A Morning Well Spent
Who: Damon
When: Day 24, late morning, continuing from Feeling Paternal
Where: Outside the Medical Facility
Invited: Open
Status: Complete [Closed ( Read more... )
When: Day 24, late morning, continuing from Feeling Paternal
Where: Outside the Medical Facility
Invited: Open
Status: Complete [Closed ( Read more... )
A small hand brushed her chin, making it itch. Absently she reached up to scratch the spot and encountered baby soft skin; eyelids flew open in sudden memory, but the joy she felt at seeing her little boy faded when she heard Charlie's voice.
"I don't think so. You're not good enough for her. I'm onto you. I know what you're all about, Ginger."
What the bloody hell? Who does he think he is? Claire wondered indignantly, surreptitiously drawing Aaron's blanket closer as she stroked his hair. She felt like giving the bloke a piece of her mind, but keeping the nipper sweet was far more important.
"Are you stoned?"
Damon's question made her wonder what she'd missed, but she held her tongue in favour of soothing her son. The one was proving himself far more worthy of the title friend than the other, although when Charlie'd decided he had a say in her life was a mystery.
"What kind of question is that? No, I'm not fucking stoned! I'm telling you that I know what you're playing at. You're on the pull, hoping that she'll think it's all her idea, and I'm not having it."
That tears it. The idea of Damon fancying her was kind of nice after those dreams, but she didn't believe it for one second - and even if she did it was none of Charlie's bloody beeswax!
Claire gathered Aaron up close, cupping his head in such a way that he shouldn't see or hear too much - if she was lucky - and got to her feet as hurriedly as she could without jerking to much. If Charlie got an earful of Aaron's screaming then he only had himself to blame.
"You're not having what, Charlie?" she hissed. "Me getting the best sleep I've had in weeks, months even? Aaron enjoying his first outing? Well thanks, but you can forget it."
"But he -!"
"He who, Damon? He's my friend, Charlie. What he does is look out for me, because you're obviously not."
"I -"
"Am a noisy, inconsiderate wa-. Idiot? Yes, we know."
And just to make a point, she stretched up on her tiptoes to give Damon a quick kiss, pointedly ignoring Charlie's incredulous fish face.
"We're going back to the canteen now, since Aaron's awake. Maybe he'll find someone nice to play with in there."
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"You had your baby!" Chloe cried.
Faces turned in her direction, surprised. The differing reactions after that were very informative. Claire looked pleased and proud, though still a bit put out with Charlie. Damon looked distracted and quickly focused his attention on Claire again. Chloe was briefly jealous but mostly amused to discover that she was no competition for Claire--not where Damon was concerned, at least.
Charlie, on the other hand.... Ugh. Surprise turned to shock, followed quickly by a leering appreciation Chloe didn't much appreciate. Charlie's gaze made her wish for a moment that she'd worn something less revealing, but she'd put on the skimpiest bikini she could find for her walk to the bunker. The sun felt too good on her skin to wear more than the absolute minimum decency required.
"C-Chloe," Charlie said when he'd recovered enough to speak. "You look smashing!" He hurried over to get a better look. "Really!"
"Thanks," Chloe said reluctantly. She ignored Charlie, moving past him to approach Damon, Claire and the baby.
"He's gorgeous," Chloe gushed when she'd gotten a good look at him. Claire beamed. So did Damon, who looked like a proud papa when he wasn't shooting glares at Charlie. For that matter, Aaron looked like he could be Damon's son with that bright red hair he was sporting.
"Can I hold him?" Chloe asked, and soon had an armful of squirming baby boy. She admired him and cooed at him and generally behaved just she remembered her mother and other relatives behaving when presented with a baby. She'd sworn she wouldn't, but apparently some things are hardwired into the brain--and babbling idiocy when presented with a cute baby was one of them.
Aaron's flailing fist knocked her sunglasses askew as she was handing him back to his mother. Charlie's eyes widened. "What's happened to your eyes, Chloe?"
Chloe hastily reseated her sunglasses. She shrugged. "A side effect of my recovery," she said. "All things considered, it's not so bad."
