Disclaimer: I Don't own lost

Note: I noticed a bunch of spelling errors in the first chapter, and will be going back to correct those soon. Also, I was made aware that I've been spelling "Sawyer" incorrectly, so I apologize for that as well. I will be working on my spelling a lot more in general, so it will take longer to update then my last story did, so for those loyal readers, sorry!

To those who replied:

I lost one or two e-mails, so if you replied, thank you for doing so, and please do so again. :)

CClover4ever: Aw, your too sweet! Thank you so much. :)

Alatarial10: Hey, I didn't get your e-mail, but I'm assuming you wrote something cause your so loyal (witch is fantastic!) So, for what ever it was you said, thank you.

FATE: The Next Life

Changes

Every muscle in her legs wriggled with tension as Shannon stomped on wobbly legs down the crowded side walk. Her feet were killing her. Every muscle in her body ached. She felt grimy, and weak. All she wanted was to go pass out in her big, fluffy bed.

But no. Boone had to go an snap on her. He couldn't have just let her go and get some rest before sinking his claws in. She'd been home for one night and she was already on the streets. She thought about calling one of her friends from a pay phone, but couldn't think of any one worth calling.

She thought of Sayid. If he was still around, she could rely on him. He was probably the only person on earth she'd ever felt she could rely on. She remembered how she opened up to him, compelled to him, cried on his shoulder numerous times. And he hadn't tried to pull anything at all.

If only he was around now. She could use nothing more than a shoulder to cry on. But she'd left him behind with everything else. She didn't even say good bye. And now she was alone, just like before. No where to go, no where to hide. Not even enough money in her pocket to catch a bus.

If she were any where besides an open side walk in the middle of the day, she would have broke down crying. But instead, she just plopped down on a near by bench, resting her feet. witch burned under the three inch heals, and stared at the people one by one as they passed her by and wondered what she could possibly do next. Going back was not an option. Not any more.

Damn it Boone...why can't you just trust me?

"What are you boys up to?" Claire inquired, watching her two favorite men from the kitchen door way.

Charlie sat on the couch with Ben plopped on his lap. "Watching the news" he answered simply. "See? Theres a new caster. And that thing on his head is a called a Toupee" Charlie explained jokenly as he pointed to the screen.

"And that's Cynthia Tetherwinks, she's black, Asian, Hispanic, and a women. See, cooperate media doesn't like to heir a lot of minority, so instead the higher them all in one" he added. Claire shook her head, trying not to laugh.

"Locke!" Ben exclaimed, pointing at the screen. Both turned to see a familiar smiling face smiling back at them through the screen.

He was talking to one of the reporters, who soon explained that the "phonemic man now resides in Sindy, Australia". Claire smiled as she walked forward, standing at the back of the couch as she watch Locke further explained his plans now that he was back to civilization.

"So old Locke's in our neck of the woods now? Maybe we should drop by one day and give him a visit" He suggested, turning to look at Claire who was standing behind him.

"I think he'd like that Alright Ben. Time for a bath" she announced, lifting him off the couch.

"But mum.." He protested, still keeping his eyes on the T.V. from over her shoulder. His faint accent showing more than usual. After being born on the "united nations all on one" island, his voice didn't really sway to one ethnicity, but occasionally, the Australian broke through.

"But nothing" She confirmed, cutting him short. He made no further protest as Claire headed for the stairs.

"You sure you don't need any help?" Charlie asked, looking over the back of the couch as she head up the stairs. "No, I think I can handle it" She assured with amusement. She diapered onto the second floor, leaving Charlie in a wide empty space, witch went hauntingly silent after he clicked off the T.V.

If there was one thing he hated, it was being alone. Even if Claire was only a few steps away. The room felt as if it were growing by the minute. Nothing but thin, empty space accompanied him.

He wanted to help. He wanted to be able to do the dishes, or play with Ben, or cook the dinner, or take out the trash. Anything to keep his mind of the wide empty rooms of this house. Never in his life had he lived in a place like this.

Growing up, they lived in a little town house in Manchester, with only two rooms and one story. And then in later years, he spent his life moving from living room to living room of who ever would let him in. Or who ever hadn't already kicked him out.

