Lost fanfic: You, Me, And The Baby; chapter 1

[jemmalynette]

Title: You, Me, And The Baby
Rating: Just in case, M (16+)
Genre: Angst, humour, romance, H/C
Pairings: Charlie/Ana, Charlie/Claire, Claire/Desmond
Summary: A year after being rescued from the island, Charlie and Ana-Lucia are raising their three month old love child whilst Desmond helps Claire look after a fatherless Aaron. As Charlie struggles with his relationship with Ana, Claire must battle with her feelings towards Desmond, whilst they both try to cover up their long-term love affair that leaves both Ana and Desmond very tired and suspicious…
A/N: Been meaning to write this for like two years. Hope everyone who does read it enjoys! There are about six chapters that have been written already. I'll edit and upload each one in time! And I'm already planning a prequel :)
image BG credit
"Claire?" Charlie breathed as he turned on the lamp next to him. Claire lay motionless beside him, blue eyes wide and gleaming as they stared up at the grotty ceiling. Charlie sighed and sat up beside her, leaning up and pushing the covers down slightly, "What's wrong?"

She didn't even blink, those dazzling blue eyes mesmerising him, "You know what's wrong." She propped herself up on her elbows, resting on the mattress and stared at him, "What we're doing is wrong. This is wrong."

Charlie looked down from her gaze as if he had been expecting this. He didn't have to argue; he knew she was right. He just didn't want it to be true.

"You should get dressed," Claire told him, getting out of the bed and disappearing off in to the bathroom.

Charlie watched her go, scowling at the thought, "Will he be waiting?" he called to her, a look of spite across his face.

Claire frowned, letting her blonde curly hair drape over her cheeks as she stared at her own reflection in the mirror above the sink. She took in a deep breath, "Yes. And I've got to get back to him and Aaron."

Charlie grimaced and pulled his top over his head as Claire asked, in the same tone, "Will she be waiting?"

Charlie pulled the same face she had and answered quietly, "Yes."

She folded her arms and stood at the doorway in her night dress, looking tired, pale and depressed as she watched Charlie who was looking at her more curiously, than tiredly.

"Then you better hurry,"

"Yeah, I'd like to check out please," Charlie said, grabbing his new credit card from his wallet. Claire stood quietly beside him, barely making a sound. It was like she was practically dead. Dead inside anyway. Charlie noticed her unease as he handed the man his card, "Please don't be upset."

Claire stared at him, it was almost a hateful glare.

After Charlie had paid, he looked at her seriously, his eyes burning in to hers, "Claire, please."

"This has got to stop," she said half angry, half close to tears, "I can't keep doing this, Charlie! I can't!"

"Claire, listen.." he stopped, noticing a few heads turn. He grabbed her hand and lead her to a secluded part in the lobby, "Listen," he took her by the shoulders, "I love you, okay? I want to be with you."

"Then why aren't you?" she asked simply with a sad look in her eye.

"You know why. It's complicated," he frowned. Claire looked to her feet, she knew all too well how complicated things were. Charlie looked around quickly, making sure they were alone before tilting her head up with his fingers and kissing her tenderly, "We're just gonna have to be patient, yeah?"

Claire nodded sadly, "Okay." There was a small pause, "I should get back."

Charlie returned her dismal nod, he always hated this part, "Yeah, me too."

The couple walked to the hotel doors. They stopped to say there goodbyes. Charlie raised his head,

"…It was nice to see you again, Claire."

"You too, Charlie."

People walked past them, some looked at them, others walked past without a second glance. They both knew at least some of these people would recognise them. Either from the TV or paper, anywhere. But it was certain: they had to be very careful. They waved to each other regretfully before parting ways.

Charlie took a separate taxi home that night and breathed in deeply before arriving at a tall apartment block. Everything seemed black and white here. Not the glamorous life he had hoped for years ago, but he had settled for what he could. And this was the best he could do. He wasn't in a hurry to get home so, after he had paid the driver all the money he had left in his pocket, he trailed up the damp stairway, the humid stench of what could only be described as a mixture of wet dog and piss suffocating him.

