Lost Fic: The Pumpkin Picking Paradox (Daniel/Charlotte)
Title: The Pumpkin Picking Paradox
Character/Pairing: Daniel (Daniel/Charlotte)
Rating: PG
Words: 1,137
Warnings: Fluff. Angst. Mentions character death.
Disclsimer: Not mine.
Summary: Daniel picks out a pumpkin. Twice.
A/N: Written for valhalla37 who asked for Daniel/Charlotte, pumpkin.
***
Pumpkin Picking pt. 1
The morning was unusually crisp for the island; there was a cool breeze in the air like fall, which Daniel couldn’t help but note was strange given the island had displayed no signs of having anything that resembled seasons. It was nice though and Charlotte assured him it was the perfect weather for pumpkin picking. He wouldn’t know, having never picked a pumpkin himself.
Charlotte was appalled by this notion, which was how he ended up crouched in the dirt examining misshapen orange gourds in the hopes of finding one Charlotte might deem appropriate.
“This one is…well, it’s sort of… rounder than the others.”
Daniel looked up hopefully at Charlotte who knelt down beside him to run a hand along the side of the pumpkin. She wiggled it a little and Daniel could only assume she was checking the weight. He was finding this whole process baffling. He had never celebrated Halloween; no trick or treating or costumes and certainly no pumpkin carving. His mother always said he had better things to do with his time and frankly he had agreed with her.
But Charlotte had looked stricken when he mentioned this and then she had went on for some time about how he had been robbed of a childhood before finally deciding she was going to help him make up for lost time by giving him a proper holiday (the first of many, she had whispered against his ear causing him to imagine turkeys and picking out presents and Charlotte in a green dress singing “Auld Lang Syne” and he had suddenly found himself very much looking forward to holidays.)
“It’s a bit small, Dan…but it has character. If this is the one you want, this is the one we’ll get.”
Daniel nodded and tried his best to look excited about the prospect of lugging the pumpkin back to the house only to carve a face in it and plant it on their front porch where it would sit until it began to rot forcing them to throw it away. It seemed like a waste really. He didn’t say that though.
He had to bite his tongue to stop from rambling on about how the custom was archaic at best and superstitious at worse. Earlier when he had pointed this out Charlotte had rolled her eyes and said, “Daniel, I’m an anthropologist for heaven’s sake, I know that. It also happens to be fun.”
And she was right of course, everything didn’t have to be logical or scientific, a thing could just be…a thing. The idea was just going to take some getting used to.
Daniel lifted the pumpkin off of the ground bringing a shower of dirt with him. He expected Charlotte to laugh at him; he could imagine how bizarre he looked standing there covered in dirt with a sad little pumpkin tucked under one arm, but instead he heard her breath hitch suddenly.
“Charlotte, what’s…” his voice trailed off as he followed her gaze to the happy family just entering the pumpkin patch. The father raised his hand to wave and Charlotte waved back meekly. It was her father and her mother and well…her.
“That’s never going to stop being weird,” she whispered.
Daniel tried to look reassuring.
“Maybe not, but you look happy…both of you look happy.”
Charlotte grinned. “Well you look filthy. Let’s get you home. You can take a shower before we carve our friend here. Should we be traditionalists or should we be daring and make him look like Einstein or something?”
Daniel reached out with his free hand and wrapped his fingers around Charlotte’s. “Traditional sounds good.”
Charlotte squeezed his hand. “Traditional it is then.”
Daniel shivered slightly. He figured it must have been from the chill in the air, he ignored the feeling and let Charlotte lead him back to their house.
***
Pumpkin Picking pt. 2
The morning was unusually crisp for the island, there was a cool breeze in the air like fall, which Daniel couldn’t help but note was strange given the island had displayed no signs of having anything that resembled seasons. It was nice though; it reminded him of home.
He wasn’t sure how he had gotten elected to go pumpkin picking. He had heard Juliet whispering to the others that it might take his mind off things. He had gotten the distinct impression that she had convinced herself that she could distract him from leaving by making him feel more involved.
This wasn’t the best method though. Daniel didn’t do holidays, he never had and if he had suddenly decided to start he wouldn’t have picked Halloween to begin with. There was too much ritual to it, too much death (there had been more than enough death this year.) But he liked Juliet and he wasn’t so far gone that he didn’t appreciate the gesture, which was how he had found himself kneeling on the cold ground examining a misshapen orange gourd.
It was a sad specimen. Even with no prior pumpkin picking experience he could see that. It was lumpy and uneven and much smaller than the other pumpkins. There was something sad about it that made Daniel pause. He couldn’t imagine anyone else taking it home; two weeks from now it would still be sitting in the field slowly rotting away.
He reached down and pulled it swiftly from the vine. It was just going to have to do. He didn’t want to keep Juliet waiting any longer. They were supposed to carve the pumpkin together; although he suspected she mostly just wanted to make one last attempt at persuading him from getting on the sub next week.
He was covered in dirt now, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He tucked the pumpkin under one arm and was just about to leave the field when he caught sight of a family making their way up the hill to the patch. A little girl ran in front of them, her long red hair was blowing in the breeze.
Daniel stood frozen to his spot as he watched the little girl (Charlotte, he whispered under his breath) lean down to examine a large pumpkin. She shoved it gently and laughed when it wobbled. Daniel felt tears stinging his eyes.
Charlotte’s father caught him staring and waved hesitantly. Daniel turned away quickly without bothering to wave back. He shivered slightly and he wasn’t sure if it was from the chill in the air or the image in his head of that little girl all grown up dying in his arms.
He closed his eyes. He was certain now; he couldn’t stay here anymore, not with her here alive and happy. Not when he knew what was coming.
Juliet was just going to have to understand.