4x04: Love of an Other (Sayid Centric)

With a rifle at his side, the ex-Iraqi soldier traipsed through the jungle on his own, keeping his wits about him as he went. The sun was hot against his skin but the freshness of the trees cooled him down. As he reached a stream, he bent over and washed his hands and face in it, gasping with relief and squatting down.
There he is! He's watching
Sayid jerked his head up. He could have sworn that he had heard someone whisper something in the distance just out of sight. He stood up, pulling his rifle out and aiming it in front of him cautiously. "I heard you." he said loudly. "Come out."
Nothing happened except for a few birds flew overhead and the trees swayed in the wind over the moving stream beneath him. Sayid slowly lowered his gun with a frown on his face as he picked up his pack and carried on through the jungle.

FLASHBACK

Sayid sat on a bench in an airport looking at a photograph in his hands. His beard was beginning to grow and his hair was down in front of his face. He looked like a mess and was still very young.
There was a woman in the photograph with a black hood over her head, staring back at him with a smile. Sayid returned the smile sadly, muttering the words "Nadia..." under his breath.
He folded the picture in remorse before standing up. He looked down to pick up his bags when suddenly he bumped into a man and caused him to drop his suit case.
"Sorry!" Sayid apologized quickly, helping the man with his luggage.
He was a big, white-haired man with a portly yet friendly appearance. "Thanks, stranger." The man said, taking his bags with a smile. "What's your name?"
"Uh, Sayid." Sayid said.
"Sayid." The man nodded. "Name's Alan Seward."
"Sorry, Alan." Sayid said to him. "I'm just...a little dazed at the moment."
"Well that can be fixed." The man named Alan smirked. He was looking at Sayid as if he'd found someone he was looking for at last. "How would you like to go for a couple of beers later?"
"I'm not much of an alcoholic." Sayid admitted, confused by this man's strangeness and picking up on it at once. It was clear that he wanted something of him and he was curious to find out what.
"Well, if you decide to come I'll be at the nearest pub tonight." Alan said. "See you there, friend."
And with that, the large man walked off with his suitcase and luggage leaving Sayid standing by the bench with a plane taking off on the runway behind him.

END FLASHBACK

Jack led his group down through the jungle, heading into the most northern part of the island with his people right behind him. Juliet and Kate were on either side looking up at the mountain ahead apprehensively.
"I've never been here before." Juliet said. "This part of the island I know very little about."
"Well hopefully there's not a whole lot to learn about." Jack said. "Last thing we need right now are distractions."
"How are we getting over this thing, Jack?" Juliet asked him.
"It'll be quicker to find a low part of the mountain and climb over it rather than going around." Jack said and Kate nodded in agreement.
"But we don't know what's in that mountain." Juliet said with a frown. "And I doubt your people feel like hiking uphill anymore than they already have to. Why don't we--?"
"You're not the one leading us off his island, are you?" Kate interrupted her with a glare.
Juliet returned it with a frown and a tilt of her head. "I'm just saying it'd be easier for the group as a whole to go around the mountain instead of--"
"These aren't even your people." Kate snapped at her. "What gives you the right to--"
"Kate." Jack told her firmly and she stopped.
The two women glared at each other for a moment and Jack decided to break the tension. "Look, we'll go over the mountain. We need to be by that beach by nightfall which means we only have about six hours left." He looked at Juliet. "And that's final."
"Ok." Juliet said simply, watching him and Kate continue off through the jungle with the rest of them. She watched them go for a moment before following them with a disheartened expression on her face.

LOST

The radio phone in Jack's pocket abruptly screeched to life and the voice of Zack came in saying "Hello? Hello? Jack? Is anyone there?"
"Hello, it's me-Jack." Jack said, answering the phone and stopping the group. They all looked at him, waiting to see what was going on.
"We're having engine problems." Zack said. "We won't be at the island until sometime tomorrow, I'm afraid."
"Engine problems?" Jack's face fell as he said this and muttering started amongst the group. "Well, we're within a days walk to the beach so we'll just camp out I guess..." He looked at the rest of the group sadly.
"I'm sorry; I'll radio you in tomorrow morning." Zack said before the phone went dead.
There were groans from the rest of the group as they all muttered amongst themselves about this misfortunate occurrence.
"Hey-Hey!" Jack yelled, calming them down. "Look, we'll camp out here, on the mountain, alright? It'll give us time to conserve out energy for tomorrow's hike down the mountain. It'll be ok."
They all frowned but new this was true and slowly the group spread apart to start setting up a small camp. Jack turned to go and get some firewood, Kate going with him while Juliet watched them both with a frown on her face.