"No," Claire said slowly, looking Chloe over. "We'd...we'd heard," she said. "About you--about what happened to you, I mean." She glanced uncertainly at Damon. "I thought people didn't recover from...that."
Chloe shrugged again. It was getting to be a habit. "I thought so too, but--" she posed for a moment, "--I was wrong." Wanting to change the subject, she asked, "Did I hear you say you were about to head back inside?"
"Yes, why?" Claire asked.
Chloe touched the bag she was carrying slung over one shoulder. "I've decided to come stay in the bunker, but I'm not entirely sure where it is. So--lead on, and I'll follow."
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(Maybe I should thank Charlie.) A quick glance at the Brit and the glare he directed at Damon made him reconsider. (No, I don't think so.)
He was ready to send Charlie on his way when he realized that they'd been outside for long enough that going in was probably a good idea. Aaron didn't need all this sunlight, even shaded from it and with lots of sunscreen. Whatever he was going to say, however, was lost by Chloe's shout and arrival.
Chloe looked good. Real good. He was a red-blooded heterosexual male and he couldn't help but notice how good Chloe looked. Damon could certainly appreciate an attractive woman, but he wasn't going to leer at her like Charlie. And Charlie was doing enough leering for the half the men on the island. Besides, as hot as Chloe was, she wasn't Claire. (And Claire kissed me!)
Her eyes were a bit freaky, but given the general island weirdness, Damon simply shrugged it off. The slight change in how she felt though did give him pause for considerations. The vibe that came off of her was like a radio frequency hovering between stations, one high powered and one low powered, and the dial couldn’t quite settle on one or the other.
(Probably another part of the island freakiness,) Damon assumed. It was uncomfortable psychically, so he simply shrugged it off too, although he made a note to mention it to Ami. Being more sensitive, it might be uncomfortable to her with long term exposure.
"Yeah, just give me a few minutes to dissemble our impromptu shelter, and we can all head back together," Damon told Chloe. "Then you can enjoy the island resort."
"Resort?" Chloe asked.
"Hey, we survived a plane crash and spent weeks washing in cold water and eating bamboo shoots. Now we have hot and cold running water, real food, and air conditioning. Plus, there's shampoo and conditioner and body lotion -"
"You know an awful lot about that," Claire teased.
"I just know that you women like that girly stuff and that you've all been practically orgasmic over having it." He grinned.
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Best not mention the whole shaving of legs issue, but for all that she hated having been kidnapped ignoring those feminine supplies would be like looking a gift horse in the mouth.
Taking Aaron back from Chloe, Claire tried not to stare at the other girl's sunnies. She could almost see a greenish glow through the lenses, but told herself that it was probably a reflection of sunlight shining through the leaves. Overall Chloe looked fantastic though. Really fantastic. Like the last few weeks had only made her healthier, stronger.
Claire grinned. Best thing to do when nervous. Kind of obligatory when holding own newborn too, even if he was angling for a second go at lunch.
"Of course some of us obviously don't actually need spa-level pampering, but hey - showers are good. And beds, and tea.. and bread. Got any favourite foods, Chloe? It might not be here - especially since Hurley arrived - but we'll give it our best shot. Bagsy the peanut butter though."
"I like cheese and pickle sarnies," Charlie interrupted, holding out a finger for Aaron to grab on. "Ow! You little -!"
"Yes?"
Claire smiled more genuinely as Damon warned the guy off with a single word. That Charlie could wince from a bub's grip just said it all though.
"Uh, strong little tyke, isn't he?"
"Too right," she beamed. "So what's first, Chloe. Bath, bed or food?"
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And food--oh God! Chloe didn't know if it was the realization that she wasn't going to spend the rest of her short life as an old, old woman or something more, but food had never tasted as good to her as it had yesterday or this morning. Admittedly, she had eaten almost nothing since being attacked by the Wraith so maybe it was just hunger. But she suspected not.
Roasted fish and wax apples and all the other things they'd been eating for weeks now had never tasted so good. Her enthusiastic appreciation of the food had startled Rose and the other cooks; it hadn't taken long for Chloe to realize that nobody else was raving over the food. They were, in fact, watching her with surprise and amusement.
"If I didn't know better," Hugh had said, settling in beside her and offering her the rest of his dinner, "I'd think you'd been smoking a few joints."
