Title: Signaling
Author: ficklemuse
Fandom: Lost
Characters: Sawyer/Boone
Prompt: 070. Denial
Word Count: 617
Rating: G
Author's Notes: For slash_100
 

If Shannon stopped long enough to think about it, she'd laugh at herself. Trailing after Boone into the jungle she must look like she did when she was eight and he was ten, always following Boone through the huge maze of Sabrina's house. Spying, snooping, sneaking, all pretty much summed up her childhood.

She knows Boone's been sneaking out of the caves every night as soon as the sun goes down and she can't stop wondering where he goes when he thinks nobody is watching. By the time they've walked all the way back to the now deserted beach Shannon's tempted to call out to him and make him just tell her what he's doing. But for once she keeps quiet and watches.

At the edge of the beach, Boone stops by a huge pile of chopped wood and picks up several pieces.

Again Shannon wants to say something. Boone wasn't supposed to be carrying anything heavier than a coconut but he managed his heavy load with nothing more than a grimace. "Jackass." Shannon murmured under her breath.

"You shouldn't be out here Shannon."

Shannon keeps herself from screaming at the sound of someone beside her. Whirling around she hisses angrily. "Sayid! Are you trying to give me a heart attack? If I had a gun I would have shot you."

Sayid's lips curled into a smile. "That is why you don't have a gun."

"What are you doing out here?" Shannon can feel her stomach crawling back down after jumping into her throat.

"Same thing you are I suppose." Sayid nodded in the direction Boone went. "Watching over your brother."

"You knew he's been sneaking out of the caves?" Shannon demanded.

"Of course I knew." Sayid laughed and brushed Shannon's hair back from her face. "Boone is many things, subtle however is not one of them. But he seemed determined and I thought it better he not make this trip alone."

"But *what* is he doing?" Shannon caught Sayid's hand and twined her fingers around his.

"Come and see." Sayid led Shannon to where the path opened up and the beach was visible.

Boone moved around the edges of an enormous bonfire.

Shannon felt a shiver move across her skin. "Why is he lighting a signal fire? He knows about the bottle of messages. Something happened to the raft. They're not coming back." She says and the words sound cutting even to her own ears. But everyone knew about the bottle she and Claire found. She stepped forward, wanting to bring Boone back to reality, but was stopped by Sayid's hand on her shoulder.

"Don't."

"What? Sayid this is crazy. Sawyer's not coming back."

Grasping Shannon's shoulders firmly, Sayid looked her directly in the eyes. "Do you remember what I said when we first heard Rousseau's transmission? When we decided not to tell the others about it?"

Shannon nodded slowly, Sayid's words echoing in her mind as she watched Boone watching the water. Her heart lurched. "Hope is a dangerous thing to lose." She repeated quietly.

"Exactly. If what we suspect is true and something *did* happen to the raft, Boone will deal with it in his own time and in his own way."

Shannon slid her arms around Sayid's shoulders and gave him a warm, sweet kiss before continuing down to the beach.

Boone heard her approach and turned to look at her. "Shan – what are you doing out here?"

She came to stand next to Boone. "I thought you could use some company…Dork." She doesn't say anything more, just put her arm around Boone's waist and lets him lean against her. She doesn't mind. She can be realist enough for the both of them.