The trip to the city to pick up the new car, and have lunch with Sabrina, had been the week before, today was Christmas.
It was going to be their first Christmas together, they thought. What neither knew, was that the day she'd had gone to him with the news of the baby, it had coincidentally also been Christmas day. She was aware that it had been about three months after the crash; she just didn't know the exact date. That they weren't aware of it wasn't surprising. By the time a few months had passed almost everyone had given up keeping track of the days. It just all seemed so pointless. One day was pretty much like the one before it, and actually counting up the number of days spent without rescue became overwhelmingly disheartening. Jack knew though, he was the one person who hadn't given up on the calendar. He held on to it as just one more shred of normalcy, one more reminder of the outside world that he just couldn't give up. He certainly wasn't going to remind anyone of the significance of the day though. Having them think about their loved ones at home, celebrating without them, or more likely, not celebrating because of their loss, would have been pointlessly cruel.
He woke to the feel of her hand, stroking him. "What're you doing?"
"I'm trying to wake you up," she stated the obvious.
"Well, you've succeeded," he pointed out. "You can stop that now."
"You really want me to?" she teased.
"No, not really," he said, laughing softly.
He pulled her body on to his; bringing her mouth to his she started kissing him, moving softly against him.
After they'd made love, she slid off of him, "I got you something." She moved over to her side of the bed and reached beneath it, bringing out a small package. She handed it to him.
He carefully removed the wrapping. He smiled when he was what was inside. Opening the front cover he read what she'd written there: This book belongs to Boone Carlyle. Anyone touching it will have to answer to me, Shannon Rutherford.
"Crazy, psychotic bunnies, I guess I finally get to find out how their story ended," he commented. "Thanks Shan, I love it," he said sincerely, leaning forward to kiss her.
She looked at the copy of Watership Down he held in his hands. "I just thought that, seeing as you got beaten up over that book for me, the least I could do is replace it for you."
"Stupid Sawyer, that incident sure backfired on him," he thought back to how Jack and Sayid had tortured him to try to get Shannon's medicine, Sayid eventually stabbing him. It had all been so pointless; the man hadn't had the inhalers after all.
"Stop," she commanded. "No island memories today, it's our first Christmas together. I don't want it spoiled."
He smirked, silently agreeing. "I have something for you too." He leaned back and reached under his pillow for the small rectangular package that he'd wrapped so carefully. He held it out to her.
She grabbed it from him and tore off the wrapping revealing a black jewelry box. She opened the hinged lid and stared at the necklace inside. It was a fine gold chain with a cross suspended from it. She felt the tears come to her eyes.
"Hey, no memories today," he reminded her gently.
"I can't help it." It was exactly like the one she'd lost, the one that had belonged to her mother. She'd been wearing it, as always, the day of the crash. Several months later, she noticed one day, that it was gone. She didn't know how she'd lost it, or when, it was just simply not there any more. She'd been devastated by the loss because of the significance of it, what it had meant to her, and had gone to him crying. They'd searched fruitlessly for it, never finding it in the tangle of jungle.
"I had that picture in my wallet, you know, of the two of us? You're wearing the necklace in that picture, so I took it with me when I bought that one. I think it's pretty much identical, I know it's not your mom's, but I did the best I could," he sounded hopeful.
"It's perfect," she laid the box on the bed and put the necklace on. Turning the cross in her fingers, she thanked him, "I love it, I love you." She raised her hand to caress his cheek.
He picked the box up and handed it back to her, "There's more."
She took it from him, suddenly realizing from the weight of it, that it was heavier than it should have been. She noticed that the flocked platform that the necklace had been resting on was loose. She pulled it out revealing a small black rectangular object.
"Boone?" she removed it from the box and held it in her hand pressing the silver button on its' face, the shaft of the key sprang out of the side. She looked at him, hoping that it wasn't a spare key for the minivan he'd just bought. There was absolutely no chance that she was driving a minivan.
He took a deep breath, "I shut you down pretty quick at the dealership. I knew how much you wanted that car. Life's too short. If there's anyone who knows that it's certainly me. So I…I got it for you."
"You're crazy! Everything you said that day, you were right. It's a foolish indulgence. What do I need with a two-seater sports car?"
They'd had to wait for the salesman Boone had been dealing with by phone and e-mail. He'd already pre-ordered the new car, they were just here to drop off the old one and pick it up. The man was finishing up with another customer, so they'd wandered around the showroom. For Shannon, it was like being a kid in a candy store. All the gorgeous new cars, all the eye candy she could handle, she'd run her fingers over the paint of one after the other, peering at the luxurious interiors. She'd noticed the little car and had immediately gravitated toward it. Boone had followed along in her wake, carrying the baby. "Why don't we get this one instead?" She'd asked him.
"Yeah, right Shan, 'cause that would just make a whole lot of sense," he'd replied. "What are we going to do if we want to go somewhere with Andrew, hmmm, like we did today? There's no back seat. It would just be so very, very practical." The car he was getting was pretty much the same as the one he was trading in; a four-door black sedan. He'd always had to drive that type of car for his work, so often finding himself squiring clients around from bridal shops to banquet halls. His only self-indulgence was in getting a standard transmission instead of the automatic that the car came with.
"We could get it as well, then," she'd smiled her most beguiling smile at him, the one that always got her just what she wanted.
"Nice try, sis," he wasn't falling for it.
"What if I need to go somewhere and you're out with the car? What if there's an emergency and I need to get Andrew to a doctor, or something?" she'd tried a different tack.
"Then Heather and Tom have a car, and I've been thinking about getting a delivery van for the store," she wasn't getting anywhere.
"Boone Carlyle, there's no way in hell that I'm driving a mini-van! I'm not some stupid soccer mom!" she'd retorted indignantly.
He had to admit to himself that she was right. If there was something Shannon definitely wasn't, that was a soccer mom.
"Then I'll leave you my car, and I'll drive the van, I don't care, but we're not getting the sports car. Christ, you scare the hell out of me when you drive my car! The way you throw it into corners, driving like you're frigging Jeff Gordon. I can just see you in this thing. It'd be like a tryout for the Indy 500!" He'd ended the discussion, as the sales guy walked toward them to conclude their business.
They sat, facing each other on the bed, "Sometimes, Shan, it isn't about what you need, it's just about what you want. You wanted this car and I want you to have it. Besides, there's no way I'm taking it back. Do you have any idea how hard it's been for me to keep this a secret? I've been wandering around saying to myself "Don't think about it, don't think about it," he laughed.
"I wondered why I kept picking that up. I spent a couple of days trying to figure out what it was I wasn't supposed to be thinking about, before I realized I was getting it from you," she smiled back at him. "You're too good to me, Boone."
"Merry Christmas, Shan."