It was actually a relief to get out of there in to a much more pleasant hallway. This was probably the nicest floor of them all; no graffiti, no rebellious youths, no horrid stink that made you want to vomit. It was nowhere near paradise though, and as Charlie had discovered no amount of banging your fists on the wall would cease the arguing of the family next door, or the noises of the sinful couple upstairs those nights when they were feeling frisky. He came to his door and he fumbled for his keys, wondering if he should bother hoping for a quiet night tonight. As soon as the door was open he was greeted by a baby's cry. He sighed, throwing the keys to one side before entering a small, pink room and approaching a smaller, colourful crib and picking up a bawling little baby.

"Aw, shhh," he said comfortingly, bouncing it up and down gently, "Where's mum, eh?" he asked the wailing infant, her face red and her hands grabbing at his face, "Or should I say Mother Evil?" he chuckled.

"Where've you been?" asked an unwelcoming voice. Charlie turned to see Ana-Lucia leaning against the door frame with a glass of wine in her hand as she stared at him grimly. He looked at her blankly.

"You know, out," he smiled innocently at her.

Ana scorned at his excuse but didn't bother questioning him any further. She was just relieved that she could hear herself think again.

"Why was she crying?" Charlie asked still bouncing the small baby as she slowly calmed down.

Ana felt her head as if she had a headache, "She's a baby. It's what she does. I've been going crazy these past few hours! The Disgustingtons from upstairs have already complained about us ruining their sex-fest. Out of anger I told them to do something they were already probably doing anyway…"

"Yeah, sorry I missed that," Charlie said somewhat sarcastically, handing Ana the baby, "Any luck with your mum?"

Ana sighed, glancing at the baby as she held it in her arms awkwardly, "Nope. She says I need more time off to look after Paige."

Charlie bit his lip as he went to get something to eat, "You know," he began as he took out a slice of banoffee pie from the fridge, "One of us needs a stable job if we're ever gonna provide for Paige properly. I mean, look where we're living."

"Alright!" Ana snapped, resting baby Paige on her hip, "I'm trying here! Not many people want a hormonal woman who's just had a baby as a police officer! And I have you to blame for that!"

"Okay, well I didn't mean right away," Charlie rolled his eyes, trying to ignore her remark, "And please don't swear around Paige."

"She's a baby!" argued Ana.

"Why don't you have some pie. That'll shut you up," Charlie offered, leaning against the counter and pushing the bowl towards her.

"Ugh. No thanks."

"What?" Charlie asked surprised, "But banoffee pie was all you craved while you were pregnant!"

She rolled her eyes.

"That was the only thing we had in common. Our favourite food," he added, a hint of disappointment in his voice.

"Yeah, well not anymore," Ana muttered, watching Charlie take another spoonful of the pie, "Will you stop eating that! It's like all you ever think about is your stomach."

Charlie sighed, "Yelling-that's new."

"I have to suffer here all evening while you're out doing God knows what!" continued Ana as Paige pulled her hair. "I'm so sick of it all. And to be quite frank, I'm pretty sick of you too."

"You'll never change," he muttered, his lip curled. "We have a daughter now and you haven't changed at all!"

"Yeah, well neither have you!" Ana snapped, "Still pining over your lost love?" she commented rudely before turning in to the baby's room to put a fussy Paige back in her crib.

Charlie nearly choked, "I don't know what you're talking about! I'm not pining over anyone!" The alarm in his voice was obvious.

She rolled her eyes as she rejoined Charlie in the kitchen area, and scorned, "So Claire is never on your mind then?"

Charlie swallowed at the mention of her, "What have I said? I'm over her! She's still bitter about everything, isn't she. I'm concentrating on Paige now. She's what matters."

Ana crossed her arms, not believing him as he started to clean up and she muttered, "We'll see who matters."

Claire returned home to a peaceful silence as she unlocked the door to her house that evening. She smelt the pleasant aroma of something cooking and slowly wandered over to the kitchen where a figure was standing over the stove. She smiled.

"You didn't have to cook me anything."

The figure turned around and smiled back. It was Desmond Hume. "Thought you might be tired after your book club. And hungry. Read anything good today?"

Her smile faded. "It was alright," she lied, "Nothing particularly thrilling."

Desmond pulled her up a chair, acting as the gentleman he was. "Oh, shame," he frowned, "Oh well. Maybe there'll be a better one next time."

Claire smiled politely and sat down, trying to cover the uneasiness she felt. Instead she took to watching Desmond set the plates on the table, his body leaning over hers as he placed her plate in front of her. She breathed in and inhaled his pleasant scent. He smelled better than the food, she concluded.

