RATING: PG

SUMMARY: Takes place about five months after Against All Odds. Shannon's past relationships have left her insecure, which may end up affecting her current relationship with Sayid. What will it take for her to realize that it might just be ok?

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the characters from Lost and am not making a profit. If they were mine, then there would be more Shayid moments.

Thanks, mrstater, I thought Sayid would do something just to let her know that he cares, not as good as last nights fireside surprise, but I'm living in my own world for a few more chapters. Slowly, Shannon is beginning to learn. Thanks, JuliansGirl, cliffhangers are fun to write, although I admit that I hate reading them. I hope that you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter Four – Needing You

After a restless sleep, Shannon woke up more exhausted then when she had fallen asleep the previous night. She noticed that the tarp was still down and there was no evidence that Sayid had been back. She hoped that he had returned and stayed in the caves, afraid that he would have woken her up when he returned. She hugged his shirt tightly to her chest on last time, before she got dressed to head to the caves.

When she got there, she noticed Jack looking out into the jungle. Her heart sank as she looked around and didn't see Sayid.

Taking a deep breath, she walked up to Jack, "Hey, is Sayid back?"

He shook his head no, his eyes filled with worry. "I'm sure he's fine," he added, "I'm just surprised they aren't back yet."

Shannon tried to smile, "Guess going with Boone slowed him down."

Jack offered her an encouraging smile, "Probably right."

"If you see him first…"

"I'll send him your way."

"Thanks," she said softly as she made her way to the quiet section of the caves.

She curled herself up into a ball, not taking her eyes off of the woods. She couldn't help but think that if she hadn't run off, they would have stayed in the jungle a little longer and then everyone else would have went out searching for Locke without him. She felt guilty for thinking like that, Sayid knew how to handle himself, he had been a solider, but still she worried. Selfishly, she wanted him to be with her only.

She thought about heading out herself to look for him, but that was only a great plan if she wanted to be killed. She was fairly certain that she would be able to find her way out there, but she had no tracking skills and would probably end up food for the island monster.

As soon as Sayid returned she was going to have him teach her how to track things in the jungle so that she would be better able to fend for herself out there. Well, as she thought about it, that really wasn't going to be the first thing she did. First she planned to jump into his arms and hold onto him tightly and maybe she would add a kiss in there as well, before dragging him back to their tent.

Sounded like the perfect plan, she thought, the only problem was that he still wasn't back. Shannon couldn't shake the feeling that had settled in her stomach since the previous night. Something had happened to him.

The more she had that thought the more her own doubts about her relationship with Sayid slipped away. She would still talk to him and share why she had ran away from him, but right then those reasons didn't matter. She didn't care if she wasn't good enough for him anymore. She didn't know how she would survive without him.

She closed her eyes for a second, to think about the future. She hoped they would be rescued; she wanted to show Sayid her home, the beaches and the malls, everything that she had told him about. She wanted to watch television with him, showing him some of the shows that she had referenced in conversation that he hadn't understood. She also wanted to share different foods with him. Especially chocolate, she wanted it to melt in his mouth and then she would kiss him, giving a whole new meaning to Hershey kisses. She wanted to know what it felt like to sleep next to him in an actual bed. There were just so many things she wanted to do with him, she realized, and in that moment something clicked in her mind.

Sayid knew how screwed up she was yet he stayed with her. There were other women on the island that he could have easily chosen to spend his time with, but he picked her. She still didn't understand it, but she knew that she should just wait and see what happened. For the first time, she felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She had been putting way too much thought into all of this, she was so hung up on her past that she was ready to throw away her chance at a perfect future. She smiled as she was finally ready to move completely forward, no more looking back.

Shannon decided then that she was going to go find Jack to see if he would go into the jungle with her to find Sayid, if he wouldn't then she would ask Sawyer or anyone who would go with her.

As she stood up, she heard Boone's voice. She grinned as she realized that meant that Sayid was there too. She rushed over to where his voice was coming from, ready to tell Sayid what she had been thinking when she ran away and what she was thinking now.

She froze in her tracks when she got closer. Boone appeared exhausted, his arms wrapped around Sayid's waist, supporting him. Shannon then noticed that his normally white tank top was red.

TBC…