TITLE: Rescue Me
RATING: PG
SUMMARY: Shannon finds that her doubts don't disappear with rescue.
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.
Part Two
The next thing Shannon was aware of was the throbbing pain in her head. For a second, she didn't now where she was or how she had gotten there. The last thing she could remember was drinking wine with Claire and Kate, and then wanting to see Sayid. Had she even made it to him? Gingerly, she opened her eyes. The room was dark with the shades pulled tightly closed. She realized that she was in a bed and quickly closed her eyes again. Whose bed was this? Horrible memories of before the place crash came to mind.
Her lip quivered as she opened her eyes again. She peeked under the covers, with the unfamiliar sheets, and was relieved to find that she was still dressed. But that relief was short lived. Having her clothes on either meant that nothing happened, or that someone had taken the time to get her dressed. She held her breath as she sat up to see if someone else was in the bed, when she felt someone staring at her.
She pulled the sheets up to her chest as she moved to the other side of the bed, further away from the person in the shadows. She couldn't make out who it was. She curled into a ball as the person stood and walked towards her.
"It's all right, Shannon."
Her body trembled as she sighed. It was Sayid. She was in Sayid's room. He never would let anything bad happen to her.
She crinkled her nose as she looked around. "How did I get here?"
Sayid sank down on the edge of the bed, but made no move to touch her. "You don't remember?"
She closed her eyes tightly. That question usually meant she had done something really horrible or really stupid. She was afraid to find out which it was.
"You let yourself in last night," Sayid began. "You woke me up and," he hesitated, "we talked and then you fell asleep on the bed. I placed you under the covers."
That didn't seem to be that bad, but she knew he wasn't telling her something. He wouldn't look at her.
"What did we talk about?"
He ran his hand through hair. "It is not important."
"Drunken slut or drunken bitch?" she asked.
"What?" he asked, taken aback.
"Boone used to tell me that I was either a slut or a bitch when drunk." She frowned. "Although he also told me that when I was sober. I'd like to know which I was so I can apologize."
"That's not necessary. I know that was not you last night."
It was so frustrating that he wouldn't tell her what happened. This was definitely a reminder of why large quantities of alcohol were very bad. She moved to get comfortable, but groaned as she felt the jackhammer go off in her head.
"Are you all right?" Sayid asked, concern in his eyes.
"My head hurts," she whined. "And I feel sick."
Sayid walked over to where the trashcan sat, and brought it over to the bed. Then he moved so that he was lying in the bed next to her. He motioned for her to come to him. She sluggishly moved to rest her head against his chest. He began to rub her forehead gently. She sighed against him as she snuggled closer. She had missed being in his arms.
"Shannon, do you know that I love you?" he asked softly.
She smiled against his chest. "I know that."
Shannon felt him sigh in relief, and he pulled her closer to him.
"This is nice," she said. "The lying in your arms part, not the hangover." She bit her lip. "I've missed you."
"We see each other every day."
"But it's not like on the island. We were always together, and it doesn't feel right being apart now. I know things aren't going to be the same here."
"It will be harder here, but I think--" He paused, then continued, correcting himself, "--I know we will be okay." He continued to massage her forehead.
She closed her eyes as his words sank in. Somehow he had known exactly what she had needed to hear. She remembered her worry after talking with the girls and how the alcohol was supposed to numb that worry. Now she realized she should have just done this and talked with him.
"I know you said it wasn't necessary, but I'm sorry. I know it must have been really bad, whatever I did. You would tell me if it wasn't that bad." She chewed on her lip. "I thought I'd changed, Sayid. I thought I grew up, but maybe it was only because I was secluded from everything else, like alcohol. Maybe it would have been better if we were still on the island. I feel like I'm falling and I don't know what to do."
He ran his fingers through her hair. "You have me to hold onto."
She sat up slightly, ignoring the flash of pain in her head. "But what if you realize that I'm not worth it? What if I can't keep the new life going here? I don't know if you would even like the person I was before we crashed."
"You do not have to worry about that. We will find a way to make this work."
"Promise me that I'll always have you to rescue me," she whispered.
"Always. As long as you do the same for me."
"I promise."
She rested her head back against his chest, and closed her eyes. For the first time since they had seen the boats she felt like maybe everything would be okay. She wasn't naïve enough to believe that it would be easy, but she knew that it would be perfect.
The End