"Aaron's been as good as gold," he told her with a grin.

Claire snapped back to reality. "Good. At least that's something."

Des sat down and smiled back at her. She locked eyes with him and they sat in silence for a short while, his deep brown eyes staring in to hers. Claire broke away her gaze and cleared her throat.

"You can go if you want," she said quietly after a small time.

He shook his head. "No, it's alright. I made enough for both of us."

"No," she said, looking at him seriously. She stared in to his eyes, "You can go…..if you want."

Desmond tilted his head slightly, finally understanding, "Claire, when you called me I came straight away. I made a promise not to leave you," he told her, "I care about you. I don't want to leave."

She wasn't sure how relieved she was compared to the disappointment of realising she'd have to continue lying to him. "As long as you're sure," Claire smiled warmly at him.

He put a hand on hers, his palm pleasantly soft, "I'm sure. Besides," he continued getting up to serve the food, "You're the closest to a friend I've got now. Lost touch with everyone else. And Charlie…"

"Don't worry about Charlie. He has his own problems," Claire stated with a small frown.

"I'm sure he has. It's a real shame though."

"Uh-huh."

He hesitated for a moment, then wandered over with the food. "Do you still speak to him?"

"Yeah... Occasionally…over the internet and such. And we've met up a few times. You know he doesn't live that far away. This was supposed to be his house after all too."

"I suppose," he paused, "Do you…miss him at all?"

She glanced at Des before shaking her head, "Not really," she said unconvincingly, "We've moved on, haven't we."

"Aye, I guess we have," Desmond smiled briefly before grabbing the plates on the table and serving up their late meal. Claire breathed in and sighed to herself. What a damn liar she was…

Charlie stood at Paige's door, staring at her crib and wondering how he and Ana-Lucia had created something so beautiful out of something so ugly. She seemed to have calmed down a lot compared to when he first got in. Slowly, he made his way over to her, watching her breathe in and out through her tiny nose.

"Never thought I'd have something as wonderful as you," he told the unconscious infant in a low whisper, "Not with…Mother Evil anyway," he sniggered quietly, though there was a slight hurting in his voice, "But you…you're amazing. You're not evil.," he smiled at her and tickled her chin gently before standing and thinking to himself.

He still remembered his and Ana's first encounter; it wasn't like what you would expect. Then again, it might have been exactly how one would expect with a relationship like theirs. It had been a cold night on the beach. He was angry, bitter, and he had stumbled upon Ana-Lucia, strangely enough, crying to herself. To this day he wasn't sure exactly what she had been sobbing about. He had never dared to ask. All he remembered then was the anger of it all, the misery of it. The freezing cold air of the late night stinging his flesh and the sand sticking to places he'd rather not mention.

That had been the first romantic moment he had ever shared with Ana-Lucia. If you could call such an encounter "romantic". But it had been the first time he had touched her and breathed her in properly, a curious experience. He had often noticed her on the beach or at the hatch by herself, just sitting there alone. On the odd occasion, they had made snide comments towards the other but never had he thought about her this way. It had been so unexpected. Not entirely unpleasant, but certainly not ideal. It had definitely not been what he had intended the conception of his first child to be like. But even though it had been a huge accident, now Paige was here, he didn't want to call it a mistake. This little being may have left their lives in a complex state but Charlie had a daughter now, a child of his own. And he didn't want to trade her in for anything whether the mother was 'evil' or not.

"Is she asleep?" Ana asked Charlie as he left Paige's bedroom . Charlie looked at her and nodded, "Thank God." She leant against the bathroom door as Charlie dodged past her to brush his teeth..

"So you might as well tell me, how was work?" she questioned coldly as he grabbed a cup of water from the side.

"It was….boring," he replied, spitting in the sink and then wiping his mouth.

"I'm sure it was" Ana muttered suspiciously.

"And yours?" Charlie returned the question, turning around to face her, though he supposed he didn't really care. "Apart from the trouble from the Disgustingtons upstairs, that is."

"Well, I wouldn't call it boring. It was pretty damn stressful," she told him bitterly, "I may have to get a hearing aid."

"Very funny," Charlie rolled his eyes, pushing past her and taking off his watch, "You know, I do my fair share! I'm the one getting the money in! I take care of her, don't I? Besides, Paige is such a Daddy's Girl!"

