TITLE: Starting Over
RATING: PG
SUMMARY: What started out as a trip to the hatch to check up on those who wanted to blow it up, becomes much more of an adventure for Shannon and Sayid, which brings them closer together.
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.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story started out as a random throw away idea that only got developed because of mrstater's encouragement and constant support. Thanks so much!

Chapter Five

Shannon had been walking, practically running, for what felt like hours now. She was beginning to get tired, but seeing how Locke and Sayid were still fine, she knew she would keep going. She wouldn't complain either. Walt was in a position much worse then hers. She couldn't imagine how terrified he must be. She didn't want to visualize what they were doing to him. Instead, she focused on the keeping Sayid in sight.

As much as she tried to pretend she was on her way to spend a romantic evening with Sayid, her mind still went to Walt. She wondered how much further until they would find him or if they would find him at all. She didn't like that thought and tried to push it away, but more came to mind. What would they find? Would she really be able to handle the Others? A part of her was beginning to question why she had thought it would be a good idea to come. She was breathing heavily now, and knew that if she had an asthma attack it would slow them all down. She wanted to be a hero, not the reason the Others did more damage to Walt. Shannon wasn't used to these feelings. She wasn't used to be terrified for someone else, and it wasn't a feeling she wanted to get used to. She just wanted it to be over.

Sayid stopped suddenly, announcing that they needed to take a short break. Locke stopped a few feet ahead of them, while Sayid came to stand next to Shannon.

Handing her the water bottle, he asked her how she was doing.

"I'm fine. I just want to find Walt."

He caressed her face. "I know, so do I." He glanced over at Locke and lowered his voice. "I wanted to see if you were all right with Locke."

She sighed. She should have known that Sayid would worry about her even when they were searching for Walt. She loved that he cared about her. Not many people did.

"All that matters is Walt," she said softly. "I can put up with Locke if we find Walt." She bit her lip. "Walt trusted me to keep an eye on Vincent. He told me that I could talk to the dog, that he was a good listener. I remember thinking how did a ten year old get so smart. I want to give Vincent back to him now, I don't need him any more."

Sayid reached out and took her hand. He brought it up to his lips and brushed a gentle kissing against her knuckles.

"Walt is an intelligent boy. He will be fine."

"Can we just go find him, please?" she asked, her voice cracking.

Sayid nodded and squeezed her hand as they walked towards Locke. Locke turned around and gave her his intense look that chilled her to the bone. She felt as if he could see through her, and maybe even read her thoughts. He made her feel naked, and it wasn't a feeling that she liked.

"Crazy bastard," she muttered as they continued onward.

Sayid grabbed her wrist, forcing her to stop walking. She was surprised by the glare that he gave her.

"It is not wise to call a crazy person crazy," he whispered. "Keep those thoughts to yourself for now."

At least she knew that Sayid agreed with her, and he did have a point. She was glad that Locke didn't hear what she said. She doubted that Locke would do anything to her while Sayid was there.

They continued onward, climbing over fallen trees and pushing the branches out of their way. She was becoming numb to the scrapes and scratches that were on her legs and arms. It was moments like this when Shannon wished she had joined the girl scouts like Sabrina had wanted. At the time Shannon had been so glad that she had been able to convince her to allow her to continue with the dance classes instead. She hadn't really enjoyed the classes, but she had been able to lose herself in the music and the movements, and she was able to find peace. Whenever she had fought with Sabrina, Shannon would go to her room and practice ballet for hours until she felt better again. She had spent many hours in her room. Maybe it would have been different if she had done what Sabrina had wanted, especially since it would help her now. She guessed that it didn't really matter anymore; she couldn't go back and change the past.

As another branch whipped across her legs, she once again questioned her decision to come with Sayid. She had wanted to be with him for the safety of both of them, and now it didn't seem worth it. But when she looked over at Sayid, she knew it was the right thing. He had this look of concentration on his face, but every once in a while he would check behind him to make sure she was still there. He always smiled at her when he checked. It made her feel safe. She knew she couldn't get lost with him looking out for her. She knew that they would find Walt because Sayid said they would. She remembered last night listening in on Sun and Claire's conversation about Charlie being able to bring Aaron back. Even then she had known that Sayid would be the one who would get Aaron back, and she had been right. It built her faith in him up even more, and she knew Walt would be all right.

They came to a fork in the path they had been using, and Shannon was reminded of the dumb joke her daddy would always tell her. He used to tell her if she came to a fork in the road that she should take it. He would always laugh after he said it. She rolled her eyes at the memory. She missed his corny jokes.

Locke and Sayid were arguing about which way to go. Shannon had no idea which was best so she stayed out of the discussion. It went without saying that she would go wherever Sayid went. Locke decided that each path needed to be covered, so he went to the right, while she and Sayid went to the left. She hadn't realized how much Locke's presence bothered her, until he was gone.

"I believe we will find him soon," Sayid said.

"How do you know?"

"We are close to where Charlie and I found Aaron."

"Am I a better partner than Charlie?"

He stopped walking. "Do you really even have to ask? If I had a choice, I would always pick you."

"You just like the way I look in a bathing suit."

Sayid smiled as a slight blush crept into his cheeks. "That is true, but now why I would pick you. I trust you Shannon. I know that you will not do anything foolish that would get us killed."

Shannon didn't know what to say. No one had ever told her flat out that they trusted her before. She had never given anyone any reason to. Had she even done anything to build his trust in her? She wanted to ask him to find out why he felt that. A part of her thought that he was lying, simply trying to calm her frazzled nerves. But the look in his eyes made her believe that he actually felt that it was the truth.

She opened her mouth to ask him, when he grabbed a hold of her and roughly pulled her down behind some bushes. She was ready to yell at him, when she heard voices. She peered through the bushes, and her heart stopped at what she saw.

Walt was tied to a tree, his eyes wide in fear. They'd found him, now they just needed to figure out how to save him.

TBC…