![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sapphire_childSo all in all, I would have to say one of my favourite episodes. In fact, I’d say this ranks just after Confidence Man for me – which is saying a lot because that was my absolute favourite, favourite episode of all time.
...and the above translated basically means I was SQUEEING MY ASS OFF ALL THE WAY THROUGH THIS EPISODE. My dad even kept coming into my room to see wtf my problem was! Enough of that though, go check out mah review!
· Hurley’s chocolate induced orgasm is so infinitely better than Kate’s was.
· Chips! Milk! TV dinner! Ice cream! OMGWTFJIN?
· “Jin. You’re here.” – ...I think that’s the stupidest thing that I’ve ever heard Hurley say before.
· “You speak English?” – “No, you’re speaking Korean,” – “I am?” = LOL!
· “Have a cluckity cluck cluck day Hugo.”
· “Rambina.” = XD
· “Why don’t you pee on it?” = this so reminded me of the scene with Hurley and Jin in I think it was Hearts and Minds? Where Hurley stepped on the sea urchin? Yeah...
· Sawyer + Ana-Lucia = XD
· “Hotlips” - go the MASH reference!
· “Bitch.” – buahaha!
· Hurley’s mum is much love!
· “I just slipped” – “Slipped sitting down?”
· “FALLING DOWN IS NOT EXERCISE!”
· “Maybe if you pray every day Jesus Christ will come down from heaven, and take 200 pounds and bring you a woman and a new car. That’s right, Jesus can bring you a new car.” *the phone rings* “Oh, that must be Jesus. Yes it is Jesus. He wants to know what colour car you want!”
· Bjorn + Daddy!Charlie + use of the word “mummy” by Dom = much squee from Ellin
· “You gonna lie to me? You going to lie to the baby?” = XD
· Charlie is SO the master of snark in this episode.
· Rose! Severe yayage! I love L. Scott Caldwell, she’s a completely sensational actress and she so isn’t in the series enough at the moment. More Rose plzthx.
· Watching Rose do her laundry reminds me severely of Song of the South…
· I love Rose’s expression when Hurley’s all, “Come into the hatch” and she just kind of stares at him like “Uh...how bout no?”
· Jack is such an ass. He like, completely ignores Rose at first just so that he can yell at Hurley. ASS.
· Claire – walkie, walkie, walkie...I’m all free looking and stuff and then…OMG IT’S THE FORESHADOWING BOTTLE OF DOOOOOOOM!
· *Ominous beeping* “What’s that?” “Trust me, you don’t wanna know.”
· I love Rose’s faith that Bernard is still alive. So gorgeous.
· Tactless Hurley moment! Lol.
· Yes Rose, everybody loves Hugo.
· Hurley sucks at being assertive. Like seriously.
· Hair net! *much chuckles*
· It’s Randy! Evil! Die! *at which point I hissed at TV*
· “I didn’t eat eight pieces!” “You want to watch the whole tape?”
· Hurley, sweetie, breathing into a paper bag does nothing to help you with hyperventilating. Sorry.
· Locke cracks me up every time he does his “I know you’ve been following me/I know you’re standing right behind me” thing. Poor Charlie! He probably thought he was being sneaky. I actually laughed out loud when he snuck out from behind the trees.
· “I didn’t go swanning off to the Black Rock on an A-team mission but I would have if someone had asked me!” – Charlie is obviously feeling inadequate at the moment wouldn’t you say?
· Sayid: Concrete, concrete, concrete…just as well this metal I’m holding is titanium…concrete, concrete…let’s go down into the basement! o.O;
· “Swell. Guess we can all sue Oceanic together.” = XD
· Ana-Lucia totally kicks Sawyer’s ass. Like seriously!
· Love the Sawyer snark. “You didn’t say three” and “I say move, you move, I say stop you stop, I say jump what do you say?” “You first.”
· “You hit me again, I’ll kill you.” *Ana smirks as I piss myself laughing at Sawyer and his feeble, feeble threat*
· Charlie and Locke = story time!
· Charlie: it sounds a bit nutty doesn’t it? Me: more like fucked up!
· “Shifts. Pushing a button?” = XD
· Anyone else imagining a light bulb going off over Charlie’s head when Locke said “record player” and then again when he said “food”? One track mind much lol!
· And so Charlie is suddenly Hurley’s beeeest friend. But only because he wants peanut butter for Claire.
· “Yeah well...Locke’s lying.” – “Oh yeah? Is he lying about the button we have to push every 108 minutes or the island will explode?” – “Not explode...”
· “Peanut butter. Nutty, creamy, staple of children everywhere?” *Hurley stares just long enough for Charlie to get all defensive* “It’s for Claire.”
· “You’re saying no to a nursing mother?”
· “You’ve become one of them. The man. The management. I thought we were friends. You’ve changed man.” = Ellin pissing herself laughing for like, five minutes.
· Poor Drive Shaft being in the “one hit wonders for only $2 pile” at the record store
· How cute is Starla?! I really liked her - she’s such a sweetheart. “You’re my rock! I mean, if you quit your job bees will stop making honey, flowers will die, the whole damn thing’ll fall apart...” ^___^
· Hurley got a date! Nawww!
· “Today you’re frickin Fabio!” *Hurley runs into a postcard stand and Ellin snorts with laughter*
· Sayid: concrete, concrete, concrete…
· OMG GRATUITOUS HALF-NAKED KATENESS!
· Much lol at Jack and Kate! “You took a shower? How was it?” – yeah well done Jack. Notice how they were both all nervous in this scene? She kept dropping all her clothes and then Jack’s talking in like, monosyllables, trying not to stare at her as he’s talking. Hehehe...XD
· Eko + Sawyer is much love! “A misunderstanding’s when you bring me lemonade instead of ice tea.”
· More Sawyer + Ana-Lucia snark! I’m loving it! Finally someone who can match his snarkiness!
· There’s a secret knock? Seriously, flash backs to primary school here!
· Michael: I thought you said there were 23 of you. Libby: There were. = OMG FORESHADOWING!
· And Shannon and Claire are suddenly gal pals! I don’t know why I find that so cute but it really is.
· Wow Hurley is PISSED at Locke! I think that’s about as assertive as I’ve ever seen him before!
· “No you can’t have peanut butter for the cute blonde and her poor island baby!” = much giggles from me
· “My job is to convince people to push a button every 108 minutes without them knowing why or for what. You wanna trade?” = XD
· One of the best island-to-flashback transitions ever. Apart from maybe some of the ones from The Moth. But then I just rave about that episode anyways...
· Cluck you! *Is still laughing about this*
· Rose: Whatcha got there Hurley? Hurley: Uh...dynamite. Rose: What the hell are you doing with dynamite? Hurley: Um…blowing up all the food? Rose: ...The fuck?! Why would you do that?!
