Shannon walked down to the place where Sayid was standing. She was wearing her favorite blue dress, and her hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail. She smiled when she arrived to the man. She sighed. "So…Why have you brought me here?" She asked, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

Sayid smiled. "I have surprise for you." He said. "Boone and Locke went hunting. I think that we should be safe from your brother for now."

Shannon nodded. "About him…I'm sorry. He's just so protective."

Sayid shook his head. "Don't worry about it." He took her hand in his. "Close your eyes. And don't look. You'll ruin the surprise if you look." He said.

Shannon closed her eyes and let the man lead her down the beach. She laughed. "Where are you taking me Sayid?" She asked.

"That would be telling." He said coyly. Shannon could almost imagine the smirk on his face.

He stopped her, and sighed. "Open your eyes."

And she did. She gasped. There was a old plane blanket strewn on the sand, and in the center of it was a plate of boar meat and some fruit. There were pink flowers strewn on the blanket and the sand surrounding it. Not the most elegant dinner, but it was the thought that made Shannon break out in a smile and launch herself on Sayid. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, and buried her face in the crick of his shoulder.

Sayid laughed. "You don't have to squeeze the air our of me." He said softly.

Shannon pulled away from him. "Why are you doing all these nice things for me?" She asked. She was used to having men cater for her every need, but not men like Sayid. He was different.

Sayid sat down. "It is a thank you. For helping with the maps." He paused. "And I noticed. You haven't been eating too much lately. You looked like you could do with a good meal. Even if it is just some boar meat."

Shannon sat down on the other end of the blanket, and started to eat the meat. It tasted foreign in her mouth, but at the same time it felt good to have something in her stomach. She looked over to Sayid and gave a small smile.

He looked at her. "Why do you and your brother fight?" He asked simply.

Shannon shrugged. "He likes to protect me. When we were kids…" She paused. "When we were kids I used to be different. I played soccer, I liked to roll around in mud. Then when I turned 13, everything changed. Boys started noticing me, and I started noticing myself. I stopped eating, and whatever I did eat, I threw up." She sighed. "I got in relationships. And they weren't good ones."

Sayid frowned. "But you were only 13."

Shannon laughed. "You don't know what it's like to be 13 in Miami." She sighed, and went on. "I graduated high school when I was 16. Dad always said I was smart. He died that same year. All of his money went to Boones mom, and of course I didn't see a penny of it. So I left. I went to Paris. I told you about that guy, from St. Tropez. I was stupid. We got married…"

Sayid cut her off. "Married?"

Shannon nodded. "I hardly knew him. But I wanted to do something that would piss my family off. A revenge of sorts." She stopped to peel a banana. "But then he started hitting me. He would send his kid to bed and just beat the shit out of me. So I did what I always did. I called Boone. He paid the guy off, and took me back home. But things weren't all that better there. I hated life there, I had to get away. So I went to Mexico, and Spain. I discovered that Boone would do anything for me. So I pretended that all my boyfriends hit me. And he would come and pay money for them to break it off with me. Then me and the guy would split the money, and I would go somewhere else." She sighed. "I'm not proud of what I did."

Sayid looked to the sand. "And that is why you were in Australia."

Shannon nodded, and looked to the hazel eyed man. "You hate me now, don't you? It's fine if you do. I didn't think that you would like me for long anyways. Boone always told me I was a horrible person."

Sayid moved closer to her. "You are a good person Shannon. You have made mistakes. We have all made mistakes."

Shannon scoffed. "What have you done. Your practically perfect."

"I've done many things I am not proud of." He said solemnly.

Shannon noticed the look on his face. This was not the way that she wanted the night to turn out. She took the mans hand in hers, and stood up. Sayid looked to her, a puzzled expression crossing his face.

Shannon smiled. "It's terribly hot. I want to go swimming."

Sayid looked at her, and raised an eyebrow. "Swimming? At this time?" He laughed. "Besides, I didn't bring my swimming things."

Shannon sighed. "Then I guess you'll just have to go like this." She said, pushing him towards the water.

Sayid scooped Shannon, and swung her over his shoulder, fireman style. She shrieked with laughter, and the two plunged into the water. Sayid threw her into the water, and she pulled him down with her.

Sawyer looked at the two from his place on the beach. He turned to Kate, who was folding clothes and keeping watch on the fires. "Well Well, Seems like Captain Falafel has got himself a girlfriend." He said, nodding over to the water.

Kate smiled. "It's nice to see him happy." She said, pausing to take a drink from the water bottle set on the makeshift table beside her.

Sawyer shrugged. "Who would have thought it would be those two. The princess and the Arab." He laughed. "Even I wouldn't have bet on that one."

Kate was just about to reply with a witty comment, when a scream echoed from the caves. Shannon and Sayid stopped their splashing, and Sawyer and Kate jerked there head to the trees. The four dropped their things and ran towards the cave, anxious to see what was going on.

Hurley was sitting outside the cave, looking pale and shaky. Kate looked at him. "What happened?" She asked, a strain on her usually stronger voice.

"Dude…" Hurley said quietly. "Claire just went into labor."

Jack emerged from the inside of a cave. "I'm going to need water. Lot's of it. And the cleanest pieces of clothing you can find." He said wearily. "Has anyone here had any experience with the birthing process."

Shannon shuffled uncomfortably. "I saw a couple of documentaries on it during health class when I was in high school." She said.

Jack nodded. "Good. Come with me."

Shannon turned to Sayid. "Sorry our dinner was ruined." She said softly. "I had a really good time tonight Sayid."

The man smiled to her. "I can say the same." He sighed. "You should go. I don't think Jack is holding up to well in there."

Shannon nodded and entered the cave quietly. Charlie was at Claire's side, muttering quietly into her ear and squeezing her hand. Jack was at the other side, not entirely sure what to do.

Shannon walked over to the woman. "Claire. I need you to listen to me. We're going to do this. Everything is going to be fine." She said, more to herself than to anyone…