Sayid slid an arm around her waist and escorted her back to her new tent. "I'd almost forgotten you made this in all the heyday," she chuckled. "It's still absolutely beautiful." She smiled brightly at him.
He ducked his head. "It was no problem."
She bit her lip, suddenly nervous as she recalled their conversation in the rain just hours ago. The two were still soaked to the skin and seemed to have just realized it.
"Should we change into something dry?" Sayid suggested.
Shannon shook her head. "I don't want to be alone yet."
"Alright." Sayid grabbed a blanket from her tent and wrapped it around her.
He sat down in the entrance to her tent, gesturing to the sand beside him. "What is on your mind?"
She sat next to him, looking at him shyly. "Just thinking about what you said to me earlier."
"Which part?"
She draped half of the blanket over Sayid's shoulders. "The part where you said you… loved me." Her eyes flitted to the sand between them. She wasn't used to being this vulnerable with anyone, even Sayid.
He leaned back on his hands. "Ah, yes. And what are you thinking?"
"Did you mean it?" She played with her hands, wincing as she realized that it now hurt to do that.
"Of course I did. I wouldn't say it if I did not."
She let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "Wow. Okay."
"You are under no obligation to say it back, Shannon."
"No, that's not it, Sayid. It's just that I've, uh, I've never had a guy say that to me first before," she smiled sadly. His heart broke for her a little bit–how had no one ever told this beautiful woman he loved her?
He scooted close to her, embracing her and holding her close to his chest. "You could have died out there today."
She was a little confused by the topic change, but she went with it because she didn't want to get stuck moping about her past.
She nodded against his chest. "But I didn't," she mumbled. "And I'm really glad, because" – she looked up at him – "I love you, too." The grin that overtook her face was so big it pushed the tears out of her eyes and down her cheeks. For the first time in a long time, she felt no shame at crying in front of someone else. Sayid pressed a kiss to her forehead. She could feel him smiling.
"Sayid?"
"Yes?"
"When did you last eat?"
"I'm not sure."
"You should go get something to eat."
He hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "All right. Would you like me to get you something as well?"
She shook her head. "I'm not hungry, but you should eat. It's been a long day."
Sayid stood, brushing the sand off his pants, and went in search of food. He eventually returned in dry clothes, carrying food for both of them. Shannon had changed into dry clothes in his absence as well, and he was pleased to see her shivering less.
"You should at least try to eat," he offered her a piece of fruit, which she took gratefully.
Come to think of it, she actually did feel pretty hungry. "Okay."
"Thank you for caring for me, Shannon."
She snorted softly. "I should be saying that to you. I'm sorry. I haven't been good to you – I've been selfish and mean, and I'm sorry. You don't deserve that."
Sayid placed a hand on her face. "I forgive you. It can be hard to let go of old habits."
She nodded. "But I want to try. I want to try to be better."
"I know you can."
Half an hour after they'd eaten, Shannon dashed into the jungle, heaving. Sayid followed her closely, very concerned. He rubbed her back as she threw up her dinner, wincing at her pain.
Once she seemed as if she was done, he asked, "Shannon, are you alright? Are you sick?"
She shook her head. "I guess I just ate too much."
His eyebrows furrowed as he helped her up. "You didn't eat very much."
"Yeah, well, it feels like a lot if you've had an eating disorder since you were fourteen. I'm not used to eating so much."
"I see." He nodded slowly. "I am sorry if I pushed you into eating more than you were ready for."
She laughed hoarsely. "It's okay. I've just got to build up to it."
They walked back to camp hand in hand. He snagged her a water bottle and opened it for her. "Drink this. It'll help."