But this house, as glorious as it was, felt so...open. So broad and wide and empty. And above all bright. The white and blues swarmed the walls. Sun light shining in through the windows all day long. It was even bright at night time!

He stretched out on the couch and tried to ignore the little voice in his head that was simply screaming to do something. An alarming since ran over him as he realized for the first time in forever that his hand was twitching. He sat up, grabbing a hold of it to make it stop.

A swift train-of-thought rushed through his head as he climbed to his feet, desperate for something to keep him occupied. "Charlie?" Claire asked suddenly. He spun around, startled by the sudden interruption of silence. He stared up at her from her spot at the head of the stairs, her head leaned agenst the wall. He was still cradling his bandaged hand.

"Is your hand alright?" She questioned, looking down on him with concern. "Huh...oh! Yeah, its fine" He assured, quickly letting it drop to his side.

"Ok" She smiled with relief. "Did you need any help?" He asked hopefully, catching her before she headed back. "Nope" she answered simply.

"Ok. Well then is it alright if I go out for a little while, I wanna pick something up from the store" He explained, if I can't do anything here, I'll do it someplace else.

"Yeah, of course" She answered sweetly, although she was a little confused on his sudden need to go out. They had absolutely everything here. But she decided not to pry, and went back to Ben.

Charlie wondered over to the door, about to turn the knob with his bad hand. He hesitated for a moment before lifting the other and pulled the door open. A bright wave of sun hit his eyes straight on. He went blind instantly, stepping backward to escape the heavy beam. He let his eyes adjust before going forward again, grabbing a pair of sunglasses off the table and sliding them on before stepping outside.

Kate woke up to the strong smell of oil and gasoline. She sat up, realizing where she was.

A car... no truck, Sawyer's truck, parked outside a gas station.

Sawyer was steady arguing with the man infront of him outside the door, waving a fist of dollar bills angrily. The sight of him hollering angrily at the frightened little cashier brought a smile to her face. Never a dull moment with him, she mushed as she watched him throw the five dollars and change in the little mans face before storming off, lighting up a cigarette as she made his way back to the car.

It took him a good moment to walk to the drivers side, pull the door open, climb inside, pull it back shut, take a second drag of his cigarette and let the smoke out with a huff before he realized Kate had been stareing at him the whole time.

"Well. Look who's awake" He said with a smile, though the frustration still hung in his voice. "What did he do?" She asked, indicating to the little store clerk who was moseying back inside.

"Oh...the little prick wouldn't give me my change" He answered, cigarette bobbing in his mouth as he started up the car. "Surprise you didn't stab him" she teased, still looking out the window until the little station disappeared from her vision.

"He's lucky I didn't" Sawyer confirmed, taking the cigarette out of his mouth now and holding it between two fingers as his arm rest on the window seal.

"So where are we?" She questioned, shifting in her seat. A blanket was crinkled up across her lap.. "Lets just say its pretty far from where we were" he answered, without providing any information.

"Ok, in that case where are we going?" She asked, persistently. "Home" He answered with a smile, taking another drag from his Cigarette.

"And where is home?" She asked, looking at him septically.

"Maybell, Alabama" He answered with a prideful grin. "Ugh...sounds like red neck tertiary" She teased sarcastically with a roll of her eyes.

"yep. Sweet home Alabama" he assured shamelessly. "Oh god. Please don't start singing" She begged playfully. "What? Fraid I might break a window?"

. "I'm afraid you might break a wind-shield" she corrected teasingly. They both laughed freely. Kate stared off down the empty rode ahead and wondered when she had a good fun laugh like that last. It wasn't with Jack, that was for sure. He was always "mister serious". And even when he did open up enough to share a joke, it had taken so much work to get there she could never fully enjoy it. But now, she was free to laugh or say what ever she wanted, without having to explained herself to anyone.

Shannon walked into the bath room to escape the loud hollers that echoed through the open warehouse being used as a club. She felt hot, and grungy as she staggered inside, the techno base still booming through the walls.

She braced herself agenst the sink, stareing her reflection down in the mirror. Her hair was in stringy blond curls that shot out in various directions around her heart shaped face. The dark make up around her eyes had long since smeared, and now left a bruise-color of blue and grey in rings around her darkened, tangled lashes. Her eyes themselves were red, and a glazed layer shined over them. Despite the well-toned tan she'd gained from the island, she looked pale.