· This next bit was a little bit too choppy I thought, from island-to-flashback-to-island-to-flashback but it worked well nonetheless, swapping between the two by using the camera flashes was very effective. Oh and the guy who played Johnny? He’s really good at blinking vacantly isn’t he?
· OMG HULEY GAVE CHARLIE THE PEANUT BUTTER! *dies of happiness*
· Everybody: junk food! Whoot! We’ll survive here yet!
· And then...omg Aaron is SO CUTE! And then...then...wait for it...PEANUT BUTTER! *flails and falls off chair* Oh the look on Claire’s face! PEANUT BUTTER ORGASM! *much squeeage and bouncing off the walls from me*
· Jack/Kateness = so cute.
· Charlie glomping Hurley is officially one of the cutest things ever seen on Lost.
· Emo!Sun! Awww =(
· OMG BERNARD! I was squeeing my head off so much!
· Rose saves Bernard the Apollo bar! ^_____^ Now that’s what you call true love! (But then if saving a chocolate bar for your SO is true love then shouldn’t that mean, Charlie/Claire is true love also? Eh, eh? With the peanut butter? ...okay I’ll shut up now)
And lastly but not leastly, part two of The Time Between - my Confidence Man fanfiction. Enjoy!
Title: Confidence Man – The Time Between (Part Two)
Genre: fluff
Rating: G
Spoilers: 1x08 Confidence Man
Summary: A follow up to Part One. We left off at Claire’s famous diary entry so now we finally get to see what happened between there and the advent of the washing scene the next morning!
Disclaimer: Well obviously the Lost stuff isn’t mine, so just so you know; the song that Charlie sings is called “Sleeping To Dream” by Jason Mraz.
~*~
It wasn’t until the fires were being lit that they realised just how late it was actually getting.
‘Hey,’ the two of them glanced up at one of the other survivors – an older man they both knew by face but not by name. ‘D’you two want to come sit at the fire for a while? It’s getting pretty chilly.’
He gestured at a fire not more than ten metres away where a small group of castaways were huddling up together. Claire eyed them for a moment, noticing the way that they had deftly filled in all the gaps in the circle but then shook her head and smiled apologetically. ‘Oh…no thanks. I’m not really that cold.’
The man looked pointedly at Charlie, who stared determinedly at his fingernails. ‘If you want to go sit with them that’s okay,’ Claire said selflessly. Charlie merely shrugged.
The guy shrugged back. ‘Okay. Well if you guys get cold...’ He left it hanging as he crunched away through the sand and joined the circle. Claire glanced over at him and the others and sighed.
She knew a clique when she saw one.
‘You know, you really don’t have to stay,’ Claire said to Charlie as she began to paw through her bag for a jumper – and maybe a pair of track pants as well she thought grimly as a sudden breeze rushed up the beach, catching her long hair and tangling it like so many golden threads. ‘If you want to go and sit with them…’
Charlie actually snorted and then gestured over at the circle around the fire. ‘Oh yeah. Does it look like they want any more company? They’re probably all Yanks as well – you know you’re the only person I’ve met here who isn’t from the States? Well apart from Sayid…’ Charlie slapped at a mosquito and then glanced around to make sure there weren’t any more nearby.
‘Well I thought I was the only one for a while,’ Claire said as she pulled a jumper over her head and then tugged it over her belly. ‘Where do you reckon Sayid’s from? I think he said he was from Iraq but I’m not really sure…’
Charlie, however didn’t seem to be paying her much attention, he was looking up at the darkening sky and frowning to himself, mouth working as though he wanted to say something. Claire trailed off awkwardly, her hands frozen in their search for a pair of pants.
‘I didn’t realise how late it was getting…’ Charlie glanced down at his watch and frowned heavily. ‘If I wanted to get back to the caves I should have left here a couple of hours ago.’ He scratched his head, not looking at Claire. ‘And I don’t really want to go tromping through the jungle at night with that thing on the loose…but it’s not like I can really stay here…’
‘Of course you can stay here!’ Claire said immediately, pleased, but her smile faltered as quickly as it had brightened her face. ‘I mean, only if you want to – you have been with me all day…I mean, if you want to go to the caves I’ll understand…I’d like the company. If you’d like to stay here with me…’
Charlie grinned at her. ‘You realise you’re babbling don’t you?’
Claire ran a flustered hand through her tangled hair. ‘Sorry. It’s just I haven’t had anyone to talk to in a few days now and I guess I’m actually being a bit selfish, asking you to stay here with me when…’
‘That’s bollocks,’ Charlie waved a dismissive hand. ‘You’re the only person I’ve actually had a decent conversation with in this god forsaken place so far, so I don’t see much point in leaving – if you don’t mind me staying that is?’
Claire felt herself smile. ‘Of course I don’t mind.’
‘Oh good,’ Charlie looked relieved. ‘I thought you were going to tell me to sod off for a second there and then I’d have to go make polite conversation with all those bloody Yanks over there.’
Claire giggled and began to wriggle into her blue track pants as Charlie flopped down on his back, hands folded behind his head. Once she’d done up the drawstring, she glanced back over at Charlie who appeared to be gazing at the emerging stars.
‘Are you cold?’ she asked as she leant back against her cushion, gazing not at the stars but at Charlie’s face – half obscured by shadows now. He blinked several times, quite slowly and she wondered if he had even heard her, but then he was answering and she had to catch herself to actually hear what he was saying.
‘I’m good thanks,’ he was murmuring vaguely. ‘I’m pretty good with the cold. It’s the heat and humidity I can’t hack.’
‘Must suck for you being here,’ Claire leant forward again and began to wriggle out of her black skirt – there wasn’t much point in layering, it would only be uncomfortable to sleep in – and it would mean that she could finally sleep as comfortably as she wanted to without worrying about whether somebody was going to look up her skirt while she was sleeping.
Not that there were many people who would do that here.
Well…she wouldn’t put it past Sawyer.
‘Mmmn,’ Charlie agreed and shuffled himself around a bit more, sighing as he tried to find a more comfortable patch of sand. Claire offered him a cushion and towel to lie on and he gratefully took both, stretching out and propping his head up on the cushion. ‘Ta love. I guess there are worse places I could be.’
He fell silent, obviously into his own private musings and Claire looked up to the oh-so familiar constellations that he was scrutinising. She didn’t feel awkward in his silence exactly, but she certainly didn’t feel quite comfortable with it yet.
He had a habit, she had noticed, of going off into his own head with no prior warning and then coming back to reality just as quickly. It was a little unnerving, even though Thomas had done it too from time to time – being an artist he got distracted easily and she had often teased him about how serious he looked when he concentrated. But then Thomas’s silences had never felt quite as intense to her as the ones that Charlie seemed to fall into.
Or maybe she just wasn’t used to them yet.
She glanced a little nervously from the stars back to Charlie’s face and found herself wondering what his star sign might be. She hadn’t asked him yet – partly because she hadn’t been able to pick it herself and partly because she wasn’t quite game to. At least not after the look Kate had given her when she’d offered to do her chart the previous week.
