The Paradox - Chapter Eight
Title: The Paradox - Chapter Eight
Authors: falafel_fiction, sapphire_child and pacejunkie
Character’s: Charlie/Claire, Liam, Penny, cameos from most of the rest of the Losties and numerous flashback characters
Rating: PG
Summary: Charlie chases a Scottish man through the rainy streets of London, which leads him to a fateful meeting in an antique shop. Six years later, he starts to experience strange dreams about being stranded on a mysterious island. As he discovers more about this island and its occupants, he begins to realise that he is living out two different lives simultaneously. What will happen when these two existences finally collide?
Disclaimer: Lost doesn’t belong to any of the three of us (sadly). The Paradox theory belongs to cylune9 and pacejunkie.
Author's Note: She's the one you've all been waiting for...Penny! That's right, she FINALLY makes an appearance in this chapter! Are you all excited? I know I am ^_^
Prologue, Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three, Chapter Four, Chapter Five, Chapter Six, Chapter Seven
When Donovan heard that Penny’s transmission to the island had finally been answered, he had changed his holiday arrangements and travelled from Oxford to London. By the following night Donovan was standing outside her home in London. He knocked three times on the door, but received no answer. It was early evening and the lights were shining out of all her windows, so she was most definitely awake. Donovan frowned and tapped his foot impatiently; then he pressed his ear to her door. Music was blasting from a record player inside; the Voi Che Sapete aria from Mozart’s ‘Le nozze di Figaro’. Donovan smiled, remembering that this was Penny’s favourite opera. She had taken Desmond to see it for their first date. He opened up his briefcase and rummaged inside for the spare key that Penny had given him. Then he let himself into her house.
Donovan found Penny in the living room. She was curled up on the sofa wearing a white turtleneck, black trousers and slippers. There was an open bottle of champagne in an ice bucket by her elbow and an empty glass in her hand. She was flushed and smiling. Donovan smiled too. He hadn’t seen her so happy in years.
“I take it that Desmond called...?” said Donovan.
Penny sat upright, her eyes watering at the corners.
“He called Donovan!” she confirmed. “Desmond called! Just like he said he was going to all those years ago. Can you believe it? I’m not crazy!”
Donovan took off his coat and turned down her music. He deposited his Christmas present under her tree and then sat beside her on the sofa.
“I never thought you were crazy, Penelope dear.” He raised an eyebrow and took the glass from her hand. “Though I do believe you’re drunk.”
“Tipsy!” Penny insisted, raising a finger. “Please. I haven’t had an occasion to celebrate in years, Donovan. I never thought this day would come!”
“What did Desmond tell you?” Donovan asked her, eagerly.
Penny closed her eyes. “He said loved me. He said he’s always loved me...”
“Well, that’s splendid,” said Donovan, still smiling but growing steadily impatient. “Did he tell you anything that will help with our research?”
Penny was startled out of her rapture. “Well...he said he was on a boat.”
“A boat?” Donovan shuffled forward on the sofa cushions. “Desmond must be on the boat that Charlie told you about. The boat that this mysterious Naomi woman sent. What have you managed to find out about this Charlie Pace?”
“He’s Desmond’s friend,” Penny said dreamily. “He was the one who told me that Desmond was still alive. That was when I knew that I...”
Donovan sighed. He realised that Penny wasn’t going to be much use tonight. Her mind was consumed with thoughts of Desmond and she would have trouble focusing on anything else. Penny was an intelligent woman and an efficient researcher, but she was also a lover. Right now she was blathering romantic mess.
“Would you mind if I used your computer?” Donovan asked.
Penny waved her hand in consent, closing her eyes and retreating into her happy daze. Donovan seated himself at her desk and switched on her laptop. The first thing he did was to type the words ‘Charlie Pace’ and ‘Flight 815’ into the internet search engine. This was just a rudimentary check, making sure the transmission Penny had received was genuine.