Sayid stepped out of the jungle and into a massive clearing in the center of the island. He stopped, staring ahead of him with a surprised, wide-eyed look at what lay before him.
On the ground in the middle of the grassy clearing was a huge pile of blue-top sealed tubes just thrown about in a mess. He approached the pile and knelt down to pick up one of them. There was a journal inside of it. He uncorked the tube and took out the journal, flipping through it curiously and reading random lines that said seemingly unimportant things like "0400: S.R. moves ping-pong table again. 0415: Takes a shower."
"I see you found the pearl station books."
Sayid dropped the journal and wheeled around, raising the rifle up and pointing it at a man standing a few yards behind him with his arms folded behind his back and a calm smile on his face. He had short black hair and his eyes were keen and showed signs of some sort of wisdom behind them.
"Who are you?" Sayid asked darkly.
"My name is Richard Alpert." The man said. "And I'm one of the people you have come to call us as ''The other"." He said with a little chuckle and took a step toward him.
"I will not hesitate to shoot!" Sayid warned him.
"I know." Richard said. "But I got a feeling you'll want to hear what I've got to tell you."
"What do you mean?" Sayid asked, his eyes narrowing.
"I was just out looking for you." Richard said matter-of-factly. "It's a good thing you were here. I didn't want to have to kidnap you from your people."
"Are you alone?" Sayid asked suspiciously, eyeing the surroundings.
"Yes." Richard said. "But why bother asking, you won't believe me anyways, right?"
"Why were you looking for me?" Sayid asked, approaching him with his gun still raised, aiming at his head.
"Because..." Richard sighed. "There's someone we want to take you to."

FLASHBACK

Sayid sat down at the counter of the local bar after finding Alan already sitting there half-way through a bottle of beer himself.
"Ah, you came." Alan said merrily.
"Yes." Sayid said, shaking his hand.
"So what is it that you were doing?" Alan asked, drinking his beer.
"Excuse me?" Sayid raised his eyebrow.
"You were looking at a picture when I saw you." Alan said. "And you were in an airport...Do that mean you were looking for something, or someone?"
"You're very observant." Sayid said, impressed.
"That's my job." Alan smirked.
"What is your job exactly?" Sayid asked.
"I'm a conman." Alan said, looking at him with a lop-sided smile.
Sayid blinked. "A conman?" He repeated.
"Yup." Alan said, taking another drink.
"So you're saying..." Sayid started. "That your name might not even be Alan?"
"You're pretty smart yourself, friend." The conman said.
"Don't suppose there's a point in asking your real name, is there?"
"Not really." He said with a sigh. "You never answered my question anyways."
Sayid paused, thinking for a moment. "I'm looking for someone."
"Figured." Alan muttered.
"Her name is Nadia." Sayid sighed, taking the photo out from his pocket. Alan froze for a second, staring at him.
"Can I see it?" He asked.
"Sure." Sayid handed it over to him. Alan looked at her for a second or two, his eyes traveling back and forth thinking fast.
"What?" Sayid asked.
"I can help you find her." Alan said, handing it back to him. "But only if you do something for me."

END FLASHBACK

Sayid followed Richard through the jungle, aiming his rifle at the mysterious man's back in case he tried to pull anything sneaky.
"Where is it you're taking me?" Sayid asked.
"You'll find out soon enough." Richard reassured him.
"Why can't you tell me now?"
"Because I want you to wonder what it is." Richard said. "Besides, if I tell you you'll just kill me and go there yourself."
Sayid frowned, for that was exactly what he was thinking.
"I know you, Sayid Jarrah." Richard continued on casually with a smirk.
"You know nothing about me." Sayid said coldly.
"You people always say that." Richard sighed. "But I know more than you think. I know how you were a torturer in Iraq that fought in the Gulf War. I know about the woman you rescued by shooting yourself in the leg..."
Sayid's eyes widened when he said this, but Richard continued anyway.
"--I know about Basra, the man you tortured and killed for a conman just so you could find that woman again." Richard stopped and turned around to look at him. Sayid's face had fallen into rage. "-And I know what happened when you did find her."
Sayid's grip on his weapon clenched tightly against the handle, wanting desperately to kill him but knowing it would be best not to...yet. "Shut up and keep moving." He spat coldly.
Richard's smile widened, only slightly, as he turned and continued to lead Sayid through the forest.

