Come Back and Haunt Me

Characters: Claire, Miles, Kate, Hurley.
Rating: PG
Setting: Season four, sometime after “The Economist.”
Disclaimer: I do not own Lost or the amazingly relevant lyrics of Coldplay.
Summary: Miles reveals something shocking about Charlie.
Note: The lyrics at the beginning and end are both Coldplay songs - “The Scientist” and “Swallowed in the Sea.” I thought they both pertained to this story. And they’re both bloody amazing songs. The title of this story is actually a section from “The Scientist” so yeah. This is my first season four fic!

---

Tell me you love me; come back and haunt me

Oh, I rush to the start

Runnin’ in circles; chasin’ our tails

Comin’ back as we are.

Nobody said it was easy.

It’s such a shame for us to part.

Nobody said it was easy.

No one ever said it would be this hard.

I’m goin’ back to the start.

-The Scientist-

Coldplay

---

There was something so out of place - so painful, strange, and unreal - about Charlie’s death. Claire couldn’t quite put her finger on it. No one had really bothered to talk to her since the split in their group. No one looked her in the eye anymore. So she had a lot of time to think.

Sometimes, when they were walking, she thought if she looked behind her or next to her she’d see Charlie. Maybe talking to Hurley or throwing her a smile. But when she looked at Hurley, he’d be frowning and trudging after Locke. And when she looked for someone that was smiling…she couldn’t find them.

But, if Charlie was there, he would be.

Claire believed in ghosts. She had gone through a stage in her teenage years when she studied the paranormal and was convinced that some of it was the truth. That belief had carried over into her early twenties, even when she died her black hair back to her natural blonde, stopped wearing combat boots, and quit her job at the piercing parlor. She had exited her darker stage, but she was still convinced in life after death.

She wanted Charlie’s spirit to be around her now. It didn’t matter if she could see him or not - but she wanted to feel him. And still…a part of her wouldn’t believe he was dead. Maybe when she let the reality sink in…maybe then he’d come around. He probably didn’t like seeing her in denial.

She really wanted to talk to someone about it, but they’d all think she was going crazy. They were all avoiding her in the first place, so talking about Charlie’s ghost would only worsen her situation. Hurley might listen to her, but she was nearly positive that she would get a pity look from him in the end.

Instead, she clung to Aaron and stumbled after the group to wherever the hell Locke was leading them.

---

When Locke discovered that Kate, Sayid, and someone from the Freighter were coming to the barracks to take Charlotte, he devised a plan that didn’t include her. In fact, her job was to stay alone in one of the houses, locked away with Aaron.

Hurley wasn’t exactly thrilled to be the bait. While the two separate groups obviously had a difference in opinions, both he and Claire hated that they had resulted to tricks and lies and deceit against their own people. How long could they go on before they broke out into a war with one another?

Even though Claire was a couple houses away from the house Hurley had been tied up in, she could still hear most of the commotion. She was sitting on one of the beds with Aaron, changing his nappie and listening absently. Things started to die down, and Claire assumed that Locke’s idea had worked and they had taken Sayid, Kate, and this man from the Freighter captive. She wanted to go see Kate, but not in these circumstances. Kate was her friend - not her prisoner. Even the thought of it was upsetting. Claire didn’t think she could stomach seeing her locked up somewhere.

Once she was positive everything had gone smoothly, she lied down in the bed next to Aaron and fell asleep almost immediately.

But it wasn’t long until she was awoken. Someone was shaking her shoulder and talking to her. She opened one eye and saw Kate sitting on her bedside, smiling down at her slightly.

“Kate,” Claire smiled, sitting up and throwing her arms around her friend. “Kate, how did you-”

“Sayid exchanged Miles for Charlotte and he’s heading back to Jack now,” Kate said. “I decided to stay.”

“Miles?” Claire asked, a little more awake now.

“He’s from the Freighter. Don’t worry - they have him locked in one of the houses.”

Claire nodded slightly and yawned. She hadn’t realized just how tired she was. “I’m sure Sawyer was happy to see you.”

“Yeah,” Kate answered, but her voice seemed a little guilty and stiff. She didn’t add anything about Sawyer. And then Claire knew why. “Claire? Are you all right?”

Claire frowned and she pulled at a thread sticking out of one of the blankets. “I don’t know. I don’t think so.”

Kate put an arm around her and hugged her from the side. “If it makes you feel better, the people with Jack aren’t there because they don’t believe Charlie. It’s because they have a chance at getting rescued and they’re going to take it no matter what.”