Donovan was surprised to find there were very few results for his search. This immediately struck him as odd since he knew there had been an exhaustive amount of media on that ill-fated flight. The one article he could find was perplexing. It was a small piece in the Sydney local press about a young musician from the defunct rock band Driveshaft who had cheated death by missing his plane. Flight 815. It mentioned that following this lucky escape Charlie Pace had gone into drug rehab, seemingly making the most of his second chance in life. Donovan shook his head, thinking he must have clicked on a bogus source. Then he found a printed copy of the flight manifest which confirmed that a C.H. Pace had indeed purchased a ticket for the doomed flight, but he had never boarded the plane.
Donovan couldn’t make sense of it. He tried a search on the band ‘Driveshaft’. He found a small fansite which didn’t look like it had been updated in a few years. But there were still several photos on the homepage. These pictures were mostly of the band’s handsome lead singer, but Donovan managed to find one clear shot of their bass player. The photo depicted a small, impish man in his early twenties, wearing what Donovan supposed would be called punk fashion. A white tie hung outside his striped T-shirt. There were pink streaks in his messy blonde hair and chipped black polish on his nails.
“Penny, could you come here for a moment?” Donovan asked.
Penny tottered to her feet and wandered over to the monitor. Donovan enlarged the picture of the bass player so that she could see it clearly.
“Is this the man who received your transmission?” he asked.
“Yes!” she affirmed, recognition flashing in her eyes. “That’s him! That’s our boy...”
She grinned at the screen in triumph. Donovan took a breath.
“Penny...it says in this article that Charlie Pace never boarded Flight 815. For the last three months he has been living in Sydney, in Australia.”
Penny’s smile fell and she gaped at him in confusion.
“What?” she exclaimed. “No, that can’t be true. Charlie was on the island. He was with Desmond. He must have been on the island if he answered my transmission. I mean...he can’t be in two places at once. Can he?”
Donovan swallowed. He hadn’t thought that this were possible. Really there was only one conceivable way it could have happened.
“Penny...we need to contact this man immediately.”
~*~
The Pace family were sitting around the picnic table on their back patio the next day, enjoying sandwiches, lemonade and other light fare. The big Christmas dinner would come tomorrow but for now they sat outside until dusk and watched Meghan play in her sandbox, the setting sun providing a respite from the sweltering heat of the day. Charlie turned to Liam and Karen.
“So where’s the snow, guys?” he joked.
Karen laughed. “Not in Australia I’m afraid. We’ve had to grow accustomed to hot summer Christmas seasons.”
“To Meghan it will all be normal,” Liam pointed out, “It will be up to us to tell her how our Christmases were different.”
Charlie nodded, still forcing a smile till his jaw ached and trying to convince them he wasn’t a crazed manic depressive. He needed to keep up appearances so he could stay in their house long enough to receive Penny’s call. Otherwise this whole thing would fall apart. Charlie felt he was still in mourning for his other self and his connection to the island, a pain that was lodged deep in his chest like a blocked artery. But at the same time his mind was no longer breaking in two. He was finally living in the moment, without distractions. The feeling infused him with new energy; a sense of clarity that had turned out to be good for his productivity. Earlier that day Charlie had managed to finish the songs he had been writing for Liam and his family as Christmas presents. He had also found the time to repair his guitar and after dinner, he treated everyone to a performance.
Meghan twirled and jumped to her gift; a bouncy, simple child’s tune called Black and White. For Liam, Charlie had written a churning rock-n-roll number that he called Monster Eats the Pilot, based on a title that had been in his head for weeks, while for Karen, he had dedicated a soft simple ballad called Walk with Me which featured sandy beaches and lush tropical breezes in its lyrics. It was a romantic sort of song and Charlie had been thinking about Claire when he wrote it. Everyone laughed, sang along and applauded.
When darkness settled fully they cleared the table, and moved the festivities inside. Meghan was treated to one gift to stem her excitement. Her eyes lit up at the large plush white rabbit toy which she immediately dubbed Hoppy and insisted on taking to bed with her. A short while later Karen took her up to her room.
