Disclaimer: The characters and locations of Lost are owned by JJ, Damon, and the folks of ABC. I am making no profit from this.

Pain and Pomegranates

Part 3: Strength

"Are you having fun?" Sayid asked the Southerner.

"As much fun as I can have at the moment. There's not much to entertain me confined to the bed like this. This cave ain't got cable. There ain't even any books to read, or enough light to read them with. Heck, even Jackass ain't around to bug. Where's he at anyway?"

"Jacka-" Sayid caught himself, but not before Sawyer snorted at him. "Jack went to the Hatch." Before he had dozed off, Jack had told him that he remembered seeing some sort of serum at the Hatch. Apparently, Desmond had grabbed several vials in his rush to escape. Shannon's condition must be bleak, if Jack was willing to use an unknown and untested drug.

"So, what, did he just leave us here to fend for ourselves then?"

"Of course not. He left Sun and Libby to watch." He pointed to a distant corner of the otherwise empty cave, at the two women quietly sorting herbs. "Perhaps you could irritate them for awhile."

"Well, you are being a bit of bore tonight," Sawyer told Sayid pointedly. "Hey girls!" he shouted. The women looked up, then looked at each other in the way women did that always made Sayid nervous. Sun continued sorting herbs, but Libby grabbed a couple of water bottles and headed toward them.

Sawyer grinned as she approached, showing off his dimples. "Enjoying that pomegranate?" she asked him.

"Immensely," he said with a quick look at Sayid. He smiled up at Libby. "Why it's almost as sweet as you are darling."

Libby rolled her eyes at him and turned to Sayid. "How's our other patient doing?" she asked as she knelt down to check on Shannon.

"No better," Sayid replied.

Libby looked up at him. "No worse either."

"He's a real water bottle is half empty kinda guy," remarked Sawyer.

"Speaking of which," said Libby standing back up. "Here's some water for you and some antibiotics to take. Good to see you're responding to them." She turned to Sayid. "And here's some water for you too. Don't forget to eat something every now and then." She handed him a water bottle. He gave her a smile which he tried to force into his eyes. He knew it didn't make it.

Sawyer watched Libby as she wandered back toward Sun. "She's pretty cute."

"Name a woman that you do not think is cute," Sayid responded.

Sawyer pondered that for a moment before continuing. "Got some spunk too. Bein' here seems to have improved her. She was pretty nervous and jumpy when I first met her. 'Course anyone would be under the rule of Princess Dictator." Sayid felt his hand clench involuntarily. Sawyer, realizing he had invoked the name of Satan, rushed to change the subject. "She's a shrink though. Don't think I'd like to hear about all my problems if I'm trying to get her into bed." Sayid was unfamiliar with the term shrink. He had gathered the woman was some sort of doctor, but hadn't thought beyond it. He didn't care enough to ask now. The fear was circling him again, ready to pounce.

He must have looked confused however, since Sawyer clarified. "A shrink. A psychologist. Someone who gets paid to listen to your problems and tell you why you're so screwed up. She oughta have a lot of fun around this place. We're a pretty messed up bunch."

"This is true," Sayid found himself saying. Sawyer had gone quiet, so he went back to watching Shannon. Her brow was furrowed in pain. What would she have to talk to Doctor Libby about? What had happened in her past to, as Sawyer put it, 'screw her up"? Why was she always so defensive, ready with a quick put-down or sarcastic comment? They had talked very little about their pasts, but he had gathered enough to have some idea. A passing mention that her parents had died. A few muttered phrases about a "wicked stepmother". Certainly he had seen the way her brother had treated her.

In many ways, she was one of the strongest people he knew. She had endured a great deal. She had made it through her parents' deaths, her stepmother's wrath, Boone's constant belittling. If she could tap into that strength now, it could save her. But she hadn't come through those years without a cost. Although she had great strength, she was completely unaware of it. She believed she was worthless, just as Boone had said she was.

He had discovered her weakness the hard way. He had become frustrated when she was translating the French woman's maps, and snapped at her. He had meant the scribblings were useless, not that she was. But she had not seen it that way. Ever since then, he had tried to give her encouragement, and make her see that she was not useless. He had helped her do things, but had never done them for her. He should have tried harder to make her see her worth. He should have held her in his arms and whispered that she was strong over and over until she believed it. He should have climbed to the top of the mountain and shouted it until she had believed him. And he should have believed her when she said she saw Walt.

He had failed her on so many levels. If she died, it would be as much his fault as it was Ana-Lucia's. He loved her. Didn't he trust her as well? If she said she saw Walt, shouldn't that have been enough for him? It had seemed so irrational at the time. But this was Mystery Friggin' Island, where polar bears roamed the jungle, where invisible monsters ate pilots, and where computer codes could mean the end of the world. Nothing made sense here. So what was so crazy about seeing visions of a missing child? His disbelief had cost them both everything. When he had finally seen the boy himself, he had been too stunned to respond when she had run off. He had sworn that he would protect her, and he had failed. He had failed her. His vision blurred. He was shaking. He put his head on his knees and a sob of despair escaped him. This was his fault! It was his fault!

Bwip!

Sayid had had enough. He turned and glared at Sawyer. His hands reached out and gathered as many pomegranate seeds as he could find on the cave floor. He launched himself at his nemesis.

Sun looked up and gasped in alarm. She started across the cave, but Libby grasped her arm. "We need to stop them. They… they don't like each other very much," Sun tried to explain. There wasn't time for much else than that.

But Libby had been trained to understand people's emotions and behaviors, even when they didn't. She had watched Sawyer bait and taunt the other man since he had woken up. She tightened her grip on Sun's arm. "I think they're just fine." Sun started to protest, but stopped in wonderment when she heard laughter echo across the cave.

"Now are you having fun?" Sayid growled ruthlessly. Sawyer was laughing too hard to answer him. Sayid's hands were tight against the other man's head, and he could feel the little pomegranate seeds bursting under his palms. Sawyer, still giggling, pushed the Iraqi off of him and sat up. Sayid was surprised to find himself burst into laughter as well. The other man looked utterly ridiculous. His blonde hair was now a purplish-red, and streaks of juice dripped down his face creating red stripes.

How many days had it been since Sayid had laughed? How many days since he had felt anything at all but terror and pain? He realized that maybe he wouldn't have to face this by himself. Maybe people he thought were enemies were actually friends. Words he had once spoken to Charlie suddenly floated through his head. "You are not alone. Do not pretend to be." He remembered that Charlie had echoed that in the dream. What, then, had Locke been trying to tell him?

Sawyer had stopped laughing, and was now looking at Sayid seriously. At least he looked as serious as someone with pomegranate-colored hair could. "Buck up, Aladdin," he said. "Sticks there is one of the most stubborn women I've ever laid eyes on. She ain't gonna go down without a fight."

Sawyer was right, Sayid knew. He turned back to Shannon and looked at her more closely. It seemed to him now that her brow wasn't knit in pain, but in determination. It was the look she had when she had translated the maps. It was the look she got when she was trying to get Vincent to listen to her. It was the look she got when she was trying to get him to listen to her. The fear dissipated like a heavy fog in the sunlight. She would fight. She was strong. And he had faith in her.

He turned back to Sawyer. The other man was looking at him with the same serious expression. He felt he should thank the man, but knew Sawyer would not accept it. Libby really did have her work cut out for her. Instead, he picked up a stray pomegranate seed and bounced it off Sawyer's forehead with a smirk.

"Damn Arab."

"Damn redneck."