‘Do you know anything about the stars Charlie?’ she asked tentatively.
Charlie chuckled lightly. ‘Not really. Well, you know, apart from the fact that they’re huge balls of burning gas millions of light years away.’
‘I didn’t mean that,’ Claire blushed a little. ‘I meant like, what they mean. Like star signs and stuff.’
‘What, Astronomy?’
‘Astrology,’ Claire corrected him, giggling. ‘And I’ll take that as a no?’
‘Yeah. No I don’t know much about that stuff,’ he turned his head so that he could look up at her and grinned. ‘It’s not like I ever really read the star signs in the paper or anything. My brother would have said that…’ he broke off quite suddenly, fumbled with his words for a moment and then changed the subject. Claire noticed but didn’t push the matter. If Charlie wanted to pour out his soul she would listen – up to a point – but he was more than entitled to keep some of his secrets to himself. They’d only just met a week or so ago now for Chrissakes! ‘Well I was brought up in a churchy sort of house anyway,’ Charlie continued. ‘So…well, there wasn’t ever anything like the feng-shui-star-sign-bonsai-tree type stuff around when I was growing up.’
‘So…you’re religious then?’ Claire was a little surprised at this. She never really thought about a person’s religion when she first met them but she’d known people in the past who couldn’t even hold an ordinary conversation without mentioning their faith. She herself had never been to church or been baptised and she’d never really minded either come to think of it.
‘Well…not so much anymore,’ Charlie amended and Claire felt slightly better. ‘But I used to be.’
Used to be.
Claire shivered as another gust of wind played hide and seek around her shelter making the tarpaulin overhead flap and snap in the wind. She huddled down until she was lying on her side – the weight of her baby was beginning to press uncomfortably into her abdomen. Propping herself up against her cushion, Claire directed her attention to Charlie who turned his head towards her. She regarded him solemnly for a moment and he raised an eyebrow.
‘What?’
‘What did you do in the real world Charlie?’
Charlie blinked foolishly but then rolled onto his side as well, propped himself up on his elbow and began to fiddle with the ring on his right hand.
‘I was…well…I was sort of…in a band.’
‘A band?’ Claire repeated. Charlie nodded and Claire waited for more. When it didn’t come she rolled her eyes. ‘Well what sort of a band was it?’
‘Just a band,’ Charlie said evasively and then added, hesitantly, ‘My brother and I, we started it when we were in our teens. I kind of went from job to job for a few years but eventually we got a bit of a break, we made a few records and then the band split up – like most do. Not really a lot to tell.’
Claire could tell from the tone in his voice that this was all she was going to get on the matter but she tried to poke him along anyway.
‘Did you go on tour?’
‘Mmmn. All over the world.’ Charlie pulled off the ring he’d been toying with and held it out to her. ‘Here. Second tour of Finland.’ Claire squinted at the initials on the ring in the fading light. ‘We got these made especially.’
‘DS.’ Claire read then glanced up at Charlie. ‘What’s it stand for?’
‘Name of the band. Drive Shaft.’
Claire laughed out loud. ‘Phallic much?’
Charlie grinned at her. ‘I’ll have you know that I didn’t come up with the name. I just wrote the songs and sang back up.’
Claire laughed and handed the ring back. As Charlie pushed it back onto his finger she looked for something else to say. ‘So you write music as well?’ she continued.
‘Mmmn,’ Charlie smiled reminiscently and then he half sat up. ‘Actually, my guitar is up at the caves! I thought it would have gotten smashed up in the crash but Locke found it for me, still in the case! All in one piece and playable and everything!’
‘Really? You’ll have to play for me sometime,’ Claire brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and grinned shyly. ‘Or maybe you could even teach me to play sometime? I always wanted to learn the guitar…’
‘Probably not the best time to start teaching you at the moment,’ Charlie said, his eyes teasing. ‘It’d be a bit hard to hold a guitar properly with that huge lump out the front of you.’
Claire giggled and shuffled her weight so that she was a little more comfortable. ‘Good point,’ she amended as, opposite her, Charlie settled himself down a bit more comfortably as well.
Claire jumped a little when his knee touched hers quite suddenly – but then she wondered if he’d done it on purpose. His face was almost concealed by darkness now and from what she could see, it showed no signs that he was angling for anything anyway so she put it down to incident and decided to just leave it instead of making a fuss. Maybe he couldn’t feel it through his jeans?
‘And what about you?’ Charlie asked as the last of the day’s light faded into the blackness of the sea. ‘We’ve done all this talking about me and you haven’t told me what you did before you ended up in this horrible place.’
‘Well I wasn’t famous or anything,’ Claire said and Charlie barked out a laugh. ‘I actually worked in a fish and chips shop and then…well then I got pregnant and that was the end of that.’
Charlie nodded and then asked hesitantly, ‘The father – is he still back in Australia?’
Claire paused before answering. ‘Yes. He is.’
Charlie didn’t ask any more questions after that. Instead, he settled his head down onto his arm and blinked at her. Claire mirrored him and the two of them lay there quite silently for a long time. It was the closest Claire had slept to anyone in ages. The warmth of Charlie’s denim-clad knee against hers was a constant reminder her that she wasn’t sleeping alone for once, even when she closed her eyes...
When she opened them again, the moon had fully risen and Charlie was breathing softly beside her. She shivered violently and realised that the reason she had woken in the first place was that she was practically frozen solid.
She sat up stiffly and glanced over her shoulder. The beach was dark but for the silvery moonlight and the main signal fire which somebody seemed to be stoking. She fumbled about in the shadows to find her blanket and then reached over to poke Charlie in the shoulder.
‘Are you awake?’
Charlie mumbled something incomprehensible as his eyes opened blearily. It took him a moment before he seemed to register who it was. ‘Claire? S’matter?’
‘I’m freezing my bum off out here so I’m going to go and sleep under there,’ she indicated the other piece of wreckage which made up her shelter. She guessed that it had been a part of one of the engines as well but in any case, it formed a perfect arch over the sand and it would hopefully hold some heat.
Charlie lifted his head, glanced over at it and nodded, almost imperceptibly in the darkness. ‘’kay. I’ll sleep out here and hope that a boar doesn’t come and eat me.’
Claire laughed quietly but then she sobered considerably. ‘Are you going to be warm enough?’ she whispered. ‘Do you want a blanket or anything?’
Charlie gave an affirmative grunt. ‘Yeah. S’pose I could cope with something along those lines.’
Claire handed him several towels she had filched from various bags. ‘Here. It’s not exactly duck down but it’s better than nothing.’
‘Ta,’ Charlie murmured and without even sitting up, dragged the towels over himself to promote some semblance of warmth as Claire hovered, feeling slightly guilty for not having anything better to offer him.
‘Are you sure you’re warm enough?’
