Some people would take a look at Elijah and say he was out of his mind; others would think he was sweet and a few would call him ridiculous. He was probably all of these things, but he didn�t care.

When you share a bond with someone, you know when they�re hurt or in trouble. It�s like mothers; they know in the middle of the night when their baby needs them, without having to be told. Elijah felt this way with Charlie. He could tell when something was wrong, or if he�d stubbed his toe or if his plane had crashed and he was stuck somewhere in the middle of the ocean.

It was just a gut feeling, and few understood it, or had ever felt it themselves. But just because you can�t see something, doesn�t mean it�s not there.

Elijah himself couldn�t explain his sudden bought of insanity; he used to be completely grounded and normal, and okay�but then he�d met Charlie Pace, who had changed his world. It spun upside down and out of control, but Elijah had never been happier. There was beauty in chaos.

He was stuffing wrinkled and dirty clothes into a duffle bag at a hurried pace when the doorbell sounded throughout the apartment, startling him so much that he dropped the bag and all its contents spilled out onto the floor. It was lucky they did, however, because Elijah had no idea he was packing up clothes that needed to be washed.

Elijah pulled the heavy door open, glancing around the apartment; it was completely trashed with sticky dishes littering the coffee table and bottles all over the place, newspapers strewn about, and a very formidable smell emitting from somewhere. Normally he would have cared, but he was way past caring now.

�Lighe?� Dom was standing there, peering at him through glasses with dark lenses. The sunlight struck Elijah with surprise and he stumbled backward into the cool, balmy darkness of his living room. �You look bloody awful.� Dom entered the apartment, glancing around at the mess and then taking in Elijah�s frazzled appearance.

Elijah watched him cautiously, shoving a hand through his messy hair and then rubbing his eyes.

Dom closed the door behind him, shrouding them in complete darkness. Elijah hadn�t bothered to open his curtains for days, and he hadn�t been outside very much either so he was much paler than usual. Dom, on the other hand, was tan and healthy looking, making Elijah look that much more ghostly.

He pulled his sunglasses off and stared at his friend as if he�d never seen him before. �Elijah, what�s happened to you?�

Elijah�s response was to shrug and then push aside some plates on one side of the sofa before sitting down; the TV was on low, on CNN like it always was in case of any developments, and Elijah fixed his gaze on the screen, rather than at the probing gaze of his friend.

�I�m in Hawaii for a couple of months and you bloody fall apart,� Dom laughed, but stopped after a few seconds when he realized Elijah didn�t seem to be in the mood for humor. He sat down carefully beside Elijah and lowered his voice. �What�s wrong, mate?�

Elijah swallowed, willing himself not to cry even as tears pooled behind his eyes. �It�s Charlie.�

�Charlie?� Dom repeated, lifting an eyebrow in question. �That bloke you met in England?�

He nodded, squeezing his eyes shut; after a moment, he opened them and that�s when the tears started falling. �He died,� Elijah said through his silent crying. �His plane crashed.�

Dom leaned back against the couch, wrapping an arm around Elijah�s shoulders. �Oh, man,� he muttered sadly. �I�m so sorry, Elijah.�

Elijah shrugged his comforting arm off and pushed himself to his feet. �I don�t believe it,� he stated stubbornly. Dom stood up slowly beside him, cocking his head to the side in an empathetic way.

�Lighe---�

�I don�t believe it,� Elijah repeated strongly, looking Dom in the eye. �He can�t be dead. They must be wrong. If only I could get out there�look for him��

Dom reached out and tenderly put a hand on his friend�s shoulder. �I know it�s hard, Lighe, but---�

He cut him off again, shaking his head vigorously. �I�m going to find him, Dom. He�s gotta be out there somewhere. Maybe he�s lost, out in the ocean, and the search parties just missed him or something.� Elijah looked up at Dom (as he was about two inches taller) and sniffed, wiping at his eyes with the sleeve of his t-shirt. His voice lost the hard edge when he spoke next, and instead he sounded quiet and sad. �I never realized how much you look like Charlie.�

Dom laughed a throaty sort of laugh and pulled Elijah into a hug; he expected him to struggle, but instead Elijah buried his head against Dom�s shoulder and sighed heavily before melting into his embrace. He was glad Dom had stopped by. Elijah was tired of being alone.

*

The coffee was so strong that Elijah�s nostrils immediately started tingling and he wiggled his nose around, breathing in the scent of one of his favored addictions. He sighed heavily and wrapped his hands around the warm mug, watching as Dom sat down across from him with his cup of tea.

�I don�t know what to do,� Elijah said eventually, bringing the mug to his mouth and making himself swallow some of the scalding liquid. He needed to wake up so that he could think clearly, because all he could think about was finding Charlie on his own, and surely these were the thoughts of a crazy person. His eyes were downcast, watching the brown liquid swirl around in its ceramic prison when he set it back on the table.

Dom�s eyes remained on Elijah�s gaunt face, searching for an answer; he wished he could take all of Elijah�s pain away, but he could not magically create a replica of Charlie out of thin air. Or turn back time.

�I don�t know what to tell you,� was the statement he settled on, his gray eyes probing Elijah�s blue ones for some sort of reaction. There was none.

Elijah sighed, his shoulders sagging. �I hate this. I feel so helpless�like�I didn�t do all I could have done to save him. I feel responsible.�

�Well, you shouldn�t,� Dom replied sternly, taking a sip of his tea and then making a face; Elijah bought the worst tasting tea he�d ever had, but he didn�t think it would be a good time to bring this up. �It�s not your fault, Elijah. It�s no one�s fault. These things just happen. It�s�� he paused, trying to think of the right word. Finally, he found it. ��fate.�

He inclined his head just slightly in a sort of nod, and then looked up at his friend, his eyes rimmed with salty tears. �I want to rent a boat.�

Dom�s forehead creased in confusion. �Why?�

�I�m going to find him,� Elijah answered, as if this was obvious.

The older man held back a sigh and instead reached across the table for Elijah�s cold hand. �He�s gone, Lighe. Risking your life on some wild goose chase isn�t going to change the facts.�

Elijah pulled his hand away, scowling. �Have you ever really loved anyone? So much that you thought your heart might explode? Well, I have. And without him, I�m nothing. I need him in my life.�

Dom blinked a couple of times, letting these words sink in. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he spoke. �Okay.� He nodded. �Okay. But I�m not letting you go alone. I�m coming with you.�

�You�re not coming with me,� Elijah retorted forcefully, pushing his chair out and crossing to the sink; he dumped what remained of his coffee and headed for his bedroom, ready to pack again.

Dom followed him, running a hand through his hair in aggravation. �God, Elijah, you�re so bloody stubborn!�

Elijah picked up his duffle bag from earlier and began rummaging through his closet for clean clothes this time; at least his head was a bit clearer than it had been earlier.

�You can�t go alone,� Dom said quietly, sitting on the edge of Elijah�s unmade bed. �You�re not thinking clearly.�

�I�m thinking fine,� Elijah snapped angrily, shoving some boxers into the bottom of the bag.

Dom groaned, sighed, and stood up. �I�ll go to Australia with you. We�ll rent you a boat. If you still don�t want me to look for him with you, fine.�

Elijah turned around, his mouth contorted in a frown and his eyes shining with unshed tears. After a minute, he threw himself at Dom, desperate for some human contact in his cold world. He wrapped his arms around Dom�s neck and held him close, finally letting the tears fall.