Karen’s aunt and uncle who lived in Sydney were joining them tomorrow, so for the evening it was the Pace family, sitting around the tree. Charlie and Liam regaled Karen with stories from their childhood and Karen beamed at how happy the brothers seemed. As enjoyable as it was, Charlie couldn’t help but gaze over at the clock periodically to check the time. Although Liam caught him doing it, he didn’t need to ask Charlie what he was doing. They were both waiting anxiously, their ears straining for the phone to ring.
It finally happened at a quarter past ten. Charlie nearly jumped out of his skin. When Karen got up to answer it, he settled back down but remained tense, feeling his stomach do flips. Liam stared at Charlie like he had seen a ghost.
“Charlie?” Karen called, sounding surprised. “It’s a woman calling for you.”
Charlie felt relief coursing through his veins. He glanced quickly at his brother and then went to retrieve the phone, taking it in the kitchen.
“Hello?” he answered. “This is Charlie...”
“Charlie...um...my name is Penelope Widmore. I’m not quite sure where to begin but...is my name familiar to you at all? I believe we may have met recently over a radio transmission. You said that you were a survivor of flight 815.”
Charlie’s head swam. This was going to take a bit of explaining if she was under the impression he was the Charlie who had drowned.
“I was told you would call me,” Charlie said softly. “Christmas Eve, 2004. I’ve been waiting. I was meant to take flight 815, but I never did. Still...I think that something happened. That Charlie you spoke to...it was me on the island. But I’m here too. I know this is confusing but a few years back I met this Scottish bloke and I think he changed my path. Since the crash I’ve been seeing the island and the survivors and...it’s like I was there! I could sort of...feel him, the other Charlie. Do you know what’s happening to me?”
There was a pause. He could hear Penny talking to someone in the background. He waited patiently for a response. I needed to know the truth.
“Charlie, that man you met was Desmond Hume...” said Penny.
“Desmond,” Charlie repeated. “His name’s Desmond...”
That sounded right, he thought; it was almost like he had known it all along.
“Yes...you weren’t the only one Desmond spoke to back then,” Penny explained. “He told a friend at Oxford that he believed he had travelled back from that future. When Desmond went missing that friend came to me with everything he knew and suspected. If Desmond changed things in his past he may have created a sort of paradox where you didn’t get on the plane...but at the same time you had already done so. I can assure you this paradox is real because I spoke to you yesterday. You told me you were on an island with other survivors. Your voices are identical. It’s bizarre, I grant you...”
“So what happens now?” Charlie asked her, eager to move forward, thinking again of Claire and her baby. “I want to help those people...”
“You’re welcome to join us if you’re willing,” Penny said. “And right now you’re my only link to the island. You may have information that can help me find them. I’ve been searching for Desmond for three years now...”
“I want to help, I’m ready!” he said. “Can you pick me up here?”
“No,” Penny said quickly, “Don’t tell me where you are. It’s...it’s possible this call is being tapped. You should know this is not just a simple rescue mission. I have to warn you we’re not the only people that know about this island. There...there may be others, Charlie. Desmond’s time travelling was a result of this island’s unique properties. It’s one of their experiments. If we know that a paradox has occurred then these others will know too and I’m afraid they will come looking for you. They are desperate to keep the knowledge of this island a secret. You...you may be in danger.”
Charlie thought of Karen and Meghan. If there were people after him Charlie wanted to put as much distance as possible between Liam’s family and himself. It was time to leave.
“I’ll meet you somewhere,” he proposed.
“My team is quite good at finding people,” Penny assured him. “Wherever you go we will meet you, but take extra care. Disguise yourself if you can. Be sure the others don’t find you first. We’ll be in touch soon...”
With that the line went dead. Charlie sat down at the table and stared at the phone, still reeling from the conversation. He lifted his head to see Karen hovering in the doorway, a frown creasing her forehead.
“Charlie...who was that calling you?” she asked, a confused smile teasing at her lips. “She sounded like a posh London girl.”