"Oh really?" she challenged, a deep frown across her face.

"Really," he argued. At her surprisingly quiet response, an arrogant grin took over his features and she pursed her lips together angrily.

"I'm going to bed."

"Alright, alright!" he surrendered, throwing up his hands, "I'll make an effort to get home earlier. The whole point of this arrangement was so I could help with the baby. So, I will. I'll try and get home in time to make sure she's down for the night."

"Good," Ana retorted before turning on her heel and heading for her bedroom.

"Remember I'm not magic! There's no guarantee she won't wake up again moments afterwards!" he called after her.

She raised a hand in recognition, "Noted." The door slammed shut behind her.

He sighed and grabbed the pillow and blanket from underneath the sofa. Yet another night on the couch, he thought to himself. Ana would bite his head off if he were to suggest sleeping in the comfortable king-sized bed. She never usually allowed it, and on those occasions where she did, well, that was under entirely different circumstances. Circumstances they preferred not to think about. Charlie tried not to analyse his relationship with Ana-Lucia. He knew it was a strange one. He knew their situation was beyond weird, but he had only himself to blame. If it wasn't for him and that one night stand with her, there would never even be a baby. However, she had turned out to be one beautiful baby. Claire had even said so.

Claire. He felt too crushed. Here he was, a father with responsibilities and all he wanted the most was that Aussie woman. It was as if she and Ana had swapped roles. Now, he was with Ana-Lucia and seeing Claire in secret. Claire seemed to resent what they had some days, but loved him all the same. She had said so herself. Their relationship seemed to consist of love, hatred, and passion - like with he and Ana, except they were more impulsive than in love. It was just pure energy and hatred that every so often was turned in to something false and insincere. Charlie could only hope that the future was brighter than the present he lived in now.

"Now you see me, Now you don't! Now you see me, Now you don't!"

Claire smiled at Desmond as he played the game with Aaron. The little one-year-old squealed and laughed as Desmond hid behind his own hands and then revealed a funny face at him. Claire laughed too.

"You're great with him," she said as she entered the living room and sat on the sofa by the fire.

"Am I?" Desmond asked, glancing at Claire before ruffling Aaron's scruff of hair.

Aaron held out his chubby little arms for a hug. Desmond looked at Claire, "I think he wants Mum."

She shook her head. "He wants you, silly!"

"Me?"

"Yes!" she rolled her eyes.

Desmond smiled warmly and picked up Aaron, blowing on his little bare tummy and then hugging him softly.

"Were you ever going to have children, Des?" Claire asked, sipping a cup of tea.

Des took a minute before answering, "Aye, it was always an option I guess. But…it wasn't meant to be."

She tilted her head, "I'm really sorry, Des."

"No, don't be! I like living here with you and Aaron. It's been…fun."

They smiled at each other.

"Well, I just hope I'm not depriving you of a good life where you're not held down by us," Claire shyly added.

"You're not depriving me of anything! You and Aaron are like my family," he said before pausing, thinking of how Charlie had once thought of the two as his family. Claire felt this too but assured him it was alright. Charlie had his chance, and now he had his own family to deal with.

Aaron yawned in Desmond's arms and closed his eyes.

"I think the wee man's tired," Des stated standing up and holding the young boy in his arm.

"I should expect so! Put him to bed, will you?" Claire asked with a brief smile.

"Sure," Des nodded, carrying the sleepy boy to his room.

Claire frowned and thought to herself. Sometimes, she would imagine her life with Charlie in her family. They could've both lived here with Aaron and been happy. She would be watching the telly and catching up on missed TV while he was singing Aaron to sleep in the other room, maybe strumming his guitar. Then, he would sit down with her and they'd snuggle up on the sofa watching their daily, cheesy TV dramas. To Claire, that would have been perfection. But things were not perfect. It was just a mere day dream. A pondering. And it would never be reality. Desmond was a really nice guy, and she'd be lying if she admitted she wasn't remotely attracted to him. But he wasn't Charlie. It was as simple as that. Desmond was just there. Claire had reminded him he could leave whenever he wanted. But he didn't want to. And that was fine with her for now.

"He's asleep," Desmond told her, re-entering the room.

"Thanks," she smiled putting her mug on the table in front of her.

