A/N: Hey all, hope everyone had a happy holiday! Thanks to all that reviewed last chapter, and I hope you got your replies. Sorry about the delay, but I don't think that I've ever had so much trouble writing a chapter. At one point I just deleted a whole portion and started over cause it was crap. I hope you all enjoy this, and tell me what you think, and point out what you did and didn't like, cause I'm still not entirely happy with it, but I don't know what else to do.
Enjoy, and please review :)
I realize that I sort of forgot about Shannon, and she is important, so here we go:
13.13 Melody
She creaked the door to his room open quietly, and looked around. The royal blue walls were covered in posters, ranging from sports stars to TV shows. The quiet buzzing of the abandoned computer and a light trickling of fish tank water were the only sounds. She walked up slowly to his bed, hoping that she wouldn't scare him. She got to his bed, and began poking him nimbly with her finger.
"Boone… Boone… Wake up Boone…"
Boone groggily swiped at the persistent tapping that was targeted at his shoulder. He opened a single eye to see his 10-year-old stepsister persistently poking him with her finger.
"Whadaya want?" he mumbled. He rubbed his eyes and peered over to the fancy alarm clock stationed on his oak wood night table. "Jesus Christ, it's three in the morning." He glared at the younger girl. "This better be good Shannon," he mumbled. At times, Shannon could be a brat.
Like pretty much all the time.
Shannon wordlessly held up a picture. It was old, presumably taken in a photo booth. Shannon's head was seemingly floating in-between two figures, a man and a woman. The woman looked almost like Shannon, the same hair, smile, and nose, but older, and more mature. The man Boone immediately identified as his stepfather, his facial expression unchanged since the photograph had been taken.
Boone resented him, for coming into him and his mother's life, taking his fathers place without remorse, and for thinking he had some kind of hold over Boone. But he was also thankful to him, for introducing him to Shannon, though quite a brat she could be at times.
Shannon's lip quivered, and she pushed a light blonde streak of hair behind her ear. Boone could see that she was visibly shaking, and his demeanor changed immediately.
"Are you alright Shan?" Boone asked, moving the thin covers off his feet and swinging them over the edge of the bed.
Shannon nodded and whimpered. Boone lifted her up and placed her on his lap. She clutched onto him tightly, and he wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back soothingly. "It's okay Shannon, I'm here for you," Boone whispered, kissing her lightly on the forehead. Even though she was a brat, and never left him alone, he loved her and would do anything to keep her safe and happy.
"I miss her," she whispered, and Boone felt her begin to cry. So the lady in the photograph was her mom. He didn't bother asking her why she hadn't gone to her dad, but instead tried consoling her.
"Baby, don't cry." He hated to hear her crying. He hated to hear anyone cry. He lifted her up and twisted around, laying them both down on the bed.
"I know it's sad Shannon, and I know how it feels. It hurts real bad, inside, right?" She nodded and he started running his finger down her nose, the soothing motion his dad used to use to calm him down. "Do you think your mom would want you to be crying right now?" Shannon shook her head, but kept crying.
"Don't cry Shannon, it's not like it's forever. You'll see her someday." He hugged her tighter.
"Promise?" Shannon whispered, and Boone nodded with a reassuring smile. Her big brother always knew what to do to make things right. Boone silently watched the clock flip its numbers, minute after minute. He felt Shannon calm down and stop crying. Eventually, her breathing became more even and subtle.
"Everyone in the world has a candle Shannon. And when that flame goes out, all it brings is pain and sadness. But we'll get through it together," Boone reassured her, not sure whether or not Shannon was still awake. He closed his eyes, and was instantly asleep.
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" … and just follow me around this way…" Locke trailed off when he noticed that Boone had no intention of following behind him. "Boone, I have something to show you," he repeated.
Boone shook his head, forcing images of 10-year-old Shannon out of his mind. He gut did a twist, and then uncomfortably plunged.
