The second she woke up, a sheering pain shot through her head. It was so blinding that she had to immediately shut her eyes again, afraid of getting sick or passing out from the pure agony of it. Curiosity won over though, after awhile of laying there with her eyes tightly shut. She had to look, even if just for a fleeting second. Shannon couldn't remember anything, the last thing she could think of was Sawyer smoking, and blowing that damn smoke in her face. And now… she was laying somewhere, which felt soft and warm under her. It wasn't the jungle at all.

Carefully opening her eyes, she saw Sawyer, laying at her side. A gash of blood was etched into his forehead, turning his face a sickly pale color, making a chill slide down her back just looking at him. Of course, she thought he was dead, and as she opened her mouth to say his name, a cry escaped instead. She willed her hand over to him though, latching onto his arm, shaking him with all the strength she had, which was practically none at all.

If her head hadn't felt like a ton of bricks was weighing down on it, she would have done something, thought of something, tried to move, but she couldn't do any of these. Not even being able to turn her head, she looked around the area before her, which seemed vaguely familiar.. Something was too familiar about where they were.

"SHANNON! SAWYER!" Jack's voice yelled from behind them, his footsteps racing towards them, the sound of his breathing coming nearer, with more footsteps following behind him. Just hearing him, Shannon did something she immediately regretted, by moving her head to try and look behind her, which instantly caused a surge of pain to slice through her forehead, tears coming out just at the feeling.

The second Jack reached them, he sunk down by Shannon's side first. By this time, her eyes were closed again, trying to will off the pain she had just caused herself. She did however feel Jack reach down for her, lifting her up into his arms, his fingers carefully tracing over something that was on the back of her head.. He said a lot of things, most of which she didn't even try to listen to, but as he gently placed her back onto the ground, moving towards Sawyer, she forced herself to stay attentive. "You're going to be okay," he whispered to her, before she heard him turn to Sawyer, calling out his name, probably trying to wake him up. Kate's voice quickly joined his, and Sayid's.

Her head still turned to the direction that Jack had came from, Shannon finally reopened her eyes, needing to know where they were at, and how far they had gotten to Boone. But what she saw, was more horrifying then she could imagine.. They were back at the crash site.

FLASHBACK

"Where do you think you're going?" Boone asked, his voice gentle yet strained, as if at any second, he'd try to pull some authoritative tone and try to take control of the situation.

Shannon had her bags already packed though, still wearing the same black dress she had two days ago, which was horribly wrinkled by now, since she had barely left her bed for all that time. But, it was time to leave now, her father was dead, and she had no reason to stay here anymore.

When she didn't answer, lifting a bag up over her shoulder and pulling out the handle to her transportable suitcase, Boone rushed forward, taking a hold of her arm as he pulled the bag off of her shoulder.

"Damn it Boone, grow up! Now, give me that," she snapped at him, launching for the bag, but he only jerked it away and held her back, still having a grip on her wrist.

"You're not leaving! Where the hell do you think you're going to go? You have family here, Shannon," he said, his voice raising to her level by now, as he let go of her and snatched the handle to her suitcase, taking both away from her as he moved across the room. Shannon was quick on his trail though, tears welling up in her eyes as she eyed him angrily from behind.

"You're actually stopping me from leaving! You know damn well you can't Boone, you know I'll escape here eventually, you can't control this!" she screamed at him, feeling a sense of relief as he stopped walking, dropping her bag to the ground and releasing his grip on her suitcase.

As he swung around to face her, she was shocked at the look on his face. He wasn't angry, or annoyed. His eyes were glazed over with tears threatening to give out, but she knew he wouldn't do that in front of her. He looked genuinely crushed.. They stared into each other's eyes for so long, silence filling the air between them for what seemed like an eternity.

"Don't leave me," he said, so desperately, under his breath. He looked at her as if she was more than a sister, something so much more, she didn't even think there was a name for it. She knew by now what he felt, even though he never said a word. They were something more than family, more than friends, and it scared her every single time to think of it. What scared her more, was that she loved it, having someone who would love her, so unconditionally.

"If I stay here, I'll die," she said, for once, not making up an excuse. If she stayed here, where her only parent had raised her, had loved her, she wouldn't make it. There were too many memories here.

"I won't let you," Boone said back, always having an answer for everything. She watched as his muscles flexed under his shirt, as he walked forward. His brown hair falling slightly in his face, his blue eyes so wide and captivating, they pierced into hers. She knew he could take care of her, through thick and thin, but she wouldn't let him this time.

She was torn now. She had Boone, but she wanted her father too.. The only way to escape, was to leave them both. Leave here. If she stayed, she would want her father back, and the only way to be with him now, was through death.

Through death…

"Sawyer?" Jack's voice pierced through her thoughts, but not for long. She heard a grunt in response. He was alive.

She used to think about it, death. What it would be like, where she would go, if there was actually an eternal afterlife, where her dad was still alive.. Where there would be no worries, no fear, no pain or hurt.

"I won't let you leave," Boone said, subconsciously she imagined him adding the word "me" to the end of that. She knew that's what he meant.

There had been pushing, sobbing, and screaming, all on her behalf, as she struggled the luggage away from him. She even brought Boone to tears, as she shoved him away from her for the final time, practically having to rip the bag from his arms. He had let go though, after awhile, because he knew he couldn't stop her. She'd run away, she'd find some other way out if he tried to interfere.

She knew as soon as she left, that she wouldn't be able to make it on her own, though. She'd probably latch onto Boone even more so than before, making him come out to stay with her, calling him, anything she could to keep him with her. And she knew he'd do the same, that if she didn't call him, he'd be the one calling her. That if she didn't ask for help in a few months time, that he'd be at her doorstep seeing what was wrong, why she hadn't contacted him. He couldn't loose her, and despite what she had always told him, about not needing him, she couldn't loose him either.

"Shannon, can you hear me?" Jack's voice came softly from beside her. She was somewhere else, Sawyer wasn't by her side anymore. She soon realized that she was under the tent, where Jack took everyone that was injured.. She nodded carefully, remembering the pain from before.

"What happened?" she whispered out, slowly opening her eyes, as she saw Jack's concerned face hovering over hers. He was dabbing something onto her head. She felt something odd behind her head though, some new kind of pain, her skin feeling forced together… He must have stitched her up.

Jack let go of the cloth, that he was using to sooth on her sore head, now bringing his hand up to rest on her forehead, as he smoothed back her hair. It reminded her of Boone, always trying to take care of her, after a binge drinking party, or when she felt so weak after throwing up all night..

"You and Sawyer disappeared, Shannon.. We don't know what happened, but you both ended up back here. We stayed out there for as long as we could, trying to find you, and when we finally headed back… there you were," he told her, sounding just as confused as she was. She knew Sawyer had agreed to help her find Boone, and that was the last thing she could remember. Then, they both ended up back here, beaten and discarded… She honestly couldn't remember what happened, or how.

"In death," she muttered, letting her heavy eyelids close again. Boone wasn't dead, maybe no one really died on this island.. Maybe there was a way she could be with Boone, and avoid the 'others'.

"Shannon… Shannon?" Jack's voice faded slowly, though she could still feel him near her, one of his hands clutching onto hers, trying to wake her. She fell fast asleep, though.

To Be Continued…