TITLE: Love's Fortune
RATING: PG-13
SUMMARY: Sequel to Rescue Me/Hold Me. Sayid takes Shannon on the perfect first date, but will her desire to do something for him coupled with her lingering doubts about their relationship end their chances of happiness.
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.
AUTHORS' NOTE: This story picks up after my two post-island fics Rescue Me/Hold Me. As always thanks to mrstater who helped clear up the vague parts and helped me to add some much needed detail.
Shannon stood anxiously at the door to Sayid's room. She wiped her sweaty hands against her shorts, hoping to calm herself. It was ridiculous that she was feeling this way. All she was doing was getting ready to play soccer with Sayid, and whatever else he wanted them to do for the day. But she knew why she was even more nervous. There was the possibility that this would be her last date with Sayid. Ever since she had hung up the phone in her hotel room, she had doubted her decision.
She took a shaky breath and raised her hand to knock at the door, ignoring the fact she had a key. She stayed with her hand raised as she debated whether or not she should tell Sayid what she did. She wasn't sure what his reaction would be to her calling Nadia without talking to him first, but at the time she had felt that it was the right choice. He had mentioned last night that all he had really done before the island was working or searching. She knew what he had meant by searching, and didn't understand why he didn't contact Nadia when he knew that she was in LA or at least knew that there was a chance that she was.
Shannon in fact had been amazed by how easily she had been found. She had thought that someone who had been interrogated during a war wouldn't be so out in the open. She had found her relatively quickly, and had talked to her before the butterflies had taken away her courage. She had quickly started talking, not letting Nadia get a word in. Shannon had told her that Sayid had been a survivor of a plane crash, was staying in town, and the name of the hotel. She had told Nadia that he would be away most of the day, but she could come to see him that night if she wished. She had then hung up before there were any more questions. Shannon couldn't even remember if she had introduced herself as Sayid's girlfriend.
Now as she stood in front of Sayid's door with a bag ready for the beach, she didn't know if she had made another mistake. What if Sayid wanted Nadia instead of her? She shook her head. It didn't matter. Nadia hadn't even said if she would come see Sayid, so it might not even matter. And she didn't think she should tell him since he might be hurt if Nadia didn't want to see him. Although if he was hurt, she could comfort him.
Finally she knocked. The door opened quickly and she knew that he had been standing there waiting for her. She smiled as all the nervousness fell away. Sayid was dressed as if he was still on the island, and Shannon realized how much she had in fact missed it. He had been dressed nicely the night before, but this was the way her Sayid was supposed to look. She looked down at her shorts that covered her new bathing suit, and realized that they both looked the way they had on the island, only cleaner.
But Sayid's eyes were concerned as he brushed the hair out of her face. Shannon knew he could see her nervousness.
"Are you all right?"
She shrugged. "I'm not that good at soccer."
She knew that he didn't believe her, but as always, he didn't push her. Instead he leaned forward and captured her lips with his. She closed her eyes, and made the decision that she was going to enjoy the day no matter what may happen once it was over.
"You look beautiful," he said pulling away. "Much nicer than anyone I have ever played soccer with before."
She smiled brightly. "I'm hoping to distract you so I can win."
Wrapping his arm around her waist, he led her out the door. "I have learned to live with you distracting me. I never would have gotten any work done on the island if I had not."
She frowned as the stepped onto the elevator. "You thought I was a distraction?"
He pulled her closer. "The best distraction I could have asked for." He hesitated as if he wished to say more. "I can not begin to tell you what you did for me."
She wanted him to elaborate, but when another couple was already in the elevator, she knew he wouldn't feel comfortable saying anything else. She rested her head against his shoulder, her earlier, unwanted thoughts returning.
As Sayid kissed the top of her head, she knew without a doubt that he loved her. But then why was she so sure that he would leave her for Nadia? She knew only what he had told her about Nadia, and his feelings for her did not seem to be love, or if they had been, they weren't healthy love. Then again, what did Shannon know about healthy love? Her best relationship happened because of a plane crash. As the stepped out of the elevator and out of the hotel, she suddenly realized why she was afraid. From what she had heard about Nadia, she seemed like a much better match for Sayid than Shannon. A spoiled rich bitch didn't deserve to have a man like Sayid. As always, she wondered what he saw in her.
"Are you sure you are all right?" he asked, as they walked towards the beach. "You seem distracted."
She looked over at him, and wished she could stop fearing that he would leave her. She could see his love for her shining in his eyes. Why couldn't she just trust in that? She wanted that more than anything. She just wanted to let go and let Sayid catch her, but that fear of being dropped still haunted her.
"I'm fine," she said firmly leaving no room for arguments. She didn't want to tell him what she was thinking. She knew that it would hurt him to think that she had these doubts about him.