Charlie waved a hand dismissively. ‘S’fine Claire. I’m a Brit, ’member? ’m used to the cold.’
‘Right,’ Claire hesitated for a moment, one hand on the cold metal of the engine shell she was about to climb under. ‘Well I’ll see you in the morning I guess.’
‘Mmmn. Sleep sweet,’ Charlie murmured and as Claire crawled underneath the curved wall of metal and curled up in her blanket she heard him begin to sing softly to himself.
‘Sleepin’ t’ dream bout you…an’ I’m so tired. ’m having to live w’out you, but I dun mind. Sleepin’ t’ dream bout you…I’m so tired…’
Charlie’s voice trailed off into a sleepy sigh and Claire smiled into the darkness and shook her head before settling back down for sleep.
~*~
I had that weird dream again – the one with the Black Rock I can't get away from. I tried to leave it, but it won’t let me...
‘Morning!’
Claire nearly leapt out of her skin as she slammed her diary shut and turned her head to the source of the cheerful voice. She was feeling on edge this morning, ever since she’d woken up from that stupid dream. She hadn’t even been able to get back to sleep again and had instead gotten up and gotten dressed, changing into her pink singlet only to pull her black one back over the top so that the pink checks wouldn’t accentuate just how large her stomach was getting.
She’d hoped that getting dressed, maybe going for a walk along the beach would lift the foreshadowing of the dream from her mind but no such luck. With Charlie asleep she had turned to the only thing she knew would possibly help her to put the dream behind her.
Her diary.
‘Bloody hell!’ She shot Charlie a reproachful look then made a big fuss over putting her diary back into her bag. ‘Don’t sneak up on me like that Charlie!’
Charlie’s eyebrows shot up at her reprimand but then he eased himself down next to her anyway. ‘Sorry. Did you sleep badly last night or something?’
Claire sighed and rubbed a hand over her eyes. ‘Sorry. It’s nothing. Just this stupid recurring dream I’ve been having. It doesn’t mean anything.’
Charlie nodded then looked down at his hands, inspecting his fingernails intently.
Claire began to feel slightly guilty. He was only trying to be nice. ‘I’m sorry I snapped at you.’ She apologised. Charlie glanced up at her and smiled gently.
‘That’s all right. You’re not much of a morning person I gather?’
‘Not today,’ Claire admitted and Charlie grinned at her.
‘Well never mind. Did you still want me to hang around today or are you starting to get sick of me?’
‘Oh no, I’ve got no intention of letting you disappear,’ Claire grinned at him. ‘I need your help with something.’
‘Oh really? And what kind of a something are we talking about?’ Charlie narrowed his eyes and leant forward to whisper conspirationally to her. ‘Because if you say “pregnant yoga”? I’m out of here.’
Claire stared at him and Charlie’s face split into a grin. ‘Kidding love. I’m only kidding.’
‘I never even did pregnant yoga,’ Claire informed him primly. ‘And for your information I was going to ask you if you’d help me with my washing…’
‘Oh so you want me to play house with you?’ Charlie frowned musingly. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever played house before – I always pretended I was a famous musician when I was little.’
‘Oh ha, ha,’ Claire tried to push the conversation back on track. ‘Will you help me with my washing or not? It’s just I’m not really that mobile at the moment…’
Charlie rubbed his chin, pretending to consider her offer. ‘Well…I’ve got two options here. I can either go back to the caves with Jack and all the other pessimists up there or I can stay here and play house with you. Hmmn…it’s a tough call…’
Claire waited, trying not to smile.
Charlie nodded thoughtfully. ‘Yeah…I think I’m going to have to stay and play house today.’
‘Well I suppose I’d better get up then,’ Claire started to push herself up, waving Charlies hand away. ‘I’m okay Charlie. Thanks.’
‘Just making sure,’ he said a little defensively then added sheepishly, ‘I just didn’t want you to yell at me again.’
~*~
Charlie dumped several brightly coloured tops into the broken suitcase lid they were substituting as a laundry basket and dusted his hands off whilst Claire searched through her bag for a hair-tie. ‘Is that everything then?’ he stared at the odd assortment of clothes they had jumbled together.
Claire pushed a strand of hair back from her face and pulled a pink singlet strap back up onto her shoulder as she rummaged through her bag determinedly. ‘…I swear I put some lackies in here – yeah I think that’s it now…just wait…aha!’ Claire pulled forth a black hair elastic and held it up triumphantly. ‘Just give me a second so I can tie my hair up…oh I don’t suppose you could help me fix this strap could you?’ Claire indicated the left strap of her pink singlet, which had somehow loosened and was now sliding off her shoulder at every opportunity. ‘I can’t reach the buckle thingy…’
Charlie’s thin fingers were at her shoulder in an instant, expertly pulling the straps and fastenings as though he’d done it a million times before. Claire glanced over her shoulder at him, grinning bemusedly.
‘Have you done this before?’
Charlie smiled, eyes still on her shoulder.
‘Maybe once or twice.’
‘Girlfriend?’ Claire guessed.
‘Me mum.’
Claire burst out laughing.
This was why she liked Charlie’s company so much more than anyone else’s on the island – he made her smile. Last nights nightmares and tomorrows worries seemed further away when she was with him – and it felt good to be able to have a conversation without it being punctuated by constant references to her baby. He hadn’t mentioned the baby at all since she’d asked him to teach her to play his guitar and he’d pointed out that she was too pregnant – and yet she didn’t feel like he was avoiding the subject or that he’d forgotten that there was a growing person inside her. His eyes were constantly darting to her stomach and then he’d sort of nod and continue on with whatever he’d been doing. It made her feel safer somehow.
And yet…nearly everyone else Claire had talked to over the past fortnight had seen her pregnant bulk and gently stepped away. She supposed they didn’t want to be responsible for her and her baby and all the responsibility that came with it. Everyone seemed to see her as “the pregnant girl”. But then Charlie – Charlie had seen her as Claire, asked her how she was doing and then acknowledged her pregnancy. It felt good to be noticed again, not as a pregnant person but as a person who just so happened to be pregnant.
‘There,’ Charlie crawled back next to her as she retrieved her hat. ‘Are you ready to go do some of this washing then?’
Claire pulled her hair to the nape of her neck and twisted her hair elastic around it, jamming her hat on top. She tweaked the brim at Charlie and grinned widely, pleased at having finally gotten over her doubts – she’d found a friend.
‘Absolutely.’
...and the above translated basically means I was SQUEEING MY ASS OFF ALL THE WAY THROUGH THIS EPISODE. My dad even kept coming into my room to see wtf my problem was! Enough of that though, go check out mah review!
· Hurley’s chocolate induced orgasm is so infinitely better than Kate’s was.
· Chips! Milk! TV dinner! Ice cream! OMGWTFJIN?
· “Jin. You’re here.” – ...I think that’s the stupidest thing that I’ve ever heard Hurley say before.
