There and Back, chapter 7
Base Camp was the dumbest name Shannon had ever heard. Why did a campsite need a name? When they finally arrived there, Shannon wondered why she had come. Dave introduced them to the other survivors, tried to get them involved, but neither Shannon nor Claire felt like they belonged. Shannon realized it was because they had both run away from something, not to something. They kept to themselves, withdrawn and moping. Occasionally, Claire whined to Shannon about Charlie. One minute she asserted she couldn't stay with a using addict, and the next she wondered if she had been wrong, if she had judged him too hastily.
Claire's constant second-guessing annoyed Shannon. "Why not go back and find out" she asked.
"No. No, I'm sure I was right. I think I was anyway. No, I'm staying here." Claire said, her voice not nearly as convincing as she thought it was.
The morning of their third day at Base Camp, Shannon was awakened by the commotion of anxious voices.
She recognized Charlie's voice, pleading. "Claire, what is going on, why did you leave?"
"I saw it Charlie" Claire sobbed. "The statue. I know about the heroin. You're using again, I know it!"
"Claire…"
"No Charlie, I know it. Why, Charlie, why?"
"Claire, I'm not using. Listen to me. Listen to me! Yes I took a statue, but only the statue, not the drugs. I'm not saying I wasn't tempted for a minute, I was, that will always be a part of me. But I didn't take the drugs. I took the statue, praying that Mary would lead me to Aaron, that she would help me find the way to him. And she did, Claire, she did. Claire, please don't do this. Please Claire." Charlie's voice constricted in pain.
"Charlie…Oh Charlie…" Claire folded herself into Charlie's arms, all of her fears unfounded, all of her hopes alive again. "Oh Charlie…"
Shannon turned over, a small smile on her lips. She was happy for Claire, really she was. A shadow crossed her face. Now she was really alone. Pretending to still be asleep, she pulled the small airplane blanket tighter around her.
The next morning Shannon gathered her belongings, preparing for another hike through the jungle. She wasn't sure how it happened, but somehow Charlie and Claire convinced her to come back home with them. Home - a strange word but what else could she call the caves and beach where she'd lived the last month? They didn't have special names like Base Camp. Of course, she had dubbed the island Craphole Island. And then there were the Rape Caves. Not exactly welcoming, though.
Although she had tried to argue at first, she knew Charlie and Claire were right. With her asthma, it was safer to be near Jack and near Sun's herbal remedies. Still, she couldn't help but wonder how she would handle going back. She scolded herself sternly. Of course she could handle it. She had handled much worse: the deaths of her parents, her stepmother's ridicule, Boone's death. Boone's death. She tried not to think about it too much. As for Sayid, well, she had her pride. Besides, it wasn't like she loved him – though her heart lurched when she thought it.
Shannon muttered her now oft said mantra. "Breathe Shannon, breathe. I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine."