They had been walking through the jungle since they had left camp with Sayid leading Shannon to where Locke had met up with the three men earlier. Sayid was impressed with Shannon; she hadn't complained a bit-- well, except for the wolves howling and that hadn't been so much a complaint as showing genuine fear.

"Sayid," she whispered harshly, her voice raspy and tight as her asthma threatened to kick in. "Why were those wolves howling so loudly?" She asked her voice tinged with fear.

He shook his head. "I do not know, but I suggest we continue walking; lest we want to find out the hard way." He answered quietly as his hand sought out her hand, made contact and tugged her closer to him. "I am many things, Shannon, a former soldier, a communications expert, impatient, and short tempered; but a wild life expert… that, I'm afraid, I am not." With a wry snort he added. "They never got to that part of the training."

He could hear her gulp softly next to him; he smiled a little and squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Despite that, I am going to let anything happen to you Shannon." He tried to reassure her, but was somewhat dismayed to hear that her breathing was becoming raspy and shallow. "Shannon, are you okay?" He asked his voice full of concern.

"Yeah, yeah, I think… I just…" she shook her head sharply. "I'm a city girl… Boone was the Boy Scout, I was content to stay in the air conditioning, play with my Barbie's and sip lemon aid all day…while he went out and played…" she wheezed slightly between breaths… "… nature boy… and got filthy and played with all the insects and rodents and other slime-y things till his hearts contentment… so wolves… howling… kind of… freaks me out a little, that's all."

He pulled her over to a tree and started rummaging through his bag frantically.

"What are you… looking for..." she wheezed, wincing at the sound of her own voice. She raised the palm of her hand and pressed it against her chest, rubbing in a circular motion, and tried to breathe in through her nose and exhale through her mouth, but even that didn't seem to help.

"I'm looking for something that might help you." He answered slowly, as his hands finally drifted across the appropriate packaging. "Found it!" He exclaimed triumphantly, nearly leaping to his feet and handing her the small packet of the eucalyptus concoction that Sun had made for her.

Her heart melted a little. "Oh Sayid," she sighed. "I can't believe… that I forgot…"

He merely shrugged. "Do not thank me, thank Hurley when we get back, it was his idea for me to bring some."

Shannon chuckled softly as she rubbed the concoction over her chest and breathed in deeply. "That big lug, when we get back… I'm going to have to do something for him… I'm not sure what… but I'll think of something." She inhaled deeply after she spoke; her chest puffing out fully as oxygen once again filled her lunges. It took a few seconds, but soon her legs didn't feel like they were going to give out on her and the tingly feeling left her finger tips.

Sayid watched in awe and amazement as her once pale face regained its color, her eyes be come more focused and her stance became less wobbly.

"Better?" He asked with a hint of humor in his voice.

"Much." She breathed softly, putting the packet into her pants pocket in case she needed it later.

He offered her his arm with a smile and she accepted it. "Good," he paused, looking up at the sky for a second before grabbing his bag and steering her down a well worn path, one hand holding his backpack over his shoulder while the other rested on the small of her back.

As they walked they spoke softly, Sayid's eyes always alert and scanning the horizon for trouble. But he wasn't watching behind them.

Two sets of eyes peered over a tree branch from the top of the tallest tree in that area. "Bloody hell." A tall Englishman with dark curly hair and olive complexion whispered urgently.

"Ya dunna thank that theyre coomin' far us do ye, lad?" The short Scotsman whispered back, fear creeping into his voice.

"I dunna know." He whispered back, hiding himself once more. "If you ever tell anyone that I said 'is, I'll deny it 'til me dyin' breath. But right now, I reall wish thut Rory were here."

"Aye laddie… Aye." Their eyes met briefly before a crack of thunder broke through their thoughts and brought their attentions to the sky. The looked up sharply their eyes scanning the sky for more of the same.

"It's not close; we have three, four hours before it hits." The taller man assured his anxiety prone companion. "But we should go an' tell the others, just in case they get a wee to close to camp, aye mate?"