"Boone, are you coming or not?" Locke asked patiently.
"Uh…" Boones gut did another wrenching twist, and he shook his head. "Maybe some other time John."
Locke smiled at him queerly. "Why not now? While you're this close?"
"Because…" Boone looked at him. Why was he so insistent? "I have to go back and check on... something."
"Do you want to check on her? Danoso, I mean?"
Boone regarded him carefully. What was he questioning? His gut wrenched again, and he looked instinctively to the direction of the beach. And her. "Yeah, why?"
"I want to show you this thing that I've found. Now, if you don't want to see it, what do you reckon I do?"
Boone gazed at him. Why the hell was Locke asking him?
Realizing that Boone was confused, Locke decided to help him out. "What would you do if you were in my shoes?"
If Boone was in Locke's shoes, he would go to someone he trusted. He would show whatever to someone that would know what to do with it. "I'd show Jack," Boone answered.
Of course you would, Locke thought. "Then I'll show Jack." Locke smiled.
Boone was surprised at his instant agreement, thrown off guard. "Then show Jack." He stood up uncertainly, and glanced at Locke one last time before resuming his route down to the beach.
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Sawyer stared at the letter. He remembered when he wrote it. Sitting in the playroom, the snow whirling around outside the windows, trying to get in, just like the wind was doing with the tent flaps.
He remembered writing it with a silver pen that said, 'Property of Shipping Box Co.'…
"You killed my parents, Mr. Sawyer."
He poked at the paper, creating the final dot. He'd been writing in the most grown-up writing he had. One day he would find Mr. Sawyer, and hurt him, just like he hurt his parents. He would make him pay for what he did to them. James felt his eyes redden, and grow hot from his anger and sadness. He would make him regret ever taking away his daddy's money.
"Hey James, what're you writing?" Alexandra asked. James jumped; pulling in his breath, as if she'd just stepped out a dark corner in the middle of the night and yelled 'boo'. He quickly got his wits, and covered the messy childish writing with his arms, crinkling the paper in the scribbler.
"Nutthin'," he muttered, putting his chin stubbornly atop his arms. He looked up reproachfully at Alexandra, his eyes still slightly moist at the edges.
"You look like you want to cry…" Alexandra crouched down by the stool he sat on, her usual keen self. "What's wrong?" she asked gently.
He lay down his head, and looked at her for a moment. She reminded him so much of his mommy. He swallowed as he felt the edges of his eyes grow hot again and threaten to allow a couple tears through. He just missed her so much. How was it possible for a person who'd been there for you your whole life, not be there anymore?
"Nutthin'," he muttered again, unfolding his hands and ripping the paper out of the binder. He swung his legs around the stool and walked away from Alexandra the paper in his hand. Out in the large corridor, away from Alexandra's piercing gaze, he slid down to the ground, re-reading his work. He was crying by the time he reached the last line…
'You killed my parents, Mr. Sawyer.'
He clenched the paper harder in his hand, watching the writing become disoriented. That he did… Sawyer thought bitterly. He lowered the letter and stared hard at Danoso's back. He remembered when she first asked him what his real name was. Sitting on the beach then, she'd no idea. So why had she called him James? There was no way she could have known. She had probably been delusional. But still, it bothered him. Stirred up old memories he'd rather have forgotten for a little while longer. Buy why James? Why not Boone, or Jack… Why James? He looked down at the letter in his hands.
"Dear Mr. Sawyer, you don't know who I am but I know who you are and I know what you done. You had sex with my mother and then you stole my dad's money all away. So he got angry and he killed my mother and then he killed himself, too. All I know is your name. But one of these days I'm going to find you and I'm going to give you this letter so you'll remember what you done to me. You killed my parents, Mr. Sawyer."
He looked at the childish scrawl of a signature, and sighed.
'James Ford'.