· “You speak English?” – “No, you’re speaking Korean,” – “I am?” = LOL!
· “Have a cluckity cluck cluck day Hugo.”
· “Rambina.” = XD
· “Why don’t you pee on it?” = this so reminded me of the scene with Hurley and Jin in I think it was Hearts and Minds? Where Hurley stepped on the sea urchin? Yeah...
· Sawyer + Ana-Lucia = XD
· “Hotlips” - go the MASH reference!
· “Bitch.” – buahaha!
· Hurley’s mum is much love!
· “I just slipped” – “Slipped sitting down?”
· “FALLING DOWN IS NOT EXERCISE!”
· “Maybe if you pray every day Jesus Christ will come down from heaven, and take 200 pounds and bring you a woman and a new car. That’s right, Jesus can bring you a new car.” *the phone rings* “Oh, that must be Jesus. Yes it is Jesus. He wants to know what colour car you want!”
· Bjorn + Daddy!Charlie + use of the word “mummy” by Dom = much squee from Ellin
· “You gonna lie to me? You going to lie to the baby?” = XD
· Charlie is SO the master of snark in this episode.
· Rose! Severe yayage! I love L. Scott Caldwell, she’s a completely sensational actress and she so isn’t in the series enough at the moment. More Rose plzthx.
· Watching Rose do her laundry reminds me severely of Song of the South…
· I love Rose’s expression when Hurley’s all, “Come into the hatch” and she just kind of stares at him like “Uh...how bout no?”
· Jack is such an ass. He like, completely ignores Rose at first just so that he can yell at Hurley. ASS.
· Claire – walkie, walkie, walkie...I’m all free looking and stuff and then…OMG IT’S THE FORESHADOWING BOTTLE OF DOOOOOOOM!
· *Ominous beeping* “What’s that?” “Trust me, you don’t wanna know.”
· I love Rose’s faith that Bernard is still alive. So gorgeous.
· Tactless Hurley moment! Lol.
· Yes Rose, everybody loves Hugo.
· Hurley sucks at being assertive. Like seriously.
· Hair net! *much chuckles*
· It’s Randy! Evil! Die! *at which point I hissed at TV*
· “I didn’t eat eight pieces!” “You want to watch the whole tape?”
· Hurley, sweetie, breathing into a paper bag does nothing to help you with hyperventilating. Sorry.
· Locke cracks me up every time he does his “I know you’ve been following me/I know you’re standing right behind me” thing. Poor Charlie! He probably thought he was being sneaky. I actually laughed out loud when he snuck out from behind the trees.
· “I didn’t go swanning off to the Black Rock on an A-team mission but I would have if someone had asked me!” – Charlie is obviously feeling inadequate at the moment wouldn’t you say?
· Sayid: Concrete, concrete, concrete…just as well this metal I’m holding is titanium…concrete, concrete…let’s go down into the basement! o.O;
· “Swell. Guess we can all sue Oceanic together.” = XD
· Ana-Lucia totally kicks Sawyer’s ass. Like seriously!
· Love the Sawyer snark. “You didn’t say three” and “I say move, you move, I say stop you stop, I say jump what do you say?” “You first.”
· “You hit me again, I’ll kill you.” *Ana smirks as I piss myself laughing at Sawyer and his feeble, feeble threat*
· Charlie and Locke = story time!
· Charlie: it sounds a bit nutty doesn’t it? Me: more like fucked up!
· “Shifts. Pushing a button?” = XD
· Anyone else imagining a light bulb going off over Charlie’s head when Locke said “record player” and then again when he said “food”? One track mind much lol!
· And so Charlie is suddenly Hurley’s beeeest friend. But only because he wants peanut butter for Claire.
· “Yeah well...Locke’s lying.” – “Oh yeah? Is he lying about the button we have to push every 108 minutes or the island will explode?” – “Not explode...”
· “Peanut butter. Nutty, creamy, staple of children everywhere?” *Hurley stares just long enough for Charlie to get all defensive* “It’s for Claire.”
· “You’re saying no to a nursing mother?”
· “You’ve become one of them. The man. The management. I thought we were friends. You’ve changed man.” = Ellin pissing herself laughing for like, five minutes.
· Poor Drive Shaft being in the “one hit wonders for only $2 pile” at the record store
· How cute is Starla?! I really liked her - she’s such a sweetheart. “You’re my rock! I mean, if you quit your job bees will stop making honey, flowers will die, the whole damn thing’ll fall apart...” ^___^
· Hurley got a date! Nawww!
· “Today you’re frickin Fabio!” *Hurley runs into a postcard stand and Ellin snorts with laughter*
· Sayid: concrete, concrete, concrete…
· OMG GRATUITOUS HALF-NAKED KATENESS!
· Much lol at Jack and Kate! “You took a shower? How was it?” – yeah well done Jack. Notice how they were both all nervous in this scene? She kept dropping all her clothes and then Jack’s talking in like, monosyllables, trying not to stare at her as he’s talking. Hehehe...XD
· Eko + Sawyer is much love! “A misunderstanding’s when you bring me lemonade instead of ice tea.”
· More Sawyer + Ana-Lucia snark! I’m loving it! Finally someone who can match his snarkiness!
· There’s a secret knock? Seriously, flash backs to primary school here!
· Michael: I thought you said there were 23 of you. Libby: There were. = OMG FORESHADOWING!
· And Shannon and Claire are suddenly gal pals! I don’t know why I find that so cute but it really is.
· Wow Hurley is PISSED at Locke! I think that’s about as assertive as I’ve ever seen him before!
· “No you can’t have peanut butter for the cute blonde and her poor island baby!” = much giggles from me
· “My job is to convince people to push a button every 108 minutes without them knowing why or for what. You wanna trade?” = XD
· One of the best island-to-flashback transitions ever. Apart from maybe some of the ones from The Moth. But then I just rave about that episode anyways...
· Cluck you! *Is still laughing about this*
· Rose: Whatcha got there Hurley? Hurley: Uh...dynamite. Rose: What the hell are you doing with dynamite? Hurley: Um…blowing up all the food? Rose: ...The fuck?! Why would you do that?!
· This next bit was a little bit too choppy I thought, from island-to-flashback-to-island-to-flashback but it worked well nonetheless, swapping between the two by using the camera flashes was very effective. Oh and the guy who played Johnny? He’s really good at blinking vacantly isn’t he?
· OMG HULEY GAVE CHARLIE THE PEANUT BUTTER! *dies of happiness*
· Everybody: junk food! Whoot! We’ll survive here yet!
· And then...omg Aaron is SO CUTE! And then...then...wait for it...PEANUT BUTTER! *flails and falls off chair* Oh the look on Claire’s face! PEANUT BUTTER ORGASM! *much squeeage and bouncing off the walls from me*
· Jack/Kateness = so cute.