"No problem at all," he told her, sitting beside her on the sofa. He stared at her, grinning slightly, "Anything else you want, I can do it for you."

She smiled thankfully, "You're too kind."

"It's no trouble."

Claire glanced up at the clock. 10PM . It was shocking how late Aaron had stayed up tonight, but she guessed that's what happened when a child's sleep pattern kept getting interrupted. Her tummy made agitated noises, "I'm hungry. How about some midnight snacks? We can raid the fridge!"

Desmond laughed, "It's not midnight yet."

"Well, we'll have some ten O'clock snacks then!"

They tip-toed to the kitchen, the moonlight shone through the window as Claire opened the fridge and grabbed some chocolaty snacks, "Ah, nothing like a good old midnight snack. Used to do it all the time when I was younger. My aunt said I was comfort eating."

"Why would she say that?"

Claire shook her head, "Never mind." She opened one of the cupboards and gasped.

"What?" Desmond asked, placing some of the chocolate bars on the table.

Claire jumped up with a jar in her hand, "Peanut butter! I completely forgot we had this!"

He laughed and Claire unscrewed the lid before dipping her fingers in the creamy substance and sticking her fingers in her mouth, "Mmmm. Try some!"

"Alright," Des chuckled. Claire raised her fingers to his mouth. Des paused before licking the peanut butter from her soft skin and tasting the food for himself, "Delicious."

She giggled and remembered her times with Charlie. The imaginary peanut butter, when he got her the real thing. How she missed those times. She tried to distract herself from thinking about those precious memories and she began acting silly and wiping the peanut butter on Desmond's face. He joined in the game, sticking his finger in the jar and smearing it against her cheek. She squealed and ran around the kitchen as the food fight continued.

Desmond had a big blob of the substance on his hand and was chasing Claire around the kitchen. She dodged him and danced round the table, trying to escape him.

She ran for the door but Desmond caught her from behind and she erupted in a fit of giggles. She licked away the remaining peanut butter and then complained of stomach ache.

"You shouldn't have ran around after eating that stuff then!" Desmond teased as she laughed in his arms.

"Alright, alright! It's my fault!"

She spun around to face him, slowly stopping her laughter as the atmosphere started becoming more serious. Desmond stared at her, hypnotised by her beautiful features. How often he had gazed in to that face and tried to resist what he was feeling. Claire stood perfectly still in his strong, secure arms. She felt a tension between them and she broke away from his grip,

"I should…I should…uh head on to bed."

"Oh, alright. Sure," Desmond replied nervously, "Of course. It's late."

She smiled at him briefly, "Night."

"Night."

She escaped to her bedroom, closing the door behind her and catching her breath. She tried to figure out what had just happened between her and Desmond. Things just stopped being so funny and started to get so…serious. Really serious. She wasn't sure. She didn't want to think about it. This wasn't the first time this had happened anyway. She had ignored it in the past but she knew it was becoming a problem. She was attracted to Desmond, sure. But she didn't at all plan to act on it. She wasn't in love with him. And she probably never would be.

Despite the tricky situation, she was still glad he was here. He had come at a time when she needed help the most. Her thoughts drifted back to their first meeting as she began to get ready for bed. She hadn't thought a lot of him at first, but as they spent more time together they had become quite fond of one another. He seemed to fill a void that Charlie had put there not long before.

Claire lay wide awake in her bed, finding it difficult to drop off to sleep. That damn Mancunian man was on her mind again. In the day, night, whatever. Claire could never stop thinking about him and what could have been. It was unhealthy…it was obsession. She had a new life now. Charlie may still be part of it…but not like that. She couldn't have that relationship with him. Not anymore. They couldn't be together like that. They couldn't get married or have kids of their own. They couldn't be their own family. A part of her didn't want that with him now though. What she told Desmond was correct. Charlie had his chance and he blew it. He shouldn't have upset her and then made things worse by sleeping with Ana-Lucia as a comfort. How pathetic, she had thought, I never want to see him again! Either of them! It was bad enough he had slept with her, but to have got her pregnant? It was too hard for her to bear.