The sun was beginning to set over the horizon as the group on the mountain finished setting up camp. Hurley was playing with Vincent the dog in a clearing while Claire sat by a fire holding Aaron with a sad expression on her face. Sun and Jin were cuddling by a fire as well along with Bernard and Rose, who were arguing like a married couple over how to properly skin a fish.
Jack threw a bundle of fire wood into a pit of his own and lit it carefully, watching the flames slowly come to life. He took a seat in the grass and sighed, leaning his head back against the bark of the tree behind him.
"Hey." Kate greeted, taking a seat next to him.
"Oh, hey." Jack smiled.
"So what do you think about our last camp-out?" Kate asked.
"It'd be better if we had smores." Jack smirked making Kate chuckle under her breath.
"I'm glad to see you're in a better mood now." She told him.
"Well with Ben and Locke gone I don't really have to worry about a whole lot, do I?" Jack said with a frown. "But I suppose I should worry about Sayid, huh?"
"Sayid's been off in the jungle by himself before." Kate said.
"And he came back with a wounded leg." Jack added.
Kate smiled grimly. "I suppose you're right about that."
Juliet stood in the shadows watching them with a blank expression and her arms folded. She didn't like seeing them together. She knew kissing Jack had made Kate jealous...was this her way of getting back at her? By turning Jack against her?
"Hey..." Sawyer muttered, approaching her.
"What, no sarcastic nick-names?" Juliet asked without looking at him.
"I'm fresh-out." Sawyer smirked. "What you doing in the dark?"
"Why do you care?" Juliet asked with a frown.
"What, you give me the 411 whenever I'm in a mood but I'm not allowed to ask a simple question?" Sawyer asked, acting affronted.
"I'm not in a mood." Juliet said.
"Bull-kicky." Sawyer scoffed. "You're standing in the dark, glaring at the Doc and Freckles over there."
"Maybe I'm just spacing." Juliet said, looking at him with a smile of her own.
Sawyer chuckled and stepped out into the fire-light. "You can act calm and ok as much as you want. But I can always tell where there's a lady with her panties in a bunch."
"Well I'm glad you have some sort of talent." Juliet muttered.
Sawyer shook his head and walked off without another word. Juliet remained where she was, staring back at Jack and Kate as they laughed about something together. Her face fell slightly...

Richard emerged out of the jungle and onto a rocky shore by the ocean where the waves came crashing in with the beach. Sayid was right behind him, looking around in confusion. "Where are we?" He asked.
"On the western side of the island." Richard said. "Follow me..."
They continued along the side of the peninsula until, up ahead, Sayid saw a cave in the side of a boulder formation.
"What I have to show you is in there." Richard said, pointing at the cave.
"Alright." Sayid said, stepping forward. "Now tell me why I shouldn't kill you now."
"Because you'll need me after you come out of there." Richard said with a smirk.
Sayid frowned and muttered "Stay here." Before moving down the beach-line toward the caves. When he reached the mouth of it he peered inside and stared into nothing but darkness. All he could hear were the crashing of the waves and the sound of water dripping from the roof of the cavern in front of him.
He entered inside, carefully monitoring every step he took and looking over his shoulder every ten seconds to make sure he wasn't entering a trap of some sort. As he moved further into the cave, the walls began to get thinner and everything got a lot darker. He continued until he noticed a flame up ahead. He walked toward it cautiously and saw that it was a torch sitting against the wall. He grabbed it and held it up in front of him, yelling out in shock at what he found.
Lying on the cavern floor before him was a woman dressed in ragged clothes. There was blood leaking from cuts all over her body and there was a bad wound in her leg. Sayid bent over and rolled the unconscious woman over and felt a cold, and yet numb feeling enter his body.
It was Nadia.

