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Post by Claire on Jun 5, 2007 3:19:44 GMT
Claire stuck out her bottom lip slightly in a pout. "I can blame it on you all I want," she retorted, sitting back so that she was on her butt in the sand. Yeah, it was wet and cold, but she didn't really care yet. In Claire's mind, this whole fiasco really was Desmond's fault. He'd been there with Charlie. He could've stopped it. Hell, he'd been the one to bring over the alcohol!
When Desmond splashed her, she didn't retaliate. She just sat there in the water as the waves lapped up against her waist. Claire stared out into the blackness of the sea with unfocused eyes, not even really thinking about anything. She just felt so... numb. Maybe it was the cold water she was submerged in, or maybe it was her emotions. It was hard to tell. "I just want all the bad feelings to go away, Desmond," she said after a moment.
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Post by desmond on Jun 5, 2007 4:22:17 GMT
"I just want all the bad feelings to go away, Desmond,"
Desmond didn't know how to respond to that, as he sat there dripping wet, seawater dropping down his freezing skin. He wanted the exact same thing as her, but like her, he knew of no possible way to make everything suddenly better. That was one of the consequences of death, he now knew. Suffering for all involved.
He simply sat down beside Claire as the water washed over their legs, the sea foam remaining for a few seconds as the tide receded but eventually disappearing and leaving only cold and wetness. He stared off into the darkness, there was no longer any remnant of the sunlight.
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Post by Claire on Jun 5, 2007 4:34:59 GMT
Claire noticed Desmond sit down next to her out of the corner of her eye, but she didn't do anything about it. Simply continued to stare out to sea. Her head was starting to pound from all the alcohol, but there wasn't anything she could do about it. Maybe if she sat here in the ocean long enough, she'd freeze. Then she wouldn't have to worry about all these feelings.
She remembered the first time she'd met Charlie. The night of the plane crash, he'd insisted on giving her his blanket so she would be warm. He was sweet from the very beginning. He was always there for her whenever she needed him. Of course, there had been bad times, but they had somehow pulled through all of those and formed a strong relationship. Their first kiss... it stuck in Claire's memory so strongly that it seemed as if it just happened. Then there was their last kiss... right before Charlie left. She thought he'd be safe, she thought she'd see him again. But now... now he was gone. Gone forever. There would be no more joking, no more playing around, no more anything with Charlie. The only thing that Claire had left of him were her memories and the items of his that he'd left behind. That was all.
She noticed that she was crying again, tears streaming down her face in the darkness. Claire sniffed and leaned her head on Desmond's shoulder, quietly crying against him. She was shaking, but she didn't know if that was from the tears or from the cold. "I miss him," she whispered, almost silently. "I miss him so much."
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Post by desmond on Jun 13, 2007 4:27:11 GMT
Desmond knew then that there were no words that could comfort her, no words that could bring Charlie back..no words that could do anything but have a chance at making things worse. So he didn't say anything at all, even as Claire leaned her head over onto his shoulder. She was shivering up a storm, and his body was no warmer than hers, but he put an arm around her shoulders nonetheless.
Desmond did not move for a minute or two, and then a sharp, sudden breeze whipped over the both of him, and he found that his teeth were nearly chattering. Desmond looked to Claire and figured she had felt that, too. So, with a hiccup, he stood and offered both hands to Claire. One hand didn't seem like enough.
"I'm bloody freezing, and so are you. Let's get our wet butts back to the tent." he said, the wind blowing his wet hair somewhat.
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Post by Claire on Jun 13, 2007 5:47:25 GMT
Claire wasn't sure how long she sat there, shivering and crying against Desmond. It seemed like hours, but in reality it was only minutes. The sound of his voice actually startled her. She jumped slightly when he spoke, noticing that her teeth were chattering and she was actually shivering a lot. She didn't say anything, only wiped her eyes with a shaking hand. Claire grabbed onto both of Desmond's hands (taking two times to actually grab onto them), and slowly pulled herself up to a standing position.
Standing up was worse than sitting in the freezing water. She was very exposed to the chill night wind, making her shiver even more. "I-I-I don't th-think I have extra bl-blankets," she commented. They were both cold, but Claire didn't have any extra blankets to keep them both warm. Hmm... So, for the moment, she kept close to Desmond. Sure, there wasn't much body heat, but it was the thought that counted, right?
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Post by desmond on Jun 13, 2007 5:57:59 GMT
Desmond nodded as they slowly made their way away from the water, cutting through the breeze as the breeze cut through them. He was staring intensely at the ground, using the minimal moonlight to try and avoid rocks or shells and things. After a bit of stumbling, a lot of shivering and endless teeth chattering they made it to the entrance to Claire's tent.
"There are a few options..I think.." The freezing water had sopered him up a little, but the price wasn't really worth it. He would be VERY sick the next day. "I could go all the way back to my tent, come back or stay there," he said. His tent was a good ways away, and it was freezing outside. "I stay here, and we share the blankets and sleep now.." He was very tired, that seemed like an attractive option.