"Aye, lad… aye…" He answered distractedly as he followed his mate down the well traveled but hidden back path to their camp. He looked over his shoulder at the retreating forms of the dark skinned man and the young woman. "Ya dunna thank their wuth tha' Ethan chap, do ye Zane?" He asked quietly.

Zane came to a sudden stop, turning to his long time companion with darkened eyes, and hooded expression. "Fahr our seeks," he whispered, his voice conveying his inner fear and horror at such a thought. "An' fahr the seeks of ouhr payple, Gawd, I hope not Sionn, I shar hope to hell not."

- - -

She was pissed. She had looked around the entire premises of the ruins of the castle and with each room she looked through her ire and rage grew. Some rooms she could tell by the smell and disarray of them that the boy, Boone, had beaten and tortured in. Those were the rooms she had set a blaze and then blocked so that the fire would be contained by the stone walls.

She had hoped to scavenge more from the area, but every time she came upon something a pit formed in her stomach and she wondered; 'How had they used this to maim them? Had this tool been used to draw first blood? How loud did Alex scream before they stopped twisting this around his neck?' It made her not want to touch anything or take anything. But by the same odd token, it made her more determined to take whatever she could from them; they deserved it.

A couple of the rooms had repulsed her so that she had barely been able to look around for anything of use before she torched it. However, there had been a least one room that had caused tears to form in her eyes-- and not just from the smoke from the other rooms-- but because of the meager contents of the room; the loving, careful way the few possessions were cared for and put away or even hidden in a few circumstances. It had been the room that Alex and perhaps, maybe even Boone had stayed in. Stayed, not lived, because what they were doing was not what she considered living, it wasn't even considered surviving in her mind; they were barely surviving from what she could tell.

There was a small pallet type area that Aurora could tell had been used as a sleeping area. Next to it was a small, hand made wooden box with delicately folded and refolded clothing that had been stowed away safely and kept away from some clothing that looked less than comfortable… if not down right degrading and overtly revealing. Most of the clothing she found was definitely female, in fact, it wasn't even clothing so much as lingerie. She had yet to find any clothing that looked anything remotely like male clothing; it caused a pit to form in her stomach. But she tried not to dwell on it as she stuffed the clothing into her bag.

However, she was finding it hard to do that because there was little to nothing to keep her distracted in the room. It took her less than a minute to delicately place the few trinkets, odds and ends, and just plain odd things that the young woman had squirreled away, so she looked harder. There had to be a secret hiding place where she kept things that she wasn't supposed to have. Aurora refused to believe that Alex had nothing, and she wanted even more to find something, anything,that would have reinforced the idea that the young man had been in the room as well.

She looked around the room again and again until she almost gave up, but then, as she walked across the large room with its sparse furnishings and random junk-- she assumed that the random junk was the doings of the men as a reminder to her of her inferiority, she noticed a small antique handle sticking out of a crack at the base the wall near the corner.

"Hell-o," she muttered absently as she walked over to the corner and put her hand on the ornate handle. "What's we got goin' o'er 'ere?" She mumbled as she inspected the crack and the handle. "You, m'dear frient lookah like you do not be-long here." She drawled wryly. She didn't dare yank on it; instead, she reached in and felt her way around its sides and gently pulled it out.

As she put it down she let out a low whistle. "You most definitely do not belong 'ere." She whispered as she ran her hand over the ornate pattern of the suitcases sides and top.

She knew she shouldn't snoop, but she couldn't help it, Alex was such a big question mark. She didn't make any demands, she never raised her voice, she was so meek and quiet and she never spoke of herself. Was it wrong to want a look into the mysterious young lady who had helped her and her people out so much during the first few years on the island?

Aurora didn't think so.

She opened the case carefully, making sure the lid didn't hit the ground, sat back and looked at the contents in awe and almost horror.