He wished he could be that kid again. The kid he used to be. Go-lucky and happy. Never realizing the simplicity of life he had had until it had been snatched away. But that kid had forever disappeared. That kid had withered and died a long, long time ago…
Danoso's body gave a small shudder, and Sawyer nearly fell out of his chair. She'd been motionless since he'd gotten there. Surprised not to find Boone with her, he decided to stay, ponder on his thoughts.
"Kiddo?" he asked, letting his feet fall to the ground. He got up slowly, and folded the letter back into the envelope, and that into his back pocket. He walked around the bed, so that he could see her face, and tucked a greasy strand of maroon red hair behind her ear.
"Are you awake?" he asked quietly. Her hair covered the entire pillow, the strands seeming to fuse with it. At first he thought that she'd gotten hair into her mouth, but when he tried removing it, a sticky substance rubbed off on his fingers.
"What the…" he muttered to himself, bringing it to his nose to smell it. It was too dark to be blood… though it did smell curiously like it. "Shit…" Sawyer muttered, wiping his fingers off on his pants. He stared at her face, mesmerized by a drop of blood that slid from her mouth, rolled down her cheek, and drop down onto the pillow. With a jolt he realized that it wasn't her hair covering the pillow, it was her blood.
"What the hells happenin' to you kid?" Sawyer asked, unconsciously knowing she wouldn't answer. He gently tugged her chin down and watched as more blood poured out of her agape mouth. Sawyer swore. He turned her head to the side, and ran to the flap of the tent. He looked back at Danoso, and then at the deserted beach. He really didn't want to leave her. Fighting with himself for a couple seconds, he took off through the beach, and into the woods, wondering were Jack would be at this time of day.
----------------------------
Jack crouched down with his head in his hands. He'd screwed up. Everyone had trusted him, believed in him, and he screwed it up. This was why he didn't want anyone to listen to him, to look to him for leadership. Because in the end, he always screwed up. Somehow.
Always.
"Jack, it's not your fault."
Yeah right it isn't, he thought. He felt her put a hand on his shoulder, and he looked up at her, then around at the empty cave.
"Then whose is it Kate?"
She stayed silent. She didn't have an answer. No one ever did. Not when they knew it was your fault. Not when they knew you had screwed up. He just prayed that the remaining others that'd escaped wouldn't come back and cause trouble.
"You can't blame yourself Jack, you were just trying to help them," Kate tried reassuring him. She crouched down beside him. "You can't do everything yourself, you know that?" He stood up, looking at her, confused. Of course he couldn't. At times he wished he could, but he knew that he couldn't. "You need other people to help you. And sometimes they screw up. No ones perfect, and you have to remember that you weren't the one that screwed up. You were taking care of Danoso. You can't be in two places at once. People might blame you, but they know deep down that there's a reason that we're all still here."
She pulled him into a hug, resting her head on his shoulder. "And that reason's you, Jack." And she wasn't saying it just to make him feel better either. She was positive that if Jack weren't there, helping them, there would be a lot less people still with them. He slowly wrapped his arms around her. Jack was the one who made her feel safe. Who made her forget about the bad things she'd done before.
Makes her forget that she's a criminal.
"I'm sorry Kate," he whispered into her ear. She looked up at him. What would Jack have to be sorry about?
"What are we doing, Jack?" she asked tiredly, leaning back against his hands so she could see at him better. "What are we doing? Sneaking around, like high school teenagers? We're adults, aren't we?"
Jack looked at her confused. Was she making a statement? Or asking him a question?
"So then… where do we stand?" he asked.
Before she could answer, Sawyer appeared at the opening of the oversized cave with an "Aw, lookey here. Ain't that cute?"
"What do you want Sawyer?" Kate asked, turning to face him, but keeping her arm around Jack, not fully letting him go.
"And here I thought that you were my baby, Freckles." Sawyer looked hurt, but Kate couldn't tell if he was being serious or just sarcastic.
"I was never your baby, Sawyer," Kate replied rather harshly.