She dropped her bag on the sand. "Are you ready to play?" she asked, slipping out the soccer ball.
He watched her intently, as if debating if he should ask her more questions, when he took the ball from her hands and dropped it to the ground. She had her answer when he started kicking the ball back and forth. She smiled as she watched him. It was so different to see him in this light. He looked so relaxed, and she was glad that she was the one who caused it.
He turned to her. "Are you planning on playing too?"
Seeing that he was distracted she moved quickly to get the ball from him. However, he anticipated her moves and was able to move it out of her reach. She laughed as she chased after him and stuck out a leg to steal the ball from him.
Every time she came close to getting the ball, Sayid found a way to avoid her. Finally, they were in a deadlock, the ball between them and both of them ready to kick the ball. They both were trying to maintain the seriousness of the game, but neither could stop the smiles on their faces. She knew that if she moved a certain way her feet would tangle with his and she would fall down. She knew of only one way to win this round.
Shannon leaned forward to kiss him. She was gentle at first, but he didn't respond. She deepened the kiss, hoping to distract him enough to allow her to get the ball. It seemed to have worked when he pulled her close and returned her kiss. Suddenly, his hands tightened on her arms, so that she couldn't move, and he kicked the ball away from her.
She pulled away angrily, "You cheated."
"You kissed me first," he responded his eyes twinkling.
"What are you five?" she asked. "That doesn't mean you're supposed to kiss me back."
He pulled her to him again. "I thought you liked when I kissed you."
Her heart started beating faster at the way he was looking at her, and she struggled to catch her breath. If they hadn't been on a public beach she would have started kissing him and never stopped. Instead, she quickly pulled away, and went over to the soccer ball, kicking it passed Sayid.
"I think that's my point."
"Now who cheated?" he asked, smiling.
She coughed as she tried to steady her breathing. The combination of running around in the sand and Sayid's kisses were threatening to take her breath away. She didn't want to have an asthma attack and ruin their fun. Sayid closed the distance between them, and looked at her closely. She closed her eyes, waiting for him to tell her to get her inhaler, and then for him to yell at her when he realized that she hadn't brought it. She hated using it in public, and still wasn't even comfortable using it in front of him.
"I could use a break. Come sit with me as I get some water," Sayid said.
She opened her eyes to see him holding his hand out to her. She took it with a smile. She loved that he knew that she needed a break, and didn't push her about her asthma. She still wasn't used to how well he knew her. They settled down on the blanket that Shannon had brought. She drank slowly from the water bottle until she was certain that she was fine. She placed the bottle back on the ground and moved so that she could lie against him.
"What else do you want to do today?"
"You can stop now," he said, as he ran his fingers through her hair. "I know what you are trying to do, Shannon. I told you earlier that I am content to just spend time with you in a peaceful place."
"Really?"
"Have I ever given you a reason to doubt me?"
His question struck at the very heart of her concerns about her calling Nadia. She knew that she could depend on Sayid, and knew that he had given her his heart. She had put her faith in him, but still she didn't know what to do. She felt that maybe it was herself that she didn't trust, maybe that was the problem.
"No," she answered honestly. "Does that mean that we can get out of the heat and go shower?
"If that is what you want."
"I have more movies to show you."
However, she made no move to stand. Instead, she turned slightly so she could kiss him. To her surprise and annoyance, a female voice calling her name forced her to pull away. Shannon looked up to see an old friend – using the term loosely – walking briskly toward her.
Reluctantly Shannon stood and embraced Adrienne, dreading the fact that she would have to introduce Sayid to her. If he saw the type of people she used to associate with, he would probably go running for the hills. Adrienne was the type of person who made Shannon look good. She always needed to be the center of attention, was never wrong, and if someone dared to contradict her, beware because she would spit fire at them.
"I saw you on the news. I can't believe I ran into you. I can't remember the last time I saw you. You're tan is amazing. I am so jealous," Adrienne ran on a mile a minute.
Sayid stood up, and wrapped his arm around Shannon's waist, as he listened to Adrienne. Shannon could see the amusement in his eyes. Shannon tried not to smile as Adrienne finally noticed Sayid standing there, although once she saw the way she looked at him, Shannon's smile fell away. Adrienne was eyeing him up and down, and Shannon knew from experience what would happen next.
Adrienne flashed Sayid a seductive smile and held out her hand. "How rude of Shannon not even introducing us. I'm Adrienne."
"Sayid. It is nice to meet you," he said, shaking her hand. She refused to give it back, and Shannon noticed the way he needed to pull it away. Adrienne frowned at the rejection, her eyes betraying her confusion at Sayid's behavior.