The contents to the outside world were simple and quite common. But this wasn't the outside world, and these contents were anything but simple or common. There, sitting on top of everything was a tattered, but lovingly cared for travel-sized dictionary on top of a thesaurus the same size and in the same shape. Beside those two items were two notebooks, one well worn and written in thoroughly, front to back, without a page wasted, the other was newer, but still well worn and it had only just started to be written in. Next to that were two pencils, one small, almost unusable, the other barely touched; almost sacredly put in a little holder for use when needed. There was a dolly, old and ragged, with one eye missing and the tattered and frayed dress coming off one of the shoulders. There were miscellaneous buttons, some thread, a needle, a hard back bible, a hard back journal that hadn't been written in yet. There were tiny scraps of paper, with not one, but two different hand writings. The one hand writing was sloppy, slanted, almost off the side of the page, the letters were jagged; she guessed the young boy had written on the paper, blindfolded, discombobulated and in great pain. The other was softer, smaller, conserving the minimalist space available.

Her brow furrowed; on the paper were words and definitions. The definitions were written in the poor hand writing, sometimes with the neater handwriting underneath it making the words clearer. He's teachin' her. She thought to herself, her heart swelling with pride and respect for someone that was otherwise an enigma and the stranger that she had befriended.

Just as she put down the scraps of paper and was reaching down to pick up a worn and faded black and white picture she heard a low growl coming from the door way. She looked up sharply, a stunned gasp escaping her lips.

The wolf stood there, steel blue-grey eyes staring back her at her, its expression was intense and concerned.

"Oh shit," she gasped, slamming the suitcase shut and shoving it into her goodie bag. She slung the over her shoulder and rushed out of the room, pausing only to flick a lit match onto the flammable matte that she had used as a bed and to close the door.

"Which way boy?" She inwardly chided herself for talking to the wolf as though it were going to respond, but she chided herself a little less when the wolf looked at her, it's eyes peering at her intently, as though to say 'This way weird lady' before leading her down a hall.

They turned down a smoke filled hall; she covered her mouth with her long sleeve and ducked down a little so that she wasn't walking with smoke in her eyes. The wolf led her around one last corner before the wolf started growling once more. She looked up just in the nick of time to see Ethan and Grant come out of one of the smoke filled rooms; both looked fit to be tied.

"Shite, shite, SHITE!" she muttered under her breath. Thinking quickly she put down her satchel and readied herself to fight.

"Well, well, well," Grant let out a low whistle. "Looks like we have ourselves a pyro."

Ethan was far more direct. "Where are they?" He growled. "WHER ARE THEY?" He demanded.

"Not herre." She stared simply.

"You little bitch." He snarled.

"First of all, I ain't little, and second of all, you say that as though it ain't a compliment."

"You worthless piece of---"

The wolf next to her growled threateningly.

"See, look at what you gone went and done. You went and pissed off the queen of the bitches, ain't 'at right girl?" She patted the wolf's head as it growled at the men, its eyes never leaving the men.

Gregory lunged at her suddenly; but the wolf intervened; pouncing on him mid-flight. Gregory tried to fight her off as Ethan advanced on Aurora.

"I'm gonna have funkilling you." He hissed before lunging at her.

She easily jumped out of the way, "And I'm gonna have fun kickin' yer ass!" She shoute3d as she dodged him again, whirled around and kicked him in the chest. "HA!" She exclaimed, and then she snatched her duffle bag, turned around and came face to face with Ethan once more.

"Tell me where they are and I might just let you live." He hissed.

"Never."

"Where. Are. They?"

"Safe." She growled setting down her satchel carefully.

"Bring. Them. Back. They belong here. They belong to us."

"Th'hayl they do!" She snarled back. "Y'kayn't own human's, and last I checked, those two are as human as.. well.. me and Russia… I dunno 'bout 'chall."

"They will come back." He sneered, ignoring her last taunt. "They know where they belong, they know who owns them."

"Ha! That's rich. See, the last time I checked the best way to show someone that they 'belong' somewhere AIN'T to beat on 'em so bad that the other runs off to find HAYLP!"

He clenched his fist. "That little whore."

Before the word was even out of his mouth she smacked him across the face. "Tha' lil girl ain't nuthin' of the sort."

Ethan held his cheek, his eyes filled with a fire that would have taken aback any other woman. But not Aurora, he didn't scare her, not in the least. "It doesn't matter." He hissed, turning his head back to her. "The boy will return." He stated almost triumphantly. "He knows the score." He added cryptically. "It may take a day or two, but he'll remember and he'll come back. He knows where he belongs. He knows who owns him." He snickered darkly.