FLASHBACK

Sayid stepped out of his truck, looking slightly shaken, as he closed the door behind him and walked up to a gate with a brief-case in his hand. The man at the gate let him through, Sayid making sure to hide his hands in his pockets as he walked down the drive-way with a quickened pace until he reached the front door. He took out one hand from his pocket and knocked a few times. His knuckles were stained crimson with blood that glistened under the sun above.
The door opened and Alan Seward the conman stood inside, facing him with a coat half-way on. "Did you get it?"
"Yes, Alan." Sayid said, handing him the brief case. "I got your money."
"Good." Alan grinned widely. "What are the chances that'd I'd find a torturer in an airport. Guess you could say I have good luck, eh?"
Sayid frowned, not at all impressed with this man's "Luck".
"I found her." Alan said, stepping outside and walking down the drive-way, past the gate and into Sayid's truck.
"Where?" Sayid asked, wasting no time.
"Wasn't too difficult." Alan shrugged. "It's a good thing I know a lot of people, would've been a bit harder--"
"Where is she?" Sayid interrupted him.
Alan smirked again. "I'll show you."

Sayid drove the truck down a suburban road in a very neighborhoodly place. There were people outside with their children laughing and playing. Sayid ignored them, never knowing such a simple life such as theirs, as he continued down the road Alan directed him in.
"Right here." he said and Sayid came to an abrupt stop in front of a house on their right. They both looked out the window at the homely house next to them. There was a car in the drive-way which meant there was somebody home.
"There you go, friend." Alan smiled. "I'll wait in the truck for your little meeting with your girlfriend to end. You can drive me home and we'll part ways there."
"First tell me why..." Sayid said, turning the keys in the ignition off.
"Why what?" Alan asked, pausing with a suspicious raised eyebrow.
"Why you made me torture that man, Basra, so that you could gather money for a retirement con..." Sayid said. "Why couldn't you have just conned him out of the money yourself?"
"Because I had already tried." Alan sighed. "First time I was ever caught in a con. I was lucky I got out before he could do anything..."
"The man had two body-guards." Sayid said. "They'll be after you."
"That's a risk I'm willing to take." Alan smirked. "Who knows, maybe I'll find someone to con me out of getting into trouble with them too."
Sayid frowned and stepped out of the truck, facing the house before him.
"Good luck, Sayid." Alan said out the window.
Sayid nodded and walked up the pathway, leaving Alan by himself in the truck.
As he approached the front door, he paused with his hand raised to knock. This was it. After years of being apart and hoping to find her again, he was there. He knocked.
The door opened after ten seconds of waiting. And there she was, standing with a jacket and jeans on and looking like an average American citizen who'd come from Iraq. They both stopped, staring at each other with wide eyes.
"S-Sayid." She stuttered in disbelief.
Sayid opened his mouth, unable to find the words to express himself. There she was, even more beautiful then the time he'd seen her last in the prison cells of Iraq.

END OF FLASHBACK

Sayid ran out of the cavern with Nadia in his arms. Blood was already beginning to flow from the wounds in her body, they were fresh. She must've been injured within the amount of time of where he left his camp to where he met with Richard only a couple hours previous.
And there was Richard Alpert, standing on the rocky shore looking at them with a blank expression.
"What did you do to her!?" Sayid demanded in rage, approaching him.
"Nothing." Richard said simply.
"LIAR!!!" Sayid shouted, getting even closer.
"She was attacked by a polar bear, only an hour after I met you in the jungle. We put her in the cave so that--"
"WHY DIDN'T YOU BRING HER TO ME!!??" Sayid shouted again, tears in his eyes.
"Because if you saw me carrying her you would've attacked me." Richard said. "This isn't how you were supposed to find her, though."
"What do you mean?" Sayid asked, crouching down with her by the ocean and holding her head, looking at her face with disbelief. How could she be here? How long had she been on this island?
"When we took her, we kept her with the rest of us so that when the time was right we could use her." Richard explained, joining his side.
"Time was right for what?" Sayid asked darkly.
"To convince you to join with us."
Sayid glared at Richard over his shoulder. "HOW THE HELL WOULD YOU EXPECT ME TO JOIN YOU AFTER THIS!!??"
"She escaped from us once she found out you were here too." Richard continued, ignoring his signs of anger. "And she's been on her own for two days. I just found her, not that long ago...the wounds from the polar bear are pretty severe.
"You should have brought her to me." Sayid spat. "I could have taken her to Jack, she would be okay right now if it wasn't for you!!"
"Not even Jack can help her." Richard sighed sadly. "Her wounds are fatal, Sayid. Bringing her to your people would only create problems for everyone else."
Sayid blinked back tears, looking back down at Nadia.
"The reason I brought you here, Sayid." Richard said. "Was so that you can say goodbye."

