The Pilgrimage

Characters: Sayid, Danielle, Alex and the beach crew.

Summary: When Alex Rousseau appears at the beach camp, Sayid makes it his mission to see that she is reunited with her mother.

Author's Note: This story features hints of romantic desire between Sayid and Danielle. Their ship is known as DANSE (Danielle/Sayid Eros) and I think that it deserves a little more attention. It could potentially be the most interesting love story of the show. This story is dedicated to the very dreamy Naveen Andrews and I would also like to give credit to SavetheHumans over at 'The Fuselage' who thought up Sawyer's nickname for Alex.

Disclaimer: I don't own Lost…just like Sayid don't own a clean vest!

Chapter 1

"…Il est dehors…Il est dehors et Brennan pres les clefs!"

Sayid was sitting on the beach, holding the short wave radio close to his ear like a seashell. Its reception was weak, but he could still make out Rousseau's transmission through the fizzle of static. He had heard her distress call many times over. He could repeat its message fluently even though he could not remember the exact translation. His mind had grown numb to it, but for some reason he found himself listening to it again and again…especially in these moments of crisis when he needed to regain his courage. It helped Sayid to remember this lonely soul who had been fighting for so long with nothing and nobody to comfort her.

"…Veuillez nous aider...Il sont morts…Il sont tous morts."

Sayid remembered the first time he had heard her transmission after a hike into the mountains. He remembered how it had crushed the hopes of his companions who were desperate for rescue. They had wanted to forget they had ever heard it. But for Sayid it was different. In the days that followed her voice and its message had occupied his every waking moment. He had made it his own personal mission to find the woman who owned that voice. And he did find her. Danielle Rousseau. She had tortured him, come close to killing him…yet in a strange way she had helped him. Sayid had been shocked him back into himself. When they spoke it was the first time he had felt human intimacy since the crash. If he was being honest it was the first time he had felt it since he was last in Nadia's company.

Sayid's thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Dude! What up? You picking up any good tunes today?"

Sayid smiled as Hurley sat down in the sand beside him. He knew that the young Californian had been missing his music since the hatch implosion had lost them their record player.

"I'm afraid not," he answered.

"Aw man! That sucks," Hurley complained. "So you're just getting that French chick's transmission over and over? Bummer."

"Indeed," Sayid murmured.

He unzipped his rucksack and placed the radio inside among the supplies and the equipment that he had packed this morning.

"So…" Hurley began at length. "I hear that you and Locke are heading off on a little quest to rescue Jack, Kate and Sawyer."

He nodded. "That is correct."

"And you remember the warning the Others gave me, right? When they said that we weren't ever to go looking for them…"

"I remember, Hurley."

"And that didn't put you off or anything?"

Sayid looked him in the eye. "It was my mission to prevent you, Jack, Kate and Sawyer from being captured. I failed you. Now it is my duty to set things right. I cannot just sit here and let them get away with this."

Hurley nodded, acceptingly. "Okay dude…I hear you…it's just…" Suddenly Sayid was aware of the weight of a large hand on his shoulder. He raised his eyes and found Hurley staring at him with a nervous intensity. "Come back safe, man. I don't want to lose anymore of my friends."

Sayid felt touched by his concern. It pained him to see this fun-loving man so subdued and troubled. Hurley had been put through a lot lately and Sayid imagined he was still in mourning over the death of Libby.

"I shall do my very best to be careful," Sayid assured him. "And while we are away I hope you will do something for me in return."

"Anything dude."

"I need somebody to hold this camp together; somebody who can keep these people sane and calm. Can you do that for me?"

Hurley frowned. "You mean…you want me to be leader?"

"If you would," Sayid confirmed. "You seem like the logical choice to me. I dare say there is no-one who is more popular among the group. You have always been the best at making peace and relieving the tension. That is exactly what this camp will need in the time that Locke and I are gone."

Hurley considered this for a moment and then shrugged.

"Beats being in charge of the food, I guess."

Sayid laughed and gave Hurley a parting hug. He then rose to his feet and began making his way down the beach, his eyes scanning the terrain for John Locke. He caught sight of him standing in the shade of a palm tree where he was arguing with a very animated Charlie.

"What do you mean I'm not coming?!" Charlie was raging. "You think I can't handle myself out there? I'm not a little kid, you know!"

"Charlie, it's nothing personal," Locke answered, calmly. "We just want to keep this rescue party small. If something goes wrong then we don't want to offer our enemies the chance to take more hostages."