Charlie hesitated. He considered trying to explain all he had just learnt. He quickly realised that Karen wouldn’t believe him. And maybe it was best that she didn’t believe him if that knowledge put her and her family in danger.
“It was an old girlfriend of mine,” said Charlie. “Lucy Heatherton. We were dating for a while when I was living in London. She just called to say Happy Christmas.”
“Calling you from England? Wow. She must be rich!”
“Yeah, she is actually.” Charlie replied.
Karen’s smile lengthened. “Well, it sounds to me like she might still be interested in you. What did your therapist say, that once you have recovered you can look forward to having a girlfriend and a normal life again? See Charlie? If we can just get you better then you’ll have so much to look forward to.”
Charlie smiled reluctantly and nodded his head. Karen leaned down to kiss his cheek and asked if he wanted to come and watch TV with her. Charlie promised he would be through in a minute, so Karen squeezed his shoulder and left him alone at the kitchen table. Charlie sighed and clutched his head between his hands. He knew that he had to leave them, but he didn’t wish to cause them anymore worry or pain. He had no idea how he was going to do this...
Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder. Charlie blinked his eyes and saw Liam standing over him, his face gravely serious.
“Charlie?” he began haltingly. “I hope you don’t mind but I was listening on the upstairs extension. I just...I had to hear it for myself.”
Charlie sighed. “No, I’m glad you did. So now you know.”
Liam nodded, “But...you’re not going are you? You’re still having all these problems and you need to look out for yourself right now.”
Charlie looked at his brother in surprise. “Did you not hear what she said? It’s the island! That’s the reason why all these things are happening!”
Liam raised a finger to his lips and gave Charlie a stern look. Karen was watching TV in the next room and Meghan had only recently gone to bed. He clearly didn’t want either of them knowing about this business. And that was the one point he and Charlie agreed on. Charlie took a breath and let Liam have his say.
“I think right now you’d believe any explanation someone gave you,” said Liam, in a hushed voice. “It doesn’t make it true. How can a bloody island cause you to do these things? It’s not even possible.”
“Liam, you have to trust me on this...”
“Well, you don’t make it easy for me, baby brother. I know you threw away those pills they gave you at the hospital. I found them when I was clearing out the bins. It’s like you’re not even trying to get better. And now you’re swallowing this woman’s story whole without even considering the possibilities...”
“There are no possibilities!” Charlie hissed under his breath. “This is real, Liam. It’s happening, and I’m supposed to save them.”
“You?” spluttered Liam, in desperation. “What could you do?”
Charlie’s face fell. For a moment his brother sounded like the Liam of years ago, when he had convinced Charlie he was useless without the band. Liam had put him down his whole life, told him he would always need his big brother to get by, but Charlie wasn’t buying it anymore. He knew what Liam was trying to do now, it was a last ditch effort to manipulate him into staying, but it wasn’t going to work this time.
“Don’t do this Liam,” he said softly, forcing himself to remain calm. “I’m trying to protect you. If I stay then you, Karen and Meghan could all be in danger. These people might target you in order to get to me - I couldn’t live with myself if that happened. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, Li. I mean that. This isn’t forever. I’ll see you again, I promise, but I have to do this...”
Charlie glanced at his brother again and it seemed like Liam was regarding him with fresh eyes. He wasn’t looking at Charlie like he was useless or even crazy. He was looking at him with respect and an almost fearful awe. Maybe it was Charlie spelling out that Karen and Meghan were in danger that had finally caused it to sink in. Because at long last it seemed that Liam was taking him seriously.
His older brother sighed, defeated.
“Here you are taking responsibility for something and I’m trying to stop you,” Liam muttered shaking his head, a grim smile on his face.
Liam reached under the table and clasped his brother’s hand.
“Charlie, if you really are in some kind of danger...and I can’t help you then...then please do what you need to do to protect yourself...and protect them.”