Chloe had accepted the offering with great enthusiasm and only a little embarrassment. She'd looked at him questioningly while she ate. "Take it from an old hippie," Hugh had said, "you often see this kind of appreciation for food, and lots of it, when people have been--" he mimed smoking a joint.
He hadn't said any more, but Chloe began observing her own behavior. And she realized something she ought to have seen sooner. Her rejuvenation had affected her in more ways than she'd suspected, and probably in more ways than she knew. She had stopped eating only because she didn't want to look like a pig; she was still enraptured by how good everything tasted. She wasn't hungry exactly, she just craved the tastes.
Following Damon, Claire and Charlie, Chloe considered the other changes she'd noticed. The old Chloe would never have worn such a revealing outfit no matter how good the sun felt on her skin. Now she mostly didn't care how it looked. She was also incredibly horny, and had been all day and night and again this morning.
Chloe blushed as she walked, remembering how she'd "taken matters into her own hands" (as Lois had so delicately put it once) several times the night before. Her whole body seemed sensitized, her responses far more dramatic than she remembered; she'd had to stuff one hand into her mouth to stifle her cries. Masturbation had been like eating dinner, though--it satisfied her desires only briefly, and left her wanting more. A lot more.
(Maybe I should write about what's happened to me,) Chloe thought. (I could title it 'I was a Teenage Nymphomaniac Glutton'....) She wondered if this reaction would fade with time or if her transformation had been as deep rooted as she suspected.
"Home sweet home," Claire announced, breaking into Chloe's thoughts. Chloe looked and saw the bunker ahead of them.
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He repeated the question aloud, "Where the hell did you come from?"
"Good to see you too, Howdy Doody, nice to know that I've been missed," Sawyer smiled that far too familiar skeezy and annoying smile of his. "If you absolutely must know, I just followed Little Miss Bikini Contest here."
"What?" Chloe seemed surprised - and also a bit intrigued with Damon found a bit creepy.
(Just don't think about it. None of your business,) Damon reminded himself.
"Well, jungle's not a safe place for a pretty little lady to go walkin' all alone," Sawyer explained, lowering his sunglasses to peer at Chloe - and her cleavage - over the top of them. "Good thing too, I guess. Considerin' how you didn't even know I was there. What if I'd been some kind of pervert?"
"You *are* a pervert," Claire pointed out, hugging Aaron close.
"No, I'm an asshole, Mamacita, there is a difference." Sawyer's attention focused on Claire a moment and Damon instinctively moved closer, placing himself partway between Claire and Aaron and Sawyer without even realizing it. Sawyer's grin grew, "Apparently some pretty ladies 'round here have protection all their own.
"This is it, huh?" Sawyer continued, looking to the bunker. "So, what are ya'll waitin' for? Let's get the grand tour."
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So he wasn't surprised to see the four of them returning to the bunker. Blaise was surprised to see Sawyer and--Chloe? Blaise pursed his lips and whistled softly to himself. Chloe was...arresting. For one thing, she wasn't the withered old crone he'd heard her to be. On the contrary, she looked like a goddess.
Still undeniably Chloe, but more vibrant and healthy in appearance that she'd ever been before. Blaise had read the phrase 'glowing with health' but this was the first time he'd ever seen someone who lived up to the hyperbole. As the group got closer, Blaise was surprised to realize that Chloe had a tangible presence about her as well. You couldn't not look at her.
"Chloe?" Blaise asked.
Chloe gave him a smile that suggested that she'd heard this question--in that tone of voice--many times lately. "Yes, it's me. The reports that I had one in the grave and the other on a banana peel were greatly exaggerated."
"You wanker!" Charlie accused Blaise. "You told me you didn't see Damon and Claire leave!"
"And you asked so nicely, too," Blaise replied. "Actually, I said I had no idea where they were--which was true."
Blaise gave a bored shrug that dismissed Charlie's complaints. "So what you doing here, Chloe?" he asked, turning his attention to Chloe again. He had to work at meeting her eyes. He'd never realized before just how attractive Chloe was, and her charms were very much on display currently.