"You look terrible" She said out loud, talking to her own reflection.

"Excuse me?"

. "Oh, no. Not you. I was talking to myself" She explained quickly, not wanting to offend the young women who had been standing bedside her.

"Oh. Well yeah, you do look a little ruff" the young women agreed honestly.

"Thanks..." Shannon muttered sarcastically. "I didn't mean it in a bad way. You just Like you've been through hell" The girl explained.

"Oh believe me, I have" Shannon assured her, pulling her bag off the counter top. "Well how bout I buy you a drink and you tell me about it?" the girl suggested, grabbing her attention once again before she headed out the door. Shannon hesitated for a moment before turning back to her.

"Why the hell not" She agreed simply, and fallowed the girl to a empty table.

Charlie stared straight ahead, with no idea where he was going. Both hands gripped the steering wheel, hard enough to keep his fingers from twitching. The tension grew in his bad hand as he squeezed harder around the turn. He ignored it.

After facing every injury known to man kind on the island, a busted hand was but a flesh wound. His mind was racing as he wondered what exactly it was that he was doing.

He had left with plans to go the store, and actually get something. But now he was driving aimlessly, and his conscience flared. It was a nagging little voice that he hadn't heard in forever. It had all the answers to ruin your life, and insisted on banging them into your brain no matter how much you wanted it out.

His temples literary pounded as he drove onward, glancing down at the black watch on his wrist to find 7:00 p.m. blinking in big red numbers.

He began to wonder rather or not Claire was worried about him. He hadn't realized how long he'd been driving. It didn't help that he was in the middle of no where in strange territory. He pulled the jeep to a stop, and went to turn. Ready to go back home.

Then, he decided that if he'd been out for over two hours, and said he'd gone to the store, he'd better pick up something. So off to the store he went.

"So he just let you go?" The girl, who's name happened to be Eve, asked as she twirled the straw in her tall blue glass, complete with mini parasol.

"What was he gonna do? stop me?" Shannon questioned in response. "Well, atleast he can't control you any more. And he's probably driving himself crazy for kicking you out" The girl noted, trying to be comforting.

"Yeah I guess. But now I have no where to go..." Shannon shrugged, looking over her arm, witch rested on the back of her chair, at the dancers behind her. "Well, you can stay at my place if you like" the girl offered plainly, taking a sip from her bright purple straw.

"Really?" Shannon questioned in slight disbelief, darting a glance back at her. "Yeah. Totally. I mean, you seem like a nice girl. You look like you could use a break" Eve explained.

"Wow. Thank you so much" Shannon smile appreciatively. "Don't mention it" Eve grinned, picking the glass up with her as she leaned back in her chair, taking another sip. "So you ready to go then?" She asked after a moment of silence.

"Yeah, sure" Shannon agreed, picking up her purse from its spot by the chair. They both rose at the same time and headed out.

Kate sat at the table, her fingers tapping impatiently agenst the edge as she waited for Sawyer to return with her food. He appeared moments later with a tray with loads McDonald food piled on top. Kate didn't hesitate until he sat down before grabbing the burger greedily and taking a heaping bite.

"Hungry?" Sawyer asked in amusement, watching her dig into the poor hunk of meat. "Mm, hm.." She answered through a mouth full of food.

"Well eat up, because from now on its nothing but road kill for you" he joked sarcastically as he unwrapped his own big Mc.

"Lovely" She muttered sarcastically, and took another bite. "So, are we going to see your family?" She asked, before thinking of who she was talking too.

"You could say that" he replied, to her surprise. "So there is another life form in the...Sawyer family" she said, feeling bad for not knowing his last name. As a matter a fact, she didn't even really know his first name.

"Well, not blood. But I got a few friends who'd just love to meet you" He explained, glancing up at her from the burger wedged between both of his hands.

"Oh?" She questioned skeptically, with the arch of an eyebrow. "Yup. Then I thought we could get an apartment or something" he suggested casually, as if it were something simple.

"Sounds like a good idea" She agreed passively. But nothing seemed like a good idea any more...

Claire had already made dinner and was now washing dishes as she waited for Charlie to come home. Ben sat in the living room, casually watching T.V. on the couch. Claire's eye wondered to the clock on the far wall once again, witch read 7:40.