"You awake?"
Jack looked up to find Juliet standing over him by the fireside with a smile on her face. He rubbed his eyes and sat up, noticing that Kate was gone.
"I am now." Jack said with a small grin.
"You mind if I sit?"
"Sure." Jack nodded, looking into the fire.
Juliet took a seat on the opposite side of Jack to where Kate had sat. She looked into the fire as well, holding a bottle of water in her hands. "So what do you think?" She asked.
"Think about what?" Jack muttered.
"Kate." Juliet said bluntly.
"Kate?" Jack repeated, confused. "What do you mean?"
"It's obvious..." Juliet sighed. "The way you two act..."
Jack frowned, suddenly getting what she was saying. "And why do you care?" He asked calmly, not sounding rude at all.
"Well it just seems odd that you could let her break your heart and then just accept her back like that." Juliet said, continuing her amazingly blunt conversation.
Jack's frown deepened as he stared into the fire. "She never broke my heart."
Juliet looked at him, her eyebrows raised in surprise. "What?"
"She never broke my heart." Jack said again with a little nod to himself.
Juliet paused. "Then why did you let them escape a few weeks ago when you were doing the surgery?"
Jack smiled a little. "Because I wanted what was best for her..."
Juliet looked back into the fire, not liking what she was hearing. Unknown to both of them, someone was standing a few feet away behind a tree listening...

Sayid slipped his hands under Nadia's bleeding back and lifted her up once again, walking toward the jungle without a second glance back at Richard. Richard, however, followed with a frown.
"What are you doing?" He asked.
"I'm taking her back to my people." Sayid muttered coldly.
"You can't do that." Richard said, suddenly quickening his pace a little.
"I can do whatever I please." Sayid said.
"She will die before you can make it back there." Richard said. "Don't waist your time with a fool's errand."
"Don't tell me what I can't do!" Sayid said loudly, still not looking at him.
"There's no point, Sayid!" Richard said desperately. "And when you realize that I'm going to be there!"
Sayid continued off into the darkness of the jungle, refusing to give up hope on Nadia just yet.

FLASHBACK

Sayid sat in Nadia's living room, sitting alone in a comfortable chair by a fire-place. The house was very nice and roomy. There were ornaments on top of the fireplace and a television in the corner by a purple sofa. Nadia entered carrying a glass of tea in her hands. She handed it to him and he thanked her gratefully, taking a small sip and setting it down on the coffee table in front of him.
Nadia sat down on the sofa and faced him, looking apprehensive. "Sayid...I-I can't believe you're here in my living room."
"I can hardly believe it either." Sayid smiled. "It's a nice place."
"Thank you." Nadia looked down, folding her hands across her lap.
"How have you been?" Sayid asked after a moment of silence.
"Fine." Nadia answered, not looking at him right away. "I've got a job as a saleswoman for television commercials."
"Ah, the American dream?" Sayid teased her and she smiled.
"Well, the American dream has been disappointing." Nadia muttered. "It's been hard."
"Yeah..." Sayid agreed quietly.
"When did you get here?" Nadia asked curiously.
"Last week." Sayid said. "I met a man and he helped me find you."
"You...You came here to find me?" Nadia asked, a little shocked.
"Why else would I come here?" Sayid smiled and she did as well.
"Why?" Nadia asked, her smile faltering abruptly.
"Why what?" Sayid asked.
"Why did you come here to find me?"
Sayid stared at her incredulously. "Because I...I needed to see you."
Nadia paused, looking at him with a guilty expression. "How's your leg?" She asked.
"It healed." Sayid said, not wanting to discuss his leg. "Look, Nadia..."
He moved from the seat and leaned forward toward her. She looked at him, unsure of what to do or say as he came closer. "Ever since I let you go...I've been regretting it ever since and I've never been able to stop thinking of you..."
"Sayid..." Nadia muttered, looking down.
"You've been in my head every time I go to sleep at night and every time I wake in the morning." Sayid went on. "I needed to see you again. And I'm here now, and I'm here to stay..." He paused and reached out tenderly with his hand to grab hers. "I'm here to stay because...I want to be with you. And I never want to have to let you go again."
A tear slid down Nadia's cheek as she closed her eyes and slowly took her hand out from his. Sayid's face fell, knowing already what this meant but refusing to believe it could be true.
"Sayid, I..." Nadia sniffed. "You were gone for so long I didn't think I'd see you again...and when the war ended I hoped but you never..." She sniffed again, wiping the tears away. Sayid sat there, staring at her in horror.
"I found someone else." Nadia said at last.
And there it was. The words that caused nightmares in Sayid's sleep. The words any man in love feared to hear. Sayid's mouth hung open as he remained frozen in place, staring at her completely heart-broken.
"No..." He muttered.
"I'm so sorry, Sayid." Nadia said as he stood up and she grabbed his sleeve.
He wretched his arm out of her reach and backed away, tears streaming down the sides of his face.
"This can't be--You can't!" Sayid shouted, running his hands through his hair.
"Sayid-I--" Nadia sobbed.
Sayid was utterly unable to say anything that could expression all of the emotions running through his head. After everything he'd done, she'd found someone else to love instead.
He slammed the front door behind him, walking down the driveway toward where the truck was still parked with Alan Seward waiting in the passenger's seat with a pair of sunglasses on looking at the rear-view mirror. He looked up as Sayid approached as the ex-Iraqi solder stepped inside of the vehicle and grabbed the steering wheel.
"What happened?" Alan asked curiously, a dumbfounded look on his face.
"Let's go." Sayid muttered darkly, starting up the ignition and driving off down the road, leaving Nadia in the doorway crying her heart out...

