Chapter 2

Hey guys. Back again and finally with an update to this fic. So sorry I didn't update it sooner but I was still suffering from the aftermath of Charlie's unfortunate fate on the show, it still hasn't sunk in yet. Anyhoo here's the next instalment and I hope you guys will like it. Thanks for the reviews guys :)

P.S. Please forgive me for my poor use of medical terms/language within this chapter. Although the one thing I do know is the procedure of treating a hellish cold seeing as I'm suffering with one at the moment.

Enjoy

"So what's on the agenda tonight?" at rather wary Claire suddenly found herself being asked by the spunky brunette behind the counter.

"Uh…..not much." she briefly replied and then resumed with her duties as a waitress. A sigh of fatigue escaping her lips once she started to wipe the nearest table towards her. She still couldn't believe that this was her life and probably what it would be from now on, because what she wanted to truly achieve in life didn't matter anymore. Not since she wound up pregnant with the baby of a man she wished she had never met or trusted.

No one will ever be good enough for my pumpkin , her father's words echoed through her head once again. The clear memory of that moment willing a smile to finally grace her fair features. He always knew what to say and it was one of things she loved the most about him.

She was devastated to say the least when she learnt and reluctantly accepted his unexpected demise. Although a part of her was glad that he wasn't here to see her like this for she knew without a doubt that he would feel nothing but shame for what she had so carelessly done, more so whom she had decided to involve herself with despite her family's wishes.

What were we thinking, what was I thinking? Were the last words Thomas had said to her right before he bolted out the door without a thought, leaving behind an incredibly frustrated and pregnant Claire. Her tears then falling of their own free will as her body collapsed in defeat of the reality she would have to face from now on.

Ahhhhhhh." she suddenly screamed as her body twisted in reaction to the pain she now felt stabbing her her heart, and lucky for her the previously working brunette behind her immediately reacted to the scene.

"CLAIRE!!" the brunette shouted as she ran to grab the collapsing woman into her arms.

"Can't….sleep….my baby." Claire kept on muttering in a half lucid state while the woman behind her retrieved hold of the nearest phone to call for help, and once that was thankfully achieved, the blonde then found herself being lifted and seated in a chair.

"Claire. Claire, sweetie look at me." the person before her kept on pleading in an attempt to stop them from slipping, and the green eyed brunette sighed in relief when the blonde seemed to be holding on for the time being.

Ten minutes later and the paramedics had arrived. A sight both women were equally relieved, Claire more so than the brunette cause the only thing she was worried about now was the status of her pregnancy.

"Miss, how many fingers am I holding up." one of the two EMT's asked of the rather distracted blonde whose gaze was currently focused on the area of her firm tummy. Her heart suddenly hoping and longing for there to be something alive beneath the surface.

"My baby." she found herself mouthing as her hand lightly stroked the designated expanse. The confession and action certainly alarming the EMT across from her, but he decided to remain silent on his worries for the time being cause worrying her any further would only worsen matters for her. The only thing he felt would help was to get a more professional opinion.

"Miss……"

"Littleton." Claire filled the EMT in when she sensed his hesitation to acquire a suitable referral for her.

"Miss Littleton, do you suffer with any heart related diseases?"

"No….I don't think so." she replied and then furrowed her eyebrows in confusion of this question's relevance to her condition, but never the less she kept an open ear to what was being said cause she knew that any of it would speak for the welfare of her unborn baby.

"Okay, well what I think you just experienced was a mild case of hyperventilation." the man explained in a clear and precise manner. The effects of his words forcing the blonde to let out a lingering sigh of relief, but his next question was enough to physically weaken her physically once again.

"Have you felt pressured with anything lately?" she then found herself being asked and in response she just bowed her head as low as it would go and gazed once again at the one thing that worried her the most. Not because of what it was, but more so of what it would mean for her.

"Miss?"

"Uh…..no. No, I…everything's okay." she decided to answer instead while offering her best attempt at a reassuring smile but there was one person in the room who could see right through it and with that they felt the need to express their disbelief in a subtle but effective way.

"Is there anything we can do?" the brunette took it upon herself to ask the paramedic hunched before a gob smacked Claire.

"Uh, well all Miss Littleton can do is try to take it easy for the next few days." the EMT instructed in a clinical tone while taking note of Claire's progressing dull expression.

How was she supposed to relax and pretend that everything was okay when it clearly wasn't. The reality of her situation reminding her of that, but still she tried to dismiss it for now when she suddenly felt all eyes on her.

"Well that won't be a problem cause I'm perfectly…….." she offered as she tried raising herself into a standing position but she found that a considerably hard task to achieve when she completely lost all feeling within her legs. The outcome of this drastic change forcing her to collapse into the nearest form of support and, with that she was rushed off to the hospital immediately. Her complete loss of consciousness confirming their decision without a thought this time.

Fifteen minutes later and an unconscious Claire was being rushed through on a gurney through the doubled door entrance of St. Sebastian's Hospital.

"What do we have here?" an approaching Doctor asked while taking note to check the vitals of his current patient.

"Single, white female suffering from a pre longed effect of stress and fatigue. She's pregnant as well" one of the EMT's went onto explain to the tall Doctor.

"Okay, take her down to room 15 of the emergency ward and……"

"Is she going to be okay?" the Doctor found himself being asked by a woman he had not seen until now, and that led him to ask her something as a natural form of procedure.

"Are you family?" he asked as he rushed along with the gurney towards the doorway with a big emergency sign labelled above it.

"Yes…..yes I am." the brunette replied with a surprising lack of hesitance in her tone. She admittedly felt bad about lying but she couldn't seem to find another way to calm her growing worry of this withering woman below her. The same woman who had helped her numerous times before.

"Well I can't really give you anything solid at the moment Miss but……"

"IS SHE GOING TO BE OKAY OR NOT!!" she more or less screamed now growing steadily frantic and frustrated with this man's negligence to just offer her a straight forward answer.

"We'll do what we can." he replied while nodding in firm agreement with his statement, and he knew that he would use every fibre within his being to see this woman well and walking again. Then he would worry about the baby he was affirmed she was carrying.

Her response to his words was a slight nod of agreement combined with a hint of doubt for thinking the worst but as she looked up at this man working over the blonde, she felt an odd and immediate sense of consolation wash over her. Consolation in knowing that he would fix this.

(Meanwhile)

"Cheers mate." he offered as he tiredly stepped out of the cab that brought him back to his home, or more Mansion judging by it's breathtaking appearance and size, but he truthfully enjoyed neither cause it brought him nothing but loneliness in return. His brother Liam was hardly here and even then to he just missed the times when it used to be him and his brother playing songs on the family piano back in their home in Manchester.

The good old times, he reminded himself with a smile that slowly faded as he stepped into the vast but dull interior of his reality. However his train of thought was abruptly interrupted by the incessant ringing of the phone he had miraculously managed to find within the dark expanse of his place.

"Hello." he automatically spoke into the phone and what he heard next was enough to stop him from saying anything else. Instead he just dropped the phone and sprinted towards the place he was told his brother Liam had just been admitted into. Thankfully it was only a few blocks away.

St. Sebastian's Hospital.

Come next chap and we'll not only find out the status of Claire's condition but we might start to see some proper Charlie and Claire interaction seeing as he might be there for a while thanks to Liam. The whole storyline of Claire and her Father will also be explored more within this fic. So what do you think guys, would you like to see this develop?

Please leave a review, thanks :)