don't really know Claire but she's strong and even if this turns badly, she has you guys." She said with a reassuring smile. The door behind them opened and a blond-haired- man in his early twenties entered.
"Here we go." Charlie said, nervously rubbing his hands as he watched Claire standing up and kissing her boyfriend. Kate could not see his eyes but she would bet on her life that he was throwing killing looks at Thomas.
"Hi. Sorry I'm late." Thomas said seating down opposite her.
"It's ok." She replied shrugging. "Let's order." She said and waved at Kate. Thomas did not have noticed how nervous she was. Kate came closer, holding a small writing pad on one hand and a pencil on the other.
"Kate, this is Thomas; my boyfriend. Thomas, this is Kate; our mew roommate." she said introducing them to each other. They greeted each other.
"So, what are you having?" Kate asked said returning in waitress mode.
"A cheeseburger and a coca." Thomas said.
"Same for me but I want a bottle of sparkling water instead of the coca." Kate nodded writing down their order. She smiled and returned to the counter. Claire gave Thomas a small smile.
"So, how the doctor's appointment went?" he asked. "I'm sorry I couldn't come but I was with mum." He said avoiding her eyes.
"I thought you said you were with Brian." She said looking suspiciously at him.
"Yeah I know." He said giving her a confident smile. "I went to Brian after I went to see my mum." He explained, trying to sound convincing.
"Ok." She said not convinced at all. "Well, I'm good." he gave her a smile.
"Good, I was worried." He said taking her hand from across the table.
Charlie shifted slightly in his seat. He turned to Kate.
"Everything about him is repulsive. I don't know what she finds so appealing in him." he whispered disgusted.
"Well, he's kinda good looking-if you like the blonde type- and he has a sexy Australian accent." She said smirking.
"I have an accent too." he pointed out defensively. "And I would never lie to her. He always did and she knows it." He said with a depressed sigh. They turned their attention back to the couple. A few minutes later, Kate arrived with their cheeseburgers.
"Thank you." Claire said with a genuine smile and Kate smiled back. They kept looking at each other until Kate reached the counter again. The brunette gave one more encouraging smile before going back to work. Fifteen minutes later Claire had not touched her plate yet, whereas Thomas almost finished. He was telling her a story about a guy that he met on campus but she was not paying any attention. From across the room Claire noticed a man wearing ridiculously big sunglasses who was looking at them with his lips tightly glued to each other. He seemed as nervous and worried as she was. When he saw her looking at him, he quickly turned his head. She thought about someone but she quickly pushed the thought away. 'Even Charlie wouldn't do that.' It went on for five more minutes, until Thomas noticed that that something was wrong.
"What's wrong, Claire?" he asked looking at her plate. "Usually you finish long before I do but today you did not even touched it. Are you okay?"
"Yeah!" she said nodding. "I'm not really hungry that's all." She lied.
"Is that true?" he asked not quiet convinced.
"Actually, no; that's not all. I have something really important to tell you." She said looking right into his eyes.
"Okay." He said focusing all his attention at her.
"The thing is… well the doctor said I wasn't sick, but there's something else." She explained.
"You're starting to freak me out." He said with a nervous chuckle.
"Thomas, I'm pregnant." She finally said looking at him with a mixture of fear and expectancy. He widened in eyes n disbelief and his jaw dropped slightly. They stayed like that for at least five minutes; neither of them daring to speak. His facial expression had not changed; he still looked like he had been rolled over by a truck.
"Thomas? Are you alright?" she asked leaning a little closer against the table.
"Uh- to be honest, I don't know." He said still unfocussed. He looked around himself as if he was looking for something or someone who could tell him it was some kind of joke.
"Thomas?" Claire said again.
"How?" he asked looking back at her with a frown.
"What do you mean 'how'?" she asked feeling slightly annoyed by his question. "You know how!" she added. "You were there!"
"Yeah, but you said you were on the pill."
"What, you think I lied to you?" she asked appal. He did not reply. "I am on the pill, you jerk! But accidents happen." She said angrily. He raised an eyebrow and gave an incredulous smirk.
"Accident." He repeated with a chuckle and she looked at him with disgust.
"What do you want me to tell you?" she asked fighting the urge to slap him. From behind the counter, Kate had to stop Charlie from getting up and doing the same thing.
"That you're joking." She looked at him with anger. It was as if she was talking to a completely different person.