"Or we try and make a fire, and stay up long enough to dry off." He didn't have a lighter, or firewood collected, so this option was a little unlikely.
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Post by Claire on Jun 13, 2007 6:08:13 GMT
As soon as they got into the tent, Claire half-sat half-fell onto her bed. She pulled her legs up to her chest, hugging them close to her body as she shook from the cold. Her clothes were wet, and cold, which was not making the situation any better. It was cold. It was pretty damn cold. That's all Claire was thinking about at the moment.
Desmond stated the three different options. She listened half-heartedly; her mind was numb from cold and emotions. She just wanted to get warm and get to sleep. Now that Claire was sitting and not really doing anything, she noticed just how badly she felt. Her head felt like someone was beating it with a sledgehammer up against a brick wall. Not to mention the fact that she was shaking all over. That didn't help.
She looked up at Desmond and shrugged slightly (though you couldn't really tell it was a shrug from all her shivering). "I don't c-care. Whatever y-you want." Claire just wanted it all to stop, in one way or another.
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Post by desmond on Jun 13, 2007 6:15:53 GMT
Desmond hadn't taken a seat when he went inside, because he doubted he'd have been able to get back up. He heard something hitting the tarp from the outside, it sounded like maybe leaves or something..But when Desmond took a step into the night air to look at what it was..he realized it was starting to rain. "Blimey.." he muttered under his breath, and it wasn't often that he found a use for that word.
Before the rain could intensify, Desmond hurried back to the safety of Claire's tent. He was still freezing. Going back over the options, the choice involvilg him not going anywhere seemed to be the best one. "Given that we have a wee bit o' precipitation, I think I have t' stay here..If ye don't mind." he said, looking down at Claire. She seemed like she didn't care, whatever he did.
"But if that happens..I think that the only way we'll survive the night is to share body warmth.." he said, with some hesitation.
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Post by Claire on Jun 13, 2007 6:25:55 GMT
Claire glanced outside when Desmond stepped out, wondering what he was doing. She faintly saw the water falling from the sky. Great... more water, she thought bitterly. That was all she needed. She looked over at Aaron's cradle. The baby wasn't making a sound, despite the sounds of the rain now coming from outside. Claire had a feeling that she would be sleeping like that in about ten minutes or so.
Then Desmond mentioned staying here, sharing body warmth. She felt like there was something wrong with that. What would Charlie think? Claire didn't want to have him thinking that she was sleeping with Desmond just because he wasn't here. She didn't want anyone else to think that, either, really.
She got a chill in her spine, making her whole body shudder. Claire figured that it would be okay if Desmond stayed. After all, it was cold outside. And raining. And they were both pretty drunk (which may not have been a positive argument...). After a moment, Claire nodded at Desmond. "Yeah, okay," she said, slowly kicking off her soggy shoes and peeling of her soaked socks, still staying in as much of a ball as she could to keep herself warm. She didn't want to sleep in drenched clothing, after all.
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Post by desmond on Jun 13, 2007 6:35:16 GMT
Desmond had innately feared that Claire wouldn't be comfortable with him staying and would've told him to leave. He was thankful she had accepted his offer, because he knew he wouldn't have made it trying to drag his drunken arse back to his own tent, while dark, cold, and raining. Someone would've found him facedown in the sand somewhere.
It took him a while before he realized what he had to do. Very tentatively, Desmond took off his shoes, socks..and then his shirt. He tossed it in the far corner of the tent, away from everyone including Aaron. He left on everything else, despite the fact that his pants were soaked through and also freezing. Desmond ran a hand through his drying hair and kept it out of his face.
Also slowly, with hesitation, Desmond lowered himself onto the makeshift cot beside Claire. She was curled up very tightly..and he pulled the small blanket over them. It didn't cover his feet, and he frowned at that. Their faces were only inches apart, that was how close at least they had to be if they both wanted to be covered..and the blanket only helped a little.
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Post by Claire on Jun 13, 2007 6:47:26 GMT
Claire thought about changing out of her wet clothes. But that would involve getting up and actually changing, which required movement and energy, neither of which she was willing to give up. So she stayed in bed with soaked pants and a damp shirt. It wouldn't do much with the warmth factor, but at least she didn't have to get up to find a change of clothes.
It was awkward at first, seeing Desmond climb into bed with her without his shirt on. She was glad that she wasn't quite drunk enough to be doing the same thing and making a complete idiot out of herself. That would be awful. But the both of them were lying down - very close together - with the blanket draped over top of them. Had she not been so tired, drunk, and freezing, Claire would not have allowed this. But... she was tired, drunk, and freezing, so exceptions had to be made.
Claire closed her eyes and, with a small shiver, got a little closer to Desmond; they both needed all the warmth they could get. Without opening her eyes, she muttered, "G'night, Desmond."