Her stomach dropped to the heels of her thinly soled sneakers. That one statement, along with the look in his eye, were all she needed to confirm her deepest darkest fears. She shuddered, a cold chill going down her spine. "No, he, won't." She replied calmly, but deep inside she feared that there might even be a modicum of the truth in his words. If it came to that, she had to think of a way to prevent it, and at the same time, not alienate the boy or Alex.

"Oh yes, yes he will." He smirked, sounding far to confidant for her liking.

"Not if I have anything to say about it."

"Oh, don't worry, you won't."

"The HAYL I don't!" She angrily cold cocked him suddenly, catching him off guard. He stumbled back; she grabbed her bag and turned but came face to face with Gregory. She gasped softly but recovered quickly, ducking a punch from him and kicking him in the crotch.

"Now, if yall kindlyexcuse me, I've got some folk t'tend tuh." Shecouldn't help but smirk as he fell to his knees, his hands between his legs and moaning before he fell to his side. They were both in too much pain to give chase. Instead, they watched as both Aurora and the wolf ran away. All the while saying to themselves. 'I'm gonna have fun killing that bitch.'

-----

Aurora and the wolf came to the top of a hill and stopped to survey their work. "Not bad if I do say so… and I do… I do." She nodded to herself, and the wolf woofed a little. She looked down, and she couldn't help think that the wolf wasn't just panting, her tongue wagging out the side of her mouth, but also smiling a bit.

They turned and started down the other side of mammoth hill. When they had reached about half way down the hill the wolf's head perked up, it's ears twitching, her nose sniffing the air before she let out a low growl.

"Wuzzat girl? You smell sum'in?" She slowly followed the wolf towards a small clearing off the side. "Let's check'er out, yeah?" She ducked her head under a low lying branch and when she looked up she staggered back.

There, hanging as plain as day, backlit by the full moon was Markus, the missing moron, by his ankle, swaying a little in the wind.

"Ha!" She snorted, shaking her head with great amusement. "How's it hangin'?" She asked wryly.

"You little… get me down from here!" He roared, wiggling and trying to grab on to her but failing miserably.

"Hmph," she shook her head. "Why fer would I do sum'in like 'at?" She snarled, as she leisurely strolled by, adjusting her load just a bit. "I've gotten a good up close look at watchall've done to 'at boy an' where's yall let him stay; an' I say stay cuz I don' thank sleep had ani'thang t'do with it." She hissed. "What's the chance's of ya haylpin' out that boy if he were in yer sich-ee-a-tion?"

He didn't answer.

"Ex-actly!" She exclaimed, once more petting the growling wolf behind the ear. "Good girl, good girl, now let's get a move on and find out fold so 'at we can undo some of the damage these fools have done."

The wolf woofed at her before turning and growling menacing towards Markus. Aurora chuckled as they continued along the path that led to the stream. Her chuckle however, did not cover the string of expletives Markus let out as she sauntered away.

-----

His eyes fluttered open and the first thing he noticed was that he was warm, not hot, but comfortable, more comfortable than he had been allowed to be in a very long time. The blanket that covered him was soft and welcoming and kept the cool night chill at bay.

The second thing he noticed, besides being next to Alex, was that he, correction, they were moving. He looked around and realized that he was on a cot, with his body pressed again a large wooden thing. And he wasn't quite sure what that 'thing' was.

He closed his eyes and he tried to quell the panic that was rising inside of him. 'Have they found us already? Are they taking us back? How…' his stream of thought was disturbed by the faintest bits of memory returning to him. The rain storm, the strange large man that had cut him down from his place in the field, the woman with a drawl; much like Sawyer's, their kindness, the blindfold, the water, the soup, sleep. He sighed heavily. Sleep. He didn't know what they wanted, but if they could keep Alex safe, and let him sleep every now and again, then they could have him; he'd give them whatever they wanted, as long as Alex was safe, he could deal with it.