Of course, it was impossible to rid of him so easily. It was clear they still had feelings for one another. She knew having an affair with Charlie was wrong. But she couldn't help herself. She was a woman with needs. She needed Charlie as much as she hated him sometimes. He had broken her heart, yes. But he was like a drug she couldn't be free of. She loved him. A tear fell down her face. Oh, why did she love him? She sniffed and wiped it away with her hand, the other one she lay her head on, her soft blonde curls flowed over the pillow. Both of them had families now. Even if it wasn't their preferred one. It was too late. They couldn't repair this as easily as they would have liked.

She sighed, trembling slightly. Des was here for her at least. He was a kind man. Gentle, giving…handsome. She blinked hard. She couldn't think like that. What would that make her? She wasn't like that. Not normally. Desmond was a friend and that was it. That was all he would ever be!

Although…..she did say the same thing about Charlie once upon a time.

Claire has signed in

Charlie Pace: Good morning!

Claire: If you say so.

Charlie Pace: What's wrong m'dear?

Claire: I don't feel well.

Charlie Pace: Aw, sorry about that.

Claire: Yeah, well, shouldn't you be looking at houses?

Charlie Pace: Good Lord, don't remind me. It's not like we have the money or anything.

Claire: You can have this house back if you want?

Charlie Pace: Don't be stupid! I offered you that house!

Claire: But it was where you were going to live.

Charlie Pace: It was where we were going to live. It's yours now.

Claire: I hope you find somewhere good, Charlie.

Charlie Pace: Me too. But anywhere's better then this bloody flat.

Charlie Pace: I have to go. Wish us luck!

Claire: Good luck! Bye!

Charlie Pace has gone offline

"Is my mom here yet?" Ana called from the other room before she threw Paige's things out on to the coffee table, her pacifier and little toy bunny sliding across the surface.

As if on cue there was a knock on the door. "I guess so," Charlie replied, opening the door to an older, stricter version of Ana-Lucia: her mother. "Hey Theresa," Charlie forced a smile, though he disliked the woman - possibly even more than Ana herself.

Theresa Cortez stood with her arms crossed, a frown painted across her face. "Hello Charlie," she replied coldly, making her way through the door and pushing the younger man out the way.

Charlie caught his balance. "Please…come in," he added sarcastically.

"Where's Ana?" she demanded throwing down her coat and bag on to the sofa.

"I'm right here, mom," Ana mumbled as she stood at the doorway, her white jacket already on and her hair put up securely in a pony tail.

Theresa smiled tightly. "Hi, honey. How are you? You do have everything you need, right? I hope you find something - this place is pretty awful."

Ana frowned, looking away, "Paige is in the next room. Her things are all on the side."

"Ah, yes," Theresa sighed, "My granddaughter: Unexpected Love Child," she glanced at Charlie. He crossed his arms and pointed out they were going to be late if they didn't hurry. Theresa nodded, "Yes, you're going to need a good house if you want to look after your child properly. I trust everything is okay, financially?" she asked, glancing at Charlie again.

Charlie bit his lip.

"What is it you do again, Charlie? Working at a club every night? It's not a very stable job, is it?"

"I suppose it isn't," he muttered, becoming agitated.

"If you'll only let me come in to work, I could have a good job," argued Ana.

"Oh, Ana. You're a mother now, you have other responsibilities. You shouldn't have to worry about work just yet. Look at all you've been through. I'm just happy you're home and safe again. I don't want you to come back to work until you're completely ready."

"I am ready," hissed Ana.

Mrs Cortez shook her head, "Just take it easy for now. Look after yourself, work on getting back in to shape! You'll need to if you want to come back to work."

Ana growled angrily. She didn't care much for being humiliated, especially in front of Charlie.

"Mom," she muttered, "Goodbye."

"Bye," she smiled.

Ana stormed past Charlie who waved at Theresa before closing the door abruptly.

"Ah, how I love having your mother over," Charlie smirked, his voice dripping with sarcasm as they walked in the cold.

"Shut up," she snapped, "She's an annoying, heartless woman."

"It does seem like she wants the best for you, though."

Ana sniggered, "She wants to ruin my life."

"She thinks you already have."

Ana glanced at him.

"She's just disappointed in you, that's all."

"I don't need you analysing my relationship with my mother, thank you very much. You don't see me talking about your family. It's not like they ever visit."

Charlie frowned, "Well that's because they're afraid of you."

"Of course they are."

"Liam might come over soon. He hasn't seen Paige yet and we haven't had much of a chance to catch up since the rescue. He has a daughter of his own, you know."