Ignoring Shannon now, she continued to talk with Sayid. Shannon simply rolled her eyes, and watched Sayid's reaction. Shannon knew that Sayid wouldn't be interested in Adrienne, and that he also wasn't accustomed to women hitting on him, which was why she watched him. He seemed more uncomfortable then she had ever seen him before. Adrienne kept moving closer so that she was almost in his face, and every few seconds she would touch his arm. Sayid kept trying to take a step backwards to put some space between them, while keeping Shannon next to him.
"Here's my number," Adrienne said handing him a card. "You can call me anytime, and I'll show you around."
"No thank you," Sayid said politely, but firmly handing the card back as he took Shannon's hand. Her ring glistened in the sun, drawing Adrienne's attention.
"Are you engaged or something?" she asked making a face of disgust at them.
"Yes," Sayid answered.
Shannon was surprised by his answer. She had thought that it was simply a promise ring, leading to the possibility of the discussion of marriage. It wasn't something she had really thought about anytime soon. Although she guessed if she thought about it, they were kind of engaged to be engaged. She couldn't believe that, it was something that had never seemed possible on the island, and was now a reality. She didn't even want to think about it now.
"Well, I hope this one lasts longer than your last one. Two divorces before the age of twenty-two would just be sad."
Shannon felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her at Adrienne's words. As she felt Sayid's questioning eyes on her, she wished she could disappear. She had told Sayid some of her past, but had never mentioned the marriage. She hadn't found it necessary to bring that up, now she would be forced to explain when they got home.
"It was nice meeting you, Adrienne, but Shannon and I must go."
They turned around to start packing their belongings, and Shannon was grateful that Sayid realized that she didn't wish to talk to her anymore.
"Have you seen Boone recently?"
Shannon's body tensed at the question and she felt Sayid take her hand to offer his support. She didn't want to explain to Adrienne what had happened, she wasn't worth the time or energy.
"Boone was the on the plane too," Shannon whispered as she turned back around. "He didn't survive."
"And you did? I would have thought that Boone would have been the one."
Before Shannon could react, Sayid tugged on her hand and, pulled her gently towards the hotel.
Shannon was fuming, and ready to explode but she held back. She didn't want to burst and tell Sayid everything about her history with Adrienne. He wouldn't understand that it was another day with her friend. She walked quietly next to Sayid as they made their way into the hotel and up to his room.
"I can't believe her nerve," Sayid said, as they stepped onto the boardwalk. " She was completely insensitive and insulting to you. And she…what do you call it? She did more than flirt with me."
"She hit on you," she responded angrily.
" Yes. With friends like her, who needs enemies?"
She remained quiet as they made their way into the hotel and up to his room. Shannon's thoughts were a jumbled mess as she tried to ignore all of Adrienne's comments. Unfortunately, Adrienne had always been able to get under her skin in way no one else but Boone could. Shannon had only remained friends with her because she had been able to get discounts at a clothing store because Adrienne had connections. It didn't seem worth it anymore. Shannon sighed as she realized that she was standing outside Sayid's room. She knew that he would be asking questions now.
Once inside, she sank down onto the bed. "Are you going to ask me about what Adrienne said?"
He sat down beside her, and took her hand in his. "I will never force you to tell me something you are not ready to."
She took a deep breath as she tried to decide how much she was willing to reveal. Finally she decided on the basics.
"The guy I told you about, from France, I didn't just date him. We ended up getting married. It didn't last very long, and it was really bad."
He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her tight. "You do not need to say anything else."
"Thank you."
They sat like that for a while, with her head resting against his shoulder. She wished that she had meet Sayid in France instead, life would have been so different for her if she had. She was about to voice that thought to Sayid when he caressed her face.
"Are you going to ask me about what I said?"
"About being engaged?"
Before he could answer, there was a knock on the door.
Shannon groaned loudly, "Why do we keep getting interrupted?"
He kissed her forehead, "Do not worry, I'll get rid of them."
Sayid got up to answer the door, telling her that he would get rid of whoever it was. She heard his gasp of surprise when he opened it. Shannon closed her eyes briefly as she realized that it had to be Nadia standing in the hallway. As Sayid motioned for her to step inside, Shannon was able to see what she looked like. Her hair was longer than in the picture Sayid had carried, and her dress was conservative, but again different from what she imagined. She was upset to see that Nadia was still beautiful.
After their day at the beach, she had forgotten that she had even called her. She watched as Nadia wrapped her arms around Sayid in a friendly hug.
Sayid pulled away. "What are you doing here?"
"Your friend, Shannon called and told me that you were in town."
Sayid turned to face Shannon, his eyes filled with astonishment. Before he could say anything, she stood up.
"I need to go change," she said, brushing past where they stood. "I will see you later."
Once out of the room, she hurried down the hallway and into her room. Without a thought she quickly undressed and stepped into her shower. As the steamy water hit her skin, she thought of what she might loose, and the tears began to fall.
TBC...