"What did you want, Sawyer?" Jack asked, ignoring the stabbed-in-the-heart motion Sawyer was giving to Kate. She was still close to him, and he could feel her body heat.
"The gal in the tent needs a doc, so if you know one, I'd hurry up and send 'em over." He looked like he was going to add something, but thought better of it. "C ya later Freckles," he said, giving Kate a little kiss in the air. He turned around and left.
"He's an odd one," Jack said after a minute of silence. "I've got to go, Kate," Jack said, his thoughts immediately turning from the escaped Others, to Danoso's well being. "Are you going to come?" he asked.
"Yeah, it's not like I have anywhere else to be," Kate replied. Jack began to take off, but she grabbed his arm. She looked him in the eyes, just staring. "Don't worry about it Jack. We'll talk later, okay? " She said, letting go of his arm, and slipping her hand into his. She gave it a little squeeze.
Jack nodded. He had more important things to think about.
--------------------------------
Locke sat on a tree stump, peeling what resembled an orange. So far no one had been killed from it, so he deemed it safe to eat. He had thought for sure that Boone would be the one who would back him in his hatch expedition. But instead, he had referred him to Jack, without even giving it a look.
The mystery of the hatch made his skin itch. What was it doing in the jungle? Why did it say Quarantine? What was inside of it? The mystery compelled him. The power of the island had made him better. It had given his ability to walk without assistance. For that reason, he believed that the island was good. The island was good to them; it gave them the guidance to find food, to find water. It brought out a different someone in everyone. He bit into the orange. It made him realize his meaning in life, his mission. And others would soon follow; find their own meaning. He had found the hatch, and he was positive that it was just a test from the island. It was just another test.
Voices could be heard from up the path, and Locke quickly stood up. He waited there, motionless until he saw two people walking down the path, hand in hand. As they got closer, he recognized the slim figure of Kate beside a buffer looking Jack. Kate looked up, noticing Locke for the first time. She quickly let go of Jack's hand, and nodded towards Locke as explanation.
Locke stood there unmoving, half the orange-imposter in his hand. He contemplated on telling Jack about the hatch, or getting someone else's opinion.
"Jack," Locke said. Anyone else he would tell would show Jack. Better gain some of Jack's trust, than lose whatever he had left.
"Yeah, John?" Jack asked impatiently.
"I've got something to show you."
"And what would that be John?" Jack asked, not particularly interested. He wanted to get back to Danoso, see what Sawyer had been talking about. Was Danoso simply just awake, or was there something wrong with her? Or was Sawyer being his normal ass-hole self, making small things bigger then they seemed, and big things smaller?
Locke stared at Jack, causing him to become slightly unnerved. "If I told you, you wouldn't believe me. You're going to have to see it. Come." He moved away, not waiting for Jack to follow him. He knew that Jack would. Because that was just who Jack was.
Jack glanced quickly at Kate before following Locke. Kate grabbed onto his hand, and followed behind him, wondering where the hell Locke was taking them.
-----------------------
"What is it?" Jack asked. It looked like nothing too important, just a grubby piece of metal embedded into the earth. He watched Locke walk over to it and crouch, moving some of it surrounding foliage.
"That," Locke answered, grinning, "is a hatch." He wiped away some more of the dirt, and Jack could see that it was more the just metal. There was dirt covering a seemingly permanently smudged window, surrounded by a small metal frame.
Jack's immediate thought was that the hatch belonged to the Others. For a fleeting moment, he wondered if the escaped Others had fled into it, but realized that it was surrounded by tons and tons of dirt, which looked like it hadn't been moved in ages.
"Do you know what's inside yet?" Kate asked, seemingly reading his mind. Like Jack, she automatically assumed it belonged to the Others. She walked over to where Locke was crouching, and fell to her knees, beginning to trace the metal frame with her finger. Jack paused and looked back at the path before following her.
