Capable 03

[sapphire_child]

Title: Capable 3/5
Author: sapphire_child
Rating: PG
Summary: Claire returns to the beach and Aaron only to find that an unwelcome guest has decided to look after him in her absence…
Claimer: Lost is mine. All mine. Muahahaha!
Disclaimer: Yeah you all know the deal. Not mine, somebody much richer than I owns all of this *sad*

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First two chapters can be found here for those who want to recap before reading onwards. Or whatever.

It hadn’t taken long for Claire to find her way back to the beach; Locke had guided her until she could find her own way and then melted back into the jungle.

‘I don’t want to talk to Charlie,’ she had repeated hotly throughout her furious trekking through the jungle and Locke had sighed and nodded over and over. ‘I’m only going back because I need to find Aaron – I can’t believe I left him for so long…I’ll be fine from here I know where I am.’

‘Sure,’ Locke nodded tiredly and waved her off. ‘Good luck Claire.’

Claire had been willing earlier to perhaps make peace with Charlie – after a long while and a lot of explaining on his part of course – but as she emerged from the jungle all thoughts of conciliation flew from her mind.

There was Charlie – and as if the sight of him wasn’t bad enough – he was holding her son in his arms, comforting him, and looking every bit as proud and protective as if he was in fact the real father instead of an accidental surrogate.

How dare he look so fatherly? How dare he even touch her son after what he had just divulged to her?

‘How dare you!’ Claire screamed as she got closer and cuffed him rather heavily around the back of the head causing him to buckle. Charlie whipped around, saw Claire and a pleading look swept across his face.

‘Claire! They couldn’t get him to stop crying!’ he protested as she snatched her son from him and began to march away. Aaron began to yowl again as she walked, protesting at being taken from the warm safety of Charlie’s arms. ‘He knows me better than anyone else – you weren’t – I was the only one who could – I didn’t mean to – Claire!’

She felt his hand on her shoulder and she turned wildly, swinging at him with her free hand, which made a satisfying noise when it hit a glancing blow off his jaw.

Charlie stumbled backwards a step, one hand going to his jaw.

Aaron was still crying as Claire drew herself up to her full five feet of height and glared at Charlie.

‘I was just taking care of him,’ he said, darkly miserable. ‘Since you were off having a hissy fit in the jungle.’

‘Oh yes, you like taking care of people don’t you Charlie?’ Claire laughed hollowly and Charlie stared at her silently. ‘You can’t even take care of yourself!’

‘Oh can’t I?’ he looked angry again now but Claire was angry too and the sound of her son wailing in her arms wasn’t doing anything to improve her temper which had already had its fuse suitable shortened today.

‘No, you can’t!’ Claire held Aaron tightly against her shoulder. ‘Why else would Jack have to keep saving you all the time? You like taking care of people because you’ve never been able to do it for yourself. You want to feel needed – and frankly I think it’s pathetic.’

Charlie didn’t answer but his face was smouldering and Claire knew that she’d struck a chord somewhere in there.

‘And where would you be without my taking care of people, hmmn?’ he whispered dangerously.

‘Well I’d probably still have my memory for one!’ Claire retorted angrily. ‘If you hadn’t convinced me to move to the caves…’

‘Who’s to say Ethan wouldn’t have gotten to you at the beach as well?’ Charlie argued.

Claire tried to find something to argue back and found she had nothing. ‘This isn’t about Ethan!’ Claire spluttered. ‘This is about you being an addict!’

‘Yes! The operative word here being “was”,’ Charlie retorted angrily. ‘As in “I was a Heroin addict” as in past tense! As in not anymore!’

‘Do you really expect me to believe that?’ Claire said, angrily incredulous. ‘Why should I even listen to you after what you did?’

Charlie sighed heavily and Claire took this opportunity to stalk back to her shelter. She put Aaron in his cradle and then began to gather the shards of ceramic and the small plastic bags of heroin that still lay on the floor.

She heard Charlie open the tent flap behind her but just as he came in she turned around and dumped the load of ceramic and baggies in his hands.

‘Get out. I never want to see you anywhere near my son again.’

Charlie stared wordlessly at the broken statuette in his hands.

‘Claire – ’

Claire pushed him out of her shelter, not even caring if he fell over.

‘GET OUT!’

‘I haven’t even taken any!’ Charlie pleaded desperately. ‘Please…Claire…you’ve got to believe me…’

‘I trusted you!’ and now she was bawling and God she hadn’t realised that so many people had come over to see what the fuss was about. ‘I trusted you Charlie and you lied to me!’

Charlie stared helplessly at her as she pushed him once more for good measure and ran back into her shelter. He knew it would be no good going in after her, especially not with his hands full of heroin. His eyes dropped to it and he gradually became aware of the curious stares he was earning. He stared around at them all wondering if their lives were really that boring but then someone went to whisper to another behind their hand and he completely lost it.

‘What the fuck are you all looking at?’ He practically shrieked, he winced at the sound but it was certainly effective; several people jumped and continued on their way, glancing back at him and glaring self-righteously. Charlie glared back just as fiercely and slowly one by one, they disappeared.

‘You ought to be ashamed of yourself,’ a man growled from behind him and Charlie whipped around. ‘Having drugs like that anywhere near a baby!’

‘I didn’t take any!’ Charlie threw the contents of his hands down at the mans feet. He’d never even talked to this man before! ‘And how dare you pass judgement on me! You don’t even know me!’ he turned to stalk away but the mans voice followed him.

‘She knows you and she doesn’t trust you so why should I?’

And those simple words more than anything else that has been said or done today is what makes the tears start.