Fanfiction #162 - Tree Branch of Doom
Title: Tree Branch of Doom
Rating/warnings: PG
Genre: romance, crack, humour
Character/s: Charlie/Claire, cameos from Hurley and Desmond
Spoilers: sometime before Catch-22
Summary: AU. Charlie and Claire are trying to have a sleep in. Unfortunately, even their shelter isn’t safe anymore in the wake of Desmond’s flashes.
Disclaimer: Lost isn’t mine etcetera.
~*~
Claire awoke slowly, the sun seemed to be high in the sky outside and she wondered vaguely what the time was. Aaron was snuffling quietly in his cradle next to her and…
She became very aware suddenly of what it was that had woken her and she looked down to see Charlie’s head on her shoulder and further away, his fingertips drawing lazy circles on the soft skin of her belly where her rucked up singlet had exposed it. When she moved her face down to rub against his however, he opened his eyes in surprise and gave a small moan of protest.
“Don’t get up,” he murmured, nuzzling her back down and closing his eyes again. “It’s so nice… so nice…”
Claire smiled indulgently as he cuddled closer into her side. She’d almost forgotten what it felt like to have another body pressed against your own. It had always filled her with warmth that had nothing to do with external body heat - and now was no exception.
Both of them slipped in and out of sleep for another hour or so but then the tranquillity was shattered by the sound of a large piece of wood creaking as it broke. Used to waking up at the slightest noise to feed her son, Claire’s eyes snapped open and she half sat up.
“What was that?” she said suddenly. Charlie moaned and snuggled into her, trying to coax her back into sleep again. “Oh get off...” she said impatiently as she struggled out of his strangling embrace. As she went to stand however, there was the sound of a gunshot close by and the entire camp seemed to tense momentarily.
Within an instant Aaron was in Claire’s arms and she was outside their shelter, Charlie scrambling after her.
“Did you hear that?” he said, still slightly groggy as he came to stand beside her, one hand rising to her shoulder and the other to touch Aaron’s peach fuzz hair protectively. “Who’d be hunting this close to camp?”
“It sounded really close didn’t it?” Claire agreed, turning back to her shelter with a frown. The creaking sound had increased and as Charlie followed her gaze it gave way to a sudden and sharp crack, followed swiftly by a rather hefty tree branch that came screaming down and flattened their shelter.
The two of them stood, completely frozen for a moment, staring at what, until several moments ago, had been their home.
And then Claire burst into giggles.
“What’s so bloody funny?” Charlie demanded and Claire sobered slightly as she began to shush her son who was bawling in her arms, having been upset so suddenly from his sleep.
“Well it was either laugh or burst into tears,” Claire’s brow furrowed in bemusement as she manhandled her son into Charlie’s arms. “Here, take him and shut him up while I take a better look at the damage.”
As Claire began to pick through the rubble, Charlie blanched suddenly. “Oh God… where’s my guitar? Don’t tell me it’s under the branch…”
“Hang on a second,” Claire pushed aside one of the shattered supporting poles and pulled up the roof tarp. Aaron’s cradle was mostly intact and the table was fine but her bag was trapped underneath the branch and seemed to have exploded on impact. Their supply of water was completely decimated, all of their bottles were either broken or punctured and their precious water was busily glugging out onto the sand.
“Claire? Can you see my guitar?” Charlie pressed, his voice anxious.
“Hang on…” Claire stepped over the branch and pulled the corner of the tarpaulin up a little bit, surveying the damage on the other side. Miraculously, Charlie’s guitar seemed untouched and she pulled it out of its case to show him.
Charlie practically collapsed with relief. “Thank God. What about everything else?”
“Well,” Claire picked her way back across the roof and over to Charlie where the two of them stood and surveyed the damage together. “I can’t move this branch by myself and my bag is trapped underneath it. Aaron’s cradle has been busted up pretty badly so we’ll have to fix it up again. Oh and our water supply is currently leaking into the sand.”
Charlie grimaced but Claire nudged him good naturedly. “Hey, at least you didn’t die.”
Charlie rolled his eyes darkly. “Yeah. Brilliant. How about you go get some help and I’ll look after Aaron while you guys clean up? I’ll probably trip over and smash my head open on a rock or something.”
Claire was gone in an instant, leaning Charlie’s guitar safely against a tree and heading off down the beach looking for anyone who might be able to help. Soon she was back at the remains of her shelter with a small group of people.
“Dude,” Hurley’s eyes went as round as CD’s when he saw what had happened. “How did this happen?”
“I dunno,” Claire frowned as she scanned the surrounding area for Charlie and Aaron. “We were sleeping in and then next minute I heard the branch creaking and just as we got out it fell down and crushed everything. Charlie? Are you there? Charlie!”
There was a crashing from the jungle and then next moment Charlie appeared looking rather dishevelled.
“What’s up?”