Locke sat back and watched as Jack and Kate pushed aside the dirt and grass, shifting it around, just as he had done the first time he'd found it. They unearthed the hinge, and cleared away a tidy square, before stopping.
"So how do we open it?" Locke asked, his arms folded.
"John, it says Quarantine. It doesn't even have an outside handle."
He regarded Jack for a second. "And why would that be important?"
Kate traced her fingers around the imprinted 'Quarantine' letters.
"Because it means that whatever's in there is supposed to be left alone," Jack answered. He wasn't going to go around the jungle digging up who knows what. Not with all the crazy stuff that recently happened.
"But aren't all closed things meant to be opened?" Locke asked.
Jack stood up, and Locke followed suite. "Probably not ones that say Quarantine, John."
"But there might be something inside of it that could help us. There might be a radio transmitter down there, more medicine. Isn't it worth a try?" Whether or not he got Jack's permission, he knew he would try every which way to open it. It was just another test from the island, a test that he would pass.
"It might help us John, but have you ever though that whatever's inside there might be bad? We can't risk it. Not yet." John shook his head, knowing all along that Jack wouldn't understand.
"But-"
"Jack!"
Jack snapped his head back. He knew that voice.
It was Boone's.
"Jack!" he gasped, using air faster then he could get it. He was red in the face, and panting hard.
"Boone, what is it?"
"It's Danoso," he stopped, trying to catch his breath once again. "There's something wrong with her, she's-"
Jack was already running back to the beach; Boone confirming the bad feeling Sawyer had given him before.
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"What's wrong with her?" Boone asked the second they entered the large tent. He was panting from the run, urging Jack to go faster when his ribs slowed him down. It took a second for Jack to realize that the red covering Danoso's pillow was in fact blood, not loose hair.
"I don't know," Jack mumbled, running the last few steps to her, and removing the blanket that covered her small body.
"Do you think she'll be okay?" Boone asked, following after him, looking nervously over his shoulder.
"I don't know," Jack answered again, beginning to get slightly irritated. He checked her forehead, which was slightly warm to the touch. He couldn't determine if she had a fever or not, but noted her unusually pale face.
"What do you think is wrong?" Boone asked again. Jack simply ignored him, and opened Danoso's mouth to see if he could identify the source of the bleed.
"That isn't good, is it?" Boone's persistent inquires were getting on Jack's nerves.
"Boone, either sit down and shut up or leave!" Jack tried to keep his voice from rising to a shout. He glared at Boone for a moment, and then turned back to Danoso. Right now he didn't have the time to deal with Boone's questions. All they were doing were making him more worried and uptight. Boone looked stunned for a second, but then walked over to the other side, and became quiet.
Jack quickly gave Danoso's body a once over, scanning for anything that would point to why she was bleeding this bad. The stitches in her leg looked fine, no sign of infection was visible. He lifted up her shirt, and couldn't see any visible bruising or swelling. Wondering if a broken rib had punctured something, he quickly ran his hand across them, not entirely sure he was relived or disappointed that they were perfectly intact. He looked inside her mouth, and as far as he could tell, it wasn't from a root canal, or any gums. The bleeding seemed to have slowed to almost nothing.
"Danoso, can you hear me?" Jack took her head in his hands, and prayed for her eyes to open. There was almost virtually nothing he could do to help her without the modern day equipment he was used having at his disposal. "Kiddo, I need you to wake up for me, alright?" He lifted her up into a sitting position, and didn't complain when Boone crawled onto the bed and sat behind her, keeping her up.
"What's-"
"Boone!" Jack yelled, and Boone immediately shut his mouth. He muttered a quick sorry, and wrapped his arms around Danoso's waist, holding her close to him. Jack noticed, but didn't question the motion.
