Claire and Shannon were sprawled comfortably on the beach. Very little was expected of either of them in the way of work- Claire because she was nine months pregnant and Shannon because most of the survivors viewed her as a hindrance to productivity. The two weren't speaking, rather just enjoying the sun and remembering their old lives.
The silence between them was neither awkward nor companionable- it was simply there, constant and unbreakable. Claire glanced at the other girl, wishing once again that they could be friends. Claire desperately wanted a friend. She had Charlie to depend on, and for that she was grateful, but she wanted someone to discuss movie stars and swollen ankles with. But Shannon didn't seem to want a friend. She seemed to want to be left alone.
Shannon, unaware of the other girl's thoughts, continued sunbathing, lying on her stomach. She wanted to go home. This island was too high stress for her. She was a jet-setter but not an adventuress, and roughing it had never been her style.
Shannon was a selfish person, and in general not very kind. Part of it was her nature, but the harsher aspects of her personality were largely due to her upbringing. She had grown up in a highly privileged but morally tainted environment. The truth was it hadn't really occurred to Shannon to be Claire's friend, because to Shannon "friends" were two-faced, gossiping, rich 20-somethings you tolerated because, after all, a girl can't party alone.
Claire felt the baby kick- she was beginning to think the kid was cut out to be a blackbelt. The fear and wonder of her pregnancy were too much under these conditions. She needed someone to talk to, and despite a lack of encouragement from Shannon Claire gave it a shot.
"I'm going to have a baby."
The sheer absurdity of the statement caught Shannon's attention, and she replied in her typical thoughtless but forthright way. "Well, yes, you've known that for awhile. It's kind of hard to miss."
Claire smiled a little. "What I mean is I'm really going to have the baby here on the island, away from everything the baby books say I need to raise a well-adjusted kid. Nine months ago I though I was getting Leave It To Beaver and now I find out it's Gilligan's Island instead- with the added bonus of a carnivorous monster and murderous natives." Her eyes grew very big. "what if the baby never recovers from his poorsocialization as an infant? What if he turns into an Ethan?"
Shannon blinked at this sudden onset. She was unused to the role of confidant, and was fairly certain that she did not relish it. Still, Claire was nine months pregnant and Shannon was vaguely concerned that there might be complications. Not being one for forming even basic attachments- she cared for Boone more then anyone else back home and all who knew her could testify to the way she treated him- she wasn't accustomed to such concern, and vastly ignored it. Still, it seemed sensible to say something encouraging, so she gave it a try. "The baby will be fine. Jack will take care of you both. And maybe we'll be rescued soon."
Shannon's last sentence lacked conviction, and as the girls looked out into the blue ocean neither had any expectation of seeing a rescue boat. Those hopes had died, and would have to be replaced by new hopes.
Charlie wondered over to the girls, his feet shuffling in the sand. Claire smiled sweetly at him in welcome, Shannon raised an eyebrow in inquiry. Charlie found Shannon somewhat unnerving, so he nodded his head towards her and reached a hand down to Claire, saying "I thought you might like a little exercise. Want to take a walk?" Claire's smile grew affectionate and took the offered hand, allowing him to help her to her feet. She waved a little to Shannon as she and Charlie started down the shoreline, chatting comfortably about unimportant things.
Shannon rolled off her stomach onto her back, closing her eyes against the harsh sunlight. A shadow fell across her eyelids and she opened one eye in inquiry. She smiled at Sayid, who was holding two pieces of fruit. He sat down beside her and offered her one, saying mildly "I thought you might be hungry."
She sat up next to him and took the food with a word of thanks. Sayid was the one person on the island who seemed to expect anything from her other then bitchiness, and she responded by being less abrasive around him. She glanced over at his improvised work station a little ways down the beach and asked curiously "Have you made any progress with the maps?"
Sayid shook his head ruefully. "None. I'm beginning to wonder id there's even anything there to see. Danielle's mind was long gone- there's no depending on what she said."
But rather then agreeing with this, Shannon looked at him pensively. "Maybe not," she said, "but this island is way too weird for there not to be mysteries to solve. And since our lives may depend on whether or not we're smart enough I'm glad you're still looking."
Sayid looked mildly surprised at such an unusually serious statement from the island's "brat". She was eating the fruit he had brought her, which, had he but known it, was rather impressive in itself from a girl who had had an eating disorder since she was fourteen. A bit of juice burst from the fruit and Shannon tilted her head to avoid the spray, causing a piece of her hair to fall into her face. Sayid gently brushed the pretty blond strand out of Shannon's eyes, looking at her with a ponderous expression.