“Where’d you go?” Claire reached out to take his hand and lead him back to the shelter.
“Oh,” Charlie looked slightly embarrassed. “I had to go to the loo. I didn’t think you’d be back this quick.”
Hurley choked on a guffaw but quickly busied himself with kicking at the wreckage. “So what’re we doing exactly?”
“Helping me get this branch out of the way I guess,” Claire instructed awkwardly and everyone picked their way forward and began to move it.
They had barely made any headway however, when there was a second almighty crashing sound from the jungle and Desmond appeared looking utterly wild, rifle in hands. His eyes fell on the wreckage of the shelter and his face paled before he turned his eyes to Claire who was staring at him, surprised.
“Where’s Charlie?” he called hoarsely.
“Here,” Charlie stepped out from behind Hurley and waved one of Aaron’s pudgy arms cheerfully.
Desmond practically collapsed with relief.
“Thank God! I thought I might be too late…” he brandished the rifle and several people flinched. “I hoped that if I fired off a shot...”
“That was you?” Hurley demanded and a general muttering grew from the assembled crowd. “Dude, way to waste the ammo!”
Desmond gawped and then turned to Charlie who shrugged.
“If he hadn’t fired it I probably wouldn’t have gotten out of bed and then...well I didn’t get totalled by a tree so it doesn’t really matter but still. That would have been a really embarrassing way to go so thank you Desmond,” he concluded. “For wasting the bullets to save my arse.”
Those assembled glanced between Desmond and Charlie.
“Well then,” Desmond said. “I suppose I’ll just...go over there and...do...”
After a short pause and some vague hand gestures, Desmond turned away and padded off with his rifle. Claire and Hurley sidled up to Charlie as the other survivors slowly began to poke at the tree branch again.
“So...” Hurley began. “I think somebody forgot to take his crazy pills today.”
“Are you sure that you trust this guy to save your life?” Claire looked quite concerned as Desmond did a little hop-skip to get over a piece of seaweed and nearly dropped his gun. “He really does seem a bit...”
“Like the cheese has slid off the proverbial cracker,” Hurley put in, then looked offended at his friends awed stares. “Don’t look at me like that! My vocab does extend further than ‘dude’ and ‘awesome’ you know.”
“I wouldn’t have ever picked it,” Charlie grinned cheekily and got bopped on the head for his trouble. “Ow!”
“Let’s help get this stupid tree branch off your digs,” Hurley grumbled. “That way if Desmond goes el nutso and shoots us all at least we’ll have accomplished something.”
Rating/warnings: PG
Genre: romance, crack, humour
Character/s: Charlie/Claire, cameos from Hurley and Desmond
Spoilers: sometime before Catch-22
Summary: AU. Charlie and Claire are trying to have a sleep in. Unfortunately, even their shelter isn’t safe anymore in the wake of Desmond’s flashes.
Disclaimer: Lost isn’t mine etcetera.
~*~
Claire awoke slowly, the sun seemed to be high in the sky outside and she wondered vaguely what the time was. Aaron was snuffling quietly in his cradle next to her and…
She became very aware suddenly of what it was that had woken her and she looked down to see Charlie’s head on her shoulder and further away, his fingertips drawing lazy circles on the soft skin of her belly where her rucked up singlet had exposed it. When she moved her face down to rub against his however, he opened his eyes in surprise and gave a small moan of protest.
“Don’t get up,” he murmured, nuzzling her back down and closing his eyes again. “It’s so nice… so nice…”
Claire smiled indulgently as he cuddled closer into her side. She’d almost forgotten what it felt like to have another body pressed against your own. It had always filled her with warmth that had nothing to do with external body heat - and now was no exception.
Both of them slipped in and out of sleep for another hour or so but then the tranquillity was shattered by the sound of a large piece of wood creaking as it broke. Used to waking up at the slightest noise to feed her son, Claire’s eyes snapped open and she half sat up.
“What was that?” she said suddenly. Charlie moaned and snuggled into her, trying to coax her back into sleep again. “Oh get off...” she said impatiently as she struggled out of his strangling embrace. As she went to stand however, there was the sound of a gunshot close by and the entire camp seemed to tense momentarily.
Within an instant Aaron was in Claire’s arms and she was outside their shelter, Charlie scrambling after her.
“Did you hear that?” he said, still slightly groggy as he came to stand beside her, one hand rising to her shoulder and the other to touch Aaron’s peach fuzz hair protectively. “Who’d be hunting this close to camp?”
“It sounded really close didn’t it?” Claire agreed, turning back to her shelter with a frown. The creaking sound had increased and as Charlie followed her gaze it gave way to a sudden and sharp crack, followed swiftly by a rather hefty tree branch that came screaming down and flattened their shelter.
The two of them stood, completely frozen for a moment, staring at what, until several moments ago, had been their home.
And then Claire burst into giggles.