"Well, I'm not." She said through her teethes. They looked at each other for several minutes. Claire had crossed her arms and she was looking at him with rage as if she was daring him to say another unpleasant remark. Even if she was not showing it, she completely lost. This situation was completely terrifying but she knew she had to deal with it. She was an adult and had to take responsibilities and assume the consequences of her acts. She thought that Thomas would help go through this but now that he was seating in front of her with his arrogant smirk and his eyebrow raised in incredulity, she had no idea what she was supposed to do.
"What are you going to do?" he asked.
"You mean we, right? What are WE going to do?" she said, fighting the urge to cry, now. They were not tears of sadness but tears of pure anger that she tried to keep from falling. He looked down at his lap.
"Listen, I don't know if I'm ready for that." He said trying to sound sorry but failing lamely. All she could see in his eyes was a need to get away as soon as possible. She shook her head, disgusted.
"You think I am?" she asked. She was not able to control her tears anymore. "This situation is freaking the hell out of me. I'm still going to college, my life just started; I'm only 22 for god's sakes but there is nothing I can do to change it. I'm pregnant. There's a baby growing inside of me and WE have to face the fact that some decisions need to be made."
"You mean like abortion or adoption?" he asked, shifting slightly on his seat.
"I don't know yet, I didn't think about it." she blatantly lied, looking at her plate. Of course, she thought about it; it was the only thing she was able to do for the last 24 hours. Nothing constructive came out of her sleepless night though. That is why she needed him; to help her make a decision. She took a deep breath and tried to calm down.
"Listen, I know exactly what you must be thinking, believe me. I also know that we made this child together and I need you to help me." She put one of her hands on the table and slowly got it closer to him. When she finally reached one of his hands, he pulled away.
"I'm sorry, but I can't help you; it's too much." He said getting up. "I'm sorry." He repeated before heading to the door. Charlie stood up, ready to make him come back by any means but Kate grabbed his arm and made him seat down again. Then she went to Claire and sat down at the same place Thomas just left.
"I'm sorry." She whispered.
"Don't be!" Claire replied drying her tears forcefully. "Somehow I knew it would turn out this way. He's a coward, I always knew that. I don't need him… I don't need him!" she said angrily. She looked through the window, she saw him pull away from the curve in his grey truck, and suddenly she felt lonelier than never before. She chewed her lower lip trying hard not to cry again but it was in vain. She began to sob and Kate got up from her seat and sat down again, next to her. She opened her arms for her and she pulled her in a hug. She let her cry while she softly brushed her blonde hair.
"It's going to be okay. She whispered in her ear. "You gonna get through this." Claire nodded against her shoulder.
"We will help you." The women looked up and found Charlie seating opposite them. "We'll be there, you're not alone." He assured her with a comforting smile. She was not surprised to see him; it was typical of Charlie to be there when she needed him. Usually, she would have been angry but not today because his presence made her feel better. She gave him a wet smile and he smiled back.
"Let's get you back home." He said softly and she nodded.
"I'm done in ten minutes; I can give you a ride." Kate said.
"Okay, thanks." Charlie said looking at her while she got up. "Claire needs to finish her plate anyway." He said glancing seriously at the blonde. "Don't give me that look." He added when she rolled her beautiful blue eyes. "You need to eat, if you're not doing for you, do it for the baby."
"He's right." Kate said. Claire sighed and looked at her plate. She realised how much she was starving and finally took a good bite at her sandwich.
"Good girl." Charlie said with a smile and Kate got back to work.
"Charlie, please take those glasses off. You're scaring me." Claire said and he chuckled lightly before taking them off. They smiled at each other. He leaned over the table and put a lock of curly hair behind her ears. He let his hand rest on her cheek and she unconsciously leaned on his touch. He softly rubbed her soft skin with his thumb and she blushed a little when she saw the way he was looking at her. She never saw so much care in Thomas' eyes. They both sighed, enjoying the moment. He looked deeply in her sad and tired eyes. Even if they were all red and puffy she still was the most beautiful woman, he had ever seen.
"I promise you, everything will be fine." He said genuinely.
"Thank you Charlie." She said with a soft smile and his heart dropped. How was he supposed to keep his feelings under control when she was smiling at him like that?
"You're quiet welcome." He replied with a warm smile.
A/N: press the button... not to save the world but my tormented author's soul lol.