Chapter 3

A/N: For all of you who loved the character of Mia in my last chapter, she is the property of my insanely talented friend Kat, who goes by littletonpace on here. She has a whole incredible multichapter story centered around Mia you need to check out. One of the chapters even has a guest appearance b y Matt in it

The woman was easy to spot, her long blonde hair catching the hot sun, and her very pregnant stomach rounding up over the sand. "How are you feeling?" Jack asked, kneeling next to her, glancing back the way he had come before dragging his gaze back to the woman.

"I'm shaken up, but fine," she said, her voice cheery and her accent strong. "Is there someone back there who's really hurt? You should go back to them. I really am fine."

"I'm just worried about a new friend," Jack admitted. "My seatmate from the flight."

"That's really sweet," the woman said with a smile. "Why don't I move up the beach to where your friend is? That way, all your patients will be in one place."

"Are you sure you feel up to walking?"

"Trust me, I would love to get off this hot sand." Jack hooked his arms under the woman's, and carefully helped her to her feet. "I'm Claire by the way."

"It's nice to meet you, Claire. I'm Jack." Jack's smile got bigger as they got nearer to where he had left Matt, but suddenly the smile shot off his face as quickly as his stomach dropped. Matt's eyes were closed, his head drooping onto his chest.

Jack took off running, covering the distance between them in seconds. "Matt!" he yelled, dropping to his knees and gripping Matt's shoulder tightly.

"Couldn't stay away, huh?" Matt said with a grin, eyes instantly opening. Jack let out a sigh of relief, rocking back onto his heels.

"I thought you'd fallen asleep or-just do me a favor and keep your eyes open, ok?" Jack rubbed his hands over his face, a haggard sigh escaping past his lips.

"I'm really sorry," Matt said immediately, laying a hand on Jack's arm. "The sun got really bright, and I just closed my eyes, I didn't even think about it. I didn't fall asleep, I promise." He tugged gently on Jack's arm. "You look exhausted. You need to sit down and take care of yourself." He patted the sand next to him.

"He's right," Claire said. "And I want to sit down. So my doctor has to sit down to help me."

"Thank you," Matt said, smiling at Claire as he stood up to help Jack lower her into the shade.

"You're determined to give me a heart attack, aren't you?" Jack sighed, pushing on Matt's shoulder. "Sit down, keep your eyes open."

"You sit down too," Matt said, crossing his arms over his chest. Jack rolled his eyes, fighting back a smile as he joined Matt and Claire under the tree.

"I'm Claire," Claire said, smiling as she extended her hand to Matt.

"Matt." Shaking her hand, Matt smiled back. "It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Claire said. "How's your head? Jack seemed really worried about you."

"First you're running around frantically trying to find me, then you're all worried about me as soon as you leave me…" Matt grinned, watching Jack's face. "Somebody likes me…" His voice lilted into singsong.

"Hey, it's my fault you got hurt," Jack said, tilting his head to hide the blush spreading across his face. "He was getting a blanket for me when the turbulence started."

"It wasn't your fault," Matt insisted, and turned to Claire. "It wasn't his fault." Claire laughed, adjusting her position in the sand.

"Are you sure you two just met?" she said with a grin, eyes flickering between the two men.

"Hey, maybe we knew each other in a past life," Matt offered up with a shrug. "Maybe we were always supposed to meet again."

"You believe in that?" Jack asked, twisting to face Matt better. "Destiny?"

"All I know is, I think some people are supposed to meet," Matt answered, meeting Jack's gaze head on. Jack caught his breath, and silence descended.

"I saw a psychic before I got on the flight," Claire interjected, resting her hand on her stomach. "He creeped me out though. He called me at home and told me I had to keep the baby."

"You're not keeping the baby?" Matt asked, and his quick blush matched Jack's fading one. "I'm so sorry, ask Jack, I just ask questions that really are none of my business."

"No, really it's fine to ask," Claire said, smiling reassuringly and patting Matt's hand. "I'm not, no." The smile slid off her face and she gazed out at the water. "The guy I was with…we were going to raise our baby together, and then he…he couldn't take it and he left."

"I'm really sorry," Matt said softly, squeezing her hand. "I just went through a really awful divorce…I know how hard it is to find out a person's not who you thought they were."

"Divorced club too," Jack offered. "At least I'm in good company here."

"The best," Matt said, the grin back on his face. Claire laughed, tilting her head upwards and breathing in the ocean-tinted wind. Jack studied the sky for a moment, then stood.

"It's getting dark, and it's going to get cold soon," Jack said, turning back to face Claire and Matt. "We should get everyone together and get some fires going."

"So I'm allowed to stand up now?" Matt teased.

"Only under my strict supervision," Jack said, unable to keep back the grin. He reached out to Matt, who took his hand and climbed to his feet. Together the two men eased Claire to her feet, and the three headed back towards the wreckage.