TITLE: Sick Day
RATING: PG
SUMMARY: Shannon goes to Sayid when she doesn't feel well.
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.
Written before last night's Lost. Thanks as always to mrstater, who thought this was a good idea and helped me figure it out.
Shannon brought her arm over her eyes as the sunlight streaming in through her tarp woke her up. She yawned, stretching her hands above her head. Immediately, she realized that she couldn't breathe. Panicked, she became more and more tangled in her blankets as she struggled to get up. She couldn't be having an asthma attack this early in the morning, she knew no one would be working near her tent to hear her if she tried to scream. Suddenly she sneezed, and she could breathe again.
Unfortunately with the sneeze came a pounding head, and the ability to breathe was only temporary. She flopped back down against her pillow as a strong cough vibrated through her body. She was relieved that it wasn't an asthma attack, but furious that she was sick on Craphole Island. Why did she have to be the one to catch the only germs floating around on a tropical island?
Grumpily, she pulled her blanket tighter around her; when that didn't make her feel better, she pulled it over hear head. She felt too warm with the blanket on, so she kicked it off, but of course that made her too cold. She groaned, she didn't want to be sick.
She sat up and looked for her bag of toiletries. She searched through it until she found her tissues. She blew her nose, hoping that would help; of course it didn't. In fact, she thought it might have made it worse.
Shannon decided that staying in her tent wasn't helping her to feel any better so she decided that she would find Sayid, maybe he had something hidden away that could help her feel better. She thought for a moment that Sawyer might have something stashed away, but instead decided to go find Sayid. He was after all a fricking genius. She pulled a hair tie out of her bag and pulled her hair out of her face. Her hand hovered over her make up, but as another cough shook her body, she didn't think it was worth it. For the first time since crashing on the island, she didn't wear any make up.
She stood up unsteadily as she wrapped her blanket tightly around her shoulders. She trudged slowly up to where she knew Sayid would be. She knew he would be working on the maps and he would be alone. That thought made it a little easier for her to cope with her decision to not wear any make up.
After what felt like forever, she was finally by Sayid's office, as she liked to call it. He appeared to be lost in thought with the maps and Shannon took the opportunity to just watch him. Unfortunately, her staring was interrupted by a sneeze.
Sayid looked up sharply. "Are you all right?"
"No."
His eyes filled with concern and he looked around as if he was trying to find Jack.
Dramatically she plopped down on the sand by his feet and rested her head against his leg. Almost immediately she felt his fingers in her hair.
"What is the matter?" he asked.
"I'm sick," she whined as she sneezed.
He continued to caress her face. "You have a cold," he stated, as if he didn't understand why she was upset.
"I know that. I'm sick." She closed her eyes as she took deep breaths to prevent another coughing fit. It didn't work. She whimpered against him. "I don't want to be sick here. I can't lay in bed and watch soaps."
"Soaps?" he asked.
"They're TV shows that are kind of cheesy, but in a good way. Crazy things happen on them. They're a great escape from the real world. And usually there's plenty of eye candy." She realized he probably didn't know the term eye candy, or that it applied to him. "A lot of guys who take their shirts off."
"And you enjoy watching that?" he asked, uncertainly.
"Only when I'm sick," she lied a little. She didn't want him to tease her about it.
He rested his hand against her forehead. "I do not believe you have a fever."
"Doesn't mean I don't feel crappy," she snapped.
"I'm sorry, I know that you do not feel well. What would you wish for me to do?"
"Make it go away," she answered as she snuggled closer to his leg.
He chuckled. "That is not in my control. We should get you back to your shelter so you can rest and feel better."
Reluctantly, she moved so he could stand. He held out his hands to pull her to her feet.
"But I just came from there," she moaned. "I don't want to walk back."
He sighed, his annoyance showing on his face. "Shannon, you walked here, I am sure that you can make it back."
She folded her arms across her chest and pouted. She felt icky, and she didn't want Sayid to leave her in the tent to be icky alone.
Rolling his eyes, Sayid came next to her and wrapped his arm around her waist to support her as they walked. She rested her head against his shoulder, enjoying the feeling of his arms around her. The trip to the tent took a while, as he had to walk slowly to keep pace with her.
Finally they were at her tent, and Sayid helped her into her bed. He covered her with her blanket, making sure that she was safely tucked in.
"What would you like to do?" he asked softly. "Would you like to sleep?"
Even though her eyelids felt like lead and she could barely keep them open, she didn't want him to leave, which she feared he would do if she fell asleep.
"I can read to you," he said, picking up the dog-eared book that lay next to him.
She looked over at him and saw him make a face at the cover. He opened the book to where she had placed her bookmark and she watched as he skimmed the page. She tried not to laugh at the shocked expression on his face. Of course he had to pick up the romance novel that she had bought in the airport, he couldn't find one of the more scholarly novels that she owned.
He placed the book back in its spot. Refusing to look her in the eyes, he said, "I can not read that to you."
A smile played on her lips at his embarrassment. Why couldn't she have met someone like him sooner? It would have saved her a lot of heartache. He never would have hurt her the way all her other boyfriends had. The other guys she had been with probably would have wanted to act out the scenes from the book, while Sayid couldn't even bring himself to read out loud from it.
"I still don't feel good," she complained.
"Would you like me to find Jack?"
She shook her head as she coughed. "No, I like you."
He brushed a strand of hair off her face. "I wish I could make you feel better."
She bit her lip. "When I'm sick at home, I usually snuggle with my pillows. It makes me feel better."
Understanding shone in his eyes as he finally grasped what she really wanted from him. He moved so that he was lying next to her. "I am sure it is not like home, but I am here. I can stay as long as you would like."
She moved so that she could lay her head on his chest, her arm wrapping around his waist. It was much better than any pillow she had ever owned at home. She closed her eyes as his heartbeat began to cause her to drift off to sleep.
"Tell me a story," she said, groggily.
He started speaking softly, his chest vibrating underneath her. Sleep quickly claimed her and she had no idea what story to told her, but she knew that he stayed beside her.
The End