Three hours, he's been gone. She noted to herself as she scrubbed violently at the dish in hand. The sound of the door bell broke her train of thought, and she quickly made her way over to the front door.

"Locke!" She exclaimed, wrapping her arms around the man who stood, a little surprised, in the door way. "Hello, Claire..." he greeted over her shoulder, trying to keep his balanced after being nearly tackled.

"Come in!" She insisted, quickly moving so that he could get through the door.

"LOCKE!" Ben called from the back of the couch as he recognized the familiar happy face. "Hey!" Locke greeted in reply, lifting him off the cushion in a great big hug.

"Me and Charlie heard you were in Sidney. We thought we'd come visit you as soon as things settled down" Claire explained, walking over to them after shutting the door. "What things?" he questioned, looking over at her as he sat Ben back down on the couch.

"Oh, you know. Just moving in and getting back to the ways of civilized living" She clarified casually.

"Where's Charlie?" He questioned next. "He's out" She explained simply, although she sounded a little unsure. "Oh. When will he be back?"

Claire hesitated. "I...don't know" She replied finally, her voice sounding all to suspicions. "Something wrong, Claire?" he questioned with concern. "No, of course not. What could be wrong?" She assured, forcing a little extra perk into her smile.

"Claire, after being on an island with you for over a year, I think I can tell when you and Charlie are having a problem" Locke explained skeptically, while remaining sympathetic. Claire tried to deny it once again, but gave in.

"He's just been acting really...strange" Claire explained nervously. Locke patted the cushion beside him, indicating for her to sit down and continue. Claire plopped into the seat passively.

"It seems like all he's wanted to do since we got back was house work. He won't just sit down and relax!" Claire exclaimed. "He's probably just so used to being on the island that he dosent know how to go back to normal life" Locke suggested sympathetically.

"But that's the thing. He can't go back to the way he lived before, and I think that's what's bothering him" Claire explained. She hadn't even realized it until he'd left, but now she was extremely worried.

"Have you talked to him about it?" Locke questioned. Claire hesitated once again. "No.." she looked down at her hands, witch were linked in one another and sat loosely on her lap. "Maybe you should" he suggested, with a warm smile. "Maybe your right.." She agreed, a little grin of her own began to appear. It was at that moment the phone rang. Claire hopped up quickly to answer it, hoping to god it was Charlie.

"Hello?" She answered, trying to hide her excitement. "Claire, its Liam" Liam explained from the other end. Her expression dropped. "Liam? What's wrong?" She asked, sensing the concern in his voice.

"Its, Charlie. He's been in a car accident"

"So what do you think?" Eve asked excitedly, leaning over Shannon's shoulder.

Shannon stared back at the unfamiliar face before her. She had short, dark brown hair that in dim light would probably look black. The only blond still showing in two thin strands that ran down in the very front, that shined almost white agenst the rest. Her eye make up was a dark black, that made her green eyes glow with intensity. Her lips were painted in a dark read, and her skin looked whiter than ever.

"I look so...different" Shannon replied thoughtfully, not quite coming to a conclusion. "You look great" Eve corrected, with a triumphant grin. "You think?" Shannon questioned, turning back to her new friend. "Defiantly." Eve confirmed. Shannon turned back to the mirror once again, smiling at the newly found look. "My brother's gonna flip" She noted, the thought made her grin widen.

"Isn't that the point?" Eve laughed, then rose to her feet. "I'm gonna go hit the shower. Feel free to watch T.V. or get something to eat if you want" She announced as she headed down the hall. Shannon headed back to the couch, laying long-ways across the cushions. She clicked on the T.V. and stared at the screen, uninterested until a familiar face appeared.

It was Sayid, standing in the middle of an air port. The site of him made her sit up. He was smiling at the reported infront of him, answering the same question over and over again.

He handles those dastards a lot better than I do. She thought, a smile crossing her face as she watched him brush back a chunk of sleek black curls. She missed him so much it hurt.

If only I knew where he was...she thought, growing a little sad as she laid her head back onto of her crossed arms, witch rested on the seat of the couch. She gave a little sigh as she mused on how it would be if she saw him again, then slowly closed her eyes.