Boone was about to slow down and catch his breath when he tripped over a girl sitting in the sand.
"Hey! Watch where you're going!"
"Sorry! I don't know why I keep screwing things up..." Boone watched her cover her face with her hands and try not to breathe. "Let me guess, I smell like a rotting kangaroo?"
Jordan would never have thought of something quite that specific, but, "Yeah."
Boone stripped off his shirt and tossed it downwind—the smell must have gotten into the fabric, "That's better. I don't think we've met, I'm Boone."
"Jordan," she rubbed her leg, he just had to run into the bruise that had finally started to heal up.
"Oh, did I do that?" Boone sat down next to her and looked at her leg. It looked like it had been healing for a while.
"I had it before the crash," her boyfriend had given it to her, actually, but she wasn't going to tell Boone that. Jordan would have to distract him, "Have they come back from the trip to the cockpit yet? I've been sitting here watching, but..."
"I don't think so, but I didn't even know anyone was going," Boone wanted to be doing something useful, instead of keeping an eye on Shannon and making an ass of himself.
"Jack, Kate and Charlie went, but I don't know if anyone else noticed. I thought I heard them talking to someone else, but I didn't want to get too far out there," Jordan watched Boone's face—whatever he was thinking about, it wasn't her bruise anymore.
Boone opened his mouth to say something, but thunder cracked overhead and rain started to pour down. Jordan surprised him by handing over a black umbrella, "You bring this to Australia with you?"
"No. They were afraid it was going to rain during the funeral, so they handed these out to everyone that came," Jordan sighed as Boone opened the umbrella. What was the point in thinking up a distraction when nature decided to provide one of it's own?
Boone was yelling to be heard as the rain pounded down on them, "Is that why you were is Australia, a funeral?"
Jordan wondered if the umbrella would hold out, it seemed cheaply made, "Yes. My parents were killed in a car accident."
"Oh, I'm sorry—both of them?" Boone watched her nod, "I don't know how I'd deal with that—both at once I mean. My stepfather died in a wreck a couple years back, but my mother and Shannon are still here."
Jordan frowned at the mention of Shannon, "Is that a good thing?" She half-hoped Boone wouldn't hear her over the rain.
"So, my sister's made another fan?" Boone wasn't offended, he was kind of used to it. "Has she gone out of her way to irritate you or is it her naturally charming personality?"
Just thinking about it made Jordan angry, "I was looking through all the suitcases to find mine since I had something my mother made for me in it. I did find it, but it looked like someone had already been through the suitcase. Shannon was there so I asked her if she'd seen anyone near it, but she acted like I was accusing her of stealing or something."
"I could help you ask around if anyone's seen what you're looking for. I mean, if you want me to?" The rain ended as suddenly as it began, Boone folded up the umbrella and held out his hand.
Jordan hesitated, then took his hand, "I... If you want to." Funny, her bruise didn't ache quite so badly anymore.
A/N: Jordan's intro, and if you're wondering why Boone was doing this instead of keeping an eye on the Marshall, you'll see in an upcoming chapter. The only application I got seemed to be for another story, so I'm just going to add an OC of my own and close out the apps. Thank you to everyone who's been reviewing, I try to respond to them all even if it's just a 'thank you'.