hopelessfangirl

Title: Are We There Yet?
Fandom: Lost
Characters/Pairing: Charlie/Claire
Rating: PG
Word Count: 482
Spoilers: Vaguely, not specifically, for the series up to 5x17 - The Incident
Summary: Charlie, Claire and the 815 passengers find themselves in a familiar situation.
Disclaimer: I don't own Lost. At all.
Author's Notes: For

emiliglia, who requested S6 Speculation and

hitlikehammers who requested airplanes at

lostsquee's 2009 Luau. Now, I'm not sure if this has any actual likelihood of happening, but it's what I would like to see happen next season somehow. I like the idea of the "reset," but with memories remaining intact. I hope you like it!

_________________________________

Charlie's eyes shot open. His skin was crawling; he needed a fix.

Wait--

He needed a fix?

Charlie blinked around, slowly becoming aware of his surroundings. He was on a plane. Not just any plane -- the plane. Oceanic 815, heading from Sydney to L.A.

Shouting and screaming surrounded him. He could barely hear himself think. It reminded him of all of the commotion after the plane had crashed, only this time everything was still intact and no one was hurt. This time, he realized as he heard a chorus of Kate!s and Jin!s and Sayid!s, everyone knew each other's names.

Charlie quickly unbuckled his seatbelt on a mission to look for Hurley or Jack or someone who might know what the hell was going on. He spun around and bumped into someone who was standing frozen amongst the chaos in the middle of the aisle.

"'scuse m--" The rest of Charlie's words caught in his throat when he saw what he had made contact with. Claire was staring at him, her eyes frightened and her mouth agape. She looked like she had seen a ghost.

Charlie took in the sight of her and stared back with equal astonishment. Both of her hands cradled her huge, protruding belly. Charlie fleetingly wondered if the withdrawal hallucinations had started.

Cautiously, Claire brought a hand to Charlie's face. She was still expecting him to be a mirage; that her hand would go straight through him and he would waft away like smoke. She let out a sob and a sigh of relief when the backs of her fingers brushed his stubbly cheek. Charlie leaned into her touch and closed his eyes. He reached for her hands and locked his fingers in with hers.

"You were gone, Charlie," she said. "And Aar--" -- she looked down at her stomach -- "...I don't understand what's happening."

"Neither do I, love," he replied, shaking his head. "Last thing I remember, I was visiting Hurley somewhere."

Charlie glanced around. Rose and Bernard were holding each other outside the bathroom door, looking concerned. Sun and Jin were hugging Walt and Michael. Boone and Shannon looked utterly bewildered.

The intercom light came on but its message could not be heard over the noise. Suddenly the plane jolted and everyone let out a collective gasp. Charlie steadied his footing and guided Claire into a seat. "It's okay, we're gonna be okay," he said desperately. They both shut their eyes as tight as their grip on the other's hand, bracing for the impact.

When the plane began steadying, Claire opened one eye and looked out the window. She saw tarmac lined with palm trees that feebly hid the tall buildings behind them. "Charlie," she said. He opened his eyes. "Are we in--?"

Charlie looked out the window, then back at Claire.

"L.A.?" they both said in unison.

The baby kicked.