By Karen T
© December 2004
Disclaimer: Lost and its characters do not belong to me.
Spoilers: Very vague ones for "Raised by Another"
Notes: My Secret Santa ficlet for the lovely Siryn. Only for her would I write Lost fic. :) Her requests were the color red and the quote "A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous" by Ingrid Bergman. Thanks to Michelle for the beta and Jojo for the 'Britishisms'.
He knows she thinks he's only hanging around because he hopes to get in her pants one day. And, well, that's not entirely untrue. (What? She's cute. Anyone with halfway decent eyesight can see that.) But there's another reason for why he likes being around her, and it has nothing to do with his hopes of getting laid.
Before the drugs, the downward spiral, the losing of everything that meant anything to him, Liam had told him that some day he would meet a girl. And this girl would smile at him in such a way that he would know, instantly, that he'd want to be by her side for as long as he could. Granted Liam had been wasted when he'd told him that and had probably only said those words because he'd wanted his 'bloody virginal brother to fuck off already'. But the words stayed with him, for whatever reason, and he eventually saw ... her.
He can't tell her any of that, though. He's a rock star and she's pregnant and they're stuck on this island and she's already told him she's not interested in him like 'that' and--
"Charlie?"
His back snaps to attention and he looks down to see Claire propped up on her elbows. She's staring at her left hand, which is currently clasped in his right one.
"Oh. You-- I--" He releases her hand and scoots a bit away from her. As her hand falls onto the packed dirt ground, he watches her keep her focus on it, almost as if she doesn't believe it's no longer stained red from her blood. "You fell asleep but your hands kept ... It was like you were fighting something, so I took your hand because I didn't want you bash it against a rock. But then you kind of held on to my hand and I ..."
Dammit, he can never seem to stop himself from rambling whenever he's around her. He would blame the drugs -- or the lack thereof -- but he knows they have nothing to do with his 'condition'.
"It's okay, Charlie," she says, smiling weakly as she pulls her hand back towards her body. "I'm sorry I kept you up. You don't have--"
A shake of his head cuts her off. "You should go back to sleep," he says, no more rambling words in sight.
"You don't have to stay--"
"Go back to sleep," he repeats, gently but firmly. "I told you I'm not going anywhere. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."
She opens her mouth to protest but relents as fatigue creeps across her face. "Thank you," she whispers, her eyes easing shut.
He doubts a pregnant girl the size of a small whale is the type of girl Liam had foreseen him growing entranced with, but he doesn't care. He doesn't care if he can explain any of this to his brother or to Claire or even to himself.
This is right, he tells himself as he leans over, hesitates, then throws caution into the wind to press a light kiss to Claire's forehead. This is where he wants to be.
And when he feels her fingers wrap around his, he realizes that, despite the crash and the deaths and ... everything, maybe this is where he should be, where he's been headed all along.
-the end-
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