"Danoso. If you can hear me, open your eyes, alright?" Jack took a flashlight from his pocket, and lifted one of Danoso's eyelids. The pupil was dilated, and it shrunk as soon as he flashed the light into it. He checked the other one, and it had the same reaction. It didn't tell him much, but it made him feel better, knowing that he was at least doing something. He balled up a towel that said 'Property of Travel Lodge, Sydney, Australia', wetted it,and carefully began cleaning the side of her mouth where all the blood had drained. Boone leaned back against the cold metal, allowing Danoso's body to rest more comfortably against his.
Jack tossed the bloody towel aside, and picked up a clean one. He gently eased Danoso's jaw open, and patted the surface of her tongue, the towel absorbing most of the blood.
"W-Won't you choke her?" Boone asked timidly. Jack was a little scary when he was dealing with injuries, and Boone was afraid that he would get yelled at again.
"No, Boone, because I'm being careful," Jack answered through gritted teeth. He re-arranged the towel so that he could use a clean portion, and dapped it inside, cleaning out the rest of the blood around and at the top of her mouth. Balling up the now red face cloth, he tossed it to the end of the bed, right as Kate and Locke walked in.
Kate stared at the cloth as it arched and then landed beside the other, equally bloody towel. "What the hell happened?" she asked after a moment of silence. Boone glanced up at her, then to Jack, afraid to say anything that would cause Jack to snap. Jack moved away from the bed, and took a water bottle, unscrewing the cap slowly.
"Jack, what happened?" Kate repeated. When Jack didn't provide an answer, she walked up to him and grabbed his arm. "Jack, what's wrong?"
Jack looked up at her. "I don't know," he whispered. "I don't know. None of her bones are broken, her ribs are perfectly fine, she doesn't have any bruises, and there's nothing wrong with her teeth, gums, or mouth in general." He looked into Kate's eyes and she could tell that he really had no idea. He turned to Locke, who was standing where they'd entered, looking slightly uncomfortable.
"John, the hatch?"
"What about it?" Locke asked, interested. He felt awkward, just standing there. He didn't have a place here; it felt like he was intruding in a personal family moment.
"Open it. I don't care how. If there's something in there that'll help her… just open it John."
Locke nodded his head, and turned from the door, exiting, glad to have an excuse to leave.
"What hatch?" Boone asked, his chin resting gently on top of Danoso's head. Kate looked questioningly at him, noticing him for the first time. Neither Kate nor Jack answered him, Jack moving towards them with the water. "Wait, Jack, won't that choke her?" Boone asked, as Jack placed the lip of the bottle above Danoso's slightly open mouth and began to tip it.
Jack didn't answer, and the three of them watched the water slowly crawl closer and closer to the edge. A thin trickle came out, the majority landing in Danoso's mouth. For a second, they just stared. Danoso gave a small gurgle, and jolted, coughing a mixture of blood and water out of her mouth.
"Hey, kiddo, you awake?" Jack asked, immediately putting her head in his hands, holding it still. Boone gripped her body tighter, trying to keep it from shivering.
"Hey, hey," Jack muttered as she tried to shake his hands off. "Answer me, please?"
Danoso gave another cough, and a thin line of blood trailed down her chin. She started wiggling her head, trying to get away from Jack's hands. "Boone?" she tried shouting, but her voice was weak and broken, barley above a whisper. Jack gently placed her head on Boone's shoulder.
"I'm right behind you, don't worry. You're safe now, I'm right here," Boone whispered. Boone took her hand gently in his, and held it. She coughed again, and specks of blood flew from her mouth, landing on the thin blanket that covered her.
"Where am I?" she asked. Boone found her other hand, and tangled his fingers in it. He looked up at Jack, who signaled at him to answer.
"You're on the beach, with me, Jack and Kate. Don't worry about a thing, you're in good hands," he reassured her.
She curled up to Boone as best she could, grimacing when she tried moving her injured leg. "Others?" she asked.
Kate glanced at Jack to see how he would react, and he quickly answered, "They're all taken care of, don't worry about them." He looked downward, and Kate took his hand and squeezed it gently. Jack glanced at her and smiled gratefully.
