A/N: Again, sorry for the wait. I had a really hard time writing this, but I think now I have a pretty good idea of where this story is going to go. Please keep reviewing, I appreciate it tons!!

Claire clutched Charlie's ring tightly in her hand and waited as patiently as she possibly could by the phone. This was what most nights now consisted of for her. Charlie never had a steady number, but he had promised to call every day. And he did, most nights. Those which he didn't were especially hard on Claire. She would fall asleep holding on the the cordless phone, and wake up in the morning going crazy with worry, something must have happened to him if he didn't call! Their conversations were normally short and sweet, due to the band constantly being on the road. While she was waiting, Claire picked up her planner, where she had circled in red ink the day he was supposed to come home. Eight weeks he had been gone. She sighed. Four weeks to go.

The truth was, there was a reason Charlie was avoiding her. Well, not avoiding her exactly, he still called, just skipped nights here and there and tried to get off the phone as soon as possible. He felt bad of course, he had missed Aaron's first Christmas, among other things which he knew upset Claire. He couldn't go back though, not yet. And it wasn't because of the tour, he could end it in a minute if he really wanted to. No, it was because of the phone call he'd gotten two days before he left, when he was still debating whether or not to leave her. It was so clear in his mind as if he had just heard it yesterday.Some guy had called, looking for him. He identified himself as Richard Malkin, a "psychic". He said that he knew Claire, and he wanted Charlie to come in for a reading because he had some sort of "feeling". Charlie had gone without telling Claire, and Richard had told him that his time was almost up.

"What the bloody hell do you mean by that?" Charlie had asked, confused.

"I mean, you can't live forever. It could be days, weeks, months maybe, but you are running out of time." Richard replied, as if this was a normal thing to tell someone.

"How do you know this? And why are you even telling me?" At this point, Richard had sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"Because I am familiar with Ms. Littleton. You are bringing danger toward her and her child."

Yes, Charlie remembered the conversation well. Richard was full of crap, he was sure, but he wouldn't take any chances. He half hoped that he would just die on the tour, and get it over with. In four weeks, being that he was still alive, he would have to go back to Sydney. And bring this mysterious danger to Claire and Aaron. It was painfully hard being away from them, but he would rather die then bring any type of danger to Claire, the woman he loved, or her son.

"Oy! Charlie!" Charlie looked to where Liam was standing holding the cordless phone that stayed on the tour bus with them in his hand. "You want to call your girl?"

He sighed. He had missed the last two nights in a row, so he nodded and reached for the phone. His hope was that Claire wouldn't answer, and there would be a valid excuse for why they hadn't spoken in so long. Yes, this was what he wanted except... he did miss her, so much. He dialed, and she picked up on the first ring.

"Hi it's Charlie..."

"I just don't get it. Is Liam like this when he's on tour too?" Claire was having lunch with Karen, something they'd begun to do weekly since Charlie and Liam were away.

"He's worse. He thinks I don't know, but he always starts with the drugs whenever he gets with those bloody band mates of his." She then glanced at Claire, realizing that she was not the best person to say this to. "I'm sure Charlie won't do anything like that though. He really turned everything around for you. Really, you should have seen him before, it was awful. But I guess it's good you didn't see it." She chuckled a little bit after this, like it was supposed to be a joke. Claire didn't laugh.

"Yeah..." was her weak reply. It would be a lie if she said that she hadn't worried at least a little bit about Charlie's drug problem. Especially considering how distant he'd been lately.

"So how's your son?" Karen asked, turning the conversation around.

"Aaron? He's great. Three months old now, he's getting big."

"Three months...seems like just yesterday you had him."

"I know, it really does." Claire tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "Well, I'd better get going. He should be waking up from his nap soon, and I promised the sitter I would be back before then."

"Of course," Karen replied happily. It amazed Claire how upbeat she could be when her husband was across an entire ocean, and quite possibly doing drugs. Claire was a mess.

When she got back to her apartment, she found Aaron still sleeping soundly in his cradle. She lifted him gently, and he stirred. "You know Aaron, your daddy will be home soon. One more month." It was no secret that she considered Charlie Aaron's father. She hadn't even seen Thomas since that incident at the cafe. She kissed her son tenderly on the head and whispered, "He loves us very, very much, and he misses you. He can't wait to be back with us again." She said this more for her own benefit then for Aaron's. Because the truth was it didn't seem like Charlie missed them at all. But she did miss him, so much.