It didn't matter where they took him, what they did to him, or how badly they hurt him as long as they sparred Alex. As long as she was there with him he could find a way to cope. At least, that's what he told himself, that's what he had convinced himself of. There was something about her, her innocence, her voice, her soft touch, something about the way she looked at him; even when he hadn't been able to see her, that made him feel safe and not as though he were owned or just another possession or slave,

He felt her fingers flex around his and smiled slightly, despite the bumpy ride jostling his still tender wounds. He moved his head, rustling a little against the pillow beneath his head, so that he could open his eyes and see her. His piercing blue eyes met her inquisitive brilliant green eyes.

"You should go back to sleep." She whispered softly, her doe-like eyes round and filled with expectation as she reached up and brushed some hair off of his forehead.

He shook his head. "Can't." He answered his voice still weak and cracking a little from lack of use. He spoke slowly, his voice still weak. "I've … slept … more just … now… than I … have in … a very… long time."

She shook her head sadly. "You need rest, you still look exhausted." She whispered, her hand cupping the side of his face affectionately. Boone reflexively rested his cheek against her calm, his eyes slowly fluttering shut as her thumb caressed the skin of his face just underneath his eye. "And you feel it too, I can tell. I may not have known you for very long, but I can tell when you need rest, and you need rest, and you need to rest, and you can rest now. Even you know that." She whispered softly, imploring him to take it easy without saying as much directly.

But he couldn't back down. "No, Alex… Please… I've been in … the dark… for so long…" she looked away, as though ashamed. "Don't… don't blame yourself…this wasn't…. your doing…" He pulled her hand from his cheek and kissed her inner palm and thumb.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…"

"You have nothing… nothing to be sorry about." He paused letting go of her hand. "I, on the other hand."

Her brow furrowed. "I don't understand."

"I never apologized."

"For what?"

Even with only the moon casting light upon his features she could see the color rising to his cheeks. "I… I never… apologized, for …" he coughed a little. "For taking… taking you… that way."

"Oh," she looked away, feeling a little awkward and unsure of how she felt about talking about it.

"See," he whispered harshly, more harshly than he had intended. When she stiffened he let out a slow calming breath that did absolutely nothing to calm him. "I'm sorry, Alex. I'm sorry I snapped at you, and I'm sorry, more sorry that I can ever express that it happened the way it did, that you had to lose your virginity to…" he bowed his head shamefully.

"No… don't say that… don't apologize…" there was the unmistakable sound of tears in her voice. "I… We… You don't understand… what you have done for me…" she shook her head sharply. "They gave me a choice. I could either 'be' with you 'that way', or I could," she gulped a little, "be with one of them… and I chose you…" she pulled herself down so that she was laying next to him, turned towards him, so that he could see her eyes. "I chose you. I chose the only person, besides Ms. Aurora and Mr. Russia, that has ever been nice to me, that has never raised a hand to me, and … I… I don't regret it. I don't regret beingwith you because, if I did." Her chin crumpled, tears filling her eyes. "If I regretted my choice, then that would be like, like, regretting having been with you, having been together, and feeling so warm and so… so…" she couldn't bring herself to say the word.

She wiped her eyes and settled in next to him. He was looking at her intently, half afraid that he had started something he shouldn't have.

"Can I tell you something?" She asked as she laid her head next to his, and twined their fingers together.

"Anything…. Anything you want." He closed his eyes, feeling suddenly tired, but still listening intently. For her part, she was glad that he had closed his eyes, partly because she felt so vulnerable and open when she told him certain things.

"For so long, I thought that all men were like them." His eyes shot open and he opened his mouth to speak but she put her finger to his lips to silence him. "I thought all men were rude and angry and rough. I thought getting hit was normal. I thought that all men watched women so closely. I thought all women dressed this way."

He hadn't really looked at her attire until that point. She wore a paper thin spaghetti string lacy linger top that showed off her trim figure and small, but supple bust line. Her pants were rigged to be loose but much fitted to her lean form. The fabric, however, for both were light and the shirt was borderline transparent. He could see why she felt less than comfortable sometimes.