· Charlie glomping Hurley is officially one of the cutest things ever seen on Lost.
· Emo!Sun! Awww =(
· OMG BERNARD! I was squeeing my head off so much!
· Rose saves Bernard the Apollo bar! ^_____^ Now that’s what you call true love! (But then if saving a chocolate bar for your SO is true love then shouldn’t that mean, Charlie/Claire is true love also? Eh, eh? With the peanut butter? ...okay I’ll shut up now)
And lastly but not leastly, part two of The Time Between - my Confidence Man fanfiction. Enjoy!
Title: Confidence Man – The Time Between (Part Two)
Genre: fluff
Rating: G
Spoilers: 1x08 Confidence Man
Summary: A follow up to Part One. We left off at Claire’s famous diary entry so now we finally get to see what happened between there and the advent of the washing scene the next morning!
Disclaimer: Well obviously the Lost stuff isn’t mine, so just so you know; the song that Charlie sings is called “Sleeping To Dream” by Jason Mraz.
~*~
It wasn’t until the fires were being lit that they realised just how late it was actually getting.
‘Hey,’ the two of them glanced up at one of the other survivors – an older man they both knew by face but not by name. ‘D’you two want to come sit at the fire for a while? It’s getting pretty chilly.’
He gestured at a fire not more than ten metres away where a small group of castaways were huddling up together. Claire eyed them for a moment, noticing the way that they had deftly filled in all the gaps in the circle but then shook her head and smiled apologetically. ‘Oh…no thanks. I’m not really that cold.’
The man looked pointedly at Charlie, who stared determinedly at his fingernails. ‘If you want to go sit with them that’s okay,’ Claire said selflessly. Charlie merely shrugged.
The guy shrugged back. ‘Okay. Well if you guys get cold...’ He left it hanging as he crunched away through the sand and joined the circle. Claire glanced over at him and the others and sighed.
She knew a clique when she saw one.
‘You know, you really don’t have to stay,’ Claire said to Charlie as she began to paw through her bag for a jumper – and maybe a pair of track pants as well she thought grimly as a sudden breeze rushed up the beach, catching her long hair and tangling it like so many golden threads. ‘If you want to go and sit with them…’
Charlie actually snorted and then gestured over at the circle around the fire. ‘Oh yeah. Does it look like they want any more company? They’re probably all Yanks as well – you know you’re the only person I’ve met here who isn’t from the States? Well apart from Sayid…’ Charlie slapped at a mosquito and then glanced around to make sure there weren’t any more nearby.
‘Well I thought I was the only one for a while,’ Claire said as she pulled a jumper over her head and then tugged it over her belly. ‘Where do you reckon Sayid’s from? I think he said he was from Iraq but I’m not really sure…’
Charlie, however didn’t seem to be paying her much attention, he was looking up at the darkening sky and frowning to himself, mouth working as though he wanted to say something. Claire trailed off awkwardly, her hands frozen in their search for a pair of pants.
‘I didn’t realise how late it was getting…’ Charlie glanced down at his watch and frowned heavily. ‘If I wanted to get back to the caves I should have left here a couple of hours ago.’ He scratched his head, not looking at Claire. ‘And I don’t really want to go tromping through the jungle at night with that thing on the loose…but it’s not like I can really stay here…’
‘Of course you can stay here!’ Claire said immediately, pleased, but her smile faltered as quickly as it had brightened her face. ‘I mean, only if you want to – you have been with me all day…I mean, if you want to go to the caves I’ll understand…I’d like the company. If you’d like to stay here with me…’
Charlie grinned at her. ‘You realise you’re babbling don’t you?’
Claire ran a flustered hand through her tangled hair. ‘Sorry. It’s just I haven’t had anyone to talk to in a few days now and I guess I’m actually being a bit selfish, asking you to stay here with me when…’
‘That’s bollocks,’ Charlie waved a dismissive hand. ‘You’re the only person I’ve actually had a decent conversation with in this god forsaken place so far, so I don’t see much point in leaving – if you don’t mind me staying that is?’
Claire felt herself smile. ‘Of course I don’t mind.’
‘Oh good,’ Charlie looked relieved. ‘I thought you were going to tell me to sod off for a second there and then I’d have to go make polite conversation with all those bloody Yanks over there.’
Claire giggled and began to wriggle into her blue track pants as Charlie flopped down on his back, hands folded behind his head. Once she’d done up the drawstring, she glanced back over at Charlie who appeared to be gazing at the emerging stars.
‘Are you cold?’ she asked as she leant back against her cushion, gazing not at the stars but at Charlie’s face – half obscured by shadows now. He blinked several times, quite slowly and she wondered if he had even heard her, but then he was answering and she had to catch herself to actually hear what he was saying.
‘I’m good thanks,’ he was murmuring vaguely. ‘I’m pretty good with the cold. It’s the heat and humidity I can’t hack.’
‘Must suck for you being here,’ Claire leant forward again and began to wriggle out of her black skirt – there wasn’t much point in layering, it would only be uncomfortable to sleep in – and it would mean that she could finally sleep as comfortably as she wanted to without worrying about whether somebody was going to look up her skirt while she was sleeping.
Not that there were many people who would do that here.
Well…she wouldn’t put it past Sawyer.
‘Mmmn,’ Charlie agreed and shuffled himself around a bit more, sighing as he tried to find a more comfortable patch of sand. Claire offered him a cushion and towel to lie on and he gratefully took both, stretching out and propping his head up on the cushion. ‘Ta love. I guess there are worse places I could be.’
He fell silent, obviously into his own private musings and Claire looked up to the oh-so familiar constellations that he was scrutinising. She didn’t feel awkward in his silence exactly, but she certainly didn’t feel quite comfortable with it yet.
He had a habit, she had noticed, of going off into his own head with no prior warning and then coming back to reality just as quickly. It was a little unnerving, even though Thomas had done it too from time to time – being an artist he got distracted easily and she had often teased him about how serious he looked when he concentrated. But then Thomas’s silences had never felt quite as intense to her as the ones that Charlie seemed to fall into.
Or maybe she just wasn’t used to them yet.
She glanced a little nervously from the stars back to Charlie’s face and found herself wondering what his star sign might be. She hadn’t asked him yet – partly because she hadn’t been able to pick it herself and partly because she wasn’t quite game to. At least not after the look Kate had given her when she’d offered to do her chart the previous week.
‘Do you know anything about the stars Charlie?’ she asked tentatively.
Charlie chuckled lightly. ‘Not really. Well, you know, apart from the fact that they’re huge balls of burning gas millions of light years away.’
‘I didn’t mean that,’ Claire blushed a little. ‘I meant like, what they mean. Like star signs and stuff.’
‘What, Astronomy?’
‘Astrology,’ Claire corrected him, giggling. ‘And I’ll take that as a no?’