"Hot showers and hot food were just too attractive to resist," Chloe said. Something about her tone suggested that there was more to it than that, but Blaise wasn't going to push her.
"Well, welcome to the bunker, Ms. Sullivan. Sawyer," Blaise added with a nod. He didn't ask why Sawyer had showed up, he didn't really care.
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An increasing number of single males were here too, she realised belatedly. Claire, Aaron and Damon seemed to be the only ones who'd gotten past the door: Chloe was still grinning in the sunlight, while the men watched her with varying degrees of interest. Not that the other girl seemed to mind.
Each to her own, Claire mused, absurdly pleased that Damon's interest was the least obvious.
"Uh, the bedrooms are mainly on this corridor and another one over there - pretty sure there're empty bunks too. Best place for clean towels is the laundry, the ladies' bathroom is way over that way and the canteen is on the other side of the bunker.."
Charlie slid through the entry, smiling more greasily than usual. "Do you know if there's any room for more blokes?"
"I thought you were helping Hurley take food back to the beach?"
"Sawyer can do that."
"Oh I don't think so, Chuckie. I just got here. Plenty of sightseeing left for me to do."
And didn't his expression leave Claire in no doubt as to what he was interested in seeing? At least Charlie wasn't so focussed on her any more - that was a blessing.
Aaron started fussing again, drawing Claire's attention away from the guys for a moment. Bad smells and squishy feelings down below could only mean one thing. Joy of joys.
She nudged Damon, speaking softly. "Do you think you could get Chloe wherever she decides to go without those two jumping her? The poo-factory here needs a change."
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(It was a platonic kiss, it didn't mean anything, it didn't mean anything, it didn't mean anything,) Damon repeated the words like a mantra.
"You sure you don't want me to change him?" Damon offered, turning his thoughts back on track. "I don't mind."
A grumbling protest and cry came from Aaron who turned his head and worked diligently to shove Claire's clothed and covered breast in his mouth.
"I think he's a bit hungry too," Claire laughed.
"Guess I'm not quite equipped to help out there," Damon grinned. He gave Aaron's hand a little shake and then planted a quick kiss on Claire's cheek. (To annoy Charlie. Really,) he told himself. "I'll see you two later."
Damon turned to Chloe. "Looks like I'm your tour guide. So, why don't you step inside and see what is passing for civilization around here."
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"You're gonna be facing a firing squad if Doctor McKay steps in one more pile, girl. I think he's a cat person." She looked up to see Damon flanked by Chloe, Sawyer and Charlie.
"Er... sorry. Tryin' to train the furball. Paper trainin' not so good, since she decided it was alrigh' to make on Daniel's notebook. Paper is paper... right?"
Rose finially registered Chloe. "Ohmygod! I heard you were... The Doctor was so upset and... he's been workin' on tryin to reverse... What happened?"
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"Spontaneous remission, I guess," she said. She'd decided on that as her official explanation. The survivors of Oceanic 815 seemed more than willing to ascribe anything weird to the mysterious nature of the island now, and she was content to leave it at that.
Better a mystery that nobody could explain than questions about the hunk of kryptonite. Chloe had never seen kryptonite exhausted that way before and she wasn't sure it wouldn't spontaneously recharge somehow. Which meant returning it to its lead box. She didn't want to expose anyone else to it, and she sure as hell didn't want to risk another dose herself--she was very happy with the results already.
"Show 'er your eyes, Chloe!" Charlie urged her.
Chloe tried to blow him off, but Charlie insisted. Reluctantly, Chloe lowered her sunglasses just for a moment.
Rose looked appropriately surprised by the change but politely said no more than, "My, that's quite a change." Chloe smiled in appreciation at her restraint and put the sunglasses back on.
"It's amazing is what it is," Charlie said. "And that's not all! I mean--look at 'er!" he added, and took the opportunity to take another good look himself.
Sawyer smacked the back of his head. "Stop gawking, you're embarrassing her--and yourself, though I don't suppose that matters much to you."
"Like you haven't been leering at her!" Charlie countered, turning on Sawyer.
"Hey, if Little Miss Sunshine here wants to parade around in little or nothing, I'm all for it," Sawyer admitted. "But I'm not standing close enough to rest my chin on her shoulder while I stare at her tits."