"Can we just get this over with?" she interrupted, walking faster.

"Sure.." Charlie answered beginning to follow her, "Absolutely."

"You alright?" Desmond asked Claire who had turned off her laptop and was now leaning over her desk with her head resting on one arm.

"Yeah. Just bored. Maybe I'll go out and do some shopping. Get some more peanut butter."

Desmond laughed and looked to his feet. "Sure," he looked back up in to her ocean blue eyes. "Don't worry, I'll look after Aaron."

She smiled gratefully, "Thanks Des," she got up and kissed him on the cheek, "You're a great guy. What would I do without you?"

He grinned back, and as she left to get ready to leave, still felt her smooth skin against his cheek.

Aaron was sitting on the floor in his room, moving around his toy cars and amusing himself as they crashed in to each other. Desmond noted his behaviour curiously as he leant against the door frame.

"Right, well, I'm off!" Claire called wrapping her scarf around her delicate neck.

Desmond turned around and smiled, "You look great."

"It's just my coat, Des," she rolled her eyes but blushed all the same.

"Ah...but it's new, isn't it?" he asked quickly.

She grinned and looked down at it, "Yes…yes it is," she pulled a perplexed face for a minute, as if surprised by his perception before shaking her head and smiling, "I'll see you later! I'll get lots of peanut butter," she waved.

Desmond chuckled, "Bye Claire."

When she closed the door behind her, he sighed. He felt something for her. It was clear. He was making it obvious, though he hoped Claire didn't notice. She had enough on her plate as it was already. He knew she was still talking to Charlie and he didn't want to cause anymore tension. Charlie would be furious if he knew how he felt. They had had a few confrontations about it already, and Desmond denied everything. He still loved Penny, he always would. But he couldn't refuse his feelings for Claire. There was something there, he wished there wasn't but there was. And he would have to deal with it.

Claire strolled outside, breathing in the cool air deeply. She wasn't worried about bumping in to Charlie today. He lived on the other side of town so it was unlikely they would see each other. She supposed she should be more grateful to Charlie for giving her his home. God knows he's had a lot of ear ache to put up with from Ana-Lucia. In some ways she felt sorry for him. She swallowed and placed her hands in her long coat. It was a breezy day. She sighed and made her way in to the warmth of the supermarket.

"And this - is the living room," the sales agent smiled politely behind her red glasses as she lead the couple in to the luxury living room.

"It's brilliant," Charlie commented, smiling as he looked around the room, "All of it. There's a room for the baby. And an extra bedroom." An important factor for their relationship, when it was necessary.

Ana eyed him and considered this, "It's fine," she said.

"We're definitely interested," Charlie nodded to the sales agent.

"Excellent!" the woman in front of them smiled, whipping out a clip board with some papers, "If you and Mrs Pace could just sign these-"

Scornful laughter erupted from the couple and the woman looked at them curiously.

"Oh, we're not married."

"We're not even in a relationship," Ana hissed, a little too offended for Charlie's liking.

She raised an eyebrow, "But I thought you said you were looking for a Family House?"

"We are!" Charlie insisted, "We have a daughter."

The woman paused and wrinkled her nose, "So, you have a daughter and you're living together…but you're not together."

"That's right," Ana replied, unashamed, "Is that a problem?" Charlie coughed awkwardly.

"Oh, no. It's just that we have several other families that are looking for a house just like this. And of course there's the issue with the financing, " she readjusted her glasses on her freckly nose.

"Forget it," Ana snapped, already heading towards the door. "Coming?" she asked Charlie.

Charlie sighed. "Thanks anyway," he said to the agent before following Ana, although he didn't look thankful at all.

Claire grabbed a jar of peanut butter from the shelf and thought about last night. She and Desmond had fun, and it was great living with him. But that awkward little moment between them stuck in her mind. When he touched her, she forgot about everything else. It was just them, together, alone in their little moment. There was no Charlie, no babies, no confusion. But if something were to ever happen between them it would cause only that. Confusion. And a lot of other things she wouldn't allow. Besides, she wasn't in love with Desmond. She was in love with Charlie. So in love she was having a secret relationship with him.

They were risking a lot to carry on what they had. Claire didn't want to lose him and she didn't want a relationship with Desmond. No, no. Things would have to stay as they were. She sighed. Charlie was with Ana and she with Desmond. Two happy families. What a joke we all live. She sighed placing the jar in her basket.