Claire shrugged. She honestly didn’t want to talk about it. She didn’t want to hear any explanation on why the people that were on Jack’s side were there. It was enough that Desmond, who had drug Charlie to his death for all Claire knew, had picked Jack’s side. Without even a word to her. She felt betrayed by him. She felt he owed her some sort of explanation. The jumbled mess of a story that Hurley told her later didn’t suffice. She had questions, Desmond had answers, and he chose the side opposite hers to avoid those questions. And then there were Sun and Rose. They were her friends, and yet before the split they didn’t say a single word to her. But Claire didn’t know how she would’ve responded to any kind of condolence someone offered. She had been a teary, sobbing mess the last time she saw them. She probably wouldn’t have even talked to herself, either.

“Claire, we all liked Charlie. What happened…it was a mistake. Jack’s been beating himself up about, and he knows-”

“I don’t want to talk about it, ok?” Claire said hollowly. “I’d rather just have some time to think about it.”

Kate frowned slightly and nodded. “Ok. But I have something for you.”

Kate pulled her backpack up off the floor and onto the bed. She opened it and pulled out Charlie’s black jacket, tossing it to Claire and smiling slightly.

“Sorry. I took it when we were packing for the radio tower. I meant to…I meant to give it to you before you left with Locke.”

Claire didn’t say anything as she clung to the black fabric. It smelled like the ocean, sand, and wind. When she put her hands in the pockets, she could feel the dirt and grains of sand that had collected there. Some of the black was faded. The zipper was chipped. It was limp in her hands - old and worn. It was Charlie’s, and it felt like Charlie’s. And that was, at least, enough for now.

“Thanks,” Claire muttered, carefully placing it down on the bed.

“You want to know something cool?” Kate asked, kicking off her muddy shoes and pulling her legs up on the bed and crossing them. For a moment, Claire thought she looked like a little girl at a slumber party who was eager to tell her friends about her latest crush. If Kate brought up Sawyer, Claire might have to slap her.

“I guess,” Claire muttered. “What is it?”

“Miles is a ghost whisperer. And I thought you might be interested, because I remember that day we were looking for hair brushes, and you knew I was a Gemini. And you wanted to do my chart. I thought maybe you might be interested in something he has to say about…about…you know.”

“About Charlie? You can say his name, Kate.”

“Yeah,” Kate nodded. “So?”

“So what? He’s probably a fake. I don’t want to talk to someone from that freighter, anyway.”

“He’s not a fake,” Kate assured her. “When we found him, I told him how Naomi died. He wouldn’t believe me until we took him to her body. He did this…chanting thing. And then he said that she died like I said, so he let us off easy. I think he might be real, Claire.”

“Charlie’s body isn’t even here,” Claire said distastefully. “It won’t work.”

Claire almost wanted to try. But he was one of the people Charlie had warned her against. If he was truly a ghost whisperer as Kate believed, Claire supposed he could talk to Charlie, even with the absence of his body. That could be the closest Claire ever got to Charlie again. And with the rate people were dying on the Island - and the fact that he was a potential threat - Claire didn’t know how long Miles would be around. Later, she might regret not talking to him.

“Sorry,” Kate muttered. “I shouldn’t have even brought it up. I just figured…you’re into that stuff, right? I thought you would want to know about him.”

Kate pulled her shoes back on and grabbed her backpack, heading for the door.

“Kate?”

Kate glanced back over at her. “Yeah?”

“So how convinced are you about this…this paranormal stuff? After three months on the Island and then this guy?”

“Pretty convinced.”

Claire smiled dryly. “Will you let me do your chart now?”

Kate laughed. “Maybe someday.”

Claire picked up Aaron, wrapped him in Charlie’s jacket, and walked with Kate to the door. “Lets go.”

---

Claire and Kate left the house and walked down the sidewalk path to the next. Kate opened the door, glanced around, and motioned to Claire that it was safe to come inside. Claire followed in hesitantly and glanced around.

“What if Locke finds out?” she asked nervously.

“Locke isn’t going to find out. And so what if he does? It’s not like he can do anything about it.”

“Except throw knives in our backs. There’s always that.”

Kate smiled slightly. “Don’t worry about Locke.” Kate led Claire down a hallway, around a corner, and to a door at the end of a corridor where Hurley was stationed outside, looking rather bored and irritated.

“Hurley, we need to see Miles,” Kate said, walking up to him. Claire followed.

Hurley glanced up at Kate from where he was sitting. “Haha, yeah right.”

“I’m serious,” Kate said sternly.

“I don’t care!” Hurley said. “Locke put me in charge of this. And just because you’re on our side now doesn’t mean that-”

“It’s for Charlie,” Claire put in gently.

Hurley winced slightly. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? I’m not an idiot. Charlie’s…Charlie’s…he di- …he’s not here anymore.”

“Look, Hurley, Miles is a ghost whisperer. And Claire wants to talk to him about Charlie. Besides - you owe me after you tricked Sayid and I.”