‘Yeah. No I don’t know much about that stuff,’ he turned his head so that he could look up at her and grinned. ‘It’s not like I ever really read the star signs in the paper or anything. My brother would have said that…’ he broke off quite suddenly, fumbled with his words for a moment and then changed the subject. Claire noticed but didn’t push the matter. If Charlie wanted to pour out his soul she would listen – up to a point – but he was more than entitled to keep some of his secrets to himself. They’d only just met a week or so ago now for Chrissakes! ‘Well I was brought up in a churchy sort of house anyway,’ Charlie continued. ‘So…well, there wasn’t ever anything like the feng-shui-star-sign-bonsai-tree type stuff around when I was growing up.’
‘So…you’re religious then?’ Claire was a little surprised at this. She never really thought about a person’s religion when she first met them but she’d known people in the past who couldn’t even hold an ordinary conversation without mentioning their faith. She herself had never been to church or been baptised and she’d never really minded either come to think of it.
‘Well…not so much anymore,’ Charlie amended and Claire felt slightly better. ‘But I used to be.’
Used to be.
Claire shivered as another gust of wind played hide and seek around her shelter making the tarpaulin overhead flap and snap in the wind. She huddled down until she was lying on her side – the weight of her baby was beginning to press uncomfortably into her abdomen. Propping herself up against her cushion, Claire directed her attention to Charlie who turned his head towards her. She regarded him solemnly for a moment and he raised an eyebrow.
‘What?’
‘What did you do in the real world Charlie?’
Charlie blinked foolishly but then rolled onto his side as well, propped himself up on his elbow and began to fiddle with the ring on his right hand.
‘I was…well…I was sort of…in a band.’
‘A band?’ Claire repeated. Charlie nodded and Claire waited for more. When it didn’t come she rolled her eyes. ‘Well what sort of a band was it?’
‘Just a band,’ Charlie said evasively and then added, hesitantly, ‘My brother and I, we started it when we were in our teens. I kind of went from job to job for a few years but eventually we got a bit of a break, we made a few records and then the band split up – like most do. Not really a lot to tell.’
Claire could tell from the tone in his voice that this was all she was going to get on the matter but she tried to poke him along anyway.
‘Did you go on tour?’
‘Mmmn. All over the world.’ Charlie pulled off the ring he’d been toying with and held it out to her. ‘Here. Second tour of Finland.’ Claire squinted at the initials on the ring in the fading light. ‘We got these made especially.’
‘DS.’ Claire read then glanced up at Charlie. ‘What’s it stand for?’
‘Name of the band. Drive Shaft.’
Claire laughed out loud. ‘Phallic much?’
Charlie grinned at her. ‘I’ll have you know that I didn’t come up with the name. I just wrote the songs and sang back up.’
Claire laughed and handed the ring back. As Charlie pushed it back onto his finger she looked for something else to say. ‘So you write music as well?’ she continued.
‘Mmmn,’ Charlie smiled reminiscently and then he half sat up. ‘Actually, my guitar is up at the caves! I thought it would have gotten smashed up in the crash but Locke found it for me, still in the case! All in one piece and playable and everything!’
‘Really? You’ll have to play for me sometime,’ Claire brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and grinned shyly. ‘Or maybe you could even teach me to play sometime? I always wanted to learn the guitar…’
‘Probably not the best time to start teaching you at the moment,’ Charlie said, his eyes teasing. ‘It’d be a bit hard to hold a guitar properly with that huge lump out the front of you.’
Claire giggled and shuffled her weight so that she was a little more comfortable. ‘Good point,’ she amended as, opposite her, Charlie settled himself down a bit more comfortably as well.
Claire jumped a little when his knee touched hers quite suddenly – but then she wondered if he’d done it on purpose. His face was almost concealed by darkness now and from what she could see, it showed no signs that he was angling for anything anyway so she put it down to incident and decided to just leave it instead of making a fuss. Maybe he couldn’t feel it through his jeans?
‘And what about you?’ Charlie asked as the last of the day’s light faded into the blackness of the sea. ‘We’ve done all this talking about me and you haven’t told me what you did before you ended up in this horrible place.’
‘Well I wasn’t famous or anything,’ Claire said and Charlie barked out a laugh. ‘I actually worked in a fish and chips shop and then…well then I got pregnant and that was the end of that.’
Charlie nodded and then asked hesitantly, ‘The father – is he still back in Australia?’
Claire paused before answering. ‘Yes. He is.’
Charlie didn’t ask any more questions after that. Instead, he settled his head down onto his arm and blinked at her. Claire mirrored him and the two of them lay there quite silently for a long time. It was the closest Claire had slept to anyone in ages. The warmth of Charlie’s denim-clad knee against hers was a constant reminder her that she wasn’t sleeping alone for once, even when she closed her eyes...
When she opened them again, the moon had fully risen and Charlie was breathing softly beside her. She shivered violently and realised that the reason she had woken in the first place was that she was practically frozen solid.
She sat up stiffly and glanced over her shoulder. The beach was dark but for the silvery moonlight and the main signal fire which somebody seemed to be stoking. She fumbled about in the shadows to find her blanket and then reached over to poke Charlie in the shoulder.
‘Are you awake?’
Charlie mumbled something incomprehensible as his eyes opened blearily. It took him a moment before he seemed to register who it was. ‘Claire? S’matter?’
‘I’m freezing my bum off out here so I’m going to go and sleep under there,’ she indicated the other piece of wreckage which made up her shelter. She guessed that it had been a part of one of the engines as well but in any case, it formed a perfect arch over the sand and it would hopefully hold some heat.
Charlie lifted his head, glanced over at it and nodded, almost imperceptibly in the darkness. ‘’kay. I’ll sleep out here and hope that a boar doesn’t come and eat me.’
Claire laughed quietly but then she sobered considerably. ‘Are you going to be warm enough?’ she whispered. ‘Do you want a blanket or anything?’
Charlie gave an affirmative grunt. ‘Yeah. S’pose I could cope with something along those lines.’
Claire handed him several towels she had filched from various bags. ‘Here. It’s not exactly duck down but it’s better than nothing.’
‘Ta,’ Charlie murmured and without even sitting up, dragged the towels over himself to promote some semblance of warmth as Claire hovered, feeling slightly guilty for not having anything better to offer him.
‘Are you sure you’re warm enough?’
Charlie waved a hand dismissively. ‘S’fine Claire. I’m a Brit, ’member? ’m used to the cold.’
‘Right,’ Claire hesitated for a moment, one hand on the cold metal of the engine shell she was about to climb under. ‘Well I’ll see you in the morning I guess.’
‘Mmmn. Sleep sweet,’ Charlie murmured and as Claire crawled underneath the curved wall of metal and curled up in her blanket she heard him begin to sing softly to himself.
‘Sleepin’ t’ dream bout you…an’ I’m so tired. ’m having to live w’out you, but I dun mind. Sleepin’ t’ dream bout you…I’m so tired…’
Charlie’s voice trailed off into a sleepy sigh and Claire smiled into the darkness and shook her head before settling back down for sleep.
