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 opened her eyes slowly as images from the previous night flashed through her mind. She smiled as she realized that it hadn't been a dream, she really had taken the next step in her relationship with Sayid. It had been different than her other encounters with men. He had been slow and gentle as if he was afraid that he would hurt her. Everything about it was magical, and it felt more like what she had always imagined her first time should have been like. For the millionth time, she wished she had meet Sayid earlier. She turned over so that she could see Sayid. She wanted to snuggle against him and stay in bed all day.
Her heart stopped as her eyes fell upon the empty space beside her. She drew the sheets up around her chin. He wasn't there. He had left after they had sex. He wasn't supposed to do that. He was supposed to be there so she could kiss him awake. Then he would pull her down into his arms and hold her until it was time for breakfast. He wasn't supposed to have left her naked and alone like so many of her past experiences.
Shannon sat up slowly, her eyes burning with tears. Maybe she was just overreacting. He was probably just in the bathroom or something. She weakly called out his name a few times. When there was no response she knew that he was gone. He had done something she never thought he would do, left her broken hearted.
She tried not to believe that he would have left her like this. It didn't make any sense at all. He had been so sweet all night making sure that she was enjoying their night together. She could still feel his gentle touch all over her body. Would someone who had treated her as if she was the most beautiful woman in the world just leave like that? Unless it had all been a lie.
Boone's words from her dream from the other night echoed through her mind. He had said that Sayid was simply using her for sex. Had Boone been right? She shook her head. It was a dream. Boone wasn't right. But as she ran her hand against the cold sheets next to her, the doubts continued.
Had she done something wrong last night? Normally she had taken control when she was having sex, but this time she had allowed Sayid to lead. She always thought that she knew what she was doing, but had it been bad? Should she have done what she had done so many times before? What could she have done differently? She didn't think so, but what if Sayid was disappointed in her? What if he couldn't face her after the disastrous lovemaking? She thought of going to his hotel room, but she couldn't move. It hurt too much to think that he was gone.
She startled as the door to her room opened. She was flooded with relief as Sayid walked through the door carrying a tray of breakfast food.
"Good morning," he said with a smile. "I did not expect you to be awake yet. I had wanted to surprise you."
"You sure did," she said softly.
Her heart was slowly returning to its normal beat, and she was upset with herself for automatically expecting the worst from him. She knew that Sayid wouldn't hurt her like that, but the second she was tested she believed the worst.
Sayid placed the tray on the table and sat down on the bed beside her. He reached out and caressed her face.
"What is the matter?"
The love and concern that she saw in his eyes was too much, and a few tears fell. He wiped them away, his fingers lingering against her skin.
"I didn't know where you were. I thought - " she couldn't bring herself to even finish the thought. She knew that her doubts would hurt him.
"You thought I had left," he said his eyes filled with understanding. "I plan on staying with you for a long time, Shannon."
"I know that. I've been hurt before, and after that dream it made it easier to jump to that conclusion."
"The dream you had was about me leaving?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
He opened his mouth as if to say something else, but quickly closed it. Instead he moved so that he was lying beside her.
Closing his eyes, he said, "Let's try this again."
She tugged at his shirt. "You're wearing too much clothing."
He sat up and removed his shirt before lying back down. She watched him pretending to sleep, and she was filled with guilt for her earlier doubts. He would do anything for her, and had proven that so many times. She just wished that previous relationships would stay out of this one. She knew that in time Sayid would be able to heal all the wounds she still carried.
She leaned forward and kissed him gently on the lips as if she was trying to wake him. When he didn't move, she kissed him again, and again. Finally, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her down to him.
Sweeping the hair out of her face, he said, "I could get used to waking up like this."
"I doubt I'll ever be the first one up." She smiled. "I guess that means you need to wake me with kisses."
"I believe I can handle that."
She snuggled down into his arms, resting her head against his shoulder. She sighed happily as he gently ran his fingers up and down her bare arm. She would love being able to lie like this every morning.
Shannon thought of telling Sayid about the letter she had received from Sabrina, but she decided that it could wait. For now she just wanted to lie in the safety of his arms. However, she knew that they would not be able to stay there forever.
"What would you like to do today?" she asked.
"Do you remember what my fortune said?"
She crinkled her nose as thought about.
"Something about your life being a dashing and exciting adventure, right?"
He leaned closer, "You forgot to add the in bed part," he whispered in her ear.
Her face grew hot at the implication of his words. As she kissed him, she hoped that most nights they would end up fulfilling his fortune.
The End