She was asleep in less than a minute.
Of course, sleep can't last forever. Claire's eyes popped open the next morning shortly after the sun had risen. Why had she waken up from such a deep sleep. Two things.
One, Aaron was crying. Without really thinking, Claire started to roll out of the bed to go and fetch the baby. That's when the second thing made itself noticed. At her movement, her stomach rudely reminded her of the drinking from the night before. It had been a lot of drinking, and her stomach was not agreeing with it. Claire had just enough time to stumble out behind her tent before throwing up in the bushes.
When she was finished, Claire just sat there for a moment, making sure she wasn't going to get hit with another wave of nausea. Wiping her mouth, she slowly got to her feet and made her way over to where Aaron was fussing. His crying was giving her such a headache!
She rubbed her eyes and picked the baby up out of his cradle, holding him up against his chest. Claire looked over at her bed at Desmond. Her first thought was Why the hell is Desmond sleeping in my bed?! Then she remembered. Oh.
This was going to be a long day...
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Post by desmond on Jun 13, 2007 7:40:50 GMT
"Ugghhhh..."
That was the sound of waking from a very hung-over Scotsman. He heard the sound of a fussy baby..but it was as if the sound was far away, or behind some shield made of glass. Desmond opened his eyes, and what he saw with blurred vision made no sense. With a great bit of effort, he pushed himself up on his hands and knees and realized he was on Claire's cot.
It took almost a minute to figure out why he was laying there, why there was a baby crying, and why his head hurt as if a lumberjack had mistaken it for a tree. He had gotten very drunk last night, and didn't remember exactly what happened..But he was here, shirtless..in her bed. His jeans felt slightly damp..and he couldn't imagine why.
His stomach ached and his face felt stuffy. He sat up on his knees and looked over at Claire. "What happened..?" he asked her, rubbing his head.
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Post by Claire on Jun 13, 2007 7:48:09 GMT
Claire sat down in the sand and closed her eyes as she rocked Aaron in her arms, trying to block out the sounds of his crying. In all reality, he wasn't even being that loud. But everything seemed amplified. Why did she drink so much? This was why she'd told herself she'd stop drinking.
She groggily opened her eyes and look over at Desmond as he spoke, asking what had happened. "Hmm? Oh... I dunno. We drank. A lot. Then it was cold," she said, as if it explained everything. The events of the previous night were nothing but a big blur at the moment. She remembered drinking, she remembered sitting in the ocean. Claire had no idea how she had gotten to be in the ocean, or how she had gotten back to her tent, but she knew that those two events did happen. Everything else was just bits and pieces that didn't make any sense.
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Post by desmond on Jun 13, 2007 7:57:55 GMT
Desmond was satisfied enough with her answer, and that was partly due to the fact that his throat was so dry that talking actually caused his throat to hurt a little bit. He looked around for his shirt, and he found it off to the side. It was also somewhat damp. He left it where it was, deciding not to put it back on for now. He was dry enough. He put a hand on his head, but it didn't stop the throbbing. "Hell.." he said hoarsely.
"Do you have any water?" he asked his blonde host, as he sat there on the cot. He didn't know what had happened and figured that she didn't know anything beyond what she'd already said. His eyes foubd a large, empty bottle laying in the sand nearby..and he realized that was what they had spent the night emptying. It had also been one of his..He must've brought it.
"Sorry about the liquor.." he murmured.
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Post by Claire on Jun 13, 2007 16:34:59 GMT
Aaron had stopped crying for the most part, making Claire feel much better. Well, the noise didn't make her want to pull her hair out, at least. She didn't exactly feel 'better', though. Just in less pain.
At the question of water, Claire drowsily looked around her tent. She always had a bottle or two around here somewhere, but she couldn't think of where they were at. She usually kept one near the bed. "Check the other side of the bed," she said, her voice soft and a bit slow. She would normally get up and find the bottle herself, but Claire had a feeling that if she tried to stand up, she'd just end up throwing up again.
"Sorry about the liquor.." he murmured.
"Me too," replied Claire, rubbing her red eyes with the heel of her hand.
She suddenly had a thought. A bad, alarming thought. Desmond was in her tent, shirtless. There was a large, empty bottle of alcohol. Usually, when two people of the opposite gender got wasted and ended up sleeping together, it meant that they had actually 'slept' together... in more ways than one. Had she and Desmond...? There were so many things from the previous night that she couldn't remember. That was a bad sign.
"Desmond..." Claire worriedly looked over at the shirtless Scotsman, almost afraid of what the answer was going to be. "Last night, did we..." She couldn't bring herself to even finish the sentence (probably a bad thing, as Desmond would likely not have a clue what she was talking about). What was she going to do if he told her that yes, they had been a little more than close last night? What if he told her that she should expect a half-Australian, half-Scottish baby in about nine months? What the hell would she do?
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