"I never knew what it was like to have someone worry about me. Besides Ms. Aurora, that is, but she always worries about me." She chuckled softly, before turning serious once more. "I had never experienced, really experienced a real hug before. I had never had someone protect me and be protective of me. And then…" she sighed, "then I met you." Her eyes, which had been averted down, looked into his. "And you, you have taught me so much without saying a word. And that day, that day when they gave me the option of being with either one of them or you…"

"I'll be forever grateful that you didn't turn me away, that day. I was so scared of what they would do to me, and how they would laugh at me. But you took that all away. All that fear and anxiety just vanished. You made me feel safe. I haven't felt safe in…ever. I've never felt as safe as I did, as I do, when I'm with you. I'd never felt safe before, and you gave me that."

"But… But…"

She shook her head adamantly. "No, Bonne."

"It shouldn't have happened that way. I wish it hadn't, but…if it kept you safe, and unharmed, then I'll never regret it either." He caressed away her tears and kissed her shoulder softly.

"You don't?" She asked timidly.

His lips were still rested on her shoulder when he shook his head. "Never. I just wish that it had never come up. I wish I had never hurt you."

"But it didn't hurt."

He looked at her skeptically. "It was your first time, are you sure?"

She nodded, biting her lip nervously. "How could it have hurt, you were so… gentle and took everything so slow and," she closed her eyes. "I was too overwhelmed by how gentle and kind you were to feel anything besides gratitude."

He let out a small chuckle. "I don't think I deserve your gratitude." He yawned, his eyes going closed once more and she wondered if he had fallen asleep.

"Are you… cold?" He asked without opening his eyes.

"Hmm?"

"Cold… are you cold?" He repeated, his eyes opening just slits.

Unconsciously she shivered, even though his eyes weren't all the way open, they just seemed to penetrate her soul. "Just a little."

He beckoned her closer with his finger. When she was close enough he lifted the cloak that he was using as a blanket, just enough for her to get the drift that he was inviting her to join him.

With a wilting smile and tears in her eyes she obliged him, crawling under the cloak, lying on her side facing him. "You've given me so much, Boone." She whispered, her hand caressing the side of his face and neck.

"It's not enough," he whispered back. "It'll never be enough to repay you." He paused as she resituated herself closer to him. "You saved my life, Alex, without even knowing my name." She was close enough for him to be able to smell her hair and rub his cheek against the top of her head and he did so, his cheek lingering for just a second.

"You gave me warmth." She whispered, looking up into his eyes. They were heavily hooded with sleep, but what she wanted to say could simply not wait until later. "You took away the cold and gave me warmth."

"Huh?" He murmured sleepily.

"I was so cold before I met you. Nothing brought me warmth, no the sun on the hottest day, not the brightest fire, not the thickest fur… but when you and I … when we were together, I discovered warmth… real warmth. You held me in your arms and you rubbed your cheek against my hair and my and you stayed." She paused for a second, before adding. "I didn't think you would, but you stayed."

She looked up timidly, and discovered that he was fast asleep. She wasn't quite sure whether or not she was relieved that he hadn't heard her confession. A sad smiled crossed her lips, she reached down and pulled the cover up around his shoulders before snuggling up against him. "Warm… so warm," she whispered softly as she drifted off to sleep.

(next chapter will be here quicker than this one! I SWEAR!)

Sionn is pronounced Shoone and is Scottish. When I think of Zane, I think of Orlando bloom. And Sionn is like, Billy Boyd. And yeah. They're gay.

To my reviewers:

Ithlien, rockstarhobbit , Monica, Swede85, Janie, Lea of Mirkwood, xXxPirateChicaxXx, ShalBrenfan, JanieJones, gimmeabreak, and Saraiyu: Sorry it took me so long to update. Dang procrastination :stabs it:. I want to thank yall fer sticking in there with me. The next chapter will be longer. I hope this one didn't squick you out to much. The next chapter will be more involved, but unless you want it to be a small novel (LOL, ME write a novel! BWAH!), it might take a few chapters to get to the good stuff. danke for the reviews. Please don't stop. Reviews feed my muse, and it needs it ever so muchlee. :D