END OF FLASHBACK

Sayid ran as fast as he could through the dark jungle carrying Nadia in his arms. It was hard. There was blood everywhere and there was nothing he knew of that could save her. He needed to get back to camp as fast as he could or else she was going to...
No, Sayid thought, he refused to believe that she could go like this. He was going to save her. Of course he was going to save her.
Nadia gasped suddenly, spitting from her mouth onto his chest. "Nadia!" Sayid cried desperately, stopping and setting her down, leaning her head up against him as she breathed to life and opened her eyes.
It took a moment before she stared at him and muttered "Sayid..." In disbelief.
"Oh, Nadia." Sayid cried. "You're going to be alright."
"Sayid...Is it really you...?" Nadia asked quietly.
Sayid wanted nothing more than to talk with her, find out exactly how the others had captured her and brought her here but if he did so she would die and he would have been wasting time.
"Stay quiet, I'm taking you somewhere safe." Sayid told her quickly, beginning to pick her up.
She screamed in pain as he did so and Sayid realized he had accidentally pressed into the wound on her back. "It hurts!!" She moaned in agony.
"I'm sorry-I'm sorry." Sayid said, tears in his eyes as he set her back down again. "Nadia, I need to carry you back."
She sighed and shook her head, breathing heavily and looking up at him weakly. "It's too late for me now, Sayid..."
Sayid shook his head, refusing to believe this. "I can take you there, you can be alright!"
"No...You can't..." Nadia muttered, smiling somehow despite the pain and the knowledge that she was going to die.
"But..." Sayid muttered. He'd already lost someone on this island, and there was no way he was going to lose Nadia as well. "Nadia, I can save you!"
Nadia continued to smile. "You already saved me..."

