Written for LostInLost18's Lost Fan Fic Contest. Boone Carlyle/Charlotte Lewis

Set in Flash Sideways Universe This is my first fan fic on this site. K+ for slight language

Boone Carlyle sighed leaning on the railing of the pier, looking over to the ocean, holding his cell phone. "Shannon, I came to Australia last week to get you and you refused to come back. I can't drop everything again and get on a plane again, not this soon. I can buy you a ticket, and you can come on your own, but otherwise I'm not able to help you."

Charlotte Lewis had came to the pier to clear her mind after being thrown out of a one night stands house that morning. And now she had to listen to someone on his cell phone begging a girlfriend to come home. She turned, making it clear that she was listening and annoyed.

Boone sighed again. "No Shannon, I can't. I need to go, I love you," he said hanging up the phone, noticing the red head watching him. "Can I help you?" he asked.

"Yes, you can have your conversation with your girlfriend in a private location," she informed him.

"You didn't have to listen," he said, walking over. "And, not that it's any of your business, she's my step sister, not my girlfriend," Boone told her.

"You made it my business and everyone else's when you chose to have a phone conversation in a public location. Sorry, it's a pet peeve of mine," she told him.

"I'm Boone," he said, holding out his hand. "I usually like to know the names of the people I'm arguing with," he said.

"Charlotte," she said shaking his hand. "So what is going on with this Shannon?" she questioned.

Boone sighed. "It's complicated," he explained. "And why do you care, considering you were just yelling at me for having a private conversation in a public location?"

Charlotte smiled. "Boone, if I was yelling at you, you would know it. And, you look like you had a worse morning then me, and I believed that would be hard to beat."

"It has been one of those mornings," he explained. "I thought coming out here and walking on the beach would be calming. But Shannon called about five minutes after I got here. You caught the last two minutes of a half an hour conversation. And, that's one of the shorter ones we've had."

"Sounds like an irritating relationship," Charlotte commented.

"That's the understatement of the year," Boone agreed. "What brings you here this morning?" he questioned.

"A bad date," she told him. "I find something calming about the beach too. I always come out here when I need a break or to refocus. There's something familiar about the beach, something homey."

"Homey?" Boone questioned.

Charlotte laughed. "I don't exactly understand it either, but I've felt that way since I was a teenager. Just looking out onto the ocean, watching the waves, it makes everything seem alright. This morning I needed to calm down and take in the scenery before the rest of my day started. Then I get here, and I have to hear a part of a phone conversation."

"Sorry," he said. "I'll try to keep in mind the next time I'm going to argue with my sister to take it inside a building or get in my car," he said. "Of course, I may just have to lock myself in my office or inside my house with the way Shannon is."

Charlotte laughed. "She sounds like a piece of work."

"Shannon can be irritating, bitchy, demanding, and whiney one minute, but then she can be loving, smart, and talented in the next. She also has the bad habit of falling for the wrong kind of men, and the one she is with now, is no different," Boone answered.

"I think I met one of those wrong men last night," Charlotte said. "You were in Australia last week?" she questioned.

Boone nodded. "I got an urgent phone call from Shannon begging me to come and get her, that this current guy was beating her up and she wanted out," he answered. "I dropped everything, once again, and went to get her. When I landed, Shannon wasn't there to pick me up and when I went to her apartment, she informed me she changed her mind. I was livid," he said.

"Abusers always try and sweet talk there way back into the lives of the one they abuse so they don't leave," she told him. "It sounds like your sister believed he would change," she observed.

"She should know better, it's not the first time she's been involved in a relationship like this," Boone told her.

"Have you ever thought about why she is so easy to be taken in by scumbags like the current one she is with now?" she asked. "Women don't usually go to those types on purpose, there is usually a reason."

"Are you a psychiatrist?" Boone asked.

"No, just someone who has had experience with family members being involved with losers. And men who use women as beating posts are the scum of the earth," she told him.

"I agree," Boone said. "I've been known to pay off the guys so they leave Shannon. I'd rather lose money, then my sister."

Charlotte nodded. "But this time is different?"

"No, not really, it's just that I can't drop everything this time and go after her, but I do want to get her out of this," he said. Boone looked at her. "So Charlotte, I've shared my sad story, what about you? This date you had lasted to this morning I take it."

"Yes," she answered. "He bloody overreacted to something and wouldn't let me explain and kicked me out of his apartment."

"Well he is the loser in this situation," Boone told her.

Charlotte smiled. "Thank you, Boone. It was a blind date, and believe me one of the last ones I'll be having for quite sometime."

Boone nodded. "Blind dates are the worst," he said. "Would you like to get some coffee?"

Charlotte smiled. "I'd love to, thanks."