Wake Up:

Claire walked through the door, arms loaded with bags of groceries.

Charlie jumped up from the piano bench. "You're back!" he cried, pulling her into a hug.

"Yes," she laughed, "I returned from the store safely. Why are you so happy?"

"I figured out how to end the song," he smiled.

"Oh, Charlie, that's great." She walked over to the kitchen and started putting things away.

Charlie when back to the piano. "What to hear it?"

"Yeah," she said, putting away a box of cereal. It was almost weird to see one without a Dharma logo.

Charlie began playing softly, humming along with it. "I'll come up with lyrics later. That's the hardest bit."

"It sounds good. Where's Aaron?"

"Oh, he started his nap just after you left. Should be up any minute now."

Claire smiled, finishing up. "Thanks, Charlie."

Charlie turned away from the piano to face her. "For what?"

"I don't know. Taking care of him. Letting us stay here." She smiled. "All of it."

Charlie smiled back. "Of course."

She always got goose bumps when their eyes met like that.

Just then, Aaron walked sleepily into the room, rubbing his eyes. Claire walked over to him, bent down and kissed him. "Hello, sweetie."

"Mum..." he said, still rubbing his eyes.

"Yup, Mama's home."

"Da? Dada?"

Taken back, Claire looked up at Charlie. He looked worried. Walking over to Aaron, Charlie gently put his hands on his shoulders. "No, kiddo, I told you. Charlie. Cha - lie."

Claire walked over to the sofa and sat down.

Charlie picked up Aaron and sat him in his playpen in front of the sofa. He sat next to her. "Claire, I didn't teach him that, I-"

Claire smiled and shook her head. "It's fine, Charlie, I know. I mean... of course he's confused. And maybe... maybe it wouldn't be so bad, you know? ...If he were confused."

Charlie suddenly took her hands. "Claire?"

"Yeah?"

He inhaled deeply. "...Will you marry me?"

"What?"

"Marry me. You and Aaron could stay in L.A with me. And, and I wouldn't," he said quickly, "try and be Aaron's father or anything, I know that, but you-"

Claire felt her eyes being to sting and water. "Oh, Charlie," she said, softly. "You were always his father."

He smiled, fighting back his own tears. He kissed her. "I... I don't have a ring or anything, but..."

"Of course I will. Of course!" She threw her arms around him and tried to wipe her eyes.

Standing up, Claire walked back to the kitchen. Now, she could never quite remember why she had. As she passed the window, she heard someone shouting. She looked out to see a woman with dark hair and an Iraqi accent shouting just outside on the street. "...Desmond! Desmond!"

Claire spun around. "Charlie. She's calling for Desmond..."

"It's a popular name."

"But..."

Looking at him, he was different. He had red streaks in his hair and a tie hanging loosely around his neck, over a black vest.

"We should go and see... Where's Aaron?" she cried, looking into the playpen. Panic flooded through her. "Charlie, where's Aaron?"

Charlie took a swig out of a bottle she hadn't noticed before. "He's with Kate."

"What? But Kate..."

The table in front of the sofa had two open bags of heroin.

"Oh, Charlie, how could-"

She stopped mid-sentence. Her head throbbed. Putting her hand to her forehead, she felt a thick bandage. She rushed into the bathroom and looked into the mirror. Black hair famed her face and a bandage covered her stitches. "No," he murmured. "No, no."

She ran back into the living room. "Charlie?" Rushing back to the window, she looked out at the woman. She was still out there, screaming. "Desmond! Desmond!" Suddenly a gun shot rang out. Claire ducked and screamed. After hearing a car speed away, she looked back out the window. The woman laid motionless on the street.

Claire ran back to the sofa. "Charlie ,we have to go help her! Charlie! Charlie?"

She bent down in front of him. Again, he had changed. His face was bloody, as if he had been beaten senseless. He was soaking wet. "Charlie?" Tears formed in her eyes as she realized he wasn't moving.

And then a million things flashed before her eyes.

Walking through the jungle.
Miles.
Explosion.
Pain.
Sawyer.
Drinking coffee.
Kate.
Jack and Locke.
Choosing teams.
Hurley.
Walking.
The radio tower.
Ben.
Saying goodbye. Kiss.
Sick. Blood.
Juliet.
Birds.
Water. No air. Terror.
Desmond.
Lightning.
Beach.
Purple sky.
Vaccine.
Libby. Ana Lucia.
Michael.
Baptism.
Mr. Eko.
Stolen. Frozen. Slap.
Locke. Cradle.
Virgin Mary.
Funeral.
Shannon.
Messages in a bottle.
Raft.
Jin, Walt.
Danielle.
Stolen. Fear.
"Get him back."
Labour. Pain.
Black smoke.
Aaron.
Aaron.
Boone.
Rain. Murder.
Confusion.
Teenage girl.
"One day you'll thank me for this."
A hatch.
A needle.
Ethan.
Screaming.
Nightmares.
Black and white eyes.
Caves.
Beach.
Monster.
Wreckage.
Jack.
Fear. Pain.
Plane crash.
Charlie.

Her eyes opened. She jolted up.

A firm, but gentle hand guided her back down. "You're awake."

Confused, Claire took a moment to remember who the man sitting next to her was. "Dad?"

The man nodded. "Go back to sleep."

"No, I..." The familiar numbness came back over her. She looked around the dark cabin, trying to remember exactly how she got there. "When is John coming back? I need to ask him about Charlie. And Aaron." She struggled to sit up again. "I need to find Aaron."

Christian again laid her back down, and she didn't resist. "Aaron's not here."

"I need to find him," she said slowly, slipping in and out of a happy daze.

"He's not here. But he'll be back. They all will."

"But... I don't..." She felt sleepy again and her heavy eye lids began to close.

"Catch a falling star..." her father sang softly, "and put it in your pocket. Never let it fade away..."

LOST.