Danoso gave a half nod, and laid her head on Boone's chest, eyes closed. She gave a weak cough, and a bit of blood managed to find its way onto Boone's shirt.
"Danoso?" Jack asked, and she gave a small grunt of acknowledgement. "When you breathe in and out, what hurts the most?"
She mumbled something incoherent, and Boone glanced up at Jack and said, "She says that her leg hurts the most, but that's normal right?"
Jack nodded. "I'll be back in a second, okay?" Boone nodded, and bent down his head. Jack pulled Kate out of the tent after him, and walked a short distance from the tent before stopping.
"Jack, why was she bleeding?" Kate asked immediately.
Jack bit his lip before replying, "I honestly don't know. It can't have been her leg, even if she has a torn ligament of some sort. The only reason you should be bleeding like that is if something inside you is ruptured, and the blood from that is entering your esophagus. Broken ribs may puncture a lung, which in turn will cause the blood to travel to the mouth as she breathes out. But her ribs are fine. A pulled or damaged root canal could fill the mouth with blood, because that's the place that it's bleeding from. Her teeth are fine. A torn nerve in her throat would cause bleeding like that, but she can talk, and swallow just fine. If it were something to do with the liver, or any organs near that region, the blood would be coming out in bowel movements or urine. If her stomach were producing that much blood for any reason, it would hurt way more then a torn ligament would. There is no possible medical explanation for what would cause her to bleed like that. I don't know what's wrong with her, Kate!"
Kate remained still, letting what Jack said sink in. Jack stopped pacing, and they looked at each other, the sun beginning to fall over their shoulders.
"Jack…" he heard Boone calling from inside the tent. His voice wasn't urgent, but calm, and Kate raised a single eyebrow. Jack started laughing at her comical look, and then caught himself. He turned to Kate, serious.
"Kate, can you go into the woods and start helping Locke try to open the hatch? I'll be there in a little while, I just…" he nodded his head towards the tent, and Kate nodded.
"I'll see you there," Kate whispered, leaning into Jack and kissing him lightly on the cheek. She smiled and ran into the woods.
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Danoso woke up, and for the first time in her life, someone was holding her. Someone had their arms wrapped firmly, yet gently around her, protecting her, keeping her safe and warm, their fingers tangling with hers. Her head rose and fell with the steady rhythm of his breathing, and without opening her eyes, she knew that if she looked up, she would see Boone.
She tried to remember where she was. It was warm, and she was sleeping in Boone's arms, covered by blankets. His shirt smelled like dirt, sweat, and there was a faint whiff of worn-out cologne. She could hear his heart beating, deep inside his chest, protected by organs, veins and blood. The up and down rhythm paused for a beat, and then resumed as if it hadn't stopped. A warm breeze fluttered across her head, and the trees rattling silently in the distance. Someone far away groaned and got up.
She tried to remember what happened, but all that came back were fragments of memories, or dreams; she couldn't tell which. She remembered hearing Boone's voice whispering into her ear that she was safe, and in good hands.
She opened an eye, and a dim ray of moonlight peeked through the closed flap of the tent. The dim light provided faint outlines of objects, towels, bottles, bowls, fruit, and she felt her eyes immediately begin to droop. Right in her line of vision, was an object she'd only seen in the principles office. It was a standard issue folder, beige in color, curiously thick. A quiet song could be heard, and Danoso realized that Charlie was singing. She smiled at the soothing sound, letting it enter her ears and calm her.
Unable to keep her eyes open any longer, she dropped her head so that it was hidden inside the blanket, and tried to get closer to Boone. Her leg protested in pain to the movement, and she bit her lip. She squeezed his hand tightly, venting it out, then yawned and closed her eyes. The pain dulled, and turned into a light ache while she drifted off to sleep, guitar chords and jumbled song in the background, content with being in Boone's arms.
TBC…
-LOST-
Cohen101