~*~
I had that weird dream again – the one with the Black Rock I can't get away from. I tried to leave it, but it won’t let me...
‘Morning!’
Claire nearly leapt out of her skin as she slammed her diary shut and turned her head to the source of the cheerful voice. She was feeling on edge this morning, ever since she’d woken up from that stupid dream. She hadn’t even been able to get back to sleep again and had instead gotten up and gotten dressed, changing into her pink singlet only to pull her black one back over the top so that the pink checks wouldn’t accentuate just how large her stomach was getting.
She’d hoped that getting dressed, maybe going for a walk along the beach would lift the foreshadowing of the dream from her mind but no such luck. With Charlie asleep she had turned to the only thing she knew would possibly help her to put the dream behind her.
Her diary.
‘Bloody hell!’ She shot Charlie a reproachful look then made a big fuss over putting her diary back into her bag. ‘Don’t sneak up on me like that Charlie!’
Charlie’s eyebrows shot up at her reprimand but then he eased himself down next to her anyway. ‘Sorry. Did you sleep badly last night or something?’
Claire sighed and rubbed a hand over her eyes. ‘Sorry. It’s nothing. Just this stupid recurring dream I’ve been having. It doesn’t mean anything.’
Charlie nodded then looked down at his hands, inspecting his fingernails intently.
Claire began to feel slightly guilty. He was only trying to be nice. ‘I’m sorry I snapped at you.’ She apologised. Charlie glanced up at her and smiled gently.
‘That’s all right. You’re not much of a morning person I gather?’
‘Not today,’ Claire admitted and Charlie grinned at her.
‘Well never mind. Did you still want me to hang around today or are you starting to get sick of me?’
‘Oh no, I’ve got no intention of letting you disappear,’ Claire grinned at him. ‘I need your help with something.’
‘Oh really? And what kind of a something are we talking about?’ Charlie narrowed his eyes and leant forward to whisper conspirationally to her. ‘Because if you say “pregnant yoga”? I’m out of here.’
Claire stared at him and Charlie’s face split into a grin. ‘Kidding love. I’m only kidding.’
‘I never even did pregnant yoga,’ Claire informed him primly. ‘And for your information I was going to ask you if you’d help me with my washing…’
‘Oh so you want me to play house with you?’ Charlie frowned musingly. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever played house before – I always pretended I was a famous musician when I was little.’
‘Oh ha, ha,’ Claire tried to push the conversation back on track. ‘Will you help me with my washing or not? It’s just I’m not really that mobile at the moment…’
Charlie rubbed his chin, pretending to consider her offer. ‘Well…I’ve got two options here. I can either go back to the caves with Jack and all the other pessimists up there or I can stay here and play house with you. Hmmn…it’s a tough call…’
Claire waited, trying not to smile.
Charlie nodded thoughtfully. ‘Yeah…I think I’m going to have to stay and play house today.’
‘Well I suppose I’d better get up then,’ Claire started to push herself up, waving Charlies hand away. ‘I’m okay Charlie. Thanks.’
‘Just making sure,’ he said a little defensively then added sheepishly, ‘I just didn’t want you to yell at me again.’
~*~
Charlie dumped several brightly coloured tops into the broken suitcase lid they were substituting as a laundry basket and dusted his hands off whilst Claire searched through her bag for a hair-tie. ‘Is that everything then?’ he stared at the odd assortment of clothes they had jumbled together.
Claire pushed a strand of hair back from her face and pulled a pink singlet strap back up onto her shoulder as she rummaged through her bag determinedly. ‘…I swear I put some lackies in here – yeah I think that’s it now…just wait…aha!’ Claire pulled forth a black hair elastic and held it up triumphantly. ‘Just give me a second so I can tie my hair up…oh I don’t suppose you could help me fix this strap could you?’ Claire indicated the left strap of her pink singlet, which had somehow loosened and was now sliding off her shoulder at every opportunity. ‘I can’t reach the buckle thingy…’
Charlie’s thin fingers were at her shoulder in an instant, expertly pulling the straps and fastenings as though he’d done it a million times before. Claire glanced over her shoulder at him, grinning bemusedly.
‘Have you done this before?’
Charlie smiled, eyes still on her shoulder.
‘Maybe once or twice.’
‘Girlfriend?’ Claire guessed.
‘Me mum.’
Claire burst out laughing.
This was why she liked Charlie’s company so much more than anyone else’s on the island – he made her smile. Last nights nightmares and tomorrows worries seemed further away when she was with him – and it felt good to be able to have a conversation without it being punctuated by constant references to her baby. He hadn’t mentioned the baby at all since she’d asked him to teach her to play his guitar and he’d pointed out that she was too pregnant – and yet she didn’t feel like he was avoiding the subject or that he’d forgotten that there was a growing person inside her. His eyes were constantly darting to her stomach and then he’d sort of nod and continue on with whatever he’d been doing. It made her feel safer somehow.
And yet…nearly everyone else Claire had talked to over the past fortnight had seen her pregnant bulk and gently stepped away. She supposed they didn’t want to be responsible for her and her baby and all the responsibility that came with it. Everyone seemed to see her as “the pregnant girl”. But then Charlie – Charlie had seen her as Claire, asked her how she was doing and then acknowledged her pregnancy. It felt good to be noticed again, not as a pregnant person but as a person who just so happened to be pregnant.
‘There,’ Charlie crawled back next to her as she retrieved her hat. ‘Are you ready to go do some of this washing then?’
Claire pulled her hair to the nape of her neck and twisted her hair elastic around it, jamming her hat on top. She tweaked the brim at Charlie and grinned widely, pleased at having finally gotten over her doubts – she’d found a friend.
‘Absolutely.’
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-02-24 02:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-26 09:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-24 03:43 pm (UTC)Onto the fic:
I really liked this and how it led to the laundry while addressing Claire's issues with no-one noticing/speaking to her. Also how she batted his hands away, showing her independent streak.
I always love when people have stories at night when they're sleeping near each other, also when people write about the circumstances around Claire's diary writing. I really enjoyed reading this, thanks.
no subject
Date: 2006-02-26 09:49 am (UTC)Thanks you so much for reviewing! It really means a lot to me because I haven't gotten many reviews for this one - I think its a bit long =P justas well I cut it in half - I was originally going to just post it all in one shot!
You are most welcome and thank you!
no subject
Date: 2006-02-26 09:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-25 04:57 am (UTC)Cute icons!
And naaw, the fic was great!! :D
no subject
Date: 2006-02-26 09:55 am (UTC)Yey!
Yeyyyyy!
no subject
Date: 2006-03-11 10:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-12 01:12 pm (UTC)and omg your icon is teh pwn! much roflmao.
no subject
Date: 2006-04-30 12:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-01 02:29 am (UTC)