Shannon made it back to camp and over to Jack's medical tent, in great part thanks to Sayid's help and encouragement. While the wound wouldn't be fatal, it certainly was painful. However, Shannon did her best to be stoic and to not complain. She wasn't that girl anymore and she didn't want to be.
"What happened?" Jack asked, clearing a path for the two. Shannon was a terrifying sight, covered in her own blood and pale from blood loss.
"We encountered the survivors from the tail end of the plane," Sayid explained, unscrewing a water bottle and holding it to Shannon's lips. She drank slowly. "They were frightened and they acted without thinking. We brought them back to camp with us."
"You what?" Jack looked overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information Sayid was throwing at him, but he took it in stride.
Sayid reminded him of the most pressing issue. "Can you help her?" Jack had never seen him look so scared.
Jack nodded tersely.
He and Sayid helped Shannon sit down comfortably so Jack could work on her right arm. Jack warned Shannon that getting the bullet out and stitching up the wound would be painful, but assured her that he would do it as quickly as he could. As hard as she tried not to, Shannon still began to have trouble breathing. All the running through the jungle had irritated her asthma, and fear only made it worse.
Sayid rubbed her back gently. "You're alright. Does this help at all?"
She shook her head, slipping deeper into her panic. "I ruined your shirt, I'm so sorry."
"Shannon, that shirt is the furthest thing from my mind right now. Where do you keep your inhaler?" Sayid inquired.
"It's… it's in my purple suitcase. It should be in the main pocket." She offered him a grateful smile.
"I will be right back. Keep drinking that water, alright? Please wait for me, Jack."
Jack gave him a curt nod.
Sayid returned quickly, holding the precious inhaler, and passed it to Shannon.
"Thanks."
He cupped her cheek. "Of course. Is there anything I can do to help, Jack?"
Jack shook his head. "Just try to keep her still if you can. Keep her distracted."
"Alright."
Shannon took a couple of breaths using her inhaler, then handed it back to Sayid, who slid it into his pocket in case she needed it again. She reached for his hand, dreading the pain and needing something else to focus on. He interlaced their fingers and placed a kiss on the back of her hand. "It's going to be alright, Shannon."
She gritted her teeth. "Go ahead, Jack."
He dug into her forearm with the tweezers, seeking out the bullet. She did her best not to scream, but couldn't help it a couple of times. The pain was so intense that she pressed her face against Sayid's shoulder, trying to get away from Jack and the tweezers. She didn't even realize there were tears on her cheeks until Sayid reached to wipe them away.
"Shannon, did I ever tell you about the time I was shot?" He said, hoping perhaps a story and some empathy might help.
She shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut so she couldn't see what Jack was doing.
He chuckled sardonically. "It wasn't very heroic. A childhood friend of mine, Nadia, was brought in for interrogation. For weeks I questioned her, but she told me nothing. Finally, the Guard decided they had no more use for her. They were going to kill her. I could not stand by and allow her to be killed, so I aided in her escape. In order to make it appear that she worked alone, I shot myself in the leg."
He pulled up his pant leg, revealing the scar. "It was incredibly painful. I remember the doctors were not sure if they would be able to save my leg. They put me under anasthesia while they removed the bullet, so I cannot say I have felt exactly what you are feeling."
Shannon opened her eyes, staring at him. "What do you mean, that's not heroic? You saved someone's life, Sayid."
"But I killed another soldier to do so. And I don't even know if Nadia made it out of there alive."
"You did a good thing. That was incredibly brave."
He smiled ruefully at her. "Thank you."
Jack finally got the bullet out, depositing it with a clang into a bucket beside the chair. He then washed out the wound with antiseptic, at which Shannon gritted her teeth so hard she thought she might have ground away some of her molars. Sayid just stroked the back of her hand with his thumb.
The stitches were the easy part. By the time they were over, Shannon was so tired she thought she might collapse then and there. She stood shakily.
"Um, thanks, Jack. I really appreciate it."
"You're welcome, Shannon. Just doing my job. If that wound gives you any trouble, let me know. Make sure you're changing the bandages every twelve hours." He handed her a couple of pills. "If the pain gets to be too much, you can take one of these every six hours."
She nodded. "I will. Thanks again. For everything you've done for us. You're a good leader." Jack was surprised to hear her expressing gratitude instead of whining, but he accepted the compliment and turned away, smiling.