Hurley considered this and sighed. “Damn it. Fine.” He glanced around nervously. “But if Locke finds out he’s going to kill us all.”

“Yeah, but what’s new?” Claire asked bitterly as she carefully handed Aaron over to Hurley.

Kate took the keys from Hurley and unlocked the door. They walked in and found Miles sitting on the edge of one of the beds, staring off at the wall. When they walked in, he glanced over at them and smirked.

“Oh, it’s Xena.” He glanced at Claire. “You must be her friend Gabby.”

Kate rolled her eyes. “We get it, you’re good with the nicknames.”

Claire stayed back slightly, watching Miles warily. If he wasn’t going to take anything seriously, she didn’t think she should even bother.

Miles was Asian, but Claire couldn’t tell which country he was from. He was short - maybe five-seven or five-eight and he was growing a goatee. He was young, but he also seemed rather bitter and obviously sarcastic. He came off as a man that would make fun of her instead of trying to help.

But Claire decided to not back out.

“I can do this,” Claire told Kate, turning to her. “You can go wait outside.”

“No,” Kate said, shaking her head. “No way am I leaving you in here with him.”

“Just stay right outside,” Claire said, walking with Kate to the door. She took Aaron briefly, unwrapping him from Charlie’s jacket and throwing it over her arm. She then handed Aaron back to Hurley.

“He might need something that belonged to Charlie,” Claire explained, glancing back over her shoulder at Miles who was watching them and trying to make out their words. “That’s usually how this stuff works.”

Claire turned back around, closing the door on Hurley and Kate and walking up to Miles nervously.

“Hi, I’m Claire,” she introduced herself as she sat down in a chair.

Miles snorted. “So they give the brunette chick a gun, use the fat vulnerable nice guy as bait, and send a five-foot blonde in to interrogate me. What happened to your good men?”

“He died.”

Miles’ forehead creased and he frowned. “So that’s what this is about? The warrior princess told you I-”

“You’re a Spiritualist,” Claire nodded. “Kate said you talked to Naomi. Could you…could you talk to my boyfriend?”

“What’s his name?”

“Charlie Pace.”

“How’d he kick the bucket?”

Claire winced and bit her lip. “Could you be a little more respectful?”

Miles smirked. “Oh, sorry, how did he perish?”

Claire glared at him and wrung the jacket on her lap. “Is this how you always treat your clients?”

“No. But I’m not usually being held captive by my clients, either.”

“Well, it’s not my fault they’re doing this to you. I’m not looking for anything from you other than information about Charlie. That’s all.”

Miles sighed. “Ok then. How did he pass?”

“He drowned,” Claire answered, her voice breaking slightly.

“In the ocean?”

“No, on land!” Claire exclaimed angrily.

“I need specifics!” Miles yelled back with equal irritation. “You want this to work or not?!”

Claire took a deep breath and went on to explain Charlie’s mission in the Looking Glass station and how he drowned in the control room. Miles absorbed it all, and for a moment she thought maybe he was done with his snaky remarks. But once she finished the complete story, he said-

“A drowning case? No body? We’re nowhere near the area he died or any place he spent time in? That’s gonna be about four hundred bucks.”

“Shut up,” Claire snapped, practically throwing the jacket on him. “That belonged to him. I thought it could help.”

Miles glanced at her with a slightly softened expression, and then down at the jacket. He took it in his hands and turned it over. He started muttering to himself and talking.

Claire’s eyes widened slightly and she leaned forward in her chair. “You’re talking to him?!” she asked excitedly.

Miles held up one finger to indicate her to hold on a moment. He was still staring at the jacket - frowning down on it and turning it over and over again and saying words Claire couldn’t quite make out.

Finally, he stopped talking and looked up.

“You’re sure this is Charlie’s jacket?”

“I’m positive.”

He tossed it back to her. “Nothing.”

Claire frowned, her heart sinking and her mind running around in confusion. “What? Why? Is it because you don’t have his body? Is it because we’re not-”

Miles shook his head. “No. It’s not that. I’ve done plenty of cases where all I had to work with was a personal article. And they all work out fine.” He pointed at the jacket. “Either that’s not his or that guy isn’t dead.”

Claire frowned and looked down at the jacket. Definitely Charlie’s.

“It’s his,” Claire objected. “And he’s dead. There’s no way he-”

“Well, he’s not here,” Miles shrugged. “I can’t help you talk to someone who’s not dead.”

---

What good is it to live with nothing left to give?
Forget but not forgive - not loving all, you see.

Oh, the streets you’re walking on a thousand houses long

Well that’s where I belong and you belong with me.

Not swallowed in the sea.

Yes, you belong with me.

Not swallowed in the sea.

-Swallowed in the Sea-

Coldplay