Charlie glared at Sawyer wordlessly, but he backed away from Chloe a little. Chloe gave Sawyer a hesitant smile, appreciating his interference and more than a little alarmed to find herself drawn to him. Sawyer's smile widened as if he knew what she was thinking.
Chloe hastily turned her attention back to Rose. "Uh, anyway, the eyes are just a harmless side effect. Thank the Doctor for taking an interest, but I'm fine now."
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he was surprised by Chloe.
Daniel read the mission reports before even seeing a Wraith. He knew what one of those creatures could do. Then he had the first hand report of the Doctor, of Faith, of George and everyone else who'd witnessed Chloe's attack and aftermath. Either there was more to Chloe than the met the eye, or the eye-witness reports had been greatly exaggerated. Given the nature of the eyewitnesses and the other weirdness of the island, Daniel was going to go with the former.
Although Chloe looked far more vibrant and alive than she had last time he saw her. She was quite pleasing to the eye and it was as though something about her begged the eyes to linger. And from the way Chloe turned at his approach, it was clear that she knew - or at least suspected - the affect that she had and the radiance that she gave off.
Daniel gave her a welcoming smile, thankful for the ability to turn on his brain in exclusion of everything else when the situation required it. "Hello, Chloe. I'd heard reports but . . . I'm sure that's a greeting you're going to get tired of hearing. It's good to see that you've recovered. Welcome to The Staff."
"What about us? Don't we get a welcome? Or aren't we pretty enough for ya?" Sawyer asked.
Daniel's politeness didn't slip a notch. "Welcome to the Staff, Sawyer, Charlie. And you're almost so pretty Sawyer, I just have to restrain myself all the time."
There were several gaping looks and surprised eyebrow raises at Daniel's words. (Why do I get the feeling that everyone thinks I'm a boring stick-in-the-mud?)
Orrie barked and Daniel glared, or tried to, it was hard when Rose tucked the puppy in close and gave him a pleading look, "I'm workin' on her. You just need to be a bit more patient."
"Tell that to my notes," Daniel groused, but his heart wasn't into being annoyed over the puppy at this moment. "I need to get together a scouting team, if you run into any of the usual suspects could you send them to the small kitchen?"
"Why?" Damon asked. "What's happened now?"
The fact that he added the "now" said a lot about the situation.
"Our resident drunken sailor escaped and broke free one of our involuntary guests."
Damon considered that. "So? I mean, good riddance to Sparrow and it's not like DHARMA doesn't know everything and then some anyway."
"As much as I'd like to disagree, you're right. It's not Dr. Wilson's escape that concerns me - it's what Sparrow might say or do, or what he might come back and do if he's unduly influenced," Daniel explained. "Also, it's a good time to see where DHARMA's headquarters is."
"Sign me up," Sawyer said.
Damon rolled his eyes. "You don't even know what the hell is going on or what we're talking about."
"I know that it sounds like one of the bad guys got free and might come back with reinforcements and a good offense is the best defense. You can brief me on the rest, Red."
Daniel didn't have time to argue with Sawyer. "Just pass on the word, can you?"
"Yeah sure," Damon agreed. "And I'll be coming too."
"You don't have to," Daniel said. He hadn't missed the way the man's eyes cut towards Claire as though he wrestled with two dilemmas. "We'll need some people to stay behind and guard."
"I can guard," Charlie piped up and Daniel had sudden visions of the three stooges.
Somehow, Daniel repressed a groan.
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"I'd love to help out," Chloe said, and saw the alarmed reaction Daniel couldn't quite hide, "but I've been out of the loop, so I'm just going to stay out of the way."
She was rewarded again by the minute but unmistakeable signs of Daniel's relief. "Thank you, Chloe," Daniel said. Chloe nodded. She knew that the last thing he'd want was "help" from someone who didn't know the players or the backstory.
Chloe pointed back over her shoulder. "So the kitchen is...this way?" Her directions confirmed, Chloe smiled at everyone. "Good luck! If you do find yourself in need of my help, I'll be glad to do whatever I can. In the meantime...there's real, processed food calling my name."
EXIT CHLOE
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