“What’s so bloody funny?” Charlie demanded and Claire sobered slightly as she began to shush her son who was bawling in her arms, having been upset so suddenly from his sleep.
“Well it was either laugh or burst into tears,” Claire’s brow furrowed in bemusement as she manhandled her son into Charlie’s arms. “Here, take him and shut him up while I take a better look at the damage.”
As Claire began to pick through the rubble, Charlie blanched suddenly. “Oh God… where’s my guitar? Don’t tell me it’s under the branch…”
“Hang on a second,” Claire pushed aside one of the shattered supporting poles and pulled up the roof tarp. Aaron’s cradle was mostly intact and the table was fine but her bag was trapped underneath the branch and seemed to have exploded on impact. Their supply of water was completely decimated, all of their bottles were either broken or punctured and their precious water was busily glugging out onto the sand.
“Claire? Can you see my guitar?” Charlie pressed, his voice anxious.
“Hang on…” Claire stepped over the branch and pulled the corner of the tarpaulin up a little bit, surveying the damage on the other side. Miraculously, Charlie’s guitar seemed untouched and she pulled it out of its case to show him.
Charlie practically collapsed with relief. “Thank God. What about everything else?”
“Well,” Claire picked her way back across the roof and over to Charlie where the two of them stood and surveyed the damage together. “I can’t move this branch by myself and my bag is trapped underneath it. Aaron’s cradle has been busted up pretty badly so we’ll have to fix it up again. Oh and our water supply is currently leaking into the sand.”
Charlie grimaced but Claire nudged him good naturedly. “Hey, at least you didn’t die.”
Charlie rolled his eyes darkly. “Yeah. Brilliant. How about you go get some help and I’ll look after Aaron while you guys clean up? I’ll probably trip over and smash my head open on a rock or something.”
Claire was gone in an instant, leaning Charlie’s guitar safely against a tree and heading off down the beach looking for anyone who might be able to help. Soon she was back at the remains of her shelter with a small group of people.
“Dude,” Hurley’s eyes went as round as CD’s when he saw what had happened. “How did this happen?”
“I dunno,” Claire frowned as she scanned the surrounding area for Charlie and Aaron. “We were sleeping in and then next minute I heard the branch creaking and just as we got out it fell down and crushed everything. Charlie? Are you there? Charlie!”
There was a crashing from the jungle and then next moment Charlie appeared looking rather dishevelled.
“What’s up?”
“Where’d you go?” Claire reached out to take his hand and lead him back to the shelter.
“Oh,” Charlie looked slightly embarrassed. “I had to go to the loo. I didn’t think you’d be back this quick.”
Hurley choked on a guffaw but quickly busied himself with kicking at the wreckage. “So what’re we doing exactly?”
“Helping me get this branch out of the way I guess,” Claire instructed awkwardly and everyone picked their way forward and began to move it.
They had barely made any headway however, when there was a second almighty crashing sound from the jungle and Desmond appeared looking utterly wild, rifle in hands. His eyes fell on the wreckage of the shelter and his face paled before he turned his eyes to Claire who was staring at him, surprised.
“Where’s Charlie?” he called hoarsely.
“Here,” Charlie stepped out from behind Hurley and waved one of Aaron’s pudgy arms cheerfully.
Desmond practically collapsed with relief.
“Thank God! I thought I might be too late…” he brandished the rifle and several people flinched. “I hoped that if I fired off a shot...”
“That was you?” Hurley demanded and a general muttering grew from the assembled crowd. “Dude, way to waste the ammo!”
Desmond gawped and then turned to Charlie who shrugged.
“If he hadn’t fired it I probably wouldn’t have gotten out of bed and then...well I didn’t get totalled by a tree so it doesn’t really matter but still. That would have been a really embarrassing way to go so thank you Desmond,” he concluded. “For wasting the bullets to save my arse.”
Those assembled glanced between Desmond and Charlie.
“Well then,” Desmond said. “I suppose I’ll just...go over there and...do...”
After a short pause and some vague hand gestures, Desmond turned away and padded off with his rifle. Claire and Hurley sidled up to Charlie as the other survivors slowly began to poke at the tree branch again.
“So...” Hurley began. “I think somebody forgot to take his crazy pills today.”
“Are you sure that you trust this guy to save your life?” Claire looked quite concerned as Desmond did a little hop-skip to get over a piece of seaweed and nearly dropped his gun. “He really does seem a bit...”
“Like the cheese has slid off the proverbial cracker,” Hurley put in, then looked offended at his friends awed stares. “Don’t look at me like that! My vocab does extend further than ‘dude’ and ‘awesome’ you know.”
“I wouldn’t have ever picked it,” Charlie grinned cheekily and got bopped on the head for his trouble. “Ow!”
“Let’s help get this stupid tree branch off your digs,” Hurley grumbled. “That way if Desmond goes el nutso and shoots us all at least we’ll have accomplished something.”