The brothers flinched. Karen was laughing and calling to them from the living room. Apparently there was something hilarious on TV which they were missing. Charlie turned back to Liam who was staring Charlie firmly in the eye.
“I’ll be gone by morning,” Charlie told him in a whisper. “Don’t worry. Penny’s people will find me. They’ll protect me. You need to protect your own family.”
Liam nodded, stiffly. His eyes were glistening but he held his jaw firm, knowing that they would soon have to join Karen and pretend nothing was wrong.
“Look out for yourself, you hear?” Liam said tightly. “Take anything you need. Money, food, protection. I’ll cover it with Karen.”
Charlie felt his eyes stinging with tears too. “Thanks Li. Thanks for believing in me.”
Liam and Charlie shared no more words, but returned to the living room where they forced themselves to laugh at Karen’s TV show. The three of them went up to bed an hour later. Charlie hugged them both on the landing with Liam hugging him like he didn’t wish to let go. But finally he did let go and went reluctantly to bed with his wife while Charlie slipped into his own room. He quietly pulled a bag out from the closet and started gathering clothes from his drawers. He suddenly remembered Penny’s suggestion that he disguise himself and quickly redressed in a plain black T-shirt and dark navy jeans.
When all was quiet in the house, Charlie crept downstairs with his backpack. It took him ages to find where Liam had hidden the scissors and razors. Once he located them at the bottom of the stationary cupboard he took them into the bathroom and stood before the mirror. Charlie narrowed his eyes on the dark roots of his blonde hair. Taking a deep breath, he took the scissors in hand and started cutting. He trimmed his hair until it was less than an inch in length then he lathered up his face and shaved away his beard. He blinked at his clean face and cropped hair in the mirror. Even he could barely recognise himself.
Charlie returned to the living room. He remembered Liam’s offer about taking what he needed. He didn’t have any money of his own. With a guilty wince, he took Liam’s wallet from where it lay on the mantel piece and lifted Karen’s handbag from a nearby chair. He filled his pockets with their loose change and took one of Liam’s credit cards, which he decided he would keep in case of emergencies and post back to his brother after he met with Penny. He also took a can of pepper spray that he discovered in Karen’s bag; the closest thing to a weapon.
Charlie then lifted his rucksack and headed into the corridor. He took his brother’s leather jacket down from the pegs and slipped it onto his shoulders. The coat smelt like Liam and Charlie found that comforting and reassuring. Something clunked against his chest so he patted the inside breast pocket and discovered a pair of dark glasses which he supposed would be handy when day broke.
Charlie was about to step through the door when he heard a light pattering of footsteps behind him.
“He’s here! He’s here!” a voice whispered excitedly.
Charlie turned to see Meghan scurrying down the stairs with her toy bunny nestled in the crook of her elbow. When she saw him by the door however, Meghan halted, her eyes gaping and her jaw dropping as she took in his strange new appearance. Charlie raised a finger to his lips and then came to squat down in front of her.
“Were you expecting Father Christmas?” asked Charlie.
Meghan nodded, still seeming bewildered.
“Sorry Megs,” he apologised. “I haven’t got any presents for you. Except...” struck by a sudden inspiration, Charlie took off his Driveshaft ring and placed it in her palm. “Would you keep this safe for me?”
She looked down solemnly at the ring in her hand and then she looked up at him querulously.
“You’re going away?” she asked him.
“Yeah,” Charlie admitted. “I have to.”
Meghan nodded with an instant understanding and acceptance that Liam and Karen had never granted him. Charlie smiled at his niece. Her eyes were round as Aarons and her hair was yellow as Claire’s...
“You’ve got to promise me something, Megs,” he said softly. “Don’t worry about me while I’m gone. Look after your mum and dad for me, yeah?”
Meghan nodded again and then reached her small arms and wrapped them around his neck. Charlie closed his eyes and squeezed her back, trying to swallow past the lump in his throat. After a moment, he pulled back from her embrace carefully, giving his niece one last smile and then he stood and walked out, shutting the door behind him so that he couldn’t look back.