FLASHBACK

Sayid sat in his truck with a hat on and a pair of shades over his eyes, staring down the road with a disgruntled expression on his face. He was alone, staring at a house a few yards down. It was Nadia's house.
He watched in silence for a few minutes, waiting for something. And then it happened. Nadia opened the front door and locked it behind her before getting into her car and driving off. Sayid started the truck up and followed her down the road.
As he stalked her through the city, he wasn't paying attention to where exactly they were driving. He was thinking about if, maybe this time, he'd find out who the man was that she was now in love with. Or if he could at least find out where the man lived...
And then she stopped in front of a pair of large gates and walked up to them. She spoke with the security guard there and he let her through. Sayid parked right behind Nadia's car, watching her go up the driveway and toward the front doors. This place looked familiar somehow...
The door opened and Sayid saw the face of a man he'd not been expecting to see ever again. Alan Seward was standing in the entrance, smiling at her as they spoke briefly. Sayid's face fell in realization and disbelief. Alan? The man who had helped him find Nadia in the first place?
After talking, Nadia exited with a briefcase before getting back into her car and driving off. Sayid, however, remained parked. He climbed out of the truck and slammed the door behind him. Running up to the gate, he sneaked through using the stealth he'd learned from being a soldier and walked past the security guard toward the front door. He stood there, facing it for a moment before knocking rapidly and a few moments later, Alan answered saying "Did you forget something or did you--"
WHAM!!! Sayid slammed his fist into the side of the man's face, knocking him backwards onto his bottom on the fancy rug floor.
"What the--Sayid?" Alan sputtered, rubbing his cheek.
"You lied to me." Sayid said darkly. "You conned me into getting money so you could give it to her!?"
"I plan on getting that money back." Alan said.
"What?" Sayid spat.
"I'm conning her too!" Alan said, getting up. "Just like how I conned you and that Basra guy."
Sayid paused. "You told me you failed to con him."
Alan smirked and chuckled. "Did I now?"
Sayid's fists clenched, wanting to punch him again. "You made me torture another man just so you could get a bunch of money saved up? You tricked me into finding the woman I loved, the same woman you conned into loving you!!"
"She doesn't love me." Alan said, shaking his head. "You got the wrong idea."
"Lies!!" Sayid yelled.
"I conned her, yes, but not into loving me." Alan said. "Why, what did she tell you?"
Sayid's face fell in realization. Nadia had lied to him. There was no other man that she loved. She had told him that because she didn't want to get involved him with again...but why?
"What did you con her into then?" Sayid demanded.
"A business trip thing." Alan muttered. "I give her money to go on a business trip somewhere in Sydney to get rich. I made her think I was some rich developer, this was a month ago, before I even met you."
Sayid frowned. "I'm going to tell her."
"No you're not, Sayid." Alan chuckled. "You wanna know why? Because you will never be able to talk to her again. You're mad at her because she lied to you and there is a little part inside of you that wants to take revenge on her for what she did to you. You're going to let her take that flight and I am going to steal her money."
Sayid remained rooted to the spot, staring at him as he tried to find a way of retaliating. How could this be happening? How could Nadia have done this to him?
"Get out of my house..." Alan muttered. "Before I tell the guards what you're doing here..."

END FLASHBACK

Sayid sat in the ground holding Nadia in his arms as she sat there staring at him with a smile. He opened his mouth slowly, a single tear going down his cheek as he said "Why...?"
"Why what...?" Nadia asked quietly.
"Why did you lie to me...?"
Nadia blinked, realizing what she meant. "Figured you'd find out somehow..." She muttered.
"Tell me why you did it." Sayid said desperately.
"Because..." Nadia paused. "Deep down, I knew just like you did, that know matter how much we may have loved each other, we never would have made it work...I wasn't ready for a commitment with you because I was afraid of hurting you."
Sayid sighed. "Well you were wrong, because your lie hurt me more than anything else you could have possibly done..."
Nadia slowly raised her hand and touched Sayid's face, blinking back tears. "I'm sorry...Sayid...I never should have..." She paused. "Sayid..."
Sayid leaned in closer, knowing that this was it. "Yes?"
"I...love..." Nadia was unable to say the last word as her eyes glazed a bit and her hand fell limply into his own.

And there Sayid remained, holding onto the woman he had loved all his life in his arms. He sobbed, wishing with every fiber in his body he could've somehow saved her. Wishing more than anything to go back and stop this from happening somehow.
"I told you."
Sayid looked up, forgetting about Richard's promise of turning up. He didn't turn around for he never wanted to see that man again. And yet Richard remained a few feet behind him watching with a saddened expression on his own face.
"I'm truly sorry, Sayid." Richard apologized, and he sounded honest. "I wish this didn't have to happen. I wish there was another way we could've done this but..."
"Don't." Sayid muttered coldly. "Don't say...Don't say anything..."
Richard closed his mouth, giving him an understanding look as he slowly stood up, releasing Nadia from his grip at last. "This is the second woman I've loved that has died in my arms on this island." Sayid said.
"I know." Richard sighed.
"And both of them died..." Sayid looked up and glared at Richard. "Because of your people...Because of you."
Richard stared at him as Sayid furiously stared back. "I told you, Sayid I'm--"
"Take me to your people." Sayid said suddenly.
"What?" Richard said, surprised.
"I'm not going back." Sayid said. "You took everything from me. So I want you to take me to your people so I can see exactly what it is you people are."

LOST

4x05: Hope + Doubt (Jack Centric)
When Jack is seperated by a land-slide with another one of the castways, the two get closer than ever before. Meanwhile, Locke explores the mysteries of "The Temple".