"Oh and Charlie's just bound to get captured, I suppose!" Charlie rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Is that what you think, John? Give me a break! I'm not some bloody muppet, you know. I've survived my fair share of island adventures. I've taken on monsters, polar bears…you name it!"

Sayid stood watching them for a moment, amused as ever by the irate Englishman. Then he opened his rucksack and began rummaging inside.

"Charlie, I need to ask a favour," he cut in.

"Hang on a minute, Sayid…"

Sayid removed one of the two guns he had in his back pack and held it aloft. Charlie caught sight of the weapon in his peripheral vision and immediately fell silent. Sayid suddenly had his undivided attention.

"Locke and I are going to be away for several days. I'm concerned that during this time our camp will be left vulnerable to attack. I need someone to keep a watch. Someone who is not afraid to fire a weapon."

He held out the gun to Charlie, who took it from him gingerly.

"So you trust me with one of these things now?"

Sayid folded his arms. "I trust that you will do anything to protect Claire and Aaron from outside threats. But I ask you to do more than that Charlie. I need you to watch over the whole camp, making regular patrols of the tree-line. Maybe you will ask Jin to take shifts with you. Keep your wits about you and do not fire unless you are sure that you are dealing with a hostile presence."

Charlie nodded, seeming emboldened by the prospect of his sentry duty. Forgetting his dispute with Locke said his goodbyes to them both and then headed towards the Korean couple's tent. Sayid would have asked Sun and Jin for help himself but they had barely spoken with him since their long walk back to the beach. Sayid had apologised for putting their lives in danger but he knew it would take more than words to earn their forgiveness.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" asked Locke as they made their way into the jungle. "Giving Charlie a weapon?"

"He's a good marksman," Sayid reasoned.

"How could I forget? Still you might at least have consulted me before you started choosing new leaders for the camp."

"Who would you have appointed, John? All our other potential leaders are either dead or in captivity. We're running low on options."

Sayid ground his teeth in frustration. He and Locke didn't seem to agree on anything and they did not trust each other enough to handle the rescue mission alone. For the sake of their captured friends they were going to have to work together, but it was set to be gruelling journey. They were only a few yards into the jungle when they heard the sound of a woman screaming on the beach. Whipping out their guns, Locke and Sayid raced back towards the camp.

The sight that greeted them was an unexpected relief.

Kate and Sun were hugging in the middle of the beach. Sayid guessed that it had been one of them who had cried out – a scream of overwhelming joy. The two women had both been through traumatic ordeals recently. Tears were rolling down their cheeks as they embraced each other. Just a few feet away, Hurley, Charlie and Jin were milling excitedly around Sawyer, patting him on the shoulders as though they weren't quite sure he was real. The rest of the camp swarmed them like flies. Sayid and Locke held back coolly, allowing the others to enjoy the reunion. Sayid was looking for a sign of their other missing friend. When he didn't see one, he barged through the people that were clustered around Kate and Sawyer.

"Where's Jack?" he asked, urgently.

"They've still got him…" said Kate, her voice trembling.

Sayid regarded her sadly. Kate seemed to have lost much of the strength and defiance that he had always admired in her. He turned to Sawyer.

"How did you escape?" he asked.

"We had ourselves a little inside help." Sawyer looked over his shoulder. "Hey! Why don't you come over here, Slingshot Sue?"

Sayid raised his eyes to see a teenage girl emerging from the tree-line. She was slender, dark-haired and blue eyed. Her face was pretty and doe-like. She approached the beach crowd with a slow trepidation. Nobody was making any moves to greet her. The castaways seemed very wary and suspicious of her presence. However meek she appeared, this girl was still one of them…

"This here's Alex!" Sawyer announced.

The name hit Sayid like a blow to the chest. He stared at the girl in wonder. Could it really be her? It had to be. She was the right age and she resembled her mother so much. Suddenly Charlie's voice was in his ear.

"Alex…" he muttered. "Isn't that the name of…?"

Sayid quickly held up a hand to silence him. Charlie bit his lip and looked to the ground. Sayid took one more look at the young girl and then seized Locke by the arm, pulling him away from the huddle.

"What's the matter, Sayid?" Locke asked him.

"I need your help, John…we have to find Rousseau."

Locke raised his eyebrows. "Right now? Sayid, we were about to embark on a rescue mission. Jack is still out there. Can't it wait?"

"No John, it can't wait!" Sayid snapped. "It can't wait even one more day. It has already been waiting…waiting for sixteen years."

To be continued…