Shannon sat on the edge of her hotel bed with her head in her hands. It was a nice hotel, very upscale, very Boone and very Shannon. But now it made her sick. The first thing she'd done when she got there had been to close all the blinds. She didn't even notice that her room had a marvelous view of the city 10 floors below her. The lights stayed turned off so that it was dark in the room but no so dark that she couldn't see anymore. Not that it mattered. After she sat down on the bed she hadn't moved. Her eyes were closed and she ran her hands through her hair for what felt like the hundredth time. Her head was pounding and felt like her skull might explode. She felt cold but at the same time she could feel the sweat on the back of her neck. She pressed her palms against her eyes a frustrated growl escaping her lips.

She saw flashes before her eyes. A sandy beach. A large airport. The cave where Boone died. John Locke in a blood covered shirt. Sayid pleading with her not to shoot. Walt.

Shannon's eyes snapped open. The hotel room was back. She could see her reflection in a mirror on the wall directly opposite of her. She looked tired and pale but other than that her reflection barely showed the distress she felt on the inside. She looked like the same girl that had slept with her step-brother for his money. The same girl that had tried to get a guy she'd knew nothing about arrested at the airport. The girl who'd lost her father much too young. She didn't feel like that girl but she was. Wasn't she? The spoiled little brat.

She'd technically never left Australia so really she was still the same Shannon. She'd never translated a french distress call. She'd never fallen in love. Never sought out vengeance for Boone's death. She'd never snuck into a tent to steal a key to a gun case. She was alive and most certainly not dead on an island.

She stood up and walked over to the mirror. She really was the same. But then a voice came floating up from the back of her mind and in that instant she hated herself.

Useless Shannon.

The thought pissed her off and she grabbed the mirror off the wall and threw it into the nearest wall. Thousands of tiny shards fell to the floor. The wall was close enough that many of them bounced back and hit her.

Useless

Shannon felt dizzy and stumbled into the same wall the mirror had smashed against. She slid down it until she hit the floor with her back still up against the wall. The pounding in her head increased.

"You're useless Shannon!"

A wave of nausea hit her and she lay down on the floor. She dry heaved a few times before pulling her knees up to her chest, trying her hardest not to throw up. She was shaking and sweating but she couldn't pull herself up even if she wanted to. A dull ache throbbed through her entire body.

Her eyes were watering but through the tears and the darkness of the room she saw a small brief bit of light. Then someone was walking towards her. She felt the vibrations on the floor send ripples of pain through her body and causing her head to hurt even worse. Each step seemed like an elephant was walking across the room.

She felt her body being picked up in strong arms and she had a sense of deja vu so strong she could practically feel the rain on her skin and hear Sayid's pleading and then she blacked out again.

She woke up hours later. The room was lighter than she remembered and then realized it was because the lamp on the bedside table was on. The blinds on the windows were open as were the curtains that had covered the sliding glass door to the balcony revealing the dark night sky. One of the doors was open and a dark haired woman sat in a metal chair with her feet up on the balcony railing. Shannon started to freak out, not knowing who the woman was and then she looked a little further to the right. Leaning against the wall next to those doors was someone very familiar and the sight comforted her a great deal.

"Sayid." Her voice was raspy.

His head snapped in her direction and in a few strides he was sitting on the side of the bed next to her. Shannon heard a thud as the woman's feet hit the ground. Sayid gently put his hand on her cheek. She looked up into those warm, concerned eyes that she thought she'd never see again. It felt so familiar it made her heart ache. But that nagging voice from the back of her mind reminded her that those memories weren't real. That voice was starting to sound a lot like Boone.

"Are you alright?" He asked softly. Shannon smiled. She couldn't help it.

"Yeah." She answered just as softly. She wanted nothing more than to just be wrapped up in his arms. Then another voice spoke up from behind him.

"Jack texted. He said Boone was pretty bad when they got there too." Another familiar voice.

Kate Austen stepped around so that Shannon could see her better. She still had a small black phone in her hand. Kate's presence was a comfort too, not as much as Sayid's but Shannon was definitely glad to see her. She felt more normal with them around.

"I'm going to go see how Boone's doing." Kate said to Sayid with a smirk. He rolled his eyes at her. Sayid waited until Kate left and then pulled down the covers and laid down next to Shannon. She immediately wrapped an arm around his waist and he put one around her shoulder and pulled her into him. They stayed like that for several minutes, just relishing in each other's presence. Shannon loved having him close. It felt like they'd been separated for ages.

"I didn't think I'd ever see you again." He said softly. His fingers gently started playing with her hair. She didn't say anything just looked up into his ever so serious eyes. This time it was her that put a hand on his face. He covered her hand with his own then moved it away so he could kiss her knuckles.

"Boone said it wasn't real." She had to ask. She had to know. "But, it felt so real-"

"It was real." Sayid interrupted. "It was all in our heads, but that doesn't mean it wasn't real. I feel in love with you and I still feel that way. Do you still feel the same as you did on the island?"

She nodded.

"Then it was real. It just wasn't physically real." She was still trying to work it out but she trusted Sayid. He was smart, much smarter than her she'd willingly admit and he was so confident in his answer it would've been hard to not believe him. She set her head back against his chest and even though she'd slept through most of the last few days she fell asleep again in only a few minutes.