"That went well," Ana mumbled with disdain as they walked again. She was clearly disappointed, but she didn't have to explain herself to anybody, let alone some clueless little sales agent who she didn't know or care for.

"Fascist," he muttered. Ana rolled her eyes. "Maybe we'll have more luck with the next one?" he offered.

"It's the same company, you know," she sighed.

"Well if they have a problem with the way we live our lives, or how we manage our money, we can always say we're engaged," he suggested with a shrug.

Ana looked at him from the corner of her eyes, unsure how to react. "You're kidding, right?"

"We can say it's still unofficial because you're still adjusting to the idea of being a wife- that's believable, right?" he tried to hide the smirk playing on his lips.

"You're an idiot. That'll never work!"

"It might if we get our stories straight! We can say I proposed after I found out about the baby. They want more? No problem! It was a snowy day and after a romantic night out at an expensive restaurant, I paid some kids to have a snowman built in the shape of us, canoodling like the happy, stable couple we are." He started laughing at her disgusted reaction. "Then there, between the snow sculpture's entwined and thorny hands - a ring! And I picked it off and got down on one knee in the freezing cold snow and said 'We need a house! Marry me!'. They'll love us after that!"

"Of course not. Because you're an IDIOT!" Ana snapped, poking him in the rips. "Stop kidding around!"

"But I'm deadly serious," he claimed, trying to stifle his laughter. "It's perfect!"

She hit him in the chest, "Screw this, I'm getting a cab!"

"Violence never solves anything!" he spat with a hand over his sore chest.

"Speak for yourself!" she yelled as she found a taxi and hopped in to it, leaving Charlie alone on the pavement, frowning.

The amusement passing, he watched the car go and he propped himself up on a wall, digging his hands in his warm pockets and mused to himself as he watched his breath condense in the chilling air.

"Charlie?" he heard a voice say.

He looked up and saw her walking towards him, a bag of shopping in her arms, her skin as pale as the white sky.

"Claire.."

"What're you doing here?" she asked, shivering slightly.

He smiled. She looked so cute in her little scarf and hat. He jumped down from the wall and faced her, "Was house hunting, not anymore."

"Oh right. I didn't know you were looking round here.."

Charlie shrugged. He would be lying if he said it had been pure chance that they were looking at houses closer to Claire.

"Any luck?" she asked, secretly hoping he hadn't managed to get a house this close to her. She couldn't deal with anymore awkward run-in's or risk anyone finding out about them. She preferred how things were now.

He shook his head, and she hid a relieved sigh. "They won't seem to sell to unmarried couples with a baby."

This surprised her. "Really? Why not?" Again, Charlie shrugged. "Well, that seems a bit unfair."

"You're telling me," Charlie replied, though he wasn't interested in questioning it anymore. There was a short, hushed moment between them as they looked at each other. "I've missed you," he said.

"You saw me last night," she rolled her eyes, but secretly she had missed him too.

"I want to see you every night. And every morning."

"Well you can't." Her heart ached.

"I know," he pouted miserably, "Everything's messed up."

"You're telling me," Claire replied in the same tone.

He smiled slightly, gazing in to her eyes before leaning in to kiss her.

"Charlie, there are people here."

"So what?"

"Charlie," she said sternly.

Charlie frowned, pulling away, "Sorry…I'd..I'd better go."

She opened her mouth to speak as he began to leave her sight, but she didn't say a thing. Just watched him go.

She noticed he was about to cross the road when a car was driving past. He wouldn't make it. Her heart started beating uncontrollably when he didn't seem to stop.

"Charlie," she called. The car got closer and he stepped on to the road. "CHARLIE!"

Charlie snapped out of his muddling thoughts and swerved around in time to see Claire running towards him, waving her arms around madly. For a moment, he became confused until he noticed a car beeping frantically and hearing its breaks screech on the road. He was glued to the floor in shock. He felt a force push against him and he was sent across the road, hearing a loud high pitched scream before landing hard on the concrete, banging his head.

He had just enough strength left to open his eyes weakly and see a blurry Claire lying motionless in front of a car a little across from him, her shopping spilled all over the road and a jar of peanut butter rolling towards him, before he finally passed out in to unconsciousness.

TBC